Madam Ye stayed in the residence for only two nights, and by that same evening hurriedly returned to the main Ye family estate. Before leaving, she gathered all the servants attending to Ye Jinghua and looked each of them over one by one before departing. Fang Li, Fang Qin, and Deng Yun each received a string of coins, but when it came to Zhao Baozhu, it was instead replaced with a brocade pouch filled only with small pieces.
The moment Zhao Baozhu saw the brocade pouch, he subconsciously thought it contained silver. His brows immediately furrowed, and he grew uneasy, wanting to refuse but not knowing how. At that moment, Ye Jinghua’s voice came from behind: “Mother.”
Madam Ye lifted her eyes to glance at him and said with slight reproach, “I know.” Then she said to Zhao Baozhu, “Go ahead and open it.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu opened the pouch. Looking down, he discovered that inside were not pieces of silver, but small, crystal-clear bits with a faint citrus fragrance.
“Oh!” Zhao Baozhu’s eyes lit up. He quickly picked one up and put it into his mouth, pressing it lightly between his lips. “It’s candy!”
Seeing him like this, Madam Ye covered her mouth and laughed. “Look at this little glutton.”
Seeing that Zhao Baozhu truly had no greed for money, she felt even more satisfied. She lifted her gaze toward Ye Jinghua and said, “Since he likes it, when he finishes it, send someone to fetch more.”
Ye Jinghua nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Zhao Baozhu’s profile, a trace of a smile appearing in his eyes.
Madam Ye took in his expression and secretly shook her head. She reached out to pat Zhao Baozhu’s hair, then turned and left the residence, surrounded by a large group of maids and servants.
Once the gates of the residence closed and Ye Jinghua and Steward Li had left, Deng Yun pounced forward, glaring at Zhao Baozhu. “Baozhu, why did Madam give you candy?”
Zhao Baozhu raised his head in confusion. Seeing Deng Yun’s tense expression, one of envy and jealousy, he asked strangely, “Why are you asking me? Madam gave you all money too.”
“That’s different!” Deng Yun immediately raised his voice, his expression twisting. “Ma-Madam actually gave you candy personally!”
Zhao Baozhu blinked, then tilted his head to look. He saw that even Fang Li had a somewhat sour expression on his face. Zhao Baozhu curved his lips, picked up another candy, and held it by his mouth, squinting as he said: “Madam only dotes on me, so she gave me candy. What can you do about it?”
Seeing his smug look, Deng Yun grew even more furious, his teeth itching with hatred. He lunged forward, pretending to grab his neck. “You bad cat! Give me one piece, or I won’t let you off!”
Zhao Baozhu ducked his head and dodged, hiding behind Fang Qin and Fang Li, sticking out his tongue and making faces at Deng Yun. “Not giving, not giving! Madam gave this only to me.”
Deng Yun fumed with rage. “You!”
Fang Qin stood in front of Zhao Baozhu, sighed softly, and said helplessly, “You’re already this old, and you still want to fight him over a piece of candy?”
Seeing him take his side, Zhao Baozhu’s eyes curved with a smile. He picked out two candies from the pouch, giving one each to Fang Qin and Fang Li, then turned and, amid Deng Yun’s shouting curses, ran off in a flash.
***
After Madam Ye left, the courtyard grew quiet again. Zhao Baozhu continued studying with Ye Jinghua. Having made up his mind, he became even more diligent and never again said he didn’t want to study. Ye Jinghua saw this and liked him even more; over the past few days, even the corners of his eyes and brows carried a faint smile.
Zhao Baozhu carefully finished writing a piece of calligraphy. After completing the final stroke and confirming there were no mistakes, he finally let out a breath.
Ye Jinghua walked over, picked up the paper, and looked at it. Smiling, he said, “Your handwriting now has some form to it. Practice more, and it will be even better.”
Zhao Baozhu felt a little proud as well, his eyes curving into crescents. He walked over to Ye Jinghua and flattered him, “It’s all thanks to Young Master’s good teaching.”
Holding the paper, Ye Jinghua glanced at him. “With such a sweet mouth, are you hoping to write fewer essays later?”
Zhao Baozhu would never dislike more knowledge; he shook his head and smiled. “I’m hoping that at lunch later, Young Master will give me two extra plates of buns.”
Hearing this, Ye Jinghua looked back at him and smiled. “Alright, I’ll give them all to you to eat.” As he spoke, his gaze fell on Zhao Baozhu’s face. Over the past month, Zhao Baozhu had been eating and sleeping well in the Ye residence; there was now some flesh on his cheeks. With good medicine, the marks from earlier sun exposure had faded, and his cheeks were as white and tender as freshly peeled lychee in summer. Looking at him, Ye Jinghua suddenly narrowed his eyes and stepped back with his hands behind his back.
“Have you grown a bit taller?”
Zhao Baozhu was taken aback and looked at himself. “I don’t think so.”
Ye Jinghua examined him carefully from head to toe. “You have.” Then he stepped forward and suddenly slid his hands under Zhao Baozhu’s arms, lifting him up. Zhao Baozhu felt his feet leave the ground and immediately widened his eyes. He had always thought Ye Jinghua carried himself like drifting clouds in the sky, he hadn’t expected him to be this strong.
Ye Jinghua lightly bounced him to gauge his weight, then set him down. “You’ve also gotten heavier. I’ll have a few more sets of clothes made for you.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu hurriedly said, “I’ve only worn my clothes for a few days, they’re still so new. No need to spend money.”
At this, Ye Jinghua raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Baozhu before withdrawing. He said softly, “Then we won’t make them.”
Zhao Baozhu looked at him, somewhat helpless. After spending time together these days, he had come to understand Ye Jinghua’s nature. This young master didn’t manage a household and had no idea of daily expenses. Every time Zhao Baozhu declined something, he would agree on the surface, but a few days later the items would still find their way to him through various excuses.
Zhao Baozhu had complained a few times, but Ye Jinghua pretended not to hear. After several rounds, he stopped refusing. In any case, when the time came for him to leave, he could return everything together.
At that moment, faint voices suddenly came from outside the window.
“Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Master, at least let this servant go in and announce you, ”
Zhao Baozhu tilted his head, recognizing the voice as Yuan Qiao, the servant at the gate. Immediately after, a low male voice sounded: “He is my younger brother. Do I still need you to announce me?”
The voice was not loud, but carried an imposing authority. Zhao Baozhu heard Yuan Qiao hurriedly following behind, repeatedly pleading, “Eldest Young Master, wait, hey, Eldest Young Master!”
The footsteps grew closer. Zhao Baozhu turned to look at Ye Jinghua and saw him frowning slightly, his expression somewhat cold.
“Young Master, who has come?”
Hearing him, Ye Jinghua turned back. “My elder brother.”
He raised his hand and patted Zhao Baozhu on the shoulder. “Go play in the courtyard for a while.”
With the previous experience, Zhao Baozhu knew this elder brother had likely come to question him as well. He nodded and turned to leave.
“Don’t run into the woods. Just play outside.”
Ye Jinghua added behind him.
Zhao Baozhu paused, turning back to cast a slightly aggrieved look at Ye Jinghua. Ever since Madam Ye had caught him coming out of the woods last time, Ye Jinghua seemed to treat him more and more like a child. In truth, Ye Jinghua had only just come of age and was merely four years older than him. Feeling slightly unconvinced, Zhao Baozhu pouted a little. Under Ye Jinghua’s gentle gaze, he softly said, “Got it,” and lifted the curtain to leave.
But just as he stepped out, he nearly collided head-on with a tall man.
Zhao Baozhu almost bumped into him but managed to stop in time. Looking up, he saw a man dressed in dark robes staring down at him. Zhao Baozhu’s eyelashes fluttered twice; he only had time for a brief glance before lowering his head and stepping aside. “Eldest Young Master.”
The man in dark robes let his gaze rest on him for only a moment before shifting it away, turning to Ye Jinghua. “Jinghua.”
Taking the opportunity, Zhao Baozhu slipped out the door. The curtain fell behind him, blocking the man from view. Walking into the courtyard, Zhao Baozhu glanced back once, recalling that fleeting glimpse, he did seem somewhat similar to Ye Jinghua, though his features were sharper, his expression stern, and his eyes dark and heavy, making him somewhat intimidating.
As expected of an official from the Ministry of Justice, Zhao Baozhu thought to himself, then turned to look for Fang Qin and the others.
But upon entering the courtyard, he didn’t see a single person. Not only were Fang Qin and Fang Li nowhere to be found, even Deng Yun, who usually loved picking on the servants in the courtyard, was missing. Zhao Baozhu wandered around the front courtyard before finally running into Steward Li, who was hurrying along.
“Steward Li!” Zhao Baozhu called out. “Where are you going?”
Steward Li turned his head, sweat covering his forehead. Seeing it was him, his eyes widened immediately. “My little ancestor, why are you here?”
Zhao Baozhu stepped forward to explain, “The Eldest Young Master came to speak with our Young Master, so he told me to come out and play.”
“What ‘Eldest Young Master’?” Steward Li clicked his tongue. “The Eldest Young Master got married before the new year and now heads his own household, you should call him ‘Master’.”
Master? Thinking of the man’s appearance, Zhao Baozhu felt that title made him sound older. He asked again, “Steward Li, where are the two Fang brothers and Deng Yun?”
Hearing this, Steward Li let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Everything’s in chaos now! They’re all trying to find the Young Master’s name card. Deng Yun has already gone to the Government Studies Bureau.”
Zhao Baozhu blinked, then suddenly understood, remembering that today was the day the Government Studies Bureau would stop accepting candidates’ name cards. The name cards of those who passed the provincial examination were made in duplicate, one copy kept on hand as identification, and the other submitted to the Government Studies Bureau. Zhao Baozhu’s name card had long been uniformly sent to the capital by the county school office, so he did not need to submit it himself.
Last time, Madam Ye had mentioned that Ye Jinghua was unwilling to take the imperial examination and had hidden his name card. Zhao Baozhu paused, then asked somewhat strangely, “How could the young master’s name card be in his own hands? Logically speaking, after the provincial examination, someone should have sent it on his behalf.”
Hearing this, Steward Li sighed and said, “The young master passed the juren examination nearly nine years ago, but has been unwilling to sit for the exam ever since, so the name card was naturally returned to him by the office.”
Zhao Baozhu’s expression changed drastically. “Nine years?!” His lips trembled as he hesitated, “Th-then… doesn’t that mean the young master passed as a juren at twelve years old?”
Steward Li nodded. “Yes.” At this point, he sighed again with emotion. “Back then, the young master became the top scorer at the provincial exam at the young age of twelve. In the capital, who didn’t know of his reputation as a prodigy? It’s just a pity that afterward, no matter whether it was the master and madam of the residence, or the noble figures in the palace urging him, the young master refused to sit for the exam no matter what, forcibly letting that—”
At this point, he did not continue. Steward Li cut himself off and looked up, only to see Zhao Baozhu standing there in a daze, his face pale.
A twelve-year-old top scorer!
Zhao Baozhu felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue. One had to know that among those taking the provincial examination, it was common to see old scholars with graying hair, or those who failed for decades. Zhao Baozhu himself had caused a sensation in his county by passing at the age of fifteen just before the new year, but a twelve-year-old top scorer, and in a capital filled with elite families, Zhao Baozhu had known Ye Jinghua was talented, but had not known he was talented to such an extent.
“S-such a genius… why won’t the young master take the exam?”
Zhao Baozhu muttered. Although Ye Jinghua usually only read idle books and occasionally wrote some aimless miscellaneous poems in correspondence with friends, when he taught Zhao Baozhu, he always achieved great results with minimal effort, his profound foundation self-evident. If he could become the top scorer at twelve, then if he went to take the metropolitan examination now, wouldn’t he surely become the zhuangyuan?!
After a brief shock, Zhao Baozhu came back to his senses and immediately said urgently to Steward Li: “Today is the last day the Government Studies Bureau will accept name cards, Steward Li, you must quickly find where it is!”
This time, he was truly anxious. Since his own path of study had been especially difficult from childhood, he could not bear to see others waste their talent, let alone when that person was Ye Jinghua, who had helped him so much.
Steward Li made a bitter face. “Little ancestor, do you think we don’t know to look? This entire residence has already been turned upside down. Anything the young master hides has never been found by anyone.”
Zhao Baozhu panicked. “Th-then what should we do?”
Steward Li sighed and shook his head. Then he looked up at Zhao Baozhu, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Baozhu, the young master likes you, how about you go persuade him?”
Zhao Baozhu was stunned. “Huh?”
The more Steward Li thought about it, the more he felt it was a good idea. “The young master dotes on you so much, if you persuade him, it’ll be more useful than any of us.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu smiled somewhat bashfully, thinking that compared to Deng Yun and Fang Li, Ye Jinghua did seem to like him more. Zhao Baozhu felt it was probably because he worked more diligently. As for the others, they couldn’t even catch a bird.
“I… can I do it?”
Steward Li, sweating anxiously, pushed Zhao Baozhu’s back and urged him toward the front courtyard. “You definitely can, go quickly. In another two hours the office will close. Remember to speak sweetly, smile more; if he doesn’t agree, just keep pestering him, got it?”
Zhao Baozhu widened his eyes and was dragged all the way to the study. Steward Li patted his shoulder solemnly before slipping away. Zhao Baozhu looked at the study, hearing faint sounds of argument coming from inside. For a moment, he neither dared to enter nor retreat.
