Chapter 64: The Examination Results are Announced at the Imperial Examination Hall, and Names are on the List

Chapter 64: The Examination Results are Announced at the Imperial Examination Hall, and Names are on the List

After disembarking at Dujiawan Ferry and the boat leaving, Uncle Du asked, "Second son, do you have anything to say?"

Du Laoding looked at him coldly.

"Don't you know how to reflect on your actions? Look at the state you've ruined our family! Your son and grandson don't recognize you, your daughter-in-law won't come back. You're a laughingstock for miles around. You've offended the promising ones and driven away the worthless ones. How can you be a father?" Uncle Du scolded the younger generation directly. "The old saying goes that marrying a wicked wife will ruin three generations. Our family has been ruined by your bad seed, which has harmed far more than three generations."

Old Du was so angry he vomited blood. Did he think he was easy to bully? Everyone, whether human or not, came to scold him.

"How long are you going to keep this up? Will you only feel at ease when your family is ruined and your children have all turned away from you?" Uncle Du looked at his deadpan face and wished he could slap him to death.

“Yes, as long as I’m comfortable, that’s all that matters.” Old Ding Du provocatively raised his head and said loudly, “If you don’t let me have my way, then nobody else will.”

"You wretched thing!" Uncle Du nearly fainted from anger. He picked up a stick to hit him.

Old Du glanced at him, then walked away quickly with his hands behind his back.

"Why don't you just die! You wicked thing!" Uncle Du cursed. "You better behave yourself. If anything happens to Du Min because of you, I'll bury you alive."

“Father, Father, Father—” Uncle Du’s eldest son quickly interrupted, “Are you drunk? What nonsense are you talking about? Daming, your uncle is confused, don’t take his words seriously.”

Uncle Du's eldest son was worried that Du Ming would be angry, but Du Ming didn't react at all. He only nodded when he was called out, just like his father, and left without saying a word like a turtle.

Aunt Du shook her head. "The only thing emitting smoke from your Du family's ancestral grave is this wisp of smoke, and it looks like it's even veering off course and is wafting onto the Meng family's ancestral grave."

Uncle Du could easily have noticed that Du Min was treating the Meng family like a host today. He was not only cold to his parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law, but also unenthusiastic towards them, his relatives.

"That stubborn bastard won't repent, what can we do?" Uncle Du sighed. "I've tried beating him, I've tried scolding him, but he's still the same old guy, there's nothing we can do."

Outsiders can't help with this kind of thing. After the two families discussed it, they let it go. The important thing was the matter at hand. The two families went back, changed into their old clothes, and went to work in the fields.

Unlike the other two families, Du Laoding's family went back and lay down. They ate meat and drank wine, and the three generations of the family slept soundly on the bed until dark. The two cows were so hungry that they broke through the door of the cowshed and ran away.

"Old Ding, is Da Ming's mother home? Is no one home? Du Ming? Jin Shu's mother?"

Li Hongguo heard a sound in her sleep. When she opened her eyes, the room was dark.

"Who is it?" She hadn't reacted yet. "Why are you shouting in the middle of the night? What happened?"

"In the middle of the night? In the middle of the night, your cows ran away. When I came back, I saw two cows still walking westward, almost to Wangjiawa. If you don't chase after them, you won't be able to find them."

Startled, Li Hongguo quickly got up, and Du Ming also hurriedly got out of bed. In their panic, and with no light in the room, they tripped over each other and fell off the bed with a thud.

"My foot!" Li Hongguo cried out, "My foot is broken!"

"Which foot? Don't move." Ignoring his bruised face, Du Ming picked up Li Hongguo and put her on the bed.

"Eldest brother, come out quickly, the cow has run away!" Mother Du urged.

Du Ming was furious. "Hurry up, hurry up! Are you trying to kill me? The cow ran away and you didn't even go look for it?"

Du's mother was startled. "Are you trying to kill yourself? The cow ran away and you can still sleep?"

"Who told you I was still sleeping?" Du Ming rubbed his face. "Damn it, this is so annoying. Everything is piled on me. If you're so capable, go find the second and third brothers. All you do is order us around."

As Du Laoding passed by, he muttered to himself, "This guy deserves to die too."

When Du's mother saw that Du Laoding had left, she hurriedly followed him.

Du Ming kept striking the flint but couldn't get any sparks out. He got so angry that he smashed the flint and said, "You stay home with the kids and wait. I'm going to find the cows, and when I get back, I'll beat them to death."

Du Ming rushed off in a hurry. Li Hongguo sat on the bed, enduring the pain. Thinking about the mess, she was furious.

"Damn old bastards, why aren't they all dead?" she cursed. "Useless old bastards, all their scheming and calculations have come to nothing, disgraceful things, they might as well have just killed themselves, at least they would have been of some use after they died."

"Master?" Jinshu cried out in fear.

Li Hongguo was nearly scared out of her wits by the sound. She listened nervously to the sounds outside and heard the kitchen door open, followed by footsteps coming out of the yard.

"Jinshu?" she called out tentatively.

"Mother, it's me." Jinshu led Qiaomei in through the darkness. "Mother, my grandfather just came back. He went to the kitchen to get something and then left."

"Did he hear what I said?" Li Hongguo asked without hope.

"Mm." Jinshu nodded.

Li Hongguo panicked and scolded, "Are you two mute? Why didn't you remind me?"

Jinshu and Qiaomei dared not utter a sound.

Li Hongguo fell silent. After pondering for a while, she calmed down and said, "Forget it, forget it. It's pointless to listen. What can he do to me now? If I go back to my parents' house for a while, he'll have to beg me to come back. You two come to bed and sleep here tonight. We don't know when your father will be back."

Jinshu and Qiaomei didn't dare to say they were hungry. The two siblings climbed into bed, snuggled under the covers, and continued to sleep.

That night, neither Du Ming nor his parents returned. Li Hongguo slept on and off, and when dawn broke, they still hadn't come back. She had no choice but to jump out of the house while holding onto the wall. When she got outside, she saw that her right ankle was swollen to the size of her knee and was covered in bruises.

It wasn't until noon that Du Ming and his parents returned with two cows. They had searched all night and only found the cows at dawn. It took them half a day to walk back, and they were exhausted and hungry. But when they got home, they were met with a cold stove and no pot.

"You lazy woman, you sit at home and don't even cook!" Enraged, Du's mother took off her shoe and hit Li Hongguo. "I'll teach you to be lazy, I'll beat you to death..."

Li Hongguo couldn't escape; she clutched her head and cried out, "My leg is broken, I can't move!"

"Grandma, stop hitting her! My mother's leg is broken!" Qiaomei cried.

"Alright, alright," Du Ming said, trying to break up the fight. "Didn't I tell you last night that she sprained her ankle?"

“It’s not like she’s paralyzed just because she sprained her ankle. If she can come out of the house, why can’t she walk a little further to the kitchen to sit and tend the fire?” Du’s mother smacked her again with the sole of her shoe. “Too lazy to be covered in maggots.”

"You old hag! You'll regret this when you're paralyzed!" Li Hongguo cursed silently through gritted teeth.

Old Ding Du remained silent until his mother calmed down, then he said, "Let's cook a few bowls of egg drop soup to fill our stomachs first."

Li Hongguo felt guilty as soon as she heard his voice. She didn't dare to look up, but strangely, he didn't cause her any trouble.

"How's your foot?" Du Ming asked.

Li Hongguo lifted up her trouser leg to show him, "I don't know if it's broken or sprained. After you finish eating, take me to see a doctor."

Du Ming pinched her twice, and Li Hongguo screamed in pain.

“We need to see a doctor; they can’t even feel the bones anymore,” Du Ming sighed. “Father, I’ll take Jinshu’s mother to see a doctor this afternoon.”

Du Laoding hummed in agreement. "Go to the city or Pingwang Town?"

“If we go to the city, we won’t be back in time tonight. Let’s go to Pingwang Town instead,” Du Ming said.

"We need to bring back ten helpers and hurry up and plant all seventy mu of early rice," said Du Laoding.

Du Ming and Li Hongguo exchanged a glance. Before they could even give up, the old man had already figured it out.

"Okay." Du Ming was relieved.

"Where is Jinshu?" he asked.

“He went to the primary school by boat with his cousins ​​this morning,” Li Hongguo replied. She patted Qiaomei’s head and said, “You’ll come with me to Pingwang Town this afternoon.”

She was worried that the old man would take his anger out on Qiaomei.

Du's mother brought out two bowls of egg drop soup from the kitchen. She handed one bowl to the old man, and the two sat on the steps, silently slurping the soup.

Du Ming went to get his own rice and asked, "Have you two eaten?"

Qiaomei nodded, "I ate at my great-grandmother's house and brought a bowl back to my mother."

"You're not allowed to go to her house again," Du's mother said, glaring at Li Hongguo. "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear how much your father was scolded yesterday?"

"Let's eat." Old Du didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Qiaomei lowered her head and played with her hair. As soon as Du Ming put down his chopsticks and came out, she ran out in a flash.

Du Ming went to ask Du Laoding for money, but Du Laoding pretended not to hear him.

"Father, give me the money. I need to take Jinshu's mother to see a doctor about her foot." Du Ming repeated once again.

"Should I pay?" Du Laoding asked Li Hongguo.

"Du Ming, take our money," Li Hongguo said.

Du Ming glared at the old man, then went back to his room to get half a string of coins, angrily picked up Li Hongguo, and left.

As darkness fell, Du Ming carried Li Hongguo back on his back. "The doctor said that Jinshu's mother has broken her foot and will need to rest for six months before she can work again."

"Six months?" Mrs. Du laughed. "You might as well just stay in bed for the rest of your life."

"If I'm bedridden for the rest of my life, who will take care of you when you're too old to move?" Li Hongguo sneered. "If I'm bedridden for the rest of my life, my daughter and daughter-in-law will take care of me. But you won't have anyone to take care of you except me."

Du's mother was speechless for a moment, and she didn't have the confidence to refute it. She was so angry that her hands trembled.

"Six months is fine, recovery is the priority. It's not like we won't cook at home just because she's gone," Old Ding Du said calmly. "Did you ask the helper?"

“I asked the broker at the brokerage firm, and he said he’d give us 50 cash for his service fee, and he’ll send 10 people over the day after tomorrow,” Du Ming said.

Du Laoding nodded, and then stopped asking questions.

Du Ming felt uneasy all over. The old man had been acting strangely ever since he returned from the city yesterday. On the way back, he was thinking about how to force the old man to reveal the secret of the third brother, but the old man just wouldn't make a move, which left him feeling frustrated.

"Father, Mother, Third Brother..."

"Don't mention him," Du Laoding interrupted him. "Don't mention him in this house anymore. If you want to, get out of here."

Du Ming fell silent. He glanced at Li Hongguo and had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.

Spring turned to autumn, the rice seedlings in the paddy fields turned green and then yellow, then green again. Silkworm eggs hatched, spun cocoons, and turned into silk. Time flew by in the fields and behind the houses in the countryside. For the past six months, the Du family had fallen into an eerie silence. People from the city didn't return, and people from the countryside didn't look for them.

That day, when the tax collectors came to the village, Du Laoding heard the term "provincial examination" from them. He was shocked, and the anger he had been holding in his heart began to rise.

The next day, Du Laoding went into the city alone. He went to the teahouse, intending to inquire about matters related to the provincial examination. Coincidentally, he saw Du Min coming excitedly from the bridge, heading in the direction of the Meng family.

The gate to the Meng family's house was bolted from the inside. Du Min peeked through the crack in the door and saw a short figure chasing a goose in circles.

"Du Wangzhou! Stop chasing the geese! You're driving them crazy and they won't lay eggs anymore!" Du Li, annoyed by the geese's honking, came out to stop them.

“Father, Mother—” Wangzhou pointed to the door with two fingers.

“Your mother will be back in a little while. Come and help me cook.” Du Li patted the ash off him, when suddenly she heard the door open.

"Mother!" Wang Zhou was overjoyed and ran off with unsteady steps.

Du Li was so frightened that his heart jumped into his throat. He ran a few steps and grabbed the little thing who was still unsteady on his feet but was in a hurry to run away. "You'll be crying if you fall down."

Du Li removed the bolt and opened the door, where Du Min's face came into view.

"Oh, it's you? Come in."

"Is it just you and your son at home?" Du Min pinched Wang Zhou's chubby cheek. "Has Wang Zhou lost a bit of weight?"

“Yes, a little. In the past two months, he has insisted on walking by himself whenever he is awake. He has even made the geese thin. How could he not be thin?” Du Li locked the door from the inside again. Seeing Du Min’s questioning look, he slapped Wang Zhou on the butt and said, “He can run out if I’m not paying attention. Last month, I was hanging up some clothes and he went out. He’s very bold and not afraid at all.”

Du Min found it amusing. He took Wang Zhou, hugged it to his arms, and asked, "Do you still recognize me?"

Wang Zhou stared at him without saying a word.

Du Min pulled out a piece of paper with a rabbit drawn on it from his pocket, and Wang Zhou's eyes immediately followed the paper.

"Who am I?" Du Min asked enticingly.

"Third Uncle," Wang Zhou called out in a childish voice, stretching out his hand with a grin.

Du Min handed him the paper, but in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the perfectly good paper was ruined in his hands, crushed into a pulp.

"You watch him, I'll go cook," Du Li instructed.

Du Min nodded.

Half an incense stick later, the four members of the Meng family returned. Du Min led Wang Zhou to open the door, and Meng Qing saw him and said in surprise, "Third brother is here. It's been so long since I've seen you, more than two months, hasn't it?"

"Yes, I'm busy so I don't have time to come."

"Is there good news today?" Meng Qing grabbed Wang Zhou's arms, and the mother and son walked with their feet slapping like geese.

“Yes, Dr. Xu submitted my name under the name of the prefectural school. I will be taking the exam at the examination hall in three days. I came here to ask you to prepare three days' worth of provisions for me to take to the examination hall,” Du Min said.

“No problem. On the day you go to take the exam, your second brother and I will see you off. He will wait outside the examination hall until you come out,” Meng Qing said.

Du Min didn't stand on ceremony. Other students had their families with them, and he also wanted someone to wait for him outside the door.

*

In the teahouse, Du Laoding also found out the time of the provincial examination and the location of the examination hall. He wiped his mouth, paid for his meal, went to the ferry, took a boat, and went straight back.

Two days later, Du Laoding came to the city again. He asked the boatman to take him directly to Xiangmen. After getting off the boat at Xiangmen Ferry, he asked around and found the Imperial Examination Hall. However, the Imperial Examination Hall was under martial law and he could not get close.

He strolled around for a while, sat down in a folk alley, and then patiently waited for the students to enter.

The next day, before dawn, Du Laoding was woken up by the noise. He got up and ran towards the examination hall.

"Third brother, here you go. This food box contains the dry rations I made. I heard that when you enter the field, the guards will break all the rations apart for inspection. I've prepared fried rice and fried noodles for you, as well as twenty boiled eggs with intact shells, and some flatbread. That should be enough for you to eat for three days." Du Li handed the food box to Du Min.

Du Min took the food box and asked, "Uncle Meng, Aunt Pan, what brings you here too?"

"Come and experience what it's like to send someone off to take an exam," said Meng's father.

"This whole scene is making me quite nervous," said Meng's mother, rubbing her hands together.

"Third brother, are you nervous?" Meng Qing asked.

Du Min shook his head. He knew that whether he passed the exam this year or not, the result would be the same. He would have to take the exam again next year. Only the provincial exam next year could determine whether he could go to Chang'an to participate in the provincial exam.

"You're so composed," Mencius' mother exclaimed. "Only someone like you can become an official."

Passersby scoffed upon hearing this.

"Mother, don't talk nonsense," Meng Qing reminded her.

"The gates of the examination hall are open." Du Li heard the voice. "Third brother, hurry up and line up so you can get in as soon as possible."

Du Min was in no hurry; he lagged behind at a leisurely pace and only entered the examination hall when it was fully light.

When Du Laoding saw Du Min's people, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease. He came quietly and left quietly.

Three days later, Du Min emerged from the examination hall, utterly exhausted. Du Li carried him back, and he slept soundly on Meng Chun's bed for a full day and night before regaining consciousness. After tidying himself up, he immediately went to the prefectural school to find Doctor Xu.

Dr. Xu has already received the examination questions for this year's provincial examination. He asked Du Min to rewrite his policy essays, poems, and interpretations of the classics.

Du Min stayed in his dormitory for two days and then delivered the completed answer sheet to Dr. Xu.

After reviewing the document, Dr. Xu went to see Master Chen and said, "Du Min has an 80% chance of passing the provincial examination this year."

"You passed on the first try?" Master Chen exclaimed in surprise.

Dr. Xu handed over the exam paper he had brought. After reviewing it, Master Chen said, "He has made great progress in just eight months."

"What do you plan to do? Really let him set off for Chang'an this year? He'll be traveling for half a year, and when he comes back next year to take the provincial examination, he might not even pass," Dr. Xu said.

"Let me think about it," said Master Chen, also troubled.

"Why don't we just tell him directly?" Dr. Xu suggested. "It'll just mean he'll know a year earlier."

Master Chen waved his hand, "Go back first, I'll think about it some more."

Ten days later, the results of the imperial examination were announced, and Du Min's name was on the list.

Old Ding Du squeezed under the list, pointed to two familiar characters, and asked loudly, "Aren't these two characters Du Min?"

"Yes, yes, it's Du Min, your son?" asked the page boy who was looking at the list.

"Yes, it's my son," Old Ding Du said happily.

"What a coincidence, I am Dr. Xu's page. I am here to check if Du Xuezi is on the list for Dr. Xu."

Old Du turned around and squeezed through the crowd with his pageboy. "How many pageboys does Dr. Xu have? You're not the only one, are you?"

"I'm the only one."