Chapter 423: Chapter 164: Childish
"Mr. Wang, what are you doing here?"
The man Zhao Jing called "Mr. Wang" was none other than Wang Chengde, the government-sponsored scholar who had served as his guarantor when he took the Scholar examination.
This Mr. Wang had been an inseparable friend of Mr. Zhao’s. He was an upright man and quite learned, but seeing him here at this time meant he must have been unsuccessful in the recent examinations.
When Wang Chengde saw Zhao Jing and De’an, his face lit up with excitement. But the excitement quickly gave way to embarrassment. He covered his face with his sleeve and said, "I’m so ashamed. I came away from the autumn examinations completely empty-handed. I’ve lost all face."
Before Zhao Jing and De’an could say a word, the other scholars sitting in the main hall chimed in, "Every last one of us here has come away empty-handed! If we’d had any success, we’d be honored guests of the Lord Prefect right now, not heading home in such a sorry state."
"I’m ashamed, too. After so many attempts at the imperial exams, I still haven’t succeeded. I’ve burdened my wife and children, and I’ve lost all heart..."
Just then, Wang Chengde noticed Mrs. Zhao standing behind Zhao Jing. At first, he didn’t dare to assume it was her, thinking she was just another female family member, and quickly averted his gaze.
But he soon recognized her as the widow of his dear friend, Mr. Zhao.
"Madam... are you Mrs. Zhao?"
Mrs. Zhao had seen Wang Chengde several times at her husband’s funeral and during the ancestral rites on holidays.
This was her late husband’s good friend, and he had helped her son a great deal. Mrs. Zhao was endlessly grateful.
"Xiang’er, Qing’er, come and greet your Uncle Wang. He has shown our family great kindness, and you must respect him as you would your own closest kin."
As she spoke, Mrs. Zhao also bowed respectfully to Wang Chengde.
Wang Chengde didn’t dare accept such a gesture. He waved his hands frantically, saying, "You mustn’t, you mustn’t," while rushing forward to help Mrs. Zhao, Xiang’er, and Chen Wanqing up without actually touching them.
It was too crowded and public to talk there. Mrs. Zhao, Chen Wanqing, and the others went to rest in the small courtyard they had booked, while Zhao Jing and De’an were taken by Wang Chengde to his lodgings.
While the three men were busy catching up, Chen Wanqing settled her mother-in-law and sister-in-law in, had hot water sent over, and gave herself a good wash.
After changing into clean, comfortable clothes, Chen Wanqing went to find Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er. The two of them had also freshened up and were sitting in the room drinking tea.
Seeing her approach, Mrs. Zhao said, "I just had someone send a few side dishes over to your Uncle Wang’s place. I also took a jar of wine from our luggage to send to him."
Mrs. Zhao worried Chen Wanqing might chide her for being extravagant, but Chen Wanqing only expressed regret that she hadn’t thought of it herself.
"Mother is so thoughtful; it didn’t even cross my mind. We absolutely should have sent something. Mr. Wang acted as Jing’s guarantor and didn’t even accept the customary fee."
Even though Zhao Jing later sent a more generous gift of thanks, Mr. Wang had adamantly refused it. He even lectured Jing, telling him to save money where he could, that he wasn’t a stranger, and that silver should only be spent where it was most needed.
This ’uncle’ truly treated Zhao Jing well. Sending him some food and wine was not at all excessive.
Chen Wanqing added, "I noticed Mr. Wang looked haggard and had lost a lot of weight. It’s clear that failing the autumn examinations has hit him hard. We still have several days’ journey back to Qingshui County, and I’m afraid he doesn’t have many provisions. Why don’t we give him some of what we’ve prepared?"
A grateful look appeared on Mrs. Zhao’s face. "Good child. You can make the arrangements as you see fit."
Traveling was exhausting, especially after being on the road all day. Worried they wouldn’t find lodging in time, they hadn’t even gotten out of the carriage for lunch, simply making do with some dry rations.
After a full day of travel, their bodies ached so much they couldn’t even sit still.
As dinnertime approached, Zhao Jing and De’an still hadn’t returned, so the women decided not to wait for them.
Chen Wanqing ordered a few dishes and a bowl of egg noodles for each of them. They ate quickly and then all went to rest.
Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er were utterly exhausted and fell asleep as soon as the lamps in their room were extinguished. You could even hear the mother and daughter’s snores as you passed by the window.
Chen Wanqing was also very tired, but out here in the middle of nowhere, she couldn’t sleep soundly, even with bodyguards protecting the courtyard.
After tossing and turning for a while without being able to fall asleep, she finally sat up and picked up a leisure book to pass the time.
Zhao Jing returned during the first watch of the night.
Hearing him and De’an speaking in low voices, Chen Wanqing quickly dressed and got up.
"Hush, now. Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow. De’an, you should go back to your room and wash up first. I’ve had a stove and hot water prepared for you. After you wash, don’t go to sleep just yet. I’ll have someone bring you some hangover soup. You can rest after you drink it."
"Sister, there’s no need to trouble yourself. Jing and I barely had a drop; all the rest of the wine went into Mr. Wang’s belly. Sister, it’s freezing out here and you’re not dressed warmly. You and Jing should hurry inside and rest."
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