Chapter 36: The Young Mistress of the Main Branch

To soften the jolting, the carriage moved slowly. Li Yanqing lay on soft bedding, covered by another quilt; the pain in his waist had begun to subside, and a cool, soothing sensation emanated from his wound.

Beside him sat a young maid with delicate features, fully focused on mending the torn fur coat Li Yanqing had been wearing. Li Yanqing tilted his head and saw the young mistress sitting above, engrossed in the novel Wang Gui had given her. She was so absorbed that she had completely forgotten about the patient beside her.

"Can you read all the characters in that?" Li Yanqing asked in surprise.

"Mm-hmm!" the young mistress replied without looking up from the book.

The maid nearby chuckled, "Our young mistress is not only literate, but she can also write poetry! Even the master praises her talent."

Li Yanqing looked at the young mistress again. Seeing her lost in her reading, he slowly closed his eyes. The carriage was filled with a faint, warm fragrance, and he yawned, feeling drowsy.

Suddenly, the young mistress set the book down, tilted her head, and asked, "What were you going to ask me just now?"

"Nothing much. Do you like this book?"

"I do! I like Red Boy; he’s such a chubby, three-year-old child, yet he has such great abilities."

Li Yanqing smiled dryly and said, "The book only says he looks like a three-year-old child; in reality, he is an old demon hundreds of years old."

"Is your name Qingge?" the young mistress asked curiously.

"Did those two fellows tell you that?" Li Yanqing asked with a frown.

The young mistress giggled. "They also said you can write poetry and prose, and that you are especially skilled at couplets. Let me give you a line, and you provide the matching one."

"You like couplets too?"

"I play with them when I'm bored. I'll provide the first line..." She thought for a moment and said, "Flipping through a book, I quietly face a thousand stalks of bamboo."

Li Yanqing smiled. He knew this couplet, so he responded, "Resting my head on a pillow, I listen to the wind of ten thousand sounds."

"Under the flowers, the sorrow of separation—the third month's rain," the young mistress offered another.

"That's a poem by Yan Shu. The second line should be: 'On the balcony, a fading dream—the fifth watch bell.'"

"Not bad! Not bad!" The young mistress clapped her hands in delight. "Now you give me a first line to match."

Li Yanqing thought for a moment and said with a smile, "I’ll give you a funny one: 'A monk dies at the Nanyue Temple.'"

The young mistress paused, pouting, "What is this? It's so vulgar; I can't match that."

Li Yanqing smiled faintly. "Then I'll give you the second line: 'A Tathagata is added to the West Heaven Kingdom.'"

As soon as he finished, a middle-aged scholar’s laughter came from outside the carriage. "Interesting! This couplet is truly ingenious."

The young mistress angrily pounded on the carriage window with her small fist. "Father was eavesdropping!"

"Father wasn't eavesdropping; Father wanted to see if young Master Li's injuries had improved. But hearing you two matching couplets, I assume he is on the mend."

Li Yanqing quickly said, "Thank you for the miracle medicine, sir. The wound no longer hurts."

"That’s good, I am relieved. Jiuniang, let young Master Li rest!"

"Understood."

Though the girl said she understood, her enthusiasm remained undiminished. She covered her mouth and whispered, "What is your surname?"

"Li."

"Ah! We are of the same clan."

"You are also surnamed Li? Is your name Li Jiuniang?"

"Jiuniang is just my childhood name! My name is Jiuzhen."

"Li Jiuzhen—that’s a nice name. You must have many older brothers and sisters!"

"Yes! My eldest brother is almost thirty and will be heading to the capital next year for the imperial examinations. My niece is even three years older than me; it’s truly melancholy!"

Li Yanqing burst into a laugh; this young mistress was truly adorable.

"I won't talk to you anymore; I want to read."

She picked up the book again, but after reading for a while, she moved it aside and snuck a glance at Li Yanqing.

Li Yanqing closed his eyes. As the carriage rattled along, the cozy atmosphere inside made him feel completely relaxed, and he gradually drifted off to sleep.

...

Night fell. Having played all day, the students were exhausted and fell into a deep sleep early. The Tang Family Inn was very quiet; the proprietor had gone to bed, and only a night watchman sat at the counter, nodding off.

With less than a month until the New Year, business at the inn had entered a slow season. There were few guests, and only half of the front courtyard was occupied. The back courtyard was essentially empty, save for Li Yanqing and his companions. Tonight, Yao Ding had some business at home, so only the four of them were in the courtyard.

Around the first watch of the night, a dark shadow appeared on the courtyard wall. He moved quickly, sliding down an old tree and creeping soundlessly toward Yao Ding’s room. It was a petty thief; such thieves were most active around the New Year.

He used an iron rod to pry open the window, observed for a moment, and confirmed the room was empty before nimbly climbing inside.

The thief was experienced. He first locked the door and windows from the inside, hung a piece of cloth over the window to block the light, and left a crack in the back window to ensure a quick escape if discovered.

Once everything was arranged, he lit a fire-starter and searched the desk. He quickly found a large bag under the desk containing three smaller ones, each labeled: "Weinan Town School Test Questions," "Tangbei Town School Test Questions," and "Youli Town School Test Questions." The thief was overjoyed; the last one was exactly what he wanted.

He quickly took out the questions, scanned them one by one, and read through them three or four times until he had mostly memorized them. He carefully returned the questions exactly as he had found them, stuffed them back into the large bag, restored the room to its original state, climbed out the back window, and quickly left the inn.

The Youli Town School was staying at the Bafang Inn in the north of the county. It was the largest inn in Tangyin, capable of housing two or three hundred people. The Youli Town School had also rented a courtyard. Although it was late, the courtyard remained brightly lit, and the students and their master were busily preparing for the final debate the next day.

The master of the Youli Town School, surnamed Lu, was a man in his forties. The consecutive days of debating had left him looking somewhat exhausted, but for the sake of tomorrow's victory, he steeled himself to discuss strategy with his students.

Through two rounds of competition, Master Lu had discovered that Li Yanqing was the core figure of the Lushan School, and that Li Yanqing excelled at couplets. Therefore, he decided to avoid miscellaneous topics and focus only on scripture recitation, poetry questions, and impromptu composition.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Master Lu hurried out, and before long, he returned in high spirits, holding an envelope. He smiled at his students, "The questions have been secured. Let’s work hard tonight and strive for final victory tomorrow."

...

The next morning, Li Yanqing lifted his undergarment to find that the swelling had gone down and a long, dark scab had formed. Aside from a slight itch, he felt nothing else. Nevertheless, Yao Ding remained cautious and, along with the proprietor, helped Li Yanqing onto an ox cart.

"Try to move as little as possible; don't let the wound affect your performance!"

Yao Ding no longer hid his ambition. Since they had already defeated the strongest opponent, the Tangbei Town School, they could certainly take on Youli Town.

Inside the ox cart, Yao Ding's eyes gleamed as he sat upright, telling his four disciples, "Although the Youli Town School won yesterday, one thing is certain: they are no match for you. Show me some spirit and crush them!"

The four were invigorated; their master finally possessed the demeanor of a great general.

At this moment, Tang Huai asked in a low voice, "There is a rumor that the Youli Town School always knows the questions in advance. Since you weren't at the inn last night, Master, are the questions safe?"

Yao Ding smiled faintly. "I was prepared. Even if they stole the questions last night, it won't do them any good."

He took out three envelopes and handed them to Yue Fei. "There is no need for the questions in the bag; use these three instead."

Li Yanqing chuckled, "Master, were you home on purpose last night?"

Yao Ding blushed and tapped him on the head. "You and your wild imagination! I did indeed have business at home last night. As for the questions, it was just a precaution. The Youli Town School’s reputation is indeed not the best; it never hurts to be careful."

Li Yanqing leaned over to Yue Fei and whispered with a smile, "I suspect the four fellows from the Youli Town School will have bloodshot eyes and be weary from exhaustion today."

Yue Fei laughed, "Isn't that perfect? For our final question, we'll choose scripture recitation, and let them come in a daze and leave in a daze."

The two shared a knowing smile.