The night was pitch black.
Jiang Changtian had just returned home.
Home was still the best.
Stepping through the door gave a sense of stability.
It felt very reassuring.
There were no long corridors or pavilions, no need to worry about beams falling or stepping into a river.
When he arrived home, Xia Mei was teaching the two children how to build strength and health.
Since Qin Luoxia had promised Brother Zi Lu she would take care of his children, she was determined to do so.
People respect ghosts and gods, and keep their word, otherwise they would feel guilty.
She felt Little Chong was undoubtedly clever, but physically weak.
His light, airy walk didn't resemble the children of the Jiang family.
Jiang family children were all very sturdy.
Mianmian was skinny as a cicada when young, dark and thin with sparse hair, but now she had grown robust.
Though slim, she was strong as a small club.
Little Chong wasn't like that at all.
Thin and pale, he walked so lightly it seemed a breeze could blow him away.
Anyway, having just arrived in the Capital City, apart from the in-laws, they didn't know anyone else, so there was no need for social activities yet. It was good to stay at home and look after the children.
In fact, Qin Luoxia was also a bit uncomfortable with the Capital City.
She liked places with mountains.
But the surroundings here were too flat.
The flatness made her feel insecure.
Fortunately, Brother Ji had bought and connected all the courtyards to the left and right, making the property larger, barely enough to hide some things.
With nothing to do at home during the day, Qin Luoxia took the two children to carefully survey the courtyard.
It also served to exercise their bodies.
The most muscular animals in the forest are leopards, which can run fast.
So running is also a very good exercise.
Qin Luoxia drilled the two children to run slowly.
Actually, it was mainly to train Little Chong, but to avoid favoritism, Mianmian ran too.
Jiang Mianmian didn't want to run.
But Mother promised that after running well, she could teach them horseback riding and polo, which was said to be a popular sport in the Capital City.
It was very trendy.
Every year the royal family would hold a polo tournament, and the emperor himself would award prizes to the best players.
It was a sport loved by all, though of course only those in good circumstances could actually play. Ordinary people didn't even have horses, so how could they play polo?
It was like playing ball with racing cars.
When Father returned, he saw his rosy-cheeked daughter and nephew, and Xia Mei looking spirited too.
It made him feel at ease.
Indeed, nowhere was better than home.
For dinner, noodles were arranged.
Jiang Changtian hadn't been particularly attached to noodles before, but after coming to the Capital City, he began to miss their fragrance.
Noodle soup.
Made simply, now using well-simmered bone broth, it was very fragrant.
It was also convenient to eat.
And easy to digest at night.
Since coming to the Jiang family, Zi Congheng's appetite had increased.
There was no help for it, his daily exercise was more than before.
When people start moving, their food intake increases.
Eating noodles and drinking soup, slurping sounds could be heard, even from the elegant Mr. Jiang.
But it felt rare and intimate.
They would also chat while eating.
The atmosphere was very relaxed.
After dinner, Jiang Changtian habitually drank some tea.
He would also take the opportunity to chat with the children.
Previously it was Brother Feng, Sister Yu, and Mianmian.
Later Sister Yu got married, and now Brother Feng had gone to Jiangzhou. The children had grown up, like birds flying from the nest, but thankfully Mianmian and Cousin Cong were still before his eyes.
Sometimes Jiang Changtian felt it wasn't the children who needed him, but he who needed the children.
When he thought about having children, he would feel very strong and brave, as if he could do anything.
...
It was late, yet there was still a visitor at the door.
In-law Meng Qingshe had come over late at night.
He brought a large food box.
Inside were several roasted squabs.
"In-law, I just got a batch of plump pigeons passing through. Little Yu'er roasted them, they're especially fragrant. I brought a few over for you as a midnight snack."
Meng Qingshe had a somewhat rash personality, but was very sincere, and also very dedicated to martial arts practice, with considerable skill.
He had a small hobby, not fishing - he couldn't sit still for that - he liked to catch birds.
He noticed there were quite a few birds in the skies over the Capital City recently.
He would catch them to eat when he saw them.
Today's harvest was the best, catching over twenty plump pigeons at once, roasted to fragrant perfection.
Meng Shaoxia brought a bunch of things together, giving them to his mother-in-law.
Although they didn't live far away,
Little Yu'er certainly couldn't come every day.
She would definitely miss them.
Meng Shaoxia brought many things, to help Little Yu'er miss them less.
Meanwhile, Meng Qingshe mysteriously brought over the roasted squabs, and then carefully opened the bottom compartment of the food box, which actually had a hidden layer.
"Have you heard?" Meng Qingshe asked mysteriously.
Jiang Changtian shook his head. He was new to officialdom, so others wouldn't share secrets with him; his connections weren't good enough yet.
Then Meng Qingshe took out a thick stack of books from the bottom layer of the food box, with somewhat familiar covers...
"Isn't your Prime Minister Lu suddenly afflicted with brain disease, making everyone memorize official rules and regulations? I have a set of key notes here, specially marked out by someone. In official circles they're selling for a thousand taels of silver. You only need to memorize the marked parts to pass."
Meng Qingshe mysteriously took out the book and handed it to Jiang Changtian.
"We're old in-laws, sharing glory and shame. Let's memorize it together. I brought you my cheating book, you can mark it too. Next time at morning court, if the emperor happens to pick you, you won't have to worry."
Meng Qingshe said with a sincere face.
Jiang Changtian's cheek twitched slightly as he reached out to take the book, looking at the circled contents.
"In-law, how much money did you spend?"
"I'm certainly not stupid enough to spend a thousand taels of silver. The Ninth Prince spent a thousand taels, and since I go bird hunting with him, he let me copy it for three hundred taels. We can share this copy between us, so it's only 150 taels each, which is a great deal. Of course, I don't need you to pay."
Jiang Changtian silently calculated that his annual salary was 600 shi of grain, which if converted to silver would be about 200 taels.
His in-law had spent 300 taels of silver just to buy answers, and fake answers at that, though it was a friendship price.
Impressive, truly impressive.
This in-law was a good one to have.
Looking at his in-law who seemed to think he'd struck it rich, Jiang Changtian silently accepted the stack of official rules and regulations, and said: "In-law, I'm an Imperial Secretary, I've been by the emperor's side these past two days. I know the exam questions. These past days, apart from me, no one has been before the emperor. I have a copy of the exam questions here, 100% accurate, just this many."
Jiang Changtian turned his palm over.
"How much?" Meng Qingshe's breathing grew heavy.
"Two hundred taels. In-law, mine are definitely the exam questions, 100% accurate. Yours might be a scam. You just need to quietly tell people you got them from Secretary Jiang, and someone will definitely buy them. When the time comes, you keep 100 taels and give me 100 taels. Wouldn't it be nice for us to earn some pocket money?"
Meng Qingshe's small eyes widened, as if a new world had opened before him.
He had always been the one scammed; he had never scammed others before.
"Can we really do that?"
"Of course, give it a try. Just say you got them from me. If people want to buy, they'll pay up. If they don't buy, you don't lose anything. Just treat it as having a meal with them, right?" Jiang Changtian persuaded patiently.
Meng Qingshe nodded, feeling his in-law's words made sense.
He didn't want to split the money; he actually wanted to give money to his in-law, but there was no proper reason or way to do so. His daughter-in-law was very rule-abiding too, only bringing food when visiting her parents, never money. He wanted to help his in-law but had no way to do so.
This house was too small to accommodate much.
It was also far away, making it inconvenient to look after each other.
Meng Qingshe was also a man of action, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten hold of cheating answers the very day they were announced.
He urged his in-law to circle the exam questions right away.
Jiang Changtian seriously circled a copy and handed it to Meng Qingshe.
Meng Qingshe felt he had become smarter just by being around smart people.
His mind seemed to have been enlightened, and he said: "In-law, I'm leaving now. In matters like this, the early bird catches the worm. By the time fake answers are flying all over the place, we'll have lost our advantage. The sooner the better. Wait for my good news."
Meng Qingshe left the roasted squabs and fake answers, taking the real answers with him as he rushed back home.
He even left his son behind at his in-law's house.
Jiang Changtian waved his hand and said kindly to the forgotten Meng Shaoxia: "Come here, let Father teach you how to memorize. Their answers are all fake. Father is in charge of the rules and regulations section. Father has another copy here, which are the real exam questions. You're the only one who knows."
Meng Shaoxia: ...
Mianmian had already left with her brother when Uncle Meng mentioned the need for recitation and exams. It was too intense, far too intense. Even being an official wasn't easy - even after becoming an official, one still had to take exams.
...
