CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: THIRD COUSIN CAN GIVE IT A TRY

The Xie family and the Song family were not too far apart, and they arrived in no time.

Aunt Xie stood at the door, smiling warmly at Song Wei and Wen Wan, "What brings you two lovebirds over to my place?"

Song Wei smiled, "We heard that Mr. Xie has emerged in the family, so we’re here to congratulate you."

Xie Zheng’s scholar title, although not allowing him to become an official, was enough to stave off hunger. At least it allowed him to open a private school and take in a few students; the annual tuition fees and gifts from students were sufficient to support the family.

For the Xie family, who led a fairly frugal life, this was an extraordinarily joyous occasion.

Aunt Xie’s smile deepened, "Come in quickly and have a seat. I’ll brew a pot of tea for you. Xie Zheng, that boy, will probably take a while to return."

Upon hearing that Xie Zheng was not in, Song Yuanbao, who was by the ox cart feeling hesitant, suddenly perked up. He grabbed the gift and followed Aunt Xie into the house.

To support Xie Zheng’s studies, the Xie family had spent no small amount of silver over the years, all saved from the family’s limited means. Every year, those few taels of silver went without return, with no promising outcomes in sight. Xie Tao’s wife had long voiced her complaints and caused no small amount of trouble over it.

Xie Tao dared not separate from his parents and brother due to this and lived a difficult life caught between his wife and his mother.

Xie Zheng had passed the scholar exam in the previous year and then studied at the county school for three years. Last year, he participated in the provincial exam, unsurprisingly failing to make the list.

Aunt Xie had not expected Xie Zheng to achieve great success. The title of scholar was beyond their dreams; having a scholar title exempted the family from the field tax, and setting up a private school to receive tuition and annual gifts from students every year meant the money spent on him in previous years was not in vain.

The Great Chu Dynasty’s policy allowed an advanced scholar to be exempted from two thousand mu, a scholar from four hundred mu, and a scholar from eighty mu.

Then, considering the taxation on farmland, eighty mu would exempt roughly ten taels of silver per year for two seasons.

If someone sought to make offerings and registered their land under Xie Zheng’s name, he could profit at least half from it annually, equating to five taels of silver.

Evidently, the "poor scholars" clustered in the county, prefecture, or even the capital became much sought after in the countryside.

——

When Xie Zheng returned and saw the Song Wei couple and his nephew were all present, he was somewhat surprised and quickly asked Aunt Xie and his wife to prepare dinner while he sat down to chat with Song Wei.

Song Wei asked him, "Are you not planning to continue taking the exams?"

Xie Zheng replied, "I’d like to, but the family doesn’t have the means to support me in studying at the county school for another three years. I plan to enlighten some children through a private school while studying independently and then try in the provincial capital next time. If I fail again, I won’t attempt it anymore. With elders above and children to raise, every mouth needs feeding, and my frequent attempts can’t be justified."

Saying this, he glanced at Song Wei, "If you ask me, you, dear cousin, should give it a try. With your talent, you’re bound to pass with ease."

Back in town school, Song Wei was a prominent figure, always topping the periodic and annual exams. The private tutors at the town school were beaming whenever they mentioned Song Wei, but unfortunately, he had been plagued by bad luck, experiencing mishaps every once in a while from an early age.

Xie Zheng even suspected whether, by an inadvertent slip, fate had bestowed the wrong talent upon Song Wei from birth and, out of helplessness, could only trip him up in various ways?

Song Wei shook his head, "I’m not taking it."

He had once pledged at the graves of the Da Lang couple that he would never participate in the imperial examinations in this lifetime and would wholeheartedly raise Yuanbao to adulthood.

Xie Zheng thought for a moment, "If I recall correctly, you haven’t encountered any unfortunate events since your engagement last year, have you?"

Song Wei seemed to suddenly remember this detail and involuntarily looked over at Wen Wan.

Wen Wan embarrassedly tugged at the corner of her lips.