Chapter 465: Crazed
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran was furious. “Let’s give Little Treasure a grand 100-day celebration. If we don’t make their eyes pop out, I’ll write my surname upside down.”
Mu Yangling comforted him. “Master, think about the money we’ll receive from the casino the day after the 100-day celebration and don’t be angry.”
Feeling that it made sense, Qi Haoran turned around and went to look for Qi Feng to express his intention to organize a 100-day banquet for Little Treasure. Qi Feng and Madam Wu had already seen Madam Li and her son when they entered the house.
Although they still looked a little weak, they most certainly were not seriously ill, so he nodded in agreement.
Madam Wu felt that many people would definitely come this time. Thinking of the gift money, she patted her chest and offered to host the banquet.
Although the East Manor and West Manor did not say it explicitly, they were actually living their own lives, so Mu Yangling was a little reluctant. However, Li Jinghua tugged at her sleeve and agreed with a smile.
When she returned to their residence, she said, “What Madam Wu wants is the gift money, but we don’t care for that. We should give in whenever we can. Although the banquet is handed to her, it can only be held with my approval. Don’t worry, we won’t lose face.”
Seeing that Li Jinghua was full of fighting spirit, Mu Yangling was happy to let them discuss it. She carried Little Treasure and went to play with Qi Haoran.
However, Qi Haoran had already changed his clothes and ran out to look for Fan Zijin.
Fan Zijin was participating in the Fall Quarter Examinations in September. For this, Qi Haoran specially returned to the city to stay for more than ten days. He forced himself to accompany him to study and sent him to the examination hall. Then, he waited for him outside the examination hall for nine days with a pot of tea.
When Fan Zijin came out of the examination hall, he was in a daze. If not for Qi Haoran’s sharp eyes and strong body, he would have been pushed down even if he did not faint.
The other candidates were even worse than Fan Zijin. Some were carried out, and some supported each other as they walked out. If they hadn’t cared about how they presented themselves to others, many of them would have crawled out.
The examiners were all very satisfied. This was because only one candidate had died in the village examination in Lin’an this year, marking a historical low. They felt that it would be even better if there were no deaths in the Spring Quarter Examinations next year.
The unlucky examinee had died suddenly. In fact, other than those who were unlucky enough to encounter an infectious disease or fire, most of the examinees who died in the examination hall all died suddenly or committed suicide under pressure.
Deaths from infectious diseases and fires on such a large scale were extremely rare. At least, it had never happened since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, even so, every time at the Fall Quarter Examinations and Spring Quarter Examinations, there would always be deaths in the examination hall. Although it was a small number of cases, it never failed to invoke pity and heartache.
However, this incident gave Qi Haoran a revelation. The Imperial Examination did not only require excellence in studies, but also demanded a good physique. He decided to go back and tell his brother-in-law to focus on training his body every day. It would be best if he could practice a form of martial art. He mustn’t be like Fan Zijin, who practiced martial arts only every now and then. Look, Fan Zijin almost couldn’t take it anymore, right?
As Qi Haoran let his imagination run wild, he carried Fan Zijin back to the Fan Residence. Fan Siwen had specially applied for leave to stay at home. When he saw them return, he looked up and asked, “How did you fare?”
Fan Zijin did not answer at all.
Madam Xia was only concerned about her son’s health. When she heard this, she punched her husband and said, “Can’t you see that the child hasn’t recovered yet? Since the exams are already over, why can’t you ask him two days later?”
Fan Siwen was so angry that his beard trembled. However, seeing that Fan Zijin’s eyes were slightly closed with a pale face and drooping head, he stopped asking.
As Qi Haoran fed Fan Zijin some soup, he said confidently to his uncle, “Uncle, don’t worry. With Zijin’s talent, he will definitely pass the Imperial Examination. If he doesn’t pass, there must be something wrong with the Imperial Examination.”
Fan Siwen snorted and said, “You can just say this at home. If you say such things outside, be careful not to drown in the scholars’ saliva. The imperial censor will also sue you for slander.”
Qi Haoran only stuck out his tongue. Fan Siwen looked at his son and said, “I hope he’s as talented as you say and can be chosen as a juren1.”
Fan Zijin was forced to drink a few mouthfuls of soup by Qi Haoran. As the hot chicken soup warmed his stomach, he regained some of his energy. When he heard his father’s lukewarm words, he looked up at him and asked calmly, “If I don’t pass, will you give me the spot for hereditary privilege?”
Fan Siwen’s face turned red with anger.
However, Fan Zijin leaned against Qi Haoran and got up. He looked up and pretended to be sad. “I have no choice. Some people have a father to rely on. If I don’t work hard, won’t I be resigned to being a merchant my entire life?”
After Fan Zijin successfully angered Fan Siwen into leaving, Madam Xia glared at him resentfully. “Can’t you have a good word with your father?” With that, she chased after him.
Fan Zijin pursed his lips and leaned on Qi Haoran’s shoulder. “Help me back to my room to rest.”
Qi Haoran carried him back on account of his weak body. “Why do you keep provoking Uncle?”
Fan Zijin couldn’t possibly say that infuriating his father made him happy for no reason, right? Hence, he fell silent.
Feeling that they were in the same boat, Qi Haoran felt sorry for him. He thought that like him, Fan Zijin also yearned for his father’s love and was walking his old path. He immediately sighed and stayed to take care of him without complaints.
Fan Zijin didn’t even need to open his eyes to know what Qi Haoran was thinking. Qi Haoran had really underestimated him.
While Qi Haoran was still working hard but clumsily to please Qi Feng, hoping to obtain some fatherly love, Fan Zijin had long seen through his parents.
The father thought that he was being fair by biasing towards the concubine’s son because he was less capable. The mother thought that she loved her husband and son deeply, but in fact, she only cared about her husband.
Qi Haoran only exploded after Qi Feng consented to Madam Wu’s proposal to marry a Wu girl to Qi Xiuyuan. Completely disappointed in Qi Feng, he endured the pain and severed the father-son relationship. Meanwhile, Fan Zijin was only completely disappointed in his mother after his father decided to leave the hereditary privilege to his step-brother. His mother would only make a fuss and otherwise did not do anything about it. From then on, he decided he would no longer play the role of a filial son to a loving father as she wished.
It could be said that when the cousins ran away from home back then, Qi Haoran was heartbroken and despaired by his father, while Fan Zijin was disappointed and resistant to his mother. As for Fan Zijin’s father, his bias towards his step-brothers since they were young had long worn away the father-son relationship.
Only Qi Haoran could become more courageous the more he suffered. He deceived himself that Qi Feng only treated him like that because he was a letdown.
It could be said that Fan Zijin was much more rational and cold-blooded than Qi Haoran. Ever since he arrived in the north, he had been able to control his anger towards this family. When he returned, he realized that he could easily provoke Fan Siwen and cause him to flare up.
Fan Zijin was very satisfied with this outcome. In fact, he even enjoyed this process. Therefore, after he woke up from his sleep after two days and ate a huge meal to completely recover, he rejected Qi Haoran’s invitation to go to the farmstead to play. He would continue to stay in the Fan Residence to admire his step-brother’s panic and his father’s fury.
Now that the Fall Quarter Examinations results were about to be released, the first thing Qi Haoran did when he returned was naturally to visit his crazed cousin, Fan Zijin.