Chapter 164 — Late Arrival

Now that he had resolved to enter officialdom, all his former languor had to be set aside. After reporting to the Ministry of Personnel, he at once went to call on his patron—Yang Sen, Vice Minister of Rites and chief examiner of this year's metropolitan examination.

Yang Sen was a native of Songjiang and a close friend of Ji Yong's uncle Ji Song. Long before, while Ji Yong was shut up at home agonizing over whether to take office, Ji Song had already gone in person to explain matters to Yang Sen, saying that Ji Yong had caught a chill and was bedridden, and would come pay his respects to his honored teacher the moment he could rise from bed. Yang Sen had gone to the capital as an official early in life, but Ji Yong was one of the most renowned talents in the Jiangnan region, and he had heard a thing or two about him—knew that he was forever "falling ill" every few days—so he had not taken it to heart. Out of regard for the Ji and Yang families, he had even sent a man with some medicinal herbs to inquire after him. Thus the first thing he said upon seeing Ji Yong was to ask whether he had recovered fully from his illness.

Once Ji Yong set his mind to do a thing, he would do it to the best of his ability.

He thanked Yang Sen with tears of gratitude, and spoke of husbandry and farming, the subject that interested Yang Sen most. Yang Sen suddenly found that this student was not only broadly learned and talented, but also earnest and sincere in his words; though there was a certain rawness about him, he did not lack the sharp spirit of youth, which delighted him greatly. When Ji Yong took his leave, Yang Sen, breaking all precedent, escorted him to the door of his study and even urged him: "Come sit with me whenever you have nothing else to do."

Ji Yong bowed in thanks again and again before finally getting into his carriage.

After that he hosted banquets one by one for his fellow examination graduates.

Within a few days he had become familiar with all this year's new metropolitan graduates. By the time he took up his post at the Hanlin Academy, he was nearly patted on the shoulder and addressed as "worthy nephew" all the way to the presence of the Hanlin chancellor—which made the face of Cai Guyuan, the top graduate who had taken up office alongside him, turn very ugly indeed.

Ji Yong pretended not to notice, keeping his head lowered and his eyes meek before those old Hanlin scholars, and soon won the reputation of being "modest and circumspect," which left Ji Song and Ji Qi dumbfounded. Ji Qi even wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "What has come over Jianming? He seems like a different person!"

Ji Song, however, thought of Dou Yan.

He summoned Zixi and asked, "Has Jianming written back to the Dou family's fourth young lady since?"

"He has," Zixi said in a low voice. "The young master said the Dou fourth young lady's words made great sense. He said that whether the Emperor chose him as the tanhua for his youth or for the excellence of his essays, it was because he had the capital and the strength for it, and that he truly should not fret over which flower he had been made!"

Ji Song nodded to himself. He instructed him: "From now on, keep a close watch on the matter between Jianming and the Dou fourth young lady."

In other words, he was to be an informant!

Zixi grumbled inwardly, but dared not show the slightest displeasure, and assented again and again.

Just then, a letter arrived from Old Master Ji.

Ji Song handed the letter to Ji Qi to read and said with a bitter smile, "He tells us not to make a fuss. Jianming may love novelty, but once he has promised a thing, he never gives it up halfway. Now that he has entered officialdom, he will not throw it over and go running about everywhere. He and the Dou fourth young lady—one in the capital, one in Zhending—will drift apart in time; we need only have someone quietly keep an eye on things. As for Jianming's marriage, the old gentleman has his own plans."

Ji Qi had already hurried through the letter, and sighed at his words, "There is nothing for it but that!" His tone was rather dejected.

Ji Song thought of how Ji Yong had seemed like a different person these days, and could not shake a vague unease. He conferred with Ji Qi, then wrote another letter to Old Master Ji, and had men watch Ji Yong's comings and goings. When he learned that Dou Yan had come to take leave of Ji Yong, and that Ji Yong, because of his posting at the Hanlin Academy, was unable to keep his earlier promise to return to Zhending with Dou Yan, Ji Song let out a long breath of relief after all, and said with feeling to Ji Qi, "Old ginger is the hotter for its age. No wonder only Grandfather can keep Jianming in hand."

Ji Qi nodded without cease.

Ji Yong, however, wrote to Dou Yan to complain: "...I meant to come find you and have some fun, but it turns out I cannot go after all. I wonder when this business will ever end."

Dou Xin was beside herself with glee. She wrote back: "I hear the greater the official, the harder it is to retire. You had better find some amusement, or you really will be bored to death."

Ji Yong replied quickly: "The Hanlin Academy has no shortage of men who sit idle drawing their salaries, but neither does it lack true learning. Lately I have been learning to make guqins from Du Jianian. I will send you one when it is done."

Du Jianian, whose given name was Lun, excelled at the qin and was the reigning master of qin-making; and because he came from the Hanlin Academy, the instruments he made were worth their weight in gold and hard to obtain.

Dou Yan said, "Why don't you ask him to make me a guqin with his own hands!"

Ji Yong flew into a rage: "I will make you regret today's wild words!"

Yet within a few days, Ji Yong sent her a guqin made by Du Jianian from the capital, and at the tail of the instrument he had inscribed the mark "Sanglin."

Dou Yan adored it, and engaged a celebrated Jiangnan master to teach her to play at home.

Ji Yong also found her several old scores for the guqin.

The two exchanged letters, and before long it was autumn.

Xu Qing, recuperating from his injuries at the manor, came to ask for an audience: "The heir is staying at the Gaosheng Inn by the east city gate. He wishes to call on the young lady, and would like to know when it would be convenient for you."

Dou Yan was greatly startled and blurted out, "Has something happened?"

More than half a year had passed since the case of the slander against the Songs. By rights, Song Yan should have been locked in fierce struggle with Song Cen—so why would he come running to her?

Xu Qing, for his part, was badly frightened by the alarm in Dou Yan's eyes.

He hastened to say, "Nothing has happened! The heir has the situation firmly in hand now. This time he has come expressly to thank you. The reason he did not come before was that he feared Lord Zhenguo might discover your connection to that affair and that it would implicate you..."

Dou Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So long as your heir is safe and sound, that is what matters. Tell him there is no need for thanks. We merely happened to be there at the right time. As a woman of the inner chambers, it is truly inconvenient for me to receive guests; I am grateful for his kind intent." She added, "All who come are guests. I will speak to Duan Bing and Chen Lanxu at once, and have them entertain the heir on my behalf!"

Xu Qing's eyes went wide, and he stared at Dou Yan in utter disbelief.

The heir had come to thank her, and she had shut the door in his face!