After the village chief left, the villagers came in wave after wave.
With questions coming one after another, Old Man Song and Oldest Song were almost numb from answering.
Having finally managed to deal with everyone, Old Man Song paced around with his hands behind his back a couple of times before looking at Song Yongnian.
"Yongnian, come with your grandpa. Let's write a letter to your Sister Jinzhao."
Song Yongnian returned to the room, writing as Old Man Song dictated.
Once the ink was dry and the letter was sealed in an envelope, Old Man Song handed it to Oldest Song.
"Tomorrow, after the ancestral sacrifice, go to the city and find a merchant caravan heading to Anyang Prefecture. Have them deliver this letter to Jinzhao."
Oldest Song took the letter with both hands and tucked it into his robe. "Father, shouldn't we have Jinzhao and the others come back? For such a grand occasion, shouldn't we host a banquet?"
Old Man Song waved his hand in refusal. "The journey is long and arduous. A round trip takes half a month, and Qiming is studying at the academy without a break. They must be very busy. Just send the letter to let them know the county magistrate visited. Jinzhao will naturally come back when she has the time."
In the afternoon, Old Man Song took joss paper and the aged Huadiao wine Song Qiming had bought for him, heading to the foot of the back mountain to visit the graves of Third Song and his wife.
Oldest Song and Second Song also followed along to burn paper offerings.
Old Man Song poured cup after cup of the precious Huadiao wine he usually couldn't bear to drink in front of Third Song's grave, repeating every single word Zhang Yuanzong had said to the deceased couple.
"Qiming is good at his studies, and Jinzhao is even more promising. My son, you raised a wonderful daughter. It's just a pity you aren't here to see it."
Squatting to the side burning joss paper, Old Lady Song kept wiping her tears, her eyes red from crying.
The children were so successful, yet her son had died before he could enjoy a single day of their blessings. Why was his fate so bitter!
Oldest Song and Second Song squatted side by side behind Old Man Song. Looking at the names on the tombstone, they felt a mix of pity and envy.
Their niece and nephew from the third branch were rising to greatness, while their own children couldn't even pass the exams to become child scholars. The massive disparity left them feeling hollow inside, as if a cold wind were blowing through their hearts.
The next day, the village ancestral hall was opened for the sacrifice. Everyone in Song Family Village attended, surrounding Old Man Song and his family to curry favor. Even the usually arrogant Master Zhao took the initiative to come over and greet Old Man Song, acting extremely humble.
Through an acquaintance, Oldest Song paid some silver to have a merchant caravan deliver the letter to Song Jinzhao, along with two of the congratulatory gifts Zhang Yuanzong had brought the day before.
Old Man Song kept the pastries and wine for himself, but the remaining tea set and top-grade writing brushes and inkstone were to be sent to Anyang Prefecture.
The items looked expensive and weren't things they could put to use.
Every household in the village drank tea from simple bowls, and giving such fine writing tools to Song Yongnian and Song Yaozu would be a waste. They definitely had to be sent to Anyang Prefecture for Song Qiming to use.
Upon receiving the letter, Song Jinzhao looked at the tea set and the wolf-hair brushes with the She inkstone in the box, then instructed Chunxing to store the items in the warehouse.
Song Shixue looked up and asked, "Aside from the county magistrate visiting to offer congratulations, what else did Grandpa say?"
Song Jinzhao handed the letter to Song Shixue. "Yongnian and Yaozu failed the preliminary county exam."
"Ah," Song Shixue stared at the fairly neat handwriting on the letter, which looked like Yongnian's. "Grandpa must be very sad. If they couldn't pass the preliminary exam, it will probably be difficult for them to pass next year, too."
When Song Qiming returned from the academy in the evening, he read the letter and silently set it down.
During their first visit to Scholar Zheng's home over the New Year, the teacher had mentioned that Yaozu was somewhat clever but lacked the patience to focus on his studies, let alone study hard day and night.
Yongnian was considered rather mediocre. If he spent another year or two, he might be able to pass the exam to become a child scholar, but as for becoming a Xiucai, he hadn't even considered it.
"Sister, the village is opening the ancestral hall. Are we going back for the New Year this year?"
The provincial exams were in August. If he could successfully participate in the metropolitan exams next February, they had no plans to return for the New Year.
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "We'll see after your provincial exams are over."
The round trip would take too much time, and unless something important happened, she really didn't want to go back.
Chunxing came in holding an invitation. "Eldest Miss, the Meng family sent someone to deliver this this afternoon. Madam Meng would like to invite you to go for a spring outing in a few days."
Ever since she was granted the title of Lady of the County, dozens of banquet invitations had been sent to Song Jinzhao. If it wasn't for admiring plum blossoms, it was for admiring apricot blossoms.
There were also various messy elegant gatherings and tea parties. Song Jinzhao had attended once and never went again.
Song Shixue felt that sitting in a crowd making awkward small talk was incredibly boring. She would rather spend that time reading a few more medical books and treating a few more patients.
As for Song Jinzhao, she absolutely couldn't stand the old madams and ladies trying to play matchmaker for no reason. Every single one of them wanted to introduce her to young talents, and when she refused, they all assumed she was just being shy.
Just dealing with their relentless pestering made Song Jinzhao feel more exhausted than working in the fields.
So later on, she simply rejected them all and didn't attend a single one.
Glancing at the invitation, the neat, elegant small regular script was clearly a woman's handwriting.
After the Lantern Festival, Guo Yiyao had gone to the capital with Meng Xiaozhe. This beautiful handwriting didn't look like something a maid could write.
"Did Madam Meng write this invitation herself?"
Chunxing nodded. "That's what the messenger told Qingshui. The servant who delivered the letter also mentioned that Madam Meng sincerely hopes you will do her the honor this time."
Song Jinzhao stared at the meeting location on the invitation.
Ming Garden? It seemed to be outside the city.
Qingshuang glanced at the invitation and quietly reminded her, "Eldest Miss, Ming Garden is a property of the Li family."
Song Jinzhao raised an eyebrow.
