Chapter 310: Chapter 310: No Ifs
"What? You already knew?"
Before she came, Widow Xie had been agonizing over whether to tell Ji Huan.
She never expected this to be Ji Huan’s reaction.
"I had a feeling," Ji Huan said calmly. "Mrs. Meng mentioned something to me."
’If Mrs. Meng wanted to completely sever any possibility between Song Jing and me, just moving away wouldn’t be enough to put her mind at ease. The best way was to find Song Jing a wife.’
’Once Song Jing was married, everything would be settled for good.’
’There was a ready-made candidate: the Academic Administrator’s daughter. She would satisfy Mrs. Meng in every respect.’
’And if Mrs. Meng was satisfied, that was all that mattered.’
"Why didn’t you mention it before? So... what’s this young lady like?"
"It wasn’t settled then, so it wouldn’t have been right to drag her into it. The rumors were already a mess, and adding her name would have just needlessly damaged her reputation. Besides, the real issue between Song Jing and me... it wasn’t her. If it wasn’t her, it would have been someone else. As for what she’s like, I truly don’t know."
’I only know that before anything was even set in stone, this young lady sent someone to act as a go-between with Mrs. Meng. It shows her feelings run deep and that she isn’t the passive type.’
’But it makes sense, when you think about it. For the daughter of a prestigious Academic Administrator to marry a mere Scholar, she’s definitely marrying down. If it wasn’t for genuine affection, I can’t think of any other reason.’
Seeing how calm Ji Huan was when talking about her, Widow Xie swallowed the curse on the tip of her tongue and asked instead, "What kind of official is this Academic Administrator? Everyone says he’s a high-ranking official, but how high?"
Song Jing had mentioned this to Ji Huan before.
In the Great Zhou, an Academic Administrator is a fourth-rank official. Although not yet third-rank, it’s considered a high-level provincial post. He’s in charge of the education and examinations for an entire province, somewhat like a modern head of a provincial education department.
Usually, only Capital Officials who have served in the Hanlin Academy or are Advanced Scholars can hold the position. They are appointed by the court and dispatched to the various State Mansions.
"My heavens! That powerful? More powerful than the County Magistrate? Does he oversee all the imperial exams in our Northern Pass?"
You could say that.
The Academic Administrator’s rank is much higher than a County Magistrate’s, but one manages education and the other manages administration. Strictly speaking, they aren’t in the same system.
Widow Xie sighed. "No wonder Mrs. Meng isn’t threatening to kill herself this time. Her in-law is in charge of all the exams in the Northern Pass. Won’t it be a piece of cake for Song Jing to become a scholar? Would his father-in-law really stop his own son-in-law from passing? No way. From now on, can’t Song Jing pass whatever exam he wants?"
Ji Huan fell silent.
’When people hear that Song Jing is marrying the daughter of the Academic Administrator, the first thing they think is that he’s latched onto a powerful connection and can just coast to success from now on.’
’Outsiders can only see the beautiful surface of the sea, not the hidden reefs below.’
’A shortcut is certainly easy to take, but for Song Jing, it’s still unknown whether this will be a help or a hindrance.’
’The fear is that in the future, when people mention him, they’ll just assume he got ahead through his wife’s connections and completely overlook his own abilities.’
’Ten years of arduous study ignored, all his hard work buried. If he does poorly, he’ll be ridiculed; if he does well, it will all be credited to the Yue Family.’
’And that’s not even the most frightening part.’
’It’s unlikely for an official to reach the fourth-rank without being entangled in a web of interests. Song Jing hasn’t even entered officialdom, yet he’s already been branded as part of a certain faction. This is not a good thing for him.’
’Factional strife is the scholars’ colosseum. If his side wins, fine. But what if they lose? Song Jing would never be able to clear his name.’
But all of that was still far in the future. There was a major hurdle waiting for Song Jing right now.
The provincial exam was in a little over half a month. This was the time when he should be focusing on his studies, undisturbed by outside matters.
But there had been one upheaval after another recently. Song Jing had faced a series of incidents, and even his wedding was being rushed before the exam...
’I can only hope he can maintain his peace of mind and not be too affected during the exam.’
"Aunt Xie, you can’t say that. The provincial exam is much stricter than the qualifying exam. The Emperor himself will appoint a chief examiner to preside over it. Only the deputy examiners are composed of local officials, and the court will also send extra personnel from the Capital City. It’s not something Academic Administrator Fang can decide on his own. He wouldn’t throw away his own future, or even risk his life and his family’s fortune, for a... for a son-in-law."
Widow Xie was startled. "It’s that serious?"
Ji Huan nodded. "Unless you have connections that reach the heavens, committing fraud in the examination hall is no different from committing suicide."
Widow Xie patted her chest. Realizing that being the Academic Administrator’s son-in-law wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed, she felt a little better.
But when she thought of Song Jing, she still felt a pang of regret.
"You know, back then, if you two had just tried a little harder..."
Ji Huan knew what she was going to say and shook her head. "There are no ’ifs’."
’It wasn’t that she hadn’t wavered. Because of Song Jing, she had even considered talking to Mrs. Meng again. But what was the result?’
’Mrs. Meng guessed that Song Jing had come to see her, and that very night, she tried to hang herself from the rafters. She was so resolute, willing to use her own death as a threat, that she wouldn’t give me the slightest chance.’
’Even if I had the confidence to overcome all the obstacles with Song Jing and marry him, what if one day Mrs. Meng used her death to threaten Song Jing again, forcing him to divorce me?’
’The answer is written plainly in *The Peacock Flies Southeast*: men are bound by ritual and filial piety. If their parents tell them to divorce their wives, they have no choice but to obey.’
’If Song Jing refused, Mrs. Meng would actually die to prove her point.’
’If a human life lay between a husband and wife, it would only be a matter of time before they went from intimate partners to distant strangers.’
’Wouldn’t that be even more tragic?’
So, in a way, Ji Huan was even grateful to Mrs. Meng. It was thanks to her that she had been able to wake up completely.
Seeing that Ji Huan really didn’t seem upset, Widow Xie relaxed a little and stopped mentioning Song Jing.
She may not have brought him up, but the commotion in the village was impossible to ignore.
Early the next morning, the sound of firecrackers and suonas echoed from the village entrance.
According to the customs of the Northern Pass, when a nephew gets married, his maternal uncle is expected to gift a theatrical performance.
The suona band, led by Village Chief Meng and the Meng clansmen, marched in a grand procession toward Song Family Village.
Everyone in Dafeng Village, young and old, ran out to watch the spectacle. The more mischievous children chased after the mule cart, not turning back until they were a mile away.
Long after the procession was out of sight, the crowd at the village entrance had yet to disperse. They chattered excitedly, all of them wondering what a magnificent spectacle it would be for such a high-born lady to marry down.
Many people sighed that it was a shame Song Jing was no longer in Dafeng Village, or they all could have had a look for themselves.
Someone joked, "If Song Jing were still in Dafeng Village, wouldn’t it be awkward when the Academic Administrator’s daughter ran into Ji Huan?"
This remark drew a burst of loud laughter.
Daya and Erya, being children, wanted to hear the festive racket, so Ji Mingfang, unable to say no, brought them over. He didn’t expect to miss the main event but overhear that conversation instead.
He was furious and wanted to go confront them, but reason held him back.
’The villagers are just joking around right now; they’ll say their piece and move on. If I actually step forward, I’ll only be causing real trouble for Ji Huan.’
His face cold, he grabbed Daya and Erya and turned to leave.
Yang, who had come with them, hadn’t processed what happened. She hurried after them and asked, "Why are we leaving already?"
Ji Mingfang didn’t say anything. Erya was too young to understand, but Daya said with a pout, "Those people were saying bad things about Auntie."
Yang chided her, "What do children know! Your aunt is a fool, too. If she had just nodded her head back then, she’d be a Scholar’s wife now, and would anyone dare to say a word..."
"Enough!" Ji Mingfang exclaimed, already holding back his anger and in no mood to argue with her. "You take Daya and Erya home. I’m going straight to Ji Huan’s place. It’s time for work anyway."
Yang clapped her hands. "Right, right, you should hurry over. Don’t let real business be delayed."
Only after Ji Mingfang was far away did Yang remember something else.
"Sigh, the one who became a Scholar gets to marry an official’s daughter, and the fourth brother who didn’t even become a Scholar can marry a rich man’s girl. What’s Ming Fang to do? He’s not getting any younger..."