Because the county examinations were held in February, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong hurried the entire way.
When they reached their destination, they spent only two days getting settled before entering the examination hall.
The county examinations were easy for both Jia Hu and Liu Zhong, and they each smoothly took first place.
Neither returned to the capital. They stayed in their hometowns to await the prefectural examinations in April and the academy examinations in August.
Jia Hu's teacher was a disciple of his maternal grandfather, Grand Tutor Zhang, and the head academician of the Hanlin Academy.
Out of respect for his mentor, he took Jia Hu as a student and taught him with great care.
Jia Hu's knowledge was exceptionally solid.
Even Liu Zhong benefited greatly from his instruction.
As a result, both of them passed the prefectural and academy examinations without a hitch.
Jia Hu even achieved the Little Triple Yuan.
When the news reached the capital, the people of Rongguo Mansion were overjoyed. They set off firecrackers on Ningrong Street for three days.
Jia Daishan was so buoyed by the happy news that he was even able to ride a horse into the palace to chat with the emperor.
At the time, the Fourth Prince was assisting the emperor with state affairs. When he heard Jia Daishan bragging about his grandson, he committed the name Jia Hu to memory.
The provincial examinations would not be held until the following year, so Jia Hu and Liu Zhong decided to return to the capital first, then go back to Jiangnan for the exams.
The two agreed to meet in Hangzhou, where they would first visit the West Lake, "gorgeous in light or heavy makeup," then go to Yangzhou to see Jia Hu's aunt, Jia Min, and her husband, Lin Ruhai.
Liu Zhong was curious about Lin Meimei and wanted to see whether she really was the reincarnation of Fairy Jiangzhu, and whether she had anything unusual about her.
After enjoying themselves in Hangzhou, the two arrived in Yangzhou.
When Jia Min received word that her nephew was coming, she eagerly awaited him and sent people to the harbor every day to check whether he had arrived.
Three days later, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong finally reached Yangzhou.
The Lin family servants finally found them and breathed a sigh of relief, then hurriedly escorted them back to Lin Mansion.
The two made their way to Jia Min's courtyard. As an unrelated man, Liu Zhong ordinarily would not have been allowed into the inner quarters.
But Jia Min said that Liu Zhong was a young man from a prominent family and need not stand on ceremony, so she let him enter the courtyard too.
As the mother of the reincarnated Fairy Jiangzhu, Jia Min was very beautiful.
But her spirits seemed poor. She was frail and visibly exhausted, which diminished her beauty by at least thirty percent.
Liu Zhong's gaze fell on Jia Min's slightly rounded belly. She was pregnant.
He shifted his gaze to the little girl beside Jia Min.
The girl was only two or three years old, thin and tiny, and looked rather frail.
Her features, however, were delicate. When she grew up, she would surpass her mother in beauty.
This had to be Lin Daiyu.
Jia Hu and Liu Zhong bowed to Jia Min together.
"Greetings, Aunt."
"Greetings, Madam Lin."
Jia Min said happily, "There's no need for such formalities."
She first invited the two to sit, exchanged a few polite words with Liu Zhong, then called Jia Hu over to speak with her.
As the aunt and nephew talked about matters at Rongguo Mansion, Jia Min thought of her parents and elder brother and couldn't help shedding tears.
Jia Hu hurried to comfort her.
Liu Zhong pretended to drink his tea, lowering his head and looking away.
Jia Min quickly dried her tears and glanced toward Liu Zhong. Seeing him keep his head lowered, she inwardly praised him for being a worthy friend of Jia Hu.
Jia Min said, "You've had a hard journey. Go wash up and rest first. When your uncle returns, I'll have you meet him."
Jia Hu and Liu Zhong agreed, said their farewells to Jia Min and Lin Daiyu, and left the courtyard.
Jia Min had prepared a fairly large guest courtyard for them. Clean bedding and utensils were ready, and several plates of pastries had been set out on a table beside tea at a comfortable temperature.
Hot water for bathing had also been prepared.
The two enjoyed a hot bath and changed into clean clothes. By then, evening had fallen.
Lin Ruhai had already returned home from the government office.
Jia Min sent someone to summon Jia Hu and Liu Zhong, then brought them to meet Lin Ruhai.
Lin Ruhai warmly welcomed the two young men.
Jia Hu was his wife's nephew, but that was not all. Both boys were young talents who had become licentiates in their teens, and Jia Hu had even achieved the Little Triple Yuan. Lin Ruhai was delighted to have the chance to know them.
Lin Ruhai tested their knowledge, and he was very satisfied with their answers. "With your learning, passing the provincial examinations should be a certainty. You even have a very good chance of placing on the metropolitan examinations."
Liu Zhong bowed with a smile. "Thank you for your praise, Lord Lin."
Lin Ruhai smiled. "This is no praise. It's simply the truth."
Jia Min said proudly, "My nephew and the son of an old family friend are both quite impressive, aren't they?"
Lin Ruhai nodded. "They certainly are. It's a pity their ages don't suit."
As Lin Ruhai's wife, Jia Min immediately understood what he meant.
She looked at Jia Hu and Liu Zhong with regret. It was true—the difference in their ages was too great.
But her second elder brother's second son, Baoyu, was about the same age as her daughter. Perhaps her mother's suggestion could work.
Jia Min pondered it.
Held by her wet nurse, Lin Daiyu blinked her big eyes as she looked at her cousin and Brother Liu.
She felt even more fond of Liu Zhong. For some reason, he seemed very familiar to her, and she wanted to be close to him.
When the dishes were served, Jia Min invited the two young men to eat.
The Lin family's food was very light, but delicious, and both found it to their liking.
Jia Min ate very little. She had only half a small bowl of rice, no bigger than a baby's fist, and a few bites of vegetables before putting down her chopsticks.
A maid brought over a large bowl filled to the brim with medicinal liquid, its strong herbal smell filling the air.
Jia Hu was surprised and asked, "Are you ill, Aunt?"
Jia Min smiled. "No, this is medicine to protect the pregnancy."
Liu Zhong sniffed and said, "There's something wrong with this medicine."
Liu Zhong had never studied medicine, but since his true form was a plant, he could distinguish the scents of medicinal herbs, which were plants as well, very well.
He had smelled pregnancy-protecting medicine before. Mother Liu had taken plenty of it when she was carrying Liu Xianglian.
There was an extra ingredient in the bowl of medicine Jia Min held.
Knowing how sensitive his companion was to medicinal herbs, Jia Hu immediately said, "Aunt, don't drink it yet. Have someone examine it first."
Jia Min and Lin Ruhai exchanged a glance. Jia Min set the bowl on the table, and Lin Ruhai sent a subordinate to fetch a physician.
They trusted Jia Hu and Liu Zhong. Neither had any reason to harm their family; if anything, they were family themselves.
They trusted the two of them more than the servants in the household, who might be bribed or betray them.
Jia Min said to Lin Daiyu's wet nurse, "Take the young lady back to her room first."
Lin Daiyu bit her lower lip. Though she was worried about her parents, she did not insist on staying and disturbing them while they dealt with the matter. She obediently let her wet nurse carry her back to her room.
The physician arrived soon. He was well known in Yangzhou and highly skilled.
Lin Ruhai had a maid bring him the bowl of medicine to examine. After carefully identifying its contents, the physician reached a conclusion.
An herb had been added to the pregnancy medicine, turning it into poison.
The poison was not very strong, but if she drank it repeatedly, it would build up in her system and cause problems.
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