Who Said a Study Servant Can't Win the Imperial Exam? - Chapter 20 - Trapped in the Stable

While Cui Xian was at the Pei Mansion, being embraced as a kindred spirit by four wealthy young masters, back in Hexi Village, the atmosphere in the Cui Family grew heavier by the day.

Starting from the second day after Cui Xian left home, the rice, flour, oil, live chickens, and ducks sent by the Pei Mansion were promptly sold off by Old Cui, converted into silver coins. The dishes on the family’s dining table not only lost all traces of meat but even the portions began to shrink. Yet, no one in the family voiced any objections.

Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan, the two brothers, buried themselves even deeper in their studies, while Old Madam Cui, Lin, Chen, and even Cui Xuan worked tirelessly day and night, weaving hemp cloth. The brief warmth that had returned to the household thanks to Cui Xian’s presence vanished with his departure, replaced by an even tighter, suffocating tension.

That day, the women of the Cui Family were busy in the courtyard when Granduncle Third arrived, driving a donkey cart loaded with earthen bricks and tiles into the yard.

Lin, still caught off guard, stood up with a startled “Oh my!” and asked, “Uncle Third, what’s this about? We didn’t buy any bricks.”

The commotion even drew Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan out of their room, where they had been studying. The brothers looked on, puzzled.

Granduncle Third took a puff from his dry tobacco pipe, then turned to Old Madam Cui for confirmation. “Saozi?”

“I bought them,” Old Madam Cui replied, ignoring the bewildered stares from the rest of the family. She addressed Granduncle Third directly, “Take the cart to the small back courtyard, to the stable. Can it be done today?”

Granduncle Third’s gaze swept over Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan, filled with a trace of pity, before he muttered, “It can.”

As Granduncle Third drove the donkey cart toward the small back courtyard, Lin exchanged a subtle glance with Chen, sensing something amiss.

Chen caught on immediately, clutching her pregnant belly and feigning a groan of “Oh dear,” before casually teasing Old Madam Cui, “Mother, are we fixing up the stable? That place-you clean it every day! If we renovate it, the cows might end up living more comfortably than we do.”

Ever since Yu-Ge’er and Xian-Ge’er left home, Old Madam Cui’s temper had grown increasingly peculiar. These days, only Chen, emboldened by her pregnancy, dared to crack a joke or two around her.

After hearing Chen’s probing remark, Old Madam Cui brushed off the bits of hemp on her clothes, set aside the hemp cloth she had just finished weaving, and replied calmly, “It’s not for the cows. It’s for Boshan and Zhongyuan to live in.”

The entire family froze, their faces turning pale.

Cui Boshan’s body stiffened as he stammered, “Mother, the stable is damp, cold, and open on all sides. How can anyone live there?”

Old Madam Cui’s cloudy eyes bore into her two sons as she gritted her teeth and said, “Eldest, Second, don’t blame me for being harsh. All these years, you’ve promised time and again that you’d pass the exams, yet you’ve disappointed me every single time.”

“Lately, I’ve been tossing and turning every night, thinking about your father’s dying words, and even more about Xian-Ge’er…”

“My poor grandson, only eight years old, forced to leave home to earn money. The Pei Mansion has high gates and strict rules. Who knows if Xian-Ge’er has enough to eat, enough to wear, or how much hardship and humiliation he’s enduring?”

“You-one as the eldest uncle, the other as the father-if you have even a shred of conscience left, you should study hard, pass the exams, and bring relief to this family. Then you can bring Xian-Ge’er back and send him to the classroom to begin formal studies.”

“Instead of making an eight-year-old boy go out to earn money to fund your studies!”

Old Madam Cui’s voice was sharp, each word cutting like a blade. “Once your Uncle Third finishes repairing the stable this afternoon, you two will move in. From today until the County Exam next year, neither of you is allowed to step out of that stable. Focus entirely on your studies! The chamber pot will be replaced daily, and your meals will be passed through the small window.”

This… this was practically treating them like livestock!

“I beg you, please! I’ll make sure my husband studies diligently. Just don’t make him live in the stable!”

“That stable… it’s simply uninhabitable!”

Both daughters-in-law turned pale, pleading desperately.

Even Cui Xuan was so frightened that her face lost all color.

But Old Madam Cui remained unmoved.

Her eyes bore into Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan. “Think about your father’s dying words. Think about Xian-Ge’er, so young, suffering and enduring hardships! If you two useless men can’t rise to the occasion, do you expect me to lock Yu-Ge’er and Xian-Ge’er in the stable next?”

That day, the Cui Family was filled with the sound of weeping.

In the end, Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan gave in and moved into the newly repaired stable.

The cramped stable was divided into two small rooms.

It was stifling, oppressive.

A small window at the top served as the only opening, used for passing meals and retrieving the chamber pot.

The square stable, like a prison cell, confined the two brothers completely.

Inside, the two sat with blank expressions, staring at their books.

Outside, Old Madam Cui stood motionless, her face equally devoid of emotion.

The stable trapped not just two, but three people.

After a long while, Old Madam Cui finally stirred. She walked to the front yard, looked at the now “homeless” old ox, and said to her two sobbing daughters-in-law, “Sell the ox tomorrow.”

Lin wiped her tears. “If we sell the ox, how will we plow the fields?”

Over the years, the Cui Family had sold off many possessions, leaving only thirty acres of land and one aging ox to sustain them.

But with Cui Zhongyuan and Cui Boshan needing to focus on their studies, the three women of the family couldn’t possibly handle all the farm work alone. They would have to spend more money hiring villagers to help with the planting.

On top of that, there were grain taxes to pay.

And now, with Yu-Ge’er needing to attend school, the expenses were overwhelming.

It was already April. In two months, it would be time for the summer harvest, followed by the summer planting.

Selling the ox would only make farming harder.

“The eldest and second sons are living in the stable now. The ox can’t stay in the yard anymore; it’ll disturb their studying. It has to be sold,” Old Madam Cui said. “When it’s time to plow, I’ll figure something out.”

The daughters-in-law looked utterly defeated.

…If this continued, this family was truly on the brink of collapse.

The next day, the Cui Family sold their ox.

In Hexi Village, secrets were rare. The Cui Family’s string of drastic actions had become the talk of the entire village.

“Old Cui’s gone mad!”

“She actually made her two sons live in the stable! That’s no place for people to live. Oh, what a tragedy!”

“I’m telling you, the Cui Family just doesn’t have the fate to pass the exams!”

“Forget passing the exams; they’re so poor they can barely eat.”

“Let this be a lesson to everyone. This is the miserable outcome of insisting on studying!”

“I even heard that Old Cui sent Xian-Ge’er off to be a servant for someone else. Can you believe that? Truly heartless. I’d rather starve than send my grandson to serve others!”

“The Cui Family is beyond saving!”