Chapter 35: Long Have We Wandered in Exile, Yet Idle Tales Never Truly Cease

"Why aren't you speaking?"

Guan Yin really did not want to engage with Cheng Heng, and the reason was not complicated. She had no desire to hear him smugly choose a brand-new path for a historical figure, nor did she want to hear him preen over his own self-proclaimed "fairness of good and evil."

"I was just..." The dream today felt sudden, and even Cheng Heng had not yet fully regained his bearings. "I don't know when I fell asleep."

"How have you been lately? Is there anything you need my help with?"

After several attempts to start a conversation, Guan Yin still offered no response. Cheng Heng shrugged, just as a series of rhythmic banging and clattering sounds drifted in from outside.

These sounds were far more captivating than Cheng Heng's words. Guan Yin sprang up from her seat, cautiously pulling Cheng Heng behind her. "Could it be that someone from the Liu family has come?"

"Look at where we are..."

"Oh." Realizing she must not have woken up yet and need not worry about the Liu family causing trouble, Guan Yin sat back down on her own accord.

Cheng Heng felt a bit helpless at her reaction, but the sound of drums and music grew closer, as if heading toward this very vicinity—perhaps even toward this house. Cheng Heng could not fathom who it might be.

The sound of the drums and music was quite cheerful. As someone who had spent years on stage, Cheng Heng was sensitive to such things.

However, no one nearby was getting married, nor had anyone achieved academic success...

The crowd surrounding a horse with a high-mounted rider drew near. Cheng Heng caught a glimpse of the figure sitting atop it and felt a vague sense of familiarity. Wanting to get a better look, he stepped forward and found himself out on the street, surrounded by the chatter and gossip of the onlookers.

"This young master of the Ruan family, I hear he passed the imperial examination."

"You don't know the half of it. It’s said that because his family lacked the money to grease the wheels, the chief examiner even swapped his exam papers halfway through."

"Can such a thing really..."

"It’s all legend. Perhaps it’s too embarrassing to say, who knows?"

So long as he passed, that was all that mattered. How old was Fan Jin when he passed the provincial examination in the story *Fan Jin Passes the Exam*? The officialdom was chaotic by nature; Cheng Heng felt that rather than encountering difficulties after entering the bureaucracy, it was better to experience them early and be prepared in one's heart.

"What? Not to your liking?"

Cheng Heng had not noticed when Guan Yin had walked up to his side. He turned his head to meet the gaze of the person speaking, then shifted his eyes back to the festive procession not far away.

"How is it not to my liking? It’s better than wandering in destitution when he’s young, only to return as a merchant, which is more in line with the Ruan family's original pursuits."

"In this current imperial court, what is the use of passing the exam? It’s not certain he will land an official position." Every time the imperial examinations were held, how many scholars and candidates were selected? How could everyone possibly be given a suitable post?

"His brothers are doing business and have money. I suppose in the future he could at least buy an official title."

"Buy an official title? Why buy one?"

"The imperial examination is not the same as a government job; passing doesn't guarantee a position." Guan Yin heard Cheng Heng’s idle muttering and sighed. "By the time he reaches a position where he is no longer so constrained by others, he will likely be too old to carry out any bold reforms."

Cheng Heng said nothing, only watching the street and listening to the commoners' discussions.

"If you ask me, even if a family has spent generations trying to cultivate a scholar, having a few scrolls of knowledge in one's belly should be enough. Why go to such lengths... With the Ruan family's talent for business, they could have likely become one of the wealthiest in the region by now."

"Your aspirations are small; you can't compare to the esteemed scholar."

"You..." The person who spoke first was stifled by this retort, feeling genuinely displeased, as if they had been looked down upon by their companion.

"Do not forget the saying, 'How can a swallow or sparrow know the ambitions of a swan?' The teacher didn't fail to teach us that back in the private school."

"Are we necessarily the swallows and sparrows?"

"Even if we are, he is not necessarily the swan."

Taking two steps back, Cheng Heng closed the wooden door in front of them. It was fortunate that Guan Yin had not been entirely focused on the hubbub of Blue Stone Street, allowing her to retreat with him back into the courtyard.

The sweet osmanthus in the yard was in full bloom. Guan Yin sat beneath the tree, waiting for this dream to end so she could return to the grind of life—until she found a way to leave this place entirely and return to reality.

Two or three osmanthus blossoms fell onto Guan Yin's shoulder for no reason. She reached out and brushed them off, her gaze once again unfocused, landing less than five steps in front of her as she fell into a train of aimless thought.

*Rustle.*

A handful of osmanthus blossoms showered down upon Guan Yin’s head and body. She finally looked up in resignation to see the person who had been messing with the branches. "‘The man is idle, the osmanthus falls’—that shouldn't be interpreted as being this 'idle.' Cheng Heng, are you very idle right now?"

"You really talk like a teacher." Cheng Heng jumped down from the steps, looked at Guan Yin, and chuckled after a long moment. "Oh, I forgot. You were a teacher, after all."

Guan Yin did not know what was wrong with the dream today. Usually, it wouldn't give her a chance to speak, but now, it had become unrestrained.

"Why stop listening?" It wasn't right to keep ignoring people. Guan Yin stood up and patted the fallen petals and leaves from her clothes.

A lingering, unreserved fragrance of osmanthus remained around her, and Guan Yin could not tell if it was from the flowers on the tree or if her clothes had been scented by their brief presence.

"It’s boring."

Cheng Heng rubbed his hands together. Guan Yin saw that his slightly reddened fingertips were still wet with dew that had not yet evaporated from the trees, and she couldn't help but feel a vague curiosity: was there also a scent of osmanthus in the dew?

"Why is it boring?"

To be honest, Cheng Heng was a bit oversensitive. The words of the two passersby had made him feel as though they were scolding him—scolding his idea of "achieving things for others," which was, in reality, nothing more than the "ambition of a swallow or sparrow." "I just find it boring, there is no 'why'."

"You haven't considered whether he can actually become an official, have you?"

When those idle rumors began to circulate, Guan Yin knew that nothing was absolutely correct. "Or rather, you yourself haven't even considered whether he is capable of securing an official post."

"If he cannot bring prosperity to this region, people might even say he is inferior to his father. After all, the elder Ruan spent his life's savings helping his fellow villagers."

Even in the most simple and honest folk customs, people still have desires for profit. Cheng Heng had to admit that Guan Yin's words made sense.

"What if he does a good job?"

Guan Yin understood that continuing this discussion would yield no results in the short term.

"Life shouldn't be filled with so many forced choices, should it?"

"Fine." Everyone has things they are stubborn about. Guan Yin knew she could not persuade Cheng Heng, just as Cheng Heng could not convince her.

"If there never was any time travel, and we have simply forgotten the memories that belong to this world, would you still be so timid and do nothing?"

The osmanthus petals fluttered and fell to the ground. This time, it was not a person; it was the wind.