Chapter 22: Secure the Pocket

After the awards ceremony, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Minister Fang called Su Shengsheng and asked his subordinates to give her two hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Seeing Su Shengsheng's surprise, he said jokingly, "Why, did you think I would embezzle your money?"

If Su Shengsheng had not learned from Mu Ze that King Xuanming hated evil people, she would have used the money to bribe this high-ranking official.

But because King Xuanming was present, she did not dare to act rashly.

At this moment, the crowd had dispersed, and Su Shengsheng said, "I'm a newcomer and don't know the rules. I've caused you a lot of trouble. I'll just give you this money to calm you down."

But Fang Sishi showed his displeasure, "It's already inappropriate for me to acknowledge the credit, how can I deduct the money from a little girl like you?"

As he said this, he ordered his men to put down the box containing the silver ingots.

"From now on, public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. Don't use what happened today to try to get close to me, little girl."

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left without waiting for Su Shengsheng to say anything else.

Well, I don’t even dare to accept gifts, and I’m afraid I can’t count on you when something happens in the future.

It is better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. She should rely on herself!

When several successful candidates heard that Su Shengsheng was the granddaughter of the emperor's tutor, they all treated her with great respect.

They saw Su Shengsheng talking to Fang Sishi, and fearing that it would be inconvenient, they stayed by their side.

When Ji Yanli saw Fang Sishi leave in displeasure, he walked forward with some concern, "Miss Su..."

Su Shengsheng squatted down, opened the box, and lit the bright silver ingot inside.

Seeing Ji Yanli stop talking, she took out twenty taels of silver and handed it to him, "Master Ji, this is to repay your gift money."

A trace of disappointment flashed across Ji Yanli's eyes. "The Ji and Su families are old friends. Why does Miss Su have to be so estranged from Yanli?"

"Now that grandfather's worries have been resolved, the Su family has also proven to Master Ji that we have the ability to protect ourselves. The journey is long, Master Ji should hurry on his journey to prepare for the imperial examination."

Su Shengsheng said in a calm tone.

The Ji family was a family of clean and honest civil servants. Ji Yanli's great-grandmother lived to be 88 years old, but the Ji family did not make any decision during the funeral.

Seeing that Ji Yanli refused to accept the money, Su Shengsheng gave the silver ingot to Qing Ning and asked her to pass it to Ji's servant.

After saying goodbye, she took out some silver ingots and turned to walk towards several Juren students who were waiting on the side.

"Thank you all for your help today. I have a small gift for you. I hope you don't mind."

Those scholars, knowing the current situation of the imperial tutor's family, were unwilling to accept him.

After several refusals, Su Shengsheng understood that they really wanted to help her grandfather, and if she kept giving in, she would be refusing their kindness.

She put away the silver and said, "I will rent a study room next to the bookshop later. You can go there to review your studies anytime. Please don't give me any more money when you do."

Seeing Su Shengsheng's insistence, the students stopped refusing and bowed in agreement.

When she walked back, she found that Ji Yanli had not left yet.

"Miss Su, Yan Li wants to go visit Old Master Su. Could you please come with us?"

Su Shengsheng then understood that this was his intention in accepting the money reluctantly.

She looked at the brightly shining sky, which was already past noon, and said, "Grandfather is fine, and there are some family matters today. Mr. Ji, please come visit Grandfather again in a few days."

After saying that, she bowed to Ji Yanli and called Zaiqing to pick up the box and leave.

Watching the four people leave, the servant Yanshu said somewhat depressedly, "Sir, it seems to me that Miss Su is very distant from you."

"Miss Su has her own ideas, and I shouldn't have questioned her again and again." Ji Yanli said with a sigh.

…

When Su Shengsheng returned to the Su Mansion, she just walked in and saw her mother coming towards her with red eyes. "Sheng'er, where have you been? I was so worried."

Yesterday, because Su Shengsheng got into trouble, Li was in a state of anxiety, so Su Shengsheng prepared a tranquilizing soup for her to drink.

Therefore, when something big happened in the courtyard, she was sleeping soundly and had no idea.

When Mrs. Li woke up in the morning, the house was in chaos and her daughter was nowhere to be found. How could she not be worried?

The eldest sister-in-law also came out of the house, her petite face full of haggardness, "Sixth sister, you didn't go to apologize to that person yourself, did you?"

Mrs. Cen was pregnant and had been exhausted from the long journey. When she first arrived at the place and her mind settled down, the reactions of pregnancy began to come back.

Although she didn't drink the calming soup, she slept soundly.

Mrs. Li grabbed Su Shengsheng's hand and said anxiously, "Daughter, you're not really going alone, are you?"

Before Su Shengsheng could figure out how to explain without scaring them, she heard her eldest sister-in-law say in a panic, "After grandpa woke up, he was furious when he heard grandma say she wanted the young master of the Ji family to ask for help. He even asked the housekeeper to look for you, saying that as a family, we share life and death, and we shouldn't bow down to that person."

Su Shengsheng had anticipated that, given her grandfather's character as a civil official, he would definitely not try to use any backdoors.

This is also the main reason why she took a different approach.

"I'm going to see grandpa." Su Shengsheng missed his grandfather and wanted to talk to him after going into the house.

In the room, grandma was standing by the couch with a sad face.

As soon as he saw Su Shengsheng come in, his sleepy face suddenly brightened up, "Zhilin, Sheng girl is back."

Su Zhiyuan, whose courtesy name is Zhilin.

Hearing his wife's call, Su Zhiyuan slowly opened his eyes.

Su Shengsheng hurried to the side of the couch and squatted down, "Grandfather, are you feeling better?"

Su Zhiyuan's eyes turned, his voice still weak, "Life and death are determined by fate, don't worry too much."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Su couldn't help but wipe away her tears with a handkerchief.

Su Shengsheng felt a pang of sadness in her heart, seeing this once proud scholar being harmed by such a villain.

She said guiltily, "It is my unfilial granddaughter who has caused my grandfather to suffer."

Seeing Su Zhiyuan struggling to get up, Old Madam Su quickly held him down and turned to look at Su Shengsheng.

"It's grandma's fault. When I suddenly saw your grandfather like this yesterday, I was so confused that I shouldn't have let Brother Ji go find someone."

Seeing that her grandfather was in good spirits but a little weak, Su Shengsheng hurriedly informed them of the situation.

Of course, she concealed a lot of the truth.

"Money was tight at home, so Sheng'er bought some eggs to sell and stumbled upon someone distributing counterfeit currency. Remembering what my grandfather had said, 'If everyone stayed out of it, the world would be in utter chaos.' I had seen the reward notice earlier, so I bravely approached Fang, the head of the Mint. Lord Fang was a pragmatic official who worked for the people, and they hatched a plan to lure him into a trap. Later, we happened upon King Xuanming leading his troops, and he dispatched his troops to help eliminate the perpetrators, ultimately capturing the two ringleaders."

She said it lightly, but everyone in the room was terrified.

Su Shengsheng asked Zaiqing to bring the box full of silver ingots.

"This is the remaining two hundred taels of reward money. At the time, my granddaughter wanted to release Grandfather and his family from hard labor, but Lord Fang was a coward and didn't want to honor his promise. Fortunately, King Xuanming was present, along with the help of the Young Master of the Ji family and several other scholars who admired Grandfather. This allowed Lord Fang to fulfill half of his promise and grant Grandfather medical parole, freeing him from hard labor."

When Old Master Su heard that a student offered to help, he could no longer lie down.

Grandmother was stunned, still unable to recover. "Sheng'er, are you serious?"

Su Shengsheng smiled and held her grandparents' hands. "It's absolutely impossible for me to rely on my granddaughter alone. It's the result of everyone's admiration for grandpa and their help."

The soft words were like a breeze, blowing away the pent-up depression in Su Zhiyuan's heart.

He patted his granddaughter's hand and said, "They are all good boys. They will achieve great things in the future."

Su Shengsheng said playfully, "Grandfather, why don't you praise Sheng'er?"

Su Zhiyuan smiled happily, "My Sheng'er is brave, resourceful, and intelligent. He is truly a disciple who surpasses his teacher!"

"Grandfather, are you praising me or yourself?"

Everyone in the room was amused by Su Shengsheng's witty remarks.