Yu Jinshu was still upset, but his family was willing to spend money to send him to the county school. This news made Yu Jinshu's expression ease a little, "Thank you, grandma."

"You and Jinyan must study hard. Grandmother doesn't want you to stay in this poor mountain village for the rest of your life." Yu Zhou looked at Yu Jinshu, her eyes full of earnest expectations.

Yu Jinshu avoided Yu Zhou's gaze and said perfunctorily, "I know that I have worked hard in my studies, but who can say for sure about the imperial examinations?"

Zhao chimed in, "Mom, don't worry, Jinshu and Jinyan have been studying very hard recently."

Yu Zhou looked at Yu Jinshu and said, "Not only do you have to work hard, you also have to be attentive."

Yu Jinshu nodded and said, "Grandma, I'll go back to my room first."

After Yu Jinshu left, Zhao also hurried back to the west room. As soon as she entered the room, she couldn't wait to tell Yu Hanshan, "Mother said she wanted to spend money to let Jinshu go to the county school as well."

Yu Hanshan's eyes widened, his face full of joy, "Did mother really say that?"

"Mother said it in front of Jinshu and me, how could it be false?" Zhao said proudly, "Now that Jinshu and Jinyan can pass the autumn examination, who knows, one of them might really pass and become a juren. Then we can be the father and mother of the juren master."

"Stop daydreaming. Is it so easy to pass the imperial examination?" Yu Hanshan pondered for a while and said, "Didn't the family spend almost all the money to send Jinyan to the county school? Where did mother get the money to send Jinshu to the county school?"

Zhao whispered, "How can we trust our mother's words? She holds all the money in the family. She said that after the autumn harvest, we can sell some grain and collect enough money."

Yu Hanshan glanced towards the east room and said, "The eldest and his wife don't know about this, right?"

"What are you afraid of? What can they do if they find out? Do they want to send Yu Zhizhou to the county school as well? What wishful thinking! That's why our mother is reluctant to give this money to their first wife!" Zhao said with disdain.

Yu Hanshan lowered his voice and said, "Keep your voice down. Jinyan is in the county school now. If Jinshu goes there too, what will happen if the eldest and his wife start to make trouble? Tell our mother, and wait until Jinshu enters the county school, then tell the family to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Zhao murmured quietly, "Mother loves us. Will the eldest brother and his wife send Yu Zhizhou to the county school if they make a fuss? Our mother knows it well. She loves our third branch. Besides, the eldest brother and his wife are so stubborn that they dare not make a fuss with our mother. Just be at ease."

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door of the west room. Yu Hanshan quickly nudged Zhao with his elbow, signaling her to shut up.

There was a knock on the door. Zhao opened it and saw Zhang standing outside. She felt a little guilty, "Sister-in-law, is there something wrong?"

Zhang stood outside the house, "Xue Ru, Third Brother hasn't come back yet, can you help me ask Jin Shu if he knows what Zhi Zhou has done?"

Yu Qiaoshan and his wife, the eldest wife, have two sons and one daughter. Their daughter Yu Gancao is already married, and their eldest son Yu Zhixing has also married and has a daughter. Only their youngest son Yu Zhizhou is still young. He is the third child in the Yu family and, like Yu Jinshu, is studying in an academy in the city.

Seeing that Zhang looked normal and didn't seem to have heard what she had just said, Zhao was relieved and said with a smile, "I'll go ask Jinshu."

Zhang was waiting outside the door. After a while, Yu Jinshu came out from the inner room and said, "Aunt, Zhizhou said he had something to do and will be home later."

"Did Zhizhou say what it was?" Zhang asked worriedly.

Yu Jinshu shook his head, "I didn't hear him say that, but..." Yu Jinshu made a face of embarrassment, "Zhizhou has been getting close to a lazy scholar in the academy recently. When I came back from the academy, I saw Zhizhou and that man walking together. I don't know what they were doing."