There are only two reasons why Jing Zhe was convinced from the beginning that Lu Li was impersonating his older sister.

Firstly, in his original owner's memories, he only had six older sisters. Although he left Jingzhou when he was about six years old, more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and he no longer has much of an impression of his six older sisters, but he still remembers the number clearly, not the seven that Lu Li said.

Furthermore, Jing Wenmao had explicitly told him that his elder sister was the daughter of the current prime minister, and had even left him a letter instructing him to contact her directly if he encountered any difficulties in Jingzhou.

Therefore, Jing Zhe denied Lu Li's status as the eldest sister.

But if Lu Li is impersonating his older sister, what is her purpose?

There seems to be no reason.

Especially when she talked about her childhood, her eyes didn't seem to be lying. Now she has even carved a small wooden figure. If all of this is acting, her skill is truly unmatched.

She had come here specifically to inquire about her background, and as she brought it up, Jing Zhe immediately chimed in, "Big sister, I really don't remember anything from when I was three years old. Could you tell me about it?"

Lu Li glanced at him and shook her head, saying, "I won't talk about it. You don't even remember it, so why bother?"

"..."

What kind of twisted logic is this?

If I remembered, would I need you to tell me?

"Big sister, you were only six or seven years old when you left Jingzhou, right?"

According to Lu Li, she left Jingzhou when she was three years old, so she was only three or four years older than him.

Lu Li didn't speak, she just nodded.

"You're so small...why are you leaving?"

This is what puzzled Jing Zhe.

The other six sisters also left them, but that was out of necessity when Jing Wenmao was demoted to Pengzhou. Lu Li left three years before Jing Wenmao's demotion.

"My parents didn't tell you, so I definitely can't tell you either!"

Lu Li thought for a while before calmly speaking.

"..."

Jing Zhe was truly impressed by this woman, but it didn't matter. He had originally planned to let her speak the truth after drinking, so there was no rush.

He then picked up the liquor from the ground and placed it on the table.

Lu Li glanced at it and asked, "By the way, why are you back at this time? And alone?"

"Things down the mountain are mostly done. Fatty and the others are all very reliable, so whether I'm here or not doesn't really matter. Besides, it's perfectly normal for a younger brother like me to come and visit my older sister up the mountain!"

Lu Li looked at him without saying anything, but her eyes clearly showed that it would be a miracle if she believed him!

Jing Zhe didn't care. After thinking for a moment, he took out six hundred taels of silver notes from his clothes.

Since the opening of Qingliang Yixia, he has collected a total of 600 taels of silver. During the day, he made a special trip to the money exchange to exchange it for silver notes.

"Big sister, please take these first."

Lu Li took the money and stared at the large number of silver notes, slightly taken aback.

"Big sister, these silver notes should be enough to make the brothers on the mountain live a good life, right?"

Jing Zhe asked with a smile.

Previously, everyone on the mountain only spent four or five taels a month, and less than a hundred taels a year. These six hundred taels of silver notes can indeed make life easier for the mountain for a long time.

But Lu Li showed no sign of excitement. She frowned slightly, stared at the radiant Jing Zhe, and said in a deep voice, "Are you planning to leave?"

Jing Zhe didn't hide anything and said, "These mung bean popsicles are selling very well, and in theory, they can continue to sell for a while longer. But Lin the corrupt official's son has his eye on us, and I estimate that he will cause trouble soon. So I plan to sell all the business in the shop in the next two days and make another profit!"

Seeing that Lu Li did not react, he continued, "In that case, it's time for me to leave. If I ride fast, I can make it before the Jingzhou examination."

Having been delayed in Yongzhou for so long, with only about ten days left until the Jingzhou examination, the time is already very tight.

Lu Li glanced at him and said quietly, "Is this exam really absolutely necessary? Is academic achievement really that important?"

"This actually belongs to Dad—"

"Don't mention Father! He was honest and upright his whole life, but he was ostracized and framed in the officialdom of Jingzhou and demoted to Pengzhou, where he lived in constant fear. I don't believe his dying wish was for you to take the imperial examination!"

"..."

It has to be said that Lu Li's guess was correct.

Before his death, Jing Wenmao sent him to Jingzhou to seek refuge with his elder sister, who was the daughter of the prime minister. He did not mention the matter of the examiner.

When he was kidnapped by Lu Li and taken to the mountain, he made up this excuse to escape. In his previous life, he was a top student who always passed his exams, so he wanted to test how well he did in this exam.

But since things had come to this, he couldn't back down, so he stubbornly said, "My elder sister hasn't been with us for so many years, how would she know what Father is thinking? Perhaps he was framed and is upset, so he wants me to pass the imperial examinations to clear his name!"

"..."

Lu Li looked at him without saying a word.

In fact, after spending these days together, she had come to understand Jing Zhe's personality to some extent; once he made up his mind about something, it was difficult for him to change it.

Thinking back on his actions in the city, how he thrived in the complex business world, I couldn't help but smile bitterly: Perhaps he was born for such treacherous situations.

"Elder sister, I know you're worried about me, but if I don't go to Jingzhou, I won't be able to rest easy, and I won't have the face to face Father in the future. I absolutely have to go to Jingzhou! If one day I find Jingzhou to be nothing special, I will come back to seek refuge with you, elder sister. I hope you won't look down on me!"

It was clear that when Lu Li spoke of not wanting him to go to Jingzhou, her tone was earnest and her eyes were filled with worry, which did not seem like she was faking it. Jing Zhe was deeply moved by this, so his tone softened considerably.

"Come with me! If you're worried about me, we can go to Jingzhou together! With your skills, I'll be much safer in Jingzhou!"

Jing Zhe's playful teasing made Lu Li blush, and she glared at him, saying, "Who said I don't trust you!"

Then he added, "Besides, there are so many people on this mountain waiting for me to take care of them, how can I have time to go to Jingzhou?"

“Sister, this six hundred taels of silver is just the beginning. In a couple of days, after we sell the Cool Summer drink, we’ll have much more silver than that. Wouldn’t that be enough for the people on the mountain to spend? If you ask me, once everyone has money, why would they still be mountain bandits? They can just go down the mountain. There’s no need for you to worry about them anymore.”

Although Lu Li is the leader of Mangshan Village, she is actually only a girl in her early twenties. Yet she has to work hard and make plans for more than two hundred people on the mountain, which makes people feel sorry for her.

"Let's talk about this later!"

Lu Li was somewhat tempted, then waved her hand and said, "This is the strong liquor you made that Da Han mentioned? It is indeed fragrant and mellow. Open it and have a taste!"

————