142. That's something a three-year-old would come up with.

The backyard of the Marquis of Beiding's residence.

The second brother waited and waited, but his sister didn't come back. Bored, he squatted under a tree and dug an ant hole when suddenly a small body pounced on him from behind, making him stumble.

"Second brother! Yue'er has come back! It's been so long!" The little dumpling looked around suspiciously. "Come and see!"

The second brother immediately became excited: "Yay! You're back! Let me see you, let me see you!"

He held the little bundle in his arms, looking left and right, but he still felt uneasy: "Come on, I'll take you to a completely safe place so we can discuss this in secret!"

The two crawled into the artificial cave, and the little dumpling unfolded the piece of paper with words on it as if presenting a treasure.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the stone, illuminating the neatly written characters in the style of a hairpin.

"Wow!" The second brother's eyes widened. "This character...this character lights up!"

He carefully touched the paper, afraid of smudging the words: "Is the eldest sister of the Duke of Anguo's mansion a fairy?"

The little dumpling proudly wagged its non-existent tail: "Moon said Big Sister's handwriting is beautiful! Tomorrow Second Brother will give this to the Grand Tutor..."

"The Grand Tutor will definitely think I'm a calligraphy prodigy! And then he'll praise me!"

"Yes, yes, Second Brother won't need to write any more words!"

"Not only that, the little prince will also admire me, and might even ask me to be his teacher and teach him to write..." The second brother was lost in his wonderful fantasies. "Hehehehe... I will be the most amazing genius in the entire capital, not only highly skilled in martial arts but also with outstanding academic performance. I will become the 'perfect child' that everyone admires, and adults will make their children learn from me. I will be the king of the kids..."

"Wow!" The little dumpling's eyes lit up. "Second brother will become so amazing!"

"Hehehehe... I'll be first, and you'll be second, little sister."

"Yay!"

-

The next morning.

The second elder brother strode into the Wenhua Hall with his head held high and chest out.

He arrived very early today, and along the way he held up that sheet of paper with his delicate calligraphy writing very high, as if afraid that others wouldn't see it.

He entered the Wenhua Hall with his hand raised, leaving the little dumpling in the classroom, while he went to the back to find Qu Zijin, and then slammed the calligraphy copybook heavily on Qu Zijin's desk.

"Grand Tutor, please look!" He proudly raised his chin. "This student has practiced diligently all night and has finally made some progress!"

Qu Zijin took the paper, and frowned as soon as he glanced at it.

He silently moved the paper further away and then closer, examining it repeatedly, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

The second brother was still gloating: "Grand Tutor, look at what I've written! Isn't it a huge improvement? I'm like that martial arts prodigy who suddenly had an epiphany overnight, opening up his Ren and Du meridians, his internal energy soaring, and in an instant, he became a peerless master, capable of competing for the title of martial arts leader..."

He was engrossed in his art while observing the Grand Tutor's reaction.

but……

Why is the Grand Tutor's face getting increasingly grim?

"Second Young Master," Qu Zijin said slowly, "Are you sure you wrote this?"

"Of course!" The second brother straightened his back. "I practiced hard all night, and my hands are calloused..."

As he spoke, he actually stretched out his right hand, revealing the ink stain that was indeed there.

The second brother, who considered himself exceptionally intelligent, even dabbed ink on his clothes to leave a "study mark."

He's so clever to forge things while praising himself.

However……

Qu Zijin slammed the paper on the table: "Then please write it again right here!"

The second brother's smile instantly froze on his face.

Something's not right.

Something seems off.

From the very beginning, it seems he overlooked something in this plan.

Now he remembered.

He can suddenly write beautiful words overnight, but what should he do after that?

What should you do when you need to write in public?

His smooth brain gradually developed grooves, making him realize the problem and his fate—he was doomed!

He trembled and dared not speak.

"What?" Qu Zijin sneered, "You've forgotten all the amazing skills you just learned overnight?"

"The student... the student suddenly got a hand cramp!" The second brother, quick-witted as ever, clutched his right hand and cried out, "It must be because I practiced too hard last night..."

"Oh?" Qu Zijin helped him spread out a piece of paper. "Then write with your left hand."

"My left hand is twitching too!"

"It's fine, you can write with your mouth too."

The second brother felt as vulnerable as a withered yellow leaf about to fall from a tree branch in the autumn wind outside the window.

Although his brain had developed grooves, it was still somewhat smooth and was trying hard to work, but unfortunately he couldn't come up with a solution for the time being.

Finally, the second brother, with a mournful face, said, "Grand Tutor, I was wrong..."

Qu Zijin was furious: "It's one thing to be lazy, but you even dare to try to fool me with these tricks! Where did this calligraphy copybook come from?"

"Yes...yes..." The second brother's eyes darted around, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, "It was found by a student at a used bookstore! The owner said it was an authentic work by a talented woman from a previous dynasty!"

"Ridiculous!" Qu Zijin pulled out a ruler. "Just because you lack the ability to appreciate art doesn't mean I can't either! This is clearly a child's practice piece! You think you can fool me with such a clumsy attempt? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?!"

How does he know that this idea really came from a three-year-old?

The second brother's first reaction was surprise and confusion, but when he looked up and saw the ruler hanging in mid-air, he was neither surprised nor confused.

The second brother immediately grabbed the tutor's leg and wailed, "It really was a bargain! I spent twenty coins on it! The shopkeeper even said I could get a refund if I overpaid..."

His ramblings became increasingly outrageous, to the point that he almost believed them himself.

Qu Zijin was so angry that the veins on his forehead throbbed and his hand holding the ruler trembled.

Seeing that he remained stubborn and refused to tell the truth, he took a deep breath: "Then tell me, which bookstall? What does the owner look like?"

The second brother cried even harder, snot and tears smeared all over the Grand Tutor's robes, and he casually described the appearance of a character from a storybook: "Well, well, that guy in the south of the city... the boss has a goatee and really small eyes..."

As he spoke, he secretly pinched his thigh to make his crying sound more realistic.

"In that case, I will now leave the palace and take you to confront him face to face."

The second brother's crying stopped abruptly.

He stood frozen in place, forgetting even to fake cry.

This is really bad.

“Keep making things up,” Qu Zijin sneered. “Why aren’t you making things up anymore?”

"Grand Tutor, I was wrong!" Knowing there was no hope of arguing, the second elder brother gave up. "It was...it was given to me by someone else..."

"who?"

"You can't tell!" The second brother shook his head vigorously. "To tell would be to break my promise!"

He's a loyal person; he would never betray Xiao Tuanzi and Lin Lingrong!

Qu Zijin laughed in exasperation: "Then you certainly have a sense of loyalty."

His gaze fell on the figure outside the window, who was trying to hide but still occasionally peeking out furtively with his hair: "Hey you outside the window, come in!"

The little dumpling outside the window paused for a moment, then slowly shuffled in from the doorway.

"Does the county magistrate know what this is?" Qu Zijin held up the piece of paper, his voice unusually stern.

The little dumpling's tiny fingers were tightly gripping the hem of her clothes.

She stole a glance at her second brother kneeling beside her and saw that he was also secretly watching her. The two exchanged a panicked look.

"It was...it was Yue'er who found it!" The brother and sister, who had never considered comparing their statements, gave completely different answers: "Yue'er found it in the garden!"

But what they had in common was that they both concealed Lin Lingrong's existence.

Hearing the little dumpling's answer, the second brother became so anxious that he tugged at his sister's sleeve: "Nonsense! It was clearly me who...from..."

He was stuck for a long time, unable to come up with a solution.

The second brother was very sad... He really couldn't find a reasonable excuse.