Chapter 84 The Prefectural Examination (Second Update)

Huang Zhong found his lord in a large tree a hundred paces away from the courtyard.

Lord Gu was scooped up by Gu Jiao and hung on a large tree branch, like a wet garment, with not a single dry spot on his body, still dripping water.

Huang Zhong was genuinely startled when he saw him. Luckily it was broad daylight; if it were night, he might have thought he had seen a ghost!

"Lord, why did you hang yourself up a tree?"

Did I hang it? It was that audacious girl!

"And why is your face so swollen?"

It's still that girl!

Every time he sees that girl, nothing good comes of it; he's practically covered in bruises!

He realized that the girl was there to bring him bad luck!

"I don't want to acknowledge her back!"

——

Gu Jiao bid farewell to Gu Yan. Gu Yan was very reluctant to part with her, but Gu Jiao promised to come back for a follow-up examination soon, so he reluctantly let her go.

He and Gu Jiao rode together in his sedan chair, and he helped Gu Jiao into the carriage.

This action stunned all the servants.

It should be noted that Gu Yan's sedan chair was his absolute private territory. Once, young Gu Jinyu climbed in out of curiosity and was kicked off by Gu Yan on the spot.

"I'll let you sit here next time," Gu Yan said to Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao nodded: "Okay."

After leaving the hot spring resort, Gu Jiao did not return to the town immediately, but went to Dean Li's house first.

Dean Li was at the academy; only Madam Li and her servants were at home.

Madam Li is not often lucid during the day; it is said that sometimes she doesn't even recognize Dean Li.

However, she seemed to recognize Gu Jiao, and gave Gu Jiao a big handful of candy while smiling.

Gu Jiao examined her body and found that she was fine, just old, with memory loss and physical decline.

Gu Jiao left a basket of fresh mountain produce, but noticed that Old Madam Li kept drooling while staring at a mulberry tree outside the wall. So Gu Jiao went out of the courtyard, intending to pick some mulberries for Old Madam Li.

But when she got closer, she realized that the mulberry tree was not a wild one growing by the roadside, but was planted in the neighbor's courtyard. Because the tree's canopy was so tall, it had grown over the top of their wall.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then walked over and knocked on the other party's door.

"Ahem, who is it?"

With a soft cough, the vermilion door was opened, revealing a lady of refined elegance.

Gu Jiao recognized her at a glance.

She also recognized Gu Jiao.

She covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughed lightly twice, and then smiled: "Miss, it's you?"

Gu Jiao was stunned. She came to pick some mulberries, but how did she end up running into the temple lady?

"Madam, you live so far away?" It's no exaggeration to say that going from here to the temple to offer incense is like trekking through mountains and rivers.

“My husband’s family name is Gu,” Yao said gently.

Gu?

Is there another Gu family here who will become extremely wealthy? The answer is no.

Gu Jiao quickly guessed her identity, but she didn't say that she was the Lady of the Marquis, so Gu Jiao didn't point it out.

Madam Yao invited Gu Jiao in. She had just been sunbathing in the courtyard, where rattan chairs, tables, and benches were all provided.

She pointed to the wooden stool and said, "Sit."

Gu Jiao sat down and noticed that there wasn't a single servant in the courtyard.

Seeing her confusion, Madam Yao smiled and said, "I wanted to be alone for a while, so I sent them to the front yard. This is the back yard. Do you live around here too, young lady?"

Gu Jiao said, "I was just passing by and saw that the mulberries looked delicious, so I thought I'd come in and ask. Am I bothering Madam Gu?"

"No, that's not true." Madam Yao was very happy to see Gu Jiao, though she couldn't explain why. "I'll have someone pick some for you."

Madam Yao summoned a maid to pick mulberries for Gu Jiao, and then she pulled Gu Jiao aside to talk in the courtyard: "I still don't know your name, Miss."

“Gu Jiao,” Gu Jiao said.

Madam Yao smiled with delight: "You also have the surname Gu? We were one family five hundred years ago."

Gu Yan said the same thing; they truly are mother and son.

Yao's condition was not good; she coughed violently after only saying a few words.

Looking at her pale face, Gu Jiao paused for a moment and said, "Madam Gu, if you don't mind, shall I take your pulse?"

"Is Miss Gu proficient in traditional Chinese medicine?"

I know a little bit about it.

Yao smiled and stretched out her hand to place it on the table.

After the maid finished picking a full basket of mulberries, she came over to ask Yao for instructions, but Yao waved her hand, signaling her to leave.

The maid gently placed the mulberries on the table and then withdrew.

Her pulse wasn't very good, but her actual condition was worse than her pulse suggested.

Gu Jiao withdrew her hand without showing any emotion and asked Madam Yao, "Madam Gu, how was your sleep?"

Yao said, "It's not good; I have trouble falling asleep."

Gu Jiao asked, "Appetite?"

Yao shook her head slightly: "I don't have much of an appetite either."

Gu Jiao paused: "Was this before you caught a cold?"

Yao: "Hmm."

Gu Jiao: "About how long has it been?"

Ms. Yao: "I don't remember the specifics, but it's been a long time."

Gu Jiao asked a few more questions.

In fact, the imperial physicians had asked her, but Yao was unwilling to open up and always gave perfunctory answers.

Madam Yao trusted Gu Jiao completely and answered all her questions truthfully.

Gu Jiao then asked, "Madam Gu, you've seen doctors before, haven't you? What did they say?"

Ms. Yao smiled wryly: "They said I was worrying too much and told me to relax and not think about anything. They even prescribed some medicine. But it didn't help much, so I stopped taking it."

That's it.

The doctor's words about excessive worry, in a past life's terms, would be depression.

However, she also suffers from hysteria, which can be very dangerous when it occurs.

Gu Jiao took two boxes of antidepressants from her small medicine box and repackaged them in porcelain bottles.

Sitting opposite Gu Jiao, Yao only saw the upright lid of the box, but did not see what Gu Jiao was doing.

Gu Jiao handed the porcelain bottle to Madam Yao, explained the usage and dosage, and instructed, "Madam Gu, you must take the medicine so that you can get better."

If the imperial physicians' medicine was ineffective, how could medicine handed to you casually by a young girl possibly be effective?

But after the young girl had been busy for so long, Madam Yao couldn't bear to refuse her kindness, so she took the medicine and smiled, "Okay."

Gu Jiao looked earnestly into her eyes: "You can't throw away the medicine. You have to promise me that you will really take the medicine on time."

Madam Yao had not seen such a sincere look in her eyes for a long time. Those who wanted to cure her were not trying to cure her, but rather the lady of the Marquis's mansion.

If she weren't the Lady of the Marquis, no one would even glance at her.

But the little girl in front of her truly wanted to cure her.

When Yao offered to pay Gu Jiao for her consultation, Gu Jiao shook the mulberries in her basket.

Yao smiled.

However, Gu Jiao did ask Yao for some extra consultation fees, but not in silver; instead, she asked for pastries that she made herself.

Ms. Yao was very happy.

She hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Every time she met her, she always had good luck; she was either saved or healed by her.

Is this girl her lucky star?

Perhaps because they were the same age, Yao quickly thought of Gu Jinyu.

Although they are mother and daughter, her relationship with Jinyu is not as close as her relationship with Gu Yan.

Even if Gu Yan always had a sour face, she could still sense his need for her.

She stayed at the manor, while Gu Yan would not agree to go to the capital. Jin Yu, on the other hand, could leave much more easily, as she seemed to yearn for the prosperity of the capital and the liveliness of the Marquis's mansion.

This doesn't mean that Jinyu doesn't love her mother, but rather that Jinyu's world includes more than just her mother.

Even without her, Jinyu can live a good life.

She thought this might be a good thing.

After all, if Gu Yan were gone one day, she wouldn't want to live anymore.

At least she doesn't have to worry about Jinyu.

On the way back, Gu Jiao asked the second master about the Marquis's mansion.

"Which aspect are you referring to?" the second employer asked.

“Madam Hou,” Gu Jiao said.

It wasn't surprising that they asked about Madam Hou, since they had already met three of the owners of the hot spring resort, and only that Madam was someone they had never met before.

The second master didn't think Gu Jiao had any ulterior motives. He thought for a moment and said, "That Lady Hou seems to be surnamed Yao, and she has quite a story. She is the second wife of the Marquis of Ding'an. Her family has fallen on hard times, and her father had a sinecure in the Ministry of Revenue. It is said that he offended someone and eventually lost even that sinecure. She and the former Lady Hou were very close friends. Before the former Lady Hou passed away, she visited her several times. There were rumors in the capital that she took advantage of the former Lady Hou's serious illness to seduce the Marquis of Ding'an."

Gu Jiao frowned slightly; she didn't seem like that kind of person.

The second landlord continued, "The truth is that she never even met the Marquis of Ding'an at the Marquis's residence."

"How did you know?" Gu Jiao asked.

The second master smiled faintly: "Our Huichuntang has a certain reputation in the capital. The imperial physician who treated the former Marquis's wife has some dealings with our family. However, the former Marquis's wife did ask Yao to take care of her children."

Gu Jiao asked, "Did the former Marquis's wife have children?"

The second servant said, "That's right, he has three sons. The former Marquis's wife had the idea of ​​having Yao Shi become Marquis Ding'an's second wife, but unfortunately Yao Shi herself disagreed. Yao Shi refused in person, and the imperial physician heard everything while he was preparing the medicine."

"But after many twists and turns, the Marquis of Ding'an finally met Yao and took a liking to her at first sight. The Marquis of Ding'an directly proposed marriage to the Yao family, and the Yao family agreed without hesitation. You can probably guess what happened next: all sorts of rumors slandering Yao began to circulate in the capital."

"The reason why Lady Hou has stayed at the hot spring resort all these years is twofold: first, to accompany Gu Yan in his recovery, and second, because she is not comfortable living in the capital."

"The Marquis of Ding'an didn't actually have much affection for his first wife. On the contrary, he doted on Yao. Given Yao's background, she was not qualified to be his second wife, but he insisted on marrying her. However, the more he doted on Yao, the more people felt that Yao was a vixen."

In fact, the second boss had met Yao once before. She was a woman without any guile, with eyes as clear as a lake.

If she's a vixen, then nobody in the world is.

——

Ten days after the prefectural examination ended, the results were released by the prefectural government.

Early in the morning, the candidates flocked to the government office, eager to see if they had passed the exam.

The number of people admitted through the prefectural examination was very limited. Out of several hundred candidates, only fifty were admitted, divided into two grades: Grade A and Grade B. Ten people were admitted to Grade A, and the rest were admitted to Grade B.

Feng Lin was woken up by Du Ruohan, who had slipped out of the prefect's mansion before dawn: "Feng Lin, Feng Lin! Get up! You've lost money!"

Du Ruohan made a bet with Feng Lin, betting that Xiao Liulang would fail the exam, with a stake of ten taels of silver.

Feng Lin opened the door with a yawn: "...I haven't had breakfast yet."

Du Ruohan immediately stuffed a large meat bun into his mouth and pulled him downstairs.

Feng Lin took the steamed bun: "Sixth Brother hasn't eaten yet either..."

Du Ruohan said, "Alright, alright! He has hands and feet, he's not going to starve to death!"

Without saying a word, Du Ruohan dragged Feng Lin to the entrance of the government office.

There were already many candidates standing there, crowding around the notice board. It took Du Ruohan a lot of effort to pull Feng Lin to the very back.

In Du Ruohan's opinion, the chances of a dullard like Xiao Liulang passing the exam are really slim.

"Hehehe, just wait and see, Feng Xiaodun, you'll get your money!"

"I'm not Feng Xiaodun! I... I didn't..." Feng Lin's gaze fell on the prominent name that no one could ignore, and he suddenly choked, pointing at the list and saying, "You... look!"

Du Ruohan looked in the direction he was pointing.

In a very prominent position, I saw a name—Xiao Liulang, the top scorer in the prefectural examination!

Du Ruohan's jaw nearly dropped in shock: "No way? That guy actually passed the exam? And he was the top scorer? How is that possible?"

Where's the silly boy I was promised?

How could someone who couldn't even finish reciting the Three Character Classic suddenly become the top scorer in the prefectural examination?

The top scorer in the prefectural examination is much harder to achieve than the top scorer in the county examination; they are not even in the same league.

Besides, the test questions were set by his perverted uncle, which made it even more difficult for him to answer them.

Feng Lin extended his hand.

Du Ruohan: What?

Feng Lin: "I'm willing to accept the consequences of my bet."

No, didn't you refuse to bet with me?

You've been corrupted by that kid!

Feng Lin returned to the inn with all of Du Ruohan's belongings, beaming with joy. He gave half of the silver to Xiao Liulang, and needless to say, the messenger had already come to the inn to congratulate him on his achievements.

One more chapter to come

(End of this chapter)