I heard that many officials in the Ministry of Justice were so frightened that they submitted their resignations.

This person carries an ominous air about him. When he was in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue was emptied out, and during the imperial examinations, the Ministry of Rites also suffered.

Upon arriving at the Ministry of Justice, one wonders what kind of bloody storm awaits.

The Jiang family also "benefited from misfortune." Just like in the previous life, after the Spring Examination incident, Jiang's father was promoted one rank.

With Pei Yanzhi's momentum at its peak, the Jiang residence was also bustling with guests.

The Earl's family has also started visiting again, becoming friendly with the Marquis's family. The old lady was originally extremely disgusted, but perhaps because she is old, she couldn't stand the Earl's wife's thick skin and her daily visits to the Marquis's family. Now the two families are not much different from before.

As for Jiang Yao, ever since Pei Yanzhi won the championship again and Pei Lingyu still failed, she seemed to have lost her soul and no longer cared about Pei Lingyu and Xiao Taohong's romantic affairs.

Even when Jiang Shuwan came to visit her, she was like a rooster without any fighting spirit. When her aunt asked her to serve tea to Jiang Shuwan, she served tea, but she had no energy or spirit at all.

Regret filled her entire being; in her previous life, she had died of illness during the Imperial Examination.

Having been reborn, all I want to do is live a good life and rekindle my romance with Pei Lingyu.

Who would have thought that the Earl's mansion would now be penniless and powerless, and that Pei Lingyu would fail the imperial examinations twice...

The first time, she could comfort herself that Yulang was inexperienced, and that this time it didn't count anyway, so she could just take the test better the second time.

When the results of her second retake came out, she could no longer find an excuse.

"Miss, the young master has gone to Xiaotaohong Courtyard again. What kind of behavior is it for a lowly concubine to control the master all day long? The madam really doesn't even try to stop him..."

All I could hear was the girl's complaining voice.

Hearing these words, Jiang Yao felt completely empty.

She certainly knew why the Duchess didn't care.

At the height of the imperial examination scandal, although the Earl's Mansion did not visit the Marquis's Mansion, seemingly drawing a clear line between the two mansions, the Earl's Mansion was still filled with unease.

One night, a thief from who-knows-where sneaked into the Earl's mansion to steal. No money was lost, but Lianxiang and Lianyu were so frightened that they went into premature labor and gave birth to twin daughters.

The Earl's household has three pregnant women; two have given birth to daughters, and the only one still pregnant is Xiao Taohong.

Lady Bo was eager for a grandson, and her attitude towards Xiao Taohong changed instantly. Not only did she renovate the remote and dilapidated East Courtyard, but she also kept Pei Lingyu quiet for days while Xiao Taohong held sway over him.

Xiao Taohong is now the most sought-after person in the Earl's mansion.

On the contrary, she had nothing left except the title of legal wife.

"Miss, don't give up on yourself! Ever since the imperial examination ended and you had that fight with the young master, he hasn't come to your courtyard at all. You have to think of something..."

Seeing that Jiang Yao looked listless, the maid quickly tried to comfort her.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yao's empty eyes darted around, and she stood up from the chair, supporting herself with her hands.

"Let's go out for a walk, it's been so long since we've been out..."

"That's great! After so long, Miss is finally willing to go out."

The maidservant quickly and happily dressed her up. Even though it was just a stroll in the courtyard, at least she was out of the room.

Soon, the two arrived at the Bo Mansion Garden. The courtyard was full of pear and apricot blossoms. Jiang Yao was about to ask the maid to pick a few branches to take back and put in a vase when she suddenly saw that seats had been set up in the pavilion. It turned out that Pei Lingyu and Xiao Taohong were there enjoying themselves, admiring the flowers and drinking wine.

"Sir, please have a couple more drinks. You've been working so hard these days; look at you, your face is all sallow..."

"Where? Let me see."

Pei Lingyu quickly asked the maid to bring a mirror, and sure enough, she found that her brows and eyebrows looked much more aged.

"It must be from the spring imperial examinations that I'm exhausted. Those spring imperial examinations were killing me..."

Pei Lingyu sighed, and Xiao Taohong quickly poured him some wine. The two of them were so affectionate that they didn't care who else was around.

At that moment, Jiang Yao found it ridiculous.

Previously, Madam Bo had encouraged Pei Lingyu to strive for improvement, but after the results of the imperial examination came out, Madam Bo stopped caring about Pei Lingyu and only told her to curry favor with Jiang Shuwan.

In an era where men hold official positions, they are placing the glory of the entire prefecture upon her.

And Pei Lingyu too...

If he can't even make it into the top three, what's the difference between him and an ordinary prostitute, besides being able to recite a few pretentious poems...?

I actually took a fancy to a brothel regular...

With a loud "whoosh," Jiang Yao, leaning against the flower bed, vomited a mess of filth.

nausea!

That's absolutely disgusting!

************

The next day was the day that Elder Yun retired and returned to his hometown.

Although prior notice had been given, many students and disciples of the elder still came to bid him farewell upon hearing the news.

The people seeing them off followed them all the way to the city gate before reluctantly turning back.

As relatives by marriage, the entire Marquis's family came to see them off.

The old lady and the elder brother and sister, Yun, held each other's hands, reluctant to part, tears streaming down their faces, their hearts filled with unspeakable sorrow.

"Brother, I'm afraid it will be hard to see you again after this parting."

The old lady wiped away her tears; her temples, already frosty, were soaked with tears.

Previously, the Marquis's mansion suffered a calamity, and Lord Yun was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. She forced herself to stay healthy and did not fall ill. She thought that this calamity was finally over, but she did not expect that she would eventually have to part ways.

At their age, once they part, it's truly unlikely they'll ever have the chance to meet again.

"There will be a chance, there will definitely be a chance..."

Lord Yun was also in tears. He squeezed the old lady's fingers tightly, then boarded the carriage. As the carriage drove away, the old lady almost fainted from crying.

After the old lady was escorted back to her residence, Pei Yanzhi had also disappeared.

"Princess, the Fourth Prince has gone outside the city."

Upon hearing General Gu's report, Jiang Shuwan clenched her fists tightly. Without paying attention to Pei Yanzhi's whereabouts, she immediately rode a horse out of the city.

Not long after, the guards ahead told her that Li Chengyun's men had split into two groups: one group followed behind the Yun family's caravan, while the other group set up an ambush at Shilipo.

Jiang Shuwan then stopped following the Yun family's caravan and took a shortcut to Shili Slope. However, even with General Gu by her side, she dared not get too close.

He found a small hilltop, lay down, and then took out a pair of binoculars from his pocket.

From a distance of several kilometers, the Yun family's horse caravan could be seen slowly entering the forest at Shilipo. The wheels made a "creaking" sound on the ground covered with fallen leaves, and dappled sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves onto the carriages, draping the caravan in a golden veil.

The Yun family had three carriages. The first one belonged to Elder Yun, and the coachman and servants were all members of the Yun family.

Then, turning the gaze again, Li Chengyun, dressed in black, was following behind with his men, probably only a few hundred meters away from the Yun family.

Jiang Shuwan watched with trepidation.

She thought she would be waiting for the old emperor's men, but unexpectedly she met Li Chengyun instead!

What the hell is this thing doing?