Chapter 29: The good news of the donation to the prison, a disaster confirms it.

Pointing out the inappropriateness of the two women one by one, Zhang Ting also stood up for the innocent bystanders who were affected and severely criticized them.

Xu Jianyuan thought Zhang Ting would defend herself, but she was unexpectedly criticized mercilessly. Unfortunately, she felt guilty and accidentally hurt someone else.

The woman in the purple robe's friend, who considered himself to be on the side of justice, was unexpectedly accused of interfering in other people's feuds, escalating the incident, and causing suffering to other classmates.

Knowing she was in the wrong, she opened her mouth, wanting to question Zhang Ting about whether she would allow her friend to be slandered.

But considering that his friend had not yet stood up to refute him, he glanced at the other person but ultimately remained silent.

"This is just a misunderstanding, Sister Xu, please don't let it ruin our relationship."

"Sister Xu is straightforward and has no ill intentions. We were classmates and will be serving as officials in the same court in the future, so please don't be angry."

The two women had been criticized and were now losing face, so when Zhang Ting offered them a way out, they naturally went along with it.

The woman in the purple robe was also afraid of offending Xu Jianyuan, which would cause the Grand Secretary Xu to dislike her and ruin her career, so she quickly chimed in, "We're all sisters, so let's just let it go."

Xu Jianyuan glanced at her disdainfully, snorted coldly, and wanted to say a few more sarcastic remarks, but he was stunned by Zhang Ting's gaze and swallowed the words that had not yet come out, and curled his lips.

That's the end of that.

Fortunately, no problems arose. Qiu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, made some witty remarks to liven up the atmosphere again, and invited everyone to go for tea.

Seeing that the two who had been fighting earlier were going their separate ways, Qiu Yuan felt relieved and pulled Zhang Ting inside. She thanked her, saying, "If you hadn't come to my rescue, who knows what would have happened? It would have made me, the host, lose face."

"Thank you this time, sister."

Zhang Ting smiled modestly and said, "It's just a few words. I'm already very fortunate to be able to help you, sister."

I chose a quiet spot by the window and sat down. The servant next to me stirred the tea paste, which hung on the side of the bowl without dripping. His movements were fluid and pleasing to the eye.

Qiu Yuan asked Zhang Ting about his favorite things and told the servant.

Finally, a bowl was served to each of them. Qiu Yuan's tea was decorated with an orchid, while Zhang Ting's was decorated with a clump of green bamboo.

Qiu Yuan looked at her own bowl, then at Zhang Ting's, and jokingly said, "Well, well! It's true what they say, a man can't be kept once he grows up. He drew such a hasty picture for me, but he drew such a delicate one for his sister."

The servant opposite him blushed deeply and remained silent, head bowed.

Zhang Ting chuckled lightly: "The green bamboo has rather intricate branches and leaves, how can that be considered delicate? I think the orchid in your bowl, sister, is quite charming."

This made Qiu Yuan laugh, and she exclaimed, "My sister is truly a wonderful person."

"Wouldn't it be delightful to study with me at the Imperial Academy, researching knowledge and drinking wine and composing poetry in our leisure time?"

Zhang Ting frowned and sighed softly, "The Imperial Academy isn't something you can just go to whenever you want."

The Imperial Academy is the most prestigious institution of learning in the country, and students are desperate to get in. However, if you don't have connections, even if you can donate your wealth and go there with gold and silver, you will still be turned away.

Qiu Yuan's aunt was the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, and the relatives had a very good relationship, so she knew some of the inside information.

Qiu Yuan valued Zhang Ting highly. She waved for the servant to leave and whispered in Zhang Ting's ear, "In mid-May, the Imperial Academy will be recruiting students. I told my aunt that you can donate money to get into the academy then."

Having connections in the imperial court makes it easier to become an official.

Zhang Ting's face lit up with joy, and he asked, "How much will it cost?"

Qiu Yuan thought for a moment, "One hundred and fifty taels for the subsidized students and three hundred taels for the supplementary students." Actually, there was also a student who ranked lower, but she felt that mentioning this would be too insulting to Zhang Ting, so she didn't say it.

Fortunately, the original student was a slightly better-ranked student from the supplementary enrollment program.

The donation for prison only costs three hundred taels of silver, which is more than enough for Zhang Ting now.

But she probed further, "Sister, do you know how many students we'll be recruiting this time?"

Even if top universities try to fill two spots in one, the number of places is still limited.

Qiu Yuan thought she was worried about being squeezed out by other tribute students and successful candidates, so she comforted her: "Sister, there's no need to worry. My aunt can still manage to secure one or two spots."

Zhang Ting seemed thoughtful, then turned to her and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sister, but I have a friend whose talent far surpasses mine. If it's convenient, could we go together to donate to prison?"

One more person wouldn't make a difference. Qiu Yuan didn't care about the person's education level, but she was happy to give Zhang Ting face.

"Why not? My sister can just write to me then."

The two reached an agreement, and Zhang Ting was overjoyed.

The western suburbs are remote, and few students stay for dinner. While it was still early, Zhang Ting squeezed in to say goodbye to Qiu Yuan.

Just as Zhang Ting was about to step onto the carriage, Xu Jianyuan stopped him with one hand. Zhang Ting stopped and turned around to look at her in surprise.

Xu Jianyuan cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and said in a low voice, "Thank you for today."

Her voice was so soft that Zhang Ting almost didn't hear it. With no one around, she smiled faintly and replied with the same template: "It's just a few words. I'm already very fortunate to be able to help you, sister."

Everyone loves to hear humble words, especially someone like Xu Jianyuan who has a high opinion of himself. He only felt Zhang Ting's respect and admiration for him.

She turned her head to the side, and an involuntary smile appeared on her lips. She was in a very good mood, and she lowered her voice to maintain her dignified demeanor: "My surname is Xu, and my given name is Zhengrong. I am twenty-three years old this year. I am the top scholar of the Imperial Academy. I have chosen the Book of Documents as my classic and live in the Xu Mansion to learn how to write essays from my aunt."

Seemingly realizing she had said too much, she immediately stopped talking, looking somewhat annoyed. But believing that Zhang Ting had somehow received her signal, she glanced at him and left gracefully.

After listening to Xu Zhengrong's introduction, Zhang Ting showed a rare look of confusion. She watched Xu Zhengrong's figure disappear, shook her head, and did not pursue the matter further.

Stepping into the carriage, Zhang Ting leaned comfortably against the wall for a short rest, closed her eyes, reviewed the day's events, and smiled contentedly.

Suddenly, her right eyelid started twitching again. Zhang Ting gently rubbed her temple, puzzled: Could there be some other disaster?

She was a cautious person and specifically instructed the driver to take the route with heavy traffic.

Two people chased out from inside Qiu Manor. They looked at the empty gate and sighed deeply. The woman in purple robes stepped forward to take her friend's hand, but the friend shook her off.

The other person then got into their own carriage without looking back, and the two went their separate ways.

As the carriage entered the bustling city, Zhang Ting was drawn by the noise and lifted the curtain to look out.

The streets were bustling with people, regaining their former prosperity. There were also acrobatic performances by technicians, which were so wonderful that they dazzled the audience.

At the climax of the performance, the crowd cheered and threw money into the copper plate.

She watched with great interest, wondering if Ke Ying Lou could introduce such performances to attract diners.

Zhang Ting was deep in thought when a loud bang and tremor jolted her awake. Her body was thrown forward by the force of the impact, and she quickly grabbed the window frame to steady herself.

With a furrowed brow, he asked the driver, "What is it?"

Before the coachman could respond, hurried footsteps sounded outside, followed by an apologetic voice: "My apologies, my apologies, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Zhang Ting lifted the carriage curtain again and saw a round-faced, kind-looking woman in her thirties, dressed in a green silk dress, followed by two maids.

Since the other party took the initiative to get out of the car and apologize, Zhang Ting also spoke up out of courtesy.

She glanced at the car body discreetly, noticing only minor scratches, then looked away and smiled faintly: "It's nothing."

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, cupped her hands to Zhang Ting, and said gently, "I am Zhang Sheng from Taizhou Prefecture. I am truly sorry that your carriage startled you, Madam. However, I have important business to attend to today. I hope you will leave your address so that I may bring gifts to your residence to apologize in a few days."

Zhang Ting was surprised: "We're from the same family? I, Zhang Ting, was originally from Zhangzhou Prefecture, but now I live in Tongzhou Prefecture."

Zhang Sheng was pleasantly surprised. He took Zhang Ting's hand and looked her up and down. What a handsome young man!

Judging from Zhang Ting's demeanor, he was no ordinary person. After a brief chat, I learned that Zhang Ting was actually the owner of Keyinglou Restaurant, which was the most popular restaurant in Kyoto recently.

Zhang Sheng was astonished; the younger generation is truly formidable!

Even though the matter was urgent, she couldn't help but ask, "What a coincidence that we are here today. May I ask what your father's name is, my dear nephew?"

"My mother's given name was Qiu, but... alas, both her parents passed away a few years ago."

Zhang Qiu?

Zhang Sheng had never heard of this person's name in the clan, and they were not from the same clan. She was quite disappointed, thinking how wonderful it would be if this handsome young man were a daughter of her own clan.

"This old woman spoke without thinking, my dear nephew, please don't take offense."

He then comforted Zhang Ting, saying, "Now that you have achieved great success, your parents, if they knew this in the afterlife, would surely be very pleased."

Zhang Ting thanked her softly.

The maidservant remembered the important matter and came over to urge her master. Zhang Sheng liked Zhang Ting very much, but it was a pity that he hadn't talked to her much. However, he knew that if he stayed any longer, things would go wrong. He agreed to go to Zhang Ting's residence the next day to have a chat, and then hurriedly took his leave.

Zhang Ting was in a good mood. On the way, she came across a barbecue stall. The aroma of meat mixed with the strong smell of smoke and seasonings filled the air, making people's mouths water.

Seeing that the shop was cramped but clean and tidy, Zhang Ting bought thirty catties of meat from the shopkeeper and asked her to grill it and deliver it to the Zhang residence on Pear Blossom Street.

The carriage swayed and slowly drove away, without encountering any further accidents along the way.

After getting off the bus, Zhang Ting looked at the sky and estimated that the roast meat would be delivered before dinner. Recalling the unique aroma of the meat, he felt extremely pleased.

She swaggered into the Zhang residence and saw Lin Xiuzhen squatting on the steps fiddling with something. Curious, she went over to take a look.

The other person was holding a piece of wood and carefully carving it with a carving knife. He was so focused that he didn't even notice when Zhang Ting was standing next to him.

Zhang Ting was quite interested in the ancient craftsmanship and asked softly, "What are you carving?"

Lin Xiuzhen looked up and smiled innocently, then stood up, still holding the wooden hairpin. She seemed a little awkward. "Miss, when I went into the inner courtyard to serve meals today, I saw that Young Master Xiaoyi's wooden hairpin was broken, so I thought I would make him another one."

It's good to have employees who are multi-talented, but it's even better if those skills are put to good use.

Yesterday, Du Zaolang complained to her that there weren't enough dishes and that they needed to be bought. Zhang Ting smiled slightly and patted Lin Xiuzhen's arm, "Xiuzhen, you actually have such skills? I'm quite impressed."

"There are many people in the family now, and the kitchen still needs dozens of bowls and plates. If you have time, please go and help out. We will calculate your wages separately then."

When the host gave the order, Lin Xiuzhen had no choice but to comply. The dishes were easy to prepare, and she even got paid. She felt like she had hit the jackpot that day.

Lin Xiuzhen chuckled, "Thank you, Miss!"

Zhang Ting was very satisfied with her employee's ambition and told her to keep up the good work, adding that she would give her a raise depending on her performance.

Seeing that the orchids growing under the eaves had withered and yellow leaves, looking like they were about to die, he told Lin Xiuzhen to throw them away and then report to Du Zaolang to buy new ones.

Zhang Ting went back to her study and poured herself a glass of water. The weather was still cold, and the teapot was full of cold water, but she didn't care and drank it directly.

I had just sat down for a short while when Du Zaolang knocked on the door.

The study door was open, and Zhang Ting told him to come in directly.

I was just about to tell him that the meat skewers he bought would arrive in a while and that we should set the table later when a sheet of paper was handed to me, covered with tiny, densely packed words.

Her heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into her mind once again.

Zhang Ting took it with one hand, frowned, pursed her thin lips, and suddenly curled her lips into a half-smile.

Disaster struck again, and it was him once more.

Zhang Ting told Du Zaolang to wait for the roast meat to be delivered before setting out the meal, while she took the list to find 1,000 taels... oh no, now it's 4,000 taels.