When Lady Wei heard that it would cost 10 taels per month, her face turned pale and then flushed.

"What? Do you still want Peng'er to go to school?" Grandma Ye said.

At that moment, a figure rushed out of the room; it was Ye Peng.

He looked utterly hopeless: "Grandma, don't make me study! I'll die!"

Old Mrs. Ye sighed heavily and looked at Madam Wei, saying, "See? Humph, you decide for yourself."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

Ye Peng quickly chased after him.

Once outside the gate, Ye Peng, looking apologetic, took Grandma Ye's hand and said, "Grandma, don't be angry."

Grandma Ye gently patted his hand: "Grandma isn't angry. Peng'er, Grandma doesn't look down on you, nor is she biased. In Grandma's heart, you are the same as Xuan'er and Yong'er."

"I know all that," Ye Peng grinned. "I'm taking the milk home."

Grandma Ye nodded with a look of satisfaction.

Since the family split up and she started earning money, the second son's wife has changed a lot.

After taking Grandma Ye home, Ye Peng wandered aimlessly at the foot of the mountain, his mind preoccupied.

From afar, Ye Jin'er could be seen picking wild chrysanthemums.

Ye Peng was overjoyed and ran over: "Jin'er, what are you doing here? Weren't you going to play with Miss Chen?"

Ye Jin'er turned around and said, "Sister Man, Huan'er, and Yinhua went to the mountain stream to catch shrimp. I was afraid of getting my feet wet, so I didn't want to go. I just picked some wild chrysanthemums. Mr. Shen just said that chrysanthemum tea is delicious. I'll give some to them after they're dried."

"Then I'll pick them with you." Ye Peng excitedly began picking flowers.

"Oh, thank you."

After picking for a while, Ye Jin'er noticed that he remained silent, so she asked, "Is Third Cousin unhappy?"

Ye Peng scratched his head: "My mom always makes me study, it's so annoying. I finally calmed down for a while, but she's acting up again today, sigh."

Ye Jin'er chuckled: "You guys have had a tough time."

My second aunt used to be very gentle, but she's not so kind now.

Ye Peng put a bunch of flowers into her cloth bag: "Does not studying and not taking the imperial examinations mean I'm a failure?"

"No way. As long as the person is good, what does being successful have to do with studying? Like my mother, she didn't take the imperial examinations, but she's very successful, and everyone in the village praises her!"

"My mother also said that as long as you live a good life and work hard, you will succeed."

Ye Peng's previously depressed mood instantly brightened: "Hehe, as long as you don't think I'm useless, that's fine."

...

Ye Caiping and Shen Zhiyan, along with two others, went up the mountain.

Ye Daquan said, "Let's go to the denser area on the front of the mountain. I heard there are several yellow muntjacs on this mountain. I saw one there last time."

Shen Zhiyan was excited, and the group followed Ye Daquan forward.

Unexpectedly, after walking for a while, they encountered four or five scholars.

Li Zhiyuan, who was in the lead, darkened his face: "The Ye family?"

Ye Caiping felt annoyed and didn't bother with him, and was about to continue on her way.

Li Zhiyuan snorted, "What are you doing here? Are you following me?"

Ye Caiping was speechless. Where did this narcissistic oddball come from?

Before she could speak, Ye Daquan roared, "Who's following you? This is Niutou Mountain, the mountain that our Qinghe Village is backed by!"

“You’re from Lijia Village, which is ten miles away from us! It’s normal for us to go up the mountain, but it’s not normal for you! What are you trying to steal from us?”

Li Zhiyuan then remembered that Qinghe Village was just down the mountain, and his face darkened: "Bah, what stealing? I went up the mountain with my classmates to enjoy the scenery and compose poems."

Li Zhiyuan often went out and had gatherings with his classmates.

This time, the decision was made to go hiking, and Li Zhiyuan was in charge of choosing the location.

Niutou Mountain is the largest and flattest mountain in the vicinity, with excellent scenery. Most importantly, it is not steep and easy to climb!

If he were to climb that dilapidated mountain near their Li family village, he would collapse on the ground before even reaching the halfway point, and he would lose all face.

That's why Li Zhiyuan decided to come here.

His classmate behind him asked, "Brother Li, what's going on?"

"Hehe, it's alright, it's alright, let's continue!" Li Zhiyuan didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he turned to leave.

Suddenly, she saw Shen Zhiyan behind Ye Caiping and was taken aback.

Who is this pretty boy? Not only is he... well, he's quite handsome, but he's also dressed in silk! He looks like a young master from a wealthy family.

That shameless woman, Ye, actually stood so close to him!

Li Zhiyuan got annoyed and stopped in his tracks: "Who is this pretty boy?"

"What's it to you?" Ye Caiping glanced at him with disgust. "Let's go."

With that, the group quickly left, and Ye Xuan's voice drifted back from afar: "Mr. Shen, don't pay attention to such boring people..."

"Sir?" Li Zhiyuan was taken aback. Could this be Ye Xuan's teacher?

During this period, Li Zhiyuan also paid attention to Ye Xuan.

When Ye Xuan passed the imperial examination, he was filled with jealousy and resentment, but strangely, Ye Xuan did not come to the county school. He then assumed that Ye Xuan was still with Teacher Qian.

How foolish! He passed the preliminary examination and didn't even come to the county school!

Mr. Qian is just an old scholar, while the teachers in the county school are all successful candidates in the imperial examinations!

Not coming to the county school was Ye Xuan's biggest mistake!

Li Zhiyuan was overjoyed, inwardly cursing Ye Xuan for being foolish.

Who would have thought that Ye Xuan would actually change his teacher?

Li Zhiyuan felt a surge of alertness and turned to ask his classmates, "Have you ever heard of this person surnamed Chen?"

"Never heard of it."

"I've never seen it before."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyuan understood the situation and couldn't help but sneer.

Everyone in their circle knows which students have passed the preliminary examination, which ones have passed the county-level examination, and how many others have passed the provincial-level examination!

So it seems this pretty boy isn't even a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations! Otherwise, how could he not even have a reputation?

That's absolutely hilarious!

That wretched woman, Ye, must have been bewitched by that pretty boy to make such a foolish decision!

Ye Xuan passed the preliminary examination at such a young age. As long as he studies hard at the county school, he has a good chance of becoming a scholar in the future.

Now look what's happened! She's stuck with some good-for-nothing pretty boy, he's definitely not going to win any prizes in the future!

Li Zhiyuan became increasingly pleased with himself and almost burst into laughter three times!

But the thought of a pretty boy appearing next to Ye Caiping made her furious again.

...

Ye Caiping was not affected by Li Zhiyuan's mood; in her eyes, he was just like air.

Ye Daquan kept talking about what animals were in the mountains and his various strange experiences there. His mouth never stopped, and when he got excited, he would even gesture a few times.

Shen Zhiyan listened and laughed all the way: "Brother Ye is really an interesting person."

Ye Xuan wiped his sweat. "As long as you don't mind this idiot's chatter."

Shen Zhiyan asked casually, "Who was that man just now?"

Ye Daquan and Ye Xuan's expressions changed slightly.

Ye Caiping, however, didn't seem to care: "Oh, that's my ex-husband."

Shen Zhiyan raised an eyebrow: "You're really ugly."

Ye Caiping: "Uh, it is a bit ugly..."

Ye Xuan thought to himself, "When did you start judging people by their appearance?"