"What's wrong with servants? You can't say anything about my servants! What, you're envious? Then sign a contract of servitude and come be my leg-massaging maid, and you can live in the top-class room too! Mother, Jiang Shan, let's go!" Jiang Ling coldly scolded and turned to walk upstairs.

Old Mrs. Jiang glared at Madam Ma and scolded, "You shameless wretch! You think you're the only one who dares to speak up? If you anger her, I'll see how you get to Shengjing!"

"Are you guys even staying here?" The innkeeper, not interested in watching the family argue, impatiently scolded them.

Grandma Jiang quickly took out sixty copper coins from her bosom and placed them on the counter, saying, "Stay! Stay! We'll take the communal bed!"

"I know, the last room at the back!" The innkeeper said impatiently, putting the sixty copper coins into the drawer and pointing to the back door.

Although the Jiang family of three was unhappy, they could only silently endure it. However, when they arrived at the large communal room that the shopkeeper had mentioned, they instantly regretted it.

The location of the communal sleeping quarters was truly indescribable; it was only a few meters away from the outhouse, and you could even faintly smell the stench of the outhouse as you walked in.

Ma was already uncomfortable sitting the whole way, and the stench made her vomit again.

Although Old Mrs. Jiang was also unhappy, the thought of spending three taels of silver made her heart ache. Even though she had some physical reactions from the fumes, she still gritted her teeth and persevered through the night.

The next morning, the Jiang family of three walked in through the back door with dark circles under their eyes.

Jiang Ling and the others were having breakfast. Looking at the soft, white steamed buns, the golden fried dough sticks, the white porridge with a thick layer of oil, and the oily pickled vegetables, Ma's stomach was rumbling with hunger.

She stared unabashedly at the breakfast on Jiang Ling's table, swallowing hard as she looked at Old Mrs. Jiang.

"Mother, give me some money, I need to buy breakfast!" Madam Ma said to Old Madam Jiang with a displeased look.

"If you have no money, buy it yourself if you want to eat! Don't expect this old woman to give you any money. I'm taking this money to Shengjing for Zhishan!" Old Madam Jiang had already seen Madam Ma's penniless and useless appearance earlier, and she had already cursed Madam Ma to the bone in her heart.

"Jiang Zhishan! Jiang Zhishan! Why is Jiang Zhishan everywhere! Mother, aren't you being too biased?" Madam Ma hadn't slept well yesterday, and when she heard Old Madam Jiang's words, her temper flared up instantly. She looked at Old Madam Jiang with displeasure, ready to explode.

"What? What's wrong with me giving it to Jiang Zhishan? Jiang Zhishan is my son! It's only right that I give it to him!" Old Mrs. Jiang snorted coldly, ignoring Madam Ma's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.

She placed her cloth bag on the table, and several dry rye cakes appeared inside.

"Eat it or not, it's up to you! Zhitang, hurry up and eat!" Grandma Jiang said without even looking up.

Madam Ma was so angry that her temples throbbed. Looking at Granny Zhu drinking her porridge, she felt even more resentful. She plopped down in a chair and muttered, "Hmph! Why? Those are just servants! Why do they eat better than us?"

Grandma Zhu looked displeased upon hearing this, but she didn't say anything because of the relationship between Madam Ma and Jiang Ling.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling gave a cold laugh. Looking at Granny Zhu's expression, she stood up and walked to Madam Ma's side, coldly rebuking her: "So what if they are my servants? You're envious? Fine, then you sign a contract of servitude, and I'll give you food too! My servants are none of the business of an outsider pointing fingers at them!"

"you……"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'Ma'? Let me tell you, if you keep spewing such awful words, I'll leave you here and make you walk back to your Jiang family village by yourself!" Jiang Ling shouted before turning back to her seat.

"Grandma Zhu, Jiang Shan, don't take it to heart! Although your indentures are with me, I have never treated you as servants!" Jiang Ling quickly comforted her.

Jiang Shan, being a man and a warrior, was carefree and didn't take it to heart. However, Granny Zhu looked at Jiang Ling with slightly reddened eyes. She had served people all her life, and only with Jiang Ling did she truly feel like a human being.

"Mom, I want to take this bun with me, I can't eat anymore!" Nianci said, pointing to the last meat bun in front of her.

Jiang Ling nodded, signaling the waiter to come and wrap the buns. Madam Ma seemed to have found another opportunity. She walked to Nianci with a smile and said softly, "You're Nianci, right? These buns won't taste good if you take them with you. They'll go bad on the way and it'll be a waste. Why don't you give these buns to your aunt?"

Before Ma Shi could finish speaking, she immediately hid the steamed buns that were originally on the table in her arms. Although she was not Jiang Ling's son, after getting to know her over the past few days, this so-called aunt was, in her eyes, a greedy and opportunistic person.

He hated her from the bottom of his heart, especially after she had just made Granny Zhu, who had always been kind to him, redden her eyes. His disgust for Madam Ma increased even more.

He shook his head in alarm and jumped behind Jiang Shan, refusing, "No! I won't give you any!"

Madam Ma was a reckless person, but she couldn't say anything at the moment, so she reluctantly and dejectedly returned to Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Zhitang's side.

After the meal, they boarded the carriage again and prepared to set off.

This time, Jiang Ling secretly put some motion sickness medicine she bought from the mall into Ma's kettle.

After drinking the water, Ma felt a little dizzy and, in a daze, leaned against the carriage and fell asleep.

On the sixth day of the tenth lunar month, everything went smoothly.

Jiang Ling and her group finally arrived at the gates of Shengjing.

"Please wait a moment, I'll go report first!" Jiang Shan said to Jiang Ling, who was sitting inside the carriage, as he parked the carriage next to the city gate.

"Congratulations, Anren! Congratulations, Anren! Zhishan has actually become the second-ranked scholar!" Although Jiang Ling couldn't see Jiang Shan's expression, she could tell from his excited words how happy he was.

"What? The second-place finisher?"

"What's the second-place scholar? My husband?"

Grandma Jiang was so excited after hearing Jiang Shan's words that she almost fainted.

Jiang Ling was very happy to hear this, but she was even more curious because, based on her understanding of Jiang Zhishan, the probability of him becoming the top scholar should be higher.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ling whispered, "Then who is this year's top scholar?"

"The Gu family of Shengjing! It's already quite impressive that Young Master Zhishan got second place. It's said that this year's top scholar and third scholar are from prominent families in Shengjing! Especially the Gu family, who have been studying with the Crown Prince since childhood!" Jiang Shan replied.

Hearing this, Jiang Ling nodded secretly. If what Jiang Shan said was true, then it was truly remarkable that Zhi Shan was able to become the second-place scholar.

"Let's go to Zhishan's place first!" Jiang Ling instructed.

Following the directions given by Jiang Ling, Jiang Shan drove the carriage and stopped beside a courtyard in the suburbs of Shengjing.

The long journey left the three members of the Jiang family with almost no strength left to even get out of the car.

However, when Ma saw the somewhat dilapidated courtyard, she couldn't help but curl her lips and say, "Tsk, how come the second-ranked scholar lives in such a shabby place? I thought that when we arrived in Shengjing, we would be able to live in such a grand courtyard!"

"Take it or leave it! If you don't want to stay, then go back! You're so noisy everywhere! Don't you find it annoying?" After hearing Ma's complaints, Grandma Jiang started arguing with Ma again.