Seeing Jiang Zhishan's expression, Jiang Ling became even more certain of her thoughts. She glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before saying, "You've never been good at lying since you were little. When you lie, you blush and like to touch your nose!"

Jiang Zhishan blushed even more upon hearing this. He opened his mouth but hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. Jiang Ling gently patted Jiang Zhishan's shoulder and said softly, "You and Zhitang have always been very good to me since we were little. Last month, you secretly slipped me sweet potatoes. Zhishan, what's wrong with you?"

"Big sister...I..." Jiang Ling's words seemed to touch Jiang Zhishan's heart, and Jiang Zhishan's voice was already trembling with sobs as she spoke.

Jiang Ling quickly took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to Jiang Zhishan, half-jokingly saying, "Zhishan, you're still just like when you were little, always crying!"

Jiang Zhishan took a deep breath and said, "Elder sister, I... I can no longer take the exam!"

"What? Is it really because of the travel expenses?" Jiang Ling asked, frowning.

“No…no…” Jiang Zhishan sighed heavily and continued with reddened eyes, “Elder sister, you don’t know this, even among scholars there are class divisions. Because of my family’s poverty, I was bullied by other students in school. At first, I didn’t care. I thought that as long as I studied hard and passed the imperial examination, I could finally hold my head high.”

"Unexpectedly, they were jealous of the teacher's fondness for me, and they conspired to frame me, saying that I had spied on the teacher's daughter taking a bath. They even made up some unfounded evidence. The teacher was so angry that he expelled me from the academy."

At this point, Jiang Zhishan could no longer hold back and covered her mouth, sobbing.

Looking at Jiang Zhishan, who was crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, Jiang Ling couldn't help but feel sorry for her youngest brother. In her memory, her mother had given birth to seven children, but four of them died young. Jiang Zhishan was her mother's last child, and he was well-behaved, smart and sensible from a young age.

He was also loved by the village scholars. When he was studying in the village, the old scholar even waived all of Jiang Zhishan's tuition fees. Jiang Zhishan lived up to expectations and passed the preliminary examination at a young age. He went to Pingfu Academy in Pingxi Town to study and prepare to take the county-level examination.

The old scholar once said that with Jiang Zhishan's comprehension and cleverness, he might really become the youngest scholar in the surrounding villages.

But now that Jiang Zhishan has been falsely accused, he is unwilling but powerless to do anything about it. Especially when he secretly returned home and saw his mother's expectant eyes, he felt even more conflicted.

"Zhishan, your elder sister has a question for you, and you must answer truthfully!" Jiang Ling's serious expression startled Jiang Zhishan.

Did you peek or not?

"No! No! Big sister, you must believe me! How could I do such a despicable thing!" Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhishan immediately shook her head like a rattle drum.

While questioning Jiang Zhishan, Jiang Ling carefully observed his expression and behavior, and he did not seem to be lying.

Jiang Ling's eyes darted around as she continued to ask, "Then, is there any other way for you to take the exam?"

“This…” Jiang Zhishan lowered his head dejectedly and said in a voice barely audible, “Elder sister, you don’t know this, but if I want to go back to school, there are only two ways. The first is for those students who framed me to admit their mistakes to the teacher. The second is to find a respected person in the area to write a guarantee letter.”

"Big sister, do you know how strict the requirements for this guarantee letter are? If the person being guaranteed does anything against the rules, then the guarantor's children will be implicated and will be barred from taking the exam for five years! So... so... compared to the first type, the second type is even more difficult than climbing to the sky..."

By the end, Jiang Zhishan's head was almost buried in his chest.

Jiang Ling sighed. Both methods seemed difficult for her, a powerless and penniless commoner, at least for now. However, she did not want to give up. She felt that she should fight for Jiang Zhishan even if there was only a glimmer of hope. With that in mind, Jiang Ling asked, "How much longer until you take the exam?"

"Hmm...it'll probably take another six months," Jiang Zhishan replied.

"So, if the teacher allows you to re-enter the school within the next six months, will you be able to take the exam smoothly?" Jiang Ling pressed.

Jiang Zhishan nodded without speaking. Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief. She still had half a year. If she could find a way in these six months, Jiang Zhishan could take the exam smoothly. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling patted Jiang Zhishan's shoulder to comfort him, "It's okay, there are still six months left. Nobody knows what will happen. So what do you plan to do next?"

"I...I don't know where to go. Going home is definitely out of the question. If Mother knew, she would definitely faint from anger..." Jiang Zhishan said with despair in her eyes.

“Then…” Jiang Ling suddenly thought of something and quickly said, “How about you stay with me? You can be a teacher for now and teach your nephew and niece to read and write. As for the money, you don’t need to worry. I inquired in Changning Town before and found that a teacher earns at least two taels of silver a month. I will pay you two taels of silver a month, how about that?”

"Big...Big sister, this...this is unacceptable, this is unacceptable! I haven't even passed the imperial examination yet, how can I be qualified to teach people to read and write?" Jiang Zhishan waved his hands repeatedly.

“Zhishan, you’re not teaching anyone else, but your nephew and niece. To be honest, I actually want to send Suihe and Wenxi to a girls’ school! I also want them to become literate female teachers!” Jiang Ling said, looking at Jiang Zhishan.

Jiang Zhishan was stunned. He opened his mouth and waited for a long time before finally saying, "Big sister, are you... are you telling the truth?"

“Of course, I don’t want my children to spend their whole lives like me, toiling in the fields day in and day out. They deserve a wider world!” Jiang Ling said softly.

Jiang Ling's words completely stunned Jiang Zhishan. He looked at Jiang Ling in front of him blankly. He always felt that his older sister was different from before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.

While Jiang Zhishan was still in a daze, Jiang Ling continued to ask, "Zhishan, who were the students who bullied you?"

“Zhao Qianyu, son of the magistrate of Guangping County, and Wang Tianen, son of a salt merchant from Pingxi County! It was mainly these two who led the bullying against me!” Jiang Zhishan said.

Jiang Ling nodded and memorized their names. She looked up at the sky and said to Jiang Zhishan, "Alright, stop thinking about these things. But there's not much space here, so you might have to share the main room with Yaojie and Nianci!"

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm already very grateful that you took me in!" Jiang Zhishan said excitedly.

Suddenly, the image of Old Mrs. Jiang's sharp and mean face flashed into Jiang Ling's mind, and Jiang Ling quickly asked, "Zhishan, what are you going to do about Mother?"

"Sister, you don't need to worry about this, I'll handle it," Jiang Zhishan replied.

After lunch, Jiang Ling said to the four children, "From today onwards, your uncle will be living here. Starting today, your uncle will begin teaching you to read and write!"

The four children had different expressions after hearing Jiang Ling's words. Jiang Yaojie and Jiang Suihe were the most excited, Jiang Wenxi was the most distressed, and Nianci looked completely bewildered.