Lu Congrong felt a pang of hatred whenever she thought of Su Jiaoniang's face.

The women in the Lu family all had round, chubby faces, like a flat, sesame-sprinkled pancake.

Su Jiaoniang was different. She had a slender waist, so delicate that it could be encircled by one hand, and a fair and rosy complexion, just like a freshly peeled egg. She attracted attention no matter how you looked at her. In previous years, Su Jiaoniang lived in the same courtyard. No matter who came, they would be attracted by her face. Lu Congrong was just a supporting character, a little green leaf.

Which woman wants to be a supporting character?

In her eyes, the young master who had been standing in front of her door, looking towards her house...

He must have been seduced by Su Jiaoniang to go to that courtyard. Men are all shameless; they can't resist the allure of a vixen. How could he be happy to see the person he had his eye on going to Su Jiaoniang?

"Mother, go and find out who that young master is, how much money his family has. Once my brother passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, we'll hint to him that we can propose marriage." Lu Congrong was very confident. As long as she became the sister of a scholar, she could choose any man in the county she wanted.

"Alright, your brother is about to take an exam, you're not allowed to disturb him!" Zhu Shi saw that Lu Congrong's gaze was almost glued to Lu Daishu.

She gave him a stern warning. Her son is truly remarkable; he became a scholar at such a young age.

If he can achieve a good result in this imperial examination, he will become a 14-year-old scholar.

There aren't many scholars in Lucheng to begin with; most are over twenty years old. It would be rare for a 14-year-old to become a scholar.

Zhu was not a scholar and did not understand these things, but seeing how the men in the family behaved when Lu Daishu was studying, she knew in her heart that as long as her son became a scholar, the family would change.

Therefore, please be patient during this period and provide your child with a good study environment.

"Don't worry, Mother, I won't let my brother be distracted." Although Lu Congrong was not very old.

However, in an era where it is legal to get married at the age of 14, a 12 or 13-year-old child might never grow up if they don't have some shrewdness.

Su Jiaoniang didn't care much about the Lu family's schemes.

Night fell over the land.

The children in the family all slept peacefully.

Su Jiaoniang pushed open the door and entered Futu's room. In the past two days, she had noticed that the child was not sleeping well. Every night, he would frown and cover his heart with his hand. This sleeping posture was very unhealthy. She held the child's hand and placed it to one side.

Her fingers touched his forehead and gently smoothed it.

It's not a big deal for someone so young to always be frowning.

The sleeping child shifted from lying down to lying on his side, curled up, looking very insecure. Su Jiaoniang placed her hand on the child's back and gently patted it, and the sleeping child finally relaxed his forehead.

Su Jiaoniang stayed with him for a long time, then walked out of the room, closed the door, and saw Gu Xizhou standing in the courtyard.

"Has the Regent not rested yet?" she asked.

Lu Wujiu shook his head: "Even Madam Su didn't rest."

Su Jiaoniang thought to herself, "Really? She's worried about the child's sleeplessness, but this person probably has even more to worry about. To personally stay with the little emperor in a mountain village just for his comfort—there aren't many people in the world who would do that!"

"Get some rest." Su Jiaoniang said, then walked towards her room.

Lu Wujiu stood in the courtyard.

Soon, a dark shadow appeared under the moonlight.

Zhao Han landed in the courtyard, his gaze fixed on the direction Su Jiaoniang had left in: "Sir, in the middle of the night, you're chatting with a young widow. What did you talk about? Did you want to...?"

“If you don’t want a mouth, just sew it up,” Lu Wujiu said. A chill suddenly ran through him, and Zhao Han shivered before getting down to business.

"These past two days, Old Hong from Anping Gambling House in the county town has been taking Lu Dashan to various gambling dens, accumulating a debt of 300 taels of silver and spending 30 taels on fine wine and food. Old Hong said that if you want to know anything, you can find an opportunity to get him drunk and then ask him, or you can intimidate him..."

"No need, just keep deepening your gambling addiction." Once you get hooked on gambling, there's no turning back.

unless……

hehe!

"The King of Nanyin has arrived in the capital and plans to force the emperor to abdicate!" Zhao Han continued.

Lu Wujiu remained calm: "It's alright. Zhao Yan is over there and will surely capture the King of Nanyin. We'll go back and reorganize things then."

Seeing that Lu Wujiu remained calm, Zhao Han focused his gaze on the darkened room and asked, "My lord, is it really better to teach the emperor here?"

"It's better than being in the palace!"

Only by experiencing life at the grassroots level can one understand the lives of ordinary people and how policies and decrees should be issued.

Especially when I think of those folded documents placed on the corner of the longevity table.

Even as the regent, he would find these kinds of memorials troublesome, but now little Changsheng has already started reading them and receiving this kind of education. When he grows up, he will surely have his own ability to discern right from wrong.

If one grows up deep within the palace, one hears nothing but praise. How can one discern the truth from falsehood?

Is what's written on the report really true? How much of it is exaggerated?

In particular, he wanted the young emperor to see how lower-level officials collected taxes after the autumn harvest. The imperial decree stipulated that six percent of the taxes would be collected, and the remainder would be enough for the people to be self-sufficient. As long as the weather was favorable, they could live a decent life.

However, looking at Lucheng now, Tianshui Village is a relatively wealthy village, yet there are still many people who are starving and as thin as chickens.

What are other impoverished villages like? Selling children is no joke.

Travel more, see more, and learn more about related things; life should be about constantly enriching and supplementing oneself.

Lu Wujiu returned to his room.

Zhao Han stayed alone in the courtyard. What did the adult mean by that disdainful look? Did he think he was too stupid? He slapped his head. He couldn't understand the adult's thoughts at all, so why bother thinking about it?

His gaze fell on the direction of the kitchen; the last time he came here, he smelled a strong aroma.

I just didn't get to eat it.

This time... hehe.

Zhao Han smiled. It was the middle of the night, and there wasn't even a guard dog in the courtyard! He swallowed hard and walked towards the kitchen. He saw the collapsed soufflé in the kitchen, took a deep breath, and the sweet smell hadn't faded yet.

He picked up the plate, scooped up the contents, and quickly left the courtyard.

The next morning, Su Jiaoniang went to the kitchen and saw the empty plates. Her pupils dilated in shock, and her gaze fell on Lu Wujiu's room.

Yesterday, this guy stood in the yard without moving, just to have a few midnight snacks? He even ate all the soufflés? It's not that he wasn't allowed to eat them, but when he was talking in the middle of the night, he was acting all serious, not like someone who needed a midnight snack at all.