Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing'an subconsciously frowned.
Ning Huan thought he was going to get angry, but to her surprise, he only frowned slightly.
She glanced at the people present, thinking about the original owner's fate, and couldn't help but sigh that Zhou Jing'an was just a tiger dozing off now.
If he were to become a ruthless villain in the future, none of you here would escape having your hands and feet cut off and your heads chopped off.
Thinking of this, she actually began to feel smug.
Zhou Jing'an was sizing up the people in front of him, pondering something, when he looked up and saw Ning Huan standing next to him, looking smug and thinking about something.
It was kind of funny to look at her like that; I wondered what this woman had thought of that made her so smug.
After spending some time inside the house, the classmates saw that the four little ones in the yard were very cute, so they couldn't resist going out to play with them.
Chen Tuo was also pulled out by the scholar, and they talked about something.
Only Tao Fuyuan and Zhou Jing'an remained in the room. Ning Huan stood silently to the side.
Zhou Jing'an originally wanted Ning Huan to leave, but after thinking about it, he didn't say anything.
He said to Tao Fuyuan, "Brother Tao, the cause of my injury is strange."
Upon hearing this, Ning Huan's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Zhou Jing'an knew about her poisoning.
But what Zhou Jing'an said next was truly surprising.
"The essay that ranked first in the imperial examination is mine."
As soon as he said this, Tao Fuyuan opened his mouth in surprise. He looked at his classmates outside the window and was relieved to see that no one was looking into the room.
He anxiously asked Zhou Jing'an, "Brother Jing'an, what's the basis for your statement?"
Ning Huan was stunned by the amount of information in Zhou Jing'an's words. The essay that ranked first in the imperial examination was Zhou Jing'an's, but the first place was not his. What does this mean?
This means someone has taken his place. Who could it be?
The scholar named Chen Tuo just mentioned that the scholar who is about to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) is named Hongwen. Could there be any connection between these two?
If we follow this plot line, then Zhou Jing'an being poisoned might also be related to these things!
For a moment, Ning Huan's mind was racing with countless thoughts. Meanwhile, Zhou Jing'an said calmly to Tao Fuyuan, "On the day the results were announced, I saw with my own eyes that the top-ranked article was written by me, but the name on it wasn't mine."
Tao Fuyuan asked in confusion, "How could this be? Didn't you ask again, Brother Jing'an?"
Zhou Jing'an shook his head: "On the day the results were announced, there were too many people coming to see them. When I followed the official who announced the results to a secluded place to ask for clarification, a group of people suddenly rushed up from behind and surrounded us."
"Later, they knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I was taken back to the village."
Upon hearing this, Tao Fuyuan nodded: "Then Brother Jing'an didn't make a fuss anymore, he just said that he had been robbed by bandits and had been injured."
Zhou Jing'an nodded: "That's right. Besides, I also want to see who will ultimately be at the top."
Tao Fuyuan wanted to say something more, but when he saw Ning Huan beside him, he paused.
Ning Huan immediately realized what was going on and got up to leave: "You can talk about what you need to say. I'll go to the back room to organize the things I bought today."
With that, he bowed slightly to Tao Fuyuan and left.
Watching Ning Huan walk further and further away, Tao Fuyuan was surprised that this woman was so polite.
Although he didn't often hear Zhou Jing'an mention his family, he knew a little about it. This woman used to frequently make things difficult for Brother Jing'an, and it was common for her to throw tantrums and act arrogantly.
But upon meeting him today, he found that although Ning Huan was ugly, his behavior was more polite than he had imagined.
After Ning Huan went out, she washed fruit for the four little ones while thinking about what Zhou Jing'an had just said.
Zhou Jing'an's exam was stolen by someone else—this plot point doesn't seem to have happened in the original book. Could it be that his accidental time travel caused the plot to change as well?
However, regardless of the circumstances, Jing'an's poisoning this week has nothing to do with the original owner of this body.
Putting aside whether the original owner of this body had the guts, she certainly couldn't have poisoned Zhou Jing'an. On the contrary, the classmates who came to see Zhou Jing'an today all seemed to have a better reason than the original owner.
Just as she was wondering whether to tell Zhou Jing'an about the poisoning, a sound from the doorway interrupted Ning Huan.
She went outside and saw that it was Zhou Jing'an's classmates who were leaving. However, the scholar named Hongwen took a lot of things from the carriage for Zhou Jing'an, and Tao Fuyuan also took quite a lot.
Ning Huan stepped forward, about to say something to decline, but Tao Fuyuan said, "These things are all our tokens of appreciation for Brother Jing'an. Many of them were specially instructed by our teacher to be brought to Brother Jing'an."
Hearing this, Ning Huan said nothing more.
However, Chen Tuo, still sitting in the carriage, said restlessly, "That's right, keep it. So many people have never seen so many good things in their lives!"
Ning Huan cursed silently in her heart, but on the surface she could only offer a faint smile.
No sooner had Zhou Jing'an's classmate left than Zhou's mother and others rushed over upon hearing the news.
As Zhou's mother walked, she said, "Oh my, I heard that the third son's classmates brought a lot of good things to see him, enough to fill several carriages!"
Zhou Yan anxiously chimed in, "Mother, there are so many good things, my third brother's family can't possibly use them all. I think we should just take some of them as part of my dowry!"
Liu, who was behind her, chimed in, "Yes, Mother! Let's get some new things for our eldest son's family too!"
Mother Zhou replied, "Alright, alright, we'll talk about it when we see those good things!"
Zhou Dasheng also followed them this time. He wanted to see how Ning Huan would cause trouble for his mother and sister!
Before the women even stepped inside, Ning Huan heard the muffled, guttural sound.
Zhou Yan and Liu Shi, seeing the yard piled high with gifts from afar, ran into the yard in surprise: "My goodness, so many things! Our family is finally going to have some good stuff!"
As he spoke, he began to open the boxes one by one and look inside. When he found something good, he didn't hesitate to stuff it into his pocket.
Ning Huan coldly watched the two women's unbridled behavior: "Put those things down."
Zhou Yan rolled her eyes at her: "You think I'll just let go because you tell me to? Why should I?"
Madam Liu chimed in, "That's right! We're your eldest sister-in-law and second sister, how dare you talk to us like that!"
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