Xu Mo's voice was not loud, nor did it show any ferocity.
But Zheng Ruqian was so frightened that he shrank back and pulled Jiang Sheng in front of him, hiding away.
Jiang Sheng looked disgusted.
Turning back, she looked at Xu Mo with a face full of affection, "Big brother, you've suffered these past three days. Are you hungry? Auntie has already made a big pot of braised pork knuckle, just waiting for you to eat."
She reached out to grab her older brother, but Xu Mo stepped back, waved her off, turned around, went to the examination hall shed to empty the chamber pot, and then slowly returned.
The siblings boarded the carriage and returned to the courtyard with the hairpins, rested briefly for one night, and then prepared for the second three-day battle.
But before that, there's something that needs to be resolved.
Late at night, Xu Mo visited the prefectural governor's mansion alone.
After knocking and being introduced, the tall and handsome young man stood calmly in front of Prefect He, who was dressed in a single layer of clothing, and bowed. "This student greets Your Excellency Prefect. Thank you for helping me out of trouble at the gate of the examination hall three days ago."
He Chengzhang looked him up and down, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "No need to be polite. I'm not targeting you. When any student faces a problem, the exam comes first."
The imperial examination for the title of Juren is held every three years. If you miss this year's exam, you'll have to wait another three years.
For scholars, time is the most precious thing. The difference between a fourteen-year-old top scholar and a seventeen-year-old top scholar is not small.
Xu Mo cupped his hands in greeting again. "I came here late at night to ask Your Excellency the Prefect: who exactly is Sun Quanzhu acting on your orders, and what is his purpose?"
Although I had some guesses, I couldn't be sure who was behind it all.
After careful consideration, Xu Mo decided to seek advice from Prefect He in person.
This decision was bold, but it also made He Chengzhang admire it even more.
He pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers repeatedly on the wooden chair, and finally stood up with his hands behind his back, saying softly, "It's the Fang family."
really.
Although Wang Yuyao harbored resentment towards Fang Heng and his sister, she lacked the cunning to arrange everything before leaving. The actions at the entrance of the examination hall could only have been instigated by the Fang family to be carried out by the Sun family.
However, no one expected that the Fang family from Fengjing would step forward and lend a helping hand.
Xu Mo felt a surge of fear, and various guesses floated through his mind, but he had no idea what was going on.
After a long silence, he bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Excellency. I understand."
He Chengzhang stared intently at the young man, then patted him on the shoulder. "It's late. Go back and rest early. You have to go to the examination hall tomorrow."
Xu Mo nodded heavily, then turned and took his leave.
Outside the prefectural governor's mansion, four children stood in a row, dozing off while guarding a carriage.
However, upon hearing the door open, they snapped out of their daze and swarmed around, chattering as they asked, "Big brother, who is it?"
"What did the Prefect say? Was it the Fang family?"
Xu Mo chuckled. He had originally intended to visit the Prefect alone, but his younger siblings were worried and insisted on coming along.
They had come along, but they didn't want to see Prefect He, so they simply squatted at the door and waited, hoping to get the news as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, this news isn't very good.
Xu Mo pursed his lips a few times, but finally told the truth, "It's the Fang family."
"I knew it!" Zheng Ruqian roared. "A bunch of bastards who can't change their nature. Even after Lao San left, they still wouldn't let us go, as if they were afraid we would be doing well."
"He even pretended to be a good guy and asked us if we needed help." Jiang Sheng stood with her hands on her hips in anger. "He's like a thief crying 'stop thief!' He's like a dog eating shit and cursing shit."
These are all such strange metaphors.
Zheng Ruqian and Wen Zhiyun were both amused and reached out to tug at Jiang Sheng's braids.
Only Changyan remembered to comfort his elder brother, "With the Prefect here, Anshui County will always be peaceful."
There was a time when they were hostile to Prefect He, but they later realized that it was just a difference in stance; their hearts were the same in caring for the people.
Just like at the entrance of the examination hall, Prefect He could have completely ignored Xu Mo, but he still stepped forward.
With him around, Anshui County will remain a peaceful and prosperous place, and its people can continue to live and work in peace and contentment.
A wave of emotion washed over Xu Mo. He thought of a former prefect of Anshui County, Magistrate Pang, his father, and the honest officials who were willing to do anything for the people.
It is because of countless individuals like them that the Dayu Dynasty was able to prosper and become strong, and to be fair and just.
It was they who, with their frail bodies, held up the bright sky and brought peace and tranquility to the people.
Xu Mo clasped his hands together in front of him and stood at the entrance of the prefectural governor's mansion, bowing respectfully.
Only then did they drive the horse-drawn carriage home.
The next day, at the entrance of the examination hall.
To prevent the Sun family from continuing their mischief, the children of Zanhua Courtyard not only changed their carriage today, but also changed the person pulling the carriage to Zhang Qiquan, who rarely shows his face in front of others.
After learning about what happened last time, Uncle Zhang rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and ground his teeth together repeatedly. "If he dares to come again today, I'll knock all his teeth out, or I'm not Zhang Qiquan."
Fortunately, nothing went wrong until Xu Mo entered the examination hall.
Even the butler did not appear in everyone's sight.
The children in the flower-adorned courtyard breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their workshops to get back to work.
Actually, it was mainly Zheng Ruqian who was busy.
That day, after gathering the thoughts of his siblings and figuring out all the key points, he began to hire people on a large scale, and even bought a yard and dug a cellar.
It's already April in Ansu County, so ice blocks can't be frozen anymore. But you can buy ice and store it while it's cheap to avoid the high prices of ice in the summer.
During this time, Zheng Ruqian also encouraged Jiang Sheng to liquidate the family's existing savings.
Jiang Sheng was wary. In her mind, every time the family had to settle their savings, they would use it all up, leaving nothing behind.
"Little Jiang Sheng, let's do the math. We can't just live like this without knowing how much money we have." Zheng Ruqian coaxed his sister while mentally calculating the money needed to hire someone to buy a yard and ice.
Oh right, there's also the money for digging a cellar.
Jiang Sheng turned her purse upside down with a look of resistance.
The workshop's annual profit was around 100 taels of silver. The third brother's annual allowance was as much as 1,000 taels. The second brother earned more than 100 taels from running a roast duck business. Pang Dashan and Wang Xiaosong could earn about 100 taels a year transporting vegetables. The eldest brother saved up 100 taels as a secretary. The fourth brother paid more than 50 taels for opening a clinic.
The five hundred taels that Brother Fufeng gave to Third Brother before he left are also in Jiang Sheng's hands.
Adding to what I had saved up before, I had a total of two thousand taels.
This is a number I never dared to imagine before; if I'm careful with my spending, I could even live on it for a lifetime.
Holding all the silver notes and coins in his hand, Jiang Sheng even felt a kind of bewildered dreamlike feeling.
Suddenly, Zheng Ruqian reached out and grabbed it, grinning as he examined it. "Great, great, this money should be enough."
Jiang Sheng's hand was instantly empty.
A breeze blows by, but there is nothing there.
She frowned, pursed her lips, and tried to hold back for a while, but she couldn't help it and burst into tears.
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