The carriage fell silent; all smiles vanished.
Who would have thought that instead of being intercepted along the way, Xu Mo was found by Fang Yuan at the entrance of the examination hall, who pointed out Xu Mo's illness and even prepared an imperial physician.
"Could it be that he wants to expose his elder brother's pretense of illness and ruin his reputation?" Zheng Ruqian guessed, but quickly dismissed the idea.
In the turmoil caused by the Fang family against Xu Mo, Xu Mo was the weaker party, and the weak are always pitied. Even if faking illness was a bit of a blunder, everyone could understand.
On the other hand, Fang Yuan's overly aggressive approach would only diminish the prestige of a noble family.
"Or perhaps you could use the pretext of seeing a doctor to poison my brother?" Jiang Sheng's eyes widened. "Even just causing him to have diarrhea would be enough to ruin the imperial examination."
The group immediately tensed up, especially Wen Zhiyun, who pulled out several packets of powder from his pocket.
"Don't worry." Xu Mo reassured his younger siblings, then called out, "Young Master Fang is very kind. I am perfectly fine."
The person outside smiled and said, "Since Young Master Xu is alright, let's meet at the examination hall."
He cupped his hands in greeting and simply left.
They didn't instigate Xu Mo to feign illness, nor did they use the consultation as an excuse to poison him, and they weren't even aggressive. They displayed the demeanor of a noble family to the fullest extent.
Why did he have to come over and say hello?
Chang Yan pursed his lips, realizing what he meant, "He's here to tell the other students that his elder brother is sitting in this carriage."
There was no underhanded scheming; instead, the issue was pointed out openly and honestly.
This is not a conspiracy, it's an open strategy!
Seeing that the others still didn't understand, Chang Yan emphasized, "Xu Mo is sitting in this carriage."
Xu Mo was the one who filed a lawsuit in the imperial court, causing all the students to have to retake the exams.
Although close friends such as Qi Huai'an and Jun had no objections, could the other scholars really not complain or hold grudges?
No matter who it is, as long as they try to trip up Xu Mo, the Fang family can absolve themselves of responsibility and reap the benefits.
That's a scheme so blatantly cunning it couldn't be more blatant!
"What can we do then?" Jiang Sheng's voice trembled. "Outside, we can still protect our elder brother, but once he's inside the examination hall, there's nothing we can do to help him."
You don't need many resentful students, just two or three will suffice.
There's no need for too many schemes or tricks; simply kicking him down and deliberately damaging his writing materials would be enough to give Xu Mo a hard time.
The key issue is that it's impossible to guard against. There are thousands of students involved; who knows which one will make a move, or which one will take advantage of the situation?
Xu Mo lowered his eyelashes, seemingly lost in thought.
The others panicked but couldn't come up with any solutions.
"Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die, letting the Fang family carry out their open schemes?" Zheng Ruqian asked incredulously. "Impossible. There is no perfect plan in this world, let alone an absolute scheme."
They've overcome so many difficulties along the way, how could they possibly fall victim to a mere scheme?
"Xiao Wu, you're the smartest, do you have any ideas?" Wen Zhiyun asked, her eyes red with tears, searching for a last glimmer of hope.
Chang Yan sighed, "If we had enough connections, we could find the Prefect of Fengtian and ask him to send two constables to protect my elder brother."
But unfortunately, they lacked this connection.
Even if there were any, the Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture, Shang Lian, didn't dare to pronounce judgment on the Fang family's alleged fraud, so how could he dare to openly oppose the Fang family?
This is a city rife with power and hierarchy, where class distinctions are ingrained in every aspect of life. Ordinary students either climb the social ladder or become stepping stones.
If Xu Mo hadn't had his younger sister Jiang Sheng, the support of the Jiang family, and the appreciation of Minister Dou, he might not have made it this far.
"Shall we go find the Jiang and Dou families now?" Zheng Ruqian was impatient and was about to get up. "Qi Huai should be here too. I'll go find them for help."
Before he could even stand up, Xu Mo stopped him.
“Useless second brother.” Changyan shook his head. “The old lady of the Jiang family can speak, but she won’t be here. There’s not enough time to get to the Jiang family.”
"Although Qi Huai is the eldest son of the Minister, he cannot represent Minister Qi. Moreover, Minister Qi is also afraid of the Fang family. Minister Dou does have some say, but we don't know if he has come or not."
"Even if they come, with thousands of people, how long will it take you to find them?"
With the imperial examination imminent, the yamen runners were already standing at the gates of the examination hall, waiting for the gates to open on time so they could check identities.
In that brief moment of respite, they couldn't find anyone, and no one could help them.
"Never mind," Xu Mo sighed softly. "I'll just be more careful after I enter the examination hall."
Be careful and cautious, and you can avoid being tricked.
The brothers remained silent, and Wen Zhiyun, the most timid and cowardly of them all, had tears welling up in his eyes. He clutched two packets of poison in his small hands, hesitant to speak.
In this quiet moment, the usually taciturn Jiang Sheng stood up.
"Where are you going?" Xu Mo asked gently. "Are you thirsty, hungry, or need to relieve yourself?"
Jiang Sheng shook her head and remained silent.
She remembered the man who called himself "father" yesterday, the knife hanging at his waist, and the tranquility of the courtyard these past few days. She felt that there was a connection between them.
If he really is from the Jiang family and truly has that identity, he should still be around and would probably lend a helping hand.
The gate could open at any moment, and Jiang Sheng couldn't wait, nor dared to wait.
Under the puzzled gazes of her brothers, she jumped off the carriage and unexpectedly saw a tall, upright man with his hands behind his back in front of her.
He really was there, silently guarding the front of the carriage.
When an acquaintance passes by, they must bow respectfully and greet the passerby with, "You're back."
The man simply waved his hand, signaling not to make a fuss.
Who would have thought that this was a general who had fought on the battlefield for twenty years?
Jiang Sheng pursed her lips, mentally rehearsing how to plead.
The guard next to the man nudged him and leaned closer, saying, "The girl is out, she's right behind you."
Jiang Jizu turned around abruptly and saw the little girl's hesitant expression. A smile appeared on his lips, which were covered by his beard. "Why did you come out? Why didn't you stay in the carriage where it was warmer?"
Their tone was exceptionally natural, as if they were very familiar with each other.
But this is clearly only the second side.
Jiang Sheng was a little unconvinced. She glanced at the examination hall gate that was about to be pushed open, and then stammered, "Can I ask you for a favor?"
After saying that, he gave a fawning smile.
She's the one who should be fawned over.
Jiang Jizu's eyes reddened slightly, and he lowered his voice, "What is it? Tell me."
"Could you please ask the Prefect of Fengtian to send two constables to protect my elder brother? He's going to the Imperial Examination Hall, and we can't protect him," the little girl pleaded. "I will thank you. I'll bring you some pastries, and I also have two plates of lychee shaved ice. I'll share one with you, or I can give you money."
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, almost losing all her confidence.
Who would help a stranger for no reason? She's even worse than a stranger; she's someone they don't want.
Jiang Sheng lowered her head, and her last hope was extinguished.
Just as she was about to turn around, the man finally reached out, gently brushed aside her shapely little buns, and said with a smile, "Okay."
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