Shen Mianmian inwardly gave a thumbs up—no wonder she's my heroine; a few words and she turned the tide. Alas, what a pity, someone like that isn't a teammate but an adversary; she's so pitiful!
Bai Qingzhou suddenly remembered that he also had a trump card, and hurriedly said, "Mother, the Minister just said some news, uh... for me, it might be good news."
Sure enough, the simple-minded Ding was immediately drawn to it. "What good news?"
"The Minister said that the results of the county examination have been released and the rankings have been completed. The provincial education commissioner has submitted them to the Ministry of Rites, and after the Ministry of Rites has checked and confirmed that there are no errors, the list will be made public."
"What? The results are out? You...you passed?" Ding's voice trembled.
Bai Qingzhou blushed with embarrassment. "...I passed the exam. The Minister said I was the top scorer in the county."
"The county's top official?" Ding's voice instantly rose several octaves.
Everyone was shocked.
Chen Mianmian was completely dumbfounded—top of the list? First place? This is the first step in achieving the "Three Excellences"? Wait, isn't Fengchu supposed to be a brainless cannon fodder character? What kind of brainless cannon fodder can get first place?
Jiang Yinjin was equally shocked.
She stared in astonishment at Bai Qingzhou across the hall, at the shy-looking young man—why was he different again? She hadn't done anything, yet these people were completely different from those in her previous life!
Why is this happening?
She felt as if she were taking revenge on a group of strangers! This feeling disturbed her!
At the same time, she realized something else—if she left early, wouldn't she miss the King of Qin? Even if the King of Qin came, she might not be able to speak to him, but at least she would have a chance.
But now they've missed this great opportunity.
Jiang Yinjin's mood worsened, and she had no interest in playing along with their act. She looked up at Ding Shi, who was excitedly talking about all sorts of things, and guessed that she might not be able to talk for long.
After a moment's thought, she said, "Mother, Sister Shen has been frightened. I will take her back first, and you and the Prince can chat for a while longer."
She used the Shen family as an excuse to leave.
Shen Mianmian trembled with fear—what was the female lead going to do? She had just spoken up for her, and now she wanted to give her a gift? Was she planning something big? Would she frame her? How should she deal with it?
To be honest, she wasn't afraid of either Zhou Shi or Liu Xiangning criticizing her: they were just cannon fodder, she didn't take them seriously.
But she was genuinely afraid of the female lead!
Bai Qingzhou had no intention of staying to accompany her mother, so she said, "Mian... I'll take Shen Shi with me. You and Mother have been frightened, so please rest well. We can talk about it later."
Ding also knew that her son was thinking of Shen.
Ding was naturally unhappy that she wouldn't speak to her mother for the sake of another woman.
But then she thought that if the two of them had a good relationship, they could have a child sooner, so she silently endured it and said, "It's fine, I'm tired too, you can all go down now."
And so, everyone left the main courtyard.
Bai Qingzhou and Shen Mianmian returned to Mingyue Courtyard. They kept their distance on the way, but as soon as they entered the courtyard, Bai Qingzhou immediately picked her up and strode into the room.
Chen Mianmian blushed deeply, "Wait... put me down! It's not that bad... my legs weren't hit... never mind..."
Seeing that she was about to enter the room, she gave up struggling, simply covered her face with the cold compress towel, and started to give up.
After entering the room, Bai Qingzhou carefully placed the woman on the soft couch, then gently cupped her delicate face, observing her closely with eyes full of heartache.
Their faces were very close, and he was staring intently at her. Chen Mianmian awkwardly looked away, "Stop looking, it's just that I lost a fight."
Bai Qingzhou noticed the woman's shyness, sighed, and let go of her. "Try not to fight next time."
Chen Mianmian pouted, "You think I wanted to hit her? She suddenly punched me, okay? How could I not fight back?"
Bai Qingzhou hurriedly explained, "I'm not blaming you. There's really nothing you can do when you encounter someone like that. Otherwise, try to avoid her next time, or next time you see these people from the lower class... cough, I mean..."
I was thinking that I should stay away from people who are so low-class and ill-mannered.
But as soon as he said it, he suddenly realized that Mianmian also came from that lowly background, so he tried to smooth things over.
Looking at Feng Chu's anxious expression, Chen Mianmian chuckled, "I understand, I also came from that social class, I know. But to be honest, I think there's something wrong with what happened today."
Bai Qingzhou was taken aback. "Is there a problem?"
“Hmm.” Chen Mianmian nodded. “Liu Xiangning said that she is the top courtesan of Yaotai Fang. I don’t believe that the top courtesan would be so mentally deficient as to hit someone! Also, when she hit me, I noticed that she frowned and her eyes showed some struggle, as if she was making a choice.”
Reminded by Shen Mianmian, Bai Qingzhou pondered for a moment, "What happened before she made her move?"
"Under my moral blackmail, Mrs. Huo was forced to compete with the young lady in playing the zither. The two had just finished playing when, if Liu Xiangning hadn't hit me, those people would probably have been comparing who played better, Mrs. Huo or our young lady."
In your opinion, who played well?
Shen Mianmian laughed, "Is there even a question? It's definitely our young mistress." She's the leading lady! How could cannon fodder possibly compete with the leading lady?
Bai Qingzhou suddenly realized, "You mean, Liu Xiangning hit you to avoid embarrassing her young mistress, thus shifting the blame onto herself? Mianmian, you are truly wise!"
Chen Mianmian hurriedly shook her head, "No, no, no, to be honest, I'm not as shrewd as you think. If I were really that good, I wouldn't have gotten beaten up like that. It was only after reviewing the situation that I came up with the solution. Plus, you and I were chatting, and you guided me step by step. You deserve half the credit."
Bai Qingzhou didn't care about any credit; she only cherished her beloved. "I don't care. I'll remember this grudge! I may not hold grudges against some women, but I will never let Huo Rang go."
"Calm down, don't be angry. I'll tell you a secret," Chen Mianmian said, holding Feng Chu's hand and patting it a few times to comfort her. "Actually, I deliberately made such a big fuss. Otherwise, if she hit me, I would have run away crying and become the perfect victim. But I didn't. I fought back."
He said dejectedly, "Actually, I originally wanted to win, but I didn't expect... I lost. It's really unbelievable. That girl looks so thin, how come she's so strong? I really can't beat her."
Bai Qingzhou was successfully calmed down, and said helplessly, "You fought back to avenge our Marquis's mansion?"
"No! I figured out that after the young mistress and Mrs. Huo finished their competition, they would probably make me and Liu Xiangning compete in a talent contest. But thank God, I don't have any talent! I only managed to come to your side by using persuasive words. If you really asked me to perform, what would I perform? Should I talk to them about human rights and gender equality?"
"..."
Bai Qingzhou was silent for a moment, then looked at him with a strange expression, "...You really have no talent?"
No! Are you taking this as a joke?
Chenmianmian—Big brother, I was born in a province with a huge number of college entrance exam takers. I've been doing tons of practice tests since elementary school, using the "sea of questions" strategy. Where would I find the time to learn any talents? Unless I compete with Liu Xiangning in doing more practice tests, then I'm better! I guarantee she can't beat me!
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