When Grandma Li saw that her granddaughter had taken a small note the size of a palm and looked unwell, she had a vague idea of what was wrong and asked, "Fu Niu'er, is something the matter?"
Jiayin stood up and said, "Grandma, come inside. It's not appropriate to talk here."
Grandma Li immediately stepped forward, took her granddaughter's hand, and led her into the main room.
Li Laosan, Zhao Yuru, Tao Hongying, and Wen Juan also went inside.
Granny He, Shui Ling, and Shui Yun served inside the house, while Ye Shan and Dong Mei stood guard at the door.
After Xiaoyue finished washing the dishes, she came out of the kitchen and was about to go back inside when Dongmei gave her an excuse to leave.
Jiayin took another wooden plaque and handed it to her third uncle.
Li Laosan opened it in a few moments, and sure enough, another small piece of paper fell out.
Now, everyone realized something was wrong.
Jiayin took out two small pieces of paper and said, "Grandma, if my two older brothers bring these cards into the exam room and the examiner finds that there are notes hidden inside the cards, including an article, they will be considered to be cheating and kicked out of the exam room."
Everyone's expression darkened further. Zhao Yuru, still clinging to a sliver of hope, asked, "Fu Niu'er, did you see clearly? Could it be a talisman...?"
Grandma Li waved her hand, took a deep breath, and said, "Back then, when your eldest brother took the exam, I specifically inquired about the rules."
"If any student is found with writing on them, it's considered cheating, and they'll be expelled from the exam hall! From now on... they'll never be able to take exams, advance to higher education, or become an official again!"
Li Laosan immediately flew into a rage and stood up abruptly. "Mother, is someone trying to frame Jiaren and Lige'er?!"
Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru panicked as well. Tao Yuru said, "What should we do? Should we ask our eldest and second eldest brothers to come over?"
Zhao Yuru slapped herself immediately, filled with remorse, "It's all my fault for being so impulsive, why did I buy these things for the child!"
Jiayin felt sorry for her third aunt and quickly pulled her and her mother to sit down.
She whispered, "Auntie, don't be like that. Bad people will definitely try many ways to harm my brother. Even if they don't have this amulet, they'll find something else."
Seeing that her granddaughter didn't seem panicked, Grandma Li felt a little more at ease. She picked her up and asked, "Fu Niu'er, you're the one who found out about this. So tell me, what should we do?"
Jiayin waved towards the door, and the little fox, who was playing with its tail, ran over and jumped onto her lap.
Jiayin said, "Grandma, it was Santiao who was making a fuss about biting that vendor, but Santiao is usually very well-behaved and never bites anyone! I was wondering if there was something wrong with that vendor that made Santiao want to bite him, so I turned around and took a few more glances..."
"As it turned out, the vendor packed up his stall after selling all our signs, so I asked Shuiling to go with him to check. When Shuiling came back, she said that the vendor was whispering with a young page outside the town, and then the vendor went home, packed his bags, and moved away..."
"They moved away?"
Grandma Li was surprised. Jiayin nodded, "Yes, we took our luggage and hired a horse-drawn carriage to move it away."
"They must have done something bad and run away!" Li Laosan hurriedly got up and was about to chase after them.
Grandma Li stopped her son, saying, "It's too late to chase after them now!"
After saying that, she called Shui Ling in and asked, "Shui Ling, if you see that little page again, will you still recognize him?"
"Yes!" Shui Ling patted her chest and assured me, "Madam, let me take a walk around the academy, and I'm sure I'll recognize that page. He has a big black mole on his ear, I can see it clearly."
"That's good." Old Mrs. Li nodded, reaching out to take out her pipe to puff a couple of times to calm her nerves and think about the matter, only to find her hand empty, realizing that she had left her pipe at home.
Over the past six months, her family's life has improved, and she has had nothing to worry about, so she put down her pipe.
Unexpectedly, I felt like taking a couple of puffs today, but since I couldn't get one right away, I got a little frustrated...
Outsiders thought she was omnipotent, and her children and grandchildren relied on her, consulting her on everything.
But only she knows that many times, her heart is in suspense, afraid that she might do something wrong and bring trouble to her children and grandchildren.
Being a family member brings immense pressure; it feels like walking on thin ice every day.
Like this time, I bought a simple amulet for my grandson, and it almost caused harm to them.
How vicious is the person who framed you behind the scenes?
This is going to cut off the path for the third generation of the Li family!
Jiayin noticed her grandmother's anxiety and immediately hugged her arm to comfort her, "Grandma, my brothers are so lucky to have a smart little sister like me. If I hadn't discovered the problem with the wooden sign, they would have been in big trouble!"
Having said that, she proudly raised her head and said triumphantly, "When my brothers pass the imperial examination and become scholars, I'll have them buy me two catties of sticky rice cakes as a thank-you gift!"
These words were so blunt that everyone burst into laughter.
Grandma Li hugged her granddaughter tightly and gave her a big kiss on the forehead. "Oh my, my lucky girl! You are the treasure of our Li family! Your brothers must have been incredibly lucky in their past lives to have a sister like you in this life!"
Li Laosan and the others were also terrified and nodded in agreement.
Zhao Yuru added, "Fu Niu'er saved Third Aunt's life, otherwise Third Aunt really wouldn't have survived. After Third Aunt gets through these busy days, I'll make you a new dress!"
Tao Hongying was proud of her daughter's intelligence and good fortune, but she was also afraid that the little girl would become arrogant, so she quickly changed the subject and said, "Mother, should Shuiling go to the academy to find someone tomorrow?"
Grandma Li nodded, gently patting her granddaughter, and said, "Shuiling definitely has to go, but be careful not to get caught. This time, it was Fu Niu'er who was clever and noticed that the sign was strange. If we don't find the person behind this and make Jiaren and the others be more vigilant, there might be a second or third time!"
Everyone nodded, and Old Lady Li continued, "Tomorrow morning, Yuru should still give this token to Jiaren and Lige'er and have them wear it. There are still four or five days until the exam, so no one will find out at this time."
"Let them fool the person behind this for now. As long as that person thinks our family hasn't found out, it will be easier for us to handle this matter!"
“Okay, we’ll listen to you, Mother.” Li Laosan quickly agreed, feeling sorry for his mother. “Once things are looking up, I’ll invite my eldest brother and the others over to discuss it. Mother, just rest and don’t worry about it. We’re all grown up now, not children anymore. Jiaren is a man of his own mind, so don’t worry.”
Grandma Li was pleased to hear this and nodded in agreement.
In truth, how could she not miss him? But she was happy that her son was so filial.
Because of this, no one slept well that night.
Jiayin, on the other hand, was very happy because she had foiled a little plot against her brother. She cuddled the little fox and slept soundly, drenched in sweat.
It's so hot around the little fox with all that fur, especially in the middle of summer!
The next morning, Jiayin had just woken up and was having breakfast under the eaves when Li Laosan and Shuiling returned.
Shui Ling looked excited, but Li Laosan's expression was seven parts annoyance and three parts doubt.
Grandma Li put down her needlework and called them over to talk.
Shui Ling said directly, "Madam, Miss, I found that page! I saw him when he came to the canteen to get food this morning, and I followed him all the way to the schoolhouse."
Served at midnight~~~
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