Li Zhensheng said, "We can put this in the restaurant and sell it together; the customers will definitely like it."
Wenjuan immediately said, "I'll write down the recipe for Uncle in a bit. It was originally taught to me by Fu Niu'er, so it's very easy to make. It sells well here at the academy; it can make thirty or forty taels of silver a month!"
Li Zhensheng nodded, and then Old Lady Li asked Mr. Wen, "Isn't the yamen busy? Has it delayed your work again?"
"No, Auntie. I had nothing to do this afternoon, and when I heard about it, I came over," Mr. Wen said with a smile.
After exchanging a few casual words, Ye Shan accompanied Li Laosan back from the academy.
Li Laosan was covered in sweat. As soon as he entered the house, he apologized to his brothers, "Big brother, second brother, it's my fault for not taking good care of the boys. They almost fell victim to a scheme."
Li Zhensheng waved his hand, pulled his younger brother to sit down with him, and comforted him, "If someone wants to scheme against us, there's no way to stop them. It's not your fault!"
“We’ve always been hands-off parents, leaving the kids here, and you and your sister-in-law have put in a lot of trouble… If anyone should apologize, it should be us!”
Li Lao Er chimed in, "Yes, and Jiaren and the others are all grown up. It's good for them to experience some danger, so they don't become spoiled brats who don't know the ways of the world."
Li Laosan felt a little better after that.
After finishing his fruit drink, Mr. Wen said, "What exactly happened? Can someone explain it to me in detail so we can discuss how to deal with it?"
Li Laosan wasn't good with words, but he knew the most, so he slowly began to speak.
Finally, he also found the small piece of paper inside the wooden sign.
Mr. Wen glanced at them, frowned, and said, "The person behind this has really put in the effort. There's a critique craze going around in the city lately, and these two are among them!"
"Moreover, the person who took this test is quite talented in writing. If they are caught cheating in the exam room, they will definitely be considered to have cheated, and there will be absolutely no room for leniency."
Both Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er looked unwell. Li Lao Er said, "If the students were jealous of Jiaren and Li Ge'er over trivial matters like their studies, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths, nor would they have the ability to plan and scheme in such detail."
Mr. Wen nodded, "There must be someone supporting him behind the scenes."
Jiayin looked at Yeshan and asked, "Uncle Dashan, did you find out anything about the bad guys when you went into town?"
Ye Shan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and replied, "I only managed to find out a little bit of information. One of these students is a distant relative of the Wang family, and the other seems to have an older sister who married into the Yan family."
The Wang family? The Yan family?
The group exchanged bewildered glances, and when they finally understood, their expressions became complicated.
The Wang family, needless to say, is the lingering legacy of Li Zhensheng's marriage into the family. Even now, the eldest son of the Wang family is still trying to trip up the second son of the Li family!
They dare not act openly, but behind the scenes they are like venomous snakes, requiring constant vigilance.
What's surprising is the Yan family.
The Yan family has already moved away and returned to their hometown. If it's not deliberately mentioned, everyone will forget about this family.
After all, the young master Yan from back then is now Li Yong, married with children, and settled down in the new village.
Even with her own sister, Madam Zhou, they rarely visit each other...
Was it a coincidence that these two families joined forces to scheme against the Li family, or was it premeditated?
It was Old Lady Li who spoke first, "No matter what, the grudges with the Wang and Yan families were all their faults. Our Li family has a clear conscience."
“Now that they’re plotting against us again, we can’t let them get away with it! Otherwise, others will follow suit, and our family will never have a peaceful day.”
Everyone nodded, and Li Zhensheng said, "First, we need to get rid of these two students. We can't let them be near Jiaren and his brothers. We can talk about the rest later!"
After thinking for a moment, Li Lao Er suggested, "Why don't we give them a taste of their own medicine? Since they tampered with the amulets, let's find an opportunity to switch them out."
"If they frame Jiaren and Lige during the exam, then let both children demand to be examined equally. In that case, they will be the ones who suffer!"
Li Zhensheng agreed, "This is a classic case of shooting oneself in the foot!"
But Mr. Wen had a different opinion: "Let's think about it some more and wait for Jiaren to come home from school to see what he thinks."
Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er naturally wouldn't object. Mr. Wen was Jiaren's teacher, and his words now were also meant to teach his disciple a lesson. They were more than grateful.
Soon, after chatting for a while, the academy dismissed its students.
Jia'an, Jiaxi, and Maoge'er were eager to get their hands on the good stuff at home, so they ran off as fast as they could. But when they pushed open the gate, they were quite surprised to see all the elders there.
The three mischievous boys immediately began to reflect on whether they had caused any trouble recently...
Jiaren and Lige followed behind, discussing their studies as they walked.
When Jiaren saw his younger brothers blocking the doorway, he asked, "Why don't you go in?"
The three boys grinned and quickly hid behind their eldest brother.
Upon seeing the lineup under the eaves, Jiaren understood everything. He glared at his younger brothers and led them forward to pay their respects.
Li Zhensheng smiled and said, "Go wash your hands and faces, change into clean clothes and come back. I have something important to tell you."
Jiaren and his brothers all agreed, went to the well to fetch water, washed away the sweat from their faces and heads, and then ran back to their rooms to change their clothes.
Finally, after tidying himself up to look like a student, he sat down and talked with his elders again.
Wenjuan brought Shuiyun and Shuiling another fruit drink. The boys drank half a cup in one go, and then, like parched seedlings receiving sweet dew, they immediately perked up.
Jia'an and Jiaxi secretly winked at their younger sister, wondering why the elders had come.
Jiayin grinned and hid behind her uncle, making funny faces, which made Jia'an and Jiaxi furious!
"Alright, stop fooling around!" Grandma Li saw the children's little antics, so she patted her granddaughter and pulled Jiayin to sit down next to her.
Then she said, "Before, you were all young, and when things happened at home, we didn't tell you because we were afraid you wouldn't be able to help and would have to worry about us. So, we always protected you."
"Now that you're all grown up, we can talk to you about things at home. Besides, something happened yesterday; someone's got their eyes on you and is trying to scheme against you, so we need to tell you all about it!"
The brothers were a little confused when they heard this, but Jiaren was the first to react and his expression changed. Lige'er also glared at him.
Jia'an and Jiaxi then jumped up as well, "Grandma, what did you say? Who's plotting against us?!"
Only Cat Bro, being the youngest, still didn't understand...
Grandma Li waved her hand, signaling her grandsons to sit down. Then she recounted the events of yesterday in detail. Finally, she patted her chubby granddaughter beside her and sighed, "Your sister is so thoughtful and investigated in time, which is why she discovered this."
"Otherwise, you might only find out after it happens, but by then it will be too late..."
The expressions on Jiaren and Lige'er's faces were beyond ugly; both brothers' eyes were red.
They study diligently from dawn till dusk every day, all for the sake of getting good grades, to live up to their family's support and to justify their hard work!
Unexpectedly, someone actually wanted to frame them for cheating in the exam hall, ruining their chances of advancement!
Once they are proven guilty of cheating, they will become a disgrace to scholars, not only being barred from taking the imperial examinations again, but their families will also be implicated...
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