"Go, Uncle!"
"Go for it, Third Brother!"
The Shen family saw the four off at the village entrance, where many villagers came to see them off and share in the joy.
"Oh my, is Saburo taking an exam? Saburo's been working so hard, he'll definitely do well this time!"
"Of course! The Shen family has had a string of good things lately; even their rice is growing better than other families'. Sanlang will definitely bring us good news too!"
"Shen Sanlang is the first student in our village to pass the imperial examination. Who knows, he might become a scholar this time!"
"That's wonderful! That village of scholars over there produced a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, and they were glorious for decades. If our village could produce a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examinations, that would be great too!"
"Of course! In the future, if people ask me where I'm from, I can say I'm from Xinghua Village, the place that produced a scholar! How impressive that would be!"
"Yes, yes, good luck, Sanlang! Do your best on the exam, all the villagers support you!"
"Oh dear, Sanlang, you absolutely have to pass this time! The last two times you didn't even make it into the exam hall. I'm not trying to be mean, but you've really been careless. If you don't pass this time, then... then... what's that phrase again? A third time?"
If a village produces a scholar, it's a source of pride for the entire village.
Everyone was offering sincere blessings, but this one sounded strange, drawing the attention of many people.
Ever since the incident with Xiao Li, the villagers have been on edge. Now, Shen Laosan's upcoming imperial examination has helped to dispel some of the gloom that has been hanging over them for the past month.
The Shen family was happy to hear the joyful words from others, but as with all the blessings, Yang was the first to stand up and refute the slightly sour remarks made by the crowd.
When Yang saw it, she realized it was Aunt Li.
Although it was Xiao Li's doing, Li Da Niang's family was still closely related to Xiao Li, so it was normal for Li Da Niang to be prejudiced against.
Most importantly, Aunt Li has always been a bully in the village, and the villagers have long been fed up with her. This time, they finally have a chance to see Aunt Li get her comeuppance.
As a result, Aunt Li suffered a lot of grievances during that month.
“Aunt Li, my husband’s situation is none of your business, and whether he passes the exam or not is none of your business either.” Madam Yang’s face turned cold. “I think you should think about what to cook for your daughter-in-law tomorrow. The beginning of each month is the day to visit the prisoners in jail!”
"you!"
Upon hearing the mention of Xiao Li, who was still in prison, Aunt Li, who had just seized the opportunity to argue, turned red in the face and fell silent.
The younger ones were also quite brazen, constantly fanning the flames from the sidelines.
One person asked if they slept on the floor in prison, while another asked if they ate steamed buns in prison.
The villagers couldn't help but laugh as he asked all sorts of questions.
Aunt Li was so angry that she cursed, "You little brats, shut your mouths!"
When the child was scolded, several adults stood up to protect the child, but Lili blocked them.
Lili tugged at Shen Laosan, who was frowning, and stopped her second aunt, who was rolling up her sleeves. Her delicate brows furrowed, and she looked at Aunt Li with great concern, saying...
“Brothers, please stop talking. The magistrate said that Aunt Li’s brother will be executed in a few days, and Aunt Li will be in jail forever. Lili thinks that Grandma Li must be too sad. Please don’t upset her anymore. Grandma Li is so pitiful!”
Aunt Li: "......"
You didn't let me off the hook either!
The boys suddenly realized, "Oh! I see. We're so sorry, Grandma Li."
The sisters-in-law, who had just been furious, burst out laughing. This Lili is so good at talking!
The villagers covered their mouths, laughing and whispering among themselves.
Aunt Li felt like she was being pricked by thorns, and her mouth trembled with anger.
Today, Shen Laosan set off to take the imperial examination. Yang Shi thought it best not to have too much of a conflict at this time, so she went along with Lili's words and said, "Ah, I didn't think of that. I'm sorry, Aunt Li. Don't be too sad. Go home and grieve slowly. We're in a hurry."
Old Mrs. Shen smiled and urged Shen Laosan and the others toward the carriage at the village entrance. Qin Renjie had specially sent someone to pick them up because he knew that Shen Laosan was going to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination.
As Old Lady Shen led the group toward the village entrance, she waved to the people behind her, saying, "Alright, alright, everyone, disperse. We're in a hurry!"
The villagers were quite tactful; a few words were encouragement, but saying more would put pressure on them.
The villagers dispersed one after another. Aunt Li stood there for a long time, spat at a few people, and then left.
Lili poked her head out and shouted at her, "Grandma Li, don't be too sad, Lili will feel sorry for you!"
Aunt Li stopped walking and started running away.
After getting into the carriage and saying goodbye to her family, the carriage set off. Madam Yang pinched her little nose and said, "You're so naughty."
Lili laughed, "Who told her to talk about my daddy? I'm avenging my daddy!"
Shen Laosan had no idea why Xiao Li was in jail, why her brother was about to be executed, or why the usually imposing Aunt Li had fallen silent after being rebuked a couple of times.
When Shen Laosan asked, Lili waved her hand and said, "Oh, Aunt Li's younger brother owed gambling debts and couldn't pay them back, so he went to steal things and resell them. Aunt Li helped him, but as a result, the county magistrate arrested him and put him in jail."
It must have been Qin Renjie who ordered the preparation; there were several pastries on the table in the carriage.
Lili was still holding a piece of osmanthus cake in her hand, eating it with relish, and talking casually without any panic.
Yang was sweating profusely.
In her excitement, she forgot that her daughter had told the family not to tell Shen Laosan about Lili's abduction, and almost gave herself away.
When Shen Laosan heard that Liu Dashi had gone to steal things because he owed gambling debts, he wasn't too surprised: "Once you get into gambling, it's hard to stop. Luckily, Lili exposed his true colors last time, otherwise, if the Liu family and the Zhang family had really gotten married, it would have ruined the girl's life."
Madam Yang nodded: "Yes."
Pear Pear pouted; it really was this incident that caused the problem.
However, one thing did remind her.
Liu Dashi is about to be executed, so why is there no word from Liu's mother?
Although Lili only met Liu's mother once, that one encounter was enough to show that Liu's mother was a person who loved her son dearly.
Even when their son got involved in gambling, they just thought it was because "young men like to play around."
With both her son and daughter arrested, why hasn't Liu's mother reacted?
Lili thought that, given Liu's mother's personality, she would at least come to Xinghua Village to find the Shen family, or at the very least, cause a scene at the Li family.
The Shen family has been really busy lately, with so many things to do, that not a single person has thought of this.
Pear finished the osmanthus cake in her hand, feeling sweet and satisfied.
Oh well, I'll just take things as they come.
Lili didn't feel uneasy at all. Besides, life always needs a bit of excitement to spice things up.
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