Luo Ming had no reason not to kneel down this time, so he knelt down obediently, with his head lowered, but remained silent.
Ye Congwen's patience was limited, he urged:
"You won't tell me, right? Then I can only ask Yanzhi to come over and let her tell it herself!"
"No!"
When Luo Ming heard that he was going to look for Yanzhi, he became extremely flustered.
"It seems that you care about her a lot, but what about my Shu'er? She has suffered so much since she came back from the temple. It has been so many days, and you never asked about her, not even a glance at her!
I know that this marriage is not what you want, and it is inevitable that you have some knots in your heart, but don't forget that your Luo family got back on track with the help of my 12,000 taels of silver. Now that you've recovered, you want to turn your back on me?
It is said that one should do his job according to his position. It is reasonable for you to pretend, but you are too lazy to pretend. Do you think that my Ye family is so unbearable in your heart?"
"I will always remember the kindness of the Ye family, but I can't convince myself. My father-in-law should know Ye Shu's temper very well. Since we got married, has she ever looked at me straight in the eye? She embarrassed me on the first day of our wedding and showed me her power. I am a son-in-law, but I am also a man. I have my own dignity and pride. She has never given me the respect I deserve!
But my feelings for Yanzhi are real. If you have any dissatisfaction with me, you can vent it on me. Please don't hurt innocent people!"
Things have come to this point, Luo Ming has no choice but to admit it, so he might as well tell the truth and be honest.
As a man, if you don't have this kind of responsibility, what kind of man are you?
"I didn't expect you to be so infatuated!" Ye Congwen mocked.
He knew in his heart that Luo Ming and his daughter would probably never have any feelings for each other in this life, so all he could pursue was his own value.
But his grades are in a slump now. If he continues to neglect them like this, they will probably be of no value at all. He can't keep such a loser around, right?
"You can punish her as you wish, but Yanzhi is innocent and a poor person. Father-in-law, you can't do that to an innocent woman, right?"
Luo Ming was determined to protect Yanzhi, and he was also betting that Ye Congwen was a gentleman, and a gentleman should be upright.
Indeed, Ye Congwen had no intention of making things difficult for Yanzhi, but he wanted to use Yanzhi.
He had already anticipated today's outcome, so he had made plans in advance. He said:
"If you want me to not make things difficult for Yanzhi, it's not impossible, but you have to agree to my request and do it. I know you must be thinking about how to redeem her from Ningxiang Pavilion, right? I've already inquired about it. It will cost three thousand taels of silver to redeem her. With the current strength of your Luo family, it's a bit painful to pay three thousand taels at once. Your father will definitely not agree. But if you can do what I ask, I don't mind paying the money for you, redeeming Yanzhi, and settling her down for you."
Luo Ming was already a little desperate, because he was still thinking in the last second why his life was such a failure, why he would never be satisfied, and why things would never develop in the direction he wanted. So let it be destroyed, he was tired.
As a result, Ye Congwen unexpectedly gave him a reversal and threw him an olive branch that he could not refuse, and hope rekindled in his eyes.
"What do you want? I'll do my best as long as I can do it!"
Ye Congwen raised his eyebrows and began to put forward his request:
"I am very dissatisfied with your performance in the academy in recent months. Your essay scores in the major exams have plummeted. Have you ever reflected on yourself? I used to value and admire your talents, but now you are obsessed with love affairs and have fallen into depravity. There is still more than half a year before the Autumn Examination. It is unknown whether you can pass the exam and obtain the qualification to participate in the Spring Examination.
My request to you is very simple. In next month's examination, you must return to the top ten and pass the imperial examination next year. Then I will fulfill my promise, redeem Yanzhi from Ningxiang Pavilion, and place her in my private residence. From now on, she will be your mistress. I don't require you to get into the top ten in your first attempt at the imperial examination, but the top thirty will be enough.
But if you can get the qualification to participate in the Spring Examination, I can still make Yanzhi your concubine. My request is so simple, can you do it? "
Ye Congwen chose him to be his son-in-law, so he certainly couldn't just watch his life go to waste. He had to at least have the status of a juren to be able to show off, right?
The Autumn Examination is also called the Prefectural Examination. It is held in August and is divided into three sessions, each lasting three days. Only scholars can participate. The top thirty are called Juren, and the top ten are qualified for the Joint Examination and go to the capital to take part in the examination in the early spring of the following year.
Only the top thirty in the joint examination can participate in the palace examination, and only the top ten in the palace examination are qualified to become officials, collectively known as Jinshi.
As long as he became a juren, Ye Congwen would redeem Yanzhi to be his mistress. Once he got the qualification to take the imperial examination in autumn, he would let Yanzhi be his concubine. There is a huge difference between the two. A concubine cannot be seen in public and has no status, but a concubine is in public and has status.
This request is not excessive and can even be regarded as motivating Luo Ming's ambition.
Anyway, it is impossible for him and Shu'er to live in harmony, but it would be good enough if they could respect each other. Besides, most people can't stand Shu'er's temper. Luo Ming is indeed wronged, so this rouge can be his compensation!
At this moment, Luo Ming actually felt a little ashamed. He thought Ye Congwen would make some unreasonable demands on him, but he did not. Instead, he hoped that he would become a useful person. He was the one with dirty thoughts.
"Okay, I promised my father-in-law that I would work hard to pass the exam."
"Well, I believe in your ability, and your foundation is not bad, but the big exam this month is coming soon. I hope you can get back into the top ten. During this period, you can't go to see Yanzhi. Is it possible?"
If Ye Congwen hadn't pushed him, he wouldn't have known how great his potential was.
There is still half a month left before the final exam at the end of the month. In this half month, he has to work hard to make up for the lessons he missed this month and prepare for the final exam at the end of the month. Last month his grades dropped to 16th place, which shows that he has indeed been wasting his time in the past few months.
So, Yanzhi hadn't seen him for half a month, actually because Luo Ming was studying hard. It was not until the results of the final exam this month came out and he ranked ninth that Ye Congwen nodded and allowed him to meet Yanzhi again.
Yanzhi heaved a sigh of relief the moment she saw Luo Ming again. She almost thought that all her plans and sincerity would be wasted.
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