The capital city is quite far from the county town; it takes more than ten days to get there by horseback and several more days by carriage.
Gu's father and Lu Yanzhao didn't want so many silver notes; the two of them together only had a little over two hundred taels. Gu Nanjiao didn't know the prices in the capital, but judging from modern Kyoto, the prices probably weren't that low.
Hearing that the exam would last for nine consecutive days, with food and lodging provided, Gu Nanjiao packed three large portions of the prepared oil tea noodles, along with some homemade instant noodles. She gave one extra portion to Lu Yanzhao to give to Lin Ji.
In ancient times, it was extremely difficult to take the imperial examinations. If something unexpected happened and you missed the exam, you would have to wait three years, which was a long time.
The journey was long, and Gu Nanjiao was worried about encountering robbers and missing the exam, so she thought of hiring two thugs to protect them while driving.
When I was poor, I was always thinking about filling my stomach. Now that I have money, I always overthink things and consider everything from multiple perspectives.
Gu Nanjiao rented a carriage for them overnight, took the money to the Cabbage Gang, hoping to hire two thugs to accompany and drive them, to ensure the safety of Gu's father and Lu Yanzhao. The price was negotiable.
The Cabbage Gang is no longer just a bunch of street thugs. They've somehow gotten involved in the business of running a security escort agency and a winery, profiting from both the legal and illegal activities.
Gu Nanjiao always thought that Bai Luochen was the person behind the Cabbage Gang, so she was able to use the Cabbage Gang with ease. The people in the Cabbage Gang were also very polite, especially that Dog Brother who called her sister-in-law as soon as they met, which made Gu Nanjiao extremely embarrassed.
Gu Nanjiao explained earnestly, "I am a married woman, please don't shout like that!"
Bai Luochen has a powerful background and has never said he's interested in her. These people are really something, trying to play matchmaker and flattering her to the point of being sycophantic.
The younger brother scratched his head and grinned lewdly: "Sister-in-law is right, I promise I won't shout like that again!"
Gu Nanjiao "..."
Zhang Hu glared at Zhang Ergou and scolded, "What are you yelling about? Go away, you can't even watch your mouth."
Zhang Ergou wasn't annoyed; he chuckled twice and went out.
Zhang Hu politely asked, "Manager Gu, have you been satisfied with the wines from my Zhang Family Winery these past few days of cooperation?"
"Of course I'm satisfied. The wine from your distillery has a familiar aroma; it feels like I've tasted it before."
Zhang Hu smiled enigmatically: "Our winery doesn't just cooperate with Meiweizhai; Manager Gu must have tasted it elsewhere."
Gu Nanjiao smiled and nodded. The original owner of this body was a lightweight drinker. She didn't know if she had drunk alcohol before, but she had never drunk alcohol anywhere else. The only time she drank alcohol was when Lu Yanzhao passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. It was brewed by Lu Yanzhao himself.
Gu Nanjiao recalled the time her five taels of silver were stolen. Lu Yanzhao said he earned the money from selling wine recipes. Could it be...?
Is there really such a coincidence in the world?
Did Lu Yanzhao sell his brewing recipe to some shady character?
Impossible. How could a model student like him know thugs and hooligans?
Gu Nanjiao shook her head and explained that they needed to hire two thugs from the Cabbage Gang to escort Lu Yanzhao to the capital for the imperial examination.
Zhang Hu waved his hand generously and magnanimously: "It's a small matter. Now that Manager Gu is cooperating with us, my Cabbage Gang is loyal and will escort Manager Gu's husband and father free of charge."
Gu Nanjiao was stunned; she never imagined that the fierce-looking cabbage stalk would be like this.
It seems that Bai Luochen made a good profit from that ten percent of silver!
...
Early in the morning, Gu Nanjiao, Lu's mother, and Lü Siniang saw them off to the capital. Hearing that Lin Ji was going with them, Yingniang insisted on going along.
Gu Nanjiao glanced at Yingniang teasingly, and Yingniang immediately blushed like a shrimp: "Oh dear, you have too many things to carry, let me lend a hand!"
Gu Nanjiao said "Oh—" as if she understood, but Yingniang's face turned even redder.
Lu Siniang was very thoughtful, preparing a change of clothes for Gu's father in a neat and tidy manner. After putting the things on the carriage, Lu Siniang bid farewell to Gu's father with a reluctant expression.
Gu Nanjiao waved to Lu Yanzhao: "Go! Don't be nervous, I believe in you!"
“Yes, the eighth day of the third month next year is an auspicious day for marriage!” Lu Yanzhao stared at Gu Nanjiao and suddenly said this.
"Huh?" Gu Nanjiao was stunned.
"When I pass the imperial examination, I will marry you with proper betrothal, a grand wedding procession, and a traditional eight-bearer sedan chair."
Gu Nanjiao blushed and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you!"
Lu Yanzhao had previously said that after he passed the imperial examination with top honors, he would marry her again and would not be as perfunctory as he was last time.
Gu's father, standing to the side, gave Lu Yanzhao a rather resentful look: This kid, he stole my lines!
Since Lu Yanzhao had already said those words, Gu's father naturally couldn't repeat them to Lü Siniang, otherwise it would seem like he was just repeating what he had said.
He stammered to Lü Siniang, "Siniang, I...I...I..." He couldn't think of any words for a long time, and Gu Qingyan's face turned red.
Lü Siniang covered her mouth and smiled, then reached out and covered his mouth: "Fool, I understand what you're trying to say."
Over here, Lu's mother gave Lu Yanzhao a few instructions, her eyes full of worry.
Lin Ji looked up at the sky, feeling both embarrassed and a little sad. He had no mother, only a lame father, so naturally no one prepared clothes for him, nor anyone saw him off.
Yingniang glanced at Lin Ji cautiously and noticed that he seemed a little disappointed. She wanted to go over and comfort him and then chat for a while, but the traditional virtues of obedience and submission ingrained in her bones prevented her from doing so.
She hesitated for a long time, but ultimately couldn't overcome her inner turmoil, and helplessly lowered her head to play with her fingers.
I wonder if Lin Ji saw her arrive.
"Hey, fairy sister, you're here too?" A male voice suddenly rang in her ears. Yingniang looked up and saw Lin Ji's handsome face magnified. Her face turned red to the roots of her ears. She stomped her foot and ran away again.
Lin Ji “…”
Lin Ji thought it over and over, and he felt that there was nothing wrong with what he said; it was neither frivolous nor exaggerated. He wanted to apologize, but unexpectedly, she ran away after he just called her "Fairy Sister."
Well, now he's the only one left looking up at the sky.
Fortunately, Gu Nanjiao and the others didn't linger for too long. After giving a few brief instructions, they watched Lu Yanzhao and the others leave.
With this back and forth, it will take at least a month or two to get back.
Watching them leave, Gu Nanjiao let out a deep breath. She felt like she was about to take the college entrance exam, even more nervous than Lu Yanzhao and her father.
Back at Meiweizhai, Gu Nanjiao quickly put her nervousness behind her and busied herself with work.
...
That day, Huang Qingqing came to see Gu Nanjiao, and started crying as soon as she entered the door.
"What's wrong?" Gu Nanjiao took out a handkerchief to wipe Huang Qingqing's tears and patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Jiaojiao, Lu Yanping got married! He married Yang Meiqin!"
"Pshaw, what did I think it was? If you want to marry him, then marry him. A bitch and a dog are a perfect match, it's never going to end. It's not worth crying over such a scumbag."
Huang Qingqing was amused and burst into laughter through her tears: "I'm not crying for Lu Yanping, I'm heartbroken over my twenty taels of silver. Back then, in order to get a divorce from him as soon as possible, I acted impulsively and paid off my dowry of twenty taels before I could get the divorce papers."
"Now look what's happened, he took twenty taels of silver to marry that slut. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I've swallowed a fly, and when I feel this way, I just want to cry!"
When Bai Su came in, she saw Gu Nanjiao comforting Huang Qingqing.
"What twenty taels of silver?" Bai Su asked gossipily as soon as she entered the door. Huang Qingqing had no choice but to repeat what she had just said, and after saying that, she didn't forget to spit on Li Shi and Lu Yanping.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com