“My mother has lost face in the Li family. Whose loss is it? Isn’t it all yours, Grandpa?” Li Jiaojiao continued.
"You not only don't defend her, but you even lecture her. What kind of father are you?"
"You little brat, how dare you talk to me like that!"
Zhang Fu was about to hit her, but Old Lady Zhang stopped him, saying, "Sir, if you hurt her, wouldn't it be a laughing stock if outsiders saw it?"
Zhang Fuhu wanted to slap Li Jiaojiao across the face, but thinking of the land tax on those thirty acres, he snorted coldly and left with his hands behind his back.
"Grandma, the son-in-law has arrived." The servant, Aunt He, came in.
Zhang Shuiniang said with a stern face, "Mother, I can't go back now."
"Alright, you and Jiaojiao can rest in my room!" Old Mrs. Zhang said irritably, then said to Aunt He, "Let him in."
Zhang Shui Niang then pulled Li Jiao Jiao into Old Lady Zhang's room and closed the door.
A short while later, Li Zhiyuan arrived and respectfully bowed to Old Lady Zhang, saying, "Mother."
"Hmph, I don't care what your ex-wife is like, but my daughter and granddaughter have no obligation to put up with your humiliation." Old Mrs. Zhang turned her head away, looking down on Li Zhiyuan.
Looking at Old Lady Zhang's condescending attitude, Li Zhiyuan couldn't help but tense up.
"Yes, yes, it's my fault. I will definitely treat Shui Niang well in the future. Where are they?"
"Your father is talking to them right now. You should go back first and come back later."
Li Zhiyuan felt uneasy and turned to leave.
It wasn't until almost noon when he came back that he saw Zhang Shuiniang and her daughter sitting in the main room.
Upon seeing him, she pouted and turned away.
Li Zhiyuan quickly stepped forward to coax her, "Shui Niang, it's all my fault."
Zhang Shuiniang knew that this wasn't Li Zhiyuan's fault, but Ye Caiping's! It was all because she earned so much money…
But she had to pin all the blame on Li Zhiyuan, otherwise wouldn't she seem inferior to Ye Caiping?
Zhang Shuiniang turned her body away from him.
Li Zhiyuan coaxed Zhang Shuiniang until she was exhausted, and only then did she agree to go back with him.
Before they left, Old Mrs. Zhang said, "He Ma, you take Miss and her husband back!"
Having been a wealthy woman for so many years, Old Mrs. Zhang knew how to manipulate people.
Aunt He followed the three of them with utmost respect.
Seeing that the Zhang family had sent servants to escort them, Li Zhiyuan felt somewhat at peace.
They are indeed different; Shui Niang's family employs servants!
Ye Caiping's family doesn't even have a single servant!
At least in this respect, Shui Niang surpasses Ye Caiping.
Back home, after Aunt He left, Zhang Shuiniang said, "My father said that if you make me suffer like this again, he won't forgive you."
Zhang Shuiniang must not let Li Zhiyuan know that she is not favored in her family.
She must be the most pampered young lady in the Zhang family for Li Zhiyuan to always dote on her.
"Yes, yes." Li Zhiyuan apologized repeatedly, but felt a little tired.
"Father, don't take today's events to heart," Li Jiaojiao said sensibly. "As long as you pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, you'll be able to get revenge."
Li Zhiyuan immediately nodded as if he had been injected with chicken blood: "That's right! What's a little money? Among the social classes, merchants are the lowest! She'll regret it later!"
"Shui Niang, don't worry, starting today, I will definitely work twice as hard! I'm determined to pass the provincial examination this year! So you can live a good life as superior people."
He wants to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations)! He wants to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the metropolitan examinations)! He wants to become a high-ranking official!
Even if Ye Caiping kneels in front of him with those few coins, he won't even acknowledge her.
Just thinking about it excites him.
He turned and went into his study, where he truly began to study.
...
When Granny Zhao returned to Qinghe Village, she rushed to Ye Caiping's house immediately, laughing and sharing her achievements.
Ye Caiping's lips twitched slightly as she listened to her words.
Is Granny Zhao really not afraid of getting beaten up for her sharp tongue?
"How are you so amazing?" Grandma Ye smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits, and handed the other person a handful of freshly roasted sunflower seeds.
Granny Zhao put the melon seeds back and grabbed a handful of the most expensive candied fruit.
After chatting for a while, Granny Zhao packed a bag of melon seeds and left.
Old Man Ye came out of the room, but he was a little worried: "Although we have nothing to do with Li Zhiyuan anymore, Granny Zhao keeps going to provoke him. Will something happen?"
"There's a provincial examination this year, and I'm afraid Li Zhiyuan might pass and become a Juren. A Juren is different from a Xiucai; the county magistrate will have to give him some face then. As the saying goes, the common people can't fight against officials..."
Ye Caiping's eyes flickered slightly.
According to the plot, Li Zhiyuan will pass the imperial examination this year.
If she hadn't transmigrated, Li Jiaojiao would have obtained the superpower "Visible Eye" from the space, a see-through ability that could be used once every three days.
Using her clairvoyance, she saw the exam questions in advance.
With her help, Li Ziming will pass the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the provincial examination in succession, and become the top scholar in the provincial examination.
Li Zhiyuan also ranked second in the provincial examination, becoming a well-deserved Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).
But in this life, Li Jiaojiao wasn't so lucky.
Without Li Jiaojiao's help, Li Zhiyuan and Li Ziming are nothing but a lump of mud!
To emphasize Li Jiaojiao's importance, the book clearly states that Li Zhiyuan's success in passing the imperial examination was entirely due to luck.
Neither Li Ziming nor Li Zhiyuan possessed any real talent or learning; it would be a miracle if they passed the imperial examination.
Her top priority now is to block Li Jiaojiao's second benefactor!
In seven or eight days, Li Jiaojiao will meet the Duchess who is in distress.
This time, she's going to get the Duchess out of there first!
"Don't worry, Dad, they won't pass," Ye Caiping said.
Old Man Ye sighed softly, "Let's hope so!"
"It's getting late. Isn't Caiping going to find that Master Shen?" said Old Lady Ye.
"Okay, I'll go right away. I'll change my clothes first." Ye Caiping said and went into the room.
When she came out again, Grandma Ye smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen you dressed up."
Ye Caiping wore an apricot-colored top and a light green horse-face skirt, with a silver hairpin on it, which was unusual for her.
She also applied some lip rouge.
A slightly rosy lip color can boost a person's energy and spirit.
"It's a bit plain. Now that you have money, you should buy more hairpins and bracelets, and it would be best to buy a few big gold hairpins to wear," said Old Madam Ye.
Ye Caiping's lips twitched slightly; she didn't want to wear an old-fashioned gold hairpin.
"It's not plain at all. This is for Xuan'er to become an apprentice, not a matchmaking event. As long as we are clean, presentable, and polite, that's fine."
"Too."
"Little sister, let's go!" Ye Daquan's voice rang out from outside the door.
Ye Caiping then went out.
Two oxcarts were pulled out, with Daquan and Erquan each driving one.
One vehicle was for delivering goods, and the other was for delivering Ye Caiping.
"Wow, little sister looks so beautiful today." The Ye brothers' eyes lit up when they saw her.
Ye Caiping chuckled and said, "Let's go!" She got into Ye Daquan's car.
Ye Erquan pulled Hulatang along, and Wei Shi followed.
From now on, the delivery business will belong to the two brothers.
The two discussed the delivery procedure, and the two families took turns delivering.
Ye Daquan and his wife, the Du couple, escorted the guests for fifteen days, while Erquan and the Wei family escorted them for fifteen days.
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