During this period, Li Zhiyuan's confidence had practically exploded.
But now, Li Jiaojiao is telling him that Li Ziming's top score in the imperial examination has absolutely nothing to do with him.
They're all copied!
Doesn't that mean that Li Zhiyuan's talent is inferior to that pretty boy's?
Li Zhiyuan shook his head, unwilling to believe it: "Impossible! How could this be! I, Li Zhiyuan..."
Li Jiaojiao and her brother looked at him speechlessly.
Li Jiaojiao said, "The test paper is right here, why is Father asking such a pointless question? Do you really think you're such a good teacher? If you're so capable, why didn't you become the top scholar ten or eight years ago?"
Li Zhiyuan was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, his face alternating between pale and flushed.
Enraged, he swept all the articles onto the floor with a loud crash.
"How could I, Li Zhiyuan,... how could I..."
"What are you doing?" Li Jiaojiao was furious, staring coldly at him: "Don't be ungrateful! The only reason I'm worried about you is to slap the Ye family in the face, otherwise you wouldn't be the top scholar!"
If it weren't for the fact that there's only one top scholar in each year, she would naturally want Li Ziming to be the one.
There were two sets of answers. She gave Li Zhiyuan the best set! Li Ziming could only settle for second place.
Because Li Zhiyuan's success in the provincial examination had a greater impact on the Ye family than Li Ziming's, she gave the opportunity to Li Zhiyuan first.
Next spring, we'll have Li Zhiyuan take both the provincial and palace examinations!
Li Ziming will take a break for now and take the exam again next time.
The father and son walked up step by step, and in the end, both became top scholars in the imperial examination!
Then she'll be the daughter and sister of the top scholar! Just thinking about that status is so noble! She can marry into any noble family she wants!
Thinking about it, Li Jiaojiao felt her heart surge with excitement.
Although she didn't know how the provincial and palace examinations would go, she felt that the future was full of hope!
Looking at the distraught Li Zhiyuan, Li Jiaojiao's face darkened: "Do you still want these answers? If not, I'll burn them!"
"No!" Li Zhiyuan said urgently.
He was resentful and bitter, but if he failed the imperial examination, wouldn't he be even more of a joke?
No matter what it takes, as long as the goal is achieved, that's all that matters!
Soon, it was August 25th, the day of the triennial provincial examination.
Li Zhiyuan and his son checked into an inn in the prefectural city yesterday.
This morning, the father and son, full of confidence and with plenty of answers, walked into the examination room.
Qinghe Village —
Ye Caiping stood in the courtyard, looking in the direction of the city and smiled mockingly.
Heaven has truly been kind to Li Jiaojiao.
Not only did they grant her X-ray vision, they also allowed her to encounter the Marquis of Weiyong's mansion, which gave Li Ziming the opportunity to participate in the academy examination.
After stealing the exam questions, she encountered a group of learned scholars who gave her the answers.
According to the plot, Li Zhiyuan will be the top scholar in the imperial examination, while Li Ziming will come in second.
In the book, Li Zhiyuan also achieved an amazing result in the imperial examination the following year, thanks to the efforts of Gu Han and the Duchess. By then, Gu Han was already able to manipulate the court, and he directly appointed Li Zhiyuan as the top scholar in the palace examination.
Unfortunately, Li Jiaojiao's family was destined for misfortune because they encountered her!
At this moment, Ye Daquan's family.
The servants of Ye Daquan's family bought it yesterday.
The buyers were a couple in their twenties with a seven-year-old daughter.
The men chopped firewood, carried water, cleaned the livestock shed, and also helped Liu Dali deliver spicy soup.
He was originally a gift from Ye Peng, but now the second wife won't let him work there anymore, so they had a servant they bought take his place.
The woman did the housework and helped Du make spicy soup, while the maid ran around doing light work.
The two older men are paid the same as Ye Caiping's family, 800 wen a month, while the little girl is paid 300 wen a month. If things go well, the wages will increase a bit after the New Year.
In addition, Ye Daquan's family also bought an oxcart. They would occasionally switch oxen with Ye Caiping's family, otherwise it would be too tiring for the oxen.
When Granny Zhao heard that Ye Daquan's family had bought someone, she rushed over to see what was going on.
As soon as she sat down in the chair, the quick-witted maidservant brought her tea and a fruit box, which Granny Zhao praised highly.
"This little girl is so young, how come she knows how to handle things so well?"
Sitting to the side, Madam Du laughed and said, "My little sister picked them all out for me. Don't let her age fool you, she's very clever!"
Granny Zhao ate her candied fruit, overjoyed to be neighbors with Madam Du. She could come over for food whenever she craved something.
"Speaking of which, today is the provincial examination, didn't Xuan'er participate?"
"No. How long has he actually studied? His teacher is already very capable for passing the county-level exam. He said he needs to work on it more before he can take the provincial-level exam."
"That's true. He only studied for about a year! That's already quite impressive! Look at that donkey that followed him into the mountains; he studied for seven or eight years and still couldn't even pass the preliminary imperial examination." As she spoke, Granny Zhao suddenly lowered her voice with a gossipy look:
"Um... how's Erquan's wife doing? I haven't seen her for seven or eight days. I heard she's injured... what happened? Did she lose face after that incident and try to commit suicide?"
Although no outsiders knew about this, Doctor Zhao kept his mouth shut.
But Granny Zhao still managed to dig something out.
Du's lips twitched slightly. So this was the real reason why Granny Zhao came here?
She coughed lightly: "Oh... well, she had a fight with Erquan after she got home last time, and she accidentally fell and got a minor injury."
Granny Zhao hissed, "Why doesn't Erquan divorce her?"
"Sigh...this is their business, it's none of our concern." Seemingly unwilling to elaborate, she changed the subject: "Your grandson isn't young anymore, when are you going to find him a wife?"
The two chatted for a few more minutes, and when Granny Zhao realized she couldn't dig anything out, she had no choice but to leave.
No sooner had Granny Zhao left than Old Lady Ye walked in, frowning as she said:
"Eldest daughter-in-law, pack some things, let's go see the second daughter-in-law."
Although Ye Caiping said last time that she did not acknowledge the Wei family, that was only between Ye Caiping and the Wei family.
But since she stayed, she was still with Du's daughter-in-law and sister-in-law.
Out of consideration for Erquan and Ye Pengyinhua, they wouldn't break ties with the Wei family or anything like that; they still needed to save face.
Otherwise, things would be too difficult for Erquan and Yinhua. It would push Erquan's family further and further away.
Grandma Ye didn't want this to happen, so she decided to maintain the relationships that needed to be maintained.
The two had visited her a few days ago, but she was asleep; it was unclear whether she was faking it or not.
Mrs. Du nodded: "Okay, I'll go pack a basket."
He then went inside.
As was customary, Mrs. Du took two pieces of brown sugar, twenty eggs, and a handful of blood-nourishing red dates.
After thinking for a moment, she opened the tightly locked cabinet again, where the ginseng that Ye Caiping had given her was kept. She had given one to her family last time, and there was still one left.
She cut off half of it and put it in the basket; she had to save the other half for Xiuxiu to use when she had a baby.
After leaving the house, they grabbed an old hen from the henhouse, tied its feet with straw, and carried it out with Old Lady Ye.
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