The group of people were stunned for a long time, and were finally broken by a mother's trembling sob.
"Xinran... my son..."
Li Yuan staggered and almost collapsed to the ground.
"Are you so heartbroken that you've gone mad? Are you talking nonsense?"
She held Yu Luo's hand, her palms icy cold and sweaty.
"How can a woman become a scholar? How can she take the imperial examination? Forget about the examiners, how could you possibly pass the test of gender alone!"
"This is a heinous crime deserving of a thousand cuts!"
The woman next to her finally snapped out of her shock, a mocking smile appearing on her face.
"Ha, I think she's just crazy."
"After studying with that scholar for a few years, he really thinks he's got the talent?"
"We women are not destined for such good fortune! It would be better if we didn't achieve fame and fortune, but instead had our identities exposed and were dragged away and beaten to death!"
"Our whole family will be drowned in your spittle too!"
Before she could finish speaking, a hoarse and sharp voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Shut up, you old woman!"
Grandmother slammed her hand on the table, her withered hands bursting with astonishing strength.
She suddenly turned to her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhou, and the cold glint in her eyes made Zhou's voice catch in her throat.
"If you dare say another one of those discouraging things, I'll beat you to death with sticks, you believe me!"
The sister-in-law trembled with fright, her face turned deathly pale, and she dared not utter another sound.
Grandmother slowly turned her head back, her gaze falling on Yu Luo again. The fierce aura had not dissipated, but instead turned into a heavy scrutiny.
"Xinran, tell Grandma."
Are you serious?
Yu Luo met her gaze without flinching and nodded firmly.
"yes."
Grandmother took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
On her withered face, an expression that was hard to tell whether it was a cry or a laugh bloomed.
"good!"
"OK!"
"Since you dare, your grandmother will risk her old life to gamble with you!"
"From this day forward, you are the scholar who will uphold the Yu family's traditions!"
Her eyes suddenly sharpened as she swept over her two daughters-in-law, who were now silent as cicadas in fear.
"Listen up, all of you! If anyone dares to utter a single word about this, don't blame this old woman for being ruthless. One packet of pills and you won't even know how you died!"
The eerie tone of his words seemed to lower the temperature in the entire room.
Zhou was so frightened that she trembled all over and waved her hands repeatedly.
"Mother! Mother, don't worry! I don't know anything! I won't say anything! You can handle it as you see fit, I'm fine! Absolutely fine!"
Seeing this scene, Yu Luo felt a little more at ease.
This family is reasonably sensible and courageous enough to continue living together.
Moreover, she always had an incredibly strong premonition.
Soon, women of Liang will be able to stand proudly in the imperial court.
Perhaps, even an empress will emerge!
…
The matter was quickly settled.
That very day, the grandmother took it upon herself to secretly bury Yu An's coffin.
The official statement was that Yu's older sister, Xinran, was seriously ill and had been sent to her distant aunt's house.
The younger brother, Yu An, was heartbroken over his sister's grief. Overwhelmed with sorrow, he injured his health and secluded himself, refusing to see anyone for a short period of time.
At night, the oil lamp flickered dimly.
Grandmother and mother, Li, stayed in Yu Luo's room, but not really stayed; they were teaching her.
“When An’er walks, her left shoulder tends to sag slightly.”
"When he debated with his classmates, he would get excited and would tap the corner of the table with his index finger knuckle, tapping it three times before stopping."
"His favorite dish is..."
"The person he dislikes the most is..."
The two elders meticulously analyzed Yu An's personality, habits, interpersonal skills, and even some harmless catchphrases, and fed them to Yu Luo bit by bit.
Yu Luo wrote them down one by one.
Although the original owner Yu Xinran's memories exist only vaguely, they are far less direct and effective than this kind of cramming-style teaching.
I spent a sleepless night.
When the morning light of the next day shone into the room through the window, Yu Luo had already changed into a blue men's robe, and her long hair was tied up with a simple wooden hairpin.
She pushed open the door and bumped into her sister-in-law, Zhou, who was yawning and sleepy-eyed as she walked out of the room.
Zhou's yawn was only halfway through when it got stuck in his throat.
Her eyes, which had been just slits, suddenly opened wide like saucers.
The young man before her was slender and handsome, with a scholarly air and an inescapable melancholy between his brows. His slightly drooping left shoulder and the slight furrow in his brow as he looked at her...
Where is that delicate young sister-in-law now?
This was clearly her already buried brother-in-law, standing alive right in front of her!
Zhou's jaw was almost dislocated. She pointed at Yu Luo and stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single word.
Yu Luo remained calm and even greeted him in a slightly aloof, hoarse voice, just as he had learned the night before.
"Good morning, sister-in-law."
"Clang!"
The copper basin that Zhou was holding fell to the ground with a thud.
The icy well water splashed all over her trouser leg, but she was completely unaware, staring intently at "Yu An" in front of her, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
This sister-in-law even imitated the voice exactly!
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