The day passed quickly, and An Shuyi was still enjoying the show. Even on the way back, she kept telling Xia Hua how wonderful it was and how she wanted to come again tomorrow.
For the next few days, she went to the teahouse to listen to operas every day, sometimes with Xia Hua, sometimes with Ruoxi, and sometimes with Yan Zhen. However, no one else sat there all day like her, only staying for a few hours at most before making an excuse to leave.
That day, she was planning to go to the theater as usual, but Xia Hua stopped her, saying, "The results will be announced in the next couple of days!"
An Shuyi looked at her in surprise, the meaning in her eyes was self-evident.
Yan Ce hurriedly explained, "Grandma, a notice has been posted at the examination venue. The results should be available in the next couple of days, but they haven't specified the exact date. Grandma Xia has already sent servants to wait at the examination venue. They'll come back and tell us as soon as the results are out."
"I've been so busy having fun these past few days that I haven't paid attention to any of this. Luckily, I have Huahua here." The plays were so good, with different ones every day, that she lost track of time while watching them.
Especially during this period, there were many candidates taking the imperial examinations in the capital. The storytellers talked about the candidates' affairs, such as catching a son-in-law after the results were announced, or a young lady offering herself to a man. They also talked about the candidates' childhood experiences, speaking vividly as if they had seen it all themselves.
"Stop being silly, just stay home. I'll go get some copper coins." There aren't that many copper coins in the house. Nineteen children, even if some go to high school, will require quite a few copper coins.
An Shuyi also stood up, "I'll go with you!"
"No need for you. He Jin will drive the carriage and be back soon," Xia Hua said, and then went out the door.
Seeing that Hua Hua hadn't included her, An Shuyi didn't insist. Looking at the others in the room, she asked, "Ruo Hua, how have you been these past few days? Where have you been playing?"
These children used to go to the theater with her, but it was so boring that they couldn't last more than two days before going out to play on their own.
Thirteen days have passed, and she hasn't asked where the children were playing. It's a serious dereliction of duty.
Before Ruohua could answer, Yan Ce hurriedly said, "Grandma, these past few days when we went out to play, we often saw a young man who stared at Auntie every day. He clearly had ill intentions."
"Young master?" An Shuyi looked at her daughter. "Huahua, what kind of young master is he? Have you spoken to him?" Could it be that he has taken a fancy to her daughter? That won't do. Her son-in-law must be chosen carefully and cannot be taken lightly.
Lin Ruohua shook her head, "Mother, I don't know what kind of young master he is. I meet a lot of people every day when I go out, and I have never spoken to any man. Ce'er, are you sure you didn't see wrong? Maybe he's just a passing man and you've misunderstood him."
Seeing that they didn't believe him, Yan Ce hurriedly explained, "No, I really saw it. That person's eyes were shining, just like Grandpa Wu's when he saw something delicious."
Hearing him say this, An Shuyi didn't believe him completely, but she believed him halfway. "Yan Zhen, have you seen the person Yan Ce mentioned?"
Yan Zhen noticed that everyone was looking at him and nodded. "That man is named Kong Lisheng. He is twenty-six years old and lives in Kongjia Village, Pingyuan City. This is his third time taking the imperial examination. He failed the previous two times."
“His family is not well-off, and they all hope that he can pass the imperial examination, so that the family can finally get ahead. According to what I’ve heard, he has a lot of ulterior motives.”
"Brother, I remember who this person is, I've seen him before!" Yan Ce said hurriedly upon hearing this.
Hearing him say that, Yan Zhen had no choice but to stop. "Then tell me, where did you see him?" He had never seen this person before. He had found out all of this by asking around. He was skilled in martial arts and had very sharp ears. He could hear things from far away, so he had heard a lot of things.
After receiving permission, Yan Ce said, "Two years ago, my grandmother and the others went to Pingyuan City to visit my cousin. My aunt and I went with them. This man was outside the prefectural governor's residence and even questioned us."
"But my aunt and I ignored it. Later, when we went out to play, I saw this person again, following behind us every day with a gleam in his eyes."
An Shuyi looked at her daughter, "Huahua, do you remember what Yan Ce said?" If so, this man needs to be thoroughly investigated. As the old saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you.
Ruohua nodded, "There is one thing. The man was outside my cousin's residence and asked us if the prefect was in the mansion. We left without going back."
At that time, her cousin had only recently become the prefect, and he was worried that he might not be able to handle some things well, so he asked her mother and the others to go over there so that they could help if anything happened. She, Yan Ce, and Yan Li played there for a long time, because many people asked them for advice, and she couldn't remember them all.
“Yan Zhen, continue telling me what you’ve found out!” An Shuyi said.
“Okay, Grandma,” Yan Zhen said, glancing at his aunt before continuing, “Although his family is not well-off, he always manages to have enough money to take the exams. I’ve heard from several other candidates that he is always very generous.”
“I asked his fellow villagers, and at first they wouldn’t say anything. I gave them ten taels of silver before they told me that Kong Lisheng’s silver was all obtained by deceiving women. He was handsome and literate, and young ladies in their boudoirs didn’t think much of it and were easily fooled.”
"Knowing that he was going to take the imperial examination and that his family had run out of rice and food, they would give him some money each time. Over time, he got a taste of the benefits and began to deceive many girls. I guess he must have seen my aunt come out of my uncle's mansion and knew that she was a young lady from a wealthy family, so he wanted to use his methods to deceive her."
“But my aunt has people following her every day and ignores him. She doesn’t stay long, so she doesn’t have a chance. This time, she came to the capital, probably because she saw my aunt here and wanted to continue.”
"These were things that Kong Lisheng was telling others, and he happened to overhear them. Everyone doubted whether it was Kong Lisheng speaking, but unexpectedly, Kong Lisheng directly took out a handkerchief and a hairpin."
"Only when people saw the poem on the handkerchief did they believe that what he said was true."
"He's a real scoundrel!" An Shuyi cursed angrily, not knowing whether those girls in the past had been swindled out of their money or their bodies. "Huahua, if you see this man in the future, stay away from him."
"Also, wherever you go, take a maid with you. You can't go out alone. And if you really encounter danger, throw out the medicine I gave you and then run away as fast as you can, understand?"
Ruohua nodded, "Mother, I know!" She was not a child and naturally knew the seriousness of the matter, but she never expected that there would be such a shameless person in the world.
An Shuyi saw her nod and didn't say anything more. It was a pity that the man wasn't trying to fool any girls right now, otherwise, if he dared, she could go and give him a good beating until he couldn't get up. She would have to talk to Hua Hua about it when she got back.
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