Chapter 122: If You Have the Ability, Hit Back

(First draft)

Although Jiang Zhan's mind was pure, he was extremely smart.

He had actually seen all the various abnormalities of his Big Sister-in-law, but he just didn't want to expose them.

Jiang Zhan always firmly believed that Du Ruo was truly good for this family; the fact that the family's days were getting more and more prosperous was the best evidence.

So when Du Ruo took out those strange pills and stuffed them to him, Jiang Zhan accepted them without the slightest hesitation.

He didn't even ask a single question.

Anyway, Big Sister-in-law would definitely not harm him.

Du Ruo was very satisfied with the child's obedience and sensibility, and she instructed him carefully: "Don't let the exam basket leave your hands, so as not to let others take advantage of the loophole. Also, no matter what happens, remember to stay calm; saving your life is always the first priority, and fame and wealth come later. You are still young, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future; do you know?"

"I know, Big Sister-in-law." Jiang Zhan nodded.

Jiang Li coughed twice and patted his younger brother's thin shoulder. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself; it doesn't matter if you don't pass; there is more than one path in life. If this path doesn't work, we'll just change to another one."

"Don't worry, Big Brother, I will do my best."

The Sanyuan Inn was very experienced; before dawn, hot breakfast was sent up.

However, Jiang Zhan didn't dare to eat too much; if he couldn't hold it and had to go to the latrine, the chief examiner would stamp a "poop stamp" on his paper. Any candidate with a "poop stamp" on their paper, no matter how well they did, basically meant they had failed.

After eating, Du Ruo checked the items in the exam basket for the last time, especially the admission ticket; that was the most important thing.

The County Examination required staying in the exam shed for a day, so lunch would definitely be solved on the spot.

Du Ruo exchanged a few mung bean cakes and a dozen slices of cooked beef with the system, as well as a bamboo tube of clear and sweet mountain spring water; it was filling and wouldn't spoil, and the taste was good, making it the most suitable.

Everything was ready, and the three of them prepared to set off.

Just as they left the room, the door of the 'Earth' grade room opposite creaked open, and Liu Shi and Xiao Liangchen, mother and son, walked out.

Liu Shi saw the exam basket in Jiang Zhan's hand at a glance and knew that Jiang Zhan was also a candidate for this session, so she immediately began to size him up.

He was quite handsome, not worse than her own son.

However, he looked young, his figure was thin, and he was dressed ordinarily, so she figured his family background was average, and like herself, they were just puffing up their faces to look fat by staying in a superior room.

Liu Shi then developed a sense of contempt.

Her son had real talent and learning and would be the top scholar in the future, so of course, he had to live a bit better.

Others were just overestimating their own capabilities and wasting money!

Liu Shi curled her lips and looked at the two people beside Jiang Zhan, wanting to see what kind of parents were so irresponsible and spoiled their child without any boundaries.

As a result, when she looked, her eyeballs almost popped out.

This woman... so familiar.

Although she had grown a bit, she had only seen those extremely special phoenix eyes on one person's face in her life.

"Aman?" Liu Shi shouted in surprise.

Du Ruo was speechless; what kind of evil fate was this? She couldn't hide even if she wanted to.

She squeezed out a hypocritical fake smile. "Hehehe, what a coincidence."

Liu Shi stared fixedly at Du Ruo's face, then suddenly looked at her own son.

Xiao Liangchen stood straight, his eyes lowered, his face waveless, as if he disdained to look at the person opposite him.

Liu Shi's heart sank suddenly.

Chen'er had always been the most polite; even if it was a stranger, even if it was a beggar, he treated people kindly and never gave anyone a cold face.

Now, being so indifferent, he didn't look like himself at all.

No one knows a son better than his mother; the more he pretended not to care, the more it proved that he still couldn't forget that dead girl in his heart.

Thinking back to her son's abnormality last night...

Liu Shi was suddenly angry and anxious, and her face became mean.

"It's not that I'm talking about you, Aman. When you were still an ugly monster before, you hid far away like a mouse seeing a cat when you saw my son. Now that your face has recovered, your tail is also raised, and you're acting coquettish for whom to see? Since you're married, be decent and don't always covet people you shouldn't covet."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned.

Xiao Liangchen suddenly raised his head, both ashamed and annoyed. "Mother, what are you saying!"

Jiang Li's eyes flashed with cold light.

Before he could take action, he saw his wife raise her soft, tender, and fleshy little hand.

Slap, she slapped that old thing on the face.

Liu Shi was stunned, holding her burning cheek, staring at Du Ruo in disbelief. "You, you dare to hit me?"

"I hit you, so what?" Du Ruo pinched her round and firm waist, raising her chin provocatively. "If you have the ability, hit back."

Liu Shi: "..." She really wanted to hit back.

But she glanced at the heroic man standing behind Du Ruo, then looked at her own son who couldn't even truss a chicken, and had to vent her full belly of anger through her mouth.

"Dead girl, don't be proud yet; I'm in a hurry today, so I won't lower myself to your level. Heh, wait until my son finishes the exam, and see if I don't go to the Ya Men to report you!"

Du Ruo smiled, turned her head, and raised her eyebrows at Jiang Li. "Hey, Constable Jiang, someone here wants to report a case."

Jiang Li took out his Constable token from his bosom, held it in front of Liu Shi's eyes, his tone as cold as ice dregs.

"The Constable of Wutou Xian is here; are you the one reporting the case?"

Liu Shi hurriedly hid behind Xiao Liangchen, her momentum dropping by a large margin. "No, no, I, I was just playing."

What was going on? Wasn't it said that the dead girl married a poor hunter? When did he become a Constable?

A Constable might not count as much of an official, but they worked under the feet of the County Magistrate and were not to be offended easily.

Forget it, wait until her son passes the exam, and then she would properly clean them up...

"My mother spoke rudely and has offended you; I hope you adults can be magnanimous and not hold it against her." Xiao Liangchen's face flushed red, and he bowed deeply to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li put away the token and said lightly: "Brother, you are well-read; you should know the truth that trouble comes from the mouth. You should persuade your mother more in the future."

After saying this, he took his little wife's hand. "Let's go, Zhan."

Jiang Zhan looked at Xiao Liangchen with a complex expression, then followed his Big Brother's footsteps and went downstairs.

The exam venue was set up in the County School, only a quarter of an hour's walk from the Sanyuan Inn.

By the time they arrived, the gate of the County School was already full of people, most of them candidates, and there were also many people sending them off.

The atmosphere was tense amidst the liveliness.

Jiang Zhan looked around for a long time before finally finding the territory of Xiushan Academy, and hurriedly led his brother and sister-in-law to squeeze over.

The teacher leading the academy saw Jiang Zhan and laughed. "With this sea of people, I was afraid you wouldn't find us; you finally came."

He asked again: "Are all the things prepared?"

"Don't worry, Teacher; everything is prepared properly," Jiang Zhan nodded, his attitude respectful.

How could the teacher really not worry? He took Jiang Zhan's exam basket and checked it carefully, then asked about the use of those pills, and only after confirming there was no problem did he return it to him.

It was no wonder he was so cautious; this time, more than a dozen people from Xiushan Academy came to take the exam, either older ones who had to come to try their luck.

Or those who were outstanding in their studies and had at least a grasp of passing.

But Xiushan Academy's ambition was more than that.

They also wanted to win the honor of the County Top Scholar, which was crucial for improving the academy's reputation!

And the only people who had the best hope of getting this result were their 'Two Pride of Xiushan'—Jiang Zhan and Xiao Liangchen.

It didn't matter who it was, as long as it was a student of Xiushan Academy. ===== CHAPTER 123 =====