Chapter 240

Fengyang Prefecture is about three hundred miles away from Wutou Xian; in the new century, one could arrive in the blink of an eye by high-speed rail or driving.

But in this ancient era with rugged roads and backward transportation, let alone walking on two legs, even taking a carriage the whole way would take at least two or three days.

Added to that are the chores of familiarizing oneself with the exam venue and arranging food and lodging, so setting off early is very necessary.

"Then how does Third Uncle plan to go? Are you going to travel in company with those friends from last time?" Du Ruo asked with concern.

Jiang Fuzi was silent for a moment, "No, they were already weeded out in the first round of the county exam."

Ah, this, Du Ruo twitched the corner of her mouth.

Sure enough, age and ability are not necessarily directly proportional.

That is to say, Jiang Fuzi can only go to Fengyang alone.

Du Ruo inexplicably thought of A Chinese Ghost Story.

A scholar on his way to the exams stays in a gloomy and terrifying thousand-year-old temple, is entangled by a beautiful ghost, and barely escapes with his life in the end.

Although the plot is a bit exaggerated, one can see how dangerous it is to travel far in ancient times; while there are no beautiful ghosts, there are plenty of mountain bandits and displaced people.

Therefore, many scholars choose to travel in groups to ensure absolute safety.

After thinking about it, Du Ruo made a suggestion, "How about this: let A Zhan talk to the teachers at their academy and bring Third Uncle along; I imagine that shouldn't be a problem."

Xiushan Academy has been operating for so many years and is experienced in this regard, so they must have a mature plan.

Jiang Zhan is the county's top scholar this time, so Xiushan Academy must have high hopes for him; they should still grant this favor.

Jiang Fuzi felt it was feasible.

Of course, he is not afraid to go alone, but since there is a better choice, why not take it?

He has always been a person who is good at assessing the situation.

After finishing the conversation, Jiang Fuzi prepared to return next door, but his eyes glanced intentionally or unintentionally behind Du Ruo.

Following his gaze, Du Ruo turned her head to look.

Under the osmanthus tree, Zheng Shi was measuring Jiang Wan's height, presumably planning to make new clothes for the child again. In recent days, Jiang Wan has seemed like she has been powered up; she is growing extremely fast and is in high spirits—it is no exaggeration to say she has been reborn.

The little pitiful girl from before is already a delicate and pretty little girl.

Du Ruo couldn't help but smile, "Third Uncle, don't worry. Wan'er is being taken care of by my mother, so I guarantee she won't be cold or hungry; you don't need to worry about her schoolwork either, she has always been self-disciplined, and even if she isn't in class, she won't just focus on playing."

Jiang Fuzi withdrew his gaze, smiled, and said nothing.

Then he turned and left.

That night, the whole family had a lively reunion dinner.

It wasn't a completely perfect reunion dinner, after all, Jiang Zhan was still missing.

After the meal, Du Ruo washed up neatly, jumped onto the bed, and hid under the covers.

Taking advantage of the fact that Jiang Li hadn't come in yet, she communicated with the system in her mind, "Little System, you said last time that the gears of fate are still turning in the established direction, but because we were prepared, we were able to turn danger into safety and forcibly change the trajectory."

"Since Jiang Zhan was destined to be involved in the imperial examination fraud case and luckily avoided it during the county exam, what about this prefectural exam? Will there still be danger?"

The system's mechanical voice sounded quickly, "Not certain, but it is possible."

Du Ruo rolled her eyes; that was the same as saying nothing.

But since there is this possibility, she must be twelve times more alert and make full preparations.

No matter what, Jiang Zhan must not have any accidents!

As soon as Jiang Li entered the room, he saw the quilt on the bed rising and falling, as if some creature was restlessly arching back and forth inside.

It was so cute that his heart was about to melt.

He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, closed the door, walked to the bedside, and reached out to lift the quilt.

The unique body fragrance of a young girl rushed toward him, drilling from his nose all the way into his lungs, making his heart itch.

Immediately after, a pink and pretty face was revealed.

As beautiful as peach blossoms, as fair as a celestial being.

A simple scene, yet it gave an extreme visual impact; no normal man could hold back after seeing it.

Jiang Li was no exception.

His gaze lingered repeatedly on those pink, red lips, his Adam's apple rolled a few times, and then he leaned forward and kissed down.

"Wait a minute!" Du Ruo turned her head, and the kiss landed on her earlobe, "Husband, I have something to tell you."

Jiang Li paused, "Must you say it now?"

Du Ruo hummed twice, "It's very important."

Jiang Li sighed secretly; although he was a bit reluctant, he still obediently turned over, lay on the outside of the bed, and took the opportunity to scoop his fragrant wife into his arms and hold her.

"Speak, I'm listening."

Du Ruo's chubby paws poked his burning chest with a guilty conscience, and she tentatively said, "That... for this prefectural exam, I want to go and accompany him for the exam."

Accompany him for the exam? Jiang Li raised his eyebrows, "Wife is worried about the second brother?"

Du Ruo nodded, "Second brother has a simple nature and is not yet deeply involved in the world; he was framed during the last county exam and was almost ruined. What if someone wants to harm him this time? If I don't keep an eye on him myself, I really can't rest easy."

Jiang Li was silent.

In fact, how could he not be worried? The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; Jiang Zhan, as the county's top scholar, is too eye-catching, and there is no guarantee that there aren't those who are jealous and plotting against him.

Secondly, he was also afraid that enemies would take the opportunity to retaliate.

Before, it was Jiang Shi who was making trouble; this time, the exam is in Fengyang Prefecture, so Jiang Shi's hand shouldn't be able to reach that far.

However, there was a new and greater hidden danger.

That is Shen Jing Bin.

Shen Jing Bin's uncle, Prefect Su, is the chief examiner for this prefectural exam and also the grader; not to mention anything else, wanting to make Jiang Zhan fail the exam would be easy.

It just so happens that as a head constable, he cannot get away.

But letting his wife go to accompany him for the exam alone is absolutely impossible; she is a weak woman, and with such beauty, and it is Shen Jing Bin's territory, wouldn't that be like sending a sheep into a tiger's mouth?

Seeing Jiang Li not speaking, how could Du Ruo not know what he was thinking, so she hurriedly said, "I can do it, Husband, please believe in me, okay?"

"I naturally believe in you." Jiang Li hugged her tighter, his chin rubbing against her hair, "It's just that I can't let you take this risk. If something really happens to you, I'm afraid I won't be able to help but kill, kill many, many people."

Du Ruo: "But Second Brother, he..."

Jiang Li smiled, "Give me some time, I'll think about whether there is a perfect solution."

Du Ruo had no choice but to say "oh."

Anyway, there is no rush; Jiang Zhan should be back in a few days, and then everyone can sit down and discuss it together.

Just as she was thinking, her lips suddenly became hot; Jiang Li had already taken away her breath.

Rustling sounds gradually started in the room, along with ambiguous gasps, until late at night.

The next day, Du Ruo slept until the sun was high, as expected.

Zheng Shi was very sensible this time; she didn't come in to nag, but instead smiled and boiled a pot of pheasant and red date soup.

The pheasant was caught by Gouzi on the mountain early in the morning, and it was fresh and hot.

Besides the pheasant, he also brought back a bundle of grass stained with dew and threw it by the horse's hooves.

Du Ruo was forcibly fed a large bowl of chicken soup as soon as she got up, and she almost choked, "Mother, who drinks such greasy things early in the morning? I'll really throw up."

"Want to throw up?" Zheng Shi's eyes lit up, and her gaze swept burning toward her daughter's stomach, "How long has it been?"

Du Ruo: "..."

Fine, pretend she didn't say anything.

"By the way, Mother, where is Husband?" Du Ruo hurriedly changed the subject.

Zheng Shi smiled, "He went to the construction site, saying he wanted to see how the house is being built and talk to Master Lu by the way."

Du Ruo nodded to show she understood.

It is very necessary for the master of the house to show his face occasionally, so as not to let those craftsmen look down on her as a woman and cut corners.

Du Ruo simply carried a small bamboo basket to the chili field.

Tens of thousands of chili plants looked like a vast expanse, very spectacular, and many fruits had already grown.

Du Ruo picked a few pounds of the large ones and came back to cook a few dishes.

Boiled meat slices, shredded pork with green peppers, and braised fish.

She made an extra portion of each and asked Jiang Wan to send them to the Jiang Clan Head's house next door.

(So sleepy, can't hit the point, let's just leave it at that.)