Chapter 259

Again? Du Ruo rolled her eyes.

Giving in once is good manners; giving in twice is cowardice.

Du Ruo looked at the girl with a half-smile: "How about this: call me 'Mother,' and I'll switch with you."

Jin Que's almond eyes widened: "Why? You're not my mother!"

"Oh, so you know I'm not your mother." Du Ruo sneered: "Since I'm not your mother, why should I indulge you? Who do you think you are?"

As she spoke, she pulled the girl off her bed: "Get up!"

Jin Que stumbled and almost fell.

She turned back, hands on her hips, and said angrily: "You are really stingy. It's just switching beds, it's not a big deal."

"Anyway, you're not afraid of snakes, so why can't you be a little kinder and sleep in the bed with the snake?"

My god, this girl's logic is touching.

Du Ruo looked at her in disbelief and sighed from the bottom of her heart—that Bian Dou Dou looked quite normal, so how could he like a woman who had nothing but a pretty face and a head full of straw?

Sure enough, men's taste in women always stays on the surface.

"If you want to put it that way, since you're still alive, why don't you just go die?" Du Ruo retorted without hesitation.

Jin Que opened her mouth wide, unable to speak for a moment: "..."

She was so angry that her pretty face turned red: "You, you are so vicious!"

She snorted heavily at Du Ruo, turned around, returned to her own bed, grabbed the bundle on it, and went straight to the wooden bed on the right.

She threw Deaf Granny's belongings onto the bed where the snake had been found.

She sat down on it arrogantly and announced with her nose in the air: "From now on, this bed is mine!"

Du Ruo couldn't be bothered to pay attention to her, as long as she didn't provoke her.

As for whether Deaf Granny agreed, that was Deaf Granny's business. She and Deaf Granny were just passing acquaintances, not related, so it wasn't worth it for her to stand up for her.

Of course, if Jin Que went too far, Du Ruo wouldn't stand idly by.

After a long while, Deaf Granny finally returned.

After discovering that her bed had been occupied by Jin Que, she didn't say anything.

Instead, she took out a handkerchief from her bosom, opened it layer by layer, revealing a dozen small dried fish, and held them out to Jin Que in a fawning manner, gesturing for her to eat.

"I don't want them. Who knows if they're clean." Jin Que pushed them away with disdain.

Although she was just a maid, the Bian family was wealthy, and since Bian Dou Dou liked her, she never lacked good food. How could she possibly look at those few dried-up little fish?

Seeing that Jin Que wouldn't eat, Deaf Granny looked embarrassed and went to fawn over Du Ruo instead.

Du Ruo couldn't bear it, so she reached out and took one.

Her vigilance was still very high; she had the system scan it first, and only after confirming it was non-toxic did she take a bite.

The taste wasn't bad. If there was more salt and a little pepper, it would be even more perfect.

"It's quite delicious, thank you," Du Ruo smiled.

Deaf Granny grinned, looking overjoyed, and insisted she take two more before she stopped.

Seeing this, Jin Que curled her lip.

*Tch*, people from small families really haven't seen the world. They probably haven't eaten anything good, right? Just a few small dried fish, and she acts like she's eating abalone. How embarrassing!

Not long after, the large ship finally set sail.

It was like an old, sickly donkey, carrying heavy cargo on a mountain path, occasionally letting out a groan.

It felt like it was about to die at any moment.

Du Ruo's heart was pounding as she listened.

You have to know that with the rescue conditions of this era, once a shipwreck occurred, there was no one to call for help.

You could only wait for death.

However, human joys and sorrows are not connected. Du Ruo was worried, but the others were very excited.

The lively ones ran directly to the deck to cheer; the more steady ones stood at the bow with their hands behind their backs, looking at the scenery, facing the river breeze, and shaking their heads to compose a few sour poems.

It was very pleasant.

It wasn't until the second day that this pleasantness gradually faded, and the deck became quiet.

Everyone huddled in their cabins, reading books, playing chess, or sleeping.

Besides that, there was nothing else to do.

Of course, the captain and his dozen or so men were still very busy, having to stay vigilant at all times to avoid the ship hitting reefs or getting caught in whirlpools.

And then there was Deaf Granny.

Deaf Granny was responsible for the meals of everyone on the ship, so she had to get up early to work.

Although she was deaf and mute, her cooking was unexpectedly good, and the food she made was very delicious. Originally, everyone had brought dry rations, which would last three or four days without a problem, but dry rations were dry rations after all. It was fine for one or two meals, but after a long time, they would definitely get tired of them.

At this time, they would especially miss fresh, hot meals.

The price was a bit expensive, one wen, but no one present was short of money, and they didn't care about this little expense.

So from dinner on the second day, basically everyone chose to eat on the ship.

Including Du Ruo.

Since she could improve her food, why should she treat herself badly?

She didn't have a tendency for self-abuse.

Jin Que started out tough, complaining about this and that, saying that Deaf Granny had a fishy smell on her and that the food she made couldn't be clean.

Later, seeing everyone eating, even her young master Bian Dou Dou eating with his mouth full of oil, she finally couldn't hold out anymore.

"I'm telling you, I don't want to eat, I'm just pitying you and giving you some face." She put on a high-and-mighty, merciful posture toward Deaf Granny.

Du Ruo's hands itched; she really wanted to slap her.

What a piece of work. Does she really think this little sparrow can fly onto a branch?

Even if Bian Dou Dou passes the scholar exam and takes you in, in the end, you're just a concubine.

Concubines are bought and sold; what's the difference between that and an animal?

And she looks down on this and that—she doesn't even know how to weigh herself!

*Ew! *

Deaf Granny didn't seem to mind at all and was still smiling.

Perhaps not being able to hear is a good thing sometimes.

You can suffer less anger.

Two days passed like this. On the whole, it was calm, and seeing that they were getting closer and closer to Fengyang Prefecture, Du Ruo's tight heart gradually relaxed.

It seemed she was worrying for nothing. As the saying goes, a broken ship still has three thousand nails; how could it be so easy to sink?

Soon it was the third day, which was also the last day on the ship.

If nothing went wrong, they would arrive at the prefecture city by noon tomorrow.

Everyone began to get restless, welcoming their impending fate with excitement, anticipation, and anxiety.

The dinner that day was also very rich, with fish and meat, meat and vegetables, and in generous portions.

The captain was very good with words: "Fan wishes all the masters and young masters success in the imperial examination and that you get what you wish for!"

Everyone bowed and returned the greeting politely.

Master Yan and the two guarantors sat at one table with the ten students, and the remaining guards and servants sat at three tables.

Originally, according to the academy's rules, one should not speak while eating.

However, Master Yan had led the team for several years and knew that if the strings were pulled too tight, they would break, so he let the students be casual, eat what they wanted, and say what they wanted, as long as they didn't violate the taboos above.

In this way, the atmosphere in the dining hall suddenly changed.

It was as if the water in the cauldron was boiling, and it became noisy in an instant.

In the corner of the dining hall, Du Ruo and Jin Que sat opposite each other at a small table.

They were the only two women besides Deaf Granny, so it was naturally not appropriate for them to sit with the men, so they were arranged here.

Jin Que leaned over, acting sneaky, as if she had mastered the evidence of Du Ruo's murder: "Hey, I saw it all."

Du Ruo looked up: "Hmm?"

"Oh, stop pretending." Jin Que rolled her eyes: "You painted your face black on purpose, right?"

So that was it.

Du Ruo's mind turned, and she understood immediately.

Although the tanning cream had no toxic side effects, applying it to the face for a long time was definitely not good, as the skin needed to breathe.

So every night before going to bed, Du Ruo would wash her face thoroughly.

The next morning, she would apply it again.

This way, it wouldn't harm her skin, and she wouldn't be exposed.

But she didn't expect to be discovered by Jin Que. It must have been when Jin Que got up early to go to the bathroom and accidentally saw her face.

But it was no big deal. The reason Du Ruo made herself ugly wasn't to guard against these students, because they already knew what she looked like.

She wanted to guard against those unscrupulous dignitaries in the prefecture city.

For example, Shen Jing Bin.

Du Ruo smiled: "So what if I did?"

Jin Que snorted coldly, her tone sour: "You are really scheming. Everyone else dresses up to be beautiful, but you deliberately make yourself ugly. Is it so you can amaze everyone at the right time?"

Originally, she was very confident in her appearance; otherwise, the young master wouldn't have liked her.

But she didn't expect that a woman from the countryside accompanying the examinees would be more beautiful than her.

It was really infuriating!

Du Ruo was once again shocked by this girl's divine logic. What kind of fertile soil could raise such a strange flower?

"If you're sick, get it treated early. Dragging it out is bad for your brain."

After saying that, Du Ruo ignored her and lowered her head to eat her meal.

She had just taken a bite and hadn't swallowed it yet.

In her mind, the system suddenly issued an urgent alarm: "Warning! Host, please be careful! There is poison in the food!!"