Chapter 288: The Wager

Bian Dou Dou was not afraid of offending them.

At worst, he just wouldn't take the exam; his family was wealthy anyway, so passing would be a nice bonus, and failing wouldn't be a big deal.

The only reason he had studied so hard before was to fulfill a promise to his mother so he could bring Jin Que into the family. Now that he no longer had that desire, did it even matter if he became a scholar or not?

Seeing Bian Dou Dou so tense, Duan Xiu chuckled, "You've misunderstood. I have no ill intent; I simply wish to make friends with this brother."

Make friends?

Bian Dou Dou expressed his disbelief.

Shen Jing Bin didn't believe it either.

"A-Xiu, this guy wants to snatch your title of Prefectural Top Scholar. Are you sure you want to be friends with him?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Duan Xiu glared at Shen Jing Bin. "The title of Prefectural Top Scholar belongs to those with talent. Our Fengyang Prefecture is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; there are plenty of geniuses. How can we make rash conclusions before the results are out?"

Shen Jing Bin wanted to say something more, but was kicked by one of his childhood friends.

He then sheepishly shut his mouth.

Duan Xiu looked at Jiang Zhan again, his gaze burning. "Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Duan, given name Xiu. My ancestral home is Fentao County, Fengyang Prefecture, and I am also this year's County Top Scholar."

So that was it.

Jiang Zhan politely addressed him: "Brother Duan."

Duan Xiu nodded with a smile. "Can you tell me now, brother?"

Since the other party was so sincere, Jiang Zhan naturally had nothing to hide. "I am Jiang Zhan, from Wutou Xian."

Wutou Xian?

Shen Jing Bin let out a 'ha'. "So you're from Wutou Xian. That explains it. That little backwater county only produces unruly people."

Unruly your sister!

Du Ruo rolled her eyes secretly. Did he think she couldn't tell? This piece of trash was likely implying something about Jiang Li.

Fortunately, Shen Jing Bin didn't know Jiang Zhan was Jiang Li's younger brother; otherwise, it wouldn't just be an implication—he would definitely be pulling all sorts of dirty tricks behind the scenes.

Du Ruo raised the menu in her hand, blocking most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

She scrutinized Duan Xiu.

For some reason, even though Duan Xiu acted very friendly and kind, she inexplicably felt that this person had no good intentions.

Perhaps it was because Duan Xiu was in the same group as Shen Jing Bin.

After all, birds of a feather flock together, don't they?

Duan Xiu didn't notice Du Ruo, focusing only on getting close to Jiang Zhan. "Brother Jiang, how old are you this year?"

Jiang Zhan replied, "Sixteen."

Sixteen, huh...

"I am three years your senior. If you don't mind, may I call you A-Zhan?"

Jiang Zhan hesitated for a moment. "... That's fine."

Logically, such an intimate form of address shouldn't happen between two people who had just met, but since the other party was so sincere, he felt embarrassed to refuse.

Duan Xiu's gaze finally turned to Du Ruo, and he smiled. "This young lady, could she be A-Zhan's wife?"

Du Ruo, "..."

"No, no, no, Brother Duan, you've misunderstood." Jiang Zhan's face flushed, and he quickly denied it. "This is my eldest sister-in-law, here to accompany me for the exam. I haven't started a family yet."

Oh, so he hasn't started a family yet...

A glint flashed in Duan Xiu's eyes, and the smile on his fair face widened. "Since A-Zhan is the County Top Scholar of Wutou Xian, your talent must be outstanding. Why don't we make a wager?"

He unfastened the double-fish jade pendant he carried with him. "In this Prefectural Examination, if A-Zhan can win the crown of Prefectural Top Scholar, I will gift this jade pendant to you."

Behind him, the delicate-looking page boy's expression changed drastically, and he quickly tried to stop him. "Young Master, you mustn't..."

Duan Xiu turned back and threw a cold look at him. "Shut up, I know what I'm doing!"

The page boy bit his lip hard and lowered his head in grievance.

Jiang Zhan smiled. "Sorry, I don't like to gamble."

"You don't like to gamble, or you don't dare to gamble?" Shen Jing Bin crossed his arms, sneering from the side as he used a goading tactic. "I advise you not to be ungrateful. A-Xiu is willing to bet with you; that is your good fortune. Don't be unappreciative."

Bian Dou Dou didn't like hearing that.

"Why should we bet with you? It's just a crappy jade pendant, who cares! If A-Zhan wants one, my family has plenty. What's the big deal about giving him ten or eight of them?"

Duan Xiu choked slightly, but quickly returned to normal. "My fault for not explaining clearly. Actually, this pendant is not an ordinary one; it is our Duan family's heirloom. Its value lies not in how much money it's worth, but in the use it has behind it."

"You might not know this, but anyone who holds this jade pendant can make one request to the head of our Duan family."

"No matter what the request is, as long as it isn't too excessive or illegal, the Duan family will do their utmost to fulfill it."

Bian Dou Dou still didn't take it seriously. "What a big mouth. Is your Duan family so amazing?"

"This..." Duan Xiu looked at Shen Jing Bin, who understood. "I'm afraid you'd be scared to death if I told you! A-Xiu's father is a Director in the Ministry of Revenue, and his grandfather is even more impressive—he is the current Libationer of the Imperial Academy, the old Lord Duan Zixun! How about that? Is that amazing enough?"

That was indeed quite impressive.

Although their ranks weren't extremely high, both were Fourth-Rank Officials with real, solid power.

Bian Dou Dou hurriedly tugged on Jiang Zhan's sleeve and whispered, "A-Zhan, this deal isn't a loss. I think you can take the bet. With your talent, the Prefectural Top Scholar title is very hopeful. I, for one, believe in you."

Jiang Zhan shook his head. "Let's forget it."

He wanted to climb up through his own efforts and didn't want to take any crooked paths.

Seeing Jiang Zhan refuse to agree, Duan Xiu showed a look of disappointment. "A-Zhan, are you really unwilling to make this wager with me? It won't do you any harm at all."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Fuzi, who had seemed like an invisible person on the side, suddenly spoke up. "Young Master Duan only said what would happen if A-Zhan wins, but hasn't mentioned what would happen if A-Zhan loses."

"Since it's a wager, naturally both sides must put up a stake. Young Master Duan's stake is this jade pendant, so what about A-Zhan? What do you want him to put up as a stake?"

Duan Xiu's eyes flickered, and then he curled the corners of his mouth. "It's simple. If I win the Prefectural Top Scholar title, then A-Zhan must also agree to one request from me."

"Don't worry, this request will definitely be something A-Zhan can easily do, and it will absolutely not violate the law."

It sounded like a win-win deal.

Jiang Fuzi was noncommittal.

He didn't continue to expose it, but instead left the decision to Jiang Zhan. Jiang Zhan had a long and difficult road ahead; he needed to be tempered and needed to grow.

Jiang Zhan looked at his eldest sister-in-law.

Du Ruo shook her head at him.

There was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. For this Young Master Duan, with such status, to be so attentive to a farm boy like Jiang Zhan—she would bet her life that there was something wrong with it.

Jiang Zhan realized this too, so he smiled. "Forget it, Brother Duan. I don't have the confidence to win the Prefectural Top Scholar title, so let's not bet."

Duan Xiu sighed.

Seeing this, Shen Jing Bin rolled his eyes, suddenly turned around, and shouted loudly: "Everyone here, listen up! Young Master Duan Xiu, the County Top Scholar of Fentao County, and Young Master Jiang Zhan, the County Top Scholar of Wutou Xian, have made a wager today. Whoever wins the crown of Prefectural Top Scholar this time can make one request of the other. I hope everyone will act as a witness!"

Clatter—all the diners on the second floor stood up, stretching their necks to look over.

Among them were quite a few scholars and literati.

Don't look at how much they read; they loved to join in the excitement just the same, especially this kind of pretentious, refined excitement.

Immediately, people began to echo.

"Both are ambitious students, well done!"

"I'm willing to be this witness!"

"I'm willing too!" ===== CHAPTER 289 =====