Chapter 439: Making Money

As soon as these words were spoken, the five exam candidates being supported, as well as the two involved parties being held, all turned pale with dismay.

Only now did the two truly regret it, turning their gazes toward the injured five.

All five were filled with shock and rage, glaring hatefully at the two.

The spring examination occurs only once every three years; if they were injured and missed this one, they would have to wait another three years.

Three years—of lost opportunities, money, and time…

All five had red-rimmed eyes.

The other exam candidates empathized, their hidden anger directed at the two held by Xue Shao.

Wang Cong waved to Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen, and the three began their examination.

To be fair, their luck was bad—they were dragged down along with others—but also good, for though trampled, none had struck vital areas; all bore only bruised and purpled waists, the worst case being an ankle crushed and sprained, which in such a short time had swollen so badly it could no longer be gripped by a single hand.

Wang Cong glanced at it and immediately looked toward Seeing Miao Zhen.

Seeing Miao Zhen immediately rose and shouted outside, "Miao Zhen, bring ice!"

Miao Zhen and Pan Yun, who had been leaning against each other with arms crossed, watching the crowd coldly, exchanged a glance, paused, then silently lowered their arms and turned away.

Not long after, she returned carrying a bucket of ice.

This was a precious item—all five would need it.

Wang Cong pressed the man down to sit on the ground, lifted his foot, rubbed it gently, and smiled sweetly, "Examination candidate, don't worry—your foot looks swollen, but it really is swollen; it looks hard to treat, but it truly is hard to treat. Fortunately, you've met me—my family's lineage specializes in treating falls and bruises…"

Examination candidate: …

In that silent moment, Wang Cong twisted the foot, pulled, pressed, and lifted—three sharp cracks—and the ankle snapped back into place.

Examination candidate: …

It hurt—just briefly.

Not shouting meant that one moment was truly painful; shouting now meant it was already barely painful.

Wang Cong gently set the foot down, wiped his hands with a cloth, took a vial from his medicine chest, poured a bit of medicine into his palm, rubbed it in, massaged the foot, wrapped it in a rag, placed two ice cubes on the acupoints, covered them with hemp cloth, and laid them down gently.

A cool, icy sensation rose from the ankle into his heart—the candidate felt less pain, yet still feared and worried: "Will I be able to enter the examination hall tomorrow?"

Wang Cong assured him: "As long as you don't move or eat anything irregularly from now until tomorrow morning, the swelling will subside, and you'll be able to walk—but be careful: no further injury for three months, or you'll develop habitual dislocation."

The candidate was skeptical: "Really? It'll heal overnight?"

"Truly. Apply medicine twice more tonight—it will definitely heal."

Wang Cong swiftly scanned the candidate's collar, hem, and ornaments, then glanced at the two held by Xue Shao—seeing they were wealthy—he paused, then said: "I have a connection with you, sir. I'll treat this as forming a good karmic bond—two bottles: one for ingestion, one for topical use. Ten taels of silver."

Examination candidate: … Is this cheap?

What medicine costs five taels per bottle?

Xue Shao tightened his grip on the two, snapping them back to awareness—they immediately said: "Treat them! We'll pay—"

Then they glanced at each other and gritted their teeth: "We'll split it!"

The injured candidates' expressions finally improved.

Wang Cong was satisfied, handed the two bottles to the candidate, and gently taught him how to take and apply the medicine.

He said: "This medicine can be taken into the examination hall; the pills cannot. But no rush—take one now, one before bed tonight, and one just before entering the hall. The rest, take one per day after breakfast after you exit."

Wang Cong shoved the vial into his hand, fixed his gaze with deep meaning: "Examination candidate, this medicine is hard to brew—don't think you can stop taking it just because your foot feels better. The imperial examination drains spirit and blood. On the surface, you may seem healed, but internally, the damage remains—so even after exiting the hall, you must continue taking this medicine."

The candidate froze, clutching the vial, lost in thought.

One bottle contained nine pills—plump and fragrant; the moment the candidate tipped one out, he felt it would taste delicious.

He popped it into his mouth, chewed—it exploded with bitter-acid medicinal flavor, coating his tongue instantly—but as he chewed further, a faint sweetness rose…

The candidate was no fool—he was a scholar; who hadn't read some medical theory? He knew this was good medicine—not just for the ankle.

He glanced at Wang Cong.

Wang Cong's eyes flickered with amusement, then left him to attend the other candidates.

Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen each handled a less severely injured candidate; both kept their ears pricked, mimicking what they'd seen—upon pulling open the man's clothes and seeing the injury, they gasped dramatically, frowned, scrunched their faces, and warned: "This injury looks serious—and it truly is serious! Look, all bruised and purple…"

All exam candidates: …

Xue Shao's eyes flickered with amusement. He released the two involved parties, stepped forward two paces, and peered over.

Clearly, they hadn't learned their eldest brother's essence—most importantly, this wasn't an ankle injury; the waist injury looked severe but wasn't truly serious—yet treating it was genuinely painful.

After all, the waist is both sensitive and tender; as soon as the medicinal liquid touched the skin, both candidates screamed—"Aaaah!"—making the two flinch and spill more medicine, prompting them to howl like slaughtered pigs.

The government office runners lingering nearby shuddered, abandoned their pretense, and shoved through the crowd: "What's happening? What's going on?"

They rushed in and locked eyes with Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen, who held up their medicine bottles. Wang Cong, still holding one leg, immediately explained: "Officers, we're physicians treating the examination candidates. This injury has nothing to do with us."

government office runners: …

Xue Shao cleared his throat. The runners snapped to attention, faces stern, reluctant but forced to ask: "How did these examination candidates get injured?"

The five injured candidates fell silent;

The two involved candidates also fell silent;

The surrounding candidates joined the silence—some subtly stepped back, but most stood firm, staring intently at the two involved parties, their gazes pressing down on them.

The two swallowed hard, opened their mouths to speak—but no words came out.

Xue Shao cleared his throat again: "These two gentlemen slipped while walking. The five examination candidates, being kind-hearted, rushed to help—and accidentally fell too."

The two instinctively looked at the five on the ground; the five stared back, expressionless. Without hesitation, the two nodded: "Yes, that's exactly it."

They weren't fools—they knew what the five wanted. They immediately added: "These five were injured trying to save us, so we two will split their medical fees equally."

The words were spat out bitterly; they glared at each other—clearly, they had no objection to paying, but fiercely disagreed on the split.

Each believed the other bore greater blame and should pay more—but with the government office runners present, arguing was impossible.

The government office runners, hearing this, sighed in relief.

!. Read

Just like them, they didn't want this to be seen as a brawl either — with so many Provincial Graduate gentlemen involved, it wouldn't be easy to settle;

Especially at this time, in this place — if someone with ulterior motives stirred it up and turned it into an "imperial examination incident," blood could very well flow like a river.

The Great Ming had precedents for that.

The government office runners breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said: "Since the injuries were sustained while saving someone, the two of you should pay their medical fees. Beyond the medical fees, there should also be some additional compensation — after all, the five are injured and in pain, and will need someone to look after them."

The two had no objections and agreed.

The government office runners then asked the five Provincial Graduate gentlemen how much additional compensation would be appropriate.

The five glanced at one another, none of them speaking up.

In the end, everyone instinctively looked up at Xue Shao.

Xue Shao paused, then took the initiative to say: "Twenty taels?"

All five visibly relaxed, clearly satisfied with this compensation — provided they could take tomorrow's exam as usual.

So the five turned to look at Wang Cong in unison.

Wang Cong wore a troubled, conflicted expression, then, under everyone's earnest anticipation, gritted his teeth and reluctantly said: "As long as the five Provincial Graduate gentlemen strictly follow the physician's instructions, I'll dig out my bottom-of-the-chest, ancestral miracle medicine — I'll definitely make sure the five gentlemen can take the imperial examination tomorrow as usual."

Though the five gentlemen were only half-convinced, under the government office runners' watchful eyes they still nodded in agreement to one-tael-twenty compensation per person, with medical fees calculated separately.

The five decided to return to the inn shortly and hire another physician for treatment.

For now, though, they'd handle the urgent matters first, then send the government office runners on their way.

With the government office runners and the many Provincial Graduate as witnesses, the seven drew up a written agreement — the two parties guaranteeing they would cover all subsequent medical costs.

The two even called their respective study boys over on the spot, telling them to go back and fetch the money.

The fact that both had such bold tempers naturally meant they had some backing — one could tell just from the clothes they wore.

A hundred or two hundred taels of silver they could still produce — though it would sting.

On average, counting the medical fees, each person would have to bear around seventy taels — almost enough to cover a Provincial Graduate's expenses for traveling to the capital to take the exam.

Not to mention the subsequent medical costs — being generous with the estimate, each of the two might have to fork out around a hundred taels.

The thought alone was heartache-inducing; their families were well-off, but not that well-off.

So both stared fixedly at Wang Cong and his senior and junior siblings, gazes sharp as knives.

They weren't fools either — they could see that the three of them had set the price high; at a glance, this medicine wasn't worth that much money.

The five Provincial Graduate naturally saw it too, but the money wasn't coming out of their pockets — they harbored resentment and were happy to let Wang Cong fleece them.

The surrounding Provincial Graduate said nothing either, just stared at the two.

That's why the two stayed silent, quietly enduring being swindled out of forty-eight taels by Wang Cong.

He even wore a look of regret — if it weren't for the fact that charging ten taels per person was too even and would look fake, he wouldn't have settled for charging the other two only nine taels each.

Having made the money, Wang Cong even said considerately: "The five of you best not move — let me have someone carry you back."

He even volunteered: "I know some considerate, well-mannered porters — I can introduce them to you."

The five Provincial Graduate quickly glanced at Xue Shao; Xue Shao gave a slight nod, and only then did they nod and ask for his help.

Wang Cong happily took Tao Yanbai and Miao He and left, to go find porters for them.

Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen, bored, stood with arms folded against the teahouse wall. Seeing the three walk away with their earnings without so much as a glance at them, heading straight for the porters squatting at a nearby corner, Pan Yun couldn't help sighing: "Sure enough — the ability to make money determines one's status; the economic base determines the superstructure."

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded: "Though I didn't quite understand the second half, the first half is indeed correct."

Hehehe, good night

(End of chapter)