WBSGVS Chapter 54 V2

In the county, they had a holiday once a month, and in the afternoon, there were no classes, allowing those who lived far away to return before dark.

Previously, Cheng Zhao Hua would be greeted with fragrant dishes upon his return, but this time he faced a messy, neglected yard without hot meals or a lively atmosphere.

Cheng Zhao Hua had a gentle personality and was even more handsome than Cheng Zhao Yang. His smile was warm and affectionate. He had spent years studying with little exposure to sunlight, giving him a fair complexion. Though he was of average height, he was somewhat thin, lending him a lanky appearance.

Upon entering the house, he saw Cheng Yue Er struggling in the kitchen and frowned, “Where are Mother and Big Brother?”

“They’re in the room talking,” Cheng Yue Er replied, rolling her eyes. With Pan Chun gone, all the household chores fell to her and her mother, but she didn’t want to do any of it!

Cheng Zhao Hua got the answer and wasted no time. He directly pushed open the door, where his mother and brother looked at him with surprise. He immediately understood and frowned slightly, “What happened?”

“Cough!” Cheng Zhao Yang felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to speak but unsure how.

Xiong Shi didn’t care about his hesitation; she urgently pulled her second son over, saying, “You need to help your brother think of a solution. What on earth has he done…”

In just a few moments, Xiong Shi explained what Cheng Zhao Yang had done previously, and then described the current difficult situation.

If she had known Luo Shi was so weak, she would have thought that taking the silver was enough. Why marry her at all?

Cheng Zhao Hua looked at his elder brother, who he had always respected. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have been able to go to the county. Now, hearing the truth, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Cheng Zhao Yang’s face showed some embarrassment; as the eldest, he always took care of his younger siblings. Now that he had created this mess and needed help, he felt weak.

He forced a laugh, “Little Brother, think of a way out of this. If they make a big deal out of it, and it gets exposed, I’m done for.”

Cheng Zhao Hua pursed his lips. He was indeed smarter than Cheng Zhao Yang. Luo Yu Zhi could recommend him to the county, which wouldn’t happen without some ability.

Plus, he had connections and had not wasted the silver he received from the Cheng family. While shocked by his brother’s actions, he quickly formulated a countermeasure, speaking firmly, “Don’t panic. This matter isn’t as dangerous as you think, Big Brother.”

Cheng Zhao Yang felt relieved immediately: “Tell me what to do!”

Cheng Zhao Hua smiled slightly, “There’s nothing we need to do. We won’t have to pay for Sister-in-law’s medicine; we’ll just firmly insist that we have no money.”

“This…” Cheng Zhao Yang was uneasy and was about to argue.

Cheng Zhao Hua continued, “I’ve made connections with a scribe at the county office. This scribe has the county magistrate’s trust. As long as the Luo family can’t find the bandit, this scribe won’t let the magistrate convict you. Big Brother, do you think the Luo family can catch that bandit?”

Cheng Zhao Yang was overjoyed, gripping his brother’s hand with excitement: “Are you serious? You know the county magistrate’s scribe?”

The town and the county were two different concepts. The town was simply a place where people settled spontaneously, with only a patrol leader and two assistants responsible for safety, and occasionally officials would come by for inspections.

In contrast, the county was directly governed by the magistrate, and knowing a scribe there reduced his sense of crisis significantly.

Cheng Zhao Hua smiled smugly, “Of course.”

Cheng Zhao Yang patted his chest as he sat down, his previously frantic heart now calm. Xiong Shi was even more excited: “Oh my, my son has made something of himself! Let’s see how the Luo family deals with this. Ideally, we should just get a divorce!”

However, Cheng Zhaoyang was reluctant. He still had some attachment, and given his situation, he knew he wouldn’t be able to marry such a beautiful girl. “Mother, what if the Luo family gets better? Let’s wait a bit longer. Don’t worry; I won’t go get silver for her again.”

“Useless!” Xiong Shi shot a glare at her son but didn’t argue further.

Cheng Zhaohua shook his head helplessly. “Big brother, let’s drop it this time. The Luo family isn’t powerful; you can’t do this again in the future.”

“Alright, I promise I won’t,” Cheng Zhaoyang replied with a smile.

Once they moved on from that topic, Cheng Zhaohua asked about Pan Chun. After learning that she had been taken away by someone from the town, his expression darkened. “Pan Chun has been with me; how could she be sold? Why didn’t you buy her back first?”

Cheng Zhaoyang averted his gaze, while Xiong Shi pouted, thinking about the silver. Who would want to part with it?

However, she didn’t say this directly to her ambitious second son. Instead, she hesitated, saying, “It was because we were afraid the Luo family would make a big fuss. The silver for the ransom is quite a lot; if they find out, wouldn’t it cause even more trouble?”

Cheng Zhaohua understood his mother’s character. He took a deep breath and rubbed his temples, saying, “The Luo family isn’t worth worrying about. We have the silver, and we won’t give it to her. If Luo Shi dies, once I pass the exams, I’ll find a virtuous woman for Big Brother. Mother, you just give me the silver; I’ll go get Pan Chun back.”

He was protective; Big Brother was family, so even though he had colluded with bandits and deceived in marriage, he didn’t bat an eye. Pan Chun was his woman, and naturally, he wanted to buy her back.

Xiong Shi was reluctant to part with the money, but Cheng Zhaohua’s resolute gaze made her relent. She finally took out some silver for him.

Initially, she intended to give him less, but knowing the broker would charge a high price, she stubbornly handed over twenty taels.

That night, Pan Chun was moved to be bought back by the Cheng family, costing only eighteen taels of silver.

Xiong Shi was furious again that night and lamented that they had already spent eighteen taels, and the silver they had taken from the Luo family was almost all used up!

Cheng Zhaohua had to comfort her, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll be at the top of the September exam. The government will reward us; getting that silver back is just a matter of time.”

Upon hearing this, Xiong Shi seemed to envision her second son’s glorious parade and felt a bit better.

Pan Chun had been sold by the Luo family and returned to the Cheng family. Although they tried to keep it quiet, they weren’t from a high-status family, and it wasn’t easy to hide from their neighbors. Soon, news spread throughout the town.

The Cheng family, having received Cheng Zhaohua’s encouragement, was no longer afraid of being scorned. Now that their sense of crisis had dissipated, they became even bolder, openly responding to others’ criticisms without fear.

Cheng Zhaoyang felt embarrassed, but since he spent his days among men, who often understood each other, they didn’t gossip much, so it was manageable.

No one avoided the topic, and the Luo family soon learned about it.

That night, Luo Yuzhi threw a fit, though not in front of Qingli. Still, his anger was so great that it carried over to her.

Most family matters were kept from the eight-year-old Luo Yisheng, but during Luo Yuzhi’s outburst, Luo Yisheng ran to Qingli’s room, crying, “Sister, did brother-in-law bully you? Father is so angry and keeps scolding brother-in-law.”

Qingli smiled gently and replied, “He did bully me, but you’re still young; you don’t need to worry about it.”

Luo Yisheng nodded vigorously. “When I grow up, I’ll give brother-in-law a good beating.”

Qingli responded, but inside, she wondered whether Cheng Zhaoyang would still be alive when her brother grew up.

After sending Luo Yisheng back to his room, Qingli lay in bed, pondering the situation. The Cheng family dared to spend silver to buy back Pan Chun and seemed unafraid, likely because yesterday was the day Cheng Zhaohua had a day off, and he probably had given them advice.

The original character didn’t spend much time with this uncle and didn’t know him well. However, from the original character’s memories, Qingli could see that Cheng Zhaohua was clever, somewhat lucky, and had a few tricks up his sleeve.

In the original character’s situation, he was someone difficult to deal with.

But it didn’t matter; even the toughest opponents could eventually meet their match.

May was the time for the prefectural exams.

Only by passing the prefectural exams could one qualify for the imperial exams, become a scholar, and then participate in the triennial imperial examination.

On the eve of the prefectural exams, Wang Shanxue and others came early to pay their respects to Luo Yuzhi. They made a special trip to the courtyard wall to express their gratitude to Qingli before heading to the county for the examination.

The prefectural exam had many candidates, with dozens from this small town alone.

However, only twenty people from each county could be accepted.

Furthermore, they had to go through layers of selection.

The competition became more intense as time went on, with strict assessment criteria but also faster efficiency.

The prefectural exam could be completed in just one day, with results posted ten days later. The successful candidates would be notified individually by government officials at the addresses they had provided.

Typically, five candidates from the town would pass each year.

Luo Yuzhi’s students usually passed within two to three years, so he wasn’t worried this time. On the day of the results, a student came to express gratitude, saying, “Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance; I passed the examination and became a scholar.”

Another student quickly followed, saying, “Thank you, Teacher; I passed the examination and became a scholar!”

A third student…

“Wait, you passed too?” Luo Yuzhi asked.

The student grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

Luo Yuzhi went from surprise to shock, clutching his heart. “Is this real? How many of you passed?”

“Six!” Wang Shanxue joyfully rushed over, bowing seriously. “Teacher, our senior sister predicted the exam topics perfectly. The questions were just as she said, so we found them easy. A total of ten scholars passed from our town, and six of them are from our private school!”

Another boy chimed in, “Those who passed are all the ones who got extra help from senior sister!”

“Wow—” Luo Yuzhi inhaled sharply, slowly turning to look at his daughter, who was still pretending to be weak and delicate, falling into deep silence.