Chapter 106: 106. I will collect your corpse (Chapter 1 Update)
Translator: 549690339
Su Bai saw Su Liang enter and instinctively wanted to stand up.
Su Liang smiled, “Uncle Bai, there’s no need to be so polite.”
“Ah!” Su Bai sat back down, looking at Su Liang with relief, “When we first heard that Young Master Ning got into the imperial examination, we thought you might not come back.”
Su Liang shook her head, “He likes living here, and so do I.”
“Going to the caDital citv for the exam. after the New Year?” Su Bai asked.
“Mhm.” Su Liang nodded.
“That’s good. Young Master Ning will surely pass the exam, and when he becomes an official, coming back won’t be easy.” Su Bai hesitated for a moment and asked, “Are you going to follow Young Master Ning then?”
“I also want to go back to the capital city to pay my respects to my grandfather.” Su Liang said. At that time, the entire Su Yuanzhou family was not convicted yet and had all “committed suicide”. Their remains were not brought back to their hometown, but were buried near the capital city.
Su Bai let out a deep sigh, “You should. You have great abilities, and this small village can’t contain you. Go ahead, and when you have time, come back and visit your fellow villagers.”
“I will.” Su Liang said, “By the way, I was planning to ask Uncle Bai today, now that Ning Jing has gotten into the imperial examination, should we hold another banquet?”
Su Bai laughed and shook his head, “No need to spend money on that again; we already did it last time. In this cold weather, with snow everywhere, it’s not easy to organize.”
“Let’s wait until the weather clears.” Su Liang said, “Ning Jing now has access to his share of the Ning family’s wealth, and what he has the most now is money. We should throw a proper banquet.”
Listening to Su Liang’s words, Su Bai was even happier. “Alright, when the weather clears up, we’ll choose an auspicious day. After all, this is our village’s first-ever imperial examination candidate. With such a low-key arrival, hardly anyone knows that the candidate has returned!”
“We’ll provide the funds, and Uncle Bai, we’ll still need you to help with organizing the banquet.” Su Liang said.
“It’s not tiring at all; it’s a happy occasion!” Su Bai smiled from ear to ear.
“There’s also another matter I’d like to discuss with Uncle Bai.” Su Liang said.
She and Ning Jing felt that many children in the village were quite clever, but they couldn’t afford to study due to poverty, including Bai Xiaohu and Zhuzi.
Initially, Ning Jing planned to fund Bai Xiaohu’s and Zhuzi’s education, as they had formed a bond with each other during this time. Both boys were good kids, as well as Ning Jing’s woodworking master, Su Dakuan’s grandson, Erniu.
But after discussing it with Su Liang, they felt it was not a good approach, as there were issues like whether or not these children wanted to study, how much money to give, until when, and whether it would lead to jealousy from others in the village.
As a result, the two decided to donate money to set up a private school in the village so that all children of suitable age could go there if they wanted to, mainly with the aim of eliminating illiteracy.
As for whether they would take the imperial exams or become accountants in the future, it would be up to individual choice.
“Right now, it’s just an initial idea. Setting up a private school might face many challenges. Does Uncle Bai think it’s feasible?” Su Liang asked.
Su Bai stared at Su Liang for a moment before suddenly clapping his hands, raising his voice, and exclaiming, “Excellent!”
Su Liang was slightly startled.
Ning Jing came in to refill the tea, and Su Bai, looking excited, said to them,
“This is a great deed that brings immeasurable merit!”
Su Bai had always been a man with many ideas, but no matter what he wanted to do for the village, the biggest problem was always poverty.
“Since Uncle Bai thinks it’s a good idea, let’s go with it,” Su Liang said solemnly. “How much money it will take to build a private school, how many children of the right age are in the village, how many teachers we need, what will be the annual cost of hiring teachers, whether food and lodging should be provided, and many other details. Uncle Bai, please make some inquiries and prepare a budget plan.”
Still excited, Su Bai nodded repeatedly upon hearing Su Liang’s words. ‘Yes, you’ve thought things through carefully. We need to be clear on every single expenditure so as not to waste your money. I’ll discuss the matter with the clan
eweus m dUvance CUIU llnu suneune LU we cncuge une dCCUUHLS. After a brief conversation, Su Bai left in high spirits, forgetting his hat. Su Liang chased after him to hand it over.
For now, the establishment of the school was not announced.
With each of the clan elders having their own descendants, there naturally wouldn’t be any objections. Su Bai asked them to keep the matter confidential for the time being, and they all agreed.
As a cautious man, Su Bai planned to wait until everything was prepared before announcing it. He also needed to carefully consider any potential issues to ensure that such a good project would not encounter any problems.
After Su Bai left, Su Liang picked up a brush and began writing a letter to Xing Yusheng.
This letter was intended to be delivered to Xing Yusheng with Nian Jincheng’s help, and the likelihood of it being lost was small. Still, Su Liang remained cautious.
In the letter, there was no mention of Mai Fei or the words “iron mine smuggling”. Instead, Su Liang wrote, “I heard that a certain matter may have nothing to do with your father.”
She also wrote, “It’s pretty clear what the higher-ups are thinking. It’s better to prepare early, like with your maternal family.”
Considering Lin Bojun wished for Su Liang to be his matchmaker, she also mentioned Qin Yujin in the letter and thanked her for the sachet she had sent before.
After finishing, Su Liang thought she should give Xing Yusheng and Qin Yujin something in return.
However, looking around, she realized that even though they were rich now, they didn’t have anything valuable to give.
“Ning Jing, can you help me make two more pen holders? I want to give them to Xing Yusheng and his cousin.” Su Liang said in her room, asking Ning Jing in the next room.
Ning Jing’s voice came right away, “No.”
Since Su Liang’s embroidery skills were average now, she didn’t want to waste time doing it. After thinking about it, she wrote a few medicinal diet recipes that would be beneficial to Xing Yusheng’s health, and two recipes for nourishing looks, to give to Qin Yujin.
Then she put the letter and medicinal diet recipes together and came to find Ning Jing.
“When are you going to see Nian Jincheng?” Su Liang asked.
“I didn’t say I was going to see him.” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang snorted lightly, “If you don’t go, then I will.” She was about to leave when she finished this sentence.
“Come back, put the letter down.” Ning Jing said.
Su Liang put the letter on the table in front of Ning Jing, “No peeking.”
After waiting for Su Liang to leave, Ning Jing picked up the letter, opened it, read it, and then put it back as it was.
“Oh right, I have to write a letter to Xueqing as well!” Su Liang suddenly remembered.
When she finished writing and gave it to Ning Jing, Ning Jing didn’t open it this time.
That night, Nian Jincheng was about to rest when he walked into the inner room to see a familiar figure.
“Aling!” Nian Jincheng blurted out.
Ning Jing frowned, “Are you out of your mind?”
Nian Jincheng looked embarrassed, “I was just too surprised. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Ning Jing took out two letters and handed them to Nian Jincheng.
“The thick one is from Su Liang to Xing Yusheng. You can tell Duanmu Chen and show it to him.” Ning Jing said.
It was inevitable in Duanmu Chen’s character.
Letting Duanmu Chen see the letter was intentional. The parts about the Bei Jingwang Mansion might provide Duanmu Chen with a new perspective, such as keeping the Xing family and winning them over as allies.
“What if he finds out you privately contacted me…” Nian Jincheng frowned.
“It’s not me, it’s Su Liang. Xing Yusheng sent the gift that you brought to her, so it’s reasonable to ask you to take the letter back to him.” Ning Jing replied.
“Alright. What about this other letter…” Nian Jincheng asked. There was nothing written on the envelope.
“It’s for Lin Shuzhi’s daughter, Lin Xueqing.” Ning Jing said.
Nian Jincheng was taken aback. He knew Lin Shuzhi, but he was hearing Lin Xueqing’s name for the first time.
“Her older brother is under my command.” Nian Jincheng said, “I will make sure she gets it.”
“Don’t have any illusions about the Nian family.” Ning Jing said indifferently, “No one in that family cares about you.”
Nian Jincheng sighed, “Actually, my fourth sister has always been good to me.”
“Don’t be naive. She’s just laughing at you for being foolish, and using you.” Ning Jing said.
Nian Jincheng’s face darkened slightly, “I know you don’t like her and you’re biased against her, but since you don’t have a relationship anymore, there’s no need to talk about her like this!”
“You might as well find a chance to listen to what she says about you in front of Nian Jinxing.” Ning Jing said.
Nian Jincheng’s face showed disbelief, “Even if she speaks ill of me in front of
Big Brother, it’s just an act. Otherwise, how would Big Brother look up to her? She has been wronged a lot by my grandmother and my birth mother just because she’s close to me. She’s an unmarried girl, even though she’s the legitimate daughter, she still has to please everyone. Do you think she has an easy time in the family?”
Ning Jing frowned at Nian Jincheng, “She hired the assassin from Yanyun
Building to kill me before. If I wanted her to die, would you turn against me?”
Nian Jincheng frowned, “I explained this to you as soon as I came here this time. She likes you and cares about you. She was confused for a moment but never intended to harm you. Knowing your strength, she used a foolish method to apologize to you, and I scolded her. Then she immediately changed.”
“Knowing my strength? Did she ever consider that I might have been injured and lost much of my strength?” Ning Jing countered.
Nian Jincheng shook his head, “Your hypothesis is invalid. She admires you and believes that you would never get hurt. There was no ill intention. If she was wrong, it was only because she liked you too much.”
“Nian Jincheng, after all these years, as I’ve said many times, you are still so naive,” Ning Jing’s voice also grew cold, “Would you hire an assassin to kill me to find me?”
Nian Jincheng’s face stiffened, but he still said, “You know, Xuexue (Nian Ruxue) never intended to kill you.”
“Take care of yourself.” Ning Jing turned and left, “We’re like brothers. If you’re ever killed by Nian Ruxue, I will retrieve your body..”
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