Chapter 102
Steward Zhou said, "Last night, this one pondered over it all night, and felt that my initial request with little brother Xiao was indeed a little too much. As the saying goes, the master teaches the trade, but the perfection of skill depends on the apprentice’s own efforts. Whether our young master can pass the provincial exam depends mainly on his own determination, but our sincerity to ask little brother Xiao for advice is real! My Lord said that as long as little brother Xiao is willing to go to the provincial capital, everything else can be discussed!"
Gu Jiao looked at him and said, "That is to say, there’s no loss for us even if your young master fails the exam in the end?"
Steward Zhou hurriedly said, "No loss, no loss indeed!"
Gu Jiao: "And the remuneration?"
Steward Zhou: "Of course! As long as little brother Xiao goes to the provincial capital, we’ll pay naturally! We’ll never go back on our words!"
Gu Jiao replied, "Then speak to my husband directly about this."
Steward Zhou was at his wit’s end as he said, "Are you not going to speak to him on our behalf? You see, little brother Xiao doesn’t seem to want to talk to us anymore! I am hoping that Lady Xiao will do this surnamed Zhou a favor. You can take this money first, it’s all yours!"
Gu Jiao took the brocade box he handed over with both hands and said coldly, "It really doesn't matter if there’s money or not. I’ll do it mainly because you look so desperate."
Steward Zhou:“……”
Could you not act pure and refined when you really wanted the money in reality?
Steward Zhou expressed his thanks, and Gu Jiao repeatedly stressed that she would only pass their message and wouldn’t be their spokesperson.
Steward Zhou smiled and said, "That’s natural! That’s natural!"
Gu Jiao returned to the village with the money and Little Jing Kong.
She counted five hundred taels of silver altogether.
That was a lot of money for just delivering a message.
That night, after Xiao Liulang got home from the academy, Gu Jiao told him about her meeting with Steward Zhou in the daytime, without a word of concealment or any embellishment.
After listening, Xiao Liulang frowned. Of course, he didn't complain that Gu Jiao went to see Steward Zhou, it was just that he didn't expect Steward Zhou to find his own family.
He said, "If someone comes to the door again in the future, don't leave with others easily. The Steward Zhou you met this time is not someone hard to deal with, but in case..."
Gu Jiao looked at him with a smile and said, "You seem to be worried about something. Will anyone else come looking for you?"
Xiao Liulang opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I just want you to always be careful."
"I see." Gu Jiao smiled, then looked at the box of silver on the table and said, "What are you going to do about the Lin Family?"
Xiao Liulang was aware of the situation of the Lin Family, which was generally the same as what Steward Zhou said to Gu Jiao. If no one amongst the children of the family became an official, no one would be able to protect the Lin Family in thirty years’ time.
Of course, the Lin Family could buy officials to back up their family, but the officials they could buy wouldn’t be big enough, and most likely, no one would dare to take up the offer of the Lin Family, so the imperial examination was indeed the only way out for the Lin Family.
It was said that Master Lin was turning himself into a breeding hog in order to have more useful sons.
Xiao Liulang looked at Gu Jiao and said, "If they‘re no longer forcing the result, it's fine to go there I guess."
Gu Jiao also thought it was alright. After all, it was two thousand taels of silver.
Moreover, the provincial capital was farther than the prefectural city. If he left a month or so before the provincial exam, it was hard to say whether he could still find a suitable place to settle down once he arrived there.
Naturally, it would be much more convenient to go earlier and stay in the Lin residence.
Gu Jiao asked, "Will it delay your own studies?"
Xiao Liulang answered, "No."
Gu Jiao remembered the Dean saying that Xiao Liulang was an extremely intelligent individual, it was just that he didn’t want to go to the imperial capital so he avoided taking the exams. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him to take a stroll once in a while.
Gu Jiao nodded, "Then it's settled."
Xiao Liulang: "En."
Gu Jiao thought that Xiao Liulang going to the Lin residence was already settled, but that night, she had a dream again.
In her dream, Xiao Liulang agreed to Steward Zhou’s offer and went to the provincial capital under the escort of Steward Zhou and Lin Family’s guards.
The Lin Family were really sincere in asking for his guidance. This time, his safety was supposedly guaranteed, but indeed, Heaven’s way was higher than mankind's. They were only halfway when Xiao Liulang and the rest of the group was caught in a torrential rain seen only once in a decade.
The posthouse where Xiao Liulang stayed was flooded, and their group was washed away by the flood. Xiao Liulang managed to take hold of a driftwood and save his life, but he fell gravely ill. When Steward Zhou and others found him and brought him back to the Lin residence, he had already peeled off a layer of skin.
Fortunately, they set off early, so even after such a long delay, they still had two months before the provincial exam.
Xiao Liulang stayed in the Lin residence recovering from his illness while tutoring the sixth young master of the Lin Family.
Young Master Lin was a man of good conduct. His head wasn’t extremely bright, but it was possible for him to pass the exam by diligence and perseverance. Xiao Liulang got along very well with him.
However, when the provincial exam was near at hand, something big happened: a relative of the Lin Family came to live in the Lin residence. She was the niece of Madame Lin.
The niece fell in love with Xiao Liulang at first sight.
Despite being a lame person, Xiao Liulang could still attract the fancy of others, which clearly showed that a man’s looks could also be a source of calamity.
It was just that the other party was in the end an honorable young miss, and she couldn’t just recommend herself to be his bed partner as soon as she came up to him. At that time, it also coincided with Sixth Young Master Lin catching a cold.
The niece took this into account and suggested to her aunt, "Cousin can't pass the exam like this, might as well let Xiao Liulang take the exam for cousin. Cousin will write his name down while he will write cousin’s name. In this way, the odds of passing the exam are greater than if my cousin took the exam himself."
The niece also told her aunt that as a token of appreciation, she was willing to be Xiao Liulang's concubine.
Madame Lin was a person of experience. What could she not see? It was just that her suggestion also reached her own heart.
Although she didn't give birth to the sixth son, he was related to the future of the whole Lin Family, and thus Madame Lin agreed.
But Xiao Liulang severely refused, and denounced the two of them.
Madame Lin’s attitude was just giving it a try, but the niece couldn’t let it go.
The niece was also a tough character, and she drugged Xiao Liulang in a fit of anger!
To be fair, the niece’s appearance wasn’t bad and could be even described as beautiful as a flower, but even so, Xiao Liulang overcame the effect of aphrodisiac with strong willpower.
It was just that since then, he suffered from an incompletely cured illness.
When Gu Jiao woke up, she was furious!
What a hideous mess that niece was! To actually be harboring such a rotten idea towards Xiao Liulang! And she dared to harm him and destroy the latter half of his life with such a despicable method!?
Not only that. Technically, she would have ruined not only his life, but his family as well!
This couldn’t be tolerated!
It seemed that the trip to the Lin residence was going to be a disaster.
That niece was a frequent visitor to the Lin residence. As long as Xiao Liulang lived there, they were bound to meet no matter how careful he was.
The sky was still just slightly bright, Gu Yan and the elderly woman were still sleeping in their respective rooms. Gu Jiao was sitting in the main room, having breakfast with Xiao Liulang and Little Jing Kong.
Little Jing Kong, who finished eating first, went back to the west room to pack his bookbag.
Gu Jiao took a sip of porridge and hesitated to talk to him.
Xiao Liulang packed his baggage properly as soon as he got up early in the morning. Gu Jiao looked at the two bundles on the chair with subtle eyes.
"That..." She opened her mouth calmly, "I've thought about the Lin Family matter. Do you want to reconsider it?"
"What's the matter?" Xiao Liulang looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Gu Jiao said, "I realized you’ll be gone for such a long time, what about home then?"
Xiao Liulang was stupefied and said, "The family don't do farmwork anyway."
Gu Jiao continued to be serious, "We don't farm, but there’s old and young in the family. It’s very hard for me to take care of them just by myself! I also need to go up the mountain occasionally!"
Xiao Liulang was confused. He didn't seem to be of much help at home originally anyway. He didn't do much chores at home at all, mainly because she rushed to finish everything. Theoretically speaking, it would be easier for her if he wasn’t at home since she could take her time...
Gu Jiao: "I can't always bother Xue Ningxiang!"
Xiao Liulang: "Why don't you... hire a servant girl?"
At present, they could already afford to hire a servant at home. He was a man, and it wasn’t very convenient to be living with the servant girl under one roof, but if he wasn’t here, there was no need to avoid suspicion.
Gu Jiao: "I'm not used to strangers living at home."
This reason still couldn’t convince Xiao Liulang. After all, it was her first who wanted him to go to the provincial capital yesterday.
Gu Jiao also understood that, so she gave another dose of strong medicine, "Besides, I heard from Gu Yan that the Lin Family has a lot of beautiful young misses. Who knows if you will bring some young miss back home after going there."
Gu Yan was the son of the Marquis Estate. He was well-informed and it wasn’t surprising that he had heard about the Lin Family.
Moreover, Xiao Liulang wouldn’t go to Gu Yan to find out whether he had instilled any strange ideas into his sister’s head.
Xiao Liulang looked deeply at Gu Jiao and said, "So you’re jealous?"
Gu Jiao: Can I say no?
Xiao Liulang scooped up a spoonful of millet porridge and said, "I understand, I won't go then."
Really!? Were you so easy to talk to?
Gu Jiao glanced at him faintly, saying, "I just mentioned it casually. It's still up to you... Two thousand taels of silver. Are you sure you’re not going to regret it?"
Xiao Liulang said lightly, "You seem to regret it more than me though."
Gu Jiao suddenly felt embarrassed, "Is it… so obvious?"
Then she said without changing expression, "Actually, it doesn't matter if there’s money or not. The important thing for me is being able to help a young man who is strongly determined to succeed. Forget it, it's useless to talk about this now."
Was there really no way to earn this money without going to the Lin Family?
Xiao Liulang cast a look at her, who pretended as if nothing had happened but afraid she didn’t know that her own lips were pouting so much that one could hang a jar of oil on it.
Xiao Liulang and Little Jing Kong went to town. He sent Little Jing Kong to the private school first, and then he headed to Tianxiang Academy.
Steward Zhou had been waiting there for a long time.
Seeing Xiao Liulang, he greeted him with a big smile, "How did Xiucai Xiao think about it?"
Xiao Liulang replied faintly, "I can teach your young master, but I have one condition."
Steward Zhou was overjoyed and said, "Forget one condition! Even ten will do!"
Xiao Liulang said, "I'm not going to the provincial capital. If your young master really wants my guidance, let him come here instead. I will arrange for him to enter the academy and sit at the same table as me."
Steward Zhou opened his mouth wide, "Ah... This... Could it be that the remuneration isn’t enough?"
Xiao Liulang said flatly, "It's no use even if you add gold. Have people come here and I'll teach them. Otherwise, please find another better qualified tutor."
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