My Brother Can Become the Top Scorer

Jiang Yun, who had been standing off to the side watching, felt a faint unease in his heart.

He watched Xu Xiaogang, Xu Suwen, and Qian Bochou walk toward him.

"Sis, why did you stop me just now? I could've taken Xiao Jingyuan down right there..."

Xu Suwen ignored Xu Xiaogang and said calmly, "Enough. Don't bring it up again."

"Let's go upstairs and eat."

When they reached the third floor, Jiang Qiaoqiao was still obediently waiting in Xu Suwen's room. She was sprawled by the window, though, and had seen everything that had happened downstairs.

Seeing everyone return, she asked, "Brother, what happened just now?"

"Nothing. Let's eat first. Constable Qian is here, so add another set of bowls and chopsticks."

Once they sat down, they quickly polished off the food.

Jiang Yun looked at Xu Suwen with a smile and said, "Miss Xu, I have another favor to ask you..."

Xu Suwen seemed to guess what Jiang Yun wanted to say. Her gaze fell on Jiang Qiaoqiao as she smiled. "Qiaoqiao, I don't have any friends or family in Nanzhou Prefecture. Why don't you keep me company for a while longer?"

Xu Xiaogang coughed beside them. "Sis, I'm still here."

Xu Suwen glared at him, and he fell silent.

Hearing this, Jiang Qiaoqiao hurriedly shook her head. "I still have lots of chores to do at home. Besides, staying here must be pretty expensive, right?"

She glanced around the room and whispered, "I heard it costs quite a bit of silver to stay here for just one day."

At that, Qian Bochou waved a hand and chuckled. "Don't worry. Lord Xu and the others are staying here on the government's tab. It won't cost them a single coin."

Why were the prices at Nanmanju Inn so high?

Because the officials who stayed there could claim their expenses. They didn't mind paying a little more.

Xu Suwen was perceptive enough to realize that Jiang Qiaoqiao didn't feel at ease staying there, so she changed her offer. "How about this, then? I'll come stay at your house for a while."

"All right." Jiang Qiaoqiao nodded eagerly.

Jiang Yun couldn't help looking at Xu Suwen, puzzled. Shouldn't they report it to their superiors if Prince Su's Mansion had colluded with Evil Spirits, even if the two of them were outnumbered?

But Xu Suwen seemed content to let the matter go.

It was getting late, and Xu Suwen soon packed her things. She followed Jiang Yun and Jiang Qiaoqiao to Jiayun Street.

Back at their shabby little courtyard, Jiang Qiaoqiao visibly relaxed.

Nanmanju Inn was luxurious, but she knew full well that it wasn't the life she was used to. She hadn't felt at ease there.

As soon as she returned to the courtyard, Jiang Qiaoqiao got busy chopping wood and heating water.

"Elder Sister Xu, wait a moment. It's cold, so I'll heat some water for you to soak your feet."

Jiang Yun brought two little stools out of the house and set them in the courtyard. Watching Jiang Qiaoqiao bustling about in the kitchen, he couldn't help sighing. "That girl Jiang just can't sit still."

Xu Suwen turned to look at him. "And what about you?"

Jiang Yun was taken aback. "Me?"

Xu Suwen's gaze sharpened as she asked, "I've read your file, Jiang Yun. Before you met me, you were just an ordinary scholar."

"You spent your days loafing around with scholars like Liu Xudong."

"Not long ago, you fell into a river and took seriously ill. After waking up, you seemed like a different person."

As Xu Suwen questioned him, Jiang Yun felt his heart tighten. Had she seen through him? Did she think he'd been possessed by an evil spirit—or that someone had taken over his body?

Jiang Yun drew a deep breath and parted his lips, still wondering how to explain.

Xu Suwen continued calmly, "I understand. You must have secretly acquired some Daoist Arts and used your identity as a scholar to cover for your cultivation."

"If that Evil Haunt hadn't tricked you and backed you into a corner, you wouldn't have used your Daoist Arts so readily."

Jiang Yun let out a huge sigh of relief and hurriedly agreed. "Right, right, right! I can't believe you guessed it, Miss Xu. You really are clever."

Xu Suwen smiled faintly. "Who do you think I am? Also, I should warn you: outside the capital, all Daoist Sects are heretical."

"They're all treated as evil practitioners."

Jiang Yun pondered for a moment, still unable to make sense of it, then asked, "Miss Xu, I'm puzzled. Why is there such a strange rule?"

"Stay in the capital, and you're a Daoist priest. Step outside it, and you're an evil practitioner?"

Xu Suwen looked up at the stars, resting her hands on her knees. "I don't know the specifics."

Jiang Yun was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you not allowed to say, or do you not know?"

Xu Suwen smiled faintly. "It's the same either way."

After a brief pause, Jiang Yun asked, "I have another question for you, Miss Xu."

"Was your real purpose in coming to Nanzhou Prefecture this time Prince Su's Mansion?"

At Jiang Yun's words, Xu Suwen's eyes flickered with surprise. She asked gravely, "Why would you think that?"

"It's simple. If your Imperial Guards discovered that a prince's household had colluded with evil practitioners, you'd at least have to report it, even if you didn't intervene." Jiang Yun paused, then continued, "But you've shown no reaction at all, so I guessed you already knew about Prince Su's Mansion."

"I promised to help you accomplish the real purpose of your trip." Xu Suwen didn't deny his words.

Seeing that he'd guessed correctly, Jiang Yun felt no joy. Instead, he sighed inwardly.

That was a prince's mansion—the most powerful household in Nanzhou Prefecture.

Deep down, he didn't want to get involved. He just wanted to cultivate in peace and earn a little silver.

He wanted to give Jiang Qiaoqiao a better life.

But it looked like he had no choice but to get involved.

After all, the Tang Mansion belonging to that wicked woman Tang Wanxin had been destroyed by him and the others.

She was probably holding a grudge.

Thinking this over, Jiang Yun smiled. "Don't worry. I, Jiang Yun, keep my word. If I promised you, I'll do it."

Before long, Jiang Qiaoqiao had heated the water. After soaking his feet in it inside the house, he felt much warmer all over.

Watching Jiang Qiaoqiao bustling about, he took out the eighty taels of silver he'd earned from Qian Bochou and handed them to her. "Qiaoqiao, look."

"Wow, Brother, where did you earn so much money?" Jiang Qiaoqiao hurriedly dried her hands and took the purse.

She even pulled out a silver ingot and bit it.

Seeing how happy Jiang Qiaoqiao was, Jiang Yun thought the trip had been worth it after all. "I earned it from Constable Qian. Starting tomorrow, you don't have to go out to mend clothes and do laundry. We can even hire a tutor to teach you to read and write."

"No, we have to save this money. We can't spend it carelessly." Jiang Qiaoqiao shook her head again and again. "You'll need money when you take the imperial exams."

Jiang Qiaoqiao earnestly reasoned with Jiang Yun. "Working as a runner at the yamen isn't a long-term plan. You're a scholar, after all, so you should focus on your studies."

Jiang Yun said, "But I'm not cut out for studying."

Xu Suwen teased, "Why not ask Constable Qian how much silver it takes to become a Xiucai Scholar?"

Her words seemed to open the floodgates of Jiang Qiaoqiao's imagination. Her eyes lit up. "That's right! As long as we have enough money, my brother can become the top scorer!"