After the two left, Shopkeeper Wang from next door came in. " Shopkeeper Jin, Zhen Shiqing is here to see you?"
Jin Shanyao the bamboo stick into the divination tube and said unhappily, "You know him?"
Shopkeeper Wang leaned against the doorframe and chuckled, "Everyone in Qingzhou Prefecture knows him. He's young and promising, but unfortunately, he's not very resolute. Did Shopkeeper Huang give you the money?"
"He wouldn't dare refuse."
Shopkeeper Wang gave her a thumbs up, "You're amazing! When he first went mad, he wreaked havoc on all sorts of shops, including my Rouge shop, he ruined most of them..."
When they asked for money, the master and servant would take off their clothes, insisting on offering themselves in return. And they really did take their clothes off. You know, I run a cosmetics shop, and all the women here are women; how could I possibly tolerate such behavior?
The younger one was somewhat attractive, but the old one was covered in tree bark; just looking at him was disgusting.
Jin Shanyao swept her cold gaze over him, but Shopkeeper Wang was completely oblivious. He rubbed his arms and wondered, "It's already May, why is it still so cold?"
Jin Shanyao lightly, "That's because you don't have tree bark to protect you."
Shopkeeper Wang laughed heartily upon hearing this, "That's right, young lady, don't always have such a serious face, you should know how to joke around. Oh dear... someone's coming into my shop, I have to go now."
The Jin Shanyao... "So annoying..." she thought to herself, "You animals are disgusting, all skinny and hairy..."
She turned around angrily, only to see Meng Anzhi staring at her intently. "Isn't this a bad idea, Auntie?"
Jin Shanyao revealed a sinister smile, "That young master dared to do as I suggested; he'd be crippled if not dead. Luckily, the storybook saved his life."
After saying that, he turned to Meng Anzhi and said, "There are fewer patients today, let's close the shop early."
"Ah... it's still early, we're not doing business yet."
"I'm not doing this anymore. I need to reflect on my life," Jin Shanyao she returned to the backyard. Recalling Zhen Shiqing's feigned madness, she felt uneasy and decided to go to the government office.
The gatekeeper, seeing Jin Shanyao approaching, smiled and said, "Miss Jin, it's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been?"
Jin Shanyao walked inside, hands behind her back, "Very good, very good... Is Lord Su here?"
"Here..." The gatekeeper led the person into the second hall, but was interrupted by Jin Shanyao just as he was about to report. At this moment, Su Wenqian was reviewing official documents, his brows furrowed.
With a light step, Jin Shanyao slowly approached the desk, her voice like a ghost calling out, " Lord Su... I've been looking for you everywhere..."
Startled, Su Wenqian looked up abruptly and saw Jin Shanyao's large face right in front of him. He screamed and fell to the ground.
Jin Shanyao knew something was wrong. She quickly put down the calming tea and went around the table to help Su Wenqian, but Su Wenqian pushed her away.
"Get out of the way... I don't need your help," Su Wenqian said, standing up while holding onto a chair, patting his official robes and giving her a disapproving look.
"You're back."
Jin Shanyao softly, "Has anyone been bothering you lately? If you encounter any difficult cases, just come to me."
Su Wenqian chuckled lightly... "Free?"
"Tsk... Look at you, always so obsessed with money. How about I give you those two people? Would that count as an achievement?"
Su Wenqian said sternly, " Jin Shanyao, do you know how serious the case is between those two? It could implicate the entire court. And you just sent them to me like this?"
Jin Shanyao was stunned. "Don't I want to keep the good stuff in the family? It's better for you to get promoted and make money than for others, right?"
Su Wenqian laughed angrily, "Am I thinking about myself? I'm not worried about you being implicated, but you have no power and no resources... Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. Just tell me first if anything happens in the future, and don't do anything reckless."
The struggles within the imperial court are bloody and not trivial matters. Jin Shanyao simple-minded; what if she were to bring about her own death? Thinking of this, Su Wenqian felt exhausted.
He said irritably, "What do you want?"
Jin Shanyao swayed her chair and sat opposite him, tilting her head to try and see his face, but Su Wenqian turned his head away. She then got up and moved to the other side.
"Little Su..."
"What..." Su Wenqian's eyes widened, Jin Shanyao immediately changed her tune, "Nephew... I want to ask you something."
"Call me Lord Su. If you dare to call me that again, I'll kick you out."
Jin Shanyao playfully scolded, "Look at your temper, only I can tolerate you."
Su Wenqian took a deep breath, then suddenly pulled out the scroll and started hitting Jin Shanyao, yelling, "I'll teach you to read books recklessly, I'll teach you to be disrespectful, I'll teach you to speak without restraint!"
With Jin Shanyao, he leaped three feet high, darting around the room in a flurry.
He yelled, " Su Wenqian, don't think that just because your mother is dead, no one can control you! You dare hit me... tonight I'll send Ghost One to warm your bed, I'll scare you to death!"
" The Jin Shanyao... You remain stubborn and unyielding."
Su Wenqian chased after the Jin Shanyao around the room in circles, until he was panting heavily and hadn't hit it once. Frustrated, he threw the scroll into the painting vat.
Seeing him sitting silently in the chair, Jin Shanyao cautiously stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong? Who made you angry...?"
Su Wenqian clenched his fists tightly. "Tell me what you need me for, I have official business to attend to..."
Jin Shanyao twice, "I've heard there's a scholar in Qingzhou Prefecture named Zhen Shiqing, do you know him?"
Su Wenqian was taken aback. "Why are you asking him?"
"Just curious... I heard he was driven crazy by the imperial examinations, is that true?"
Su Wenqian recalled, "When I came to Qingzhou Prefecture to take office, he had already gone mad. I heard from my colleagues that he couldn't stand the suffocating atmosphere of the prison cell because of long-term repression."
He suffered a complete mental breakdown during the provincial examination, tore up his exam paper, and frantically rushed out of his examination cell. He was utterly ruined.
However, there were always madmen in the imperial examinations every year; it wasn't anything new.
After a moment of silence, Jin Shanyao, "Could you take me to see the Imperial Examination Hall?"
Su Wenqian looked at her suspiciously, "You suspect the examination hall is haunted?"
Jin Shanyao couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What an imagination."
Su Wenqian's hands were itching again! He had originally wanted the gatekeeper to take her, but then he thought it would be more reassuring for him to go along himself.
The two arrived at the examination hall, where rows of examination cells stood. The space, less than two square meters, felt oppressive, for those who had studied diligently for years would have to wait another three years if they failed.
Three years after three years, how many three-year periods does a person have in their lifetime?
Under such a scientific research system, and in such a closed examination environment, one must have an incredibly strong mind to avoid going mad.
Jin Shanyao looked at the densely packed cells, then at Su Wenqian, who had fought his way out beside her.
Suddenly, she raised her hand and touched the embroidery on his official robe; the pattern was a little rough on her skin. "You... it's not easy to pass the exam to become an official."
Su Wenqian slapped her hand away in disgust. "Which government official didn't start out from here? Have you finished looking? If you're done, go back."
After leaving the examination hall, Jin Shanyao asked Su Wenqian for a copy of the examination room map, and then returned to the Anzhi Hall.
The next day, Jin Shanyao fiddled with some bricks and tiles, and then, with a shovel in hand, huffed and puffed as she mixed mud. Qing He poured chopped grass into the mud.
"Master... let the servants do it."
"No need... You're not as strong as me, you'll be too tired to lift the shovel after a couple of tries, let me do it," Jin Shanyao, mixing the chopped grass evenly.
She picked up the blueprints and looked at them, then chose a spot next to the outhouse and began building a wall. Qing He helped her plaster the walls. "Master, we have enough outhouses, why are you building more?"
With the Jin Shanyao still waving, she took the blue bricks and began laying the foundation. "What kind of latrine is this? This is a prison cell..."
"Ah... Master, what are you doing building prison cells at home for no reason?" And if you're going to build them, why did you have to pick such a stinky spot as the outhouse?
Jin Shanyao casually remarked, "I've heard that the imperial examinations can drive people mad. I think I should let Meng Anci get used to it beforehand, so he won't be unable to bear the hardship of isolation and end up going insane."
Yesterday, Su Wenqian said that Zhen Shiqing was assigned to a cell next to the latrine. For nine days and six nights, the stench was unbearable, he couldn't eat or sleep well, and he had to concentrate on answering questions. This was no exam; it was torture.
"Master," Qing He said, handing over mortar while reminding him, "Young Master doesn't take the academy exam until July. Isn't it a bit too early for us to start building now?"
"Is it early? No, it's not early. Once it's finished, let him read here. He doesn't need to go to the study." Jin Shanyao took the blue bricks and continued building the wall.
At this moment, Qing Yang came to report, "Master... that madman from yesterday has come again."