When Shopkeeper Wang saw her come out, he asked, "How is Xiaohua? Can I come in?"
"Yes... you can go in quickly," said Madam Lu as she went to get the money for the main room. When she came out, she saw Jin Shanyao washing her hands by the well. "Oh dear," she exclaimed, " Shopkeeper Jin... this water is so cold! I'll go get you some hot water right away."
After speaking, he glanced at his daughter, who was battered and bruised. Her hair was disheveled, a wooden hairpin was stuck in her head, her collar was torn open, and her face was scratched by the midwife.
He was sitting alone at the gate of the courtyard, fuming.
"Don't just sit there like an idiot, go comb your hair... Xiaohua Madam Lu."
"I'm not going... I'm going home," Ma Xinghua jumped up and walked outside. Seeing this, Madam Lu scolded, "You stubborn brat! Just like your dead father."
Madam Lu turned and went into the kitchen, bringing out a basin of water and placing it beside Jin Shanyao. Holding the money bag, she smiled and said, " Shopkeeper Jin... how much does it cost to deliver a baby?"
"One tael."
"What..." Madam Lu exclaimed in surprise. She glanced instinctively at the side room and lowered her voice, "Could you make it cheaper? I only paid two hundred coins for that midwife."
Jin Shanyao her hands dry and said calmly, "So she ran away..."
Madam Lu took a deep breath, clutching her money pouch and refusing to pay. When Meng Anzhi came out carrying her medicine box, Shopkeeper Wang followed her out.
He said gratefully to Jin Shanyao, "Thanks to you this time... otherwise, I'm afraid Xiaohua wouldn't have made it."
"It's alright... You hired me to save your life, right? Oh, by the way... Ginseng pills are twenty taels each, you don't need to pay me. Just carve me a lotus ice lantern."
Shopkeeper Wang laughed heartily, "Alright, next year on the fifteenth... I'll take care of all the ice lanterns in front of the Anzhi Hall."
He turned to look at Madam Lu, "What are you all standing there for? Pay up! There's a whole group of people waiting at the Anzhi Hall's place."
Only then did Madam Lu realize that she had gotten a great deal, so she quickly took out one tael of silver and handed it over.
On the way back, Meng Anzhi saw an old man in the distance, leaning on a cane and standing by the roadside looking lost and helpless. When she got closer, she realized it was Old Kong.
" Grandpa Kong... where is your grandson?"
Old Kong paused for a moment, looking at her blankly, "Ah... what grandson? I don't know anything about him?"
Meng Anzhi's heart tightened, and she asked again, "Then what are you doing here?"
Old Kong blinked, thought for a while, and suddenly slapped his thigh, "My wife went back to her parents' house, I'll go and bring her back..."
Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao a glance. Oh no... they were confused again. It was fortunate that they met them, otherwise the Kong Household would have been searching for them for who knows how long.
Meng Anzhi stepped forward to help him up, " Grandpa Kong... I'll take you home."
Old Kong shoved her away, saying warily, "What are you doing? Don't touch me. If my wife sees this, she'll scratch your face."
Upon hearing this, Jin Shanyao laughed and said, "Whose face is being scratched? I think it's yours."
Old Kong scoffed, "What do you know... My wife would never hit me." He turned to walk away, but Jin Shanyao followed behind. "Where are you going? If you go any further, you'll enter the woods. There are wolves in the woods that will eat you..."
Old Kong sized up Jin Shanyao and said, "Young lady... I advise you not to flirt with me. Although you are somewhat attractive, you are not my type. Don't ruin your reputation because of me."
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "You're so old you can barely walk without a cane, and I'm still trying to chat you up..."
Old Kong glanced at her dismissively, "Otherwise what..."
Jin Shanyao stroked her chin, her eyes darting over him with unbridled shrug. "Of course, I'm going to snatch you back to be my bandit husband," she said, hoisting Old Kong onto her shoulder and heading towards the Kong Household.
Old Kong, headfirst, clutching his cane, cried out in fright, "Put me down! If my wife finds out, she'll make you pay!"
Jin Shanyao slapped him on the butt, "Shut up... If you dare to whimper again, I'll make you breed with a wild boar."
Old Kong felt deeply humiliated after being spanked. He struggled to get down, but he couldn't move his body. In desperation, he gripped his cane and wailed.
" Xing'er... I'm so sorry, I've caught the eye of Maiden Earth, and I'm afraid I'll have to have children with her in the future."
" Little Kong... just accept your fate," Jin Shanyao said, letting out a wild, unrestrained laugh, and strode forward with an arrogant, detached air.
Meng Anzhi followed behind, carrying a medicine box, and comforted him, " Grandpa Kong, don't cry, Xing'er is dead..."
Upon hearing this, Old Kong paused in his sobs, then burst into an even more desperate wail, " Xing'er..."
Meng Anzhi never expected that a single sentence would make him cry so bitterly. She quickly took out a handkerchief and followed behind, constantly wiping away Old Kong's tears.
" Grandpa Kong... please stop crying, or you'll have a heart attack..."
"Grandpa... what grandpa..." Old Kong struggled to lift his head, his eyes blurry with tears as he looked uncertainly at Meng Anzhi, "Granddaughter??"
"Why..."
"Waaah..." The crying instantly turned hysterical, " Xing'er... I'm so sorry, the bandit and I even have a granddaughter, I'm not clean anymore..."
Jin Shanyao smiled reassuringly, "Clean, clean..."
"Clean my ass... Take your filthy hands off my thighs... You shameless Maiden Earth, waah... Xing'er..."
Old Kong howled all the way, and just when he thought he was about to enter the bridal chamber, the Maiden Earth suddenly put him on the ground.
Old Kong staggered, using his cane to steady himself. Kong Xiaobao was the only child in the Kong Household. Jin Shanyao asked, "Where are your family members?"
Kong Xiaobao helped Old Kong up, "They've all gone out to look for my grandpa..."
Old Kong looked at the little boy before him, tears streaming down his face, and asked with trembling lips, "And who are you?"
"Grandpa... it's me, Xiaobao."
Upon hearing this, Old Kong felt dizzy; he was actually surrounded by children and grandchildren with the Maiden Earth?!
Jin Shanyao the Old Kong back, then returned to the Anzhi Hall to continue drawing talismans.
With the provincial and prefectural examinations approaching, everyone is digging holes in their doors and stealing tunnels, all in the hopes of making the list.
Within the Green Mountain Academy, from the Licentiate Candidate Institute to the Licentiate Institute, it was so quiet that one dared not breathe loudly.
Zhao Boyong clutched a small porcelain bottle, reading a few lines of his book before bringing it to his nose to smell it.
Meng Anci couldn't stand it anymore, "Can't you just eat one?"
Zhao Boyong glanced at him, "So this was made by your family? Aren't you worried about the cost...? I need this to last until the imperial examination in August."
He shook the bottle. "I'll only take one pill every two weeks. Once I'm in the examination hall, I'll take two a day, which will last until the provincial examination is over. Then I'll have your aunt prepare another bottle for me to take to the capital and continue taking them."
Shiyan remarked quietly from the side, "Your imperial examination system must have been quite costly."
Zhao Boyong sighed, holding the porcelain bottle. "There's nothing I can do; I was born with a weak heart." After saying that, he brought the bottle to his lips and took a deep drag.
Shiyan also wanted to get a bottle to keep by his side. He'd been studying so hard lately that he felt his heart couldn't take it anymore.
He glanced at Zhao Zhiyuan, who hadn't spoken a word, and saw him holding a Luban ball, assembling it while reading a book, his leisurely demeanor making one's teeth itch with envy.
" Zhao Zhiyuan, what time is it? Why are you still playing?"
Zhao Zhiyuan was stunned. "I wasn't playing anything, I was just relaxing..."
Shiyan pointed at the Luban ball and said incredulously, "You use it to relax... what's the difference between this and me finishing one set of exam papers and then rewarding myself with another?"
Zhao Zhiyuan smiled but didn't reply.
Shiyan stood up, craning his neck to glance at Meng Anci. Seeing that he hadn't been reading this one, he asked in confusion, "Why did you change books again? You've changed three in the blink of an eye."
Meng Anci reached out and pushed his head back, "Read more books, you'll feel more at ease. You can't just stick to one book and read it all."
Shiyan sat up straight, looked at the book beside him, and changed to another one.