The burly man hadn't expected Anzhi Hall to dare to act so forcefully to protect Shen Huaiyu. "Have you thought this through... Abundant Celebration Hall is not to be trifled with."
"How formidable are you?" A cool, clear voice came from the back door.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young boy holding a bright yellow scroll. He lifted the curtain and walked in, his face serious and his eyes fierce.
"With the Sheng Dynasty Laws in place, I don't believe you can turn the world upside down."
The burly man snapped out of his daze and scoffed, "And who are you? A greenhorn..." But before he could finish speaking, the boy placed the roll of cloth he was holding on the table.
As he moved, the cloth scroll slowly unfurled, revealing the words "Top Scholar": Meng Anci.
The room fell silent instantly.
The burly men stared wide-eyed, looking at the golden list and then at the young man before them; their expressions were priceless.
Meng Anci carefully put away the list of successful candidates, glanced at the two of them indifferently, and said, "Now let's talk about why Abundant Celebration Hall is so difficult to deal with."
The two burly men exchanged a glance, tugged at each other's sleeves, lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound... They didn't even dare to look at each other before slinking away.
They only breathed a sigh of relief when they were alone. "Wasn't he supposed to be a successful candidate in the imperial examinations? How did he become the top scholar?"
Another burly man said, "When the owner just entered the house, I vaguely heard something about the imperial examination... Could it be such a coincidence that the top scholar came from this family?"
"What should we do? What about the master's matter?"
"What's all this talk? You dare to go head-to-head with the top scholar? He's someone who's seen His Majesty the Emperor before... Let's go back and tell our master first. Anyway, Shen Huaiyu isn't going anywhere."
The burly man scratched his head. "If I were Shen Huaiyu, I would take this opportunity to run far away."
"Alright, if you don't have the brain, don't worry about what others think. If Shen Huaiyu were stupid, she wouldn't have chosen Anzhi Hall as her shelter."
"That's true... These days, only Anzhi Hall Abundant Celebration Hall... Let's go back to Jiangnan."
Why are you leaving? There are still four brothers locked up in jail. We'll leave together the day after tomorrow when they get out. Let's keep a low profile these next few days and not cause any trouble, lest the owner of the Anzhi Hall cuts your head off.
Upon hearing this, the burly man covered his head and said, "You know what, that little wench was pretty ruthless..."
Inside the Anzhi Hall.
Shen Huaiyu sat quietly in the chair, pondering to herself. In the past, there had been people who dared to oppose Abundant Celebration Hall, but within half a month, they would be fired by their employer for various reasons.
Shen Huaiyu was really unsure whether Anzhi Hall's current protection of her was genuine or just for show.
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, " Shopkeeper Shen, go ahead and get busy."
Shen Huaiyu suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with surprise, "Young Master? Aren't you going to kick me out?"
"You haven't committed any major offenses, so Anzhi Hall won't kick you out. Besides, I don't even know your strength. If you're a piece of gold, wouldn't it be a waste for me to give you up like this?"
Shen Huaiyu was deeply shocked. She hadn't expected that after this commotion, she could still use her... Her heart was filled with mixed emotions. She stood up and waved to Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao, "Thank you for your protection, mistress. I will do my best to manage Anzhi Hall well."
After saying that, he began to check whether the medicine drawer was full of medicinal herbs and whether the herbs were placed in the wrong place.
Shopkeeper Wang leaned close to the window, tapped on the table, glanced at Shen Huaiyu, and whispered, "Are you still using this person? Aren't you afraid of retaliation from her former employer?"
Jin Shanyao, seeing his shifty eyes, grinned and said, "I'm their boss. If I don't protect them, who will?"
"Hey kid... you never speak properly... I'm just worried about you. In business, the worst thing is offending people, especially since you run a clinic."
Jin Shanyao didn't seem to care at all, "It's alright, Meng Anci."
"What... Anci became the top scholar?" Shopkeeper Wang shouted, making all the neighbors' ears perk up.
Across the street, Madam Jiang stood in front of his shop and shouted, " Shopkeeper Wang, what did you say? Who passed the imperial examination with top honors?"
" Anci... Anci has become the top scholar in the imperial examination."
"What... Anci has become the top scholar in the imperial examination?" The neighbors all gathered around, and in the blink of an eye, they surrounded Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi.
" Shopkeeper Jin... Shopkeeper Wang, is what you said true? Meng Anci?"
Jin Shanyao and said, "Yes... you've passed the imperial examination with top honors; the official document should arrive soon."
Madam Jiang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "My God... Anci actually became the top scholar in the imperial examination! Our street has made something of itself... We actually have a top scholar now!"
"You're absolutely right! I always thought our street had good feng shui, and I was right."
Everyone was talking at once, Jin Shanyao didn't know who to reply to, so she simply stood in the middle of the crowd, grinning at them. Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door.
Zhu Huaizhang strode in with his constables, glanced around, and asked with a smile, "Where's Anci?"
Jin Shanyao and said, "In the study in the backyard..."
Zhu Huaizhang nodded and stepped inside.
Jin Shanyao was about to ask him if he was going to deliver money, but then she thought of his empty purse and decided against it... there was no point in stopping him.
She was surrounded by neighbors answering various questions, and by the time she managed to escape Zhu Huaizhang had already left.
At dinner time.
Meng Anci casually asked, "Auntie... when are we going back to Little River Village?"
"The day after tomorrow, I'll prepare tomorrow and bring everything we need." Jin Shanyao said, picking up a piece of mushroom and putting it in her mouth. Mmm... fresh mushrooms are still the best.
After she finished speaking, seeing that Meng Anci didn't say anything, she turned her head to look at him, "What? Don't you want to go back?"
Meng Anci held his chopsticks, nodding and shaking his head intermittently. After a long pause, he finally said in a low voice, "A little. Apart from my parents, all my memories there are bad."
He paused, looked down at the rice in his bowl, and after a long while, said with Jin Shanyao, "We can move your parents' graves to our own mountain."
That way, we won't have to go back to Little River Village to worship anymore. If you can't bear to part with your house, you can tear it down, transport all the mud and beams to our own mountain, and rebuild a small courtyard exactly as it was."
Meng Anci's nose tingled, and tears almost welled up in her eyes. She picked up a piece of mushroom, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled, "Then let's bring more people. I don't want those people from Little River Village to disturb my parents' graves."
"Okay... I'll do whatever you say."
Meng Anzhi listened to their conversation, silently pondering what they were saying.
The next morning, Shiyan rushed into the shop in a flurry, " Shopkeeper Shen, I heard Anci and the others are back, is that true?"
Shen Huaiyu smiled and said, "You're back... I'll have Xiaosi go in and deliver a message."
"No need, I can go in by myself..." Before Shiyan could finish speaking, he had already run to the backyard. Shen Huaiyu tried to stop him, but it was too late.
She walked up to Zhou Xiaosi and knocked on the counter. "Is it alright for Licentiate Shi to just go in like that?"
Zhou Xiaosi, holding the medicine in his hand, smiled and said, "It's alright... Licentiate Shi and Young Master grew up together and were classmates. They're usually very close. Don't worry, the master won't be angry."
Upon hearing this, Shen Huaiyu glanced towards the backyard with concern.
Seeing Shiyan standing in front of Meng Anzhi, stammering and blushing completely, he asked uncertainly, "Are you sure they have a good relationship?"
"Hmm... Ever since I came to the Anzhi Hall, the Licentiate Shi has always come to play with the young master, and so has Zhao Zhiyuan... Hey, why didn't Zhao Zhiyuan come back with us?"
Zhou Xiaosi suspiciously put the herbs into the stone mill, grinding them while thinking, and soon forgot all about Zhao Zhiyuan.