Lou Ming coughed lightly and walked out from the side hall.
Cheng Gu looked at his impeccably dressed appearance with eyes wide with rage, wishing he could skin him alive.
"It's you, it's all your fault. If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't have suffered such humiliation and died. He studied diligently for over a decade, but because of you, he fell on the eve of achieving success."
"Your brother is a good-for-nothing, and you're blaming my father?" Lou Yingyu fiercely. If Tong Aning hadn't been holding her back, she would have gone over and given him a beating herself.
" Yingyu, that's enough."
Lou Ming stopped Lou Yingyu and walked up to Cheng Gu. "I remember you. Your name is Cheng Gu, right? I won't hold what happened today against you. Go home now."
Cheng Gu laughed loudly, "You corrupt official, so I, the aggrieved party, need your forgiveness, the one who started this?"
Lou Yingyu: "You..."
Cheng Gu laughed until tears streamed down his face, like a madman.
[Alas, he was pitiful. His brother was caught cheating, which was irrefutable evidence. At that time, His Majesty placed great importance on the imperial examinations. The fact that he could end his life with a white silk ribbon was already a result of Chancellor Lou's pleas.]
Upon hearing these words, Cheng Gu collapsed to the ground in a daze.
Impossible, how could his brother really have cheated?
At the time, everyone in the surrounding villages said he would be the most promising person.
[The person his younger brother almost overpowered by cheating was a student of Chancellor Lou.]
"Impossible! If that were really the case, why don't you tell the truth?" Cheng Gu pointed at Lou Ming. "It clearly involves your students; you're hiding something."
[After his younger brother was imprisoned, he tearfully begged Chancellor Lou not to let his family know about the incident. Chancellor Lou agreed and kept it a secret for him.]
Cheng Gu's eyes widened. His determination to seek justice for his brother clashed with the facts laid bare before him, leaving Cheng Gu with a splitting headache.
Lou Ming couldn't bear it, and he said, "Your brother has his reasons."
"Stop talking!" Cheng Gu roared.
Chancellor Lou continued, "Your brother also hopes that your family can live a good life."
"What do you mean by 'live a good life'? Ever since my brother passed away, my parents have blamed everything on me. They said they should have sent me to school back then. Although farm work is hard, it's better than losing your life."
Within moments, Cheng Gu's face was covered in his own tears, making him look quite miserable. Lou Yingyu was too embarrassed to scold him.
Tong Aning asked softly, "Then you must have suffered a lot of torment inside, right?"
Cheng Gu was taken aback. He met a pair of eyes as clear as spring water, and in those eyes, he saw his true inner self at a glance.
He blurted out involuntarily, "I... I thought it was all my fault."
You've been scammed!
[How could there be such a miserable person in the world? Back then, who in their family went to school was decided by drawing lots. Whoever drew the longest lot went to school. Cheng Gu drew first, but actually, both lots were short, just so that Cheng Gu's younger brother could go to school.]
[As a result, the younger brother cheated and lost his life, and the family blamed everything on the older brother.]
Cheng Gu's eyes were blank.
His memory returned to that hot summer afternoon.
Mother said, " Guzi, you're the eldest, you go first."
He really wanted to study, and he even washed his hands before smoking.
When he drew the short lot, his mother exclaimed in surprise, and his father and younger brother also came over.
Father said, " Guzi, there's nothing we can do; it's all decided by fate."
Yes, it's all decided by God.
He had no complaints.
But no one told him that this whole thing was man-made from the very beginning.
After his younger brother died, his parents' personalities changed drastically, and they would beat and scold him at the drop of a hat. He endured it willingly because even he felt that he was guilty.
What are these things now?
Even Lou Yingyu, who had been threatening to hit him, felt a little sorry for him.
She said, "Your brother is really wicked."
Yes, my younger brother is really wicked.
Cheng Gu walked out, looking utterly dejected.
Before leaving, he bowed deeply to Lou Ming and Tong Aobai, saying, "Thank you, Chancellor Lou, thank you, Marquis Tong."
As everyone watched his retreating figure, they all felt a pang of unease.
*
Tong Aning asked, "Did you hand it in?"
"Yes," Lou Yingyu rubbed her shoulder, "I'm exhausted. This last one was written under my father's supervision."
Tong Aning said, "He's probably worried that you wrote something you shouldn't have."
"What is it?" Lou Yingyu said, "He's just afraid of losing to Marquis Tong."
Tong Aning smiled gently.
Lou Yingyu looked around and asked, "Where's Azhu?"
"In the yard."
What is she doing?
" Azhu's parents gave her a bow and arrow, Azhu's practicing archery in the yard."
Lou Yingyu muttered, "So diligent?"
The two held hands and went to the courtyard to find Azhu.
Although Azhu had only recently returned to the manor, under the guidance of the general, her bow-drawing skills were already quite impressive, and Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning both applauded her.
Azhu blushed and said shyly, "It's nothing."
"Don't be modest, you're already very good." Lou Yingyu patted her shoulder and whispered, "You'll definitely come out on top in the archery competition later."
Azhu: "I can't do it..."
If I say it's okay, then it's okay.
Azhu bit her lip and looked at Tong Aning Tong Aning encouraged her, "You can do it."
Azhu scratched her head. For some reason, she had been quite unconfident, but after what the two of them said, she suddenly felt that maybe she really could do it.
The three walked together, Azhu asked, "Did Cheng Gu go home later?"
She didn't know that Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu told her all of this later.
Lou Yingyu said, "I was just about to tell you this. My father kept Cheng Gu in the manor as a page... actually, it's just so he can learn to read and write. My father says he's a good prospect."
Azhu nodded. "This is a good ending."
"That's right, his younger brother is the worst. He lied to both sides. My dad even said that if it weren't for him helping to cover it up, Cheng Gu might not be in such a bad situation."
" Chancellor Lou, you don't need to think like that. Who could have predicted that your younger brother would be so wicked?"
Lou Yingyu echoed Tong Aning's words, "That's right, but you don't need to worry too much about my dad. He's been through everything; he's probably just making a few remarks."
Tong Aning: "..."
Azhu: "..."
afternoon.
The archery instructor invited by the Imperial Academy, who had previously served as the commander of the Imperial Guards, felt that it was a waste of his talents to teach these students.
Therefore, the requirements are always exceptionally strict.
"Go and fetch your bows and arrows; today we will practice with white arrows."
The three of them each took a bow and arrow and adjusted them to the side.
Some people's faces turn red just from drawing their bows.
Xiao Pingqi said, "I really don't know what the point is of having you learn archery."
I really want to shoot him.
Xiao Pingqi: "..."
That daughter of the Marquis Tong family certainly has quite a temper.
"I want to shoot him too."
Xiao Pingqi: "..."
It's never going to end, is it?
Xiao Pingqi his arms and walked around the three people who were huddled together before they calmed down a bit.
Xiao Pingqi back and drank a cup of tea. Once everything was ready, he said, "Bai Shi is testing not only your eyesight but also your strength. Put some effort into it!"
"You're going to die."
Lou Yingyu shot two arrows in a row, but neither hit the target.
Xiao Pingqi: " Lou Yingyu, zero."
Lou Yingyu gazed at him with a quiet, wistful expression.
Azhu also shot two arrows. The first arrow went through the target but the arrowhead was exposed. The second arrow almost missed.
Xiao Pingqi said with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad."
It was Tong Aning's turn.
Tong Aning gritted her teeth, her whole body straining with all her might.
It did hit, but the arrowhead wasn't even visible.
"That's not bad either."
Lou Yingyu was very unhappy to get a zero. Just as she was about to try to prove herself, it seemed that someone from the Xiao family had arrived. They whispered something in Xiao Pingqi's ear, and Xiao Pingqi's expression immediately changed. After asking someone to come and replace him, he left with a solemn look on his face.
Lou Yingyu: "Eh eh eh..."
She hasn't proven it yet.
"No need to rush. Although my archery skills are not as good as Commander Xiao's, I can still judge whether they are good or bad."
Lou Yingyu turned around and met Feng Yinsong, who had been temporarily pulled over, and chuckled twice.
"Shoot this one too."
Feng Yinsong: "..."
Even after school ended, Lou Yingyu still couldn't forget about this incident.
She clenched her fists. "Tomorrow, I will definitely avenge myself."
Tong Aning and Azhu both expressed their support for her, and the three of them returned to their respective residences.
On her way back to the manor, Tong Aning encountered Xue Ruyun.
Upon learning that Xue Ruyun was going to see a doctor, Tong Aning eagerly followed her.
The carriage stopped in front of Yan's residence.
As soon as Xue Ruyun and Tong Aning got off the carriage, Xiao Pingqi, who was pacing anxiously in front of the mansion gate, came to greet them.
" Doctor Xue, you've arrived."
Xiao Pingqi also saw Tong Aning, but he was so anxious that he didn't ask any questions and led Xue Ruyun into the mansion.
"She's been in labor for an hour. The midwife said it might be a difficult delivery, so I sent someone to fetch you, Doctor Xue. My sister..."
Xue Ruyun paused, looked at Xiao Pingqi, and said calmly, "Leave it to me."
"Okay, okay."
The servants inside lifted the curtain and invited Xue Ruyun in. Tong Aning went in to assist Xue Ruyun, and only came out when Xue Ruyun no longer needed her.
Xiao Pingqi paced outside, clearly very nervous about his younger sister.
Tong Aning couldn't help but comfort him, "Teacher Xiao, don't worry, Master will definitely be fine."
Xiao Pingqi nodded, but he was still uneasy.
Seeing the men he had sent out return, he frowned and asked, "Where's that bastard Yan Jie?"
The servant stammered, "The young master said he can't leave."
"Is his wife facing certain death right now? If he can't leave, what is he busy with?"
"The son-in-law's mother is about to give birth."
Xiao Pingqi: "... Wasn't she a month later than Manci?"
She was born prematurely.
Xiao Pingqi laughed in anger, "Bring two more people over, and even if you have to tie him up, bring him back here."
"Yes."
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the three returned empty-handed once again.
The servants were drenched in sweat. "The son-in-law threatened us with a knife, saying he'd rather die at his mother's doorstep."
Xiao Pingqi: "..."
Hearing his sister's cries of pain from inside the house, he gritted his teeth and said, "Anyone who didn't know better would think those were his wife and child."
He was furious that what he said was immoral and that he knew it was false.
But the next moment-
[Is it really his child?]
[So, does that mean he and his mother...]
With a bang, Xiao Pingqi crushed the cup in his hand.