Chapter 223 - 222: Scholar

Zhong Chushan disdainfully pushed aside Chen Buyu’s clingy actions.

"So many people are watching, you may not care, but I still want to save face. Do you know what others are saying about us, the two spoiled brats? They say we have the habit of sharing peaches," Zhong Chushan said irritably. "No matter how happy you are, don’t throw yourself on me, or if others see it, those rumors will be confirmed."

"Never mind what others say. As long as we have a clear conscience," Chen Buyu was in such a good mood that he didn’t bother with those who spread rumors.

Looking at his own ranking, then at Zhong Chushan’s, Chen Buyu said with some dissatisfaction, "I’m not much worse than you. Why are there eighty people between us?"

"Are you suggesting that the examiners’ judgment is poor?"

"Anyway, I don’t think I’m worse than you—maybe just that my calligraphy is a bit lacking," Chen Buyu said with a look of defiance.

"Brother Zhang is really impressive, coming in at eighteenth," Zhong Chushan remarked. "Now that your name is on the list, are you preparing to go to the Capital City for the metropolitan examination?"

Zhang Xuezhi was about to say something when his eyes caught the names at the bottom of the list; he pointed at the name in first place and said, "Brother Wang Shu, you’re amazing!"

Zhou Wangshu’s eyes rested on the name in third place.

Xiao Ci.

Xiao Ci ranked so high.

In that dream, Xiao Ci became the Champion Scholar, and after that, Su Yaoguang was plunged into an abyss she couldn’t climb out of, ultimately leading to her ruin.

This time, that Champion Scholar’s position is his, and he won’t give Xiao Ci any chance to rise up.

No, he won’t let him leave the provincial capital alive.

"Brother Wang Shu, Brother Wang Shu, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Xuezhi waved a hand in front of him.

Su Yaoguang grabbed Zhou Wangshu’s arm, pulling him through the crowd.

Those servants with ropes had already started targeting the students. Since they’ve seen the list, it’s better to leave this place of trouble!

"Zhong Chushan, Brother Wang Shu, Yaoguang Sister, save me..." Chen Buyu’s voice came from the crowd.

The crowd turned back at the sound, only to see Chen Buyu being tied up with a red rope by several servants and quickly being slipped out of the crowd.

Zhong Chushan’s fanning stopped, and his eyes were full of shock. "He’s ranked close to one hundred and still got snatched. Are these people’s tastes that bad? I’m eighty, Brother Zhang is eighteenth, and our Brother Wang Shu is the top name. None of us got snatched, yet that silly and clumsy Chen Buyu did."

"Let’s not make sarcastic remarks for now; we should hurry and save him! Such blind weddings are not a good thing," Su Yaoguang said as she stopped a local onlooker and pulled out a piece of broken silver, asking the nosiest-looking woman in the crowd, the one most likely to gossip, about which household those servants belonged to.

"Those are from Landlord Tong’s place! Landlord Tong has only one daughter, as pretty as a flower, but a bit timid and afraid of men. The girl is already eighteen, and if she doesn’t get married soon, she’ll become an old maid. So, taking advantage of this provincial exam, since many scholars are around, they snatched one back."

"Could you take us to Landlord Tong’s place, madam?" Su Yaoguang offered a piece of broken silver. "As long as you take us to find them, this broken silver is yours."

The woman was only there to watch, not expecting to find a chance to make money. She agreed and led them straight to Landlord Tong’s doorstep.

Landlord Tong’s house was decorated festively, with lively commotion inside.

"Invitation?" The gatekeeper stopped them.

"We are here to discuss business with Landlord Tong," Su Yaoguang said. "Is there some happy event at your house today?"

"Our master is marrying off his daughter today; only guests are allowed, no outsiders. If you’re here to discuss business today, forget it. The master is only focused on the young lady’s wedding today."

"Since we are about to collaborate, we should be considered guests. How can we know of Landlord Tong’s daughter’s wedding and not show some appreciation?" Su Yaoguang said and slipped some broken silver into the servant’s hand.

"If you want to show appreciation, where’s your wedding gift?" the servant asked.

Su Yaoguang, Zhou Wangshu, Zhong Chushan, and the Zhang student exchanged looks.

Could it be that to rescue that silly Chen Buyu, they would have to spend a lot of money on a wedding gift for Landlord Tong, who forcefully seizes husbands from the populace?

Su Yaoguang, being a businessperson, wasn’t willing to take this loss.

"Forget it; sooner or later he’d get married, early or late won’t matter. It’s better to solve his lifetime issue now. The Tong Family is quite wealthy, and Miss Tong is their only daughter. Even if Brother Chen stays to become a son-in-law, that wouldn’t be too bad," Zhong Chushan said with a teasing smile.

"Chung, I knew you had bad intentions," Chen Buyu shouted as he ran out in groom attire, followed by several attendants.

Zhong Chushan, seeing him escape, quickly went to block the attendants.

"Catch him," Landlord Tong called out, pointing toward Chen Buyu.

The servants gathered to catch Chen Buyu, but he slipped past them like an eel, straight to the gate.

At the gate were Zhou Wangshu and the others. Chen Buyu ran quickly and finally joined them.

"Hurry up," Zhong Chushan urged. "Landlord Tong is truly mad. If he can’t catch Chen Buyu, he might just grab one of us to replace him in marrying his daughter."

They all knew that Landlord Tong wasn’t looking for a son-in-law so much as a scholarly son-in-law to bolster his position.

This person couldn’t be too clever, or someone smart like Zhou Wangshu might end up taking over the whole Tong family. For his estate, for his daughter, he’d ordered his servants to stake out early, looking for someone young, decent-looking, but not too highly ranked, preferably in the middle. This way, they could still pursue higher education without being too slippery, beyond their control.

When Zhong Chushan had questioned why they didn’t choose him, Brother Zhang, or Zhou Wangshu, this was the answer.

As merchants, their status was already low, and even if Landlord Tong accumulated thousands in fortune, his daughter would still just be a merchant’s daughter. The higher-ranked scholars had greater prospects, and merchants wouldn’t dare provoke such people.

They just wanted a decently matched son-in-law, willing to fund his studies and make sure that when he prospered, he wouldn’t abandon his first wife.

They ran for quite a while with the attendants chasing behind, but when they split up, the attendants all followed after Chen Buyu.