The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 424 Stealing Ancient Poems
Gu Jingzhe was helped into the house by Nie Xiaofeng to rest.

Tong Pandi went to the kitchen to prepare food for Gu Jingzhe. There was already some meat porridge and steamed egg custard in the pot, which were easy to digest and suitable for people who were weak after a short period of intense exam study.

"Gu Ruinian, get out of the carriage right now, I need to feed the horses," Su Chengmin called out impatiently.

If it weren't for Su Chengmin's shout, Tong Huaqiong would have forgotten that her nephew Gu Ruinian was still in the car.

"Ruinian, Ruinian, how did you do on the exam?" Gu Dahu, the clan chief's grandson, asked hurriedly when he saw Gu Ruinian peek out.

Gu Ruinian stepped down from the carriage without saying a word.

Tong Huaqiong looked over at Gu Ruinian, whose attire was quite unique.

He wore a veiled hat, with a long veil covering his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

This veil wasn't a fashionable item in the prefectural city; Gu Ruinian clearly used it to cover his face. As for why he was covering his face, it must be because he was injured or disfigured.

Something must have happened during Gu Ruinian's trip to the prefectural city.

Everyone looked at Gu Ruinian in surprise, wondering why he was covering his face. Gu Dahu tried to pull off Gu Ruinian's hat, but was startled by Gu Ruinian's angry roar and withdrew his hand.

"Ruinian, Ruinian, you're back."

"Ruinian, how did your exam go?"

Gu Youtian and Jia Shi had just returned from town with Gu Fengnian after buying chicken, duck, fish and meat, intending to nourish Gu Ruinian's body. They had just arrived at the village entrance when they heard the news that Gu Jingzhe and Gu Ruinian had returned. They carried the meat and vegetables to the carriage.

When the second wife saw Gu Ruinian wearing a hat to cover his face, their surprise was replaced by confusion.

"Ruinian, what's wrong with you?"

Lady Jia was about to lift the veil on her son's hat.

She heard that the provincial examination lasted three days, during which people ate, drank, and relieved themselves, and many people got diarrhea as a result. She had been extremely worried these past few days, and now that she saw her son covering his face, she thought he had diarrhea and looked terrible.

After all, my son has always been very conscious of his image.

"I am fine."

Gu Ruinian avoided Jia's hand and strode towards his home.

“After taking exams for so long, he’s become so thin. My son Ruinian certainly doesn’t want his parents to worry,” Jia said to the villagers, a sense of unease rising in her heart.

Gu Youtian did not notice anything unusual about his son.

He was just waiting for the results to come out in a few days, so he could show off when the county came to report the good news.

After Gu Youtian and Jia left, the villagers began a new round of discussions.

"The Gu family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke, and two scholars have emerged from them all at once."

"Speaking of which, the results aren't out yet. Sigh, do you guys think Jingzhe did better or Ruinian did better on the exam?"

"Everyone says Ruinian has a better talent for studying, but I don't think he did very well on the exam this time. If Ruinian had done well, he would have been making a big fuss about it by now."

"It's hard to say. Exams last for several days, who has the energy to talk? But I still think Jingzhe will do better than Ruinian. Jingzhe is usually calm and composed."

“But Ruinian started his studies late and took the imperial examinations for the lowest degree at the same time as Jingzhe. Ruinian must have done better than Jingzhe.”

I bet on Jingzhe to win.

"I bet on Ruian to win."

The villagers first discussed who did better on the exam, Gu Jingzhe or Gu Ruinian, and later they even placed bets on who would actually do better.

Some people even put money into betting.

Enraged, village chief Liu Tielian shouted, "No casinos are allowed in Qinghewan Village! All gambling activities are prohibited!"

Regardless of how much the village chief emphasized it, the villagers were all looking forward to the results to see who had guessed correctly.

Regardless of whether Gu Ruinian or Gu Jingzhe wins, Grandpa Gu is considered the biggest winner.

Since both of them were his grandsons, it could be said that the Gu family's ancestral graves were emitting two wisps of auspicious smoke.

Gu Jingzhe slept at home for a whole day and night before finally getting up. Although he still looked very thin, he was in good spirits. He drank a big bowl of chicken soup, ate a chicken leg, and then went to help Tong Pandi feed the pigs.

"How do you think you did on the exam?" Tong Huaqiong had clearly told herself not to ask Gu Jingzhe about his grades, but she still asked anyway.

Gu Jingzhe said, "I think I did pretty well on the exam."

Since Gu Jingzhe said so, he must have done well on the exam.

Tong Huaqiong asked Hong Shi Chen Sufen to help prepare red envelopes, which were stuffed with change.

Gu Jingzhe asked why they were preparing all this.

Tong Huaqiong said, "The list will be announced in a few days, and the county will come to congratulate you on passing the exam with the highest score. I should prepare some congratulatory money for them."

Gu Jingzhe, sweating profusely, said, "Mother, please keep a low profile. This exam is for students from the entire prefecture. I can't guarantee I'll be the top scorer."

"By the way, what happened to Gu Ruinian?" Tong Huaqiong asked. "Why is he covering his face?"

She noticed something was off about Gu Ruinian when he got off the carriage and was very curious about what had happened to him in the prefectural city.

Gu Jingzhe sighed, his face bearing a complex expression.

"He was beaten up in the prefectural city," Gu Jingzhe said.

Tong Huaqiong learned from Gu Jingzhe that Gu Ruinian had completely let loose in the prefectural city and started visiting brothels like a rich young master.

It must be said that although Gu Ruinian didn't have much money from his hometown, he instantly became the most talented scholar among the candidates in this provincial examination by stealing a few Tang and Song poems by Li Bai, Wang Wei, Su Shi, Yan Shu, and others. His stolen poem "Spring River Flower Moon Night" by Wang Ruoxu was even sought after by the students of Wanliu Academy.

With his reputation as a talented scholar, he successfully entered Tianxiang Tower, the most prestigious brothel in the prefecture, and became the patron of the top courtesan, Miss Su.

This led to a dispute with the third son of the wealthy Xie family.

The aunt of the Third Young Master Xie was a favored concubine in the palace. She was also a fearless playboy in the city. How could she swallow her pride after being defeated by Gu Ruinian?
His romantic relationship with Miss Su was a pretense; his real intention was to swindle money from her.

In the end, Su's god-sister, Qianqian, saw through his scheme, and Gu Ruinian was beaten and scolded by Qianqian and kicked out of Tianxiang Tower.

Miss Su became increasingly angry as she thought about it. She cried to the third young master of the Xie family, who then blocked the entrance to the examination hall and beat up Gu Ruinian.

His face was beaten into a pig's head.

This made Gu Ruinian even more famous.

The invigilator had a doctor give Gu Ruinian a quick treatment of his injuries. Gu Ruinian struggled into the examination room and took the exam for three days. When he came out, the swelling on his face had not subsided.

After leaving the examination hall, Young Master Xie blocked Gu Ruinian's way and beat him up again.

Not only that, but Young Master Xie also threatened to beat him every time he saw him.

When Gu Dashu was receiving Gu Jingzhe, he encountered Gu Ruinian being beaten. Since Gu Ruinian was his own cousin, Gu Dashu couldn't just stand by and watch him be beaten to death, so he saved Gu Ruinian.

It goes without saying that Gu Dashu was very adept at social maneuvering in the prefectural city. In just half a year, he was able to speak with people from all walks of life. He could even greet Young Master Xie whenever they met.

After much persuasion, Young Master Xie finally let Gu Ruinian go for the time being.

Tong Huaqiong clicked her tongue in amazement. Had Gu Ruinian been brainwashed by harem novel plots? Did he think that by stealing a few ancient poems, he could dominate the world and even set his sights on courtesans?

Tong Huaqiong guessed that he was inspired by the story of Du Shiniang angrily sinking her treasure chest when he approached the courtesans, and wanted to learn from the imperial student Li Jia to make the girls willingly offer a lot of money.

But the car overturned.

Miss Su is much more formidable than Du Shiniang; she doesn't aim her fists at herself, but at Gu Ruinian.

All I can say is that you did a great job.

Gu Ruinian really underestimated the stupidity of people in this era.

He deserved to be beaten into a pig's head.

However, what Tong Huaqiong didn't expect was that this matter would be related to Qianqian from Tianxianglou.

She wanted to say that the girl, Qianqian, did a good job.

Gu Ruinian made a huge mistake in the prefectural city; it's no wonder he couldn't do well on the exam.