Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 223 Juren
Zhong Chushan pushed away Chen Buyu's affectionate gesture with disdain.

"With so many people watching, you're shameless, but I still want it. Do you know what people say about us two spoiled brats? They say we have a habit of sharing peaches." Zhong Chushan said irritably, "Even if you're happy, don't pounce on me, otherwise if others see us, it will really confirm those stigmas."

"Don't worry about what others say, we have a clear conscience." Chen Buyu was happy now and didn't bother arguing with those who spread foul language.

Looking at his own ranking and then at Zhong Chushan's, Chen Buyu said somewhat resentfully, "I'm not much worse than you, so how come there's an eighty-person difference between us?"

"You mean the examiner has poor judgment?"

"Anyway, I don't think I'm any worse than you. The only thing is that my handwriting is a little worse than yours," Chen Buyu said, looking unconvinced.

"Brother Zhang is truly remarkable, managing to rank eighteenth," Zhong Chushan said. "Now that you're on the list, are you preparing to go to the capital to participate in the imperial examination?"

Just as Zhang Xuezi was about to say something, after seeing the names of the last few students appear, he pointed to the first place and said, "Brother Wangshu, you're amazing!"

Zhou Wangshu's gaze lingered on third place.

Xiao Ci.

Xiao Ci's ranking is surprisingly high.

In that dream, Xiao Ci became the top scholar in the imperial examination. From then on, Su Yaoguang began to fall into an abyss from which she could not climb out, and eventually headed for destruction.

This time, the top scholar position is his, and he will not give Xiao Ci any chance to rise again.

No, he wanted to ensure he wouldn't have the chance to leave the provincial capital alive.

"Brother Wangshu, Brother Wangshu, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Xuezi waved his hand in front of him.

Su Yaoguang grabbed Zhou Wangshu's arm and pulled him out of the crowd.

The servants with ropes were already starting to pick out students to kill. Now that we've seen the list, let's leave this place of trouble!
"Zhong Chushan, Brother Wangshu, Sister Yaoguang, please save me..." Chen Buyu's voice came from the crowd.

Hearing his voice, everyone turned around and saw Chen Buyu being bound by several servants with red ropes, then slipping out of the crowd at lightning speed.

Zhong Chushan stopped fanning himself, his eyes filled with shock: "He's almost a hundredth and he's still being fought over. Are these people's judgments really that bad? I'm eightyth, Brother Zhang is eighteenth, and Brother Wangshu is number one. No one is fighting over us. Chen Buyu looks stupid and clumsy, yet someone is still fighting over him."

"Stop making sarcastic remarks and get him out of here quickly! This kind of arranged marriage is never a good thing." Su Yaoguang said, stopping the local people who were watching the commotion. She took out a piece of silver and asked the woman in the crowd who looked the most gossipy and liked to talk about other people's affairs which household the servants belonged to.

"Those were the Tong family just now! Master Tong only has one daughter, who is incredibly beautiful, but she's a bit timid and afraid of men. She's already eighteen, and if she doesn't get married soon, she'll become an old maid. So, taking advantage of the upcoming provincial examination, which has many successful candidates from the surrounding area, his family snatched one up."

"Where is Master Tong's house? Please take us there, ma'am." Su Yaoguang took out a piece of silver. "If you can lead us to them, this piece of silver is yours."

The old woman had only come to watch the spectacle, but unexpectedly, she found a chance to make a fortune. Without a word, the woman led them directly to the gate of Master Tong's house. Master Tong's house was brightly decorated and quite lively inside.

"Where's the invitation?" the gatekeeper servant stopped them.

"We're here to discuss business with Master Tong," Su Yaoguang said. "Is there some kind of celebration at your residence today?"

"Our master is marrying off his daughter today. He only sees guests and no outsiders. If you're thinking of discussing business with him today, forget it. He's only concerned with the young lady's wedding."

“Since we’re about to start our cooperation, you’re certainly a guest. If you didn’t know, that’s fine, but since you know Master Tong is marrying off his daughter, there’s no reason not to show your appreciation.” Su Yaoguang said, taking out some loose silver and stuffing it into the servant’s hand.

"Since you're going to express your gratitude, where are the gifts you've given?" the servant asked.

Su Yaoguang, Zhou Wangshu, Zhong Chushan, and the student surnamed Zhang looked at each other in bewilderment.

Could it be that in order to rescue that silly boy Chen Buyu, they have to spend a lot of money to give a wedding gift to the wealthy man Tong who forcibly abducted the man?
Su Yaoguang is a businesswoman and doesn't want to suffer this loss.

"Why don't we forget about it? He'll get married sooner or later anyway, so it's the same whether he gets married early or late. We might as well take this opportunity to settle his marriage. The Tong family is quite wealthy, and Miss Tong is an only child. Even if Brother Chen stays to be a live-in son-in-law, that would be a good option," Zhong Chushan said with a smile.

"Hey Zhong, I knew you were up to no good." Chen Buyu, dressed as a groom, ran out from inside, followed by several waiters.

When Zhong Chushan saw him running out, he quickly stopped several servants nearby.

"Grab him!" Master Tong shouted, pointing in Chen Buyu's direction.

The men gathered in Chen Buyu's direction. Just as they were about to grab him, he slipped past them like an eel and escaped directly to the main gate.

Zhou Wangshu and others were at the main gate. Chen Buyu ran quickly and finally reunited with the others.

"Let's go quickly," Zhong Chushan said. "This Master Tong is truly ruthless. If he can't catch Chen Buyu, he might just grab us on the spot and make us marry his daughter in Chen Buyu's place."

Everyone knew that what Master Tong needed was not a son-in-law, but a son-in-law who could pass the imperial examinations and become an official, so that he could have a powerful backer.

This person can't be too clever. If it's someone like Zhou Wangshu, the entire Tong family will probably end up in the hands of his son-in-law. For the sake of his family business and his daughter, he had his employees stake out the place early in the morning, waiting to find someone young, reasonably good-looking, but not too high in the rankings, preferably in the middle. This way, he could continue his studies without being too cunning and uncontrollable.

Zhong Chushan had been asking why he didn't contact him, why he didn't contact Brother Zhang, and why he didn't contact Zhou Wangshu. This is the answer.

Merchants were inherently of low social status. Even if Master Tong amassed a fortune, his daughter was still merely the descendant of a lowly merchant. The higher a student's ranking, the brighter their future prospects. How could merchants like them dare to offend someone like that?
They just wanted to find a decent son-in-law to marry into their family. He was willing to support the man financially, and he wouldn't abandon his wife even if the man became successful.

The group ran for a long time, with the men chasing after them. Later, they split up, and the men all chased after Chen Buyu.