I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xiao Mingyuan took out a silver note and gave one hundred taels to the broker.

"We'll take this courtyard. It's an extra gift for you. You should know how to explain it to others without me having to tell you."

The broker's hands were still trembling when he took the silver note.

But the weight of one hundred taels quickly calmed him down, and he responded repeatedly.

"I know, I know, this place is still haunted. I won't mention a word about the psychic monkey to anyone."

Su Man added from the side.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut, otherwise, with my and the Xiao family's capabilities, it wouldn't be difficult for you to disappear without a trace."

Upon hearing this, the broker broke out in a sweat and nodded repeatedly.

"I understand, I understand. Miss Su is joking. We brokers have to keep all our secrets to ourselves."

Su Man nodded in satisfaction and took out another hundred taels of silver.

"Here's a reward for you, take it."

Xu Qing watched the two of them take turns paying, and couldn't help but blink twice.

The meaning was clear: You two are so generous, it must be too easy for brokers to make money from you.

Just as he was about to speak, Su Man called out again.

"You three, come in here for a moment."

After her two attendants and Xiao Mingyuan's bodyguards arrived.

Each person handed over a hundred-tael silver note, their tone somewhat serious.

"Keep tonight's events to yourself."

The three men accepted the silver notes, bowed, and withdrew.

Xu Qing watched the silver notes fly away and silently withdrew his hand, which was about to open his mouth. Then he gave the two of them a thumbs up.

"You guys are really generous."

Xiao Mingyuan chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"You just received your dividends, so stop pretending to be poor now."

Xu Qing wasn't annoyed even though he had seen through her.

Xiao Mingyuan bent down to the well opening, looked down, then straightened up and said in a low voice.

"The thing hanging around the monkey's neck wasn't an ordinary stone; it was clearly a gemstone. The fact that something like that was on a monkey's neck means that someone must have lived at the bottom of the well."

Su Man nodded, lowering her voice slightly.

"Moreover, he went straight to the kitchen after coming out of the well, which means it wasn't his first time there. There's a passage down there that leads to other places on the surface."

Xu Qing squatted by the well, running his fingers along the brick rim, then touching an inconspicuous dent on the edge. It was clearly from being gripped and pried open over a long period.

There must be a secret passage underneath.

He stood up and dusted himself off.

"But now is not the time to go down. It's too dark, and we don't know what's down there. We should wait until we've gotten to know the monkey and have it lead us around, just to be on the safe side."

"Um……"

Xiao Mingyuan and Su Man nodded at the same time.

Finally, it was Xu Qing who spoke.

"Let's go back first, get ready, prepare dry rations, ropes, and tinder. When the time is right, we'll go down and find out what's down there."

That evening, Xu Qing did not rest in the courtyard, as it still needed to be tidied up, cleaned, and arranged. Instead, she returned to the Xiao family home.

The next morning, the two had just entered the academy and hadn't even turned towards the classroom when they saw Li Yan emerge from behind a pillar.

He held a scroll in his hand, waved to the two of them, and then asked in a low voice.

Have you heard?

Xiao Mingyuan was completely bewildered by his mysterious demeanor.

"What did you hear?"

Li Yan glanced around, then pulled the two to a corner of the corridor, lowering his voice even further.

"People from Tingzhu Academy have come. They say they're not satisfied with our academy having more county exam slots than theirs every year, and they want to challenge us to a competition this year, and..."

He paused for a moment, then continued speaking.

"I heard it was arranged by Instructor Chen Chengbo, who said it was for the sake of fairness and to select the best candidates. In reality, it was just an internal county examination selection, and only those who ranked high after the exam were qualified to participate in the county examination."

Xu Qing's brow twitched, but he didn't say anything. He was already tense, and the tension in his heart was tightening even more.

After all, Li Chungang had already said that Chen Chengbo might take action regarding the number of county examination slots.

However, I didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Xiao Mingyuan cursed directly.

"Damn it, that old bastard is too cunning. He didn't mention the quota beforehand, and now he's pulling this stunt at the last minute."

Li Yan nodded. "Who says otherwise? I'd heard my uncle mention it before, that there might be such news, but I didn't expect them to launch a surprise attack. I was caught off guard today too."

The three entered the classroom, which was much quieter than usual, with a heavy atmosphere. Even the students who were usually talkative and cheerful had their heads down.

Headmaster Zou Linchuan stood behind the podium, his face not looking good, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. His teacup sat on the corner of the table, the lid off, clearly indicating he hadn't bothered to drink his tea.

Across from him sat a man in his fifties, wearing a blue cloth robe. He had a thin face and a polite smile, but beneath that smile lay a fierce determination.

This person was none other than Xue Wenyuan, the headmaster of Tingzhu Academy.

Hearing footsteps, Zou Linchuan looked up at Xu Qing, his gaze lingering on him for a moment before he nodded slightly. He then spoke, his tone more somber than usual.

"Everyone's here, let's begin."

Xue Wenyuan cleared his throat, stood up, and announced the rules of the competition.

He spoke slowly, but his pronunciation was clear.

"Songlin Academy has consistently secured twelve county-level examination slots, while Tingzhu Academy only has eight. Instructor Chen believes this disparity is unfair. Therefore, today each academy will send ten students to compete in three rounds. The examination questions are divided into three categories: calligraphy, painting, and policy essays. Students can register for each category and answer the questions voluntarily. The academy that wins in that category will be the winner. The overall competition will be best-of-three."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the audience below.

The losing side gives up half of its spots to the winning side.

These words immediately caused an uproar in the classroom.

The student in front of him stood up abruptly.

"Headmaster, this rule is unfair. We offered six spots, while they only offered four. It's clear that Songlin Academy is at a disadvantage."

Another person chimed in.

"Exactly, exactly. That way, their cost is small, while ours is large."

Zou Linchuan raised his hand and gestured for silence.

But he didn't speak immediately.

Xue Wenyuan stood there, his smile unchanged, clearly having anticipated the protests.

Just then...

Chen Chengbo walked in through the side door.

He wore a dark blue official robe, exuding an air of authority. Holding a folding fan in his hand, he strode leisurely between Zou Linchuan and Xue Wenyuan.

The tone left no room for doubt.

"This decision was made after discussions between myself and the two headmasters. Songlin Academy has a large number of places, so naturally the risks are also greater. You may have any objections, but today's competition will proceed as planned."

The audience fell silent.

Despite their dissatisfaction, Chen Chengbo's position was undeniable; he was essentially the head of the county education bureau, and no one dared to openly contradict him.

Xiao Mingyuan clenched his fist, then helplessly relaxed it.

He said in a low voice, "Look how cunning these people are, they only target things we're not good at."

Xu Qing stood beside him, her gaze fixed on Chen Chengbo's expressionless face on the side of the podium, but she remained silent.

The first question was to draw.

Zou Linchuan walked to the front and wrote a few words on the wall: