After wearing it: I traded a pig for a man.

"Really? This young lady treated more than a dozen students to ice jelly yesterday at noon."

"Yes, my son ate a bowl at noon, so it didn't cost any money."

This made Zhou Yulan even angrier.

Outsiders can eat for free, but her son can't? Isn't this a blatant slap in the face?

"Jiang Yunning. You have money to treat outsiders to meals, yet you're harming your own family like this?" Zhou Yulan put her hands on her hips, wishing she could pounce on her and tear her apart.

"I'm neither his father nor his mother. If he eats my food, he has to pay. Besides, your son brought his own people and said he wanted to treat them. He ate sixteen bowls and doesn't want to pay. Is he trying to eat my food?"

Jiang Yun Ning rolled her eyes but didn't stop her from continuing to make a scene.

He had already seen the scheming in Jiang Youcai's eyes and knew that today's visit was definitely not as simple as just scolding her.

"You! My son is a student of the Imperial Examination! He'll definitely pass the lowest level of the Imperial Examination this year. You should be grateful for the few bowls of ice jelly the scholar ate from you!" Zhou Yulan ignored Jiang Youcai's attempts to pull her away and rushed forward to smash the stall.

But anyone could tell that the pulling and tugging was just for show.

Jiang Che frowned and kicked out as the person rushed towards him. He held back his strength, but Zhou Yulan was still knocked back quite a distance before falling to the ground.

"Ah!" Zhou Yulan wailed incessantly. "It hurts so much! It's killing me!"

She lay on the ground, pounding her fists on the earth. The sound was so shrill it sounded like her legs were broken.

Jiang Youcai gave her an approving look. But soon, he asked in a flustered tone, "Oh dear, Yulan, are you alright?"

Jiang Yun Ning crossed his arms, shaking his head as he said, "No, no, your emotions are off. You should just rush over and hug her, then say, 'Wife! Don't die! How can I live if you die?'"

She learned it so well that she even acted more convincingly than Jiang Youcai.

The onlookers burst into laughter.

Jiang Youcai's face turned cold, and he stopped dwelling on these matters.

"You injured someone! Pay me back, fifty taels of silver!"

He guessed that Jiang Yuning definitely couldn't carry that many.

"It's so expensive! What am I going to do if I don't have that much money?" Jiang Yun Ning looked terrified and grabbed Jiang Che's hand. "What should we do, Jiang Che? Why don't you go to jail?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Youcai hurriedly said, "We're family. How can your second uncle see you living like a widow at such a young age? Here's what we'll do: give me the ice jelly recipe. I'll take a loss and consider it payment for the fifty taels."

His helpless expression did indeed give off a sense of "being taken advantage of".

Jiang Yun Ning almost burst out laughing: "No way. Second Uncle, let Jiang Che go to jail instead."

She turned to look at Jiang Che, and from an angle where Jiang Youcai couldn't see, winked at him: "You're willing, right?"

Jiang Che's eyes darted away, then he nodded: "Okay. I'll go."

Jiang Youcai panicked: "No, please. I'll offer another twenty taels. If you sell me the formula, I'll let bygones be bygones for what happened today."

He only wanted the prescription; he had no intention of sending Jiang Che to jail.

Otherwise, if word gets out, he, as an elder, will have to force the younger generation to go to jail. How can he face people then?

By this time, many students were already walking towards the stall at the college gate. Jiang Youcai became even more anxious, wanting to finish quickly and slip away.

But Jiang Yun Ning seemed to be deliberately stalling for time, hesitating and refusing to speak.

Until Shen Yan and his teacher came over.

"Master, you must try it." He grinned and stretched out his arm, inviting the master to walk ahead: "This ice jelly is refreshing and cooling; a bowl of it will dispel all the summer heat."

Master Zhang nodded.

He knew Shen Yan's father, so he inevitably indulged Shen Yan to some extent, letting him bring him to try this new thing.

Shen Yan blinked quickly at Jiang Yun Ning.

Jiang Yun Ning quietly gave a thumbs up, but before she could give any further eye contact, Jiang Che had already blocked her way.

"Master, please have a taste." He calmly ladled out the ice jelly, but glared fiercely at Shen Yan.

Master Zhang took two bites and nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, Jiang Youcai recognized the teacher in front of him as the teacher of Jiang Qiusheng and Jiang Qiuyu, and immediately dared not cause any more trouble.

If this affects the teacher's impression of Jiang Qiusheng and Jiang Qiuyu, and rumors spread, the two of them will be left without anyone to vouch for them, and they will directly lose their qualification to take the imperial examination.

Not worth the candle.

"Master," Jiang Yun Ning leaned closer, "Are you Jiang Qiu Sheng's master?"

Master Zhang nodded: "What is it?"

Jiang Youcai and Zhou Yulan exchanged a glance, their ominous premonition growing stronger.

"Damn it!" Jiang Youcai instinctively felt that he had been tricked. Jiang Yunning must have guessed that he would come to cause trouble today.

But it was too late; Jiang Yuning had already begun to complain, sounding aggrieved.

"Jiang Qiusheng brought some people to my place yesterday. They ate sixteen bowls of ice jelly and didn't want to pay. I run a small business and can't afford to suffer like this."

She kept her head down, occasionally raising her hand to wipe away non-existent tears.

"I begged and pleaded, and finally got my money back. But today, his parents are coming to smash up my stall."

Shen Yan blinked.

Please pray again and again?

If he hadn't been standing here yesterday, I really would have believed it.

Master Zhang was furious and looked at Shen Yan: "Is this really true?"

Shen Yan nodded: "Brother Jiang did indeed...act unethically."

He didn't say yes, but only that Jiang Qiusheng's actions were unethical.

Jiang Che released his hand from Jiang Youcai's mouth and rubbed it against his pants in disgust.

"Master."

Jiang Youcai, now free, immediately ran over: "This is a family matter, it's all a misunderstanding. I'm her second uncle, how could I possibly ruin her business?"

Jiang Yuning put on a very convincing performance as a bullied, weak woman. She pinched her thigh to squeeze out a few tears that clung to her eyelashes. She didn't want to blink, as if she was afraid they would fall and disappear.

"Back then, my family was in trouble and needed money. Didn't you, Second Uncle, come to my house early in the morning to sever ties with us? And you asked for more than forty taels of silver."

Although it's an IOU.

She looked up, appearing as if she had been bullied but had nowhere to seek justice. She wanted to say something, but after opening her mouth, she held it back and buried herself in Jiang Che's arms with a look of suppressed resentment.

"Husband, let's go. My two cousins ​​from my second uncle's family are both students who have passed the preliminary examinations and will be taking the county-level examinations in the future. We can't afford to offend them."

Jiang Che's body stiffened, his Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he reached out to support her trembling back.

"Okay. Let's go home."

At this moment, Jiang Yun Ning's face was full of smiles, and her hands kept touching Jiang Che's abs.

I finally touched it!

Master Zhang angrily flicked his sleeves: "Take the imperial examination for the lowest degree? Humph, someone of such character dares to expect me to vouch for him? Even if he were to miraculously pass the exam, wouldn't that ruin my reputation for life?"

Jiang Youcai's face turned pale instantly.

Before he could explain anything further, Master Zhang had already turned and left.

Shen Yan waved to Jiang Che and hurriedly followed.

It wasn't that I wanted to plead for Jiang Qiusheng, I just wanted to see what would happen to him.

"The Master has left." Jiang Che's face flushed red.

He wasn't unaware of the hands groping his body. But Jiang Yun Ning liked it, and he wished he could take off his clothes and let her touch him.

But now, the timing and the occasion are both wrong.

Jiang Yun Ning left his embrace, her serious expression making Jiang Che almost doubt whether the sensation he had just felt was just his imagination.

"Jiang Yunning!" Jiang Youcai was really going to cause trouble this time, and walked towards her.

The moment he raised his arm, Jiang Che had already grabbed Jiang Yun Ning's waist and pulled him back, then kicked him away.

With a gloomy face, he looked at the still-reluctant Jiang Youcai and said, "Go find the teacher now, maybe you can still save your other son."

Hearing this, Zhou Yulan, who had been in a daze, gradually felt hope rekindle in her empty eyes.

She quickly grabbed Jiang Youcai: "Hurry, there's Qiuyu too. Qiuyu is a good boy."

Jiang Youcai opened his mouth, gritted his teeth, and ran into the academy.