The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129: 102 Dreaming (First Update)

Steward Zhou said, “I pondered all night and felt that the request I made from Xiao was indeed a bit excessive. As the saying goes, the master can lead you to the door, but it’s up to you to master the art. Whether my young master can pass the Imperial examination depends mainly on his own fortune. But our intention to learn from Xiao is sincere! Our lord said that as long as Master Xiao is willing to go to the Provincial City, everything else can be negotiated!”

Gu Jiao glanced at him, “So, if he fails, we won’t be blamed, right?”

Steward Zhou hastily replied, “No blame, no blame!”

Gu Jiao: “The silver?”

Steward Zhou: “It will be paid as promised! We will give it when we get to the Provincial City! We won’t break our word!”

Gu Jiao said, “You can go and talk to my husband directly.”

Steward Zhou shrugged helplessly, “How could I not go? But Xiao seems to no longer want to have anything to do with us! I beg Madame Xiao to do me a favour, please take this silver first, it’s all yours, regardless of the outcome!”

Gu Jiao took the brocade box he handed over and said indifferently, “Silver or not isn’t the point, I mainly consider your favor.”

Steward Zhou: “…”

Must she make her greed sound so elegantly detached?

Steward Zhou thanked her profusely while Gu Jiao repeatedly emphasized that she was simply passing a message, not being a mediator.

Steward Zhou was all smiles, “Of course! Of course!”

Gu Jiao took the silver and went back to the village with Xiao Jingkong.

After counting, it was indeed 500 taels.

The fee for passing the message was really not small.

That evening, after Xiao Liulang finished school, Gu Jiao told him about her daytime meeting with Steward Zhou, not omitting a word or adding any embellishments.

After hearing Gu Jiao’s account, Xiao Liulang frowned slightly. It was not because he was upset that Gu Jiao had met with Steward Zhou, but because he hadn’t expected Steward Zhou to be so relentless as to track down his home.

He said, “If anyone else comes in the future, don’t easily go away with them. This time we happened to meet Steward Zhou, who is not a difficult person to deal with, but what if…”

Gu Jiao looked at him with a teasing smile, “You seem to be worried about something, do you think there will be more people looking for you?”

Xiao Liulang opened his mouth, but then closed it, pausing for a long time before finally saying, “I just want you to be careful.”

“I understand.” Gu Jiao grinned, then looked at the box of silver on the table and asked, “What do you plan to do with the Lin Family issue?”

Xiao Liulang was aware of the Lin family’s situation: it was exactly as Zhou had described. If the Lin family didn’t produce a member who could serve as an official, they would have no one to protect them in thirty years.

Of course, the Lin family could buy their way into office, but the titles they could buy were not high-ranking, and no one dared sell a position to the Lin family. Therefore, the imperial examination was indeed the Lin family’s only way forward.

It was said that the Lin family’s patriarch had almost turned himself into a breeding pig trying to father useful sons.

Xiao Liulang glanced at Gu Jiao and said, “If they don’t insist on certain results, there’s no harm in giving it a try.”

Gu Jiao also agreed. After all, it was 500 taels of silver.

Moreover, the Provincial City was much farther away from the Prefecture City. If they were to take the rural examination, they would need to set off more than a month in advance and it was uncertain whether they could find a suitable place to settle down after arriving there.

It would be much more convenient if they could stay at the Lin Residence.

Gu Jiao asked, “Will it interfere with your own studies?”

Xiao Liulang replied, “No.”

Gu Jiao remembered the dean saying that Xiao Liulang was extremely intelligent and just did not want to go to the capital to take the test. It might not be a bad thing to let him travel a bit.

Gu Jiao nodded, “Then it’s decided.”

Xiao Liulang: “Mmm.”

Just when it seemed like the matter of going to the Lin family was settled, Gu Jiao had a dream that night.

She dreamed that Xiao Liulang agreed to Steward Zhou’s proposal and proceeded to the Provincial City under the escort of Zhou and the bodyguards of the Lin family.

The Lin family was indeed sincere in their request. This should have been a secure arrangement, but as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. On their way, Xiao Liulang and his group were caught in a once-in-a-decade downpour.

The post station where Xiao Liulang was staying got flooded, and the group was scattered by the waters. Xiao Liulang managed to grab onto a floating wooden plank and saved his life, but fell severely ill as a result. By the time he was found by Zhou and his men and taken back to the Lin home, he had lost a significant amount of weight.

Luckily they left early, so even after all this delay, there were still two full months before the provincial examination.

While recuperating at the Lin residence, Xiao Liulang tutored the sixth young master of the Lin family.

The sixth young master was a well-behaved individual. He was not a genius, but he was diligent and persistent. Xiao Liulang got along with him quite well.

However, just before the provincial examination, something big happened: a cousin from a branch family of the Lin residence stayed over. She was the niece of Lady Lin, the wife of the Lin family’s patriarch.

The young woman took an instant liking to Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang, despite being crippled, had managed to win her heart, which just goes to show how devastatingly handsome this man was.

Being a decent young lady of stature, she didn’t offer herself outright at the first encounter. As it happened, the sixth young master had caught a cold.

Having made up her mind, the cousin persuaded her maiden aunt, “Given cousin’s condition, it’s doubtful he can pass the exam. Why not let Xiao Liulang take his place? Cousin can write his name, and he can write cousin’s name. That way, the odds of us passing the exam is higher.”

The young woman promised her uncle’s wife that she would willingly become Xiao Liulang’s concubine as a token of gratitude.

Lady Lin had seen it all before. What couldn’t she see through? But the cousin’s suggestion did strike a chord with her.