"Brother, are you out of your mind? You’re asking me for money?"

Mr. Gu went to the Clan Leader’s house to hint that Gu Ruinian will surely pass the scholar exam this time, and then asked to borrow money from the Clan Leader.

Five taels is not a small amount, the Clan Leader felt a bit of pain, so he came up with an idea for Mr. Gu.

"Your eldest grandson and Ruinian are taking the exam together, and when the results are out in a few days, they might both pass as scholars. Your eldest wouldn’t prepare celebration money and a banquet? You don’t even need to spend this money yourself."

Mr. Gu said, "You know how my eldest daughter-in-law is, would she be willing to give Ruinian anything?"

The Clan Leader knocked on his pipe and said slowly, "It’s simple. On the day the results are announced, we’ll open the ancestral hall. Welcome everyone into the ancestral hall and receive the scholar list in front of the ancestors. At that time, in front of so many people, your eldest daughter-in-law won’t have a choice but to spread the money. Since Ruinian and Jingzhe are receiving the list together, the money spread around will be the celebratory money for both of them."

"Not only the money, you also save on the banquet. The banquet hosted by your eldest will have a share for Ruinian, anyway in everyone’s eyes, both your grandsons are scholars, who hosts the banquet is for both of them."

This idea is good.

Mr. Gu laughed, suddenly realizing that if Gu Jingzhe didn’t pass as a scholar, he’d be worried for nothing.

The Clan Leader noticed Mr. Gu’s concern and said, "Brother, don’t worry. Jingzhe will definitely pass this time as a scholar, otherwise why would Mr. Su be visiting your eldest house so frequently? Rest assured."

The Clan Leader didn’t actually want Jingzhe to pass as a scholar.

He said this only to settle Mr. Gu’s heart, to dispel Mr. Gu’s thought of borrowing money from him.

Borrowing money, borrowing money, he already lent Mr. Gu five taels and doesn’t know when it’ll be returned.

The Clan Leader’s words made Mr. Gu smile widely.

Although he’s not fond of the eldest’s family, Gu Jingzhe is his legitimate grandson. If Gu Jingzhe succeeds, having two scholars in the family would naturally make him happy.

As long as Jingzhe’s results don’t surpass Ruinian’s, he’d wish for Jingzhe to do well too.

Mr. Gu’s smile pierced the Clan Leader’s heart. That distant cousin got incredibly lucky, both scholars of the Gu Family are from his house.

The Clan Leader felt it was an unpleasant situation, hoping Gu Family produces a scholar would give him face, yet hoping not all scholars come from Mr. Gu’s house, especially wishing Jingzhe would fail.

"Alright, let’s just wait for the day the results are out."

Mr. Gu left the Clan Leader’s house delighted, purposely taking a detour through the fields.

At this time, every household had someone in the fields pulling weeds or watering the wheat fields.

Seeing Mr. Gu, everyone greeted him, and the conversation always revolved around how his two grandsons are promising scholars, and the words were filled with envy, jealousy, and admiration.

"Grandfather, when will the results be out?"

"Soon, soon."

"Once you have two scholar grandsons, you should set up a few tables and invite the villagers to celebrate."

"That’s for sure."

"I heard Ruinian might even get the top score."

"We can’t say for sure, we’ll know once the results are out."

Mr. Gu cheerfully responded to everyone, straightening his back as he walked home.

He wished the day of the results would come quickly, just how glorious would he be then.

"Grandfather."

Gu Jingzhe was in the wheat field with hired workers watering the land, seeing Mr. Gu coming, he walked from the field to the ridge to greet him.

Mr. Gu frowned.

This grandson was already a child student, why was he working in the fields like a common farmer, it’s disgraceful for a scholar.

Mr. Gu sternly said, "Why are you working in the fields yourself, it’s unbecoming of a scholar?"

Gu Jingzhe didn’t argue, saying, "Grandfather, you might not know, even our magistrate Lord Yao works in the fields himself. He said a scholar walking the path of the imperial examinations should understand farm work in the future."

Mr. Gu’s expression softened.

"How did you do on the exam?" Mr. Gu asked with concern.

After Gu Jingzhe and Gu Ruinian returned from the provincial city, Mr. Gu naturally was concerned about Gu Jingzhe’s exam, but Ruinian had captured his attention, inadvertently neglecting Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe said, "I finished it all, but how well I did will depend on the examiners."

This grandson wasn’t as confident as Gu Ruinian.

Mr. Gu felt a mixture of emotions.

Mr. Gu didn’t know whether to be happy or not, he didn’t want Jingzhe to do better than Ruinian, but that didn’t mean he wanted Jingzhe to fail.

"Jingzhe, tell grandfather the truth, what happened to Ruinian’s face?"

Mr. Gu originally wanted to ask Jingzhe what happened in the provincial city with Ruinian, now that he met him, he naturally asked.

At the time, Ruinian was beaten by the third young master of the Xie Family until he was near death, and after waking up at Gu Dashu’s place, he frantically slapped himself, crying about being young and reckless, regretting visiting the brothel, pleading Jingzhe and Gu Dashu to keep his troubles in the city a secret.

To Tong Huaqiong, Gu Jingzhe told the truth, but for the old house, he naturally wouldn’t, or else they’d blame him.

Hearing Mr. Gu ask about Ruinian, Gu Jingzhe said, "On the exam day, the carriage went crazy and threw him out."

The same as Ruinian said.

Mr. Gu lamented, "You and Dashu, why didn’t you have him ride with you? He’s your cousin, breaking bones, but still connected by tendons. Even if you’re dissatisfied with your second uncle, Ruinian hasn’t wronged you, you should have looked after him in the city, not let him go to the exam alone."

Gu Jingzhe sneered internally.

Grandfather was amusing, if he knew what his dear grandson did in the city, he’d be furious.

To avoid any troubles, Gu Jingzhe decided to keep Ruinian’s affairs under wraps for now.

Gu Jingzhe retorted angrily, "Grandfather, you know Ruinian doesn’t want to share a place with me, afraid I’d steal his knowledge. Who knew the carriage would go crazy, it’s been years without incident."

Mr. Gu was displeased, saying, "Don’t think of Ruinian so badly. He didn’t want to bother you and Dashu, so he stayed in a hotel. Being thrown from the carriage, it must have been some young master’s doing, afraid of him scoring the top. Taking advantage of the chaos, they struck."

Mr. Gu sneered, luckily Ruinian had great fortune, not only unharmed during exams but performed well.

Gu Jingzhe twitched his mouth, agreeing, "Right, right, I heard Ruinian did very well, he’s bound to pass as a scholar."

Mr. Gu was satisfied, hearing Gu Jingzhe say Ruinian did well, they must have exchanged information in private.

Mr. Gu began to see Jingzhe favorably, reminding him, "Stay in the village these days and wait for the results. I arranged with the Clan Leader, on the result day, we’ll open the ancestral hall for this grand occasion of having two scholars in the family."

Gu Jingzhe thought, Mr. Gu was really confident, as if having two scholars in the Gu Family was a sure thing.