Chapter 302: Make Up a Charge and Lock Him Up First

Chapter 302: Make Up a Charge and Lock Him Up First

The Tan Household.

Madam Tang, Tan's wife, looked at her son lying weakly on the bed, her heart aching so much that tears kept falling.

Her son, who once had the grace of Pan An (a legendary handsome man) and the talent of Cao Zhi (a renowned poet), had gone into the examination hall and come back half-dead.

The Tan Prefect's face turned as dark as a storm cloud: "How could this happen?!"

Tan Jingqian opened his eyes, his face filled with resentment.

Thinking about it from another angle, he said bitterly, "...Someone must have poisoned me, trying to harm me and eliminate me as the strongest competitor!"

A glint of anger flashed in the Tan Prefect's eyes.

His eldest son had always been quite renowned for his literary talent in the prefecture. There were even bets being placed in the streets, with the odds of his eldest son winning the top scholar being one to one!

Who? Who on earth!

Who would dare frame the son of a prefect!

Tan Shaomeng also looked shocked: "Who! Who could be so vicious?!"

Tan Jingqian recalled the scene he saw when he exited the gate.

His younger brother was chatting and laughing with Yu Yongliu and his companions.

He looked at Tan Shaomeng and gave a sarcastic smile: "...Shaomeng, weren't you enjoying yourself chatting with them earlier?"

Madam Tan and the Prefect immediately turned to Tan Shaomeng.

Tan Shaomeng looked puzzled: "Big brother, who are you talking about?"

Tan Jingqian closed his eyes, coughed a few times, and said weakly, "...In the entire prefecture, if I'm second in talent, no one dares claim first. Only that person... Grand Scholar Liu's last disciple."

At this point, Tan Shaomeng remembered something.

Previously, the family had learned that Grand Scholar Liu had retired within the prefecture. The family was thrilled and quickly prepared lavish gifts, along with Tan Jingqian's usual essays, and respectfully went to the Liu family villa, hoping Grand Scholar Liu could spare time to guide his elder brother's studies.

However, Grand Scholar Liu politely declined and returned all the gifts, saying that he was old and lacked the energy, fearing that he might delay the young master's studies.

After all, the Tan Prefect was a fifth-rank official (a mid-level government position). Although Grand Scholar Liu had retired, he couldn't force someone to teach his son without losing face, so the matter was left at that.

Who would have thought that later, rumors spread that Grand Scholar Liu had taken on another disciple!

And it was said to be a villager, whose family had always been simple farmers!

This incident had truly shaken Tan Jingqian.

He vowed to excel in the exams to make Grand Scholar Liu regret his decision.

Tan Shaomeng finally realized: "...Big brother, are you saying that Yu Yongliu is the one who harmed you?"

He gasped, unable to believe it.

The Tan Prefect's anger boiled over.

He asked Tan Jingqian with a dark face: "Do you have any evidence? Even the smallest bit will do, and I'll have that Yu guy locked up right away!"

Tan Jingqian shook his head in frustration: "...I know it must be him who drugged me, but this is also what I can't figure out. When did he drug me? I've been extremely careful with my food and drink..."

Madam Tan was shaking with rage: "It's the Yujia family, isn't it? ...Even without evidence, it doesn't matter. Just come up with a charge, arrest him first, and lock him up for a few days!"

How could that Yu guy harm her son, who is as handsome as Pan An, to such a state that he looks neither here nor there!

When the doctor came to examine him earlier, his serious look nearly made her faint.

Fortunately, the doctor didn't give any devastating diagnosis, only saying that it was dehydration and exhaustion, and that he needed to stay hydrated and eat well, and rest properly.

Otherwise, Madam Tan might have gone after that Yu guy with everything she had!

Prefect Tan was upset and scolded Madam Tan in a low voice: "If you don't know what you're talking about, keep quiet! ...That Yu Yongliu is also a top candidate for this year's imperial examination. If we arrest him without evidence, given my relationship with Jingqian, others will only think I'm being biased! If political enemies use this against me, our whole family could be ruined!"

Madam Tan twisted her handkerchief in frustration and fell silent.

Tan Shaomeng was still having a hard time accepting it.

That Yu Yongliu, just like the refined scholars you read about in books, how could he possibly do such a vicious thing?

But his elder brother was so sure of it...

Tan Shaomeng looked at his elder brother, weak and wasted away on the bed, and his mother's red eyes and silent tears. He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to confront them! How could they do such a thing?!"

With that, Tan Shaomeng ran out.

At this moment, both Madam Tan and Prefect Tan were overwhelmed with grief and anger over their son being harmed so badly, and had no energy to pay attention to Tan Shaomeng.

As for Tan Jingqian, he was also on edge and couldn't be bothered with his single-minded younger brother.

...

In the Yujia courtyard.

Bai Ge'er had already set up hot water and fresh clothes for Liu Ge'er.

The clothes had just been laundered, dried, and neatly folded by the old woman, and still carried the fresh scent of soapberries.

The main room boasted a table laden with exquisite dishes, all top-notch nourishing foods.

Three bowls of bird's nest soup, the kind that even many wealthy families in the capital couldn't afford to eat often.

A hearty bowl of chicken soup with aged ginseng, made with the old ginseng that Xingxing had picked from a remote mountain valley when she visited the nameless Taoist temple. The quality was excellent—in the past, when they were short on money, such high-quality ginseng would have been sold. But now, with many men in the Yujia family and plenty of money, there was no need to sell the ginseng for cash.

Xingxing handed the aged ginseng over to Wei Pozi and Yu Laotou, telling them to keep it for nourishing their health.

Wei Pozi and Yu Laotou couldn't bring themselves to consume it and had kept this century-old ginseng as a treasure. This time, when Xingxing accompanied Liu Ge'er to the exam, Wei Pozi cut a piece of the long, thick ginseng and had Xingxing bring it along, so that after Liu Ge'er finished the exam, they could nourish him well.

While Liu Ge'er was washing up in the room, Xingxing was swinging in the courtyard, waiting for him.

When Liu Ge'er finished washing, Xingxing jumped off the swing and went up to him, looking him over from left to right, then smiled and said, "Alright, now you look like my dashing third brother once more, just like the elegant scholars in the storybooks."

Liu Ge'er smiled dotingly and reached out to remove a fallen leaf from Xingxing's hair.

The siblings shared a smile bathed in sunlight.

The sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves of the phoenix tree in the courtyard, evenly bathing the two of them, as if they were surrounded by a halo of light.

Bai Ge'er, observing from the main room, felt a deep sense of peace.

He called them in to eat with a smile.

As the three siblings ate, Bai Ge'er nonchalantly shared the findings of his recent investigation with Liu Ge'er in detail.

After listening, Liu Ge'er's face showed no strong emotions, and he simply nodded: "Second brother, I understand."