After entering the examination room, Li Yaonan suddenly felt a strong gaze. He turned around and met Li Yaozong's hostile gaze, which seemed to be mixed with strong hatred.
Li Yaonan was puzzled. Apart from beating him up, he didn't seem to have done anything. Everything was fine when he left the Li Mansion. Where did Li Yaozong's hatred come from now
Li Yaonan couldn't figure it out, but he didn't care. He just nodded slightly, gave him a slight smile very gracefully, and then turned around to look for his seat.
The hatred in Li Yaozong's eyes was even stronger. Li Yaonan's smile made him feel that it was a mockery. Li Yaonan was laughing at him and laughing at the fact that their whole family was being treated like fools. However, as long as he thought of Li Yaonan's failure in the imperial examination twice, his expression softened again. He made up his mind to make Li Yaonan lose his reputation and trample this bastard under his feet.
Lai Yiu Nam was not aware of Lai Yiu Chung's complicated thoughts, and even if he knew, he would not take it to heart. He would definitely pass the imperial examination this time.
The original owner had a very good foundation, but was corrupted by an old pedant. After a year of study, and with the guidance of his uncle and Lin Yixuan, if he failed to pass the imperial examination, he could just buy a piece of tofu and kill himself, let alone pass the scholar examination.
Li Yaonan's sitting position was not good, it was medium, close to the north corner of the examination room. There were deep cracks on the wall, and cool wind blew in. He felt it was a blessing, at least the air was flowing and the cubicle was cool.
As the candidates arrived one after another, the invigilator handed out the test questions not long after.
The county examination was nothing more than the Four Books and Five Classics, which the original owner had known well. But for Li Yaonan, he would rather take the policy essay test. He felt that his level of writing policy essays should be better than the Four Books and Five Classics. After all, modern people have a broader vision, while the Four Books and Five Classics require rote memorization. If the original owner did not have a solid foundation and had not passed the exam twice in a row, he would not have dared to make such a boast.
After the papers were distributed, the candidates began to study, and Li Yaonan was naturally one of them.
Looking at the students writing furiously, including a man in his sixties, his heart seemed to calm down and he picked up his pen to start answering the questions.
The county exam questions were not difficult for him. Li Yaonan paid great attention to time management. After the county exam, there were still prefectural exams and academy exams. He did not want to lose the opportunity due to health reasons.
Thanks to the original owner's two experiences, and also thanks to his cousin's mother-in-law for preparing mugwort for him, so that he would not be bothered by mosquitoes at night.
The three days passed quickly and Li Yaonan felt okay. Perhaps it was the exercise and conditioning over the past year that made his body stronger. After leaving the examination room, he was not like the other candidates, who were so tired that their faces turned pale. Some of them even fainted because they could not hold on any longer.
Li Yaonan looked at the bustling entrance of the examination room and shook his head. These things had nothing to do with him.
After returning to the inn, Li Yaonan first took a shower, then fell on the bed and fell into a deep sleep, and did not wake up until the next morning.
Compared to other students, he was in pretty good condition and felt full of energy after a good night's sleep.
Feeling a little hungry, Li Yaonan planned to go out for something to eat. Seeing that Li Youp was still sleeping, he did not disturb him and went downstairs alone.
As soon as I entered the restaurant, I unexpectedly met someone I didn't want to see.
Li Yaozong looked at him with contempt, spoke in a sarcastic tone, and his eyes were full of malice: "Hey, who is this? Why are you taking the exam again? I advise you to give it a rest to avoid embarrassment. Some people don't even know how to respect their parents. What's the point of studying and taking the exam? Living is just a waste of food. It's disgusting."
Li Yaonan raised his eyebrows. This was a restaurant near the Fulai Inn. Seeing Li Yaozong at this time, he couldn't help but wonder if this man was waiting for him here specially.
Seeing the people around him whispering, Li Yaonan understood Li Yaozong's intention very well. Wasn't he just trying to ruin his reputation? That also depended on whether he had the ability to do it. As expected, what kind of man teaches his son, just like Ma Yulian's method.
Li Yaonan pretended to be surprised and frowned, saying, "What do you mean by that? My parents died young and I never saw them. How can I say that I am disrespecting them? Besides, we should learn until we die. If I fail the imperial examination twice in a row, I cannot take the examination for the title of scholar. Where do you think the vast majority of students can stand?"
As Li Yaonan spoke, his eyes looked around the restaurant with a half-smile in them, and finally fell on a candidate who was over 50 years old.
As expected, the old gentleman's face darkened immediately, and he glared at Li Yaozong: "Don't be so presumptuous, you little brat. This is a quiet place for students, and you are not allowed to talk nonsense."
Lai Yiu-chung obviously did not expect this to happen and his face turned red.
Lai Yiu-nam explained it very clearly, he didn't even have parents, and Lai Yiu-chung's accusation that he was unfilial was clearly a slander. What's more, there were so many students in the world, but how many of them could get into high school in one go? Lai Yiu-chung's words offended half of the people in the restaurant.
Li Yaozong stared at Li Yaonan angrily, secretly regretting that he had been so careless. No wonder his mother said that this little beast was cunning and deceitful.
At this time, a classmate beside him stood up, looked at Li Yaonan righteously, and said unhappily: "Although you have been adopted, you are still the son of the Li family, and Zhongde is also your brother. Have you ever missed them, thought about them, and been humble to your brothers? I think what Zhongde said is right. People like you who are unfilial to your parents are simply insulting the sage books."
Zhongde is the courtesy name of Li Yaozong.
Li Yaonan's expression was restrained, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "I ask myself if I have done justice to my parents. I would like to ask this brother, where did I go wrong? Please give me some advice. Since you are familiar with the books of sages, you should know that gossips are rampant. If you don't have real evidence, please be careful with your words."
The scholar was choked and his face turned green with anger. He thought that Zhang Dangyuan was also a well-known talent in Qingshan College, but today he was said to be a gossiper. How could he gain a foothold among the students in the future? Most importantly, Li Yaonan's words made him unable to refute, because he only heard Li Yaozong mention these things, and he didn't know the details, so how could he give examples to explain them. What's more, what he said was completely unreasonable. If an adopted son still missed his biological parents, I dare to ask, how many people in this world would be willing to be adopted
But he couldn't not refute it, otherwise his clear conscience would be ruined by this gossipy woman. Zhang Dangyuan raised his head and straightened his chest, accusing her righteously: "I heard that there was no news for a year after you were adopted. I know your parents are worried. Even if you were the son of another family, there is no need to be so heartless."
The people around them immediately realized that this was someone else's family affair, and they all put on an expression of watching a good show.
Li Yaonan was polite and courteous, not showing any anger at all, and said calmly: "This brother is wrong. I did not refuse to visit my uncle and aunt. I think you have misunderstood. Remember not to listen to one side or believe it. Otherwise, even if you become an official, how can you benefit the people?"
Li Yaonan's words hit the nail on the head, from the level of being unfilial to the issue of whether one can be a good official. If this scholar cannot turn the situation around, with so many people here today, and all of them are students, if this matter gets out, his future will be ruined, and he will never be able to get rid of the label of being a credulous person.
Li Yaonan only believes in one saying: to be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself. Since Zhang Dangyuan comes here to ask for a beating, don't blame him for being unkind.
"You..." Zhang Dangyuan was so angry that he was shaking all over, pointing at Li Yaonan and unable to speak.
Seeing his classmate lose, Li Yaozong was furious and glared at Li Yaonan fiercely: "You are talking nonsense. My mother is bedridden because of you, and my grandmother's old illness has relapsed. You are an unfaithful and unfilial person, don't even think of making excuses."
Li Yaonan just looked at him gently and persuaded him softly: "Yaozong, although I was adopted, we are still of the same clan. Why are you making things so difficult for me? I am very worried about my wife's illness, but since I was driven out of the Li Mansion, I haven't visited you for a year. What does this have to do with me?"
Oh! The people around were shocked. It turned out that he was not refused to come, but was driven out. This scholar looked upright and handsome. What had he done wrong that even his own parents wanted to drive him away
Some people were thinking that since this student had spoken out about such a big scandal openly, there must be something else going on.
"Pah!" Li Yaozong was completely furious. He pointed at Li Yaonan's nose and cursed: "That folding fan screen with fish playing with lotus flowers is a fake. It caused my mother to be scolded when she gave a gift and she was bedridden for three months..."
Li Yaonan suddenly realized what was going on. He was saying, no wonder Li Yaozong was so angry when he saw him. It turned out that this was the problem. He pretended to be puzzled and asked, "If I remember correctly, the folding fan screen with fish playing in lotus flowers seems to be my husband's dowry. How could it be taken by my wife as a gift? Did you make a mistake?"
Li Yaozong knew at this time that he had said the wrong thing, but he couldn't take it back. He thought that Li Yaonan had a bad temper and would definitely lose his temper when he heard his sarcasm. At most, he would beat him up. This was a restaurant, and there were students from all over the place around. If Li Yaonan really attacked him, although he would be injured a little, Li Yaonan's reputation would be ruined. No matter how knowledgeable he was, the examiner would definitely look down on him, and he would never be able to raise his head in this life.
The idea was good, but he never expected that Li Yaonan would be so eloquent, and he himself was a little impatient. Now that the matter has been settled, no matter how he defends himself, he is wrong. If he admits it, why is the dowry of his nephew's husband in the family in the hands of the Li family? If he doesn't admit it, then he is just talking nonsense.
In fact, he didn't know that last time Li Yaonan beat him up for an excuse, but today, no matter how much he talked, in public, Li Yaonan would never touch a hair on his head. He would only belittle him, step on him, beat him, and torture him from the bottom of his heart. So, he had made a wrong calculation from the beginning.
After hearing this, everyone around understood everything. Although Li Yaonan's words were evasive, it was precisely because of this that they believed more in the facts they had imagined. It turned out that the biological parents had seized the husband's dowry, so the student did not come to visit. It was understandable when they thought about it this way. What's more, he was an adopted son and had no relationship with his biological parents. It was okay to cut off contact with them. Although it would seem a little unfeeling, if you traced it back to the root cause, there was actually nothing wrong with it.
Zhang Dangyuan was full of regret. He was the one who suffered the most this time. The dispute between Li Yaonan and Li Yaozong could be called a dispute of personal pride, but he was singled out as a gossiper and was also biased. It would have been fine at first, but the most hateful thing was that after a subsequent conversation, this reputation was confirmed. Zhang Dangyuan hated Li Yaozong as well. He had meant to help him out of kindness because they were classmates, but who knew it would end up like this.
It is easy to ruin a person's reputation, but it takes ten times or a hundred times more effort to improve it. Zhang Dangyuan had a gloomy face and glared at Li Yaonan and Li Yaozong with resentment. He flicked his sleeves and turned away.
Li Yaonan felt no guilt about this. Since Zhang Dangyuan couldn't understand the situation, he would be a disaster if he went to the officialdom, and might even bring trouble to his whole family. If he could pass this hurdle, then congratulations, you will be successful in the future. Li Yaonan felt that he had actually done a good thing.
If Zhang Dangyuan was a smart man, he would have apologized right now and this chapter would have been over. However, he left in a rage. Even if such a person was in the officialdom, he would not go too far. Li Yaonan did not care about that little bit of hatred at all.
Li Yaozong was so angry that he didn't know how to defend himself when he saw people around him pointing fingers at him. He stamped his feet in hatred and could only leave in shame. He would wait until the test results came out. He didn't believe that Li Yaonan could still soar to the sky this time after failing the test twice. He would take revenge for both the new and old grudges!
The play was wonderful. Li Yaonan's eloquence left a deep impression on everyone. During the meal, several students came up to him and started a conversation.
Li Yaonan was accustomed to all kinds of occasions. He had elegant manners and humorous conversation, and he quickly got along with everyone.
Apart from this little incident, the meal was quite good.
Back at the inn, Li Youp was talking to someone in the lobby. Li Yaonan went up to him to find out what had happened to make Li Yaozong so angry.
Li Youp smiled mysteriously at him, made a gesture to keep quiet, said goodbye to his friend, found a quiet place, and then told him the story.
It turned out that during the Chinese New Year, Ma Yulian gave gifts to her eldest son in the capital and the prefect of Yangzhou. Naturally, she chose all good things, but they were found to be fakes. Not only was Ma Yulian embarrassed, but she was also severely scolded by the prefect's wife. Li Taian also had a difficult time in the yamen. Ma Yulian had no choice but to give the prefect of Yangzhou 30,000 taels of silver as an apology.
It was only 30,000 taels, so the Li family should not be in financial difficulty. However, he had heard that the Li family had actually sold an ancestral property. He did not know the details, but he knew that the Li family was having a hard time. The old lady was really ill, and Ma Yulian was in good spirits, taking over the power of the family.
Li Yaonan thought for a moment and understood immediately. Li Youp was unaware of the situation, but he knew that his husband had cheated the Li family before he left, and now he had to pay the prefect 30,000 taels. Tsk tsk...
No wonder his name was so famous on the way to Suzhou. The Li family must have contributed a lot to it. They must have hated him and his husband so much that they did everything they could to ruin his reputation.
But no matter how corrupt they are, they cannot lie in the face of facts.
Regarding the current situation of the Li Mansion, Li Yaonan grinned and uttered one word: "It's what you deserve!"