Chapter 955: Are You a Rat?

Elder Xu was very pleased upon hearing this and praised, "Not easy, indeed. During the county examination, you collapsed right after returning home."

He lay in bed for two days before recovering, and this time, he couldn’t even come out for three days during the Prefecture Examination. He was always worried that Brother Ming would faint in the exam hall, but it turned out he was fine. There’s progress, there’s progress.

Xu Zhao Ming smiled and said, "Thanks to Brother Gu’s reminder, otherwise, your grandson also would have fainted."

More than that, while waiting in line to enter the Ritual Room, Good Brother An even sprayed some potion on his sleeve. Whenever he felt dizzy and wanted to vomit while in the Ritual Room, smelling his sleeve would clear his head quickly.

Having heard this, Elder Xu held Good Brother An’s hand and said, "Good Brother An, it’s all thanks to you. In the future, when you go to the capital to take the exam, you must watch out for each other."

His own grandson is truly a young master, with no equal to Gu Jin’an in terms of dealing with people and handling unexpected situations. If not for Gu Jin’an’s care, he would not be at ease letting only servants accompany him to the capital for the exam.

Gu Jin’an smiled and was about to speak when a sneering voice suddenly interjected: "Hmph, going to the capital for the exam? We don’t even know if you’ll pass the Prefecture Examination yet, and you are already dreaming of going to the capital? Such a beautiful dream, careful you don’t hit your head."

Elder Xu was not pleased to hear this; right after exiting the Ritual Room, they were cursed at in such a manner. If this were Tianfu County, he would have surely raised his cane to hit whoever spoke those words.

But here in the prefecture, Elder Xu restrained himself for fear of offending someone of notable rank.

Xu Zhao Ming’s face also turned unpleasant upon hearing this, but after his experience with Gu Jin’an, he had learned to be restrained and was no longer as impulsive as he used to be.

Gu Jin’an did not want to engage with that person, instead, he respectfully bowed to Scholar Shang and said: "I am sorry for worrying you, Master. This time, the Prefecture Examination went smoothly for me."

Hearing this, the person started ridiculing again: "Smoothly? If it weren’t for you, would we have had to light oil lamps late at night to do the papers? And you still dare say smooth!"

Brother Cheng was infuriated hearing this, and asked the person: "Who are you? Does my big brother know you? Why are you acting like a mouse gnawing at a wooden post, constantly squeaking in our ears?"

The person was so angry at this comment that he nearly fell backward and pointed at Brother Cheng, saying, "Little brat, who are you calling a mouse?"

Brother Cheng replied, "Whoever is always squeaking in our ears is the mouse."

"You, you..." The person was so incensed he nearly couldn’t speak, and after calming down, sneered, "Turns out you all come from the same vulgar family fleeing from hardships. I am a scholar; I won’t stoop to your level!"

Brother Cheng, being sly, keenly observed the person’s attire and humbly asked, "This big brother, judging by your aura, may I ask which noble family you hail from?"

The question left the person stunned, and his expression became unnatural.

Someone nearby laughed and said, "What noble family? Lv Bai is just an impoverished examinee from Yujiang County; his family sells breakfast at the market."

Upon hearing this, all the surrounding examinees burst into laughter.

One of them, not content with watching the drama unfold without adding more fuel, remarked, "I thought he hailed from some renowned family, turns out he’s just a common vagabond."

Lv Bai’s face turned crimson upon hearing this, and he pointed at the examinee who exposed his background, saying, "Yao Youqian, you’re becoming a gossipy old woman. You mock my family’s lack of status, but what about yours? Your family collects night soil in Yujiang County; what right do you have to speak against me!"

He continued, "Your family is even driven mad by money and named you ’Youqian’ (rich). Your name really disgraces a scholar’s integrity."

Yao Youqian laughed, "To hell with integrity. My name, given by my grandfather, is loud and grand. What, does it offend you? Just deafen yourself then."

"So what if my family collects night soil? I’m proud of it; I even help my grandpa and dad with it, unlike you, playing the noble son since you were eight. You don’t help your parents in their stall, and you’re ashamed of your family background, never mentioning your street vendor origins to others, fearing they’ll know your family sells breakfast."

Lv Bai, infuriated upon hearing this, dared not vent at Yao Youqian anymore.

The two families have lived in Yujiang County for generations; they grew up knowing each other. Yao Youqian knew how many buckets of night soil Lv Bai’s family collects each month. If Lv Bai dared cross Yao Youqian again, Yao Youqian could publicly share that Lv Bai had diarrhea from nerves before the Prefecture Examination.

Lv Bai pointed at Yao Youqian and said, "I won’t argue with you!"

Then turned to Gu Jin’an and said, "Don’t think just because your family has some dirty money you can look down on people. You are the one responsible for the delay in the Prefecture Examination, and don’t you dare deny it!"

When has my family ever looked down on people because of money? Isn’t it you who’s been yapping all along?

Gu Jin’an, who also has a temper—and a considerable one at that—didn’t initially want to argue with this person, but seeing as he continued, he sneered, "My family indeed has money. If you’re unhappy, go earn some yourself and stop spending your parents’ silver. Once you’ve earned more than my family, I’ll respectfully call you Old Master."

He continued, "Regarding the Prefecture Examination, you don’t need to tell me this; if you have the guts, go cry to Lord Magistrate now."

Brother Cheng nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes, this big brother keeps complaining about the Prefecture Examination. He must be real dissatisfied with it. Since the chief examiner is Lord Magistrate, big brother should go dispute it with him."

Go ahead, go on, if you dare, I’ll respect you as a real man.

Lv Bai wouldn’t dare go to Lord Magistrate to argue; doing so would surely ruin his future.

Seeing that there was no advantage to be had, Lv Bai could only threaten, "Gu, just you wait, I will definitely become the top of the county, and I won’t let a son of a disobedient commoner like you represent He’an Prefecture in the imperial examination!"

Gu Dashan’s face turned pale upon hearing this; the Old Gu Family’s matters still affected Brother An.

Gu Jin’an’s demeanor turned chilly as he grabbed the departing Lv Bai and said, "Since you are so capable, how about we make a bet?"

Bet?

Lv Bai had heard of Gu Jin’an’s talents and was somewhat afraid, yet now on the spot, he could only stiffen his neck and ask, "What kind of bet, and what are the stakes?"

Gu Jin’an stated, "Let’s bet on who becomes the top of the county. If you win, you can make any request you like. But if you lose, you’ll stand in front of the government office for a day, shouting ’I am from common origins, my family are street vendors.’"

Since Lv Bai looked down on his own origins, Gu Jin’an would make him face what he most avoided.

Upon hearing this, Lv Bai indeed turned pale, but Gu Jin’an’s offer that he could make any request if he won was far too tempting to refuse: "Alright, that’s settled!"

Finishing, he yanked his hand back fiercely. Gu Jin’an was shrewd; when Lv Bai fiercely yanked his hand back, he used a bit of skill, causing Lv Bai to fall with a thud to the ground, his face flushed crimson like pig’s blood as he gritted his teeth and left in anger.

Watching Lv Bai’s retreating figure, Xu Zhao Ming suddenly felt a lot of sympathy for him: Poor thing, why would you gamble with Gu Jin’an? You’ll lose miserably, as I can personally attest.