Chapter 296: Chapter 121: The Wang Family (Part 3)

"Let me think... I need to think this through carefully."

"They say three simple cobblers can outwit a Zhuge Liang. If our three brains combined are still no match for Jing’s, then we might as well give up on becoming Scholars."

"A Scholar?"

"That’s right, a Scholar."

The moment the word "Scholar" was spoken, the three of them fell silent.

They were here to take the Scholar examination. An official notice had been issued a few days prior, stating that this year’s quota for Scholars in Qingshui County was eight—only one more than in previous years.

There were only eight spots, but among their group traveling to the Prefecture, six of them were hoping to become Scholars.

And that was only because Wang Xiao had injured his arm and was missing this year’s examination. Otherwise, it would have been a fierce struggle between them.

But even without Wang Xiao, there was still Wang Jun. Wang Jun had ranked fourth in the county-level examination, which should have made his success a sure thing.

But no one knew if Mr. Wang had offended the Lord Prefect, or if the Lord Prefect would make things difficult for him this time around. Furthermore, would the Lord Prefect hold a grudge against Wang Jun because of yesterday’s incident at the teahouse, implicating its owner, Mrs. Wang?

Judging by Mr. Sheng’s character, he probably wouldn’t hold a grudge over such a thing, but what if he did?

The point was, regardless of any other unforeseen circumstances, the fact remained that they were Wang Jun’s rivals.

With such clear competition between them, could they really ask Mr. Wang for guidance?

And even if he did offer guidance, could they truly trust it?

It wasn’t that they were being cynical; this path was simply too arduous. Having come this far, they had to remain vigilant.

This conclusion left them all with a bitter taste in their mouths.

For not only was Wang Jun their rival, but weren’t they, in fact, rivals to one another as well?

But rivals could also share a mutual respect, without the need for constant vigilance and suspicion.

The scholars finally just looked at each other and smiled. Without another word, they quickened their pace to catch up with Zhao Jing.

They had just reached the entrance to an alley. Hurrying along, they were caught off guard and collided squarely with a young lady who was rounding the corner.

"Ouch!"

"Ow!"

Two pained cries rang out, one after the other.

Tears welled in the young lady’s eyes from the pain. De’an, for his part, felt a sting in his nose and quickly squeezed his eyes shut to keep from crying in front of everyone.

Both were hurt, and both were furious.

"Who was that? Watch where you’re going!"

"I should be asking you the same thing! What’s the big rush? In a hurry to get reincarnated?"

"You! You! Mine is the only house in this alley, so what’s wrong with me walking quickly? You’re the ones lurking at the entrance in broad daylight. Tell me, were you planning to sneak into my home and steal something?"

The girl who had spoken forcefully shook her arm, ignoring her maidservant who was repeatedly calling, "Miss!"

’I’m dying of pain here! Cui’er isn’t helping me vent, and she’s not even chewing that person out. Why is she so anxiously telling me to ’tone it down’?’

’She, the Third Miss, had never been one to shy away from trouble. Besides, while she was partly at fault this time, it wasn’t *all* her fault. Why should *she* be the one to hold her tongue? Why couldn’t that stinking man across from her be the one to apologize first!’

If Chen Wanqing had been present, she would have recognized her in an instant. This young lady, adorned with gold and silver, with a round face and chubby, baby-fat cheeks—wasn’t she the very same Third Miss who had previously bought a large batch of Compound Incense Elixirs and numerous Dream Spirit Elixirs from Qingxiang House?

Only after more interactions did Chen Wanqing learn that this Third Miss’s name was Wang Zhen. The character "Zhen" in her name meant "precious," a clear sign of how much her parents doted on her.

Miss Wang Zhen had never known a day of hardship in her life; the only "bitterness" she’d ever tasted was that of a bitter melon salad. Having just knocked her head, she saw stars the moment she opened her eyes.

There was no way she was going to let this go!

She was about to open her mouth to argue when she took a proper look at the young men before her. Though not all of them wore the long robes of scholars, their clothes were neat, and they carried a palpable scholarly air. No matter how she looked at them, they did not seem like the sort of lowlifes who would engage in petty thievery.

She suddenly recalled her mother saying that friends of her eldest and second brothers would be visiting today. The Third Miss’s eyes shot wide, and her mind went completely blank.

’Oh, good heavens. It couldn’t be *that* much of a coincidence, could it?’

The maid, who had served Wang Zhen since childhood, saw her mistress’s jaw drop in shock and guessed that the Third Miss had figured out who these young men were.

The only problem was, she had put herself in an awkward position and didn’t know how to gracefully back out.

The maidservant quickly gave her an out. "Miss, are you feeling terribly dizzy? You must be tired from walking so much. Miss, let’s hurry home and get some rest."

Wang Zhen closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead, putting on a pained expression. "Oh, my head is spinning. Cui’er, quickly, help me home. I can’t walk another step."

Despite claiming she couldn’t walk, Wang Zhen’s mincing steps carried her away faster than her two maids, leaving Chen De’an and his friends staring after her, dumbfounded.

Watching the trio of mistress and servants scurry into the Wang Family’s residence, Chen De’an let out a sigh. "So that really was Wang Jun’s sister, huh?"

"Looks like it."

"Heh. Well, this is a fine mess." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

De’an lamented, "Looks like I took that knock for nothing. Just my luck, I nearly got my eye poked out..."

"Don’t be ridiculous. The young lady is a full head shorter than you."

"It’s not a big deal. You’ll get over it."