Chapter 205: 129 Brothers (Second Update)

“Grandma! Jiaojiao! I’m here! I’ve missed you both so much!”

Shouting, Fen Lin sprinted into the courtyard.

Xiao Liulang, who was in the study correcting Xiao Jingkong’s homework, abruptly jolted, leaving a long ink blot on Xiao Jingkong’s paper.

On this bright and sunny day, the old lady was leisurely basking in the sun on a rattan chair in the backyard, leisurely cracking and eating melon seeds every now and then.

Gu Jiao was cooking in the kitchen.

Xiao Liulang waited in the study room, but after a while, Fen Lin still didn’t come to see him.

The silly lad who used to follow him around was finally gone!

After exchanging pleasantries with the old lady, Fen Lin went to the kitchen to find Gu Jiao. He told her about his journey and experiences—how he had taken the water route back to Song County, encountered his elderly parents, and also met his married elder sister and soon-to-be-married younger sister.

Both of his sisters had married to support his studies; one married a widower as his second wife, while the other was betrothed to an old tea trader over fifty.

Fen Lin was helpless regarding his elder sister’s married life. Well, at least the widower was kind to his sister, and his sister was now pregnant and seemed to be enjoying her life with her husband. They were also very filial to their parents.

“I cancelled my sister’s engagement…” Fen Lin muttered.

“Oh?” Gu Jiao lifted the lid of the pot and poured in a ladle of water.

Fen Lin skillfully added a handful of firewood into the stove.

Xiao Liulang, observing this scene from outside, felt a throbbing in his temple. ‘This boy is more adept at helping Jiaojiao than I am!!!’

“That tea merchant is not a good man! He is so old, and his son is even older than me! Moreover, he has a terrible reputation for beating his housemaid. I didn’t want my sister to marry and endure such tortures. So, I returned the betrothal gifts and cancelled the engagement.”

If things were as before, Fen Lin would’ve been unable to annul this engagement. Who could dare to offend the tea trader who was in cahoots with local government officials?

But now, Fen Lin had passed the imperial examination.

Now, he was a successful candidate in the imperial examination, and on top of that, he had obtained a vacancy to study in the Guozijian in the Capital City.

Fen Lin threatened the tea trader, saying he could cancel the engagement in exchange for a favor. If not, Fen Lin would deal with him first when he rose to power in the future!

The tea merchant was scared by Fen Lin’s words and, after much consideration, ultimately agreed to call off the engagement.

“Strictly speaking, I should thank Liulang. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have passed the exams.” Fen Lin knew his capabilities well. Like Lin Chengye, he was not a naturally gifted student. His success was the result of hard work and a good teacher.

Fen Lin had benefited a lot from listening to Xiao Liulang’s tutoring sessions for Lin Chengye.

“Also the Guozijian vacancies…I was really surprised that Liulang gave his to me. Isn’t he afraid that he won’t be able to pass the qualifying exam? That’s quite the gamble…”

Fen Lin was unaware that the actual reason for the vacancy was due to Liu, the housekeeper, meddling and inadvertently complicating things. He thought that Xiao Liulang had personally told the magistrate and handed over his slot.

Xiao Liulang did indeed want to give up the slot, but his current status wouldn’t let him influence the magistrate to do so. It was all thanks to housekeeper Liu’s intervention.

Xiao Liulang, standing outside the door, had his sharp gaze darting around!

‘Why not come and thank me, huh? Since when did all the gratitude get redirected towards my wife?’

As Fen Lin continued to chatter, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, but he didn’t know why!

Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan had gone out.

Xiao Jingkong looked at the sundial in the courtyard. Usually, the two of them would only go out for half an hour (as restricted by Xiao Jingkong), but today they were out for an additional fifteen minutes.

Xiao Jingkong’s obsessive-compulsive disorder began to act up again!

He frowned seriously.

‘Such long playtimes, they don’t even have a sense of time!’

Xiao Jingkong decided to bring back his play-addicted brothers.

He knew where they had gone. It was a fruit garden near the marketplace. Entry was free but one had to pay, according to weight, if they picked any fruit. The fruits in that garden were fresh and affordable.

A few days ago, they had some pretty good pomelos. The brothers must have gone to the garden to pick more pomelos.

Xiao Jingkong headed towards the pomelo trees in the garden and, sure enough, found Gu Yan. Gu Yan was sitting high up on a tree branch, his hands tightly gripping the trunk in front of him.

But Gu Xiaoshun was nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Jingkong looked up at Gu Yan sitting up on the tree and asked, “Brother Yan, how did you climb up there?”

Gu Yan replied nonchalantly, “Because I’m pretty awesome?”

Xiao Jingkong, who didn’t understand sarcasm yet, interpreted all conversations literally.

“But, you’re clearly not awesome,” he stated seriously.