Chapter 91

"Get out!"

A roar of anger echoed through the eastern courtyard of the Zhong family estate. It was early in the morning, and Yu Qing could no longer contain his temper.

The eastern courtyard used to be so peaceful, so peaceful that he could meditate and practice cultivation every day. Now, inexplicably, a pile of troubles had appeared.

He had just thoroughly cleaned the eastern courtyard yesterday afternoon, and today he was actually asked to climb up to the roof to replace the tiles and paint the pillars.

Yesterday, they measured his clothes, and today they were suddenly changing the bedding and window paper.

Yesterday, he refused to eat with the Zhong family, and today they were nagging him again.

It was endless, where did all these troubles come from? He was so harassed that he finally lost his temper. He was already in a bad mood, and he couldn't figure out why he had passed the examination as the top candidate, even with a perfect score. He didn't sleep all night, thinking from yesterday to today, but still couldn't figure out the real problem.

If he had just passed, he could have accepted it as an accident, but now he couldn't even explain it to himself. How did this happen?

The servants were startled by the sudden outburst of the son-in-law and all retreated in fear and obedience.

Yu Qing, who had been pacing under the eaves, returned to the room, still fuming. He filled a pot with water, threw the fire cricket into it, and started to boil tea.

Sitting there, he pondered, what should he do now?

This was the question he had been thinking about from yesterday to today, and he still had no solution.

He had no idea how to resolve the situation.

If he had just passed the examination, there might still be some room for maneuver, but if he ran now, the court would surely hunt him down.

The problem was that he had put Asheng in a terrible position.

Not only had he failed to protect him, but he had also broken his arm. Now, he had even passed the examination for him, and with a perfect score. He believed Asheng would be following the results of the capital examination, and he doubted Asheng would believe this result, thinking it must be a namesake.

By passing the examination, he had cut off all of Asheng's options.

He felt guilty towards Asheng.

He felt guilty towards his master, who had entrusted him with the task of escorting Asheng to the capital for the examination, and he had failed in every way.

He also felt guilty towards himself.

What was even worse was that the Zhong family had added fuel to the fire by publicly announcing Asheng's engagement, and the servants were already calling him son-in-law. This was like inviting death, and even tying a noose around his own neck.

He didn't know what would happen to the Zhong family and their eldest daughter if he ran away.

He wanted to tell the Zhong family the truth, but he was too afraid to speak.

The reason was simple: once he spoke, it wouldn't just be about a marriage. If he ran, the Zhong family might not be able to protect him. If they betrayed him to clear their name, he would be arrested and executed. He couldn't accept that fate.

His concerns were not unfounded. The Zhong family's attitude towards him had been very inconsistent before and after the examination, showing the coldness of human relationships. It was clear that Asheng's decision to keep the truth from the Zhong family was wise.

What should he do now?

He was so worried that he had lost all interest in selling fire crickets.

His mind was focused on one question: should he run or stay?

He was torn. If he ran, he would destroy all the efforts of Asheng and his father. But if he stayed, he might lose his life. In comparison, his own life was more important.

Unfortunately, Asheng was not around, and he had no one to discuss this with.

He considered himself a brave man, but now he felt like he had no way out.

He reached into his already packed bag and pulled out a bag of spirit rice, which he inadvertently crushed, scattering the rice on the table.

He had obtained the spirit rice from the Zhong family, not much, just a few bags. He had planned to take it with him after revealing the truth if he failed the examination. Now, he had no interest in making money and wondered what use he had for the spirit rice.

All his emotions boiled down to one thought: he had made a huge mess, and there was no way to fix it.

White mist began to rise in the room, and Yu Qing, still lost in thought, played with the spirit rice in his hand.

Suddenly, he heard a crunching sound.

Yu Qing came to his senses and looked down to see the fire cricket had crawled out of the pot and was gnawing on a pile of spirit rice.

"Huh! This thing can eat spirit rice?"

Hadn't he tried feeding it spirit rice in the ancient dead land?

Upon reflection, he realized he had never tried. By the time he thought about it, the spirit rice had already been eaten.

Looking at the mist in the room, he glanced at the teapot and realized the water had boiled dry because he was distracted.

Yu Qing picked up the fire cricket and put it back in the pot, then grabbed handfuls of spirit rice and stuffed them into the pot, "burying" the fire cricket alive.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been reluctant to waste the spirit rice, but now he felt, what use did he have for it?

While he was lost in thought, a servant came and reported, "Young Master, two people have come to visit. One of them calls himself Xu Fei and says he is your friend, here to pay his respects."

Xu Fei? Yu Qing sneered. Mentioning Xu Fei only made him angrier and regretful.

If it weren't for Xu Fei getting the answers, he wouldn't be in this mess. If he had known he was saving a wolf, he would have let him die in the demon realm to prevent him from causing trouble in the human world.

He wanted to tell Xu Fei to get lost, but after a moment's thought, he just grunted, wondering why Xu Fei had come.

The servant quickly left, glancing back. He wondered, with such a good result, shouldn't the young master be happy? Why did he look so miserable?

Soon, Xu Fei and Chong'er arrived. Xu Fei walked confidently, while Chong'er followed meekly, looking dejected.

"Brother Asheng, congratulations!" Xu Fei laughed as he stepped over the threshold, then waved his hand and looked around, "Where is all this steam coming from?"

Yu Qing, sitting on a mat, crossed his legs and said irritably, "What are you congratulating me for? Congratulating me on dying?"

"Uh, ten years of hard study for this great victory, it's time to celebrate. Why such a gloomy remark?" Xu Fei was puzzled and sat down without being invited. He and Yu Qing were quite close, especially after sharing hardships.

Yu Qing sneered, "You look so happy, I bet you passed too, right?" He had seen the results but hadn't paid attention to Xu Fei's ranking, too preoccupied to care.

He had never felt so terrible in his life.

Xu Fei waved his hand, looking embarrassed, "I'm ashamed, ashamed. I barely passed, ranking over 150th. I can't compare to you, Brother Asheng."

Yu Qing said sarcastically, "Look at your smug face. Is there any comparison between 150th in the provincial examination and 150th in the metropolitan examination? Are you trying to insult me? How could you pass with your provincial examination results? You must have cheated."

Xu Fei felt guilty and defended himself, "Pure luck. Besides, you ranked over 150th in the provincial examination and still passed, even as the top candidate. How do you explain that?"

Yu Qing sneered, "I cheated, and I admit it to your face. Do you dare to admit it?"

This made Chong'er nervous, fearing Yu Qing would reveal the truth.

"..." Xu Fei was speechless, then laughed bitterly, "Brother Asheng, don't joke. I know your strength. I saw it at the Liesthou Academy." He winked at Yu Qing, hinting that they shared a secret.

He then scratched his ear, hearing a crunching sound. He noticed the spirit rice in the pot and leaned in, "Brother Asheng, what's in there?"

Yu Qing pushed his face away, "Your face annoys me. Don't defile my spirit rice."

Xu Fei wasn't offended, knowing Yu Qing wasn't a good person, but he sensed something was wrong. "Brother Asheng, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?"

Yu Qing had a huge burden but couldn't express it. He couldn't find anyone in the capital to confide in. He changed the subject, "Don't beat around the bush. What do you want?"

Xu Fei glanced at Chong'er, pulled out a new slave contract from his sleeve, and pushed it across the table, "Brother Asheng, I'm here to fulfill my promise. Please accept it."

Promise? What promise? Yu Qing wondered, seeing it wasn't a banknote. He picked it up to examine it...

Outside the main gate of the Zhong family estate, a finely crafted carriage arrived, exuding a subtle luxury.

The driver stopped the carriage and turned back, "Sir, we have arrived at the Zhong family estate."

Inside the carriage sat a handsome man in his thirties, dressed in fine silk, with a red jade hairpin holding his black hair. His face was fair and his eyes bright, exuding a lazy charm.

Hearing they had arrived, he pulled out a small mirror from his belt and examined himself.

The gatekeeper, recognizing the carriage, approached, "May I ask what brings you here?"

A pale hand emerged from the carriage, holding a jade pendant. The man's gentle voice said, "Give this to Asheng. Tell him an old friend has come to visit. He will understand."

Impressed by the visitor's demeanor, the gatekeeper said, "Please wait a moment," and hurried to inform the family.

In the eastern courtyard, Yu Qing was refusing Xu Fei's offer. What did he need Chong'er for? She was useless and would cost money to keep. She would also be a burden if he ran away. He insisted Xu Fei take her back.

Chong'er wept silently, tears rolling down her cheeks.

At that moment, the gatekeeper arrived, explained the visitor's request, and presented the jade pendant. "The visitor wouldn't say who he was, but said you would recognize this."

Yu Qing's eyes widened as he saw the pendant, then his face lit up with joy. He snatched the pendant and examined it, shouting, "Please him in! Quickly, please him in!"