Chapter 180 The Fox Scholar and the Top Scholar

Chapter 180 The Fox Scholar and the Top Scholar

Four months passed in the blink of an eye, and then it was March.

A large villa with blue bricks and gray tiles, featuring a modern minimalist style, has finally been completed.

There was still some empty space in the spacious courtyard, where Jiang Yutang planned to plant roses and hydrangeas that she had brought from modern times.

The Jiang family had been looking forward to moving into their new home for a long time, urging them every day when they could receive their belongings, but Jiang Yutang was preventing them from moving in immediately.

"The interior has just been renovated and the smell is still strong. It's better for your health to wait half a month for it to dissipate before moving in."

Although she bought formaldehyde-free paintbrushes, she was just being cautious and wasn't in a rush anyway.

During this period, the Jiang family's life became increasingly prosperous.

With the farm tools and fertilizers brought by Jiang Yutang, Jiang Jiuze's farm doubled its harvest.

With her advice and help, Jiang Songzhi opened several classes on farming and medicine, which greatly increased his reputation among teachers in Danzhou. Many people from neighboring villages brought their children to study there.

Yun and Jiang Shengan helped manage the small shop, taking inventory, selling goods, playing cards, and enjoying a cup of health-preserving tea – a perfect retirement life.

Many county magistrates from other regions, upon learning of Danzhou's dramatic increase in revenue within six months, rushed to visit and seek advice on agriculture and sericulture.

Jiang Yutang and Jiang Jiuze shared their modern agricultural knowledge without reservation. However, the fertilizer and feed sold through her would have to be sold at an extra two-tier price, but even so, it would be enough to feed the people of Danzhou.

The people of Danzhou are having more and more hope for the future.

Just as everything was getting on track and Jiang Yutang was planning to buy some modern furniture for her new home, she heard a commotion outside the shop.

Their new house is still smelling of fresh air, but the convenience store is still doing brisk business.

Just as Jiang Yutang put the instant noodles on the shelf, she heard a commotion outside the store.

Two commoners stood at the shop entrance chatting: "A distinguished person has arrived outside. I heard he's from the capital and is carrying an imperial edict. Maybe he's here to judge Li Tong's case."

Jiang Yutang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Judge Li's case was reported to the emperor long ago, but it is only now that it is being concluded, which is much slower than expected.

She wasn't very interested in these bureaucratic procedures. She turned around and sat back down at the ledger, flipping through the ledger. Just as she turned a page, the light dimmed and a figure stood firmly in front of her.

"What do you want to buy?" she asked without looking up.

But the other person didn't respond for a long time, so she looked up and saw a completely unfamiliar face.

Those slightly upturned, almond-shaped eyes were staring at her with a playful smile, much like the fox spirit in a folk tale who transforms into a scholar to seduce respectable women. He was dressed in a well-tailored scarlet official robe, which made his skin appear even whiter.

Jiang Yutang looked him up and down. The official robe was brightly colored, and a silver fish-shaped pouch hung at his waist. It was definitely not something a local minor official from Danzhou could wear. He was most likely directly appointed by the imperial court and held great power and responsibility. This young man had such an air about him, so he must be quite favored by the emperor in the capital.

She had clearly never met this person before, yet his gaze held a familiar scrutiny that made her uneasy.

The two looked at each other without saying a word, while the brass bells on the shelf jingled softly in the wind.

At that moment, Jiang Shengan walked in through the back door of the shop: "Your mother asked you to buy some fresh vegetables; she wants to have hot pot tonight..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he caught sight of the person in the official robes, and his expression changed drastically.

He clenched his fists, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "What are you doing here, Gu Wenxiao!"

Jiang Yutang was startled and turned around abruptly to look at the person who had come.

This person is actually Gu Wenxiao?

No wonder he has such an extraordinary air about him; he's the top scholar who seduced the original owner into having an affair. No wonder he has such a foxy air about him.

Could it be that he mistook my silent eye contact for flirting?

Jiang Yutang felt a chill run down her spine. She immediately frowned and said coldly, "There is nothing here that you are looking for. Please leave immediately."

Gu Wenxiao chuckled lightly, then slowly walked into the shop in his black leather official boots. With a "whoosh," he opened his fan, revealing the four characters "Spring Breeze of Success" written in slender gold script.

As he lit a lighter on the shelf with his fan, he said, “You two don’t need to be so hostile towards me. Back then, I was just the one who won, while you were both unwilling to accept defeat and resentful, which is why you have these prejudices. In fact, I’m a good person.”

Hearing his veiled and sarcastic tone, Jiang Yutang couldn't help but roll her eyes and turned to shout towards the back door.

"Mother! Go to Second Brother's farm and get a wolfhound to guard the shop. Something unclean has gotten into the shop and we can't get rid of it!"

These words made Gu Wenxiao's smile falter. He closed his fan and said expressionlessly, "I've come today to tell you something important."

He took out a gold-embossed document from his sleeve and waved it: "The imperial court has approved it. From today onwards, I am the newly appointed Tongpan of Danzhou, replacing Tongpan Li in his vacancy."

Jiang Yutang's eyelids twitched, and a bad premonition welled up in her heart.

Gu Wenxiao was a top scholar in the imperial examination and had powerful connections. Why would he easily become an official in this place of exile?

There must be some kind of conspiracy.

But she still feigned composure and sneered, "Then congratulations, sir. Just a reminder, the people of Danzhou have just celebrated Qingming Festival, so please keep to your duties. We were able to send away one Prefect Li, so we can certainly send away a second one."

The provocation in those words was obvious. Gu Wenxiao's eyes darkened, but he didn't argue anymore. He simply tapped his palm with his fan, turned around, and left the shop.

Jiang Yutang watched his retreating figure and muttered under her breath, "He's fanning himself in this cold weather. He'll catch a cold, and I won't sell him any medicine!"

After saying that, she went to get a mop to cleanse the floor and get rid of bad luck.

Jiang Shengan suddenly called out to her, his expression unusually serious: "Tang'er, Gu Wenxiao must have come here with some unease. Promise me that you will never have any further dealings with this person."

Jiang Yutang immediately swore, "Father, rest assured, I will never have anything to do with that thief!"

He then added a few more disparaging remarks, such as "He's obviously no good" and "Look at how weak he is, yet he's putting on a brave face." Only after seeing that Jiang Shengan's expression had softened slightly did he turn and leave.

Jiang Yutang walked to the washbasin built in the backyard, picked up the mop and dipped it into the bucket of water, and saw Yun Shi peeking out from the new house.

"Tang'er, what did you just shout? I couldn't hear you because you were far away."

Jiang Yutang wrung out the water from the mop and waved her hand, "It's nothing. A stray dog ​​that wasn't on a leash just came into the shop, but we've chased it away now."

After turning her head, she frowned as she sorted out her thoughts.

Gu Wenxiao's arrival in Danzhou could not possibly be as simple as "announcing the new official's appointment."

Then there's only one possibility: Gu Wenxiao is most likely after Cheng Lanzhou.

Cheng Lanzhou had made a great contribution by capturing Li Tongpan and enjoyed a high reputation in the Danzhou military camp. This was naturally not a situation that the old emperor wanted to see.

So they sent Gu Wenxiao in, hoping to quickly establish a foothold in Danzhou and fight against Cheng Lanzhou, this tough nut to crack.

Jiang Yutang felt increasingly uneasy the more she thought about it.

No, we must have a serious talk with Cheng Lanzhou about this. They need to come up with a plan in advance, so that we don't wait until something happens and we can't resolve it.

She hurriedly put the mop back in its place and called out to the backyard, "Father, Mother, I'm going to the military camp to talk to Lanzhou about something!"