Chapter 272: A Way to Make Money Has Arrived
The sky was pitch black.
Jiang Changtian had just returned home.
Home was best.
Stepping through the door brought a sense of stability.
It was very comforting.
There were no long corridors or pavilions to worry about, no need to worry about beams falling down, and no need to worry about missing a step and falling into a river.
When he arrived home, Xia Mei was teaching the two children how to strengthen their bodies.
Since Qin Luoxia had agreed with Great Marshal Zi to take care of his child, she had to do it.
One must respect the spirits and keep one’s word; otherwise, one would have a guilty conscience.
She felt that Cong Geer was undoubtedly smart, but he was a bit weak.
He looked light on his feet when he walked, unlike the children of the Jiang Family.
The children of the Jiang Family were all sturdy.
When Mianmian was little, she was like a skinny cicada nymph—dark and thin with sparse hair—but now she had grown up sturdy.
Even though she looked thin, she was like a little club with great strength.
Cong Geer, on the other hand, was not like that.
He was thin and pale, walking so lightly that it seemed a gust of wind would blow him away.
In any case, having just arrived in the capital, besides their in-laws, they didn’t know anyone else, and there was no need for social activities for the time being, so she could just stay home and raise the children.
Actually, Qin Luoxia was not quite used to the capital.
She liked places with mountains.
But the surroundings here were too flat.
It was so flat that she felt very insecure.
Fortunately, Great Marshal Zi had bought all the properties to the left and right of this courtyard and connected them, making the grounds large enough to barely hide some things.
With nothing to do at home during the day, Qin Luoxia took the two children and carefully surveyed the house and courtyard.
Along the way, she exercised their bodies.
In the forest, the leopard had the most well-toned muscles and ran fast.
Therefore, running was also a great form of exercise.
Qin Luoxia trained the two children to run slowly.
She was actually mainly training Cong Geer, but it wouldn’t be fair to favor one over the other, so Mianmian ran too.
Jiang Mianmian didn’t want to run.
But Mother promised that if she ran well, she would teach her how to ride a horse later—polo, which was said to be a popular sport in the capital.
It was very popular.
Every year, the royal family held a polo tournament, and the Emperor would personally give awards to the best players.
This was a sport loved by everyone, though of course, those who could actually participate were mostly people with good conditions; ordinary people didn’t even have horses, so how could they play polo?
It was equivalent to driving a sports car to play ball.
When Father returned, he saw his daughter and Cong Geer with rosy complexions, and Xia Mei was also in high spirits.
He felt very at ease.
Indeed, nowhere was as good as home.
For dinner, they had noodles.
Jiang Changtian hadn’t been particularly attached to noodles before, but after arriving in the capital, he began to miss the fragrance of noodles.
Noodle soup.
It was simple to make, and now, using the simmered bone broth, it was very fragrant.
It was also convenient to eat and easy to digest in the evening.
Since arriving at the Jiang Family, Zi Congheng’s appetite had increased.
He couldn’t help it; his daily exercise was more than before.
Once a person started moving, their appetite increased.
Eating noodles and drinking soup with a slurping sound—even the elegant Lord Jiang would make noise.
But it was a rare, intimate feeling.
They would also chat while eating.
It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
After the meal, Jiang Changtian followed his usual habit of drinking some tea.
He would also take the opportunity to chat with the children.
In the past, it was Feng Geer, Jiang Yu, and Mianmian.
Later, Jiang Yu married, and now Feng Geer had gone to Jiangzhou; the children had grown up and were like birds flying out of a cage.
Fortunately, he still had Mianmian and Cong Geer before his eyes.
Sometimes Jiang Changtian felt that it wasn’t the children who needed him, but rather he who needed the children.
When he thought about having children, he would become very strong and brave, feeling that he was capable of anything.
It was late, but there was actually a visitor.
His in-law, Meng Qingshe, came over late at night.
He carried a large food box.
Inside were several roasted squabs.
“In-law, I just got a batch of fat pigeons that were passing by. Jiang Yu roasted them, and they are incredibly fragrant. I brought a few over for you all to have as a midnight snack.”
Meng Qingshe had a somewhat reckless personality, but he was very pure in his conduct and martial arts training, and his skills were not bad.
He had a small hobby—not fishing, as he couldn’t sit still for fishing; he liked catching birds.
He had noticed that there were quite a lot of birds in the sky over the capital recently.
Whenever he saw them, he would catch them to eat.
He had the best harvest today, getting over twenty fat pigeons in one go, and they were roasted to perfection.
Meng Shaoxia brought a pile of things and was giving them to his Mother-in-law.
Although they didn’t live far away, Jiang Yu couldn’t come over every day after all.
She would definitely miss them.
Meng Shaoxia brought many things so that Jiang Yu would worry less.
On this side, not only did Meng Qingshe come over mysteriously to deliver the roasted squabs, but he also reached out and carefully opened the bottom of the food box, which actually had a secret compartment.
“Have you heard?” Meng Qingshe asked mysteriously.
Jiang Changtian shook his head. He was a newcomer to the officialdom; if there were any secrets, others wouldn’t share them with him, and his connections were still not good enough.
Then he saw Meng Qingshe take out a thick book from the bottom layer of the food box; the cover of the book looked slightly familiar…
“Did your Prime Minister Lu suddenly have a brain spasm and make everyone memorize the rules, regulations, and bylaws of the officialdom? I have a set of key notes here, specially circled by someone I hired. It’s being touted for a thousand taels of silver in official circles. You only need to memorize the parts that are circled to pass.”
Meng Qingshe mysteriously took out the book and handed it to Jiang Changtian.
“We are old in-laws; we prosper together and suffer together. Let’s memorize it together. I’ve even brought the cheat sheet for you. You should circle your copy too. Next time at the morning court, in case the Emperor calls on you, you won’t have to worry.”
Meng Qingshe said with a sincere face.
Jiang Changtian’s cheek twitched slightly. He reached out and took the book, looking at the circles on the content.
“In-law, how much did you spend?”
“I’m certainly not stupid; I wouldn’t spend a thousand taels of silver. This was something the Ninth Prince spent a thousand taels on. I go bird-hunting with him often, and he let me copy it for three hundred taels. We can both copy from this three hundred taels’ worth, which is equivalent to only one hundred and fifty taels each. It’s a great deal. Of course, I don’t need you to pay.”
Jiang Changtian silently calculated.
His annual salary was six hundred shi of grain; if converted into silver, it was only about two hundred taels.
His in-law had spent three hundred taels just to buy the answers—and fake ones at that—and that was a “friendship price.”
High, truly high.
This in-law was worth keeping.
Looking at his in-law who seemed to think he had made a great profit, Jiang Changtian silently accepted the stack of official rules, regulations, and bylaws and said, “In-law, I am an Attendant of the Yellow Gate. I have been in front of the Emperor these past two days, so I know the exam questions. These two days, no one else has been in front of the Emperor except me. I have a set of exam questions here that are one hundred percent accurate. It only costs this much.”
Jiang Changtian flipped his palm over.
“How much?” Meng Qingshe’s breathing grew heavy.
“Two hundred taels. In-law, mine is definitely the exam questions, one hundred percent accurate. You might have been scammed. You just need to quietly tell people that it came from Vice Minister Jiang, and someone will definitely buy it. When the time comes, you keep one hundred taels and give me one hundred taels. Wouldn’t it be nice to earn some pocket money?”
Meng Qingshe’s small eyes widened, and a new world had been opened up to him.
It had always been Old Meng getting scammed; he had never scammed anyone else before.
“Is it really okay?”
“Yes, just try it. If you say it came from me, if they want to buy it, they’ll pay. If they don’t buy it, you don’t lose anything; just treat it as having a meal with them, right?” Jiang Changtian guided him patiently.
Meng Qingshe nodded, feeling that his in-law’s words made sense.
He didn’t want to split the money; in fact, he really wanted to give money to his in-law, but it wasn’t justifiable. His daughter-in-law was also very strict about the rules; when she sent things to her maiden home, it was only food and drink, and she never took money. He wanted to help his in-law, but he didn’t know where to start.
This house was too small, and they couldn’t stretch out.
They lived far away, and it wasn’t convenient to look after each other.
Meng Qingshe was a man of action; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to get a copy of the cheat sheet the very day the notice was issued.
He urged his in-law to go and circle the exam questions.
Jiang Changtian earnestly circled a copy and handed it to Meng Qingshe.
Meng Qingshe felt that by staying with a smart person, he had become smart too.
His brain seemed to have been enlightened. He said, “In-law, I’m leaving. In matters like this, one must strike first. When the fake answers are everywhere, we won’t have any advantage. The earlier and faster, the better. Wait for my good news.”
Meng Qingshe sent off the roasted squabs and the fake answers, and carrying the real answers, he dashed back.
He even left his son at his in-law’s house.
Jiang Changtian waved his hand and said kindly to the forgotten Meng Shaoxia, “Come here, Father will teach you to memorize the books. Their answers are all fake. I am the one responsible for the rules, regulations, and bylaws section. I have a copy here that is what will actually be tested. You are the only one who knows.”
Meng Shaoxia:…
Mianmian had already left with Cong Geer as soon as Uncle Meng said there would be memorization and exams.
It was too intense, too intense.
Being an official wasn’t easy; even after becoming an official, one still had to take exams.
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