Chapter 136.1
After Xiao Liulang entered the Imperial Academy, he attracted a lot of attention, for no other reason than his appearance was too reminiscent of the Young Chief.
All the teachers who had seen the Young Chief back then were amazed that there were really people who looked so similar to each other in this world.
However, similar was similar. The Young Chief had been confirmed dead and they had all attended his funeral, so naturally they would not confuse the young man in front of them with the Young Chief.
Besides, Xiao Liulang was only similar at first glance. Upon a closer look, one would see that his eyes and temperament was opposite to that of the Young Chief.
In addition to this, his character, behavior, and even his handwriting and the way he wrote articles were different from those of the Young Chief.
Just how much effort would it take for a person to thoroughly remold oneself?
Furthermore, if he was really the Young Chief, why didn’t he go back to the Xiao Family?
And he was a cripple to boot.
In the former dynasty, people who had a serious illness or defect weren"t allowed to take part in the imperial examination. It was only after the change of dynasty that this old regulation was abolished.
Not many students had seen the Young Chief, hence this matter didn’t cause much of a storm in the end.
"Why did Junw.a.n.g come to the Imperial Academy today?"
In the Mingzheng Hall of the Imperial Academy, Director Zheng met An Junw.a.n.g who was dressed in splendid clothes.
Even though An Junw.a.n.g was a student of the Imperial Academy’s Shuaixing Hall, he had the privilege not to come to cla.s.s every day. This was his first appearance since the beginning of school days.
An Junw.a.n.g said with a smile, "I heard that there’s an excellent freshman in the Imperial Academy."
He didn"t mention a name, but Director Zheng guessed instantly that he was talking about Xiao Liulang. Director Zheng responded with an ingratiating smile, "He’s nothing out of the ordinary. Compared to Junw.a.n.g, the difference is like between mud and cloud."
An Junw.a.n.g smiled faintly, saying, "You can"t say that. He’s someone that caught the eye of this prince."
Director Zheng was stunned.
An Junw.a.n.g chuckled and said, "Our Zhuang Family wanted to find a way to recommend him for admission to the Imperial Academy, but he was admitted through his own ability. Does Director Zheng think such a person isn’t good enough?"
Director Zheng broke into a cold sweat. This Junw.a.n.g simply didn"t play cards according to common sense. Ordinary people, when encountering another talented individual, would be wary of the other party and view them as a th.o.r.n.y character, no?
Listening to An Junw.a.n.g... It seemed the Zhuang Family was trying to win him over?
It was true that An Junw.a.n.g had the intention to win Xiao Liulang over to their side. Although the Zhuang Family already had so many talents, who didn’t like having more talented people on their side? If you had one more chess piece, wouldn’t you have a better chance of winning in the overall situation of the country?
An Junw.a.n.g looked at Director Zheng and said, "Tell me honestly, how talented and knowledgeable is that Xiao Liulang?
"This..." Director Zheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "In terms of genuine talent, he is indeed an outstanding person. However, this official will still say the same thing. He can"t compare with Junw.a.n.g."
"Don’t use me as a comparison." An Junw.a.n.g said casually.
Director Zheng paused, then cupped his hand, saying, "Then, excluding Junw.a.n.g, he should be the best amongst the freshmen of this year."
An Junw.a.n.g"s red lips hooked up as he spoke, "Very good, a fine individual to cultivate. Our Zhuang Family wants this person."
Director Zheng put on a fake smile and replied, "To be favored by the Zhuang Family, it’s a good fortune he acc.u.mulated over eight lifetimes!"
To be completely honest, Director Zheng didn’t like Xiao Liulang very much, mainly because the guy didn’t show enough respect to him. Every time they met, Director Zheng had the illusion of not knowing who the superior was between them.
"Junw.a.n.g, about this official..." Director Zheng looked meaningfully at An Junw.a.n.g.
An Junw.a.n.g said, "With the reopening of the Imperial Academy, it is natural that the position of Chief cannot remain vacant all the time. I will speak with my grandfather and ask him to put in a good word for Director Zheng in court if necessary."
Director Zheng thanked him again and again, "Thank you Junw.a.n.g! Many thanks, many thanks!"
……
Gu Jiao didn’t keep her plan to join a partnership with Second Owner to open a medical hall a secret from her family. Of course, she said nothing about using her medical skills as investment, and only said that she was going to invest 800 taels of silver so she could be half an owner of the medical hall.
The family members expressed strong support for this.
After dinner, the elderly woman found Gu Jiao and threw a pouch at her.
"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
The elderly woman replied lightly, "Pay me back once your medical hall starts making money."
This was the elderly woman"s savings for future expenses. It contained the obligatory money that Gu Jiao usually gave her, the money that she earned from reselling jinchuang medicines, and the money she made from telling people a play, teaching people tricks to exorcise evil spirits, and reading people’s palms.
It was unbelievably a lot, no less than fifty taels of silver!
Gu Jiao: If not for me deciding to open a medical hall, I wouldn"t have known that you’re able to make such a fortune in silence!
Gu Xiaoshun also gave Gu Jiao the money he was unwilling to spend in normal days.
Needless to say, Gu Yan also handed over all his pocket money to his sister, he even asked for an advanced salary of twelve taels from the little monk. From then on, his hard days of working as a part-time laborer for the little monk in order to pay off debts began.
After entering the Imperial Academy, Xiao Liulang made a small profit by doing homeworks for younger generations of wealthy families, but he didn"t think it was enough to open a medical hall.
He found Lin Chengye, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Are you still worrying about not being able to do your homework? Are you still losing your hair because you can"t write eight-part essays? Here’s a gold medalist tutor, available to help your studies for the metropolitan exam, price is excellent, with a guaranteed partial refund if ineffective."
Lin Chengye：“…”
When Gu Jiao met with Second Owner again, Gu Jiao"s money was no less than that of Second Owner.
Second Owner: ...this just doesn’t make sense, does it?
After all, Second Owner had been a business owner for so many years and still had some connections, so there was no need for Gu Jiao to worry about manpower. At present, the biggest problem was the location where they were going to open the medical hall.
For Gu Jiao"s sake, it was best to open their medical hall near the Imperial Academy.
Gu Jiao found Guarantor Zhang.
Guarantor Zhang took the two people to see the shops and houses in Chang"an Street and Xuanwu Street. Chang"an Street had a larger flow of people and was more bustling. It was just that all the good shops here had already been rented out, and the rest were either too expensive or too bad. No wonder they couldn"t be rented out.
"How about we go and take a look at Xuanwu Street?" Guarantor Zhang suggested.
Xuanwu Street wasn"t as bustling as Chang’an Street. Naturally, if one planned to open a business, it was still better to choose Chang’an Street.
Guarantor Zhang said with a smile, "It"s more convenient to go to the Imperial Academy in Xuanwu Street, and business will not be bad there either!"
"Let’s go and take a look." Gu Jiao said.
"Alright then." Second Owner responded with a sigh.