Retired Villainess Transmigrates into a Cannon Fodder

The Strongest Fox-Demon (38)

Bai Yi also helped Zhuang Liu pack up all the things in the Zhuang residence. It was really tiring to be an ordinary woman without the use of magic. She felt like there was endless work to do every day. So when she was alone, she quietly used magic here and there to finish packing up. It lightened her burden a lot. When her achievements fell in Zhuang Liu and Zhuang Yulang’s eyes, she came across as exceptionally competent. She took care of the Zhuang family both inside and outside particularly well.

Zhuang Yulang was about to leave, so he went on a special trip to visit his former teacher. The teacher didn’t expect him to leave so early. Usually, before the students from his town go to the capital to participate in the exam, the magistrate would host a banquet to entertain them. The purpose was to form a good relationship and to see who was struggling and give them a bit of financial aid.

In the eyes of the teacher, Zhuang Yulang was a student from a poor family, so he recommended him to the magistrate in advance. He also found ways for the magistrate to meet him amidst his tight schedule.

Zhuang Yulang was a talented scholar. Otherwise he wouldn’t have passed the exam and gained scholarly honor at such a young age. Although his ranking was not ideal, his age was his advantage. There were other people at the age of fifty who never passed the imperial exam, so the teacher was very optimistic about him. He naturally showered him with compliments in front of the magistrate.

When the magistrate met him, he tested him with a couple of questions and Zhuang Yulang blurted out whatever came into his head. The magistrate excused his failure to respond well on the grounds of nervousness as it was his first time to meet an official. Hence, he was satisfied with him. Seeing that Zhuang Yulang also has a commanding appearance and that he knew when to advance and retreat, he pondered for a moment and asked him if he was married.

Zhuang Yulang was momentarily stunned and hurriedly replied that he was not married yet. The magistrate stroked his beard, looked at him and nodded. He asked someone to bring him fifty taels, encouraged him and let him leave.

As soon as Zhuang Yulang and the teacher stepped out of the Jiang Manor, the teacher was overjoyed. “Yulang, congratulations! The magistrate has taken a fancy to you!”

Zhuang Yulang was still at a loss. “What does he fancy about me?”

“Of course he wants you to be his son-in-law!” The teacher stopped him and whispered, “If you fail to bag the championship in the highest imperial exam this time, you must at least pass it. It is impossible for you to marry the daughter of the main wife, but there is also a concubine’s daughter in the Jiang family. A while ago, she accidentally fell down from the sedan chair on the streets, which more or less had some impact. If you pass the imperial examination, you will probably marry the concubine’s daughter. With the magistrate taking care of you and your promotion, you will have a bright future!”

Zhuang Yulang thought of Miss Jiang and Bai Yi at home, bowed his head and said, “This student has no intention of seeking connections and I…”

His response caught his teacher off guard, and he said, “Don’t tell me you already have a girl you fancy, do you? Yulang, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You are now just a scholar and there are only a limited number of households that matches you. However, if you succeed in passing the exam or even bagging the top scorer title, you can marry a lady backed by a powerful family. That’s going to be greatly beneficial to your officialdom in the future. Don’t be confused. Your marriage must be set aside for now and don’t decide arbitrarily.”

Zhuang Yulang valued his teacher’s advice very much, and so he bowed to him after his speech. “Don’t worry, Teacher, I just want to concentrate on the imperial examinations at the moment. I have no intention of getting married.”

“That’s good. Remember not to marry at will. In the future, you will know that I’m doing it for your own good.”

Bai Yi ran outside to pick up Zhuang Yulang home, but accidentally overheard such a conversation. She was a bit puzzled. Why didn’t Zhuang Yulang directly tell his teacher that he already had a sweetheart and had no intention towards Miss Jiang. Why did he follow his teacher’s lead and say that he had no intention of getting married? Could it be that he only told the little white fox of fancying Bai Yi before but never thought of marrying her?

During this period, Bai Yi went out of her way to understand the list of rules involving women. Only then did she learn that if in the end Zhuang Yulang didn’t marry her, an orphan lady who had lived in the Zhuang’s house for so long, no one else would be willing to. It was because in the eyes of those who knew her, she was already living under the same roof as Zhuang Yulang, so she was not so innocent.

Although she wasn’t keen on marrying someone else at all, Zhuang Yulang should have a clear understanding about this. Then why didn’t he clarify things to his teacher at this time?