Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 344 - 342

Chapter 344: 342

The mastermind behind framing Xiao’er had not been found.

The whereabouts of the person with jug ears were unknown.

There was no verified evidence about what happened with Chef Gu, and the reason behind her actions remained a mystery.

They had investigated her background, which turned out to be exactly as she described to the Empress Dowager.

Shangguan Xuanyi tapped on the desk, considering if these incidents could have been caused by the same person or if there were any overlooked details.

But he found nothing.

"My Lord, the test papers from Shengping County have been delivered," announced Xiao Fuzi, interrupting Shangguan Xuanyi’s thoughts.

"Put them aside!" Shangguan Xuanyi came back to reality and signaled Xiao Fuzi to put the test papers on the desk.

"Has there been any news from An Yi?" It had been quite a while.

"No, My Lord. The person has completely vanished," Xiao Fuzi thought to himself. An Yi even doubted if the portrait provided by the Lord of Rui’an County was correct. The entire country had been searched for people with jug ears, but no matching person was found.

Nevertheless, An Yi did not believe that the Lord of Rui’an County could have gotten the portrait wrong.

The astonishing memorizing skills of the Lord of Rui’an County were now well-known among everyone! He could recreate the scene outside the examination hall solely based on his memory!

Moreover, following the incident of the eldest son of Marquis Shengping topping the examination, many colleagues had been asking the Marquis about his secret food for raising such intelligent children.

After being asked so often, the Marquis finally said that they always ate the best food from the supermarket, especially a lot of fish, which he claimed made people smarter.

Upon hearing this, all the wealthy families in the Imperial City started serving fish at every meal.

The fish vendors were overjoyed.

Shangguan Xuanyi timely interrupted Xiao Fuzi’s daydream.

"Continue to search, and pay attention to the bars as well. Also, set up people keeping a lookout in the border region," Shangguan Xuanyi commanded.

"Yes." Finding a person who intentionally hides in such a vast crowd is indeed not easy.

"In addition, have An Yi check in Jiangnan for any ruined or extinct wealthy families with the surname Gu." Shangguan Xuanyi rubbed his forehead, expanding the search range to look for even the smallest clue.

"Yes." Xiao Fuzi efficiently agreed.

"Prepare the horse in two hours, you may be excused now." Shangguan Xuanyi instructed and let Xiao Fuzi leave.

"Yes." Xiao Fuzi bowed and left.

Shangguan Xuanyi picked up the test papers and started to review them.

He selected the ones that were written well until he came across Shen Jingwen’s test paper. After reading half of it, he couldn’t bear it anymore. This was utter nonsense!

Shangguan Xuanyi continued to go through the remaining papers, selecting the excellent ones, then looked at the list of scholars from the current cohort in Shengping County.

He checked the names of those who answered the best, compared their ranks in the Imperial Exam, and the results were hilariously infuriating!

Shangguan Xuanyi wrote down the names of those who had the best answers and cheated.

"Xiao Fuzi!"

Xiao Fuzi promptly came in and bowed, "My Lord."

Shangguan Xuanyi passed the list to him, "Investigate these individuals!"

"Yes." Xiao Fuzi took the list dutifully.

"Any movements from Shen Jingwen?"

"He is preparing to take up his post in Qinghe County."

"Taking up post? Even the official position was bought?"

"He bought the position of County Magistrate."

"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Even someone incoherent and talking nonsense could directly become an official!

Many hardworking scholars who passed the examination wouldn’t get such a good placement!

"Is the horse ready?"

"Yes, my Lord, it is ready."

Shangguan Xuanyi strode out.

...

"Miss, the Sixth Prince has arrived."

At this time? Xiao’er put down the book in her hand and stood up, going out to greet him.

"Have Brother Shangguan eaten yet?"

"No." He had specifically come to have a meal with her.

"Yang Liu, order the kitchen to prepare a light meal serving and bring it to the pavilion." She had already eaten, so she wouldn’t eat again.

"You’ve already eaten?"

Xiao’er nodded her head.

"Join me again for a little bit."

Xiao’er nodded once more: "I’ll accompany you."

Only, she didn’t plan to eat.

There were only two people in the room, and Shangguan Xuanyi loosened up.

Besides eating his own meal, he occasionally fed Xiao’er a bite.

Xiao’er initially didn’t want to eat. Yet, he held up his chopsticks in front of her silently, his eyes filled with laughter watching her, giving off a somewhat endless patience.

Left with no choice, Xiao’er opened her mouth and ate the food he fed her bite by bite.

Initially having eaten only seventy percent full, Xiao’er was now magnificently overfed.

Shangguan Xuanyi also realized that he had fed her too much. It was all because it felt too wonderful.

But there was no rush; there were plenty of days to come.

Shangguan Xuanyi put down his chopsticks, used a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. Yang Liu and Yang Mei each brought a basin of water for them to clean their hands.

"Let’s go! Take a walk in the garden to digest." Shangguan Xuanyi took the lead and stood up.

The Marquis Shengping’s garden was personally arranged by Xiao’er with the gardeners. Every wall and corner were carefully thought out, full of poetic charm.

The evening breeze was gentle, and the fragrance of flowers was captivating.

"Shen Jingwen cheated on the college examination." There was a hint of contempt in Shangguan Xuanyi’s voice.

Xiao’er nodded without surprise: "And then?"

"He is preparing to take up the post of the County Magistrate in Qinghe County."

"He donated his title? Has he given up on the intention to be a second-tier scholar?" Xiao’er was surprised, but also felt it was to be expected.

It seems that Mr. Tan had made a significant effort so his younger brother could marry.

"It’s not easy to cheat in the rural examination."

"That’s true."

"How does Brother Shangguan plan to deal with the cheater? Such a person should not be spared! To spare him is to nourish the evildoer!"

"What do you think?"

"A child who has tasted sugar knows what bitterness is!" Xiao’er stopped in a cluster of roses.

The main family had tasted the sweetness of being in power. To let them return to a life of poverty might be even harder for them to bear.

However, what they eagerly wanted was within their grasp one moment and then it was gone the next. This kind of suffering was also very devastating.

No matter what, it was all right!

She found the hidden scissors in the garden and started cutting flowers.

A child who has tasted sugar knows what bitterness is? Was the plan to let him enjoy being an official for a few days, let him taste the sweetness before pulling him down?

This indeed coincided with his own thoughts.

"Let me do that." Shangguan Xuanyi squatted down, stretching his hand to snatch the scissors from Xiao’er.

"No need, I want to personally cut a bouquet of roses for Brother Shangguan." Xiao’er dodged to the side.

Only after hearing these words did Shangguan Xuanyi give up. He remembered that this girl had mentioned before that all flowers have a language, and the language of roses represents love?

"What does the language of roses mean, girl?"

Meeting Shangguan Xuanyi’s teasing gaze, Xiao’er said fiercely, "Do you want it or not! If not, forget it! What’s with this language of flowers business?"

"Of course I want it, how dare I not." Seeing Xiao’er’s annoyed and embarrassed appearance, Shangguan Xuanyi chuckled lightly.

This person was a bit too wicked!