The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 939 - 918: Unable to Purchase

Chapter 939: Chapter 918: Unable to Purchase

Feng Zongping looked at her suspiciously but before he could speak, Yun Xinjue behind him chuckled and said, "The libationer loves raising questions from Confucian classics, it’s just that there are so many in the Confucian canon, will your Junior Brother remember them all?"

Manbao pondered for a moment, "That’s true, he is from the Kong Family."

Her eyes sparkling, she looked at them and asked, "Do you have the questions that Libationer Kong set for first-year students over the years?"

Feng Zongping confirmed and then asked, "The test your Junior Brother won’t be attending, is it the recruitment exam in two days?"

Manbao glanced at him and nodded, "Yes, it is."

Then Feng Zongping stroked his chin and asked, "Do you know how to solve that strategy question about ’Zilu asking about strength’ that was mentioned earlier?"

After thinking for a bit, Manbao replied, "Perhaps start from ’The noble man is harmonious but not conformist, if the state has the way, do not be blocked’."

Feng Zongping clapped his hands, "Not bad, not bad, how does your Junior Brother compare to you?"

Manbao took an even longer time to think and unwillingly said, "He’s a bit stronger than me, I guess."

Feng Zongping then laughed and said, "Then he shouldn’t have a problem passing the Imperial Academy’s exam. That was my second-year final exam question, and now I’m in my third year. If he can solve such a policy question, even if he’s a little worse, he’s much better than the others."

Manbao’s eyes lit up and she asked, "Do you know about the other forty-six students? How are their academic skills?"

Feng Zongping looked at her and just smiled without speaking.

Manbao then felt a bit more confident and then, pondering again, she became worried, "But I have two Junior Brothers."

The others: ...What does that mean?

Manbao looked back and forth at the four students who were huddled around her and smiled with narrowed eyes, "How about I treat you to a meal? You’ve all grown up; you drink alcohol, right? I’ll treat you to drinks, and we can discuss the exam questions over the years, right? You can remember them, yes?"

Feng Zongping: "...Both your Junior Brothers are taking the recruitment test?"

Manbao nodded, "They’re from the same family."

"So, you’re not from their family?"

"Different surnames, so what do you think, shall we go eat together?"

Feng Zongping then looked around and asked, "Why didn’t they come themselves?"

"They’ve been locked at home by their teacher to study; they probably can’t come out these two days. Do you want to drink? I heard there’s a restaurant up ahead that has really good alcohol."

From the side, Yi Ziyang interjected to ask, "Is it Primus Pavilion?"

Manbao had no idea which establishment it was; she didn’t even know the way, but now that someone had mentioned the name of the restaurant, she went with the flow and nodded, "Yes, Primus Pavilion it is."

Yi Ziyang then tugged Feng Zongping’s sleeve and whispered, "The alcohol at Primus Pavilion..."

Feng Zongping gave him a sidelong glance and whispered, "Can you remember the exam questions from past years?"

Yi Ziyang fell silent for a moment then replied, "Make up a few to bluff her?"

"I just tried it, didn’t I? She even cracked ’The Doctrine of the Mean’ question. Think about how you dealt with that question at the end of the year." So it was obviously impossible to bluff her using one’s toes to think.

Seeing them huddled together whispering, although Manbao couldn’t hear what they were saying, by putting herself in the shoes of Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, she could guess the general idea.

She sighed and said, "I get it, you definitely don’t remember the questions, but that’s not a big deal, surely you still have the test papers, right? Giving me the papers is also fine, I can wait here for you, and after you bring the papers, I’ll treat you to drinks."

The four remained silent.

Manbao looked at them and understood, "Alright, looks like you’re just like my little Junior Brother, having forgotten the exam questions right after the test, and not keeping the test papers either."

The four: ...Who bothers to keep test papers? Of course, you get rid of them wherever you can.

Manbao sighed and bowed, "We’ll meet again another time."

The four: ...

Feng Zongping couldn’t help but say, "It’s no use being here."

He gestured towards the students continuously exiting the gate, most of whom glanced once before leaving, not staying long.

"You see, most people are just curious and look, who is going to come up and sell test papers?"

Manbao asked curiously, "Why not sell?"

Yi Ziyang replied, "Because they aren’t short on money. Anyone who can afford not to live at the school either has a family in the capital or can rent a place outside, who’s short on money?"

Feng Zongping laughed and said, "Yeah, the students of the Highest Institute are mostly children of officials ranked third-level and above; they usually live outside. Only a few commoners who pass the examination to the Highest Institute live outside as well. The students of the Highest Institute are generally the children of fourth-rank officials, and those from the four branches of the Academy are the children of fifth-rank officials. Those who are really short on money and need to sell their papers live inside."

Manbao asked unhappily, "Then why did you come over?"

Feng Zongping coughed lightly and said, "Isn’t it out of curiosity? By the way, which family is your Junior Brother from? Is it a family with ancestors who are meritorious officials, or..."

Manbao replied, "It’s his father, but I won’t tell you who his father is. Alright, I’ve found someone I know, I’ll be off first."

Manbao spotted Bai Dalang and, after patting Daji, she went to meet Bai Dalang.

Bai Dalang noticed them as soon as he stepped out, so his mouth was agape in disbelief.

Manbao approached and pulled Bai Dalang aside, "Senior Brother Bai, have you found out about the previous years’ exam papers?"

Bai Dalang shook his head in a daze, "There’s not enough time, how could it be so quick. But Manbao, why are you directly holding up paper at the gate to collect test papers? The doctors would reprimand you if they found out."

"I’m not a student of the Highest Institute, so what am I afraid of?"

That’s true.

Bai Dalang nodded, and after nodding, he still felt that it wasn’t right. As he was about to speak to her, Manbao quickly said, "Senior Brother Bai, could you go back in one more time? Don’t look for your classmates; they have only been in the academy for a few months and haven’t even got the hang of it yet. Find a second-year senior, hmm, someone not too rich, easy to make friends, and lively. Even if they don’t have the papers, they definitely know who does."

Bai Dalang thought for a moment and nodded. He had also progressed level by level from Mianzhou and naturally knew of some bookshops that quietly sold various secret papers, which basically all came from students inside the academy.

But he had previously always bought papers directly from bookshops or obtained them through Mr. Zhuang’s connections, straight from the hands of the teachers at the prefectural schools, rarely inquiring directly from the students like this.

So, he was somewhat embarrassed and his face reddened.

Seeing this, Manbao was quite distressed, feeling that this Senior Brother’s skin was much too thin compared to his own younger brothers.

Manbao shoved her purse into his hands, "Senior Brother, as long as you give enough money, there’s no paper in the world that can’t be bought."

Bai Dalang nodded with less confidence, "Alright then."

Feng Zongping waited for Bai Dalang to enter before coming over and standing with Manbao, watching the person disappear and asked, "He’s a student from the four branches of the Academy, isn’t he? Do you know each other?"

Manbao ignored him.

"Hey, it’s really not nice to ignore people just because I can’t produce the papers."

Manbao said, "Mainly because you’re also lying."

Feng Zongping coughed lightly and said, "Then shall I apologize to you again?"

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