OBS Chapter 376 Swapping a Sister for a Child 19
Chapter 376 Swapping a Sister for a Child 19
Upon hearing Qi Ning utter the words "drowning in a pig cage," Meng Shaoqing's expression changed.
He hugged Qi Ning: "No, it won't happen."
Judging from Meng Desheng's attitude today, it's clear that it won't happen.
Qi Ning knew it wouldn't happen, but she still pretended to be scared: "But I'm afraid, what if?"
These words silenced Meng Shaoqing.
Qi Ning continued, "If all else fails, just consider the money a loan from me, and you can repay me a hundredfold or a thousandfold in the future."
"Once we pay off our debts, we'll leave as soon as possible. The remaining money will be enough for us to live on for the next few days."
Meng Shaoqing was eventually persuaded by Qi Ning.
He hugged Qi Ning tightly and kissed her forehead: "Okay, I will repay you a thousand times over in the future. I will spend my whole life repaying your affection for me."
The next day, Meng Shaoqing used the money he had collected to pay off the remaining debts.
Then he went home and packed his luggage with Qi Ning. On the morning of the third day, before dawn, he and Qi Ning quietly left Mengjia Village.
When the villagers realized they hadn't seen the two of them for several days, they went to their house and found it empty.
After leaving Mengjia Village, Qi Ning and Meng Shaoqing first went to Yuanzhou City, where they were able to participate in the provincial examination two months later.
In two months, it will have been almost three years since Meng Jiyang left Mengjia Village to take the imperial examination.
Three years ago, Meng Jiyang first went to Yuanzhou City to take the provincial examination, passed the provincial examination and became a Juren, and then went to the capital to take the metropolitan examination.
However, Meng Jiyang failed the imperial examination the first time he took it, so he began to try to curry favor with the high-ranking officials in the capital. He became a retainer in the household of the Vice Minister of Personnel, and was then noticed by the Vice Minister's most beloved youngest daughter.
In the original storyline, Meng Jiyang did not do well in the second imperial examination. It was his future father-in-law, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who used his connections to help him pass the examination and become a Jinshi. He then married the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel as a newly appointed Jinshi.
According to this timeline, Meng Shaoqing will take the provincial examination two months later, then go to the capital, and next February he can take the metropolitan examination with Meng Jiyang.
This was three years earlier than Meng Shaoqing's original life trajectory.
After arriving in Yuanzhou City, Qi Ning and Meng Shaoqing rented a small courtyard in the suburbs and settled down temporarily.
The two cleaned up the small courtyard, and it looked quite nice.
Qi Ning was very satisfied; this was much better than Mengjia Village.
She stood in the yard with her hands on her hips: "This is our new home."
Meng Shaoqing pulled Qi Ning into his arms, a smile on his face: "That's right, this is our new home."
At this moment, Meng Shaoqing was very glad that he had listened to Qi Ning's advice. He left Mengjia Village early, where no one knew them and they no longer had to worry about other people's opinions.
Qi Ning looked up at Meng Shaoqing and said, "You must study hard for the exam and try to pass it on your first try. My future good days will all depend on you."
Meng Shaoqing couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, I won't let my wife down."
Since they settled here, Qi Ning would embroider some embroidery at home on weekdays. Her embroidery skills were exquisite, and it was rare to see such good craftsmanship in the entire Yuanzhou City. She could often sell her work for a good price in the shop.
Qi Ning knew the principle that scarcity increases value, so she didn't embroider much. The pieces she embroidered were all exquisite, and selling a few was enough to support their livelihood.
According to Qi Ning, Meng Shaoqing didn't need to worry about his personal life; he just needed to focus on preparing for the upcoming provincial examination.
Meng Shaoqing felt sorry for her because doing embroidery strained her eyes. In addition to studying for the provincial examination, she also copied books in her spare time to supplement the family income. All the money she earned was entrusted to Qi Ning for safekeeping.
That day, Meng Shaoqing went to a bookstore in the city and came back excitedly: "A-Ning, I'm back."
He pulled a purse from his pocket: "Here, for you."
Seeing his expression, Qi Ning opened her purse and was immediately shocked: "Ten taels of silver! Where did this come from?"
Meng Shaoqing's eyes darted around, and he said guiltily, "I got it by copying from books."
"Who are you trying to fool? Tell the truth!" Qi Ning glared at him.
You should know that although Meng Shaoqing copied books for the bookstore, the cost of copying books wasn't much, so where would he get so much money?
After hesitating for a while, Meng Shaoqing finally confessed honestly: "I wrote a storybook."
Qi Ning: "..."
Every time Qi Ning saw Meng Shaoqing sitting at his desk, he thought he was preparing for the provincial examination, but little did he know that he was secretly writing a storybook.
She reached out and poked Meng Shaoqing's forehead: "Well, I worked so hard to embroider and sell my embroidery so that you could study properly and prepare for the provincial examination, and you're not doing your job properly, writing some kind of storybook!"
The system silently complained: "Host, what you're saying sounds just like a parent who's disappointed in their child. I think your worries are unnecessary. Meng Shaoqing is someone who can become the top scholar in the imperial examinations. What's a small provincial examination to him?"
That's right, Qi Ning is now pretty much like a parent.
However, what the system said makes sense.
Seeing Qi Ning's angry expression, Meng Shaoqing quickly softened his tone: "I was wrong. I just didn't want you to work too hard and wanted to share the burden. I can't just do nothing."
He added, "Don't worry, I guarantee it won't affect the provincial examination."
Qi Ning snorted and asked him, "What kind of storybook are you writing?"
"Of course, it's the kind of stories about talented scholars and beautiful women."
Fearing that Qi Ning might misunderstand, Meng Shaoqing explained, "It's not that I have other thoughts in mind, it's just that these kinds of romance novels about talented scholars and beautiful women can fetch a good price."
Previously, Meng Shaoqing was burdened with debt and was unwilling to write about spring flowers and autumn moons. Now, he couldn't bear to see Qi Ning suffer, so he started writing this kind of storybook.
Qi Ning then laughed out loud: "What did you write? Read it to me."
Seeing that Qi Ning was no longer angry, Meng Shaoqing breathed a sigh of relief.
He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll read it to you."
Two months later, Meng Shaoqing went to participate in the provincial examination.
On the day the results of the provincial examination were announced, the two of them held hands and went to see the results.
Meng Shaoqing's name was the first one they saw at a glance.
[Top Scholar: Meng Shaoqing]
Qi Ning was finally relieved. With the top scholar already secured, how far away could the top scholar be?
The two then rushed to the capital to prepare for the imperial examination.
They rushed all the way and finally arrived in Beijing before the beginning of the year.
On the first day Qi Ning arrived in the capital, he and Meng Shaoqing passed by the residence of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
She glanced at the mansion and knew that Meng Jiyang was inside.
Meng Shaoqing didn't know what Qi Ning was looking at. He noticed that Qi Ning had been somewhat silent since arriving in the capital, and assumed that she was thinking of Meng Jiyang.
After all, Meng Jiyang was her former husband, and he passed away in the capital. Perhaps it was because of the memories she had of him.
Because of this speculation, Meng Shaoqing felt somewhat down.
It has to be said that Meng Shaoqing's guess was actually correct by accident; Qi Ning was indeed thinking about Meng Jiyang.
However, Qi Ning wasn't reminiscing about Meng Jiyang; she was thinking that now that she was in the capital, Meng Jiyang's life was about to end.
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