Chapter 86: Mad Dog

Originally, he didn’t need to withdraw money.

The silver banknotes sent by Zhou Yuan frequently were more than enough.

But Zhou Qing had scammed him out of a total of four thousand taels!

Just thinking about it made Zhou Huaihai want to cough up blood.

But then he remembered that soon, Zhou Huaishan would fail the prefecture exam, and his mood lightened.

What he wanted wasn’t just to see Zhou Huaishan fail.

He wanted him to lose his qualification to take exams forever!

To be forever stuck with his face to the dirt, struggling in the countryside!

He absolutely could not allow Zhou Huaishan to surpass him!

Zhou Huaishan, unaware that his destiny had already been manipulated by dark forces, is under Zhou Qing's supervision, was waking at the rooster's crow and sleeping at midnight.

Burning the candle at both ends, he was making one last push before the exam.

Day after day, night after night, the long-awaited day finally arrived—the day before the exam.

Before dawn, Shen Li drove the cart, taking Zhou Qing and Zhou Huaishan on their way.

The entire Xuanfu City was bustling with scholars from all counties and their attendants, creating a lively atmosphere.

Because there were so many candidates and attendants, the inns and restaurants in the prefecture were fully booked.

Especially those close to the prefecture office, which were packed to capacity and had no rooms available long ago.

Zhou Qing sat in the mule cart, taking in the lively ancient prefecture city, finding everything fascinating wherever she looked.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Top Scholar Zhou! How come you're only arriving at this hour?"

As the cart was moving along, a sarcastic voice suddenly rang out. Zhou Qing looked over and saw a group of unfamiliar young men.

Her eye twitched, and she turned to look at Zhou Huaishan.

"Father, do you know them?"

Zhou Huaishan shook his head. "Hah, the way they talk, you'd think I had the chance to go out and make friends."

His tone was full of resentment.

He rolled his eyes as if to say, Don't you know what a miserable life I've been living every day?!

So, where did these mad dogs^[1] come from?

Fortunately, Shen Li had a good memory. He whispered, "Master, those are the same people who blocked the entrance during the county examination at the county office."

With Shen Li’s reminder, Zhou Qing understood.

"Father, these scholars have foul mouths. Let’s not engage with them. Just focus on the exam."

Since they were all candidates, one of them might pass and become an official later.

If her father passed, all would be well, but if he didn’t, dealing with these people later would be troublesome.

Zhou Huaishan chuckled. "Don’t worry, daughter. Who argues with a dog?"

As father and daughter chatted, the cart came to a stop in front of Qingfeng Restaurant.

Zhou Qing hopped down, but the same sarcastic voice sounded again beside her.

"Well, showing up at this hour and still thinking you can stay at Qingfeng Restaurant? Does the Top Scholar think he owns the place?"

"Does the Top Scholar think that, since he's got the title, Qingfeng Restaurant should have reserved a room for him?"

"Hahaha..."

A few mad dogs stood on the steps of Qingfeng Restaurant, laughing mockingly.

Zhou Huaishan didn’t even glance at them. After getting off the cart, he took Zhou Qing by the hand. "My dear daughter, later I will buy you some delicious food!"

Saying that, he raised his head, puffed out his chest, and strode toward the restaurant.

You don’t argue with dogs!

The mule cart in Shen Li’s hands was already being taken by a young servant from Qingfeng Restaurant to the backyard.

Seeing that the three of them were indeed about to enter the restaurant, one of the scholars stepped in their way, blocking their path.

"Top Scholar Zhou, the cheapest room here costs twenty taels of silver. Even if there were rooms left, would the three of you be staying in one? You’re really quite open-minded, aren’t you?"

His crude insinuation immediately drew laughter from his companions.

Sun Jin stood in the middle, his gaze coldly fixed on Zhou Huaishan.

But Zhou Huaishan didn’t even lift his eyelids, nor did he look at them.

When the scholar blocked his way, he simply walked around and kept moving forward.

Sun Jin clenched his fists and whispered to his companion, "Top Scholar Zhou is rich."

His companion then smirked in realization, "Oh, right, I almost forgot. Top Scholar Zhou specializes in scamming people out of their money."

Their voices were loud, attracting the attention of onlookers, who began pointing in their direction.

Just as the mocking words fell, Zhou Huaishan suddenly darted forward and grabbed the scholar by his collar.

Zhou Qing didn’t have time to stop him.

Zhou Huaishan, a burly countryside man with a sixteen-year-old daughter, easily overpowered the boy, who was barely bigger than his daughter.

He was completely crushed without any contest.

The scholar had been laughing, but the sudden jerk caught him off guard, and he stumbled, glaring at Zhou Huaishan.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

He jerked his arm, trying to break free from Zhou Huaishan’s grip.

But just as he tried to struggle, his body suddenly went numb, and he couldn’t muster any strength.

Zhou Huaishan held him by the collar, his mouth twisting into a slightly ferocious smile. "What do you mean by scamming people out of their money? Come on, explain it clearly."

Unable to move, the scholar started to panic but sneered, "Don’t you know the heinous things you’ve done? You still have the nerve to ask me?"

Zhou Huaishan raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

The crisp sound of the slap immediately attracted more onlookers.

The scholar never expected Zhou Huaishan to actually hit him.

"You dare hit me? Do you know who I am? Do you know where this is?"

"I don’t care who you are. But I do care who told you to come here and bark like a dog.

If you explain yourself clearly, we’ll be done here. If not, don’t expect to take the exam tomorrow!"

"You’re in the prefecture city! You’re acting like there’s no law!" Sun Jin’s face turned pale as he glared at Zhou Huaishan.

"Let him go!"

Zhou Huaishan continued gripping the scholar’s collar.

"You’re supposed to be studying the words of sages. Now, tell me, what do you mean by scamming people out of their money? Whose money did I scam? You think you can slander me with no consequences?"

"Didn’t you scam Zhou Huaihai’s money?" Sun Jin said coldly.

Zhou Huaishan laughed mockingly.

"So it’s him. Fine, how about we stop the exam right now? Let’s head back to Qinghe County and confront Zhou Huaihai, father of Zhou Yuan in the capital’s Jingwei Barracks, face to face. We’ll see if I scammed his money or if he’s the one who tried to cheat and got burned."

With that, Zhou Huaishan glared at Sun Jin.

"Do you dare?"

Sun Jin’s eyelid twitched, and he flicked his sleeve. "I have no time for such nonsense."

Zhou Qing then chimed in, "If you’re not wasting time, why are you blocking our way here at the restaurant? Did the owner hire you?"

"You..."

Sun Jin was about to retort when the owner of Qingfeng Restaurant walked out.

The sight of a crowd blocking his entrance was beginning to irritate him.

"Dear customers, peace brings prosperity. Everyone’s here for the exam, so calm down. A peaceful mind leads to good results."

Then, the owner smiled politely at Shen Li.

"Sir, the three Tianzi rooms you reserved are ready. Please come in and rest."

Hearing they had the Tianzi rooms, the onlookers’ gazes changed.

Tianzi rooms were the best in Qingfeng Restaurant.

It wasn’t about the money. Getting those rooms was a sign of good fortune!

Sun Jin’s companions stiffened, some of them gasping quietly. "Damn, Tianzi rooms! That’s impressive!"

Sun Jin shot them a glare.

The owner, after speaking with Shen Li, turned to Sun Jin and his group.

"It seems you haven’t reserved any rooms here at Qingfeng. Perhaps you should return to your own inn and rest. Tomorrow’s exam is important."

The owner’s words drew laughter from the crowd.

Sun Jin’s face flushed red with embarrassment, as the shame seemed to fall upon him in front of everyone.

"You take your path, I’ll take mine. Top Scholar Zhou, don’t make trouble and delay our examination."

Clenching his fists, Sun Jin squeezed out his words through gritted teeth.

Zhou Huaishan held onto the scholar, "Apologize."

The scholar’s face turned red as he stiffened his neck and glared back. "I didn’t say anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

"Fine then..."

Before Zhou Huaishan could finish, Sun Zenian pushed his way through the crowd.

_____

Footnotes:

[1] The phrase "mad dogs" refer to people who are aggressive, spiteful, or looking for trouble without reason.