Chapter 18

On the other side, Mu Yunchuan and Wei Shu walked out of the tailor’s shop together.

As for the three who liked to stir up trouble, they were even faster, claiming they still had homework to finish at the academy and bolted out without looking back.

Once outside, Wei Shu immediately apologized, “Yunchuan, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize their words might be overheard by your younger brother. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, thinking your stepmother treats you badly, so the child she raised couldn’t be good either. When you see him later, help me apologize to him.”

Mu Yunchuan pondered silently, his brows furrowed. The two walked in silence for a while.

Wei Shu tried to lighten the mood, “Speaking of which, I also have a younger brother, but he’s nowhere near as well-behaved as yours. He’s a troublemaker and quite naive. Recently, he went to see Master Lao again, hoping to become his disciple, and ended up getting sick from anger when he returned…”

He rambled on for a while, and after a moment, Mu Yunchuan nodded, saying he planned to visit home in the afternoon and asked Wei Shu to request leave from the elder on his behalf.

Wei Shu halted his chatter, puzzled, “Didn’t you say the major exam is coming up soon and you shouldn’t be distracted, even skipping going home during the New Year?”

Before Mu Yunchuan could respond, Wei Shu chuckled and slapped his head, “I forgot about your newlywed status! Going home for a visit is perfectly normal. Alright, you go without worries, I’ll talk to the elder.”

Mu Yunchuan didn’t explain further. With thoughts weighing on his mind, he return back to Shuiyun Village.

In the courtyard of the old Mu house in the village, Mrs. Zhou was washing clothes. Seeing him return, she immediately wiped her hands and greeted him with joy.

Though she was thrilled, she asked, “Husband, why are you back at this hour? Isn’t the exam coming soon?”

Mu Yunchuan didn’t bring up Mu Erpang’s matter for the time being and replied, “Just came back to see you. Have you been doing well at home these days?”

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With that question, Mrs. Zhou began to talk as if she had opened a box of words. She first said everything was fine, then added, “But you, husband, seem much thinner than before the New Year. Is studying too hard on you?”

The couple continued their conversation as they entered the main room.

Even though Mrs. Zhou had already cleaned the house thoroughly, she still wiped the tables and chairs again before inviting Mu Yunchuan to sit down.

Mu Yunchuan replied, “Everything is fine on my side too. The academy elder is my mentor and takes good care of me. As for being thin, perhaps it’s because of the changing season. My appetite hasn’t been great lately.”

Upon hearing about his poor appetite, Mrs. Zhou immediately became concerned, saying, “As important as the imperial examination is, your health is even more important. If the money I gave you last time wasn’t enough, I’ve saved some more these days. Take it with you, husband.”

“The money is sufficient; there’s no need to give me more.” Mu Yunchuan didn’t need to lie about this matter.

Previously, Mrs. Zhou had insisted that he take all two taels of silver given by Shen Cui to the academy. She claimed that she could sustain herself with vegetables and chickens she grew in the village, not requiring additional expenses.

Mu Yunchuan hadn’t touched that silver himself, considering it necessary for a candidate in the county examination to spend some money. Over the years, the academy elder had waived most of his fees for tuition. This time, the elder had offered to cover this expense too, but Mu Yunchuan already had some silver on hand and didn’t want to burden Mrs. Zhou further.

Reluctant to keep relying on others’ kindness, Mu Yunchuan continued to use the silver he had saved up from copying books before. Naturally, his situation didn’t improve.

Mrs. Zhou didn’t understand the intricacies of this matter, and Mu Yunchuan couldn’t explain it in a few words, so he simply said, “I’m thrifty and will take care of myself.”

Pausing for a moment, he asked, “Regarding Mother, did you visit her during the New Year?”

Mrs. Zhou replied, “Of course, I did. Initially, I thought Mother-in-law would invite me over to help, but even on New Year’s Eve, she didn’t call. So, I took the initiative to bring some gifts over. Husband, you might not know, but after that visit, I was quite surprised…”

Realizing she had said too much, Mrs. Zhou stopped herself. The discord between her husband and mother-in-law was a topic they wouldn’t want to discuss.

Mu Yunchuan had come precisely to investigate this matter, so he encouraged her to continue.

With the remorseful look fading from Mrs. Zhou’s face, she continued, “Mother-in-law had already cleaned the house herself, and when I went, she only let me cook a meal and then allowed me to sit down with them. But the biggest change was with Er Pang.”

She then described how Er Pang had learned to write and politely greeted her, detailing all the things he had learned to Mu Yunchuan.

Finally, Mrs. Zhou added, “People always say that studying can refine one’s character and change one’s temperament. I used to think it was exaggerated, but now seeing Er Pang, I realize it’s true. When he grows up, with his influence, Mother-in-law won’t act the same as before.”

Studying indeed has the power to refine one’s character and change one’s temperament.

However, it’s rare to see such a drastic change in such a short time, even to the point where family members can’t believe it.

Nevertheless, this could be a good thing. As Mrs. Zhou mentioned, even if only Er Pang changed, it could save Mu Yunchuan a lot of trouble. Since reputation matters greatly to scholars, if his stepmother truly intends for Er Pang to study, she should understand that even if it’s just for Er Pang’s sake, she can’t continue her previous behavior.

But having only heard Mrs. Zhou’s account once and having only briefly seen Erpang himself, Mu Yunchuan still had some doubts. After pondering for a while, he added, “The county exam is in February, the provincial exam in April, and then the final exam at the academy. If I pass that, I’ll have to go to the provincial capital to study. There will be a long time away from home ahead.”

“Dear husband, I’ve known about your lofty aspirations for a long time. You can rest assured; I’ll take care of everything at home for you.”

“This countryside, with your brother busy in the city with his own affairs, I’m a bit worried. Moreover, with Mother… after all, she’s our elder, and Er Pang hasn’t reached the age where he can support the family.”

Mu Yunchuan stopped there. Mrs. Zhou wasn’t foolish; she understood, saying, “You want me to get closer to Mother-in-law’s side for support?”

Mu Yunchuan nodded. Though Mrs. Zhou was puzzled why Mu Yunchuan’s attitude had changed, she was a woman who revered her husband. Whatever Mu Yunchuan wanted, she would do. Besides, it was just a small matter.

She nodded in agreement, “Rest assured, dear husband, I’ll take care of Mother-in-law and Er Pang as well.”

After this simple discussion, Mrs. Zhou noticed it was still early outside. She asked, “What would you like to eat, dear husband? There’s not much left at home. I’ll go exchange some goods with the villagers.”

Mu Yunchuan replied, “No need. I’m not hungry,  I won’t keep you busy. I still need to head back to the academy” Mu Yunchuan stood up.

Mrs. Zhou’s eyes were filled with reluctance, but she knew the urgency of the situation, so she didn’t insist on keeping him. Instead, she followed him out, step by step.

When Mu Yunchuan reached the courtyard, his gaze fell on the unfinished laundry of Mrs. Zhou.

Though the fabric of those clothes wasn’t of high quality, they were beyond their means. And judging from the color and style, they seemed to be men’s clothing.

He naturally didn’t suspect Mrs. Zhou of doing anything wrong behind his back and quickly guessed that this was probably a job she had taken for herself.

Mu Yunchuan was slightly surprised for a moment, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

In a few months, he would hold an official position, and as a Jinshi, the court would provide him with money and food. The family wouldn’t be in such dire straits anymore.

After Mrs. Zhou saw Mu Yunchuan off at the village entrance and watched him walk away, she turned reluctantly.

Feeling empty inside, Mrs. Zhou went back home to finish her tasks for the day. The next morning, she went to find Shen Cui and her son.

At that time, Shen Cui had just finished taking the exam for Mu Erpang.

The day before, after Mu Er Pang had declared his aspirations, the system gave a response.

[System Prompt: Congratulations to the host for strengthening the resolve of the accompanying study partner towards the imperial examination.]

[The study partner has gained the “Firm Mind” state, with +1 Intelligence, +1 Emotional Intelligence, and +1 Charm.]

[Rewards: 100 shopping points.]

With this sudden prompt from the system, Shen Cui naturally had to inquire further.

After inquiring, Shen Cui learned that there were some hidden tasks in the system, all related to the imperial examination. The system wouldn’t actively announce them; rewards would be triggered upon completion.

Shen Cui suddenly realized, “So, you mean even without the system’s help, Erpang would gain attribute growth in real life if he encountered certain events?”

The system replied, “Yes. This system is ultimately just an auxiliary system. The study partner is not a data derived from the system but a real person in this world. When people study and encounter events, their mindset changes naturally, resulting in changes. The system simply quantifies these changes for the host to view.”

After pondering for a while, Shen Cui asked, “So, you’re saying that if Erpang uses teaching materials other than those provided by the system, he can still increase his attributes?”

“Naturally. If the host is more generous and willing to spend money to buy other books for the study partner to learn from, he will discover these hidden pieces of information sooner.”

Shen Cui thought to herself, She definitely doesn’t have any money! She’s definitely not stingy!

Getting 100 shopping points for free was certainly a good thing; it cleared her debt with the system, leaving her with an extra 30 points in her account.

The next morning, it was time for the monthly exam task.

The exam questions were displayed on the screen, and Shen Cui acted as a mediator, allowing Mu Erpang to answer either orally or in writing.

Since Mu Erpang had studied very little in the past month and had consciously reviewed for most of the previous day after returning home, today’s monthly exam undoubtedly passed smoothly for him.

After the exam, another 100 shopping points were added to the account. Shen Cui was still thinking about the so-called hidden information the system revealed the day before.

The system was always sneaky; by not disclosing those pieces of information, it obviously wanted her to believe that only by relying on the system could Mu Erpang grow, and then obediently carry out tasks.

For example, the books provided by the system were all high-quality engraved editions of this era. She could sell this book and then buy the same content in a handwritten copy.

This way, the content of the book would remain the same, but she could earn the price difference!

The price difference for one book was about half a tael of silver, so why worry about silver? She could turn mountains of gold and silver!

Because she was thinking about system-related things, the system naturally detected it and reluctantly spoke, “Host, the study partner will take the imperial examination in the future and become an official. As the future lady of a high-ranking official, can’t the host have some dignity?”

Shen Cui replied matter-of-factly, “You said it’s in the future, but right now, the future lady of the official’s house only has a little over two taels of silver!”

“I still have to remind the host that the technological level of this system is far superior to the world the host is in. The effectiveness of the teaching materials provided by the system is much greater than the items in this world! Although it’s the same content, the output of this system can result in a multiple increase in attribute growth for the study partner!”

Since information related to the system couldn’t be blocked, Shen Cui directly said, “I already knew that without you saying it. I didn’t plan to sell off what Erpang hasn’t learned; I only considered selling what he has learned.”

Just like the set of enlightenment books before, Er Pang had visibly gained attribute growth the first time he studied. His attributes didn’t change during the monthly review, indicating that even if he studied from a handwritten copy during the review, it would be the same!

The system: “…”

At this moment, Mrs. Zhou approached.

Seeing her mother-in-law smiling in the courtyard, Mrs. Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and boldly walked in.

But the next moment, the smile on Shen Cui’s face suddenly disappeared—

[System Prompt: 962464 has patched the loophole. All output from the system will no longer be sellable.]