“What’s wrong with Qingzhu Academy? My eldest son studied there. It’s just that my younger son is still too young. My daughter just wanted to find a teacher for him to start his education. Who gave you the right to say such sour words?”

Mrs. Zheng wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. To her, Mu Er Pang almost became another Mu Yunchuan when she talked about him.

Shen Cui had no choice but to apologize to the other party first, then pull her mother out of the crowd.

After pulling her mother away from the crowd, Mrs. Zheng was still angry. She spat on the ground and said, “He’s just a scholar. I’ll find a better one for my grandson later.”

After calming down, Mrs. Zheng took Shen Cui back home.

Mrs. Chen, who had been eavesdropping in the corner, knew they were going to see Huang Jurén. She didn’t have the courage to stop them, so she was pacing around at home, worrying.

When she saw them return, Mrs. Zheng still had an angry look on her face. Mrs. Chen knew things didn’t work out, so she couldn’t help but smile.

Mrs. Zheng gave Mrs. Chen an angry glare, but she didn’t scold her in front of the children. She just scared Mrs. Chen back into her own room with her gaze.

Later, Mrs. Zheng asked Shen Cui about the situation. Shen Cui didn’t dare to involve her anymore. If it wasn’t for her timely intervention, Mrs. Zheng might have started a fight with someone.

She simply said, “I haven’t figured it out yet, Mom. Just calm down for now. Don’t get yourself worked up. Let’s just go back for now.”

Mrs. Zheng was still upset, but she didn’t

Let them be. Just tell her to find out more from others and inform Shen Cui later.

After leaving Tea Pot Alley, Shen Cui certainly didn’t take Mu Er Pang straight home.

This task took three days to complete. Missing it once meant waiting another year according to the original task schedule. She wouldn’t give up without giving her best effort until the very end.

Perhaps it was because someone mentioned Qingzhu Academy, but Shen Cui unconsciously took Mu Er Pang near the academy street while thinking things over.

The child was unusually quiet today and didn’t utter a word as they walked along for quite some time.

Since they had eaten noodles in the morning and had time to digest now, Shen Cui found a wonton stall at the street corner and sat down with Mu Er Pang.

“Feeling tired?” Shen Cui asked the stall owner to serve a bowl of wontons, then took out a handkerchief, wiped the chopsticks, and comforted him, “Don’t worry. You’re learning late, so it’s normal not to understand much. With a bit more studying, you’ll catch up soon.”

This wasn’t just Shen Cui’s attempt to comfort him. As the system had said, this task was originally scheduled for a year later.

Coincidentally, shortly after the mother and son sat down at the stall, a remarkable scholar passed by with his hands behind his back, and people on the street politely made way for him.

If they were scholars, they would even bow and respectfully address him as “Headmaster.”

He was the headmaster of Qingzhu Academy. Shen Cui looked at his talent score of 92 and couldn’t help but feel envious.

But envy aside, Mu Er Pang couldn’t even answer Huang Jurén’s questions, let alone pass the assessment of Qingzhu Academy.

Was it true, as the system had said, that the task scheduled a year ahead couldn’t be completed?

As she was thinking about this, a pair of young gentlemen in fine clothes passed by them.

One wore a sky-blue round-collared silk shirt, while the other wore a cyan-colored brocade with straight stitching. Both had outstanding looks and extraordinary manners.

There were many wealthy young students coming to this street for education, but what made them unique was their strikingly similar appearance, as if they were carved from the same mold.

However, there was indeed a slight difference in their heights. They weren’t twins.

They were both talented and handsome, with looks that matched 99%, but they weren’t twins. Wasn’t that a bit intriguing?

However, Shen Cui wasn’t looking at their faces but at the characters above their heads.

The talent scores of these two brothers were truly impressive, one was 85, and the other astonishingly had 88.

Unfortunately, they seemed quite young, only in their teens. Since she was still struggling with her own studies, it was impossible for her to teach others.

The two brothers were whispering to each other, but it seemed they hadn’t reached an agreement yet. The taller and older-looking one said, “I don’t know what to say to you. Why are you so stubborn? You insist on seeking guidance from Master Lao. If Master Lao refuses to accept you, are you going to wait forever? Today is the last day of our academy’s spring recruitment. The headmaster has already passed by. If you won’t go and attend academy, it will be too late,” the younger one, pale-faced, coughed before speaking, “I’m stubborn. I insist on seeking guidance from Master Lao.”

After he finished speaking, he coughed again, seeming so weak that he might faint at any moment. Naturally, his older brother dared not to pull him anymore.

Their conversation became quieter afterward. After a while of arguing, they ended up dispersing unhappily, each going their separate ways.

Shen Cui reluctantly watched them leave but extracted a key piece of information from their conversation: a scholar who would rather not go to Qingzhu Academy but insist on studying under Master Lao.

The surname Lao wasn’t common, even in novels.

Shen Cui seemed to recall seeing this person mentioned in the original plot, not as a character with a clear appearance but mentioned a few times by someone close to the protagonist.

While Mu Er Pang finished his bowl of wontons, Shen Cui’s head ached as she tried to recall. Finally, she remembered a person named Lao Buyu.

This person had no relation to the male lead, Mu Yunchuan, but was related to his mentor, the headmaster who had just passed by in front of her.

Lao Buyu was the headmaster’s junior brother.

Both of them were disciples of a renowned scholar, but their personalities were quite different.

The headmaster was pragmatic. Although he had outstanding talent, he worked diligently for over a decade before achieving success.

Lao Buyu, on the other hand, was a negative example. He relied solely on his talent, didn’t work hard, and only passed the imperial exam at the age of 25 by the skin of his teeth.

Although he didn’t achieve the highest ranks, passing the exam meant he could become an official in the court.

However, after passing the exam, he didn’t report to the court because he wrote a disrespectful poem in a brothel, which led to a complaint filed against him, resulting in him being stripped of his status.

It was said that the headmaster resigned from his official position due to this incident involving his fellow disciple. People who knew about their relationship and upbringing couldn’t help but make a few remarks about it.

As the headmaster valued his reputation greatly, he felt too ashamed to stay in the capital city and resigned in anger.

This incident wasn’t widely known, only a few close students like Mu Yunchuan knew about it and privately sympathized with their mentor.

It was unfortunate that Shen Cui had only been thinking about the talent scores required for scholars and didn’t consider someone as talented as Lao Buyu, who was stripped of his status.

Once she remembered, Shen Cui hurriedly pulled Mu Er Pang and followed the young gentleman ahead.

Of course, the man had walked for almost fifteen minutes already, and they couldn’t catch up. However, as long as she had a rough idea of the direction, Shen Cui was confident she could find him.

Firstly, the county town wasn’t large, and the surname Lao was distinctive. As long as she was willing to ask around, she could find out.

Secondly, Lao Buyu was a remarkable talent, and the system’s talent detection function could identify him instantly. Even in a sea of people, she could recognize him.

As Shen Cui had expected,

She hadn’t spent much effort finding the home of Master Lao.

Similar to the old scholar’s home, Master Lao’s house was also a modest residence, not particularly grand.

Like a bustling marketplace, but unlike the orderly scene at Mr. Huang’s house, Master Lao’s home was bustling like a vegetable market.

With one hand pulling Mu Er Pang and the other squeezing forward, Shen Cui finally saw Master Lao amidst the crowd.

At first sight, Shen Cui felt somewhat uncertain.

The man in the middle of the crowd was not yet forty, with a fair complexion, no beard, wearing a slightly worn-out long gown and a silk kerchief on his head. His appearance, combined with his attire, exuded a sense of aloofness.

However, at this moment, one of his feet was placed on a stool, and he was vigorously shaking a dice cup with both hands. It didn’t look anything like the demeanor one would expect from a scholar.

Shen Cui wasn’t shocked by his unrestrained behavior but rather by his aptitude score of only 85, just meeting the minimum requirement for this task.

He was even inferior to the pair of brothers he had seen before.

Was this really Lao Buyu, the scholar who was said to be as talented as the Headmaster in the original book?

As Shen Cui pondered, the middle-aged man had stopped his hands and slammed the dice cup onto the table with a bang.

The other person opposite him, who was gambling with him, also stopped his hands.

“Open, open, open!”

The noisy crowd grew even more restless, eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the dice cups by the two men.

Amidst the urging of the crowd, the two men successively lifted the dice cups in front of them.

The other person’s dice cup showed four, five, six, totaling fifteen points.

While the middle-aged scholar’s dice cup revealed three sixes, a triplet, totaling eighteen points.

The comparison was based on size, and the middle-aged scholar undoubtedly won this round.

“Please, please,” the middle-aged scholar smiled and bowed to the other person, who then dejectedly handed over a couple of silver coins before pushing through the crowd and leaving.

Shen Cui then inquired with the people around her about what was happening, saying, “Isn’t this Master Lao’s house? Why are they gambling openly in broad daylight?”

Before the people beside her could respond, the middle-aged scholar collected the silver coins and explained, “Madam, are you new here? This isn’t gambling; it’s an assessment for accepting students.”

He went on to explain the rules of accepting students to Shen Cui.

He accepted students without considering their background, talent, or current level of study. The only criterion was whether the student or parent could beat him. Regardless of the competition’s nature, as long as they won against him, he wouldn’t take a single cent and would personally teach them for three years, pledging publicly to teach wholeheartedly and never hold back.

Moreover, the result of this competition wasn’t solely determined by him; he would invite others to judge.

This “not considering” approach suited Shen Cui’s taste perfectly, as if tailored specifically for her.

Shen Cui couldn’t help but murmur, “Such… such a good opportunity.”

The middle-aged scholar chuckled, “Of course! Since my energy is limited, I charge one or two silver coins as a token for my effort after each competition.”

One or two silver coins might seem like a modest amount, but for Shen Cui at present, it was entirely affordable. Especially when compared to the requirements set by Mr. Huang’s side, it seemed extremely reasonable.

Moreover, if one could truly win against him and gain three years of free education resources, it would definitely be worth the risk.

Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang were both filled with

Their clothes weren’t particularly luxurious, and typically, matters such as apprenticeship were handled by men. However, only the mother and son came over, suggesting that the men in their family were either absent or incapable.

Seeing her interest, a kind-hearted person nearby whispered to her, “Sister, think carefully before you answer. I can tell you’re not from a wealthy family. This one or two silver coins equals half a month’s wages.”

Another person chimed in, “That’s right. You’re new here, so you don’t know. Countless people have impulsively joined in before. Like us here.”

Shen Cui then called out to the man, “Brother,” and proceeded to inquire about the situation.

Though dressed as a woman, she was young and beautiful, with a relaxed demeanor. The person who had advised her earlier explained the situation carefully to her.

Listening attentively, Shen Cui finally understood the intricacies of this competition.

Firstly, anything could be compared, but nobody was foolish enough to compete with top scholars in terms of academics. There were various talents on display.

Some people had great physical strength and wanted to compare that.

Some had sharp vision or acute hearing and wanted to compare that.

Then there were those skilled in needlework, who wanted to challenge him in feminine arts.

So why hadn’t they succeeded? Because Lao Buyu, as he was known, didn’t agree. If one side unilaterally initiated a challenge that wasn’t easily accepted by the other, it naturally couldn’t succeed.

Of course, he couldn’t refuse everything. He accepted most challenges, but they were all within his expertise: rituals, music, archery, carriage driving, calligraphy, painting, poetry, tea, wine, and even gambling skills like dice, Pai Gow, or odd-even guessing.

“There’s an even more outrageous example. Last time, the owner of the Tianxiang Building in the capital brought his head chef specifically. As a result, Lao Buyu was surprisingly skilled in culinary arts. They competed to see whose knife skills were better, who could cook faster, and even compared their table arrangements. In the end, the owner of Tianxiang Building lost more than a dozen taels of silver and left with his entourage in embarrassment.”

Shen Cui still had some doubts and asked, “The Tianxiang Building is a famous restaurant in the capital and even the entire city. Could their head chef’s skills be inferior?”

The person responded, “There’s another rule in Lao Buyu’s competition: he invites the judges. It seems fair, right? But the judges are all of us here. Don’t think we’re petty; we’ve all spent quite a bit of silver. How could we easily let someone win? So, if both sides are evenly matched, we’ll still let Lao Buyu win.”

This was just human nature. If you spent a lot of money but didn’t get what you wanted, you naturally wouldn’t readily admit defeat.

Shen Cui understood this reasoning without it being explained. So, she shook her head and said she wouldn’t participate. Instead, she sincerely praised, “Brother speaks so straightforwardly.”

Hmm, hearing this, Shen Cui could confirm that this middle-aged scholar was undoubtedly the Lao Buyu from the original book.

This person had wasted a whole decade of his life on the road to the imperial examinations, probably studying various obscure skills.

Funny enough, this business was quite profitable. Mr. Huang diligently took care of a student day and night and only charged ten taels of silver a year.

But this Lao Buyu simply organized a competition, with no investment on his part, and earned one or two silver coins per person.

Everyone present was

“The victims,” just these people alone could bring in more than a dozen taels. Not to mention the Tianxiang Building owner mentioned by these people, or the young master Shen Cui had seen earlier, who probably didn’t hesitate to give him money.

If he made enough in one place, he could start afresh somewhere else.

Damn, he was a commercial genius.

If she could recruit such a commercial genius to her door, she wouldn’t have to worry about money in the future.

As for why his aptitude was only 85, Shen Cui also understood some of it. Presumably, doing these things had angered people, and his charm was exceptionally low, which lowered his overall aptitude.

As Shen Cui had guessed, there had indeed been fewer people coming to challenge him recently. Lao Buyu was indeed preparing to move on to another place to continue making money, no, to find his favored students.

Seeing a newcomer, although Lao Buyu’s true colors had been exposed by everyone, he didn’t show any signs of panic. He smiled and said, “Since the lady is here, it would be a shame to leave without a competition. I see that the young master has an impressive appearance and demeanor, not like an ordinary person. He truly catches my eye.”

To praise Mu Er Pang, who was as fat as a ball, as having an “impressive appearance and demeanor,” Lao Buyu was truly a smooth talker.

In the disdainful gaze of everyone, Shen Cui smiled faintly. “Alright, then I will compete with Master Lao, but not in cooking skills. Instead, we’ll compete in who can make the worst dish. Master, do you dare to accept?”