Chapter 85: When the time comes, we will go to the capital together and serve as officials.

Qin Ming cared more about something else.

"Is it only me, or does Xiao Ze and Shu Hua have one too?" Qin Ming asked, serious and curious.

Li Su replied calmly, "Only you have one."

Qin Ming suddenly burst out laughing, so loudly that Li Su was startled.

Li Su: "???"

Qin Ming felt, deep in his heart, as though he had edged past Lin Ze and Ren Shuhua to become Li Su's most special friend. The thought thrilled him so much that he laughed right out, unable to restrain his excitement at all.

"I only gave them ones that only they have too." What he had given the three of them were all different, but each was one of a kind.

Qin Ming's laughter stopped abruptly. He looked at Li Su with a trace of grievance, as if he were staring at a faithless lover, his emotions tossed high and low.

Li Su found it a little amusing. "So, do you want it or not?"

"I want it!" Qin Ming blurted out quickly, fearing it might be taken back.

He hurried off to find a pen, signed his name, and pressed his thumbprint onto it before seriously reading the details inside. He had only glanced over it earlier.

The more carefully he read, the more delighted he became. No matter what, what Brother Su had given him really was special.

When Qin Ming learned that Li Su was not going to the county school but instead to Bright Moon Academy, his face showed reluctance. Bright Moon Academy would definitely not accept the three of them, because their level was not high enough.

The county school had been the best choice for the three of them, and that meant they would have to part ways.

Li Su also felt somewhat reluctant, but all banquets in the world must come to an end, and it was not as if they would never meet again. They simply could not study together in the same academy for the time being.

"When the academy is on holiday, I'll come back. Don't slack off in your studies. I'll test you when I return. Work hard, and by then we'll go to the capital together to become officials." Li Su encouraged them while dangling a carrot in front of them.

Qin Ming nodded vigorously, vowing to work even harder to keep up with Brother Su's pace, or else moments like this would only become more frequent.

Li Su and Qin Ming did not talk for long before Qin's father returned.

He was very warm toward Li Su. On one hand, Li Su was his son's friend and had brought his son along to study diligently, successfully passing the scholar examination.

On the other hand, he felt that Li Su was a remarkably capable person who would surely go far in the future. After all, he was a top achiever in the provincial examinations, and he had even received an imperial edict and a reward from His Majesty!

For his son to have such a friend was truly his blessing.

When Li Su mentioned the wine shop, Qin's father immediately took interest. Since even the county magistrate had been persuaded by Li Su, it was certainly feasible, and surely a guaranteed profit.

Li Su choosing to bring him along was probably mostly because of his foolish son. He had not expected that one day he would benefit from that foolish son after all.

Qin's father and Li Su also signed an agreement, and he invited Li Su to stay for a meal.

Ren Shuhua and Lin Ze also received the gifts Li Su had prepared for them.

When the two of them learned that Li Su was not going to the county school but to Bright Moon Academy, they felt both glad for him and reluctant to part with him.

Their time with Li Su had not been very long, just a little over a year, yet the three of them seemed already accustomed to him, even dependent on him.

Still, even if Brother Su was not going to the county school, they would study hard.

It did not matter that they could not match Brother Su. But if they did not strive, then once Brother Su entered Bright Moon Academy, he would meet many ambitious students, and then where would their place be?

When Old Man Ren saw the rare book, his eyes lit up with excitement. He had never imagined that in his lifetime he would have the chance to see it!

Overcome with excitement, Old Man Ren reached out to take it, but Ren Shuhua quickly dodged aside and guarded it warily. This was a gift Brother Su had given him; he could not let Grandfather snatch it away.

Old Man Ren: "..."

"When you gave those paintings and calligraphies to Brother Su back then, you took them from me! Now that Brother Su has returned the favor, shouldn't you give it to me?"

Ren Shuhua remained perfectly calm. He did not care. Anyway, Brother Su had given it to him, not to his grandfather.

Ren Shuhua protected the rare book as he walked ahead, while Old Man Ren chased after him from behind.

...

Lin Ze opened the recipe book. Lin Ren had opened a new restaurant across from theirs and had even poached all the apprentices from their kitchen. The same dishes were priced slightly lower than theirs, and so far it had indeed affected business at their restaurant.

But was Lin Ren trying to force him and his mother to give up the restaurant business by using such a method? Lin Ren was truly foolish beyond help. Fortunately, he did not take after Lin Ren, or with that kind of stupidity, it would have been impossible for him to pass the scholar examination.

After the divorce, there had not been much money left with Lin Ren anyway. His behavior was no different from self-destruction, because the silver in his hands simply could not last long.

With the recipe Brother Su had given them, their restaurant could completely launch new dishes, attract more customers, and at the same time quickly bring about Lin Ren's ruin.

It also served as a warning to him: he could not afford to be careless with the apprentices in the shop.

Lin Ze discussed it with Jiang Yan. A chill flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes; this time, she would make sure Lin Ren had no chance to turn things around.

The merchants they worked with all knew that Lin Ren and Jiang Yan had divorced, and all the Jiang family business dealings were being handled by Jiang Yan herself. Many merchants looked down on her for being a woman who came out into the public eye, and their words, both openly and in secret, carried that contempt. On the surface they were somewhat polite, but behind her back they had nothing good to say.

Lin Ze felt sorry for Jiang Yan and wanted to take over the dealings afterward, but Jiang Yan refused and only told him to study hard.

"You studying well is your mother's greatest confidence. Even if they look down on me, with everything in writing, they still cannot break the contract." Besides, if she had been afraid of being looked down upon, she would not have divorced. Whether others looked up to her or down on her was not important.

Within a few days, Lin Ren's restaurant collapsed. Lin Ren was so enraged that his eyes turned red. He could not understand it. Where exactly had he fallen short?

In a dazed state, he returned to the Lin residence and wanted to find Li Jiaojiao to get some more silver and rise again. He refused to believe it!

In the end, he was stunned. He was stopped right at the gate of the Lin residence.

Lin Ren: "???"

He caused a scene at the door, demanding to know why he could not go back into his own home.

The servant at the gate said with contempt, "This house has already been bought by my master."

"What?"

Only later did Lin Ren learn that Li Jiaojiao had already sold the house and disappeared with Lin Xi.

The lonely Lin Ren clenched his teeth and went to Li Jiaojiao's hometown to look for her, but the Li family also said they did not know where she had gone.

Li Jiaojiao understood very well that Lin Ren himself was capable of nothing. The capable one had always been Jiang Yan.

If she and her son continued to follow Lin Ren, they would only be dragged down. Her son was going to become a district examination graduate in the future; she could not let Lin Ren squander all the family's money.

After discussing it with Lin Xi, Li Jiaojiao decided to take the silver and gold and silver jewelry they had on hand, then sell the Lin residence for another sum of money, and move elsewhere to buy a house and settle down.

With that money, as long as Lin Ren did not go on a spending spree, they could live very well.

Li Jiaojiao was also full of bitter resentment. After all those years, with so much of the Jiang family's fortune, they had gained nothing at all!

Lin Ren was penniless and living in a daze. He wanted to find Jiang Yan again, but every time the servants of the Jiang residence saw him, they beat him once. After a few beatings, he no longer dared to come. Jiang Yan always traveled with guards, so he had no chance at all.

He finally lowered himself to look for work, but no shop was willing to take him.

Lin Ren knew it must have been Jiang Yan's order. In the end, he had no choice but to return to his hometown. His heart was filled with hatred for both Jiang Yan and Li Jiaojiao, and he spent his days cursing in a shabby little house, living in poverty and misery.

...

As for Li Su, once he learned that Lin Ze's mother had divorced, he wanted his third sister to spend some time learning from Jiang Yan. That way, she would understand better how to manage the wine shop, and she could also bring the child to the county town to live for a while.

This was because after learning that Li Su had passed the scholar examination and received an imperial reward, Wang Dafa decided that the Li family must be very wealthy and wanted to come begging for peace, hoping to get a share of the profits.

So whenever Li Zhengping was alone, Wang Dafa was like a ghost, appearing from nowhere.

Now the Li family no longer dared to let Li Zhengping do anything alone, and Li Su therefore had the idea of having his third sister come to the county town to study for a while, until they had dealt with Wang Dafa.

This time, he would crush Wang Dafa completely.

I was once the sovereign of the Heavenly Realm, yet in a single morning I was reduced to an obscure writer on Tomato Novels. If you would spare me a few free acts of support for love, I will use them to aid my revenge; when the day of success comes, I shall surely repay you a hundredfold.