Li Shanbao’s face looked pale. Every year, there were so many talented people came out in succession in Dahan Country. Of course, he knew that would not happen. Su Qingtan really had the ability to rank among the top talents of Dahan Country.
When the imperial examination was over, Su Qingtan would inevitably be famous and become a newly appointed high official in Yunjing. At that time, let alone one Baiwei Building, even if one hundred Baiwei Buildings, he wouldn’t care.
“Damn it, why didn’t I realize that Su Qingtan is a man of great potential!”
Li Shanbao squatted down to pick up the examination notice and asked Li Wei to keep another letter in a hurry. It was nothing but the letter that Su Qingtan wrote to his family. From the letter written to his family that could be packed with the examination notice, Li Shanbao knew that Su Qingtan had obtained some power which was beyond his control.
“Then we just give the Baiwei Building to others?” Li Wei seemed helpless and reluctant.
“How confused you are!”
Li Shanbao reprimanded him and said coldly, “When the news spreads, even the Zhu Family will give up and let the Su Family monopolize the Baiwei Building. Do you think Su Qingtan will care about the Baiwei Building when he comes back? The Su Family will inevitably move to Yunjing with Su Qingtan, then we will have no power to offend them. It is the right thing to try to make a good deal with the Su Family now. I heard that Su Qingtan spoils Su Li very much. So, you must make good preparations for that and I’ll visit the Su Family personally!”
Su huanli was alert to Li Shanbao’s sudden visit. But when he received Su Qingtan’s letter, he immediately came to his sense with ecstasy and had a series of thoughts in his mind.
These thoughts could be summed up in one sentence.
The Su Family was going to be completely developed!
“That’s great, Master. Qingtan ranks first in the preliminary examination.” The Second Madam didn’t finish her words and began to cry with her eyes turning red.
Su Huanli held the Second Madam and comforted her in a low voice, “What are you crying about? Our son has a promising future. You should be happy!”
Su Huanli’s tone was gentler than ever.
The Second Madam, Li Yuelian, was the birth mother of Su Qingtan. The mother relied on her son. Li Yuelian’s position in his heart immediately surpassed Zhu Yan and was second only to Su Qingtan. Even Su Li came to the third place in his heart.
Next day, Li Shanbao posted the examination notice. The news that Su Qingtan ranked first in the preliminary examination immediately triggered the public opinion in Dasu Town. And even the scandal of the Yang Family was temporarily suppressed. The name “Su Qingtan” could be heard everywhere.
“Does the eldest brother win the first in the preliminary examination?”
Su Li felt shocked when she got the news. The eldest brother in the previous life took the preliminary examination a year later. But he didn’t get in the top three. Although he passed the second examination, he failed to enter the School of Chinese Classics. He could not compare with Yunjing’s young talents, and only ended up in the bottom ranking of the imperial examination.
Su Li didn’t expect that he only took the preliminary examination one year earlier than the previous life and he even won the title of No.1.
“It seems that talents in Qinghe Province this year who took part in the preliminary examination are not as good as those of next year. But it doesn’t affect my plan. The eldest brother still needs to stay at the School of Chinese Classics for one year…”
Su Li tapped on the table with her slender fingers and looked out through the window into the distance. It was Yunjing, the capital of the Dahan Country.
In her previous life, she heard people talk about his origin afterwards. In this life, he should be there at present, but Su Li didn’t know what his identity was…
Time went by without any clue among the fingers. Su Li’s daily schedule was full and there was even no time for her to take a break or to be lazy for a while. She was also happy to be like this. Over the past half month, she knew all the herbs which Qi Xianqing handed over to her. Every day, she acted as a drug seller in the Baicao Tang by operating the Nothing Unusual. Except Qi Xianqing, no one discovered her real identity.
These days, the Zhu Family didn’t act foolishly. They gave the Baiwei Building to the Su Family just like the Yang Family and promised that all profits would be the Su Family’s. Every day, famous nobles paid visits to the Su Family. Even Su Zipei, who had always been disdained by others, was proposed marriages by those who want to have some relationships with Su Qingtan.
Su Huanli had a high vision nowadays and surely wouldn’t agree. He expected that his two daughters would go to Yunjing and marry nobilities. How could he think highly of these small rural families?
“Well, I didn’t expect that Li Yuelian’s son would be so promising!”
Zhu Yan patted the tabletop, and gashed her teeth. Her status in the Su Family was now much lower than before. Su Huanli had not come to her room for several months. And even the maids looked at her in a different way.
“But, I am worried that I can’t go to Yunjing to inquire about some news. When Zipei returned to her own family with the jade pendant, even if I am only her adoptive mother, anyone in the Su Family won’t be comparable with my identity.”
In the past six months, she has hardly done bad things. And she didn’t stop Su Li from doing anything free. Also, she had made much progress in exploring the jade pendant. Just a few days ago, she had already found out that this kind of jade pendant was only qualified by the royal family members. Maybe her daughter could become a princess of the dynasty!
Night fell in a blink of an eye. The entire Dasu Town went into silence.
In front of an unattractive yard in the forest outside the town, a man in black stood respectfully and quietly with unprecedented expectations in his bright eyes.
“The childe is coming and I don’t know if the file I prepared can satisfy him.”
The man in black waiting in the uneasy mood. At that time, an ordinary carriage stopped in front of the yard, and he immediately saluted, “I’m Black Star, and I am here to respectfully greet the childe!”
The cold teenager dressed like the groom jumped from the carriage. His eyes were as cool as lightning and his vigorous cultivation was as good as Fang Yuan. Such an excellent teenager was just a servant of the so-called “childe” by the man in black.
When the man in black saw the face of the handsome teenager, his pupils immediately shrank. He bowed his head and said respectfully, “The Leader is here, too.”
The cold teenager nodded slightly and opened the curtain. A face with a jade mask appeared. At the same time, the wind blew the face of Black Star who hummed as if he was hit hard, but instead of being angry, he felt surprised and said, “Childe, you have made another breakthrough!”
The thin lips under the jade mask were lifted up, and a pair of eyes was like a boundless sky with scattered stars, which made people unconsciously immerse in it.
“Let’s go in first.”
The low, hoarse but magnetic voice vibrated the air slightly and wakened Black Star immediately. He led the two people in.
Black Star served the tea that he prepared for them. The teenager with the jade mask sat down and the cold teenager stood aside. Instantly, Black Star didn’t dare to sit down. He could just be respectful as a servant.
After a while, the cold teenager said, “What is the situation in Qinghe Province?”
Black Star quickly presented the file, and the cold teenager put it away without a glance. He was always responsible for killing, as for checking files and making plans, other people would take in charge.
“Black Star, you said that there is a special girl in the Dasu Town.”
The teenager with the jade mask said with his lips lightly lifted up in a voice that had a strange vibration. It showed that he was very interested in the so-called special girl by Black Star.
“Yes!” Black Star immediately told them what he saw and heard entirely. Then he talked about the Fried Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame and the Beggar’s Chicken, the two dishes that he had never heard before.
The cold teenager nodded and said, “Master, you have made a lot of delicacies, but you’ve never made the Fried Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame and the Beggar’s Chicken. I’m afraid it’s just a coincidence that Su Li can make the Zongzi.”
The teenager with the jade mask said nothing, but he was shocked so much in his heart.
The Zongzi, the Fried Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame and the Beggar’s Chicken…Black Star and Ling Mo didn’t know these dishes, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t know. These…were the local delicacies of Huaguo Country on the blue planet before he had the time travel!
“Isn’t this girl also from the earth like me?”
The teenager with the jade mask fell into meditation. The cold teenager was surprised by him, because it’s the first time that he has seen the master meditate on a girl. It was known that even if the saintess in the cult chased him back crazily, he was not moved a little.
“Interesting…Ling Mo, do some arrangements. I have to observe by myself.”
The teenager with the jade mask said in a tone that couldn’t be refuted. The cold teenager swallowed hard and didn’t say anything. They came to Dasu Town not only for the file and Su Li. If it was only for the two small things, how could the honorable master come in person?
“The master is suddenly interested in Su Li. Wish him don’t miss our proper business.” The cold teenager sighed and said nothing.
Black Star understood the meaning of the childe, and he immediately asked, “Should I notify the branch of the holy cult?”
“This trip is confidential. To avoid trouble, don’t inform the people of the branch.”
After said that, the teenager with the jade mask immediately stepped out as if he had crossed several feet. The cold teenager followed him and they disappeared in a twinkling of an eye.
“The childe has made terrific progress in Xuangong. I even can’t see the real and the false.”
Black Star stood at the door and sighed in his heart, “Comparisons were odious.”
Among Jianghu, there were three religions and nine schools of thoughts with strict ranks. The martial arts world, which was composed of people practicing ordinary martial arts, was the lowest level of Jianghu. Their military accomplishments were usually defined according to the years that they practiced the martial arts.
However, the most talented martial arts master could only acquire the third hurdle in his lifetime, then he could only stop by the restriction of the practice methods.
If one practiced Xuangong, as long as he or she could get started, his or her ability could reach the acquired first hurdle. In this way, one could save countless years of hard work and became a master instantly. Jianghu composed of Xuangong masters was known as the martial arts circle.
Black Star was just 30 years old this year. He had reached the acquired fourth hurdle and was a silver medal killer of the Xuelou Cult. But he knew that his trifling cultivation was not worth mentioning at all in front of the childe.
The clear breeze blew gently in the evening. Su Li came out from the Baicao Tang and she felt a little cold.
“No wonder… It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival in half a month.”
Su Li whispered. Maybe Qi Xianqing thought she worked too hard recently and let her go back earlier. At this moment, the evening market of Dasu Town was about to begin. Many people were carving melons as lanterns to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival in half a month.
“Despite the family power, Dasu Town is a rare peaceful place. Maybe this was the reason why Qi Xianqing chose to live in seclusion here.”
Su Li strolled on the street, and her mood was rarely peaceful and warm. This feeling was hard to have and she cherished it very much. Driven by her thoughts, she walked through the market like a butterfly.
Suddenly, Su Li turned her head and saw two teenagers under the marvelous lights not far away. One teenager walked in front with a folding fan in his hand and a smile on his face. Although he was fifteen or sixteen years old, his handsome face was embedded with a pair of deep starry eyes, which made it impossible to see clearly what kind of person he was.
Behind the handsome teenager, a cold teenager followed with a stiff face. Maybe it’s because that he didn’t laugh for years, he was very reluctant to laugh.
This face…
Su Li unconsciously stopped and blankly stared at the teenager coming towards her. The light and shadow around her seemed to stretch away indefinitely and she could only hear her heartbeat.
“Master, is it really appropriate for you not to wear a mask?”
Following behind the childe, Ling Mo helplessly asked in a low voice. The teenager smiled and shook his head, “It’s not often for us to come to this frontier town to relax ourselves and enjoy life. Do you even care about this?”
“Master, that’s not what I mean.”
Ling Mo hurriedly waved his hand, but he saw the childe in front of him suddenly stop, which almost caused him hit the childe.
Ling Mo’s eyes immediately became fierce, he raised his head and wanted to go forward to protect the teenager. But when he looked up, he was stunned. A young girl at their age was standing in front of them as if she had lost her soul.
