Su Hua’s words made the confused Liu Zijin clear his mind. There was no longer any conflict or pain in his eyes. He closed his eyes and calmed down the surging emotions in his heart. When he opened them again, his eyes were deep and cold.

Liu Zijin looked at Liu Zijian coldly and said, “Liu Zijian, you’ve committed a serious crime. What awaits you will only be prison. Your parents are abusing their power. Although their crime can’t be compared to yours, it’s not a small matter. Your family will pay the price for the evil you’ve done.”

Su Chong and Su Hua were right. This matter was definitely not so easy.

If it was really that simple, then the Liu family should support him and his mother, not treat them harshly.

Hatred was not something that could be resolved overnight, and it was even more impossible for it to dissipate overnight. Therefore, there had to be a victor between his family and Liu Zijian’s family. Someone had to pay the price.

If he were to back down now, he would undoubtedly be placing the lives of him and his mother in the hands of Liu Zijian’s family.

His mother had finally helped him escape. How could he disappoint her?

Liu Zijin looked at Liu Zijian with cold eyes. He would definitely return the suffering he had endured.

Liu Zijian was shocked. He did not expect Liu Zijin to not be tricked.

Now what?

A trace of fear appeared in Liu Zijian’s eyes. He regretted it now, but there was no way out. He could not escape even if he wanted to.

At this time, there was no need to doubt who the real Liu Zijin was.

But the verification had to be done.

The attendant brought over the things for Liu Zijian and Liu Zijin to sign and compare.

He then called a few more students who had entered the examination hall to identify them.

Liu Jiyuan looked and compared. The students who knew Liu Zijin were all pointing at Liu Zijin. The results were out. Liu Zijian’s crime was exposed and he was dragged out.

The people who had been summoned for no apparent reason breathed a sigh of relief. They had been summoned for no apparent reason and were too afraid to ask. They were all shocked.

Liu Zijin cupped his hands and said respectfully, “Thank you for testifying for me. I’ll treat you guys to a meal in the future.”

Those people waved their hands. Forget about eating. Liu Zijin was so poor. What good could he treat?

The distance was obvious. Liu Zijin knew that they looked down on him.

Liu Jiyuan said calmly, “Alright, now that this is over, you guys should hurry back to take your exams.”

The few of them immediately returned together.

Su Chong patted Liu Zijin’s shoulder and comforted her. “Zijin, don’t think too much. The most important thing is to take the exam well.”

Liu Zijin nodded. He knew it in his heart.

Su Chong, Su Hua, and Zhou Heng’s family backgrounds did not look bad. They would never understand his situation.

After what he’d been through, he understood better what he had to do.

He looked at Su Chong, Su Hua, and Zhou Heng. It was his honor to know them as friends. If they did not despise him in the future, Liu Zijin would definitely not let down this friendship.

They entered the exam room, cleared their minds of distractions, and concentrated on the exam.

Over the next few days, everyone spoke very little.

They didn’t meet much every day, but when they did, Su Chong would inject some internal force into them to relax their bodies and even give Liu Zijin some Qi Nourishing Pills to eat.

Liu Zijin accepted them all.

On June 29, they walked out of the exam hall together.

As soon as they left the examination hall, they all heaved a long sigh. The examination was finally over.

Su Xiaolu and Lin Pingsheng had been waiting outside since early in the morning.

Seeing them come out, Su Xiaolu went forward to take their pulses.

Lin Pingsheng naturally asked them about the exam.

Liu Zijin listened quietly.

Lin Pingsheng looked at Liu Zijin and asked with a smile, “Liu Zijin, how did you do? Are you willing to tell me?”

Liu Zijin’s eyes lit up. Naturally, he was willing to do so. He knew that Su Chong and the others’ master was formerly number three in the national examinations. He was talented and dignified enough to deserve the title.

With his validation, he felt more confident.

Liu Zijin didn’t hide anything and told him everything.

Lin Pingsheng listened and then agreed. “Excellent, excellent. Your literary talent is outstanding, and you’re considered one of the top ten students.”

Lin Pingsheng taught all year round and had a good grasp of his students’ standards.

Liu Zijin’s talent was no different from Su Hua’s. He was also a rare talent.

Liu Zijin was delighted. He cupped his hands respectfully and said humbly, “Thank you for your kind words, teacher.”

Lin Pingsheng nodded. “As long as you persevere, good things will definitely come your way.”

Lin Pingsheng was very thin and there was a mature calmness in his eyes. It must not have been easy for him to come this far.

But after all the hardships, wealth and glory would come slowly.

Liu Zijin nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

He lowered his eyes to keep his sorrow from showing.

When they returned to the inn, Su Xiaolu even performed acupuncture on Liu Zijin.

Liu Zijin thanked her gently.

Su Xiaolu waved her hand generously. “No need, no need.”

Su Xiaolu felt that Liu Zijin had become much more generous. He didn’t seem to care if he would owe others too much. This kind of relaxed generosity was actually a form of confidence.

Liu Zijin’s family background was not good, and after this incident, even if he became an Elementary Scholar, it would not be so easy for him to live a good life. Why was he so relaxed and generous?

It could have been some other encounter. Who cared? He was nobody to her.

Su Xiaolu didn’t think too much about Liu Zijin. She put away the needle and left.

The release of the rankings this time would take five days. In the next few days, they could even play around.

In the past few days, many influential people in Anping County held banquets to invite some students to eat and recite poems.

Su Hua and Zhou Heng followed Lin Pingsheng.

Su Chong only went for half a day before returning.

Su Xiaolu was making medicine. Su Chong came to Su Xiaolu’s side and said, “Xiaolu, is there anything I can help you with? I can help you.”

Su Xiaolu looked at Su Chong curiously. “Brother, why are you back so early?”

No one would come back so quickly from socializing.

Su Xiaolu was not interested in going. She might as well make pills in the inn.

However, Su Xiaolu was a little curious about Su Chong’s return so quickly.

Su Chong said with a worried expression, “I don’t like that kind of place. I have to say a lot of things in a roundabout way. It’s very annoying. Teacher also said that I’m not suitable for it. Anyway, it’s fine if I don’t go. There’s still Little Brother Hua and Little Brother Heng. They’ll tell me about it when they come back, so I came back first.”

“What medicine are you making? Let me help you. Big Brother is strong.”

Su Chong looked at the bags of medicine beside Su Xiaolu and was eager to try.

Su Xiaolu smiled, her eyes curved beautifully. She said sweetly, “Brother, I don’t need your help. I’m not in a hurry, but since you’re free, why don’t we go out of the city to the mountains and see if we can pick some good herbs?”

“I haven’t competed with you in internal force in a long time. How about we go to the sparsely populated mountains and have some fun sparring?”

Su Xiaolu put down the stone jar and said. She could go out and see how Su Chong’s martial strength was. She could also pick some herbs along the way. How good was that? If she encountered good herbs, she could get her brother’s help if the terrain was high. It was simply perfect.