Chapter 47: The Prodigal Genius

“What am I jealous of? Did I say something wrong?” The man sneered. “If he’s unhappy, he should come out and say it. Hiding behind a woman—what’s that?”

Hearing those harsh words, Shen Xiuyan frowned and was about to step forward, but Su Mingyue stopped him with a hand.

She was like a protective hen, “Don’t come out, just stay behind me! I’ll say it—my husband is the best, at least a thousand times better than you, the sour, jealous type!”

“You—” The man was furious, pointing a finger at Su Mingyue’s nose.

Su Mingyue rolled her eyes. “What do you mean ‘you’? If you’re not convinced, do you dare to bet?”

The man, a rich young master, was also irritated by her words. “Bet! What’s the bet?”

“Let’s bet a thousand taels. If my husband passes the Jinshi exam, you give me a thousand taels. If not, I’ll give you a thousand taels.”

The crowd erupted in murmurs, surprised by how wealthy this young lady was.

Was she serious?

The man hesitated. A thousand taels was his yearly allowance. If he lost, he would have to live a hard life for the rest of the year.

Seeing his hesitation, Su Mingyue taunted, “Don’t tell me you’re too scared?”

The man couldn’t bear the challenge, “Who’s scared? Let’s bet!”

“Alright, let’s sign an agreement.”

“Let’s sign. Whoever doesn’t sign is a coward.”

Shen Xiuyan stood frozen, watching the situation unfold. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stop it; he was just stunned by his wife’s boldness.

Where did his precious wife get all this confidence to trust him so much?

He didn’t even trust himself this much…

Once they signed the agreement and exchanged the documents, agreeing to see the results after the exam, Su Mingyue finally had the leisure to look at Shen Xiuyan.

Eh? Why does my husband look so stiff?

She nudged him, confused, “Husband?”

Shen Xiuyan stared blankly at her.

She smiled encouragingly at him.

Shen Xiuyan despondently wiped his face.

If he failed the exam, he would really be the most wasteful man ever…

Golden autumn in September.

The sun was shining brightly.

White clouds drifted lazily across the sky, as if to say that today was a good day.

Shen Xiuyan stood in line outside the examination hall with a basket in hand.

The county exam lasted nine days, so he had brought a lot of food. But most of it was steamed buns and large cakes, since the weather was still warm, and other foods wouldn’t last.

The inspection at the entrance was stricter than before. Not only were the food items almost completely sifted through, but even their clothes were nearly stripped off.

Even so, some people still tried to smuggle in contraband.

Hearing the cries of those being dragged away, Shen Xiuyan shuddered. It was quite terrifying.

After entering smoothly, Shen Xiuyan began his nine-day examination.

It was far more exhausting than the college entrance exam.

At least in the college entrance exam, you could go home after each subject, but here, he was stuck for nine days.

During these nine days, he dared not drink too much water for fear of an upset stomach. The well water in the courtyard was only opened once every three years—who knew how many germs were in it?

He couldn’t eat well, couldn’t sleep comfortably, and the only relief was that he wasn’t assigned a spot next to the outhouse, or else he would have no place to cry.

Before he knew it, it was the last day.

Shen Xiuyan wrote the final character, then set down his brush and gently blew on the paper to prevent the ink from smudging.

After these days of exams, his only feeling was that it had been too easy.

How could the questions be this simple?

He had doubted more than once if he had misjudged the questions.

But since he had finished writing, thinking about it wouldn’t help. He shrugged his stiff shoulders and sat aside, waiting for the exam to end.

With the sound of a loud gong, the county exam officially came to a close.

Some were happy, some were sad. As Shen Xiuyan walked out, he saw people crying because they hadn’t finished the questions.

His heart instantly sank. Were the questions really that hard???

Could they not finish them???

Did he really misread the questions???

No, please!

Scared and disheartened, Shen Xiuyan walked out mechanically.

Su Mingyue, seeing his emotionless face, immediately thought he was in a bad mood and hurriedly pulled him into the cart to comfort him.

“Husband, don’t think about it. We’ll go home, eat, and sleep. There’s no use in thinking about it now since the exam’s already over.”

Shen Xiuyan suddenly hugged Su Mingyue, pretending to cry.

“Wuwuwu~ Mingyue, the money we bet might be gone.”

Su Mingyue thought he was just feeling down but realized he was actually worried about the money.

She smiled and patted his head. “It’s fine, it’s just a little silver. I did it for fun back then, don’t take it too seriously.”

She never thought she’d actually win it back; she was just mad about the situation. She didn’t realize her husband took it seriously.

Shen Xiuyan wailed, “Sorry, I’m so wasteful. From now on, my allowance will be reduced. Just give me one or two taels a month.”

Su Mingyue choked.

Did he just say the opposite?

How could he be wasteful???

She had never met a more frugal man than her husband!

True “prodigal genius,” Su Mingyue felt guilty, thinking five taels of silver was already too little—how could one or two taels be enough?

Suddenly, she felt a bit guilty.

“No need, no need. Husband, don’t think about these things. Let’s just go home.”