Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 36

Isn’t this a common theme in many storybooks? The young and handsome champion, favored by high-ranking officials and even the emperor’s princess, abandons his poor wife in the countryside to suddenly rise to wealth and live a life of luxury.

The thought of this possibility distresses the old lady.

It can only be said that the situation of the young lady next door stirs too many emotions in her, leading to such associations.

Lu Baobao eats her meal in silence, feeling that the hem of her clothing is being tugged by someone. She stays quiet, discreetly placing one hand under the table, and then waves her arm to swat away the annoying hand. However, before she can succeed, her hand is caught by the other party.

Tang Dingyuan’s palm is large, and his fingers are slender. Lu Baobao feels as if her small hand is completely enveloped by his, and she can’t pull away. Afraid of being seen, she glares at the boy beside her, feeling a mix of shame and anger.

Unfortunately, this glance is directed at the blind man. Tang Dingyuan continues to eat as if nothing has happened, acting as if the hand holding Lu Baobao’s beneath the table isn’t his.

He has also heard the commotion from next door and sensed the old lady’s slightly downcast mood. It seems that everyone present has started to worry about his and Lu Baobao’s engagement.

While he doesn’t mind what others think, he is concerned that Lu Baobao might misinterpret things. So, he holds her hand firmly to convey his firm attitude.

Initially, he intends to hold it briefly, but Lu Baobao’s hand is small and soft, and he finds himself reluctant to let go.

As Lu Xiuyu bends down to pick up her chopsticks, she spots the two small hands that haven’t had time to separate, tightly intertwined, as if they want to meld into one another.

Now she finally understands that the two aren’t blushing from wearing too many clothes but rather from the turmoil in their hearts. The juicy cabbage she has grown has not yet reached the harvest season, but the pig at home has taken a bite first. This feeling leaves Lu Xiuyu with mixed emotions, unsure of what to do.

“Slap—”

When her cousin bends down to pick up the chopsticks, Lu Baobao, eager to break free from Tang Dingyuan’s hand, struggles so much that she becomes flustered and uses her other hand to swat at the unruly “pig’s trotters.”

This move startles the old lady.

“Swatting, swatting mosquitoes.”

Faced with two pairs of scrutinizing eyes, Lu Baobao feels embarrassed and quickly comes up with a lame excuse.

Where could mosquitoes come from in the winter? To prove she isn’t lying, Lu Baobao raises her hand and hits herself again. “This mosquito is quite lucky; it actually survives until winter,” she says, nodding seriously.

The old lady seems unsure whether to believe her or to feign confusion, and the matter is quickly dropped.

Seeing this, Lu Baobao breathes a sigh of relief, but when she catches sight of her cousin’s thoughtful expression, she realizes she has still exposed herself. A flush of color rushes from her neck to her cheeks, making her feel utterly mortified.

******

The next day, the young lady next door returns with a small piece of pork, but Lu Miao notices that her pant legs are much looser than before. The wolf-skin knee pads she had shown off to the old lady seem to be gone.

The young woman mentions that her father was a famous hunter in their area when he was young and even single-handedly killed an old wolf that had strayed from its pack. When she was little, she accidentally fell into an icy river and developed a cold leg condition. When her father sold the wolf, he specifically kept a small piece of the wolf’s skin and asked the village doctor to make it into medicine. Ever since then, as long as she wears that knee pad, her cold leg condition rarely flares up.

Her father truly loved her as a little girl. Unfortunately, in the second year after she got married, he goes into the mountains and encounters a blind bear. When the village’s strong men go to search for him, they find he doesn’t have a good piece of meat left on him.

Since then, her brother and sister-in-law become the heads of the family, and her mother has to cater to their moods. No one loves her the way her father did.

It seems that the young lady has sold the knee pads to trade for meat for her man.

Lu Miao recalls how, after they had grown closer, the young lady lifted her trouser legs to show her the wolf skin when they were alone. She appears more lively then, with a genuine smile. At that moment, this woman, usually so timid, has a hint of pride on her face.

Suddenly, Lu Miao understands why the widow tried to stop her yesterday. Perhaps, in the young lady’s heart, nothing is more important than her man’s approval. If she had tried to persuade her at that moment, the young lady likely wouldn’t have listened.

She doesn’t expect that despite being older than them by so many years, her ability to judge people isn’t as keen as that widow’s.

Of course, it could also be that she and the young lady are getting along well, and sometimes the widow, merely a bystander, can see things clearly.

With the arrival of the piece of meat, there is no more trouble next door for the next two days.

Three days later, the day of the results announcement arrives.

On that day, a crowd gathers in front of the notice board of the examination hall. When the officials emerge with the list, the noise intensifies as countless people push forward to see their rankings.

“I passed! I passed!”

“Thirteenth place! My young master is thirteenth!”

Those who pass the exam are, of course, ecstatic.

“Why isn’t my name on the list? Did I miss it? Please make way! Stop squeezing; let me see clearly!”

“No, it’s still not there. How could I not pass?”

Those who fail the exam look as if they have lost a loved one.

The four members of the Lu family arrive early but are still slightly late. There are so many people that they can’t squeeze in, even if they want to.

A man in his thirties or forties bursts from the crowd. His clothes are disheveled, and one of his shoes is stepped on, but he doesn’t care about any of that. After forcing his way out of the throng, he kneels on the ground, raises his hands to the sky, and howls.

“I passed! I passed!”

Lu Miao recognizes him as the husband of the young lady.

This man has some skills; after all, he has studied for many years and has considerable experience with imperial examinations. Compared to most young candidates, he has a slight edge. Unfortunately, he is not exceptional and lacks the luck needed to succeed in each exam, causing him to fail repeatedly.

This time, due to a twist of fate, the Lu family inadvertently helps him. Some candidates in the examination hall are distracted by the smell of instant noodles and don’t perform to their full potential. Thus, this man narrowly manages to become the last candidate on the list.

On the other side, the widow’s son squeezes his way out of the crowd, his expression downcast, clearly indicating he hasn’t passed the exam.

The widow, who has been hopeful, feels a pang of sadness but still makes an effort to cheer herself up and comfort her son. She reminds him that he is still young and that the scholar next door has been over 30 when he finally succeeded. Compared to that man, he still has many more opportunities ahead of him.

The mother and son support each other as they leave the place.

“The name of the head of the case this time is really unusual. Tang Dingyuan shares the same name as the hero Lu from The Legend of Sword and Fairy.“

“Have you read The Legend of Sword and Fairy? It’s a novel that brings so much joy to readers. The second volume was released last month, but I haven’t had time to read it yet because I’ve been preparing for the exam. I don’t even know if Master Lu ends up with Miss Tang.”

A few scholars squeeze out of the crowd. Perhaps because they have passed the exam, they have time to discuss the novel.

“Of course, besides Miss Tang, who else is worthy of Daxia Lu wielding the divine sword to enter Demon Seepage Mountain seven times and rescue their saint daughter from a group of evil demons? And who else would explore the Red Sea for Daxia Lu three times? The Jade Bodhi even prays for him from the depths of the sea!”

The scholar who speaks is passionate, his eyes shining with admiration for Daxia Lu and longing for the deep friendship between Lu and Tang.

On the side, Lu Baobao is almost embarrassed to death, glaring angrily at the instigator. Unfortunately, the instigator doesn’t see her and keeps his head down, trying to sneakily hold her little hand.

“Let’s not even talk about Lu Daxia. Just look at the top candidate—only seventeen years old this year! He truly deserves to be called a talented youth.”

“Yeah, but I wonder who Miss Tang is. I’d really like to get to know him.”

The group continues their discussion as they move away from the Lu family.

“Seventeen… Tang Dingyuan…”

Lu Miao doesn’t understand the plot of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, but her mind keeps replaying the conversation about the case. Could it be such a coincidence? The person responsible for this case has to be her prospective grandson-in-law!

The old lady’s hands tremble with excitement. Until now, she has only thought of her future grandson-in-law returning as a scholar. She has never even considered his natural talent, but her Yuan Ge’er is truly remarkable—first place!

For the first time, she feels that her second son has done something worthwhile by securing such a good son-in-law for the Lu family.