bigabreads Chapter 50: Blocking the Enrollment Door, Sister-in-Law Backs Up Your Second Brother
Chapter 50: Blocking the Enrollment Door, Sister-in-Law Backs Up Your Second Brother
Three days later, the Qin family drove to Guigu Academy.
This academy, hidden deep in the mountains and clouds, may not be as prestigious as the Imperial Academy in the capital, but in the Northwest, it is a sacred place in the hearts of scholars.
It is said that the headmaster has an eccentric personality and only accepts disciples based on fate, not their background. But in reality... the academy gate is filled with all kinds of luxurious carriages.
Wealthy merchants who wanted to send their children to school lined up, holding calligraphy and paintings by famous people, gold and silver artifacts, and stuffing red envelopes into the gatekeeper's hands.
It wasn't the desolate, godforsaken place the Qin brothers described.
"Go away! My headmaster said the spots are full this year!"
The gatekeeper, a middle-aged man with a pointed face and monkey-like features, held a newly acquired silver ingot in his hand, not even raising his eyelids: "Even if the King of Heaven himself came, there wouldn't be room left!"
Just then, the crisp sound of horses' hooves rang out.
A tall, powerful horse pulled a rather strange-looking cart, which stopped in front of the mountain gate.
On the cart sat a scholar in a blue robe and a pretty woman wrapped in a white fox fur coat.
Two burly men (the third and fourth brothers) followed beside him, looking like door gods.
It was the Qin family who joined up with the second son and officially entered the Ghost Valley Academy. This was part of the family's process of picking up and dropping off their children for school.
"Oh, where did this poor wretch come from?" A young man in fine clothes sneered, fanning himself. "Coming to study in a cart? When did Ghost Valley Academy become a shelter?"
Qin Mo pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses that Su Wan had specially made from scraps of wood on his nose.
Behind the glasses, those phoenix eyes coldly swept over the man. She didn't speak. But the aloofness emanating from her very bones and the oppressive aura of a refined scoundrel inexplicably silenced the young master.
"Second Brother, ignore the dog's barking." Su Wan jumped out of the car, holding a box wrapped in coarse cloth.
She walked up to the gatekeeper, smiling innocently: "Uncle, please announce my arrival. 'Qin Mo of the Qin family has come to become my apprentice.'"
The gatekeeper glanced sideways at the coarse cloth bundle, snorting coldly, "Apprenticeship? Where's the formal letter? Where's the tuition?"
"Just this little thing wrapped in a rag? Is it pickled vegetables or cured meat?"
"Hurry up and move aside! Don't block Young Master Zhang's way!"
As he spoke, he impatiently reached out to push Su Wan.
"Snap!" A long, strong hand caught the doorman's wrist in mid-air.
Qin Yue held a folding fan in his hand, smiling, but his grip was as strong as an iron clamp: "Uncle, don't stretch your arms too far."
"It's easy to break."
"You...you dare to cause trouble at the academy gate?!" The gatekeeper grimaced in pain and shouted loudly.
People gathered around, waiting to see these "poor bastards" make a fool of themselves.
Su Wan remained calm and composed.
She gently patted the coarse cloth bag in her hand, her voice clear and crisp: "Uncle, please take a closer look."
"This doesn't contain pickled vegetables."
"If this 'sacred object' gets exposed to light and blinds you, I won't be responsible for your medical expenses."
A sacred relic? A burst of laughter erupted around them. "Hahaha! Has this young lady gone mad?"
"Could there be sacred objects in this tattered bag?"
Su Wan ignored the mockery.
She slowly untied the layers of coarse cloth.
The movements were slow. It was very ritualistic.
The moment the last layer of fabric slipped off—
It was noon. The sunlight streamed down without any obstruction.
A dazzling seven-colored light exploded from Su Wan's palm in an instant!
"Hiss—!" A collective gasp filled the entire arena!
In Su Wan's hand, there was a crystal that was crystal clear and flawless.
Inside the crystal, a vibrant little flower was sealed, its bloom seemingly frozen in time with the sunlight. Radiant and dazzling! Divine and extraordinary!
"This...this is..." The doorman, who had been so arrogant just moments before, suddenly felt his legs go weak and almost knelt on the ground.
He had been guarding the academy for many years and had seen jade, agate, and even glass cups that were tributes from the Western Regions.
But those all contained impurities and bubbles! Nothing compares to the purity of this stuff in front of me!
It's like freezing the water in the sky!
"My God! Is this the legendary 'Spirit of Water'?!"
"Is that... a flower of immortality inside?!"
"Could this be... a royal treasure?!"
The crowd erupted in uproar! The young master who had just mocked Qin Mo now stared at the "Wenzhen" (a type of ancient Chinese paper money) with his eyes practically popping out of their sockets, and the fan in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Even if he sold his father's entire fortune, he couldn't afford a treasure of this caliber! Just who is this family?!
Qin Mo stood behind Su Wan, looking at the expressions on everyone's faces as if they had seen a ghost, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He pushed up his glasses to hide the shock in his eyes (although he had seen it yesterday, he was still shocked).
My sister-in-law's move was... truly beautiful.
"Uncle." Su Wan smiled and handed the glass paperweight forward: "This is just a little trinket that my second brother made on a whim when he had nothing to do. He wanted to give it to the headmaster to weigh down some paper money."
"Look... can this 'pickled vegetable' go in?"
The doorman's hand trembled as he reached out, wanting to take it but hesitant, afraid of dropping this "sacred object." "It...it can! It's incredibly powerful!"
"Young master, please! Madam, please!"
"I'll go inform the headmaster right away! I'll go right now!"
Watching the gatekeeper's retreating figure as he ran in with his tail between his legs, and then looking around at the gazes that instantly shifted to awe, speculation, and even a hint of fawning.
The Qin brothers straightened their backs.
Especially the fifth and sixth brothers, they exchanged glances, both seeing ecstasy in each other's eyes: Awesome! So awesome! This was all the "dignity" they had exhaled with their lungs last night!
Su Wan put Wen Zhen back into Qin Mo's hands, stood on tiptoe, and straightened his collar.
Her gestures were affectionate, yet carried a motherly authority: "Second Brother."
"Take this and go inside."
"Tell them that the Qin family's education is not based on charity or connections."
"We rely on our strength."