Chapter 48

With the promise of five hundred taels of silver from Zong Jincheng, the students at Qingbo Academy went absolutely wild!

Students who were originally eager to go home decided to stay, and even called their servants to join them in the search within the academy.

Qingbo Academy was in an uproar.

Not only did the students go crazy, but even the teaching scholars were swept up in the frenzy. The entire academy was mobilized to help find the missing jade pendant.

"Quick, quick! Go to the examination hall where Zong Wenxiu spent the most time. He must have lost it there!"

"Alright, alright, we're going... but sir, there are too many people searching that hall. We can't get through!"

"You have to get through! That's five hundred taels of silver we're talking about!!"

"Oh, and don't forget to check the latrines. He must have been there today!"

"And the path to the examination hall!"

"We should also search the road from the academy to his home!"

"And the area around his carriage!"

"Can we even check inside his carriage?"

"..."

Qin Ye, after finishing his exam, was summoned by the academy's headmaster for a conversation about his performance in the recent four-academy joint exam.

He disliked any interruptions to his studies, including those from the headmaster, so he simply muttered an acknowledgment and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere, bringing up the matter of changing shifts. Only after getting the headmaster's approval did he feel that his time had not been wasted.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the headmaster's office, he was nearly knocked over by the chaotic crowd of students. Qin Ye's already cold expression turned even more frigid. "What is going on here?"

His servant, struggling to clear a path for him, explained, "Sir, it's because Zong Wenxiu from Marquis Manor lost his jade pendant. His brother, Zong Jincheng, offered a reward of five hundred taels to anyone who finds it."

Qin Ye: "..." What a ridiculous and absurd move.

He continued walking forward, his face still dark, clearly harboring even worse impressions of those two names.

Another three pages of his book wasted thanks to these interruptions.

Zong Jincheng, busy searching for the pendant, didn't run into Qin Ye. If he had, there would have been no shortage of sarcastic remarks.

As for Qin Ye, he still hadn't made the connection between Zong Jincheng and the name.

"I found it! I found it!!!"

"The five hundred taels is mine! Hahaha! It's mine!!"

"Hey! What are you doing! Don't take my pendant! This is robbery! Outright robbery!!"

Hearing this commotion, Zong Wenxiu rushed over, but the crowd was too dense to push through.

The person who found the pendant was waving it high above his head, the jade dancing in the air, at risk of being crushed if it fell.

Zong Wenxiu anxiously called out, "Be careful! Be careful!"

Zong Jincheng strode forward and ordered, "Buyan, retrieve the pendant!"

Buyan, with his exceptional martial arts and superb lightness skills, leaped into the air, performed a somersault, and snatched the pendant from the chaos. Those who had been trying to grab it, seeing his formidable skills, immediately backed off.

The grand search for the pendant finally came to an end, and the crowd, disappointed, began to disperse.

Only ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‍the boy who had found the pendant remained, both elated and anxious as he approached. "I found it! You took it from my hands!"

He was thrilled at the prospect of receiving five hundred taels but was also nervous, fearing they might renege on the reward. His nerves were on edge.

Buyan handed the pendant to Zong Jincheng, who casually examined it. It was ordinary, nothing special. He passed it to Zong Wenxiu, who, like a precious treasure, first wiped it clean before carefully inspecting it.

Zong Wenxiu's eyes welled with tears of joy. "It's mine! It's my jade pendant!"

The boy, relieved, cautiously asked, "Then, about the reward..."

Zong Wenxiu's body stiffened at the mention of the reward. The pendant had been found only because his brother had offered five hundred taels, prompting everyone to search so diligently.

But five hundred taels... he didn't have that kind of money.

He had only managed to save a little over a hundred taels so far...

Zong Jincheng patted Zong Wenxiu on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we have money at home. Take him back to the manor and have Xu Wan handle it."

Zong Wenxiu: "..."

Would Madam Xu really pay?

That was five hundred taels...

Madam Xu had always been strict with Zong Jincheng's spending, and she herself rarely made large expenditures. Five hundred taels was no small sum for her.

When Xu Wan heard that she was expected to pay, she nearly laughed in anger.

But with an outsider present, she had to maintain her composure. She instructed Steward Liu to take the boy who found the pendant to the front hall to rest.

In the side hall, Xu Wan launched into a scolding tirade. "Well, well, Zong Jincheng, our esteemed young master, sure knows how to throw money around! Spending five hundred taels to find a jade pendant worth just four taels! People would think you're some prince incognito!"

Zong Jincheng retorted, "Princes don't have money. Only the richest people do."

Xu Wan: "..."

Ugh, this little brat is too good at picking apart her words!

She snapped, "Even if we were the richest, that's your grandmother's family's money, not ours!"

Zong Jincheng argued confidently, "Grandmother is an only child. All that money is ours. I'm the eldest grandson of the Zong family. It's all meant for me to spend."

Xu Wan clutched her head in agony. This profligate behavior...

How was it that after three months of teaching, he was still like this?

She began to deeply reflect on her methods.

Zong Wenxiu timidly spoke up, "I'm sorry, Madam Xu. This was all my fault. I will pay the five hundred taels." He then remembered he didn't have that much and added, "You can deduct it from my monthly allowance."

His monthly allowance was twenty taels, so deducting four hundred taels would take over a year and a half.

Xu Wan said, "This incident isn't your fault. The legal minimum reward for finding lost items is one tael, which wasn't enough to motivate the crowd. But... you shouldn't have raised it to five hundred taels! Zong Jincheng, do you think money grows on trees?"

Zong Jincheng plugged his ears to block out her shouting. With his eyes closed, he said, "Well, you have to pay anyway. The boy is waiting outside. You wouldn't want Marquis Manor to lose face, would you?"

"You caused this mess. Why should I clean it up?"

"Because you're my mother right now!" Zong Jincheng shouted back.

Both of them froze.

Even Zong Wenxiu was a bit stunned.

It seemed this was the first time he had heard his brother utter that word.

Zong Jincheng was the first to recover. He quickly explained, "No, I mean, who else would take care of it since you're the one acting as my... well, you have to handle it."

The little tyrant was uncharacteristically awkward, his tone revealing a hint of dependence, even a touch of coquettishness and submission.

Xu Wan's heart softened.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The boy, with that innocent, harmless face, was once again working his charm.

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