Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple Chapter 327 - 132: Bumping Into It Twice

The affair concerning Cui Junrong was actually quite simple, yet its nature was appallingly heinous.

It was incredibly difficult for a scholar to pass the imperial examinations and earn an official post. Ten years of arduous study were often not enough to succeed, and so had studied for far longer than ten or even twenty years.

They lacked natural talent, relying solely on their tenacity, sleeping late and rising before dawn. To support their studies, entire families would eat bran and wild greens, going the whole year without a single taste of at.

If they truly had no chance at such a life-altering opportunity, then so be it. But they did have a chance, and it was brutally snatched away from them.

Forcibly preventing capable candidates from taking the imperial examinations—how was that any different from cheating during the exams themselves?

"Father told Mr. Cheng about this. Mr. Cheng should make his move in the next day or two."

Guyuan County lies to the northwest of Qingshui County, with two other counties separating them. Ordinarily, since their territories didn’t border each other, there should have been no grievances between them.

However, a tributary of the Yellow River flowed from Guyuan County down to Qingshui County.

Two years ago, when the northern lands were suffering from a drought, the County Magistrate of Guyuan County ordered a dam to be built upstream. This blocked the water, causing the drought to grow even more severe in all the downstream counties, including Qingshui County.

Mr. Cheng and several other county magistrates personally went to Guyuan County to negotiate, but their discussions yielded no results. In a rage, they reported the matter directly to Mr. Sheng.

Only after Mr. Sheng gave the order did Cui Wei dismantle the dam, but by then, a month had already passed. As a result, Qingshui County’s agricultural output plumted, and the people’s lives beca incredibly difficult.

Mr. Cheng had held on to this grudge ever since. He never had a chance for retribution before, but now that an opportunity had landed in his lap, how could he possibly let it go?

Even without this old feud, now that Mr. Cheng knew of the situation, he would not have ignored it anyway.

He had once been implicated in an examination scandal, causing his career to languish for half his life. As such, he loathed anything that compromised the integrity of the examinations. Whenever he learned of such an offense, he was certain to punish it severely.

Furthermore, Qingshui County was bound to face Mr. Sheng’s wrath over the Wo Laicai case. If he reported this new matter, he could, for one, divert Mr. Sheng’s attention. For another, was this not a perfect opportunity to redeem himself through a ritorious act?

The only fear was that the matter might leak, prompting Cui Wei to take action. Therefore, it was crucial to ensure the personal safety of everyone involved on their side.

Zhao Jing was very obedient. When his father-in-law told him not to go out, he stayed put.

This, however, was torture for Chen Wanqing.

A young man with his exams behind him, free from academic pressure, and brimming with inexhaustible energy. He never had the opportunity before, but now, with the timing, the place, and the people all perfectly aligned, how could he possibly not cherish it?

Just how far did he go?

He went so far as to take out the letters he had written to Chen Wanqing and make her read them aloud to him, word by word.

After being startled awake yet again, Chen Wanqing struggled to pry her eyelids open and glanced at the sky outside.

It was dark, with no moon or stars. She didn’t know what ti of night it was, nor how many tis this had happened.

Gritting her teeth, she managed to force out a threat. "Jing, I’m going to get pregnant."

The word "pregnant" was enough to stop Zhao Jing in his tracks. His sweaty cheek gently brushed against her warm skin, his breaths coming out heavy and ragged. "Do you wish to bear my child, Wanqing?"

"Do you want to get pregnant right now?"

"No."

Afterward, he buried his head in the crook of Chen Wanqing’s neck and asked in a fervent, husky tone, "Wanqing, do you know about contraception?"

The word "contraception," coming from Zhao Jing’s lips, made Chen Wanqing freeze for a mont.

’These days, it’s considered normal for a wife in most families to beco pregnant soon after marrying. If she fails to conceive after a while, her family starts to worry, and the neighbors inevitably start to gossip.’

’She had only used the threat of pregnancy to scare Jing because she knew how enthusiastic he was about their current activities. If she were to get pregnant unexpectedly, he would probably be quite dismayed.’

’But for Jing to be willing to use fish maws and animal intestines just to prevent a pregnancy... that she found very strange.’

’She knew about fish maws and intestinal casings. She had seen them in her mother’s room once.’

’Her mother would wash the used items and leave them to dry in her room. But Wanqing, being a filial daughter, would often gather the household’s dirty laundry in her spare ti, and as a result, she happened to see them.’

’Afterward, mother and daughter had a silent agreent to pretend it never happened, and neither ever brought it up. She never imagined the topic would co up again, much less in front of Jing.’

Jing’s voice was husky and languid, laced with a deep, magnetic charm and a sense of contentnt. "I don’t know how well they work. If they’re no good, I’ll ask a doctor to prescribe so dicine. We can talk about pregnancy later. Wanqing, you’re still young. It won’t be too late to conceive in another year or two."

As he spoke, his hand leisurely slipped back under the quilt.