CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 62: MOTHER AND SON JOIN FORCES TO TRICK THEM

On the day off for ten days, Song Yuanbao had to return to the town school.

Before he left, Song Wei finished writing the article for the county examination.

Song Yuanbao carefully placed it in his bag like a treasure, intending to hand it over to the teacher as soon as he arrived at the town school.

The teachers passed it around to read, and after finishing, they stroked their goatees in admiration, saying, "Truly deserving of the county’s top candidate title, look at this perspective and insight, it surpasses us old folks by far. If this article were used in class, the students would surely benefit greatly!"

Hearing the tutors praise Song Wei so much, Song Yuanbao felt a sense of pride and thought that next time he returned home, he would definitely tell his father every single word the teachers said.

——

The prefectural examination in April was less than twenty days away, and the spring busy season was in its final stage.

Song Wei needed to review his books to prepare for the exam, so Wen Wan temporarily set aside her character learning, not wanting to disturb him, and joined her sister-in-law in helping their father-in-law and mother-in-law with farm work.

These recent days had been quite smooth, Wen Wan thought, surely there wouldn’t be any issues with the prefectural exam, right? However, before heading to the prefecture, she had a premonition.

This was because someone had a "guilty conscience."

Last month, when Song Wei returned from the county exam and invited the Xie Family for a meal, Aunt Xie made some harsh remarks on her way home.

She originally intended to scare off those who loved gossiping behind others’ backs, but unexpectedly, someone was genuinely frightened. They thought that if Song Wei did pass the exam and became an official in the Capital, he would have them arrested and thrown into jail, and then they’d be finished.

So a group of people conspired that if Song Wei wasn’t having back luck, they would make him have it, ensuring he’d never pass the exam in his life.

The night before Song Wei was to head to the prefecture, those people took tools and, under cover of darkness, carried several baskets of stones to block the road leading to the prefecture.

The path was already narrow; by blocking it, ox carts couldn’t pass, leaving Song Wei no choice but to climb over it, which delayed him and made him miss the prefectural exam.

Wen Wan was shocked by the malice of people, feeling sorry for her husband’s bad luck, but knowing the prefectural exam was soon, she didn’t want to distract him. She didn’t tell him because Yuanbao was due to return soon.

The day of Song Yuanbao’s ten-day break coincided with the villagers’ plan to harm him. Wen Wan communicated with him using a few written words and some hand gestures, and Song Yuanbao understood everything and promised not to tell his father.

As evening fell, Wen Wan found an excuse to say she was taking Yuanbao to visit her parental home. The mother and son, with an oil lamp, moved quickly and arrived at their destination ahead of those people, hiding in the woods.

Wen Wan extinguished the lamp; the moon hung in the sky, allowing them to barely make out the surroundings.

Song Yuanbao crouched beside Wen Wan and whispered, "Mom, grandma said that the cries of a little baby are terrifying, should I imitate a baby crying?"

Wen Wan nodded.

Anything, as long as it scared them away.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the group arrived, carrying oil lamps, with baskets on their backs and spades in hand, seemingly ready to dig stones nearby.

Wen Wan observed carefully; each man had brought his wife along.

One of them said, "Brothers, let’s move quickly. With each of us carrying four or five loads, we can block the road completely. I want to see how Song Wei drives his ox cart through here tomorrow morning. Ha, and he thinks he can arrest us? As if! Does he have the destiny to be an official?"

His wife urged, "Stop talking and start digging. This place is creepy; let’s finish quickly and get home. I don’t want to stay longer."

Saying that, they rolled up their sleeves and prepared to start.

In the woods, Wen Wan signaled to Song Yuanbao.

Song Yuanbao cleared his throat and perfectly mimicked the sound of a baby crying.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the hairs on Wen Wan’s back stood on end.

Goodness, it’s a relief that she was prepared; otherwise, she might have fainted from fright.

In the dead of night, when the baby’s heart-wrenching cries echoed through the forest, no one would think there was a real live baby there—it could only be a ghost baby.

The faces of those outside, ready to dig stones, turned pale.

"Do you hear something?" asked one.

"What noise?" the leader retorted. "Don’t scare yourself, just get to work!"

"Listen, there’s crying coming from the woods," a woman said, so scared her legs went weak, pointing a trembling finger toward the woods.

The wailing "ghost baby" cries came again, each one more chilling and with an echo.

The lead man fell to his knees, "Little ancestor, we didn’t mean to disturb. We’re leaving, we’re leaving—please don’t come out and scare us..."

He even thumped his head three times on the ground.

The others followed suit, kneeling, calling out with trembling voices to the "little ancestor," almost making Song Yuanbao burst out laughing.

Wen Wan pinched him.

Song Yuanbao continued to cry.

The women started crying in fright too, and the men were in shock. The group scrambled for home, leaving behind their baskets and spades.