After Transmigrating as a Disabled Villain - Chapter 3

Unexpectedly, during the exam the next day, Qin Chu saw the county magistrate’s daughter again.

Qiu Jinning had come to invigilate.

Class C, the class Qin Chu was in, was the only class in the county school where all the students were commoners without any scholarly rank.

Most of them came from merchant families, and that was probably why they had all been shoved into the same class.

After receiving the exam questions, everyone hurriedly lowered their heads to read them, no longer sneaking glances at the beauty on the platform.

Only Qin Chu was still sizing up Qiu Jinning.

Like yesterday, she was wearing a red ruqun, though the style was slightly different. It was a little more fitted, outlining her graceful figure. Her cool, aloof brows and eyes carried a faint indifference. Her skin was like white jade, fair enough to shame frost and snow.

She had somehow made a simple ruqun look noble and expensive.

Perhaps Qin Chu’s gaze was too blatant, because it drew the beauty’s eyes from afar.

Their gazes met in midair. Qin Chu’s mind went blank for a moment. She felt as if she truly had seen this county magistrate’s daughter before.

Not with the cold indifference before her eyes, but looking unable to restrain her emotions—on the night Qin Chu had transmigrated here.

On the bed…

Plop—

The brush in Qin Chu’s hand slipped and fell, staining her exam paper.

Qiu Jinning’s gaze paused slightly. Then she withdrew her eyes and looked elsewhere, showing no intention of acknowledging her at all.

Qin Chu’s heart was somewhat unsettled, but she soon calmed down again. It was only a fleeting encounter. She was an adult. Since the other party did not want to expose it, Qin Chu would not make herself annoying by bringing it up.

After thinking it through, she simply put away her brush and ink, lay down on the desk, and went to sleep.

At that moment, Qiu Jinning, who was on the platform, looked over again, but all she saw was the back of Qin Chu’s head.

After the exam ended, Qin Chu was woken up by Chen Xia.

“Cousin Qin, you slept too? How many words did you write?”

Qin Chu stretched comfortably. “Not a single word.”

It was truly not a single word. She had not even written her name.

She had only just transmigrated over. She couldn’t interpret the Four Books and Five Classics, nor could she write poetry and songs. In any case, the original owner was a useless good-for-nothing who knew nothing, so there was no need for Qin Chu to force herself.

Chen Xia gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive. Let’s compete again in the arithmetic exam this afternoon and see who does better.”

In the afternoon, Qiu Jinning was still the invigilator.

Because arithmetic was something the original owner was good at, Qin Chu did not sleep like she had in the morning. Instead, she answered the questions seriously.

They were all elementary-school-level arithmetic problems. There was no difficulty at all, all right?

The person on the platform watched as Qin Chu’s state became obviously different from the morning. Slowly, she walked down.

Qin Chu’s seat was on the south side, so Qiu Jinning started from the north side and circled around, passing one desk after another. When she passed Qin Chu’s seat, she did not stop either.

The beauty walked past lightly. When her gaze swept over Qin Chu’s answer sheet, it paused slightly.

She was not scribbling nonsense. She was answering the questions seriously.

Qiu Jinning lowered her gaze, then returned to the platform. Until the exam ended, she did not come down again.

After handing in the paper, Chen Xia was the first to run over again. “Cousin Qin, did you finish answering? I couldn’t solve the last two questions.”

Qin Chu took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote down the answers. “It was fine. It should be full marks.”

With that one sentence, everyone turned to look at her.

Chen Xia hurriedly dragged her away. Bragging was fine, but not this much. Cousin Qin’s arithmetic had always been pretty good, but at most, she ranked among the top few in Class C.

Full marks? That had never happened before.

Qin Chu did not care what kind of reaction her words caused, but other people did.

No, after hearing the commotion, Third Miss Gu immediately curled her lips. She was a student in Class B and already held the title of tongsheng. The next step would be becoming a xiucai. As for Class A students like Qiu Jinning, they were already juren graduates.

Aside from Class A, all the other classes used the same exam paper. Third Miss Gu had always been poor at arithmetic and had long been dissatisfied that Qin Chu always surpassed her in arithmetic. Hearing those words made her even angrier.

When she saw Qiu Jinning, she could not help saying jealously, “Sister Qiu, that good-for-nothing actually said she could get full marks in arithmetic. She really doesn’t know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth.”

Qiu Jinning looked at her faintly, as if seeing through her thoughts.

“If one’s virtue is not deep, one will not go far. Sister Gu, be careful with your words.”

“Exactly. Just look at her conduct. Sooner or later, she’ll fall into a ditch.”

Qiu Jinning frowned slightly. “I was not talking about her.”

What she meant was that it was wrong for Third Miss Gu to constantly gossip about others behind their backs. She should be cautious with her words and actions. Otherwise, if things continued like this, it would inevitably ruin her character.

Qiu Jinning did not like this younger sister of her sister-in-law. But because they were relatives, whenever Third Miss Gu approached her, she still gave her a little face, so things would not become too awkward between them.

Third Miss Gu gave a dry laugh. Then she turned her head and rolled her eyes disapprovingly.

How easy it was for someone unaffected to speak.

It was all Eldest Sister’s fault. She was always telling her to get closer to Qiu Jinning. But every time, Third Miss Gu was just pressing her warm face against a cold backside.

This person was simply a block of ice that could not be warmed. Truly unlucky.

After the exams ended, they had two days off. Qin Chu shut herself in her room and went nowhere, cramming knowledge about this dynasty.

The Baiyue Dynasty was different from any dynasty in history. Not only did it allow women to study and take the imperial examinations, it also allowed women to marry one another. The social customs were open, and the land was peaceful.

She rubbed her brow and had the little maid bring over a pot of wine.

There was no special reason. The Qin family had made its fortune through brewing wine and was currently the number one wine merchant in Jiuqu County.

As the eldest young miss of the Qin family, she had to know what level her family’s wine was at.

Because, like the original owner, Qin Chu also planned to develop in the business world.

Having a physical disability meant she could not enter officialdom. That was a hard rule.

Qin Chu also had no intention of taking the imperial examinations, which happened to coincide with the original owner’s thoughts.

Because they were located in the south, the Qin family mainly sold Xiangxue wine, which was a kind of yellow rice wine made with glutinous rice.

It was currently early spring, and the weather was still a little cold. Yellow rice wine was best drunk after being warmed.

After hearing the order, Guanzi went to warm a pot of wine and brought it over. “Miss, this is the best Xiangxue wine from our shop, a twenty-year aged brew. Please drink less.” Don’t drink until your brain gets muddled again like last time.

Qin Chu slowly took a sip and savored it carefully.

The taste was mellow and fragrant, with a hint of sweetness. Compared to modern yellow rice wine, the alcoholic flavor was a little lighter. Overall, it was not bad.

Just as she was tasting the wine, Chen Xia rushed in like a gust of wind. “Cousin Qin, your arithmetic really got full marks! You’re amazing!”

Qin Chu put down her wine cup. “The results are already out?”

Chen Xia’s face was full of joy. “They’ve already been posted. When we arrive at the academy tomorrow morning, I guarantee you’ll get to show off properly.”

Cousin Qin must have worked very hard over winter break to get such a good score. Unlike her, who only cared about having fun and barely passed.

Qin Chu smiled. “What’s there to show off about? Aside from arithmetic, all the other subjects were blank papers. I doubt anyone will be envious.”

“You’re even being modest with me now. Tomorrow morning, let’s go to the academy together. Let me feel the honor of getting full marks too.” After teasing her for a while, Chen Xia stayed a little longer before leaving.

Unexpectedly, the next day, they did not receive honor. Instead, they were angered until their stomachs were full of fire.

“Cripple Qin definitely cheated. Before the results even came out, she dared to say she got full marks. If that isn’t cheating, what is?” Third Miss Gu had learned the results yesterday. Now, she deliberately chose the time when everyone had come to look at the results to shout about it.

Only with enough people around could Qin Chu lose enough face. With a righteous expression, she questioned the result, drawing a wave of agreement from the other students.

That good-for-nothing could get full marks? They didn’t believe it. No one who heard that would believe it.

Chen Xia was so angry that she was about to go argue, but Qin Chu tugged on her sleeve again.

“Cousin Qin, don’t stop me. Why are you still enduring this now?”

Qin Chu curled her lips. “Who said I was going to endure it?”

She had never let herself suffer a loss.

In the next instant, a miserable scream rang out. The little maid had already mounted Third Miss Gu and started fighting her.

“I’ll teach you to spout nonsense! Today, I’m definitely tearing your mouth apart!”

“Ah—you lowly maid!”

Guanzi was full of fighting spirit. When it came to fighting, she had never lost.

For a delicate-looking black-hearted lotus like Third Miss Gu, Guanzi could take on three at once.

With Third Miss Gu as the center, everyone hurriedly backed away several steps, until Teacher Li was called over.

“Stop! This is simply absurd! What do you take the academy for? Get out at once!”

These words were once again shouted at the little maid. Guanzi spat before leaving the battlefield and, as if familiar with the routine, went outside to wait.

Teacher Li looked at Qin Chu and frowned repeatedly.

The county magistrate was truly muddleheaded. Just because the Qin family had donated a bridge, he had allowed Qin Chu to enter the county school. A good-for-nothing like this, who did not study and loved causing trouble, should not have been accepted even if her family donated ten bridges.

“What is the fuss about this time?”

Upon hearing this, Third Miss Gu began crying. “Teacher, please judge this fairly. Crip—Qin Chu cheated and still won’t let anyone say it. I only mentioned it twice, and she ordered her vicious servant to beat me like this.”

Her hair was disheveled, and one side of her face was swollen. Tears mixed with powder and ran down her face, making her look rather wretched.

Teacher Li felt a headache coming on at the sight. He questioned Qin Chu, “What do you have to say this time?”

He absolutely had to speak with the county magistrate and have this good-for-nothing expelled from the academy, lest she corrupt the atmosphere.

Qin Chu’s expression was calm. “She deserved to be beaten. Who told her to make wild accusations and casually slander me by saying I cheated?”

Cheated?

Teacher Li turned to look at the red ranking list posted on the wall. He knew about Qin Chu getting first place in arithmetic. At the time, several teachers had also muttered about it in doubt.

He stroked the goatee on his chin and said in a deep voice, “The academy will investigate this matter clearly. Although the result has not yet come out, you still should not have used such a heavy hand against a fellow student. As a woman, you should be gentle, obedient, and understand the bigger picture. When encountering matters, you should first endure…”

“Endure? What is that? Make myself suffer so she can be happy?” Qin Chu sneered, interrupting Teacher Li’s lecture.

Third Miss Gu immediately shouted, “Teacher, look at her! She cheated and won’t admit it, and she even talks back to you!”

“You say I cheated. Do you have evidence? If you don’t have evidence, then shut your mouth.” Qin Chu’s face turned cold.

She wasn’t angry, and they really thought she was easy to bully.

Third Miss Gu refused to let it go. “You say you didn’t cheat, so that means you didn’t cheat? Do you have evidence? Who can prove you didn’t cheat?”

“I can prove it.”

A voice as cold as clear spring water rang out.