The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

A large house in the city.

In a beautifully decorated study, sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows. A young man with a delicate face and refined demeanor sat at a desk, flipping through an ancient book in his hands.

Suddenly, as if struck by something, he leaped up from his chair, his face filled with shock and excitement. "Are you serious?" he asked loudly, his voice trembling with disbelief.

The servant standing beside him hurriedly bent down, with a flattering smile on his face, and said in a flattering tone: "Master, how dare I lie to you! I saw his servants with my own eyes in the inn that day. This is definitely not false!" As he spoke, he kept nodding and bowing to show that what he said was true.

"Have you tried to find out who he is from?" the young man asked anxiously.

"I followed them to the back street, and they entered a house owned by a man named Meng, but they went in through the back door. I went around to the front to take a look, and it turned out to be... the 'Ming Yue Dian'," the servant said in disbelief.

"No matter who they are, if they dare to offend my An family, they will be killed!" His sinister look frightened the servant so much that he shuddered.

Indeed, the man before him was none other than An Binghuai, the man who had so harassed Ru Yue and the others that day. His brows were furrowed, his eyes revealing a sinister and anxious expression. He sternly ordered the servant beside him, "Go and find out! You must find out the origins of those two people!"

The servant boy couldn't help but tremble slightly when he heard that. He lowered his head and replied quickly, "Yes, sir. I'll do it right away." After that, he turned around and left in a hurry. Before leaving, he did not forget to carefully close the door of the study, for fear that any noise would upset his master.

An Binghuai stood still, his eyes fixed on the direction the servant had left, as if to imprint that figure deeply within his vision. His expression was somewhat vacant, his thoughts seemingly drifting far away. However, his right hand, tightly gripping the wolf-hair brush, tightened uncontrollably, his knuckles turning slightly white from the excessive force.

With a crisp snap, the once delicate wolf-hair brush was abruptly snapped in two. The bristles at the break scattered, fluttering briefly in the air before slowly falling to the ground like withered petals.

An Binghuai's face was filled with ruthlessness, his brows furrowed, and his eyes shone with a chilling coldness. His once refined and handsome features were now gone, replaced by a hideous, twisted expression. He gritted his teeth and uttered a few words: "No matter who you are, humph, you're courting death!" The deep, menacing voice, as if emanating from the depths of hell, was terrifying.

On the eighth day of April, in front of the examination hall for the provincial examination.

"Don't be anxious when you go in! Remember, I'll be waiting for you here." Ru Yue kept muttering to herself, her hands busy, gently smoothing Chu Ning'an's already perfectly clean, wrinkle-free clothes with her palms, as if doing so could bring Chu Ning'an more luck.

"Okay, don't worry. I'll come right here to find you as soon as I get out of the exam room." Chu Ning'an looked at the woman before him, who was so worried about him. He knew Ru Yue had been so worried about his exam that she'd been unable to eat or sleep for the past few days. At this moment, he just wanted to do his best to comfort her anxious heart.

"Brother Ning An, are you ready? Let's go in together." Lin Qingchen and others shouted loudly.

"You guys line up first, I'll be there soon." He pushed Ru Yue to Hua Hao's side, repeatedly told her to take care of herself, then turned and left.

"Chu Ning'an!" Ru Yue's crisp, slightly anxious voice came from behind. She came running like a light deer, and soon caught up with Chu Ning'an, who was walking leisurely in front.

After coming to Chu Ning'an's side, she gently pulled his sleeve, stood on tiptoe and put her head close to his ear, and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Chu Ning'an, I feel like there is a pair of eyes staring at us in the dark! This feeling is very bad, just like being stared at by a poisonous snake hiding in the gutter, it's creepy. You must be careful, don't be ambushed by those rats hiding in the dark corners." After saying these words, Ru Yue's beautiful big eyes looked around vigilantly, as if she was really afraid that some danger would suddenly come.

Chu Ning'an's deep eyes were like a deep pool, filled with endless emotion and thought. He stared at her silently, as if time had frozen in that moment. Suddenly, he winked at her playfully, and that gentle blink seemed to convey a thousand words. It was a tacit understanding that only the two of them could understand. No words were needed; a single glance was enough for each to understand the other's thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ru Yue stood quietly on the street, her feet rooted to the spot, unmoved. Her gaze was fixed on Chu Ning'an, unwilling to move even for a moment. She wanted to watch him approach the fateful entrance to the examination hall, step by step, and silently prayed that everything would go smoothly.

At the same time, she couldn't help but recall the strange feeling that had surged in her heart just now. She hoped that it was just a temporary illusion and not a real worry. However, this uneasiness was like a shadow, always lingering in her heart.

Suddenly, the team where Chu Ning'an was located became chaotic.

"Ouch, my shoe, you stepped on my foot." The person behind Chu Ning'an suddenly bumped into him and fell forward, brushing against his exam basket.

"Brother, please forgive me. I stepped on you out of carelessness. I'm really sorry." As he said this, he walked past Chu Ning'an to help the man in front.

"Line up and don't move. Anyone who dares to move will be disqualified from the provincial examination." Seeing the chaos here, the police from the government office rushed forward to maintain order and shouted at these people.

Ru Yue saw the chaos here, and she felt a pair of cold, sinister eyes staring at her from the dark, as if they were real. She looked towards the examination room anxiously and worriedly, but she kept scanning her surroundings with the corner of her eye. She whispered to Hua Hao, "Be careful to see if there's anyone watching us from behind. Don't let anyone see us."

Hua Hao had been hanging out in a circus troupe since she was little, so how could she not understand her young lady's intentions? She casually stood in front of Ru Yue and helped her tidy up her hair, but her eyes passed through her and looked behind her. At the corner not far away, she saw a half-faced figure in green. "Young lady, I think I saw the man who had been pestering you and the young master at the inn that day."

She was not quite sure about what she said, but Ru Yue immediately understood what was going on. She ran towards Chu Ning'an and shouted loudly, "Chu Ning'an, you forgot to bring the pen you made."

She secretly prayed for the gods' blessings, hoping that everything was still in time.

Chu Ning'an had been standing quietly in line, waiting to enter the examination room. Suddenly, a familiar voice reached his ears. It was her voice, anxious and frantic. Chu Ning'an's heart tightened, and he immediately realized that something was wrong. He knew that with her usually steady and cautious personality, she would never call out his name so hysterically and without regard for the occasion unless something extremely serious had happened.

Thinking of this, Chu Ning'an reached out without hesitation and grabbed the exam basket beside him, preparing to squeeze through the crowd and head to where she was to see what had happened. However, just as he was about to move, he felt as if an invisible force was blocking him from behind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take a single step forward.

At the same time, the officer in charge of maintaining order also noticed the movement here, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Don't push! Line up honestly, be searched one by one, and then enter the examination room as soon as possible. If anyone misses the time and causes the examination room to be closed, all consequences will be borne by themselves!" This stern warning was particularly loud in the noisy environment, but Chu Ning'an was anxious at the moment and had no time to care about these things. He only wanted to get to her quickly and find out what was going on.

Lin Qingchen and Xie Daolin were right in front of Chu Ning'an. They were naturally affected by the chaos behind them. Suddenly, they heard Ru Yue's loud shout and realized that something might have happened. They hurriedly turned around and helped Chu Ning'an squeeze out.

The crowd was too crowded. Seeing that there was no hope for him to squeeze out, Chu Ning'an suddenly realized that there was something wrong with what Ru Yue said. Without thinking too much, he shouted, "Someone is cheating! Someone come quickly! Someone is cheating!"

A single stone caused a thousand ripples. The candidates suddenly became chaotic, squeezing each other from front to back, left to right, and shoving each other in a mess. The police were also dumbfounded. They maintained order in the provincial examination every year, so why were there so many troubles this year?

"Tong~Tong~Tong~" the sound of gongs resounded throughout the examination room.

"The prefect has arrived!" The announcement startled everyone, as if they were under a spell.

In an instant, numerous strong and sturdy yamen runners, armed with sharp swords, rushed in like a tide, surrounding those people in the blink of an eye, forming an impenetrable human wall. They all looked dignified, their eyes scanning the surrounded crowd sharply.

At that moment, the prefect, dressed in a navy blue official robe, approached with steady, powerful steps. He stood tall and straight, his face solemn, his presence imbued with authority. Behind him, several attendants followed cautiously in his footsteps.

At the prefect's command, the bailiffs sprang into action, detaining the examinees one by one. He frowned, surveying the chaotic scene with a sharp gaze, and asked sternly, "What on earth is going on here?"

Ru Yue, standing in the crowd, saw Magistrate Huo arrive, and an indescribable sense of security suddenly surged in her heart. Although she was also confused about the whole story at this time, with a woman's keen intuition and concern for Chu Ning'an, she firmly believed that there must be a huge conspiracy against Chu Ning'an hidden in this.

She originally wanted to call Chu Ning'an to stop him and recheck the examination basket, but when the team became chaotic, she knew it was too late. Fortunately, she and Chu Ning'an had a tacit understanding, and he trusted her enough. When she called out, she really called him back. Now that Magistrate Huo has arrived, everything must be laid out in the open, so there is no need to worry about someone framing her.