After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Lin Yueniang held her breath and concentrated, secretly annoyed that her lightness skill was not yet up to par.

Master Zhao emphasized many times not to rush into climbing walls and rooftops, as it's easy to get injured.

But she couldn't care less about that now; she just couldn't sleep.

Thinking of the poison in her son's body, she regretted listening to her father-in-law and actually treating the child as if he had caught a cold and needed to rest.

She didn't blame her father-in-law, after all, he had no bad intentions and had been hiring famous doctors for Ming'er.

Today, after listening to the Taoist priest's ambiguous words, she was not as optimistic as her father-in-law. She insisted on seeing her son with her own eyes before she could feel at ease.

Inside the house, Jiang Xiaoqi thought: It's a familiar scent, Mother?

Thinking that the person on the roof might be her mother, Jiang Xiaoqi felt temporarily relieved.

But how can we reassure Mother and get her back home?

Lin Yueniang gently lifted a tile, and the candlelight inside shone through, illuminating her face.

Inside the room, Jiang Xiaoqi lay quietly on the bed, her face extremely pale.

A pang of pain shot through her heart, and tears nearly welled up in her eyes. Just as she was about to take a closer look, she heard Jiang Xiaoqi cough twice.

Lin Yueniang was startled, fearing she would be discovered, and quickly put the tile back in its original place, but she did not intend to leave.

However, just as the tile was put back, Jiang Xiaoqi's voice came from inside the house: "Mother, is that you?"

Lin Yueniang stiffened, wiped away her tears, and climbed down from the roof.

Wenbin and Li Mo had already been dismissed by Jiang Xiaoqi, and Lin Yueniang entered the house smoothly.

Jiang Xiaoqi 'struggled' to sit up and said with a smile, "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine."

Lin Yueniang walked to the bedside, looked at her son, her eyes filled with worry, and her throat tightened, unable to speak.

"Mother, I'm feeling much better now. You should go back and rest. It's windy at night, so don't catch a cold."

Lin Yueniang reached out and gently touched her son. Although his pale face did not show signs of thinning, it had lost its former vibrancy.

"Mingfei, do you... do you know who did this?"

She still vividly remembers the danger she encountered outside the city. Although she was lucky enough to escape, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about those bandits.

They don't rob people, they just take their lives; they're not like bandits, they're more like assassins!

Jiang Xiaoqi sighed inwardly. The smartest person in this family wasn't just his grandfather, but also his mother...

"My grandfather said it might be a noble person from the capital, who is preparing for the county, prefectural, and provincial examinations."

Actually, all we need to do is ask the Liu family which young master from the capital is on his way to Changshou County, and everything will be clear.

"So, are you planning to ask Lord Jiang and his wife to ask the Liu family for help with this?"

"If I can successfully pass the county and prefectural examinations, I will naturally try to find out the other party's background."

If things don't go well from the start, there's no point in continuing the search.

If I pass the county-level examination and win first place, I will become a real thorn in the side of the other party. Even though I will not be taking the provincial examination in April, I will still be blocking their path.

If the other person makes a comeback next February and passes the so-called "minor three-crown" exam, that would be fine. But if the other person only wants to get first place in the county government exam first and then take the provincial exam in two years...

Who knows, we might run into each other again then!

Instead of blindly defending ourselves, we should switch from defense to offense!

Once you find out the other party's background, and then find a way to keep them busy, they won't have time to harm others...

I thought about many things, but in reality, it only took a moment.

"Son, how about we take the exam a few years later and avoid their sharp edge?"

What if those people don't give up and try to harm you again?

"Mother's considerations are reasonable, but why should those who haven't done anything wrong have to back down and give way?"

"Moreover, Mother, the first time that person used public opinion, the second time they dispatched a large number of assassins, and the third time they used poison..."

I always felt that…

"What do you think?"

"I always felt that the other party might have some background in the capital, but not some extremely high-ranking noble family, and probably didn't have many useful assassins under their command."

Those fifty men disguised as bandits last time were probably most of that person's men, which is why they used poison the third time.

Because this method is the most manpower-efficient.

"If that's the case, then why didn't he just poison them directly? He lost fifty people for no reason. Master Lin and Master Zhao didn't hold back at all; most of those people are now crippled!"

Lin Yueniang was somewhat puzzled.

"What else could it be? This poison is probably not ordinary... It's probably more precious to him than those fifty people."

They are either very rare and valuable, or very difficult to make, and it may even be impossible to make more of them...

It's the kind of non-renewable resource that's dwindling with every use.

"Non-renewable resources?" Lin Yueniang had never heard of this term before, but she understood the general meaning.

The person who poisoned them didn't have much poison left, so they had to use it sparingly.

But arsenic is readily available in pharmacies, so why use such a precious poison?

Lin Yueniang said she didn't quite understand the poisoner's thought process.

"Well, there's another reason why my son decided to proceed with the imperial examinations as planned."

Jiang Xiaoqi deduced from various signs that the power controlled by the person who did this was not yet so great that he could control everything.

Otherwise, if all you want is the title of "Minor Triple Crown" (a prestigious honor in the imperial examinations), you could simply bribe the county magistrate, the prefect, and the education commissioner. Why go through all this trouble?

Unless he can't bribe that many people, or if he can't bear the consequences of being exposed and investigated for fraud after bribing them.

The other party didn't have the ability to handle such a major accident, nor did they have a reliable backer to help them overcome the obstacles!

Moreover, the other side chose such a remote area with a poor literary tradition; this family that wants to win the top three honors is hardly a formidable force...

Since that's the case, we should just be wary of the other party and be cautious at all times. There's really no need to retreat like a coward!

After listening to her son's analysis, Lin Yueniang finally felt at ease.

Now that all of them, including her sons, are skilled in martial arts, she might have strongly opposed her son taking the imperial examination at this time if it were before.

This is the confidence that comes with force. Hmm, I'll tell Master Zhao tomorrow that the mother and her two daughters need to train more!

Three hours of training every day is far from enough!

Jiang Xiaoqi: Yes! Roll it up! The whole family rolls it up!