The Cannon Fodder in Quick Transmigration Refuses the Usual Path

Chapter 624: The Antagonistic Cannon Fodder in the Imperial Examination Story 8

"Mother? Mother?"

Inside the modest study, a six-year-old girl, her hair tied with red silk ribbons, was half-leaning over a specially made pearwood desk. Puffing out her cheeks with a serious expression, she was writing something.

Not far away lay a large sheet of paper covered in sprawling, crookedly written characters, the ink strokes running wild. Seemingly satisfied with her work, the little girl soon turned her head.

An Ning: "???"

Before long, a clear, childish voice rang out in the room, accompanied by a pair of large, dark, curious eyes:

"Mother has been spacing out a lot lately, has something happened?"

Something happened? Hah, wasn't that a huge understatement!

Thinking back to that utterly bizarre scene from that day, even now, Lin Ting couldn't help but cover her chest, as if she could still feel her heart pounding wildly inside.

Her gaze subconsciously drifted to the seemingly ordinary purple jade bracelet on her wrist.

This delicate, gentle beauty was now acting rather furtive and sneaky.An Ning couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

It seemed that day had been a bit too stimulating for her mother, a pure native of this ancient era.

And indeed it was.

Seven days had passed since that heart-pounding day. After a brief period of panic and being beside herself, Madam Lin had gained some understanding of this "unexpected encounter."

Learning System 10008. She didn't really know what a "system" was. But according to the other party, it was a divine artifact created by some powerful "deity"...

But that wasn't important!

What was important were those formidable abilities the other party spoke of, and that "Newcomer's Grand Gift Pack"!

Thinking of the precious elixirs currently residing inside the bracelet, Madam Lin subconsciously swallowed...

Heavens, such good fortune could actually land on her!

Snapping back to reality and looking at her little daughter, who was staring at her with wide, seemingly worried eyes, Lin Ting's expression softened even more. She gently stroked the two little buns on her daughter's head, soothing her in a warm voice:

"Don't worry, Mother is fine..."

Even if something was up, it was a good thing!

Not to mention anything else, just this legendary mustard seed space was enough to delight her.

Of course, it was better to be cautious with unknown things.

That evening, after coaxing her daughter to sleep, Lin Ting took advantage of bath time. First, she ordered the attending maid to leave. After repeatedly confirming that no one was around, she then carefully retrieved from the jade bracelet space a black pill the size of a thumb, its surface seemingly etched with faint cyan patterns.

If An Ning were here, she would definitely recognize it as the top-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill she had personally refined before.

Then...

She carefully scraped off a tiny bit, less than one-tenth, and swallowed it with a small cup of clear water also stored inside.

After finishing, Lin Ting subconsciously held her breath, tense with nerves.

Before long, a barely perceptible tingling and numbness spread through her body. Then, beneath the layers of flower petals, the originally clear bathwater seemed to turn slightly murky...

Early the next morning, Lin Ting, who clearly felt her body had become much lighter: "!!!"

Heavens, such good fortune had truly landed on her!

Another half-month or so later, An Ning, who clearly sensed something extra had been added to the pastries: "..."

Oh, Marrow-Cleansing Pills. She was familiar with those!

Without the slightest hesitation, as if she hadn't noticed anything, An Ning expressionlessly swallowed the red bean cake in front of her. While eating, she didn't forget to puff out her cheeks and happily cheer:

"Wow, so Mother made these herself, no wonder they're so delicious!"

Finally, she blinked her big eyes, her face full of earnest promise:

"Mother, don't worry, A-Ning will definitely finish it all!"

Older brother Liang Jing: "..."

No wonder the taste was just average. In fact, he thought, wasn't it a bit too sweet? But then again, considering Mother had hardly set foot in the kitchen all these years... well, it wasn't surprising.

Turning his head to glance at his sister eating with gusto, and then at their mother watching them both with a similarly pleased expression, Liang Jing didn't dare say more. He just buried his head and ate happily too.

Though he was touched, he hoped Mother wouldn't overexert herself with cooking.

Unfortunately, Young Master Liang's wish did not come true.

Because the dosage added was truly minuscule, and the two siblings often spent their evenings running wild outside before returning to wash up, if not for An Ning's sharp senses, she really wouldn't have noticed.

In the west courtyard, aside from studying harder every day, it took over a month of this intermittent dosing for the two siblings to completely consume that one Marrow-Cleansing Pill.

Yes, one pill!

The Newcomer's Grand Gift Pack in An Ning's version contained only two Marrow-Cleansing Pills in total. Aside from the one Lin Ting used herself for safety's sake, the two siblings only had one pill between them.

In addition, there were two Beauty Preservation Pills and two Health-Boosting Pills. The three of them each used about two-thirds of those.

Sitting cross-legged on her small bed inside the gauze canopy, An Ning couldn't help but feel amused.

Turns out her mother was quite the egalitarian!

What? Boys don't need good looks? What nonsense!

At least Lin Ting herself didn't think so!

"A person's appearance reflects their heart" wasn't false. Even court officials were expected to have proper, upright features. Throughout history, weren't there advanced scholars and officials who were passed over because of their ugly appearance?

Having read quite a bit of history recently with the help of the system "Xiao Ba," Lin Ting declared she understood this all too well!

As for Old Man Liang... thinking of how her mother had reluctantly scraped off a tiny bit—one-tenth, no, less than one-twentieth—of powder from a Health-Boosting Pill and added it to the soup prepared by the servants. Even so, she still clutched her chest at night, heart aching with the loss. An Ning couldn't help but chuckle for a moment.

Alright then! After all, he was their provider of food and clothing at this stage. Madam Lin had already been quite generous.

Late into the night, when all the courtyards of the Liang residence were plunged into darkness. In the small west courtyard, a faint candlelight still flickered persistently.

Outside the door, the maids weren't surprised. The Concubine Mother had always been fond of reading, and after the two young masters started their studies, she had become even more diligent.

Before long, a familiar female voice soon sounded in her ear:

"The path of learning must not be greedy for too much. Please, host, quickly choose the specialization you wish to master!"

"Due to insufficient system energy, your current choices are: A Literary Giant, A Master of Medicine, Embroidery Specialist, Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, I Ching Divination Calculations, Management Great Talent, Sword Dao Great Achievement..."

Under the dim candlelight, Lin Ting's movements of flipping through books and annotations unconsciously slowed. Looking at the options above, her gaze shifted from excitement to solemnity.

Without a doubt, all of these were extremely useful.

Especially recently while studying, the system had given her many precious books, all with annotations. Just looking at the handwriting, one could tell how astonishingly talented and brilliant the "previous host" mentioned by the system must have been.

Questions she hadn't understood while reading before could almost always find answers here.

Lin Ting restrained the excitement in her heart.

As for the purpose of the system Xiao Ba, it had been clear from the start.

Learning System, as the name implied, assisted the host in specializing in academic studies. But there was no such thing as a free lunch. The system also required the host, after mastering their studies, to leave their own insights within the space.

All previous hosts had done so.

Xiao Ba's response to this was: "Host, the sea of learning is boundless. No one can truly reach the end of any field of study..."

"Gathering the essence of many is what my creator and others seek!"

"As for the elixirs expended!" Xiao Ba snorted lightly, her voice full of pride: "To you, they may be priceless treasures. To my master, they are merely pills casually pinched into existence!"

Lin Ting: "..."

Alright then! As expected of a deity!

It had to be said, hearing this, after a brief moment of tension, Lin Ting actually felt relieved instead.

It was good that they wanted something!

Her life experience since childhood told her, where in the world was there such a thing as a free meal!

But specialization... Her gaze lingered on Medicine, I Ching Divination Calculations, especially I Ching Divination Calculations. Unable to contain her excitement, Lin Ting asked:

"What you said before about being able to predict wind, rain, and weather after achieving great mastery... is that true?"

Without the slightest hesitation, the familiar female voice soon sounded in her ear, faintly seeming to carry a hint of laughter:

"Naturally, it is possible!"