"Pffft." Duan Chaoyin had spat out blood once earlier that day and Chaoge's sarcasm almost made her spit out blood again.
Mrs Duan wrung her handkerchief until it was nearly in shreds. "Duan Chaoge! Is that how you talk to your sister?"
Chaoge scoffed at Mrs Duan. "Quit your lousy act. You've always wanted me dead. My sister? Don't make me laugh!"
Mrs Duan was rendered speechless. She swore that dealing with Duan Chaoge had significantly shortened her lifespan.
Duan Hongyi's face was livid and he jumped to his feet. "Duan Chaoge, you think so highly of yourself, don't you?!"
Chaoge grinned. "Well, I got the second highest score; I can think as highly of myself as I want! Bite me!"
Mrs Duan and her two daughters had bullied and framed Chaoge more times than she could count over the years, to the point that even Chaoge pitied herself. Seeing how pissed the three women were now, Chaoge felt so bold and elated.
Her luck had turned after Xiao Wu returned. Xiao Wu had to be her lucky star! Chaoge came back today just to piss the three women off. Seeing their heaving chests and livid faces, Chaoge was so satisfied.
"You cheated!" Duan Chaoyin snorted. "We know it! You cheated and I'm going to report you!"
Chaoge shrugged. With Xiao Wu around, no one could intimidate her.
"You can't answer a single question! You must have copied someone else's answers! It'll be so easy to prove! All they need to do is have you redo the exam! You'll be so dead!"
"Really? I'm so scared. What are you waiting for?" Chaoge wasn't worried at all. "His Royal Highness and Mr Lu monitored the exam themselves, and you're telling me that someone could have cheated during the exam? Go report me. Go report me now. I'd like to see you come back alive."
Duan Hongyi cringed at the mention of Jun Linyuan. He only stared at Chaoge. "How did you learn everything so quickly?"
"Because I had a great teacher," Chaoge said proudly.
"A great teacher? Which teacher?"
"Grand Secretary Fang," said Chaoge. "Grand Secretary Fang had us memorize 1000 books and read 10,000 more. According to the old master, we would get good grades if we remembered them all."
Well, she hadn't remembered a single word, but Xiao Wu had.
"Grand Secretary Fang!" Duan Hongyi cried out. "Which Grand Secretary Fang?"
"Is there another Grand Secretary Fang? The one that recently retired, obviously. As in Xuan Yi's grandfather," Chaoge said casually.
"Grand Secretary Fang... Grand Secretary Fang... Grand Secretary Fang..." Duan Hongyi clenched his fists! The great Grand Secretary Fang! The Grand Secretary Fang that used to be the head of all government officials!
He had promoted more officials than one could count, and every single one of them was the head of a key department! If he could get on Grand Secretary Fang's wagon, his future would be so promising!
At that thought, Duan Hongyi smacked his thigh. "Well done, Chaoge! I'm so proud of you, my daughter!" He then patted Chaoge on the shoulder. "Kiddo, do you need anything? We'll do our best to support you."
Chaoge was never the humble type and she said without hesitation, "With the physical tryout coming, I still need a lot of cultivation resources!"
"Of course!" Duan Hongyi had always tried to form a connection with Grand Secretary Fang, but could never find an opportunity to meet the old man. He now saw Chaoge as his big breakthrough!
He showed Chaoge to the family vault right away. "Take whatever you need."
The Duan family wasn't from a major clan, but they had accumulated a considerable amount of resources over the years. There were plenty of spiritual stones in the vault as well.