The Host is Clearly A Scumbag (Quick Travel)

"I'm talking about the boy himself."

Seeing that Su Hengzhong still didn't grasp her meaning, Mrs. Su huffed in frustration.

"Over these past few months with Mingting living here, I've observed him closely."

"Although his background is humble, he has a good appearance, a good temperament, and a generous demeanor. His overall bearing is no worse than that of the children of officials. If he changes into fine clothes, no one would doubt he was a young master from a noble family."

"What's even more remarkable is Mingting's character… he's filial, grateful, and diligent. Even when accompanying you on field inspections, enduring harsh conditions, he never once complained."

"I really like this child..."

Mrs. Su praised Mingting endlessly.

Su Hengzhong nodded along, chiming in enthusiastically, "Madam, you sure have a keen eye! You're absolutely right! Mingting is indeed a fine boy!"

Seeing that Su Hengzhong also held Mingting in high regard, Mrs. Su smoothly shifted the topic.

"Master, what do you think about betrothing Lingyi to Mingting and making him our son-in-law?"

"What?!"

When he heard this, Su Hengzhong nearly jumped out of his seat.

'Weren't we just praising Mingting? How did it suddenly turn into marrying off our daughter?'

Su Hengzhong was completely caught off guard.

"Can you find a better candidate than him? Intelligent, talented, handsome, steady, and decisive… can you name another young man who matches up?"

Mrs. Su listed Mingting's virtues one by one, leaving Su Hengzhong with no rebuttal.

Indeed, among all the young men he'd met, Mingting was the only one who embodied so many outstanding qualities.

There might be people who were more stable than Mingting and had a better family background than him, but there was absolutely no one who could be smarter than him, especially since he was also very handsome.

It was often said that women were visual creatures, and this was undoubtedly true.

Just based on appearance alone, Su Hengzhong had lost count of how many times Mrs. Su had praised Mingting.

"But… our Lingyi isn't even twelve yet. She's still so young…"

Su Hengzhong had struggled to have children, and now that he was over 40 years old, he only had this one daughter.

Su Lingyi had been pampered since childhood, and Su Hengzhong regarded her as the apple of his eye. He still saw her as a little girl and had never seriously considered her marriage prospects.

So when his wife suddenly brought up the topic, Su Hengzhong was utterly unprepared.

He thought Mingting was an excellent student, and Su Hengzhong took pride in having such a disciple.

But if their relationship were to change, if Mingting were to become his son-in-law, Su Hengzhong suddenly found fault with everything about him.

"Lingyi and Mingting are close in age, which is already a good start. Girls begin considering marriage at twelve or thirteen. Master only sees Lingyi as young, but have you thought about Mingting?"

"Didn't Master always say he has the makings of a top scholar?"

"Gold will always shine. Once Mingting hones his talents and stuns the world, everyone will have their eyes on him!"

Mrs. Su's point was clear: when you spot a promising prospect, strike first, or you'll regret missing out.

"The children are still young. Let's wait, let's observe…"

Su Hengzhong couldn't bring himself to agree outright.

This overprotective father simply wasn't ready!

Later, Su Hengzhong simply pretended the conversation never happened, and forcibly blocked this matter from his mind.

Starting the very next day after their conversation, Mingting noticed that his teacher had suddenly become much stricter.

Su Hengzhong either made him recite texts from memory, randomly tested him with stacks of books, assigned five essays in two days. He also found fault with him in various ways...

Mingting was a little suspicious, 'Did men also have monthly mood swings? Was that why Teacher was suddenly making life so difficult?'

As a dutiful student, Mingting thoughtfully bought some dandelion tea and asked Mrs. Su to pass it to Su Hengzhong.

Dandelion tea is good for cooling internal heat and detoxifying.

When Su Hengzhong received it, he was furious.

'That brat!'

Su Hengzhong had intended to make things hard for Mingting, but no matter what challenges he threw at him, Mingting remained unfazed.

In the end, it was Su Hengzhong who ended up stewing in frustration, developing mouth ulcers from pent-up anger. Because of that, he could only drink porridge every day.

He was so angry that he wanted to hit someone!

"Teacher, what's wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?"

Mingting was genuinely puzzled.

He knew women went through menopause, but did men experience something similar? He wondered if Su Hengzhong's sudden moodiness was a sign of male menopause.

"How are your preparations for the prefecture examination in April?"

Su Hengzhong's skin was not white to begin with, and with such a gloomy face, he looked even darker.

"I've boasted to others that you'll achieve the 'Little Triple Crown'. If you don't do well in the exams, don't blame me for disowning you as my student!" (T/N: Little Triple Crown is by getting top rank in county, prefectural, and academy examination.)

"Teacher, didn't you always say we shouldn't chase fame but only seek a clear conscience…"

Mingting barely got the words out before Su Hengzhong's face darkened like storm clouds. So he quickly smiled and agreed, "Don't worry, not just the 'Little Triple Crown'… even if you demand a 'Grand Slam' or 'Six Honors', I'll strive for it!"

The young man's energetic face was full of confidence, which made Su Hengzhong secretly satisfied in his heart, but he still maintained a stern expression.

"Focus on your studies. Don't make empty boasts now only to fall short later and become a laughingstock!"

"Yes! This student will remember your teachings."

Su Hengzhong steeled himself to mentor Mingting rigorously.

He adopted the same intensity he'd had in his own youth, subjecting Mingting to minor tests every three days and major exams every five, bombarding him with all kinds of questions. He even invented bizarrely difficult problems himself.

With such a 'good thing', Mingting simply pulled his brother-in-law, Wang Zhi, to join him. With someone else to share the firepower, life would be much more comfortable.

At first, Wang Zhi was grateful to Mingting, but after he personally experienced the hellish cycle of nonstop exams, Wang Zhi was ready to surrender.

'What kind of torture is this?! Can I quit?!'

Adding Wang Zhi to the mix didn't faze Su Hengzhong.

After all, one sheep or two… teaching was teaching.

Once Mingting passed the prefectural exams, he and Wang Zhi would take the academy examination together to earn the Xiucai title. Su Hengzhong decided to coach them both.

This grueling routine lasted until April.

When the news came that Mingting won the first place in the prefectural examination, Wang Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how hard he worked, facing Su Hengzhong's relentless demands daily had nearly broken him.

And studying alongside a prodigy like Mingting was a constant blow to Wang Zhi's self-esteem.

His brother-in-law was simply too brilliant, and no amount of effort could bridge the gap.

Fortunately, Su Hengzhong understood this and didn't hold Wang Zhi to Mingting's standards. Instead, he taught Wang Zhi according to his aptitude and tailored a study plan suited to him.

For this, Wang Zhi was endlessly grateful, privately regarding Su Hengzhong as his true teacher.