Xu Su Ying said, "We’re not strangers. If there’s something on your mind, please just say it. If it’s good news, we’ll be happy to hear it. If it’s bad, we’ll let it go in one ear and out the other."

"This doesn’t have much to do with you. It’s about the third branch..."

Dashan chose his words carefully as he recounted what had happened yesterday afternoon.

He said that Mrs. Li had come to break off the engagement, but the old madam refused, and the two of them started fighting.

He added that the marriage contract was torn to shreds, scattering all over the floor like snowflakes.

The old madam had even made a bold declaration: if they dared to break the engagement, she would take them to court. She said that even if her own family suffered, she would make sure the Li family wouldn’t have it easy either.

Dashan said, "A marriage should be a willing arrangement between two families. If the main household forces it like this, even if that child Wanyue marries into their family, will her life be any good? Rather than live a life of misery later, it would be better for her to find another good family to marry while she’s still a young, unmarried maiden."

The old man was speaking the truth, but unfortunately, some people didn’t see it that way.

She was singularly focused on marrying up and becoming a person of high status. Do you think she’d be happy marrying a country boy whose future you could see at a glance?

Dashan’s point was, "You are all one family, after all. You should try to talk some sense into them later. That young man from the Li family passed the exam in the same year as Jing and De’an. Who knows, they might even serve as officials in the same court one day. What a fateful connection! It’s better to make ten friends than one enemy. We can’t afford to burn our bridges."

After bidding farewell to Dashan, the group continued toward the Zhao Village.

In the carriage, Xu Su Ying couldn’t help but sigh. "Li Cun’s mother was most likely provoked by something in the Zhao Village. She made a foolish move out of impulse." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

De’an said, "It was a truly foolish move. Did she not consider that if Dad had really peeked at the exam papers, the County Magistrate and the constables from the county government would also be held responsible? She’s dragging everyone down with her. I don’t know what she was thinking."

Chen Wanqing didn’t speak, because Zhao Jing, under the cover of his sleeve, was secretly reaching for her hand.

He intertwined their fingers, but as if that wasn’t enough, he pressed his body even closer to hers. She was nearly squeezed right onto the floor.

She shot Zhao Jing a fierce glare, which finally made him behave. By then, they had arrived at the entrance to the Zhao Village.

Just as expected, their appearance was met with a warm welcome from all the residents of the Zhao Village.

Someone saw them and immediately called for everyone in the village to come greet them. It was such a grand reception, anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they had become Champion Scholars and were returning home in glory.

Chen Song kept saying to Mr. Zhao, "You’re giving them too much praise! Their egos will be soaring. You’re their elder, so you should knock them down a peg. They don’t take what I say to heart."

Mr. Zhao grasped Chen Song’s hand, his face flushed with excitement. He looked at Zhao Jing, then at De’an, and the more he looked, the more pleased he was.

"They do need to be kept in line, but they should also be rewarded for doing so well on the exam. Jing..."

Chen Song could tell that Mr. Zhao wanted to speak with Zhao Jing. But with the whole family present, there were probably some things Mr. Zhao found difficult to say.

Since they had reached a fork in the road where they needed to part ways anyway, Chen Song tactfully said, "Why don’t you take Jing to see his mother first? I’ll take De’an over here to share the good news with my parents."

Mr. Zhao said, "Ah, yes, that makes sense. You two go on, go on."

He added that since they had taken such good care of Zhao Jing in the county town, the Zhao Family had prepared a banquet and insisted they must come over this morning to celebrate together.

Chen Song couldn’t refuse and naturally accepted.

The two groups parted ways. Chen Song drove Xu Su Ying and De’an toward the old Chen family home. Chen Wanqing watched her parents’ and brother’s figures recede into the distance until Jing prompted her, and she followed him back to the Zhao Family’s home.

We’ll skip over how Mrs. Zhao cried tears of joy upon seeing her son who had placed first in the exam, so overwhelmed with emotion she couldn’t speak, and how Xiang’er jumped up and down with boundless delight.

Suffice it to say, because of Zhao Jing’s return, all the kinsmen of the Zhao clan came running over.

Every family in the Zhao clan pitched in money to prepare a banquet, celebrating as a whole clan that Zhao Jing had lived up to their expectations and made it onto the list for the county exam.

They took Zhao Jing to the ancestral hall to kowtow to the ancestors, and a huge crowd of people tagged along.

Only after everyone had left did Chen Wanqing finally have a chance to chat idly with Mrs. Zhao.

But Mrs. Zhao was still overcome with excitement and simply couldn’t calm down.

She gripped Chen Wanqing’s hand tightly, calling her "my dear child" one moment, saying "You deserve so much credit for Zhao Jing’s success today" the next, and then "Mother doesn’t know how I can ever thank you."

Then Mrs. Zhao, the second uncle’s wife, and others also chimed in to join the excitement, saying, "Wanqing deserves tremendous credit, and we also have her family to thank for their care," and "This was a good match. The fortune-telling charts said ’official posts and wealth give rise to one another,’ and it really came true."