Wu Zhen is the eldest son of a marquis appointed by the emperor. His brother-in-law is an important official, and the Wu family became wealthy before the Shen family. They also have connections in the court and a rich background. Most importantly, Wu Zhen’s father, the Marquis of Changxing, is the cousin of the Crown Princess, meaning he is related to royalty and has the potential to rise quickly in status.

Shen Yu was very pleased with the old lady’s choice.

However, as the head of the family, who always prided himself on being open-minded and fair, Shen Yu still symbolically asked for everyone’s opinion on this important matter.

Shen Ruojin had always been favored by the old lady and by Shen Yu. Since they both agreed, Tang Yizi didn’t object and just said yes.

Although Shen Yue is the eldest son of a marquis, he hasn’t received any significant position and hasn’t seen much of the world. He thinks that Wu Zhen seems to have a good temperament and is a suitable match for Ruojin.

After hearing positive responses from everyone, Shen Yu turned to Tao Sheng, who hadn’t expressed an opinion: “Tao Sheng, what do you think?”

Tao Sheng recalled Ruojin’s troublesome fiancé mentioned in the original story.

On the surface, this man seems serious and aloof from women, but he is actually hypocritical and pretentious. He even has two illegitimate children with a concubine back home, although he has hidden these details well. His mother is very capable and has suppressed these issues in their household, which is why the Shen family couldn’t find any clues.

In the original novel, Ruojin was betrayed because of her marriage to this man. Soon, a male lead with a higher status, better looks, and better morals will appear, and Ruojin will choose to marry the prince of the Duke of Lingguo’s Mansion instead. Mr. Wu will then be left as her previous fiancé.

Initially, everyone thought Tao Sheng benefited by being engaged to the Changxing Marquis’s son, but Wu Zhen’s problems gradually surfaced, and breaking off the engagement became difficult and costly, leaving her in a bad situation.

Now that she could voice her opinion about this marriage, Tao Sheng naturally opposed it. She felt her family didn’t know enough about Wu Zhen and that they should be cautious regarding marriage. They should investigate his true character before making any decisions.

Shen Yu was absorbed in the idea of a perfect marriage, but Tao Sheng’s comments dampened his enthusiasm, making his expression sour: “For such a major marriage, the family must have carefully considered it. If Ruojin has a good marriage, she can take care of you better, so you should wish her well.”

Shen Yu implied that Tao Sheng didn’t wish Ruojin well, which led her to say such negative things.

Since they were so confident as parents, Tao Sheng chose not to argue further. Shen Ruojin had plenty of ways to handle this situation, so she didn’t feel the need to worry. But as a former cannon fodder character, Tao Sheng knew she had to leave a way out for herself.

At that moment, Tang Yizi broke the silence: “My two younger sisters are both coming of age this year and are also ready to marry. Now that one has found a good husband, our parents should also look for a good match for the other one.”

To Tao Sheng, these words were a perfect opportunity.

Without waiting for Shen Yu and Luo Xin to respond, she said, “When I was in Qin County, my parents arranged a marriage for me.”

In the past, the Luo and Chu families were old friends and had verbally engaged their children when they were young. Later, the Chu family became prosperous, and Chu’s father became a local governor. The Luo family, however, remained stagnant, making the marriage seem inappropriate.

The Luo family was kind-hearted and didn’t want to embarrass their old friend, so they sent someone to explain to the Chu family that the marriage was just a childhood joke and should not be taken seriously. In the end, they ended the engagement.

Though the marriage was cancelled, it is true that an engagement had existed in the past.

This was also the way out Tao Sheng left for herself.

Shen Yu felt heartbroken upon hearing this.

He thought the Luo family’s parents were very unreliable.

Firstly, they didn’t leave any property for Tao Sheng; secondly, they raised her to be stubborn; and thirdly, they arranged a marriage for her very early, potentially blocking her future.

It was truly sad.

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Since that day, there has been no news from the Marquis’s Mansion. Shen Yu neither mentioned finding a husband for Tao Sheng nor asked about the imperial examination results. Tao Sheng felt relieved.

Even though the matter of the Marquis’ Mansion had been temporarily resolved, Tao Sheng still couldn’t feel truly calm during the following days. After all, waiting for Ji Yanming’s results in the autumn examination was more worrying than anything else.

Fortunately, this year the examiners were responsible and efficient, and there was no delay in announcing the results like in the previous two autumn examinations. Instead, the results were posted on schedule.

On the day the results were announced, most people in the capital rushed to the streets to see the list, and the Su family was no exception.

Tao Sheng remembered that in the book, Ji Yanming didn’t perform well in the autumn examination. She looked at the list, scanning from bottom to top.

Tao Sheng hadn’t seen Ji Yanming’s name for a long time, and the more she looked, the more anxious she became. It wasn’t until she saw the three words “Ji Yanming” written at the top of the red list that her heart finally settled.