Xie Qiaoyu couldn’t just stay silent: “Dad, you know that person too.”

Feng Su was surprised: “I know him?”

“It’s Wan Mingji.”

“What?!”

Feng Su had met Wan Mingji before, after all, he was the only son of Wan Laoye. However, it had been so long that he couldn’t remember what he looked like now. But the downfall of the Wan family was such a big deal in Ningjiang County that he was aware of it. This young master Wan still had to observe mourning for three years, and his character wasn’t considered noble; he was just a wastrel. How could he be a suitable son-in-law?!

“Dad, he’s changed for the better, he’s not a scoundrel anymore. Even big brother praised his scholarly achievements,” Xie Qiaoyu quickly added upon seeing Feng Su’s expression. “He’s supporting his family now, and I even saw him selling game to the restaurant.”

Feng Su calmed down: “The Wan family isn’t doing well, and I understand your thoughts somewhat. Why choose him?”

Although Xie Qiaoyu wasn’t the legitimate son, he was still pampered in the Xie family, lacking nothing in food and clothing, living a refined life. The Wan family was now in decline, and who knows where they lived. Could Xie Qiaoyu endure such poverty? In poverty, even the most loving couples can become miserable. If Xie Qiaoyu couldn’t endure it, his feelings might fade over time.

Feng Su came from a humble background, but he still hoped Xie Qiaoyu could live a life without worries about food and clothing.

“Dad, he’s diligent in his studies and can take the imperial examination,” Xie Qiaoyu said.

Feng Su sighed, thinking of Wan Mingji’s willingness to put effort into Xie Qiaoyu, feeling a bit better: “True, even if the engagement is set, you two will have to wait until after the mourning period to marry. You can focus on your studies during this time.”

“But I’m afraid Laoye won’t agree…” Feng Su hesitated.

If it were the old Wan Mingji wanting to marry Xie Qiaoyu, Xie Yuan might have married Xie Qiaoyu off. But now, with Wan Mingji wanting to marry Xie Qiaoyu, the gap seemed too wide.

“With Xie Furen around, he will agree.” Xie Furen would be eager for him to marry poorly, and in her eyes, Wan Mingji was one of those poor choices, just not one that could bring her benefits.

Xie Qiaoyu was eager for this; who wanted to be used for benefits?

“Dad, you must help me then.”

“Dad, you’re the best,” Xie Qiaoyu said with a smile.

“But I still want to meet him,” Feng Su insisted on seeing Wan Mingji.

“Then you’ll have to wait until he goes to Dongtian Academy to see him,” Xie Qiaoyu explained knowingly. “His family is in Linshui Village, and he usually sells his game in Shuifuzhen. He won’t come to the county town unless he’s studying.”

A village?

Feng Su had some expectations about the Wan family’s current situation, but he didn’t expect them to be living in a village. He glanced at Xie Qiaoyu, who was happily gnawing on a bone, and let out a sigh.

After finishing the meal and discussing the important matters with Feng Su, Xie Qiaoyu felt relieved: “Dad, I’m heading back.”

As Xie Qiaoyu walked away, Feng Su returned to the courtyard, trying to recall Wan Mingji’s appearance but couldn’t.

“Master, since the eldest young master has said so, Wan Gongzi must have some real skills,” the little servant said, supporting Feng Su.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about what happens when the feelings fade. What will Qiaoyu do?” Feng Su said calmly. “If it were a wealthy family’s fulang, there would be money to rely on. But in a village, with the Wan family in decline, Qiaoyu still looking glamorous, such a contrast is hard to grasp.”

Xie Qiaoyu happily returned to the courtyard, unaware that Feng Su was still worried about him. He went back to the courtyard to continue looking at the account books, and indeed, they matched what Wan Mingji had calculated.

He’s amazing, figuring it out so quickly!

Xie Qiaoyu already had plans for going to the fabric shop tomorrow.

.

In Linshui Village, every household was cooking good food, as it was the New Year, a time to treat oneself. Wan Mingji returned home with large and small bags, and Wan Xiuyue immediately took the oil paper bag filled with snacks from his hands.

Wan Xiubai helped him with the basket.

“You bought quite a lot of things. You two can put away the snacks and nuts,” Wan Mingji said, relaxing his shoulders.

“And the sewing thread, I bought different colors, three boxes.”

Wan Xiuyue rushed over: “Big brother, you’re too extravagant!” He held the different colored threads, secretly delighted, though he still scolded Wan Mingji.

Now, the only one daring to spend money in the family was Wan Mingji. Wan Xiuyue and Wan Xiubai didn’t dare to spend.

“Thank you, big brother,” Wan Xiubai said with a smile.

Li Yun heard the commotion and came out from the inner room. Seeing the things on the table, she took out the bones from the basket, also smiling: “I’ll go stew the bones first.”

Wan Xiuyue and Wan Xiubai put away the things Wan Mingji bought in the miscellaneous room. Wan Xiuyue poured the white rice into the rice jar, and Wan Xiubai put the salt jar in place. Wan Mingji, unable to stay idle in the house, shouted: “I’ll go fetch two buckets of water first.”

Li Yun called out: “Be careful, the ground is slippery!”

Carrying his family’s shoulder pole, Wan Mingji skillfully walked the path to fetch water, quickly filling the buckets. He carried the two buckets of water with ease, walking briskly.

“Wan boy, fetching water?”

“Yes, Uncle Mo,” Wan Mingji replied.

In Linshui Village, Mo was a common surname.

Villagers not staying by the fire at home saw Wan Mingji, with his broad shoulders and narrow waist, looking handsome as he carried water past their doors.

“Mingji is still the young master of the Wan family. Look at his appearance and demeanor, not like a country person,” someone said.

“No matter what he was before, he’s still in Linshui Village now,” Tang Fulang said. He even wanted his son to marry Wan Xiuyue, so during the busy farming season, Wan Mingji could help.

“That might not be the case. Wan Mingji is still studying at Dongtian Academy. If he passes the imperial examination, it will be different.”

Tang Fulang felt displeased: “Many people want to pass the imperial examination, but Wan Mingji won’t make it.”

In their village, there were a few scholars who didn’t lift a finger at home, didn’t listen to outside matters, and only focused on reading sage books. Who, like Wan Mingji, had to do farm work and hunt to improve the family’s life?

But the village scholars had a tutor to teach them, while Wan Mingji studied at Dongtian Academy.

“Let’s not talk about this. Even if Wan Mingji doesn’t pass the imperial examination, he’s quick at work, has hunting skills, and looks good. Aren’t any of you tempted?”

In the countryside, as long as someone was diligent, they were a hot commodity in the eyes of matchmakers. Plus, Wan Mingji could read and write, and in the future, he could find a decent job in town. He was a rare good match.

“The Wan family still has to observe mourning…” someone said.

Wan Mingji knew nothing of this. He carried the water back and went to his room to study.

That evening, Wan Mingji and his family had a meal together.

“The bone soup is so delicious,” Wan Xiuyue exclaimed. It had been a long time since they had meat, and now being able to drink a bowl of hot bone soup was so comforting.

Wan Mingji occasionally sneaked some meat for himself, so he didn’t respond to Wan Xiuyue, lest he feel guilty. He hoped to soon bring his two younger brothers to eat meat together. As for his mother, she certainly wouldn’t allow them to eat meat.

If it were exposed, they’d get scolded.

After dinner, Wan Xiuyue quietly pulled Wan Mingji into the miscellaneous room. Once there, Wan Xiuyue peeked around, making sure no one was around before relaxing.

Wan Mingji looked at Wan Xiuyue with some confusion.

“Big brother, why do you still have that fragrance on you?” Wan Xiuyue’s probing gaze swept over Wan Mingji.

He had smelled the fragrance on Wan Mingji before, a rare scent that ordinary people wouldn’t use. This time, the fragrance was even stronger than before.

Wan Mingji immediately sniffed himself and indeed caught a faint scent.

He said helplessly: “Wan Xiuyue, do you have a dog’s nose?”

To be able to smell such a faint scent.

“This scent is very obvious to me. I’m most sensitive to fragrances.”

Wan Mingji: “…”

Luckily, he was only sensitive to fragrances. If he were sensitive to the smell of meat, wouldn’t he be exposed?

“Do you have someone?” Wan Xiuyue asked, shocking him.

“Cough, cough, cough.” Wan Mingji almost choked.

“It was accidentally picked up,” Wan Mingji explained.

Wan Xiuyue looked unconvinced, but the stove Li Yun was calling him, so Wan Xiuyue responded: “Coming.”

Before leaving, Wan Xiuyue gave Wan Mingji a look, making him feel awkward.

Once Wan Xiuyue left, he quickly returned to his room as if his seat was on fire, slamming the door shut.

He calmed his pounding heart, sneakily sniffing his clothes.

Why use perfume, a big man, but it does smell nice.

No, what’s nice about it?!

Wan Mingji felt as if struck by lightning. What was he doing? Wasn’t this perverted? Wan Mingji, startled, quickly burrowed into his blanket.

Was he feeling guilty?

No, he wasn’t.

Wan Mingji recited a long classical text under the covers.

“The way of the great learning lies in manifesting one’s bright virtue…”

Then he recited Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

“Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin…”

If anyone heard, they’d be surprised. Wan Mingji recited smoothly, without a single stumble, his clear voice coming from under the covers.

.

Early in the morning, Xie Qiaoyu took Yao He to the fabric shop again. He dressed himself up, looking very luxurious, and as soon as he entered the shop, he placed the account book on the table: “Hu Zhanggui, explain this.”

Hu Zhanggui, about to greet him, was stunned by Xie Qiaoyu’s question, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

After a moment of silence, he didn’t speak, feeling a sense of foreboding.

“Heh, take a look yourself!” Xie Qiaoyu tossed a piece of paper to Hu Zhanggui.

Hu Zhanggui looked at it and saw that it pointed out all the places where he had falsified the accounts, not missing a single one. Cold sweat broke out on his back. Such a thick account book, and Xie Qiaoyu had found all the loopholes in less than a day. At this moment, this young master, still so young, seemed unfathomable in his eyes.

Hu Zhanggui immediately bowed to show his loyalty: “Boss, I was wrong. I misappropriated some of the money, but I’m in the process of repaying it. I promise to make up the accounts.”

“If I hadn’t seen that the misappropriation was small, would I have confronted you? What did you use the money for?” Xie Qiaoyu asked.

Hu Zhanggui confessed: “My elderly mother is ill and needs medicine. I had no money at home, so I used it. Please forgive me, boss. If you can’t tolerate it, you can dismiss me.”

Xie Qiaoyu nodded: “Then you can leave.”

Hu Zhanggui didn’t expect Xie Qiaoyu to be so straightforward. He let out a breath: “Alright, boss, I’ll make up the deficit in the accounts. Please give me some time.”

Hu Zhanggui bowed three times to Xie Qiaoyu and said: “The shop assistant in the fabric shop is reliable. He’s an honest person.”

After speaking, Hu Zhanggui went into the shop to pack his bags. The fabric shop had a courtyard where the shopkeeper and shop assistant could live. Hu Zhanggui glanced at the courtyard, silently packing his things.

Yao He felt a bit of pity: “Young master, Hu Zhanggui had his reasons.”

“I know,” Xie Qiaoyu said, clenching his fingers.

Hu Zhanggui left the shop, and Xie Qiaoyu felt relieved. The shop assistant, anxious, said: “Boss, the shopkeeper was really a good person.”

“You just do your job, don’t worry about the rest,” Xie Qiaoyu said.

The shop assistant respectfully agreed.

Xie Qiaoyu left the fabric shop, planning to find Xue Xuan to borrow a channel for purchasing fabric. Xue Xuan readily agreed: “There are so many fabric sellers, it’s a small matter.”

“You have a shop now, who gave it to you?” Xue Xuan teased.

“A birthday gift from my grandmother,” Xie Qiaoyu confided to his close friend.

“Speaking of birthdays, those fireworks were beautiful,” Xue Xuan said, having sent his birthday gift to the Xie family on the day of Xie Qiaoyu’s birthday.

“Tell me, who set them off for you?” Xue Xuan shook Xie Qiaoyu.

“It was Wan Mingji,” Xie Qiaoyu said proudly, full of bragging.

Xue Xuan: “…”

Xue Xuan recalled Wan Mingji, his legs instinctively trembling, only remembering Wan Mingji’s blood-stained hands.

That damned guy!

“You, you, you, how could you be so foolish!” Xue Xuan clutched his chest. Why would a beautiful person like Xie Qiaoyu want to be with Wan Mingji?

He didn’t even mention Wei Bowen before, and now with Wan Mingji, Xue Xuan realized it wasn’t much better.

The two of them whispered secrets with their heads together.

Xue Xuan nodded from time to time.

After securing the fabric shop’s purchasing channel, Xie Qiaoyu felt reassured and left the Xue residence. Now, as long as Hu Zhanggui repaid his debts, he could still use him.

Xie Qiaoyu was still a bit inexperienced in these matters. He thought that since Hu Zhanggui had done wrong, he should naturally be dismissed. But the reason was understandable, so Xie Qiaoyu gave him some time to repay the money. If he did, he would rehire Hu Zhanggui.

A mistake is a mistake, and everything else is an excuse.

The fabric shop had been struggling for years. If the shopkeeper had poor character, he would have embezzled more. Xie Qiaoyu saw that Hu Zhanggui still had a conscience and even recommended the shop assistant to him. Xie Qiaoyu was willing to give him a chance.

If Hu Zhanggui left with his bags and didn’t come back after a while, it meant they had no fate. He would still report Hu Zhanggui to the authorities, as repaying debts was a matter of course.

Feeling anxious, Xie Qiaoyu returned to the mansion and went to Old Madam Xie’s courtyard to ask for her opinion.

“Third young master, have some tea,” Liu Mama said. “Laofuren just woke up from her nap.”

Old Madam Xie sat in the main seat, glancing at Xie Qiaoyu: “Is it about the fabric shop?”

Giving a struggling fabric shop to Xie Qiaoyu was indeed difficult. Old Madam Xie thought he might be here to complain.

Seeing Old Madam Xie speak, Xie Qiaoyu quickly explained his thoughts on handling Hu Zhanggui, with only Liu Mama, Old Madam Xie, and himself in the room.

“Grandmother, what do you think of my handling?”

The room fell silent, and Liu Mama was a bit shocked. She was an old servant with Old Madam Xie and had some understanding of the fabric shop’s situation. She didn’t expect that in such a short time, Xie Qiaoyu had figured out the account book and handled Hu Zhanggui with such insight.

And it wasn’t just insightful; it was better and more clever than she had imagined.

If Hu Zhanggui really repaid the money and was rehired by Xie Qiaoyu, Liu Mama thought he would be wholeheartedly loyal to Xie Qiaoyu, completely severing Old Madam Xie’s influence over him, becoming someone entirely belonging to Xie Qiaoyu.

Old Madam Xie was silent for a moment, meeting Xie Qiaoyu’s expectant gaze. A smile appeared on her lips: “You did better than I imagined.”

Xie Qiaoyu’s eyes lit up.

“Thank you, grandmother.”

.

After the New Year, Wan Mingji packed his bags and went to Dongtian Academy to study. He sat in his seat, submitting his essay, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Dongtian Academy was efficient, grading the essays the next day. Xue Zian received a “good” grade, while Wan Mingji got a “medium.”

He had improved, moving from passing to medium.

The other subjects included the Four Books and Five Classics and Confucian classics. What amused Wan Mingji the most was that ancient times also had fill-in-the-blank questions. In ancient times, these were called “tie jing,” where certain lines from books were left blank for students to fill in. There was also a type of question called “mo yi,” equivalent to short answer questions, explaining a sentence from Confucian classics.

Short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions had a long history.

Tan Fuzi stayed in the study room, having an impression of Wan Mingji. In his eyes, Wan Mingji was a diligent student, though he had many questions.

This student seemed to lack a natural sensitivity to literature.

His questions were bizarre.

Xue Zian looked at Wan Mingji’s essay. The format was standard, with a clear structure, even better than his own, but it seemed dry.

“Wan brother, your essay is too dry, like a dish lacking seasoning,” Xue Zian said, having a keen literary sense.

Wan Mingji, expressionless, thought, what a lousy metaphor.

“It’s like overcooked salted fish,” Wan Mingji said.

Xue Zian admired: “That’s exactly it.”

Wan Mingji: “???”

Xue Zian nudged Wan Mingji’s shoulder: “Did you hear? Xie Jiuling and Xie Zhi passed the provincial examination, but Wei Bowen didn’t, and he’s coming back.”

Wan Mingji noted the names Xie Jiuling and Xie Zhi, but had no particular feelings about Wei Bowen.

“The imperial examination is indeed difficult.”

“Yeah, I forgot, you weren’t in the county town before. Wei Bowen has already married Xie Zhi’s younger brother, so he’s his brother-in-law.”

Wan Mingji’s eyes sharpened, his fingers clenched, startling Xue Zian: “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Did he marry Xie Qiaoyu?”

Wan Mingji felt a bit of sourness rising from his chest to his throat, unable to suppress it.

“No, it was Xie Weixia,” Xue Zian said. “Why are you reacting so strongly?”

“I just think Wei Bowen made a good choice. He and Xie Weixia are quite a match,” Wan Mingji said, relieved.

Wei Bowen made him uncomfortable, not a good person. As long as he didn’t harm Xie Qiaoyu, he felt relieved.

“But, Xie Qiaoyu is indeed good-looking,” Xue Zian muttered.

Wan Mingji’s heart tightened again, looking critically at Xue Zian, making him uneasy.

Wan Mingji bluntly said: “You two don’t match.”

Xue Zian, initially indifferent, became anxious when told so: “Why don’t we match?”

“You’re not as tall as me,” Wan Mingji said, looking at the shorty.

Xue Zian: “???”

Are you even human?