Li Wanzhao didn’t expect him to suddenly grab her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned back to look at him. “Don’t you want me to leave?” 

The question was too cunning. 

Wen Chen was clearly indicating that he didn’t want her to sleep in the outer room. 

But if he agreed, it would be a little strange, making it seem like he couldn’t bear to let her leave. 

Li Wanzhao looked up at him. From Wen Chen’s perspective, her eyelashes looked even longer, and a few strands of hair fell messily on her forehead. She had taken off her hairpins and high bun, but she was still as beautiful as a peach blossom. Her eyes blinked, and she couldn’t hide her little thoughts at all. 

The angry little cat from before had turned into a cunning little cat. 

Li Wanzhao thought that as long as Wen Chen said “hmm,” she would take that step down, and she wouldn’t sulk with him tonight. 

But Wen Chen didn’t speak for a long time. Li Wanzhao couldn’t wait for his answer, and she felt both disappointed and embarrassed. Clearly, he was the live-in son-in-law, not her. 

Why did it feel like she was living under someone else’s roof? 

Wen Chen had a terrible temper and a stubborn mouth. 

Besides being good-looking, what else was he good for? 

She wanted to live a good life with him, but what about him? He mocked and ridiculed her. Now, she had even offered him a way to make peace, but he wouldn’t even say “hmm.” 

She was so angry that she wanted to pull his hand away, but she heard a muffled “hmm” from above her head. 

Wen Chen said “hmm.” He admitted that he didn’t want Li Wanzhao to leave. 

“You don’t want me to leave?” Li Wanzhao’s eyelids twitched involuntarily, and she couldn’t help but look at him again to confirm. 

This time, Wen Chen didn’t hesitate and said “hmm” again. 

They couldn’t just keep being at odds like this. She would find ways to make things unpleasant. 

Because he didn’t invest any emotion, Wen Chen could even handle it casually. But his casual “hmm” was enough for Li Wanzhao to feel that he had given the sincerity to make peace. 

Li Wanzhao got his answer, and her face finally wasn’t so tense anymore. She immediately said, “Since you don’t want me to leave, then I won’t leave. You have to go to the examination hall tomorrow, let’s rest early.” 

The two of them got into bed and turned off the lights early. 

It seemed like they had returned to their usual selves. Tonight’s argument seemed to have become a trivial quarrel. 

After the family banquet ended, everyone returned to their rooms. Li Guan went to the study to handle official business, while Chen Shi and her three children gathered together to talk in low voices. 

Li Hongyuan felt suffocated and couldn’t get over the anger when he thought of what Wen Chen had done today. He was still cursing him even now. “Mother! That bastard really wanted to choke me to death!” 

But Chen Shi didn’t believe it. 

Wen Chen looked like nothing more than a weak scholar. Li Hongyuan was covered in fat, so how could he be choked to death by Wen Chen? 

She only thought that Li Hongyuan was making a mountain out of a molehill. She frowned and scolded him, “One moment you’re calling him a bastard, where did you learn those dirty words from? Besides, he always looks gloomy, and no one knows what bad things he’s plotting in his heart. Why are you provoking him for no reason?” 

Ever since Wen Chen entered the Li family, Li Hongyuan had always been trying to find ways to argue with him. This time, he even wanted to get physical. 

But Li Hongyuan just didn’t like Wen Chen. He didn’t like him from the first day he came to the school. 

This person was good-looking, and he immediately attracted everyone’s attention, including a woman he liked in the school. That woman’s father was an assistant administrator, who was considered the second-in-command of Enwen Prefecture. 

Li Hongyuan liked the assistant administrator’s daughter, but she was cold by nature, and he couldn’t find a way to approach her at all. Once, he angered her, and she scolded him in anger. 

But the more she scolded him, the more excited he became. 

Li Hongyuan didn’t give up after a period of time. When he was looking for ways to approach her, Wen Chen came to the school. 

At first, he heard people say that he came from a humble background, but he had outstanding literary talent. He was exceptionally admitted by the teacher in the school, and even his tuition was waived. 

Li Hongyuan didn’t pay much attention to him. He was just a poor scholar. No matter how handsome he was or how talented he was, so what? Could he really pass the imperial examination and become a top scholar? It was just that later, he happened to see the assistant administrator’s daughter seem to be interacting with Wen Chen… 

He became jealous and frequently targeted him. 

Later, when his mother and sister were going to harm the eldest sister, he also poisoned Wen Chen and dragged him into it. 

But he didn’t expect that his father would actually let him marry into the Li family. 

It was really a bargain for this poor scholar to marry into their family. 

Li Hongyuan was annoyed when he heard Chen Shi scolding him. “Mother always likes to bully Eldest Sister, so why can’t I bully him?” 

Chen Shi became even more annoyed when she heard this. “Can this be the same?! Li Wanzhao would never make a big deal out of it, but Wen Chen has no parents, and I don’t think he likes Li Wanzhao that much. If he gets anxious, he won’t care about anything. If you annoy him, he might even kill you.” 

Li Wanzhao was just a rabbit. A rabbit would bite when cornered, but it would only be a tickle. Wen Chen, on the other hand, looked like a jackal or a tiger. 

Li WanShu listened from the side and disagreed. “Mother is being too worried.” 

How could a mere scholar cause any great disaster? 

Chen Shi had lived more than ten years longer than them after all, and she saw things more clearly. Seeing that her two children didn’t believe her, it was a waste of breath to say anything, so she didn’t bother to speak anymore. 

She heard that Wen Chen was very knowledgeable and that the teacher said he was amazing. She was a little worried that if Wen Chen really passed the exam this time, Li Guan might change his view of him. 

Chen Shi looked at Li Hongyuan and said, “Go back and rest early. You have to take the exam tomorrow. If that poor scholar passes the exam and you don’t, you can wait to be scolded by your father.” 

Li Hongyuan still didn’t take it to heart. He secretly thought that Wen Chen was just a fame-seeker and was only good at writing articles. Besides, even if he passed the county exam, so what? It would only be real skill if he passed the small three exams. 

Li Hongyuan got a headache as soon as he heard about the exam. He was only fifteen years old, so what was the rush? Without saying anything more, he got up and left. 

After he left, the room became much quieter, leaving only the mother and daughter. Li WanShu asked Chen Shi, “Mother, how is the marriage with the Lan family going?” 

The head of the Lan family, Lan Yu, was the local assistant surveillance commissioner. This person and Li Guan were both Jinshi graduates in the same year, so they were considered to have a friendly relationship. Later, they were transferred to the same provincial administration commission, one in the surveillance office and one in the prefectural office. Now, they had known each other for more than twenty years, and their relationship was very good. 

Lan’s wife came to the Li family a few months ago, and her words implied that she wanted to arrange a marriage for her second son, Lan Xunbai. 

The Lan family was considered a prominent family in the area. Their ancestors were virtuous. Previously, Lord Lan was an official in the capital. Although Lan Yu and Li Guan were both officials of the fourth rank, if one considered the family reputation, the Li family was naturally not as good as the Lan family, which had been virtuous for five generations. Moreover, Li Guan’s prefect was only at the top in the local prefecture, but the assistant surveillance commissioner was different. He was in charge of the criminal affairs of the entire provincial administration commission. 

If they could establish a marriage relationship with the Lan family, it would naturally be the best thing. 

It was a pity that Li Guan’s deceased wife had a good relationship with Lan’s wife, so Li Wanzhao also had a better relationship with the Lan family. By calculation, Lan Xunbai was half a year younger than Li Wanzhao. Lan Yu often interacted with Li Guan during festivals, and Lan Xunbai would often follow, but he was mostly close to Li Wanzhao. 

Chen Shi was naturally unwilling to let such a sweet pastry as the Lan family fall into Li Wanzhao’s hands. Later, she thought of poisoning Li Wanzhao to make her lose her virginity, so that even if the Lan family liked her again, this marriage would not be possible. As for Wen Chen, Li Hongyuan also wanted to make fun of him… So in the end, the two of them were harmed and their reputations were ruined. 

Li Guan’s friendship with Lan Yu would not change because of Li Wanzhao. Since Li Wanzhao could not marry into the family, this good thing would naturally fall on her daughter. 

But who would have thought that when she went to mention the marriage to Lan’s wife again, she only kept pushing it off, saying that they would discuss it after Lan Xunbai took the imperial examination. 

Seeing that Li WanShu couldn’t wait, Chen Shi comforted her, “What are you rushing for? Don’t you have to wait for Lan Xunbai to take the imperial examination first? You have to wait until after the children’s examination. Just relax, his father and your father have been friends for many years, and even for your father’s sake, he will think of talking to our family about marriage first.” 

The two of them said a few more words, and later the sound of Li Guan came from outside. He had returned from the study. 

They were afraid that what they had done in the past would be exposed, so they didn’t dare to continue talking. Li WanShu greeted Li Guan and then hurriedly said goodbye and left. 

The county exam consisted of five sessions, one session per day, separated by five days. Li Wanzhao was not relaxed during these few days when Wen Chen was taking the imperial examination. She got up even earlier than him every day to check whether his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were properly prepared. 

Originally, the cousins in the family and Li Hongyuan were going to the examination hall, and Wen Chen could ride in a carriage with them, but Li Wanzhao was afraid that Li Hongyuan would find a way to bully Wen Chen again, so she asked Li Man to prepare another carriage for Wen Chen. 

Even so, Li Hongyuan still sneered at them, complaining that Li Wanzhao and Wen Chen were being troublesome and pretentious. 

Li Wanzhao sent Wen Chen to the examination hall on the first day, but he didn’t want her to send him in the following days. Li Wanzhao listened to him, after all, it was his exam, and she went along with him. 

The county exam ended at the end of February. This was the last session, and Li Wanzhao asked someone to prepare a carriage and planned to pick him up to go home. 

But just as she arrived at the back door, she happened to see the Lan family’s carriage parked there. 

Li Wanzhao was curious and wondered who had come today. 

Just as she was hesitating whether to go forward and say hello, someone got out of the carriage. 

It was Lan Yu, Lan Xunbai’s father. 

There were only two people here, and they ran into each other. Li Wanzhao couldn’t avoid it, so she had no choice but to go forward and greet him. 

Vice-Envoy Lan and Lan’s wife had been very good to her, but after that kind of thing happened, the people of the Lan family must have known about it. When she saw them again, she naturally felt a bit embarrassed and shy. 

But Vice-Envoy Lan’s expression was as usual, and he called out to her as always, “Xiao Zhao, are you going to the examination hall?” 

He knew that the Li family’s live-in son-in-law was also taking the Xiucai exam. 

Li Wanzhao nodded and didn’t deny it.