“My second brother said he did very well,” Shen Ci said proudly. “But some teachers at home said that since my second brother is still young and this is his first exam, even if he’s talented, he might not pass. Speaking of which, your cousin is also taking the exam for the first time. If he just says he’s ‘okay’ now, he probably won’t pass.”

Tao Sheng stood quietly, listening without responding. However, Shen Ci became more excited: “The Mr. Ouyang that my father invited for my second brother is very capable. A lot of my second brother’s success in the exam is thanks to him. If you ask your father, maybe he’ll be happy and get Mr. Ouyang to help your cousin. That way, your cousin’s chances of passing the next provincial exam will be much higher.”

Tao Sheng simply said “hmm” without further comment.

From what Shen Ci said, it seemed that Shen Huan from the Shen family had passed the exam, but her cousin Ji Yanming had failed.

They really had no idea about the world they lived in.

Since the results had not been released yet, Tao Sheng felt it was pointless to argue with Shen Ci about these matters, so she interrupted, saying, “It’s too early to talk about this now. It will be better to plan after the results are posted.”

Shen Ci felt Tao Sheng was ungrateful. He cared about her cousin and offered her advice, but she remained cold and didn’t want to say much.

Fortunately, he was just her younger brother and wouldn’t say much even if she was indifferent to him. But if Tao Sheng treated her father the same way, he wouldn’t agree to help her.

Little did he know that imperial examinations are very expensive. He heard that his family’s music store business was average. By the time Ji Yanming took the exam a few more times, his family might struggle financially. In the end, Tao Sheng would be the one suffering the consequences.

Shen Ruojin stood under the shade of flowers, frowning slightly as she watched Tao Sheng and Shen Ci talking on the corridor.

Tao Sheng still had her usual indifferent look, but Shen Ci was different from his usual self, enthusiastically talking to her.

She didn’t know what kind of person Shen Ci was. In the past, when Tao Sheng ignored him, he often tried to cause trouble. But after being defeated by her, he admired her a little more. Though they weren’t close, he no longer dared to offend her and even seemed to want to please her.

Shen Ruojin didn’t know that there was a term called Mu Qiang ^[1]where people admire those who are strong or capable.. She felt confused, unsure whether to approach or stay back.

_ 

When Shen Yue returned from the study, he ran into Tang Yizi, who was dressed up and about to go out. He asked in surprise, “Why are you going out at this hour?”

Tang Yizi raised the brocade box in her hand and said, “Recently, Baohezhai ^[2]refers to a shop that sells fine jewelry. received a batch of new rubies. The shopkeeper said the quality is excellent and will suit the skin tone well. I asked someone to buy some and made two bracelets—one in red gold and one with rubies, for both Tao Sheng and me.”

Then she raised the golden bracelet on her wrist and said, “This one is for me, and the one inside is for her.”

“That’s fine,” Shen Yue said. “But don’t just focus on Tao Sheng and forget about Ruojin. They are both sisters, so don’t favor one over the other.”

Tang Yizi replied coldly, “My dowry was used to buy the gemstones, and my mother found a master to make the bracelets. I will give them to whoever I like. If you want a pair for sister Ruojin, just have someone make them yourself instead of asking me again.”

Shen Yue was puzzled and said, “Both are sisters. Ruojin is good-natured, polite, and considerate of her family. Taosheng, on the other hand, is a bit aloof… She always be closer to you, so why do you always favor Taosheng?”

“You like sister Ruojin, so be good to her. Just focus on yourself and don’t involve others,” Tang Yizi said. “Ruo Jin and I don’t get along. I only like Taosheng.”

When Tang Yizi arrived at the main courtyard, Tao Sheng, Shen Ci, and Ruojin were coming in together. Soon after, she, Shen Yue, and Shen Huan, who came with Shen Yu, entered. The main courtyard instantly became lively.

Once they entered the main room and sat down, Tang Yizi started planning the seating arrangement.

She had everything planned. Luo Xin and Shen Yu would sit at the top. Tao Sheng was the guest and favored by her mother, so she would sit next to her mother.

Ruo Jin, being the princess’s study companion, rarely went home, so it was appropriate for her to sit below her father.

That meant Shen Yue would sit below Ruojin. As the eldest sister-in-law, she should sit next to Tao Sheng according to the order.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ruojin stepped back a seat, giving up the two spots closest to her parents.

In this case, the seating arrangement needed to be adjusted.

Shen Yue and Tang Yizi sat closest to their parents, but it was unclear whether Tao Sheng would choose to sit next to them.

Tang Yizi felt that Ruojin’s understanding sometimes seemed unnecessary and inconvenient.

However, Tao Sheng did not follow Ruojin’s lead and chose to sit directly next to her mother, Luo Xin. For some reason, Shen Yue sat directly next to Tao Sheng. At this moment, Tang Yizi lost her chance and could only sit next to Ruojin.

Tang Yizi shot a resentful glance at her husband. Before she could take a breath, she heard Shen Yu praising Shen Huan in front of everyone for his hard work in studying and taking exams, how he had always been a role model for other children in the family, and never caused parents and elders any worry.

Shen Yu’s confident expression and tone were exactly like Shen Ci’s. Tao Sheng felt a headache coming on and instinctively shook her shoulders. Unexpectedly, such a small movement was noticed by Shen Yu, who immediately called out, “Tao Sheng, I remember your cousin also passed the autumn examination this time. How is he doing now?”

“He just said he did okay on the test.”

Shen Yu was somewhat dissatisfied with Tao Sheng’s answer and said, “Our Huan’er always ranked among the top. The worst he did was 25th. I wonder what your cousin’s ranking was in the past?”

Ji Yanming has always been low-key and rarely mentioned his high test scores. Tao Sheng replied vaguely, “I heard from Mama Tang that my cousin’s scores were acceptable, just slightly better than the second young master, and they were all in the top ten.”

Tao Sheng’s response successfully shut Shen Yu up and made everyone quickly change the subject. Facing the strange silence in the room, Shen Yue felt uncomfortable and started a new conversation: “Yesterday, I heard from Grandma Wang, who was with Grandma, that Grandma had found a good match for Sister Ruojin. Is this true?”

Shen Yu had come to the main courtyard today to discuss this with Luo Xin. Just three days ago, the old lady’s nephew helped Ruojin find a husband, Wu Zhen, the eldest son of the Changxing Marquis’s Mansion.