Chapter 75 [V] "I want to go with you to tell..."

"This is Madam Qiao, my former close friend," Madam Gao introduced to Li Yan.

Li Yan immediately curtsied and greeted, "Li greets Madam Qiao."

Old Madam Qiao kept her eyes fixed on her, but her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly showing her great curiosity about Li Yan.

Old Madam Gao noticed this and first had Li Yan sit down next to her before saying to Old Madam Qiao, "Don't even think about it. She's pretty, but she's already married." Then she started gossiping, "Do you know who her husband is?"

Madam Qiao was staring at Li Yan because she felt that Li Yan looked very familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place her.

Hearing Madam Gao ask about her husband, which seemed rather mysterious, Madam Qiao assumed that her husband was someone she knew, someone she had seen by chance before, which was why he looked familiar... So she quickly replied, "Who is he?"

Xue Yi's affair is no longer a secret in Jiangning Prefecture, especially among people in elite circles like the Gao family, where it is widely known.

For Madam Gao, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, for Li Shi, it was a stroke of good fortune after all the misfortunes. Her husband hadn't died; he had only lost his memory and mistaken someone else for his father. Now, having regained his memory, he had returned with honors and achievements—wasn't that a cause for celebration?

Therefore, in front of Li Yan, Madam Gao did not avoid the topic. Instead, she said with a smile, "It is Xue Qianhu, the newly appointed commander of our Jiangning Prefecture." She said, "At a young age, he made great contributions on the battlefield. When the emperor was rewarding his merits, he was personally appointed commander of a thousand men by the emperor."

Military merits and the title of commander of a thousand households... Old Madam Qiao had already heard about that matter, so when Old Madam Gao mentioned it, she knew who it was.

But she did not know or have ever met that Commander Xue.

If I've never met him, how could I have met his wife?

So, I had never seen it before.

Madam Qiao knew it wasn't appropriate to stare at someone like that, especially since she wasn't sure if she had actually met this young woman before. So, she suppressed her curiosity and continued chatting with Madam Gao.

"I heard that Commander Xue has only recently been recognized as a mother, and his wife was arranged by his mother when he went out to fight. How come you are so close to such a young man?" Old Madam Qiao asked.

So, Madam Gao patiently explained to Madam Qiao in detail how she had met Li Yan.

After saying that, he looked at Li Yan and said, "Since you will be living in Jiangning Prefecture from now on, it means we are destined to meet. We should visit each other more often in the future."

In terms of social standing, Li Yan was several levels below this elderly lady. Now that she had spoken to her, it was a great honor for her, so Li Yan quickly stood up and replied, "If you don't mind me bothering you, I would be happy to visit you often."

Madam Gao smiled and said, "No trouble at all. My husband was overjoyed when he heard about your situation. He would be happiest if you could come often."

Li Yan was also very gratified, as she had met a benefactor through cooking. Now, with the favor and appreciation of this benefactor, her future would only be bright.

However, she hadn't yet become complacent about the purpose of her visit, so she simply said, "I've come today to ask you for a favor." Even though she was favored by her senior, she still needed his help, and Li Yan was still somewhat uneasy.

Madam Gao then asked, "What is it?"

Then, Li Yan told Madam Gao everything that had happened.

Upon hearing this, Madam Gao smiled and said, "Although I don't concern myself with matters outside, my husband can put in a good word for you with Mr. Dai. But whether Mr. Dai will give my husband that kind of face is another matter."

Even so, it was already quite remarkable. Therefore, Li Yan immediately stood up to express her gratitude.

"Thank you for your kind words, Madam. You have gone to a lot of trouble for this matter."

Madam Gao, however, didn't take the matter too seriously; to her, it was just a small favor. Turning her head, she quickly changed the subject back to this year's autumn imperial examinations.

The triennial autumn imperial examination has arrived again this year.

"Jiangning Prefecture is bustling this year. I heard that many inns in the city are already full," said Madam Gao.

Madam Qiao continued, "At the beginning of the year, many students had already arrived to take the exams. Those who stayed at inns did so because they arrived late. The students who arrived early rented quiet accommodations to focus on their studies."

Madam Gao said, "My husband has been busy lately, often being invited out by his students. But he also enjoys being around people. Now that he's retired to his hometown, he hates being lonely. Being able to be surrounded by people and be of use to him is a good thing for him."

When the topic of this year's autumn imperial examination came up, Li Yan suddenly thought of two people. One was Han Yue, the male protagonist of the book she had transmigrated into, and the other was Xu Qingshu, with whom she had a somewhat superficial connection.

In the book, Han Yue passed the imperial examination this year and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). Not only did he pass, but he also topped the list. After that, he shone brightly in the spring and palace examinations, thus embarking on a smooth and successful official career.

However, the setting in that book is that the female protagonist, Li Jiaojiao, has a lucky fate for her husband, and everything the male protagonist has achieved is due to marrying a wife who brings him good fortune.

Now that she has transmigrated into that book and changed some things... it remains to be seen whether Han Yue's career path can continue to develop as it does in the book.

Logically speaking, Han Yue is going to be a top-tier bigwig, and she has a grudge against him, so she should be afraid that he will make things difficult for her. But for some reason, instinctively, she didn't feel that fear.

She had thought that perhaps if Xue Erlang hadn't returned, she would be afraid all alone. But now, Xue Erlang was back. She had treated his mother and nephew so well; she was practically his benefactor, wasn't she? And he was the kind of person who would repay kindness. If anything really happened to her in the future, he certainly wouldn't abandon her.

So perhaps because Xue Erlang was there, she wasn't so afraid.

Xue Erlang is not described in much detail in the book, only mentioned a few times, and is portrayed indirectly. At most, at the very beginning, when the book emphasizes the female protagonist Li Jiaojiao and the contrasting character Li Yan, Xue Yi appears briefly as Li Yan's deceased husband, but this is only used to highlight Li Yan's tragic fate.

While other women's husbands rose through the ranks, her husband died young.

Later, after the main characters went to Jiangning Prefecture, the focus on the original owner of Li Yan gradually decreased. The story then shifted to the days of the male and female protagonists in Jiangning Prefecture and the capital, and Li Yan, this unfortunate cannon fodder, naturally never appeared again.

Therefore, Xue Yi is not actually a character in the book; at least, he never appeared alive.

But now, the fact is that Xue Yi has returned alive, and he is a fifth-rank military officer.

At least, Xue Erlang's appearance was something that didn't exist in the original book. Her transmigration into the book changed the fate of the Xue family.

Xue Erlang is already a fifth-rank military officer. In the long run, how could he not be promoted?

Therefore, Li Yan was very clear-headed; she was determined to cling to Xue Erlang, this powerful patron.

After chatting with the two elderly ladies, Gao and Qiao, for a while, Li Yan realized it was getting late and decided to leave.

Madam Gao politely invited her to stay for a meal, but Li Yan politely declined.

Visiting is already an inconvenience; how could I possibly be so tactless as to stay for a meal, causing them unnecessary trouble and worry?

In the front yard, Xue Yi naturally also met Master Gao. The two, one a scholar and the other a warrior, had little to talk about.

When Li Yan came out of the inner courtyard, Xue Yi and Master Gao had almost finished their conversation.

Although Xue Yi was not very well-read, he was adept at dealing with people and situations. Although he did not win over Master Gao's heart, he did not make the old man dislike him either.

When Master Gao returned to the inner courtyard, Madam Gao immediately asked gossipy, "How is Li's husband?"

After sitting down, Master Gao said seriously, "He is naturally tall and handsome, a man of great talent. However... he's a rough fellow, not a scholar." He shook his head.

Hearing that she was good-looking, Madam Gao got excited: "Good looks are good, but I'm afraid her appearance is ugly and she's not a good match for the beautiful Li. As for her studies... she's a warrior, not a scholar, what do she need so much knowledge for?" She earns her military merits on the battlefield, not to take the imperial examinations, so we can't be too demanding.

Remembering that Li had previously discussed marriage with a scholar from Huating County, the old lady became even more gossipy and asked, "How does this Commander Xue compare to that Scholar Xu?" Although she had never met either of them, she had only heard her husband mention them a few times, but that didn't stop her from gossiping.

Hearing his wife ask this question, Mr. Gao actually started to seriously compare them in his mind.

"By conventional standards of beauty, this Commander Xue is naturally superior." He wasn't biased, but then he added, "But..."

"No buts." Old Madam Gao interrupted him. "Then it must be that Commander Xue is more handsome." She complained, "You value scholars more, so you naturally favor those who have read more books. But in my opinion, as long as a man is good-looking, you can lower your standards in other aspects."

His wife had always been this way since she was young, so Mr. Gao was used to it.

"Although this young General Xue is not well-educated, his nephew may be a promising talent. In Huating County, he was able to attend the old man's classes and receive his praise, which shows that he is quite gifted."

Madam Gao then took the opportunity to say, "Since that child is not bad, you must help him with this favor."

Master Gao: "There shouldn't be any problem with Dai Hong. With my recommendation and the child being quite good... why wouldn't he do me this favor? As for the other one... it still depends on the child's aptitude."

After that, Li Yan stopped caring about the rest and left it all to Xue Yi.

A few days later, Xue Yi returned with good news.

"Xu-ge'er and Shao-jia Da-lang have both been taken in by Mr. Dai." Upon receiving this good news, Xue Yi immediately rode back. After returning, he didn't go to his mother's place or tell his nephew right away, but went to Qiu Xiang Courtyard first to share the good news with Li Yan.

Although Li Yan hasn't been asking about anything outside these past few days, focusing solely on planning her career from home, she's still secretly worried about Xu Ge'er.

Upon hearing Xue Yi say that Xu Ge'er's matter had been settled, she immediately beamed with joy.

Although she had some idea of ​​what was going on beforehand, Li Yan's feelings were still quite different when she actually received the good news.

Most importantly, besides Xu Ge'er, Shao Jia Da Lang also became one.

This was an unexpected surprise.

Li Yan felt like she was dreaming and couldn't believe it. She could only childishly ask again, "Did it really work?"

Although Xue Yi was also happy, he knew how to restrain himself and not show all his joy on his face.

But seeing his wife so happy, a smile inevitably appeared on his handsome, tanned face.

He said earnestly, "Just now, the admission notice from Honghu Academy was delivered to your residence. Brother Shao also received it and rushed over to inform you before hurrying home to celebrate."

Li Yan didn't feel that she had contributed much to this matter, nor did she feel that her two children's admission to Honghu Academy was her achievement. But at this moment, she also felt a sense of pride.

"Do Mother and Xu-ge'er know?" In her joy, Li Yan suddenly remembered to ask.

Xue Yi then said, "Not yet." After a slight pause, he looked at Li Yan again, "I want to go with you to tell them the good news."