Chapter 378 is shocked by her shamelessness.

Lin Yuesha will not go to the capital with her stepbrother, but she can find a way to train Fang Dazhuang to make food. He is tall and strong, and kneading, pulling and stretching dough is no problem for him.

Liu Quan was good at dealing with people and was quite tactful, while Fang Dazhuang stayed at home to cook. Lin Yuesha didn't trust anyone else to prepare the food for the scientific expedition.

She had no experience with this matter, but she had read in storybooks that many scholars were unsuspecting and ate food containing croton seeds, only to end up regretting their failure to pass the imperial examinations.

To be on the safe side and avoid making any mistakes on this issue, Lin Yuesha decided to call Fang Dazhuang over and train him to be a chef in the shortest possible time.

"Big brother, you're back from meeting your friends?"

Lin Yuesha looked up and saw her stepbrother standing at the door. She immediately smiled and said, "I was just thinking about you, and here you are."

These past few days, the family has been busy preparing for Xiao Qi's trip to the capital. During the day, Madam Chen goes to the shop and squeezes in time to sew clothes for Xiao Qi, buying only the best materials, because she is very afraid that he will be ridiculed for being poor in the capital.

"Yes, someone from the Bai family just delivered an invitation, inviting my brother and me to their home as guests."

Xiao Qi held up the invitation and handed it to his younger sister, asking, "What brings Madam Bai to invite me to her home?"

"Perhaps Young Master Bai wishes to invite my elder brother to go to the capital together?"

Lin Yuesha vaguely understood what Yan was thinking. Most likely, it was because Li Ruoxue's witchcraft had implicated Bai Dingfeng. The Bai family discussed inviting her to their home, but she did not want to drag her stepbrother into it.

If anything happened, it was directed at her. Her stepbrother was honest and simple, and knew nothing about it. Lin Yuesha felt a surge of anger, thinking that the Bai family was dishonest.

“Brother, how about this, I’ll go by myself and just say you’ve been visiting a friend and haven’t returned.”

Lin Yuesha reluctantly invited her stepbrother to her home. Did he intend to use him to threaten her?

"Since it is Madam Bai who invited us, it would be impolite not to go."

Xiao Qi shook his head and said, "I'll go to the capital for the imperial examination in a few days. Even if I'm impolite, the Bai family won't be able to cause me any trouble."

The implication is that the Bai family is likely to cause trouble for Lin Yuesha. Prefect Bai is the prefect of the city, and his own family also owns shops. It's best not to offend them if possible.

Ordinary people live a hard life and cannot afford to offend the powerful and wealthy.

"Little sister, your big brother will definitely work hard, and one day, you won't have to suffer like this."

Xiao Qi's assurance to his younger sister moved Lin Yuesha to tears. Actually, it didn't matter if she felt a little wronged. In the world of martial arts, one is bound to get hurt. With her family as her support, she wasn't afraid.

After discussing it, the brother and sister took the snack box to visit the Bai family. The gatekeeper received the news and quickly came in to report.

Before long, Prefect Bai and Madam Yan came out to greet her. Their formality surprised Lin Yuesha.

"Tingyun, Yuesha, come in and sit down."

With a smile on her face, Madam Yan instructed her maid to serve Lin Yuesha some leftovers, but focused her attention on Xiao Qi.

"Tingyun, I heard that you are over the age of twenty and still not engaged?"

Madam Yan looked at Prefect Bai, who coughed lightly twice and asked.

One sentence made Lin Yuesha nervous. She forced herself to continue listening, hoping it wasn't what she thought.

"In reply to Lord Bai, Tingyun is indeed not engaged."

Xiao Qi lowered his head, appearing very humble. A man should establish his career before starting a family; having not yet passed the imperial examinations, his studies were his top priority.

"But you're not young anymore, have you ever considered this question?"

After Prefect Bai finished asking his questions, Madam Yan continued with hers.

Last night, the Bai family members stayed up all night. Madam Yan had a servant invite Zhao Jingya to the mansion as a guest. Through a combination of threats and inducements, she got Zhao Jingya to conceal from Li Ruoxue that she had used Bai Dingfeng's birth date and personal belongings.

In the future, my son Bai Dingfeng will become an official, and we must not let his future be ruined by his involvement in witchcraft.

This matter is a hidden danger; even if it is concealed now, it will be brought up again in the future.

Lin Yuesha's biological father, Lord Lin, had already risen to the position of Prefect of the Capital, holding a high position and great power. However, his political enemies still dug up the fact that he had married and had a daughter in the north. Lord Lin had no choice but to send someone to bring Lin Yuesha to the capital.

Such a person may have a slight flaw in character. How many men are truly innocent when it comes to women? At most, they might be called a womanizer.

However, when it comes to witchcraft, it's not that simple.

After considering it, Zhao Jingya agreed to Yan's request, and now only Lin Yuesha remains as a witness.

Yan racked her brains, trying to find a way to benefit Lin Yuesha, when she suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

According to his son Bai Dingfeng, Lin Yuesha's stepbrother is good-looking and very talented in his studies. He has a good chance of passing the imperial examination in Beijing this time.

If Bai Youran were to be betrothed to Xiao Qi, Lin Yuesha would be eternally grateful. After all, for Xiao Qi, a poor boy with no connections, to marry the daughter of a prefect is an incredible stroke of luck.

Madam Yan had high hopes for her daughter's marriage. If it weren't for Bai Dingfeng's sake, she would have been forced to resort to such a despicable scheme.

Selling her daughter was all to ensure Lin Yuesha would keep the secret. With Bai Youran becoming Lin Yuesha's sister-in-law, Madam Yan had no worries at all.

Yan's frantic hints shocked Lin Yuesha with her shamelessness.

No wonder Madam Yan invited the two of them as guests, but Bai Dingfeng and Bai Youran were not there. It turns out that the Bai family had such plans.

It wasn't that Bai Youran was bad, but Lin Yuesha was very unhappy that the Bai family forced her to take her brother's place.

Whoever her elder brother marries, as long as he likes her, she will definitely support him wholeheartedly. Lin Yuesha doesn't want financial interests to be used as a bargaining chip in marriage.

Moreover, Yan's words this time had a condescending tone, as if promising Bai Youran to her stepbrother would bring good fortune to her ancestors for eighteen generations.

Whoever wants to be the Bai family's son-in-law can be. Even if they want to take advantage, they have to consider whether they are willing to do so!

"Lord Bai, is Dingfeng at home?"

Xiao Qi pretended not to know anything when asked, acting as if he hadn't understood anything about what Prefect Bai and Madam Yan meant, and was eager to ask Bai Dingfeng for advice.

Yan was so angry she almost fainted, and she cursed him inwardly as an idiot.

Lin Yuesha and her stepbrother are not blood siblings. One is incredibly clever and quick to understand, while the other is so simple-minded that even when Lin Yuesha tells him directly, he still doesn't get it.

Faced with such a simpleton, Yan felt helpless for the first time.

What to say, how to say it—we can't just say it directly, or we'll lose face!

Normally, if she asked Xiao Tingyun to come to her door and give her a hint, someone who knew what was good for them would hurry home to prepare betrothal gifts and propose marriage.

After Xiao Qi left, Lin Yuesha secretly breathed a sigh of relief and forced herself to face Yan Shi's interrogation.

"Yue Sha, I think your older brother is a good person, a kind and honest man."

With Hanhan gone, Madam Yan felt relieved. With Lin Yuesha's intelligence, she could easily understand with a hint. Although Madam Yan was reluctant to part with her daughter, after thinking it over, she decided that finding someone from such a prominent family was a good idea. Xiao Qi was successful, and his stepmother wouldn't interfere in his private affairs.

Having suffered at the hands of concubines and mistresses, Madam Yan decided to be firm and forbid Xiao Qi from taking concubines if her daughter, Bai Youran, were to marry down.