After returning from Tantuo Temple, Shumulu became even busier. Wedding ceremonies were more complicated for wealthy families, and mistakes were unacceptable, otherwise they would become the subject of gossip.

Shumulu naturally did things as carefully as possible.

When he got busy, he naturally had no time to care about Tong Cheng'er. Apart from the routine greetings, Tong Cheng'er lived a carefree life.

After going through the formalities of marriage—three letters and six rites—a month had passed by the time the marriage arrangements for Tong Xuewen and Guarjia Shuyu were finalized.

With the marriage arranged, Tong Cheng'er's second sister-in-law is now secure, and the wedding date is set for May of next year.

The reason is simple: Tong Xuewen will be taking the imperial examination next year. The provincial examination will be in February, the palace examination in March, and the results will be available in April. By May, everything will be settled, making it the perfect time for marriage.

Tong Xuewen's academic ability is undoubtedly excellent. If he passes the exam in April, he will be both honored with his degree and have a wedding night. If he fails, he will still get married, since he is indeed of marriageable age.

The matter was settled, and Tong Xuewen had a fiancée. However, in reality, his life was not much different from before. If there was any difference, it was that he was even busier. Tomorrow was the imperial examination, and success or failure depended on this. He was indeed quite talented in studying, but no matter how talented he was, it would be in vain if he didn't work hard.

So many candidates participated in the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty, but only two or three hundred were selected. If one didn't work hard, why would they get a spot?

Although Tong Cheng'er didn't experience it firsthand, as a fairly responsible and good younger sister, she saw it all and felt it was truly tough! Much tougher than when she was taking the college entrance exam.

Then all she could do was eat and drink well while he worked hard, and hug Bai Bai to cheer him on.

Tong Xuewen wanted to punch Tong Cheng'er because of her comfortable and carefree appearance, but when he saw her face, he couldn't even bring himself to lecture her.

Meanwhile, after being disappointed that his ailment hadn't healed, Yinzhen couldn't help but pay more attention to Tong Cheng'er. After all, since he ejaculated, Tong Cheng'er was the only woman he encountered who didn't see anything "disgusting."

In other words, Tong Cheng'er is special to him, and this specialness makes him unable to help but start paying attention to her.

After paying attention, he discovered that the girl seemed to lead a rather simple life and was somewhat lazy, which inevitably reminded Yinzhen of what he had overheard when he first met her.

Because Alhatu was virtuous and had no concubines in his backyard besides Shumulu, the Tong family's backyard was very simple and there was not much intrigue. Therefore, the information Yinzhen found about Tong Cheng'er was also very simple.

What Yinzhen found out: his hobby was reading storybooks, his only talent was a passable handwriting, and he couldn't even hold a needle and thread. Recently, he had adopted a female cat named Bai Bai and doted on her very much...

When Yinzhen saw this document, he felt that it was no wonder her mother was worried about her not being able to marry well, and he couldn't help but yearn for such a harmonious family atmosphere.

Although Tong Cheng'er's life did not meet the standards of a noble lady, she lived a very comfortable life. Except for some special things that she could not use, Yinzhen felt that his life was not as good as hers!

He felt a pang of envy, and couldn't help but think of the Emperor Yongzheng who died from exhaustion in his dream, which made him yearn even more for Tong Cheng'er's lifestyle.

Thus, Yinzhen developed a new daily hobby: regularly reading about Tong Cheng'er's daily life, much like reading her diary. When he was unhappy, reading about it always helped him feel better; it was particularly useful.

Because Tong Cheng'er seems to be happy every day, without any worries, even Yinzhen's face seems to have become more lively.

...

Time flies, and another year has passed in the blink of an eye. Yinzhen followed the Crown Prince on several tasks and did them quite well, especially the tasks in the Imperial Household Department, which showed Kangxi Yinzhen's potential.

At the end of the year, Emperor Kangxi would always reward some of the officials and sons who he felt had done well that year. Yinzhen was given special praise. In contrast, the Third Prince had just been allowed by Emperor Kangxi to return to the court, but he had not done a single task.

Even the other princes who were still studying were praised for their diligent reading. Even the Tenth Prince, who was the least attentive to his studies, was praised by Kangxi for his "improvement in handwriting."

It's easy to imagine that the Third Prince wasn't in a good mood.

So when he returned to his prince's quarters, he couldn't help but lose his temper. One of his concubines happened to be caught in the crossfire and was severely punished.

After the New Year, the Tong family focused all their attention on Tong Xuewen, since he would be taking the imperial examination in just two months.

Shumulu thought about preparing food and drink for her son every day so that he could have a good body. The imperial examination had three sessions, one every three days, and it was February, when the weather was still cold! If he was not healthy and fell ill, it would affect his examination, and then three years of hard work would be wasted.

Al-Hatu would occasionally offer guidance on his policy essays, and also explain to him the preferences and habits of this year's examiners...

In addition, there was Liu Shaoyi, who was staying at the mansion. He was also quite talented in his studies, and Tong Xuewen often discussed literature with him. Both of them felt that they benefited a lot from it.

Tong Xuewen couldn't help but sigh in his heart. If it weren't for the mourning period, Brother Shaoyi would definitely have been on the list as well. It's a pity that it would have been delayed for another three years, so the two of them would not have been able to be classmates.

Everyone in the manor was fussing over Tong Xuewen, but Tong Cheng'er thought about how her second brother always treated her well, so she decided to stop fawning over Bai Bai for the time being.

But she didn't know the Four Books and Five Classics, so she couldn't be of much help.

"What do you think I should do to help my second brother?"

Rulan and Ruxue were also worried. They had no idea where the princess could help the second master. She couldn't help with his studies, and the wife would have to oversee his daily life. Given the princess's personality, the wife probably wouldn't dare entrust the second master's affairs to her.

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