Chapter 396

"Once we arrive in the capital, if there's anything you need to do, just let me know, and I'll do it for you." Su Yanqiu placed the food from the food box onto the table one by one.

Rong Rong smiled and shook her head, "I need you to do well in the exam and become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). That's more important than anything else!"

Su Yanqiu blushed again and replied softly, "I will!"

After the blush on Su Yanqiu's face faded, Rong Rong had already drunk half a bowl of rice, but Su Yanqiu still felt a faint unease in her heart.

"Sister-in-law won't abandon me and leave alone, right?" Su Yanqiu asked again.

He was afraid that he was too weak to help Rong Rong and would be abandoned by her, and he was also afraid that Rong Rong would leave him because she couldn't bear to drag him down.

Perhaps Rongrong is right. His most important task now is to get good grades, try to get to the emperor's side, and strive to climb the social ladder.

Only if he is strong enough can he help Rong Rong and be someone Rong Rong can rely on.

Su Yanqiu thought about it for a long time before he suddenly realized that Rong Rong had not answered him.

Rong Rong did have the idea of ​​leaving Su Yanqiu once she arrived in the capital, but it was just a vague idea and she didn't have a concrete plan yet.

Su Yanqiu was the only one left in the Su family. How could she bear to let Su Yanqiu be implicated because of her?

Rong Rong silently drank her porridge, pretending she hadn't heard anything.

Su Yanqiu sat down next to her and said, "Sister-in-law, we promised that we would always be family."

Su Yanqiu's eyes were deep; if he could, he would prefer his sister-in-law to be his wife.

But he dared not overstep the bounds, for fear of upsetting his sister-in-law or disliking her.

I was also afraid of letting my brother down.

They can only be uncle and sister-in-law!

But his sister-in-law is free and can leave at any time. What can he do to keep her here?

He's willing to never marry, and he's willing to support his sister-in-law for life. Wouldn't it be better if the two of them stayed together forever?

"If it weren't for my sister-in-law, what meaning would I have in this world?" Su Yanqiu muttered to herself, her expression blank.

Rong Rong paused, turned to look at Su Yanqiu, and saw that the other party seemed to have lost his soul and had no will to live.

This idiot, has he lost his way in life?

"How could that be?" Rong Rong gripped Su Yanqiu's arm tightly. "I am your family, always will be, and I will never abandon you!"

Rong Rong was very serious, afraid that her child would be discouraged and never recover. It seemed that she really couldn't abandon him.

Su Yanqiu stared blankly down at Rong Rong's hand gripping his arm. The warm, soft touch was hotter than a furnace, making his whole body feel hot, yet he couldn't bear to move his arm away.

For a brief moment, he did feel hopeless, as if the sky had fallen and he was utterly miserable, but it was only for a moment.

Confucius once said that he was resilient, like a weed, and would grow wildly as long as given a little hope.

How could he be defeated by setbacks?

However, it seems that his sister-in-law misunderstood him, but because of the misunderstanding, things developed in the direction he hoped for.

If showing weakness appropriately can win his sister-in-law's pity, he might as well be a little more submissive.

Thinking of this, Su Yanqiu blinked, his eyes welling up with tears. He slowly looked up at Rong Rong, looking helpless.

"Really? My sister-in-law won't abandon me? We've always been family?"

The handsome, aloof, and resilient younger brother-in-law suddenly looked pitiful and broken, which made Rong Rong feel very sorry for him.

Yes, I exclaimed how adorable it was!

When Rong Rong, who loves to act coquettishly, saw a man in front of her for the first time, looking so delicate and weak, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

She had to take good care of her brother-in-law! Her younger brother! This silly child!

For the first time ever, Su Yanqiu was allowed to stay in Rong Rong's room for a meal.

Su Yanqiu was stunned for a moment, then suppressed her laughter and went along with Rong Rong's lead.

The distance between the two seemed to vanish from that moment on.

The next morning, Rong Rong and her group packed their things and set off, leaving Xushan City early.

Shortly after they left, someone came to their room, only to find it empty.

However, the other party still learned their names from the waiter.

Unbeknownst to Su Yanqiu, someone had already begun investigating him; he was lost in the happiness of his growing relationship with Rong Rong.

After that, they did not stop in any city, but continued their journey on the official road.

This also led to those who were looking for them never hearing from them again.

However, it's only a matter of time before the other party finds them, since there are only so many people in the world named Wang Chen and Su Yanqiu.

By checking each one individually, they were eventually able to find Su Yanqiu's hometown in Jishan Village.

On this day, Rongrong and her companions finally arrived in the capital. At this time, there were still half a month before the imperial examination.

The Wang family has their own courtyard in the capital, and Wang Chen warmly invited Su Yanqiu and Rong Rong to stay at his home.

Both refused. Despite Wang Chen's earnest persuasion, saying that he could provide Su Yanqiu's sister-in-law with a better life, Su Yanqiu remained unmoved.

The fewer people who know about Rong Rong, the safer they are; Su Yanqiu can still tell the difference between what's important and what's not.

Wang Chen was very disappointed that he never saw Su Yanqiu's sister-in-law's true face until the very end.

This matter took root in his heart from then on, and he would think about it from time to time, feeling so curious that he felt uncomfortable all over.

Rong Rong and her family rented a courtyard house to live in; it was simple and cheap, and they were really short of money.

After that, Su Yanqiu began to study diligently, and occasionally attended gatherings of students, where he had the opportunity to visit great Confucian scholars and benefited greatly from their studies.

Rong Rong remained quiet. She wanted to know the situation outside, especially how Pan'er was doing, but now was not the time. She would wait until Su Yanqiu finished his imperial examination.

Before they knew it, the day of the imperial examination arrived. Rong Rong did not see Su Yanqiu off; Su Yanqiu went to the examination hall alone.

The three exams went smoothly, and now we just wait for news.

Rong Rong had prepared red envelopes in advance, anticipating that she might need them.

Sure enough, on that day, amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums, Su Yanqiu passed the imperial examination with top honors.

Rong Rong was shocked. Even though she trusted Su Yanqiu completely, she never expected that he could be the top scholar.

With this in mind, wouldn't it be a sure thing that the top three in the palace examination be secured?

Previously, Rong Rong was worried about implicating Su Yanqiu, but now she sees that Su Yanqiu's growth rate has far exceeded her expectations.

Amid Rong Rong's sighs, Su Yanqiu went out to banquets more and more often. Rong Rong even wondered which minister would try to find a husband for Su Yanqiu.

However, no good news came from Su Yanqiu, which made Rong Rong wonder why the ministers were all so reserved.

Or perhaps he looked down on Su Yanqiu?

Before Rong Rong could react, the palace examination had already begun.

That day, Rong Rong made a special trip out of the courtyard and booked a table at an inn early in the morning. She was waiting to watch Su Yanqiu parade through the streets.

Just after 3 PM, the parade of the top scholar began.

Rong Rong heard the cheers around her, and many young girls were calling him the top scholar.

Rong Rong excitedly went to the window and looked downstairs. She saw a group of people riding horses slowly walking in her direction.

The man at the head of the group was dressed in a magnificent bright red scholar's robe, wearing a golden crown and flowers in his hair. He had a handsome face and was none other than Su Yanqiu.