The person who opened the door was none other than the well-mannered butler, Fang. Upon seeing Tian Sangui, he immediately beamed and opened the door wide to welcome him.

"Miss Tian is a rare guest indeed! Please come in. Madam and Miss are both here today!"

After exchanging pleasantries with Steward Fang, Tian Sangui was led by Steward Fang to the main hall to pay his respects to Madam Shen.

"Oh my, look who's here! My long-awaited goddaughter has arrived!"

"Huh?" Tian Sangui was very surprised.

"Who is the goddaughter that Madam Shen is talking about?"

Seeing that she was at a loss, Madam Shen and Butler Fang both turned their faces to the side and covered their mouths to chuckle.

"Besides Miss Tian, ​​are there any other young ladies with different surnames here?"

"Me?" Tian Sangui asked Madam Shen, pointing to himself.

"It's you! Come here and let your godmother take a look. It's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown quite a bit taller. Although you're a bit darker, it's still easy to tell that you're a beauty in the making!"

Tian Sangui's face flushed red as Madam Shen praised him repeatedly.

"Madam Xie is too kind!"

Madam Shen feigned displeasure: "Why are you still calling me 'Madam'? You should address me differently!"

Tian Sangui was a little embarrassed to call out awkwardly, "Godmother!"

"Why!"

Madam Shen glanced at Steward Fang, and her delicate face regained its smile.

"Come, come, this jade bracelet was passed down to me by my grandmother as part of my dowry. Now that I have a goddaughter, I naturally want to give it to you!"

"Come visit your godmother often in the future. Your godmother always misses her daughter's excellent cooking skills!"

Tian Sangui understood; he just wanted to eat her cooking. What was so difficult about that?

"San Gui was overjoyed to recognize his godmother, so he prepared lunch to show his filial piety to her."

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen was overjoyed: "Godmother is in for a treat at noon!"

"Lily is in her room. It's still early, go and chat with her for a while. Have Butler Fang assign a few more servants for lunch. San Gui is exhausted, and his godmother will be worried!"

"Yes, Madam!"

"Thank you for your kindness, godmother!"

After bidding farewell to Madam Shen, Steward Fang led her to the Hehuan Garden. Upon hearing that it was Tian Sangui, Shen Li hurriedly ran out of her room to greet him.

"Sister San Gui, you've finally decided to come see me!"

"Dear sister, I wish I could come and talk to you as soon as I have a free moment."

"Hahaha, come on in and sit down!"

Shen Li pulled Tian Sangui into the room, and the maids, sensing the danger, followed with a porcelain basin of ice.

He placed it in the corner by the door and then gently fanned them with a banana leaf fan.

After delivering the package to Tian Sangui, Butler Fang turned around and went to do his work.

Only Tian Sangui, Shen Li, and three maids were in the room to serve them.

Upon receiving a look from Tian Sangui, Shen Li immediately and sternly dismissed the servants.

With only the two of them left in the room, Tian Sangui immediately showed signs of anxiety.

"Sister Li, please forgive my frankness, but the reason I came here this time... is actually to ask for your help!"

"Good sister, get up quickly. We sisters don't kowtow or anything like that. If you have any difficulties, just tell me. I will do anything I can for you!"

Hearing Shen Li's words, Tian Sangui felt a little more at ease: "I don't know if I can help him with this, but as long as there's even the slightest chance, I can't give up!"

Seeing her looking worried and flustered, Shen Li took her hand and patted it gently to comfort her.

"Don't rush, tell me slowly. If I really can't help, I can still think of a way to help you!"

After hesitating for a long time, Tian Sangui finally spoke: "A good friend of mine, in order to help me out of this predicament, took that lecherous man with him to join the army."

"I think, since my sister's father is a valiant marquis leading troops into battle, he would inevitably need replacements with new soldiers, so I think..."

"I understand, sister, don't worry. I'll write a letter and send it to the Lantian camp right away. Tell me your friend's name and whether he has any distinctive features."

As Tian Sangui recalled, he realized that Wang Erwazi used to be dirty and he didn't think much of it, but now his face was clean and tidy, and he didn't even have a birthmark.

"His surname is Wang, and he's the second oldest in his family. Everyone in the village calls him Wang Erwazi (Second Child Wang). As for his distinguishing features..."

"Sigh, at the age of thirteen or fourteen, apart from being much taller than his peers, he doesn't have any other obvious characteristics."

As Shen Li wrote, she listened attentively to Tian Sangui's words, nodding occasionally.

"It's alright, having a name makes things easier!"

Shen Li put down the small seal script, folded the letter with her delicate hands, and put it into the envelope.

"Although we might not be able to find him in my father's military camp, there are several generals who are on good terms with my father. They will help with the search, so the chances are better. We can't just lose all news!"

Tian Sangui pulled Shen Li along, tears streaming down his face, and said gratefully, "Sister Li, thank you so much, you've been a huge help to me."

He saved my life. If we find him, I only ask that you generals show him some consideration.

I am deeply grateful to all the generals!

Tian Sangui knelt down to express his sincere gratitude, but how could Shen Li let her go?

"Good sister, you don't need to tell me, I've already explained everything. With my father here, you can rest assured. All the uncles are kind-hearted people, no need to thank me!"

Shen Li's words reassured Tian Sangui that he would be taken care of by the generals and wouldn't end up like a fool, becoming cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Hopefully, Wang Erwa will be smart and take good care of himself!

That's all she can do for him; the rest is up to fate.

At lunchtime, Madam Shen heard that her four brothers were also in town, so she waited for them to come and have lunch together.

Tian Er was naturally overjoyed. Tian Da was here for the first time, and as the eldest brother, he naturally appeared mature and composed.

Under Tian Sangui's introduction, they greeted Madam Shen and Shen Li one by one.

Tian Er secretly glanced at the dignified and elegant Shen Li from the shadows.

Seeing many dishes on the table that he had never eaten before, Tian Da was at a loss as to how to start eating.

The two older cousins ​​seemed less reserved, eating whatever they wanted, even if they didn't know how to eat properly, they could just put it all in their mouths and bite it open.

Seeing this, Madam Shen and Shen Li quickly covered their mouths and chuckled. Madam Shen was not a lady with strict rules; seeing their carefree eating, she was not only not disgusted, but actually very happy.

After lunch, before leaving, Madam Shen specially prepared some gifts for Tian Sangui. When Tian Sangui declined, she ordered Steward Fang to put them on their donkey cart.

Back in Tianjia Village, Zhang happily accepted the gifts. They would prepare gifts to send back to the Shen family during the festival.

In early September, amidst the banging of gongs and drums, the Tian family celebrated a joyous occasion, a day when their ancestors were blessed with good fortune.

Tian Laowu achieved excellent results in the autumn imperial examination, ranking first and earning the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).

And from then on, they could receive government pay and a salary, and could also become officials in the court. Of course, if they didn't want it to end there, they could wait four more years to go to the capital to take the imperial examination again. If they were lucky, they could become the top scholar or the third-ranked scholar.

Many of the rules here are different from those in ancient China, although the imperial examination system is largely the same.

From then on, the Tian family became a hot topic in Tianjia Village. Their village had produced a scholar, which was thanks to the whole village.

The Yun family was even more smug and triumphant, and as soon as they received the news, they came to Tian Sangui's house to show off.

Tian Sangui treated it with a cold laugh, watching Yun's peculiar hand gestures as if they were a show.

Only Tian Laosi was genuinely happy for his mother, standing by with his arms outstretched to protect Yun Shi from being hurt by the soft ground.