"You're still arguing with me? You're my own child, when have you ever listened to anything I say? I told you to get a divorce but you wouldn't, I told you to get along well with your older sister but you wouldn't."

“Your eldest sister is going through a difficult time right now, and we should be taking this opportunity to mend our family ties. But instead, you immediately start mocking her. You're so disobedient!”

Song was so angry at Jiang Yao that she clutched her chest.

Seeing that Jiang Shuwan had become increasingly successful in the past two years and had even been granted the title of county princess, she also quieted down.

But Jiang Yao is still the same as before...

"You brat, don't you think about it? With your eldest sister's achievements, even if she leaves the Marquis's mansion, she'll still be sought after by many families. With her around, no one will dare to bully you. Can't you just get along with her properly?"

"In Mother's heart, am I really that much inferior to my eldest sister? When Yulang took a concubine, you said he was greedy for pleasure, lustful, and worthless, and that I had no taste in him. But when it comes to my eldest sister, the young master's cheating is such a huge disgrace, a thousand times worse than Yulang's, yet you say nothing. You don't even scold my eldest sister for being blind and heartless, but you keep praising her for being capable and promising!"

"I understand. In your heart, everything your older sister does is right and the best. I was adopted by you, okay?"

With a flick of her sleeve, Jiang Yao covered her face and ran away crying pitifully.

Inside the room, only a bewildered Song was left.

"I'm biased—?"

**************

After returning to the Marquis's residence, Jiang Shuwan received another list from Li Chengyun. At first, Jiang Shuwan didn't understand what he meant at all, only knowing that the list was full of men who were both literate and martial, and came from good families.

Along with the list came their portraits, each one tall and elegant, refined and cultured. Only when Jiang Shuwan saw the small words "unmarried" written after their names did she realize that Li Chengyun, that good-for-nothing, was also advising her to divorce, just like Song Shi.

He was even more thoughtful and considerate than Mrs. Song, knowing to include portraits for her to choose from.

"..."

Jiang Shuwan was speechless at his actions, muttered "crazy man" under her breath, and ignored him.

In the days that followed, she focused all her attention on the movements in the Ministry of Justice prison and the court. First, news came from the Ministry of Justice prison that Lord Yun was seriously ill, and then the old emperor sent imperial physicians to treat Lord Yun.

Before long, the news that Elder Yun was so ill from prison life that he could not get out of bed spread like wildfire.

Then the Spring Examination cheating case took a turn for the better. First, it was discovered that a Ministry of Rites official who was in charge of organizing the Spring Examination had problems with his family's assets. Then it was revealed that this official was related to a Ministry of Revenue official by marriage.

Because his brother-in-law was investigated and punished by Pei Yanzhi for embezzlement, he deliberately stole the exam questions during the imperial examination and bribed the servants of the Marquis's mansion to frame Pei Yanzhi.

Pei Yanzhi did not cheat at all, and the chief examiner, Lord Yun, was also wronged.

The truth came to light, and the official was sentenced to exile. The mute old woman in Pei Yanzhi's courtyard at the Marquis's residence was also executed by the Ministry of Justice.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The first cheating case in the imperial examinations of the Great Jing Dynasty came to an end, and Jiang Shuwan still did not know who the mastermind was.

As soon as Yao Zhijie entered Jiang Shuwan's courtyard, he shouted, "Sister-in-law, I've come to see you!"

That's what he said, but from the moment he came in, he didn't look at Jiang Shuwan. Instead, he turned his head and looked around aimlessly.

"Shushu is not here."

Jiang Shuwan sat lazily in a deck chair, basking in the sun. She always felt sleepy in the spring.

"hey-hey."

Having his little scheme exposed, Yao Zhijie scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing Jiang Shuwan sitting under the pear tree basking in the sun, he moved a small stool over and sat down, then took out two boxes of watercolor powder from his pocket.

"Sister-in-law, this is for you, and this is for Shushu..."

He said it with a fawning expression.

After the Spring Examination Case was over, the old emperor issued an imperial edict to hold a re-examination of the Spring Examination. The chief examiner and deputy examiner were all changed. In particular, the chief examiner, Lord Yun, had resigned just a few days after being released from prison due to health problems. The old emperor tried to persuade him to stay several times but could not stop him. Recently, the Yun family has been packing their bags to return to their hometown.

The results of the re-examination of the spring imperial examination were also released, and Pei Yanzhi once again came in first place. As expected, he then surpassed all the other candidates in the palace examination, achieving the highest honor in all three examinations. The entire Marquis's mansion was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Taking advantage of this atmosphere, Pei Shushu and Yao Zhijie's marriage was settled. Since it was inconvenient for them to meet before the wedding, Yao Zhijie took a roundabout approach, occasionally visiting Jiang Shuwan to try his luck. Sometimes he would ask Jiang Shuwan to help send small gifts to Pei Shushu, and he would also obediently bring one back for Jiang Shuwan.

Looking back on how he conspired with Li Yuyan to frame Jiang Shuwan, he now exudes an aura of "I am my sister-in-law's loyal supporter, and anyone who messes with her is messing with me."

He was so well-behaved that Qingxing felt embarrassed to make things difficult for him.

"You mean Lord Yun is going back to his hometown tomorrow?" Hearing Yao Zhijie's gossip, Jiang Shuwan slowly opened her eyes.

"Yes, I heard that many of the old master's former students wanted to see him off, but he declined, saying he didn't want to bother them. In addition, he had been ill for a long time, so he probably didn't have the energy..."

Jiang Shuwan was taken aback, especially when the phrase "long-term illness" struck a chord with her.

When Lord Yun was released from prison, she went to pick up Pei Yanzhi. The old man was indeed quite ill and could not get up at all. He had to be carried out.

Later, during the period when the imperial examinations were being re-examined and the papers were being graded, she accompanied the old lady back to the Yun residence for a while.

Although the old man's body was kept in place by ginseng and deer antler every day, according to her observation, his illness was not as serious as it seemed. However, contrary to his usual behavior, he acted as if he had been ill for a long time.

Despite the old emperor's repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, he declined, citing illness.

"Sister-in-law, do you really think the Imperial Examination case was handled by a minor official in the Ministry of Rites? A mere minor official, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, he's obviously no good. To actually seek revenge against the heir of a noble family for his brother-in-law, he doesn't seem like a person of loyalty and righteousness at all..."

"Whether it's true or not is no longer important, anyway, His Majesty has won."

As she spoke, Jiang Shuwan straightened up and picked up a glass of iced milk tea. She had no intention of drinking it, and simply stirred it in the bowl with a spoon.

With the retirement of the old minister, the power of the prime minister was reclaimed, and the old emperor was utterly defeated.

Pei Yanzhi also won, and Wen's plan was thwarted. No one knows what Pei Yanzhi said to her, but Wen completely gave up and spent her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, no longer interfering in any affairs of the mansion.

Furthermore, due to the Spring Examination Incident, many officials in the Ministry of Rites were demoted, leaving vacancies. As a result, many of the successful candidates in this year's examination were assigned to these positions, including many of them who were from humble backgrounds and were acquainted with Pei Yanzhi.

It's clear that the old emperor also wanted to suppress the powerful families.

Pei Yanzhi, who was close to those from humble backgrounds and was also a confidant of the old emperor, was even more favored. Just yesterday, the old emperor appointed him as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.