Mu Yi'an was notified to go to the old house to discuss something. Without even thinking, she knew it was about the banquet for Brother Jiang's examination.

Whether she liked it or not, Jiang Shuyun wasn't home at the time, and as Jiang's daughter-in-law, Mu Yi'an had to attend.

"Jiang Qi, let's go to the old house and see what's going on."

Jiang Qi is now a little apprehensive about going to the old house, because her sister-in-law is too troublesome.

Since Aunt Li takes care of the children at home, we don't need to bring them along.

When the two arrived, only Jiang's parents were in the courtyard; they didn't know where everyone else had gone.

"Father, Mother, where are my elder brother and sister-in-law?"

"They went to the Lin family's house. The children didn't come over?"

Jiang's mother didn't see Shao Ming and the others, so she asked them a question.

"The child is at home, and it will be difficult to walk after dark."

Mu Yi'an found it strange; if they had been notified to come and discuss something, why wasn't the main character there?

"Yes, it's getting late."

Jiang's mother cursed Lin Wanru inwardly for being unreliable, knowing that the family needed to discuss matters, and not hurrying back from her parents' home.

"Father, Mother, I'm back! I heard that my eldest brother passed the imperial examination and became a scholar! That's wonderful!"

Jiang Shuwen rushed in, a smile on his face, genuinely happy for his older brother; it hadn't been easy for him.

"Shuwen, have you eaten yet?"

"Mom, I haven't eaten yet. I rushed home after work, and I'm really hungry."

When Jiang Shuwen came back last time, he discussed it with his mother. Qiu Niang had been eating with her parents for a while now because she was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to do things.

There's still food in the kitchen, it shouldn't be cold yet. I'll fry you an egg.

"Mom, no need to trouble yourself, I'll just eat the leftovers."

Jiang Shuwen stopped his mother, saying it was too late and there was no need to make a fuss.

Li Qiuniang felt a little sleepy after dinner. She dozed off for a while and vaguely heard her husband's voice. She slowly got up and walked out of the room.

"Shuwen, you're back. Have you eaten?"

"Let's go eat now, are you going to sleep?"

"Hmm, I was a little dazed. Second sister-in-law, eldest sister, what brings you here?"

Li Qiuniang was quite surprised to see her second sister-in-law and eldest sister-in-law sitting in the courtyard. Why were they here so late?

"We've come to discuss the matter of my elder brother hosting a banquet."

Mu Yi'an glanced at the courtyard gate. They had been there for quite some time, but the people who were supposed to be hosting the banquet hadn't returned yet. She decided to wait a little longer; if they still hadn't come back, she would go home.

"Where are the elder brother and sister-in-law for the banquet?"

Li Qiuniang was a little confused. They were discussing holding a banquet, but the main person in charge was not there.

Jiang Shuwen tugged at his wife. This simple-minded woman, couldn't she see that her parents were unhappy?

"Go get me some food, I'm starving."

"Ah, okay, okay, hurry up and eat, or you'll feel unwell."

Li Qiuniang belatedly realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly followed her husband to the kitchen, making the courtyard even quieter.

After a while, Jiang Shuwen finished eating. Mu Yi'an looked at the dark sky outside and stood up.

"Father, Mother, it's getting late, we should head back now."

"Go back, the child is at home."

Jiang's mother was speechless. "Lin Wanru is hopeless. You really don't know what rules are."

Mu Yi'an and Jiang Qi walked out, only to run into Brother Jiang and his wife who had just entered.

"Second sister-in-law, eldest sister-in-law, are you leaving?"

"Yes, it's time to go home."

"We haven't even discussed the banquet arrangements yet, why are you leaving already?"

Jiang's wife's voice rose considerably. Her husband had finally passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, making her a scholar's wife as well. They had to celebrate properly.

"Sister-in-law, you're really something else. You called us here to discuss the banquet, but then you disappeared without a trace. My sister and I have been here for almost an hour, and it's already completely dark. Aren't you going to go home? Are you going to spend the night here?"

Regardless of what Sister-in-law Jiang thought, Mu Yi'an continued walking out, letting whoever wanted to discuss it go ahead.

"Hey, what kind of attitude is this? Just because we've separated from the family doesn't mean we're no longer family. You think you can just ignore things that happen in the family?"

"Eldest daughter-in-law, shut up!"

Hearing her mother-in-law's stern voice, Jiang's resentment immediately subsided.

"Father, Mother, I'm sorry we're late."

Brother Jiang had a little to drink and felt a bit dizzy.

"Jiang Shuheng, do you have any sense of time? You've made this whole family wait for an hour."

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad."

Jiang Shuheng lowered his head and admitted his mistake, but he didn't know how to explain it.

“Father and Mother, we also wanted to come back sooner, but my grandfather came and started chatting with my husband, and we forgot the time.”

Jiang's sister-in-law felt very guilty. She was at her parents' home and was so engrossed in listening to her sisters-in-law and younger sisters' flattery that she forgot the time.

"Your grandfather and Shuheng wanted to chat, what were you doing? You notified Yi'an and Jiang Qi to come over, but you didn't show up yourself. Is this what an eldest sister-in-law should do? And Shuheng, even if Lin Li is here, don't you know your parents are waiting for you to discuss things? Can't you explain the situation? Shouldn't you come back and tell them, or come back right away? Can't you even understand this simple thing?"

Jiang's mother unleashed her fury, utterly disappointed in her eldest son and his wife, truly unable to understand their thinking.

"It's getting late, everyone should go and get some rest."

Jiang's father didn't look at Jiang Shuheng and his wife, and went into the study alone. He didn't know where things had gone wrong. His eldest son, who was supposed to be the pillar of the family, was so unreliable.

That night, apart from Mu Yi'an, the others probably didn't sleep well.

The banquet at the old house was eventually held, but, well, apart from the Lin family who were chattering away, the Jiang family was quite low-key.

After the banquet, Third Grandfather specifically sought out Jiang Shuheng and admonished him to study hard and to be humble in his conduct. He not only needed to be humble himself, but also to urge those around him to be humble as well.

Brother Jiang understood what his third grandfather meant. Ever since he returned, Wanru and her family had been inexplicably excited. He also knew that his father was somewhat disappointed in him, feeling that he hadn't managed the household well.

After the banquet at the Jiang family's old house ended, Mu Yi'an returned to her parents' home for another banquet, where everyone was quite happy. The group even jokingly asked the scholar when he would be attending his wedding. Mu Ziyi, embarrassed, kept his face flushed all day, as if he had drunk too much, which only fueled the aunties' teasing.

By the way, this time, my third uncle's son Ziyu also passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai, and Ziwen also entered Bailu Academy.

Because the watermelons were about to ripen, Mu Yi'an didn't stay at her parents' house for long and went back home that same day.

Right now, the most important thing is to sell the watermelons smoothly. Once she has some progress on the house in the county town, she won't have anything to worry about.

In the coming period, Mu Yi'an did not plan to make any big moves. He would make full use of the newly purchased estate, and the annual income would not be small.

If Jiang Shuyun passes the imperial examination in two years, she will then consider other plans.

Some things require caution, otherwise, one careless mistake can easily lead to the destruction of one's family and the loss of loved ones.

Mu Yi'an probably watches too many TV dramas. Those tragic cases of families being raided and wiped out flash through her mind from time to time, keeping her constantly vigilant and reminding her never to get carried away!