Meeting Chi Yan's dark, clear eyes, Shen Tangning was taken aback for a moment: "How did you know, husband?"

He looked away first, his thick eyelashes casting a shadow on his eyelids: "What's so strange about that? I heard it from my mother."

His mother didn't directly say she wanted to separate the family, but her words implied a test of his intentions.

She knew her own mother well. With her cautious and timid nature, it was impossible for Chi's mother to have come up with this idea on her own. It could only be Shen Tangning's idea.

Shen Tangning blinked slowly: "Husband, you don't blame me?"

The daughter-in-law's suggestion to her mother-in-law to separate the family property sounds like she has ulterior motives.

Chi Yan replied without hesitation, "What's the big deal? It's not just you who wants to split up the family; I've been fed up with them for a long time! Speaking of which, we're birds of a feather..."

Shen Tangning gazed at him wistfully, and he abruptly changed his words, "Great minds think alike! Yes!"

Shen Tangning smiled slightly, a hint of teasing in her eyes: "My husband has a very good temperament."

She paused, then addressed Chi Yan's earlier concerns by explaining:

"Don't worry, this family will definitely be divided."

...

The scandal of cheating in the imperial examinations spread rapidly, with people on the streets and alleys collectively condemning it and demanding a thorough investigation and severe punishment for those involved!

Chi Yan was the first to be targeted. Everyone questioned whether his title of Jieyuan (top scholar in the imperial examination) was legitimate and demanded that his academic honors be revoked. However, the Ministry of Rites responded that the investigation was still ongoing and no further action had been taken yet.

Some radicals even openly wrote poems to satirize, using harsh language, saying that the pen of a scholar is a tool for killing, and that is absolutely true.

At times like this, Chi Yan wouldn't offer himself up and invite trouble, so he simply stayed indoors.

He still maintained that nonchalant demeanor, but Shen Tangning knew that he wasn't truly at peace inside.

——

As night fell, Shen Tangning was not asleep. She heard some muttering in her sleep, and after a few breaths, she opened her eyes and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, scattering a pale white glow across the floor.

Chi Yan was sleeping on the floor, with a thin quilt piled up beside him but not properly covering him. He was frowning and talking incoherently in his sleep.

Although it's not easy to catch a cold in this weather, it's still unavoidable.

Shen Tangning got up, put on her shoes, and squatted down in front of him. Just as she picked up a corner of the quilt, she vaguely heard Chi Yan call out "Mother".

She looked at him with a slight start and saw deep creases between his brows and his tightly pursed lips, suggesting that he was not at peace even in his dreams.

"To run to one's mother when wronged is just childish behavior."

She spoke softly, a slight smile unconsciously curving her lips, as she carefully tucked him in. Suddenly, she heard him say, trembling, "Mother, I won't fight anymore... I won't take the exam."

What does "not contend" mean?

Shen Tangning's gaze suddenly sharpened, and she couldn't help but carefully examine Chi Yan's expression by the moonlight.

His expression didn't look like he was aggrieved; it was more like... pain, struggle, and self-blame.

If he was truly implicated in the imperial examination fraud, why would he feel guilty?

Shen Tangning was completely baffled. She patiently squatted down and waited and waited, but in the end, she did not hear the intermittent murmurs again.

The confusion between her brows had not subsided. Seeing that Chi Yan was still frowning uneasyly, she inexplicably raised her arm and smoothed his furrowed brows with her fingertips.

Realizing her actions, Shen Tangning paused for a moment, then quickly withdrew her hand, her fingertips curling slightly as if she had done something wrong.

She rubbed her numb legs, stood up, and gazed thoughtfully at Chi Yan for a long time.

What secrets does he hold?