When Wu Niang heard that Mr. Qian had not passed the exam, she hurriedly asked Luo Zhensheng, "What about the fourth brother-in-law? Where is the eldest brother?"

"My eldest brother and my fourth brother-in-law both passed the exam." Luo Zhensheng said, "And my fourth brother-in-law did better than my eldest brother." Seeing his sister's pale face, he couldn't help but comfort Wu Niang: "My brother-in-law just didn't pass the exam this time. He will pass it if he takes more attempts. When my eldest brother and I went to see the list, we saw several people who were older than father and passed the same exam as my eldest brother!"

Wu Niang was so angry that she kicked him out.

Luo Zhensheng didn't know how he had offended his sister again. He walked out of the door in embarrassment and ran into Amber.

"Fourth Master, is Sister Dijin feeling better?"

Luo Zhensheng couldn't help but frowned: "I don't know what happened. She hasn't recovered yet. I said to call a doctor for her, but she said her elder sister passed away. My mother is unhappy and will probably blame her for being nosy if she knows. If you have time, go see her. It will prevent her from lying in bed all day."

Amber couldn't help but smile, covering her sleeves.

No wonder everyone says that the Fourth Master has a good temper...

"Are you here to see the Fifth Miss?" Eleventh Lady has been kept by the First Mistress's side every day recently, so the maids have nothing to do. Amber is bored and talks to Luo Zhensheng.

Luo Zhensheng nodded: "Fifth brother-in-law failed the exam. I'll come and comfort Fifth Sister."

Amber smiled and said, "Fourth Master is really considerate..."

The maids in the house all liked to talk to Luo Zhensheng, and Luo Zhensheng also liked to talk to the maids.

He started chatting with Amber: "...Look at my elder brother, how well his sister-in-law takes care of him. Look at Master Qian, he said that he was almost late on the morning of the day he entered the venue in order to save a tael of silver for hiring a car..."

"Really?" Amber smiled, "It's still remarkable that Master Qian can study at the Imperial Academy!"

Luo Zhensheng nodded: "I told Fifth Sister the same thing..."

The two of them talked a lot of things until the maid from Luo Zhensheng's room came and they went their separate ways.

When Shiyi Niang came back in the evening, Hubo told her about this matter: "...Speaking of which, Mr. Qian failed the imperial examination because his family was too poor!"

However, Shiyi Niang thought that the main reason why Qian Ming failed the exam was that he spent too much time on other things!

But in this case, Wu Niang must be very disappointed, right?

As she was thinking, Bin Ju came in with some hot water: "Miss, is the Third Master here?"

"At this time?" Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

Binju nodded.

Amber immediately said, "I'll go take a look."

Eleventh Lady nodded.

After she finished washing up, Amber came back and kept laughing: "The third master also sent someone to check the list. He was very happy to know that you passed the exam. He came here specially to teach you how to take part in the palace exam!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh.

The next morning, when Eleventh Lady went to pay her respects to the First Lady, the First Lady told her about the Third Master's visit. "... You see, relatives are relatives, and uncles are uncles. If your Third Uncle's two children were not young and had no son-in-law, why would he come to guide your eldest brother? Otherwise, your eldest brother is the first one in the 'Zhen' generation to pass the imperial examination, why didn't your Second Uncle come to give your eldest brother some instructions?"

This means that the second master did not come to guide Luo Zhenxing because he had a son-in-law who would compete with Luo Zhenxing in the same palace. The second master valued his own daughter, so he also valued his son-in-law. The reason why the third master came was that Luo Zhenxing had no conflict of interest with Luo Zhenkai and Luo Zhenyu at present.

The first wife said this to tell herself that only Luo Zhenxing was her elder brother, right?

Eleventh Lady nodded and said "yes".

A look of satisfaction flashed across the eldest wife's face.

* * * * * *

On the day of the palace examination, the eldest master and the third master personally sent Luo Zhenxing to Donghuamen - Luo Zhenxing would take part in the palace examination in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

On the third day, the results of the palace examination came out.

Yu Yiqing won the third place in the imperial examination, and Luo Zhenxing ranked tenth in the second class.

The Luo family celebrated with joy. Although Gongxian Hutong was not decorated in red and green, everyone's face was filled with smiles that could not be concealed. When offering sacrifices to the ancestors, Mr. Luo couldn't help but mutter: "The Luo family can prosper for another 40 years." Then he wrote letters to his classmates and friends to tell them the good news.

Marquis Yongping presented the gift immediately - a jade bed inlaid with white ink.

Luo Zhenxing liked it very much and wrote a letter to express his gratitude.

The third master told him to study hard and prepare for the upcoming imperial examination, and he often came to check on Luo Zhenxing's homework.

If he passed the examination to become a Shujishi, it would mean that Luo Zhenxing could stay in Yanjing. If he failed, he would be sent out. Two different starting points meant two different career paths!

The Luo family was filled with a tense atmosphere, and everyone would involuntarily lighten their steps when passing by the back house.

Even at the critical moment, the first wife did not forget Master Qian.

Not only did they rent him a beautiful courtyard near the Imperial College, but they also asked Hang Mama's son Hang Xincai to bring two servants and two old women to serve him.

A few days later, it was April 22nd, the day of Yuan Niang's funeral.

Eleventh Lady was left behind by the First Wife, and Luo Zhenxing went to Xu's residence before dawn with the Second Wife, the Third Wife, Luo Zhenda, Luo Zhensheng, Luo Zhenkai, Luo Zhenyu, Yu Zhiqing, Qian Ming, the First Lady, the Third Lady, the Fourth Lady, the Fifth Lady, the Tenth Lady and others.

The eldest wife asked Eleventh Lady to help her prepare a gift for the lady's birthday.

A pair of Shoushan stone bonsai, a pair of sky blue glazed folded flower sachets, a cowpea red Fu Lu Shou San San Weng, a blue and white underglaze red Taibai Weng, a pair of green glazed plum vases...

Eleventh Lady and Mother Xu were busy for a whole morning before they packed all these things.

The eldest wife asked Eleventh Lady, "Have you finished the two pairs of round-toed blue cloth shoes that the eldest lady asked you to make?"

"It's done." It's not that Eleventh Lady was very familiar with the order given to her by the Grandma, but she had never made this pair of shoes in this size before.

The eldest wife nodded and asked Eleventh Lady to bring the shoes over. She then pointed to the things in the room and said, "These are gifts from our Luo family. You should also show your appreciation."

If there was no incident in the courtyard, this would naturally make people feel caring and warm, but now... Shiyi Niang thought about the way the old lady looked at her when she was in the courtyard and when she was mourning Yuan Niang, and felt that this was too deliberate, and she was afraid that the old lady would not appreciate it. But she couldn't refute the eldest wife - after all, the so-called letting her into the mansion was just speculation and rumor, and no one had said it to her.

In the evening, when Luo Zhenxing came back, the eldest wife had to ask in detail about Yuanniang's funeral, and naturally she cried again. The eldest master comforted her for a long time, and the eldest wife felt a little better, and Luoqiao took care of her until she went to sleep.

The next day, after breakfast, the eldest wife was sending someone to deliver a birthday gift to the old lady when Lord Wang, the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Battalion of the Imperial Guard, came to visit her personally with Wang Lang.

Because their sister had passed away, they had to observe mourning for nine months, so Wu Niang and Master Qian's marriage had to wait until winter.

Unexpectedly, the Wang family came at this time!

If you can't wait and want to just break up, that's fine.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly sent Amber to find out what the Wang family had talked about.

Amber replied, "...the Wang family said they want to make the decision on November 28th." Then she smiled and said, "Sister Shanhu said that Young Master Wang is tall, handsome, and generous. Although he is arrogant in his words, it is normal for him to have a temper given his noble status."

But Eleventh Lady felt a chill in her heart when she heard this.

Wu Niang was very angry: "You are not a royal family, why can't you wait so long? You made the decision right after you finished your service!"

Ziwei and Ziyuan naturally wanted to persuade Wuniang: "You can study with peace of mind now, and you will be on the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations soon. By then, you will have an imperial decree and a bright future, which is incomparable to a duke's mansion with a name but no substance. We don't have any titles either, but we can still live a comfortable life!"

Wu Niang's face changed when she heard this: "No..."

Ziwei and Ziyuan looked at each other, not knowing what Wu Niang meant.

"Mother disliked Concubine Yang so much, why would she treat Shi Niang well just because Concubine Yang died?" Her eyes were bright, "Moreover, I can feel that Madam Jiang clearly had her eyes on me..."

Ziwei and Ziyuan were shocked when they heard this: "You mean... but Prince Wang looks very respectable..."

Wu Niang laughed and said, "There's still a long way to go. We'll know as we go along!"

* * * * * *

When the lady heard that the birthday gift sent by the Luo family included two pairs of shoes made by Eleventh Lady herself, she specifically asked Wei Zi to find them.

They are two pairs of very ordinary blue cloth round-toed shoes, but they look much more sleek and beautiful than the usual blue cloth round-toed shoes.

The lady was slightly startled.

Wei Ziyi said in surprise, "Look, Madam." Then she handed the glasses to her.

The lady took a closer look and discovered that the toes of the shoes were embroidered with the word "Fu" in the same color.

"What a clever idea!" Wei Zi took the other one and examined it carefully. "It's so beautiful that it appears and disappears like this!"

The eldest wife held it in her hand for a long time without saying anything, but she ordered Wei Zi: "Go and find Madam Niu from the Needlework Bureau for me."

When Aunt Niu came, the lady pointed at the shoes and asked, "Can you help me take a look? Where did the blue cloth come from? Which silk thread is this? Can you tell when it was made?"

If she still had the mood to make shoes after her eldest sister died, that would be really...

The lady thought about it and couldn't help but sneer in her heart.

Madam Niu looked at it carefully for a long time. She smiled and said, "The cloth is three-shuttle blue cloth from Songjiang. The palace also uses this kind of blue cloth. I can't tell where the silk thread comes from, but it must be from Jiangnan. As for when the shoes were made, it's hard to say. They look quite new, but if you take good care of them, some shoes that have been made for more than a year can also look like new."

The lady was somewhat disappointed after hearing this. She talked to Aunt Niu for a few words and then looked tired.

Nanny Niu immediately stood up and said goodbye.

The lady had no choice but to ask for a reward and sent Nanny Niu back to the palace.

Mother Du comforted the Madam: "…She is still young, and she is a concubine's daughter, so she naturally has to listen to her mother. There are some things that you can slowly teach her after she gets married."

The lady sighed and said, "I hope I am just being too suspicious!"

"Why are you suspicious?" Mother Du smiled and poured a cup of tea for the lady. "The Luo family suddenly gave you a daughter-in-law. It's reasonable for you to want to take a closer look!"

The lady said nothing, but her eyes darkened.