Liang Maimiao's startled movements startled Ye Yunniang. "What do you know?"
"Now I know why Granny Wang wanted so much money."
Before the Wang family's downfall, they were arranging marriages for Wang Jizu. Several girls were quite satisfied with him.
When the Wang family got into trouble, families who felt sorry for their daughter were unhappy about Wang Jizu.
One family agreed to proceed with the marriage proposal, but demanded a bride price of 200 taels of silver.
"Two hundred taels of silver, is this marrying off a daughter or selling her?"
"Yes, they all do. That family has five daughters. The two who are already married don't care about the quality of the men; they just marry their daughters off as long as the bride price is high enough." Liang Maimiao had some knowledge of the woman's family situation.
“Yunniang, you’re a widow, so Granny Wang was the first to target you. Quite a few people went to the backyard that day. This won’t do; I have to warn everyone.” Liang Maimiao said, getting up to leave.
Within a day, the news spread throughout several alleys. It was about Granny Wang trying to find a marriage partner for her eldest grandson, Wang Jizu, and how she had slandered the woman who had visited the Wang family's backyard that day, demanding money from her.
Some people initially felt sorry for the Wang family's plight. Now, they wish they could spit on them and stay far away.
When Granny Wang found out, she tried to explain, but no one listened. Everyone around her was afraid of being implicated and having Granny Wang falsely accuse her of demanding money.
Granny Wang was furious and secretly blamed Ye Yunniang for the incident.
Ye Yunniang was unaware of Wang Pozi's thoughts and knew she didn't care. She was currently reading the teacher's evaluation of Li Pan and Li An.
At the end of the year, it was time for the annual holiday. Master Du wrote year-end evaluations for his students.
Li Pan's assessment is that she studies diligently and conscientiously, but her grades are average. She needs to work harder next year.
Ang Lee's assessment is that he grasps things quickly and can apply what he's learned to other situations. However, he lacks focus and enjoys reading a wide variety of books. If he wants to succeed in the imperial examinations, he needs to concentrate more. Master Du has a higher opinion of Ang Lee.
“An’an, you don’t want to take the imperial examination.”
“I haven’t decided yet; I want to try more things,” Ang Lee explained.
"No matter what you try, you must study diligently," Ye Yunniang said, adding just this one sentence.
“Okay, I will study hard next year,” Li An agreed.
Ye Yunniang left the room.
Ang Lee glanced at the book in his hand and tossed it aside.
Li Pan picked up the book, "You must keep this from your mother."
Ang Lee had studied very hard before, and he and Li Pan looked forward to the imperial examinations, hoping to bring glory to the Lee family.
Until that day, when Master Du was chatting with them, he mentioned that the imperial examination required background checks, and that it was impossible to pass if there were criminal records within three generations of the family.
After hearing this, Ang Lee lost all interest in reading.
The Jiang family, to which Ang Lee was born, was ordered by the emperor to confiscate their property.
His uncle's family was dismissed from their official posts, their property confiscated, and they were exiled to the frontier.
The biological father and second aunt eloped, disregarding all human ethics.
The mother killed someone and then committed suicide.
Ang Lee will never take the imperial examination in his life.
At that time, Ang Lee was thinking about dropping out of school and not studying anymore, but then he thought of Ye Yunniang's expectations for him.
I continued reading, but couldn't calm my mind.
"You're still young. No matter what you do in the future, you must study and acquire skills first," Li Pan advised Li An like an older brother.
Ang Lee understood and promised his brother that he would study hard.
Standing by the window, Ye Yunniang listened to her two sons' conversation inside. In her heart, she cursed Jiang Mingrui mercilessly.
It's all his fault.
She also secretly blamed the Jin family, thinking that if they had cared for their daughter, Jin Huifang wouldn't have gotten into trouble.
It's pointless to say any of this now.
Ye Yunniang wanted to find Bao Min to ask if Li An, who had changed his surname to Li, was still eligible to take the imperial examination.
Thinking of Bao Min reminded me that I hadn't seen Tong Mo for a while.
Tong Mo, who was being nagged by Ye Yunniang, was sitting in the garden, radiating a chill.
Feeling regretful, he would rather be rejected by Ye Yunniang one, two, or three more times than sit in a garden full of prickly flowers and listen to the girls talk about how precious their clothes were made of satin.
And then these young ladies from noble families, outwardly friendly but secretly looking down on her, the burden brought into the royal family by her own mother.
Just as Tong Mo was about to explode from barely holding back, a familiar person approached.
Jin Huilan came over and rescued her stepson.
"Aunt Lan, thank goodness you came." Tong Mo breathed a sigh of relief as he walked out of the garden.
"Is it that scary?" Jin Huilan was amused by Tong Mo's expression.
"Not only is it scary, it's terrifying." Tong Mo approached Jin Huilan. "Aunt Lan, please talk to my father for me. Stop thinking about setting me up on dates all the time. I'm still a child, I'm not in a hurry to get married."
"Are you not in a hurry to find a partner? Or do you already have someone you like?" Jin Huilan thought of Tong Mo's previous letter asking for money.
Tong Mo laughed, "I knew I couldn't hide it from Aunt Lan. I have someone I like."
"What's your surname? Which family does she belong to? How old is she this year?" Jin Huilan asked as she prepared the betrothal gifts.
"No rush." Tong Mo grabbed Jin Huilan's arm.
Jin Huilan knew Tong Mo well, and upon hearing this, she sized him up, "What's wrong with the girl you've taken a fancy to?"
"No problem," Tong Mo shook his head in denial.
“No problem. Knowing your personality, you would have told us long ago to prepare betrothal gifts and propose marriage.” Jin Huilan didn’t believe it.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. She’s a widow with three sons.”
After Tong Mo finished speaking, Jin Huilan pointed at him and said, "You really don't learn any of your father's good qualities, only useless things. You followed your uncle, but you didn't learn much of his ambition either."
"Come on, my uncle has his eye on a widow. It's been three years, and she's due in two months. But she still hasn't agreed to marry him." Tong Mo blurted out, betraying Bao Min.
"What did you say!" Jin Huilan exclaimed in surprise, "Your uncle...he also..."
Jin Huilan took two steps back and sat on the stone bench.
“Your Bao family is really something,” Jin Huilan thought for a while before uttering four words, “a lineage that has been passed down through generations.”
"We Bao family are all devoted lovers," Tong Mo said, trying to glorify himself.
Jin Huilan rolled her eyes at her stepson. "Do your parents know about your uncle's affairs?"
"Of course they wouldn't know." If they knew, how could his uncle still be comfortably serving as the prefect of Jiangcheng?
"Aunt Lan, you can't tell my parents." If his parents found out, his uncle would definitely skin him alive.
Jin Huilan didn't answer, and then asked Tong Mo, "Have you told your parents about your situation?"
Tong Mo shook his head repeatedly; how could he dare say that? With that motherfucker's temper, she'd probably break his legs.
"Only I know?"
"Yes." Tong Mo nodded emphatically. "Actually, I was planning to tell Uncle Wen later."
"No need to tell me separately, I already know." A mournful male voice sounded behind the two of them.
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