Chapter 144: Love in the Ancient Plane

All four of them grew up in an instant.

After Yuan Xiucai passed away, Yuan Qingci lost his childish innocence overnight, and turned from a soft and sticky little crybaby into a stern child.

But Jiang Lan also found that Yuan Qingci seemed to become more clingy.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye Jiang Lan was already 15 years old.

For girls, the 15-year-old coming-of-age ceremony is an extremely important ceremony in their lives, which means that they can get married.

Ordinary people don’t have so many particulars, but Jiang Lan is the apple of the Jiang family’s eye, and the Jiang family insisted on holding a relatively simple coming-of-age ceremony for her.

Jiang the Butcher stood on the east side waiting for guests, Zhang stood on the west side with a tray, and familiar guests in the village were waiting outside the venue.

Jiang Lan took a bath, changed her clothes, and sat down in the room.

The coming-of-age ceremony began, and the guests took their seats. Butcher Jiang stumbled and began to speak.

"My daughter Jiang Lan is having her coming-of-age ceremony today. Thank you... Thank you all for coming."

Zhang came forward to wash her hands. Jiang Lan came out and greeted the guests, then knelt in the middle.

Zhang gently combed her hair, and then put the comb aside.

Next, the main guest came out. This main guest was a well-known lucky old man in the village.

She knelt beside Jiang Lan, combed her hair and put on the hairpin for her, and then inserted the wooden hairpin on her head into her bun.

"May you live a long and healthy life."

Zhang helped Jiang Lan straighten her hair and clothes, and said softly, "Go."

Jiang Lan stood up and bowed to her parents, and the ceremony was completed.

At the age of 15, Jiang Lan had grown into a graceful and charming girl. She had a slender figure, a beautiful face, and a smile as charming as a crabapple on a branch.

Yuan Qingci felt her heart pounding, and she almost dared not look directly at this sister who grew up with her childhood sweetheart.

While the adults were busy, Jiang Lan hid in the yard and chatted with Yuan Qingci.

"Ah, it's finally over. I'm really tired of dressing up like this today. I don't feel comfortable at all."

Yuan Qingci blushed and lowered his head to answer, "It still looks good."

"Of course, it cost a lot of money to make it."

Jiang Lan raised his head proudly, not noticing the other party's shyness.

"Sister Lan Lan, I will take the Tongshi exam in a few days. If I pass, I will be a scholar in the future."

Yuan Qingci was a little unconfident when he took the major exam for the first time.

"My father took exams all his life, but he was only a scholar. I don't know if I can do well in the exam."

As a person with a God's perspective, Jiang Lan told him very confidently: "Brother, you have to believe in yourself. You are a genius in studying and you will definitely pass the exam."

"What if I don't pass the exam?" Yuan Qingci frowned.

"If you can't pass the exam, then you can't pass it. You can continue next year. Anyway, you are only 12 years old."

Jiang Lan patted his shoulder, "It doesn't matter if you can't pass the exam. As long as you, Jiang Jie, have a bite to eat, you, Yuan Qingci, will have a bite to eat. Even if I sell my pot and sell iron, I will support you to study."

Yuan Qingci was very moved, but he was no longer the person who burst into tears when he was a child.

He looked at Jiang Lan steadily, then took out a hairpin from his arms and handed it to her a little embarrassedly.

"Sister Lan Lan, I can't afford a hairpin now, so I can only make a peach wood hairpin myself, which is a bit rough..."

"The thought is the most important, brother, you should study hard, I believe you will be able to soar to the sky."

Yuan Qingci nodded, as if he had made a solemn promise.

"Sister Lanlan, don't worry, I will work hard and repay you in the future."

Jiang Lan glanced at him indifferently, thinking: It's too early to repay or not.

If this kid has a little conscience, it's fine. If he has no conscience, she will just press him to death with one finger.

...

Yuan Qingci is indeed a genius in studying. He passed the county examination, prefectural examination, and academy examination and successfully passed the examination to become a scholar.

Lu was overjoyed and wanted to let the whole world know how promising her son was.

There are only a handful of 12-year-old scholars in the entire Xi Kingdom.

After her husband died, they, an orphan and a widow, had been keeping a low profile, but now they are finally proud of themselves.

Seeing that the villagers who usually looked down on her have now changed their attitude and are respectful to her, Lu was so proud in her heart.

After finishing his exam, Yuan Qingci came back exhausted and saw his mother had changed her usual low-key style and started to dress up carefully.

Seeing her son come back, Lu couldn't help showing off.

"Son, do you think this dress of yours is beautiful? This dress cost a whole tael of silver."

Yuan Qingci frowned. He knew his family's conditions very well.

In order to support his studies in recent years, he had almost spent all his savings and usually had to rely on the Jiang family for financial support to make ends meet. How could he have extra money to buy clothes?

"Mother, where did you get the money to buy clothes?"

Lu said happily, "My son is so successful, mother's clothes are free, they were given by the owner of the cloth shop in town. After all, mother is the mother of the scholar now, how can I not buy some nice clothes?"

She had never been treated like this when Yuan Xiucai was alive, and she was so happy.

"No merit, no reward, you should return the clothes."

Yuan Qingci's tone was not teasing at all, and was extremely serious.

Lu originally wanted to share her happiness with her son, but she didn't expect to be poured cold water on her head. Her mood took a sharp turn for the worse, and she was very unwilling to cooperate.

"Your father has been gone for so many years, what's wrong with me dressing up? It's rare to have a beautiful dress, and you want me to return it, where is my face?"

Lu Shi became more and more aggrieved, and tears immediately rolled down.

"I just want to enjoy life, so what? You are a scholar now, and if I dress better, you will also have face."

Yuan Qingci knew that his mother had a hard time, and although he was reluctant, he still spoke:

"Mother, we can't take this thing. My son is just a scholar now, but he dares to use his title to spend money recklessly. How will others look at me? Should I continue to take the exam?"

Lu was a little panicked and asked, "Is it so serious? When I was living in the mansion in the past, I often saw people giving gifts. This is just a piece of clothing..."

Yuan Qingci sighed, "Mother, what are their backgrounds? What is my background? Today, my son just passed the exam to become a scholar, and some people are talking about me behind my back, wishing to pull me down."

"My son is of a humble background and can't withstand any setbacks. If someone with bad intentions reports it to the principal or the examiner, I'm afraid my son won't even be able to keep his position as a scholar."

Lu was scared and immediately agreed, "Mother knows. I will return this dress immediately."

After saying that, she hurried back to the inner room to change clothes.

Yuan Qingci heaved a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt a little tired.

With his father gone, he was the mainstay of the family.

But now he needed help from others to study, how could he give his mother a good life, and how could he provide a guarantee for his future wife?

At the age of 12, Yuan Qingci did not have the joy of being a high school scholar, but only confusion about his future life.

He did not know what he should do to change the current situation besides studying.