Chapter 25
My father went off to arrange for the announcement of the good news and the rewards to be given to various places. Su Shijun and Anyan also returned. My brother and I sat down again. "Was Qiu Fei the top scholar?"
"Yes, yes, Miss Qiu is the top scorer. The second place is a talented woman from Jiangnan named Pei Jiangwan, and the third place is a young woman from the north named Zhao Jin." Yan Yu's brain is quite good, and she remembered so much when she saw the list.
"Qiu Fei has passed the imperial examination and won the top three places!" The brother held up a glass of orange juice. "I wonder if she will take over her mother's job or become a Sangong."
I looked confused, "I don't know, I haven't talked to her!"
My brother was speechless. "With your condition, you still want to become a high-ranking official?"
I stammered, "The same goes for the sisters of the Three Dukes."
The elder brother asked Yan Yu to leave. "It's time to get An Yan engaged. They should be very happy that you made the list this time. This will also ensure the future of our family."
Here, the inheritance of titles by demotion is strictly enforced unless the family has made contributions or the next generation has the ability.
For example, in our family, my mother was the Minister of Revenue, a third-rank official, so our marquisate was passed down to her without a reduction in title. According to common sense, if I later achieved a third-rank official position, our titles would remain unchanged. However, if I didn't rise to that rank and made no other contributions until my mother passed away, I would only inherit the title of Earl of Jing'an.
Of course, given our family's current contributions, my generation is guaranteed to be a marquis. But if I pass the imperial examination and advance to the third rank, I'll have no problem getting promoted. So even if it's my next generation, with merit to prove it, I'll definitely be a marquis. Who wouldn't want such an in-law? Besides, my brother is marrying the third princess, the sister of the same father as the crown princess.
I nodded and agreed. "I'll ask around with the two people I mentioned earlier and do some more research over the next couple of days to see if there's a better match. I estimate someone will come forward with a proposal in a few days."
"Do it as soon as possible. Don't wait for An Yan to bring it up." The elder brother was very thoughtful. "Men here are very shy."
"Okay. I'll send someone to notify Linxue right away." I stood up, walked to the door and called Zhixia over, whispering a few words to her. Zhixia nodded and turned away.
Near noon, the mother returned with the three princesses. They happened to meet the people who brought the good news, so they gave them some silver and let them leave.
It looked like Mother had known about it for a long time. I secretly curled my lips. No wonder she was so happy coming home yesterday, she had actually kept it a secret from us. Especially Father, seeing Mother's calm demeanor, he probably guessed it too and couldn't help but give her a glare.
"Chenxi is here, come in quickly, are you hungry?" The father greeted the third princess.
"Father-in-law, I'm really a little hungry right now." The third princess greeted politely. After saying that, she moved closer to my brother and looked at me on the other side. "An Lan did very well in the exam. Congratulations!"
I rarely fought her, "Thank you, sister-in-law." After a pause, I asked, "How did you know my brother was here?"
Since he came here at the same time as his mother, it was obvious that he came here directly and did not go home.
"Ran Ran told me this morning that she would come over today and asked me to come directly after court."
"Stop talking and eat first." Father was already at the table, calling us. An Qi was also brought over by the maid and rushed over like a cannonball. "Sister, I heard you got sixth place in the exam. That's amazing!"
I hurriedly caught her. My mother was also very serious, "Anqi, what about etiquette?"
An Qi secretly stuck out her tongue and obediently greeted the Third Princess and her brother. Her brother touched her head and couldn't help but rub her face.
Anqi is very plump and very easy to pinch.
After dinner, we all went to sit with Grandma. She was delighted and gave us many goodies. We accepted them happily without hesitation. Grandma was even happier. In the afternoon, we received many gifts: gifts from the palace, the princesses, relatives, colleagues with whom Mother was close, and even my friends.
Of course, I also prepared a generous gift and had someone send it to Qiu Fei, directly to her, to congratulate her on winning the top spot, and to thank her for her generous guidance to me all the time.
The next morning, the three princesses were paraded around the streets. The third princess, my brother, and the little prince and I arrived at our restaurant early.
"Here, this is for you. Congratulations on passing the imperial examination." The little prince stretched out his hand and handed over a purse.
"Thank you." I took it and subconsciously wanted to open it to see, "What is it?"
Unexpectedly, the little prince suddenly opened my other hand and said, "How can we see it in front of you?"
Okay, okay, I can only put it away obediently.
My brother and the third princess, on the other hand, just sat on their chairs and watched the fun, as if they had seen all the fun I had seen before.
Fortunately, no one said anything, otherwise the little prince’s ears would turn red soon.
Hearing the shouts outside, we moved to the window. Oh my god, those piles of handkerchiefs and purses kept hitting us!
I was watching the excitement when a faint voice came from the side, "Are you jealous?"
"What's there to envy?" I answered without reacting. When I felt something was wrong, I turned around and saw the little prince staring at me. I immediately straightened my attitude and said seriously, "I'm not envious."
"Hmph" That's all, he even gave me a cold look. Turning around again, my brother was covering his mouth with his hands and laughing secretly, shaking so much that he fell on the Third Princess.
There's nothing I can do. I'm really a coward.
Soon, Qiu Fei came downstairs on horseback. After I called out "Qiu Fei", I threw a purse I had prepared earlier over to him. There was a gold ingot in it, so I had to use the word "smashing" to describe it.
Qiu Fei looked up and saw me, and immediately caught the purse. After smiling, he put the purse in his arms.
This stirred up a hornet's nest. Qiu Fei hadn't responded to anything before. In an instant, everyone looked up, wanting to see whose son it was.
I smiled and waved my hand, and the little prince stepped back in fear. Not seeing the young master, and no one paying attention to me, everyone turned their attention to other windows. I couldn't help but sneer, "A bunch of fools."
The little prince slapped him from behind, "What are you doing? You scared me."
I was also startled, "What's wrong?"
The little prince was already pinching his waist. "Everyone is looking at me. What if they misunderstand me?"
"Qiu Fei is the top scholar. No one will mind if there's a misunderstanding. They might even think they're a good match." I said it without thinking.
Before the little prince could say anything, his brother shouted sharply, "An Lan!"
I immediately realized that it was inappropriate for a man to spread rumors here. I wanted to explain, "I was just making it up."
The little prince didn't give me a chance. Tears were already rolling down his eyes. He turned around and ran out.
"Hey!" I was about to chase after him, but the Third Princess held me back and went off on her own, leaving me standing there bewildered.
I turned to my brother and said, "Brother, you know I didn't mean it." Seeing him crying made me panic. When he was a child, Yu Chenan didn't cry even when he fell off the rockery.
"You! Chen An likes you, and you put him and Qiu Fei together with just one sentence. What's the difference between that and directly rejecting him?" The brother sighed, "Besides, it's not appropriate to joke about a man's reputation here."
"I...I..." I stammered, regretting it deeply, "I spoke too quickly and forgot."
"The key is, what do you think? In two months' time, after the Chinese New Year, Chen An will be seventeen years old, and the palace will definitely have to decide on a woman for him. If you are not interested, I will mention it to the Queen in a tactful way, and I won't force it." My brother kept staring at me.
I lowered my head, not daring to look back at my brother. "Let me think about it. I'll think about it carefully."
"Let's go home and get ready for the party this afternoon." My brother stood up. I followed him out the door, head bowed. The crowd outside had almost dispersed.
After watching my brother get on the carriage and leave, I walked towards home.
A maid came over with a horse, Zhixia waved her hand, and they all left.
I walked and thought, and took out the purse that the little prince gave me. Inside was a ring-shaped jade pendant. I stroked the jade pendant, and my mind was full of the little prince's red eyes and tears. Back in the house, Zhixia put lunch on the table and was about to go downstairs. I called Zhixia and said, "Do you think I like the little prince?"
Zhixia scratched her head, feeling that I was making things difficult for her. After a long pause, she managed to utter, "Then... Miss, can you accept the little prince marrying someone else?"
I was a little confused: "Will others bully him and make him cry?"
Zhixia was also confused: "Then... yes or no?"
I sighed, waved my hand, and let Zhixia go. Fortunately, nothing happened. I ate absentmindedly while thinking about Zhixia's question.
Scenario 1: The little prince marries someone else.
Option 1.1: Bad relationship, feeling wronged and uncomfortable. Exclude.
Option 1.2: The relationship is well-developed, and the wife marries the king, feeling wronged and uncomfortable. Excluded.
Plan 1.3: The relationship is well established, the wife marries her exclusively, and they remain in love. Okay, keep it.
Scenario 2: The little prince marries me. There should be no problem with the relationship. I won't marry the emperor, but I'll be happy. Reserved.
Regarding the feasibility of Plan 1.3, we know that condition one requires a wealthy family. Condition two requires marrying one person. In the capital, I've counted nearly ten legitimate daughters of marriageable age (mothers of the fourth rank or higher) who are wealthy enough to marry a prince (with a mother of the fourth rank or higher), unmarried, and not serving the emperor.
Excluding those with bad character, there are eight left.
Excluding those who would marry concubines in the later period in order to have more children, there are six left.
Well, the remaining ones are all unmarried friends.
Zheng Qingzhi, my aunt's cousin from the Anguo Marquis family, is too young and immature to be considered.
Qian Bai, the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, is a gossip and a playboy, so she is excluded.
Qiu Fei, the legitimate daughter of the Taifu family, has no flaws and is well-reserved.
Wei Dedao, the second daughter of the Minister of War, is a warrior who doesn't know how to care for others, so she is excluded.
Lin Leyu, the second daughter of the Minister of Personnel, is a little fool who has trouble taking care of herself. She is excluded.
Song Shuyi from the eldest uncle's family is a close relative within three generations and is excluded.
Oh~ Qiu Fei was the only one left. What were Qiu Fei's shortcomings? What were his shortcomings? I returned to bed, thought for a long time, and fell asleep before I knew it.
"Miss, wake up, let's get ready and set off." Zhixia woke me up.
I was half asleep, so I let Zhixia clean up. It wasn't until I was outside and the wind blew, I shivered, that I woke up. Zhixia hurriedly put a cloak on me.
When I got to the front door, my mother was waiting for me. "Mom," I greeted her gloomily.
Mother frowned, "What a mess!" Then she told me, "Keep a low profile at the banquet."
I nodded. I couldn't boast about my grades. How could I steal the limelight from the top three?
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