"The Jia family has such a good marriage offer, and you're still turning it down? Didn't you see how Young Master Qingzhou performed? His poetry outshone all the other young masters in the room. With such talent and a distinguished family background, how could he not be a good match for Wanwan?"
"Sister, don't lose your mind! Quickly agree! Think about how many ladies were talking to Madam Jia in the tea room just now, all wanting to propose marriage to Young Master Qingzhou. Madam Jia ignored them all for Wanwan's sake. How can you not know what's good for you!"
Aunt Chen became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice grew louder and louder. She almost shouted the last sentence.
Madam Jia was also so angry that she was choking.
"Since Madam Sun is not free, then I will not disturb you any longer!"
"Madam Jia, please wait! Madam, please wait!"
Madam Jia turned and left, and Aunt Chen rushed to grab her, but was easily shaken off.
“Our Jia family is a family of literary giants, and our ancestors even produced prime ministers. What is the Sun family? They are just military officers who don’t even have any relatives in the entire court. Now that military officers are in a lowly position, the Sun family’s wealth and status are all thanks to General Sun’s defense of the border. When General Sun returns to the court, it is uncertain whether he will even have a place there.”
"Even with a family like that, I still look down on them because they wouldn't benefit my son Qingzhou through marriage. It was only because you kept praising the Sun family that I swallowed my pride and proposed marriage to them. And yet, they still look down on our Jia family?"
"Utterly ridiculous!"
Madam Jia was furious. She had always been very polite to Madam Sun, but now all that was left on her face was meanness, a cold smile, and arrogance.
"My Jia family is a second-rate family of civil officials!"
"Yes, yes, I know the Jia family is a prominent family, that's why I spoke to my niece. Madam, please calm down. My sister must be confused and hasn't thought things through. Let me try to persuade her, okay? Madam, please calm down!"
Aunt Chen held on tightly, refusing to let Madam Jia leave.
If Madam Jia leaves, what will happen to Su Su's marriage?
Madam Jia ignored her, pried her hands off, and walked away with a flick of her sleeve.
She had always looked down on military officers, but because Jia Qingzhou couldn't find a suitable marriage partner among aristocratic families, she turned her attention to the Sun family.
Because of this, her eldest son was to be engaged to Aunt Chen's family.
It's not uncommon for prominent families to marry off their daughters with pride, but to lower themselves to take in wives.
The resources and family lineage were inherited by the eldest son, who then married a woman of lower social standing, while the second son was given a better match. In this way, she could say she had done right by both her sons.
However, she never expected that Sun would look down on the Jia family, especially after her son Jia Qingzhou performed so well.
Why? Why?!
A mere military officer, yet he dares to look down on her.
She shouldn't have lowered her proud and aristocratic head; otherwise, she wouldn't have suffered this humiliation.
!!
Madam Jia was furious and refused to stay no matter what Aunt Chen said. She left with her maids and servants.
"Sister, what are you doing?!"
Aunt Chen was so angry she almost fainted. When the group returned to the Sun residence, she continued to talk nonstop.
"Sister, what a wonderful marriage opportunity the Jia family is! Such a large and prestigious family, with hundreds of direct and collateral bloodlines. These connections are invaluable. By marrying into the Jia family, the Sun family can enter the civil service circle. What a great opportunity this is for the Sun family. Surely you don't know that, sister?"
Of course, Madam Sun knew this.
Although the Jia family's official position was not high, only the fourth-rank official, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, their status as a prominent family meant they could not be regarded as ordinary officials.
Therefore, she was initially quite satisfied with the Jia family's social standing.
Jia Qingzhou's performance at the poetry gathering was particularly outstanding, which greatly pleased her.
At that time, her thoughts had completely shifted towards the Jia family, after all, the Lu family, like the Jia family, was a family of fourth-rank officials.
With no wars for a long time, the Lu family's development was destined to be no match for the Jia family's.
The Jia family is still an established family, with more connections and resources at their disposal.
If we're really talking about social standing, the Jia family would definitely be the better choice.
The problem is that Jia Qingzhou's talent was not as good as he appeared.
As Madam Sun sat in her chair, her mind was filled with the words Jiang Shuwan had whispered in her ear.
“Aunt, I invited the young master. He tested Jia Qingzhou’s talent and learning, and said that he was ambitious but unrealistic, seeking fame and fortune, and was not a good person…”
These words plunged Jia Qingzhou into despair, causing Madam Sun to unconditionally choose to believe Pei Yanzhi.
Ultimately, whether Jia Qingzhou was a talented poet, a learned scholar, or whether she could pass the imperial examinations and have a promising future was not up to her or Madam Jia's Aunt Chen.
Only the truly talented have the final say.
For example, Pei Yanzhi, a famous scholar in the capital, was the last disciple of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy; his word was law.
Everyone has their own expertise, so it would be perfect for him to test Jia Qingzhou's abilities. In particular, Pei Yanzhi was a very responsible person. He not only tested Jia Qingzhou's poetic talent, but also asked him about the Four Books and Five Classics, and even his policy essays.
Jia Qingzhou appears calm and refined, and the few poems and articles that have been circulated before are all poems that express feelings through scenery.
He himself, along with Madam Jia, thought he was very talented. In reality, it was just a case of choosing the tallest among the short to make him seem superior.
Pei Yanzhi, the top student at the Imperial Academy, knew his true talent and learning after just a few words with him.
Moreover, he could see that Jia Qingzhou was clearly ambitious, yet he pretended to be aloof.
In doing so, he looked down on the other party.
A man of great ambition has lofty aspirations, which is not a bad thing. Why hide it?
He is simply disliked, and his shallow knowledge coupled with his constant pursuit of fame and fortune only exacerbates the problem.
These were Pei Yanzhi's impressions of Jia Qingzhou. As soon as these impressions reached Madam Sun's ears through Jiang Shuwan's words, Madam Sun immediately gave up her idea of betrothing to the Jia family.
In particular, Jiang Shuwan told her two things...
Madam Sun clenched her fists, her eyes turning cold as she looked at her younger sister, Aunt Chen, and Chen Susu, who followed them closely.
At this moment, Chen Susu was talking to Sun Wanwan. She had also attended the poetry gathering and was sitting one in front of the other.
"Cousin, that young master Qingzhou from the Jia family is truly a gifted poet. Have you seen him?"
"I saw it."
What's your impression of your cousin?
"It's alright, anyway, I could never write those kinds of poems."
Sun Wanwan was simple-minded, and in her question and answer, Aunt Chen immediately seized on something and said loudly to Madam Sun, "Sister, look, even Wanwan says it's good, only you can't see it clearly."
Madam Sun frowned, pulled Sun Wanwan aside, and asked, "Do you really think he's good? How does he compare to Lu Shaogan?"
"Mother, how could you say that about Lu Shaogan? Jia Qingzhou is Jia Qingzhou, and Lu Shaogan is Lu Shaogan. How can you compare the two of them?"
Sun Wanwan blushed immediately. Madam Sun had told her about the matchmaking with the Lu family before. The martial arts exam had just ended yesterday, and the results would be out soon.
Even though we're all family relatives, it might not be appropriate to say this...
"Also, Susu, why do you keep talking about Jia Qingzhou? During the poetry gathering, you were telling me how amazing Jia Qingzhou was. You didn't fall for him, did you?"
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