Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Grandma, we can start getting ready now." Zhou Lin said with a red face.

When Mrs. Zhou heard this, she was stunned for a moment, thinking secretly about what she needed to prepare. Naturally, she had to start preparing to propose to the Shen family.

She slowly turned her gaze to Zhou Antai standing beside her, with a questioning look in her eyes.

Zhou Antai coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and then spoke solemnly, "The most urgent matter now is the palace examination. If you do well, then grandfather will naturally send a matchmaker to propose marriage to the Shen family. But if you only pass the exam and become a third-class Jinshi, then grandfather will not have the face to see Shen Huaizhong!"

When Zhou Lin heard this, he seemed to be full of confidence.

He straightened his body, looked at Zhou Antai with a firm gaze, and said in a loud voice: "Grandfather, don't worry. I will definitely not let you down!"

After saying this, he turned around without hesitation and strode towards the study.

After Zhou Lin left, Zhou Antai couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if he had a thousand thoughts in his mind that he couldn't express in words.

Then he waved his hand and said with a slightly tired look, "Okay, let's all go."

At this time, Mrs. Zhou, who was standing aside, was full of doubts. She wanted to ask what the marriage proposal was about and why even she, as a mother, was unaware of it.

However, before she could even ask, Old Madam Zhou seemed to see through her thoughts and spoke first, "Lin'er did well in the examination. Everyone working in the palace will receive an extra two months' salary. As for other matters, we will discuss them after the palace examination."

Seeing this, Mrs. Zhou knew that her mother-in-law was not willing to talk about this matter at the moment, so she nodded, answered yes obediently, and then turned and walked out of the room.

Fortunately, there are only three days left until the palace examination, and the results will be revealed then.

……

In the backyard of the Shandong Governor's Office, sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves, casting mottled shadows.

Shen Chuning held a letter tightly in her hand, and ran briskly and eagerly towards the yard where Yun Shuxuan was.

"Mom! Jiang Ping passed the exam! He ranked 17th in the second class!"

The voice arrived before the person arrived. Shen Chuning's face was full of smiles, as beautiful as the peach blossoms blooming in spring.

Hearing his daughter's excited cry, Yun Shuxuan couldn't help but feel puzzled. He put down the book he was reading, looked up at the beautiful figure at the door, and asked softly, "Jiang Ping? Who is Jiang Ping?"

Shen Chuning laughed coquettishly. She narrowed her eyes slightly and explained, "Mom, have you forgotten? It's Mr. Ze who has been writing storybooks for Mo Yunjian!"

After her daughter's reminder, Yun Shuxuan suddenly understood. She patted her forehead and said self-reproachfully, "Look at my memory! You did mention him to me before, but I always called him Mr. Ze and forgot his real name."

Shen Chuning nodded repeatedly and responded, "That's right. When Bi Rui wrote to tell me the news, I pondered it for a long time before I realized she was talking about Mr. Ze."

At this time, Yun Shuxuan picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and looked at Shen Chuning thoughtfully.

She slowly asked, "It's certainly a good thing that Mr. Ze passed the exam, but why are you so happy? Although I don't discriminate against family backgrounds, for someone like him to have to work writing storybooks to support his family while preparing for the exam, his family must be very poor. I really can't bear to see you suffer by marrying into a family like that, and besides, your father wouldn't be able to get over it either."

Ever since Shen Chuning's coming-of-age ceremony, Yun Shuxuan began to worry about her lifelong affairs.

Now, seeing that a man from another family could make his precious daughter so happy just because he ranked 17th in the second class of the exam, Yun Shuxuan couldn't help but feel alarmed.

However, after she said this, she couldn't help but feel moved. She changed her mind and thought that having a poor family background was not necessarily a bad thing.

In this way, perhaps a live-in son-in-law could be recruited, so Chu Ning wouldn't have to leave her familiar environment.

I just don't know what Mr. Ze's character is like and whether he is willing to become a son-in-law.

At this moment, Shen Chuning, who was drinking water, heard her mother's words. Before she could swallow the water, she was choked and started coughing violently.

She rubbed her chest with her hand to calm her breath while saying angrily, "Mother, what are you thinking? I'm happy because Jiang Ping is the one we're supporting to take the imperial examination. I've heard Birui say before that he values friendship very much. If he can pass the examination this time, it will undoubtedly be a great help to our Shen family in the future."

Yun Shuxuan saw that Shen Chuning spoke frankly and there was nothing unusual on her expression, and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down a little.

Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she asked again, "By the way, didn't Han Zhi also take the imperial examination this year? I wonder how he did."

When Shen Chuning heard her mother mention Zhou Lin, a faint blush instantly appeared on her cheeks.

She replied softly, "A few days ago, I received a letter from Zhou Lan saying that her brother had achieved a remarkable 13th place in the Imperial Examination. As for the Palace Examination, the results are still unclear, but I think the letter announcing the good news should be on its way."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but secretly blame Birui in her heart. They released the list together, so why did the letter only mention Jiang Ping's results, but didn't mention Zhou Lin's situation at all?