After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Hearing the noise from the inner room, Lan Tingzhou looked up and saw Gan Cai'er wearing his large outer robe, crawling under the bed with both hands and feet. Her small, fair feet were kicking the floor with all their might.

Lan Tingzhou's throat bobbed slightly. He lowered his eyes to calm himself, then raised his voice and said, "Mother, please wait a moment."

Only after he saw that Gan Cai'er was completely hidden did he get up, open the door, and welcome Lan's mother in.

"Why did Mother come so late?" Lan Tingzhou respectfully helped his mother up.

"Seeing that the light in your study was still on, I thought you weren't asleep, so I made some white fungus and lotus seed soup for you and brought it over." Mother Lan said as she placed the bowl on the table. "Studying is important, but you also need to take care of your health."

After saying that, Lan's mother's gaze drifted towards the inner room, seemingly casually.

Lan Tingzhou's study was small and simply furnished, with only a rosewood screen separating it into inner and outer rooms.

He reads in the outer room and rests in the inner room.

It was a very small place, and the screen wasn't very high either; a quick glance was enough to see everything.

Lan Tingzhou lowered his head silently, it seemed that news of Gan Cai'er's visit to the study had already reached Lan's mother's ears.

It's no wonder Gan Cai'er is afraid of Lan's mother; Lan's mother is simply too strict. She demands that every word and action of the Lan family be strictly in accordance with her rules.

Therefore, she disapproved of Gan Cai'er's seductive manner and often criticized Gan Cai'er for seducing Lan Tingzhou, and she disliked this daughter-in-law very much.

If she were to catch him and Gan Cai'er making love in the study... Lan Tingzhou thought to himself, completely unable to imagine the consequences.

Gan Cai'er knew the consequences.

In her previous life, she did not avoid it. Instead, she deliberately wore the outer robe of Lan Tingzhou to greet Lan's mother, with traces of their past intimate encounters faintly visible.

Madam Lan was so angry that she wanted to discipline Lan Tingzhou according to family rules! Gan Cai'er, however, was not about to give in. She stood protectively in front of Lan Tingzhou, hands on her hips, pointing at a group of servants, and arrogantly declared, "Let's see who dares to do that?!"

Apart from Zhang Li and Granny Zhong, all the servants in the Lan family were bought by Gan Cai'er. She didn't allow anyone to touch Lan Tingzhou, so no one dared to touch him.

Seeing that everyone listened to her and no one paid attention to Lan's mother, Gan Cai'er raised her chin and taunted Lan's mother with great pride.

Lan's mother was so angry that she fainted on the spot.

Finally, Lan Tingzhou knelt before his mother's sickbed and asked for family punishment, allowing Zhang Li to give him fifteen strokes of the cane.

After that, Lan Tingzhou ignored Gan Cai'er for a long time, and even on the first and fifteenth of the month, he did not step into Gan Cai'er's Mo Yi Courtyard.

Recalling the farce of her past life, Gan Cai'er huddled under the bed and sighed softly.

In truth, Lan's mother was just old-fashioned, but not a bad person, and never truly made things difficult for him. She simply disliked his infatuation with Lan Tingzhou and didn't want him to let women affect his studies.

In her past life, Gan Cai'er harbored deep resentment towards Lan's mother, feeling that she was always harsh on her. As a result, she was often disobedient and unfilial, and always opposed Lan's mother.

After she entered the Duke of Wei's mansion, she suffered endless torment in the inner courtyard and almost lost her life several times. Only then did she realize what true wickedness was.

I can only blame myself for being too naive and inexperienced when I was young.

In this life, she restrained her willful and reckless behavior, deliberately avoided conflict, and hid under the bed, hoping that she would not anger her mother to the point of being bedridden for half a month again.

Since Lan's mother came to the study, she naturally knew what had happened. However, Gan Cai'er was avoiding people, so Lan's mother was giving the two of them some face, but she still needed to give them a good talking-to.

"Tingzhou, you'll be taking an exam next spring. Have you chosen a school yet?"

"Reporting to Mother, your son has reached an agreement with Mr. Yang and will go to Qizhi Academy in town next month."

"The academy in town?" Lan's mother frowned.

"Yes."

"Foolish!" Lan's mother slammed her hand on the table.

"Do you know what you're doing?!" Lan's mother scolded.

"Do you know how important it is to vouch for someone! And how important it is to come from an academy! The most learned teacher in Qingshui Town is only a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination)!"

"You've already been delayed for eleven years because of your father, and you want to delay it any longer?! You, you, you're going to drive me crazy!!"

As Lan's mother spoke, she became more and more agitated. By the end, she was clutching her chest, seemingly unable to breathe.

It's no wonder Lan's mother was angry; Lan Tingzhou had worked so hard for this exam opportunity that he couldn't afford to make a mistake.

Lan Tingzhou studied diligently from a young age and was once known as a child prodigy, but now that he is over eighteen, he is not even a student of the first level of the imperial examination. This is all because of his father's influence.

The Lan family was not originally from Qingshui Town, but moved here from the capital six years ago. Lan's father was originally an imperial censor, but because of his integrity and uprightness, he was targeted by the Second Prince's faction, falsely accused, imprisoned, and eventually died tragically in prison. The Lan family was also stripped of everything, their property confiscated.

The Great Yong Kingdom had a law stipulating that the descendants of any disgraced official were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations.

Therefore, Lan Tingzhou was never eligible to take the imperial examinations. It wasn't until Emperor Qingfeng died and Emperor Jinghe ascended the throne that Lan Tingzhou was granted a general amnesty, including his father, and thus his status as the son of a disgraced official was removed, allowing him to take the exams.

This delay has lasted eleven years. And next year, after the county examination, there will be the prefectural examination, after that the provincial examination, then the metropolitan examination, then the palace examination... Therefore, the time for the Lanting Boat cannot be delayed any longer.

Lan Tingzhou knelt down before Lan's mother.

"The son is unfilial."

"But it was your wife who instigated you?"

Hearing Lan's mother's stern voice, Gan Cai'er, who was cowering under the bed, pursed her lips. It wasn't Lan's mother who instigated it, but Lan's mother who threatened it.

In her past life, she was short-sighted and foolish, and for her own selfish reasons, she almost ruined Lantingzhou's path to the imperial examinations.

The Great Yong Dynasty stipulated that all candidates participating in the imperial examinations must come from an academy and have two guarantors. Usually, the teachers of the academy could also serve as guarantors. Therefore, anyone who wanted to take the exams had to first enter an academy.

To attend an academy, one had to pay tuition. The academy in Qinghe Town cost five taels of silver a year, while the academy in Zhushan County cost twenty taels of silver a year. If one went to the prefectural academy, it would be even more expensive.

The Lan family, however, has a long history of being poor.

Lan's father was an upright and honest man, and as an official, he was incorruptible, never stooping to the slightest taint of money. When his home was searched, all the gold, silver, and valuables confiscated from the Lan family totaled no more than two hundred taels of silver. Even the officials from the Ministry of Justice who conducted the search couldn't bear to look at it.

Lantingzhou has no money, but Gan Cai'er does.

However, in her past life, Gan Cai'er didn't want Lan Tingzhou to study. She had heard many stories from the town's storyteller about talented scholars who, after passing the imperial examinations, married noble ladies or princesses. Subconsciously, she believed that once Lan Tingzhou passed the examinations, he would definitely be snatched away by other women.

Therefore, in her previous life, Gan Cai'er had created countless obstacles for Lan Tingzhou's studies, even threatening to cut off Lan's mother's medical expenses. However, she underestimated Lan Tingzhou's determination to overcome all difficulties in order to study.

After Lan Tingzhou went hunting in the deep mountains and nearly lost his life to a bear, Gan Cai'er finally calmed down.

Finally, the two compromised. Gan Cai'er agreed to let Lan Tingzhou go to the academy, and Lan Tingzhou promised her that he would not leave Qingshui Town.

At this moment, Gan Cai'er, who was lying under the bed, wished she could slap her past self a few times and kick her a few times!

Faced with his mother's questioning, Lan Tingzhou's silence was the best answer.

No one knows a son better than his mother. Seeing her son like this, what could Lan's mother not understand?

Lan's mother closed her eyes briefly: "It's all my fault for dragging you down."

"It's just the county exam; it doesn't matter which academy our son attends. Staying in Qingshui Town will allow him to take care of the family, which isn't necessarily a bad thing," Lan Tingzhou comforted his mother.

Lan's mother sighed deeply: "She is not a good match for you."

Lan Tingzhou remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "I know, but she has done a great service to the Lan family."

These two sentences were like a slap in the face, landing heavily on Gan Cai'er's face.

As expected, Lan Tingzhou never liked him!

Although she already knew this, hearing Lan Tingzhou say it himself still made Gan Cai'er sad, and her heart ached as if it were being stabbed by a knife.

She truly loved Lan Tingzhou, but she was also truly unworthy of him.

Lan Tingzhou is a gentleman of impeccable character, as radiant as the moon. The only woman worthy of him, the one who can stand beside him, should be a woman like Shen Yunxi—gentle, elegant, and noble, a true lady of high birth, a talented woman renowned throughout the capital.

A bitter feeling welled up inside her, and Gan Cai'er bit her wrist tightly, a tear sliding down her cheek.