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

Wei Shi'an was a very honest man. He kept his word and the very next day rode his horse and led his men to the Zhu family to propose marriage.

Then, Madam Zhu wrote a letter that same day and had it delivered urgently, telling Zhu Xiaoxiao to come home immediately without delay.

Madam Zhu used extremely angry language in her letter, giving Gan Cai'er a thorough dressing-down.

Gan Cai'er shook the letter.

"No, you secretly pledged your life to someone in Danzhou, so why did your mother scold me?" Gan Cai'er was quite indignant.

"That's because you've been the one who corrupted me since I was a child."

“But Wei Shi’an is clearly a very good candidate for son-in-law.”

"No matter how good he is, he wasn't chosen for me by my mother. Wouldn't she scold you for that?"

"Sigh, I'm sure I'll suffer a lot when I go back. At the very least, I'll be grounded, but I don't know how long my mother will keep me locked up."

Zhu Xiaoxiao sighed, resting her chin on her hand, and then urged Huan'er to hurry up and pack her luggage.

Zhu Xiaoxiao thought she would be gone for a long time. So before leaving, she worked through two nights in a row to finish all the drawings she had and handed them over to Gan Cai'er.

"Xiao Xiao, if your mother is really angry, you should admit your mistakes. Don't push all the blame onto me, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Looking at the large stack of drawings, Gan Cai'er couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"How about I go back with you? That way I can at least help you avoid your mother's scolding."

"Alright, if I make you come back with me, my mother will probably be even angrier. It's okay, I'll stay home and play the piano, do embroidery, and practice calligraphy. She'll calm down after a while."

No one expected that Zhu Xiaoxiao would return just three days later, fuming.

Gan Cai'er was taken aback when she saw Zhu Xiaoxiao appear at her door early in the morning. Countless bad thoughts flashed through her mind.

"Xiao Xiao, what happened?"

Zhu Xiaoxiao didn't say anything, went straight into her east side room, lay down on the bed without even taking off her clothes, and buried herself in the brocade quilt.

"What on earth is going on?!" Gan Cai'er asked anxiously, grabbing Huan'er in the middle of the crowd.

"Alas, the old master rejected Young Master Wei's marriage proposal, and Miss ran away in a fit of anger," Huan'er whispered.

"Huh?!" Gan Cai'er exclaimed in surprise, "Why?"

"The old master said that the son-in-law must be at least a scholar, but he didn't say that any scholar could marry my young lady."

Gan Cai'er fell silent. Well, it seems Master Zhu didn't think much of Wei Shi'an.

But Wei Shi'an was born with thick eyebrows and large eyes, quite handsome, and came from a family with a long and distinguished scholarly tradition. He was clearly a very good candidate, so why didn't he catch the eye of Master Zhu?

Actually, it wasn't that Wei Shi'an didn't catch Zhu Yuanwai's eye, but rather that Zhu Yuanwai had heard that Wei Shi'an had obtained a special imperial examination quota, so he wanted to wait until after the spring imperial examination next year to discuss marriage.

His implication was that if Wei Shi'an didn't perform well in the exam, the marriage would need to be reconsidered. This infuriated Wei Buzhen, who had come to propose marriage!

How could he, a renowned master of painting, have ever suffered such humiliation or been so humiliated?

He wanted to leave on the spot, but his own grandson insisted that he must take responsibility for Miss Zhu and that she would definitely be nominated for the imperial examination next spring.

Zhu Xiaoxiao felt that her grandfather was deliberately making things difficult for her. When did she become so insistent on marrying someone who had passed the imperial examination? She was so angry that she ran away from the Zhu family that very day.

Gan Cai'er sighed and nudged Zhu Xiaoxiao, who was wrapped up in a ball.

"Your grandfather only made this condition because he thinks highly of Young Master Wei. He's just trying to spur him on and also to test his sincerity towards you."

"Your grandfather dotes on you the most. If you really want to marry Young Master Wei, he certainly won't stop you. Otherwise, how did you end up marrying Ma Yuting in your past life?"

"Besides, since Young Master Wei can pass the imperial examination, you don't need to worry."

"Really?" Zhu Xiaoxiao poked her head out from under the covers.

“Really.” Gan Cai’er nodded firmly.

Ever since Gan Cai'er said "really," she has never had a peaceful day.

Zhu Xiaoxiao kept pulling her along, constantly asking, "Did he really pass the imperial examination?"

"He passed the exam, he really passed, don't worry." Gan Cai'er felt a headache coming on.

“But there are many differences between this life and your previous life. What if he fails the exam this time?” Zhu Xiaoxiao asked with worry.

“If you’re really worried, then go and supervise his studies every day! Don’t keep nagging me. I’m not Wenchang Jun (the God of Literature), I can’t bless him to pass the imperial examination.” Gan Cai’er sighed.

Zhu Xiaoxiao actually went to Wei Shi'an's place and said she wanted to urge him to study harder.

Wei Shi'an was naturally quiet and not good at social interactions, nor did he like to mingle with others. Therefore, he did not live in the academy, but rented a small courtyard not far from the academy, where only two old servants took care of his daily life.

When Zhu Xiaoxiao barged into his courtyard, he stood there helplessly, repeatedly saying, "This is so improper, it's absolutely unacceptable."

Zhu Xiaoxiao glared at him, and he blushed and mumbled something to himself.

"I'm here to urge you to study. You must pass the imperial examination next spring."

"Will do."

Wei Shi'an obediently entered the study, silently tidied up the drawings spread on the table, and then took out the Four Books and Five Classics.

But less than half a day later, Zhu Xiaoxiao smashed all of Wei Shi'an's writing implements and ran all the way back to the Lan family's courtyard.

"What's going on here?"

Gan Cai'er grabbed Zhu Xiaoxiao, who was in a rage.

"I thought he was a gentleman, but who knew he was such a shameless lecher!!" Zhu Xiaoxiao was so angry that her eyes turned red.

Gan Cai'er's heart skipped a beat. Had Xiao Xiao been bullied? Wei Shi'an had such thick eyebrows and big eyes, could he really be a scoundrel?

If that's the case, she will definitely not let him off the hook!

Gan Cai noticed that Zhu Xiaoxiao was clutching a painting tightly in her hand.

"What is this? Let me see."

Zhu Xiaoxiao threw the painting at Gan Cai'er and then ran into the house.

When Gan Cai'er opened the painting, she froze on the spot, her face filled with an indescribable expression.

It's a good painting.

The content of the painting isn't very good.

The painting depicts a vibrant red, the brilliant autumn leaves, and a deep, mysterious pool where a beautiful woman plays. The woman is rendered with only a few strokes, rather casually, but her feet, dipped in the water, appear flawless like white jade, and are depicted with exquisite detail and remarkable life. Especially striking is the vivid, almost lifelike, beauty mark on her left ankle…

It turns out that Wei Shi'an's marriage proposal was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather something he had planned for a long time.

To merely peek at a woman's feet, draw them, and then secretly hide them in the study, taking them out to look at from time to time... this is certainly not the behavior of a gentleman. No wonder Xiao Xiao was so angry!

However, Xiao Xiao only took the painting back instead of tearing it up and throwing it in Wei Shi'an's face on the spot, so Gan Cai'er felt that Wei Shi'an could still be saved.