A lucky little peasant girl is reborn and brings prosperity to her entire family.

However, perhaps because the fire incident caused such a stir, the Wu Prince's Mansion has unexpectedly become quiet.

Zhao Annian has been leaving early and returning late lately. Not to mention Song Yanyan, even Tian Denghua has some trouble figuring out what Zhao Annian is doing. He just seems a bit serious and mysterious.

However, Song Yanyan and Tian Denghua's attention was soon drawn to another matter—the imperial examinations were about to begin.

During the days when Song Xingming was taking the exam, Tian Denghua didn't get a good night's sleep.

While Song Yanyan was worried about Song Xingming, she was also worried about Xin Yibei—Xin Yibei had led troops to suppress bandits, but there had been no news of him for some time.

Although Song Yanyan knew that Xin Yibei was the crown prince and nothing would happen to him.

Human panic is not swayed by reason.

Song Yanyan was having a really tough time.

When Song Xingming came out of the examination room, he looked to be in good spirits, but he was noticeably thinner than before he entered the examination room.

After returning home, he fell asleep immediately and slept for a whole day before getting up, feeling refreshed.

After eating two large bowls of clear chicken noodle soup specially made for him by Tian Denghua, he finally leaned back comfortably in his chair and murmured, "I finally feel alive again."

Tian Denghua was heartbroken.

In order not to affect Song Xingming's chances of taking the imperial examination, Song Yanyan's previous affair was kept secret by her family.

Now that Song Xingming had finished his exams, the matter was no longer hidden from him. Song Xingming frowned and said, "Something's not right."

But all the family members, including his eldest brother Song Risheng and second brother Song Yueping, were looking at him. Even Fusu in Song Yanyan's arms and Hehua in Qi Lian's arms were looking at Song Xingming in a similar manner, just like the adults—until Song Xingming said something was wrong.

Song Xingming suddenly shook his head, said nothing, and stood up: "When Dad comes back later, I'll ask him first."

Tian Denghua glared at Song Xingming, but didn't press the matter.

Days passed by, and Sun Yuqian frequently visited the General's Mansion. Her relationship with Song Yanyan and Qi Lian grew stronger, and the slight misunderstanding between her and Song Yueping gradually disappeared.

Last time, Song Yanyan accidentally ran into Sun Yuqian twisting her ankle in the garden, and Song Yueping carried Sun Yuqian back from the garden.

Soon, the results were released.

Tian Denghua was so nervous that she didn't sleep all night and sent her servants to wait at the place where the results were posted early in the morning.

Tian Denghua thought her son would definitely pass the imperial examination and become a tribute student, so she prepared a basket of celebratory money. However, she was afraid that if her son failed the exam, he would feel sad when he saw the celebratory money tied with red silk, so she didn't dare to take out the basket of money.

When the servants who had seen the list came over with joy to announce the good news, they said that Song Xingming had passed the imperial examination with top honors!

Overjoyed, Tian Denghua gave the servant a generous red envelope as a reward and repeatedly told people to quickly bring out the celebratory money!

Huiyuan!

That's the top scorer in the imperial examination!

Song Xingming managed to remain calm, but Zhao Annian was overjoyed and ordered the ten thousand firecrackers to be brought out and set off outside.

"Hahahaha, everyone says that I, Old Zhao, am a rude and barbaric man. But now my son has passed the imperial examination with top honors! Top honors! Hahahaha, let's see who dares to say that I, Old Zhao, am a rude and uncouth man in the future, unless their family also has a son who has passed the imperial examination with top honors!"

Zhao Annian laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

Song Xingming, the top scholar in the provincial examination, hadn't even taken the palace examination yet, and people coming to propose marriage were already practically breaking down his door.

It should be noted that Song Xingming is only seventeen years old this year. As a seventeen-year-old top scholar in the provincial examination, he is sure to be among the top three in the palace examination, given His Majesty's fondness for talent!

Hurry up and pull the person back to your daughter!

People were so enthusiastic that they all wanted to take Song Xingming, their son-in-law, back to their own homes. This frightened Zhao Annian and Tian Denghua so much that they quickly closed their doors to visitors, saying that their child still needed to prepare for the imperial examination and that everything would be discussed after the examination.

After closing the door, the couple looked at each other, and Tian Denghua almost cried with laughter.

Zhao Annian said earnestly, "Third Sister, I really admire you."

Tian Denghua: "Hmm?"

"You single-handedly raised several children with great difficulty and nurtured them all to be so outstanding. You are truly amazing," Zhao Annian praised earnestly.

"You're suddenly bringing this up... I'm a mother, I can't just ignore my child, can I?" Tian Denghua was a little embarrassed by the praise, turned her head and coughed.

Zhao Annian looked at Tian Denghua with deep affection: "Third Sister..."

The two drew closer and closer.

Tian Denghua suddenly reached out a hand and pressed it against Zhao Annian's chest: "By the way, I have something to ask you."

"Ok?"

"Have you been hiding something from me lately?" Tian Denghua asked Zhao Annian, squinting her eyes. "I have a feeling something's not quite right."

Zhao Annian chuckled and mumbled, "...Third Sister, let's talk about something else. You know I would never harm you."

Tian Denghua thought about it again and agreed.

Zhao Annian hugged Tian Denghua again, wanting to kiss her, but Tian Denghua stopped him with her hand: "Speaking of which, the Crown Prince hasn't returned for a long time. You say..."

"Don't worry, don't worry, everything will be alright, nothing will happen." Zhao Annian was anxious. The old house was already difficult to endure when it caught fire, and he immediately hugged Tian Denghua, "Third Sister, please comfort me..."

Tian Denghua blushed, but finally stopped saying anything else and let Zhao Annian kiss her.

The results of the provincial examination were announced soon after the palace examination.

During the palace examination, Emperor Zhengxuan learned that Song Xingming was Song Yanyan's elder brother and asked him a lot of questions, ranging from people's livelihood to talent selection, and even border defense.

It far exceeded the level of examination a candidate should receive in the palace examination.

However, Song Xingming's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, and his thinking was clear and quick. Although his solutions were somewhat immature, they were already quite good for Song Xingming, who was still inexperienced at such a young age.

Emperor Zhengxuan nodded repeatedly, feeling extremely satisfied.

He was somewhat more satisfied with Song Yanyan's position as Crown Princess.

The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, and Song Yanyan's family has a clean and simple background, yet they are full of talented people. They have Zhao Annian in martial arts and Song Xingming in literature; if you really think about it, they are quite good.

After the palace examination, Song Xingming was personally selected as the top scholar by Emperor Zhengxuan.

The messenger, holding aloft the congratulatory notice and shouting, "Song Xingming, the third son of General Huaiwei's mansion, has achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination," rode his horse all the way to General Huaiwei's mansion.

Tian Denghua was so overjoyed that she burst into tears.

Zhao Annian was overjoyed: "This isn't just ancestral graves emitting green smoke, it's ancestral graves burning down!"

Some people were sarcastic towards Zhao Annian, saying that those were the ancestral graves of the Song family, and what did it have to do with him?

Zhao Annian didn't take it to heart at all. He raised his chin, spread his hands, and sneered, "What are you talking about! I, Zhao, have never known who my parents are since I was a child. I was left to wander outside. After I die, I will naturally be buried with my wife and children. Their ancestral graves are my ancestral graves. If you want to be serious, you can say that I married into the Song family, and that's not wrong either!"