After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

"A three-year-old child who could already read the Hundred and Thousand Character Classic and began studying the Four Books?"

"Father, whose child is this? Isn't this a bit of an exaggeration?"

Inside Jiang Changqing's study, a seemingly ordinary letter lay open before the father and son, but its contents were anything but ordinary.

There's nothing wrong with that; it might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was sent by a distant cousin, so I can't refuse to take a look.

"Wenhai, what do you think?"

"Father, if what is said in the letter is true, then this child is undoubtedly a child prodigy, but whether it is true or not remains to be verified."

"Well, I know a bit about Jiang Changshou. Back then, he intended to send Jiang Wenqing to the clan school, but when he saw that his son's talent was just average, he gave up on it himself."

In fact, if he had humbled himself and asked the clan leader at the time, the clan leader might have given him the face.

But he abandoned this plan, which shows that he is a man of principle and calculation, and did not want to waste this small token of goodwill.

"Is that so? It seems this long-lived uncle is indeed different from the other clansmen. Is he someone worth helping?"

"Well, we can't jump to conclusions too early, but we still need to see if what he said in his letter is true."

If a prodigy truly emerges from the Jiang family, it would be a blessing for my entire clan, preventing a family decline and lack of support after my retirement.

Jiang Changqing sighed. He had always attached great importance to the education of the children in his clan. Not only were there three scholars who had passed the imperial examinations teaching at the clan school, but he also often went there to provide guidance when he was not busy.

However, after all these years, no more candidates have passed the imperial examinations twice.

The best scorer was the second son of my third uncle's family, who was only a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). At best, he could only become a minor official of the sixth rank, which was even worse than what the second son achieved.

"Wenhai, pack your things and let's go to Changshou County to see if this child lives up to his name."

"Should I go alone? Or should I ask my second brother to come along?"

"That's good. Wenhao has been working too hard lately. There's still more than a year until the provincial examination. He shouldn't be so stressed. He should go out and relax and clear his head."

"Okay, I'll go find him in my second brother's yard. He'll definitely want to test this little prodigy too, hehe~"

Jiang Wenhai ran off with a bouncy gait, showing no sign of a father's composure whatsoever. Even his eight-year-old son seemed more mature and reserved than him.

"Behave yourself! Running and jumping around like that is unbecoming!"

"Understood, Father!" He switched from running to high-speed walking and disappeared into the corridor in a flash.

"Stinky boy!"

Jiang Changqing sighed helplessly. His two sons were too lively and too steady. If only they could be in balance.

The eldest son is already twenty-five years old and is still only a scholar.

The second son is in poor health; otherwise, he wouldn't have failed the provincial examination last time and should have become a successful candidate by now.

Alas, only those who pass the imperial examination at this age can be considered young talents; in the end, it's too late.

官道

"Drive! Drive!"

"Old Wang, hurry up, hurry up! You're too slow, slower than a mule."

"Brother, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Hey~ I'm just eager to see our clan's prodigy~ What could you and I do when we were three years old?"

Of course we can recite 100 or 3000 characters, but starting to read the Four Books at age three is a bit of an exaggeration! Aren't you curious if it's true or not?

"Hmm, out of curiosity."

"Tch~ I didn't see that. You were holding a book. Where did you get any curiosity?"

"Brother, what would happen if it were an hour earlier or an hour later?"

The little prodigy from Changshou County won't just disappear because you're late. Why are you in such a hurry? He'll get there eventually, won't he?"

Jiang Wenhao slowly turned a page of his book and then refilled his teacup.

Jiang Wenhai was helpless. The coachman wasn't in a hurry, the horses weren't in a hurry, and his second brother wasn't in a hurry either. So he was the only one who was worried!

Alright, alright, he'll have some tea too, no rush!

Child prodigies don't run away!

Jiang Wenhao secretly raised his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

He was also eager to see the prodigy of the clan, but unlike his elder brother, he wasn't so impulsive. He needed to carefully consider what kind of test he would give the boy once they arrived.

"Young master, we've entered Changshou County. It looks like we'll reach Changshou Village in another two or three hours."

"Alright, let's find an inn first. It's getting late, and it would be impolite to come now. We'll bring a gift tomorrow morning."

"Yes, son."

"What? Big brother, you're not in a hurry anymore?"

"What are you saying? Even if you're in a hurry, you can't be so impolite. Don't you know what time it is? The sun is almost setting."

"Hehe, yes, I'll do whatever you say, big brother!"

The two pampered young masters were quite comfortable staying in this small inn in a remote county town. After all, they were both brilliant individuals who had experienced the trials of the provincial examinations, so this was no problem for them.

Jiang Wenqing had already enrolled in the county school and had a ten-day break, but the landlord Jiang did not allow him to go home every ten days. He stipulated that he could only return home once a month, and all his necessities could be delivered by his servant.

Early that morning, Jiang Wenqing went to the street to buy food and saw a blue-canopied carriage bearing the Jiang family crest driving out of the inn.

That wasn't his family's carriage. Judging from the color of the clan emblem, it seemed to belong to the direct line of the prefectural city.

People from the Jiang family of Fucheng have come? Could they be looking for my father?

But he can't go home to find out what's going on right now, since he's only been at the county school for a few days and it's still a long time before he can go home.

Forget it, it probably has nothing to do with me anyway. After all, I've never met anyone from the Jiang family's direct lineage except for ancestral worship, and we've never had any interaction.

Jiang Wenqing quickly put this incident behind him, bought his favorite roast chicken, and returned to the county school.

Longevity Village

"Xu~"

"Auntie, could you please tell me which direction the Jiang family lives in?"

Under the big tree, groups of two or three elderly women were enjoying the cool shade. Horse-drawn carriages were rarely seen; oxcarts and mule carts were more common.

When the visitor asked for directions, they did not dare to be negligent: "Where did you come from? The Jiang family is at the end of the village. The most magnificent two-courtyard house is the Jiang family's residence."

"Thank you, ma'am. We are members of the Jiang family from the prefectural city, here to visit Uncle Jiang."

"Oh, so it's someone from our own family. The Jiang family is indeed wealthy. The Jiang landlord's family is already incredibly rich, but I didn't expect the people from the prefectural city to be even more impressive!"

"Uh, hehe, let's go, Lao Wang, it's getting late."

Looking at the sun, which had just risen a little, the driver, Old Wang, scratched his head and said, "Giddy up!"

The horse-drawn carriage clattered as it headed towards the end of the village.

"Jiang Residence"

“That’s right, this is the place. Dad said that only my uncle’s family in Changshou Village has the surname Jiang. The reason why we chose to settle in Changshou Village in Changshou County when we divided the family was because we valued the word ‘Changshou’ (longevity), which has a good meaning, and it also happens to be the same name as my uncle.”

“My uncle is a remarkable man,” Jiang Wenhao said.

"Oh dear, what's so wonderful about it? Go knock on the door!" Jiang Wenhai jumped off the cart and, without even telling the driver, Lao Wang, went to knock on the door himself.

A knock sounded on the door knocker.

After knocking a few times, the door opened a crack, but strangely, no one came out to greet them.