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

The second and third games went smoothly as well.

Li Haisheng was also using the same bamboo tubes and oilcloth bags as the Jiang family. He felt that if he could pass the imperial examination, his junior brother would deserve a large part of the credit.

This was from the bottom of his heart. He had used every single thing his junior brother had told him and prepared. Could it be that his junior brother could predict the future?

His junior brother told him to return to the inn immediately after each performance and do nothing but bathe, sleep, and eat.

He doesn't accept anyone's requests for advice, nor does he discuss the exam questions with anyone in advance, especially avoiding Young Master Xie who often finds excuses to approach him.

Hmph! Don't think he doesn't know that before the first round, his servant brought over a highly nourishing ginseng soup, which was loaded with ingredients.

With just one small bite, he poisoned all the little mice left behind by his junior brother, and now those little mice are still lying stiffly in the bamboo basket woven by his elder brother.

Li Haisheng had always stayed in the mountains with his master and had never participated in the literary gatherings or poetry gatherings of the scholars. He was virtually unknown among the candidates, yet he still couldn't escape the attention of petty scoundrels.

He didn't go out, so he had no chance to fall into the water. He was still quite skilled and didn't lose any hands or feet. That's why he was met with the final move before the exam: poisoning!

When he fed the little mouse ginseng soup, he didn't know it was highly poisonous. He thought it was at most a laxative like croton, which would make the mouse unable to get out of bed and miss the provincial examination.

So he specially asked his elder brother to weave a bamboo basket to avoid getting the inn's rooms dirty. Little did he know that this bamboo basket would eventually become the little mouse's "coffin".

Li Haisheng secretly rejoiced that he had listened to his junior brother's advice, which allowed him to escape schemes time and time again.

Now that all three rounds are over, he has safely returned to the inn and only needs to wait for the results to be released.

"Third brother, come here, you check it."

Li Chunsheng brought back a food box from the kitchen, while Li Qiusheng went to a restaurant outside to get a meal to go.

The two placed both dishes in front of Li Haisheng, waiting for him to test for poison with silver needles.

"No problem." The silver needles did not turn black, proving that there was no deadly poison.

Of course, after confirming that there was no deadly poison, Li Chunsheng and Li Qiusheng took turns eating the food three times a day as a further test for poison. As long as it was not a deadly poison that could be detected by silver needles, whether it was croton or something else, they were both strong and could withstand it.

They ate it without any problems before letting Li Haisheng eat it. For this reason, a small ceramic stove was prepared in the room specifically for heating up food.

After all, the observation period is quite long, and the food would have been cold long ago.

He didn't want to do this, but his two older brothers insisted. This was an upgraded version of his junior brother's silver needle poison testing, which his two older brothers came up with themselves. They had put a lot of effort into it.

Seeing his two elder brothers like this for so many days, Li Haisheng felt a pang of sadness and was deeply moved.

He took out the silver needles and tested them one by one, and found nothing unusual.

Li Chunsheng ate a few bites of the inn's food first, and felt no discomfort after half an hour. Then Li Qiusheng also tried the food that had been packed from the restaurant, and was equally unharmed.

The two got up and walked around the room a few steps to make sure there were no problems before letting Li Haisheng start eating.

After the results of the provincial examination were announced, he was to go to Xinghe Prefecture to meet his junior brother, and it was also the time for him to formally propose marriage to the Jiang family.

After much deliberation, he decided to arrange the marriage before the provincial examination. He wasn't afraid of being forced to marry someone who had failed the provincial examination; he was afraid that after the Jiang family members passed the provincial examination, others would be interested in marrying the daughters and granddaughters of the successful candidates.

With such a talented woman, it's no wonder that many suitors have designs on her. He needs to make his move as soon as possible.

As my junior brother often says, the first to strike wins, the last to strike suffers.

Although he knew that Miss Jiang would definitely not agree to marry someone else, he did not want others to disturb the peace of his beloved.

After finishing his meal, Li Haisheng read for a while and then packed most of his luggage.

Three days later, after the results were announced, the three of them prepared to set off for Xinghe Prefecture.

These three days are spent waiting for the results, and also buying things and preparing the betrothal gifts. To be honest, the time is quite tight.

After setting aside the dowry, Li Haisheng set aside his travel and lodging expenses for the imperial examination, and also left enough living expenses for his elder brothers, younger brothers, and younger sisters. He then pooled the remaining money and raised a total of five hundred taels for the dowry.

Most of this money came from the spoils he acquired in the North. Of course, he also kept some of the glittering gems to make jewelry for his future wife.

In addition, one load (50 kilograms) of cakes should be prepared.

He has plenty of seafood and other seafood at home; his older brothers brought some when they came, but they were all dried goods, so he didn't need to buy any more.

Three sacrificial animals: two pairs of chickens (two males and two females), three to five pounds of pork, and a large fish or mud carp.

A pair of coconuts, four bottles of wine, dried longan, dried lychee, dried walnuts and peanuts in their shells, fresh fruit, four kinds of sugar, tea leaves and sesame seeds.

The gift box contains lotus seeds, lily bulbs, green thread, cypress branches, two pairs of areca palms, sesame seeds, red beans, mung beans, red dates, dried walnuts, dried longan, red bean rope, red envelopes, betrothal money, gold ornaments, dragon and phoenix candles, and a couplet.

Other items include incense, firecrackers, bracelets, gold incense (boneless, translucent blue), firecrackers (large firecrackers and large cannons), bracelets (dragon and phoenix pairs of auspicious bracelets), twelve catties of glutinous rice, and three catties and two ounces of sugar.

The betrothal ceremony is the fourth step in the six rites, also called the presentation of betrothal gifts. It is sent to the woman's family along with the betrothal letter. Once this step is reached, the second and fourth rites of the six rites are considered complete.

The marriage is only complete after the final formalities of marriage and the completion of the three formalities and six rites.

The three letters refer to the letter of engagement, the letter of gift, and the letter of welcome.

A betrothal letter is a formal agreement between a man and a woman to enter into a marriage contract; it is used during the engagement ceremony (Naji).

A gift list is a document detailing the types and quantities of gifts given during the betrothal ceremony (the formal gift exchange).

The wedding invitation book is a book used on the wedding day to welcome the bride.

The Six Rites refer to the six rites from marriage proposal to marriage, namely, betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and the wedding ceremony.

The betrothal ceremony, the first of the six rites, is when the man's family, wishing to marry the woman, sends a matchmaker to the woman's family to propose marriage, presenting gifts and requesting the union. After receiving acceptance, the matchmaker then formally presents the "betrothal gifts" to the woman's family.

Asking the name, which is when the groom's family asks the matchmaker to inquire about the bride's name and date of birth;

Naji, also known as the divination ceremony, involves the man retrieving the woman's name and birth date and time (based on the Chinese zodiac) and then performing a divination at the ancestral temple.

Nazheng, also known as nabi, refers to the betrothal gifts given by the groom's family to the bride's family.

The groom's family chooses a wedding date, prepares gifts, informs the bride's family, and requests their consent.

The bride's family sends her dowry and prepares the bed one or two days before the wedding, and the groom personally goes to the bride's home to fetch her the following day.

The betrothal, name inquiry, and auspicious date selection have already been completed under the care of Lin Yueniang and Ouyang Zheng. Now, the Li brothers have reached the stage of presenting betrothal gifts themselves.

After that, we can discuss the wedding date, but it will definitely be set after the imperial examination, which is after next spring, at least another six months.

The Jiang family also needs to prepare a dowry for Jiang Xiyue, so it is most likely that it will be set for a year later. After all, Jiang Xiyue will be eighteen years old next year, which is the age at which the women in the family are considered to have reached adulthood, as stipulated by Jiang Xiaoqi.

There's no other way. The eldest sister, Jiang Xiwen, is going to wait until she's eighteen. The younger ones will probably have to go through the same thing. Jiang is the only male in this generation of the family, and the future head of the family has spoken, so they have to give him some face.

Jiang Xiaoqi's intention was to prevent women from harming their health by giving birth too early, but his family misunderstood that he was reluctant to leave his sisters. Fine, let them misunderstand!

Furthermore, the sisters could study with Master Su for a few more years. Once they married into their husbands' families, they wouldn't be so free. A woman's happy time is always short, and he hoped to let the sisters enjoy themselves for as long as possible for two more years.

The eldest sister was the undisputed leader in her husband's family, loved by her in-laws, and obedient to her husband. The second sister married her single senior brother, so she didn't have to worry about the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at all, and could even spar with her senior brother from time to time.

He doesn't need to worry about his two elder sisters, but he can't interfere too much in the future marriages of his half-sisters, since they are still a separate group. At most, he can mention any particularly unreliable marriages to his grandfather so that the elders can give their opinions.