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

After the meal, Jiang Xiaoqi invited the guests to stay, and before anyone could refuse, she quickly had the servants prepare the guest rooms.

Xue Xu was not a strong drinker and was indeed exhausted. He didn't know how much trouble it would take to find an inn to stay in, so he agreed to stay.

Even the pageboy Que Yun was exasperated. Was his young master trying to repay a debt of gratitude? He was eating and staying at his benefactor's house—who was really doing the favor for whom?

He never thought his young master was thick-skinned, but now he felt something was broken about him.

Xue Xu slept soundly that night, more soundly than he had slept during this period.

The pageboy, Ayun, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He felt it was inappropriate to bother the Jiang family like this, but he was just a pageboy and had to obey his young master.

As dawn broke, A-Yun got up, thinking that he could quietly do something for the Jiang family to express his gratitude while there were fewer people around in the morning.

The young master is immature, but the pageboy must be!

To my surprise, as soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw the young master of the Jiang family practicing swordsmanship with the young master of the Li family.

The two moved with agility and their swordsmanship was fierce, leaving A-Yun momentarily stunned.

Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Haisheng sheathed their swords after finding A-Yun: "Brother Yun, why are you up so early? Are we too noisy?"

Ayun quickly waved her hand and explained, "No, no, no, I'm just a little picky about beds, it's not because of you two."

"I see. But your young master doesn't seem to be picky about beds like you. Alright, senior brother, let's call it a day. Let's go wash up and have breakfast, lest we wake Brother Xue up."

At this moment, Xue Xu also got up. He never slept in late, no matter how tired he was the day before.

He always felt that self-control was the foundation of learning. How can one sweep the world if one cannot even sweep one's own room? Cultivating a righteous mind, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world are all processes of seeing the big picture from the small, and moving from the individual to the group.

Of course, the reason I was able to wake up in time was because I heard the voice of my own servant outside.

Stepping out of the guest room, you arrive at a large, flat open space in the front yard, with various weapons and sandbags placed on both sides.

Seeing that his two benefactors were both dressed in neat short-sleeved clothes, exuding heroic spirit and full of energy, he was very pleased.

A pang of envy welled up in my heart. Alas, I was just too untrained, which is why the provincial examination nearly killed me.

These nine days were like passing through the gates of hell. If he were in better physical condition, he might have been able to compete for the title of Jieyuan (top scholar in the provincial examination).

Sigh, it's too late to say anything now.

He stepped forward to greet the two of them and said that he planned to leave that day.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt inexplicably disappointed, but he couldn't force Xue Xu to stay. However, after learning that Xue Xu didn't plan to return to his hometown but instead intended to go directly to the capital to prepare for the imperial examination, he changed his mind.

Young Master Xue is sixteen years old this year and has already passed the imperial examination. His ranking is so high that he is indeed a good candidate to be the wife of an elder sister.

Third Sister is almost fifteen and will soon be of marriageable age. Having studied for many years, she has an outstanding personality and character. In addition, she has inherited all the good qualities of her father and Aunt Pan, and is also extremely beautiful.

However, it's unclear whether Young Master Xue would mind that Third Sister is born out of wedlock. We can't force this; it's best to let things take their course.

To avoid upsetting Young Master Xue, which would prevent us from even remaining friends.

Jiang Xiaoqi was genuinely concerned for her third sister; such a talented young woman is a rare find.

As for the matter of binding with subsidiary systems, that was not even on their minds at the moment.

After everyone finished breakfast, Xue Xu took his leave.

"Brother Xue, are you going straight to the capital?"

"Well, the imperial examination is in five months, and going back to my family would be too much of a waste of time. I have enough money to last until the end of the examination, so I won't make the trip. As for warm clothes, I can buy some after I get to the capital."

Xue Xu did not mention the unpleasant things he might encounter when he returned home. On one hand, there were the merchants and wealthy people in the surrounding villages who would flock to him upon hearing the news, and on the other hand, his relatives would come one by one to recommend their nieces, cousins, and other female relatives.

Given her mother's personality, she wouldn't refuse anyone, and as for her aunt, she had no say in the family.

It's better to avoid trouble. Let's set off first and write a letter home in a few days. After all, the imperial examination is a big deal, and I'm sure my family won't say anything.

Xue Xu was the only son in his family. Although he was born to a concubine, the main wife had no legitimate son, and he was raised by his legal mother since childhood. He was better than a legitimate son.

My father died in a mudslide while he was out doing business many years ago. For so many years, he, his mother, his aunt, and his half-sister have depended on each other for survival.

When he was a child, his relatives thought he was too young and not born to the matriarch, so many of them considered taking advantage of him. Fortunately, the clan chief was fair and dissuaded some of them from doing so.

Now that he has achieved the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), he is able to protect his mother, aunt, and sister.

The only problem is that his relatives are too difficult to deal with; he just can't handle them.

The mother couldn't bring herself to do it, the aunt had no say, and the younger sister was still too young. With three women in the house, they were bound to be bullied.

Sigh, let's wait a little longer. Once he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, he can support the women in his family.

That will make it easier for my sister to find a husband. Marriage, marriage...

Xue Xu turned his gaze to Jiang Xiaoqi, whose eyebrows were like paintings and whose features were delicate and unlike those of a boy.

Now that her face is clean, she looks even better than yesterday!

Young Master Li is getting on in years, and he's already engaged to the second young lady of the Jiang family, so I'm not interested in him anymore.

This young master Jiang is ten years old this year, only three years younger than his younger sister.

A woman three years older than her husband is considered a lucky match!

Moreover, young Master Jiang is only ten years old and has already become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), and it is said that he even achieved the "Minor Triple Crown" (a top honor in the imperial examinations)! Isn't he a potential future Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) and Jinshi (a successful candidate in the metropolitan-level imperial examinations)?

He felt that he might have already found a good husband for his sister!

"Hehe~ Hehehe~" Xue Xu had no idea how scary he looked right now.

"Brother Xue, Brother Xue! What's wrong with you? You've been holding this cup of tea for so long, isn't your hand sore?"

Jiang Xiaoqi was unaware that while she was thinking about others, she was also being thought about in return.

The two of them are now looking at each other with the same eyes one looks at their own brother-in-law and the other looks at their own future brother-in-law, so naturally they both find everything about each other wonderful.

Jiang Xiaoqi VS Xue Xu: As expected, it has to be me! The third brother-in-law/sister-in-law I've chosen is a handsome and talented man!