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

When the city gates opened, Jiang Xiaoqi led all his men to be among the first to leave the city.

The man in black, bound like a dumpling, was still wearing the same clothes he wore last night. Li Chunsheng covered the man's face with a veil again, since the two brothers didn't want to face that big face all the time.

After traveling more than twenty miles out of the city, Landlord Jiang finally recovered and got back into his grandson's carriage.

At this moment, Li Haisheng and Jiang Xiaoqi were both in this carriage, while Jiang Wenqing was in his original carriage with Landlord Jiang, lost in thought.

“Mingfei, do you think it could be that person again…? Why is he so persistent? Is it because you got the top three honors in the provincial examination that year?”

"This happened so long ago, and it's still not over? We don't have any high-ranking officials in our family, but we can't just bully people like this!"

Landlord Jiang felt that his grandson was truly suffering an undeserved disaster. There were so many outstanding young scholars in the world, why did he have to keep targeting Mingfei?

"It's possible, it's possible, it's hard to say right now, but the prime suspect is definitely that person."

Li Haisheng sat to the side without saying a word, maintaining his image as a dutiful grandson-in-law.

After chatting for a while, the grandfather and grandson asked Jiang Xiaoqi to bring out the "Battle of the Top Scholar" cards.

"Um, Grandfather still wants to play the game of 'Fighting the Top Scholar' at this age?"

"Hey~ you think your grandfather is such a heartless person? I'm not as easygoing as your father!"

I was just thinking that I wouldn't be playing games for a while, and I should focus my time and energy on the book. You've prepared so much valuable information for everyone, it can't be wasted.

As for this "battle champion's toy," go and give it to your older sisters so they can play with it on the way home and pass the time.

Jiang Xiaoqi was taken aback. He thought to himself that this ancient version of playing cards was originally made for his older sisters! But his grandfather and father intercepted it halfway through.

Now that the item could finally be returned to its rightful owner, he didn't emphasize it again, lest his grandfather lose face.

Jiang Xiaoqi responded and, carrying the token, got off the carriage and walked towards the carriage where her sisters were. Just as she reached the carriage, she heard her sisters chattering away inside.

"Tell me, who sent that assassin? Why did they have to target our seventh brother? Luckily, his martial arts are superior, otherwise we would have been... we would have been..."

It's Fourth Sister's voice. It seems she was quite frightened by what happened last night. Perfect, we can play some games to distract the sisters.

"Speaking of which, this isn't the first time. Do you remember a few years ago? That time we went with Mother..."

It was my second sister's voice. She was in my third and fourth sister's carriage.

"My God! That was so close! Our little brother has really had a rough time. Those people are really wicked, using such methods against a child!"

"Ahem." Jiang Xiaoqi called out from outside the carriage, and his fourth sister, Jiang Lian'er, immediately lifted the curtain: "Little brother? Come on up! Don't get dusty outside."

Jiang Xiaoqi smiled, lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage. None of the four people were tall and strong, so the carriage wasn't too crowded.

After Jiang Xiaoqi came in, the three sisters stopped talking about what they had been discussing and instead started to ask about their brother's health.

After checking her over thoroughly, I was relieved to see that Jiang Xiaoqi was truly unharmed.

After the three older sisters finally finished checking, she took out the cards from her arms and waved them: "Sisters, I brought these especially for you to pass the time."

The sisters' eyes lit up, and the second sister, Jiang Xiyue, asked curiously, "Little brother, what kind of new and interesting thing is this?"

Jiang Xiaoqi then explained the game and rules to his grandfather, just as he had done before, and the three of them listened very attentively.

"That's roughly the rule and how to play. It's not difficult. Do you ladies want to give it a try?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It sounds so much fun! It's way more interesting than playing chess!"

Jiang Lian'er herself was terrible at chess, never able to beat her third sister, or even her younger fifth and sixth sisters. She kept losing and kept trying, finding chess very boring.

Jiang Lan'er wanted to laugh, but she was concerned about her fourth sister's feelings, so she held it in with some difficulty.

Jiang Xiaoqi first demonstrated, letting everyone try out a game using the "open card" method.

The three sisters are all extremely quick-witted. They know how to play after just one game, much faster than when Jiang Di taught Jiang Wenqing.

Seeing her three older sisters playing cards, Jiang Xiaoqi got out of the carriage and returned to her own.

The three young ladies, who were new to "Dou Zhuangyuan" (a card game), were still figuring things out as they played, and their card-playing speed was relatively slow in the first few rounds.

But after a few rounds, they completely mastered the tricks of the fun two-against-one game, and the atmosphere on the little carriage became lively.

Jiang Lian'er was the most excited, cheering every time she won a hand.

Jiang Xiyue, on the other hand, was much more composed, her brows furrowed as she considered each step.

Although Jiang Lan'er doesn't talk much, she plays her cards decisively, and she is also decisive when it comes to winning the top prize, never hesitating or dragging her feet.

After several rounds, Jiang Lian'er still lost the most. She pouted and shouted that she would definitely turn the tables in another round.

Just then, the carriage suddenly shook violently, startling everyone, who quickly protected the cards in their hands.

"What happened?"

"Miss, there seems to be someone blocking the way ahead."

The carriage that A Niu was driving wasn't the first one in line. Li Mo was driving the carriage in front of her. After Jiang Xiyue got into her sister's carriage, Lin Yueniang was now alone in the carriage in front.

Jiang Xiyue frowned, told her two younger sisters that she would go down and take a look, and told them to stay in the car. She also instructed A Niu to protect the third and fourth young ladies.

Although Jiang Lan'er was very touched by her second sister's protection, her desire to learn martial arts was even stronger. She couldn't always rely on her second sister and seventh brother to protect her when something happened.

Jiang Lan'er gritted her teeth and said to Jiang Lian'er, "Fourth Sister, I'll go with Second Sister to take a look."

Just as Jiang Lian'er was about to stop her, Jiang Lan'er had already gotten off the carriage.

Lin Yueniang did not get off the carriage. Since her mother-in-law did not allow them to ride horses, it meant she did not want them to show their faces in public.

Having already seen famous mountains and rivers, she didn't care about the hardships of the journey to the capital. She could also use the excuse of taking care of her son when he became an official to accompany him to his post.

Then, under his son's cover, he continued to travel around without disturbing his future daughter-in-law and son's life.

The best of both worlds~

Jiang Xiaoqi, who had neither become an official nor planned to get married, was facing the woman blocking their way.

The woman was dressed in plain white mourning clothes, her face looked slightly haggard, and her beautiful hair was held in place only by a piece of white cloth and a wooden hairpin.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, two strands of hair hanging down by her temples danced in the wind, adding to her pitiful and endearing aura.

She appeared to be without makeup, yet her skin tone was even and free of impurities, and her lips were pale, but without any dead skin or cracks.

Her hands were fair and white, with clean nail crevices, unlike those of a farm girl who often did manual labor.

Next to the woman lay a cylindrical object wrapped in a straw mat.

Above the object was a wooden sign with four elegant characters: "Selling oneself to bury one's father!"