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

The burly man holding the gong as a tray was taken aback and looked up at where the silver ingots came from.

She raised her head, then immediately lowered it again, bowed to say thank you, turned around and went back to her prop box, grabbing her clothes and putting them on with lightning speed.

Jiang Xiaoqi looked at the other person suspiciously. Was she shy? She must be shy!

Although you can only see the back of the head, the ears are clearly not red from the cold. What's going on? It's inexplicable.

Looking at his fourth sister, she was perfectly normal, without the slightest hint of awkwardness. Hmm, she truly lived up to her reputation as his fourth sister.

With a candied hawthorn in her left hand and a roasted sweet potato in her right, Jiang Lian'er's fair and rosy face was filled with a satisfied expression.

The crowd watching the acrobatics dispersed, and Jiang Xiaoqi led her sisters to stroll along the street. Surprisingly, there were already vendors selling red paper, even though there were still quite a few days until the New Year.

However, we will be spending the Spring Festival in Beijing this year, so I need to buy some local specialties in advance to send back to my grandmother, fifth sister, and sixth sister to Xinghe Mansion.

After the provincial examination, if his grandfather and father pass and advance to the palace examination, he can make further arrangements.

If my grandfather could stay in Beijing, that would be best. But if he were assigned to a remote county, it would be better for him to return to his hometown as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and attend the Jiang clan school, thus avoiding the hardship and toil of the journey.

If my father is lucky enough to pass the exam, he can go out and gain some experience. He can be placed in a place where his parents live. At that time, they can hire two reliable clerks to assist him and keep him informed of the situation so that he doesn't cause any trouble and it will be too late to fix it.

Just then, a group of people dressed as scholars walked towards them, seemingly also shopping. One of them spotted Jiang Xiaoqi and his eyes lit up.

"Mingfei?"

"Tan Hao?"

More than three years had passed since they last met, and Tan Hao had now grown taller than Jiang Xiaoqi by more than half a head. At first glance, Jiang Xiaoqi almost didn't recognize him.

"How will you be here?"

"How will you be here?"

"Haha, I'm originally from the capital. I traveled for a while and came back before the snow to reunite with my family."

"I see. Where is Brother Zhao?"

Jiang Xiaoqi was puzzled. These two used to be inseparable, so why were they accompanied by unfamiliar faces today?

"Oh, he has some family matters to attend to and can't come out for the time being... By the way, you haven't mentioned why you're also in the capital?"

"Oh, I came to the capital with my family to take the imperial examination, and we just entered Tongzhou Prefecture today."

Sisters, these are my former classmates and neighbors. Brother Tan, these are my second, third, and fourth sisters.

"Greetings, Young Master Tan."

Hello, sisters!

"These are my good friends in Beijing. Brother Sun Xingquan, Brother Li Yingzhou, and Brother Wang Lupeng."

"Brother Sun, Brother Li, Brother Wang!" The group consisted of scholars, all around fourteen or fifteen years old, older than Tan Hao and Jiang Xiaoqi.

Tan Hao is twelve years old this year, and he has already begun to show the spirit of a young man. He is not the tallest among the four, but he has the most outstanding temperament.

"It is fate that we have met. Let me do my duty as a host and have a simple meal together."

Tan Hao's personality is more cheerful than it was three years ago. Perhaps it's because he no longer has Zhao Hongxuan as his partner and spokesperson, so he has to say everything himself.

Jiang Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment, then looked at his three older sisters for guidance, and they all nodded at him.

Jiang Xiaoqi then accepted the impromptu invitation. Although the other party was a teenager, they were still men, and he couldn't disregard his sisters.

Sigh, he lamented once again that he had been almost completely influenced by this ancient transformation. If this were in later generations, let alone having a meal, no one would say anything if everyone went to karaoke together.

When ordering, Tan Hao ordered all the signature dishes of Beijing.

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't want the other party to spend too much money. He vaguely remembered that Tan Hao's family was of average means. In the past, Zhao Hongxuan was responsible for their food and lodging. Tan Hao always had only one page boy by his side, and no other servants.

"Is Brother Jiang trying to save money for Brother Tan?" Sun Xingquan couldn't help but ask.

"Oh? Hahaha, there's no need for that, Brother Jiang. You don't need to save money for the rich man."

A wealthy man? Jiang Xiaoqi felt that Sun and Li seemed to have some misunderstanding about Tan Hao's family background. These two might not be very familiar with Tan Hao's friends. It was only because Zhao Hongxuan couldn't get away that he was with these people.

"It's true, the whole street you just strolled down belongs to the Tan family. Tan Hao is now the only heir to the Tan family, so how can he not be a big tycoon? You should just enjoy being a rich man!"

Wang Lupeng, who had been silent until now, spoke up to explain. His words did not seem fake, which surprised Jiang Xiaoqi.

After hearing this, Jiang Xiaoqi couldn't help but look at Tan Hao again.

For some reason, Tan Hao's expression was somewhat unnatural: "It's just a small fortune, nothing to brag about. It's a rare opportunity for us to get together today, so please don't be shy."

The dishes were served quickly, and each one was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate—truly befitting of the capital city.

During the gathering, Tan Hao casually mentioned that his family was preparing a literary gathering, which would invite candidates who had come to the capital for the imperial examinations and talented scholars from the capital to participate. There would also be renowned Confucian scholars in attendance.

Sun Xingquan's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Shall we go and join in the fun?"

Tan Hao smiled and nodded in agreement, promising to deliver invitations to the group.

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't respond; he was serving braised lion's head meatballs to his sisters. The sisters felt embarrassed, so he was the only one who could do it.

He had no interest in literary gatherings or anything like that, and didn't want his grandfather and father to waste their time. They would rather use that time to do a few more sets of "Five-Year Scientific Exams and Three-Year Simulations".

Tan Hao looked at Jiang Xiaoqi: "Mingfei doesn't want to come? This literary gathering will allow you to meet many talented people."

Jiang Xiaoqi shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Tan, but I am accompanying my grandfather and father to take the exam this time. The elders in my family need to study for the exam, and I have to take care of my sisters for them, so I am afraid I cannot go."

"That's easy. I'll have my mother send invitations to my sisters, and they can enjoy the flowers and have fun at the women's quarters."

"This……"

Jiang Xiyue felt it wasn't good to keep refusing. She also wanted to bring her younger sister to the capital to broaden her horizons. She could invite her eldest sister along. If anything happened, she and her eldest sister, both skilled in martial arts, could take good care of her third and fourth sisters.

After receiving her second sister's signal, Jiang Xiaoqi turned to Tan Hao and nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble Brother Tan and Auntie."

"It's just a small matter. I just didn't want you, Mingfei, to miss the opportunity to get to know great scholars. After all, there's been word that two great scholars want to take two disciples as their personal disciples. Many of the talented people attending the literary gathering are aiming for that."

"Oh? Then, as the organizer, Brother Tan, can't you take advantage of your proximity?"

"Haha, I'd like to too, but great scholars accept disciples based on their talent and aptitude, not on whose son you are."

"Oh? In that case, it's fair."

Jiang Xiaoqi was naturally not interested in this, after all, his teachers were all top-notch scholars. He hoped that his brother-in-law could become a disciple of a great scholar, which would boost his reputation before the imperial examination.

He misunderstood. The literary gathering before the imperial examination is not just a simple literary gathering.