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

When they returned to the inn, the guards who had stayed behind were taking turns eating.

The meals for the landlord and the other scholars were delivered to their rooms, and Jiang Xiaoqi still gave each of them a newly made silver needle.

This was created by the system in other dimensions; one tael of silver can produce sixteen silver needles.

Aside from the slightly higher labor cost, which didn't require spending points, he made several hundred needles at once and has been practicing flying needles every night in his study space recently.

Compared to before, the accuracy has improved significantly.

After seeing off his friends, Tan Hao suddenly fell silent. He didn't come back to his senses until his page returned with the bill.

“Young Master, we should go back to the manor. What's the point of staying in Tongzhou? There are still people at home…”

Tan Hao raised his hand to stop his page from continuing, stood up, shook his clothes, and walked downstairs on his own.

The pageboy hurriedly followed, saying, "Oh dear, ever since Young Master Zhao was put under house arrest, his young master has been acting more and more strangely."

I thought that meeting Young Master Jiang today would bring joy to my young master, but who would have thought that as soon as he left, he would revert to his old ways and remain silent.

"Brother Sun, what do you think of Brother Tan's classmate today?" Li Yingzhou asked, stroking his chin.

"Didn't they say they're from Xinghe Prefecture, accompanying their elders to the capital for the imperial examinations? Why are you still asking this? Do you think they're hiding something?"

Wang Lupeng interrupted Sun Xingquan before he could answer.

"I always felt it wasn't that simple. Didn't you see what the four siblings were wearing?"

"Attire? What's wrong with it? It's quite appropriate, without the extravagance of a nouveau riche, nor the affected elegance of those officials' wives."

"That's why it's so strange. Xinghe Prefecture isn't a big prefecture, and I've never heard of the Jiang family from Xinghe Prefecture before. But judging from the demeanor of these four siblings, they don't seem like the kind of people that some unknown family could raise."

Li Yingzhou had never seen a child from a family that had such a refined demeanor; even in the capital, such a case was extremely rare.

He couldn't help but suspect that Jiang Xiaoqi was hiding her family background, but what was her purpose in doing so?

If Jiang Xiaoqi were here, she would definitely tell Li Yingzhou that he was overthinking things!

The siblings have simply studied more books. Women are not limited to the Four Books for Women. Master Su has been very dedicated, and now the sisters can pass the provincial examinations.

While the group was still speculating, Tan Hao returned to his residence and went into his study.

Before I could even open the book, there was a knock on the study door.

"Young Master, the Master wants to see you." The butler's voice came, and Tan Hao had no choice but to gather his thoughts and leave the study.

"Hao'er, I heard you met some interesting people today?" Father Tan asked his son, who sat below him, with a serious expression. He couldn't find much in common between the two of them.

“Yes, Father. Jiang Jiamingfei was my classmate and also a top scholar,” Tan Hao answered truthfully.

Mr. Tan nodded slightly. "I heard that the Jiang family has five scholars who have passed the imperial examinations. Is that true?"

So that's what my father really wanted to ask...

"Yes and no."

"Nothing is anything, but that's your classmate. How can you not even care about such trivial matters?!" Mr. Tan's tone was stern, with a hint of disappointment and reproach.

"You should care more about your classmates. Here's what we'll do: regardless of whether it's true or not, send someone to inquire again and send a few more invitations. Have the Jiang family attend the literary gathering in seven days!"

"Yes... I understand." Tan Hao felt bitter. He really wanted to invite his friends to a gathering and outing, and hopefully have the opportunity to gain the favor of a great Confucian scholar.

But Father didn't seem to think that way. He wanted to win over future tribute students and future Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in advance so that his family would have more support. That was what Father really wanted to do.

Their family is already imperial merchants, why would they need to do these unnecessary things?

After leaving the room, Tan Hao sighed helplessly. He knew his father's thoughts, but this kind of overly utilitarian interaction always made him uncomfortable.

Back in his study, Tan Hao summoned his trusted servant and instructed, "Send an invitation to the Jiang family as the master wishes."

"Young master, how many should I send?"

"Six sheets!" The servant obeyed and left.

Jiang Xiaoqi also told his grandfather about the invitation from his classmates. The landlord Jiang only said that he would go on behalf of the whole family, as the rest of them still had to prepare for the exams and would not go.

No sooner had I finished speaking than I received a stack of invitations.

Six are azure blue with gold flecks, and four are crimson red with gold flecks.

"This... I know, sisters, it was Tan Hao who had his mother send out these invitations, but what's the meaning of these six?"

The servant who delivered the invitation was quite clever; he cleverly packaged the Tan family's message and relayed it to the Jiang family.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt that this was not like Tan Hao's usual behavior. Although the two had not had much contact, she felt that Tan Hao had something on his mind today.

No matter what, Tan Hao wouldn't ignore his opinion. Even after he refused, he still sent invitations to several scholars in his family who were preparing for the imperial examinations.

"What should we do, Grandfather? Are you going? If you don't want to go, I'll go to Tan Hao's house in person and talk to him. He won't force you."

Besides, I didn't accept the invitation on your behalf earlier, so even if I had accepted this invitation, I could have easily chosen not to go.

"Sigh, in seven days, then go and take a look. You're alone with four women, so it's inevitable that you won't be able to take care of them all."

Since Xiwen and Xiyue are going, your brother-in-law and senior brother will naturally have to go too. We just don't know what Young Master Xue's intentions are; we can't make decisions for him."

Xue Xu is different from Dong Jin and Li Haisheng. They are only partners with the Jiang family and are not Jiang's son-in-law or future son-in-law. Therefore, they cannot overstep their bounds and accept the invitation on behalf of the Jiang family.

“Grandfather is right. I will go and ask Young Master Xue for his opinion myself.”

Jiang Xiaoqi arrived at Xue Xu's residence and gently knocked on the door. Xue Xu opened the door, saw it was him, and stepped aside to let him in.

Jiang Xiaoqi explained his purpose, and Xue Xu frowned slightly and thought for a moment: "In that case, I will go with you."

"Good. It is said that great scholars will be participating in this literary gathering. Perhaps Young Master Xue will catch their eye."

"Mingfei is joking. What am I, a fifth-place finisher in the provincial examination, compared to all the talented scholars? Your senior brother is more likely to be the winner."

Jiang Xiaoqi smiled but didn't say anything. He couldn't very well say that the reason he and his senior brother addressed each other as fellow disciples was simply because they were both students of the great Confucian scholar Ouyang.

Since their master was not far away and the two of them were traveling under the name of Ouyang Zheng's disciples, they should naturally obey their master's orders.

They only stayed one night in Tongzhou and continued their journey after resting. After all, the imperial examination venue was in the inner city, and even if they did not participate in the literary gathering, they would still have to stay in the inner city, which is the area within the second ring road in later generations.

As for the area outside the Second Ring Road? Now there are large areas of farms, but they are all owned. Some are owned by royalty and nobility, and some by high-ranking officials and nobles. If you want to buy a farm in the suburbs of Beijing, you can't just have money.

However, buying a school district property is something worth considering, since there are no purchase restrictions on houses near the Imperial Examination Hall, so anyone with money can buy one.

Once the idea of ​​buying a house was planted in Jiang Xiaoqi's mind, it kept nagging at her, and the first thing she thought about upon arriving at her destination was to find a real estate agency.