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

When Zhao Hongsheng learned that five members of the Jiang family had passed the imperial examination, he became restless in the palace.

Should I prepare a gift? This is a great opportunity to visit them!

The little girl must be very happy, as her father, grandfather, and brothers-in-law have all passed the imperial examinations.

Unfortunately, the Jiang family didn't have any high-ranking officials; otherwise, these few members of the Jiang family who passed the imperial examinations might have been able to stay in the capital.

The girl's father is only a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and he is probably going to be a minor county magistrate in another place. Will Qiqi also have to go to the post with her father?

Wouldn't it be even harder for me to see her in the future?

No! Either we stop Qiqi from going to another place with her father, or we have to keep her father in the capital!

County magistrate... County magistrate...

Tongxian is a county, isn't it? It's only a few dozen miles from the inner city, which is a bit far, but it's still better than going to some remote, impoverished place a thousand miles away!

The key point is that, if you ride a horse, you can travel from the inner city to the outskirts of the capital and back in a single day!

Hmm... I can barely accept it.

Go and beg the Emperor? On what grounds?

Qi Qi is now the only son of the Jiang family. Is he going to tell his father that he has taken a liking to the "son" of his subject?

Therefore, I would like to request that Lord Jiang be appointed to an official post closer to the capital, so that I may not suffer the torment of unrequited love.

I might only receive a minor punishment as a warning, but my father will probably kill me, won't he?!

The entire Chiang family will not fare well; they will most likely be exiled.

Ugh, so annoying! This stubborn brain is so unreliable when I need it!

Hurry up and come up with a plausible reason!

While Zhao Hongsheng was struggling with his problem, a sudden idea struck him.

What if they were "brothers"? What if he and Qiqi became good friends, good brothers?

Instantly, his irritation vanished, and Zhao Hongsheng called for someone to arrange a "chance encounter."

Jiang Xiaoqi has noticed that she's being followed these past few days. Who could it be?

Logically speaking, he should be extremely inconspicuous in the capital now.

Although the second and third brothers-in-law had attracted some attention from the Jiang family, once they learned that the two were already taken, they turned their attention to other newly appointed scholars.

Strange, so strange.

However, after seeing that the other party had been following him for several days without taking any action, Jiang Xiaoqi only asked Li Mo and A Niu to strengthen the security of the Jiang residence and did not interfere for the time being.

After all, his family was about to set off for their hometown in a few days. If these people continued to follow him to Xinghe Prefecture, he would deal with them on the way.

It's really inconvenient to do things in the capital.

Since we don't know who it is, we'll just grab them and ask them directly. I don't believe we can't get anything out of them even with torture.

After visiting several important people with Jiang Wenqing and his three grandsons-in-law, Landlord Jiang finally embarked on his journey back to his hometown.

Apart from Dong Jin, Li Haisheng and Xue Xu's destinations were both farther than Xinghe Prefecture. However, the length of the holidays for the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) was no different.

Both take three months, but those who live further away are at a disadvantage.

The Jiang family planned to make their journey back as quickly as possible, so that they would have enough time to arrange everything in Xinghe Prefecture.

I haven't been back to Changshou Village for many years. Currently, there are only a few servants looking after the courtyard and the head of the estate who manages the fields there.

Longevity Village is not the birthplace of the Jiang family; Puyang is.

This time, upon returning to his hometown, he first went to Xinghe Prefecture to pick up Madam Jiang, and then followed all the Jiang clan members who had achieved official rank back to Puyang to pay homage to their ancestors.

The exact locations for the Juren (successful candidates in the provincial civil service examination) and Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examination) archways will need to be discussed further.

It just so happens that the Xue family is also in Puyang, so this is a good opportunity to visit the Xue family members.

After all, the two families are now related by marriage, and their ancestors knew each other several generations ago.

However, over time, the Xue family focused on making money through business, while the Jiang family focused on their children's education, and the two families gradually drifted apart over several generations.

When the successful candidates returned to their hometowns, there were no instances of magistrates from various counties trying to curry favor with them. However, the magistrate of Changshou County had been keeping a close eye on the Jiang family ever since he learned that they had produced successful candidates.

He certainly hoped that the Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) memorial archway would be built in Changshou County, but he also knew that the Jiang family's ancestral home was in Puyang.

However, with two members of the Jiang family passing the imperial examinations this time, is it possible that one of them will be allocated to Changshou County?

You know, these are all achievements. He has been in Changshou County for two three-year periods, ever since the Jiang family didn't even have a scholar.

The magistrate of Changshou County was willing to swallow his pride and beg for a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) memorial archway.

Since receiving news that his distant cousins, nephews, and grandsons-in-law had all passed the imperial examinations, the current head of the Jiang family, Jiang Changqing, has been sending letters to the capital one after another.

On the Liu family's side, he also had his wife, Liu Yuhuan, write a letter listing the names of several of their family members who had passed the imperial examinations, as a way of announcing the good news, even though the Liu family certainly already knew about it.

Jiang Changqing's actions were not aimed at seeking significant assistance from the Liu family, but rather at ensuring fair treatment for the group in the capital.

This included, but was not limited to, selecting officials, taking the civil service examinations, and assigning people to posts outside the capital. It was all to let people in official circles know that the Chiang family was not some rootless and baseless entity that could be bullied at will.

I will not offend others unless they offend me. Jiang Changqing is not in Beijing, so his influence is limited.

Even in the capital, his current rank is not high enough. Even if he enters the capital after the New Year, he will only be a fourth-rank Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

For many people, a fourth-rank official is already a high-ranking official, but in the capital, even a third-rank official might not be considered among the most powerful ministers.

Sigh, he still has to keep fighting. He's not fighting alone anymore.

Finally, a few of his clansmen emerged, able to fight alongside him for the prosperity of the Chiang family!

The carriage convoy stretched out in a long line, longer than when they entered the capital.

In a few days, the Jiang family's procession would arrive in Xinghe Prefecture. Jiang Xiaoqi took out a beautifully crafted jade pendant with a qilin pattern from his spatial storage, his brows furrowing slightly.

What is the relationship between Zhao Hongsheng and Zhao Hongxuan?

They are both from Beijing, both have the surname Zhao, and their names are more than 66.66% similar.

He didn't believe it when he heard that the two of them had absolutely no connection.

He followed her for several days, deliberately creating chance encounters, and then presented her with a valuable jade pendant the day before she was to return to her hometown.

What kind of operation is this? He was quite certain that he had nothing that the other party wanted to take advantage of.

For the money?

Although he had some money, no one in his family, except his grandfather and mother, knew that he had acquired most of the Jiang family's businesses.

Furthermore, the jade pendant he currently possesses is worth a fortune; it's impossible for him to be after money if he's willing to take something of such value.

Map rights?

That's a bit far-fetched. Although his grandfather, father, and brothers-in-law were all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), Li Haisheng, who held the highest official position, was only a sixth-rank official.

Besides, what's so special about the Hanlin Academy, a government office with no real influence?

Newcomers to the Hanlin Academy didn't have much power; at most, they would revise historical records.

Surely they couldn't be trying to borrow some history books from the Hanlin Academy.

But this person was clearly eager to curry favor with me—someone who wasn't short of money or power was trying to befriend me…

Surely she couldn't be interested in me?

He, Jiang Xiaoqi, is a 100% pure, 24K man!