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

"Ming-ge'er is back, and Wen-qing is back too. Old man, our family is finally reunited!"

The old lady, Madam Pan, smiled as she looked at her children and grandchildren sitting neatly in the room.

Aunt Qin was still confined to the west wing. Since her miscarriage, Aunt Qin had hardly left the courtyard, and besides, they were not allowed to sit at the table at such a family banquet.

Several illegitimate daughters sat quietly at the end of the table. The third daughter, born to Aunt Pan, was ten years old, and the fourth daughter was nine years old.

Aunt Qin's twin daughters are already seven years old. Their identical little faces don't have their mother's mean-spirited look.

Jiang Xiaoqi was the youngest and should have sat at the very end, but as the only male in the family and the legitimate son, he was naturally different.

She was held between the two elderly people, Grandpa Jiang Changshou and Grandma Pan, and sat as the center of attention.

Jiang Wenqing sat to her father's left, and to her right was her eldest daughter, Xiwen.

Lin Yueniang sat to the right of her mother-in-law, with her second daughter, Xiyue, beside her.

The family of eleven enjoyed their meal together in harmony. The adults chatted, and the children occasionally chimed in, making everyone laugh.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out at the door.

"I want to see the master! You can't stop me!" came Aunt Qin's sharp and hoarse voice.

Everyone was startled by the sound, and before they could react, they saw Aunt Qin rush to the door with her hair disheveled.

"What's going on? Stop them!" Old Master Jiang's face darkened.

"Reporting to the old master, the concubine smashed down the gate of the west wing and ran out like a madwoman while the old woman wasn't looking. The servants tried to stop her, but they couldn't," the old woman said from the side.

Two rough-looking old women in the old lady's courtyard captured the man and waited for their master's orders.

Aunt Qin was brought in by the old woman, crying and sobbing, and knelt before Old Master Jiang.

"My lord, I know I was wrong, please forgive me! I will never dare to do it again!" Aunt Qin cried and kowtowed.

Soon after, blood appeared on their foreheads, and the children were both shocked and frightened.

"Lan'er, Mo'er! It's your mother! Quickly, beg your grandparents for mercy, beg your mother for mercy!"

Grandpa Jiang, fearing he would frighten his precious grandson, roared, "After committing such a heinous act, she still has the nerve to beg for mercy! Drag her away at once!"

Aunt Qin struggled and pleaded, "Master, Madam, Master, Madam, I really know I was wrong. For Lan'er and Mo'er's sake, please forgive me!"

When Jiang Lan'er and Jiang Mo'er were in their aunt's courtyard, they were basically raised by wet nurses. For the past three years, they have been living in the old lady's courtyard, and their memories of their aunt are even more vague.

Although he knew that his birth mother was being held in the west wing, he never dared to suggest visiting her.

They knew their place in the family; their birth mother had made a grave mistake, and their grandparents' actions were correct.

Two identical faces, the same indifference.

Old Master Jiang gave Aunt Qin no more chances to scream and ordered two old women to drag her out.

Jiang Xiaoqi was certainly not scared by this small scene; she just really didn't have much of an appetite.

After all, the Qin family hadn't cleaned up properly in the past few years, so the smell was really unpleasant.

Nevertheless, she clung tightly to her grandfather's neck, pretending to be frightened.

The old lady quickly comforted him, "My dear grandson, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, your grandparents are here."

A perfectly good family dinner was ruined by Aunt Qin.

Grandpa Jiang was so angry that he threw down his chopsticks, and Grandma Jiang glared at her son.

Jiang Wenqing was baffled and ate the braised pork with preserved mustard greens without a care in the world.

The others, however, lost their appetite, silently ate a few bites of rice, and then went back to their rooms.

“Master, it was your soft heart back then that made you say that since Lan’er and Mo’er were being raised by us, it wouldn’t be appropriate to punish Qin Shi too harshly.”

We didn't sell her off; we kept her in our household, which ironically made her oblivious to her situation.

"Send her to the estate after spring. The children are all grown up and will inevitably be influenced by her someday. In a few years, the maids in the manor will also be getting married one after another."

"As you say, sir, let's do it after the ice melts in March. Let Mr. and Mrs. Chen help look after it, and we'll also buy two strong old women to guard it."

The weather in the twelfth lunar month can freeze a person's face numb.

Jiang Xiaoqi hasn't left the house since she returned home.

Aside from paying respects to his grandparents, he would snuggle up to his beautiful mother, which made his two older sisters call him a little darling.

'What's wrong with being cute? Everyone was a princess in their past life!'

"Little brother, you must have been born the wrong person. You look more like our little sister!"

"Haha, that's true! If you're so attached to your mother, what will you do when you get married? Won't your wife be jealous of your mother?"

“You two mischievous devils, your brother is only a few years old. If we’re talking about marriage, you two older sisters should get married first.”

"Eldest sister, second sister, what kind of husbands are you looking for?" Jiang Xiaoqi nestled in Lin Yueniang's arms and asked her two older sisters with a mischievous smile.

"Hehe, what kind of husbands the older sisters choose depends on their younger brothers, doesn't it?" Jiang Xiwen said, tilting her head.

"Oh dear, you little girl, you really have no shame. How can you discuss your marriage with your own brother? He's only four years old. You two are so unreliable."

Lin Yueniang felt that she must have spoiled her two daughters too much, making them speak recklessly and lacking any ladylike modesty.

"Oh dear, Mother, what did I say wrong? My younger brother is a scholar now, and he's doing so well in his studies, always getting first place. Maybe in a couple of years he'll even pass the preliminary imperial examination!"

My grandfather was a student who passed the preliminary examination, but that was decades ago. Now that he's getting older, he certainly won't take the county-level examination anymore.

My father was a student who passed the preliminary examination, but he was over thirty years old when he finally passed it after a lot of hard work. His grades in the county school were not outstanding, and I don’t know when he will be able to pass the county-level examination.

My younger brother will only be four years old after the New Year, but he has already studied the Four Books and Five Classics. In another two or three years, how can he not take the county and prefectural examinations? In fact, I think that if he works hard, he can also take the provincial examination!

My younger brother is the hope of our Jiang family. Whether the Jiang family can produce a scholar or even a licentiate depends on him!

So, is it wrong for me to say that we sisters should look to our brother for husbands? Can the families that a scholar's sister and a student's daughter be considered for marriage be the same?

Lin Yueniang was somewhat surprised. Was this her obedient eldest daughter?!

Jiang Xiwen's words stunned Lin Yueniang and Jiang Xiyue. They looked at Jiang Xiaoqi as if to say: The pressure is on you!

Jiang Xiaoqi felt a little embarrassed by the gaze: "Uh! I will study hard for my sisters' good marriages, and for my mother, I will strive to become an official and earn an imperial title for her in the future."

Lin Yueniang was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Good, our little Qi is the best. Mother is looking forward to you riding through the streets in glory, becoming a high-ranking official, and bringing honor to our ancestors!"

Jiang Xiyue nodded and said, "Yes, my little brother is so smart, he will definitely pass the imperial examination and become a scholar!"