Because he was staying for dinner, Du Yu entered the room and greeted Ye Qiu, maintaining his good manners. However, upon glimpsing Yang Xiufen standing nearby, his ears quietly turned red.
Ye Qiu had been wondering when her grandson t such a person, not realizing he had other intentions. She had her ways of assessing people and could tell that the young lord’s nature was pure, but marriage was far from simple.
Take social status, for example, people cared most about matching backgrounds. Although the Yang Family had finally risen in prominence, the eldest grandson was rely a young Advanced Scholar, how could he compare to the young lord, clearly from a wealthy family?
The young lord’s family likely didn’t know their son had been stirred by romantic feelings. If they did, they certainly wouldn’t let him co so openly.
Ye Qiu did not hold much confidence in this match, so she wasn’t very enthusiastic towards Du Yu.
Du Yu sowhat dejectedly touched his nose. In the past, every Old Madam would warmly fuss over him, but it was the first ti he faced indifference from an elder’s ho!
Three days later, during the Imperial Examination, the typically seated Your Majesty unexpectedly entered the examination hall, causing many candidates to panic. This did not include Yang Shuchen, as over the years, his grandmother had trained him thoroughly, strengthening both his body and mind.
Knowing the emperor was watching his writing, he remained calm and wrote smoothly, displaying a steadiness uncharacteristic of a seventeen-year-old, drawing the attention of many examiners who grew fond of his talent.
Your Majesty did not speak, stood for a while, and then left. Seeing him nod slightly showed he was highly satisfied.
Du Yu’s place was slightly further back. When the emperor stood next to Yang Shuchen, Du Yu had a shock, but upon seeing the emperor’s satisfied look before leaving, he felt proud. This was indeed the brother of the girl he liked!
Ten days later, the sound of loud drums echoed as they knocked on the door of the Yang Family.
Yang Xiudan stood at her family’s restaurant, which was among the best in the street, offering a clear view of the street below. Naturally, she clearly saw her eldest cousin Yang Shuchen parade as the newly appointed third place scholar.
Her gaze was sowhat complex; once upon a ti, she had looked down on that family, believing her grandmother forced her parents to work and support her eldest cousin’s studies, thus exploiting their family. She scorned the saying that one’s success elevates all associated and felt destiny was her own to control, not reliant on others.
So she had painstakingly split the family, even if it caused discord between her parents and her grandmother and uncle, she didn’t regret it. She was indeed successful, with her restaurant spread across the Dayong Dynasty’s busy regions, earning an inexhaustible amount of money.
Yet she seed to have failed as well; no matter how much money she earned in this feudal era, rchants were lowest, only above slaves. Even with wealth, many regulated elents were unavailable, and she faced exclusion and suppression from the respectable ladies when she ventured out.
To change this, she hired the best teachers for her brother and sent him to the best academy, aiming to elevate their family status.
Despite her brother’s efforts, his progress was slow due to his aptitude, making her anxious. Soon she’d be thirteen, and the next examination would be in three years. If her brother succeeded then, she’d have status and confidence to accept Duan Lin, but if he didn’t? Even if Duan Lin persisted, the Marquis Mansion would still refuse her, right?
Yang Xiudan deeply hated this era of identity, resented being born a daughter unable to pursue recognition like n could.
If she hadn’t split the family, she’d now be the third place scholar’s sister, which would sound so comndable, and people wouldn’t call her an uncultured rchant girl.
Yet the world lacked redies for regret; nevertheless, she possessed knowledge surpassing this era by a millennium in her mind. If her brother failed, she would change family status another way. She wondered what reward the court would give for a food that fed its people, yes?
Yang Xiudan looked into the distance, toward the sea.
Lately, Mrs. Li noticed her youngest son seed absent-minded. In the past, when had she seen him quietly stay at ho? Now, besides working, he returned ho on ti each day, occasionally bringing ho so lancholy.
Therefore, Mrs. Li, who usually practiced the laissez-faire approach, couldn’t help but find a ti to talk with her son.
"Mother, why are you here at this ti today?" Du Yu stood and saluted, pouring tea for his mother, then sat obediently beside her.
Mrs. Li was simply astonished; when had she seen her son behave like this?
She lightly cleared her throat and spoke, "Recently, I’ve noticed your spirit isn’t like before, is there sothing troubling you at the Hanlin Academy?"
"No, the supervisors treat us well."
"Then why haven’t you been going out recently? Out of money? I’ll sneak so silver for you, but don’t tell your father."
"Mother, I like a girl," Du Yu suddenly stated, startling Mrs. Li.
She widened her eyes, seemingly unable to believe what she heard, "You? Like a girl?"
"Yes." Du Yu honestly nodded.
"That’s good news!" Mrs. Li slamd the table enthusiastically, then seeing her son’s worried face, she felt uneasy, "Is there an issue with the girl’s background, causing you concern? Tell , which family’s child is she?"
"There’s no issue with her background, scholarly family, her brother perford better than in the recent imperial examination. But her family seems not very fond of ." He sighed in distress, wondering when a good background beca a flaw.
"Do they disdain your playfulness?" Mrs. Li was also a bit displeased. What’s wrong with being playful for a young boy? He’d beco steady after marriage anyway, but her son having a breakthrough was rare, so she couldn’t be too picky. After all, when marrying a girl, the man’s stance should be lower.
"No, Brother Yang says my family background’s too good, unfit for his sister." Du Yu said sullenly, "Brother Yang says his family isn’t comfortable letting his sister marry up."
Mrs. Li was shocked for the second ti today; there’s a family that dislikes their daughter marrying up?
But hearing this, her impression of the family improved a lot. Those uneasy about their daughter marrying up truly cherished their daughters, surely well-raised, and hearing her son’s ntion of the girl’s brother ranking higher than him this examination intrigued her about which family it was.
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