Marrying into a poor family

Chapter 449

At the end of summer, Xiao Hanyang came with two classmates.

The three of them were arranged to live together in the courtyard prepared for Xiao Hanyang, and two servants were assigned to take charge of cleaning and other matters.

Xiao Chenyu specially took a leave to welcome them at home. In the next few days, Xiao Chenyu went home early and discussed academic matters with them as soon as he came back in order to prepare for the autumn examination.

They even invited Qin Yaozu to give them lectures. Qin Yaozu himself was talented and had many years of experience in officialdom. He became more mature and no longer looked at things in an extreme or naive way.

Qin Cui asked Li Siniang to take care of their food, clothing, housing and transportation, and not let anyone disturb them.

Xiao Hanyang had only met Qin Su once when he came to the Xiao family, but he called her aunt very calmly. The past had long been forgotten like smoke.

At the end of the Autumn Examination, all three of them achieved good results. After the palace examination, Xiao Hanyang was chosen by the emperor as the top scholar.

There were many people who wanted to invite Xiao Hanyang, but he followed his second uncle's arrangements. He would go if he could, and find ways to decline if he couldn't.

Liu came to hand over the invitation, saying that Qin Shao's husband Sun Donghai also passed the imperial examination this time. Although he was not at the bottom and could not be compared with Xiao Hanyang, the top scholar, it was still a happy event after all. Mrs. Qin suggested holding a family dinner to celebrate.

"Sister Qin Shao is accompanying mother all day now, and mother's mood has improved a lot. Now in her heart, Qin Shao is not much worse than Qin Yao."

Since it was for Qin Shao's husband Sun Donghai, Qin Shao naturally had no reason to refuse.

That day he went there with Xiao Chenyu.

When we arrived at the Qin family, we found that it was indeed a family dinner. Liu's parents' family did not come, so the men and women ate at the same table, but the children were arranged separately.

Sun Donghai found that Xiao Hanyang didn't come, so he asked Xiao Chenyu with some dissatisfaction: "Why didn't our top scholar come?"

"He has an appointment today and he had agreed to it a long time ago, so it's not easy for him to refuse at the last minute. He is very sorry for this, so he asked me to apologize on his behalf. This is his gift to you." Xiao Chenyu took out an inkstone and handed it over.

The things were actually prepared by Qin Cui, so they were naturally good stuff. Sun Donghai took it, opened it and had a look. Seeing that they were good stuff, his mood improved a lot, so he accepted it with a smile, and said that he would invite Xiao Hanyang to dinner another day.

Sun Donghai was the protagonist today, so he sat in the host seat. On his two sides were Qin Yaozu and Xiao Chenyu. Next to Qin Yaozu was a man who looked to be in his thirties.

Qin Yaozu introduced Xiao Chenyu to him. This man was called Jiang Zhong, Qin Yao's fiancé, and they were going to get married soon.

Jiang Zhong hurriedly stood up and raised his glass to toast Xiao Chenyu, and Xiao Chenyu also hurriedly stood up and clinked his glass.

Qin Cui glanced at Jiang Zhong and then looked at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao sat beside her mother with an expressionless face, still as cold as ice, without any shyness at all due to having her fiancé around.

As if she noticed Qin Su's gaze, Qin Yao raised her eyes and looked over. Qin Su smiled at her calmly, then turned her eyes away and spoke to Qin Shao.

Now that her husband has passed the imperial examination and has become an official's wife, Qin Shao finally feels the joy of seeing the blue sky through the clouds.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she said to Qin Sui, "For so many years, I have been hoping that he would have a bright future. Now I can finally give an account to the ancestors of the Sun family."

Qin Sui nodded and consoled him: "You have finally made it through. Your life will get better and better in the future."

Mrs. Qin Si was in a good mood and didn't look down on Qin Cui. She drank several glasses of wine and became drunk, so Qin Yao accompanied her to leave and rest.

Jiang Zhong hurriedly stood up to help Mrs. Qin Si, but was stopped by Sun Donghai, who told him to continue drinking. Qin Shao stood up to help Mrs. Qin Si, and followed Qin Yao to send Mrs. Qin Si back to the house.

Liu pulled Qin Su's sleeve and said, "I'm going to the kitchen to check on the soup. Do you want to come with me?"

In fact, there was no need for Liu to go and check on the soup in person. It was just an excuse to leave the dinner table.

Liu took Qin Sui to her own room and asked someone to bring food over. The two of them sat there and ate and drank.

Liu was also busy during this period and the two hadn't seen each other for a long time. Qin Sui didn't know that Qin Yao was engaged.

"When did Qin Yao get engaged?"

"Well, it's a long story. Jiang Zhong is a businessman and a good friend of Sun Donghai in Beijing. His wife died of illness three years ago and he has a seven-year-old daughter. His family owns five stores, a house, and fields and farms outside the city."

"It looks like the conditions are pretty good. It's not a big deal to have a daughter at home. We can add some dowry in a few years." Qin Sui casually agreed with a few words and didn't say much.

"Your brother and I disagreed. We always felt that this person was a bit cunning, but mother now listens to Sun Donghai and Qin Shao. She just said that my husband and I look down on businessmen and forget our roots."

"Besides, my mother also said that Qin Yao was remarrying, and it would be hard for her to find a better family. This man is in the capital, and he is a merchant, so he is considered to be marrying up to our family. This way, we don't have to worry about Qin Yao being wronged again."

Qin Sui thought for a moment and asked, "I think Qin Yao is not very satisfied. Is it my illusion?"

"Qin Yao's personality makes her unsatisfied. I'm afraid that even if the prince marries her, she will feel wronged."

"When is the wedding scheduled?" In response to Liu's complaint, Qin Cui could only change the subject.

"On the fifteenth of next month."

"So urgent?"

"My mother said that if my daughter remarried, there would be no need to make a big fuss about it."

Qin Sui smiled and said, "Madam, are you anxious and want to marry Qin Yao off quickly?"

"That's true. The longer Qin Yao stays at home, the more anxious her mother-in-law becomes. Now that Jiang Zhong has satisfied her mother-in-law in every way, she naturally hopes that Qin Yao will get married soon."

Liu had been very depressed for some time. Now that she had spoken out, she couldn't stop and started complaining to Qin Sui about another of her troubles.

"Qin Yao is actually pretty good. Although she is a little arrogant, she doesn't cause trouble and is very quiet every day."

"On the contrary, Sun Donghai passed the imperial examination and your brother said he wanted to use my mother's family connections to arrange for him to be an official and send him away."

"What? Is there something wrong with this person?" Qin Su remembered that many years ago, Sun Donghai had lived in their house for a period of time. In Qin Su's memory, Sun Donghai was an ambitious and elegant scholar.

"He doesn't have any other problems, except that..." Liu came closer and whispered, "He's a little too lustful."

Qin Cui knew this. Qin Shao once said that Sun Donghai had taken several concubines.

But it was obvious that this kind of thing did not annoy Qin Yaozu, and he was thinking of sending him away.

As expected, Liu continued, "He can't control himself once he drinks. He even fought with others for women in a brothel and almost caused a big disaster. It was your brother who calmed the situation down."