In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1124 - 1036: Chinese New Year’s Eve Chitchat

Chapter 1124: Chapter 1036: Chinese New Year’s Eve Chitchat

Mrs. Su-Hua’s face was beaming with joy.

Even though Su Huarong was not her son, he was the eldest of the Su Family. The more accomplished the Su Family members became, the firmer their footing in Shengjing would be.

In the Capital City, a casual throw of a brick could kill a few officials, and Imperial Relatives and Relatives of the country were everywhere. With the Su Family’s shallow foundations, now that Su Huarong had garnered attention, if Ke’er could also succeed in the High School examination; she would have nothing to worry about.

"Your Majesty can rest assured, I naturally understand," she said.

Apart from her happiness, Mrs. Su-Hua also worried about Su Ke’s studies, "Huarong is a steady and capable child, with sharp insight. That matter should pose no big problem for him. However, I am worried about Ke’er’s Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination next year..."

"The Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination is more than two months away. With Ke’er’s knowledge, as long as he puts in the effort, getting a position as a Jinshi Scholar should not result in him being dropped from the list."

Qin Yi had already assessed Su Ke’s academic ability and knew it well. However, for the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination, performance at the scene and luck were inseparable. He did not dare to give an absolute guarantee that Su Ke would succeed.

"Isn’t his mentor leaving him behind to provide special tutoring? If an academician from Yingtian Academy personally supervises him and Ke’er still fails to make the list, then..."

"Then what?"

Su Pan’er and Mrs. Su-Hua both asked.

"He can only wait three more years to take the examination again," Qin Yi said with a smile. Indeed, concern causes chaos!

Su Ke’s original mentor was Teacher Tong.

Teacher Tong was arrogant and self-important, rigid, and harsh. Although possessing some true skill and knowledge, he took advantage of his position as a member of the Tong Family at Yingtian Academy to act tyrannically. The Tong Family was renowned as an aristocratic family of scholars that produced generations of literati who served the government, deeply intertwined with the power webs in officialdom.

Later, Qin Yi and Su Pan’er visited Yingtian Academy incognito, only to be sternly lectured by Teacher Tong.

After the fact, when Teacher Tong learned of Qin Yi’s identity, he turned pale with fright and fell ill upon returning home. That illness kept him in bed for three months. By the time he could get out of bed, Su Ke had already passed the Autumn Imperial Civil Service Examination.

Before taking the Beneficent Examination, one needed the endorsement of five people, including a recommendation from the mentor himself. Teacher Tong’s illness caused him to miss the chance to endorse, which also nearly delayed Su Ke from attending the Autumn Imperial Civil Service Examination.

Luckily, the academician was willing to make the recommendation as a mentor!

Once Su Ke succeeded, he naturally thanked the academician. Missing such an opportunity to make a name for himself, Teacher Tong regretted it so much that he turned green!

But regret was of no help.

The Tong Family, with its many years of experience in officialdom, had their capabilities. They immediately had Teacher Tong resign and take up a position at the White Crane Academy.

With Teacher Tong gone, the academician rightfully called Su Ke and several other students over to receive personal tutoring.

He did not even return home to celebrate Little New Year.

"There were more Beneficent Examination candidates this year than in previous years. If he still can’t pass, he might need to study for a few more years," she said.

Su Pan’er didn’t ask further, simply picking up the fish meat from her bowl to eat, followed by a dumpling.

The food prepared this year was exceptionally plentiful. Aside from the dumplings, candied squash, and stir-fried corn that Mrs. Su-Hua had prepared, Qin Yi also brought back from the Purple Zen Hall stove sugar used for sacrificial offerings.

The Great Zhou Dynasty’s Imperial Family had five sacrificial activities throughout the year, and the celebration of Little New Year with the sacrifice to the Stove God was one of them.

The three of them were not bound by the customs of not speaking while eating or sleeping; they chatted and laughed. After the meal, Mrs. Su-Hua took the two children out to play, and Su Pan’er brought up the marriage affairs of several of the Qin Family’s young men to Qin Yi.

Qin Shuan’er and Zhang Zhongding had already exchanged betrothal gifts, and the subsequent rituals were almost complete. Taking advantage of Little New Year, Shuan’er returned to the Qin Family, and after the new year, she would peacefully stay at the Qin Family to prepare for marriage. Originally, Qin Yueshi had wanted to keep Shuan’er for a couple more years, but the Zhang Family’s lineage was not abundant, so they hoped for Shuan’er to marry sooner. Eventually, they settled on the marriage date for next August. That is to say, the time left for Qin Shuan’er to prepare for her marriage was only a few months.

Having settled Qin Shuan’er’s marriage, the marriages of the young men of the Qin Family also came to the forefront.

The first to get engaged was not Qin Yu’s eldest son, Qin Hui, but Qin Xiao’s eldest son, Qin Bin. In speaking of Qin Bin, he truly demonstrated the saying "like father, like son." When Qin Xiao was still in Luoyan Village, he had already kept a concubine hidden away. Qin Bin was even more outrageous! On the day he became engaged to the second daughter of the prefectural magistrate of Kaifeng, a widow turned up at the door of the Qin Xi Residence, wailing that she was pregnant. This infuriated the second daughter, who immediately wanted to call off the marriage.

The matter caused a huge uproar, and in the end, somehow, the engagement was still maintained. As for the pregnant widow, she was brought into the Qin Xi Residence in a sedan chair.

When Su Pan’er heard about all this, her mouth hung open for a long time before she could react.

Although she did not know much about the sons of the Qin Family, the absurd act committed by Qin Bin still refreshed her understanding of the limits of propriety.

Su Pan’er spoke with a laugh, sharing what she knew.

"According to my sister-in-law, Qin Hao has taken a fancy to the legitimate daughter of the imperial secretary, Mr. Sun. The only question is whether it can happen. Speaking of which, this Miss Sun is quite a match for Qin Hao—they’re only a few months apart in age, and she’s the third legitimate child, with an older legitimate brother and two older legitimate sisters above her. Most importantly, Miss Sun is said to be quite assertive, capable of managing half of the Sun Family’s affairs."

"That assertive? Qin Hao will get squashed and not be able to lift his head."

Qin Yi showed some concern.

"I can understand my sister-in-law’s thinking though."

As someone who had gone through marriage herself, Su Pan’er could see the reasoning behind Qin Yueshi’s decision: "Take your eldest brother, for example. Although he is a fifth-grade official and a historian, he actually does the job of watching over the house because he’s honest. If it wasn’t for someone looking after him, he probably wouldn’t even have the job of a gatekeeper. I guess that’s why my sister-in-law has taken a liking to this assertive potential daughter-in-law."

There was another reason she did not mention. Rumor had it that Miss Sun’s temperament was somewhat similar to her own, which was probably why she caught the eye of Qin Yueshi.

"Right, as the eldest son of the Qin Family, it’s up to him to establish his own household."

The phrase ’a rotten beam cannot prop up a wall’ referred to someone like Qin Bin.

"Being a man, it’s not right for me to interfere. I’ll leave these matters for you to worry about."

"Don’t worry, I understand."

"Good, you rest. I’m going to visit Old Cheng and Venerable Priest Liao Chen."

Qin Yi was silent for a moment before standing up. Seeing this, Eunuch An quickly walked up to tidy Qin Yi’s clothes and took the long robe to drape over him: "As they say, ’Once a teacher, always a teacher.’ Old Cheng is getting on in years, and with Little New Year approaching, I should go and see him."

Su Pan’er also struggled to her feet with her pregnant belly and went forward to tie his sash, finishing it with a bow: "That’s a good idea, you should definitely go. If only I weren’t so heavy now, otherwise..."

"The roads are slippery with the snow, you should stay put. Old Cheng is not a stranger; he will understand your plight."

Qin Yi reached out to touch her face, his eyes carrying a gentle smile: "Be good, wait for me to return."