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

Chapter 205 Envy, Jealousy, and an Inability to Hate

The waterside pavilion was far from the flower hall; although there weren't many people there, it wasn't deserted either.

There are always those who don't like crowds who come out for some fresh air. Wu Xiucai's sister, Wu Hui, also followed behind Feng Zhiqing as she walked out of the flower hall.

However, I didn't get too close to the waterside pavilion, thinking I'd find an excuse to come up and chat later.

Unexpectedly, Feng Zhiqing was so thoughtless, so brazenly asking the young ladies of the Jiang family about such a sensitive topic.

There are quite a few families of scholars present today, but there are also many like the Wu family who paid their way into the ranks of the lower-level scholars. I wonder what Feng Zhiqing's intentions were when she said those words.

Could it be that by talking about the marriages of the Jiang family's daughters, she is implying that she herself also wants to find a scholar as a husband?

Hmph! What a snob! She's just hinted more than once that her brother is still unmarried and will be taking the provincial examination in two years.

This Miss Feng only knows how to pick up ready-made Juren (successful candidates in the provincial civil service examination), why doesn't she know how to find a promising Xiucai (successful candidate in the county-level civil service examination)? Humph, short-sighted.

Wu Hui didn't care whether it was appropriate or not. Since Feng Zhiqing was so shameless, what did Wu Hui have to be afraid of?

Feng Zhiqing wasn't the only daughter of a scholar present. Just because she was pretty didn't mean she could look down on everyone. The Jiang family members were even better looking!

I didn't see them acting superior or aloof, and besides, their family has more than one scholar who passed the imperial examination!

My grandfather and father were both successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and my eldest son-in-law was also a successful candidate.

If a family has three members who have passed the imperial examinations, and if the elder brother can become the grandson-in-law or son-in-law of the scholar, thus becoming his brother-in-law...

Wouldn't that mean having three successful candidates in the imperial examinations to help her brother at the same time? Thinking of this, Wu Hui became somewhat excited.

His feet unconsciously moved toward the waterside pavilion, until he reached Feng Zhiqing, at which point he made a casual greeting.

"So it turns out that Sister Zhiqing came here to find some peace and quiet without even telling me, leaving me all alone in the flower hall."

Feng Zhiqing was taken aback by Wu Hui's sudden appearance; this person was really hard to shake off...

She really didn't want to be Wu Hui's sister-in-law. Wu Xiucai was just a Xiucai, how could he be worthy of her family's Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) status?

Besides, Father is very likely to advance further after the imperial examination next spring!

The gap between the two families will widen further then. Although they are both from the capital and know each other well, she shouldn't force herself to marry a scholar just because of that.

A poor, penniless scholar with an uncertain future, who even has to pay money to enter this literary gathering, yet he dares to dream of marrying into their family; what a shameless act.

Look at Wu Hui's attire; it's probably her most presentable outfit, but it's still not as luxurious as the clothes she casually wears at home.

Then look at the young ladies of the Jiang family. Although they don't have many gold and jade jewelry, each of them is dressed in exquisite and rare attire.

The fabric of the four Jiang sisters' clothes was obviously of good quality, and their pearl headdresses with floral patterns must have been expensive as well.

Not to mention the similar styles of necklaces worn by the women, which were adorned with five-colored gemstones! This shows how wealthy the Jiang family was.

It is said that "a poor scholar can become a rich official." This family, with three members who passed the imperial examinations, is truly remarkable. Although they came from out of town, they seem to be even wealthier than the Feng family in the capital.

"Sister Wu, you're too kind. We were feeling quite stifled inside, so we thought we'd come out and enjoy the scenery. I saw you chatting so enthusiastically with the ladies of the licentiates, and I didn't want to disturb you, so I joined the Jiang sisters."

Wu Hui sensed the sarcasm in Feng Zhiqing's words. Was she implying that she had been currying favor with the wealthy families everywhere?

Wu Hui felt a surge of anger, but still maintained a smile on her face. "What you're saying, Zhiqing? I just met a sister I clicked with, so we chatted a bit more."

"As for my younger sister, didn't she also feel a connection with the older sisters of the Jiang family, which is why they're chatting and drinking tea together in this waterside pavilion?"

"Yes, yes, I just feel a connection with the young ladies of the Jiang family. They are all like celestial beings, and I just want to get closer to them so I can absorb some of their ethereal beauty!"

"Oh, that's right! I, a mere mortal, will also try to absorb some of the divine aura!"

Wu Hui's "don't even think about kicking me out" attitude made the Jiang sisters look at her with disdain.

The tension between Wu Hui and Feng Zhiqing was palpable, and the Jiang sisters longed to escape the battlefield.

Jiang Xiwen coughed lightly and said with a smile, "It is fate that we have met. Let's all have some tea and enjoy the flowers together."

Wu Hui nodded hastily in agreement, but her eyes still looked at Feng Zhiqing defiantly. Feng Zhiqing snorted coldly and turned her head away.

Just as the atmosphere became slightly awkward, several bright red plum blossoms appeared outside the waterside pavilion.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt she had eavesdropped long enough and it was time to come out and rescue her sisters.

"Whose young master is this? How can he be so handsome?" Wu Hui couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Feng Zhiqing also looked around curiously, temporarily putting her displeasure behind her.

The Jiang sisters exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.

Jiang Xiaoqi, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, appeared gracefully in the waterside pavilion and corridor, holding four or five bright red plum blossoms, like a celestial child under the seat of Guanyin.

"I apologize for disturbing your enjoyment, ladies. But these red plum blossoms are blooming so beautifully that I couldn't resist picking some to give to my elder sister."

My elder sister?

Could it be Feng Zhiqing's younger brother?

Could it be Wu Hui's younger brother?

Hmph! She doesn't deserve it!

At this moment, their thoughts were in complete agreement; they both felt that the other was unworthy of such an extraordinary younger brother.

"Eldest sister, second sister, third sister, fourth sister."

……

So it's the young master of the Jiang family. Well, that makes sense now.

"Xiao Qi, what are you doing here? You can take her home after the literary gathering."

Jiang Xiwen was worried that her younger brother would be caught out, so she brought up the issue herself to prevent outsiders from finding fault.

"Tan Hao said I'm too young, and this isn't really his backyard, so it's okay to just give flowers to the older sisters."

After I finished delivering the gifts, I went back to my grandparents' place. My father also picked some red plum blossoms for my mother.

By the way, this was specially folded by my brother-in-law for my sister, and he told me to deliver it to her personally.

"Hehe, brother-in-law really thinks about his older sister all the time."

Jiang Xiyue would seize any opportunity to tease her older sister.

"This one was specially folded for you by your future brother-in-law, hehe, here you go, sister!"

Jiang Xiaoqi deliberately spoke them one by one, and sure enough, Jiang Xiyue paused in her teasing of her older sister and took the red plum blossom that belonged to her.

"Ahem, my future brother-in-law is quite thoughtful, not content to be second to my eldest brother-in-law."

This time it was Jiang Lan'er's turn to tease Jiang Xiyue; as expected, karma comes full circle.

"Third sister, this one is yours. And fourth sister, this one is yours too. I picked them all myself, so please don't mind, sisters!"

"Haha, what's there to complain about? They're all equally beautiful. Our Xiaoqi is so thoughtful, and the older sisters love them!"

Jiang Lian'er chimed in, saying that it would be good to have a husband and future husband who dote on you, but she and her third sister were still young. Wouldn't it be even better to have a younger brother who doted on them? What's wrong with a younger brother?

What Jiang Xiaoqi didn't say was that the plum blossom branch that Jiang Lan'er had was actually picked by Xue Xu. To avoid being accused of secretly passing it on, he didn't tell his third sister, Jiang Lan'er.

"So Miss Jiang is already engaged. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Feng Zhiqing's voice suddenly rang out, and even Wu Hui thought this person was quite shameless.

Does she need to tell you she has a fiancé? Who do you think you are?!

"This kind of thing shouldn't be publicized everywhere, right? Shouldn't you girls have some ladylike modesty?"

Besides, my family came to Beijing to send our four children to take the imperial examinations in the spring. Everything else can wait until after the examinations.

Jiang Xiaoqi casually stated the number of her family's test takers, without any intention of showing off.

Four candidates? The imperial examination?

Wu Hui's first thought was that the fiancé of this second young lady of the Jiang family was also a scholar who had passed the imperial examination! Good heavens! Is there no justice in this world?!

Four members of one family passed the imperial examinations! Even if they were to be fooled, they could probably produce one Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)!

She couldn't bring herself to feel envy, jealousy, or hatred; how could she dare? She was just the sister of a scholar, far inferior to him.

This is not the time for envy, jealousy, or hatred; this is the time to curry favor with powerful figures!

Unlike Wu Hui, Feng Zhiqing was clenching her molars tightly...

Why?! Why?! Why?!

Why do all the husbands of scholars end up in the Jiang family? Is it because every single woman in the Jiang family is exceptionally beautiful?

Feng Zhiqing isn't bad-looking at all! How come she ends up marrying some poor, clueless scholars? She's the one who should be marrying into a wealthy family!

The silk handkerchief was crumpled by Feng Zhiqing's twisting, but Wu Hui didn't care about Feng Zhiqing's feelings and went up to Jiang Lan'er to get close to her.

This third Miss Jiang looks quite nice; she'd be perfect to be her sister-in-law!