According to Tong Dajiao’s past life memories, Jingzhe was the top scorer in this provincial exam.

Originally, there was a variable, Gu Ruinian.

But Gu Ruinian clearly became cannon fodder in this exam, so there was no way for the top scorer to have any surprises, it would still fall on her son, Jingzhe.

Since her son was the top scorer, how glorious it would be on the day they announced the results.

So, she wanted to have a set of clothes made for Jingzhe to highlight his top scorer’s charisma.

Tong Huaqiong had the town’s most renowned tailor, Tailor Zhao, come to their home to make clothes for Jingzhe.

"Manager Tong, I rushed these clothes overnight, ensuring that they will satisfy the young scholar when he puts them on," Tailor Zhao said after taking Jingzhe’s measurements.

The results weren’t announced yet, but Tailor Zhao was already calling Jingzhe the young scholar, making Jingzhe blush with embarrassment.

His own mother was too ostentatious. What if he didn’t pass, how would he handle it?

Looking at his mother’s demeanor in the past few days, she was certain he would pass and was in a hurry to have a tailor come to their home to make him clothes for fetching the results.

Although he was confident himself, he dared not speak boldly until the results were out...

Jingzhe cheerfully slipped some silver to Tailor Zhao, saying, "Thank you very much, have a cup of tea."

Tailor Zhao pocketed the silver with a broad smile, saying, "I’ll skip the tea. I still have to go to your second branch to make clothes for their second son."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Then we won’t keep you. It’s important to make clothes for our second branch’s second son, he did better than our Jingzhe in the exam and is said to have already secured the top scorer spot."

Tong Huaqiong didn’t mind elevating Gu Ruinian’s status high. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The higher the pedestal, the harder the fall.

Now, the people in the old house, everyone in the clan, the villagers... everyone knew Gu Ruinian was aiming for the top scorer, but they didn’t know why he could get it. Anyway, they all said his talent warranted it, so it must be his.

Now, the Gu family’s second branch was showing off, saying that matchmakers were already visiting to propose marriage for Gu Ruinian.

Tong Huaqiong couldn’t wait for the results to be published to see Gu Ruinian’s disgrace.

Tong Huaqiong escorted Tailor Zhao out just as Matchmaker Wang was passing by Tong Huaqiong’s door.

Matchmaker Wang pulled back the curtain and gave Tong Huaqiong a mocking smile.

Tong Huaqiong unceremoniously said, "Whose girl’s family are you ruining this time?"

Matchmaker Wang proudly lifted her neck and said, "It’s not yours, anyway. The Lian family from Pingchuan County has set their sights on the second son of your second house, wanting to promise their second daughter to our second branch’s scholar."

Tong Huaqiong twitched her lips.

The Lian family, so familiar, weren’t they the ones Huang Jingshan broke off her engagement with?

Judging by how the Lian family smeared Huang Jingshan, they weren’t good people.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Has Rui Nian’s fame reached Pingchuan County?"

Matchmaker Wang said, "Indeed. The Lian family is delighted."

After saying this, she pulled up the carriage curtain.

Nowadays, Manager Tong of Qinghe Bay was someone Matchmaker Wang couldn’t afford to offend. She dared not slight her, so she vigorously praised their second branch.

What good was money and shops if no one sought matches for your daughter, and your younger son’s academic prowess was now overshadowed by the second branch?

Serves her right!

Matchmaker Wang and Tailor Zhao headed one after the other to the old house.

The people in the old house looked surprised when they saw Matchmaker Wang come in, knowing that she was always snobbish.

When Mr. Gu came back, he met Matchmaker Wang and wanted her to propose a match for Gu Honglian, but she was completely unwilling.

But now she was coming by.

Originally, Mr. Gu and his wife wanted to put on some airs, but Matchmaker Wang directly stated that the Lian family had commissioned her to propose marriage for their second daughter to Gu Ruinian.

The whole old Gu house was in an uproar.

Especially Gu Youtian, who couldn’t stop smiling.

The Lian family was also a wealthy and influential family in Pingchuan County. Being able to marry into such a family, Gu Youtian figured he’d turn his fate around within a year.

Not to mention, his youngest son was indeed remarkable; even before the results were announced, there were marriage proposals.

If he really did come out on top, wouldn’t there be even more proposals, from even higher-status families?

Not only Gu Youtian thought this way, but Mrs. Jia and the old lady did too.

Especially Mrs. Jia, believing her son was fit to marry a princess.

"... Sister-in-law Wang, that Lian family’s second daughter is illegitimate? Why didn’t you say earlier? If we had known she was illegitimate, you wouldn’t even get a foot in our door," the old lady nearly flipped out upon learning the Lian family intended to marry their illegitimate second young lady to Gu Ruinian.

Mr. Gu wasn’t looking pleased either.

When Rui Nian became a child student, several families with illegitimate young ladies from the south wanted to propose to Gu Ruinian.

At that time, since Gu Youtian’s business was doing okay and better options could be available later, the Gu family turned them all down.

Now, with his grandson about to become a scholar, again proposing marriage to an illegitimate girl seemed too much of an insult.

Matchmaker Wang, who had only been retorted by Tong Huaqiong before, felt uncomfortable saying, "Old lady, this isn’t a formal proposal. Only when your grandson actually becomes a scholar can we discuss that. I came today to feel you out and see what you think. If he doesn’t pass, we’ll just pretend nothing happened."

Mrs. Jia thought these words were a great insult, her face darkening as she said, "There’s no way our Rui Nian won’t become a scholar."

Gu Youtian said, "Though we as a family don’t hold birth status in high regard, pairing our Rui Nian with an illegitimate child seems a bit unfair. How about this, on the day the results are out, I’ll ask Rui Nian what he thinks. If Rui Nian wants the match, then we’ll proceed."

Gu Youtian didn’t want his son to marry an illegitimate second daughter either.

But he also didn’t want to offend the Lian family, so he decided to keep them content for now, and then during the result announcement, find a better match for Rui Nian.

He had heard that the Lian family also had a legitimate third young lady; if by then Rui Nian had secured the top spot, the Lian family might change their mind and offer the third young lady to Rui Nian.

In his room, Gu Ruinian followed Tailor Zhao’s directions, lifting his arms and adjusting his waist for measurements.

When he first returned from the prefecture city, he thought he had ruined everything, but after these days of being praised by the villagers, he felt he was capable again.

Although he hadn’t completed the last question, his approach to solutions was different from those here. Just for his unique answers, as long as the examiner was not blind, he’d surely become a scholar.

Rumor had it that Magistrate Yao back then was a young radical, earning the chief examiner’s favor through his sharp and bold writing. His exam paper was controversial; the chief examiner dared not make a decision and presented it to the emperor, who finally assigned it as second place, gaining popularity surpassing both the champion scholar and the elegant third-place scholar of the time.

Even if his exam paper didn’t occupy the top spot in Magistrate Yao’s eyes, due to its controversial nature, it would make him famous in Ning City.

Gu Ruinian listened to the discussions about his marriage in the room, dismissing the Lian family, who wanted to deceive him with an illegitimate daughter. They would regret it.

"Congratulations to the young scholar first," Tailor Zhao couldn’t help but say, "I went to Pingchuan County to make clothes for the Lian family’s young master and young miss, and I’ve seen the Lian family’s second young lady. Though she is illegitimate, her looks surpass all the legitimate young ladies in Pingchuan County. Her aunt is the most favored by the old master of the Lian family. If the legitimate wife didn’t have three sons, she would have been squeezed out without a place to stand. Her aunt only has this one daughter, and Mr. Lian, out of love for his wife’s interests, showers her with affection. Her dowry might even exceed that of a legitimate young lady."

Gu Ruinian’s heart was stirred.

He began to fantasize about the beautiful second young lady of the Lian family described by Tailor Zhao.

Since she was a grand beauty and came with a substantial dowry, he might reluctantly accept it.

If he became successful later, the wife who shared hardships with him could be divorced.