Jingzhe hastily swore, saying he would never let Lu Zhaozhao down.

Tong Huaqiong believed him for the moment.

If she didn’t believe, what could she do? The two seemed inseparable.

Seeing Jingzhe’s determined demeanor, she guessed that he had already opened his heart to Lu Zhaozhao when he went to the Prefecture City for exams.

If she opposed, she would be the villain breaking up the lovers.

Fortunately, in this life, many things had changed significantly.

She was not partial like Tong Dajiao to her son.

Not only did Lu Zhaoyang not die, but he also appeared in the public eye with the appearance of a qilin, or wondrous talent.

In terms of benefits or courage, Jingzhe dared not easily let Lu Zhaozhao down.

Thinking of Lu Zhaoyang, the exam results should be out soon.

She wondered if this qilin scholar of Wanliu Academy could top the list.

Tong Huaqiong suddenly thought, Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao are engaged, but when would they marry?

In this era, people of Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao’s age were at the perfect age for marriage, typically marrying within half a year of engagement.

The men in the village usually got engaged at fifteen or sixteen and married at seventeen.

Someone like Gu Dashu marrying at nineteen was considered a late youth.

But Tong Huaqiong didn’t want Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao to marry so early; she was worried that giving birth too early would harm Lu Zhaozhao’s health.

In extreme cases, it could lead to the death of both the mother and child.

It wasn’t a curse, but after arriving in this world, Tong Huaqiong had heard of lively young women dying from childbirth in various villages.

Heavens, Lu Zhaozhao was only fifteen, and in her previous life, miscarried her first child at only seventeen.

She’s still a minor.

Absolutely terrifying!

If Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao married at the age of Lu Zhaoyang and Huang Jingshan, it would be more appropriate.

Tong Huaqiong said to Jingzhe, "Jingzhe, now that you’re engaged to Lu Zhaozhao, when do you plan to marry?"

Generally, the wedding date is set quickly after engagement.

Your mother asked like this, clearly not wanting you to marry too early.

Doesn’t want to risk you being entranced by allure and neglect your studies.

Jingzhe said, "Mother, don’t worry. I will study hard after getting married."

Tong Huaqiong frowned, "Jingzhe, I have my reasons for not wanting you to marry early. Do you know the difficulties for a woman giving birth? It’s like crossing the gate of hell."

Although Tong Huaqiong hadn’t experienced childbirth pain in this world, hadn’t she seen pigs running if not eaten pork?

Without mentioning distant examples, just recalling Tong Pandi’s screams during Hua Er’s birth was terrifying enough, let alone when news frequently came of women dying from childbirth in various villages.

"Do you know how your elder brother’s mother died?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Jingzhe was taken aback, shook his head.

Tong Huaqiong said, "She didn’t survive childbirth... and passed along with your elder brother’s younger sister."

It was the first time Jingzhe heard why Gu Dahuan’s mother had died, causing his face to turn solemn.

Gu Dahuan’s mother married early, supposedly at fourteen, to the Gu family head, had Gu Baishuang at fifteen, Gu Dahuan a year later, and was pregnant with a third child the following year who didn’t survive.

Tong Huaqiong shuddered thinking of this unfortunate woman, continuously giving birth in less than five years of marriage to the Gu family, a cycle of three pregnancies in four years; even a body of steel couldn’t withstand it.

In this era, many children were seen as blessings, and with no reasonable methods of birth control, women had to continuously bear children.

The suffering was borne by women.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Once women marry, it’s about bearing children; childbirth is like crossing the gate of hell. Have you observed what kind of women suffer from difficult childbirth?"

Jingzhe shook his head; he hadn’t paid attention to that.

In his understanding, it was normal for men and women to marry and have children without considering the harm childbearing could bring to women.

Tong Huaqiong said, "It’s always the women who married young. Info from any village about women who died in childbirth mostly concerns those who married when young. Like your brother’s mother, who had your elder sister at fifteen, your elder brother at sixteen; how could her body endure that? I heard from doctors in the Prefecture City that giving birth under eighteen makes women more prone to difficult labor. It’s mainly because they aren’t fully developed, not at the age to bear children."

"I’m not opposed to your engagement to Lu Zhaozhao nor your marriage. Think about it, how old is Lu Zhaozhao? Fifteen, not at the right age for childbearing. If something goes wrong, you’d regret it for life."

"You just thought I was worried about you marrying early and losing focus on school, didn’t you? I don’t care about that, whether you study well or not is your own business. I’m just worried about the risk for Lu Zhaozhao at this age if she marries and gives birth. Do you think nobody proposes to Taohua, and I’m comforting her by saying she’s too young? No, I’d rather keep Taohua until over twenty. I don’t want her to have children so early. Similarly, Lu Zhaozhao is someone raised delicately by the Lu Family; how could I bear to let her undergo the hardships of childbirth too soon?"

Jingzhe listened with a solemn expression, his thoughts of marrying Lu Zhaozhao immediately faltered.

Tong Huaqiong concluded, "So, you and Lu Zhaozhao are engaged first, marry after a few years. You’re just a scholar with no official rank yet, if you marry now, who pays for your living expenses in the prefecture city? From my money or will Lu Zhaozhao’s family support you? Wait a few years, and once you pass the imperial exams in the Capital as a successful scholar, Lu Zhaozhao will have passed the riskier childbearing age, and you can marry her grandly."

Considering Lu Zhaozhao’s young age risk of difficult childbirth and another point he hadn’t noticed: who would bear the living costs if they married now?

Jingzhe, being prideful, would never use Lu Family’s money to sustain his family, and his mother wasn’t willing to fund him, these two points made Jingzhe set aside marriage plans.

Jingzhe said, "Mother, you’re right. Since I want to spend my life with Zhaozhao, what is waiting a few years? When I become a successful scholar, I’ll grandly marry Zhaozhao."

And so it was decided.

A dozen days later, County Magistrate Liu came to Qinghe Bay to inform Tong Huaqiong that the Lu Family agreed to the marriage between the two families.

He also brought great news about Lu Zhaoyang, who topped the provincial exam.

In their era, the provincial and palace exams were spaced two months apart, meaning Lu Zhaoyang’s results had been spread to Ning City after twenty-some days, and the palace exam would be in over a month.

Lu Zhaoyang topping the provincial exams brought joy to the entire Gu Family, especially since Lu Zhaoyang left a good impression, and as Jingzhe’s future brother-in-law, he would help Jingzhe’s career.

The Huang Family threw a feast upon hearing the news, and invitations along with County Magistrate Liu reached Tong Huaqiong’s home.

"Third Brother, if Brother Zhaoyang topped the provincial exams, does it mean he will be the Champion Scholar after the palace exams?" Gu Taohua asked.

Jingzhe replied, "In theory, yes. Mr. Su said those who topped the provincial exams were typically appointed as Champion Scholars by the emperor during the palace exams."

Chen Sufen laughed, "So, Zhaoyang is the champion now."

Tong Huaqiong smiled.

Jingzhe wasn’t wrong; historically, the provincial exam top scorers were merely a formality at the palace exams and were usually appointed as Champion Scholars, provided they didn’t cause any trouble.

But Xiao Long’s own grandfather, this Old Emperor, often acted unexpectedly due to worsening sight with age.

Back then, Jingzhe topped the provincial exam, the Gu Family nearly celebrated an upcoming Champion Scholar, only to have the emperor appoint him as the Flower Snatcher (Tanhua).

All because the Old Emperor thought Jingzhe was too handsome, and previous Flower Snatchers couldn’t match his appearance. The image of Jingzhe suited the role of a Flower Snatcher, garnished with flowers, riding a horse throughout the streets.

Thus, Jingzhe became the Flower Snatcher instead of the Champion Scholar.

Although Gu Tanhua overshadowed the Champion Scholar and Second Best Scholar, there was a lingering regret.

Lu Zhaoyang wasn’t bad-looking either; who knows if this Old Emperor might take an unusual liking to Lu Zhaoyang’s appearance and appoint him as the Flower Snatcher or another title during an impulse.