Xu Su Ying was familiar with exam compilations. They were like modern collections of outstanding essays.

When she first heard such a wonderful thing existed, Xu Su Ying had urged Chen Song to get his hands on one.

There was no need to look for compilations from years past. After all, the county exam was administered by the County Magistrate, and his personal preferences played a major role. The previous magistrates had all been transferred away, so the compilations published during their tenures were no longer relevant.

However, in the three years since the new County Magistrate took office, there had been two county exams, and thus two compilations had been published. From these two volumes, one could clearly discern the Magistrate’s literary tastes and political stances.

If Chen Song had been up to the task, Xu Su Ying would have even wanted him to find the exam papers from the past two years.

Unfortunately, while Chen Song was reliable in other matters, he was completely useless when it came to this.

It wasn’t that he didn’t try or didn’t ask around. But the literary scene in Qingshui County wasn’t particularly vibrant, so the quality of the compilations was just so-so. Perhaps for this reason, the compilations published each year were not sold to the public.

They were either sent directly to the prefectural government for the Prefect’s review, kept as treasured items in the county school and the County Magistrate’s study, or perhaps the Magistrate would personally gift a copy to a scholarly family like the Wang Family.

In short, these compilations were not mass-produced. They were extremely rare, and those who possessed them were even rarer. Moreover, they would never show them to others or put them up for sale.

Chen Song was a rough man. He had no problem dealing with other big, brawny fellows, but asking him to cozy up to scholars to get a copy of the compilation was truly asking too much of him.

He’d racked his brain over it and had even considered asking the County Magistrate for a copy directly. But he had been too busy, and before he could act, Jing had taken the initiative and brought one over.

’Looks like this future son-in-law has his merits after all. At the very least, he did a fine job getting me out of a tight spot.’

Chen Song immediately became very enthusiastic. "A compilation! That’s wonderful stuff. Your uncle here went to great lengths and still couldn’t get one, but you managed to get your hands on it, kid. You may be young, but you’re quite well-connected."

Zhao Jing quickly said, "You flatter me," and explained how he had obtained the compilation to prevent his future father-in-law from worrying that he was too well-connected and might be led astray one day. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"I’ve been copying books at Moxiang Pavilion. Mr. Wang, the shopkeeper, has some connections and found it for me."

Xu Su Ying had no patience for these miscellaneous details. She had already opened the courtyard gate and was ushering Zhao Jing to hurry inside.

Chen Wanqing was just getting off the ox-cart when Zhao Jing stepped forward to help her. Chen Wanqing smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I won’t fall."

Zhao Jing didn’t pull his hand back. "Wanqing, give me the basket," he said. "I’ll carry it."

The basket was actually quite empty, containing only some ingredients for the incense she was preparing for him.

Chen Wanqing already had an idea for the scented pouch she had promised Zhao Jing. She had even adjusted the formula twice and now just needed to buy all the ingredients and do a trial run.

The ingredients were very light; in her hand, they weighed less than the basket itself.

Since Zhao Jing offered to take it, Chen Wanqing simply handed it over.

Chen De’an and Chen Yaoan stared without blinking, watching the interaction between their sister and their brand-new brother-in-law, their faces sour with jealousy.

’Does he have to be so over the top?’

’It’s just a basket.’

’Your thoughtfulness makes us two brothers look so bad we ought to be thrown in a ditch!’

It wasn’t just Chen De’an and Chen Yaoan watching them. Even Xu Su Ying and Chen Song, while pretending to be busy with their own tasks, were secretly watching the young couple out of the corners of their eyes.

As people with more life experience, they could tell what was going on at a glance.

And seeing it made Xu Su Ying’s heart swell with delight.

She shot Chen Song a smug look, raising her eyebrows as if to say, ’See? I told you so. Jing really does have feelings for our Qing’er.’

Before, the couple had worried that Zhao Jing had only agreed to the marriage proposal arranged by the elders because he was overly pragmatic and knew that Qing’er was a good choice for a wife to build a life with.

They worried he wasn’t a warm and considerate person and wouldn’t be able to share a deep and abiding love with their daughter, growing old together. They had even hesitated because of this.

But Jing was outstanding in every way—truly the best possible match Qing’er could find. So, in the end, the couple had pushed Qing’er to accept the engagement.

It was only after the two were engaged that Xu Su Ying came to a realization.

Zhao Jing was certainly level-headed, and he had chosen Qing’er because he saw she was a good partner for life. But on the other hand, there was the matter of a young man’s affections. Her Qing’er was leagues better than Wanyue, and she didn’t believe that Zhao Jing, after meeting with Qing’er multiple times, would be completely devoid of feelings for her.

Looking at it from another angle, though the young man was burdened by the weight of reality at such a young age, he had still made a name for himself early on. He was highly talented and was the Zhao Family’s great hope in the Zhao Village—a promising candidate for the title of Scholar.