The entrance of the Duan family's mansion was still crowded with people, but the side door that had been opened led to a quiet alleyway where two black lacquered flat-top carriages were parked, their curtains made of Xiangfei bamboo.

  The wooden chest was amber in color, neither new nor old, with a smooth and clear wood grain. The four corners were wrapped in bronze cloud patterns, giving it an ancient and quiet appearance, exuding a sense of thickness.

  "What a luxury, it's all made of rosewood." Du Zhao heard Du Dechang muttering softly as he walked beside her, and she couldn't help but purse her lips in a smile, taking another glance.

  The porters carrying the boxes were no more than twenty-seven or eight years old, and the younger ones were eighteen or nineteen years old. Their faces were solemn, their movements were quick, and they carried large boxes in their hands without turning red or panting, obviously having practiced martial arts.

  When going out, having a retinue of martially trained attendants by one's side is not uncommon in wealthy households. However, it is rare to see them all being roughly the same height and build, and dressed identically.

  It's really luxurious!

  Isn't he afraid of being robbed?

  Dòu Zhāo smiled and went with Dòu Déchāng and Wū Shàn to the Sixth Aunt's place, bypassing the flower hall.

  The black lacquer gate is wide open, the bluestone path is particularly clean, as if it had been washed with water. The magpie hanging under the eaves flaps its wings, and the pomegranate tree next to it blooms brightly like fire.

  The maids and old women stood quietly with bated breath in the corridor, not daring to move, and winked at them when they saw them coming.

  "Can't you see?" Dou Dechang whispered in Dou Zhao's ear, "The one who came to our house is not Young Master Biao, but the Emperor!"

  Dong Zhao let out a snort. With great difficulty, he managed to hold back his laughter and followed Dou Dechang and Wu Shan into the hall.

  Dòu Zhèngchāng stood with his hands hanging down beside Jì's family, while Jì sat shoulder to shoulder with a youth wearing a moon-white fine silk Taoist robe on the arhat bed inlaid with cloud-patterned mother-of-pearl, laughing and talking as he grasped the youth's hand.

  Hearing the noise, both of them looked up.

  Ji's smile was particularly radiant, as if it flowed from the bottom of her heart. With unbridled joy, she was completely different from her usual introverted and low-key self, which surprised Duan Zhao greatly. Looking at the young man beside her, who appeared to be only 15 or 16 years old, with a tall and handsome appearance, but ordinary nonetheless. He sat with a gentle smile, his expression calm and serene, yet his eyes sparkled like stars, shining brightly, giving people a feeling that "although he looks gentle, if you underestimate him, he's not easy to talk to". This contradictory temperament made people unforgettable, even curious to explore further.

  The cave was dark and frightening.

  That should be the one that was sung about.

  She suddenly thought of the beautiful young man she had seen at Fayuan Temple.

  One, two...... there were even more than she had seen in her past life.

  Dong Zhao couldn't help but glance at Dong Decai.

  Dòu Déchāng and Wū Shàn both stared at Jì Yòng with wide eyes.

  On the other side, Ji's family warmly greeted them: "Wu Shan has also arrived! Zhi Ge Er, Shou Gu, come and meet your sixteenth uncle."

  Ji Yong smiled and stood up, elegantly bowing towards several people: "I am Ji Xing of Yi Xing, Ji Yong."

  Ji Yong already has a courtesy name... He is only about the same age as Dou Dechang... Only exceptionally talented young people in their studies may be given a courtesy name by their elders or teachers ahead of time. Is Ji Yong outstanding in his studies?

  Dong Zhao bent his knees and returned the courtesy, just as Ji Shi smiled and pointed at Wu Shan: "This is the young master of the Wu Hanlin family, the first place in this year's Hebei provincial examination." Then he pointed to Ji Yong: "My mother's nephew, the top scorer in the 1894 Jiangnan provincial examination, when he was thirteen years old that year."

  Thirteen-year-old Jie Yuan!

  Why haven't I heard of her past life before?

  Has this world changed?

  Although she married into a noble family, the names of top scholars or famous ministers were still just hearsay. Perhaps this person grew up to be mediocre?

  Dòu Zhāo sī cūn zhe. Gǎn jué Dòu Zhèng Chāng hé Dòu Dé Chāng de liǎn sè dōu yǒu diǎn fā qīng, jiù shì ōu Shàn, xiào róng yě biàn dé miǎn qiǎng qǐ lái.

  Ji Xianming seemed to be completely unaware, or perhaps he had already gotten used to others' expressions. He smiled faintly and said, "Auntie is overpraising me, I just got lucky." Then he quickly changed the subject, bowed his hands to Duan Zhengchang and Duan Dechang, and smiled, "I've long heard that the brothers of the Duan family are fond of traveling and have broad knowledge. This time when I came to Zhēndìng, I'm afraid I'll be bothering you two."

  Dong Zhengchang and Dong Dechang hurriedly returned the courtesy, but before they could speak, Ji Shi laughed and said: "You're all family, you don't need to give them face. Those two just like to have fun, wherever you want to go, just ask them."

  Dòu Zhāo immediately saw Dòu Zhèngchāng and Dòu Déchāng reveal extremely awkward expressions.

  She was moved in her heart, thinking of the tone she used to scold her son in her previous life. She would praise others and belittle her son, with the result that not only did he refuse to learn from others, but also avoided people at the mention of their names.

  Dong Zhao vaguely understood in his heart.

  Dòu Zhèngchāng and Dòu Déchāng are not narrow-minded people. Judging from Liùbómu's appearance, it is likely that she often praised her son in front of them while belittling the two brothers, which made them prejudiced against Jì Yǒng before even meeting him.

  We must take it as a warning for the future!

  Dong Zhaowei warned himself.

  After exchanging a few pleasantries with Ou Shanhuan, Ji Shi pulled Du Zhao to her side and said with a smile: "This is your cousin from the Du family, fourth in line at home, grew up by my side, just like Hui Ge'er and Zhi Ge'er, very close to me, you meet her too."

  Ji Yong looked at Dou Zhao with a big smile and shouted "Fourth Sister".

  Dòu Zhāo was very grateful to Ji's family.

  She must think that she doesn't have any close relatives on her father's side, so being able to make friends with people like Ji Yong will give her some support in the future.

  Dòu Zhāo shouted out "Jì Biǎo Gē" with great sincerity.

  Everyone sit down and have some tea.

  Ji continued talking with Ji Yong.

  Judging from his tone, the Ji family has five branches within the household and eight outside, with nearly a hundred direct descendants, I don't know how much more complicated it is than the Dou family.

  No wonder after marrying into the Dou family, Ji Shi was able to handle heavy responsibilities with ease.

  Dòu Zhāo was so shocked that his tongue was tied.

  Before long, a young maid came over and reported: "The old lady is hosting a banquet at the Green Pavilion to welcome Young Master back and has invited several young masters and misses from various houses to join in."

  The Green Pavilion is located next to the main hall of the Duan family, and its lattice doors are only opened when high-ranking officials come.

  Ji's face was flushed with excitement as he led them towards the Green Pavilion.

  On the road, Du Dechang whispered to Wu Shandao: "It's so fierce, why not continue to try the imperial examination and get a good rank? What are you showing off in our house?"

  Dou Zhao pursed his lips tightly, afraid of bursting out laughing.

  In the Green Pavilion, not only were all the Changs at home present, but also those with the character Qi in their names. All who studied at the clan school had arrived, and a twelve-panel black lacquer screen was set up to separate them. The women sat in the small western hall, while Ji Yong, accompanied by Dou Yuchang, sat in the large eastern hall with the others. As soon as the hot dishes were served, words of praise for Ji Yong floated into the western hall one after another. In comparison, Wu Shan's table seemed to have become light and insignificant, not worth mentioning.

  Mrs. Wu and her daughter were also present, she remained calm and quietly asked Yu Erniang about Ji Yong, after learning that Ji Yong had passed the imperial examination at the age of 13, she couldn't help but look at Ji Yong with new eyes, when Ji Yong came over to toast, while the ladies were praising Ji Yong's exceptional talent, she smiled and glanced at her daughter. Curiously asked the same table's Ji family: "With such talent and looks, I'm afraid the matchmaker will wear out the doorstep?"

  Ji Shi and You Rong smiled at each other, looking at Ji Yong who was being held by the second madam, and chuckled: "The family ancestors did not expect to see Ming get married so early." Implicitly acknowledging that many people had spoken of marrying Ji Yong.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Xiu San's grandmother said: "A person with such talent, even if it were me, this foolish one, would have to carefully select a good marriage for him."

  Everyone burst out laughing, and the topic turned to Qi Shi who had just married into the family.

  She is the wife of Duan Qijun. Her father, Qi Baicheng, was a large landowner in Quyang County next door, and was a close friend of Duan Xiuchang. Several members of her family were successful candidates in the imperial examination, making them a family of scholars and farmers.

  Wei's appearance was elegant and her temperament was also gentle. As soon as she entered the house, she helped Xiu San's mother take care of several younger siblings, showing a strong sense of elder sisterly responsibility. She received unanimous praise from the elders in the family. There was a five-year-old younger sister at home who had been favored by Guang Wu's mother during her last visit and wanted to arrange a marriage for her own nephew, which led to a flurry of questions from everyone.

  Mrs. Wu sat quietly on the side drinking tea, watching Ji Yong walk out of the western hall with a faintly dim gaze, and softly sighed.

  Du Zhao saw it in his eyes and didn't make a sound.

  In the following days, Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang took Ji Yong on a tour of Dingzhou County.

  Dou Zhao was anxiously serving his grandmother's medicinal soup at home - for some reason, his grandmother had contracted a cold and was coughing severely, and taking several doses of medicine didn't seem to be improving her condition.

  People from Dongdougou heard about it and came over to visit him when he was ill.

  Ji also brought Ji Yong over.

  "He has a slight understanding of medicine," she explained. "Let him take Aunt Cui's pulse, and we'll feel more at ease."

  Dong Zhaolong nodded repeatedly, and asked Ji's aunt and niece to enter their grandmother's inner chamber.

  Ji Yong felt his grandmother's pulse, looked at the prescriptions written by several doctors, and smiled: "It's nothing, just a common cold. Taking a few doses of medicine will make her sweat and she'll be fine. You're all too anxious, this doctor's medicine has only been taken for two days and hasn't seen any improvement, so you immediately switch to another doctor, which has delayed her illness instead. The prescription written by this doctor is very good, taking a few doses should cure her."

  Grandma was restricted by Zou Zhao to rest in the house, not getting out of bed for several days, and her body was stiff. After hearing Ji Yong's words, she joked with Ji Shi: "I said I'm fine, but Shou Gu doesn't believe me. I think those rich old ladies are all crippled like this."

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Sweat dripping down his face.

  She has always been worried about her grandmother's longevity.

  But this can't be told to others.

  She lowered her eyelids.

  Ji Yong said, "Fourth sister, brewing medicine is also a skillful task. I'll help Aunt Cui brew a batch of medicine and you can assign a little maid to watch and learn, so she can brew medicine for her in the future according to my teachings."

  Dù Jiā yòu bú shì nà bàofā hù, zěnme huì bù zhīdào zěnmeyàng áo yào?

  Translation:

  The Dù family isn't some nouveau riche, how would they not know how to decoct medicine?

  But Ji Yong's words had already been spoken, and she couldn't directly refute them. Moreover, Ji Yong was a guest who had come to give Aunt Cui a pulse diagnosis out of kindness, so he couldn't be treated like an ordinary doctor. Although he said it would be fine to just send a maid with him, how could she really just send a maid? Duan Zhao had no choice but to personally accompany him to the small room where medicine was being decocted.

  Ji Yong stopped in his tracks as soon as he entered the ear room.

  He asked Du Zhao in a warm voice: "I saw that you wanted to say something just now, but is there anything that can't be said in front of my aunt and Cui's wife?"

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  Book-reading sisters, this month has only 28 days, for the last three days, begging for pink tickets...

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