Shen Shi listened to Zi Qing and the others' advice, no longer entangled. Moreover, this time, Zeng Rui Xiang also stood on her side. On that day, Shen Shi had also asked Zeng Rui Xiang about Chun Yu wanting money to build a house, what was he going to do?

  "What's the point of loving her? I've taken care of her for so many years, do I have to take care of her until she dies? The last slap I gave her still hasn't been avenged, is this how a sister-in-law should behave? And now she's building a house? From now on, we won't get involved in their family's messy affairs. Is her whole family handicapped or crippled? Don't even mention her, mentioning her makes me furious." Zeng Ruixiang blurted out.

  Shen heard this and was secretly delighted, went to Zeng Ruiqing's family, then went to Chunyu's family, and from that day on, she felt much more at ease. She wholeheartedly prepared the things needed for the Dragon Boat Festival, and as usual, she prepared a stone of wheat early and had Zeng Ruixiang deliver it to the old house. She also prepared dried fruits and pastries, as well as a set of new summer clothes as festival gifts, which she personally delivered. Xiaoyu was still recovering from her illness, but showed some signs of improvement, with constant medication every day. Shen, apart from preparing food such as eggs, dates, and longan for the adults and children, also prepared a set of summer clothes made by Zi Qing, and brought a string of money to let Xiaoyu drink more light meat soup.

  After the Dragon Boat Festival, Shen Shi still took Zi Lu to the provincial capital for the imperial examination. Zeng Rui Xiang personally escorted them to the provincial capital, rented a house and settled them in before returning home. Zi Yu had never been on a long trip before, but after hearing about Zi Qing's previous experiences in the provincial capital, she insisted on going along this time. Shen Shi thought that it would be good for her to take care of the children, cook meals and do laundry, and since Zi Yu wanted to go, there was another child to keep her company, so she took Zi Yu along as well.

  At home, only Ziqing and her grandmother He were left during the day. The peaches on the back mountain had already turned red, and the watermelons in the field would probably take another ten or so days to ripen. Ziqing thought that she might as well wait until the watermelons were ripe and the peaches were fully mature before sending a message to Zhou Zhanggui.

  It had only been five or six days. Zi Qing was busy in the back mountain, because the area was too large, Zi Qing picked up eggs every day and then took turns to fertilize the fruit trees, working for one or two hours a day. At this time, He Shi brought Zhou Zhanggui up the mountain, it turned out that Zhou Zhanggui had estimated that the peaches of the Zeng family should be ripe. But not seeing anyone come to send a message, he asked Tian Shifu who delivered eggs. Only then did he know that Shen Shi had taken the children to Changzhou for the exam and came uninvited.

  Seeing a tree full of peaches, Zhou Zhanggui picked one and wiped it on his clothes before taking a bite. "Not bad," he said, "it seems even sweeter than last year's."

  Actually, there are only twenty or thirty peach trees here. Because they are well-maintained, with pruning and fertilization, each tree can produce about 50 kilograms of peaches. The peach trees on the school side have about fifty trees, which were fertilized and managed by Zeng Rui Xiang, this is the third year that they have borne fruit, and it's said to be much better than the previous two years.

  Zi Qing held the twenty taels of silver and some loose change in her hands, seeing off Manager Zhou and his group. Before she could close the door, she saw Old Lady Tian carrying an empty basket approaching from afar. Zi Qing quickly went inside to put away the silver. Just as she returned to the doorway, Tian also entered and asked: "Why was your main gate not closed today? I seemed to have seen a donkey cart leaving your place just now. What did it take away?"

  "Oh, I was just about to come out and close the door. Sold some peaches, Auntie, what brings you here?" Zi Qing asked.

  "Can't you come over and take a look? How much silver did the peaches sell for? Is it from the school side? By the way, your younger sister is about to give birth, she's been craving some fresh fruits and vegetables, can you pick a basket for me? Also, bring another basket of eggs. Your second aunt's body has recovered a lot, the doctor said she still needs to nourish herself well."

  "Grandma, the eggs are fine, but the peaches will have to wait until you get back. I'll ask my dad to pick some from the school road when he passes by. There aren't many left, though - most of the big ripe ones were picked today. Otherwise, we can send some over in a few days."

  "Alright, got it, we won't come, or else you wouldn't have known to send some over earlier. Is the watermelon ripe? It looks pretty big."

  "No way, it can't be that fast." Zi Qing said.

  Finally, Ziqing took a basket from her home and picked up a basket of eggs, selected three pears, Tian wanted to carry the basket she brought to pick peaches, Ziqing had no choice but to send it over. Zeng Rui Xiang was teaching the children.

  Ziying had no choice but to move a stool herself, finding an inconspicuous corner. The peaches on the tree were basically all picked, leaving only a few green or missed ones. Ziying stepped onto the high stool, trembling and picking for half a day, managing to pick only about ten peaches. In one careless moment, she even fell off the stool. Sitting on the ground, Ziying said: "Auntie, I really can't pick any more. If not, let's wait another three or four days to see if they'll ripen some more. Anyway, we weren't planning to sell the remaining ones; we're leaving them for our own family to eat. At that time, I'll ask my dad to deliver them to you."

  Tian saw it too and indeed it was so. He didn't say anything and didn't ask how Zi Qing was doing after the fall, he just went back home directly.

  She got up, patted the mud on her butt and muttered to herself, "It's so miserable, I knew it. Every time I come here, nothing good happens. Either this or that, they even begrudge giving a chicken egg to my aunt, annoying to death. My poor butt hurts to death."

  Not long after, Ziying heard a loud laughter, and after searching for half a day, she finally found that it was a 14 or 15-year-old boy sitting on the tree, swinging his legs and eating a peach. Ziying didn't bother him either, nor did she dare to look up at him, and ran back home in a panic.

  In the following days, Zi Qing did not go out. Autumn Jade gave birth to a son. Zi Qing followed his father on two trips, one for the full moon gift and one for the weaning ceremony.

  Time flies, and the summer harvest is about to begin. Zeng Rui-xiang's school has started its vacation, and the next day, Zi Shou also returned home from county school. Shortly after, Zi Fu also arrived home. In just a couple of days, Shen Shi brought Zi Long and Zi Yu back home as well. Zi Qing looked at the large pile of things Shen Shi had bought and grabbed Zi Fu's arm, saying: "Big brother, I told you so! Mother is even better at shopping than me! You didn't believe me, did you? Just look at this - there are at least thirty bolts of fabric here. If someone didn't know any better, they'd think our family was opening a fabric store!"

  Shen listened and stretched out her hand to pat Zi Qing, saying: "The fabric you bought that year is now worn out. You are growing up, and every year you need to make a few new clothes. This is still wearable for the bigger ones, and the smaller ones can wear it next. Besides, this fabric is really cheap. For people like us, having new clothes is good enough, no need to be particular. I think they are all about the same, suitable."

  Zi Qing raised her hand to block Shen Shi's hand, revealing the dragon and phoenix bangle on her wrist. Zi Fu immediately grabbed Zi Qing's hand and asked, "Qing Er, where did this golden bangle come from? What's going on?"

  Zi Qing's skin was tender, and Zi Fu had used too much force in his fright, quickly leaving a purple-red mark. "Big brother, let go, it hurts! Big brother, I'm engaged."

  "What? You're engaged, why didn't I know? Who is it?" Zǐ Fú put down Zǐ Qíng's hand and asked in surprise, then looked at Shěn Shì and Zēng Ruì Xiáng.

  "Tell me, who has been decided on? What happened? How come I haven't been home for half a year and my sister is suddenly engaged?" Zi Fu asked again as no one spoke up.

  "It's Lin Kangping, you know him too." Zi Qing said.

  "How could it be him? Isn't he a servant? Father, mother, what's going on? Why is Qing'er engaged to him? What kind of joke is this? I've always planned to find a good match for my sister, but I thought she was still young and needed to be observed for another year or two. What happened?"

  "Fo Er, come with me to the study." Zeng Rui Xiang said.

  It wasn't until nearly half an hour later that the two of them came out. Zi Qing noticed that Zi Fu's eyes were a bit red, and Zi Fu rubbed Zi Qing's temples for a long time before saying, "I've put you to trouble, Qing Er."

  Zi Qing's heart suddenly ached, she lowered her head and took a deep breath, then raised her head and smiled: "Look at what big brother said, I'm not being forced, I agreed to it myself. Besides, Kang Ping treats me very well, I think this is the best choice. Big brother, don't worry."

  "Yes, big brother, Kangping this kid promised to settle down nearby, if he dares to treat Qing'er badly, we have so many brothers and can't collect him." Zi Lu said.

  "What do you know? I'm taking pity on my sister, such a good girl, but that kid is getting off cheap. There are many young ladies from big families in Anzhou City who aren't as good as Qing'er, just because of her good birth?" Zi Fu sighed.

  Ziying feared that these words would hurt Zeng Ruixiang and Shen's hearts, so she quickly said: "Big brother, you've studied for many years, but don't you know the saying 'how can a fish know the joy of water?' I think Kangping is quite suitable for me. We've known each other since childhood, it's not a blind marriage, and he's devoted to me. Moreover, he agreed to my request not to take a concubine in the future, which is already very rare. I think this is enough. Without official rank, one can't enter the imperial court, but what's the big deal?"

  "You're still too young, never mind, it's settled then, I won't say anything more." Zifeng sighed.

  The family was reunited again. Ziqing spent the whole day happily, either entwining herself around Zifu to teach her painting or entwining herself around Zilu to catch frogs and loaches. Zishou was busy practicing carving, while Zixi followed behind Ziqing playing wildly. The days passed quickly, and more than half a month had gone by without any official message arriving. Zilu's heart gradually became worried and anxious. Zeng Rui Xiang and Zifu both guessed that Zilu probably didn't pass the exam and comforted him saying that every year there were many people who didn't pass, if not this year then next year would do, besides he started studying a bit late anyway, what's important is not to lose confidence in himself.

  Ziying also advised him when no one was around: "Second brother, every year there are thousands and millions of students, like thousands of troops and horses crossing a single-plank bridge. Those who can get through are after all in the minority. Since that's the case, why bother to squeeze onto that single-plank bridge? The path to success is not just one road. As long as you find what you really want, then strive towards this goal. Whether or not you succeed, at least you won't regret it later."

  Although everyone tried to comfort him, Zilu's mood couldn't be lifted. Shen said: "This child has always been deep in thought, the more you try to comfort him, the more he thinks about it in his heart. It's better if we all just drop it and never mention this again. Let Subao take him fishing, touch some loaches, catch some pheasants at night, and after a few days, he'll be fine."

  Zi Fu listened and repeatedly agreed, but Zi Lu didn't want to go out. He always felt that everyone would look at him with a strange gaze. Zi Fu and Zi Shou, Zi Xi didn't care about anything, dragged him along and left. In this awkward way, they spent five or six days, before Zi Lu's expression gradually returned to normal, and everyone finally put their minds at ease.

  In just a few days, some good news arrived.