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Two coachmen ought to be hired, and her younger brother should have two more boys to assist him as well as a master.

With all that considered, she needed to hire more than ten servants. Not only did she have to pay them monthly, but she also had to provide their clothes for all four seasons, daily necessities, and three meals a day. That was the basic condition.

Suddenly, Yingbao felt that the money she had saved was not enough.

She tapped her forehead in frustration.

Right, her second cousin also needed to hire a couple of boys. Those boys needed to be young so they could grow up serving their master and would not betray him.

“Miss, the dishes are all ready. Shall we start the feast now?” the cook, Mrs. Liu, asked with a smile.

Yingbao nodded, “Alright, let’s serve the dishes now. I will go to the backyard to call everyone.”

Normally, that would be a servant’s job, but since the cook was busy and the maids were needed to serve tea and water in the backyard, Yingbao had to come to the kitchen herself to supervise.

Soon, all the guests were seated at the banquet – men at one table, women at another.

The vegetables, drinks, and so on were all produced by her family estate. Even the fish and shrimps were from their own pond. Only the pork and mutton were bought from the market by Jiang Quan.

Everyone praised how delicious the food was – much better than what their own cooks made at home.

Especially the fruit wine and fruit juice, which greatly pleased Luo, the steward. He drank several glasses and got a bit drunk.

With a laugh, he slapped Jiang Jie on the shoulder and slurred, “Ajie, I, I have faith in you. Once the, the results are announced, I will promise my daughter, Zhao, to you!”

Jiang Jie blinked, his face slowly turning red.

Sitting at the other table, Luo Zhao heard this and smiled slightly.

But Luo Yue turned pale and teared up.

Madame Luo, embarrassed by her son’s drunken words, coughed lightly and changed the subject. “Madam Chun, where did you buy this fruit juice from? I feel so refreshed after drinking it.”

Madam Chun replied with a smile, “We made it ourselves. If you like it, I can prepare more for you to try.”

“Oh, that’s so kind of you, sister-in-law.” Wu Jiang quickly pitched in, cursing her husband in her heart for such overstepping.

This was an engagement matter. Since when did the bride’s side make the first move? What if the groom’s side disagreed? Wouldn’t it ruin her daughter’s reputation?

Sigh, since her husband had brought it up, regardless, she would have to carefully plan it.

After all, Jiang Jie was an excellent boy, and the Jiang family greatly trusted by the emperor. His future was sure to be bright.

Marrying her daughter into such a prestigious family, likely soon to rise further, was far better than marrying into any of those old aristocratic families from previous dynasty.

Wu Jiang stole another glance at Yingbao.

The breathtakingly beautiful young girl, simply sitting there was like a painting. She wondered which affluent family she would marry into in the future.

What a pity that her own son was still young, or else…

Just as she was thinking, she noticed her legitimate daughter was on the verge of tears and frowned.

Was this girl, too, harboring some inappropriate thoughts? How dared she behave like this in someone else’s house? Was she, her mother, too lenient with her?

Once they returned home, she would have a word or two with her.

Ajie, on the other hand, was an exceptional young boy. She was way out of his league, wasn’t she?

Wu Jiang took a sip of the fruit juice and said to Yingbao with a smiling eye, “Yingbao, when Ajie passes the examination, let’s go to Fragrant Mountain to pray and fulfill our vows. The temple there is really effective, you know? Every September, even the Emperor would go there for a visit.”

“Sure,” Yingbao nodded.

According to the tradition of Ascending Heights in September, she and her mom planned to have excursions to some scenic spots nearby. Upon returning home, they could share these experiences with their father.

If her little brother stayed in Beijing for his official duty, she would bring her grandparents to have a look at the capital city.

After the meal, the guests returned home, and Yingbao gave some flowers to both Madame Luo and the Steward Luo as gifts. She also invited Mr. Wu and his wife to stay at her place.

Mr. Wu and his wife gladly accepted the invitation, as they were scouting around for properties for sale, which would make visiting each other easier in the future.

Finally, the day of the examination results arrived.

Jiang Quan went with Li Xu and Jiang Jie to check the results.

Outside the Examination Yard, the crowd was as thick as a wall. All were there to see the results.

A handful of them were family members of wealthy businessmen and government officials, some of whom planned to find a husband for their daughters under the lists.

The auspicious time arrived, the doors of the Examination Yard opened, and several Government Officials carried out the yellow lists.

Suddenly, the crowd started to stir. Criers, wearing red flowers and red belts around their waists, rushed forward and quickly ran off after receiving the names and ranks on the list from the officials.

The more households they visited, the more rewards they received.

They couldn’t miss this opportunity that only came around once every three years, they had to earn as much as possible.

Jiang Quan immediately noticed his cousin’s name appeared third in the first rank. He cried out, “Ajie! You’re ranked third! Third!”

His shout caught everyone’s attention in the crowd gathered around the lists.

Immediately, two or three men in embroidered seizes moved closer and started making small talk: “Young sir, could you tell us who the third scholar is?”

Ecstatically, Jiang Quan embraced his little cousin and laughed out loud. “You’re the third scholar!”

Jiang Jie smiled awkwardly as he freed himself from his second cousin and pointed at the list. “Let’s see what rank Mr. Li received.”

Li Xu was pretty talented and had greatly improved after receiving instructions from Mr. Wu. Since Jiang Jie was ranked third, Li Xu couldn’t be far behind. He was convinced that he must have placed in the second rank.

And indeed, Li Xu was ranked fifth in the second rank.

Jiang Jie was overjoyed.

By ranking third, his cousin was guaranteed an official post in Beijing, allowing him to benefit from that connection. He would be able to buy a house and settle in Beijing without any problems.

But…

Why were these men holding onto his cousin and Mr. Li without letting go? Were they planning to kidnap them?

“Hey! What are you doing? Why are you holding onto my cousin Ajie?” Jiang Jie pushed his way through and shouted angrily. “What’s the deal with this dragging and pulling? Is this how you invite guests?”

The men made conciliatory gestures and explained. “I’m from Mr. Zhang’s family at the Ministry of Revenue. We’d like to invite you to visit our house.”

“I’m from Wang Yuan-wai’s family on the east side of the city. Please kindly visit our house to appreciate the chrysanthemum.”

“I’m from the Zhao family on the west side of the city…”

Jiang Quan dismissively swung his hand. “We’re currently unavailable. We already have guests at home.”

“No worries at all.” One of the men shoved invitation cards into the hands of Jiang Jie and Li Xu, thought for a moment, and put another one in Jiang Quan’s hand. “We still hope you gentlemen could attend our event the day after tomorrow. We have three eligible young ladies whose beauty surpasses a flower…”

Before he could finish, he was shoved aside by two other men.

These two also handed invitation cards to Jiang Quan, Jiang Jie, and Li Xu. “Please kindly visit our house…”

In the end, Jiang Quan and a servant finally managed to pull Jiang Jie and Li Xu from the crowd and run to their carriage, only to breathe a sigh of relief once they were safely inside.

That was terrifying!

So, it was true that people actually came to the examination site to find a husband for their daughters.

Among those who were looking for husbands for their daughters, some were aristocrats and even stewards from a family of a third-rank official who invited newly-established top scholars to their homes.

But of course, they were selective about who they asked. First they favored high ranking young scholars, and secondly those who were young and handsome. Even if he is not a top scholar, as long as he is handsome, it is acceptable.