After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

The emperor's punishment of Murong Xu and the Cen family had an absolute deterrent effect, causing widespread panic among civil and military officials, and everyone felt insecure.

The emperor seized the opportunity to vigorously promote the imperial examination system, which went surprisingly smoothly.

Over the course of two years, schools were established in various prefectures of Langya Kingdom, and imperial examinations were conducted.

Furthermore, following the example of the preliminary examination in Zhaohua County, a group of qualified individuals were selected for a unified scientific examination.

After finishing her business, Su Tai came to the county town from Shenjiazhuang. When she passed by Qingfengzhai, she saw Alan and the others busy welcoming and seeing off guests. She subconsciously curled the corners of her mouth and silently asked Yu Dong to pull her back to the house.

When the gatekeeper saw her return, he quickly offered her a charcoal stove.

Su Tai casually asked, "Where is the young lady?"

The gatekeeper replied respectfully, "Miss Lu has gone to the Lu residence. Miss Lu is currently looking for a husband. The Lu family often holds tea parties and banquets, and Madam Lu invited Miss Lu to come along so that she can get to know more ladies and young women."

Su Tai smiled and said, "There are only so many prominent families in Zhaohua County. Haven't you already met all of them, Miss?"

The gatekeeper shook his head repeatedly. "Madam, that's how it used to be, but now that the imperial examination system has been implemented, there will be a unified examination next April. Our Zhaohua County held one before, and the results were remarkable, so many people came here because of its reputation."

I heard that some of them are local gentry and wealthy merchants from other counties, it's quite a lively affair! When they come to Zhaohua County, they must send visiting cards to the county magistrate's house, and not only the county magistrate's house, but also our own.

"But since you weren't in town, the master refused them all."

"Oh? Go get it so I can take a look."

Su Tai returned to her study. When the gatekeeper brought over the stack of visiting cards, her lips twitched slightly. While casually flipping through them, she discovered a special invitation.

It's not that the content is unusual, but rather the style and material of the invitation—something that ordinary gentry and wealthy merchants could never afford.

When was this visiting card sent?

The gatekeeper examined it carefully and hesitated before saying, "It should be within the next two or three days. We usually send out invitations in chronological order, and this one is on the top of the list, so it shouldn't be more than three days from now."

Yu Mei leaned closer and read out, word by word, "Madam Xue, is there such a family in the county? Could they be from another county?"

Su Tai shook her head, "No! You forgot, the garrison commander's surname is Xue, and with this invitation, it's almost certainly true! I'll write a reply later, and you can send it to their residence."

The matriarch of the Xue family only mentioned in her visiting card that she would come to visit, but did not specify the time. She also did not know the other party's background, so she temporarily handed over the initiative to the other party.

After finishing her reply, Su Tai breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that it was still early, she got up and went to the Lu residence.

The Lu family couldn't hold a flower-viewing banquet in the dead of winter, so they could only have a tea party.

A group of people gathered in the attic, eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

As soon as Su Tai entered the room, everyone stopped talking and took the initiative to come over and chat with her.

Su Tai glanced around and saw that everyone there was familiar or unfamiliar. She then politely smiled and greeted everyone, and very naturally took Tang's hand and went to the side to whisper to each other.

"Do you know the matriarch of the Xue family?" Su Tai's question stunned Tang Shi. "Whose family are you talking about? Xue? I don't think there's anyone with the surname Xue here! What's wrong? What happened?"

Su Tai said suspiciously, "I received a visiting card, signed by the mistress of the Xue family. I don't know who it is, but since it's lively here, I came to ask."

Madam Tang laughed, "It's possible that some lady came to visit because of your reputation. Let me tell you, today I was taking care of guests with my two children, and in just half a day, seven or eight ladies asked me about your Yuezhang."

Su Tai glanced discreetly at Shen Yuezhang, who was talking to a group of young ladies in the distance, and asked, "What were they talking about?"

Madam Tang covered her face and chuckled, "What else can I say? A family with a daughter is sought after by a hundred families, not to mention that Yue Zhang is outstanding in every way. The renowned Qingfengzhai alone can attract many suitors. To be honest, what kind of son-in-law are you planning to find? I can also give you some advice!"

Su Tai rolled her eyes helplessly. "Don't worry about me. My Yuezhang is still young, there's no rush. Besides, she's very opinionated, and I don't want to make decisions for her. She can make her own decisions about her life. I'll just offer some suggestions."

Madam Lu shook her head in disapproval, "How can a young girl make decisions for herself? If you ask me, her parents should be the ones to help. Besides, Yuezhang is of marriageable age. If we don't settle down now, she won't have many choices in a couple of years."

Su Tai remained unhurried and shifted the topic to Lu Xiang, "Is there any progress on Xiangxiang's marriage?"

Tang looked around and pointed to a dignified woman in the corner, saying, "That is the wife of the magistrate of Ping'an County. They have a son who is about the same age as Xiangxiang. To be honest, I like him quite a bit, but Ping'an County is a bit far away, and I would be reluctant to marry Xiangxiang there."

If she's not doing well in her husband's family, we won't be able to get the news in time and help her.

And that lady, that's Madam Ma from the Ma family in our county. The Ma family is one of the top families in the county. They used to be suppressed by the Zhu family, but in the last two years the Zhu family has gradually declined, while the Ma family has become very powerful. If we arrange a marriage with the Ma family, Xiangxiang's future will definitely be bright and prosperous.”

After all, her husband was the county magistrate, and he was a businessman in Zhaohua County. Who would dare to offend him?

Su Tai raised an eyebrow. "Just these two?"

It's impossible that the Lu family has held so many tea parties and only found two people they liked!
Tang paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Actually, there is another candidate, the young master of the Pu family in Dahe Town who was found, named Pu Tianyou. He is much older than Xiangxiang, and they were originally supposed to be engaged."

He took the imperial examination and achieved only a mediocre result, thus delaying his attempt for several years in order to prepare for the next year's exam.

Upon hearing this, Su Tai was surprised. "You mean the Pu family also sent someone to propose marriage?"

Madam Tang shook her head. "They didn't say it explicitly, but when Master Pu and my husband had a chat last time, they mentioned this matter. My husband thought the Pu family was quite good, and he was quite fond of them. I'm a little hesitant. In terms of status, the best choice is the son of the magistrate of Ping'an County. If we don't choose that, the other families are all about the same for Xiangxiang. It's really difficult to choose the best one from among them!"

Su Tai's eyes darted around, and an idea came to her. "That's easy. After the imperial examinations next year, Young Master Lu can hold a tea party, and then let Xiangxiang take a look secretly. Whoever she likes, she can choose. It's that simple!"

Tang was startled by Su Tai's boldness, but she was actually a little tempted.

Su Tai sat for a while longer, and only when she felt it was about time did she ask Yu Mei to inform Shen Yuezhang to go back.

After the tea party ended, Tang's eldest sister-in-law, Peng, rushed over to inquire, "Sister-in-law, what did Madam Shen say? Is there any hope for the marriage?"

Tang couldn't bear to hurt Peng, but thinking of Su Tai's attitude, she could only shake her head and earnestly advise, "Sister-in-law, I think you should give up on this marriage with the Shen family."

Even setting aside whether Madam Shen had such thoughts, the Shen family had a powerful background in the capital, and the eldest son of the Shen family was now a seventh-rank clerk at the Imperial Academy. Even if the eldest daughter of the Shen family were to marry, she would have to marry into a higher social class, or find someone of equal social standing. (End of Chapter)