Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Chengyu looked at his wife and second aunt and repeated firmly, "I have moved all the things from Chongwentang back. I will never go to school again."

Old Mrs. Tang glanced at the wooden box full of books beside him, breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with a hopeful look, "It's alright if you don't go to school. You can still learn by reading at home. Next year we'll go to the provincial capital to register for the imperial examination. I'll figure out how to raise the tuition fees. You don't need to worry about the tuition. Just focus on your studies. Learning is the most important thing."

Tang Chengyu's face grew increasingly gloomy as he spoke the cruel truth, word by word: "Chongwen Hall has already removed me from the list. Moreover, unless someone vouches for me, I don't even have the qualification to participate in the provincial examination."

"What?!" Aunt Tang Er exploded on the spot, jumping up and down in anger, "This Chongwen Hall is too lawless! What right do they have to expel you? Come on, Chengyu, Auntie Er will take you to Jiangtou Town to find the headmaster and demand an explanation!"

Old Mrs. Tang rolled up her sleeves and angrily chimed in, "That's right! Let's go together, mother and daughter, and give that headmaster a good dressing down so he'll restore your status!"

Tang Chengyu quickly reached out to stop the two, and said in a low voice the real reason for his expulsion: "It's not that Chongwen Hall expelled me arbitrarily, it's that they believe I cheated during the exam. Cheating is the most taboo thing in the imperial examination, and this stain will follow me for the rest of my life. I can never participate in the imperial examination again in my life."

After saying that, he bent down, picked up the two large boxes of books at his feet, turned around and silently walked into the house, leaving Old Mrs. Tang and Aunt Tang standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Both women were honest, unassuming women from the mountains, with little worldly experience. They couldn't understand the implications of Tang Chengyu's words at all. They only knew that "not being able to take the imperial examination" was a huge deal, and they were completely bewildered, even forgetting to utter any curses.

Not long after, Tang Chengyu came out of the house and said calmly, "Over the years, my schooling has cost a lot of money, and my grandparents and parents have suffered a lot for me. From now on, you don't need to raise tuition fees for me anymore."

He paused, then looked at Aunt Tang: "Aunt, how much money have my eldest and second sisters spent on my education over the years? Tell me the exact amount."

Aunt Tang twitched her lips and said perfunctorily, "Your second sister's family is struggling financially, and they only bring some grain over each year; your eldest sister only received thirty taels of silver as a relief fund last year, and that's all."

"That's not right," Tang Chengyu immediately retorted, his tone certain. "Every time tuition fees were due, my eldest sister would come to the Tang family to deliver the money, ranging from a hundred copper coins to one or two taels of silver. Over the years, I've accumulated at least fifty or sixty taels of silver owed to my eldest sister."

Old Mrs. Tang's eyes widened, and she scolded sharply, "What nonsense are you spouting, child! It's only natural for your older sister to give you money. After all, she's your sister, and she has money of her own. There's no question of 'owing' her!"

"This is a debt that I, Tang Chengyu, owe my elder sister personally. It has nothing to do with the Tang family." Tang Chengyu said firmly, then took out a small cloth bag from his pocket. "This contains the money I earn from copying books. I'll use this to pay off the debt first."

After saying that, he lifted his leg to walk out.

Aunt Tang rushed forward, grabbing his arm tightly and scolding, "Have you gone mad from studying too much? Tang Susu isn't giving us money anymore, and now you're even sending money over? Don't worry, Auntie will find a way to solve your schooling problem. Give me the money, and I'll keep it safe for you!"

Tang Chengyu remained silent, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He used to accept his elder sister's help without a second thought because he was certain that he could pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, and that he would be able to repay her many times over in the future.

But now, the stigma of cheating has completely ruined his scientific research career. He will most likely be stuck farming in Xihe Village for the rest of his life. He no longer wants his family to continue to live a life of hardship for his uncertain future.

He forcefully broke free from Aunt Tang's obstruction and walked out of the Tang family courtyard without saying a word.

Aunt Tang was so anxious she stamped her feet, muttering, "This child, he's really lost his mind!"

Old Mrs. Tang wasn't in such a hurry. Instead, she thought: giving away some copper coins was nothing; there would be plenty of opportunities to get them back from Tang Susu later. What she should be most worried about right now was Tang Chengyu's inability to take the imperial examination.

She immediately got up and said she would ask the village head and the old man in Xihe Village to think of a solution, and then turned and walked towards the center of the village.

Tang Chengyu did not return to the Tang family home, but instead turned and walked towards Yangqu Village.

He had visited Yangqu Village once when he was a child with Tang Susu, and he roughly remembered the route.

From afar, he saw several patrol team members standing at the entrance of Yangqu Village, holding long wooden sticks and blocking the road into the village.

Tang Chengyu was extremely famous in several nearby villages and towns. Not only did everyone in Xihe Village know that he was a gifted child prodigy, but the people in Yangqu Village also knew that Aunt Yang (Tang Susu) was desperately spending money on the Tang family to support her nephew's education.

In addition, he was handsome, had elegant manners, and exuded the gentle air of a scholar, without any sense of sharpness.

He stepped forward and introduced himself: "I am Tang Chengyu from Xihe Village, here to see Tang Susu from Yang Fujun's family."

The village patrol team members exchanged glances, immediately stepped aside to make way, and said, "Go in, the Yang family is busy in the yard."

The afternoon sun gradually became gentle, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of the families cooking breakfast in the village.

Following the route he remembered, Tang Chengyu quickly arrived at Tang Susu's house.

As soon as he arrived outside the yard, he saw his cousin Tang Xiaomi peeking into the yard through the gaps in the fence.

"Xiao Mi, what are you doing here?" Tang Chengyu frowned and asked.

Upon seeing her older brother, Tang Xiaomi was overwhelmed with resentment. She pouted and cried, "Brother! Yang Xiaobao won't let me into the yard. I haven't eaten anything since this morning, and I'm so hungry..."

Her crying startled Yang Gousheng inside the house.

Yang Gousheng strode out of the main room. Upon seeing Tang Chengyu, his face immediately darkened, and he coldly snorted, "What are you doing here? I advise you to leave now. Don't expect my mother to give you tuition fees. My mother said that when she has extra money, she'll support Xiaobao's education; it's not your turn! You'd better take your sister and leave Yangqu Village!"

"I'm not here to ask for money." Tang Chengyu shook his head, slowly took out a money pouch from his sleeve, bit his lip, "There are three and a half taels of silver in here. I'll pay back part of it to my elder sister first. I'll pay back the rest of the debt slowly."

Yang Gousheng stared in disbelief, his eyes wide open.

The Tang family has always only ever taken advantage of themselves and never given anything back. He really couldn't believe that Tang Chengyu would take the initiative to repay the debt, and even suspected that this clever scholar was digging some kind of pit.

He dared not make the decision on his own, so he quickly turned around and went into the house, calling Tang Susu out.

At this moment, Tang Susu was busy filtering lantern seeds.

The surge in orders made the job incredibly demanding; she and Tang Liqiang were working up a sweat and had only completed a third of it.

She originally planned to leave the rest of the work to Yang Gousheng and Tang Liqiang, and go to the kitchen to prepare dinner herself.

When she heard Yang Gousheng say that Tang Chengyu had come to repay the debt, she paused for a moment, wiped the water off her hands, squinted, and walked out the door.

Seeing that Tang Chengyu was still wearing the white and blue robe of Chongwentang, with an upright posture and an air of righteous indignation amidst her elegance, she slowly stepped forward and said calmly, "Your grandmother came this morning and threatened me that if I didn't give her five taels of silver for tuition, she would leave Xiao Mi in Yangqu Village. But as you can see, our family has many members and little food. We have neither the money to pay your tuition nor the money to raise Xiao Mi."

"I will no longer go to school, nor will I take the imperial examination," Tang Chengyu reiterated, handing over the money pouch. "I will repay the money I owed my elder sister, little by little."

Tang Susu took the money bag, opened it, and saw that it indeed contained three taels and five mace of silver, as well as a few loose copper coins.

She was filled with confusion.

Not long ago, when she was shopping at Renning Hall, the shopkeeper specifically praised Tang Chengyu to her, saying that he was the most promising student at Chongwen Hall and was very likely to stand out in the provincial examination next year.

Why would he suddenly give up studying?

Even if it were truly because of a lack of money, given Old Lady Tang's personality, she would sell the family's youngest daughter to raise money for his education; she would never give up on him easily.

Tang Susu carefully put away the money pouch, looked at Tang Chengyu, and said bluntly, "You're just a scholar; you can't possibly pay off a debt of fifty or sixty taels of silver by doing farm work alone. Tell me the truth, what are your plans for the future?"