I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

When Xu Qing got home, it was already completely dark.

There were no lights in the alley, only the sparse moonlight shining on the bluestone slabs.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, but before he even stepped inside, he noticed something unusual about the scene inside...

At this time in the past, Song Yao would have already gone home.

But she was still there today, squatting in the yard with Xu's mother, Sun, packing things up.

The wooden basin used for washing clothes was upside down in the corner, the washboard had been dried and put away, and a few pieces of soap were placed next to it.

The embroidery hoop and needle and thread basket were also put together.

Song Yao was putting the embroidery needles back into her needle case one by one.

Xu Qing pushed the door open and came in; the two of them looked up at him at the same time.

"Mother, what...what are you doing?"

Xu Qing walked over, squatted down, and looked at the tools that had been put away. "I haven't seen you for several days. Are you still busy so late?"

Mother Xu dusted off her hands, smiled, and stood up.

"We were busy in the fields the past few days, harvesting what needed to be harvested and turning the soil, we couldn't just leave it fallow. We just finished getting things done and when I got back, Yao Yao told me that she ran into the Xiao family today."

Xu Qing's gaze fell on the tools that had been put away...

Especially that embroidery hoop, the handkerchief on it wasn't finished yet, and the half-finished orchid was put into the basket.

"It'll be just right to pack it up." Xu Qing stood up and smiled slightly.

"Sawing clothes is tiring and hard work, and neither of you are in good health, so you don't need to do it anymore. As for embroidery, it's too hard on your eyes to do it at night. You can do a few stitches during the day if you feel like it, and don't do it if you don't feel like it."

Song Yao lowered her head and inserted the last needle into the needle case.

"The Xiao family said that I can no longer take on embroidery work from outside, and that they can buy up any stock I have at a high price."

Xu Qing frowned: "The Xiao family? They're here today? How come I didn't know?"

So Song Yao recounted what had happened that day...

An old man in a blue cloth robe came to her door with a man who looked like a manager. He asked about her recent situation and said that she no longer needed to wash clothes and that she could sell them embroidery.

After listening, Xu Qing had already sketched out the person's appearance in his mind.

He smiled and said, "Yaoyao, that's not just anyone from the Xiao family. That's Xiao Mingyuan's father, Xiao Wanjin."

"Huh? What?"

Song Yao almost dropped the needle case in her hand.

"Huh? Xiao Wanjin? What's he doing here? I thought he was the steward of the Xiao family..."

Xu Qing thought for a moment and decided not to tell the truth.

Xiao Wanjin's visit today is most likely to probe his background, to find out if he is someone Xiao Mingyuan should follow.

Or perhaps the case with those poems...

But I can't tell Song Yao this; it will only make her worry more.

He smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps he was afraid that I would lead Xiao Mingyuan astray, so he came to check on the situation."

Song Yao nodded, saying nothing, but she clearly breathed a sigh of relief...

She thought to herself: As long as it wasn't someone sent by Su Man, that's fine.

After watching the two finish speaking, Xu's mother cleared her throat and spoke.

"Qing'er, we were poor before and couldn't afford to talk about these things. Now that you're earning money and meeting respectable people, you're no longer acting recklessly. Life is getting better and better. Shouldn't we start talking about your marriage?"

The courtyard fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

The chirping of crickets outside, and even the sound of them rubbing their legs, could be clearly heard coming in.

Song Yao's face flushed red instantly, the color spreading from her ears all the way down her neck, making her look like a bright red tomato.

She lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and spoke in a very soft voice, almost like a mosquito's hum: "I...I'm not ready yet."

Xu Qing was also taken aback.

He knew this hurdle was inevitable, but he didn't expect it to come so soon. So he scratched the back of his head and hesitated for a moment.

"Um... I don't think I'm old enough yet?"

Xu's mother rolled her eyes at him: "This is in the village, everyone who's fourteen or older gets married. You're both old enough; in other families, the children would already be running around. It's only because of you that you're still not married."

Xu Qing remained silent for a while, thought carefully, and then spoke.

"Mother, I remember you said before that you would wait until Yao Yao had passed the county-level examination and obtained the title of a candidate for the imperial examination before marrying her. Besides, Yao Yao's illness is not yet cured. If we get married now... it's hard to say whether her body can handle it."

Xu Qing was telling the truth. Song Yao's body was too weak to withstand any more strain.

I've been eating well lately, and my cough has improved somewhat, but it's still not completely gone.

If she gets married now and becomes pregnant, given her current health condition, there's likely to be a major problem.

This matter needs to be put on hold.

But when Song Yao heard these words, they took on a different meaning.

Her fingers clenched tighter, and tears welled up in her lowered eyes.

She kept thinking about it...

What does Brother Qing mean by this?

Are you saying I'm not healthy?

still is……

Or did he fall for someone else after he got together with that girl, Su Man?

Nothing more...

She's a well-known lady from a prominent family throughout the county. She's rich, powerful, and beautiful. Compared to her, what am I?

A sickly girl, a poor girl who even needed help getting food...

Even a fool would know who to choose...

And can my illness really be cured?

She bit her lip hard, forcing back the tears that were about to fall, and when she looked up, a forced smile was on her face.

"Brother Qing is right, that's another reason. Let's wait a bit longer, at least until Brother Qing passes the county exam, or until my illness improves..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

Xu's mother glanced at her son, then at Song Yao's forced composure, hesitated, and finally just sighed and patted Song Yao's hand.

"Silly girl, don't you know he's clumsy with words? He was just worried about your health, he didn't mean anything else."

Song Yao nodded slightly without saying anything.

After Song Yao took her leave and went back, Xu Qing returned to the dilapidated study and spread out the past years' county examination questions that she had brought back from Xiao Mingyuan on the table.

He lit the oil lamp and turned to the first page.

Although the original owner had neglected his studies for several years, his foundation in the Four Books and Five Classics was not too bad.

Xu Qing flipped through a few of the original owner's old exercises on breaking down essay topics and found that although this person's vision was not broad and his thinking was not expansive, his basic skills were quite solid.

While the essays that addressed the topic weren't exactly brilliant, they weren't bad compared to other model essays from previous years' county examinations.

Given his level, he shouldn't have failed even the county-level examination.

Xu Qing frowned and pulled out the original owner's memories of participating in the county examinations over the years...

Those were all written down from memory by the original owner.

He looked at it carefully and found something amiss: the original owner had written several papers with decent answers, but still didn't get good grades.

That's not right...

Xu Qing's fingers slowly traced the paper, a guess forming in her mind...