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

The original owner of this body repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, which was probably not just a matter of ability.

Someone doesn't want him to pass!

The moment this thought crossed Xu Qing's mind, her brows furrowed.

He recalled the original owner's interpersonal relationships; who could possibly have manipulated that aspect...

Xu Danian is inextricably linked to this.

It's not impossible that someone is behind him!

But now is not the time to dwell on that.

Xu Qing opened "A Compilation of County Examination Questions" and began to compare the problem-solving approaches from previous years one by one.

He came from a later era, and his perspective and understanding of issues were completely different from those of scholars in this era. Many policy issues that seemed thorny in this time could be solved by changing one's approach.

He scribbled and drew on the paper, and before he knew it, it was late at night.

……

Early the next morning...

bang bang bang...

Xu Qing, who was asleep, heard a series of urgent knocks on the door.

He groggily opened his eyes and heard his mother calling from outside, "Qing'er! Get up quickly! Something terrible has happened!"

Xu Qing sat up abruptly, put on her coat, and opened the door: "Mother, what's wrong?"

Mrs. Xu was so anxious she could barely speak: "Your wife is about to be taken away! How can you not be worried! Hurry up and leave!"

Xu Qing's sleepiness vanished instantly, and she woke up with a start: "What? Who's trying to steal it?"

"Go quickly and check on the Song family!"

Xu Qing's expression changed, and she turned and walked out.

The Song family's alley was deeper and narrower than the Xu family's, but their courtyard was a bit larger.

Song Yao was diligent, keeping the yard spotless...

Firewood was neatly stacked in the corner, several pots of scallions she had grown herself sat on the windowsill, a string of dried chili peppers hung on the chimney of the kitchen, and there wasn't a single drop of water on the well.

Normally, Xu Qing would take a second look and feel that the courtyard was full of life.

But he wasn't in the mood at all today, because he could hear voices coming from the Song family's courtyard from just half an alleyway away...

The noise was deafening, and the neighbors who came to watch the spectacle gathered in layers upon layers.

Xu Qing squeezed in and took a look; his face immediately turned black.

A plump woman stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips.

The woman was in her early forties, tall and burly, with a round face piled with flesh, and her eyebrows and eyes slanted downwards, making her look intimidating.

She was wearing a gaudy silk jacket with a coarse cloth belt around her waist, which made her round waist look like a gourd baby.

Her lips were very thin, and when she opened and closed them, two rows of unpleasant yellow teeth were revealed.

The flesh on his chin jiggles when he talks, which is unsettling to watch.

Xu Qing knew her.

Song Yao's maternal aunt's surname is Qian.

Since Song Yao's uncle passed away, she had rarely visited the Song family, but the original owner of this body had a very deep impression of this woman in her memories...

Back when the Song family was relatively well-off, she would come to "borrow" things every few days, but she never returned them.

After the Song family fell into ruin, she never appeared again.

The presence of someone like that in Song Yao's yard today is definitely not a good thing.

Sure enough, as soon as Qian saw Xu Qing and his mother step into the courtyard, her triangular eyes widened.

She put her hands on her hips and raised her voice louder than a suona horn: "Hey! Xu Qing! You've finally arrived. Just in time! Today, right in front of you, let's get this straight..."

She pointed at Song Yao.

Song Yao stood at the entrance of the main room, her face pale and her lips tightly pressed together, without saying a word.

"Your engagement with Yao Yao is null and void from today!" Qian's voice was shrill.

"I've already arranged a much better marriage for her! They're from a wealthy family in the prefectural city! A hundred times better than you, a poor nobody! If you know what's good for you, hand over the marriage contract and don't ruin Yao Yao's future!"

Xu Qing's gaze passed over Qian Shi and landed behind her...

At the entrance to Song Yao's main room, two burly old women grabbed Song Yao's arms on either side, trying to drag her out.

Song Yao staggered as she was pulled, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent, staring intently in Xu Qing's direction.

There were three or four burly thugs standing in the courtyard, arms crossed behind Qian Shi, clearly there to keep order.

The visitor is not good.

Without thinking twice, Xu Qing rushed over.

He grabbed the old woman's wrist on the left and twisted it outwards sharply. The old woman cried out in pain and let go.

He then sidestepped the old woman on the right, pulled Song Yao back a step, and shielded her behind him.

Seeing this, the three or four thugs rolled up their sleeves and were about to rush forward.

Xu's mother suddenly appeared, her small body leaning forward, spreading her arms to protect Xu Qing and Song Yao behind her.

She stood in front of him, her face showing no sign of backing down, her voice loud and clear.

"What do you want to do in broad daylight? Hit someone?"

She turned her head and shouted loudly at the neighbors who were watching the commotion outside the courtyard.

"Folks! Come and see! Someone is trying to abduct a young woman! Dragging her home in broad daylight! If this gets taken to the county government, he'll be exiled at the very least!"

The thugs froze in their tracks.

They glanced at each other, and the fierceness on their faces visibly diminished.

They're paid to do things, so it's not worth risking a crime like being exiled three thousand miles away for a few taels of silver.

The act of forcibly abducting women is no laughing matter in any dynasty.

But the Qian family was not afraid.

She took two steps forward with her hands on her hips, her large figure blocking Xu's mother completely.

"What do you mean by 'abducting a woman'? Don't spout nonsense! Yao Yao is my niece, and I'm her aunt! Her uncle is gone, so I naturally have the right to discipline her!"

Xu's mother sneered and met her gaze without flinching.

"You dare use the word 'discipline'? After Yao Yao's uncle passed away, besides taking everything out of her house, when have you ever properly disciplined her? Now you suddenly show up at my door; I think you're up to no good!"

Qian's face twitched a couple of times when she was blocked like that, but she was obviously used to being thick-skinned and quickly regained her composure.

"Me, move her things? She's just a little girl, how could she possibly use that much stuff by herself? I have three sons to support, and they're all her cousins. What's wrong with her helping us? Yao Yao herself hasn't said anything, what right do you, an outsider, have to interfere!"

Mrs. Xu straightened her back and raised her voice even higher: "How am I an outsider? I'm her future mother-in-law! I've raised this girl like my own daughter since she was little, you're the outsider!"

Qian spat out a few drops of saliva, his triangular eyes glaring.

"Oh ho! You're getting all excited about marriage! Look at the mess your family is in..."

A dilapidated courtyard, a few leaky houses, and a poor scholar who couldn't even pass the county-level examination...

What right do you have to marry Yao Yao? And you call yourself a mother-in-law? You're not worthy!

As she spoke, she took another step forward, clapping her hands loudly.

"I'm going to make this clear today! Yao Yao's marriage is my decision! Who she marries is not for you, an outsider, to decide!"

Mother Xu refused to back down: "This is a marriage agreement made by Qing'er's father and Yao Yao's father back then, a matter agreed upon by both families! How dare you, an aunt who has no dealings with them, interfere?"

At this point, Madam Qian suddenly laughed, her eyes crinkling with deep wrinkles, her smile brimming with smugness.

"A marriage contract? Fine! Show me the signed and sealed marriage certificate!"

Xu's mother opened her mouth slightly, then stopped.

Qian noticed that brief pause, and her smugness deepened: "What? Can't produce it?"