Early in the morning, he saw Nian-ger come over, speak mysteriously with his older brother for a while, and then leave with a smile on his face.

Yan Shaoxuan was quite pleased, assuming that Nian-ger had been invited by his older brother to arrange a marriage for him.

Although Nian-ger didn’t have much experience, he was on good terms with Yu-ger, and Yu-ger had previously instructed the matchmaker to be him. As the first marriage arranged for the brothers, it carried a rather auspicious meaning.

One moment, Yan Shaoxuan was still praising his older brother for his efficiency, amazed that he’d even arranged for a matchmaker in advance;

Next, he heard Yan Shaocheng say that Yu-ger had no such feelings for him, and that it was all just his own delusion.

No matter what, he refused to believe it.

Yan Shaocheng spoke earnestly, saying that Yan Xiaoyu only regarded them as friends. Yan Shaoxuan didn’t admit it out loud, but in his mind, he quickly replayed every little detail from the past few days, growing more and more anxious the more he thought about it.

When Yu-ger first met him, the admiration in his eyes was genuine, but afterward, he treated him and his older brother exactly the same. 

He’d cook braised pork and braised pork feet for him, yet he never neglected his older brother; he praised him often, but he praised his older brother just as much; even the tokens of affection he gave him—one for each of them…

“It’s different. He treats us differently.”

His rebuttal was baseless, so feeble that even he found it laughable after speaking.

His heart was brimming with joy; just thinking of that name would bring a sweet smile to his lips. Was it all just a mirage, a fleeting illusion?

Yan Shaoxuan’s hand tightened around the teacup so hard the veins stood out. He tried to set it down on the table but misjudged the force; scalding tea spilled over his hand, and the ceramic cup shattered with a crash, splitting in two and leaving a bloody gash on his right index finger.

“Shaoxuan!” Yan Shaocheng hurried over, frowning with concern. “Are you all right? Is it serious?”

Yan Shaoxuan had taken special care with his appearance today. A smoke-gray, wide-sleeved robe set him apart with an air of nobility. His jet-black hair was tied high with a jade hairpin, revealing his flawlessly handsome face without a trace of concealment—so dazzling that one felt too shy to meet his gaze, and anyone who saw him would inevitably praise him as a “fair-faced young gentleman.”

Yet at this very moment, he looked utterly bedraggled.

Tea and blood had soaked his sleeves, but he wore an expressionless face, seemingly oblivious. 

Yan Shaocheng looked at his hand, only to have it seized by Yan Shaoxuan: “If he really didn’t mean anything by it, why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why did you still agree to go to his house to propose marriage?”

Yan Shaoxuan stared at Yan Shaocheng, his expression stubborn.

His eyes were red-rimmed, the pain in them unmistakable; he looked like a caged beast, struggling repeatedly within his own emotions.

Yan Shaocheng looked down at the arm he was holding and sighed silently: “So as not to affect your exams.”

A mocking smile flashed across Yan Shaoxuan’s lips as he replied hoarsely, “Fine, I get it.”

Seriously, he was asking a question he already knew the answer to.

He lowered his gaze to hide his emotions. “Big Brother, I’m a bit tired. I want to go back to my room and get some sleep.”

Without waiting for Yan Shaocheng’s reply, he hurried back to his room.

After he left, Yan Shaocheng grabbed a cloth and wiped the table clean.

Seeing the chipped cup on the table, Yan Shaocheng shook his head, feeling a bit troubled.

The injury on his hand wasn’t serious; it would heal completely in a few days. But who knew how long it would take for his younger brother’s emotional wounds to heal?

Judging by the situation, the blow must have been quite severe.

Though Yan Shaocheng felt heartbroken, he didn’t interfere much.

Shaoxuan was a man; he would eventually take charge of his own little family. If Yan Shaocheng shielded him from everything, he would only be doing Shaoxuan a disservice.

His younger brother didn’t need that.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Yan Shaoxuan didn’t have much time to feel down.

After the provincial examination results were announced, the Prefecture of Peiyang sent official documents to each county. A total of over 120 candidates had passed the examination to become Xiucai, and the list had long since been delivered to the officials in each county.

This time, six candidates from Weishi County passed the exam. According to the rules of the Great Chu, Xiucai were divided into three ranks based on their provincial examination scores, though local authorities might adjust these rankings based on actual circumstances.

In Peiyang Prefecture, the top thirty were designated as “Linsheng.” Linsheng received government grain subsidies—five taels of silver and four dou of rice per month—and was exempt from taxes on fifty mu of farmland.

In addition, a Linsheng served as a guarantor for other provincial examination candidates.

Those ranked 31st to 60th were called “Zengsheng.” While Zengsheng received neither grain nor subsidies, they too possessed the authority to vouch for candidates and were granted an exemption from land taxes on twenty mu of farmland.

All those ranked 60th and below were “Fusheng.” They received neither grain nor subsidies, could not vouch for others, and were not eligible for land tax exemptions.

Yan Yonghe belonged to this category of Fusheng.

Of the six scholars who passed the county examination in Weishi County, only two were Linsheng; Yan Shaoxuan was one of them, and he even ranked first in the examination—one can imagine how much attention this attracted.

He had already ranked first in the prefectural examination; after observing a six-year mourning period, he took the provincial examination for the first time and again ranked first. Now only eighteen years old, he is sure to achieve great things in the future.

Throughout the morning, a steady stream of visitors came to pay their respects—not only villagers from Xiling Village, but also quite a few local gentry and landowners, all seeking to cultivate connections.

By the afternoon, the crowd had thinned, but an official from the county yamen arrived to deliver an invitation—the County Magistrate had invited the six newly selected scholars to visit his residence in three days’ time.

No sooner had the county magistrate’s messenger left than Niu Fugui arrived at the door.

He had come yesterday to offer his congratulations; today, upon arriving, he first asked what the messenger from the county magistrate’s office was doing there, then inquired whether the Yan family needed help with the banquet preparations.

After beating around the bush for quite some time, he finally got to the point.

He had come regarding the tax-exempt quota for Yan Shaoxuan’s fifty mu of farmland.

“To be honest, my family has made a decent sum of silver doing business with Yu-ger. I didn’t come here today for my own sake. Nowadays, neither you nor I are short on grain, but there are still many people in our village who can only eat one proper meal a day—life is very hard for them. Your family doesn’t own any land, so why not use this tax-exempt quota to convert into silver anyway—why not allocate it to someone in our village? Rest assured, we neighbors won’t let you lose out.

Whatever the market price is, they’ll—

“Uncle Niu.” Before Niu Fugui could finish, Yan Shaoxuan cut him off. “I’m giving this quota to Uncle Yan’s family.”

“Huh? W-well, all right then.” Niu Fugui was naturally reserved in speech, and today his expression was particularly cold. Having been rebuffed, he didn’t dare ask any further questions.

Fortunately, Yan Shaocheng stepped in to smooth things over.

“Uncle Niu, you know that Yu-ger has helped my family a great deal. If it weren’t for him taking me into business, I’d still be traveling as a merchant out there, and Shaoxuan wouldn’t have been able to scrape together the funds for the provincial exams so quickly. So, regarding this fifty-mu tax-exempt quota, Shaoxuan and I both agree it should go to Uncle Yan and his family first. However, if they can’t use it all, the remainder can still be distributed to the villagers.”

Yan Xiaoyu’s family only owns eight mu of land; they certainly won’t be able to use the entire fifty-mu tax-exempt quota. The question is whether they’ll buy additional land to make up the fifty mu.

After all, with no land tax to pay, whatever the fields produce is all theirs—a temptation most people simply can’t resist.

Niu Fugui didn’t dare to get his hopes up too high.

After he left, Yan Shaocheng looked at Yan Shaoxuan: “Since we’re not proposing marriage, will you still give those fifty acres of tax-exempt land to Brother Yu?”

Yan Shaoxuan lowered his eyes and said softly, “I was going to give it to him anyway. Whether we propose marriage or not, I still intend to give it to him.”

After speaking, he glanced hesitantly at Yan Shaocheng: “Big Brother, do you blame me?”

By selling the tax-exempt quota, Yan Shaoxuan could receive a large sum of silver, and the burden on Yan Shaocheng’s shoulders would be significantly lightened. 

“Why would I blame you?” Yan Shaocheng waved his hand dismissively. “Back then, to treat our foster mother’s illness, we drained our family’s savings dry. It was you who spent half a month in the mountains, risking your life to hunt a few larger game animals to sell for money, which helped me scrape together the funds to restock our supplies. Back then, when we were that poor, you didn’t cling to the silver. Now that we have enough to eat and drink, and I’ve saved enough for your provincial exams, why would I hold that against you?”

“This belongs to you anyway; you can do with it as you please.”

Yan Shaoxuan felt a stir in his heart.

It was fine while there were people around, but once those who’d come to curry favor or ask for favors had left, Yan Shaoxuan’s mind was once again filled with Yan Xiaoyu.

He felt annoyed, yet there was nothing he could do about it. He wrote in his study for quite a while, but still couldn’t settle his mind.

Especially that set of calligraphy tools on the desk—he’d never brought himself to use them, as they always reminded him of the look on Yan Xiaoyu’s face when he’d given them to him that day.

If he didn’t like him, why did he keep smiling at him?

Yan Shaoxuan struggled with himself for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t resist. He left and headed to Yan Xiaoyu’s house. Only upon arriving was he told by Yan Xingmao that Yan Xiaoyu had gone to town and hadn’t returned yet.

Yan Xingmao and Qiuhua treated him warmly, but the moment he recalled his older brother’s words—that the two had misunderstood Brother Yu’s intentions and were therefore being kind to him—Yan Shaoxuan could not bring himself to feel happy.

Yan Xingmao and his wife invited him to stay for dinner, but he declined.

On the way back, Yan Shaoxuan was distracted and felt a hollow emptiness inside.

That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep a wink. His mind raced through a whirlwind of memories, all scenes of his past time with Brother Yu.

He knew that, deep down, he still didn’t have the heart.

Early the next morning, when he saw Nian-ger coming over again, Yan Shaoxuan, as if possessed, called out to him.

“My older brother is in the kitchen making tofu skewers; it’s not a good time right now. Just tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Oh, what else could it be?” Nian-ger pressed his thumbs together, winking and grinning mischievously. “It’s about matchmaking, of course! ”

Yan Shaoxuan clenched his fists, struggling to stay calm: “For whom?”

Even though he knew his older brother wouldn’t lie to him about something like this, a sliver of unrealistic hope still flared up in his heart—that Nian-ger had come to arrange a match between him and Yu-ger.

Maybe his older brother had gotten it wrong; perhaps Yu-ger actually liked him.

Yan Shaoxuan pressed his lips together, staring nervously at ger.

Nian-ger looked puzzled: “Didn’t Big Brother Yan tell you? He told me when I came over yesterday—he’s setting him up, and he’s already agreed!”

“My older brother agreed?!” Before Yan Shaoxuan could even feel disappointed, he was stunned into silence. “Who did you say it was?”

“You don’t know?” Nian-ger asked, casting a wary glance at Yan Shaoxuan.

Arranging a marriage is a good thing—why wouldn’t Yan Dalang tell Yan Erlang? Could it be that Yan Erlang is trying to cause trouble?

That won’t do. He’d finally managed to get his business off the ground; he wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin it!

“Um, you’ll find out who it is when your older brother gets married. Why are you in such a hurry now?” Nian-ger’s smile stiffened as he tried to change the subject. “Yan Erlang, why aren’t you inside studying? Isn’t the exam coming up soon?”

Even though the young man was beating around the bush, Yan Shaoxuan had already formed his own suspicions.

No wonder his older brother had insisted he prepare the betrothal gifts even though he knew the young man was the only one enthusiastic about the match; no wonder most of those gifts were in styles that young women would like; no wonder his older brother seemed vaguely jealous whenever the topic of Yan Xingmao and his wife’s attitude toward him came up…

So his eldest brother had his eye on Yan Xiaoyue!

To let him go through all that foolishness and even give him the betrothal gift list for nothing—what a great older brother he really is!