Chapter 56: Chapter 56

The next morning before dawn, the Xie family courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Old Chen wore an indigo blue robe with an auspicious cloud-patterned headband, her hair neatly coiled at the back of her head, her face glowing with vitality. Were it not for the marks left by years of hard labor on her hands and face, and her slightly hunched back that never quite straightened, one might have mistaken her for a wealthy madam from the county town.

Beside her, Grandfather Xie was similarly dressed in his best dark brown robe - one he hadn't even worn during New Year celebrations. The ever-present pipe in his hands was forgotten as he kept peering anxiously toward the gate.

From the main hall came Old Chen's booming voice: "Oh heavens, eldest daughter-in-law! Didn't I tell you to clean this earlier? There's still dust on this table corner!"

"Fourth daughter-in-law, look at what you're wearing! Go change immediately! You call yourself a county girl yet don't even know how to dress properly? Don't embarrass us before the young masters!"

"This is Sanwa's first time bringing classmates home! Everyone better be on their best behavior! If anyone dares embarrass us before Sanwa's friends, just wait till I deal with them tonight!"

As the sun rose higher, Old Chen's expression visibly tightened in the main hall. Even Xie the Third and his wife received several sharp scoldings.

Fortunately, before noon, the group had arrived at the village entrance. When the village children came running with the news, Old Chen's anxious voice abruptly cut off.

Soon, unfamiliar voices mingled with the stiff greetings of the Xie family members in the courtyard.

An Ning clearly had no plans to meet these people.

Had it guessed wrong? After all the effort its host had expended to have two people pass the imperial examinations simultaneously, causing such a stir - wasn't today the whole point?

And unless it was mistaken, these visitors represented the most prestigious families in the county town.

It had quietly overheard that while these guests claimed to be visiting friends in the study, their questions all circled back to probing about its host through the naive younger brother.

To the system, if its host would just show her face and display even a hint of her talents, all problems would be solved. She wouldn't need to endure rural hardships anymore.

Yet reality proved otherwise. From arrival to departure, its host stubbornly remained indoors, not even emerging for lunch which Little Chen personally delivered.

Seeing An Ning's attitude, Xia Zhaodi, who had originally intended to have Third Sister make an appearance, hastily called her daughter back inside. Though she didn't understand why Fourth Sister would reject such excellent prospects, following the smart person's lead was always safest.

In her room, An Ning continued painting without even looking up when she heard the guests leave, ignoring the frantic jumping of a certain "dog" in her consciousness.

But in the days that followed, something unexpected happened to everyone's astonishment:

"What? You mean all these are marriage proposals for our Fourth Sister?" Little Chen's eyes bulged like wooden fish after receiving a stream of silver-tongued matchmakers, each boasting increasingly impressive family backgrounds.

Old Chen and the other Xie women wore similarly stunned expressions.

It took Little Chen several moments to recover, clutching her mother-in-law's hand tightly: "Mother... mother... did I hear correctly?"

"The county magistrate's second son... the Lin family's eldest son... Scholar Zhang's nephew... the Chu family's..." Her lips trembled as she listed the names - essentially every notable family in the county.

"All these want to marry our Fourth Sister? But... why would they look at our family?"

It wasn't that Little Chen underestimated her daughter. But no matter how outstanding she considered her girl, marriages were about matching social status. What did their family have? Besides Sanwa's scholar status, nothing. Would those powerful families really care about one scholar?

The marriage proposals Sanwa had received recently paled in comparison to these!

The county magistrate himself - their parent official! And as the matchmakers had said, the Lin family wasn't just wealthy in Taohua County, but renowned throughout the prefecture, with relatives holding high positions in the capital who even the magistrate treated with respect.

The Zhang family was among Taohua's most prestigious scholarly families, having produced a jinshi in the previous generation. Though not as prominent now, they still boasted the county's only living juren and three scholars in their clan.

Before Sanwa's achievement, these families wouldn't have glanced their way. Even now, they remained far beyond the Xie family's reach.

"Mother... could there be something wrong with these suitors?" Little Chen suddenly gripped her mother-in-law's sleeve anxiously, imagining all sorts of terrible possibilities - hidden illnesses, needing a bride for auspicious timing - making her tremble violently.

But Old Chen was even more overwhelmed, nearly faint with shock.

Only Grandfather Xie retained some presence of mind, sharply scolding: "Nonsense! What kind of talk is that? Good families wanting our Fourth Sister is cause for celebration! Don't go imagining problems!"

Taking a deep breath, he continued gravely: "Think carefully - aren't these the same young masters who visited our home recently? Respectable sons of good families - what could possibly be wrong with them? Such talk will only bring trouble!"

Little Chen suddenly slapped her thigh: "You're right! These names match those visitors exactly!"

"Ah! So they took a liking to our Fourth Sister that day?" Aunt Xie's eyes sparkled as she smacked her lips. "Well, our Fourth Sister is the prettiest girl in the whole county! Standing there like a painting, what young man wouldn't be smitten?"

Youths cared about looks, after all!

Zhang didn't overthink it - any of these matches would benefit the family. With such powerful in-laws, finding a good wife for Second Son would be easy. Pity Eldest Son couldn't wait a couple more years...

As Aunt Xie lamented privately, the whole family grew excited remembering the visitors' status and manners: "How clever of Sanwa to bring them home..."

But Little Chen's expression suddenly changed: "Wait - Fourth Sister never even came out that day!"