Mr. Xiao could no longer sit still and swiftly stood up, striding toward the door.
Mrs. Xiao also ran up, her face full of smiles.
For those scholarly families, having a child student is truly nothing remarkable.
But for the Xiao Family, having a child student is something they couldn’t even dream of in generations.
The Xiao Family is wealthy, but none from several generations were scholars.
Each generation only recognizes some characters; as long as they can do business and handle accounts, they dare not ask for more.
Just like Mr. Xiao, his father also wanted to cultivate him into a scholar, to wash away the stench of copper from the Xiao Family, but no matter how his father beat him or hired teachers, Mr. Xiao was always one orifice short of enlightenment.
Mr. Xiao also knows how difficult it is to study and to acquire scholarly honors; he never intended to force his son to pursue them.
But not daring to think about it doesn’t mean he wasn’t hoping for it.
Now, Xiao Yuandou has taken to studying on his own initiative and even passed the child student exam; naturally, he is extremely happy, so happy that tears are falling.
Mr. Xiao, patting Xiao Yuandou who just rushed back, with tears in his eyes, said: "Good, good, if your grandfather could see you now, he would probably be ecstatic."
Xiao Yuandou quickly supported Mrs. Xiao who followed: "Son has been out for so many days, and has been worried about his parents. Ningning has taken good care of you."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Xiao felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
See? The son said he was worried about his parents, putting us first; he’s not one of those who forgets his mother after getting a wife.
"It’s not me taking care of your wife, it’s your wife who is taking care of me. You must treat your wife well if you dare to harbor any crooked thoughts, see if I don’t discipline you."
Xiao Yuandou repeatedly bowed in agreement.
The family entered the house in harmony, and under Mr. Xiao’s watchful eye, Xiao Yuandou recounted his experience at the Prefecture Exam.
While speaking, he praised Anning: "This time, I owe a lot to Ningning. When I left, Ningning specially instructed me to stay safe in Prefecture City, to stay indoors if possible, and not to eat anything given by others. If not for her advice, I might not have been able to return."
Mrs. Xiao’s heart tightened: "What happened?"
Xiao Yuandou put on a frightened look: "Mother, you don’t know, a fellow candidate who lived close by in Prefecture City invited me out to play. I didn’t dare to and promptly declined. As it turned out, while he was out, he got caught in a quarrel among some noble young masters in Prefecture City, became an unfortunate bystander, and had his leg broken. Forget about taking exams, he might not even lead a normal life again."
Mrs. Xiao exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
Xiao Yuandou took the opportunity to add: "Right before the exam, that Wen Family boy brought me some pastries, all of which I loved. I really wanted to eat them, but before I could bite, I remembered Ningning’s words, so I fed the pastries to a dog. Guess what, when I returned from the exam, I found out that the dog had severe diarrhea and almost died."
Even Mr. Xiao was scared stiff.
He and Mrs. Xiao both looked at Anning with eyes filled with gratitude, as palpable as reality.
Anning smiled: "Actually, it’s also my husband’s good fortune, turning bad luck into good fortune and averting calamity."
However, Mrs. Xiao felt that this really needed to be thanked for Anning: "Thanks to you, if it wasn’t for your advice, Yuanyuan might have been more likely to encounter misfortune than fortune this time."
Mr. Xiao also recalled how Anning had pointed him towards buying a shipload of goods from a Westerner, acquiring those Western seeds, and became even more convinced that Anning carried good fortune, could predict the future, and was a greatly capable person.
He also wore a smile on his face: "Yuanyuan’s wife is a virtuous wife. Ever since she entered our home, Yuanyuan has started loving reading, and our family business has been thriving. It truly shows that the old saying ’with a virtuous wife, a husband faces fewer disasters’ makes perfect sense."
Mrs. Xiao strongly agreed.
At this time, Anning stood up and said, "Father, mother, my husband must be especially exhausted from his journey back. I will go back to our room to help him wash and rest first. I will come back later to help you with dinner."
Mrs. Xiao waved her hand: "You two go back to your room quickly, eat there, and don’t come back out. Not only is Yuanyuan tired, you are also quite exhausted. Now that Yuanyuan is back, you should get some rest as well."
Anning and Xiao Yuan bowed, then hand in hand, they left the room.
Once they left, Mrs. Xiao looked at Mr. Xiao and said, "See, I told you long ago that Ningning is lucky. You didn’t believe it and even thought about breaking off the marriage. Fortunately, we listened to me. Otherwise, where would we find such a virtuous daughter-in-law?"
Mr. Xiao repeatedly apologized to Mrs. Xiao: "I was blinded by foolishness, and at that time, I was drunk as well. It was only after someone provoked me that I uttered such words. A drunk man’s words are not from his heart. You know, with the relationship I have with Brother He, how could I possibly break off the marriage?"
While apologizing, he laughed: "But my lady, you are also a virtuous wife. Our family’s days have been getting better over the years precisely because I listened to you." This text is hosted at nοvelfire.net
Mrs. Xiao, flattered by Mr. Xiao, laughed joyfully: "You old thing, where did you learn to talk so slickly?"
After joking for a while, Mrs. Xiao hurried to instruct the servants to go to the Wus to inform Xiao Susu that her brother passed the child student exam.
Soon, Xiao Susu came with her family in tow.
Wu Baifu also brought gifts.
With their arrival, Xiao Yuan couldn’t rest and came out to talk with Wu Baifu.
Anning also hurried over to host Xiao Susu.
After such a busy day, it was already evening by the time Xiao Susu left.
At night, when it was time to rest, Anning and Xiao Yuan lay in bed and talked.
She detailed the happenings at Wu Family’s house to Xiao Yuan.
When Anning mentioned how the eldest son of Wu Ping’s house had his fate altered and how they helped to revert it back, Xiao Yuan felt a bit scared.
"These people are really detestable. Feng Shui Masters who study mystical techniques should be doing more good deeds, yet they commit all sorts of evil deeds for money. They might suffer retribution in the future."
Anning, lying in Xiao Yuan’s embrace, replied, "That’s true. Even ordinary Feng Shui Masters, when helping others read fortunes or check Feng Shui, fear revealing too much of the heavenly secrets and facing backlash. They even need to use money for good deeds. With these kinds of heartless people, who knows what might come to them in the future."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan immediately became anxious: "Ningning, you, are you not in danger doing these things? We should also do more good deeds in the future. Later, I’ll ask father to repair more bridges and roads, and I will also help more people to ensure nothing happens to you."
Anning smiled: "I’m fine, I won’t be in danger. I am different from those Feng Shui Masters."
Naturally, Anning was different from those Feng Shui Masters.
Those people are bound by the Heavenly Dao, and revealing too many heavenly secrets would naturally lead to backlash.
However, Anning is an outsider and had already communicated well with the Heavenly Dao of this place. The Heavenly Dao also relies on Anning to mend its gaps and thus, turns a blind eye to her doings.
Furthermore, even if the Heavenly Dao wanted to do something to Anning, it would have to consider provoking Anning, who could potentially poke a hole in the heavens.
Although Anning said this, Xiao Yuan was still somewhat worried.
When he went to sleep, he was still thinking that he must do more good deeds in the future.