Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Two months later, after fighting my way through one obstacle after another, I finally passed the examination as second place in the first class.

My mother-in-law was beside herself with joy. She gripped my hands, tears welling in her eyes. “My child! All those early mornings and late nights of studying weren’t for nothing! Now your future is boundless. You’ve finally earned yourself an official’s rice bowl.”

She immediately ordered three days of nonstop banquet tables to celebrate my success.

On the way home, she even refused to ride in the carriage.

Whenever she met someone, she would say, “Oh my, how did you know my daughter became the Tanhua?”

“Yes, yes, the Tanhua is my daughter.”

“That’s right, what a good eye you have. Of course the child I gave birth to looks like me.”

My mother-in-law’s grin never left her face as she cheerfully spread the news everywhere.

I whispered awkwardly, “Mother, please keep it down a little. How can you tell people I came from your belly?”

My mother-in-law froze. Only then did she remember I wasn’t the one she had given birth to.

She let out an “oh,” then waved her hand and declared with great spirit, “Love is all the same! There’s no difference!”

Looking at her smile, warmth filled my heart.

In truth, I was only an abandoned baby my father had picked up off the street.

My father was a burly, rough-edged military man, and he raised me like a boy.

Though I had never lacked love growing up, I had still imagined what it would be like to have a mother.

I had also secretly envied other children for having mothers who doted on them.

After I married into the Zhao Family and gained a mother-in-law, I no longer had to envy anyone.

She was the good mother I had dreamed of.

When others came to our door to curse me out, she would not believe only one side of the story. Instead, she would listen to my explanation first.

My mother-in-law would even quietly help me scheme. “If it’s the child of an official lower-ranked than your father, then beat them if you must, as long as you’re in the right. But if you run into some spoiled brat whose father outranks yours, you must never show your face. Put a sack over them and beat them in secret.”

I would reflect on myself too. “Mother, I was just too impulsive.”

But my mother-in-law rolled her eyes at me and said disdainfully, “If you see a woman being abducted by force and you’re still not impulsive, then you might as well be dead.”

Well. I had to admit, my mother-in-law could be truly venomous with her words sometimes.

I hugged her and chuckled. “Mother, now that I’ve become the Tanhua, the court will assign me a residence. If your days ever become unhappy, then move in with me. You’re an expert at managing family property, so I’ll hand over all my salary to you. If I earn merit and receive rewards, those will be yours to spend too. Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, your days won’t be bad.”

After hearing that, my mother-in-law looked at me for a while, then turned her face away.

A clear tear slid down her cheek.

She tilted her head back and slowly wiped it away.

My mother-in-law touched my face and sighed with tenderness. “You made up your mind to take the entrance exam for Jishan Academy because you overheard me arguing with your father-in-law, didn’t you?”