Seeing Wang Youliang like this, Madam Huang grew even more curious. Just what was Wang Youliang plotting?

Wang Youliang caught the suspicion in Madam Huang's expression. To prevent her from spiraling into her own worries, he quickly spoke up, "It’s just that so many Tongsheng and Xiucai in town have recently gotten engaged. I was worried that all the good daughters would be snapped up by others, so I thought perhaps you should arrange a match for Cheng’er sooner rather than later."

Madam Huang looked at Wang Youliang skeptically. "Is that really the case?"

Wang Youliang immediately offered a sincere tone. "Of course it is! Why else would I bother you about finding a match for Cheng’er? I gain nothing from it!"

Hearing this, Madam Huang started to believe him. After all, as Wang Youliang pointed out, whether Cheng’er got engaged or not brought Wang Youliang absolutely no benefit. Feeling she had misunderstood him, Madam Huang immediately became embarrassed. "You know, Cheng’er is all I have now. When it comes to him, my concern can easily lead to confusion. I apologize for suspecting you; please don't take offense."

Hearing this, Wang Youliang felt a pang in his heart. He felt that Madam Huang should have him, not just her son, in her affections now. But since she had accepted his explanation, he let the matter drop. "How could I be offended? This is my fault for not making things clear to you beforehand."

Seeing that Wang Youliang wasn't actually angry, Madam Huang finally asked, "Right, what you mentioned earlier about so many Tongsheng and Xiucai getting engaged recently—what is that all about?"

Frankly, Wang Youliang wasn't entirely sure about this either. He had only overheard snippets from a few students who came to his food stall for breakfast. Those students mentioned that recently, many respectable families in town had promised their daughters to some of the Tongsheng or Xiucai. At the time, Wang Youliang hadn't paid much mind to what they said, never imagining those few casually overheard sentences would serve so well now.

Wang Youliang recounted what he had heard to Madam Huang. After listening, she became hesitant. If so many daughters from good families had already settled their matches, what would become of her son then? She now had to take the matter seriously.

Wang Youliang watched Madam Huang in deep thought, feeling a surge of excitement inside. He had succeeded by sheer luck; looking at her, she was clearly pondering whether to arrange a match for her son.

Having achieved his objective, Wang Youliang said no more, allowing Madam Huang to sit there and ponder. Of course, Wang Youliang would have been even happier if she had immediately decided to find a match for her son.

Evidently, Wang Youliang's wish was not fulfilled. By the time he left Madam Huang's home, she still had not made up her mind about whether to arrange a marriage for her son first.

When Zhao Cheng returned from school, the still-undecided Madam Huang resolved to ask her son for his opinion.

When Madam Huang posed the question to Zhao Cheng, he didn't display the shyness or awkwardness typical of others when family brings up finding them a spouse. After a moment of thought, he told Madam Huang, "Mother, you don't need to rush this. Here's what I think: although many Tongsheng and Xiucai in town are engaged now, Mother, don't forget that I am younger than all of them! It won't be too late to arrange a match for me in another couple of years."

Madam Huang slapped her forehead upon hearing this. "Oh, heavens! How could I forget that Cheng’er is younger than them! Hearing that so many Tongsheng and Xiucai were engaged made me anxious, and I completely forgot you are younger than they are! I worried for nothing all this time."

Seeing his mother react this way, Zhao Cheng was very understanding. "That's just because you care about me, Mother. Concern clouds judgment!"

Madam Huang looked at her considerate son, feeling deeply gratified. "My son is so good; I wonder which daughter will be lucky enough to marry him someday."

Zhao Cheng smiled at his mother's emotional reflection, saying nothing.

The truth was, Zhao Cheng wasn't as shy or awkward about these matters partly because of Madam Huang. In the past, when Zhao Cheng stayed home accompanying his mother, it was fine. But after he started attending the academy, he began to worry about how lonely and bored his mother must be with him gone. Thus, Zhao Cheng decided that he absolutely must marry a good woman like his mother in the future, someone who could keep her company and show her filial piety when he was away, which would allow him to feel more at ease when he was absent. Therefore, even though this was the first time Madam Huang had brought up finding him a wife, Zhao Cheng had already thought about it many times himself; why would he still feel shy?

For some reason, Madam Huang didn't notice this aspect of him, remaining preoccupied with the thought that it was fortunate her son was young and there was no immediate rush. Otherwise, with so many daughters already betrothed, finding a good match for her son would indeed be difficult.

Setting aside the differing views of Madam Huang and her son on finding a match, Wang Qingchen, meanwhile, had been growing increasingly restless.

The reason for Wang Qingchen’s agitation wasn't some bothersome incident, but the sweltering heat, which presented quite a challenge for him trying to concentrate on his studies.

These past few days, the heat had been so intense that the tutor’s mother had fallen ill, perhaps from heatstroke. Being a dutiful son, the tutor had returned home to care for her. Consequently, Wang Qingchen and the others had not attended the academy for several days, instead studying at home on their own. Yet, no matter how long Wang Qingchen studied, he would soon feel oppressively hot, making it nearly impossible to focus his mind.

Indeed, after studying for only a short while, before he could truly immerse himself, Wang Qingchen put down his book. "Sigh, how wonderful it would be if this were the modern era. Electric fans, air conditioning, or failing that, stripping down to just shorts would suffice. Not like now, where one must wear layers of clothing without any cooling amenities. Wealthy families could afford ice, but that’s something only a select few can manage."

Wang Qingchen stood up, fanning himself, and recalled having seen some simple method for making ice in his past life, but he hadn't paid attention then. Moreover, so much time had passed, he could barely remember it now. This frustrated Wang Qingchen immensely. If he had never seen it, it wouldn't matter, but to have seen it and forgotten—how maddening!

After fanning himself for a while, Wang Qingchen still felt hot. Annoyed, he tossed the fan aside and slumped back onto the stool. He decided to see just how much sweat he could endure.

Wang Qingchen sat there sweating, occasionally wiping his brow with a handkerchief and taking sips of water. Alas, at this rate, how much could he actually study? Would he even pass the Prefectural Examination?

The frustrated Wang Qingchen failed to realize that the less calm his mind became, the hotter he felt, and the hotter he felt, the less he could study, which in turn made him more anxious and unsettled. Clearly, he had fallen into a vicious cycle.

Perhaps Wang Qingchen hadn't even noticed himself, but as the date for the Prefectural Examination drew nearer, a degree of anxiety had settled upon him. After all, in previous summers, he hadn't felt this overheated.

Finally, Wang Qingchen abandoned the room he had temporarily turned into a study and walked out into the garden for a stroll.

Wang Qingchen had intended to sit in the pavilion, but upon approaching, he saw his mother, elder sister-in-law, and Caiyun inside doing embroidery. Since his purpose in coming out was to calm his mind, he decided against joining them and instead walked toward a willow tree by the lake, far from the pavilion.

Wang Qingchen sat on a stone beneath the willow. He had discovered this spot by chance before; sitting there offered a clear view of the lake and the occasional gentle breeze.

Wang Qingchen settled onto the stone to calm his breathing. Once his mind felt clearer, he reflected on his current state. The more he thought about it, the more his current condition resembled a term from his past life: pre-exam anxiety syndrome. Wasn't he feeling anxious right now?

Thinking this, Wang Qingchen found it somewhat unbelievable. It seemed that in his subconscious, he placed significant importance on the upcoming Prefectural Examination, and he harbored a certain level of worry about it, otherwise, he wouldn't be this anxious. Yet, he hadn't experienced this during the County or Prefecture examinations. Why was this happening now for the Prefectural one?

Wang Qingchen couldn't figure it out, but he wasn't stuck trying to find the root cause of this state; instead, he focused on finding a solution. In his long academic career in his past life, he had never encountered such a situation, meaning he had no prior experience to draw upon. Thus, Wang Qingchen could only resort to mental self-suggestion.

He began to constantly reassure himself that, based on his current academic standing, the Prefectural Examination should present no real problem. However, this seemed ineffective. He would calm down for a while, only for the anxiety to creep back in later.

Eventually, Wang Qingchen ran out of patience and resorted to questioning himself, analyzing his fears: If he failed the Prefectural Examination, what would he fear the most?

He feared most that his social standing would never improve, that he would remain an insignificant ant easily crushed by others. He feared most that he would never escape the fate of his previous life!

Wang Qingchen startled himself. He hadn't expected that the indignation from being persecuted in his past life was still firmly embedded deep within his soul, something he could never forget.

And the reason he hadn't felt this way during the County and Prefecture examinations was that neither of those was the final, decisive hurdle!

Knowing the cause made the solution much clearer. Wang Qingchen analyzed the difference between his two lifetimes and told himself that the circumstances of his previous life would not repeat themselves in this one. As expected, within a few days, Wang Qingchen's anxiety vanished. He finally let out a breath of relief.