"Did you hear?

"Huh?"

"The Xu family! There is green smoke coming out of their ancestor's grave!"

"Who told you that?"

"Old Xun, who lives north of the village, saw it personally!"

"It happened yesterday morning. When he went hunting for rabbits at the mountain, he noticed from afar that there was green smoke coming out of the Xu family's grave!"

"Really?"

"Of course! You know Old Xun. In the past few decades, has he ever lied to anyone?"

"Oh god! It looks like the Xu family will become very prosperous!"

"Of course. Isn't the third son taking an exam again next year? I guess he's going to make it this time!"

"Tsktsk… Looks like the Xu family will be flourishing real soon!"

...

Within a day, the news of green smoke coming out of the Xu family's grave had traveled across the entirety of Spirit Water Village.

As for the Xu family themselves, whom all the villagers were envious of, they hadn't heard the news yet.

However, this day had been an overwhelming day for the Xu family regardless.

Why?

It was because old Mrs. Xu, who was already a grandmother, had found out that she was pregnant!

Mrs. Xu, whose eldest grandchild could already walk, realized that her belly had been getting bigger. This was definitely a strange thing to happen, as she was an old clam still producing a pearl.

After getting confirmation from the village doctor, Mr. Xu was extremely proud of himself.

So what if they were old? They were still strong!

Mr. Xu, who stood right outside of Mrs. Xu's room, looked at his two sons, three daughters-in-law, and both of his grandchildren, whom he used to love very dearly.

"Your mother is pregnant again! She will now be the family's top priority! From now on, wife of the eldest, you will be taking care of everything in this house. If there's anything you're not sure about, just come and ask your mother"

"Yes, father!"

Zhou, who was the wife of the Xu family's eldest son, had mixed feelings about this command.

On one hand, she had finally gained control of the family, which made her very happy.

On the other hand, her mother-in-law was pregnant. It didn't matter if the child was a son or a daughter, it would still be the love of their life, which meant that she would soon have an additional person to serve. 

Mr. Xu didn't notice his eldest daughter-in-law's hesitance. 

Next, he turned and looked at his second daughter-in-law, Li, saying in a very stern tone, "As for you, my second son's wife, you will be in charge of meals from now on. Take good care of your mother and ask her what she would like to have. Prepare everything according to what your mother wants!"

"Yes, father!" Li answered in a soft voice, not many emotions on her face.

At last, Mr. Xu looked at his youngest daughter-in-law, Wang, who was the most troublesome one amongst the three of them.

Indeed, Wang had married someone below her class.

The Xu family were a family of farmers. All three of their sons had gone to school when they were young but only their youngest son, Xu Yuanxu, had a talent for books. He passed the county exam and the prefectural exam at a young age, with now only the last college exam left to take before he became a xiucai. [1]

It was this talent of his that allowed him to marry the eldest daughter of the county's scholar.

Unfortunately, Xu Yuanxu had been unsuccessful for the past three years.

Because of this, Wang's attitude towards her husband and the Xu family changed. She was cautious and timid at first, slowly becoming more dismissive. In the end, she would insult and criticize the Xu family even when there was nothing wrong.

If their son's reputation and future wasn't at stake, Mr. Xu would have already asked Xu Yuanxu to dismiss her as his wife.

"Wife of the youngest!"

Just as Mr. Xu was about to speak, Wang immediately sneered, "Father, I don't think it'll be necessary for you to worry about me! My husband will be going for the exam next year! My father recently wrote me a letter, informing me that he had bought us a house in the county. I've wanted to talk to you about that but I didn't get the chance to!"

As Wang continued talking, Mr. Xu's face slowly turned dark.

"Does my son know about this?"

-

[1]: County exam, prefectural exam and college exam are the three entry-level exams that one must pass in order to be eligible to proceed to the three-tier imperial exam. A student who passed the three entry-level exams would hold the degree of xiucai (lit. distinguished talent), and can enjoy respect and certain privileges but would not be able to become a court official unless he moved on to the imperial exams.