"How should I know? Everything was settled at first, but now he's changed his mind just like that."
Cai Jingheng knew perfectly well how capable he was.
At his level, the best he could hope for was a third-tier jinshi degree, which fell far short of his ambitions.
The main problem was that his uncle had made such solemn promises that he had believed every word. And since he could never keep anything to himself, he had not been able to resist bragging about it.
Still, he had some sense and had only bragged to his lackey, Ding Qi. If too many people knew, it might cause trouble for him. Ding Qi did not matter, though; he believed he had him firmly under his thumb.
"That doesn't make sense. Brother Cai, you're his son-to-be. Why would he change his mind at the last minute? Could he have found someone else?"
Ding Qi could not understand the sudden change of heart either. Now even his own hopes of riding Cai Jingheng's coattails to a third-tier jinshi degree were looking uncertain.
The reason he had been certain Cai Jingheng's relative would pull strings for him was that the man had fathered more than a dozen daughters in a row. It was as though he had been cursed: he simply could not have a son.
In this era, many people believed that only having a son gave them security for the future.
Cai Jingheng's uncle had finally given up, deciding that he was probably destined to have no sons. He had therefore decided to adopt one of his elder brother's sons, and Cai Jingheng was the son-to-be he had chosen.
Once the Spring Examination was over and the results were posted, he would formally announce it to everyone.
That was why he had