After a pause, Guagua continued:
[Niu Tingxuan had not sent word home for several years since going to the Capital to take the imperial examinations.
Niu Dali was terribly worried. Had something happened to his younger brother? He wanted to go to the Capital and find out.
After arriving in the Capital and making inquiries everywhere, Niu Dali finally learned where Niu Tingxuan was. To his surprise, his younger brother had done him proud: the emperor had personally named him third-place scholar.
This was wonderful news!
If his brother was all right, why hadn't he sent word home? It would have put his mind at ease, and he could have gone to their parents' graves to tell them the good news.]
In the video, Niu Dali was overjoyed to learn that his younger brother had become the third-place scholar and was engaged to the Great General's daughter. He decided to pay him a visit.
Before going, Niu Dali made a point of changing into clean clothes. Only after washing and tidying himself up did he head over.
Niu Tingxuan lived in a residence with two courtyards.
His fiancée, Qi Shuang, had bought this residence for him with her own private savings.
Niu Tingxuan's old lodgings had been cramped and run-down. Since they were already engaged, Qi Shuang saw nothing wrong with helping her fiancé, so she bought this residence and gave it to him.
Niu Tingxuan had refused to accept it, but Qi Shuang said that since they were engaged, she would need somewhere to live once she married him. Only then had he accepted.
At first, Niu Tingxuan had felt embarrassed about letting his fiancée subsidize him. He felt that, as a grown man, he was taking advantage of her.
But later, Qi Shuang would send over two manservants