Yang Wanli turned to Lin Moqian: “Eldest Master Lin, this was my oversight, and I’ve ruined your brother’s prospects. I am willing to make amends—if your brother is willing, I can recommend him to the Imperial Academy to continue his studies, and he can retake the exams in three years.”
Before Lin Moqian could respond, Lin Zhaoye jumped up: “Who cares! I’m not taking it again! Never in my life!” He stormed back into his room and slammed the door shut.
Lin Moqian sighed: “Please take your leave, Master Yang. My younger brother has been shaken and needs rest. As for the examinations, let’s consider the matter closed. Though our Lin family is not of noble rank, we will not tolerate slander.”
Yang Wanli smiled bitterly, bowed, and took his leave.
After Yang Wanli left, Lin Zhaoye threw things around his room, cried, and finally collapsed on his bed, motionless.
Lin Moqian pushed the door open, looked at the mess on the floor, and sighed.
“Still angry?”
“Angry.” Lin Zhaoye’s voice was muffled. “Brother, do I really look that much like a woman?”
“No. It’s just that you and Shuying are twins—it’s inevitable you’d look alike. He’s overly suspicious. He suspected Shuying was ‘Young Master Lin Wuying,’ and when he saw you looked like her, he jumped to the conclusion that you were also a woman in disguise. He’s too clever for his own good.”
Lin Zhaoye was silent for a long time.
Then, he suddenly sat up: “Brother, I’m not going to take the imperial examinations anymore.”
“Have you come to terms with it?”
“I have.” Lin Zhaoye said seriously. “I’m not cut out for studying. Even if I had finished this time, I wouldn’t have passed. Rather than waste my time, I’d rather help you with the family business.”
Lin Moqian smiled and patted his brother’s shoulder: “Good. Take a few days to calm down, then come help out at the shop.”
— —
A few days later, Lin Shuying and Xiao Shengrui returned to the capital.
As soon as the carriage entered the city gates, A Li rode up to meet them: “Miss! You’re back!”
Lin Shuying lifted the carriage curtain, and seeing her anxious expression, her heart sank: “What happened?”
A Li recounted everything.
Lin Shuying listened, utterly dumbfounded.
Yang Wanli had accused her third brother of being a woman?
And then offered to marry him to take responsibility?
“How is Third Brother now?”
“He’s hiding out at the estate. The Sixth Princess visits him every day, trying to cheer him up.”
Lin Shuying breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s head back to the estate first.”
Along the way, Xiao Shengrui also heard the story, his brow furrowed: “Yang Wanli has gone too far.”
“He’s too suspicious,” Lin Shuying said wryly. “He’s convinced I disguised myself as a man, and now he’s even suspecting my brother.”
“But this time he definitely overstepped. Ruining someone’s future and then saying those things to his face.”
Lin Shuying shook her head: “Master Yang isn’t a bad person at heart—just too stubborn.”
Xiao Shengrui glanced at her but said nothing more.
The carriage arrived at the estate. Lin Shuying jumped down and headed straight for Lin Zhaoye’s courtyard.
In the yard, Sixth Princess Xiao Mingyan was peeling grapes, feeding them one by one to Lin Zhaoye, who was lounging on a daybed.
“Zhaoye, don’t be angry anymore. What’s so great about the imperial exams? My father says every profession has its top achievers. You can make a name for yourself in business too.”
Lin Zhaoye kept his eyes closed, opened his mouth to take the grape, and mumbled: “I’m not angry anymore. I just feel… humiliated.”
“What’s there to feel humiliated about?” Xiao Mingyan said dismissively. “It’s Yang Wanli who was blind—it wasn’t your fault. Besides, if he actually married you and found out you were a man, that would really be embarrassing!”
Lin Zhaoye couldn’t help but laugh: “True.”
Lin Shuying stood at the doorway, watching this scene, warmth spreading through her heart.
She turned and walked away, heading to the study.
Only then did A Li formally greet her: “Miss! You’re finally back!”
“You’ve worked hard.” Lin Shuying patted her shoulder. “How has the estate been?”
“Wonderful!” A Li reported excitedly. “The Vegetable Basket Project has gained twenty more subscribers, and the canteen’s business is even better than when you left. The second batch of rainbow watermelons is ripe—half went to the palace, half were sold, netting five hundred taels!”
Lin Shuying sat down, flipped through the account book, and asked about the estate’s recent affairs.
Everything was fine—except for her third brother’s ordeal.
“Oh, by the way, Miss,” A Li remembered something, “Master Yang came by again afterward.”
Lin Shuying frowned: “Again? What did he want this time?”
“He said… he came to propose. To you.” A Li said quietly. “Master Yang said he had misunderstood your third brother but has now realized that the one who shone at the evaluation assembly wasn’t your brother, but you. So he wants to marry you.”
Lin Shuying set down her teacup and rubbed her brow.
Yang Wanli wasn’t letting this go, was he?
“What did Father and Mother say?”
“They were quite moved. Master Yang is a top scholar, from a respectable family, and favored by His Majesty. He spoke very sincerely, praising you greatly—your exceptional learning, your extraordinary insight…”
“And then?”
“Then Father and Mother said they would ask for your opinion.” A Li paused. “Miss, what do you think?”
Lin Shuying didn’t answer.
She walked to the window and looked out at the lush green melon fields.
She thought of the nights in Jiangnan, when Xiao Shengrui held her hand and said, “I’ll watch over you.”
She remembered how he had helped her time and again, never asking why.
She remembered how he had said, “I can wait.”
“A Li, help me decline it.”
“Miss…” A Li was somewhat surprised, “won’t you reconsider?”
“No.” Lin Shuying shook her head. “My heart is set on the land—I have no interest in marriage. I appreciate Master Yang’s good intentions, but I must decline.”
— —
The next day, Yang Wanli came as expected.
This time, he was dressed very formally in a brand-new official robe, carrying generous gifts in his hands.
When he saw Lin Shuying come out, he bowed: “Country Lady.”
“Please sit, Master Yang.”
The two took their seats. A Li served tea and stepped back to the side.
Yang Wanli looked at Lin Shuying with complex eyes.
After more than half a month apart, she had grown thinner and tanner, but her eyes had grown brighter.
“I’ve heard about what you did in Jiangnan, Country Lady. His Majesty is very pleased and said he will reward you handsomely.”
“It was my duty.” Lin Shuying said flatly.
Yang Wanli paused, then finally got to the point: “Country Lady, I’ve come today… to propose marriage.”
Lin Shuying’s expression didn’t change: “I’ve heard of your intentions, Master Yang. But I’m sorry—I cannot accept.”
Yang Wanli was taken aback: “Does the Country Lady feel… I am unworthy of you?”
“No.” Lin Shuying shook her head. “Master Yang, you are young and talented, with a bright future—a fine match.”
“Then why?”
Lin Shuying looked up at him and said earnestly: “Master Yang, what do you like about me? My learning? My insight? Or me as a person?”
Yang Wanli was stumped.
“I… I admire your learning, Country Lady. I respect your insight. And I am drawn to your character.”
“But do you know me?” Lin Shuying asked. “Do you know why I enjoy farming? Why I opened a canteen? What kind of life I want?”
Yang Wanli opened his mouth but had no answer.
“You don’t know,” Lin Shuying said. “You only see that I can write essays and farm, that I’m different from other women. But you don’t know that what I want isn’t to be a wife and mother, isn’t a peaceful life in the inner quarters. What I want is a world of my own—where I can do what I love, where I can realize my own worth.”
She paused, her tone softening: “Master Yang, you are a good man and a good official. But the kind of supportive wife you want—I cannot be. The partner I want is someone who understands me, supports me, and is willing to farm with me and run a canteen with me. You can’t do that, can you?”
Yang Wanli was silent.
He truly couldn’t.
He was a compiler at the Hanlin Academy—someday, he would enter the Grand Secretariat and become a chancellor.
His wife should be a gentle, virtuous lady from a distinguished family, not someone who spent her days with her hands in the soil.
“Country Lady,” he smiled bitterly, “I understand.”
He rose and bowed deeply: “I was presumptuous. Your aspirations are beyond my reach. I wish you all the best.”
“Thank you, Master Yang.” Lin Shuying returned the bow. “I wish you a good match as well.”
Yang Wanli left, his figure somewhat forlorn. Lin Shuying stood at the gate, watching him go, a touch of guilt in her heart. Had she been too harsh?
But everyone had their own path—you couldn’t force these things.
“Did you make yourself clear?”
Xiao Shengrui had arrived at some point, leaning against the doorframe.
“Yes.” Lin Shuying turned. “Your Highness, what brings you here?”
“I heard Yang Wanli came to propose again—came to see the show.” Xiao Shengrui walked over. “But it seems there’s no show to see.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No.” Xiao Shengrui smiled. “I’m very happy.”
Lin Shuying looked away.
“Oh, by the way,” Xiao Shengrui remembered, “Father read the memorial you wrote from Jiangnan. He was very interested in your essay ‘On Enriching the People.’ He asked me to find out if you’d be willing to submit it to him.”
Lin Shuying was taken aback. That was something she’d written casually to comfort her third brother: “Did Third Brother give it to you?”
“Yes. He said it was well-written and that Father should see it.”
Lin Shuying thought for a moment, then nodded: “Then I’ll submit it.”
“Good.” Xiao Shengrui looked at her, his gaze serious. “Shuying, your talents shouldn’t be buried.”
Lin Shuying’s heart skipped a beat.
She looked up at him—his eyes were clear, full of sincerity.
“Your Highness—”
“Just call me by my name.”
“Xiao… Shengrui.”
“Yes.” Xiao Shengrui smiled. “I’m here.”
Outside the window, the sunlight was perfect.
In the fields, another crop of watermelons had ripened.
Everything was moving in a good direction.
— —
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