Lin Shuying saw her eldest brother off and returned to her own courtyard, but instead of going inside, she sat on the stone stool beneath the corridor, watching the sunset gradually sink beyond the horizon.
Four years had passed.
Over these four years, she had played the part of a good, obedient girl, cultivating a quiet temperament, occasionally and “inadvertently” revealing her longing for pastoral life.
Her parents had gone from staunch opposition to reluctant acceptance—their stance had softened considerably.
Her eldest brother had even become her most steadfast supporter.
The time had come.
She touched the piece of paper in her sleeve.
It was the information she had secretly had A-Gua find out: a three-courtyard estate in the north of the city was up for sale, complete with over a dozen acres of good farmland and a small fruit orchard.
The house was a bit old, but the location was excellent—close to the main road yet not too noisy.
Most importantly, it wasn’t far from the Lin family’s country estate, so her parents could rest easy.
“Miss,” A Li brought over a bowl of bird’s nest soup, “what are you thinking about?”
Lin Shuying took the soup and slowly stirred it with her spoon.
“A Li, if I moved out to live on my own, would you come with me?”
A Li’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the tray: “M-Miss, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Lin Shuying looked up at her, her gaze serious, “I want to move out and live in a country estate. To farm, tend flowers, and live a quiet life.”
A Li was stunned for a long moment, then her eyes suddenly reddened.
“Wherever Miss goes, A Li will go.” She knelt, her voice choked with emotion. “But… would the Master and Mistress agree? You’re a daughter of noble birth…”
“They will agree.” Lin Shuying helped her up with a smile. “Because I plan to ask His Majesty, in front of everyone at my birthday banquet, to grant me farmland.”
A Li gasped sharply.
“Once His Majesty grants me the land, Father and Mother won’t be able to object.” Lin Shuying looked into the distance, her gaze thoughtful. “Then we can move out openly and freely—grow whatever we want, experiment however we like.”
“But Miss, farming is so hard…”
“I’m not afraid of hardship.” Lin Shuying paused, her voice softening. “A Li, have you ever seen refugees?”
A Li shook her head.
“I have,” Lin Shuying said. “Four years ago, when I went with Mother to Daxiangguo Temple to offer incense, I saw refugees fleeing famine along the road—so thin you could see their bones, children too weak from hunger even to cry. At that moment, I thought: if only there were a little more food, perhaps a few less people would starve to death.”
A Li stared at her, transfixed.
“I don’t have grand ambitions,” Lin Shuying smiled wryly, “governing the state and bringing peace to the world—that’s for men to worry about. I just want to grow a little more grain and bear a few more fruits on my own small patch of land. Enough to keep those who follow me well-fed and clothed, and to make those who buy from me happy. That’s enough.”
The sunset’s afterglow fell upon her face, coating her still-youthful features in a golden halo.
A Li suddenly felt that her young mistress was unlike any lady of noble birth she had ever known. She couldn’t put her finger on what was different, but it was… dazzling.
“Miss,” A Li sniffled, “if you really move out, A Li will help you manage the estate well. I’m quick with accounts, and I can learn to farm too—I promise I won’t hold you back!”
Lin Shuying laughed and pinched her cheek: “Good. Then it’s settled.”
The mistress and maid chatted a while longer, until darkness had fully fallen.
Lin Shuying went inside to wash up, and as she lay in bed, her mind was still working through her plans for the days ahead.
The birthday banquet was half a month away—she needed to prepare her arguments well.
Just as she was thinking this, a faint sound came from outside the window.
Lin Shuying sat up alertly: “Who?”
The window was tapped gently, and a familiar voice came in a low whisper: “It’s me.”
She paused for a moment, got out of bed, and walked to the window. By the moonlight, she made out the figure outside.
It was Xiao Shengrui.
The twelve-year-old boy had grown much taller, dressed in dark night clothes, his features looking especially clear and handsome in the moonlight.
He held a small bundle in his hand and placed it on the windowsill.
“For you.”
Lin Shuying lowered her voice: “You climbed over the wall?”
“Mm.” Xiao Shengrui was concise. “The Listening Wind Pavilion just received news from the south—there’s a ‘Honey Treasure Watermelon’ there, sweet as honey with very few seeds. Here are the seeds, along with notes on cultivation.”
Lin Shuying’s eyes lit up: “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“No need to thank me.” Xiao Shengrui paused. “You’re going to ask for farmland at your birthday banquet?”
Lin Shuying was startled: “How did you know?”
“I guessed.” Xiao Shengrui looked at her. “You’ve been unusually well-behaved these four years—you must be planning something. And with Eldest Master Lin recently looking at estates all around, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”
Lin Shuying was silent for a moment, then admitted frankly: “Yes.”
“You’ve thought it through?”
“I have.”
Xiao Shengrui nodded from outside the window and didn’t try to dissuade her. He only said: “If you need help, tell me.” With that, he turned to leave.
“Your Highness,” Lin Shuying suddenly called after him, “why do you help me?”
Over these four years, Xiao Shengrui had quietly helped her in many ways.
Sending books, sending seeds, occasionally sharing agricultural tidbits gathered by the Listening Wind Pavilion.
At first, she thought it was at the Empress’s command, but later she discovered that the Empress seemed unaware of it all.
Xiao Shengrui turned back. In the moonlight, his eyes shone like stars.
“Because,” he said, “I also want to see what you can grow.” He paused, then added, “The palace is too stifling. Your estate sounds interesting.” With that, he vanished into the night in a few swift leaps.
Lin Shuying stood at the window in a daze for a while, then finally let out a soft laugh.
Interesting?
Perhaps it was.
Even she herself thought that an agricultural PhD reborn as the daughter of a wealthy merchant, hell-bent on farming—the whole thing was pretty “interesting” in itself.
She waited a while longer, and when there were no other sounds outside, she opened the window and brought the bundle inside.
After putting away the seeds, she lay back down on the bed, and her last thought before closing her eyes was: Once the estate is set up, I must invite the Seventh Prince to come see it.
After all, he was the first person who had called her “interesting.”
— —
Half a month later, the Lin residence was decked out in lanterns and decorations.
Today was the fourteenth birthday of the Lin family’s Second Miss, and Consort Lin Yueyao had specifically asked the Emperor’s permission to hold a small banquet in the palace.
Though called “small,” everyone who mattered had come: the Empress, noblewomen of the imperial clan, and several madams from families close to the Lins.
Lin Shuying wore a new crimson-and-gold embroidered ruqun dress, with a red-gold kingfisher-feather step-shake hairpin in her hair—she looked as radiant as a peony in full bloom.
She wore the standard smile of a proper young lady as she followed her mother through the social rounds, all while silently reciting the speech she would soon deliver.
Halfway through the banquet, the Emperor suddenly arrived.
Everyone hurriedly bowed, but the Emperor waved his hand with a laugh: “Today is the Lin girl’s birthday—I’m just here for a cup of wine. No need to stand on ceremony.”
He looked at Lin Shuying with a gentle gaze: “Girl, I hear you have quite a way with flowers? Even the gold-veined peony I bestowed bloomed with exceptional spirit in your hands.”
Lin Shuying stepped forward, performed a bow, and said: “Your Majesty, it was the flower itself that thrived—I was merely fortunate.”
“Oh?” The Emperor raised an eyebrow. “Merely fortunate?”
Lin Shuying took a deep breath and suddenly knelt down.
At this kneel—
Gu Wanyin’s face turned white, and Lin Huaizhou furrowed his brow.
Only Lin Yueyao, watching her younger sister, had a flicker of knowing in her eyes.
“Your Majesty,” Lin Shuying raised her head, her voice clear, “I have a request.”
The Emperor looked intrigued: “What is it?”
“I beg Your Majesty to grant me a plot of land.”
Silence fell.
Several madams exchanged bewildered glances, the imperial clan ladies whispered among themselves, and even the Empress looked surprised.
The Emperor stared at Lin Shuying for a long moment before slowly speaking: “What would you do with the land?”
“I wish to farm.” Lin Shuying spoke each word deliberately. “I have been clad in silk and fed on delicacies since childhood, knowing nothing of the hardships of sowing and reaping. After my fall into the lake four years ago, I suddenly came to understand one thing: the most solid thing in this world is to plant in spring, harvest in autumn, and live by one’s own labor. I am not talented, but I have read agricultural books for several years and have tried my hand at tending flowers and plants. I believe I have some modest understanding of farming. Thus, I boldly ask Your Majesty to grant me a plot of land—with a three-year term—”
She paused, her voice growing firmer: “If within three years I can double the yield of fifty acres of land, then I beg Your Majesty to permit me to devote my life to agriculture, and contribute what little I can to the farming and sericulture of the realm. If I fail, I will return to my family, take up embroidery in peace, and never speak of this matter again.”
The hall erupted in murmurs.
“Nonsense!” An old princess consort could not help but say, “Lin girl, do you have any idea what farming is really like? Wind and sun, hands covered in calluses—is that any work for a lady of your standing?”
“Indeed,” another madam chimed in, “a fine young lady of a noble house—why would you want to go farming of all things?”
Lin Shuying remained neither servile nor overbearing: “I know it will be hard, but I am not afraid. I only ask for a chance to prove that a woman can also accomplish something in agriculture.”
The Emperor said nothing, only looking at her. After a long while, he suddenly laughed: “Very well. I grant it.”
“Your Majesty!” Gu Wanyin could not help but speak out.
The Emperor waved his hand: “There is no need for more words, Lady Lin. The girl has ambition—that is a good thing. By the imperial estate north of the city, there is a fifty-acre experimental plot that was once used by the Directorate of Agriculture to trial new crops, but it has lain fallow these past few years. Today I grant it to you, with a three-year term. If you can truly double its yield…”
He paused, his tone turning meaningful: “Not only will I permit you to devote your life to agriculture, I will also grant you a boon—whatever you wish, so long as it is not excessive, I shall grant it.”
Lin Shuying was overjoyed and kowtowed heavily: “This humble maiden thanks Your Majesty for his boundless grace!”
“But if you cannot,” the Emperor’s tone shifted, “then you will return home, take up needlework, study the Admonitions for Women, and in three years’ time, marry into a good family—agreed?”
Lin Shuying did not hesitate: “This humble maiden obeys!”
The banquet continued, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
Everyone now looked at Lin Shuying with strange expressions—some puzzled, some disdainful, and some… curious.
Lin Shuying paid them no mind. In her heart, there was only one thought: It’s done.
Finally done.
— —
After the banquet ended, the Lin family returned home. Gu Wanyin burst into tears as soon as she entered the door: “Shuying, how—how could you…”
“Mother,” Lin Shuying embraced her, “I’ve truly thought this through.”
Lin Huaizhou let out a long sigh and rubbed his brow: “The Emperor’s word is final—there’s no turning back now. Moqian, go to the north of the city tomorrow and inspect that land, then find a suitable estate nearby. We can’t have Shuying living in the fields.”
Lin Moqian acknowledged: “Father, rest assured—I’ll see to it properly.”
Lin Zhaoye, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: “You’re really going to farm?”
Lin Shuying looked at him and nodded.
Lin Zhaoye stared at her for a long while, then finally let out a “hmph”: “Fine. But if you can’t grow anything, don’t come crying to me.”
Despite his words, Lin Shuying could see a hint of… envy hidden in his eyes.
She smiled: “Third Brother, don’t worry—I’ll grow the best watermelons and make sure you get to taste them.”
“Who cares,” Lin Zhaoye muttered, turning away.
Lin Shuying watched his retreating back, then looked at her worried parents and her anxious elder brother and sister-in-law, and suddenly felt a warmth swell in her heart.
She knew what her family was worried about.
But she also knew what she wanted.
In her previous life, she had devoted herself to science, with no children or spouse. At the end, only her students and colleagues had been by her side.
In this life, the underworld had promised her fulfillment. But the fulfillment she sought was not being trapped in a deep courtyard as a wife and mother, nor was it muddling through life under the title of “daughter of the wealthiest family.”
She wanted a piece of the world that was truly her own—where she could do what she did best, and truly… live.
“Shuying,” Gu Wanyin took her daughter’s hand, tears streaming again, “your mother knows she can’t stop you, but promise me you’ll take good care of yourself. Don’t overwork yourself, don’t stay too long in the sun, and come home whenever you miss us…”
“Mother, I know.” Lin Shuying held her mother’s hand back, her voice gentle. “I’m just going to farm—not go to war. Besides, the estate isn’t far from the city—I’ll come back often to see you.”
Lin Huaizhou walked over, patted his wife’s shoulder, then looked at his youngest daughter with complex eyes: “If you need anything, tell the family. Come home often…”
Lin Shuying’s nose stung with emotion, and she nodded firmly.
She knew that from this moment on, her life would truly begin again—on her own terms.
And the first step was growing watermelons.
Big, round ones—sweet as honey.
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