When the young county princess asked, the maid, being quite clever and having inquired about this earlier, replied: “He’s already engaged.”

After the maid finished speaking, she kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart.

She knew what her mistress was thinking, but at this age, the likelihood that Young Master Lin wasn’t engaged was very small—it wasn’t something she could gloss over.

The young county princess let out a light hum through her nose: “Which family is he engaged to?”

The maid bowed: “This servant will go find out immediately.”

Chen Yu had a vague feeling about this. After lending out the carriage, an intense scrutinizing gaze had pierced through from that direction—was the young county princess looking at him?

However, afterward he rode ahead on horseback, staggering their paths with the people from the Prince of Nan’an’s manor, and that gaze disappeared.

Chen Yu’s heart yearned to return home.

He had traveled south for over half a year this time and hadn’t seen his family in quite a while. There were also his two little nephews—he couldn’t wait to see them.

When their party entered through the capital city gates, someone from the Lin household had already gone ahead to report the news. The steward was waiting at the main entrance, and as soon as he saw the master return, he lit the firecrackers.

Chen Yu crossed the threshold amid the sound of firecrackers. At this hour, Father probably hadn’t returned yet, so he went straight to the rear courtyard. As soon as he entered the rear courtyard, he saw his grandmother, his concubine mother, and his third younger sister waiting for him.

“Grandmother, your grandson has returned!”

“Concubine Mother, Third Sister.” He smiled. “I’m back.”

The old lady grasped his hand and looked up at him: “Chen Yu is back, it’s good that you’re back. Was the journey smooth?”

This height—even taller than his father now.

She looked at her grandson’s complexion with distress: “You’ve gotten thinner. You must have worked hard on this journey. Are you hungry? The meal is already prepared, all your favorite dishes.”

These words could be heard every time he went away. In Grandmother’s eyes, he didn’t eat well or sleep well when he was outside. Chen Yu smiled helplessly: “Grandmother, I’ve been thinking about home cooking this whole time.”

“Come, come quickly!”

The old lady became even more eager, wishing she could have everything prepared for him.

Chen Yu was cared for meticulously. At the dining table, he asked about everyone in the household and learned that Grandmother had just recovered from a serious illness and was still taking medicine. His brows immediately furrowed: “Grandmother, are you tired?” He felt somewhat guilty—he should have been concerned about Grandmother’s health from the start.

The old lady was all smiles: “I’m fine. If I’m truly tired, I’ll go rest. It’s you—after such a long journey, go rest quickly. After you wake up, we can have a good talk, that won’t be too late.”

After he had rested properly, he recounted in detail what he had seen and heard on the journey, mentioning in passing the encounter with the young county princess from the Prince of Nan’an’s household.

But no one took it to heart. The old lady smiled: “Now that you’re back, personally deliver the invitation cards to your senior martial brothers.”

“And don’t forget the Tang family.”

Lin Ruhai added: “You should also make a trip to your two elder sisters’ places. You can see your nephews while you’re at it—they’ve been raised extremely well by your second sister.” To this day, Lin Ruhai couldn’t forget, and if it weren’t impossible, he’d wish to have them raised right here at home.

Chen Yu nodded in agreement. Subsequently, the people around Chen Yu delivered gifts to each master in the household.

From the old lady at the top to Daiyu at the bottom, everyone received something.

There were also gifts for Ying Yu and Luo Yu, which would be delivered together when the invitation cards were sent later.

Daiyu eagerly opened her box. There were two poetry collections she hadn’t read before, a rubbing, a pair of palm-sized ceramic brush rests in the design of monkeys stealing peaches, a box of pearl hairpins in styles popular in the south, a set of twelve zodiac animal hand-carved walnut prayer beads, and a set of pearl jewelry.

The most valuable items here were undoubtedly the pearl jewelry set, but what pleased Daiyu most were first those two poetry collections, and then that set of twelve zodiac animals. The walnuts weren’t large, and the carving work wasn’t exceptionally exquisite, but they had spirit. Daiyu played with them for a while before placing them on the table within easy reach: “I’ll keep them right here.”

On Yun Shuyao’s side, she received even more gifts of higher value, from jewelry to fabrics, and even the rare stones she had specifically asked him to watch for.

Yun Shuyao surveyed everything, feeling somewhat regretful. Heavenly treasures and earthly rarities weren’t so easily obtained—today was another day without results.

The other gifts were also purchased according to her preferences. Yun Shuyao’s face bore a smile: “You put thought into this. What about the seeds?”

Chen Yu pointed to another box: “They’re in here, and I’ve also had merchants bring some more that are still on the road.”

Yun Shuyao opened the box and nodded. These seeds had all been carefully selected—she could sense their vigorous life force.

“Concubine Mother, are these really useful?”

Chen Yu knew what his concubine mother was doing—the whole family knew—but everyone was rather pessimistic about whether it would yield results.

The court wasn’t sitting idle either, and His Majesty took this very seriously, but how many people had achieved good results?

Moreover, who knew how much mental effort it would consume, and in the end there was a very high probability it would all be for naught.

However, seeing his concubine mother’s earnest manner, Chen Yu wouldn’t pour cold water on her enthusiasm. As long as she was happy, that was enough—it didn’t necessarily have to produce results.

Their side hadn’t taken the encounter with the young Princess of Nan’an to heart, but the other party didn’t think the same way.

After finding out who Chen Yu’s fiancée was, the young county princess Huo Shiyan was very dissatisfied.

After Grandmother came to the capital, they had viewed quite a few young masters from various families, but she wasn’t satisfied with any of them. They lacked looks when it came to looks, and ability when it came to ability. All they had going for them was that hereditary title passed down from their ancestors, but it couldn’t even be passed to them anyway. In that case, they were inferior to Young Master Lin, who had passed the provincial examination on his own merit, and moreover, he was an only son—everything from the Lin family would be his in the future.

Compared to him, those previously viewed all had various shortcomings. If the Lin family’s fiancée was passable, Huo Shiyan wouldn’t have said anything, but what did that Tang family girl have going for her?

Just because her deceased father and Minister Lin had once been fellow disciples under the same master?

She couldn’t provide any assistance to the Lin family—she would only be a burden. Furthermore… being engaged didn’t mean anything—the engagement could still be broken.

As long as there were sufficient benefits, this wasn’t an obstacle.

Huo Shiyan believed that if one side of the scale held herself and the Prince of Nan’an’s manor, and the other side held the Tang family, everyone would know which to choose.

She went to ask her grandmother to intervene.

This wasn’t child’s play—the other party was already engaged. There wasn’t just this one fine young man in the capital. The Grand Consort refused to agree: “Stop this nonsense!”

When had Huo Shiyan’s requests ever not been satisfied?

If Grandmother didn’t agree for the moment, it didn’t matter—as long as she kept asking, she would eventually agree.

Sure enough, same as always. The Grand Consort was utterly helpless and carefully inquired about the Lin family’s circumstances. It wasn’t really that they weren’t a match for her granddaughter, and that young man did indeed have quite a bit of his father’s style—at such a young age he had already passed the provincial examination.

Moreover, although she hadn’t seen him herself, others had, and his looks were quite good—no wonder her granddaughter, who had such high standards, had taken a liking to him.

Within reason, the Grand Consort didn’t mind satisfying her granddaughter’s request: “All right, you little troublemaker.” She relented, full of indulgence: “Don’t be anxious. Grandmother will go inquire first.”

He was a grandson of the Jia family, and the Jia family and their family were old relatives. The Grand Consort came to the Jia family, wanting to inquire about the specific situation. The Grand Consort’s arrival brought the Jia family quite a bit of joy.

The masters of the Prince of Nan’an’s manor who remained in the capital were the heir apparent and the princess consort. The prince and the Grand Consort had previously been in the south with their granddaughter and didn’t regularly reside in the capital. The Grand Consort had only recently returned to the capital and hadn’t yet called on them. Now that she had come to the Jia family with her granddaughter, they naturally welcomed her.

Moreover, their household was currently shrouded in gloom, because the earthquake triggered by Lin Ruhai’s actions hadn’t yet subsided. They all wanted to know the reason—aside from that incident with Yuan Chun, what other grudge was there?

But Grandmother Jia refused to say what enmity existed between the two families that made the Lin family so merciless.

Jia Zheng knew, but he was ashamed to mention it.

There was a life between their two families. The Lin family’s descendants had suffered hardship, and that life was a hurdle the Lin family couldn’t get past—perhaps it counted as one and a half lives, since his younger sister’s death also had some connection to this.

All of this made it impossible for him to ignore.

It wasn’t that Grandmother Jia felt no shame, but rather she knew that the Lin family must have kept some evidence from back then. If the two families completely fell out, she could refuse to admit it even unto death, but she couldn’t control what everyone else would think. So she didn’t want to break with the Lin family completely, and moreover, the Jia family currently had no one at court—falling out with the Lin family would be unwise.

The Jia family could still maintain their dignity for two reasons: one was that she was still alive, and the other was because of these marriage connections.

The Jia family’s closest connections were the Wang family and the Lin family, one civil and one military, plus some other old relatives with whom they frequently visited and mutually supported each other.

All of these combined upheld the dignity of the Mansion of Honored State. Even though the Lin family had done such a thing, only a small portion of people knew about it. In everyone else’s eyes, they were still connected by marriage.

Now that the Grand Consort had come to visit, it could help bolster their prestige. But after the initial pleasantries, when the other party asked about the Lin family’s situation, while Grandmother Jia’s expression remained composed, Second Madam Wang showed obvious signs of discomfort.

The Grand Consort noticed this, and the words on the tip of her tongue immediately changed to another topic.

It seemed there was some story here.

After returning and making inquiries, she learned that the Lin family had caused the Jia family’s second master to be demoted, and their relationship… wasn’t good.

The Grand Consort immediately frowned and wavered from her previous thinking: “Shiyan, this Lin family can even turn on their marriage relatives—let’s observe for now.”

Huo Shiyan’s brows furrowed tightly: “It must be that the Jia family was at fault first.”

The Grand Consort’s face became stern: “Shiyan, listen to me. Grandmother won’t harm you.”

Huo Shiyan couldn’t help but stamp her foot and reluctantly agreed: “Grandmother, don’t make me wait too long.”

While the Prince of Nan’an’s manor was investigating, the Lin family’s celebration banquet took place as scheduled, hosted by Yun Shuyao.

During this time, Lin Daiyu followed along from front to back to learn. Yun Shuyao not only held nothing back but also very proactively gave her quite a few tasks to do. This was help delivered to her doorstep—it would be too wasteful not to put her to work.

This banquet didn’t invite too many people—all were true relatives or true connections.

For example, the sons-in-law’s families, Chen Yu’s martial arts school, the old lady’s maternal nephew, Lin Ruhai’s fellow disciples, and the Yun family.

Speaking of close relations, the Jia family was the maternal family, so of course the relationship was close, but this time the Jia family didn’t even receive an invitation card, yet the Yun family was invited.

This was Yun Shuyao’s decision, and the old lady tacitly approved.

Yun Shuyao’s attitude toward the Jia family members was somewhat similar to viewing characters on a screen. She kept things clear-cut and wouldn’t arbitrarily interfere in their lives—everyone lived their own life, unless they crossed the line.

Like this time, she felt the Jia family had crossed the line. Lin Ruhai had dealt with Jia Zheng, while she herself had taken down the Mansion of Honored State’s dignity. The children couldn’t do such things—filial piety came first.

But she didn’t need to be so considerate.

Her daughter had entered the palace and been made difficult by Consort De, caused by the Jia family’s daughter. What was wrong with her tripping up the Jia family a bit?

Moreover, Lin Ruhai had also told her that he wanted to distance himself further from the Jia family.

The longer he spent in the capital, the more he understood. Being a minister was difficult. The Crown Prince’s position still looked very stable, but beneath the peaceful surface, undercurrents surged, growing increasingly intense. Lin Ruhai didn’t know how long this peace could last.

Openly competing with the Crown Prince was only the First Prince. What about privately?

Lin Ruhai didn’t intend to follow the path of forming factions and engaging in power struggles. From beginning to end, he was a royalist and wouldn’t pledge loyalty to any particular prince. He didn’t need the merit of supporting a dragon.

Although he had become connected to the Fourth Prince through His Majesty’s arranged marriage, in matters involving the Fourth Prince, he wouldn’t show favoritism.

Fortunately, from Lin Ruhai’s observations, the Fourth Prince had no intention of competing.

This was excellent news.

He walked the path of assistance, which didn’t conflict.

Lin Ruhai wanted to maintain neutrality, so he couldn’t stay too close to the Jia family.

And the Jia family wasn’t just the Jia family—the four families Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue were tightly interconnected.

Grandmother Jia was the daughter of the Shi family. The daughters-in-law of two generations married into the Wang family, and this Wang family also had a daughter who married into the Xue family.

Furthermore, after the old Duke passed away, most of his connections had transferred to Wang Ziteng’s hands.

Among the four families now, the Wang family had the strongest momentum. Lin Ruhai disliked the Wang family’s way of doing things and didn’t want to be equated with these four families. Most importantly, from his observations, they were walking too close to the Crown Prince’s faction.

Daiyu knew these matters. She remained silent about them and never expressed opposition. She naturally stood with the Lin family, with Second Elder Sister. In her heart, she also felt that Elder Cousin Sister’s actions were inappropriate, but that side was also close to her by blood. Now that the conflict between the two families was becoming increasingly obvious, she couldn’t help but feel downcast. She knew she should look at it more openly, but it was easy to say and difficult to do.

After the Lin family’s celebration banquet ended, Huo Shiyan still hadn’t received her grandmother’s approval. She was disappointed—she didn’t know what Grandmother was considering. She couldn’t wait any longer.

If she kept waiting, Young Master Lin would marry the Tang family girl!

So when Chen Yu went out, he was intercepted. He was very surprised. “Young County Princess? I wonder what matter you seek this humble one for?”

Seeing him up close, Huo Shiyan became more and more satisfied the more she looked. “Young Master Lin, after our previous parting, I wonder if Young Master Lin still remembers this county princess?”

Chen Yu: “Naturally I remember.”

It hadn’t been long ago, and his memory, if not photographic, wasn’t far off. Of course he wouldn’t forget.

Huo Shiyan smiled, slightly raising her chin: “I am still unmarried now, and Young Master Lin, you also haven’t yet married. I know that being betrothed to the Tang family is too beneath you. If you want to dissolve the engagement, I will help you.”

Her words strongly implied: break off the engagement and become engaged to me instead. Chen Yu heard this and for a moment doubted his own ears.

He blinked, confirming he wasn’t dreaming. Chen Yu solemnly refused: “This humble one has no intention of breaking the engagement. I don’t know if the Young County Princess has believed some rumor—please don’t take it seriously!”

Directly refused?!

Huo Shiyan suppressed her brows and eyes. “Do you know what I mean? You’re refusing me?”

Chen Yu was helpless: “This humble one is already engaged.”

The young county princess’s personal maid consciously walked even farther away. She was afraid of hearing too much—if afterward she let something slip and the young county princess bore a grudge, then she would be finished.

The maid didn’t dare show it on her face, but in her heart she felt this Young Master Lin had quite good character. In the south, facing the young county princess, how many people could speak words of refusal?

The eligible young men there could be said to be for the young county princess to select from, but the young county princess hadn’t taken a liking to anyone, and with some other reasons, she simply returned to the capital to discuss a suitable marriage. It was just unfortunate that after they’d been in the capital for some time, there still wasn’t anyone who satisfied the young county princess. Yet when she went out to relax, she instead found someone she liked. It was just regrettable that although Young Master Lin was outstanding, he already had a fiancée.

If only he weren’t engaged. He could refuse the young county princess’s favor—he was a person of loyalty and righteousness.

You must know, although the young county princess was rather willful, she was the Prince’s only legitimate daughter. She was deeply loved by the Grand Consort and the Prince. Once someone married her, the assistance gained need not be elaborated. Young Master Lin couldn’t not know this, yet he still refused.

There, hearing Chen Yu’s clear refusal, Huo Shiyan flew into a rage of humiliation. Looking at that face also became detestable. She lashed her whip toward Chen Yu’s face: “Ungrateful fool! You just wait—sooner or later you’ll regret this!”

Then she angrily boarded her family’s carriage: “Return to the manor!”

Chen Yu swiftly dodged to the side, evading her whip, his face showing displeasure. What kind of calamity from heaven was this?!

Had he known, he should never have bothered with her broken-down carriage and just taken a detour to leave.

After returning home, Chen Yu recounted this incident. Lin Ruhai first carefully checked whether his son was injured anywhere on his body, then said: “You refused correctly!”

Lin Ruhai didn’t want to marry into the nobility. A prince’s daughter was certainly prestigious when spoken of, but look at the situation of the Four Princes who were originally enfeoffed—now the only one who still held military power was the Prince of Nan’an. As for the others, they had either declined to hold only nominal positions and sinecures, or made mistakes and had their titles stripped becoming commoners, or had long since handed over military power and converted from military to civil positions. His Majesty would not be happy to see them still controlling military power.

“The Huo family has failed in educating their daughter. To avoid increasing troubles, unless absolutely necessary, don’t go out for this period.”

Yun Shuyao was displeased: “That’s it?”

Although that whip didn’t strike her son, what if he hadn’t practiced martial arts since childhood and hadn’t dodged it?

That whip was aimed at his face.

How malicious was that intent?

A monstrous child being so arrogant and willful was the result of being spoiled by family—naturally, the monstrous child’s parents should be held responsible. Once the monstrous parents could no longer continue excessive indulgence, naturally there would be no more monstrous children.

Lin Ruhai was also angry: “Of course not. Don’t worry.” He curved his lips into a smile, but this smile held no warmth: “Evidence must be collected first.” The Prince of Nan’an had many vulnerable points to exploit.

Chen Yu was his only son, the Lin family’s sole heir. How much effort had he expended to raise him to such a state that made him proud? Now his face had nearly been injured. It wasn’t that he wasn’t angry—he just planned to scheme before taking action.