The family to whom Lin Daiyu was betrothed bore the surname Chen—the Chen family of Nanying. This description might not mean much to some, but mention Yingshan Academy and it would resonate like thunder, for it was one of the three most renowned academies in the south, holding extraordinary status among scholars.

The man to whom Daiyu was betrothed was Chen Li, the second son of the current master of Yingshan Academy. He was seventeen years old this year. He had only one legitimate elder brother, with a considerable age gap between them—his eldest nephew was already ten years old. His brother also possessed remarkable literary talent and currently served in the Ministry of Justice in the capital.

It was precisely because of this elder brother that the Lin and Chen families were able to form this marriage alliance.

Now Chen Li was seventeen and Daiyu fifteen—they had indeed reached a marriageable age. According to the original plan, the wedding date had been set for next year, after Chen Li completed the spring imperial examinations. Now it was being moved forward.

Chen Li possessed exceptional talent. Lin Ruhai had read his essays and believed that with his capabilities, his name would certainly appear on the honor roll in next year’s spring examinations.

Moreover, at his young age, he had already resolved to become the next master of Yingshan Academy—he harbored no ambitions toward the imperial court.

When the time came, the two brothers would have one in the court and one in the countryside, perfectly positioned to support each other.

Furthermore, he was quite handsome. If he ranked highly, he might well become another Tanhua—Scholar of the Third Rank. Then father-in-law and son-in-law would both be Tanhua, creating another tale of distinction.

Both Old Madam Lin and Lin Ruhai believed that after marrying into the Chen family, Daiyu could live out her life in peace. Given her physical condition, excessive mental strain would affect her longevity. Marrying Chen Li meant staying far from the imperial court, sparing her from the exhausting social obligations of other madams and ladies, allowing her to pursue her own interests in a place filled with the sound of scholarly recitation.

This was also Lin Daiyu’s own choice. The old madam had carefully selected three families, and after Daiyu met this Second Master Chen once, the matter was settled.

Now, in agreeing to move the wedding date forward, both Lin Ruhai and the old madam had considered carefully. Though reluctant, this was beneficial for Daiyu.

The Chen family had invited imperial physicians for consultation. Madam Chen’s days were numbered. If the wedding did not take place before her passing, the wedding date would have to be postponed three years.

Three years later, Daiyu would be eighteen.

Moreover, there were three circumstances under which a wife could not be divorced: if she had nowhere to return to; if she had observed the three-year mourning period for her husband’s parents; or if the family had been poor when married but later became wealthy.

The second circumstance meant that once a wife had observed mourning for her in-laws, the husband’s family could not cast her out.

This was beneficial for Daiyu. Furthermore, marrying into the family now would earn her a reputation for being understanding and reasonable. Therefore, Lin Ruhai agreed, though it was regrettable that Chen Yu might not make it back in time for his sister’s momentous life event.

When a daughter married, she needed a brother to carry her out the door. Now they could only invite someone from the Lin clan.

This was unavoidable. The journey from the capital to Nanying was long and distant—Chen Yu simply could not spare enough time to escort his sister to her wedding.

Yun Shuyao had returned. The first person she saw was her daughter-in-law.

Just as Tang Wanxin was about to curtsy, Yun Shuyao stepped forward, grasped her hand, and stopped her: “Wanxin, no need for that. My journey went well, and Chen Yu is doing fine too. He should be arriving soon.”

Tang Wanxin smiled somewhat shyly: “Yes, Mother-in-law.”

Yun Shuyao: “Are you tired?”

Tang Wanxin: “I’m alright…”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yun Shuyao went to see the old madam. Upon seeing only Yun Shuyao, the old madam’s disappointment was written all over her face.

It had been three years since she had seen her grandson. “You’ve returned. Was the journey smooth?”

Yun Shuyao: “Everything went smoothly.”

The old madam sighed: “That’s good then. Is Chen Yu taller now? Has he lost weight? What’s he like? He only says everything is fine—that child, I don’t believe him. He certainly hasn’t been taking proper care of himself…”

She went on chattering at length.

Yun Shuyao listened quietly. At a time like this, she only needed to be an audience.

After speaking for quite a while, the old madam felt thirsty and finally paused to drink some tea before turning to the current household situation: “Daiyu will be leaving soon. Wanxin is still young and hasn’t handled major events before, so you should keep an eye on things.” By the next time such a joyous occasion occurred in the family, it would be when a great-grandson took a wife. Old Madam Lin knew she would not live to see that day.

It was too far off.

Yun Shuyao nodded.

The old madam sighed: “In the blink of an eye, Daiyu is leaving home.” Once Daiyu left, there would be an emptiness around her. Moreover, once Daiyu went south, it would be difficult to see her again.

The old madam’s thoughts drifted—of her three granddaughters, two were in the capital. Only Daiyu, who had grown up by her side, was going south.

However, this was for the child’s benefit. Despite the reluctance, there was no helping it.

The old madam’s mind turned to her eldest granddaughter, Ying Yu, who had still not conceived. Now there was a newborn illegitimate eldest son in the household.

“As for Ying Yu’s situation, her husband is a man of conscience. He’s placed the child under Ying Yu’s care and pays little attention to that concubine. If Ying Yu raises him well, he’ll be support for her in the future, no matter what.”

As long as her husband held official position and cared about his reputation, no matter how much the boy was the biological child or how close to his birth mother, he could not show disrespect to his legitimate mother.

Yun Shuyao remained silent.

Though Ying Yu had been unable to conceive for so long, this scene had still come to pass.

The old madam didn’t expect Yun Shuyao to say anything about this matter and turned to discussing Madam Chen: “This in-law is a good person, but sadly, good people don’t live long, while some people who’ve done plenty of wicked things continue to live on.” This was a reference to Grandmother Jia.

Old Madam Lin: “You’ve been away during this time, so you probably don’t know yet—the Jia family has made themselves a laughingstock again.”

Without waiting for Yun Shuyao’s response, she continued on her own: “Jia Jing passed away, and during the mourning period, Jia Lian took You Second Sister as an outside mistress.”

Yun Shuyao indeed didn’t know about this: “And then?”

The old madam snorted: “Then Wang Xifeng stormed over there. At least she had some sense—she brought the woman back home and didn’t make a big scene of it.”

This point also differed from Old Madam Lin’s dream-world. In the dream-world, Jia Lian had secretly taken a second wife, not merely kept an outside mistress.

The difference between taking a wife and taking a concubine was self-evident.

Yun Shuyao nodded.

The old madam continued: “And there’s that Jia Baoyu as well. He’s reached the age for betrothal and has accepted quite a bit of silver from the Xue family, yet still hasn’t gotten engaged. He’s also made himself a laughingstock by getting his personal maid pregnant—that supposedly ‘virtuous’ person called Xiren.”

Old Madam Lin spoke the word “virtuous” with thick sarcasm. The Jia family was rotten, rotten from top to bottom. As Jia Baoyu’s personal maid, Xiren had aspired since childhood to become his concubine. At such a young age, the two had tasted forbidden fruit, and she’d carelessly gotten pregnant—the old madam wasn’t surprised in the least.

Although Second Madam Wang had quickly administered an abortifacient and sealed the news, when had the Jia household servants ever kept their mouths shut?

Yun Shuyao: “…”

It seemed that during her brief absence, quite a few things had happened.

Also… Yun Shuyao glanced at the chattering old madam. She had changed too. Whether stimulated by Daiyu’s impending departure or not, she was certainly talking to her much more.

The old madam had more to say, but because it might affect Daiyu’s reputation, she didn’t utter a single word.

The reason Second Madam Wang was stringing along the Xue family was that she had somehow learned of Grandmother Jia’s previous desire to match the two “jades” together. She had entertained the absurd fantasy of playing matchmaker. Of course, she had been deluding herself.

That Jia Baoyu had gotten his hopes up for nothing and even fallen into delusion, causing quite a commotion in the Jia household.

This had made the old madam quite displeased for some time. That stone had previously been protected by Grandmother Jia, and after Grandmother Jia fell, Second Madam Wang was there to shield him. Despite all the upheavals in the Jia family, he remained unchanged—still that person raised in a honeypot.

The old madam didn’t understand where his obsession came from.

In this lifetime, the two had met so few times—why could he still be fixated on Daiyu?

Of course, not understanding didn’t affect the old madam’s actions. She would only be more resolute in preventing them from meeting, cutting off any possibility between them.

If she believed in fate, today would not exist.

“The Wang family aunt and niece are about to tear each other apart over that bit of family wealth. The Wang family is now caught in a difficult position.”

The first and second branches of the Jia family were nearly emptying out the Jia household. Although this was done secretly in private, quite a few people in the capital knew about it, and many were watching the joke unfold from the shadows.

Yun Shuyao listened with relish, feeling as if she were watching a television series. Wonderful, wonderful!

Even if the old madam didn’t tell her, she would hear someone recount it all again later anyway.

After listening, Yun Shuyao returned to her own courtyard and had someone sort out the gifts she had prepared to be sent out separately.

Lin Daiyu received her share of the gifts. Opening them, she saw they were quite valuable.

She looked for three seconds, then had someone carefully put them away. She rose and took out a pair of sachets she had made herself to go thank her.

Not having seen her for a while, Yun Shuyao noticed Daiyu had changed considerably. Perhaps because she was about to marry, her mindset had also shifted, making her more composed than before.

Yun Shuyao accepted her sachets. Both parties politely exchanged a few words of concern, then Daiyu took her leave.

Yun Shuyao then continued listening to reports about the pawnshop’s situation during her absence.

Given current circumstances, Yun Shuyao’s pawnshop could be said to have reaped a great harvest.

On the surface, the Jia family still appeared wealthy and noble, with no changes in clothing, food, housing, or transportation from before. But privately?

Yun Shuyao suspected they had nearly emptied Grandmother Jia’s private storehouse.

Yun Shuyao planned to visit tomorrow to see if there were any surprises. If there were surprises, that would be even better.

That evening when Lin Ruhai returned, he inquired in detail about Chen Yu’s seed situation.

After Yun Shuyao told him about this matter, the large-scale testing was handed over to him.

This was impossible to conceal from him. Once reported upward, he couldn’t remain uninvolved—their family was viewed as one entity.

If there were rewards for merit, he would have his share. Now that work needed doing, of course he couldn’t be left out either.

The next day, Yun Shuyao went to the pawnshop to look at the accumulated items from this period. What she saw made her inwardly gasp.

All her silver was tied up here. This showed that even the empty shell of the Rongguo Mansion was astonishingly substantial. Even with their extravagance, they could live off their reserves for quite a few more years.

This was the benefit available only to those who were among the first to establish merit at the dynasty’s founding.

Among this dazzling array of items, Yun Shuyao was quite satisfied, having obtained two treasures that she fed to the Spirit Mirror.

The Spirit Mirror unceremoniously swallowed them. After swallowing, Yun Shuyao smiled—it had now recovered to seventy percent.

She wondered what surprises would await her when it fully recovered?

“Crack-crack-pop—”

“Crack-crack-pop—”

The sound of celebratory firecrackers rang out, deafening.

Passersby listened and checked the time, knowing which family was holding a wedding celebration.

For the bride’s family, a daughter leaving home was a sorrowful matter—one less person in the household.

Conversely, for the groom’s family, it was a joyous occasion of adding a new member.

Therefore, the male side coming to fetch the bride was jubilant, while the female side had to force smiles despite their reluctance. Only during the ritual crying of the bride could they freely weep.

Chen Yu couldn’t make it back for his younger sister’s wedding. He had sent back generous dowry additions, so Daiyu was carried to the bridal sedan by a clan brother.

Covered by the red bridal veil, the world before her was entirely red. Her ears still seemed to echo with her grandmother’s weeping. Daiyu’s tears fell drop by drop onto her hands.

She was leaving home.

When she returned in the future, she would be a married woman, no longer a young miss.

Her home had changed from the Lin family to the Chen family.

Even though she was satisfied with the Chen family, at this moment Daiyu’s heart was filled with endless trepidation.

Her personal maid Xue Yan knew what troubled her and consoled her in a voice she could hear: “Miss, we will all be by your side.”

“Nanying isn’t too far from Suzhou, and the Lin clan is right there. No one will dare bully us.”

“The young master also said that though he can’t escort you now, once he finishes this busy period, he’ll visit the Chen family. He told us to receive him well…”

Listening to her maid’s chatter, Daiyu finally suppressed the burning sensation in her nose.

The sedan swayed back and forth. For some reason, she felt a strange discomfort in her heart. Her eyes uncontrollably wanted to shed tears, yet there was also a sense of liberation.

It was as if some shackles had, from this moment, completely shattered.