Chapter 1: Forcing the Issue

Dongyue Province, Great Zhou, Wenchang County.

In the Xinyi Ward, the Lin Family was one of the top wealthy households.

It was late spring turning into early summer, with bright sunshine. In front of the Lin Manor, carriages and horses came and went like a flowing dragon. The vermilion gates and red tiles, the high eaves and upturned corners, all spoke of a wealthy and noble household. Even the gatekeepers seemed a cut above the rest.

The Lin Family was a well-known rich merchant and powerful gentry family in Wenchang County. The Lin Family originated from being managers of government estates. Every year, the Great Zhou Imperial Court enclosed land in the capital region and established various estates across the country, including grain estates, cotton estates, salt estates, indigo estates, as well as melon gardens, vegetable gardens, and fruit orchards. Each year, these government estates had to pay tribute grain to the emperor and provide the imperial household with large quantities of chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, eggs, grass, oil, and fodder, as well as laborers, vehicles, and other goods.

By virtue of their role as government estate managers, they held significant weight among the local gentry.

The Lin Family was different, however. The Old Master Lin was steady and shrewd. Leveraging the prestige of the imperial household and cultivating connections with officials, he stood out among the local government estate managers. Over the past few decades, the Lin Family had produced many scholars who achieved merit through the imperial examinations. After four generations of management, they had become one of the renowned powerful and prestigious clans.

Even in the Xinyi Ward, known for being thick with wealthy merchants, they were ranked among the leading great households!

In the early summer Lin Manor, peach blossoms bloomed in clusters, and even the air carried a pleasant fragrance.

Sitting in the classroom of the Lin Manor’s private school, the clear reading voices of over a dozen young Lin Family members drifted from nearby. However, some of them kept glancing toward a figure in the pavilion by the garden.

He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a scholar’s robe, with delicate features and clear eyes. There was a strange, indefinable air between his brows. He was frowning, as if puzzled by something.

That was the fifth young master of the Lin Family, Lin Yuan.

This generation of the Lin Family was flourishing. The Old Master Lin’s wives and concubines had given birth to no fewer than a dozen children.

But the direct descendants of this generation were particularly noteworthy. The direct eldest son, Lin Min, had been named at the Golden Luan Hall, having passed the highest level of the imperial examinations as a Metropolitan Graduate. He now served in the Hanlin Academy, the most prestigious position for capital officials, and his future was undoubtedly bright.

The direct second son was a natural genius in business. Despite his young age, he already controlled most of the Lin Family’s merchant caravans and had multiplied the family’s assets several times over. This business talent made many merchants and gentry in Wenchang County extremely envious. This second direct son had only married last year, wedding the direct daughter of the county’s Grand Master (the County Magistrate), which also made waves in Wenchang.

The third direct son, Lin Yuan, was also clever from a young age. Before even reaching fifteen or sixteen, he had consecutively passed the prefectural and academy exams, studying in the county school. Although his ranking wasn’t high—he was only an added stipendiary—he was still a xiucai, a government student, bringing honor to his ancestors.

Many young boys and girls whispered among themselves, their gazes filled with eagerness.

“Enough, stop discussing! Be careful not to be noticed!” one youth quietly warned his siblings beside him.

Since ancient times, there had been a distinction between direct and collateral lines. Direct descendants, as long as they weren’t wastrels, would receive preferential allocation of the Lin Family’s resources even if they didn’t inherit the family business. They could secure a position in a neighboring county near Wenchang County or receive a portion of the family’s assets! With good luck, they might even enter government service and hold an official post. After a hundred years, they could enjoy family Incense Offerings and become deities after death!

Although the many young Lin Family members felt envy, since ancient times, the distinction between direct and collateral lines was dictated by the rites and systems of successive dynasties and could not be violated.

From the eastern corridor, two young maidservants, about thirteen or fourteen years old, had approached at some point unnoticed. The two girls had rosy lips and white teeth, wore silk jackets, and had their hair tied in twin buns, dressed as maidservants. Seeing the young master staring blankly at the lotus seed pods and goldfish by the pond near the pavilion, they exchanged a glance and stood obediently to the side, not daring to disturb the Fifth Young Master.

Lin Yuan, however, was lost in a Buddha-like reverie and paid no heed to the two pretty little maidservants.

In truth, half a month ago, the body of Lin Yuan had gained a new master—or rather, it finally regained memories of a past life.

In his previous life, he was a minor clerk on that watery blue planet. After an accident, he became the fifth young master of the Lin Manor in Wenchang County, the third direct son.

Lin Yuan was not a transmigrator but a reincarnated soul—though it was an illegal, smuggled reincarnation. Every so often, he recovered fragments of memory.

It wasn’t until half a month ago that his memories fully returned!

Regarding his current life’s status, Lin Yuan was quite satisfied!

Without needing a “rich-woman-happy-nail” or “rich-woman-happy-fire,” he could save many years of struggle!

“…”

His mind was filled with chaotic, random thoughts!

“Young Master, you aren’t still angry with the Master, are you?!”

“And when that Miss Yang came to break off the engagement, how could you…force the issue like that right then and there…!”

Beside him, the two little maidservants spoke timidly. At first, their faces showed some worry, but as they looked at their young master, they couldn’t help but blush with a hint of shyness.

“…”

Lin Yuan glanced at the two maidservants, somewhat tongue-tied. His handsome, refined face showed a trace of embarrassment.

The incident of forcing the issue truly had nothing to do with him.

At that time, his memories hadn’t fully recovered; he had only regained a portion.

Lin Yuan did remember the cause of the incident. He had been betrothed since infancy to the eldest daughter of another scholarly family in Wenchang County, the Yang Family. However, as they grew up, that Eldest Young Miss Yang was not satisfied with his performance and instead took a fancy to a scholar.

The original inhabitant of this body, of course, refused to accept this. In such a feudal great family, an engaged wife having an affair with a scholar was a huge scandal. If word got out, not only would the Lin Family lose all face, but the original’s future official career and prospects would be affected.

It was an indelible stain.

That day, seizing the moment when the two families were negotiating—likely motivated by a desire for revenge—this Fifth Young Master of the Lin Family suddenly erupted in anger. In front of everyone, he grabbed that Eldest Young Miss Yang and gave her a fierce kiss.

In this wicked society where even a touch could get one drowned in a pond, a kiss was much more serious than a touch!

Of course, from then on, apart from becoming a nun, Eldest Young Miss Yang could only obediently marry into the Lin Family.

What the original inhabitant hadn’t anticipated was that this Miss Yang seemed to be a heroine-like figure, possessing great strength. She immediately pressed Lin Yuan’s head against a stone slab and rubbed it a few times. Lin Yuan still had some concussion from it.

Just thinking of that Eldest Young Miss Yang, Lin Yuan indeed felt struck by her exceptional beauty. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, cold and elegant like a fairy. No wonder the original inhabitant acted shamelessly; he strongly did not want to let go—JPG!

Clearing his throat, Lin Yuan looked toward one of the maidservants, the one with a fuller waist, and asked.

“Rurong, has there been any news from Instructor Wei?”

After receiving the news and his jealousy flaring up, the original inhabitant had once dispatched the Lin Family’s guards and thugs to deal with that scholar named Liu Ling. But it didn’t go smoothly. It was said that when that scholar named Liu Ling was chased to a mountain hollow, he inexplicably vanished.

“The search is still ongoing!”

The older maidservant had bright eyes and white teeth. At thirteen or fourteen, she was already developing into a charming beauty. Her voice was soft and gentle. Clutching a handkerchief in her delicate, pale hand, she gazed at the youth with utmost gentleness in her eyes.

“Young Master, don’t worry. With the influence of our Lin Manor, that scholar poses no threat to you!”

“Not necessarily…”

Lin Yuan’s expression was hard to read.

That scholar named Liu Ling seemed very off to Lin Yuan.

Previously, this scholar was only of average talent. Although he was a scholar, he couldn’t even pass the county exam before. Yet, within a single year, he suddenly passed the county, prefectural, and academy exams, twice earning top placements, with rankings even above Lin Yuan, who had been taught by famous tutors.

Not only did he suddenly become enlightened, but he also became skilled in both literary and martial arts.

Lin Yuan had witnessed the abilities of the Lin Family’s Instructor Wei. Over a dozen strong men could hardly get close to Instructor Wei. Yet that scholar not only escaped the pursuit of Instructor Wei and his group but also injured quite a few of them.

Lin Yuan had a bad feeling about this.

No matter how he looked at it, the other party seemed to have the template of a protagonist.

And someone of his own family background typically served as the antagonist backdrop, destined to be defeated. Not only might he lose his life, but he might also surrender women, the lives of his entire family, family property, and the like, all becoming resources for the other party’s growth.

Pondering this, Lin Yuan instructed the two maidservants to have the Lin Family people keep a close watch on the village where that scholar was located. Lin Yuan considered ways to prevent trouble before it happened!

The sky gradually darkened.

Just then, Lin Yuan was startled. A huge silver portal appeared above his head, and his figure was suddenly sucked into it, vanishing without a trace!