After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 149 Unknowingly Offended Someone
Hai Daren's chest heaved as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"That's what it means literally!"

Hai Shengyang paused slightly. She had initially thought her father was lying, but seeing his angry expression, she realized he wasn't deceiving her.

"He, Lin Yunche, is merely a prefect of a state. How dare he refuse to see you?"

“Father, how could he be so rude!” Hai Shengyang was equally angry, but having always been raised in seclusion, the only words she could utter were “rude”.

Hai Da slammed his hand on the table. "That's just how rude he is!"

The slap made Hai Daren's palm sting, but he still held back from shaking his hand in front of his daughter.

"Father, don't worry, I'll go to the Lin family and ask them why they want to embarrass you." Hai Shengyang prepared to go to the Lin family.

Hai Daren frowned and said, "Go where?! That kid has long since disappeared somewhere. He just said he had something important to do and left! Who can you possibly meet if you go?"

Hai Shengyang never expected Lin Yunche to run away so easily, leaving them unable to find him anywhere. It was like punching cotton.

"Is that so?" Hai Shengyang steadied himself and sat down again.

Although Lord Hai was unwilling to admit it, this matter had indeed happened to him. "If this were to spread to other prefectures in the Three Northern Regions, I would be no longer fit to be the governor. I would become a complete laughingstock."

"So what does Father intend to do?" Hai Shengyang naturally understood his father's temperament. Giving him such a show of force meant that Lin Yunche was bound to suffer a bad outcome.

If her marriage becomes strained because of the falling out between the two families, it will be difficult to discuss the marriage at all.

“This is not your business, you’re a young lady. If you ask me, you should give up your idea of ​​marrying into the Lin family as soon as possible,” Lord Hai said in a deep voice.

Hai Shengyang was unwilling to accept this. "Father, you can't act impulsively."

“Father, I am going to receive tremendous benefits from the Lin family in the future. How can I give up at this critical juncture?”

Hai Daren glared at his daughter, "Shengyang, you keep saying that the Lin family will definitely return to its former glory in the future. I don't know where you heard that from, but the Lin family is not worth your fuss now!"

Lord Hai was right. If it were the Lin family of the past, the Hai family would not have been able to associate with them. But now, the Lin family not only has ties with the Northern Dynasty, but has also been exiled to the north by the emperor.

Even if Lin Yunche is exceptionally talented and becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, so what? The Lin family has no one left in the court. As the saying goes, a single tree cannot support a forest. What can Lin Yunche possibly do?

At most, the Emperor might show leniency and grant the Lin family another title, but those would be empty titles without any real power.

Hai Shengyang naturally wouldn't mention that she overheard the conversation between the Empress and the Emperor in the inner palace. "Father, Father, your daughter has come to Huaizhou Prefecture at the risk of offending the entire world."

"How could a father bear to ruin his daughter's happiness like this?"

Hai Daren stared at Hai Shengyang, speechless with shock. "What can we do? Lin Yunche has disappeared. How can I possibly bring up your marriage again!"

"Father, did he say when he would return?"

"Hmph! He left without a word, how could you expect him to tell me when he'll be back?"

Hai Shengyang frowned slightly. "Is Lin Yunche intentionally avoiding me?"

But upon closer reflection, something seemed amiss. Lin Yunche could feign disappearance in front of his father, so he was naturally unafraid of his father's words. If he were unwilling, he would have directly objected, instead of avoiding the issue as he was doing now.

Hai Shengyang comforted his father for a while longer before slowly walking out of his father's room.

"Someone come here." Hai Shengyang directly summoned the maid beside him, gave her a few instructions, and then returned to his room.

A short while later, a servant boy followed a maid to the backyard and knelt before Hai Shengyang.

"Tell me what you've found out all day?" Hai Shengyang asked gently, picking up a pastry as she ate.

The servant lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Miss, I've heard that Madam Lin is quite famous in Huaizhou City."

"Oh?" Hai Shengyang sneered. "Famous? Tell me, how are you famous!"

Hai Shengyang has always looked down on the daughters of merchants. He believes that women who can only use an abacus and think about how to earn money are not famous because of their talent, but because of Lin Yunche's reputation as the prefect.

"Since Madam Lin came to Huaizhou City, she has opened a clinic."

"I heard that the Fang family originally monopolized the medical clinics in Huaizhou City, and she relied entirely on her medical skills to gain a foothold in Huaizhou City."

"Not long ago, they were competing with the Fang family. It was said that the Fang family had brought almost all the difficult and complicated diseases in the city to Madam Lin."

"But unfortunately, Madam Lin's clinic cured them all. The Fang family shot themselves in the foot, which ironically allowed Madam Lin's clinic to gain a foothold in the city."

"We're even planning to open a second branch now."

The servant spoke with great intonation, and Hai Shengyang and the others listened with great interest.

"I never expected that Miss Bai would have such abilities." Hai Shengyang praised her insincerely, since in her eyes, these abilities were nothing more than trivial matters, and she wouldn't genuinely praise them.

"To be honest, Madam Lin is quite something. She could have kept her clinic afloat with just the title of a prefect's wife, so why bother with all these fancy tricks?" Hai Shengyang's maid asked curiously.

"What's so strange about that? Have you forgotten how Lord Lin and this merchant's daughter became acquainted?"

"How could Lord Lin possibly support her? He simply doesn't like her; marrying her won't make him like her."

Another maidservant said, looking at Hai Shengyang's expression.

Hai Shengyang raised the corners of his mouth slightly after hearing this, "Has Lord Lin really never shown his face at this century-old medical clinic?" The servant thought about it carefully and it seemed that he had indeed not mentioned it.

"No! Not only did Lord Lin not stand up for them, but according to the patients who frequent the clinic, Lord Lin has never even shown his face at the clinic."

"only."

"Just what?"

"Although Lord Lin has not shown his face, I heard that a couple of days ago, Madam Lin was robbed by bandits while transporting medicinal herbs from her hometown."

"This matter was initiated by Lord Lin, but it was also entrusted to Magistrate Bi for handling."

"After that, Madam Lin did not go to the clinic for two or three days. As for Lord Lin, someone saw him leave home in a hurry today and head towards the city gate."

"Oh, right! There was a man on horseback waiting at the city gate. He seemed to have something important to do."

Hai Shengyang was now even more certain that Lin Yunche wasn't avoiding him, but genuinely had something urgent to attend to.

"Have you found out which direction he went?" Hai Shengyang asked.

The servant shook his head. "Lord Lin left in a hurry, and besides, no one dares to keep an eye on the people of the imperial court, so I didn't find out anything."

"Alright, go back to keeping an eye on the Bai family's young lady. Remember to report any unusual activity."

The servant acknowledged and left.

"Miss, Lord Lin isn't here now, so what should we do?" the maid asked.

Hai Shengyang took another bite of pastry. "It's an arranged marriage, and since Lin Yunche has urgent business, we naturally have to visit Old Madam Lin and Master Lin."

"If they agree, Lin Yunche has no choice but to agree."

The maid was slightly startled. "Miss, I heard that the old lady and master of the Lin family live in a remote mountain village. Are we going there to find them?"

The young maid felt a little terrified. It was said that bad people came from remote and impoverished areas, and if they went there, they would become lambs to the slaughter.

"What's there to be afraid of! It's precisely because they're in a place like that that we can negotiate with Old Madam Lin and the others."

"Miss, should we ask the master to come with us?"

When asked about his father, Hai Shengyang said, "No need, just have my father send someone for me."

The matter of Hai Shengyang going to Linjia Village was settled. She went to tell Lord Hai the next day. Lord Hai didn't want to persuade her anymore. His daughter was just like his other daughter. She was very stubborn and he couldn't control her. So he simply let her do as she pleased.

“Father, then you have to send someone for me.”

It just so happened that Lord Hai didn't like Meng Zhan. Knowing that Meng Zhan's hometown was Huai'an County, he simply asked Meng Zhan to accompany his daughter to the countryside.

"Lord Meng!" The next day, as soon as Lord Hai arrived at the yamen, he summoned Meng Zhan.

Meng Zhan had been feeling apprehensive since last night. He had offended Lord Hai without doing anything, and when he was summoned this morning, he could only put on a smiling face and didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

“My daughter is going to Huai’an County. Would you like to go with her?”

Meng Zhan was stunned. Now that he had left Lord Hai's presence, how could he possibly salvage his image from the past two days? Why would Miss Hai go to Huai'an County?
"Sir, is there anything the young lady needs to do in Huai'an County?"

Hai Da Ren glanced at Meng Zhan out of the corner of his eye and said, "Ask what you should ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

"What? Can't my daughter visit the hometown of the top scholar?"

"You should know that the top scholar in our Shang Kingdom is admired by many talented girls, and there are countless people who go to visit and explore the hometown of the top scholar."

How could Meng Zhan not know? He also rose through the ranks by taking the imperial examinations.

Because he had taken the exam himself, he knew how difficult it was to become the top scholar.

"My lord, I will certainly protect the young lady. Please rest assured."

Lord Hai snorted, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Meng. But Lord Meng, let's get this straight up before we begin."

Meng Zhan paused, "Sir, please speak."

“My daughter is the darling of the Hai family, and her younger sister is the Emperor’s favorite. Therefore, Shengyang’s marriage must be with a good family.”

"Those families who got promoted through their fathers-in-law naturally have no chance, and it's best not to have any improper thoughts."

"Apart from that, if Shengyang is injured or wronged anywhere, please don't blame me, as a father, for being so concerned about my daughter."

"Do something inappropriate."

As soon as Lord Hai said that, Meng Zhan felt a chill run down his spine. This was clearly an implication that he should not have any improper thoughts about Miss Hai, and that Meng Zhan was not worthy of her at all.

Meng Zhan was furious inside, but he had no choice but to accept it with a smile.

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I know what to do."

Lord Hai then waved his hand, dismissing Meng Zhan. "Go! Go and make preparations now. You will depart tomorrow, and everything will be arranged by Sheng Yang."

(End of this chapter)