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

Chapter 319 Kyoto
It took Bai Wanqing and her group half a month to reach Kyoto. They entered the city just as dusk was falling, and the bustling crowds on the streets had not yet dispersed. Wu Huan and Daya were stunned by the prosperity before them.

He tilted his head to look over there one minute, and then looked over here the next.

"Wow, Cui Jingcheng, look, that looks like a lantern."

"I have never seen such exquisite lanterns before."

Cui Jingcheng sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He truly regretted riding a horse with Wu Huan; it was a disgrace to him, the young master of the Zhaonan Marquis's mansion.

"It's really beautiful!" Before anyone knew it, Bai Wanqing had also lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the lanterns outside, her eyes shining.

Cui Jingcheng no longer cared about saving face; he quickly jumped off his horse and headed towards the lantern stall.

This street is the most bustling main street in Kyoto. Anyone who does business here knows this little tyrant from the Zhaonan Marquis's family.

At this moment, the stall owner saw this little tyrant walking towards him and looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy, his face turning ashen.

"Boss, bring me some of your prettiest lanterns."

As he spoke, Cui Jingcheng slammed a silver ingot on the table with an air of wealth, startling the shopkeeper so much that he almost knelt down on the spot.

"Young Master Cui, it is my honor that you have come to my shop. How could I dare to accept your money?" The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his forehead as he handed Cui Jingcheng three exquisite lanterns.

Cui Jingcheng was already used to the vendors here trying to please him, but when he turned around, he saw Bai Wanqing looking at him from inside the carriage.

Cui Jingcheng, abandoning his usual domineering demeanor, said, "Ahem! I told you to take it, so just take it. Why all the nonsense?"

Cui Jingcheng stuffed the silver into the shopkeeper's hand, then skipped and hopped to the carriage with the lantern in his hand, presenting it to Bai Wanqing like a precious treasure.

"Wanqing, which one do you like?"

Bai Wanqing smiled slightly as she looked at Cui Jingcheng, "It's all good. I didn't expect our young master Cui to be so famous in the capital."

Cheng Susu stroked her chin and nodded, "Yes, it has a bad reputation."

"Nonsense! Wanqing, don't listen to her nonsense. I've already made up my mind to study hard and become a good official in the future."

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "Jing Cheng will definitely keep his word."

The street vendors all had strange expressions when they heard about Little Tyrant's new ideals.

They suddenly started hawking their wares with great enthusiasm. After Cui Jingcheng and his group had walked away, a passerby asked, "Boss, your voice is hoarse from shouting, why don't you take a break?"

The shopkeeper said with a bitter face, "Let's sell as much as possible while Young Master Cui hasn't become an official yet."

"That way, even if things don't work out in the future, we can still survive," the boss shouted again in his hoarse voice.

The news that Young Master Cui was going to become an official quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Bai Wanqing and her group soon arrived at the courtyard that Madam Du had arranged for the Du family's cloth shop to rent in Kyoto in advance.

Because Cui Jingcheng and Lord Cheng had not been home for a long time, their servants were already waiting here to welcome their masters home.

Cheng Susu had sneaked out, and here she clung to Bai Wanqing's arm, unwilling to let go.

"Wanqing, I don't want to go back. My mother will definitely beat me to death."

Lord Cheng looked at Cheng Susu, who was clinging to Bai Wanqing, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Susu, stop fooling around. We've been walking all this way, and Madam Lin is already very tired."

“Your mother knows you came back with me, she won’t hit you.”

Cheng Susu didn't want to move, but seeing that Lord Cheng's face was getting darker and darker, Bai Wanqing persuaded Cheng Susu, "Susu, you haven't been home for a long time."

"Your aunt must be extremely worried. You should go home with Lord Cheng first."

"Come find me when you're free!"

Cheng Susu reluctantly let go of Lin's hand and left the Lin family with lingering reluctance.

"Father, are you really sure Mother won't hit me?" Cheng Susu asked with a sullen face.

"Don't worry! It won't happen!" Cheng Kailin said confidently in a deep voice.

But in the blink of an eye, the father and daughter were forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment.

Madam Cheng stood to the side with a cold face, while Cheng Kailin said with a smile, "Madam, why don't we call it a day? Susu and I have finally come back, and we're exhausted!"

Madam Cheng said coldly, "Cheng Kailin, you've really set a good example!"

"You went to such a dangerous place as the North without saying a word, and that's one thing!"

"You even brought your daughter along to mess around with you!"

Cheng Kailin wanted to explain that he hadn't planned to bring his daughter, but when he turned around, he saw Cheng Susu looking at him pitifully.

Well, in the end, his daughter went to the north to save him.

"I'm so sorry, Madam, it won't happen again!"

Madam Cheng angrily said, "You two are actually thinking about next time."

"Kneel down, kneel for six hours."

The weather in Kyoto is much warmer than in Huaizhou.

When Bai Wanqing and her companions went out at noon, they only needed to wear a cover-up to keep warm.

"Miss, what do we need to buy today?" Ruixin asked excitedly, carrying a basket.

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "My husband and the others will be able to enter the capital in three more days."

“Let’s buy two more quilts and make two more sets of clothes, so that we’ll have enough for Father, my husband, and Uncle Lin when they come.”

Ruixin nodded happily. Just as the two of them were leaving the alley to head to Du's Cloth Shop on the street.

Suddenly, the gate to the side courtyard of a grand house opened, shoving a woman and a man out.

"You've been eating and drinking for free here all these days, and now you're all unwilling to do any work."

"Then get out of the manor and stop getting in the way."

The man looked at the servant in disbelief and explained, "Steward Wang, you must be mistaken."

"I am the son-in-law of the Yang family."

"In a couple of days, my cousin will be able to apply for my credit. You'll regret kicking me out of the manor now."

Butler Wang sniffed and sneered, "Merit?"

"regret?"

"I think you're obsessed with becoming an official!"

"You were dismissed from your post by the Ministry of Personnel half a month ago."

"Now that you're with your useless old mother, freeloading off us, you're acting like a big shot."

"Get out, get out now!"

"Take your mother and get out."

"No, you can't send me away, I need to see Peiran!"

"I want to see Peiran!"

With a bang, the gate slammed shut, and Meng Zhan and Fang Shi were expelled from the Yang family.

Wiping away her tears, Fang looked at the tattered clothes and rags thrown on the ground and asked her son, "Zhan'er! Didn't you say that Peiran could give us a better life?"

"Go and beg her again, at least let us have a place to stay in Kyoto!"

Meng Zhan was already in a bad mood, and when he heard Fang Shi nagging in his ear, he pushed her down.

"Mother, all I'm asking you to do is go to the laundry room to wash some clothes."

“You could do it too, back when we lived in the county town!”

"Why at this particular time, to refuse the Yang family?"

"Don't you have even the slightest wish for your son to be well?"

Seeing Fang Shi sitting on the ground crying, Meng Zhan felt his head was about to explode. He angrily turned and left. Fang Shi was afraid that Meng Zhan would abandon her when he left.

He scrambled to his feet and chased after them.

Ruixin was furious when she recalled how Fang had tried to drag their young lady down with her a few days ago.

"Serves them right! Serves them right! This mother and son also deserve what they got for their crimes."

Bai Wanqing sighed deeply and shook her head.

"Ruixin, stop looking, let's go!"

Bai Wanqing and her group went directly to Du Family Cloth Shop. Du Family Cloth Shop in Kyoto has three branches, and each one is doing very well. As soon as Bai Wanqing and her group entered the shop, the Du family manager recognized Bai Wanqing.

He hurried forward to greet her, "Madam Lin, what brings you here? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Bai Wanqing said, "No, no, I just came to visit the fabric shop and wanted to buy some quilts and clothes to take back with me."

Manager Du quickly replied, "Madam Lin, if you wish to buy anything, just send someone to inform me, and I can deliver it to your residence."

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "I was just browsing around since I had nothing else to do. Thank you for your help, shopkeeper."

The ladies in the room watched as the Du family manager treated a woman with such utmost respect.

In the past, they would never have cared, but things are different now. The Du family received an imperial plaque bestowed by the emperor and started doing business in the palace, becoming newly promoted imperial merchants overnight.

They looked at the woman in front of them again, and couldn't help but look at her with more curiosity.

After Bai Wanqing and her group had chosen their clothes and left, many wealthy women came to ask the shopkeeper questions.

"Shopkeeper, who was that woman just now? We've never seen her in the capital before."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Madam, you may not know this, but that lady just now was the sister-in-law of our shop owner."

"She is also the wife of General Lin Yunche, the general who exonerated the Prince of Huai and recovered the four cities of Luobing."

I had heard they were related by marriage, but I really didn't know who they were!

But when it comes to General Lin's wife, everyone knows her.

"I've heard that this Madam Lin is actually a grand-disciple of Doctor Luo!"

"I've heard that the Lin family's army is fighting on the front lines, and their century-old medical clinic has saved many soldiers."

"Just listening to her makes one admire her."

"By the way, General Lin and his men should have returned to the capital in triumph by now, right?"

"It'll be soon! I heard it'll be in the next couple of days."

"Then the Lin family has truly turned their fortunes around completely!"

"I wonder what the Cui family is thinking now."