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

Chapter 71 The Lin Family Under Scrutiny
Originally, only Madam Cui was anxious about the engagement; Lin Yunche and Bai Wanqing had no particular interest in it.

But just a few days after Furong's engagement was finalized, Lin Yunche received a secret letter, which caused the Lin family to stir up trouble once again.

Lin Feiyun frowned as he looked around the small house where he had lived for many years, his heart filled with reluctance. "I didn't expect the appointment to come down so quickly?"

Cui glared at Lin Yunfei, "This is fast? Those who were appointed at the same time as Da Tou have already received their appointment letters. They're probably already in office by now. It's only because Da Tou insisted on staying here that he's showing mercy from above."

"How can this be considered a mercy? Why is our Lin family here? And why are you here? Others may not know, but don't you know?" Lin Feiyun was furious at the thought.

Cui's eyes widened. "Father, you shouldn't say things like that. It's one thing to say it in this remote mountain village, but you can't say it outside."

"I know, I just can't swallow this," Lin Feiyun muttered.

Just then, Lin Yunche, who had just returned on horseback, overheard his parents talking inside the house. He paused for a moment, then went in anyway.

"Father, Mother!" The weather is gradually warming up, and even the Lin family village at the foot of the snow-capped mountain is not as cold as before. The black soil that was originally covered by thick snow is slowly being revealed. As soon as Lin Yunche entered the courtyard, he jumped off his horse and hurriedly ran to Cui's house.

Lin Feiyun knew Lin Yunche's temperament; he wouldn't act so rashly unless there was something urgent.

Cui remained calm and asked, "Big Head, what happened?"

Lin Yunche nodded and laid out the secret letter he had received in front of his parents. Cui Shi and Lin Feiyun leaned forward to read the contents of the letter, their expressions turning grim.

"Why would the Emperor suddenly decide to bestow a marriage upon you? Doesn't he know you're already engaged?" Madam Cui asked anxiously, but then she realized it made sense. "He still doesn't trust you."

Lin Feiyun was furious when he thought of this. "Our Lin family has done a lot for him in this Lin Family Village, and now he actually wants to plant someone by your side to monitor you. This person is your wife. This is really too much."

But he's of high status, so what if he bullies you?
Lin Yunche didn't think it was that serious. "Father, Mother, this is exactly what I wanted to discuss with you!"

"What's there to discuss? Just tell him you're already engaged. If this censor's daughter is willing to be a concubine, we won't stop her." Lin Feiyun was really angry, and his words became somewhat incoherent.

Madam Cui rolled her eyes at Lin Feiyun, thinking to herself, "This person cannot be allowed into the Lin family."

"Why don't we arrange your marriage to Wanqing sooner? That way, you'll be married, and even if the Emperor still wants to arrange a marriage, he can't very well let that person's daughter become a concubine, can he?" Cui said.

Lin Yunche felt troubled when he thought of Bai Wanqing, and he frowned deeply.

His parents didn't know that his engagement to Bai Wanqing was just a contract. He originally planned to discuss with Bai Wanqing whether she was still willing to marry him after his appointment was announced. After all, the matter of Master Huang had come to an end, and he could set her free.

But the thought of setting her free made Lin Yunche feel empty inside, for some reason.

Madam Cui saw through her son's thoughts at a glance, "Go and discuss your matter with Wanqing!"

"What's the point of thinking so much here? If you ask me, I think Wanqing is much braver than you!"

Lin Yunche murmured, "Mother, this is no small matter. I agreed to the marriage to help her, but now that she's with me, it might drag her down."

Cui knew his worries perfectly well. "That's why you need to make things clear with Wanqing. Otherwise, since this was originally a good relationship, don't let it turn into an enemy."

“It’s alright if Wanqing is afraid. Even if the Emperor really bestows this person upon us, we have a way to deal with it. We don’t necessarily have to drag Wanqing into this risk.” Madam Cui was extremely reluctant, but she knew that forcing things wouldn’t work. However, she always felt that Bai Wanqing would stand up for her. She hadn’t misjudged her future daughter-in-law.

Lin Yunche thought about it and felt that what Cui said made sense, so he got back on his horse and headed towards Huai'an County.

As soon as he left, Lin Feiyun couldn't help but ask, "If the Bai family's daughter wants to break off the engagement, how should we deal with the daughter of the Imperial Censor's family?"

Madam Cui smiled and said, "I think that since our family is about to have a happy occasion, that daughter of the censor should just find another lover."

Seeing that Cui was so confident, Lin Feiyun felt a little more at ease. Putting aside everything else, Cui was always very good at judging people, just like back in the capital.

Meanwhile, Lin Yunche arrived at the Bai family's gate at top speed. The gatekeeper recognized Lin Yunche and, seeing that it was his future son-in-law, dared not be negligent. Lin Yunche explained his purpose, and the gatekeeper hurriedly led him into the side courtyard before running to Bai Wanqing's courtyard to report.

It was also Lin Yunche's good timing. Usually at this time, Bai Wanqing and Furong would be at the Hundred-Year-Old Pharmacy learning medicine from Master Luo. But today, Bai Wanqing had promised to give Furong a wedding gift, so she took Furong to visit the jewelry shops in the county town early in the morning. They had just returned to the courtyard when the gatekeeper came in to report.

Knowing that he was her future brother-in-law, Furong stopped bothering Bai Wanqing. "Big sister, you should go ahead and do your work. Furong is going back to her own courtyard."

Bai Wanqing nodded and asked Ruixin to help deliver the jewelry and other items she had bought for Furong that day to Furong's courtyard. She then followed the servants to the side courtyard.

"Why are you here?" Although Lin Yunche's misunderstanding was cleared up that night, Bai Wanqing still had a knot in her heart. Logically speaking, she had no reason to be angry, but she was just a little angry.

When Lin Yunche met Bai Wanqing, he didn't act as casually as before. Instead, he was rather serious. Bai Wanqing had seen Lin Yunche with this expression before, when she went to Linjia Village to seek repayment for a favor.

Lin Yunche did not answer immediately, but instead looked at the servants behind Bai Wanqing.

Bai Wanqing immediately understood his meaning and dismissed everyone. Lin Yunche then said in a deep voice, "I called you here because I want to discuss something with you! This matter is entirely up to you to decide."

Bai Wanqing was completely confused. Lin Yunche continued, "Our Lin family has encountered some difficulties, very dangerous ones, the kind of danger where we could lose our lives at any moment. Are you still willing to marry into the Lin family?"

Lin Yunche's serious expression made Bai Wanqing realize that this was not a joke, so she assumed that the Lin family might have offended some important figure. After all, ordinary families like theirs probably wouldn't be in mortal danger elsewhere, especially since it wasn't a year of great disaster or famine.

"Could it implicate or harm my family?" Bai Wanqing wasn't worried about anything else, only whether it would harm other members of the Bai family.

Lin Yunche nodded slightly, "Perhaps!"

Bai Wanqing bit her lip. "Can I know what kind of danger it is?" She didn't refuse outright. In Bai Wanqing's heart, the other person was someone who had helped her when she was desperate. Now that the Lin family was in trouble, she really couldn't bring herself to sever ties with the Lin family at this time.

But she couldn't bring herself to sacrifice the entire Bai family.

Lin Yunche hesitated for a moment, then picked out the things Bai Wanqing would find out sooner or later, such as that he was actually a scholar, that he had also taken the imperial examinations that year, and that he had done better than her ex-husband.
As Bai Wanqing listened, her eyes widened involuntarily. "You...you said you're the top scholar in this imperial examination?"

It wasn't that Bai Wanqing didn't trust Lin Yunche, but rather that she had visited the Lin family many times. The Lin family's conditions were arguably worse than the Meng family's. The Meng family couldn't even support Meng Zhan's education to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), let alone the Lin family, which was in such a state.

But Lin Yunche's expression made her think that it might be true.
"What? What are you doubting?" Lin Yunche was somewhat dissatisfied. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that he was standing here exuded a sense of intelligence. Why couldn't he be the top scholar?
Bai Wanqing pondered for a moment and said, "In order not to wrong you, how about I test you?"

Lin Yunche felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer in the chest. Did he really not look like a scholar? Did he really not look like a top scholar? It was utterly insulting!

But there was no other way. He needed to weigh the Emperor's bestowal of marriage based on Bai Wanqing's attitude, so he forced down his anger, which was about to burst out of his head. "Ask whatever you want."

Without a second thought, Bai Wanqing posed the first question: "What's past cannot be undone, but the future can still be shaped. Where does this saying come from, and what is its meaning?"

Lin Yunche's eyelids twitched. She actually asked him such a basic question. He was really angry, but he still answered honestly, "This sentence comes directly from Chapter 18, 'Wei Zi,' of the Analects. It means to encourage people not to dwell on the regrets and remorse of the past, but to look to the future and work hard to change and create a better future."

Bai Wanqing raised an eyebrow. Lin Yunche actually knew!
"Then the second one..." Bai Wanqing wanted to ask again, but Lin Yunche's face was completely black with anger. "Bai Wanqing, are you doing this on purpose?!" The serious Lin Yunche instantly turned back into the familiar Lin Yunche.

"Are you really not lying?"

"No! I have no reason to lie to you about something this important."

"So, you're now facing an imperial marriage decree, and you want to use our marriage agreement to back out?"

Lin Yunche originally planned to do so, since he was engaged and wanting to get rid of the emperor's spy who was placed by his side was the most legitimate reason.

"So the danger you're talking about is the fear of offending the investigating censor? And that's why your life is in danger?"

Lin Yunche paused, then nodded. He naturally couldn't mention anything else. The Emperor's bestowal of marriage was enough to intimidate Bai Wanqing. If he were to bring up anything else, even if the Bai family wanted to distance themselves from the Lin family, they probably wouldn't be able to.

(End of this chapter)