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Once Lu Bainian had cried his fill, Wen Ruyu finally put down her sunflower seeds and asked, “Did Miss Liu go with him of her own accord?”
Lu Bainian nodded. “She said she couldn’t wait the three years. Zheng Qiao promised her the position of his official wife.”
Zheng Qiao’s family ran a small business, and given his reputation for being dishonorable, families with proper standing wouldn’t agree to give him their daughters.
Ordinary girls weren’t as beautiful as Liu Suqing, and Zheng Qiao had always loved beautiful women—how could he settle for less?
The two of them being together actually made some sense.
Since she would be a legitimate wife, it was certainly better than being a concubine.
Liu Suqing had her own considerations—it was understandable.
But following Zheng Qiao, who was even less reliable than Lu Baining, didn’t make him a good match for her either.
Perhaps it was just jumping from one pit of fire to another.
Still, it was better than her previous life in the brothels and playhouses.
Wen Ruyu sighed and said, “If you saw her as a transaction, then you merely lost something pleasing. There’s nothing worth crying about in that.”
“I was sincere about her. I didn’t sell her. Even when she left with Zheng Qiao, I didn’t ask them for money,” Lu Baining replied, his crying like a sudden downpour—intense but brief. Now he had calmed down.
Wen Ruyu, hearing this, replied with a motherly tone, “Not all relationships can be as firm as rock or as flexible as grass. She didn’t seem in good health, and after being with you for so long, she had grown thinner. She had her own plans. You shouldn’t resent her. You need the courage to let her go.”
“I was planning to wait a year to see. If you two had stuck it out, I would’ve relented. You’re my own flesh and blood—how could I bear to really let you suffer in the countryside for three years? But alas, you couldn’t even make it six months, let alone three years.”
Wen Ruyu shook her head in clear disappointment.
Lu Bainian had felt some resentment toward his mother for being so harsh, but hearing she didn’t truly want him to suffer for three years, his anger dissipated.
She had given him a chance, and he had cherished it. It was just that the one who was supposed to struggle with him gave up.
From sowing seeds to watching them grow—just as it was time to harvest, she left.
He felt wronged, wanted to be angry, but realized that when it came to matters of the heart, there was no one to blame.
In the end, he could only fault himself for his previous reckless ways—redeeming Liu Suqing without planning their future.
As the saying goes, “Marry a man, wear his clothes, eat his food.” If he hadn’t shouldered the responsibilities of a husband, how could he blame Liu Suqing for turning to someone else?
Compared to his complicated family, Zheng Qiao’s was simpler.
And Zheng Qiao could easily promise her the position of his official wife—something Lu Bainian couldn’t offer.
What else could he say?
At most, he could criticize Zheng Qiao, his so-called brother, for being underhanded in stealing his woman.
Though he had lost love, realizing he still had his mother’s love gave Lu Baining a bit of strength again.
Wen Ruyu looked at her silly son and couldn’t be bothered to say much more.
She told Chuntao to serve the food. The table was set, and mother and son ate together.
After the meal, Wen Ruyu had Zhao Shu bring back all the servants who had been reassigned from Lu Baining’s quarters.
Seeing his wrinkled clothes, she added, “Make him a new set of clothes for this year.”
She had recently had the shop make two styles of men’s clothing, thinking that if Lu Bainian wore them out, it’d serve as free promotion for the family’s shop.
Though he wasn’t particularly capable, he did have good looks.
In some way, the original wife had done well in giving birth to him.
When the food was served, Lu Bainian thought he wouldn’t have much appetite.
But unexpectedly, he ate with great relish.
Perhaps it was the physical hardship in the countryside that had calmed his heart.
It felt like even if the sky were to fall, it wouldn’t matter as long as he could still eat. If he could still enjoy a meal, nothing else really counted as trouble.
Wen Ruyu, seeing him return to normal, smiled and picked up some food for him.
Then she said, “If you stop messing around and clean up your act, I plan to invest a few hundred taels of silver to open a shop in town. You can take care of it for now. Tomorrow, start learning bookkeeping from your sister-in-law.”
The path of studying for official exams was closed to Lu Baining.
But that was alright. The Lu family still had some assets. Managing them would also be a decent career.
Unexpectedly, Lu Bainian shook his head and said, “Let’s wait a little longer. The crops in the field are about ready. I want to finish harvesting them first.”
He put down his chopsticks, bowed his head, and said, “Mother, I want to see it through to the end.”
His love with Liu Suqing had ended in a muddled mess, but he hoped the land could give him a happy ending.
In his life, he hadn’t finished his studies, failed at love, but the land—though he hadn’t fully devoted himself—still gave back a harvest when he planted seeds.
It was the only real result he had ever achieved.
He couldn’t bear to leave the land before he had reaped what he sowed.
Wen Ruyu didn’t object. She patted his head and said, “Baining, you’ve grown up.”
Who knows if the original mother would be satisfied with this version of her son.
That day, Lu Bainian rested at home, and all his former servants were reinstated.
The harvest was near. Wen Ruyu assigned Le’er, one of his servants, to accompany him back to the countryside. In under ten days, the crops should be harvested.
Afterward, Wen Ruyu still planned to lease the land out.
As for Lu Bainian, just as planned, he would first help out at the family shop under the head manager’s supervision. Once Wen Ruyu had set up a new shop, he’d be put in charge.
He wasn’t young anymore. Since he couldn’t succeed academically, he shouldn’t waste his days idly either—a proper job was the better path.
Meanwhile, Lu Bainian returned to the village with his servant. Not long after, the Song family next door sent over wedding sweets.
The one delivering the sweets was Madam Wang’s dowry maid. Her smile said it all—Yang Concubine had given birth to a baby girl.
A few days later, Lu Jinnian returned from his exam.
Being a young master, perhaps from stress or fatigue—or from the earlier beating—he fell ill for several days after coming home.
By the time his fever subsided, the exam results had already been posted.
Wen Ruyu sent someone to inquire. He hadn’t passed.
She didn’t blame him, considering everything he’d been through before the exam, and told the staff to take good care of him.
After all, becoming a scholar wasn’t easy. And who better than Wen Ruyu—who had experienced the intense exam pressure in modern China—to understand?
All things considered, the Lu family was still living in relative peace.
But that year, the county had another conscription drive. Wen Ruyu spent dozens of taels of silver to exempt both Lu Bainian and Lu Jinnian from service.
In early May, the steward Lu Cheng went to the market to buy grain.
Grabbing a handful of white rice, Lu Cheng couldn’t help but exclaim, “How did the price of rice double in such a short time?”
The Lu family usually bought millet, with white rice being purchased occasionally for taste.
Now only the old lady (Wen Ruyu) preferred white rice, so they bought an extra shi of it for her every month.
“Last year millet was only two wen per sheng. This spring it went up to three, and now it’s four?”
The store clerk replied calmly, “There’s been little rain in our county this year, and I hear it’s even worse in the south. Less grain means higher prices. People can’t stop eating, so they’ll buy it regardless. It’s still manageable now—just eat thinner porridge instead of thicker. But if the weather stays this bad, we’ll see more days of shortage.”
Then the clerk smiled at Lu Cheng and added, “Of course, Steward Lu, you’ll still be eating thick porridge.”
Lu Cheng didn’t react to the flattery.
“Just buy the usual amount. Weigh it today and deliver it to the Lu household.”
The clerk eagerly nodded and sent him off with a bow.
That very morning, after Lu Cheng bought the rice, Wen Ruyu learned of the price increase.
“They’ve already allocated farmland per person across the country—why is it still so hard for people to get enough to eat?”
She sighed, put down the account book, and leaned back.
Summer was approaching, and the weather was getting hot.
The air was humid, and the house was stuffy.
She ordered the windows opened to let in the breeze and sat quietly, reading and daydreaming.
She didn’t need any attendants at that moment, so Qin Rong stepped outside to look at the pigeons on the roof.
Fen’er, having finished her chores, quietly walked up behind her, intending to give her a scare.
She suddenly slapped Qin Rong on the shoulder—but Qin Rong didn’t even flinch.
She remained as calm as ever, totally unfazed.
“How boring,” Fen’er pouted, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear as she sat down beside her.
Feeling chatty, she stayed and started talking to Qin Rong.
“Rong’er, what are you always staring at all day?”
Qin Rong didn’t respond. Fen’er knew she was half mute and rarely spoke.
She only ever said “mm” when receiving orders from the old lady, never uttering a word otherwise.
That was exactly why the old lady adored her and kept her close, doting on her more than the other maids.
Just then, Qingxue returned and saw Fen’er and Qin Rong together. Her expression darkened.
Because the old lady favored Qin Rong, the other senior maids were secretly resentful.
But they didn’t dare say anything, since she was treated almost like a young lady.
Fen’er, being younger and lower in status—and disliked due to her entanglements with the third young master—became the easy target.
“Fen’er, what are you doing sitting there? Don’t you have work inside?”