Chapter 40: Her Charm 

Lin looked at Xu Qingyi in surprise, not expecting her to say such things.

In his experience, elders never taught children to prioritize themselves.

The idea that “you are precious” was considered selfish.

However, it suited Lin perfectly. People were inherently selfish. Xu Qingyi’s words simply made him feel more at ease, allowing him to indifferently disregard everyone equally.

“Let’s go,” Xu Qingyi said, lifting her skirt and hurrying away before Lin could react. “If we’re late, your clingy third brother will start crying.”

Lin finally regained his composure, furrowing his brow subtly. He felt Xu Qingyi was too indulgent with Heng.  “He’s a boy. You shouldn’t spoil him like that.”

“I know. I have it under control,” Xu Qingyi said without looking back.

Knowing she wouldn’t listen, Lin remained silent. He didn’t particularly care whether Heng grew up spoiled or not. He only cared about himself.

“I really do have it under control. Your third brother will be very capable in the future,” Xu Qingyi chuckled.  “A little spoiling is good.  It’ll save him from becoming a pirate someday if I don’t treat him well.”

Lin remained noncommittal.

“Of course, you’re even more capable,” Xu Qingyi said, seeing the tense expression on her eldest son’s face.

Lin disdained this perfunctory praise and quickly boarded the carriage.

“By the way, do you have any recent essays?”  It was almost dark when they returned to the estate. Xu Qingyi remembered something and asked Lin.

“What for?” Lin asked.

“Aren’t you taking the exams soon? I’ll take them to Shen Zhijie, the scholar, for his comments,” Xu Qingyi said. “We’re paying him, so we might as well make use of him.”

Lin’s expression was subtle when he heard about Shen Zhijie and Xu Qingyi’s attitude of deference. After thinking for a moment, he said politely, “The scholar’s degree isn’t as difficult as you think.”

He found it embarrassing that Xu Qingyi treated a random scholar as a treasure.

Xu Qingyi smiled faintly. She understood Lin’s arrogance—a mixture of arrogance and inferiority. She said, “But you’re not even a Xiucai yet.”

“So what?” Lin said indifferently. He would be one eventually, but he didn’t want to discuss it further with Xu Qingyi.

“Shen Zhijie is truly talented. Let’s make a bet. I bet he’ll become a top scholar (Zhuangyuan),” Xu Qingyi said confidently.

Lin was too lazy to respond.  Did she think top scholars were as common as cabbages in the market?  Mentioning top scholars so casually didn’t sound credible at all.

He walked towards his study, with Xu Qingyi chasing after him.  “Hey, taking a look won’t hurt. Just give them to me!”

She was too noisy. Lin frowned, thinking he didn’t care about Shen Zhijie’s comments but didn’t want to be bothered by Xu Qingyi, so he casually took some essays from his desk and gave them to her.

“Great!” Xu Qingyi beamed, remembering to add before leaving, “By the way, you’ve been busy all day. Don’t study.  Eat dinner and get some rest early.”

Lin: “Mm.”

Xu Qingyi took her eldest son’s essays and left, admiring the future powerful official’s calligraphy along the way.

She had to admit, his handwriting was exquisite. Feeling a sudden inspiration, she walked toward the Eldest Young Master’s room.

She knew the Eldest Young Master would eventually wake up, but she was also worried that her arrival might create a butterfly effect, inadvertently eliminating the chance of his awakening.

She thought, the trigger for a vegetative patient to wake up was often external stimulation.

The Eldest Young Master had loved poetry and books in his youth.  Having someone read him Lin’s essays might be a good idea.

She hadn’t visited the Eldest Young Master for several days.  Guan Qi and Mo Yan were attending to him in his wheelchair.

Xu Qingyi smiled gently. “Is the Eldest Young Master going for a walk?”

The two attendants were delighted. “Young Madam, you’re back!”

“Yes, I’ve finished my business,” Xu Qingyi said, coming to the Eldest Young Master’s side.  As always, she touched his face to show her affection, then raised the paper in her hand. “Who among you can read?”

“We both can. This is…?” The two attendants looked puzzled.

“These are Lin’s essays,” Xu Qingyi said cheerfully. “I finally got them. I was planning to take them to Scholar Shen.”

She looked at the Eldest Young Master. “But I remember the Eldest Young Master loves reading too. Let’s have you look at them first. I imagine you’ve been too busy to read Lin’s essays properly before, haven’t you?”

“I see. Young Madam is so thoughtful,” Guan Qi and Mo Yan carefully accepted Young Master Lin’s essays, deeply touched.

Young Madam was so kind. She never treated the Eldest Young Master as a useless person and always considered him in everything she did.

“Yes, let the Eldest Young Master hear it early. Lin will be taking the autumn exams, and I need to find Scholar Shen quickly to get some inside information,” Xu Qingyi said, even though she knew Lin would pass. She was still nervous.

Having the assurance of a future top scholar would put her mind at ease.

“Yes, yes,” the two attendants nodded in agreement.

Since it was such an elegant activity—reading essays—they decided to move the Eldest Young Master to the water pavilion, light incense, and listen to the flowing water while reading Young Master Lin’s essays.

Xie Yunzhi’s reaction was similar to his eldest son’s—quite puzzled. No matter how good Shen Zhijie was, he was still just a Juren. Why did Xu Qingyi hold him in such high regard?

Lin was talented. With a good teacher, passing the imperial examinations would be a sure thing.

He only hoped Xu Qingyi would be cautious and think carefully before acting.

Thinking about this, Xie Yunzhi felt a pang of guilt. Xu Qingyi was right; he had been too busy to pay attention to Lin’s studies.

Now, that burden had fallen on Xu Qingyi’s shoulders.

Reaching the water pavilion, Guan Qi began to read, and Xie Yunzhi calmed himself and listened attentively.

Compared to six months ago, or even a year ago, Xie Yunzhi couldn’t remember the last time he’d read Lin’s essays. He found the current essays remarkably improved, more mature and sophisticated, and he felt a surge of pride.

He couldn’t help but think, if he hadn’t married Xu Qingyi, he might still be lying in bed, his days dragging on endlessly, never hearing Lin’s essays.

His second brother was truly foolish to have wronged such a thoughtful fiancée.

As night deepened, the reading neared its end, and the Marquis slowly approached from a distance.

For days, the Marquis had heard that his son often went out for walks, and after dinner that day, he couldn’t help but come and see for himself.

“Marquis… Marquis…?” The attendants noticed the Marquis’s arrival, stopping their reading in surprise and bowing. “Greetings to the Marquis.”

The Marquis hadn’t visited the Eldest Young Master in a long time. No wonder they were surprised.

“Mm, what are you reading?” The Marquis’s gaze fell on his eldest son, sweeping over his closed eyes, and a wave of sadness washed over him.

“Reporting to the Marquis, we were reading Young Master Lin’s essays to the Eldest Young Master,” Guan Qi said, holding the paper.

“Young Madam brought them earlier and asked us to read them to the Eldest Young Master,” Mo Yan added.

Seeing that the Marquis wasn’t displeased, they proudly introduced the wheelchair. “Young Madam had this chair made for the Eldest Young Master. Look, it can be pushed around.”

He demonstrated, pushing the Eldest Young Master a little closer to the Marquis.

“That’s convenient,” the Marquis said, examining it for a moment. He smiled. “Your Young Madam is talented and resourceful.”

He had heard she went to the countryside today to move Lin’s birth mother’s grave, which was quite surprising.

“Yes, Marquis,” the attendants said, now quite admiring of the Young Madam. Seeing the Marquis in a good mood, they boldly suggested, “Would you like to push the Eldest Young Master for a walk?”

The Marquis’s expression was complex, showing hesitation.

For the past six months, he, like the Old Madam, had been unwilling to accept the fact that Xie Yunzhi was paralyzed and had rarely visited him.

He wasn’t as open-minded as Xu Qingyi, who he’d heard always treated the Eldest Young Master as a normal person.

But he, the father, couldn’t overcome this hurdle. Deep down, he still couldn’t accept Xie Yunzhi’s condition, which was why he hadn’t visited.

“Very well,” the Marquis said, feeling ashamed, finally nodding.