Chapter 95: Returning to the Capital

Lin Ru Nan arrived in the capital five days ago. Since early February, Lu Xiang Feng had stationed people at the city gates daily, waiting for anyone with the surname Lin to arrive. But after all this time, no one showed up. Lin Ru Nan’s family only reached the city gates at dusk, just as they were closing, with no way to enter. The eighty-year-old patriarch, ill from the journey, lay weak and feverish in the carriage. Her two infant half-siblings cried relentlessly, while the concubines sat listlessly, unable to soothe them. Her parents’ carriage was silent and still, adding to the bleak atmosphere.

Dressed in a blue silk headband and men’s attire, seventeen-year-old Lin Ru Nan jumped off her horse, visibly upset, circling the carriages before leaning against a nearby tree stump in frustration.

At seventeen, she could scarcely believe she had such young siblings. She couldn’t entirely blame her father; he was implicated in another’s crime, exiled for it, and her grandfather suffered alongside him, ending up in Lingnan. Lin Ru Nan dismissed her father’s former concubines, but the hardships of exile hadn’t dimmed her grandfather’s desire for a male heir. He sold his few remaining valuables to purchase two women, not as servants but as concubines for her father, demanding that he bear sons to continue the family line. Despite her objections and confrontations, her grandfather’s authority prevailed, and in time, both women became pregnant, securing their places in the family.

In time, her half-siblings were born. Her mother, surprisingly, took joy in helping to care for them. Feeling defeated, Lin Ru Nan accepted these new family members and committed herself to their care. In the challenging days of exile, she used her skills to sustain her family. Her father had hired a martial arts instructor for her, and her mother, from a scholarly background, made sure she learned the traditional skills expected of a refined lady. Besides her martial training, Lin Ru Nan excelled in embroidery and weaving, skills that later helped her support the family when times grew tougher.

After her family’s assets were seized, they were exiled to a poor region in Lingnan. Basic necessities were scarce, and her family subsisted on thin porridge and pickles. Lin Ru Nan’s heart ached to see her grandfather and parents grow frail from hunger. She ventured to the local market, where she learned a local embroidery technique, which she used to earn income and improve the family’s circumstances. Eventually, her mother, and later her father’s concubines, joined in, and while they did not live luxuriously, they managed to stay fed and clothed.

The hardships didn’t matter as long as the family remained united. Before they were exiled, she had sought help from the Duke of Ding Guo. Though he hadn’t responded, she had done her duty, caring for her grandfather and parents. Her father was merely implicated in a scandal, not a criminal, so the exile was a harsh but survivable fate. Her grandfather, torn between loyalty to his ancestral roots and staying with his son, cried like a child when they left the capital. Lin Ru Nan had always wondered how she could one day bring her family back to the capital. Before she could find a solution, a royal pardon arrived, allowing her family to return home.

Her grandfather, overjoyed, nearly suffered a stroke. As she tried to calm him, he held her young half-brother, praising him for bringing them such fortune and blessing the family’s return to the capital. Her grandfather looked approvingly at her father’s concubine, Wei, promising her a noble title if she raised her son well. Lin Ru Nan rolled her eyes in frustration, where did that leave her mother, his rightful wife?

As the sky darkened, Lin Ru Nan prepared to lead her family to a nearby inn when she spotted a young man in white riding swiftly toward the gate. The man called to the guard to open the gate. Recognizing the opportunity, Lin Ru Nan approached him.

“Excuse me, young master. I just returned from a far with my gravely ill grandfather and hungry children. May I request to enter the city with you? I would be immensely grateful.”

The young man looked at her, then at her carriages by the roadside. “Just returned? May I ask your name?”

“Lin. Lin Ru Nan.”

The young man smiled slightly. “Lin Ru Nan? Do you know Cen Mei?”

Lin Ru Nan paused. “Cen Mei? No.”

“What about Qin Meinang?” he asked.

Curious and suspicious, she looked at him. “Who are you, and how do you know my cousin’s name?”

The young man dismounted and bowed. “I’ve long heard of you, Lin Ru Nan. I know Qin Meinang, who now goes by Cen Mei, it’s a long story. Let’s enter the city first. She’s prepared accommodations for your family in the eastern quarter.”

Though puzzled, Lin Ru Nan returned his bow and accepted his offer. She didn’t expect to hear from her friend, Qin Meinang, so soon after returning to the capital. As they entered the city, memories of their past friendship flooded back, and she wondered how much her dear friend had changed over the years.