Chapter 170: Refusal

Chapter 170: Refusal

Lin Huabin talked at length, his mouth going dry.

He then remembered to ask Lin Yunwan, "What do you think of your cousin Wen Hai?"

Lin Yunwan smiled faintly.

She wasn't a naive young girl. What could she expect from a poor scholar raised solely by his mother?

If it weren’t for some familial relation to Madam Zheng, how could he have even entered the doors of the Lin Mansion?

However, there was no need to say too much to Lin Huabin.

Lin Yunwan said, "If Master thinks cousin Wen Hai is good, then he certainly must be."

Lin Huabin, pleased to hear this, nodded and said, "Since you also think your cousin Wen Hai is good, I will mention it to your father..."

"There’s no need."

Lin Huabin’s face stiffened for a moment, then he asked with a smile, "Why not?"

Lin Yunwan replied with a faint smile, "My father is not a scholar. What’s the point in discussing a scholar with him?"

Lin Huabin chuckled, lowering his head.

Was the girl not understanding his point? Or was she just shy?

He looked at Lin Yunwan. She didn’t seem shy, so did that mean she didn’t think highly of Wen Hai?

"Yunwan, your uncle has always had a good eye for people. This boy Wen Hai—"

Lin Yunwan watched Lin Huabin quietly, her demeanor calm.

She didn’t need to say anything; Lin Huabin understood on his own.

If he truly thought Wen Hai was good, why didn’t he keep him for his own daughter?

Lin Huabin, feeling his efforts were futile, said, "…You can go back now."

Lin Yunwan performed a formal bow and took her leave, though she actually wanted to speak to Lin Huabin about meeting Zhao Jingyi. After some thought, she decided against it.

Returning silently to Bi Xi Tang, she leaned against the windowsill, lost in thought.

Xi Ruo brought tea, expressing concern, "Miss, you've been quite silent since returning from Qishan. Is there something troubling you? Can I help in any way?"

Lin Yunwan turned and replied, "It's nothing."

"Xi Ruo, bring me some paper and a brush."

Lin Yunwan picked up the brush, intending to write a letter to Zhao Jingyi, but found herself unable to start writing.

She put the brush down again.

Xi Ruo approached and asked, "Miss?"

Lin Yunwan, needing someone to talk to, asked, "Xi Ruo, what do you think of the prince?"

Xi Ruo was surprised, "Of course, the prince is good!"

"Why would Miss ask such a question?"

Xi Ruo, feeling perplexed, said, "It's hard to say for others, but the prince has always been very kind to you, Miss."

Lin Yunwan closed her eyes briefly.

The prince was indeed good, but matters of marriage aren't resolved just because the prince is good. The emperor and empress might not agree. It's clear that the royal family would never... allow such a scandal to occur!

She wasn’t so delusional as to think that her status and intelligence could contend with imperial power.

"Miss, what exactly do you want to write?"

Xi Ruo couldn't understand Lin Yunwan's hesitation.

Lin Yunwan said, "…I want Lord Zhao to discuss my marriage with my father."

The prince's words had troubled her, but she was aware of her situation, explaining, "Yan Jingzong, being a legitimate son of his family, may not be the eldest, but he possesses the demeanor of one. Given time, he will surely achieve greatness. A virtuous wife by his side would be like adding wings to a tiger."

She could not only manage the household affairs for her husband but also assist him on a righteous path in his career.

Both the Yan family and Yan Jingzong himself would likely not object.

"The Yan family, scholars for three generations, have only seen prospects of rising high in this generation. Whether it’s the East Forest Mansion or Lord Zhao’s family, marrying a woman from the Yan family wouldn't be considered beneath them."

"It would be a match of equal social standing."

Xi Ruo nodded, "If Master were to hint at it to the Yan family, they might eagerly come to propose."

Lin Yunwan smiled, "It wouldn’t be to that extent. We choose them, and they choose us. It has to be mutual. The marriage can only be settled once the elders of the Yan family are satisfied."

Xi Ruo urged, "What’s there to hesitate about? Why not make it clear to Lord Zhao and have Master finalize your marriage quickly?"

"Yan Jingzong performed very well at the Qishan Society. Others might have also noticed his qualities. If you delay and he becomes betrothed to someone else, your assessment would be in vain."

Lin Yunwan grasped the brush again.

How should she explain to Xi Ruo...

If the prince hadn't said those words, she could have written anything. But the prince said he wanted to marry her and asked her to think it over.

She owed the prince so much, and now this situation had arisen. How could she write to the prince’s uncle, asking the Zhao family to help arrange her marriage? Would that be appropriate?

This letter was bound to end up in the prince's hands. What would he think upon seeing it?

"Better to cut the Gordian knot..."

Rationality took the upper hand.

Lin Yunwan penned a letter to Zhao Jingyi.

She was determined to marry Yan Jingzong.

Repaying the prince could be done in many ways, but certainly not by indulging his whims.

She wouldn't make such a foolish mistake.

\\

"My daughter has written to me. Haha."

Zhao Jingyi found it refreshing to receive a letter from his daughter.

"Uncle, let me have a look."

Qi Lingheng instinctively thought it was written to him.

Zhao Jingyi playfully dodged with the letter, joking, "It's from my daughter to me. Why are you trying to take it?"

Qi Lingheng, feeling helpless, could only say, "Uncle, please read it quickly."

He too was eager to know what Lin Yunwan had written.

Zhao Jingyi, wanting to play the role of a father, opened the letter and read it. As he set it down, he looked skyward with a happy sigh, "Ah, it's going to cost me a fortune."

"What happened?"

Qi Lingheng was very curious.

Afu brought the letter to him, and after Qi Lingheng read it, his face darkened.

Zhao Jingyi, still unaware, sat with his nephew, the prince, daydreaming about his daughter's marriage, "Do you think I should prepare a dowry? How should I go about it? How much is appropriate? If it's too much, will it attract too much attention? Maybe I should mix it in with what Lin Huabin gives, so no one suspects."

"Tsk, annoying. Why didn't you just make her my daughter? Lin Huabin is getting too much of a bargain!"

After saying this, Zhao Jingyi looked at his nephew with a smile... but why did his expression suddenly change?

Qi Lingheng, clenching the letter, stood up and said indifferently, "Uncle, don't worry about this matter. I have other things to attend to and must go now."

"Why are you leaving so soon?"

Zhao Jingyi followed him out. His parrot was still calling from the corridor, and a myna bird mimicked human speech impressively, repeating, "Great nephew, great nephew, great nephew."

Qi Lingheng paused, glanced at the myna bird, then quickly walked away.

Zhao Jingyi took down the myna bird's cage, opened the door, groomed its feathers, and talked to it, "What do you think made my great nephew so upset with me?"

"This child has always been able to keep his composure, but it's interesting to see him lose it for once."

Although slow to realize, Zhao Jingyi could tell that Qi Lingheng was off balance.

Zhao Jingyi was just teasing his nephew for fun.

He might have money, but he was no fool. Why would he give away so much just for a dowry?

"Come on, learn a few more phrases."

The myna bird: "It's really interesting... really interesting..."

"Clever little devil."

Qi Lingheng returned to his own mansion and dealt with the letter.

Though it was burned to ashes, he remembered every word written on it.

She rejected him.

She actually refused to marry him.

Qi Lingheng picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Lin Yunwan.

How could he possibly let her marry Yan Jingzong?