Chapter 3: The Reborn Female Lead

Chapter 3: The Reborn Heroine

A hundred feet away stood a pavilion, where a woman sat, her delicate features bright and elegant, her gaze resolute. She embodied the ideal matriarch favored by the capital's elite—a stark contrast to Lin Shu, whose almond eyes and delicate nose evoked pity but lacked that dignified presence.

As her archenemy from her past life had once put it, she looked like a fragile flower, needing a man to dote on her endlessly. Better to seek protection from a powerful man than to struggle alone.

Lin Shu hadn't refuted this then, but later, she used her fists to smash the heads of several zombies. After that, her archenemy never dared utter another word.

With no one else around, Lin Yao dropped all pretense and spoke directly: "Lin Shu, I've heard what you said yesterday. But if someone like you could genuinely repent, the sun would rise in the west. I won't mince words—take this money and go as far as you can. You can go anywhere, but you are absolutely forbidden from going to Sweetwater Village!"

Thinking of her family and fellow villagers in Sweetwater Village, Lin Yao’s heart was heavy with conflicting emotions.

Her father was foolishly filial and overly concerned with appearances, her mother was timid, and her youngest sister was frail and sickly. In the past, she had been the family's pillar. After she left, she wondered if her parents would continue to be bullied by her uncle's family. And the villagers of Sweetwater Village…

Though they had their share of arguments and squabbles, two years later, what Lin Yao remembered most was their simple, straightforward nature—unlike the noble families in the capital, where even the ladies and their maids spoke with hidden barbs. In her previous life, her unrefined manners had made her a target for mockery and ridicule. Back then, she was too naive to grasp the subtle sarcasm, only feeling a pervasive discomfort. Reborn, she meticulously planned every step, ensuring she wouldn't again find herself isolated and helpless as she had in her past life.

But she was utterly exhausted, both in body and spirit.

Lin Shu glanced at the purse pushed towards her. It was bulging, and if it contained silver, it would be at least ten taels. But given Lin Yao’s demeanor, it was likely gold.

She opened it and peered inside—sure enough, it was filled with glittering gold nuggets!

Such was the cunning of a reborn heroine. If Lin Shu dared accept these gold nuggets, it would be like a child carrying gold through a crowded market, making every passerby a potential thief. If something happened to her, no one would blame the heroine, for she had meant well.

But having been born in the countryside, how could the heroine not understand such things?

This thought led her to ponder the fate of the supporting female character—who had gone mad and died from self-inflicted injuries on the country estate, a detail mentioned only briefly in the book. Could the heroine have played a hand in that outcome?

Lin Shu smiled gently at her. "Sister A-Yao, thank you for your kindness, but I've already made my intentions clear to Marquis Zhongyong and Marchioness Zhongyong—I must return. Not only because I have nowhere else to go now, but also because I wish to fulfill my filial duties to my parents. I've heard there's a younger sister at home who's frail and sickly, so I must return even more. Whether it's my parents or my younger sister, I will take good care of them. You can set your mind at ease, Sister A-Yao."

Lin Yao’s brows furrowed: That’s precisely why I can’t rest assured!

If Lin Shu were truly filial, how could she have grown estranged from Marchioness Zhongyong?

She was sweet on the surface but cold at heart! She had always known how to act sweet and obedient in front of elders, paying lip service to filial piety while being selfish and never considering others. In her previous life, Lin Yao had suffered greatly because of this. In this life, she too had learned to play the weak and wronged, and through careful planning, had gradually exposed Lin Shu’s true nature, ensuring she reaped what she sowed!

Everything had been under her control, but who could have expected Lin Shu to suddenly turn the tables at the last moment—refusing to go to the estate and instead insisting on returning to Sweetwater Village.

"Lin Shu, there's no one else here. Don't give me your act of playing innocent. If this bag of gold nuggets isn't enough, what do you want? State your terms." Lin Yao’s patience had run out. Sweetwater Village was her bottom line—she would never allow a malicious, selfish person like Lin Shu to harm her family.

Thinking of the heroine’s stubbornness in the book, Lin Shu truly didn’t want to tangle with her.

"Sister A-Yao, what's wrong with us each going our separate ways and finding our own fathers? Everything in the Marquis's household is yours now—I'm not fighting for it. I'm just returning to where I belong. Besides, I'm an outsider to the Marquis's Lin family, and you're an outsider to the Lin family in Sweetwater Village. What gives you, an outsider, the right to stop me from finding my birth parents?"

Lin Yao was left speechless.

Her lips trembled slightly, as if she were furious, but after a moment, she let out a scornful laugh. "Fine, go then. Return to Sweetwater Village. The villagers there live in thatched cottages and eat husks and wild vegetables. Hah, you don't know the first thing about farming—I doubt you even know what chaff is. Chaff is the husk of rice. Though it tastes terrible, it keeps the villagers alive during poor harvests, lasting half a year. The vegetables we grow are sold in town—we ourselves eat bitter, astringent wild greens from the mountains. And our clothes are mostly coarse hemp cloth—in winter, if we can’t afford cotton-padded clothes, we sew layers ourselves and stuff them with straw or reed fluff…"

Lin Shu listened attentively, nodding like a chick pecking at rice. "Alright, alright, thanks for giving me a better understanding of Sweetwater Village."

Lin Yao’s expression gradually became unreadable.

Lin Shu smiled softly. "Sister A-Yao, after saying all this, you’re just worried that I’ll go to Sweetwater Village and continue stirring up trouble, right? But you’re overthinking it. The reason I could cause trouble in the Marquis’s household was because I was still the Marquis’s daughter—I had money and people at my disposal, so they could be used for my purposes. But what do I have now? My pockets are emptier than my face, and I’m so delicate I can hardly take care of myself. How could I possibly cause trouble? Besides, they’re my real family—I’ll have to rely on them in the future. Why would I harm them?"

Lin Yao fell silent, staring at her as if trying to discern something from her tone and demeanor.

Lin Shu let her look—after all, everything she’d said was true, without a hint of falsehood.

After a long while, Lin Yao said with a complex expression, "Let's say you’ve truly repented. But are you really going to Sweetwater Village? A young lady like you won’t be used to such a poor life."

"How will I know if I don’t try?" Lin Shu smiled sweetly, her eyes clear and free of calculation—even Lin Yao, who had loathed her for two lifetimes, was momentarily stunned.

Lin Shu not only had the original host’s memories—she had also read the book and knew what Sweetwater Village was like.

Marquis Zhongyong’s ancestors were generals who fought alongside the founding emperor of the Da Yan Dynasty. By the generation of her nominal father, the family was far less illustrious than before, but her nominal father was very promising—he secured a substantial official position through his own efforts and gained the emperor’s trust.

But the process hadn’t been smooth. In his youth, Marquis Zhongyong had been assigned to the southern barbarian regions, where he endured many hardships. Marchioness Zhongyong, deeply devoted to her husband, accompanied him. After three years, Marquis Zhongyong was recalled to the capital for a promotion due to his outstanding governance. But by the time they returned to the capital, Marchioness Zhongyong was already pregnant.

Marquis Zhongyong had intended for his wife to give birth before returning, but Marchioness Zhongyong refused. She calculated the timing—even if they traveled slowly, they could make it back to the capital in time for the birth.

Unexpectedly, they encountered bandits on the road. After fleeing, the group ended up in a small village in the southwest. Marchioness Zhongyong, frightened into early labor, had to give birth on the spot—this premature baby was Lin Yao.

The village was remote and impoverished. If not for the urgency and the fact that a village woman happened to be giving birth with a midwife nearby, Marchioness Zhongyong would never have chosen to give birth there.

After only three days in the mountain village, Marchioness Zhongyong and her party moved to a town with better conditions, staying until she completed her month-long postpartum recovery before continuing north.

This difficult period was something Marchioness Zhongyong disliked and rarely mentioned. It wasn’t until two years ago, when a wicked servant exposed the intentional child-swapping incident, that the original host learned of her mother’s past. This made her even more resistant to the truth, secretly vowing that she would rather die in the capital than set foot in that impoverished mountain village.

But what others saw as a poor, backward place was a treasure mountain and treasure water in Lin Shu’s eyes.

The mountains were full of game, and every plant in the mountains was a treasure if one knew how to use them—and she knew.

She wasn’t insane, nor was she trying to scheme against anyone—she just wanted to return and live the life she desired.

"You…"

"Is there something you’d like me to tell my mother?" Lin Shu asked proactively.

Hearing this, Lin Yao tightened her lips. "I have nothing to say. If you can truly serve my parents with peace of mind, I can let bygones be bygones."

Lin Shu: …No wonder the male and female leads could drag out the angst for so many chapters. Besides the male lead not speaking his mind, the female lead was also stubborn.

"If there’s nothing, then I’ll be going. The journey will take at least two months if all goes smoothly. I should leave early—maybe I can make it home for the Dragon Boat Festival."

Lin Yao was speechless, looking at her with a strange expression, as if suddenly not recognizing her.

Lin Shu waved at her, turned, and returned to the carriage.

Long after the carriage had clip-clopped into the distance, Lin Yao remained staring after it, lost in thought.

"A-Yao." A man’s soft, low voice snapped Lin Yao out of her wandering thoughts.

She looked up at Gu Yian, who had somehow appeared beside her. Her expression remained stubborn, but unconsciously betrayed a hint of reliance.

"Lin Shu has left the capital. You have no more excuses to refuse me. Will you marry me?"

"Gu Yian, let me think about it a little longer."

"Still thinking? A-Yao, what exactly are you worried about? I’ve already explained—I’ve always thought of Lin Shu as nothing more than a sister!"

What Gu Yian didn’t know was that what troubled Lin Yao wasn’t his attitude toward Lin Shu in this life, but in her previous life.

In her previous life, Lin Shu had married Gu Yian!

With a procession of a hundred and eighty dowry chests from the Marquis’s household, the wedding procession stretched for miles—a magnificent spectacle.

Lin Yao hadn’t witnessed how Gu Yian and Lin Shu interacted after marriage, but every time Lin Shu returned to the Marquis’s household, she looked blissfully happy.

Gu Yian even dismissed his two bedmaids and did not take any concubines at all, giving her full respect.

They even had two bright and quick-witted children together.

Lin Yao's fingers suddenly clenched, turning white at the tips.

She admitted she envied and resented Lin Shu, because she felt someone like Lin Shu simply did not deserve happiness.

But after being reborn, she had never thought of competing for anything. She just didn’t want everyone to be deceived by Lin Shu this time around. Even when Lin Shu tried to ruin her at the birthday banquet with such malice, she only exposed Lin Shu’s scheme. If she had been more ruthless, Lin Shu would have long lost her reputation.

Who would have thought that precisely because she didn’t fight or compete in this life, everything she had craved but never obtained in her previous life came to her one by one.

Including Gu Yian.

Apart from the first encounter, which she had carefully arranged, she and Gu Yian kept running into each other by chance afterward. The more they interacted, the more Gu Yian became interested in her, and she too...

In her previous life, he had never once glanced her way.

This was someone she would have had to call her younger sister's husband in her past life; she was Gu Yian’s wife's older sister.

If she were to be with Gu Yian, it made her feel a sense of shame from violating moral norms, as if she were deliberately stealing what belonged to Lin Shu.

"A-Yao? A-Yao?"

Gu Yian’s voice brought the distracted Lin Yao back to the present. Conflicting emotions warred within her, and finally, as she replayed the scene of Lin Shu turning away without hesitation in her mind, she suddenly broke through the confusion that had troubled her for days.

Enough, it was all in the past. Even if Gu Yian and Lin Shu were married in her previous life, in this life, Gu Yian loved her!

And with Lin Shu leaving today, she might never return. She would no longer have to see that face and be reminded of her happy, sweet existence in the past life.

Lin Yao felt a sense of relief, and deep inside, a subconscious, secret delight tinged with shame emerged.

"Yian, I've thought it through. Let’s get married," she said.

Author's Note: