Since the Lotus Appreciation Banquet, Lan Tingzhou had gained a bit of fame.
It was unclear how people found out which inn they were staying at, but invitations arrived daily.
Some invited him for boating on the lake, others requested his presence for painting sessions, and there were even invitations to tea gatherings and elegant gatherings… Whenever his schedule allowed, Lan Tingzhou gladly accepted.
For a time, Lan Tingzhou was so busy he barely had time to catch his breath. Equally busy was Gan Cai’er. Every time Lan Tingzhou attended an event, she insisted on accompanying him.
Although Gan Cai’er had both asserted her claim over Lan Tingzhou and tarnished his refined image at the Lotus Appreciation Banquet, she still couldn’t rest easy.
After all, Lan Tingzhou’s excellence was obvious to anyone with eyes.
“A noble gentleman, polished and refined”—the cool, scholarly aura that emanated from Lan Tingzhou, from the inside out, couldn’t be hidden even by tattered clothes. It certainly couldn’t be tarnished by a few “braised pork hocks.”
In her previous life, even knowing he was married, there were no fewer than five or six noblewomen from prominent families who stubbornly threw themselves at him.
Gan Cai’er had been so furious she nearly ground her teeth to dust, and she had physically fought with them no less than five times.
Thus, after Lan Tingzhou developed a fondness for “braised pork hocks,” his reputation for being “henpecked” also began to spread.
Rumor had it that if he so much as glanced at another woman, his wife would twist his ears, pull his hair, spit on him, and even tear his clothes.
When Xiao Hong vividly recounted the rumors circulating outside, Gan Cai’er was caressing a white jade hairpin.
The jade was of the finest quality—lustrous, pure white, smooth as mutton fat, cool to the touch, and glowing with a gentle warmth. It was clearly expensive.
This jade hairpin was something Gan Cai’er had bought to give to Lan Tingzhou.
A gentleman is like jade, and jade always complemented his temperament.
But now, Gan Cai’er suddenly didn’t feel like giving it to him anymore.
Twisting ears, tearing clothes, spitting… What kind of shrew did they think she was?
Which eye did these people use to see her lay a single finger on Lan Tingzhou?
Gan Cai’er stared expressionlessly at her reflection in the bronze mirror. She clearly had a charming and attractive appearance, quite decent, really. How had she been turned into some kind of she-devil through all the gossip?
Gan Cai’er angrily flipped the bronze mirror face down on the table.
“Hehe, Miss, you have no idea how fearsome they make you out to be outside. They say you can make Gu Ye obey with just a flick of your eyelids!” Xiao Hong said with a smug look.
“Hmph! Let’s see which girl dares to shamelessly cling to him now!”
Gan Cai’er looked at Xiao Hong speechlessly.
She had completely underestimated her Gu Ye’s ability to attract admirers.
However, the real “man-eating flowers” wouldn’t appear until they reached Jingdu. The flowers and plants in Dànzhōu Fǔ could at most tarnish her reputation, painting her as “jealous”—one of the seven grounds for divorce—but they couldn’t pose any real threat.
In the end, Gan Cai’er still placed the white jade hairpin into Lan Tingzhou’s hair bun.
It truly suited him.
And so, what was originally a trip of three to five days stretched into over half a month. By the time Lan Tingzhou and Gan Cai’er returned to Qingshui Town, it was already early July.
The golden autumn of August was the time for plucking the laurel branch from the moon palace.
The prefectural examination was held as scheduled in Dànzhōu Fǔ. Unsurprisingly, Lan Tingzhou passed, but unexpectedly, he once again took first place.
In her previous life, Lan Tingzhou hadn’t achieved such excellent results. Gan Cai’er vaguely felt that some things seemed to be quietly changing.
Achieving first place in both the County Examination and the Prefectural Examination, coupled with his recent success at the Lotus Appreciation Banquet, had made Lan Tingzhou an overnight sensation.
For a time, visitors flocked incessantly to Qingshui Town.
Lan Tingzhou’s mother once again brought up the matter of the Academy.
“Tingzhou, although you have secured two first-place honors in a row, you must guard against arrogance and impatience.”
“The path of the imperial examinations has only just begun, and the road ahead is long. Only through dedicated and diligent study can you go further,” Lan’s mother earnestly admonished.
“Mother speaks wisely,” Lan Tingzhou replied, bowing his head respectfully.
“The best results from Qizhi Academy have only produced one or two scholars. Tingzhou, are you truly not considering changing academies?”
Lan Tingzhou lowered his gaze and remained silent.
“It’s not that I look down on smaller academies. I know that Mr. Yang at the Academy treats you exceptionally well. But, Tingzhou, only a great teacher can produce an outstanding student.”
“If you had no grand ambitions, content to live a leisurely life of fishing, woodcutting, farming, and study, willing to stop at the level of a scholar, then I would not urge you further. But I know that since childhood, you have always aimed high…”
“Last time in Dànzhōu Fǔ, I met Uncle Lu,” Lan Tingzhou interrupted his mother.
“Are you referring to Lu Yu, Lord Lu?” Lan’s mother asked, both surprised and delighted.
Lan Tingzhou nodded.
“Uncle Lu recommended several of his old friends to me and suggested I visit them when I have the time.”
With just this statement, Lan’s mother understood that Lan Tingzhou had already made plans regarding the Academy, and she felt a wave of relief.
“Have you decided which academy you wish to attend?”
“I would like to try for Lùmíng Shūyuàn.”
Lùmíng Shūyuàn? Lan’s mother nodded with a smile. This child was indeed as ambitious as ever, unwilling to settle for anything less than the best.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, her smile faded, and she asked,
“Does your wife know about your plans to change academies?”
“She is aware. However, she said she wishes to accompany me to Dànzhōu Fǔ, as she would not feel at ease otherwise.”
Lan Tingzhou’s words were veiled, but Lan’s mother understood immediately.
During this period, the threshold of the Lan household had nearly been worn down by visitors—aside from those paying their respects, the rest were all matchmakers and marriage proposals.
Even though it was widely known that Lan Tingzhou was already married, the stream of marriage proposals continued unabated.
It was only natural that Gan Cai’er would feel uneasy.
Lan’s mother sighed, glancing at her son. Being too handsome and excessively talented was indeed a troublesome matter.
“Go ahead. It’s better that you take her with you, to spare me the headache of her staying at home.”
Lan Tingzhou nodded and prepared to take his leave. Just as he was about to exit, his mother called him back.
“Tingzhou, although Cai’er is the daughter of a merchant, her manners are coarse and unfit for refined society, since you have married her, she is your lawful wife. You must not do anything to wrong her.”
Lan Tingzhou smiled and replied, “I understand, Mother.”
Gan Cai’er’s desire to go to Dànzhōu Fǔ was not entirely for Lan Tingzhou’s sake.
She wanted to go to Dànzhōu Fǔ, firstly, to shield Lan Tingzhou from the swarm of admirers, allowing him to focus on his studies in peace; and secondly, because she herself wished to establish a foothold in Dànzhōu Fǔ.
In her past life, the Gan family went from immense wealth to utter ruin in just half a year.
When Gan Baoguang went to Jingdu to seek her help, she was trapped in the rear courtyard of the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion, with no one to turn to. In the end, she never even got to see Gan Baoguang.
Within a single month, the Gan family went bankrupt, her parents died, her elder brother was imprisoned, and her younger brother disappeared without a trace.
These were all things she learned later, thanks to Zhuo Wu’s inquiries—otherwise, she would have known nothing.
Zhuo Wu said that Qingshui Town had been struck by a flood. The flood control embankment built in the town had collapsed, causing the floodwaters to spread everywhere, and more than half of the people in Qingshui Town had died.
Gan Maoguo and Wei Yulan died in this great flood.
Later, someone reported that the bamboo strips sold by the Gan family to the government for reinforcing the embankments were all old and rotten, failing to meet the requirements. After investigation, the Gan family was fined and had their property confiscated, and Gan Baoyuan was also imprisoned.
Gan Cai’er often wondered later: if the Gan family had left Qingshui Town earlier, could they have avoided that flood? Would they also not have been involved in the embankment construction project?
Therefore, not long after her Rebirth, Gan Cai’er suggested to Gan Maoguo and Wei Yulan that they could shift the focus of the Gan family’s business away from Qingshui Town, moving to Zhushan County or Dànzhōu Fǔ.
Unfortunately, neither of them paid much attention to this.
Gan Maoguo had never been ambitious. He felt that staying in Qingshui Town, steadily running the business well, living comfortably without worries, and becoming a wealthy local gentleman was already very good.
When Gan Cai’er spoke about it too often, he would flare up in anger, saying to her, “Are you urging your father to strive for advancement just for the sake of your husband?”
Gan Cai’er was speechless and had no choice but to stop.
As for Wei Yulan, having witnessed a life of extravagance and luxury in her earlier years, she only wanted to spend the rest of her life in peace and stability. She had absolutely no interest in expanding any business ventures.
Seeing that she couldn’t persuade either of her parents, Gan Cai’er had no choice but to plan to do it herself.
But she was stubborn, straightforward, unable to keep things to herself, impulsive, and truly not cut out for business.
The last time she mentioned wanting to make money, Wei Yulan’s suggestion to her was to invest. Find one or two promising shops, invest money to become a shareholder, and then wait for dividends. Although the profits might be smaller, it was still a good way to generate income.
Finally, among the long list of shops Wei Yulan provided, she chose an embroidery workshop located in Dànzhōu Fǔ called Ní Cháng Gé.
Wei Yulan was very surprised: “You actually chose an embroidery workshop?”
It was well known that Gan Cai’er had never touched needlework since childhood; what she disliked most was embroidery.
Gan Cai’er laughed, linking arms with Wei Yulan: “An embroidery workshop is wonderful! Beautiful fabrics and exquisite embroidery patterns can be selected ahead of others, the first to pick!”
So that was it. Wei Yulan smiled. This was indeed Gan Cai’er’s style—always wanting to be the first to get the best things.
What Wei Yulan didn’t know was that the Gan Cai’er who disliked needlework and never touched it was the one before the age of thirty-three. After thirty-three, although Gan Cai’er still disliked needlework, being able to embroider and knowing how to embroider became her only means of making a living.
Lan Tingzhou’s mother, Xie Qiongzhi, was skilled in embroidery. Her double-sided embroidery was renowned as a unique treasure in Jingdu, and many sought her work.
After Gan Cai’er married Lan Tingzhou, for a period of time, Lan’s mother would summon Gan Cai’er daily, forcing her to learn embroidery to temper her impatience and also to restrain her from bothering Lan Tingzhou.
At first, Gan Cai’er, eager to please Lan’s mother, diligently studied for a while.
Later, as Lan’s mother’s control over her tightened, constantly preventing her from seeing Lan Tingzhou, and coupled with her genuine impatience for such meticulous work, her rebellious nature flared up. She threw down the embroidery frame and refused to learn any further, infuriating Lan’s mother so much that she fell seriously ill.
It was this less than half a year of intense practice that gave her a skill, allowing her to earn some money to survive during the last two years of her life.
Embroidery was the only skill Gan Cai’er possessed in her previous life.
The embroidery workshop was the starting point she chose in this life to begin anew.