Xu Qiu looked seriously at Lin Qu and asked, “Even if Lin Chong is that kind of person, what if he still manages to find someone genuinely good who loves him dearly and treats him well for the rest of his life?”
As soon as those words left his lips, Lin Qu frowned in hard-to-conceal rejection.
Other people were not Old Madam Lin; how could they possibly treat someone like Lin Chong that way?
Though he did not know that exiled imperial prince well, he had caught glimpses of him from afar a time or two, and the man hardly looked like someone devoid of brains. Would someone like that truly treat Lin Chong well?
Xu Qiu continued, “You must have sensed it too. Lin Chong’s temperament has changed quite a bit over this past period, and he looks rather pleasant now. It is only natural that someone might grow to fancy him.”
Aside from a certain coldness and selfishness, Lin Chong was not entirely without bright spots. His affection for his parents was genuine, and he truly wanted to repay Old Madam Lin properly, and in the future, he would indeed treat those three very well.
He knew how to cook delicious food, could earn silver coins, and would turn the Lin family’s post-division life into a prosperous affair that made the entire village green with envy.
Furthermore, the exiled imperial prince Gu Chengxiao being able to return to the imperial court would be, in part, thanks to Lin Chong.
Xu Qiu spoke with such certainty that Lin Qu was forced to consider the possibility. After all, Xu Qiu had spent a good deal of time interacting with that exiled prince; perhaps he genuinely knew something about what passed between them. Watching the expression on Lin Qu’s face, Xu Qiu knew this matter was not so easily digested. He could completely understand Lin Qu’s fixation on Lin Chong.
Put yourself in Lin Qu’s shoes, and you would likely find it just as difficult to stomach seeing Lin Chong look so triumphant, especially when the contrast between the two grew sharper by the day.
Thinking on the shape of things to come, Xu Qiu sighed inwardly once more. So be it. If Lin Qu wants to fight for it, let him fight.
Except:
“Lin Qu, I am quite certain I have feelings for you. Everything you have been through, and your thoughts on it all, I understand it completely. But I need you to think this through clearly. If you choose to be with me, our future might remain confined to this small town. Whereas Lin Chong, he will be with the prince, living happily, still cherished and pampered.”
“There is even a chance he will ascend to the highest position of all.”
“If that comes to pass, would you still be willing to marry me? Can you bear that gap in our fortunes?”
He stopped Lin Qu before the other could answer. “You do not have to give me your answer right now. We still have several days before our family moves away from the town. You can take your time and think it over.”
Looking at Xu Qiu’s expression, Lin Qu knew that if he answered right away, the other man would not really take it in. So he could only nod and agree, “All right.”
Yet within his chest, a fierce, soaring joy bloomed: Xu Qiu likes him.
He was only a single step away from marrying Xu Qiu!
Once that was said, Xu Qiu hardly knew what else to add. He looked at Lin Qu, a trace of awkwardness crossing his features, and pointed softly toward the other’s eyes, whispering, “You should wipe your eyes. Do not let anyone see you like this; it would not do your reputation any good.”
For a young ge to be the subject of such rumors was never a pleasant thing.
He knew that although Lin Qu was strong-willed and independent, he was not entirely immune to public opinion.
Lin Qu’s cheeks flushed red, and he hurriedly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. Having cried so heavily just moments before, he could well imagine what a wretched, messy state he must be in.
After another silence, neither of them quite knowing what to say in the wake of an abrupt mutual confession, they exchanged a stumbling, awkward farewell.
“Then I will be heading off first. I still need to deliver these things over there.”
“All right,” Lin Qu murmured, his ears burning crimson, “go on then.”
Not until he had slipped entirely out of Lin Qu’s line of sight did Xu Qiu feel his whole body truly relax.
Walking all the way to the quarters where Gu Chengxiao and Tutor Wen were staying, timed deliberately so he would find them, he arrived to see both men present. Seeing him weighed down with bundles, Gu Chengxiao hurried over to take some of the load from his arms. “Why have you not come by these past few days?”
“My master took me out to another place to see patients,” Xu Qiu explained.
Gu Chengxiao nodded and acknowledged the reply. This was not the first time it had happened, so the explanation did not catch him off guard.
Setting down everything he had been carrying in his hands and on his back, Xu Qiu watched as Gu Chengxiao neatly sorted the goods before speaking up. “I came over today to let you know about something.”
“What is it?” Gu Chengxiao asked, slightly puzzled. Their dwelling was neither too far nor too close to the village, but the locals practically never interacted with them voluntarily, so Gu Chengxiao had no inkling that Xu Qiu’s family was planning to move into town.
“Our family is going to be moving into town before long,” Xu Qiu said.
Gu Chengxiao paused, taken aback by a turn of events he had not anticipated at all. “Are you giving up on taking the imperial examinations?”
He was well aware that across the entire region of Northern Yue, people capable of teaching proper scholarship were exceedingly scarce.
Prospective locations with more prosperity did exist, but they were not places an ordinary family could access lightly, nor did such resources sit right within a mere town.
“Not at all,” Xu Qiu replied. “I plan to open a medical clinic while continuing my studies on the side. My father is keeping an eye out for a suitable tutor for me.”
Gu Chengxiao nodded, though the news was by no means welcome to him.
His political capital was severely limited. Back in the capital, various constraints had prevented him from building any real faction, and since his exile to this frontier, he had been forced to rely entirely on his own wits.
Within his grand design, Xu Qiu was intended to be a vital piece of the puzzle. He needed Xu Qiu to pass the exams and step onto the court to speak on his behalf. Xu Qiu was a native of Northern Yue and belonged to the regional sphere of influence, which in itself constituted a form of leverage. Even if the populace secretly looked down on them as outsiders, the imperial court placed great value on this stubborn, hard-to-break northern territory.
When the time came, he would carve out a sphere of influence in the imperial court through men like him.
Furthermore, he could see that the young man possessed genuine, undeniable talent.
In Xu Qiu, he saw hope.
Yet now, before they had even forged a sufficiently deep bond, Xu Qiu was about to leave. In a region starved of education, helping a youth prepare for the imperial exams would ordinarily have laid the foundation of a profound lifelong obligation, but things were different now. Tutor Wen had maintained his scholarly airs and taught half-heartedly, a reluctance Gu Chengxiao knew Xu Qiu must have noticed.
Any thought of slowly drawing the young man closer had now vanished.
Besides, Xu Qiu had already given them so much, and since Xu Qiu had taught himself literacy to begin with, the scales had tipped until they were the ones in Xu Qiu’s debt.
Under the circumstances, Gu Chengxiao could say nothing else. With a magnanimous air, he said, “Then I wish you every success. If you encounter any academic problems you do not understand, you are always welcome to come back and ask Tutor Wen. Back in his day, he placed eighth in the second tier of the metropolitan exams; his scholarship is quite sound.”
“Understood,” Xu Qiu did not refuse. “If you ever need anything down the line, just come straight to the clinic to find me. Truth be told, it is not all that far away.”
Xu Qiu had no intention of provoking a direct falling out with Gu Chengxiao. After all, the man still stood a chance of rising to power down the road, and Xu Qiu had no desire to embroil himself in those dangerous currents for the time being.
Moreover, he and Gu Chengxiao currently had no genuine conflict of interest. There was no earthly reason to burn bridges just because the other man had once crossed paths with his rejected former fiancé.
Keeping things as they were was ideal. Once they lived in different places, their future interactions would naturally dwindle, and the connection would gently fade away.
After wrapping up his conversation with Gu Chengxiao, Xu Qiu took his leave.
As for whatever petty thoughts Tutor Wen might be harboring in private, scornfully deeming him ungrateful, Xu Qiu remained entirely oblivious and completely indifferent.
Upon returning home, he found his mother, Lady Li, bustling about and planning what belongings needed to be packed. With a family of five, the pile of essential items seemed endless; if they did not bring everything along, they would only have to spend more silver coins to buy replacements once they reached town. Days of frantic organizing had yet to yield a final tally.
Xu Qiu rolled up his sleeves and pitched in to help.
“Your father and your brothers have already picked out two prospective locations in town,” Lady Li remarked as she worked. “Tomorrow the rest of us will go take a look together. If one of them is suitable, we will settle on it; if not, you can look around some more.” Since it was to be a medical clinic for her son, where it was established naturally required taking his opinion into account.
“All right,” Xu Qiu answered readily.
He knew his father and two older brothers were reliable men. If they said a place had been selected, it was bound to be decent; tomorrow’s trip would mostly be a formality, but going to inspect it firsthand was still best.
Early the next morning, because Lady Li and Xu Qiu were both heading into town, the entire household set out together at an unusually early hour.
After a quick meal, they stepped out the door.
Watching them go, the villagers looked on with unconcealed envy. Anyone could tell at a glance that they were off to pick out a house; from here on out, this family would be living the high life in town.
Originally, Xu Qiu had considered both the prefectural city and the market town. The prefectural city was busier and far more populous, but it was undeniably a long trek from their village. His two brothers and his father had always earned their living working in the town, making the town a much more practical choice.
Xu Qiu had readily agreed.
There was no sense in biting off more than you could chew. Living expenses in the prefectural city were steep, so establishing themselves in the town first would keep his mother from worrying unnecessarily.
Once they arrived in town, the bustling atmosphere was immediately apparent.
While the native population of Northern Yue was not massive, the imperial court’s continuous relocation of families to the area had caused the town’s footprint to expand steadily, swelling the populace with each passing year. Stepping into the streets, the lively energy was unmistakable.
Since Xu Qiu’s two brothers had already inspected the properties beforehand, they did not need to tag along today; they had to look after their usual watch-guard duties at the gambling den anyway. His father, however, had specifically taken the day off to accompany his wife and son to view the houses. Armed with the keys from the local real estate middleman, they headed straight for the proposed medical clinic site first.
“This spot is a couple of streets away from the food vendors,” Xu Father explained. “Since you still need to study, if you were too close to the hawkers shouting all day, you would not be able to concentrate. That is why I picked this spot, because it is relatively quiet.” All around were shops selling rice, ready-made garments, and the like, ensuring a steady stream of foot traffic on the main street without the raucous, ear-splitting calls of street peddlers.
Hearing this, Xu Qiu was delighted. When he studied in the village, he was used to absolute quiet; dropping into a noisy, chaotic environment would have been a headache. Beaming, he praised, “Father, you are so thorough! This is a wonderful location. I knew leaving this errand in your hands meant everything would go off without a hitch.”
Xu Father gave a self-conscious cough. “Take a good look around first. If you do not like it, there is another place we can check, as that one is a bit more lively.”
He had simply figured his son would prefer this quieter option, which was why he brought them here first.
If this one met with approval, it would save them the trouble of trekking across town all over again.