Lin Wan looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
As she spoke, she even reached out, intending to take his pulse. His complexion didn’t look good—somewhat haggard, with dark shadows under his eyes. He seemed like he hadn’t slept well the night before.
Gu Zhixing quickly stepped back and shook his head. “No, it’s just… it’s too hot by the stove.”
Early in the morning, it was actually quite cool outside, but the fire under the stove was indeed making it warm.
Lin Wan didn’t think much of it. She was someone who slept very deeply, and she had always slept alone, so she wasn’t very aware of her own sleeping posture.
“I’ll do it. Go outside and rest for a while,” Lin Wan said, reaching out to take the spoon from his hand.
“No need. The porridge is almost done, and I’ve already boiled hot water. Go wash up first.”
Gu Zhixing shook his head. He didn’t actually feel hot. Rather, every time Lin Wan came close to him, he couldn’t help but recall what had happened in their sleep last night—and what he saw this morning when he woke up. His face would unconsciously grow warm.
Keeping his hands busy helped distract him. Otherwise, those scenes kept replaying in his mind, making it impossible for him to calm down.
“Alright then.”
Lin Wan nodded. Since Gu Zhixing liked cooking so much, she might as well leave all the cooking to him in the future. She would focus on earning money instead—men managing the household, women working outside. There was no rule saying men had to struggle out in the world while women were confined to the inner courtyard. This arrangement suited her perfectly.
Lin Wan scooped some hot water into a basin and went to the yard to wash up. In truth, using cold water in summer would have been fine, but since Gu Zhixing had already boiled the water, she didn’t want to waste his effort. She felt she was really quite considerate.
After Gu Zhixing prepared breakfast, Lin Wan went to knock on Lin Sheng’s door. “A Sheng, time to eat!”
Lin Sheng had already been up for a while and had read several pages of books. He was used to getting up early to study, and he found he remembered things more clearly that way. Ever since he stopped attending school, he had been working even harder these past couple of days.
Hearing the knock, Lin Sheng got up and came out of the room. The three of them sat neatly at the table, ready to eat.
Just as Lin Wan took a sip of porridge and was about to praise Gu Zhixing’s cooking, she heard noisy commotion coming from the entrance of the courtyard. Early in the morning, and already someone was causing trouble.
She set her bowl down. “You two eat first. I’ll go take a look.”
“Don’t come out.”
Before leaving, Lin Wan reminded them. One of them was poisoned and the other was frail since childhood—neither could handle trouble. If a fight broke out outside, they wouldn’t be able to withstand it, and she’d have to worry about them too.
Ever since cutting ties with Old Madam Wu, Lin Wan could be said to have completely thrown off all restraint. Filial piety no longer bound her. No matter how the Lin family acted up, it no longer mattered.
She walked to the courtyard and looked outside. Quite a few people were gathered at the gate, and at the front stood an old woman with a black mole on her left cheek and a bright red flower on her head. That outfit… it looked just like how matchmakers dressed here.
Lin Wan’s gaze shifted again. The Lin family had come in full force—everyone except Lin Yaozu was present. Even Wu Old Madam’s eldest daughter, Lin Wan’s nominal aunt who had married into the neighboring village, had come, bringing along her son known for petty theft.
“So early in the morning you’ve all come here to put on a show?” Lin Wan said coldly, her tone full of sarcasm. She stood inside the courtyard, facing the group outside without the slightest intention of opening the gate.
Just yesterday things had finally quieted down, and today they were already back to causing trouble.
When she first transmigrated, she had gone along with Wu Old Madam’s act because she had just arrived, and because that old woman was her nominal grandmother. But now the severance agreement had already been signed. Yesterday, when she went to the authorities to register her marriage contract, she had also had the severance document officially stamped and filed.
Thinking of the clerk’s scrutinizing gaze at the time made her slightly uncomfortable, but in the end, the document had been approved. That meant that as far as the government was concerned, she and the Lin family were now completely unrelated.
Hearing her words, the Lin family’s expressions darkened.
Lin Dahuo shouted angrily, “You ungrateful girl, how dare you speak like that? We are your elders!”
Lin Wan raised an eyebrow. “Need I remind you? Yesterday I already signed a severance agreement with your old madam, witnessed by the village chief. What elders are you talking about now?”
Such a big commotion early in the morning had already attracted curious villagers. Lin Wan’s neighbor, Tian Guihua, was peeking over the wall and even gave her a thumbs-up upon hearing this.
“Well said! Since you’ve already cut ties, what kind of elders are you people supposed to be?”
Tian Guihua had never liked the Lin family. Before, Lin Wan’s personality had been too soft, letting them bully her, so outsiders couldn’t say much—it was a family matter, and no one could interfere.
But things were different now. Lin Wan had clearly been driven to the point of breaking, otherwise she wouldn’t have changed so much.
Tian Guihua wasn’t trying to stir trouble; she simply felt the Lin family was rotten through and through. Cutting them off was the right thing to do.
Seeing the two of them speaking in unison, Wu Old Madam’s expression turned even uglier. But she still remembered why they had come today and forced down her anger.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Say what you came here to say!” she snapped at Lin Xiuniang.
Hearing this, Lin Xiuniang turned to the matchmaker beside her. “Aunt Zhang, I’ll leave this matter to you today. You’ll be properly rewarded once it’s done.”
Lin Xiuniang was Wu Old Madam’s eldest daughter. She had come today to arrange a marriage proposal—the target was Lin Wan.
She used to look down on Lin Wan. The girl was too thin and weak, not good for bearing children. But after hearing that Lin Dahuo said Lin Wan now had over thirty taels of silver, and that although she was thin she was capable at work, Lin Xiuniang changed her mind.
Her son was also of marriageable age, and she still hadn’t found a suitable match. After much consideration, she followed Lin Dahuo’s suggestion and set her sights on Lin Wan.
Although Matchmaker Zhang also felt the atmosphere was strange—more like a feud than a marriage proposal—she had already taken the deposit and had no choice but to speak.
With a smile, she clapped her hands. “Miss Lin, today is a great occasion!”
“We’re here to propose marriage. We all know each other well, after all we’re family. And if your aunt becomes your mother-in-law, there’ll be no worries about mother-in-law conflicts. Besides, you and your cousin grew up together—true childhood sweethearts. There can be no better match than this!”
She also praised Lin Xiuniang’s son highly, as if he were some outstanding young man beyond compare.
But Lin Wan knew the truth. Lin Xiuniang’s eldest son, Zhou Cheng, was no good—he stole chickens, fought, and did nothing proper. At over twenty, he still depended on his family.
Unless some woman was blind, or the authorities forcibly assigned him a wife, he would never be able to marry in his lifetime.
That was precisely why the original owner had gone to a matchmaker to buy a husband—she didn’t want to be forcibly married off to someone like Zhou Cheng by the authorities. Once married to him, her entire life would be ruined.
As for Matchmaker Zhang’s claim that having her aunt become her mother-in-law meant no conflicts? Lin Wan and Lin Xiuniang had never been close. In fact, every time Lin Xiuniang returned to the village, she would nitpick and boss Lin Wan around. There was no affection between them whatsoever.