Zi Qingzheng and Lin Kangping were joking around, on the day of the engagement, Lin Kangping said a sentence "The gatekeeper of the prime minister's house is a seventh-grade official" to threaten Chunyu, Zi Qing asked him if someone had offended him, can he really use the power of the Wen family to settle the matter?

  Lin Kangping smiled and retorted: "Don't you know there's an idiom called 'the fox borrows the tiger's might'?"

  Zi Qing burst out laughing after hearing this. At that moment, she heard the sound of horse hooves stopping at the door and hastily opened it. The smile on her face had not yet faded when a person jumped down from the horse like a gust of wind and asked Zi Qing: "Why? Why?"

  Zi Qing looked up to see that it was Wen San, who had been engaged for almost a month. What was supposed to come had finally arrived, but Zi Qing could only pretend to be confused and ask: "What's going on? I don't understand what you're asking?"

  "You don't understand? Fine, I'll make you understand. Why the engagement? Why so sudden? Why didn't you wait for me? Why am I not good enough? What's he got that I haven't? He can give you what I can too, for your sake, I even quarreled with my grandmother. Don't marry him, okay?" Wen San's tone was initially aggressive, but by the end, it had turned pleading, and Zi Qing's heart felt a pang of sourness.

  At this time, Lin Kangping came over and shielded Zi Qing behind him. He said: "Don't blame her, she doesn't know anything. It was me who heard your father-in-law say that he wanted to arrange a marriage for Zi Qing, so I asked your father-in-law to be my matchmaker first. To be honest, if it wasn't me and Zi Qing getting engaged today, Zi Qing would have been engaged to someone else. That person wouldn't have been you. You know, I also like her, and for her sake, I can do anything. Don't forget, when you promised me back then, I did what I said I would do. What about you?"

  "I don't recall promising you anything, I just said that in five years. You can be completely free and I won't bother her for the time being, but I didn't promise to let go of her. I just wanted to focus on my studies for a few years so that I'll have some leverage when negotiating with my family later. It's you, it's all your doing! You knew I liked her, yet you still competed with me and used some trickery to deceive her into getting engaged to you while I was focused on my studies. Why? Lin Kangping, after all these years, I've always treated you like a brother, not as someone beneath me. Why did you do this? Can't you just give her up to me?" As he spoke, Wen San rushed over and pushed Lin Kangping.

  Zi Qing was about to speak when she heard Wen San's words, but instead she calmed down and listened to Lin Kangping's response. If Lin Kangping yielded to the power of the Wen family or Wen San's young master status and said he would let himself be taken away, Zi Qing immediately regretted being related to him, as such a man was not worth her devotion.

  Lin Kangping took a step back and said, "I'm not competing with you, nor can I let go. Zi Qing is not an object, she's a person. A living, breathing person with her own thoughts and desires for life. Ask yourself, what can you offer her? Besides money, what else can you give her? Can the Wen family accept her? Do you think it's possible? Where do you plan to place the daughter of a high-ranking official? Don't you think it would be humiliating for Zi Qing to become your concubine, just like the many women in the Wen family's backyard? You've said it yourself, that you can't bear to humiliate her."

  "But I've been trying, I had a fight with my grandmother, I promised to study hard, I'm fighting for the position of Ping's wife for her, and I'll be good to her, she's different in my heart, I'll love her dearly. Is it you who told her those things and scared her away? What can you give Qing'er?"

  "Do you think the daughter of a noble family would agree to be on an equal footing with a woman from the countryside? Even if you care for her, do you think your legitimate wife can tolerate all this? Can she tolerate losing to a country girl? Although Zi Qing is not a real country girl, in other people's eyes, isn't she just a country bumpkin? Who knows what tricks she will use to deal with Qing Er? At that time, you will be busy dealing with your own problems, who will Qing Er rely on in the backyard that is like a prison? Can you bear to see the lovely Qing Er wither away slowly in your backyard? But I am different, this life I will only have her as my woman, I will only care for her, I have already made a vow. Although life may be harder, I will work hard to give Qing Er the life she wants, young master, you can go back, I promise you that I will do what I promised in five years, don't worry."

  "What are you doing here, spouting nonsense? You're not Zi Qing. How do you know she's unwilling? If it wasn't for you taking advantage of my absence and sneaking in, Zi Qing might not have chosen you." Wen San took the opportunity to push Lin Kangping again when he wasn't paying attention, causing him to lose his balance and sit on the ground.

  Lin Kangping was about to speak, but Zi Qing suddenly grabbed him and stood beside him, saying: "Wen San, I've always considered you a friend. I know that someone from your family background can't help but feel lonely without friends. In fact, you haven't recognized your own emotions. What you call 'liking' me is just because you think I'm more interesting and different from the rich girls in your mansion. And coincidentally, I gave you a friendship on an equal footing, which warmed your heart. You exaggerated this warmth and mistakenly thought it was love. In fact, your inner self has never treated this friendship equally. You've always been condescending, bestowing your 'liking' upon me. Don't rush to deny it. Tell me, who truly wants to be friends with someone but won't even reveal their real name? I've known you for years, and yet I still don't know your true name. Do you think you're sincere?"

  "I really like you, you don't know, before I even knew you, my father had mentioned your cleverness and intelligence. That year, my grandfather passed away, and Father was in mourning at home, so he took care of the family business. Suddenly, Uncle Zhou sent over half a watermelon, and after Father tasted it, he was really surprised that such an early watermelon could be found in the countryside. But this small matter didn't require him to go personally, it's just that he heard from Uncle Zhou that the one selling watermelons was a 5 or 6-year-old country girl, and Father had nothing to do at home, so he went to take a look at you. When he came back, he said, 'I didn't expect a 5 or 6-year-old country girl not only has a quick tongue but can also recognize characters and read contracts.' I remembered you from then on.

  The second time was when you were selling lanterns, Father happened to be at home and still had an impression of you. He said, 'Let's go take a look and see what new changes there are in two years.' I listened and was very curious, so I followed him. I still remember the scene at that time - you were afraid that my father wouldn't buy your lanterns, with a careful and pleasing expression, but it didn't feel annoying at all. At that time, I already had some liking for you, but there wasn't an opportunity to meet again, and I was also just a child.

  Until two years later, when we ran into each other on the street, I felt like I hadn't forgotten about you, and seeing you made me really happy, but you had already forgotten about me."

  Wen San's words reminded Zi Qing of their first meeting and the second encounter, time flew by, and the naive children of that year have now become handsome young men, but how could they have foreseen today's entanglement?

  Wen San continued, "I didn't tell you my name for a reason. My father was once the salt control censor of Lianghuai, and that year in Yangzhou, I don't know who he offended, but I was kidnapped. Although I returned home safely later, it was still a frightening and torturous experience. From then on, Father told me not to easily reveal my true identity to outsiders. Later, I got used to not saying my name, and now I'm telling you, my name is Wen Haoyu." Wen San looked at Zi Qing with another innocent and wronged expression, making Zi Qing feel a bit of a headache.

  "Wen Haoyu, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you. But I really am not the right person for you. Ping Ge was right, I'm just a country girl, and first of all, I couldn't adapt to that kind of family life in a big household. A wildflower like me would wither away quickly if kept indoors. My mother always said that people need to find their own place in order to live comfortably, and my place is in the countryside.

  Secondly, I couldn't possibly share my husband with a bunch of other women, especially when I'm not even the first wife. I couldn't bear to become a resentful woman confined at home. Can you really bring yourself to make me into that kind of person?

  I hope we can still be friends who can laugh and talk together. As for you, go back and take a hot bath, get some sleep, your mood won't be as bad as you think it is. In a year or two, when you look back on this youthful infatuation, you'll feel carefree.

  Also, I hope you don't resent Ping Ge. To him, you're not only his young master but also the only family he has had in all these years."

  Wen Haoyu listened with his head down, and after a long time, he raised his head and asked: "You're not me, how do you know my wound is so deep? You said it so lightly, just because you don't care about me. I overheard the conversation between my grandmother and father, only to find out that you've been engaged, and hurried back to see you."

  After Zhou Zhuangui returned that day, he found an opportunity to tell Mr. Wen about the engagement between Zi Qing and Lin Kangping. Mr. Wen was quite surprised and remained silent for a long time before saying, "What a pity, but it's good for this young man. Never mind, since they've made their choice, we can't force them."

  A few days later, Mr. Wen was going to the capital on business and discussed Wen San's marriage with Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen mentioned Wen San's concerns, and Mr. Wen said: "Mother, please rest assured that this matter will not happen. It is just a one-sided wish of San Er. That country girl has already been engaged to San Er's servant Kang Ping."

  Wen San happened to come over to pay his respects, heard this conversation, and hurriedly ran in to ask: "Dad, is this true? How is it possible? Dad, are you fooling me? Dad, quickly say, are you fooling me?"

  "Shameless, look at the state you're in! You are the legitimate son and grandson of the Wen family, how can you let a country bumpkin girl manipulate you like this? She has no eyesight to give up on you and marry a servant, such a woman is just a frog at the bottom of the well, unable to see the depth of our Wen family's foundation and the greatness of our family business. I thought she was some kind of woman worthy of your infatuation, but it turns out she's just a country bumpkin girl. She does have some self-awareness, knowing that not just anyone can be a woman of the Wen family, so we won't make things difficult for her because of this." Madam Wen said sternly.

  "Grandma, you're not me, how can you know exactly how painful my heart is?" Wen San shouted and ran out.

  "I still can't help but feel unresigned, traveling thousands of miles to find the truth, only to end up getting hurt again. Is it really my fault?" He didn't even wait for a response and led his horse away. Lin Kangping was worried about him going back alone, so he rode after him.