Lin Ruoshan dragged Wang Shi home, stumbling along. They went into the room and sat down on the floor, ignoring Wang Shi's scolding and Lin Fu's questions.
She hugged her knees and buried her face in them, feeling as if her whole body was sinking down, heavy and sluggish, a heaviness that reached the deepest part of her heart.
The difference is too big!
The gap between her and them is too big!
The image of Xu Zifan and Lin Ruonan exchanging glances lingered in her mind. One was a promising scholar, and the other was a wealthy and glamorous cloth shop owner—status she could only dream of in her two lifetimes.
Before them, she seemed so small and insignificant. They paid her no attention at all, moving to the capital and living a life of wealth and happiness, while she alone remained in the same place, bound tightly and unable to break free.
She wanted to leave them, but she was unwilling. How could she? The wealth, the glamour, the perfect husband she desired—Lin Ruonan had it all. And those were things she herself had rejected and forced upon Lin Ruonan; everything originally belonged to her!
A strong sense of resentment arose from the depths of her heart, like a seed that had sprouted, growing wildly in the midst of repeated jealousy, and eventually growing into a towering tree.
Lin Ruoshan waved her hand, revealing a spiritual spring stream. Looking at the clear water and the azure dragon churning within, she clenched her fists tightly, her ambition burning like an uncontrollable raging fire.
"I must become a superior person! I must be more noble than them! I must live a thousand times better than them!" Lin Ruoshan gritted her teeth and vowed, "Xu Zifan! Lin Ruonan! One day, I will trample you under my feet and make you experience the suffering I endured in my past life!"
Changsheng flicked its tail in the stream, and the splash of water hit Lin Ruoshan's head like a bucket of ice water, instantly drenching her.
Lin Ruoshan gasped, about to curse, but stopped abruptly when her gaze fell on Qinglong, forcing a stiff smile. "Lord Qinglong, what...what are your orders?"
Chang Sheng ignored her, so she cautiously probed again: "Lord Qinglong, do you agree with me? They have bullied me so much, I will definitely not let them off. Rest assured, you have given me a second chance at life, and I will never let you down."
Changsheng, too lazy to listen to her nonsense, flipped over and dived into the bottom of the stream, disappearing without a trace.
"Lord Azure Dragon... Lord Azure Dragon..." Lin Ruoshan called out several times while lying by the stream, but when it didn't appear, she had no choice but to regretfully put the stream away. However, she endlessly interpreted Azure Dragon's actions in a positive light, believing that Azure Dragon definitely wanted to see her become rich and powerful, enjoying boundless glory.
Lin Ruoshan thought about how much the prefect valued her wine, and how he had investigated but found nothing wrong. This was her chance.
Now everyone in Anyang Prefecture knows that Lin Family Wine is good for your health, and that's her livelihood.
After careful consideration, Lin Ruoshan approached Lin Fu and shared her plan. She intended to open a tavern in Anyang Prefecture, selling only her own brewed wine at double the price, hoping to capitalize on this opportunity and make a fortune. Once the tavern was stable, she would brew even stronger, higher-quality wine and sell it to the wealthy at a premium. The tavern was sure to grow exponentially, raking in profits, and the prefect's investigation would serve as their best advertisement.
Lin Fu, greedy for money, was easily swayed by her rosy promises. They were unaware that the prefect had reported the Lin family's wine to the emperor; they only assumed the prefect wanted them to stay in the city for further investigation. Since they couldn't leave immediately, why not take this opportunity to make money? The people in the city were far more extravagant than those in the town.
Besides, why would they want to leave? If the Xu family can establish themselves in the prefectural city, why can't they? They want to stay in the prefectural city and become its inhabitants.
Both Wang and Lin Yaozu were very supportive of this matter. Having witnessed the prosperity of the prefectural city, who would want to go back to their original small town? Because this time it was all thanks to Lin Ruoshan, their attitude towards her had improved considerably. As for what they really thought, no one knew, and no one cared.
The Lin family acted immediately. Now that Lin family wine was famous, and as the saying goes, good wine needs no bush, they didn't even rent a shop. They simply hung a flag outside the gate of their small courtyard with the word "wine" written on it.
The nearby residents were the first to smell the aroma of the wine, and naturally, they wanted to buy some to try. They found it truly felt like they had drunk a tonic. The news spread like wildfire, and the Lin family's courtyard quickly became lively, with a constant stream of people coming to buy the wine every day.
When Lord Liang learned of this, he merely frowned and signaled to his men not to interfere. There were no instructions from the Emperor yet; they could decide whether to intervene after knowing the Emperor's attitude. After all, the wine was genuinely good for the body, and the Lin family's large-scale sales were a good thing for the people.
Lin Ruoshan also had Lin Fu deliver ten jars of wine to Lord Liang's residence, but Lord Liang, disdaining their character, naturally refused to accept them. Lin Fu didn't even get through the door; he was directly dismissed by the gatekeeper.
Back home, Lin Fu complained incessantly, and Lin Ruoshan's face was also gloomy. "Father, the prefect's rejection of our goodwill must be because of Xu Zifan. I heard from others that the prefect greatly admires Xu Zifan and often invites him to small gatherings. Xu Zifan has probably said a lot of bad things about us."
Lin Fu panicked, "Won't the prefect be hostile to us? Maybe we should go back."
Lin Ruoshan glared at him. "What's the point of going back? Those people in town only know how to fawn over Xu Zifan. They've driven our restaurant out of business. Is it any better than here? Alright, let's just stay here peacefully. At least no one knows about the past, and there won't be any more hurtful gossip. We'll take it one step at a time. If things don't work out, we can always go somewhere else."
"Stay far away from Xu Zifan. I have my wine; what's there to be afraid of?"
From the time Lin Ruoshan saved the restaurant to this time coming to the prefectural city to make money, Lin Ruoshan began to become more assertive, and unknowingly became the decision-maker of the Lin family. After all, she had died once and gained a new opportunity, so her confidence and courage were much greater than others. Lin Fu and Wang Shi were afraid of unfamiliar places, afraid of officials, and afraid of losing money, but she was not afraid of any of them. So when they hesitated, she could always make quick decisions, and they were always the right ones. Therefore, she unconsciously took control of the Lin family's discourse.
Lin Fu and the other two were all uncomfortable, but the situation was beyond their control. Going back would indeed be unpleasant for them, while staying in the prefectural city depended entirely on Lin Ruoshan. Compromising a little wouldn't hurt. How could a mere girl like her rebel against the heavens?
Lin Ruoshan felt incredibly satisfied as she tallied her earnings each day, and she was even more confident that she could surpass the Xu family's cloth workshop. As for Xu Zifan's status as a scholar, she was confident she could marry a husband of even higher status. After all, she consumed spiritual spring water daily, making her fair-skinned, beautiful, and slender—already a stunning beauty. And with her skill in brewing spiritual wine, why would she worry about not marrying into a good family? Her bad reputation wouldn't spread that far and wouldn't affect her.
Lin Ruoshan finally regained some confidence. She began to enjoy going out and even bought a maid. Every day at noon, when the streets were busiest, she would dress up carefully and take the maid to stroll around the streets. Occasionally, she would sit in well-known teahouses and restaurants in the city, seemingly unintentionally attracting the attention of those young masters.
She was indeed beautiful, and many people looked at her. A few days later, a wealthy young man actually struck up a conversation with her. She pretended to be reserved and put on airs for a few days, and then reluctantly agreed to go on an outing with them, hoping to make more friends with young men and women from wealthy families.
Spurred on by Xu Zifan, she looked down on even the children of wealthy businessmen. Now she wanted to befriend the sons of officials, and they had to be successful so that she could step on Xu Zifan. So she had very high standards, and for the time being, she didn't cause any trouble.
She also wanted to take her new friends to the Xu family's cloth shop to show off, but when she tentatively mentioned it, she found that they had a very good impression of Xu Zifan and praised Lin Ruonan for her gentle and dignified demeanor, truly worthy of being a virtuous wife to a scholar like Xu Zifan. Even Xu's father and mother were praised by them.
Lin Ruoshan was so frustrated that she stopped talking about it and focused solely on finding a powerful man to marry into.
But which child raised in a wealthy family is stupid? Even if they couldn't see through her little scheme in a day, they'd figure it out in three or five days. Several young men who were interested in her but discovered her high standards sneered inwardly. With her status, even if she were as beautiful as a flower and could brew spirit wine, she could only ever be their concubine. To dream of marrying higher and becoming their principal wife? Dream on!
They spent some time together, and Lin Ruoshan thought she had made connections and entered high society. In reality, the young ladies kept their distance from her. Several young men would try to "please" her, but they had no sincerity and all wanted to take her home as a concubine.
However, together with Lin Ruoshan, they bought a considerable amount of wine from her. To earn their respect, Lin Ruoshan specially used extra spiritual spring water to brew a better wine than those on the market, which, of course, was also more expensive. These people took the fine wine home to present to their elders, and Lin Ruoshan also received a substantial amount of money from them. It was a win-win situation; no one lost out.
After passing the imperial examination, Xu Zifan had to wait until the following year to take the metropolitan examination. This period was a rare moment of leisure for him after he decided to take the imperial examination.
Others might advise a scholar to study more, lest he fail the next exam. The Xu family, however, only wanted Xu Zifan to be happy, and were even worried that studying too much would harm his health. Besides, Xu Zifan's top score in the imperial examination gave them much confidence, and they weren't concerned about his scholarship.
So Xu Zifan took on the cooking duties. Seeing that he was genuinely interested, the three of them didn't object and let him do it. As a result, the whole family praised his culinary skills, and they all had excellent appetites every day, soon becoming quite plump.
Xu Zifan added a small amount of spiritual spring water to the food, so the Xu family members all looked radiant and healthy. Xu's father and mother looked much younger, and everyone who saw them felt that the Xu family was extremely happy.
When Xu's mother learned that the Lin family had come to the prefectural city, she was extremely disgusted. She noticed that Lin Ruoshan was always dressed up and flaunting herself, and that the Lin family's wine was selling better and better. She couldn't help but worry and asked Xu Zifan in private, "Son, Lin Ruoshan is vicious. She gets so close to those young masters. Could it be... could it be that she's trying to get them to harm us?"
Xu Zifan shook his head and smiled, "Mother, don't worry. Have you forgotten that we are under the protection of the prefect? She can't harm us in town, and she can't harm us here either."
"Then you should keep an eye on Ruonan, lest she get bullied if you're not careful."
"Don't worry, Mother, I know."