The day after the wedding was called off, Mr. Lin arranged a good marriage for his son.

To avoid complications, the wedding ceremony was hastily planned and took place in just a month’s time.

However, things still went awry.

On the day the bride entered the house, the renowned filial son, who had been steeped in Confucian classics since childhood and was known for his obedience and propriety, unexpectedly abandoned his parents and eloped with his former fiancée.

The incident caused a stir in Bianzhou at the time, leaving a lasting impression on many even years later.

A few years ago, the elderly matron of the Lin Family fell seriously ill. Somehow, she got word of her second son’s whereabouts and sent a message to him.

The Second Young Master Lin returned alone; the Miss Liu who had eloped with him was nowhere to be seen, and he hasn’t left since.

Xie Wanqing, shortly after arriving in Bianzhou, quickly learned about the events of that time.

It was then that she understood how tumultuous the woman’s fate had been.

The woman’s father was a scholar from an aristocratic background, but after their family fell into decline, even her marriage couldn’t be preserved. If it weren’t for the Second Young Master Lin eloping with her, being a girl who had lost her honor and been rejected, it would have been hard to find a good match.

Her life’s fate would either be to shave her head and become a nun in a temple or to marry a much older widower as a second wife.

The fact that the Second Young Master Lin did not mind her loss of honor and abandoned everything to elope with her only demonstrated the deep, childhood bond they shared.

Fleeing from home, they successfully married, had a daughter, and everything seemed smooth until the husband went back home for a visit and never returned, abandoning the mother and daughter in such a harsh and dangerous place in the Northern Land. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

In the end, she met such a tragic end.

The events on the boat that night still seemed horrifyingly tragic when Xie Wanqing recalled them now.

Having been aided by that woman, she took the initiative to fulfill one of the woman’s wishes.

The woman, on her deathbed, had just one worry: she wanted to know if her husband was still alive.

The journey from the Northern Land to Bianzhou was long and perilous. She didn’t believe that if her husband were alive, he would willingly abandon her and their daughter.

If her husband had died on the way, then she and her daughter could reunite with him in the afterlife.

If...

At that time, Xie Wanqing asked her if her husband was still alive, whether she wanted him to know that they were looking for him.

Even after six months, Xie Wanqing still remembered the look in that woman’s eyes.

Beautiful, helpless, and tinged with a faint sadness.

She said, no.

Do not tell him.

Since he chose not to return, it meant he regretted their elopement back then.

Whether the bitter life in the Northern Land made him regret it, or the years of guilt toward family made him decide not to go back, it was clear.

In any case, he made the decision to abandon his wife and daughter and return to his own family.

Xie Wanqing, upon hearing that the Second Young Master Lin had safely returned to Bianzhou City several years ago, actually wanted to ask him why he hadn’t returned since coming back from the Northern Land.

Did he still remember that he had a wife and daughter in the Northern Land?

However, she respected the woman’s own decision.

Later, when she discovered she was pregnant, she put the matter aside.

Until now, when the mastermind behind the Li Family case was the Lin Family.

Hearing the surname Lin reminded her of past events, prompting her to ask more questions.

Unexpectedly, it was indeed that Lin Family.

She recounted her experiences from that day and curiously asked, "Is it because the Second Young Master Lin intends to participate in this local examination, so the Lin Family moved against his potential rivals?"