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Because the carriage was heading in Lin Yuan’s direction, and there were only two families in this area—in addition to Lin Yuan’s, there was only Old Man Chen’s—it was naturally assumed that it was there to bring congratulations to Lin Yuan.

As soon as a granny saw the carriage, she hurried into the house to bring the news to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan was utterly confused, not remembering that she had invited anyone from the town.

However, hearing that it was a particularly nice carriage, she thought it might be Jin Yuyu from Jin Mansion and quickly went out to greet her.

Xia Zheng blinked, always feeling that there was more to it than that.

No sooner had Lin Yuan left than he had followed right out after her.

Because the carriage was quite a rarity in the Lin family hollow, people who were eating couldn’t help but look over, curious to see who the visitor might be. Just as Lin Yuan stepped out, the carriage happened to come to a stop.

However, it didn’t stop in front of her house but at her neighbor Old Man Chen’s doorstep instead.

The people exchanged glances, clearly none of them had expected the blind and bad-tempered Old Man Chen to have such a wealthy relative.

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow as a thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that Chen Zhu had passed the exam and was now returning home in glory?

But that didn’t seem right either; the carriage was clearly meant for a woman to ride in, and Chen Zhu, who was so haughty and full of himself, how could he stoop to ride in a woman’s carriage?

While she was musing, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a man in a light purple changshan stepped out. He had an oily shine to his hair, and his manners seemed quite polished, but still, there was something about him that made one think of "Little White Face."

After the man hopped down from the carriage, he paused for a moment at the shabby threshold of Old Man Chen, his head lifted as if in thought.

Standing sidelong, his face wasn’t entirely visible, only a vague profile could be seen.

Lin Yuan stared at him for a while, feeling that he seemed familiar, yet she couldn’t quite place who he was.

The people still couldn’t make out his face clearly, and as they murmured among themselves, the carriage curtain was lifted again, revealing the silhouette of a woman, who softly asked, "Shi Mei, are we home yet?"

Shi Mei?

Lin Yuan paused, a strange look crossing her face.

Hearing the woman’s voice, the man seemed to snap back to reality, turned around with a smile, and nodded, "Yes, we’re home."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was oddly familiar.

The onlookers were all taken aback, looking at one another, yet no one spoke.

The man reached out his hand and carefully helped the woman down from the carriage. As the coachmen were preparing to set down the steps, he gave a crooked smile, raised his hand to encircle the woman’s waist, and lifted her down.

The woman’s normally rather cold face suddenly blushed a vivid red.

After landing, she quickly pushed away his hand and straightened her dress, then looking at the dilapidated gatehouse in front of her, her expression returned to one of cool arrogance, her voice chilling slightly, "This, this is your house? "

The woman’s tone, full of disappointment and dissatisfaction, wasn’t lost on the man.

He explained hastily, "Strictly speaking, this is just where we’ve settled temporarily.

Do you remember I told you, my family is from the South, and we ended up here in the North out of necessity after misfortune struck us.

Actually, my family in the South is quite well-off, it’s just..

. I didn’t expect to be robbed on the road, and all our wealth stolen.

We had no choice but to, well, make do with this humble place for the time being. "

Hearing the downturn in the man’s voice, the woman’s expression softened a bit, and she took his hand of her own accord, comforting him with a gentle voice.

The man felt the woman’s tenderness and looked up with a gentle smile.

It was this smile that made Lin Yuan’s body jolt, and she remembered. This man, wasn’t he Chen Zhu, who went to the Capital to take the exams? My, my, who would have thought, who would have thought that he would come back a changed man!