Good Man Operation Guide

Seeing the look in the eyes of his surrounding relatives that they indeed were going to listen, Grandpa Lin’s mind was put at ease, and even made up his mind that even if Shiheng wanted to have them enter the capital to be taken care of, he will restrain his family to continue living in the old home.

Grandpa Lin, of course, wanted to see this proud grandson, but because he was older, there were naturally more things he had to consider.

Grandpa Lin wouldn’t have thought of this if he hadn’t been presented with the silver today by an official, someone who he wouldn’t even dare to interact with before.

Officials, not only themselves but also their family members, should pay attention to everything they say and do. After all, didn’t they see how the last county magistrate suffered from a lawsuit just because of his son’s wanton hedonistic flirtation with women?

If one teased a woman in the county, one could lose their job. But if one teased a woman in the capital…

First of all, he wasn’t be stupid enough to think that his grandson would have money to buy a residence in the capital as soon as he became an official. Next, even if he really did purchase a residence, it was in the capital. Grandpa Lin heard that the imperial relatives were all over the place. Even if they managed to settle down in the capital, it wasn’t good for them to go out of the house. They might even cause trouble for his grandson, so it was better to listen to his grandson’s arrangements.

When he said that to his family, Uncle Lin and the others were still all right with it as they had never expected their nephew to take them to the capital to live in the first place. Father Lin and Mother Lin, however, felt a bit disappointed, but at the same time, planned for their son in their hearts as they listened to Grandpa Lin’s words.

***

The facts were that it was only natural for older relatives to be present for important events such as one getting married.

The men sent by Lin Shiheng arrived to pick them up.

And while they were picking up the parents and grandparents, naturally, the two uncles and aunts couldn’t be left.

The old man’s wife couldn’t ride a horse and could only take a palanquin, so the people who came to pick them up were slow in sending them all the way to the capital.

Either way, the wedding date set by His Majesty was still quite a while away, so they could always travel slowly and still get there before the wedding day.

Along the way, the Lins were curious about the servants who claimed to have been bought by Lin Shiheng. They couldn’t help but ask how their son/grandson/nephew was doing now.

“All is well with the Lord, although he is ill. Fortunately, he is friends with Lord Zhao, who is friendly and always sends people to bring medicinal meals to the residence. When we left the capital, the Lord was able to get out of bed and walk.”

The servant who answered their remarks was a very clever boy. He was very good at reading people and had served them very comfortably along the way of the trip. From time to time, he would also mention some interesting things about the capital to the Lins who were bored from the slow long-distance journey.

For example, a dandy was messing around with his best friend and took a cup of wine while standing on the second floor of a restaurant and threw it down, saying he would like to see what kind of people it would fall on.

It turned out that the cup fell on His Majesty’s mother’s brother’s grandson’s daughter-in-law’s nephew.

The nephew was weak since childhood and had been taken into the care of his aunt at an early age, thus was raised by his aunt and uncle-in-law. Being so suddenly hit on the head by a wine cup, he fainted on the spot. His Majesty’s mother’s family quickly asked an imperial physician to make a diagnosis and give him treatment, so if it wasn’t for the excellent medical skills of the imperial physician, he wouldn’t have been able to survive the incident.

Father and Mother Lin, who only cared about working hard, and only listened for fun, asked, “What about the person who threw it?”

“Well, as fate would have it…”

The servant smiled and laughed, “That dandy turned out to be the late Emperor’s mother’s family member, so to speak, they were all relatives. So that was all there was to it.”

Father and Mother Lin finished listening and sighed. People have long claimed there were many nobles and imperial relatives in the capital, and it really was so. Surprisingly, a random person who threw things and the one who was hit were both also relatives.

However, as Grandpa Lin listened, his face grew heavier and heavier.

The capital, indeed as expected, was full of noble children.

Can’t afford to provoke, can’t afford to provoke…

But then the ugly face suddenly turned into one of a big surprise when he heard the servant say that his grandson was physically ill. “My grandson is physically ill?”

The servant acted even more surprised than he was. “Doesn’t the Old Master know? The Lord’s body has never been very good, often coughing and feeling chills. I don’t know how many physicians we’ve hired in the capital, but they can’t cure him, so he can only be maintained and health nurtured.”

Not in good health…

This statement directly shocked the entire Lin family.

How could his body be so unwell? How did this happen?

The servant replied quite professionally, “The doctor said that the Lord had been exhausted and ill from before, yet he still rushed all the way to the exams. Therefore, the Lord can’t be administered any heavy medication, but can only maintain his health.”

“Exhausted and ill…”

Grandma Lin panicked. “But… but my family’s Shiheng has always been forbidden to do anything at home except study, and I won’t let him touch the farm work at all!”

“The Old Madam might not know, but that’s the kind of studying that really tires one out. After all, doing work hurts the body, but studying hurts the spirit. Of course, normal studying is naturally alright, but the Lord may have earlier…”

At this point, the clever boy paused slightly, as if thinking of words to describe, “Perhaps it’s a little more serious than normal people, so the body couldn’t bear it at the moment. Listening to Lord Zhao’s words, the Lord has been in poor health on the way to the exam, and he could only stay in bed for a long time.”

He directly ignored the fact that this so-called “bedridden” was sleeping in during the early mornings. Then after going over the various aspects of Lin Shiheng’s condition, he returned to the subject and concluded, “You don’t have to worry, the doctor only said he should rest.”

After saying that, as if sensing that the atmosphere in the coach wasn’t quite right, he self-consciously got up. “I’ll go see if there’s a resting place up ahead.”

In the carriage, the Lin family looked very gloomy, while Mother Lin had even burst into sobbing tears.

“It’s all my fault. When he was going to take the exam, Shiheng also told me that he didn’t want to go to the capital. He wanted to stay a Juren, but I wanted him to take the exam and told him to study hard without thinking about other things. At that time, did he already start to feel unwell?”

Father Lin felt even more guilty, drooped his head like a defeated dog, and said with a muffled voice, “Shiheng once told me that he was tired of studying, and he wanted to take a rest. I also reprimanded him for not knowing what was important while thinking that doing farm work was much more tiring than sitting in the house and studying, if I hadn’t said that, Shiheng wouldn’t have been so exhausted.”

Mother Lin cried again, “If I knew it would ruin my son’s health… So, what if he didn’t become an official?”

Grandpa Lin didn’t urge his grandson to study any less, and he hesitated at the moment, suspecting that his urging might have affected his grandson’s health.

Didn’t you hear what that fellow had said?

They even considered ‘managing to get out of bed and walk’ as being well.

Then how sick was Shiheng before?

The entire Lin family was gloomy. Uncle Lin was fine after a while, but Father and Mother Lin were still regretful.

They gradually began to recall that their son had mentioned countless times that he didn’t want to take the exam anymore and wanted to live as a Juren.

Their son once even said that he was very tired, but they did farm work every day and couldn’t see how sitting in the house and studying would be tiring.

So, while feeling that sense of regret all the way to the capital, they finally met their child in a modest residence.

***

Now that the weather in the capital wasn’t so cold, many people have already taken off their heavy clothes. Meanwhile, Lin Shiheng, who was afraid of the cold, was still wearing his coat. He was pale and gentle, coughing from time to time as he stood in front of the door. The small servant on the side was busily waiting on the side in case he needed any support.

It was as if he was sick and dying.

(TNote: emphasis on ‘as if’ lol…)

The carriage stopped, and the Lins got out one after another. Then, they saw the scene that made their hearts ache.

Lin Shiheng, whose face was so pale as if he was going to collapse in the next moment, coughed as he weakly walked towards them with the help of the servant boy beside him.

Mother Lin burst into tears on the spot and hugged her son.

“My son, if I had known that studying would ruin you, Mother would have listened to you!”

“What kind of official position, what kind of Tanhua, it’s not as important as you being healthy and well!”

Lin Shiheng coughed softly, feeling the last bit of the original owner in his body leave with contentment.

With a little smile on his face, he hugged his Mother.

“Mom, I’m fine. It’s just a little uncomfortable. I’ll be fine when I get well.”

So he said, but the Lin family didn’t quite believe it.

If nothing else, his pale face alone made it difficult for people to believe.

Although they didn’t understand why he seemed to have become more handsome even though he was so obviously sick.

Grandpa Lin refused Lin Shiheng’s proposal for them to settle down in the capital. After all, with him(Grandpa), the parents still there, the family wouldn’t separate.

He would take Father and Mother Lin back with him, wait until he and his wife passed away, then have his grandson bring their son and daughter-in-law to the capital to support them. At that time, he should have been an official for a long while already, and his money wouldn’t be as scarce as it was now.

They stayed until Lin Shiheng married the Princess.

Sitting on the high seat, watching His Majesty’s own daughter present themselves tea, Father and Mother Lin finally felt that it was real, that ‘my son actually married a princess’.

They were slightly concerned that the noble princess wouldn’t be able to get along well with their son. But on the second day, when they saw the two of them together, they saw affectionate gazes in their eyes. When they saw that once the Princess learned that their son was ill, she invited an imperial physician to make a diagnosis and give treatment, their hearts finally completely let go of their worry.

In the second month after Lin Shiheng and Shen Huyang got married, the Lin family set foot on their journey back.

Only this time, their carriage was much more extravagant, and there was more silver from Lin Shiheng in the box held by Grandpa Lin.

It was money from selling the hot pot base and was given by the shopkeeper from Zhao He’s house.

This money could buy them a few more shops while the rest would be enough for the Lin family to build a house and live a comfortable life.

***

Shen Huyang and Lin Shiheng went out of the capital to bid farewell to the Lin family. She looked at her Fuma, who was standing beside her still looking at the distant carriage, with tenderness.

“Fuma, don’t worry, the Ming County magistrate and Hu’an have started correspondence, he will take care of the in-laws and the others.”

Lin Shiheng retrieved his gaze and looked at Shen Huyang beside him with a shallow smile.

“Your Highness is handling things. I’m naturally relieved.”

Shen Huyang slightly flushed after seeing his smile and gently coughed. “The wind is strong, Fuma is in poor health. Let’s go back as soon as possible.”

These few days together could be said to be as Shen Huyang had hoped for since childhood.

Fuma was gentle and quiet, full of ideas, but not like a typical bookworm who only read books.

He would give her flowers he picked from the garden, would also paint her eyebrows very naturally after getting up early in the morning, and the two of them would stay in one place every day, such that even if they didn’t speak, their hearts were as sweet as if they had eaten honey.

(TNote: Painting a wife’s brows = the act of painting a wife’s brows came from a legend. The story remained a famous example of harmonious marriage in imperial China, that became a romantic thing that a husband could do for his wife every morning.)

What was most reassuring for Shen Huyang was that even her younger brother respected Fuma very much. Since she left the palace, Shen Hu’an has frequently visited the Princess’s residence to ask fuma for advice and knowledge. The warmth of them getting along with each other made her sweetly quirk her lips even in her dreams.

However, what worried her was that Fuma wasn’t in good health. Although he has never vomited blood, he would always lightly cough. Every time she looked at Fuma’s pale face as he looked back at her with a smile, she just couldn’t sit still from trying to find renowned physicians from all over the world to treat him.

But the physicians could only diagnose the weakness of his body, therefore, Shen Huyang specially invited a cook who can make medicinal meals for Fuma every day, then afraid that he was suffocating from always being in the house, every one and a half hours, she would drag him out for a walk together.

Originally, Shen Huyang thought of taking Fuma to ride and shoot archery. After all, now that winter has just passed, it was a good time to go for an outing, but Fuma was afraid of the cold. So she could only dismiss the idea, planning to wait until the weather was a little warmer before going out with him.

***

Shortly after they returned to the residence, Shen Hu’an arrived as expected.

Shen Huyang brought two bowls of nourishing soup for the body and felt her heart warm up at Fuma who was holding a book in front of him, whispering to her brother that he should memorize it silently.

Fuma was always so gentle.

She put down the soup, told her brother to study with Fuma, and went out to leave them alone.

In the room behind her, Lin Shiheng took a sip of soup, and his expression showed some satisfaction. Shen Hu’an couldn’t help but pause and reach for the soup.

A ruler was quietly placed in front of him.

Shen Hu’an looked at the ruler stiffly and silently withdrew his hand.

Bitterly enduring the fragrance that attracted his nose, he could only continue to memorize.

He would definitely become the Emperor.

When he becomes Emperor, let’s see who will still dare to hit his hands!