The Mountain Moon Shines on the Returning Boat

[Revising; updates temporarily slowed]

Yan Guizhou is transported into a confiscated student novel and becomes the younger brother of an early-deceased scum gong.

The original owner was a good-for-nothing who either bossed his family around or beat them up.

He was thoroughly wicked and despised by everyone. Then he accidentally tumbled off a cliff and died.

*

Thinking of what the original owner had done, Yan Guizhou had no defense. He planned to run away at once.

But seeing the impoverished family around him, he gritted his teeth and decided to farm and earn some money to help his sister-in-law before leaving.

So he reclaimed wasteland, grew vegetables, planted beans and flowers, fed pigs and raised dogs... He did it all, gradually becoming the village's new kind of "reformed convict."

Noticing everyone looking at him strangely, Yan Guizhou turned around guiltily.

Just then, his sister-in-law brought him a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat. It smelled faintly sweet, and she looked at him with nervous admiration.

Yan Guizhou snapped out of his daze: Get a grip! This is the ending of the whole story!

*

After repaying the original owner's debts of sin, he thought he could leave without a care. Little did he know that he had fallen in love.

Then, all at once, he saw Ruoning's red-rimmed eyes. "You're... leaving the village to take the imperial exams?"

Yan Guizhou tightened his bundle and gently reassured her. "Sister-in-law, since my older brother is dead, you're free. Let's part ways here..."

Ruoning held on to him reluctantly. "If I'm free, why can't you choose me again?"

*

After enduring countless hardships, the day he returned to his hometown, he was already an indispensable court official and a favorite of the emperor.

Yan Guizhou had not forgotten his vow. Carrying a full load of bridal gifts, he knelt before the family hall and asked, "The rice is in the granary, and I've sewn new cotton clothes. Sister-in-law, will you marry me again?"

Ruoning glanced at him with tearful eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "First, explain why the Prince Regent gave you his personal jade pendant."

[Behind-the-scenes bonus scene: Interview format]

Interviewer: Xiao Yuner

Audience: Villagers

Audience member, heckling: "Xiao Yan, I heard you've been secretly keeping your sister-in-law's old handkerchief?"

Yan Guizhou, shocked and blushing: "Who said that?! Who betrayed me?!"

Yuner, quietly edging away and hiding: "Meow?"

Ruoning, surprised and curious: "...Really? Which one?"

Yan Guizhou, pouting and resolutely pulling out a handkerchief washed nearly white: "...This one. I, I picked it up by accident. I washed it clean!" He muttered, "It even smells nice..."

Ruoning, eyes slightly moist, both embarrassed and angry: "You idiot! That's the rag I use to wipe ash off the stove!"

Yan Guizhou, petrified: "..."

Villagers: "Hahahaha..."

Reader's guide:

◆ One-on-one romance | farming and imperial exams | younger man | both virgins | redemption

◆ Upright, clear-headed career-minded gong x gentle, capable beauty shou

◆ Mutual devotion. The setting is fictional, with some original details. Read for fun; don't scrutinize the details.

Theme: Everyone is equal, and everyone deserves respect.