After Breaking Off the Engagement and Marrying a Scholar

Lin Yue is the famously handsome young man of marriageable age for miles around. He is outgoing and a good cook, and the suitors who come calling could line up from one end of the village to the other. His parents carefully chose a match for him, but their luck was poor: they picked someone who backed out at the last minute.

Though Lin Yue seemed quiet, he was actually fiery-tempered. He immediately cursed the whole family out of his house.

He might not have suffered any obvious loss, but his reputation was still affected.

Everyone in the village thought that after this, it would be hard for Lin Yue to find a good match. Lin Yue himself prepared for his marriage prospects to go badly.

But the very next day, a new matchmaker came to his door, speaking on behalf of a suitor: "If Shen Huaizhi could win such a fine match, it would be the greatest good fortune of three lifetimes!"

Lin Yue: "!!!"

Was this person proposing at a time like this because he wanted to do a good deed?

What a good person!

[The Groom's Point of View]

When Shen Huaizhi was studying at the village school, he had developed a fondness for Lin Yue, the young man from the Lin family next door. Knowing his own family was poor, he felt he shouldn't hold anyone back, so he buried his feelings deep in his heart without showing a trace of them.

But when Lin Yue's marriage plans went awry, Shen Huaizhi decisively hired a matchmaker to visit the Lin family. He didn't expect to win Lin Yue's hand. He only hoped to restore Lin Yue's reputation and spare him further trouble.

He never dreamed the Lin family would agree.

Shen Huaizhi: "!!"

*

It wasn't until long after they were married that Lin Yue slowly realized how Shen Huaizhi felt. Before he knew it, he had fallen for Shen Huaizhi too.

Afterward, the two walked side by side, listening to cicadas sing in early summer, working through the late-autumn harvest, admiring snow in the depths of winter, and watching plants sprout in spring. As the seasons turned, the affection between husband and husband grew ever deeper.

Three meals a day, tea and food, fruits in every season. They planted vegetables and flowers in front of and behind their home.

A shop and a village school.

From a few tiled-roof cottages in their village to a modest courtyard in the prefectural city, Lin Yue and Shen Huaizhi lived a lively, happy life together.

[Reading Notes]

1. The story has both characters' perspectives. The groom has relatively few scenes early on and is mostly in the background. His role increases around Chapter 60, and they confess their feelings around Chapter 100. Please don't read if this bothers you. Thank you.

2. No golden finger, no sudden riches. A cozy slice-of-life story about ordinary people, food, and daily life.

3. They have a child near the end.

4. The main focus is farming and daily life. There is no court politics, and the imperial exam content is limited.

Theme: Face difficulties head-on and build a prosperous life