Late March, late spring, at the Wen Residence, under a peach tree.
A young woman in a pale pink dress stood with her apricot-shaped eyes slightly reddened. Twisting a handkerchief in her hands, she gazed up at the man before her—her fiancé by betrothal.
Wen Shiqing, the New Top Scholar and now the Palace Censor.
He was dressed in white, his figure tall and slender. The moon-white, wide sleeves of his robe billowed in the breeze, making him look like an ethereal immortal. His peach-blossom eyes, though seemingly smiling with affection, were actually cold. "If this is about the marriage contract, I think it is best we let it go."
At these words, Lu Xuechi’s fingertips trembled, and the handkerchief nearly slipped from her grasp. Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she asked, "Why? This betrothal was arranged by our parents while they were still alive. Now that you have placed first in the imperial examinations, you wish to break our engagement?"
A spring breeze brushed her face, leaving a few pink petals on her shoulders, which only made her look more pitiable.
Wen Shiqing frowned slightly. A trace of reluctance flickered across her expression but was quickly hidden, her tone remaining indifferent. "I am very sorry for this matter. You may say whatever you like about me to others, but... the marriage contract must be set aside."
Lu Xuechi’s eyes grew even redder, tears swirling within them. "Do you have someone else in your heart? Is it some high official’s daughter?"
Wen Shiqing shook her head. "This has nothing to do with anyone else. It is my own decision."
"If that is the case, when my mother and I came to the Capital to find you a while ago, why did you bother to take us in?" Lu Xuechi’s voice trembled with a sense of grievance. "If you were truly heartless back then, you could have just turned us away at the door, and it would have been a clean break."
In truth, when her mother had dragged her to the Capital to find Wen Shiqing, she herself had been reluctant. Back in Liangzhou, Wen Shiqing had rarely gone out, and they had not seen much of each other. But after coming to the Capital and spending several days with him, she realized he was humble, polite, and as gentle as jade—quite different from other men. She had begun to harbor expectations for him, and those expectations had evolved into an indescribable affection. The care he had shown her during this time made her feel grateful that they were betrothed after all.
Today, her mother had sent her to speak to Wen Shiqing about the wedding, but she never expected that the man who had been smiling as he showed her the flowers just moments ago would react so strongly.
Wen Shiqing avoided her burning gaze and coughed lightly. "The Wen family and the Lu family were old acquaintances, after all. I was merely honoring the ties between our two families and doing what was expected."
"And now that you want to break the engagement, do you no longer value those years of friendship?" Lu Xuechi gave a bleak smile. "I am the only one left in the Lu family with my mother, and her health is failing. Her only wish is to see me married to you. Lord Wen, now that you are the Top Scholar, have you discarded even your integrity? Are you to become one of those heartless, fickle scholars?"
Lu Xuechi’s voice rose, filled with accusation, echoing beneath the peach tree.
Wen Shiqing’s face turned pale and then flushed red. She clenched her fists, wanting to refute, but found herself speechless. After a long moment, she braced herself and said, "I have not, but if that is how you choose to see it, I cannot stop you. Just consider me the one who failed you."
Wen Shiqing took a deep breath. "Miss Lu, your mother only wishes for you to have someone to rely on. If you are willing, you may become my cousin from this day on, and I will find you a suitable match."
Lu Xuechi stared in disbelief, as if she had heard something absurd, and large tears began to stream down her face. "Lord Wen, you never intended to marry me at all, did you?"
Wen Shiqing lowered her eyelids, hesitated for a few seconds, and then nodded.
"Lord Wen, first you break the engagement, then you offer charity—should my Lu family be thanking you?" Lu Xuechi’s voice trembled, her gaze piercing straight at Wen Shiqing. "What if I refuse? I will not cancel this betrothal."
Wen Shiqing’s brows knitted together instantly, a flicker of helplessness appearing in her peach-blossom eyes. "Miss Lu, a marriage cannot be forced. This contract must be dissolved, regardless."
Just then, footsteps approached from afar. Lu Xuechi’s mother was hurrying toward them. She was already frail, and now her face was deathly pale as she gasped for air.
"Xuechi, what is the matter?" Her mother asked, full of anxiety, her gaze darting between Lu Xuechi and Wen Shiqing.
Seeing this, Wen Shiqing bowed in farewell to give them space. "I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."
With that, she turned and walked away briskly, her retreating figure bearing the air of someone fleeing. She truly wanted to escape—no, to be precise, *she* truly wanted to escape. She had made the beautiful young lady cry; it was truly wretched.
Wen Shiqing had never imagined she would end up as the "heartless scholar" who broke his engagement after placing first in the exams. She had never even heard of this marriage contract; it was said that her mother and the Lu family had been close back in Liangzhou. Her mother and Lady Lu had been pregnant around the same time and had agreed that if one had a boy and the other a girl, they would be betrothed.
But she... she was a woman. She was just pretending to be a man.
Wen Shiqing had not expected that breaking this engagement would be such a nuisance. She should have just been heartless from the start, truly playing the part of the fickle scholar. But... Lu Xuechi had done nothing wrong, and she simply could not bear to see the young lady cry.
*Sigh.*
She had thought that transmigrating into a Top Scholar disguised as a man meant her life was set—she had a position, a salary—so how could she have ended up with a marriage contract as well?
Wen Shiqing sat in the study, putting on a show of focus with an ancient text on the desk, but her mind was elsewhere. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes unfocused, her memories flickering through her mind like a lantern.
To protect her father’s estate, her mother had announced from the moment of her birth that she was a boy. From childhood, her path had been carved out as a man’s—attending school and taking the imperial examinations. She had lived up to their hopes, and even exceeded all expectations. At nineteen, before she had even reached adulthood, she had topped the lists and become the brilliant Top Scholar.
On the day of the victory procession, the entire Capital had emptied out; the spectacle was unmatched. Wen Shiqing had been dressed in a bright red robe, wearing gold flowers, riding a tall horse, and looking full of vigor as she traversed Xuanwu Avenue. Her appearance was brilliant and flamboyant, beautiful in a way that defied gender. Her peach-blossom eyes looked at everyone with deep, unsolvable affection, and the red tear mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of allure. She had caused the women on the streets to blush, some even daring to secretly throw handkerchiefs and sachets at her. The youth’s posture was upright, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, her gaze enchanting countless hearts.
But this youth... the young woman had been careless, falling from her horse. When she woke up, the person within had changed.
Even now, Wen Shiqing remembered the shock of that moment. She had been rock climbing and made a mistake; it had taken her days to finally accept the truth that she had transmigrated. And into a Top Scholar disguised as a man, no less.
During her recovery, the imperial decree had arrived. The brilliant Top Scholar was to enter the government. She had been nervous and afraid—she wasn't a real man, and if her secret were exposed, it would be a capital crime involving the death of her entire clan. But she had no choice; she had arrived a bit late, and serving in the government was a foregone conclusion.
However, her fear hadn't lasted long. After she had tremblingly and cautiously gone to work for a month—after one month of morning court sessions—she discovered something.