Upon hearing Zhao Qinghuan's comforting words, Ye Tian shook his head and said, "Not necessarily."
He had been wondering earlier: even if his father-in-law had recently been promoted, the original owner was still a man of potential, having earned the title of Little Three Premiers at such a young age. Besides, for the two families to have arranged a marriage in the first place, there must have been some profound connection between them.
Why, then, had he been barred from entering the estate and had his betrothal document forcibly snatched away to annul the engagement? It turned out that the original owner had lost his wits... which explained why things had ended up this way.
Furthermore, he had always felt that the original owner's memories were deeply flawed and riddled with oddities, but because the fragments were so scarce and he had never considered this angle, he had missed the obvious explanation.
Now, hearing Zhao Qinghuan's explanation, everything finally fell into place.
The truth was that the original owner had indeed been simple-minded for a period, yet he had managed to cling to his identity as a Little Three Premiers and the fact that he had a fiancée waiting for him in Luoyang City. Beyond that, all his other memories had dissolved into chaos.
"This... Master Ye, please don't blame Wan'er. She didn't mean to drag you here and bring this up; it was all my fault for being too curious, so..."
Across from him, upon hearing Ye Tian's words and catching the absent-minded look on his face, Zhao Qinghuan assumed she had gone too far and triggered painful memories for him. She hurriedly rushed to offer an explanation.
"It's fine. I assume you both heard about what happened yesterday anyway. I'm actually doing all right. Since the engagement is canceled, it's canceled. Frankly, I'm quite content being on my own," Ye Tian said, cutting Zhao Qinghuan off.
He wasn't a fool; he could easily tell whether the two young ladies were deliberately waiting to laugh at his expense or simply trying to get to the bottom of the matter.
To be fair, he was genuinely grateful to Lin Wan and Zhao Qinghuan. If they hadn't brought it up today, he probably would have been kept in the dark for a long time to come.
At the very least, he now understood the sequence of events, which would allow him to navigate his new life much better.
"Master Ye, are you really not angry?" Zhao Qinghuan asked, looking somewhat uncertain.
Although Lin Wan remained silent beside her, her expression was visibly taut with tension, and her heart fluttered with anxiety, terrified that Ye Tian might flip out on them over this.
"To say I'm not angry at all would probably be a lie. How about the two of you treat me to lunch today? Consider it an apology," Ye Tian said with a smile.
Hearing this, Zhao Qinghuan and Lin Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief, certain that Ye Tian held no grudge against them.
"Don't you worry, Master Ye. You can eat your fill today, and you are welcome to come back tomorrow or the day after whenever you like," Lin Wan promised instantly.
"Tomorrow and the day after won't be necessary; I'm afraid I'd eat you out of house and home. But could you tell me a bit more about my relationship with... what's-her-name? To be frank, a lot of things escape me these days, which is why I didn't even recognize the Bright Moon Pavilion yesterday," Ye Tian said.
Now that he finally had someone who could shed light on his past, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to piece everything together—especially what official rank his former father-in-law held and who his enemies might be...
He didn't expect Lin Wan and Zhao Qinghuan to supply him with every last detail, but the more he knew, the better off he would be.
After all, matters had reached this stage. Even though he was no longer muddle-headed, there was zero chance he would ever go knocking on their door to enforce the betrothal contract. Besides, after an incident like this, the other side would never consent to letting him become their son-in-law anyway. If they weren't friends, they were bound to be enemies.
Even though the humiliation in the past had been inflicted upon the original owner rather than himself, he was now inhabiting this body. Humiliating the original owner was tantamount to humiliating him. Exacting vengeance for the original owner was not only fulfilling a final wish before death, but also eliminating a hidden hazard for his own future.
Regarding Ye Tian's questions, Zhao Qinghuan held nothing back, sharing everything she knew about the affair.
After mental sorting by Ye Tian, the situation boiled down to this: the Ye family and the Sun family had a childhood engagement. However, while Ye Tian's father had failed the imperial examinations year after year, Sun Qian had passed the exams and sailed smoothly through his career, eventually climbing to the position of Vice Minister of Works.
Last year, when Ye Tian participated in the county examinations in Jiangnan, he swept all three rounds straight, instantly becoming a local sensation and causing quite a stir in the Capital.
A significant reason why Sun Qian had been able to rise to the post of Vice Minister of Works was precisely because his prospective son-in-law was so young and brilliant, making him a likely pillar of the imperial court in the future.
Although that future was still a ways off, Sun Qian was already a candidate for the position, and with such a formidable prospective son-in-law, handing him that post could be viewed as an early investment.
Because of this, Sun Qian had even rejected a marriage proposal from the Marquis of Ningyuan's Qin Family around that time, which had caused quite a reaction. But then, not long ago, news had broken out.
Sun Qian's prospective son-in-law, Ye Tian, had encountered bandits halfway to the Capital. Although he had miraculously survived, he had lost his mind, wandering around and telling everyone he met that he was a Xiucai who had passed the Little Three Premiers, and that his father-in-law was a high-ranking official in the Capital.
Consequently, Sun Qian had recently leaked word that the betrothal between the Sun and Ye families had been annulled long ago, and that his daughter was now engaged to the grandson of the Marquis of Dingyuan.
Thus, when Ye Tian showed up at their doorstep yesterday, Sun Qian had simply ordered his men to snatch the betrothal document, give him a beating, and throw him out.
"Ah, no wonder the original owner wanted to drown himself in the river—he was completely out of options," Ye Tian sighed inwardly.
He didn't have an ounce of goodwill left for this Sun Qian, and as for that so-called Marquis of Dingyuan, he was clearly cut from the same cloth.
Knowing full well that Sun Qian's daughter was betrothed to him, the Marquis had still permitted his own grandson to swoop in and hook up with her. They were simply bullying the Ye family because only Ye Tian was left and he had lost his wits. If Ye Tian had possessed even a shred of backing, they wouldn't have dared even whisper a word of it.
"Don't be upset, Master Ye. To be honest, I never told you this, but Sun Yan and I used to be close friends. However, she was always stirring up trouble and loved gossiping behind people's backs, so we eventually turned into enemies. Of course, I'm not saying bad things about her just because of that; she truly isn't a good person. So not marrying her might actually be a blessing in disguise for you, Master Ye," Lin Wan gently advised from the side.
"Rest assured, Miss Lin, I understand what you mean," Ye Tian said with a smile.
His favorable impression of Lin Wan notched up a few more points. Perhaps this was the heavens compensating him, letting him cross paths with such a kind-hearted soul right as he arrived in this world. Zhao Qinghuan had also left him with a very favorable impression; through their brief exchange just now, he felt much closer to both of them.
Before long, noon arrived.
True to her word, Lin Wan treated Ye Tian to a lavish feast, though this meal inadvertently brought Ye Tian a piece of bad news.
Stir-frying was already a common cooking method in this world, which meant his prior scheme of making a fortune off stir-fried dishes was dead in the water.
However, he had also learned that Lin Wan's father was Lin Sheng, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. With such a well-connected friend by his side, he could perhaps brainstorm some better ways to make money.
After all, in terms of status, both the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review and the Vice Minister of Works of Da Qian held third-rank official posts, but in terms of real political leverage, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review wielded considerably more power.
Therefore, if he could establish a good relationship with him, Sun Qian would certainly think twice before continuing to target him.