Yue Rujing chuckled, "If you can’t guess, let it be; I won’t tell you anyway."
Having said that, he saw several farmers in the field harvesting rice and started to walk toward them, swaying and singing a strange tune.
Gu Youyou mentioned wanting to make a new type of pastry, the main ingredient being wheat flour, and he remembered that.
Those farmers were from Miss Du’s estate, and they were collecting fresh ears of wheat.
"Hey, I’m asking you because I can’t guess. Wait for me..."
Xie Qinyun chased after him.
On the other side, Lin Qianqing was also curiously questioning Jin Zijin.
"You are the eldest senior brother of Tianzong, and I hear you’re to run for the next State Preceptor, so why with my cousin... Don’t hurry to deny it, I’ve seen it. Your relationship with my cousin isn’t simply because the Princely Heir Yu introduced you. Your relationship with her is... it’s better than hers with the Princely Heir Yu."
Lin Qianqing said with certainty.
Jin Zijin replied indifferently, "So what if it is?"
Lin Qianqing gasped, looking at Jin Zijin, whose appearance was ordinary under his disguise, and couldn’t help but recall his true visage.
Raiment white as snow, warm sun of March.
If it were indeed as she thought, she would admit that her cousin had good taste. Yet this man was the eldest senior brother of Tianzong, not her cousin’s rightful husband.
Her cousin was of age and yet unmarried; if she were to be delayed by this man for a lifetime, it would be an unfortunate bargain.
Considering, she added, "I remember that a State Preceptor cannot take a wife. Even if one doesn’t become the State Preceptor, as the heir of the Tianzong sect leader, one also cannot marry. Please don’t bring harm upon my cousin; my mother is currently seeking a good match for her."
Jin Zijin found Gu Youyou’s cousin somewhat amusing, no wonder Youyou liked her.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you referring to that illegitimate child of the Hu family?"
Lin Qianqing’s heart skipped a beat, and she exclaimed, "How... how do you know that?"
Jin Zijin said, "There is nothing about your family I am not aware of." With that, he also turned and walked toward the wheat field.
Lin Qianqing stood there stunned, pondering over Jin Zijin’s recent words.
’There is nothing about your family I am not aware of.’
What was he planning? Why should he know anything about the Lin family’s affairs?
On Gu Youyou’s side, Miss Du finally had a change of heart.
Sitting under a tall willow tree, feeling the light breeze in the courtyard, the scorching weather turned somewhat cooler.
Miss Du lifted her eyes to Gu Youyou; her voice was as soft as the wind, as cool as water.
"Miss Gu, you’re right. Compared to the imminent loss of the embroidery inheritance, what’s the harm in breaking tradition and passing it to an outsider? In this lifetime, it’s unlikely for me to marry again, how can I pass on this skill? It seems that taking on a disciple is the only way."
Although Miss Du had come around, Gu Youyou did not rejoice but instead sighed lightly.
Miss Du was merely twenty-one or twenty-two, at the prime of her life, yet due to society’s unfairness to women, she might indeed never marry.
Of course, an ordinary man willing to take a widow as his wife is far from worthy of Miss Du.
In the midst of their conversation, those who had gone to collect the wheat ears had returned.
They carried baskets and sickles for reaping wheat, returning fully laden.
Gu Youyou smiled, stood up, and took the basket from Lin Qianqing’s hand, "Take this to have the flour milled."
Miss Du smiled and said, "Miss Gu, you might not know, but freshly picked wheat ears cannot be directly ground into wheat kernels."
"Oh? So how is it done?" Gu Youyou asked curiously.
She knew much about the processing of natural medicinal materials but knew little about grains.