First heard of the selection show, the whole family returned to Beijing

  To be honest, being able to take charge and manage one's own life is really great!

  What excited Chen Lanqi the most was that her own children could call her "mother" now. When she heard the kids calling her "mother", she felt her heart melting.

  After formally becoming the head of the household, Chen Lanqi's first task was to arrange for some young servants to learn medical skills, miscellaneous studies, and martial arts, and assign them to her several sons. Although her own sons all had the support of their wives' families and profound martial arts skills, when it came to doing things, as the master, they couldn't possibly do everything personally, or else wouldn't they be exhausted to death?!

  Then, arrange a dozen or so maidservants to learn piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery, cooking, medicine, and martial arts. Assign them to accompany Ting'er and Daiyu (can't leave her out, after all, she still likes Daiyu in her heart). Wealth is external, power is fleeting. Nothing is more important than children!

  Having settled the safety issues of Lin Ruhai and the children, Chen Lanqi began to deal with the problems in the backyard. She wasn't afraid of any rumors or gossip, saying that new officials take office and make three fires. Some things can be delayed, but some things cannot be tolerated.

  Jia Min had always favored the reuse of those who came from the Jia family as dowry, and the old people of the Lin family were assigned to some idle positions. Usually with Jia Min's support, the servants of the Lin family did not dare to openly argue, but could only secretly compare, but they mostly lost more than won. Now that Jia Min is gone, the servants of the Lin family have taken the upper hand, and people on both sides are fighting extremely fiercely.

  Chen Lanqi was also uneasy about using them, so she sent the slaves brought by Jia Min to the farm and sold some of the problematic or thieving slaves, carefully sorting through them again and again.

  Lin Qingyu couldn't bear to see her mother so troubled, so she took out the "Life and Death Talisman" from the bookshelf to practice, and then taught it to her mother and brother Lin Ziqian. Only after giving the talismans to the servants in the mansion did she consider the matter settled. From now on, there was no need to worry about the servants betraying them, since their father's position was quite precarious.

  Of course, there are no personal maids like that. Lin Qingyu believed that her mother could completely control them. For this kind of personal service, if you want them to be loyal, it's not just about having means, but also having a charming personality.

  "Lin Auntie, time really flies! Qian Ge is 13 years old this year, and in two more years he'll be getting married!" Chen Lanxi sat on the imperial chair, embroidering clothes for Lin Ruhai while sighing. "We're all getting old!!"

  Next to them were An Yiniang and Lin Yiniang, as well as Qing Lanhua and Qing Yun, the senior maids. Embroidery was embroidered, fans were fanned!

  Lin's old lady left to Chen Lanqi, "Where is the old lady? Still so young, not a bit of age! Looks like she's only in her twenties!"

  "This is all thanks to my daughter's filial piety. I, on the other hand, have benefited from her goodness and become a happy old woman! Otherwise, how could I be living such a good life now?" Chen Lanxi touched her smooth face, full of happiness.

  Now the whole family practices martial arts, even some important confidants have learned martial arts. Those who are physically strong and healthy don't have to worry about their elderly masters passing away ten years earlier than themselves. With a loving husband and wife, filial children, and successful offspring, her life is simply perfect.

  "Yes! Even I, an old servant, have benefited from Miss Chen's presence and become healthier and younger!" An Dajie was one of Chen Lanxi's confidantes, not only had she learned martial arts, but also had access to medicinal waters that could aid in her cultivation (in reality, it was just ordinary health tonic mixed with spring water). She was now considered a second-rate master in the Wulin world. Of course, in this Qing dynasty, she was already a top-notch expert, mainly because the martial arts here were generally not very advanced.

  "Yes! Time flies so fast!" Lin's aunt was embroidering orchids on one side, and on the other side, she sighed with a face full of memories, "In three more years, the big girls will be selected for the imperial harem too!"

  "Draft show????" Chen Lanqi exclaimed in surprise, not caring about her image at all, grabbing Lin's hands and asking: "Lin, why does Qing'er still want to participate in the draft show???"

  "The Lin family's ancestors were among the earliest to surrender to the Manchu people and made significant contributions to the early development of the Qing dynasty. During the reign of Taizong, they were granted the surname Xilin Gioro and entered the Upper Three Banners under the direct rule of the Emperor." Lin's face was filled with pride as she mentioned her family's glory.

  "The marriage of a noble lady from the Eight Banners is always decided through selection by the Emperor himself. If it's an ordinary family without much influence, they might be able to use their connections or wealth to get a good match or even avoid the selection process altogether. But our master is a second-rank salt control official with real power and a high position, so I'm sure many families are eyeing us, wanting to form an alliance through marriage - it's unavoidable."

  Chen Lanxi couldn't care less, jumped up from the noble chair, with a dark face and brought Qinglan and Qingyun along, walking towards Lin Ruhai's study. They were all in a hurry, didn't even wait for the servant to report, directly pushed open the door and rushed in. Rushing towards Lin Ruhai who was reading at his desk, asked: "Master, Qinger is going to select concubines, why didn't you remind me?????"

  Chen Lanqi was so angry that she couldn't bear it. Her darling daughter wanted to participate in a beauty pageant, and if Lin Auntie hadn't mentioned it today, she wouldn't have even known about such an important matter! What a dereliction of duty!!!

  In fact, her mother and Old Lady Lin were distant cousins. Before she passed away, she entrusted her to the old lady. She stayed in the temple for three years to mourn her mother, then accompanied the old lady at the Lin's residence for a period of time before marrying Lin Hai as his concubine with the old lady's support.

  She was actually unwilling to be a concubine, but she had no relatives to arrange her marriage. The two of them were taken care of by the old lady for so long, and the old lady wanted grandchildren but couldn't have any, so she agreed to marry in return.

  After that, she was busy serving the old lady, the old master and the mistress, then got pregnant and gave birth to a child. She had never inquired about the Lin family, so she didn't know that the Lin family were actually Manchu people. Of course, since the Lin family had lived in Jiangnan for a long time, their living habits had become very Hanized, which was also related.

  " Audition??" Lin Ruhai looked up at his furious wife, bewildered. "What audition??"

  The head of this family has no idea what's going on with this matter.

  After thinking for half a day, Lin Ruhai slapped his forehead, "Oh no! I actually forgot such an important thing, it's all my fault...my fault..."

  "Y-y-you..." Chen Lanqi was so angry she didn't know what to say.

  "Cough...cough..." Lin Ruhai looked at Chen Lanxi with a apologetic face, his ears turned red, and he coughed again: "The Lin family has been single-handedly passed down for five generations, and there have never been any girls born, so I didn't even think about the possibility of selecting a daughter-in-law. This...this..."

  Two people stood facing each other in silence!

  Lin Ruhai considered the matter of his children and consulted with Chen Lanqi, then handed in a letter.

  He has been in the position of touring salt censor for almost ten years, and it's time to let someone else take over and change positions. He is requesting to return to Beijing. Of course, this was said very euphemistically, but at the emperor's level, there's no need to worry that his meaning won't be conveyed.

  Kangxi read the memorial and thought it was reasonable. Lin Ruhai had increased the national treasury by 20% during his tenure, so he was appointed as a second-grade scholar in the Imperial Academy and ordered to return to Beijing. Although it was a second-grade position, after all, it was an official position in the capital, not comparable to local officials.

  After receiving the imperial edict, Lin's residence entered a new round of hustle and bustle.

  Lin Ruhai was busy with the handover with the people sent by the imperial court and also had to bid farewell to old friends in official circles and some acquaintances.

  Chen Lanqi had already sent Lin Guanshi to the Lin family's ancestral home in Beijing to collect and move back to Beijing, so it would be convenient to live there. Although someone was assigned to take care of the house, it had been a long time since anyone lived there, and many things needed to be rearranged. Additionally, she was busy with arranging for personnel from the mansion to go to Beijing and managing the Lin family's properties in Hangzhou.

  Lin Ziqian was busy packing up his treasured books, and he couldn't fall behind on his daily homework and martial arts practice. He also had to make time to go out and bid farewell to some close friends, and his schedule for the day was packed full.

  Lin Qingyu was clearly very idle, handing over the task of receiving guests to her four senior maids. She herself led a group of second-class maids in the kitchen to study pastries and recipes, and after they were done, she tasted them with San Zhongsheng and Lin Daiyu, chatting and passing the time in leisure.

  The time to return to Beijing arrived amidst everyone's busyness, Lin Ruhai took his family and servants onto the ship returning to Beijing, with over a dozen ships in total, sailing north along the Grand Canal.