Chapter 9

  Lin Ruhai has been busy with social events and his upcoming wedding, so he's been running around non-stop for days. His originally slender figure now looks even thinner.

  Every time she returns to the mansion, she makes her mother, Lady Lin, heartbroken. She grabs Lin Ruhai's hand and exclaims: "Poor child!"

  Mrs. Lin and Old Master Lin originally lived in the old Lin family mansion in Suzhou, but this time they came to Beijing because of Lin Ruhai being granted a marriage by the Emperor.

  In the backyard of Lin's mansion, Mrs. Lin and Mr. Lin were discussing their son's marriage.

  "Old Master."

  Mrs. Lin is already forty-two, but she has taken good care of herself; her husband dotes on her and her son is filial, except that she often misses her youngest daughter who is not by her side; almost everything goes smoothly for her, except for a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes; just looking at her face, you can't tell that Mrs. Lin is already forty-two.

  No matter who it was, the first time they saw Mrs. Lin dressed in a elegant and refined manner; They would absolutely think that this woman was only in her early thirties, sitting opposite her was a middle-aged scholar; He was a middle-aged handsome man wearing a blue shirt, exuding a scholarly air everywhere, this was Lin Ruhai's father - Old Master Lin!

  No wonder Lin Ruolan grew up like this, the emotional genes inherited from her family are too excellent!

  Mr. Lin has been married to Mrs. Lin for decades, and as soon as his wife opens her mouth; how can Mr. Lin not understand what his wife wants to say?

  "Madam, are you worried about Miss Jia from the Rongguo household who is about to enter our Lin family?" Mr. Lin put down his teacup and smiled slightly.

  Mrs. Lin glared at her husband with a scowl: "Sir, it's amazing you can still smile; the reputation of the Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue families, sir, isn't something you haven't heard before."

  Madam Lin said with a worried face: "I'm afraid that if Miss Jia really enters our Lin family's door, she will bring disaster to the house."

  Master Lin has never been very concerned with rumors and gossip, plus this backyard was originally a place where gossip thrived; in this capital city, whose wife wouldn't gossip a few sentences; just talking about the source of this news being well-informed, Master Lin is far inferior to his own wife.

  "Madam, what's going on? I recall that the education in Mr. Jia's household seems to be quite good. Did you hear some unpleasant rumors outside?"

  Mr. Lin and his wife, Mrs. Lin, have been married for decades, and he knows that his wife is not the kind of person who would make groundless accusations; since she said so, there must be some reason behind it that he doesn't know about.

  "Old master, these four big families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue are all interrelated by marriage; they have always been connected in such a way that if one family is affected, the other three will be too."

  Mrs. Lin thought about the things she had heard over the past few days and couldn't help but furrow her brow: "Sir, to say it or not? Which of these aristocratic families doesn't have some dirty secrets, with masters and servants by the dozen; hiding filth and sheltering evil is unavoidable, but none are as unscrupulous as this Jia family."

  "Didn't Madam hear something?" Old Master Lin's heart suddenly stirred.

  "You probably don't know, old man?"

  Mrs. Lin told Mr. Lin all the news she had heard from various ladies in recent days; finally, Mrs. Lin added: "It is said that the Jia family is a household that attaches great importance to etiquette, but how come Mr. Jia has passed away for several years? Obviously, the one who inherited the title was the eldest master of the mansion, Jia She, but the one living in Ronggui Hall in the mansion is actually the second master, Jia Zheng."

  Madam Lin picked up her tea and took a sip, moistening her slightly parched throat. She continued, "Husband, I've never heard of this before; the eldest son who inherited the title lives in a side courtyard, while the second son who didn't inherit the title lives in the main house's front courtyard. It's clear that this household has no rules to begin with, yet they keep talking about rules all day long. Isn't it laughable?"

  Mrs. Lin's smile suddenly disappeared, and she said with a hint of concern: "Master, I'm worried that Jia Min is just like her unreliable mother and brothers; someone who can't tell right from wrong, and when the time comes...".

  Mr. Lin comforted his wife, saying: "Madam, you don't have to worry too much; our Hai'er is not a person without a plan. Since we can both find out about these things, Hai'er should also know by now."

  Mr. Lin was very familiar with his only son, who was absolutely a master of dark belly; if there was anyone in this world who could control him, it should be his little daughter who had been taken to the fairy mountain since childhood.

  "Old master, you said it was unprovoked; how could the Emperor suddenly grant a marriage to Hai'er?" Madam Lin also couldn't understand the Emperor's decision to grant a marriage.

  Lin Ruhai is the Tanhua Lang of this year's imperial examination, but above him are the Zhuangyuan and the Banger. According to the news obtained by Mrs. Lin, it is said that the Zhuangyuan and the Banger of this year's imperial examination are also young and handsome men with outstanding talents; they are all elegant young scholars.

  If this old man values talent, he should have granted marriage to both the zhuangyuan and the bangyan; it doesn't make sense that only his own Hai'er was granted marriage.

  Mr. Lin was amused by his wife's question: "My lady, I am not a tapeworm in the belly of the present emperor; this is a question that I cannot answer."

  "Master, madam." Bai Ju, the senior maid who had been attending to Madame Lin, lifted the door curtain and walked in, curtsying slightly as she said: "The young master has arrived, he's waiting outside at the moment."

  "You let him in, then." Old Master Lin put down his teacup and nodded slightly.

  "Yes, sir!" Bai Zhi bowed and quietly withdrew.

  Before long, the door curtain was lifted again, and a young man walked in from outside. The man in front of him was elegant, like a person walking out of a painting, with beautiful and refined features; although slightly bookish, he was by no means pedantic, and his eyes were even more spirited and clear; as if he could see through people's hearts at a glance.

  Tall and slender, wearing a purple Confucian robe with elegant bamboo leaf patterns on the snow-white hem; jet-black hair adorned with only one sheep's fat hairpin, standing quietly there like that; just like a fine splashed ink landscape painting, making it impossible to look away.

  The handsome young man in front of him was this year's Jinke Flower Gentleman - Lin Ruhai!

  "Children greet their parents!" Lin Ruhai bowed and paid his respects to his own parents.

  The Lin family, although a noble and aristocratic clan, had always been sparse in population; the descendants of each generation were not prosperous, and Lin Ruhai's father was the only one to pass on the lineage for three generations. It wasn't until Lin Ruhai's generation that Lady Lin finally gave birth to a precious son when Lin Ruhai was thirteen years old, breaking the curse of the Lin family's fourth generation being the only heir.

  The Lin family generally wouldn't address their own parents as "old master" and "madam" when paying respects; that's too presumptuous.

  Mrs. Lin pulled up Lin Ruhai and couldn't help but glare at her own son, saying: "You child, I've told you many times; we're family, no need to be so polite, yet every time you treat my words as nothing."

  Lin Ruhai smiled warmly at her mother: "Mother dear, I have some wonderful news; would you like to hear it?"

  In this capital city, everyone only knows that the current Flower Lord is a talented and handsome man; not to mention his exceptional talent and warm personality. Who would have thought? Lin Ruhai's smile never reached his eyes except when he was in front of his parents and sister at home; outside, the smile on Lin Ruhai's face had never reached his eyes.

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