Chapter 7: Lin Ruhai's Serious Illness Entrusts Orphan (Part 2)

  Lin Ruhai saw off the crowd, and Jia Xian also returned to his own guest room in a huff. Daiyu had already sent Xueyan to the front yard to gather news, and soon saw her father and Zhiyuan return to the rear mansion. Daiyu hurriedly went forward to support her father: "Father, can your body still hold on?"

  "Cough, cough, Yu'er, don't worry, Father is fine. Bai Niang and Qian Niang, you've called a few stewards and brought some servants to wait in the courtyard, I have something to instruct you." The two niangs looked at each other and responded in unison before leaving. Before long, the backyard was filled with people standing quietly, the servants not daring to make a loud noise, only bowing their heads. On the left were several respectable stewards standing behind Lin Dehuai, followed by a group of young male servants, on the right Bai Niang and Qian Niang led the maids and servant girls standing quietly. Occasionally, someone who tried to whisper was glared at fiercely by a few older servant women.

  Lin Ruhai sat on the chair under the corridor, with Zhiyuan and Daiyu standing on either side. Although they were dressed in simple clothes, they were a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, attracting attention. "Today I called everyone here to tell you something. Some of you may already know that my nephew Zhiyuan will take over the family business from me. From now on, just call him Young Master Lin. Ah, ah, my body is not well, so from now on, Young Master will be in charge of the household. If any of you can't satisfy Young Master, just dismiss them directly, I won't interfere. My nephew and I have discussed it, and when he brings his wife back to Suzhou, those who want to follow can go together, and those who want to return home, I will give you silver and money as a token of my appreciation. The few managers are all old followers of mine, ah, ah, don't deceive Young Master and Miss. The two madams have also followed me for many years, and in the future, if they remarry, I will also give them a generous gift. Ah, ah, ah, that's it, you can all disperse now, do what you need to do!"

  The servants in the Lin mansion gradually dispersed, and Lin Ruhai only entered the inner room with Zhiyuan and Daiyu. He lay on the bed and couldn't get up again. "Zhiyuan, now... cough, cough, there are only three of us left here. Second Brother has something to say, just speak directly, I know that my mother was a bit overboard towards your father back then, but I still hope you can... cough, cough, treat your sister well."

  Zhiyuan hastily kowtowed in front of Lin Ruhai's sickbed, "Second Uncle, I, Lin Zhiyuan, swear to heaven that I will protect Daiyu sister for a lifetime. Although I was young at the time, I also know that Second Uncle did not treat my father unfairly. My mother often told me that if it weren't for Second Uncle, she and I would have been bullied by bad people long ago. She always reminded me to be grateful to you. Although I dare not say that I don't have any resentment towards the first wife's mother, but the matters of the previous generation will definitely not be implicated on my sister. Now, I'm afraid that only Second Uncle's family is our closest relative."

  Zaiyan saw Daiyu wiping away tears on one side, so he kindly advised: "Sister don't cry, I'm a man, and at home there's no older female relative to take care of me. In the future, we'll often be together, if you have any troubles, just tell your brother, even if it means risking my life, I absolutely cannot let sister suffer in the slightest."

  Lin Ruhai nodded in satisfaction after hearing this, "You can have such thoughts, it's clear that I didn't misjudge you."

  Zhiyuan knew that Erbo's greatest concern was his sister, so he said: "Uncle's thoughts are clear to me. What you worry about most is your sister. Uncle, please be at ease. I swear to you, in front of you, I will definitely find a good family for my sister. If she doesn't get married, I won't either. If I break this oath, may the gods and humans condemn me, and may heaven and earth destroy me."

  That night, Lin Ruhai slept more soundly than any other day. The next morning, she surprisingly ate more than half a bowl of porridge and her complexion looked good. When speaking, she coughed much less. Zhiyuan and Daiyu knew that this was what people called "a brief recovery before death". Daiyu wanted to cry but was afraid of worrying her father, so she could only hold back her tears. That night, Lin Ruhai called her daughter, nephew, and Jia Yu to her bedside and instructed them carefully: "I'm about to leave now, to find your mother."

  Daiyu, Bai Yiniang, Qian Yiniang and others burst into tears at the sight. "Don't cry, Yu'er. Your father is both happy and reluctant to part with you. You will soon see your mother. Jinyu, I have already petitioned for an imperial decree, and the Emperor must have dispatched a new Imperial Inspector to take over here. This mansion is an official residence, and if that person is kind, he will surely ask you to stay here to observe the seven-day mourning period for me. If he drives you out, don't argue with him, just take your sister back home, and don't worry about my affairs."

  Lin Ruhai had finished saying these words, and with no more regrets, he closed his eyes forever. As soon as the news of Lin's passing was announced, everyone in the mansion, from top to bottom, wept bitterly, wore mourning clothes, and went about their duties, but surprisingly, there was no great chaos.

  Daiyu fainted several times, and Bai Yiniang and Qian Yiniang endured their grief to comfort her. Zhiyuan had handled his mother's funeral a few years ago and was also calm and composed. This time, he brought several capable assistants from Suzhou, who were busy with the funeral arrangements inside and out, but still found time to care for Daiyu.

  On the second day, early in the morning, the mourning hall was set up, and Lin Ruhai's old friends came to pay their respects. They all say that when a person leaves, the tea becomes cold, and everyone in this Jiangnan official circle knows that Lin Ruhai has no descendants, so this household is finished. Those who were close to him came to visit, while those small-minded people who only knew how to flatter and fawn on others didn't even show their faces, all going instead to curry favor with the newly arrived Imperial Censor.

  Lin Zhiyuan didn't blame those people, it's just the way of the world, and human nature. However, Daiyu still felt unhappy after hearing her brother's words. Zhiyuan saw his sister's expression and consoled her: "Sister, don't worry about this matter, because of this, we will know in the future who is worthy of our sincerity, and what kind of people are sycophants."

  Qian Yiniang handed a wet handkerchief to the young lady on one side: "The young master said that it's crucial for Miss to protect herself, don't look at these people who usually come to flatter Master, now we know who is truly kind and who is hypocritical."

  Zhiyuan thought that keeping watch at night was a laborious task, and Daiyu's body was weak, so he said: "Sister, I'll keep watch alone in the mourning hall tonight, you're not strong enough to bear it."

  Daiyu shook her head stubbornly: "No, I can only do this much for Father now, so please brother don't persuade me anymore, let sister show her last filial piety!"

  Zhiyuan knew that Daiyu's mind was made up, and he could only secretly tell himself to take care of this girl and be more careful in everything.

  Zhiyuan was chatting with Daiyu and others about today's guests when Xiaoying came to report: "Young Master, Young Miss, the two aunts. The son of the Marquis of Dongping has arrived, please go out to meet him."

  Daiyu had long heard her father say that the young master of Dongping and her brother were extremely close friends. She saw Zhiyan hastily get up, "Sister, the young master and I are bosom friends, to tell the truth, we two siblings are after all alone and weak, it's not necessarily that no one has designs on our family. I think that young master of the Jia family has long since run off without a trace, we can't compare with him. The young master's mother is the seventh sister of the current emperor, in Jiangnan she is also someone whom everyone wants to curry favor with. With him around, we will have fewer troubles."

  Daiyu had never handled such matters, even when her mother, Jia Min, passed away, her father had stopped her from getting involved. However, Daiyu did not know that at the time Lin Ruhai was still the Salt Inspector, and people who sought to curry favor with him would have taken care of Jia Min's funeral arrangements with great fanfare, unlike now.

  He then instructed the two matrons to take care of Daiyu, turned around and went to the front yard, where he saw his good friend Shen Xiu, the son of the Marquis of Dongping, directing the young servants to hang up the curtains. He hastily stepped forward: "This is not something you can do, hurry off to rest in the back hall, I can handle it myself."

  Shen Xiu-jie was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a height of over eight feet, and had a beautiful appearance and elegant demeanor. The young master of Dongping laughed and said: "Why are you still being polite to me? This is your uncle, isn't he also my uncle? My father is sitting in the back hall, if you call me over now, aren't you asking me to wait for a scolding? Besides, it was I who helped take care of things when your aunt passed away, why didn't you show such politeness then?"

  "Alas, I won't argue with you. As long as you're not afraid of gossip, that's all that matters. I know your intentions, and I'm worried those people will bully us siblings. So, I'll just borrow your prestige to put an end to these rumors!"

  Zhiyuan was talking to Shen Xiu when a servant suddenly came in and reported: "Young Master, the Young Master of the World, Mr. Jia's second son, Chai, said that there is an urgent matter at home and he wants to return to Beijing!"

  The two of them felt extremely displeased upon hearing this. Although it was said that the Ning and Rong households didn't gain any advantage from this, Jia Lian was really too incompetent in handling matters. His uncle had just passed away, and he wanted to return to the capital already? Shen Xiu Jie curled his lips and snorted: "I originally heard that the Jia household still had some sense of shame, but now it seems they don't even want a fig leaf?"

  "Never mind, in their view, the Lin Mansion has nothing more to offer, so it's better to leave early. I just need to meet with Master Jia of the Rongguo House again. Xiu Jie, you stay here and keep an eye on things, I'll be right back." Zhiyuan said as he walked towards the guest room.

  Jia Lian was just ordering the young servants to pack up their luggage, when Zhao'er saw him and couldn't help but ask: "Second Master, are we really leaving?"

  "This is ridiculous, not leaving, still staying here to annoy people? I'd like to see how this young master Lin from who-knows-where can handle such a big mess! Did you really get the whole story?" Jia Lian deliberately wanted to teach this young master of the Lin family a lesson, in order to vent his own resentment.

  Zhuo'er waved his hand, and the people who had been watching from a distance all went down. "Second Master, I've found out everything clearly this time. The new salt-control censor is named Huang Zongxing, and he's a fellow jinshi with Old Master Lin in the same year, only ranked at the bottom of the second class. However, this Censor Huang is actually the younger brother of the Empress Dowager, and it was the old lady who personally asked the Emperor to appoint him to this position."

  Jia Xun had heard of Huang Zongxing's reputation, and this man was on good terms with Jia Zheng in the capital. He often drank wine and played games, but rarely came to Rongguo Mansion. It was said that he had some entanglements with Lin Gonggong back then. Now that Mr. Huang is in office, how can he let the Lin family go? At this time, he only needs to hide and wait for Lin Zhidian to come to the Jia family for help! In the future, won't the Lin family's wealth be handed over obediently?

  Jia Yu was savoring the thought when Lin Zhiyuan arrived at the guest room, followed by a personal servant who carried a square box.

  Jia Yun saw Zhiyuan's pale face and secretly rejoiced in his heart, guessing that the young man was either frightened or exhausted, best of all, both.

  Someone just came in and reported that your elder brother is hastily rushing back to the capital?

  Jia Lian smiled awkwardly and said, "Isn't that so? I didn't expect it either. This letter just arrived, saying that soon after we set out, the old lady became worried about your father's illness and fell seriously ill herself. Your sister-in-law asked me to hurry back and also asked your brother to excuse me."