Chapter 3: The Eldest Son of a Concubine Carries Two Houses (Part 1)

  Two flowers bloom, each representing one branch.

  Not to mention Lin Ruhai and his daughter, let's talk about Jia Yuanchun and Jia Dairu in the front yard. After settling down in the guest room, a young servant brought over bath water to wash away their fatigue from the journey. Jia Yuanchun was not anxious or flustered; he knew that this time Lin Laoye must be unwell, and when the time came, it would be his chance to shine. For now, he might as well take a good rest.

  Xiao Shu had finished serving Jia Lian with his toilette and quietly withdrew, when shortly afterwards Zhao Er came in to report: "Second Master, I've just gone out to make some inquiries, and it's true that the servants of the Lin family are very close-mouthed and won't say anything!"

  "Oh? So you've returned empty-handed?" Jia Lian's eyes slanted sideways as he smiled insincerely.

  Zhao Er hastily knelt down and approached Jia Yu's feet, beginning to massage his legs. With a flattering smile, he said: "Don't worry about it, Second Master. This Lin family is very tight-lipped, but can they really not be bought off with money? I gave that little steward twenty taels of silver, and he told me everything."

  Actually, what does Zhao Er know about such trivial matters? She's just an old woman who sweeps the yard. Jia Yu gave him thirty taels and asked Zhao Er to go and inquire about the Lin family's recent situation. Zhao Er said he used twenty taels, but in fact, he only gave that old woman five taels, and the rest went into his own pocket. The old woman was overjoyed and told everything useful or useless. However, it's not bad to say that Zhao Er did hear some important news. As for how important it is, it has a direct relationship with whether Jia Yu can smoothly take away all of Lin's family property.

  "Speak quickly, don't waste words."

  "Yes, yes, yes. The little one heard that the little servant said," It's really lucky to have found Zhao Er, if it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to find out anything. That old woman who sweeps the floor originally couldn't get close to the master of the Lin family, but she was born a gossip and loved to listen in on things, and also knew how to treat people well, often helping those little maids buy small items, so the maids' idle chatter would occasionally enter her ears. Plus, she was also responsible for sweeping the front courtyard, so whenever someone came to the Lin house, she would know about it."

  Zhaoyu then told Jia Xiang the important things she had heard: "That little servant said that Old Master Lin's body is probably not going to make it, and it will likely be within the next few days. I heard that the Lin family has already started preparing things, and even the mourning clothes for the servants have been made. They're hastily calling Lin Daiyu back, also so she can see him one last time."

  Zhaoyu said that here, Jia Lian's heart finally fell to the ground, and he let out a long sigh, then snuggled comfortably back into the soft couch.

  Zhao'er carefully observed Er Ye's expression, then cautiously said: "Er Ye, I also heard that..."

  "What did you hear? Just say it out loud. What are you hiding from me?" Jia Lian said impatiently.

  "Xiaode also heard that this time it's not just our Rongguo Mansion who has come, but also Lin Old Master's own family has sent people."

  This remark was like a thunderclap on a clear day, shocking Jia Lian's heart greatly. "Nonsense!" he exclaimed. "The Lin family has long since had no close relatives; even if some relatives did come, they would be outside the five degrees of mourning and wouldn't count as part of the immediate family. Have you inquired carefully?"

  Zhaoyu hastily said: "I was afraid of delaying your good things, so I asked carefully. That servant... that little steward said they were from Suzhou and there were many people, all with the surname Lin. At that time, they lived in the guest room in this front yard. As for what they came to do, the steward wasn't very clear either. He only knew that inside was an extremely noble person, about 17 or 18 years old, and everyone called..."

  Jia Lian's face turned sinister as he grabbed hold of Zhao'er's collar and hastily asked, "What did you call her?"

  Everyone called him Young Master Lin, but no one knew which branch of the family he belonged to.

  Jia Lian's worst fear had finally come true, and someone from the Lin family really did arrive.

  When she was about to leave the capital, Second Mistress told herself that Old Master Lin had no relatives left, and all his family members were beyond the fifth degree of mourning. According to reason, as long as Daiyu did not agree, it would be impossible for him to adopt a son. At that time, she could use the prestige of Rongguo Mansion to scare them a bit, give them some small money, and they might leave. However, Old Master Lin's mother's family still had some relatives, who were said to be a well-known wealthy family in Suzhou, surnamed Yao. After the death of Old Lady Lin, however, they did not often socialize.

  At that time, when Lin's mother was alive, Old Lady Lin also didn't show much respect to her. The Yao family had more or less offended her in the past, which is also one of the reasons why they don't get along well later on.

  However, if it's someone from the Yao family, I'm not afraid either. Old Master Lin must understand which of the Jia and Yao families is closer or more distant!

  It's just that the one who has come now is a young master from the Lin family, or was it someone who came earlier? What exactly does Old Master Lin want to do? Could it be that he really wants to adopt one of them as his own? But this age is also a bit too old, seventeen or eighteen years old, and already not easy to control. If they were to find a three or four year old, then at the time they could just say that the child needs Lin's daughter to personally care for it, and bring it back together to the capital city, in the end, wouldn't it be up to the Jia family to decide what happens?

  No, I must see Old Master Lin immediately, this matter must be settled as soon as possible, lest it stir up more trouble.

  As for Lin Ruhai and his daughter on this side.

  Daiyu saw her father's face getting worse and thought of asking him to rest, but Lin Ruhai refused: "No, Yu'er, listen to me, I still have some energy now, hurry up and entrust you with it. The people from the Jia Mansion must not wait for long, they are probably looking for me urgently!"

  Lin Ruhai was overcome with another violent fit of coughing, and Daiyu looked on in distress. "Yu'er, what I am about to say concerns your lifelong happiness. Your father has been searching for a brother-in-law!"

  "Brother? Why did Father say that, didn't our family not have any close relatives long ago?" Daiyu was filled with doubts in her heart. Her mother had said before that the Lin family's ancestral home was in Suzhou, and there were no longer any close relatives over there, so how could a brother suddenly appear out of nowhere?

  "Alas, this is also an old story. Actually, when I was young, my father had an older brother, your paternal uncle! He was just born out of wedlock. Your grandmother always looked down on that eldest son born out of wedlock, and after he got married, she divided the family property and sent him away. However, my older brother thought the division was unfair and made our mother very angry, so the two families became like strangers. Alas, this matter wasn't because I, as a son, didn't side with my mother; it's true that your grandmother was unfair and only gave that eldest son born out of wedlock a small amount of property. My older brother was also a scholar, and in his anger, he fell ill and passed away. He left behind a widow and a four or five-year-old boy. That child is your older brother." Lin Ruhai still feels guilty for not being able to help his older brother, although he secretly took care of the widowed mother and her son after that, but it's too late now, and things can't be undone.

  "Now that Father is no longer doing well, the Lin family's patriarch has been invited over and it's been decided that your older brother will inherit the ancestral halls of both families, leaving behind a descendant for our lineage!"

  Daiyu had never heard of such secrets before, nor had she ever seen this uncle's family and herself interacting. It seems that the resentment is quite deep! "It's all because daughters are incompetent, if they were sons, they would definitely be able to help their father a lot."

  "Yu'er, there's no need to be like this. My older brother may have passed away, but he was a reasonable person and treated me well when I was younger. At that time, I was in the middle of going to Beijing for the imperial examination, so I didn't expect such a big thing to happen. Later, I also found your aunt and wanted to bring her and her son back, but she insisted on not wanting to come back and refused Lin's family help, relying only on their meager livelihood to raise her son." Lin Ruhai paused, then continued: "If it were someone else, I wouldn't bother searching for your relatives, but my older brother's only son is a rare talent. Your older brother's name is Zhiyuan, and his courtesy name is Jinyu."

  Daiyu listened and silently recited in her heart, "Jin Yu", as it is said in the Chu Ci, 'Holding Jin and grasping Yu, exhausted and unknowing where to show', I suppose this elder brother of mine should also be a person of noble character!

  Lin Ruhai praised: "What you said is not wrong, your eldest brother is 17 years old this year, but he was already a candidate three years ago and was the first in Suzhou. A 14-year-old yuan, that's also one of the best in Jiangnan. Unfortunately, Jin Yu had just passed the exam, my sister-in-law died of an old illness soon after, and Jin Yu couldn't attend the spring examination the following year because he was mourning his mother. I only discovered in recent years that this child is not ordinary. At that time, you had just gone to Beijing, so I had the idea of making everyone interact more, it's all for Yu'er's future reliance."

  Daiyu naturally understood her father's thoughts. If this daughter of the family didn't have an older brother or younger brother to support her, she would also be a lonely and miserable fate in the future.

  Lin Ruhai looked at his daughter's deep thinking expression, and said again: "Yu'er, I originally thought that in the future, I would ask Old Lady to find a good marriage for you. Even if I spent all my family's wealth, I would be willing to do so, as long as my Yu'er had a good place to settle down. However, now it seems that relying on the Jia household is probably futile. Not to mention whether they can think about your future or not, but rather, even if we spend all our wealth, it might end up harming your life instead."

  "What did Father mean by these words? Could Grandmother possibly still want to harm me?" Daiyu heard this and felt her heart racing with fear, refusing to believe it.

  Lin Ruhai didn't respond, but instead slightly raised her upper body and took out a small red sandalwood box with intricate carvings from the low cabinet at the head of the bed. Daiyu could tell that this object wasn't anything particularly valuable, but it was exquisitely carved and seemed to be quite old. Lin Ruhai then took out a small copper key from her waist and opened the small box.

  "Yu'er, this is what your father left for you. You must take good care of it and not give it to anyone else." Lin Ruhai took out a thick stack of silver notes, "There are 200,000 taels of silver here. Your father gave them to me in case of an emergency. Although I have been an official for many years, I can say that I am not corrupt, but I have done some things that go against my conscience. These were left to me by the previous emperor when he was collecting money in Jiangnan."