Both parties have completed delivery.

  Lin Jinrong counted the total amount of gold and silver, instructing Li Zhi to send the things out early on the second day to Tao Fengtang, and then let Gui Popo serve her bath.

  Gu Yigu lowered her head and eyes, slouching her shoulders. Lin Jing knew the reason, let out a soft sigh, took advantage of the fact that there was no one in the house, and briefly told Gu Yigui about it. Then she warned: "This matter is very important, so you must keep an eye on everyone in the house and not allow anyone to talk too much. If they do, I'll drive them out and show no mercy!" Her tone was extremely severe at the end.

  "Don't worry, miss, no one will gossip. But if the mistress finds out, she'll be furious. Why did you have to help her of all people? That money, in the end, was still taken from the master's hands. I really didn't expect that Huang would actually believe you and take out her private savings." There were originally few people in this house, and they were all loyal, who would spread rumors? Although Gui was not pleased, she was filled with joy in her heart - after all, the miss still considered her a trustworthy person. Look, such an important matter still couldn't be hidden from her, and she had to take charge of it, so her spirits lifted again.

  Lin Jirong couldn't help but explain to the honest woman: "My father's spare money, he won't give it to Huang Niangniang, so how can we get it out? If we can't get it out, he'd rather use it to buy something he likes. My mother's money, she won't take it out and no one can do anything about it, but if someone really has their eye on it and makes a fuss, it'll be ugly." She curled up her lip, "What Huang Niangniang wants is just for Fifth Brother to be safe and wealthy, she doesn't dare think of anything else. I'm helping her, I'm also helping myself."

  Huang Niangniang is willing to get close to herself and benefit each other, which means she's not a narrow-minded person. Earlier, there should have been some thoughts on the side, but after Lin Shenzhi entered Old Master's study, that thought might have been extinguished as well. The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children has always existed throughout history, and if Lin Yizhi were a talented individual who could make a difference in the world, it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, he is just an ordinary person who can't even stick to the wall like rotten mud.

  Nowadays, no one relies solely on the dowry to get married, everyone has some extra money to add. Lin Yizhi's four older paternal uncles were all born to wives, and it was normal for their mothers to take out some dowry to supplement. What was not normal was the third house. Compared to the previous four, Lin Yizhi suddenly had a lot less, which would be embarrassing, so she took it out reluctantly. If Lin Yizhi's mother and son could solve the problem themselves, why did she want to stop them? Was she going to let them drag down their own mother and brother? No way. Besides, borrowing money to make more was a very profitable business.

  Guī yíng yíng saw that her lips were full of smiles, although she didn't understand some of what she was saying, but still accompanied her in laughter, and rubbed the fragrant bean paste on Lin Jian Rong's snow-white delicate skin, which seemed a bit tender.

  "Auntie, don't be busy, I'll soak for a while, you go out and wait for me to call you." Lin Jinrong slightly closed her eyes, her body tightly attached to the cedar bathtub, a faint blush rising on her pale face.

  These days, Gui's aunt had already gotten used to her habit of wanting to be alone for a while when she took baths, so she didn't say anything and put down the things before retreating.

  After the door was closed, Lin Jinrong tightly grasped the edge of the cedar bathtub, with hot and fragrant bathwater swirling around her. She should have felt extremely comfortable, but it seemed like something in the water had a tight grip on her heart, refusing to let go. A hint of desperation appeared on her face as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then submerged her entire head into the water.

  Warm water pressed in on her from all sides, every pore of hers could feel that warmth, yet, in her heart was coldness, every inch of skin, every drop of blood, could feel that chill.

  It was as if she had lived a lifetime, until the water had cooled down somewhat. She finally raised her head, and with a "whoosh" sound, sat up from the water, facing upwards towards the sky, taking deep breaths. Her two hands, tightly grasping the edge of the cedar bathtub, were already pale and blueish-white.

  Lin Jin let out a sigh of relief, wiped the water from her face and gazed at the hourglass on the table. The silver sand flowed down like a thin line, smoothly and without any obstruction, piling up higher than before. She leaned back against the bathtub wall with a smile, feeling as if she had finally shed a heavy burden. One day, she would no longer be afraid of things that haunted her in both dreams and reality, such as water and people.

  A good night's sleep, autumn wind and rain are just accompaniments.

  At three o'clock, Tao's family led by Lin Shen's hand, along with Lin Jianyin, saw off Wu's family with red eyes. Mr. Lin Dà Lǎo Ye was entrusted by Old Master Lin to replace his own third master, who couldn't attend the farewell due to injury, and he warmly and kindly sent off Tao's horse carriage into the thin fog of dawn.

  As soon as the ceremony was over, Old Lady Lin sat comfortably and waited for her children, daughters-in-law, grandchildren to come and pay their respects. After the youngest, Lin Shen, finished his greetings and was led away by Chunmou to Liting Pavilion, her wrinkled old face slowly turned towards Eldest Daughter-in-law Zhou. Zhou's gaze narrowed as she looked at Tao Shi and Lin Jianyin standing quietly on one side, and Luo Shi standing behind Old Lady Lin with a faint sneer. With a soft sigh, she said in a low voice: "Third Young Mistress, the old lady has some words to say to us, you take your fifth sister and withdraw for now."

  It's time to settle the account! Lin Jin-yin instinctively felt the danger and forced himself to calm down, making a bow. His eyes, however, looked at Tao Shi with a startled expression. But he saw that Tao Shi was gazing calmly at the old lady's hairpin, a deep green jade pin, without even batting an eyelid.

  Lin Jianyin heard herself let out a barely audible sigh, and was about to kneel down to apologize to Old Lady Lin by pulling on her skirt hem. However, she then heard Mrs. Tao say: "Third daughter, aren't you going yet?" Lin Jianyin turned her head around, meeting Mrs. Tao's sparkling eyes, which held an indescribable joy and confidence.

  What made Tao have such a look in her eyes? Did Auntie really give her some good advice? Lin Jianyin had some doubts, but was pulled out by Lin Wu.

  Then comes the long and anxious wait.

  This day, Lin Jinrong was also frightened and trembling. Early in the morning, she spread out a piece of paper, but by noon, she had only written two and a half words. Then she held her pen and stared blankly into space. After a while, she heard that Old Lady Lin had summoned the ladies for a talk. Later, she heard that Third Lady had disobeyed Old Lady Lin and was punished to kneel. A little later, it was said that Third Lady had fainted before she could kneel, and now they were calling for a doctor to take her pulse.

  Lin Jinrong couldn't believe it - Wu Shi had just left, she was still under house arrest, Lin Shen's father had just entered the old master's study, Lin Sanlao's injury hadn't healed yet, and Tao Shi would actually dare to deliberately provoke and infuriate Old Lady Tao like this. It was all just a continuation of what happened at the birthday banquet that day. But surprisingly, Tao Shi used fainting as an excuse to avoid punishment, instead of directly confronting her. This really made Lin Jinrong look at her in a new light.

  The news that followed, however, left her utterly astonished. Mrs. Tao had given birth to a boy! A two-month-old fetus was the most powerful talisman. At his age, Old Master Lin only had one legitimate son, which was too few; anyone who still wanted to settle scores with Mrs. Tao, this elderly woman who had entered the family through proper channels, must be blind and heartless, intentionally trying to stir up trouble that would lead to loss of life.

  Some people were rejoicing, while others were so frustrated that they wanted to scratch the wall. Lin Jinrong's face was smiling, but her heart was full of doubts. How could this be? In her past life, Mrs. Tao had never been pregnant with this child. After giving birth to Lin Shen, her belly had never had any news again. Not only her, but also the concubines and maids that the third master married later, none of them had ever been pregnant. Throughout her life, she had only one sister, one younger brother, and one younger brother.

  So, will it be a younger brother or a younger sister? The sheep's hair brush in Lin Jinrong's hand, which was fully soaked with ink, waited eagerly for its master to start writing, and finally dropped a heavy drop of ink onto the rice paper, spreading out into a blurry flower. Lin Jinrong stared at the blurry flower, slightly furrowing his brow, what kind of change would this bring?

  Gong's mother crouched in the corridor to avoid the wind, vigorously fanning the small stove for decocting medicine, preparing to personally serve a jar of tonic to the Tao family. At this age and with a pregnancy, how could she not be carefully attended to?

  The fragrance of medicine wafted through the green gauze curtain, entering the room, Lin Jin's eyes were filled with sorrow as he looked at Tao Shi lying on the bed, pregnant. On the bright red silk embroidered pillow, was Tao Shi's radiant face, she gazed up at the canopy embroidered with lilies, her eyebrows and eyes full of joy and complacency that could not be concealed.

  She felt that today was really a relief. Earlier, she had not provoked the old lady, but the old lady had suddenly scolded her when she was serving tea, and then took the opportunity to punish her in order to suppress her and make her dare not to be defiant again next time. Afterwards, she fainted and was diagnosed with a joyful pulse, and Zhou Shi always pretended to be a good person who avoided trouble, but Luo Shi ridiculed her for knowing all along and intentionally not saying anything, deliberately keeping it until now to use as a protective charm. The old lady also scolded her with an iron face, saying that at her age, she didn't even know when her own family had a new life, and if something went wrong, it would be her own fault.

  Yes, for them, of course, everything is her fault.

  She was the mother of three children, and naturally had a number. It wasn't that she didn't say it on purpose earlier, but because Lin Jianrong had just been scared sick by the second wife, she was extremely angry and depressed, and hadn't noticed whether her own little days were coming or not. When she found out, it was already the old lady's birthday, and only then did she deliberately not speak up. She wanted to see how after Wu Shi left, the old lady would furiously find fault with her, and then swallow her anger, looking like she was full of grievances but couldn't express them.

  She was just impulsive and unwilling to compromise, but she wasn't stupid. Mrs. Tao smiled slightly and happily winked at her eldest daughter: "A Yin, don't be afraid. This matter will pass like this. You didn't see the expressions of your grandmother and second aunt at that time, it killed me."

  Lin Jinyan forced out a smile. What was there to be afraid of? Not mentioning anything else, just the fact that her mother was at such an old age already... it was like passing through the gates of hell. What if... she shuddered at the thought and didn't dare imagine losing Tao Shi's support in this household.

  But Tao didn't think that much, she gently placed her hand on her belly, infinitely yearning: "You said it's a younger brother or a younger sister? I want to have another son, they will support each other, and when they grow up, you can stand firm in your husband's family."

  Lin Jinyan put away her worries and accompanied her with a smile: "Seventh brother hasn't lost his baby teeth yet, let's ask him when he gets back!"

  Xia Ye smiled and walked in: "Madam, Gui Yatou from the fourth young lady's side has come to pay her respects and offer congratulations on behalf of the fourth young lady."

  The two daughters were extremely sensible and filial. Tao's eyes lit up as she smiled and said, "Quickly let her in!"