Tao looked at Lin Jinyong and then at Lin Jinyin, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and he silently closed his eyes.

  This was agreed upon. Lin Jiran's whole body went limp and she fell to the side, speechless, she had tried her best but still couldn't protect her mother.

  Lin Jianyin felt heartbroken, one hand on her sister's shoulder and the other holding her mother's arm, also with tears streaming down.

  "Third Aunt, Old Lady is here to see you!" As soon as the voice of Gong Mama sounded at the door, Luo Shi exclaimed: "Xiao Lao Qi come and let Second Aunt take a look. Oh my goodness, my daughter, such a delicate and tender child was beaten into this state! Third Uncle, I'm not saying it's your fault, but you really went too far!"

  Then Old Master Lin hummed and hawed, giving a vague explanation. Old Lady Lin simply said one word: "Scram!"

  Then a crowd rushed in, and someone helped Lin Zhenrong and her sister Lin Zhenyin to one side. Old Lady Lin, Madame Zhou, and Madame Luo took turns comforting them, while Tao Shi stood with her back to the crowd, her whole body trembling, tears streaming down her face, not saying a word. Her dignity and pride had been trampled underfoot, but she still struggled to maintain it.

  Lin Jinyong buried his face and wailed loudly: "Mother!" Lin Jinyin also couldn't help but sob quietly, and Lin Shenzhi outside heard it and immediately burst into loud crying. Gong Mama also choked back tears: "Madam, Madam, Old Lady has come to see you, what grievances and pains do you have, let Old Lady take charge for you!"

  Suddenly, soldiers and horses were in chaos. Endless desolation.

  Mrs. Lin rubbed her forehead painfully, sighed, and turned back sternly: "What are you crying about? Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up! Take your seventh brother back home and wait for him! This isn't a place where you should be staying."

  "Here comes the doctor! The doctor has arrived!"

  Zhou Shi busied herself pushing and urging her two sisters out: "Really can't rest assured, go to the wing room to wait for news."

  Lin Jianyin silently pulled Lin Jianrong with one hand and held Lin Shenzhi with the other, ignoring the gloomy and dispirited Lin Sanlao, who hung his head and walked to the left wing of the house.

  When Lin Chen stopped crying, Lin Jinrong asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

  Lin Jin said with a frown, "This is what I've figured out. Lin Sanlao hasn't returned since he went out yesterday morning. Today, early in the morning, he came back completely drunk and ordered Tao Shi to prepare gifts and rooms for that woman, bringing her into the house as if she's going to be his concubine, ranking behind Huang Niangniang. He didn't discuss it with Tao Shi, but rather commanded her. As the legitimate wife, Tao Shi felt disrespected and saw Lin Sanlao's drunken state, so they started arguing."

  One was furious and spoke recklessly, the other was drunk and disoriented. It's unclear who smashed things first, but both were busy baring their teeth and claws. What really escalated the conflict was Lin Shenzhi rushing forward and waving his fist at Old Master Lin San, cursing him as a bastard. Old Master Lin San was furious - he didn't dare hit Tao Shi, this shrew, so how could he not discipline his own son? He slapped Lin Shenzhi with one palm, without using much force, but for Tao Shi, who had always been most proud of her children, it was like having her heart torn out. She couldn't bear it, and despite being pregnant, she rushed forward to tear at him, and in the chaos, she ended up getting hurt badly.

  Lin Jinyong quietly told Lin Jinyin what Gōng Māma had said in the old lady's room. In any case, this morning's incident was entirely caused by Third Master, who refused to listen to reason, smashed things, scolded people and hit them - it was not the fault of the Tao family.

  Lin Jinyan wiped away tears and said in a low voice, "I already know, Mother Gong had arranged everything before she left, and I reminded Xia Ye and the others again just now." After speaking, she squatted down again, holding Lin Shenzhi's face and saying softly, "Seventh brother, no matter who asks you, you all say you don't remember, that you were frightened silly at the time." The Third House was already a laughing stock in other people's eyes, and if Lin Shenzhi were to speak ill of Old Master Lin again in public, it would be another joke.

  "I'm not lying." Lin Shenzhi was unconvinced, he only knew right from wrong, and in his heart, the father who normally made him afraid couldn't compare to his loving mother.

  "Or, you can tell your grandfather about how you punched and scolded Third Master, I'm sure he'll be delighted and say you're very filial, then reward you with two slaps and make you kneel again." She regretted that Lin Shenzhi was too young to give Third Master a good punch.

  Lin Chen indeed hung his head, but then said in a low voice: "But even if I don't say it, Father will still say it."

  Lin Jinyong coldly snorted: "Does he have the face to say that? I'm asking you, at that time when you didn't go to your grandfather's place to pay respects and attend school, how could you stay in the house?" She suspected that there was a mastermind behind this matter, and whoever benefited the most from it would be the one.

  Lin Shenzhi said, "I didn't stay in the house, I had already gone out, halfway seeing my father come in, thinking that it had been a long time since I saw him, so I followed him in. At first, I was afraid, but later when I saw my mother cry, I suddenly got angry and rushed up."

  "Who taught you what?" Lin Jianrong was about to ask again, but Lin Jianyin waved her hand and said unequivocally: "I have my own thoughts on this matter, don't interfere. You all listen up, the most important thing for Zhen is to follow Grandfather's side and study hard, work harder than usual; Fourth Sister has just been released from her punishment, what she needs to do is serve Mother well, don't worry about other things. Whoever doesn't listen will be unfilial! Causing trouble for Mother!" At this critical moment, as the eldest daughter, she naturally took on all the responsibilities that should be hers.

  Lin Jianyin said as much, and Lin Jianrong shut her mouth, waiting anxiously. Even though she had already known the outcome, she still held a glimmer of hope that this younger brother or sister could stay behind.

  There were not many times when the sound of sending a doctor came from outside, Lin Jin said: "I'll go and see." As soon as he got up, he saw Qi Yan standing at the door with a pale face, saying in a low voice: "The doctor said to try taking some medicine first."

  That's the end of it, Mother will have to suffer so much! Lin Jianyin stood there, her eyes suddenly blurred with tears. Lin Jianrong didn't cry, but squatted in front of Lin Shenzhi and said in a hoarse voice: "Shenzhi, you must remember that if you have a wife in the future, you can't treat her like this. This is not something a responsible man should do."

  Lin Chen nodded as if he understood but didn't really understand.

  Lin Jiner silently stroked Lin Shen's head. There was another kind of man, who after his wife became pregnant, would pamper her excessively, as if he wanted to pluck the stars and moon for her. But after their child passed away, he would turn cold and speak harshly to her. This couldn't be done... because even if the wife was truly at fault, she actually wished it was herself who had died, not the child. The words were on the tip of Lin Jiner's tongue, but all he did was let out a soft sigh.

  Mrs. Tao finally endured it and became a lady, after the flesh and blood came down, Old Lady Lin immediately rewarded Mr. Lin San with a cane, and then Old Master Lin summoned Mr. Lin San again.

  Mr. Lin had been accumulating a lot of prestige for a long time, and Mr. Lin San subconsciously wanted to hide and explain that it was really an accident, he didn't mean to do it on purpose, he was drunk and confused, and he didn't expect things to turn out this way. But seeing the three children's disdainful and cold gaze, and considering that he couldn't run anywhere else and still had to rely on his family for food, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and go see Mr. Lin, where he received a severe scolding and became much more obedient afterwards. As for the woman named Fei Hong, she was beaten and disfigured by someone sent by Mrs. Lin before she even entered the house, her voice was hoarse from being poisoned, and her clothes were stripped off and sold far away. Mr. Lin San didn't dare to fart anymore.

  Then Lin Jin-yin cried for half a day in the old lady's room, and the people who attended to Lin San-lao, as well as Huang Niang, were not able to escape lightly. Huang Niang and her attendants were all locked up, every day they were not allowed to sleep or eat, repeatedly answering the same questions, until her innocence was proven, when she was released, both eyes had sunken in, the white lotus had become a wilted old yellow flower by the roadside, and she needed someone to support her when walking.

  She came out and the first thing she did was to run to the Tao family's gate, kneel down and show her loyalty and innocence. After she had kowtowed enough, Lin Jin-yin finally came out with a cold face and said: "Auntie, Madam is weak in body, although I know you are wronged, but there is no energy to comfort you, how about coming another day?"

  Huang Yiniang had just eaten a big bitter pill, how dare she not agree? She nodded and responded with a "yes", her eyes looking at Lin Jianyin were full of fear and hidden disgust.

  Lin Jinyan, however, raised an eyebrow and slowly added, "Auntie, in a family like ours, being obedient and minding one's own business is the most important thing. Don't be afraid, you see, as long as you're obedient and mind your own business, none of these troubles will affect you. The old lady has already cleared your name, what are you still afraid of?" Cornered to the extreme, even someone as gentle as her revealed a few hints of viciousness.

  The woman lowered her eyelids and showed a hint of fear: "I understand to be obedient." Then she bowed her head and left quietly.

  Lin Jinrong looked at Lin Jinyan with admiration, thinking that she was able to think of these things now because she had been reborn once and had gone through the trials of life and death, which allowed her to look at things from a different perspective. On the other hand, Lin Jinyan was able to achieve this level at such a young age, showing that she had a good life in the Tao family, not just because of her uncle, aunt, and cousin's kindness, but also due to her own efforts.

  Lin Jinyan saw her sister's adoring gaze and couldn't help but smile: "Niang niang, what are you looking at? You look silly."

  It seems that from young to old, my sister always said she was stupid, but she really was very stupid in the past. Lin Jiran smiled and pulled Lin Jianyin aside, whispering: "How did Sister do it?"

  ——*——*——*——

  This is a Christmas update, there's more ahead, don't forget to check it out. Shamelessly asking, does anyone still have pink tickets? Throw in a couple... The method is as follows: after clicking on the monthly PK vote, the option to vote with pink tickets will appear...