Heartfelt thanks to everyone for their strong support, thank you!

  Miao Ya bit her finger and said, "Of course I've seen it. It's made of bluestone, not small or big, the water is deep enough. It would be great to take a bath today. Unfortunately, Third Master is inside, otherwise I can take the young lady to see something interesting. I can close my eyes and walk along the wall without showing my head."

  Lin Jinyu's thoughts were a great help, and he said in a low voice: "Let's come again another day? I'll bring you here."

  "Great!" Miao Ya smiled and extended her hand to Lin Jie: "Miss, shall we go feed the sparrows over there? I still have some millet in my pocket, it's also a good deed."

  Miao Ya's fingertips still had saliva on them, and there were some black stains in the gaps between her fingernails. Lin Jinrong hesitated for a moment, smiled slightly, and grasped Miao Ya's hand. Miao Ya suddenly pulled her along, opening up her pace as they rushed towards the back of the main hall.

  Lychee saw Lin Jingrong's uncomfortable yet obvious fondness and couldn't help but find it amusing, while Longan's eyes were blazing with anger, muttering in a low voice: "Little hoof, again putting on airs in front of the young lady, clearly a servant, always 'I' this and 'my' that, should find an opportunity to teach her some rules..."

  Lychee smiled and glanced at her, whispering: "Miss isn't just ours, we two are hers."

  Longan bit her lip tightly, and her eyes reddened: "Lychee, you're taking advantage of my mother's absence to bully me too."

  Lychee waved her hand in surrender, and threw out a tough sentence: "Alright, we're not in the mansion right now, there are always big or small things that need Iron Mom's help, you can do whatever you want, just don't say I'm on your side."

  The osmanthus hastily chased after her, biting her teeth and shouting: "Miss, run a bit slower, wait for me!"

  The back of the Da Yin is a small sky, and there are no bluestone bricks or anything like that. The soil was just compacted, and on top of it were many withered wild grasses. A few sparrows basked in the sun, lazily jumping around in the grass to eat seeds. It's indeed old and desolate.

  Miao Ya pulled Lin Jiran to a stop, grabbed a handful of straw and stuffed it into her hand, laughing: "Look at these two old nuns, they're so lazy that they don't even bother to clean up the grass. Don't be fooled by how clean the front is, the back is dirty and broken, and further back it's even worse. The dust on the beams is as thick as two feet, and when a mouse runs across it can leave a trail of dust behind. The only thing they've taken care of is that hot spring pool, they're still hoping to make some money from it, so it's relatively clean."

  Lin Jinrong casually threw the wheat grains to the sparrows, startling them into flying all over: "Does this hot spring often have people coming?"

  Miao Ya said: "Isn't that a lot? The old nun wants to collect money, Chang Dajie and Chu Xiansheng's family will come, my mother and I will also come from time to time. As for the others in the village, unless there is a big event, such as getting married or having a celebration, they won't be willing to spend money."

  The sparrows flew up and landed on the wall to take a look, seeing that the little girls didn't make any other moves, they flew down again, happily searching for food.

  Lin Jinyong was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but ask in a soft voice full of expectation: "Miao Xia, have you ever caught peach blossom fish in the river?"

  When it comes to catching peach blossom fish, Miao Ya's eyes light up: "Let's go, my dad and brothers will take me when they're free, and I'll also sneak out by myself."

  "... Aren't you afraid of being washed away? Is the water deep? Is it icy?" Lin Jingrong's eyes were unfocused, and he threw another handful of wheat towards the sparrows. The poor sparrow had just eaten a few mouthfuls and was startled into flying again.

  "Girl, don't do that, it's a waste." Miao Ya took the remaining straw from Lin Jian Rong's hand and replied seriously: "The Qingliang River has deep and shallow places, as long as you don't go to the deep places, it's fine. More than half of the water is warm spring water flowing out from here, not cold. And..." She tiptoed and whispered in Lin Jian Rong's ear with a smile: "I know how to swim, brother taught me, so I won't drown. Don't let mother know, or she'll scold us severely."

  Lin Jinyong's heart skipped a beat as he stared at Miao Xiaoyu with eyes shining like gold and silver ingots.

  The little girl asked foolishly: "Miss, what's wrong with you?"

  Lin Jinyong controlled the joy that burst out and shook his head gently: "Nothing."

  She wanted to learn how to swim, having drowned in her past life. This life she couldn't afford to drown again. She had long heard that village girls who grew up by the river knew a thing or two about swimming. She was thinking of finding someone to teach her when the opportunity arose, but heaven seemed to be smiling down on her...

  Lin Jianrong clasped his hands together in front of his chest, muttered to himself twice, and turned back to look at Miao Ya with a more affectionate gaze: "Miao Ya, do you want to come over by my side? I don't have much for you to do, just keeping me company is enough."

  The young shoots exclaimed: "Miss really wants me?"

  Lin Jinyong smiled and said: "More real than gold." Guigui heard it behind her head, feeling wronged again with red eyes.

  The little girl turned her head and pointed to the new skirt on Guiyuan's body, expecting: "Miss, I followed you, are you going to give me a beautiful skirt like this too?"

  Lin Jinyong saw the look on Guiyuan's face, which was both stifled and afraid to erupt, and couldn't help but burst out laughing: "This is even better, I'll give you a set of my skirts. Do you like them?"

  Miao Ya happily flipped a string of hollow somersaults on the ground, spinning around like a madman: "I'll tell Dad and Mom!" Then he ran away like a gust of wind.

  Lin Jinyong had never seen a girl as wild and free-spirited, nor anyone other than an acrobat who could flip and turn with such agility. He was so astonished that he stood there staring blankly at Miao Yu's back, his eyes wide with wonder for quite some time before bursting out laughing. Life can be this carefree!

  "Miss, she's really a wild girl! Are you sure you want to take her back? She'll probably get into trouble for you in no time."

  Lin Jinyong smiled but didn't answer. A girl like Miao Yu, it's fine to be her playmate for now, but if she really followed her back to the Lin family, wouldn't she be suffocated to death? Forget it, what she likes is this carefree and lively Miao Yu, as free as a little bird, not the one who is bound by rules in the inner courtyard, doesn't dare to laugh or cry, and has to think carefully before speaking.

  It seems that the hot spring water was indeed comfortable, and Old Master Lin soaked in it for half a day. But somehow, he developed a high fever again that night after returning home. Fortunately, Water Old Master was quite skilled, and after taking some medicine, his fever broke by the next morning. However, he still had a headache and felt weak and lethargic, so he had to stay there for a few more days. The medicine he took became thicker and more potent, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

  Tao Shunqin was not in a hurry, first donating money and grain to the Qingjing Temple, replacing the golden body of the Buddha, and then asking them to repair the hot spring pool and the doors and windows outside, making it convenient for Tao's family and Lin Jinyong to go there for leisure in the future.

  After several more days, Mr. Lin San finally recovered, and Tao Shunqin repeatedly reminded Mrs. Tao to take care of herself and recover from her illness. Lin Jirong was careful on his own and had dealings with Master Shui, so he accompanied Mr. Lin San back to Pingzhou and returned to Qingzhou without mentioning it again.

  From then on, Lin Jingrong would often go to the Qingliang Temple to burn incense for the Tao family's blessings. Of course, every time she went, she would inevitably spend a long time soaking in the hot spring pool, learning the art of entering the water from Miao Yu. She had already learned how to hold her breath earlier, and although she wasn't picking it up quickly this time, she wasn't too slow either. Every day when she came out of the hot spring, her face would be flushed red, and with Miao Yu's lively and mischievous company, she seemed more cheerful than before, and her body was also much healthier.

  Two old nuns got countless benefits, were very concerned, and didn't care how long they liked to play, only carefully guarded the back hall, not letting people come and go at will.

  So several times, Tao's family couldn't help but know some outline, but also only knew that Lin Jianrong loved to soak in hot springs and didn't know she secretly learned to swim. Although they had been so careful, they still felt a bit uneasy, so one day they plucked up the courage to follow Lin Jianrong on a trip to Qingliang Temple, lit an incense stick, donated some incense oil money, chatted with two old nuns for half a day, strolled around and soaked in hot springs together.

  Taoshi returned, deep in thought for a long time, weighing the pros and cons, and instructed Gong Mama: "Niang Niang has been living with me in this countryside, serving tea and medicine every day, but her personality is too quiet and dull. Occasionally, she looks innocent, but it's intentional to please me. Such an obedient and considerate daughter, other families would cherish her dearly, but only she and her sister follow me and suffer this hardship. It's rare for her to like something, and it's not out of the ordinary, so let her be. Let Tiehuajia send a few capable people to follow her, instruct them to serve me well, if anyone is missing even a single hair, I'll make sure they have nothing left."

  A camel that has starved to death is bigger than a horse, and the Lin family is considered a big landlord in this area. When the order from the Tao family comes down, on fixed days, the hot spring belongs to Lin Jianrong alone, and no one else dares to enter Qingliang Temple easily.

  Lin Jinrong did not expect to receive such pampering from the Tao family, so she became even more cautious and careful, fearing that if she wasn't mindful, she would cause trouble for the Tao family and the people around her. She was also afraid of losing this hard-won freedom. Every time she went to the Qingliang Temple, she would diligently copy scriptures, burn incense, and swim in the hot spring pool in an orderly manner. At other times, apart from accompanying Mrs. Tao to play chess, read books, and manage some trivial but laborious household chores, she also kept a daily account book to record expenses, and even had Lüzhi watch her do it, occasionally letting Lüzhi add a few strokes.

  The days passed leisurely and fulfilling, from past to present. Lin Jinrong didn't care how she spent her time, so her smile became brighter, her footsteps lighter, and her tone softer. As time went by, she became familiar with the two old nuns and the people in the village. She would often ask about farming techniques and was very interested in the fields and crops. Although the villagers found her a bit strange, they still liked her and didn't reject her. They answered all her questions. Lin Jinrong memorized everything from seasonal planting to crop yields.

  Good fortune never falls on an ordinary person's head for no reason, opportunities are only given to those who are prepared. If she can't overcome the cold and hard fate, then she will use her own hands, her own strength to fight for herself a place in the world. She wants to see if she won't be drowned in that icy river! She wants to see who can easily control her life and emotions without thinking twice! Being weak at times is not about accepting fate, but about accumulating power for the next rise!

  She no longer wants to be that kind of woman who hides in the boudoir, yields to everything, is lazy and doesn't distinguish between right and wrong, only knows about romance and submission, thinks everything she gets is what she deserves, and thinks every sacrifice is necessary.

  Lin Jinyong took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and dove into the warm spring water. With Miao Dou's encouragement, he kicked hard with his legs and moved his arms, like an awkward fish, swimming from one end of the pool to the other.

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