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  "Don't mention it, your aunt is really lucky." Mrs. Tao's unintentional sigh accidentally opened the door to Lin Jianrong's deep memory, causing half of her body to stiffen, and for a moment she couldn't even breathe.

  At that time, Tao's family learned about Lu Xian's passing the exam and also sighed like this, but the tone and expression were not as desperate as they used to be. The fate of his mother was changing, what about his own? Lin Jianrong stared blankly at the swaying lanterns.

  It was at Lin Jianyin's wedding banquet that winter that Lin Yuzhen half-jokingly and half-seriously proposed the idea of marrying Lu Xiang.

  At that time, Tao did not agree and put it off until after Lin Jianyin's affairs were settled. However, after losing Lin Jianyin's support, Zhou Yuan's days became increasingly difficult, and he often fell ill without saying a word.

  The matchmaker flew in, urging the deal, Old Master Lin was ruthless and merciless, the first wife and second wife were squeezed to the point of collapse. Finally, in the spring of the second year, Madam Tao had no choice but to agree to this marriage.

  Will she be able to escape this fate this time? Lin Jianrong was more tense and uneasy than ever before, and he couldn't wait for Lin Yuzhen to settle the marriage with Lu Xian as soon as possible. But she couldn't think of what skills or methods she had to quickly bring about this marriage and put her mind at ease.

  At this point, it's already the limit of what she can do.

  Successfully let Lin Yuzhen mother and daughter,

  Lu Duan dislikes herself, Lin Liu stands out and becomes the person Lin Yuzhen likes the most at present: Tao's physical and mental health is good, Lin Shen is lively and progressive, very much liked by the old master, Lin Sanlao can't make waves, Huang Niang and her son are still obedient. Everything seems to be going well, and they have all undergone different degrees of change, but she is just afraid.

  Is there another way for her to go?

  Lin Jiner removed the hairpin, carefully picking at the wick. The oil lamp had three strands of wick inside, and the flame was large and bright. After the hairpin scraped off the layer of dry black powder on the wick, the yellow flame suddenly grew larger, and the pale blue core also rapidly expanded. Lin Jiner stared intently at the flame, and her mind suddenly lit up.

  How could I have forgotten this? When I admired the plum blossoms last year, wasn't I moved to thought? But then I immediately went to my country estate and afterwards was only concerned with buying salt lands. It's been a long time since I've seen that person, and yet I forgot.

  What a great opportunity is right in front of us, why not go for it? Lin Jingrong took a deep breath and turned around to look at Tao Shi with a smile: "Mother, do we have to personally go to the Wu's house to deliver the gift?"

  Tao Shi Zheng and Lin Jin Yin were looking at some jade pendants, wanting to pick out something suitable to give as a gift. Upon hearing this, he said without even lifting his head: "That is your aunt's maternal home, how can you not go?"

  Lin Jinyong rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a jade pendant: "This one is fine."

  Tao saw that it was an oval-shaped white jade pendant carved with a duck, and smiled: "The implication is not bad."

  Lin Jianyin disagreed: "One first prize and one name, this is indeed a good idea to come up with, Wu's family will definitely like it. But what can be sent to Lu Xian? Can't send him a second prize certificate, can we? With the relationship between the two families, sending anyone would be inappropriate, better not to send. Leave it for my younger brother, Xiao Qi."

  Tao smiled and said, "Alright, then let's leave it to Little Seventh." Lin Jinrong didn't ask about the gift anymore, but instead casually grabbed a few silk threads and tied them into knots, asking Tao nonchalantly, "Will the Wu family send someone to Qingzhou to celebrate Auntie's birthday?"

  Wu was forty years old all his life, Tao said very affirmatively: "Definitely will."

  "Will we walk together then?" Silky threads quickly formed a rough outline of a plum blossom under Lin's deft and nimble fingers.

  Tao said, "I didn't know about this, but I have to ask anyway. We owe them a lot of favors and there's no chance to repay." Wu's family often went to Qingzhou and would always come to ask if she had anything to bring along. If it was just items or letters, that would be fine, but what was rare was that they even brought their servants along, treating them well on the road and bringing back things for her when they returned. It was truly a debt of gratitude.

  According to Wu Xiang's temperament, after the exam, he might go on a trip and play around, but it's unknown whether he would follow them or not. Even if he didn't go to Yang's place, that would be great too. But what if neither of them went, and someone else did? Lin Jingrong felt annoyed and frustrated in her heart, yet she also thought that this matter was beyond her control, and she couldn't do anything about it, so she forced herself to calm down and continued to knot.

  On the second day, Lin Jingrong went to Hele Hall to pay his respects. However, he found that Hele Hall was packed with people. Old Lady Lin sat on the couch, still with an expression that couldn't be described as happy or unhappy. Zhou Shi looked indifferent, Luo Shi had a joyful appearance, Tao Shi seemed nonchalant, Lin Wu's face was full of worries, and Lin Qi and Lin Liu were whispering to each other in hushed tones. Several sisters-in-law were distracted, while Lin San Shao and Lin Si Shao shrank into the corner with expressions as if they had lost their last penny.

  "What's going on?" Lin Jianrong asked Lin Jianyin.

  Lin Jinyan said in a low voice: "Let's go to Auntie's house to celebrate and be a guest."

  The Lus were supposed to formally entertain their guests two days later, but Lin Yuzhen sent someone over early that morning. She said that there would be many people and things on that day, which would hinder the family from speaking intimately and making themselves at home. So she prepared several tables of good dishes and invited her husband's family to come over and have fun today. In fact, it was a way to give her husband's family an excuse. The two sons of the Lin family were not as capable as Lu Xian, so when they saw other guests congratulating them, they couldn't help but feel embarrassed. However, not going to celebrate would be inappropriate. Therefore, they adopted this compromise approach: come today and it's okay whether or not you go on the day of the formal banquet.

  Lin Yuzhen was considerate, but looking at the Zhou family's appearance, she wasn't very happy either. After all, Lin San Shao had also taken the exam twice and was now in a lower position, which was somewhat embarrassing when compared to him. On the other hand, Luo Shi didn't show any anger towards Lin Si Shao for not passing the exam, and instead seemed even more enthusiastic than Lin Lao Tai.

  Lin Jinyong secretly found it strange and asked Lin Jin in a low voice, "If the fourth brother didn't pass the exam, wouldn't Second Aunt and Second Uncle be angry?" That year, Lin Yuzhen did the same thing. At that time, she was not paying attention and couldn't remember the specific reactions of everyone clearly. She only remembered that when she went to the Lu family, she didn't see Lu Xian, who had stayed in Taoming Prefecture due to some business.

  "You can't expect a duck to fly up to heaven, can you?"

  Lin Jin couldn't help but laugh. The duck flying up to the sky was an unexpected delight, and not being able to fly up to the sky was also reasonable. In this case, Er Fang actually had a more open mind, seeing Luo Shi's joy, she was probably genuinely happy for Lu Xian. The reason was simple: she already considered Lu Xian as her own possession. A mother-in-law being delighted by her son-in-law's success was perfectly normal. As a result, her sense of crisis decreased slightly once again.

  Lin Liu saw Lin Jianrong laughing happily on the side and walked over with a smile: "What's making you so happy, Fourth Sister?"

  Lin Jinyong replied casually: "I heard it's exciting to go out and be a guest."

  Lin Liu heard this and looked at Lin Jinrong's expression, saying: "Oh, you haven't been to your aunt's house for a long time." These days, Lu Yun had invited her sisters several times, but each time Lin Jinrong made excuses not to go. Everyone knew the reason, but no one forced her. Why was she so happy today when she heard that she would be going to the Lu's house as a guest?

  Lin Jinrong nodded slightly and didn't say much. Lin Liu thought for a moment, then smiled: "You're also too reclusive, never willing to go out with us together. Every time Lu Yun asks you why you don't go. By the way, last time Lu Lun asked me, how come we haven't seen you lately?"

  "He thought no one would bully him?"

  Lin Liu burst out laughing: "Oh yeah, that little black fatty doesn't know what he's doing all day, getting darker and fatter, but not growing an inch. Last time, he almost got into a fight with Seventh Sister again, and lost a piece of stinky mud he dug up from the pond, which got Seventh Sister's skirt all dirty, and he got scolded again."

  Although he's not tall now, he'll be a big and strong man in the future. Lin Jing thought of Lu Yun's mischievous ways and couldn't help but laugh from the heart: "He just doesn't remember getting hit. Why is he causing trouble with Seventh Sister again?"

  Lin Liu saw her interest and enthusiastically said: "He's shooting at us with a slingshot from the tree, isn't he short? Seventh Sister laughed at him for being short, dark and chubby..."

  Lin Wu said coldly on the side, "He just scolded Seventh Sister for being short and fat, so some people couldn't take it. Actually, he was just telling a big truth."

  The twin sisters were generally short and petite, smaller than Lin Jianrong and Lin Wu, but also a bit more plump. The elderly people thought they looked auspicious, but in fact, the twins themselves hated this. Lin Wu's words had touched on Lin Liu's sore spot, and her face suddenly changed, turning deathly pale.

  She stared at Lin for a moment before suddenly laughing: "Fifth sister, I wonder if Zhou's older brother will rush back to meet with the top two scorers of this year's imperial examination?"

  Lin Wu's face added another layer of resentment, and he turned his head away with a cold smile: "How would I know?"

  "I'll definitely go. All the scholars and gentlemen love to socialize with talented people, and he's also a relative, who knows, maybe in the future we'll become sworn brothers, I'll definitely go." Lin Liu said this sentence very firmly and walked away with satisfaction.

  Lin Wu's eyes were slightly red, and he lowered his head, looking both wronged and distressed.

  Two sisters, one in a good mood and the other depressed. Lin Jiran couldn't help but notice, wondering if there was something she didn't know about that had happened? Perhaps it was because the second wife and Lin Yuzhen had already reached an understanding, while the first wife saw no hope and decided to give up, planning to marry off Lin Wu to Zhou Mai? After all, Zhou Mai had also passed the local imperial examination in Songzhou and was considered a young talent, being steady and broad-minded. Although the Zhou family was a bit far away, compared to the Lu family, they were relatively simpler, and as a maternal relative, overall it was actually a pretty good match.

  If the Second Mistress and Lin Yuzhen really had some kind of tacit understanding, then it would be a truly delightful thing. With that, Lin Jinyong's mood improved a bit more. Even looking at those people he used to find annoying, their faces didn't seem so detestable anymore.

  People are more than people, Lin old master resolutely refused to see Lu old master, excusing himself that he was not feeling well, only letting someone bring a precious old kiln fish brain frozen inkstone to Lu Xuan as a congratulatory gift.

  Lin San Shao and Lin Si Shao also felt embarrassed to go, saying they wanted to stay home and study hard. So Old Lady Lin took the lead, leading a big family of old and young, grandly heading towards the Lu family's place.

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