When Lin Xiao walked into Foning Hall, the flower hall of Foning Hall was filled with intermittent conversations and occasional bright laughter from women.

  Lin Xiao asked Yaya Zisu: "Is there a guest at Grandma's place?"

  Zi Su smiled and replied: "Yes, it's the wife of Marquis Chang Xuan."

  Lin He furrowed her brow, somewhat astonished. Because when the eldest son of the Duke of Changxuan was making a fuss about marrying Lin Xian, the Duchess and Li Shi had almost fallen out, and the two families hadn't been in contact for many years. She really couldn't understand why the Duchess would come to their door again.

  Zi Su seemed to have noticed the confusion on Lin Xiao's face, and leaned in to whisper: "The Marchioness of Chang Xuan has come to play matchmaker. She wants to arrange a marriage between their second daughter, Fu Wu, and Fourth Young Master."

  Lin Ya was even more surprised, Fu Wu Niang should be the legitimate daughter of the second house of the Fu family if she remembered correctly. What Lin Cheng said made him sound good, but in reality, he was a child born out of wedlock, his birth mother had no status, and he couldn't even be considered an illegitimate child. It was precisely because of this that the marriage between Lin Cheng and Lin Ya had always been awkward and uncertain, stuck in limbo.

  But she thought of the numerous matchmakers and marriage proposers who had come to their door recently, and felt it was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Zi Su also smiled and joked with Lin Xiao: "You say these ladies are really funny, do you know that yesterday there was even a lady who came to ask for the hand of Sixth Miss in marriage for her son. Sixth Miss is only a few years old, and her son is only eight years old."

  Actually, everyone knows that the Lin Mansion became so popular after Lin Xiang set her mind to become the Empress. In the past when Lin Xian was still alive, the Lin family was also very popular, but after Lin Xian's death, people inside and outside the court felt that with the new Empress being established, the position of the Crown Prince was too uncertain, especially with Wu Guifei having two imperial sons, it seemed like she had a strong chance of becoming the next Empress, so the Lin family's situation became less prominent.

  So at this time, Zi Su was sarcastic about those who followed the trend, but also had a hint of pride on his body.

  Lin Xiao smiled and said: "Since grandmother has a guest, I'll go take a look at my maternal grandmother in the backyard."

  Logically speaking, with guests arriving, she should go to pay her respects. But given her current status, going would only lead to endless trouble, and she was fed up with dealing with them, so it's better to temporarily avoid them.

  Zi Su also understood Lin Xiao's meaning and said: "Fourth Miss, you can go now. After the lady finishes receiving guests, I'll come to call you."

  Lin Dai nodded and went to the backyard.

  Mrs. Zhuang was lying in the rocking chair under the tree in the yard, basking in the sun and humming a tune. Lin Daiyu had heard this tune before, and sometimes when Mrs. Zhuang was in a good mood, she would hum it too. It seemed to be a song that Lin's grandfather used to sing when he was the leader of the mountain stronghold, a kind of folk song that wasn't very elegant but had a lively melody.

  Madam Zhuang saw Lin Daiyu enter and smiled as she beckoned to her, saying: "Yuanyuan, come in quickly, come in quickly."

  Lin Xiao laughed and walked over, squatting down beside her, laughing and saying: "What was Grandma just humming? Teach me to sing it too."

  The old lady said: "That's not possible, this tune is not pleasant to listen to."

  She lay on the rocking chair and looked at Lin Yan for a while, then stretched out her hand to touch her hair, and sighed: "In the blink of an eye, you've grown up so big, and now you're going to get married." She said, comparing with her hands, and continued: "When you were just born, you were only this small. Your mother had a difficult time giving birth to you, and your father and mother had just made up. Grandma was worried about you. On the one hand, she was worried that your father and mother would quarrel again, on the other hand, she was worried that you wouldn't survive, and even if you did, you might not be healthy. But unexpectedly, you're a child who brings joy to others, not only growing up healthy and strong, but also more sensible than anyone else. I know your mother's temper, sometimes it's also frustrating, if it weren't for you mediating in the middle, your father and mother might not have the life they have today."

  Lin Yan pretended to be angry and said, "Grandma, what are you talking about? Mother is not as bad as you say. Look at Father now, he's so considerate of Mother, giving in to her on everything. It's all thanks to Father that they can get along like this."

  The old lady said: "I know, I know, your father is also a good one now."

  Now is good, which means before was not good.

  Lin Yan smiled slightly, but was afraid that her paternal grandmother still had some resentment in her heart for what her father had done to her mother in the past.

  Lin Xiao wanted to say a few more words to amuse Old Lady Zhuang, but at this moment, a maid came in to report: "Young Master Zhuang has arrived."

  Then a man in a green robe walked in, Lin Daiyu stood up and gave him a family salute, calling out: "Second Uncle".

  Zhuang Er Ye hastily dodged to the side, then slightly bowed and said: "Yuanyuan." Then he turned back to Old Lady Zhuang, bowed and called out: "Auntie."

  Lin Xiao thought he had something to say to Old Lady Zhuang, so she said: "Second Uncle, you talk to my grandmother, I'll go make some tea for you."

  "Sorry for the trouble."

  Lin Xiao looked at him, awkward and polite, yet showing a bit of closeness, feeling somewhat helpless. Since the engagement, many things and people's attitudes towards her had changed, some subtly, others quietly.

  Lin Xiao went to the tea room and waited for the water to boil. After a short while, she brought over the tea leaves and hot water again.

  Zhuang Er Ye was still talking to Zhuang Lao Furen, and it seemed like he was asking for her opinion. Zhuang Lao Furen nodded and said a few more words. Lin Xiao didn't hear what they were saying because she was too far away.

  Qing Lin carried the tea up front and they stopped talking.

  Zhuangzi drank two cups of tea and soon bid farewell and left.

  Lin Yan saw him off and asked on the way out, "Second Uncle, I heard you want to move out?"

  Zhuang Ziyi nodded and said: "Yes, I came this time just to bid farewell to Auntie."

  "Is it because I didn't live well in the Lin family?"

  Zhuang Ziyi hastily said: "No, no, it's very good here. Both the Old Lady and the Duke are very considerate."

  Lin Xiao smiled and looked at him without speaking, as if waiting for him to say something. And Zhuang Er Ye looked at her like this, but felt a bit embarrassed to continue hiding from her.

  Later, thinking about it, this younger sister will be the empress in the future, and some things really can't be hidden from her. So he continued: "The Zhuang family wants to transfer part of their business to Beijing, and I'll manage the business here in Beijing. Since that's the case, I must live in Beijing permanently, which would be a bit troublesome for the Lin family. I've bought a house in Beijing, first because it's more comfortable living in my own place, and second because it will be more convenient to meet with those officials in the future.

  Actually, Mr. Zhuang had planned to move some of his business to the capital, but it was only after he went to Beijing and learned about Lin Daiyu that he wrote a letter back home to discuss and decide with the Zhuang family.

  The Zhuang family's business has always been in Jiangnan, and they are also one of the top merchant families in Jiangnan. In the past, they mainly dealt with silk fabrics, but in recent years, they have started to engage in the business of transporting goods by sea, mainly shipping the Zhuang family's silk fabrics overseas for sale, and then exchanging them for foreign treasures to bring back to Jiangnan for sale.

  The current head of the Zhuang family, to put it bluntly, is not even comparable to the richest man in Jiangnan. However, no matter how large their business is, nobody would not want to take another step forward. Now that Lin Daiyu, this niece, is about to become the Empress, the Zhuang family wants to use this as an opportunity to walk the path of imperial tribute and become a tribute merchant.

  Lin Xiao turned her head back and didn't say another word. Actually, she had already somewhat understood the Zhuang family's intentions from what Zhuang Shi had said earlier.

  For a long time, the royal tribute business has been almost monopolized by the Wu family. You can say that they are not upright in their dealings, but they are indeed rich enough to rival a country. Nearly half of the national money houses belong to the Wu family.

  At the time of Taizu's uprising, other meritorious officials were all following Taizu to conquer the world and were granted titles for their merits. Only the Wu family was granted a dukedom for providing financial assistance to Taizu. Therefore, when the country was first established, many other meritorious officials looked down on the Wu family and ridiculed them as "Copper Plate Dukes".

  But since the Zhuang family wants to take away the Wu family's business and Father, Grandmother and others did not object, it means that Father and Grandmother have their own plans, she doesn't need to worry too much.