Seeking red tickets and collections, just a click of the red ticket is fine.

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  Lin Xians blunt refusal left Lin Tingxuan stunned for a moment, giving him the feeling that it was like throwing a dog a bone and having it kicked back in his face. Moreover, Lin Xians mention of "two or three people" completely disregarded his admiration for Zhou Pu and insisted on taking these two as attendants.

  Lin Tingxun had always been well-behaved, calm in the face of events, and wouldnt change color even if Mount Tai collapsed before his eyes. However, Lin Xies refusal was completely beyond his expectations, and he didnt know what to say next.

  Lin Xuzong originally didnt think much of Lin Ye and was waiting for him to make a mistake, but he didnt expect this kid to be so foolish as to refuse the Nanxi Village heads residence on his own, so he just stood by with his hands in his sleeves, watching coldly.

  Gu Ying was also very surprised, just now on the street Lin Xie insisted on taking Zhou Pu and his uncle as attendants, at this time he refused Lin Tingxuns kindness, and couldnt help but think: what does this guy want to do?

  The warm pavilion was heated by geothermal energy. All the windows facing the garden were open, and it was warm and cozy, completely devoid of the chill of early winter.

  Lins refusal left Lin Tingxun, who was normally composed and mature, momentarily at a loss for words. The warm pavilion suddenly fell into an icy silence that made ones heart tremble, the atmosphere becoming stiff to the extreme.

  Zhao Hu, Lin Jingzhong, Gu Changshun and Zhao Neng stood in the garden and could see through the window into the warm pavilion. In their hearts, they lamented: "Lin Xian is really muddle-headed, even if he didnt want to refuse, he couldnt have done it so cleanly and neatly without giving face to the master of the house. He could have asked Madame Qi to help him make excuses afterwards."

  Gu Changs face was expressionless, anyway he already knew Lin Xuans meaning from Zhao Hu.

  Only Zhao Neng was both surprised and overjoyed in his heart, he escaped from Baisha County, although he escaped with his life, but Lin Xuan died in Baisha County. As a follower who took care of him on the road, he had some responsibility that could not be shirked. After returning to Shiliang County, Zhao Neng naturally made every effort to frame Lin Xuan for his mistakes and shift the blame. The Lin family did not make things difficult for Zhao Neng either, especially when Zhao Hu was rough with Lin Tingxun during the interrogation, angering Lin Tingxun and punishing Zhao Hu, Zhao Neng even gained some sympathy, and the matter was lightly passed over. Seventh Lady also hated Lin Xuan for being bewitched by the fox spirit and throwing away his own life, and did not want to pursue Zhao Nengs mistakes either.

  Zhao Neng never thought that Lin Xie would be so stubborn, and he actually came back to life twice. As soon as the news of Lin Xies return spread, Zhao Neng was frightened and flustered, especially when he heard that Master wanted to use the mansion in Nanxi Village to win over Lin Xie. Zhao Neng was even more worried that the matter of Baisha County would be brought up again. If that happened, his small mistake would be magnified tenfold, and it was possible that he would be dragged to the ancestral temple and beaten to death. How could he not be frightened and flustered? He never thought that Lin Xie would be so ungrateful this time, directly rejecting Masters good intentions to win him over.

  Zhaos hand gently covered his chest, and he felt that the heart hanging in his throat always fell back to its original place. However, at the same time, he was also puzzled: Had Lin Xiao eaten the wrong medicine?

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  Zhou Pu stood with his hands in his sleeves, looking at Zuo Qiang and the others, and he was also extremely puzzled in his heart.

  Zhou Puxi is straightforward and unpretentious, likes to crack jokes with Liu Ma Kou, and is also rough in his words and deeds in front of people like Qin Chengzu and Cao Zikou. However, this life has been full of twists and turns, and he has experienced all sorts of hardships and dangers, his eyesight is not something ordinary people can compare with.

  At first, Zhou Pu didnt understand why Lin Xie was so poor in Shiliang County, nor did he understand why Lin Xies status in the Lin family was so low. He thought that if Lin Xie hadnt passed the imperial examination, his status would probably be only slightly higher than Zhao Hu and Lin Jingchang, and not as good as Gu Changshun and Zhao Neng, who were born into wealthy families. Zhou Pu couldnt understand why Lin Xie seemed so incompetent in other peoples eyes. He could see that Qiufu, Zhao Hu, Lin Jingzhong and others all genuinely cared about Lin Xie, but they all vied with each other to help Lin Xie make decisions, as if in their eyes, Lin Xie was a person without his own opinions.

  Whats going on here? Zhou Pu really couldnt understand, he had been in the army for half his life, and there were only a few people who could make him sigh in admiration, Lin Xie was definitely one of them. From encountering bandits in Baisha County, hiding in a boat to tailing them to an island, to cleverly killing several times more Ninghai Town elites with Fu Qinghe, rescuing Su Mei and the young boys, successfully taking over the ship and leaving the deserted island, and contributing a strange strategy to join forces to rob the official ship without harming a single soldier or guard, rescuing Zi Ang and Fourth Madam... The bravery, strategy, and righteousness shown in these events, except for Master Hou, Zhou Pu really hadnt seen it in anyone else. Just now at Zhao Hus house, when Zhao Hu and Lin Jingzhong were desperately advising Lin Xie to accept the kindness of his family as if he had done something wrong, Zhou Pu really wanted to shout in their ears: What qualifications do you have to point fingers at Lin Xie?

  Although he was very puzzled, Zhou Pu still made the wise choice to observe quietly. He believed that Lin Xuan had the ability to resolve everything well and didnt need him to worry about anything. Before landing, Qin Chengzu also talked to him alone about the reception on the shore, which should be mainly led by Lin Xuan, and his main task was to protect Lin Xuans safety.

  Lin Xie was also getting a headache, in Baisha County, he was no longer the original Lin Xie. Zhou Pu and Zhao Hus impression of him had a huge gap, which was normal, but it couldnt be avoided that some small troubles would arise: Seventh Madame looked at him with her eyebrows slightly furrowed, her beautiful eyes narrowed, undoubtedly hinting for him to change his words quickly. Lin Xie could only pretend not to see it.

  Lin Tingxun coughed a few times, relieving the awkwardness of his momentary distraction, and said: "Good, good, good..." He repeated the word "good" three times in a row. The others were also completely baffled as to what was so "good" about Lin Xiangs blunt refusal. Lin Tingxun himself realized he had said too many "goods", rubbed his hands together, and continued: "As long as youre back alive, thats all that matters... Your aunt has been worried sick about you this whole month. As long as youre back alive, thats all that matters... Since youve decided to stay with Zhao Hu for the time being, then so be it." His expression was one of seeing off a guest, without any intention of winning over Zhou Pus heart.

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  Lin Xie bid farewell and exited the warm pavilion, Zhao Hu and Lin Jingzhong both shook their heads and sighed, also helplessly following Lin Xie as they left the Imperial Garden. They walked to the gatehouse at the main entrance, when suddenly someone rushed up behind them in a flurry of footsteps, shouting for Lin Xie to wait a moment.

  Lin tied back head see is Zhao Hus mother from inside chase out, ask way: "Zhao aunt, have what matter?"

  "By the way, Mother, what did Seventh Madame want to see you about so early in the morning?" Zhao Hu asked, still thinking about the errand Seventh Madame had him run on the street that morning.

  "Lets talk about that later, dont get angry," Zhao Hus mother hurried over, panting, and said to Lin Xiu, "Lin Xiuzai, Seventh Madame wants you to wait for her here for a moment, she has something to say to you..."

  Lin Xie thought that the Seventh Lady was probably also dissatisfied with his response earlier, which is why she wanted him to wait for her here. The Cuiyuan where Gu Ying lived was located in the northwest corner of the mansion, opposite the Xishu Garden, and it was necessary to avoid taboos, so Lin Xie couldnt go to the Cuiyuan to find the Seventh Lady, he could only stand outside the gatehouse basking in the sun waiting for the Seventh Lady to come over.

  After a moment, Seventh Madame Gu Ying rushed over, ignoring Zhao Hu and Lin Jingzhongs greetings as well as Zhao Hus mothers, and hastily asked Lin Xie: "Whats going on? Why dont you want the Nanxi Village heads house? Didnt you say that if you could move into that house, youd be content for this lifetime?"

  "Was I too naive back then?" Lin Xuan said with a smile.

  "Now that the idea is no longer immature?" Gu Ying saw the doorman peeking out from the door, his eyes looking over, and without her saying anything, the doormans head retreated. The Seventh Lady speaking with others was not something he could eavesdrop on. Zhao Hu and Lin Jing also stood aside, waiting for the Seventh Lady to persuade Lin Xuan to change his mind, and now turning back to plead with the master of the house, perhaps there might still be some room for recovery.

  "As soon as I returned, the host generously gave me a beautiful house. Is the next step to arrange a marriage for me?" Lin asked.

  "Whats wrong with that? You should have gotten married long ago, and previously it could be said that it was for the sake of a career, but now that youve passed the imperial examination, shouldnt you be thinking about getting married? Whats wrong with Master arranging a good match for you?" asked Gu Yingzhuo.

  "I accepted the house of Nanxi Zongzi, and indeed I couldnt refuse the family heads arrangement for my marriage," Lin Fu said, "I just find it strange, I only passed the imperial examination at the county level, why does the family head need to be so eager about me?"

  "What do you think it is?" asked Gu Ying.

  "Yingxiang sister, you know..." Lin Xuan said.

  "…what do I know?" Gu Ying asked, only to realize that Lin Xie didnt call her "Seventh Lady" this time, but instead called her "Ying Jie sister" like when they were young. She was slightly taken aback and felt a bit embarrassed, her expression somewhat awkward as she said, "What are you shouting about? Youre not even following proper seniority?" At this moment, she recalled that Lin Ting Xun had mentioned earlier when he saw off the guests, his tone was quite heavy when he said the word "aunt", seemingly with some implication. She thought to herself: Could it be that the old man is being suspicious again? In her heart, she cursed Lin Ting Xun silently, but didnt show it on her face.

  Lin Tie didnt know what was on Gu Yings mind, so he lowered his voice and said: "Sister Ying, you should know that Liang Zuoren, the county magistrate, has been strongly promoting the establishment of a patrol inspectors office at Shanglin Village Ferry. I heard before I went to Jiangning for the exam that the documents had already been submitted directly to the Proclamation Office of the Grand Coordinator, bypassing Dongyang Prefecture. I believe the Lin family has the ability to block it once or twice again, but the trend is to set up a patrol inspectors office at Shanglin Ferry. Rather than making things awkward and losing face, why not cooperate proactively and exchange for some favorable conditions for the Lin family? As a holder of the imperial examination degree, I may be useful or useless, but if our family plans carefully, we can agree to set up the patrol inspectors office at Shanglin Village Ferry, and in return, I will become the ninth-rank patrol inspector. That should be the compromise condition in our familys plan, right?"