On the fourth day after Lin Tingxun's death, Lin Tingji sent his eldest son Lin Xu Lu to bring his wife and six servants to Jiangning to assist in handling Lin Tingxun's funeral affairs and to observe mourning rituals on his behalf.

  Lin Xulü was the third among his brothers in the Lin family, just over thirty years old, with a dense short mustache on his upper lip, and an extraordinary appearance. He had passed the imperial examination as a xiucai and juren in his early years, and this year he came to Yanjing to participate in the spring trial of the metropolitan examination and returned to Dongyang after failing to pass.

  Lin Xulü arrived at the river mouth, first changed into mourning clothes to the Yizhuang stop spirit hall room worship Lin Tingxun, and saw a few aunt after, then went to Caotang to visit Lin Fu, handed over his father's letter to Lin Fu.

  "Third brother, please sit down," Lin Xie invited Lin Xu Lu to sit down. He sat behind the desk and opened the letter that Lin Ting Li had given him. Lin Ting Li's handwriting was in small script, densely packed on several pages of paper. The opening paragraph described the latest situation in Dongyang Prefecture.

  Shi Liang County has been in enemy hands for seven or eight days, and further news has also been sent back to Jiangning.

  When Liu An's troops captured Shiliang, County Magistrate Liang Zuoren gathered the crowd to resist on the city wall. He was shot in the face and died. After Liang Zuoren's death, the defenders of the city wall also surrendered without a fight. The officials, including Jiaoyu Lu Dongyang and Chief Clerk Chen Ling, were all captured by the enemy. According to the latest intelligence, Chief Clerk Chen Ling defected to the enemy the day after his capture, while Jiaoyu Lu Dongyang and other officials refused to surrender and have been taken prisoner by Liu An's troops and are being held in Sichuan Province.

  When Shiliang County fell, Dongyang Prefect Shen Zong was seriously injured and unconscious. As the deputy prefect of Dongyang, Lin Tingli was the highest official in Shiliang County. There were many reasons for the fall of Shiliang County, and everyone tried to shift the blame, but Lin Tingli could not shirk his responsibility for resisting weakness and poor deployment.

  Shen Zeng, the prefect of Dongyang, who was seriously injured and unconscious in Shiliang County, miraculously regained consciousness after returning to Dongyang, and could even barely handle official duties while lying on his sickbed, putting Lin Tingli at a disadvantage.

  Lin Jiyuan and Chen Shouyan led two hundred local militiamen to escort the Vice Censor-in-Chief Gu Wuchen to Dongyang to supervise the pacification of Dongyang Prefecture, which slightly improved Lin Tingli's situation.

  The Lin and Gu families had old grievances, but that was a thing of the past. After Gu Wu Chen was pardoned and reinstated, there were no longer any irreconcilable contradictions between the two families. Moreover, Gu Ying Xiu was the widow of the Lin family, and Lin Fu was also a member of the Lin family. Even if Gu Wu Chen had the intention to win over Shen Rong, he would not sit idly by and watch Shen Rong suppress Lin Ting Li without limit.

  After Gu Wu Chen arrived in Dongyang, he temporarily suppressed the contradictions between Shen Rong and Lin Tingli, and even temporarily appointed Lin Tingli and Lin Zonghai to be responsible for the affairs of training militia within the borders of Dongyang Prefecture.

  "My father often said in Dongyang that you, Old Seventeen, will be the pillar of the Lin family and told me to consult with you on all matters when I come to Jiangning. Now that I'm here, I see that the scenery by the river is indeed extraordinary..." said Lin Xulü.

  "Let the second uncle and third brother praise him, Lin Xuan was ashamed and dared not accept it." Others gave peaches, Lin Xuan naturally also returned pears, and in the greeting, he first became familiar with Lin Tingli and Lin Xuquan.

  In the end, Lin Tingli was able to temporarily turn the tables and regain the initiative because of Gu Wuduan and Lin Lian's relationship. Moreover, the crisis on his body had not been completely resolved, and Lin Lian had also made it clear that he would not take advantage of the situation to seize control of the Lin family's assets. Furthermore, at this point in time, Lin Lian was no longer the same as Wu Xiaoming, and neither Lin Tingli nor Lin Xulü knew about their relationship with each other, truly a case of not knowing how to be human.

  After reading the letter, Lin Xie let out a faint sigh in his heart: Lin Tingli was ultimately not ruthless enough, Shen Rong's arrow wound was indeed very serious, he could have made Shen Rong's injury even more severe or even fatal during the treatment process, how could he end up being so passive?

  Lin Xulü was after all here to mourn, so Lin Fu didn't think it appropriate to hold a grand banquet for him. That night, he set up a private dinner in the thatched cottage and invited Lin Mengde, Lin Jingzhong, Lin XuHong and three clan elders to join Third Master Lin Xulü. He had Liu Yu'er and Xiao Man accompany Lin Xulü's wife to eat in the inner courtyard.

  Lin Xuhong and the three elders recognized that the Lin family's power had been passed down to Lin Xuhe, so they might as well give up their opposition. The opposing emotions between them and Lin Xu suddenly melted away like hot water poured on ice and snow. After Lin Xu made it clear that he would not control the clan's power or seize its property, especially after Lin Meng let go of the affairs in Jiangning, these people turned around and became extremely flattering towards Lin Xu.

  The Da Gongzi's side will take at least half a month to get a letter back, and the Lin family's affairs are all in a mess, can't wait that long to solve them. The three wives, six wives, and young wife Ma Shi are all women who usually live in deep houses and have little knowledge of the world. The third son, Lin Xu Lu, represents the second master, and the Lin family in Jiangning finally has someone who can make decisions.

  After the banquet, preparations were made to discuss official business. Lin Xulü said to Lin Zhen: "We also need to borrow this place from Old Seventeen. I'll have someone invite Third Aunt, Sixth Aunt, Seventh Aunt and Second Sister-in-law over to discuss matters..."

  "This..." Lin said hesitantly.

  Lin Xian continued to squeeze out a few separate courtyards from the surrounding houses to accommodate the Lin family members. Lin Xu and others discussed major clan affairs, suggesting that they should go there together, borrowing a place here, obviously wanting him to participate together. Lin Xian naturally had to decline.

  "Jiangning's situation, Lao Shi Qi and Meng De Shu are the most familiar. When I came over, Father also specifically instructed that even if Lao Shi Qi is busy with affairs, he must ask Meng De Shu to help make decisions. Father said that now Xu Xi and Zhao Yi are both young, and the inner house also needs someone who can make decisions. There is no one more suitable than Qi Niang. Of course, this is only spoken here, don't let San Niang and Liu Niang know, I must not offend San Niang and Liu Niang..." Lin Xu Lu said.

  Lin Mengde only thoroughly understood now that Lin Xie's move of "not contending" was extremely clever.

  Rather than fighting and causing divisions, it's better to take a step back and unite the Lin family to face the current crisis.

  Lin Xie is considered the head of the Lin family in Jiangning, and the Lin family is considered to be a guest household that has fallen on hard times in Jiangning. As long as there are no major conflicts over clan power or property, the Lin family will still rely on Lin Xie for all matters in Jiangning.

  The Seventh Lady had no children, and after Lin Tingxun's death, she should not have participated in the clan's major events. However, Lin Tingli still suggested that the Seventh Lady take charge of internal affairs, mainly because he valued her as a family-oriented person. Whether Lin Tingli can escape the crisis in Dongyang depends on Gu Wuchen's crucial role.

  Although Lin Tingli was somewhat lacking in courage, he was not a fool. He knew that at this time, it would be better to let the Lin family's foundation take root and continue on, rather than stubbornly holding onto those 200,000 taels of silver, that large pile of land deeds, property deeds, and house deeds. As long as there were people and power, the money could be gathered again later, even if it meant fighting for power and position, but that would have to wait until the Lin family had passed through their current crisis.

  Lin Jingzhong did not yet have the qualifications to participate in major Lin family affairs, so he withdrew and after a while, Third Lady, Sixth Lady, Seventh Lady, and Young Lady Ma were summoned over.

  The three madams, the six madams, and Young Madam Ma all knew that at this time, they were in a precarious situation, and it was impossible to go against the trend. Letting Lin Xian participate in family affairs was inevitable. The Gu family's power was also great, and they knew many things that even the young ladies couldn't match, let alone Little Seven Gu Yingxue. Moreover, these matters had all been decided by Second Master Lin Tingli, so it wasn't convenient to oppose them anymore.

  Everyone sat down in the front hall, and the candle flames were blown by the wind that had slipped in, flickering unsteadily.

  "Father means that the eldest brother's future is important, and if things can't be bothered with him, then don't bother him. After Hong Zepu's situation stabilizes and Eldest Uncle returns to his ancestral tomb for burial, Eldest Brother can return home to observe mourning," Lin Xu said, "What do you three aunts think? If you think it's feasible, I'll immediately write a letter to Eldest Brother explaining the situation here and have someone rush to deliver it to Yanjing, letting him decide for himself."

  Lin Xuan sat silently on the side, this letter was to inform Lin Xuwen that the major events of the Lin family had been settled, and even if he returned, it would not affect the overall situation. It's better to stay in Yanjing and wait for opportunities for promotion. At this time, Lin Xuan didn't worry about Lin Xuwen coming to Jiangning to guard his filial piety. After all, at this time, the Chu Party was in power in the court, and he was a trusted confidant of the new nobleman Gu Wu of the Chu Party. He did everything properly, so how could Lin Xuwen get involved with him?

  "Father's intention is to visit the Gu family and pay respects, but with mourning clothes on, it's not convenient to visit. What to do? Let Seventh Aunt decide." Lin Xulü said to his wife, Gu Yingxiu, as he had brought her along on this trip specifically to take the path of a lady.

  Gu Wu Chen has the power to decide Lin Ting Li's fate in Dongyang, and Gu Wu Chen's father-in-law, Tang Hao Xin, is a senior leader of the Chu Party. He has a significant impact on whether the eldest son can regain his position in the court. At this time, it is necessary to completely resolve the contradictions between the Lin and Gu families, and not be restricted by the matter of mourning.

  "Mrs. Gu sent a message yesterday saying she would come to pay her respects, and maybe she'll be here in the next two days." Lin said casually, thinking that tomorrow he would send someone into the city to deliver a message, making Mrs. Gu go to great trouble to come to the river mouth to receive gifts, how could she refuse? He thought that Lin Tingli didn't have the grandeur of grasping the overall situation, but his ability to curry favor was quite strong.

  The Lin and Gu families didn't have any irreconcilable contradictions, although the Gu family still had complaints about the Lin family, but they couldn't affect the overall situation. Both the Lin and Gu families were local factions in Dongyang Prefecture's Shiliang County, and it was mutually beneficial for them to cooperate in court. It was rare for the Lin family to take the initiative to show humility, and Gu Wuduan wouldn't refuse.

  If Gu Wu Chen refused, he wouldn't have been able to bring the village braves raised by the Lin family to Dong Yang Fu in the first place.

  "That's perfect," Lin Xulü said, "Father had me bring some small items from Dongyang, fearing that sending them to the Gu family would be insufficient, and also asked the three aunts to take another idea..."

  Lin Xulü pulled out a gift list from his pocket, but first handed it to Lin Fu to take a look. How to get along with the Gu family, Lin Fu and Qi Furen Gu Yanshou were the key, Lin Tingli and Lin Xulü father and son understood this very well.

  Lin Guan looked at the list of gold and silver utensils, jade utensils, and jewelry written on it. He didn't quite understand this stuff, but in short, they wouldn't be worth too little. Lin Ting had a large family business in Dongyang Prefecture as well.

  Lin tied the list to Gu Yingxiu, and after reading it, she discussed with San Furen, Liu Furen and Shao Furen Ma Shi. When they withdrew from Lin's house, in addition to gold and silver, they also brought out a pile of gold and silver utensils, jade utensils and jewelry, most of which were private items in the hands of various housewives. The four women discussed for a while and decided to make another list according to the original one, combine them together as a big gift to give to Gu's family.