While the Jia family was in chaos over Jia Zheng’s matter, the Lin family was still enveloped in joy. Lin Ruhai didn’t mind expressing to everyone his disharmonious relationship with the Jia family. No one was perfect—he also had his own flaws, which would make those above more at ease.

Moreover… regarding the Jia family’s situation, he was somewhat worried they would walk down a path of no return. He wanted to further separate, telling everyone that although the two families were related by marriage, they were not intimately united as one.

Equally overjoyed was the Tang family.

They were also very concerned about this future son-in-law who was a sure thing.

If Chen Yu had been a satisfactory husband before, after he passed the provincial examination, this satisfactory husband gained an extra gilded edge, becoming even more golden and dazzling, drawing envy.

This even caused some disturbances.

Not everyone could be matched to a satisfactory husband, especially in many people’s eyes—Tang Wanxin couldn’t match up to the Lin family’s son.

They couldn’t control their own marriage affairs or decide what kind of family they’d be matched to. Seeing someone’s marriage particularly outstanding, some people couldn’t control their inner emotions. However, it was limited to minor verbal squabbles—nothing serious arose, and Tang Wanxin resolved it herself.

Perhaps because emotions had been too intense recently over her grandson’s situation, the Old Madam fell ill.

Her health had always been well-maintained, but she was getting on in years after all. Her symptoms weren’t severe, but during the illness, her whole person lacked energy.

With her illness, the entire Lin household became very tense.

Lin Daiyu directly moved into her room and couldn’t be driven away: “Grandmother, don’t make me go back. I won’t go back. I’ll stay here and keep you company.”

“If you want quiet, I’ll just read or do needlework. Grandmother, do you want to hear scriptures? I’ll read them.”

Hearing this warmed the Old Madam’s heart. “No need. You do your own things. Let me lie down for a bit.”

She couldn’t always sleep. The Old Madam reclined against the headboard, eyes half-closed, occasionally opening them to look at Daiyu sitting by the window doing needlework.

What she was currently making was a bellyband—judging by the size, it was for children.

This was prepared for her two great-nephews.

The Old Madam sighed softly.

This lifetime of hers was worthwhile.

Once her grandson married and brought home a new wife and had children, she could close her eyes immediately. But she was still greedy after all—greedy to live a bit longer, wanting to see the birth of great-grandchildren, wanting to see Daiyu matched to a good family, wanting to see Luo Yu’s two children grow up safely.

She was very greedy.

Imagining the beautiful future she wanted to see, the Old Madam raised her hand, looking at the wrinkles—recovering slowly from an illness, she had grown old.

The Old Madam understood that no matter how reluctant, the Black and White Impermanence coming to take her soul wouldn’t show her mercy. Some things still needed to be arranged in advance.

If she truly didn’t have much time left, others were fine—basically everything was already properly arranged. The one she worried most about was Daiyu.

If, going round and round, her lifelong fate still connected with that Jia Baoyu, the Old Madam felt she would die with eyes wide open.

Logically, the possibility wasn’t high, but with that troublemaker Grandmother Jia there.

The Lin family was the best match Grandmother Jia could secure for that stone of her family. With her character, she’d be mad to give up.

Otherwise, where did those generous gifts each time come from?

Her thieving heart wouldn’t die.

If she used some conspiracy or scheme, calculating against the unsuspecting, it wasn’t completely impossible.

Moreover, there wasn’t just one Jia Baoyu in this world.

Men spoiled by parents and elders at home, without responsibility or self-awareness—there was more than just Jia Baoyu. Like her niece’s legitimate son Dong Wenyi—it had been quite a while since she’d heard from that family. Back then, he dared come pick and choose between her two granddaughters. Clearly Dong Wenyi had taken a liking to Ying Yu, yet that niece still had the nerve to seek marriage to Luo Yu—wasn’t it because she felt her son could match either one?

Their mentality was that their own child was good in every way, unable to see their own flaws.

They saw others’ defects quite clearly though, even magnifying them, wishing they could demean them into the mud so they’d match their children.

Daiyu would inevitably go through the selection process later. Her health indeed had some congenital deficiencies. Despite all this time of treatment and Doctor Zhou wasting so much time and effort, she was still weaker than ordinary people. Whenever seasons changed or she was slightly careless, she easily fell ill.

Of the three granddaughters in the family, two had grown up holding medicine bowls.

The eldest granddaughter had now basically been treated to no different than an ordinary person. The youngest granddaughter needed continuous medicine for maintenance.

But her condition hadn’t reached the level of being exempted from selection due to serious illness.

If she went through selection and her name tag was kept, the family she’d be matched to wouldn’t have low status, but character was another matter—maintaining good relations with her natal family was essential.

One’s natal family was always a daughter’s support.

Fortunately, the children’s relationships were all good. Once the new daughter-in-law entered, with Daiyu’s character and status, as long as the Tang family woman wasn’t foolish, she wouldn’t mistreat Daiyu.

But after she was gone, and her son was gone too, it wouldn’t be so certain. Chen Yu was male—he didn’t understand many inner chamber matters and couldn’t attend to everything. Her sister-in-law would inevitably need to step forward. And there was another person who couldn’t be ignored—that was Yun Shuyao.

Thinking of Yun Shuyao, the Old Madam looked toward Daiyu, just as Daiyu also looked over: “Grandmother, do you want water?”

The Old Madam shook her head: “No need.”

It must be said, Yun Shuyao had frequently surprised her.

Her gaze was distant, looking at the somewhat glaring sunlight outside the window. She closed her eyes, her thoughts slowly drifting far away, floating back over ten years.

When she first received the birth date and time, the Old Madam hadn’t believed it.

Because Master Zhiliao had no reputation. It was just casual conversation when he learned she wanted to hold grandchildren, and afterward he sent over a slip of paper with birth date and time written on it, saying she could obtain what she desired in Xingtai Prefecture. So she made inquiries in the city and learned of two women.

That birth date and time was actually not easy to find a suitable match for, because women of that age who hadn’t yet left the boudoir were very rare—most had already married, and a minority had already become mothers.

The only two unmarried ones were just those two.

Upon careful inquiry, she discovered the Yun family happened to be in trouble. She had felt it was too coincidental at the time.

Moreover, the Yun family were scholars. Many scholars were unwilling for their daughters to become concubines—this concerned integrity. But that family happened to be in dire straits. For an ordinary xiucai family, the county magistrate’s brother-in-law was a very difficult person to deal with—saying he’d go to prison, he was thrown in prison. But for the Lin family, dealing with him was easy.

The timing was just right.

It was too good—so good it made the Old Madam suspicious. Had the Yun family arranged it?

Because Yun Shuyao’s birth date and time became known to her when Madam Yun took the birth date and time to the temple to divine marriage fate.

At the same time, she had also suspected whether it was the Mei family’s doing. Both families were suspicious.

But holding onto a slim hope of chance, she still brought both people into the household one after another.

Afterward, the two became pregnant in quick succession. Yun Shuyao was pregnant with twins and gave birth to a son in one go, allowing her to successfully hold a great-grandson. This was the first surprise, also the first delight.

The second surprise was Yun Shuyao’s mentality. She was very steady. Year after year passed, and the Lin family only had Chen Yu as the male heir, yet Yun Shuyao remained neither arrogant nor impatient, making the Old Madam secretly admire her. With her character, being matched to sons of great families as principal wife would be completely fine.

The decision to keep the two children by her side required no struggle—it happened naturally.

The third surprise came after Jia Min’s death. The Old Madam had tested her—with Jia Min gone, Yun Shuyao had the highest status in the rear courtyard, but she still remained steady, carefully observing her duties.

Aside from what she studied and what she taught the children being somewhat unconventional, Yun Shuyao hadn’t thought of other things.

The fourth surprise was when she produced the seawater salt-making method and spirits purification method. The Old Madam still clearly remembered—after learning this news, she tossed and turned all night unable to sleep.

She was an inner chamber woman who didn’t understand court matters well, but even she could realize what astonishing changes these things could bring.

If Yun Shuyao were male, were an official, presenting these things would definitely earn promotion and leave a deep impression with those above.

The benefits were enormous, but the risks were equally enormous.

But the Old Madam also agreed. In the previous life, her son had lost his life in that position, and the Lin family bloodline was severed. With this method, her son could directly overturn the existing situation and start anew. Naturally, this would offend a group of people, but equally it would form a community of interests with another group.

Most importantly, this benefited the nation. The Emperor wasn’t incompetent—he would remember her son’s merits.

Her son indeed experienced danger. Afterward, Yun Shuyao was also rewarded, personally granted the rank of Imperial Mandate Lady by the Emperor. Her status became incomparable to before.

She wasn’t her son’s principal wife, but could the new daughter-in-law entering the household not treat her as a proper mother-in-law? Impossible.

If Yun Shuyao could also care for Daiyu more, Daiyu would have even more support.

The two of them spent too little time together. How could feelings be cultivated this way?

The Old Madam quickly had an idea. She opened her eyes and called softly: “Daiyu, come here.”

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu immediately put down her needlework: “Grandmother, do you want water?”

She poured a cup of tea, testing the temperature with the back of her hand—warm, just right.

The Old Madam took it and drank a sip. “Your brother will return soon. When he returns, we’ll inevitably hold a banquet. It doesn’t need to be grand. Before long, he’ll be welcoming your sister-in-law into the household. Originally I wanted to personally oversee it, but now I have the will but not the strength. I’ll have to trouble you and Concubine Yun.”

Since Yun Shuyao was granted imperial mandate rank, she had gradually taken over the household management. The Old Madam only held nominal title and basically didn’t manage—she had yet to make any mistakes.

Daiyu usually stayed by her side and was no stranger to household management, but she had never presided over a banquet before.

“Concubine Yun is steady and reliable. If you don’t understand something, humbly seek her guidance.”

Yun Shuyao subsequently also came before the Old Madam. Hold a banquet together with Daiyu?

Naturally, this was no problem.

Yun Shuyao didn’t have such strong desire for power over household management—it was just that. She also didn’t need to establish her authority in the household through managing it. Once Wanxin entered the household and gradually became familiar with things, the management would be transferred to her.

If not for the Old Madam’s advanced age and Daiyu still being young, Yun Shuyao would have no intention of taking over at all.

Wasn’t spending more time cultivating pleasant?

The Old Madam smiled: “In that case, Daiyu, you follow by Concubine Yun’s side and watch how she does things.”

They had already received word from the manservant who returned early with news—Chen Yu’s return to the capital was imminent.

To hold a banquet satisfactorily, so people couldn’t pick out flaws, required advance preparation.

There were many trivial matters during this period. Otherwise, Wang Xifeng wouldn’t have fallen ill from exhaustion managing the household. This was partly because the Jia family servants weren’t so easy to command, but also partly because the matters themselves were trivial.

Especially with many guests coming—guest seating, dishes, preferences, grievances all needed consideration.

Daiyu: “…”

She indeed still didn’t like household management—she preferred quietly sitting alone by the window reading. But she also knew this was for her own good.

In the future, she could choose not to manage the household, but she couldn’t be incapable of managing it.

Chen Yu’s journey back to the capital was generally smooth.

The first half of the journey was uneventful, but approaching the capital, they encountered an incident.

A group ahead of them had a carriage accident. They stopped them to request help. Chen Yu inquired—it was the young county princess from Prince Nan’an’s residence and her party. They had gone out for leisure, and on the return journey the carriage broke down and couldn’t be quickly repaired. Chen Yu lent out his own carriage and rode horseback back to the capital himself.

It was meant to be a small favor, but unexpectedly, this loan created an incident. When this young county princess changed carriages, she saw Chen Yu. A casual glance left her stunned—her heart stirred.

What a refined young gentleman! Completely different from those rough military men she usually encountered.

She asked her personal maid: “Whose young master is this?”

The personal maid didn’t know either. She went to ask the guards before answering: “He’s the only son of Right Censor-in-Chief Lord Lin, related by marriage to the Jia family.”

The young county princess’s gaze burned. On this trip to the capital, her grandmother had the intention of arranging viewings for her. She raised her chin: “He can barely match me. Is he betrothed?”