The mourning period was twenty-seven months.

After holding a Buddhist ceremony, Luo Yu and the others returned to their normal lives.

They could wear beautiful clothes and don pretty jewelry. Seeing her daughter looking so bright and radiant, Yun Shuyao developed a new hobby—styling her daughter in various ways.

This made Concubine Mei’s heart bleed with jealousy.

She felt the master was truly going too far, showing such favoritism!

Her daughter was also Lin family blood, so why didn’t she receive the same treatment?

Lin Ruhai felt innocent. The things he prepared for his daughters were basically identical sets of three.

He just put a bit more thought into the youngest daughter’s items, while many of Luo Yu’s things were purchased by her own concubine mother from her private funds.

He explained this, but Concubine Mei didn’t believe him.

She knew that Yun Shuyao could cultivate flowers, decorating her courtyard beautifully and even gifting some flowers and plants to the old lady, greatly pleasing her. She also had her own shops outside.

But she had shops too, more than one even. How could Yun Shuyao earn so much more?

Lin Ruhai: “…”

Ying Yu understood somewhat. “Concubine Mother, it’s different…”

The flowers and plants that Concubine Yun cultivated were very valuable.

Moreover, when it came to purchasing things, Concubine Yun was truly generous.

Concubine Mei jabbed forcefully at her daughter. “You’re actually defending her? Don’t you know I’m fighting for your sake?”

Ying Yu: “…” But I can’t just stand by and watch you speak nonsense, can I?

Because the likelihood of being able to return and see friends here again after leaving was very small, the younger ones bid farewell to their friends as before, while the adults handled the disposal of properties and various matters here.

Some items they still needed but couldn’t easily replace were sent ahead to the capital.

Wherever Lin Ruhai held office, Yun Shuyao would open her shop there, still selling flowers and plants.

Whenever there was a festival or celebration in official circles, or someone was hosting a banquet, her shop’s business would welcome a small peak.

No hooligans or corrupt officials dared to cause trouble there, requiring no extra effort or bribes.

Though it appeared to be just one shop, only Yun Shuyao herself knew exactly how much profit it generated.

Although she hadn’t been in Anlin Prefecture long and the flowers and plants cultivated on her purchased estates weren’t abundant, the premium specimens she personally cultivated with her abilities were already enough to support a shop.

Handling her business was actually quite simple.

Most of it was sold off. The treasures she was taking with her—those she had continuously nurtured with her special abilities—she carried with her, so there was no worry about incidents on the road.

The rest were just some seeds and seedlings.

Moreover, because their traveling party included the old lady, who was advanced in years and couldn’t travel too urgently, they proceeded very slowly on this journey.

Lin Ruhai traveled ahead with his son.

This meant they were divided into three groups. The first wave was the head steward, who went ahead with the advance luggage and servants to the capital, to properly clean and prepare the Lin Manor, arrange the young masters’ and young ladies’ courtyards, and handle intelligence gathering and other matters.

The second wave was Lin Ruhai and Chen Yu, along with several advisors and a small portion of luggage.

Then came the main force—the old lady and the other female family members with the valuables, led north by the old tutor.

When Lin Ruhai and his group arrived in the capital, they went directly to Lin Manor to settle in, then immediately sent a calling card to the palace. As for whether the Emperor would have time to see him and when, he could only wait.

During this period, he had to remain at the manor, ready to be summoned at any time.

On their return journey, they hadn’t paid attention to whether they’d encountered any acquaintances. Having been away from the capital so long, even if they ran into servants from familiar households, unless they identified themselves, they likely wouldn’t be recognized.

After sending the card to the palace, Lin Ruhai personally wrote letters to some old friends to be delivered the next day.

Such as to his mentors and examination sponsors.

Naturally, he had no way of knowing that Grandmother Jia had finally dealt with her nephew’s wife after great difficulty, having said so many things that would make him scoff if he knew.

Lin Ruhai and Chen Yu had a good night’s sleep, recovering from the fatigue of the long journey, then began receiving calling cards one after another.

Given his current situation, it wasn’t appropriate for him to make visits, and everyone understood, mostly expressing they would catch up later.

Generally speaking, the palace would respond within a few days.

As for the Jia family, no matter how unwilling Lin Ruhai was, for the sake of Jia Min and Daiyu, he couldn’t go too far in appearance. After all, he was still the junior.

So Rongguo Manor also received a card from Lin Manor on the second day.

Grandmother Jia’s expression shifted through various shades. He finally sent it over, but wanted to delay the visit for several days.

Grandmother Jia couldn’t suppress a sigh. If they didn’t still have the granddaughter Daiyu, he probably wouldn’t even maintain this surface courtesy.

She thought again of the letter Zhu’er had brought back. When her second son came with the letter asking if it was true, her old face nearly lost all dignity.

She had fallen ill for a while, and only then did her second son stop bringing up the matter. But since then, he had never mentioned this brother-in-law again.

She knew that given her second son’s temperament, he was too ashamed to speak of it.

Even now, thinking about it made Grandmother Jia clutch her chest in anger.

Wasn’t everything she did for these descendants, for the Jia family?!

Otherwise, as an old woman who had enjoyed every honor and glory in this lifetime, why would she stoop to such things that dirtied her hands?

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia sighed repeatedly.

If her children and grandchildren were capable, would she need to do such things?

She couldn’t help thinking of Zhu’er, that promising grandson. Everything about him was perfect, except for one thing—his thin fate, making them white-haired people send off the black-haired. All his talent had nowhere to be used.

Then what remained… Her second son, on whom she’d placed such high hopes—she had to admit his abilities weren’t sufficient for great use. She could only look to the next generation.

But how difficult was that?

With Zhu’er deceased and Yuanchun already in the palace, she was watched closely by Noble Consort De.

The family had spent considerable money, yet she couldn’t get close to the Emperor.

Thinking of this made Grandmother Jia sigh involuntarily.

Once Yuanchun went to Noble Consort De, it became difficult for her to approach the Crown Prince, as Noble Consort De had to avoid suspicion with the Crown Prince.

Yuanchun’s targets could only be the Emperor himself, the princes born to Noble Consort De, and princes born to concubines affiliated with Noble Consort De. But those princes would at best become princes in the future—how could they compare to the Crown Prince, the future ruler of the nation?

If the target were princes, it would be better to focus on the Emperor himself. Unfortunately, Noble Consort De watched too strictly, leaving no opportunity.

Now Yuanchun couldn’t help them; the family still had to support her instead.

No matter how reluctant Grandmother Jia was to admit it, she knew in her heart that the family had ultimately declined.

Though they were still the prestigious Rongguo Manor when spoken of outside, in truth they didn’t have a single person with real influence at court—this became painfully obvious with her son-in-law’s return to the capital.

If they had close connections at court, how could they only learn of his return after he arrived?

They didn’t even have anyone who could attend morning court.

The Jia family had three in-law families with real power: the Lin family, the Wang family, and the Li family.

The Lin family held the highest rank.

The Wang family’s Wang Ziteng’s rank was also not low, but the Jia family already had two daughters-in-law from the Wang family.

If they relied entirely on the Wang family, those women’s tails would reach to the heavens.

Fortunately, the Wang family didn’t know about the matter with the Lin family. In others’ eyes, Lin Ruhai was still her good son-in-law. It was just a pity that her Min’er had passed away, creating some distance in the relationship with the Lin family. Others even advised her to arrange another marriage for Lin Ruhai to renew the connection.

Did she not want to?

She’d been rebuffed.

The first time she raised it, Lin Ruhai had exposed everything to her second son. If she brought it up a second time, would her good son-in-law make it public?

Even without evidence, she would have no face to go out, and the Jia daughters’ reputations would be affected. Yuanchun in the palace would completely lose hope.

She couldn’t anger the Lin family again. Not mentioning his marriage was actually beneficial to the Jia family, Grandmother Jia gradually calculated in her heart.

As long as the Lin family didn’t remarry, the Jia family remained the maternal family of several children.

They wouldn’t dare be disrespectful.

And there was her Daiyu, still on the road. When she arrived in the capital, it would be time for her as grandmother to love her well on behalf of her mother.

With Daiyu mediating between them, over time, the past could surely be smoothed over.

While Lin Daiyu was still young, if they could win over her heart, that would be even better.

Lin Ruhai still held some standing with Emperor Kangxi, and on the third day after returning to the capital, he entered the palace.

When he emerged, he saw Chen Yu by the carriage and smiled faintly.

Chen Yu’s heart relaxed. Outsiders might not notice, but he could detect some of his father’s ease.

It seemed this audience had gone relatively smoothly.

Indeed it had.

Lin Ruhai nodded in acknowledgment, then entered the carriage to sit across from his son.

Lin Ruhai drank a cup of tea his son poured and sighed comfortably. Though nothing had gone wrong, he’d been anxious throughout, carefully weighing every word in his mind before speaking to ensure it was appropriate.

The Emperor had grown even more imposing. After so many years apart, he still knew every detail of Lin Ruhai’s affairs.

The Emperor’s memory remained as exceptional as ever.

Then he inevitably thought of His Majesty’s princes.

The Emperor was still vigorous and energetic. If the Emperor were long-lived… thinking of this, the depth in Lin Ruhai’s eyes became even more inscrutable, once again strengthening his resolve not to wade into murky waters.

Moreover, though today had gone smoothly, the Emperor hadn’t mentioned arrangements for his next posting.

The higher the position, the more limited the openings.

Lin Ruhai wasn’t anxious.

When he brought his son to Rongguo Manor, the manor’s central gates were wide open, welcoming this son-in-law’s arrival.

After entering, Lin Ruhai saw his second brother-in-law, whose gaze flickered and avoided direct eye contact, and his mother-in-law, smiling warmly as if nothing had ever happened, looking over with a kind and benevolent expression.

When Grandmother Jia saw Lin Ruhai and Chen Yu, her eyes seemed stabbed by something, contracting momentarily beyond her control.

She found it difficult to control her thoughts.

This concubine-born son’s bearing reminded her of her promising Zhu’er.

But her Zhu’er had already passed away, while this one was alive and well.

However, she quickly thought of another aspect—this one hadn’t achieved any scholarly honors, hadn’t taken the examinations, nor had she heard of any reputation. He probably just had an outstanding appearance and nothing more.

Jia She behaved most naturally because he knew nothing.

“Brother-in-law, long time no see. You’re still the same as ever.” He was quite envious.

Lin Ruhai looked at this Jia She with unsteady steps and a puffy face, clearly overindulging in carnal pleasures. Lin Ruhai’s smile became slightly more genuine.

He was the rare consistent person in the Jia Manor: “You should take better care of your health.”

Jia She laughed it off. This was his only pleasure—if he took care of himself, what meaning would life have?

Grandmother Jia then began her sorrowful display: “My poor Min’er, how could you not witness this moment? If you were still alive, reunited with me, how wonderful that would be.”

Her aged tears flowed: “Fortunately you left behind a bloodline—Daiyu, my precious child, when will you return?”

“You’ve grown this big and I’ve never seen you. Your heartless mother, how could she bear to abandon you? It truly pains me to the core.”

The more she spoke, the more sorrowful she became.

The surrounding maids and servants swarmed forward to console her. “Old Ancestress, don’t be too distressed. You’ll see the young miss soon.”

“Old Ancestress, you’ve forgotten the doctor’s instructions—you mustn’t get too agitated.”

“Old Ancestress, Baoyu! Quickly fetch Baoyu to comfort the Old Ancestress.”

“Son-in-law, please comfort the Old Ancestress too…”

Lin Ruhai watched this farce with a half-smile, his tone flat: “So the old lady misses Min’er this much. If she knew from beneath the springs, she would surely come to see you.” She kept calling for Min’er—if Min’er truly came, would she dare to see her?

Grandmother Jia’s crying stopped abruptly.

After a second’s pause, Grandmother Jia resumed crying, though her sobs gradually weakened.

Min’er wouldn’t blame her.

She had never intended to harm Min’er.

That was her own flesh and blood—how could she harm her?

It was just that Min’er was far too naive, her mind washed by those sage books. She’d been forced to help her. If Min’er had listened to her early on, by now a son born through a Jia family daughter would be grown, and they wouldn’t have exposed themselves, giving the Lin family leverage that affected relations between the Jia and Lin families!