Chapter 66: Discussing Marriage

  Liu smiled wryly, "Don't worry, no matter what she is your own sister, born to your mother after ten months of pregnancy. Even if you don't like her, you won't make things difficult for her in marriage."

  Lin Ruoyan finally breathed a sigh of relief, with a hint of a smile at the corners of her eyebrows and eyes. She said, "Then I'll also test those people, can't have any bad ones!"

  Because of Lin Zhao's matter, Lin Ruo completely abandoned the matter of entering the palace and thought about how to help her choose a husband with both talent and appearance as well as good character.

  Lin Zhaoyan is too kind-hearted, so she needs to find someone gentle and refined, otherwise they will bully her.

  But can't be as soft and weak as her, otherwise she'll get bullied by others and won't be able to stand up for herself.

  And you have to be good to her with all your heart and mind.

  Lin Ruoyan was calculating while entering the Qing Xiang Pavilion, but heard a burst of sobbing coming from not far away.

  Lin Ruoyan recalled her thoughts and followed the sound of crying. She found Shi Guli sitting on a stone stool, wiping away tears.

  "What's wrong, Shiliu? Who bullied you?" She asked anxiously as she stepped forward.

  Pomegranate was startled and quickly got up to wipe away her tears, shaking her head: "I'm fine."

  "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lin Ruoyan frowned, "Tell me who bullied you? I'll definitely stand up for you."

  Pomegranate followed her soon, but everything was considered for her. This reminded her of the wrongly dead Zi Su, and she had a few more points of trust and heartache for Pomegranate.

  "No one bullied the slave." Pomegranate lowered her head and said sorrowfully: "The slave is just angry with herself, angry that she couldn't help the young lady, causing the young lady to lose face in front of the empress. It's all because the slave is useless!"

  She was too young after all and hadn't experienced anything. She only acted on the information she knew more than others, but in the end, she still lost thoroughly.

  Lin Ruoyan couldn't help but laugh. "Silly girl, what's there to be sad about? You're not someone who can't even lend a hand when things are busy. If it weren't for you reminding me that there might be incense hidden in the clothes, how would I have discovered that the clothes had been tampered with? And how could I have exposed Madame Hou?"

  The pomegranate still looked gloomy, "But this way, the girl can't enter the palace."

  Lin Ruoyan smiled again, reached out to pinch her cheek, and teased: "If I said I didn't want to enter the palace myself, and had nothing to do with you. Would you still be heartbroken?"

  "What?" The pomegranate was startled, and his face not only didn't soften in the slightest, but instead became even more unpleasant.

  "Isn't she going into the palace? Miss, don't you want to enter the palace?" Her expression looked extremely anxious.

  Lin Xing furrowed his brow, "Pomegranate, what's the hurry?"

  She felt puzzled, why every time mentioning entering the palace, Shiliu would be more serious and excited than her, the person involved?

  Pomegranate's body trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyes, saying: "Slave, slave just thinks it's a pity for the young lady."

  "There's nothing to regret. I didn't want to enter the palace anyway, so Madame Hou has actually done me a great favor."

  "But would the old lady be willing to let it go like this?"

  Lin Ruoyan raised an eyebrow, "My impression in the Empress Dowager's heart is already not good. If there's a next time, I don't need to do much, just being myself will be enough. The Empress Dowager won't choose me again."

  Pomegranate's face changed immediately.

  "Miss..." She wanted to say something, but didn't know how to shake Lin Ruoyan's mind.

  It seems she needs to think of a good way to make it happen.

  In the late afternoon, news of Lu Shi being punished by Old Lady Lin for plotting against Lin Ruoyan spread throughout the Hou Mansion.

  Many people expressed sympathy for Lin Ruoyan, and although they had some criticism of Lu Shi, they did not dare to say much.

  Lin Chen also knew about this matter.

  But he didn't look for Lin Ruoyan to ask about the situation, instead he called Lin Zhaoyan over right away.

  Lin Zhaoyan rushed to Yi'an Hall, and Lin Chen was already waiting at the door to greet him.

  As soon as he saw her appear, he went forward and pulled her over. "How was it, Zhao Er? Nothing unusual happened this time in the palace, did you meet any strange people?"

  Lin Zhao said with a chuckle, "What kind of weird people can there be in the palace? Father, you're really funny."

  "There are many strange people in the palace, you're Father's precious daughter, Father is afraid that you'll suffer some injustice." Lin Chen replied matter-of-factly.

  Lin Zhaoyan laughed even harder and replied seriously, "To answer Father's question, I'm doing well in the palace, haven't met any strange people or encountered any danger, everything is fine."

  Lin Chen stopped in his tracks, his expression unclear whether it was disappointment or something else.

  "Except for the Empress Dowager, have you seen anyone else? What about the other palace ladies?" he asked relentlessly.

  "Hmm." Lin Zhaoyan thought for a moment, "There's the Empress, Consort Duan, and also the Emperor himself."

  As they spoke, the two of them had already entered the main house.

  Lin Chen's face changed immediately, "Have you seen the Emperor?"

  Why are you two so excited? What's so frightening about His Majesty?

  Lin Zhaoyan said strangely, "I've seen it, what's wrong?"

  "What did he say?" Lin Chen's face turned sour and his voice completely cooled down, as if he had a deep grudge against the emperor.

  Lin Zhaoyan's heart grew more and more bewildered.

  She shook her head, "Nothing was said, it's just that I and Miss Zhou saved the Seventh Prince, so we were called by the Emperor for a routine inquiry."

  "Did you save the Seventh Prince?" Lin Chen became even more agitated. "What's going on? What happened to the Seventh Prince?"

  Lin Zhaoyan then told Lin Chen everything about what had happened.

  Lin Chen was the person she trusted most, and she didn't hide it from him. After finishing speaking, she said again: "Although that's what happened, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, I only told Miss Zhou that we found the Seventh Prince, but not why he fell into the water."

  "You did the right thing." Lin Chen nodded dazedly and muttered: "She really didn't live a good life..."

  "Father, what are you talking about?" Again with this expression, an expression that hid pain and guilt.

  Lin Chen hastily withdrew his thoughts and asked in return, "Then after you rescued the Seventh Prince, did you encounter any trouble? Did the Seventh Prince's mother cause you any difficulties? Will she think it was you who pushed the Seventh Prince into the water?" His expression was tense to the extreme.

  Lin Zhaoyan said helplessly, "Father, you're worrying too much. I'm back safely, aren't I? Besides, I didn't even see the seventh prince's mother. It was a palace maid who sent the seventh prince back, and I was afraid of trouble, so I left early with Miss Zhou."

  "Oh." Lin Chen nodded understandingly, but his eyes were filled with disappointment.

  I didn't see it after all!

  He still wonders what kind of reaction he would get if he saw Zhao Er. They say that mothers and daughters are connected at heart, so she should be able to tell at a glance!

  If she knew that Zhao Er was still alive, she would be very comforted in her heart and wouldn't have to make herself so tired.

  It's all the emperor, it's all him! If it weren't for him, he wouldn't be like this, and Wanru wouldn't be like this either. Zhao'er would have been able to live a bright and carefree life, no worse than any other noble lady!

  It's all the emperor's fault, he's the one who caused all this!

  He Linchen won't let it go like this. As long as he still has this life, he must make him pay the price!

  The hatred in Lin Chen's eyes was too obvious, and Lin Zhao Yan immediately detected it.

  "Father?" she said in surprise, then anxiously felt his forehead, "Are you all right? You're acting very strangely today."

  "I'm fine." Lin Chen shook his head, smiling as he grasped Lin Zhaoyan's warm hand. "But what about you? You've been busy with your sister's palace affairs lately. Have you finished that landscape painting?"

  This is intentionally diverting attention away from the subject.

  Lin Zhaoyan saw through it. But didn't expose him, and replied along with his words: "It's almost done, just need to polish it a bit more."

  Lin Chen didn't want to say anything, and no matter how much she asked, it was useless. She might as well not look for trouble herself.

  "You're slower than Lin Ge, he's already finished." Lin Chen teased.

  "It's not about speed." Lin Zhao muttered discontentedly, pouting her mouth.

  What's so charming about this guy? He just looks a bit better than others, and yet he has Lin Jingming and Lin Ruoyan completely smitten. And he even gets Lin Chen to lavish praise on him, to the point of trying to set them up together. It's simply bizarre.

  How could she not see anything good about him?

  Feeling Lin Zhao's thick vinegar, Lin Chen burst out laughing. "Our Shao'er is really Father's treasure, as soon as you speak, Father has no more worries."

  Lin Zhaoyan leaned against him and asked, "Which one will Father choose to win?"

  Lin Chen smiled again, fondly rubbing her hair, "Look at this, you may be my daughter, but you value fairness more. If you really think your painting skills are higher than Lu Biao's, what are you worried about?"

  It's precisely because she can't surpass Lu Yan that she wants to take a shortcut!

  Lin Zhaoyan smiled at his own childish thoughts, but deep down he was delighted.

  In this life, she had a father who loved her very much and whom she loved very much.

  Afterwards, there was no special news coming out of the imperial palace.

  The Da Fang fell into "dead silence" due to being blamed for something related to Lu Shi, and it can be said that it has finally calmed down completely.

  The other rooms also had some apprehensions and did not dare to make a noise.

  It was Liu who was not affected by these trivial matters and actually started helping Lin Zhaoyan to look at other people's homes.

  Lin Ruoyan followed behind "plotting and scheming".

  Lin Zhaoyan, however, took an attitude of being above it all and having nothing to do with the matter.

  Spring sunshine shines brightly, clear and beautiful sunlight pours down from the horizon, flowing through the window lattice into every corner of the house.

  Lin Zhaoyan was bent over his desk, carefully holding a white jade brush and meticulously painting the scroll.

  Soft light and shadow dance on the top of my head, long eyelashes cast a shadow on my face, a gentle breeze blows, and the fragrance of flowers in the room sways, everything is so serene and beautiful.

  The two servants stood by, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  In a moment, Lin Zhao put down his pen, stretched out a big lazy waist, and smiled brightly: "Well, the last bit is done."

  "Finally finished!" Man Shuang hastily handed over a cup of tea and went around to her back to massage her shoulders, "You have an appointment with Master Shen at noon, it's almost time."

  "Good." Lin Zhaoyan took a sip of tea, full of accomplishment. "After the ink dries, we'll go find Father."

  "The most important thing for a young lady's family is actually embroidery, but you're not interested in it. Instead, you're learning men's calligraphy and literature." Man Shuang's words carried a hint of resentment and disappointment.

  Lin Zhaoyan used her hand to gently fan the painting, which could make it dry faster. Upon hearing this, Tan Tan said: "It's not that I don't want to learn, but everyone has their own talents, and even if I wanted to learn, there's no way."

  Man Shuang heard it and was full of helplessness.

  "If you can't learn it, then you should study even harder. But the young lady hasn't put her heart into it! The ladies are already matchmaking for you, and when the time comes to get married, you'll have to embroider your own wedding dress."

  In the Great Yan State, it is customary for a bride to wear a wedding dress embroidered by her own hands, and only then can she have a smooth and happy marriage.

  "Let's talk about it after the wedding is settled!" Lin Zhao Yan responded with a careless tone, seeing that the painting was dry, and then put it away, saying to Man Shuang: "Get me a silk thread."

  Man Shuang sighed even more heavily and muttered: "The fifth daughter is more considerate than you."

  Actually, she didn't care about these things at first, but after hearing that Liu's family would come to see Lin Zhaoyan, she became "like facing a great enemy", worrying about this and that every day, just like having pre-marital anxiety. She was even more nitpicky with Lin Zhaoyan, thinking that she couldn't do this or that, and worried to no end.

  Lin Zhaoyan was calm and collected, doing what she had to do without wasting any time.

  "This kind of thing isn't something you can worry about and make it useful, it's purely because you can't get past yourself." Lin Zhao Yan tied up the painting scroll and responded lightly.

  She wasn't worried, just worried for nothing. Moreover, she was clear in her heart that Liu wouldn't harm her, and the person she chose would surely make her satisfied.

  The two of them stood silently facing each other.

  Just then, Manhua lifted the curtain and entered the house, saying: "Miss, I just got some news!"

  Lin Zhaoyan raised an eyebrow to signal her to speak.

  Manhua said: "It's from Zixi that I got the news, saying that Madam has taken a liking to the second son of the Li family in the south of the city, and is planning to observe him for a few days. If it goes well, she'll send someone to propose."

  "Which Li family?" Lin Zhaoyan asked.

  "The Li family of the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple."

  The Deputy Minister of the Grand Temple? A fourth-rank official, this position is quite high, but as a second son, it's still okay, not too much trouble. As for the character of this Second Master Li, I believe Liu's choice won't be bad.

  "Uh-huh, I understand." Lin Zhao nodded his head, "Everything will be up to Mother's decision!"

  Is that so? Man Hua was somewhat surprised.

  The girl was surprisingly indifferent to her own marriage, just like completing a transaction, without even a bit of the modesty and shyness that girls from good families should have.

  She exchanged a glance with Man Shuang, and they both thought that Liu Wenxuan's affair might have cast a shadow on her heart.

  Lin Zhaoyan didn't know what they were thinking in their hearts, took the well-drawn picture and went to Yi'antang to find Lin Chen.

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  "Rebirth: Remarriage"

  She was originally a kind and generous, chivalrous-hearted general's daughter.

  She married in anger after being jilted by him.

  Unexpectedly, she married a wolf in sheep's clothing and was killed by him.

  Only then did he realize that he had been in a large conspiracy all along.

  One's own death is just a small step in someone else's plan.

  She was unwilling to die in humiliation and was reborn as the fifth daughter of the Lin family.

  Embarked on the road of revenge

  The road of revenge was smooth and refreshing, but also left scars all over. When she was physically and mentally exhausted, he stretched out his hands to her again.

  Is it hand in hand again or finding another good person?