The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The old lady was very astute and immediately noticed that the little girls' expressions were a bit off. She asked curiously, "What's wrong? Are they throwing a tantrum again?"

"Grandmother, we met Huan-ge'er and Cong-ge'er on the way!"

Jia Baoyu immediately approached the old lady and said obediently, "Huan-ge'er said that Sister Lin's father, Uncle Lin, is about to return to the capital. I was a little reluctant to part with Sister Lin and made a small blunder!"

"What joke?"

The old lady spoke with a smile, but her eyes suddenly turned sharp.

She sensed something was wrong; it seemed that little Jia Huan was receiving too much attention from the second son.

She had only just learned that Lin Ruhai was about to return to Beijing, and she hadn't expected that Jia Huan already knew.

Clearly, Jia Huan was in the study when he received the news.

Thinking of this, the old lady had a headache. She glanced at the well-behaved Jia Baoyu, feeling a bit depressed and frustrated that he was not living up to his potential.

For some reason, Baoyu just wouldn't get close to his father!

His father had clearly arranged for him to study and improve himself in the main study, as well as to have opportunities to get close to his father, but Baoyu didn't take it to heart at all.

Now that Huan-ge'er is being valued, what will happen to him in the future?

Of course, she was not Lady Wang. Although she sensed something was wrong and was not very happy, she did not intend to target Jia Huan, let alone stop him from going to the main study.

She wasn't sure what Jia Huan's status was in the study.

If it displeases the Second Master Zheng, then it will be a loss.

Little did Jia Baoyu know that in such a short moment, the old lady beside him had thought of so much.

At this moment, he said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was just worried that after Uncle Lin returned to Beijing, Sister Lin would leave home and go back to her own home."

"My haste almost brought tears to Lin Daiyu's eyes; it's all my fault!"

"Daiyu, Baoyu did it unintentionally, so please don't take it too seriously!"

The old lady naturally knew Jia Baoyu's temperament; once he started making a fuss, he wouldn't care about anything and could easily frighten the young girl.

So her first thought was to look at Lin Daiyu and gently comfort her: "Baoyu's actions were out of concern!"

Lin Daiyu lowered her eyes and said softly, "Don't worry, Grandmother, I didn't take it to heart!"

Deep down, I felt quite aggrieved, but I didn't show it, knowing it would be useless.

Naturally, I missed my father, whom I hadn't seen for two years, even more.

"Baoyu, you don't need to worry!"

The old lady chuckled and reassured her, "Even if your Uncle Lin returns to the capital, you can still have your little sister Lin come and stay at our mansion for a while from time to time!"

She didn't say that Lin Ruhai, a man, was not good at teaching his daughter, and that Lin Daiyu would live in the Rong Mansion in the future; that would be deceiving children.

After all, the father and daughter had a deep bond. Lin Daiyu was already old enough to remember things when she came to the Rong Mansion, so going too far was not a good thing.

Unless Lin Ruhai remarries, the old lady can allow Lin Daiyu to stay in the Rong Mansion as a member of her maternal family.

There's no need to talk to children about these social and interpersonal matters; they might not understand anyway.

At the very least, Jia Baoyu definitely wouldn't understand, and he might not even want to understand.

Jia Baoyu was somewhat disappointed. He actually wanted the old lady to speak up and let Lin Daiyu continue to live in the mansion.

But since the old lady had already spoken, he dared not cause any trouble in front of her.

To be honest, it wasn't that Jia Baoyu lacked ambition; rather, his living environment was too comfortable, leaving him with no motivation or need for advancement. Otherwise, given his quick wit and cleverness in front of the old lady of Rongqing Hall, who wouldn't praise his intelligence and cleverness?

At least, he knows how to read the old lady's expression and take care of her feelings; in short, he has the air of a considerate and caring daughter.

If it were Madam Wang, he would probably have started making a scene by now, insisting that Madam Wang agree.

The speed at which imperial orders were transmitted was quite rapid.

Less than ten days later, Lin Ruhai, who was in the Salt Commissioner's Office in Yangzhou, received an official transfer order, and his feelings were extremely complicated.

At this time, his physical condition was quite poor. Although he was not yet at the point of exhaustion, his body was already severely damaged.

If it is properly cared for, there is a possibility that it can be cured.

However, if they continue to work at a high intensity and have to outwit the salt merchants, they will probably soon be exhausted.

Most importantly, he was poisoned with a chronic poison that was causing continuous damage to his body, but the renowned doctors around him were helpless to do anything about it.

Chapter 144 The Miraculous Rong Mansion (Please Subscribe)

There's no need to elaborate on why Lin Ruhai was poisoned.

Outwitting and outmaneuvering the Yangzhou salt merchants was an extremely dangerous endeavor.

Salt merchants were either backed by an emperor emeritus, or by princes or cabinet ministers.

If things really get heated, they won't care about the status and position of the Salt Commissioner at all. They'll kill those who should be killed and remove those who should be removed from office without any mercy.

Lin Ruhai wasn't actually sure he had been poisoned by a chronic poison; he only had a suspicion.

Some of the behind-the-scenes conflicts and rivalries cannot be brought to the forefront.

Once exposed, they might send troops to suppress it.

What a joke! Poisoning high-ranking officials and beheading all the salt merchants in Yangzhou wouldn't even get the Emperor Emeritus to utter a word of dissent.

However, his health deteriorated day by day, and neither the doctors in the manor nor the famous doctors invited from outside could find anything wrong, so naturally, he had some doubts in his heart.

After all, the Lin family, from which Lin Ruhai came, was not just a family that had produced five generations of marquises.

His ancestral home is Suzhou, and his family lineage can be considered a prominent Suzhou clan with a very deep cultural heritage.

Families like these all possess top-tier health preservation methods passed down through generations!

The Lin family has had only one son per generation for several generations, so they naturally place great importance on methods such as health preservation.

Even so, Lin Ruhai is only in his early forties, but his body is already on the verge of collapse.

He was extremely unwilling to accept the transfer order at this time.

His son and beloved wife both died in Yangzhou. How could he not have suspicions and hatred in his heart?

If the transfer order hadn't come so suddenly, Lin Ruhai definitely wouldn't have agreed if he had been consulted beforehand.

But now, what's done is done, and they have to leave whether they want to or not.

The pent-up energy in my heart suddenly dissipated, and I felt dizzy and fainted.

The maids serving nearby screamed, and the salt inspection office was thrown into chaos.

The news that Lin Ruhai, the salt commissioner of Yangzhou, had fainted in the yamen quickly spread throughout Yangzhou.

At this time, the well-informed salt merchants also learned that Lin Ruhai was about to be transferred.

"Alright, since he's about to leave, let's not cause any more trouble. Spare his life!"

The salt merchants gathered together, each looking relaxed, and made their decisions easily.

Previously, they had a fierce conflict of interest with Lin Ruhai, and they wished they could kill each other.

Now that Lin Ruhai has been transferred, the intense conflict between the two sides has vanished instantly, and there is no need to completely offend a high-ranking official of the court.

That's what they all thought, and they didn't care what Lin Ruhai thought at all.

That evening, when Lin Ruhai woke up and saw the numerous gifts delivered by the steward, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Clearly, the officials and salt merchants in Yangzhou were eager for him to leave as soon as possible.

He naturally wouldn't shamelessly stay any longer. He immediately moved out of the government office and waited for the arrival of the newly appointed Salt Commissioner. After the handover was completed, he dragged his ailing body back to the capital.

During this period, surprisingly few Yangzhou officials took the initiative to visit, which suggests that they had been offended too badly before.

Lin Ruhai didn't mind and declined the new salt commissioner's feigned attempt to retain him, then quickly boarded an official boat and headed to the capital.

I miss my daughter, whom I haven't seen for two years.

The news naturally reached the Rong family immediately. Having accurately calculated the exact time of Lin Ruhai's arrival in Tongzhou, Master Zheng was in a dilemma, as he did not have time to personally welcome Lin Ruhai that day.

At this point, the only option was to have Jia Lian run around more.

Jia Lian did not refuse. He planned to go directly to Tongzhou to pick up the person that day under the pretext of inspecting the canal.

Of course, he had official duties to attend to and needed the help of the Rong family's sons.

When it came to this task, the first person the old lady and Master Zheng thought of was naturally Jia Baoyu.

As the eldest son of the Jia family, his appearance demonstrates the Rong Mansion's high regard for Lin Ruhai.

Actually, it would be best if Lord She himself came forward, but everyone knows his situation, so we didn't trouble him. Besides, he might not be willing to take on such a task.

Unfortunately, Jia Baoyu was not happy about it; he wanted to play with his sisters and couldn't find the time.

When she said this, the three sisters, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai were all present. Lin Daiyu's face immediately turned very pale, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Neither the old lady nor Jia Baoyu noticed at the time.

In the end, Jia Huan accompanied Jia Lian to Tongzhou to pick up the person.

As for the servants sent by the Rong family, there were only two of them, and they didn't even prepare a carriage or anything like that.

In Jia Huan's view, it was a complete joke, and he might as well just make an excuse not to go.