The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The smell of medicine here is stronger, even to the point of being somewhat pungent.

Jia Huan frowned slightly and looked directly at the middle-aged man who was sitting half-reclined on the sickbed, leaning against the pillows.

Tsk!

I don't know what triggered this person, but a quarter of their hair has turned white.

Of course, that's just a joke; Lin Ruhai's situation isn't that bad.

Turning your hair white overnight is no joke!

If such a thing were to happen, even the current emperor would have to investigate it carefully; otherwise, if a major accident were to occur, he himself would likely not have an easy time.

Since returning to Beijing, Lin Ruhai's hair has started to turn gray more.

Last year, however, my gray hair grew the fastest, which is quite normal given my depleted energy and vitality.

Jia Huan's medical skills were quite remarkable at this point; he immediately recognized that Lin Ruhai's discomfort was caused by anger attacking his heart. It just so happened to be during the change of seasons, so he was probably unprepared and fell victim to the illness.

His health is quite weak; even a minor cold can cause numerous complications!

These are symptoms resulting from a general decline in the body's immunity, allowing pathogens to invade.

The situation is still manageable; it hasn't reached the point of being out of control!

With proper care and attention, and by addressing the symptoms one by one according to their severity, returning to normal is not a difficult task.

However, it may take a long time; according to Jia Huan's estimate, it should take about six months.

The problem is, since someone dared to come to him with such an insincere attitude and use Lin Daiyu to make Lin Ruhai sick, he certainly wouldn't let it go easily.

If that's the case, it certainly won't be easy for Lin Ruhai to recuperate quietly.

He pondered to himself, wondering if the other party was targeting Lin Ruhai's current position or had some other motive.

While Master Zheng and Lin Ruhai were talking in hushed tones, Jia Baoyu pulled Lin Daiyu aside and began whispering to her as well, which made Jia Huan seem rather abrupt.

He didn't stand on ceremony, found a chair and sat down, then waved for Butler Lin to come over.

"What are your orders, Third Young Master?"

Steward Lin was very respectful and showed no sign of underestimating Jia Huan.

Look, the family traditions of scholars are far superior to those of military families.

Since entering the Lin family, everything I've seen and heard along the way, as well as the attitude of Old Steward Lin, has highlighted a strict and orderly system that makes me feel very comfortable.

Unlike the Rong Mansion, where servants were busy on one side and pointing and gesturing from afar on the other.

"Open the window a little, the smell of medicine in the room is too strong!"

"If you're worried, just use a screen to shield Uncle Lin from the wind!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "In an environment like this, it's not easy for Uncle Lin to get a good rest!"

What defines a wealthy family is having a large number of servants. The excuse of not being able to pass through the wind is just a joke. Do they really think all those maids and servants are dead?

"Miss, look..."

Butler Lin thought it made a lot of sense, but he still looked at Lin Daiyu, who was not far away, first.

"Let's do as Huan-ge says!"

Lin Daiyu naturally heard Jia Huan's opinion and nodded in agreement: "When Physician Wang came, he didn't specifically tell us not to be exposed to the wind. As long as we are careful, there shouldn't be any problem!"

Physician Wang!

This fellow appears quite frequently; whenever any of the Rong family members suffer from a headache or fever, they almost always call upon this familiar, legitimate imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital.

Every time Jia Baoyu was beaten or injured, this was the person who was called in.

Why didn't the Lin family have any familiar imperial physicians? They had to hire Physician Wang instead.

Just as Jia Huan's thoughts were wandering, Steward Lin had already instructed the maids to open the room window a crack, not fully open it.

Sure enough, after a while, a gentle autumn breeze blew into the room, quickly dispelling the strong smell of medicine and making everyone in the room feel refreshed.

Chapter 197 This is outrageous! (Please subscribe)

"That scoundrel surnamed Qiu is going too far!"

Lin Ruhai said angrily, "If I weren't physically weak, I would definitely have given him a good fight!"

Master Zheng Er repeatedly asked him to calm down. Although his face was also filled with righteous indignation, he was less intense.

That's just how it is. How could Master Zheng Er possibly have the same strong emotions as Lin Ruhai? He was just expressing his attitude by taking the lead in helping his relatives and upholding reason.

"Unfortunately, my body is too weak; I actually got sick from the stress!"

Lin Ruhai shook his head and sighed, his tone full of emotion.

His illness this time made him realize the impermanence of life, and he felt even more worried and uneasy about the future of his daughter, Lin Daiyu.

While he was alive, someone used Lin Daiyu to target him, and succeeded in doing so.

If he were gone, wouldn't my daughter be at the mercy of others?

Especially with the Lin family's assets reaching tens of millions, how could Lin Daiyu possibly protect them?

If he hadn't distrusted the royal family, he would have spent millions of taels of silver to buy his daughter, Lin Daiyu, the status of a princess, so that she could use the royal family's influence to protect herself in the future.

But he knew even better that if he did that, his daughter Lin Daiyu would certainly not have a good ending.

Once the Lin family reveals their wealth, their daughter Lin Daiyu will undoubtedly become a target for the royal family's sons.

Even if she successfully married into the royal family, once her money was drained, it would be time for Lin Daiyu to die young, unless she had offspring to protect her before then.

However, given Lin Daiyu's health, she was not a good mother.

Lin Ruhai loved his daughter deeply; how could he possibly risk his daughter Lin Daiyu's future?

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Jia Baoyu, who was whispering to Lin Daiyu. Her eyes flickered, but she showed no sign of being moved.

It has been two years since I returned to the capital. Although I don't visit the Rong family very often, I am aware of the reputation of my wife's daughter, who is not a good match.

Lin Ruhai had been an official for over a decade; what kind of people hadn't he seen?

People like Jia Baoyu are common in Yangzhou; they're pretty much the same as the sons of salt merchants.

In other words, his character is decent enough; he's basically just an immature spoiled brat.

He himself needs someone to take care of him, how could he possibly take care of his own daughter?

Because of her education from a young age, Lin Daiyu possessed a certain aloofness and detachment from worldly affairs.

Such a personality is fine as a book lover, but if they were to become husband and wife, it would easily lead to conflicts.

As for everyone else…

His gaze unconsciously swept over the tall Jia Huan, and he felt a little tempted.

This person is truly capable, someone even Lin Ruhai has to admire.

The fact that he was able to persuade the Second Master Zheng to intervene and pull himself out of the quagmire of Yangzhou is quite remarkable.

This is no small matter; it could very well attract the attention of both the current emperor and the retired emperor, and not just any attention, but rather disapproving scrutiny.

Even ordinary court officials couldn't withstand such pressure, let alone a mere child.

But he managed to make it happen by taking advantage of the situation, and now he regrets it, but it's too late.

Lin Ruhai must be out of his mind to go back to his old ways and become an official in that dangerous place, Yangzhou. Does he really think he has nine lives?

After arriving in the capital, Jia Huan showed off his abilities to him a couple of times, and even considered taking him in as a disciple, but unfortunately the boy refused.

How could I not feel a little annoyed?

After that, their relationship cooled down a bit, mainly because Jia Huan didn't take the initiative to visit him. Lin Ruhai naturally wouldn't lower himself to try and build a relationship with his nephews and nieces; he couldn't bear the embarrassment.

Of course, I occasionally heard the old butler mention how popular this kid was on the street.

Claims about having hundreds of henchmen, a large territory, and a vast sphere of influence are just empty words.

Lin Ruhai didn't take it to heart at all; in fact, he was a little disappointed, feeling that Jia Huan had gone astray.

A grassroots force is just that—a grassroots force. Once it grows too big, it will face a double blow from both the imperial court and local governments.

No matter how glorious they were before, they were nothing in front of the imperial army.

If you truly want to achieve great success, you still need to work hard in the officialdom and strive to become an official of the third rank or above.

In other words, Jia Huan didn't have mind-reading abilities and didn't know Lin Ruhai's thoughts, otherwise he would definitely have scoffed at him.

If one day his breathing progress bar reaches over 90%, and through training his physical fitness reaches the peak of human form, and his own strength becomes invincible, then why would he care about these trivial matters?

To put it bluntly, Jia Huan is simply not used to the practice of kneeling down to speak at the drop of a hat.

Kneeling to elders or parents is fine, but kneeling to the emperor every day for no reason is enough to make my scalp tingle.

It's one thing to lack ability, but now that he has a chance to break free from these constraints, why should he still obediently follow the rules set by the royal family? Just because the royal family has a lot of face?

It can only be said that Lin Ruhai was just a traditional scholar-official, even though he was one of the best among them.

What good is becoming a third-rank official? If it weren't for the help of Master Zheng Er in Yangzhou, he would have simply died there.

No normal person would be willing to accept this.