Li Qingyao and his companions settled down at the Lin family's house.

With slow travel and limited communication, some people may only be able to communicate by letter for the rest of their lives after a single meeting.

It's not easy to come to Changfeng County, so naturally we'll stay for a while longer. This is something Lin Can made clear when he first invited Li Qingyao.

The twins grew impatient with spending all day chatting with them about academic matters, so they went out for a stroll on their own. When they returned, they encountered something unexpected.

"Do you want your sister or our family? Think it over carefully. She's a widow who was divorced, which is already an unlucky thing for her. I'm her sister-in-law, which is why I went to great lengths to find her a husband."

"What does she want to do if she doesn't get married? Just stay at home and be a pampered young lady? What about Miao'er? She has an aunt who's been widowed and divorced; what good family will she find in the future?"

"Sister-in-law, please, I really don't want to get married again."

A woman dressed in plain clothes, her eyes blurred with tears, pleaded incessantly with a couple.

"You have no choice but to marry him. Is it worth remaining chaste for him? I've already asked a matchmaker to help you choose. I'm your sister-in-law, so I can make the decision about your marriage."

The woman had a fierce and menacing look on her face; she didn't seem to be marrying off a nun, but rather trying to force a good woman into prostitution.

The twins, having overheard those words, felt pity for the woman who was crying her eyes out.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, dressed in plain clothes, and with her hair styled in a traditional Chinese updo.

The two listened for a while outside the crowd and roughly understood what was going on.

After the woman lost her husband, she was divorced by her husband's family and sent back to her parents' home. Her sister-in-law, feeling that she had ruined the family's reputation, wanted to remarry her.

However, the woman did not want to remarry.

"Brother, please, I can work, please let me stay at home."

Seeing that her sister-in-law was unmoved, the woman hurriedly went to beg her elder brother.

The middle-aged man looked at his wife with a troubled expression, and finally spoke.

"Maybe you shouldn't get married. You only have one younger sister..."

The woman glared and snorted coldly as soon as the man opened his mouth.

"Then let's get a divorce!"

The woman was certain that this man was a coward; how could he possibly divorce her for the sake of his sister? Besides, what did she say wrong?

Lin Shukefu has such a bad reputation. If she continues to live in this house for a long time, what will happen to her daughter, Miao'er? Should she not get married?

Lin Shu felt somewhat desperate; it was truly embarrassing for this family matter to have spread to the outside world.

“Ke’an’s family, you’re being too biased. Shuniang isn’t idle at home, and she has a dowry. Besides, this is her family home. Where else can she go if not here?”

"In other words, if Shuniang doesn't want to marry, why force her?"

Some elders couldn't stand it and spoke out in criticism.

"Which woman doesn't get married? If you like, Auntie, you can bring your younger sister to stay at your house for a while."

"What are you saying? I'm just Lin Shu's aunt. Why should I come to my house?"

"That's how I'm going to put it. To put it bluntly, don't you also think that Shuniang has a bad reputation? Otherwise, why wouldn't you want Shuniang to come to your house?"

The aunt was speechless after being retorted by the woman and didn't bother arguing with her anymore.

"Alas, what a pity for Shuniang, she married such a husband, ruining her life."

"That's right. Her husband died while he was out having fun, but his family blamed it all on Shuniang, saying she was a jinx and insisted on divorcing her. What a tragedy."

"It's hard to say. Her husband was perfectly fine before the marriage, but he passed away a year after the wedding. There might be some truth to it."

“I’ve been looking at it the same way. Our clan has tried to dissuade them, but they’re determined to divorce Shuniang even if it means paying money. There’s probably something going on.”

"Back when Shuniang's parents were still alive and she was not yet married, she was one of the most talented women in our Lin family. She could paint and write calligraphy."

Unfortunately, Miao'er's mother was a strong-willed woman who insisted that Shuniang remarry. Alas.

A group of people were blocking the alley, which was really outrageous. Then, an elder from the Lin family came out and scolded them into going home.

The twins, having lost their excitement, returned to Lin Can's house and told Li Qingyao and the others about what had happened.

"Alas, what a pity for Sister Shu. Her husband died young, and her husband's family blamed her, saying that she was a jinx and that if it weren't for her, she would never have died so young. They divorced her and sent her back to the Lin family."

At that time, Lin was very dissatisfied with her husband's family's behavior and wanted to seek justice for her sister Shu, but the family wanted to pay compensation and still divorce her sister.

My mother told me that Sister Lin Shu is a famous talented woman in the Lin family. I have collected quite a few of Sister Lin Shu's paintings. She is really amazing.

Countless men had proposed to her back then, but she never expected it to end like this.

Sister-in-law Ke'an used to treat Sister Lin Shu very well, but even she didn't want Sister Lin Shu to stay at home, and had made a scene many times already. This response shows that she's determined to get Sister Lin Shu married off.

Lin Can was aware of the inside story and didn't hide anything, telling the others directly.

"It's tough being a woman."

Li Qingyao remained silent for a long time before uttering only these four words.

"Brother Lin, may I take a look at Sister Lin Shu's paintings? We're planning to buy a batch of paintings for decoration. If they're nice, we can discuss a sale with her..."

At this moment, Wang Jiao suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a moment, I'll go find Sister Lin Shu's painting."

Lin Can readily agreed.

"Then we'll wait for Brother Lin's good news."

After Lin Can left, only four people remained.

Why did you suddenly decide to buy paintings?

Having spent so much time together, the group had developed a tacit understanding, so Li Qingyao asked directly.

“I thought that Lin Shuruo was an excellent painter and well-versed in poetry and literature, so it would be perfect to hire her to teach the sisters at home.”

From your conversation with Lin Can, I can tell that Lin Shu's divorce wasn't Lin Shu's fault; it's just that life is absurd, and Grandmother certainly wouldn't look down on her.

"Hey, that's a great idea. You're quick-witted."

Li Qingyi clapped his hands, thinking that Wang Jiao's idea was excellent.

"The clan shouldn't have any objections. We can write a letter back to tell Grandmother first."

Li Qingduan made a solemn vow.

Without further ado, the twins patiently inquired about Lin Shu's situation, and found that it was indeed as Lin Can had described. Only then did Li Qingyao write down the whole story in the letter.

After Lin Can retrieved Lin Shu's painting, they mailed the letter.

Lin Can was unaware of this and assumed they were indeed going to buy the painting.

Within two days, the group received a reply from Pan Jinhua.

Sure enough, when Pan Jinhua heard about this, she didn't think much of it. She didn't care about whether someone was a jinx or not. Feudal superstition was unacceptable. What mattered was that people had real talent and ability.

Female tutors are so hard to find; now that we've finally found one, we can't let her get away.

Pan Jinhua suggested that Li Qingyao and the others talk to Lin Shu. If she was indeed talented, the Li family would be willing to hire her as a female tutor and support her in her old age.

Finally, it was mentioned that Liu Yun was also on his way.

After reading the letter, everyone felt more at ease. Li Qingyao and the other three immediately went to find Lin Can and told him about the Li family's intentions.