Chapter 269 Giving Daiyu a Guarantee

"Daiyu, you're being too reckless. Sigh, remember not to speak impulsively in the future."

Lan Cong helped Lin Ruhai in from outside the door.

The Qiu family sent an invitation, and Lin Ruhai knew about it. He was wondering about it when the servant who had accompanied Daiyu to the Ma family that day came and told him what Daiyu had said at the Ma family that day.

He thought for a long time, and that's why he came here to exchange "confessions" with Yuan Hongqu.

"Lord Lin, please don't talk about the child anymore. Lord Qiu will come tomorrow, and I will have a solution." Yuan Hongqu couldn't stand anyone speaking ill of Daiyu, not even her own father.

After this illness, Lin Ruhai aged considerably, with more gray hair at his temples.

Looking at her father, Daiyu felt a pang of sorrow and couldn't help but want to cry. When she spoke again, her voice was trembling with tears.

"Waaah... I don't want Father to marry anyone else. Even if he has to, he can only marry Granny Yuan..."

"Silly child." The little girl cried with tears streaming down her face, and Lin Ruhai felt his heart breaking.

As long as Daiyu cries, Yuan Hongqu will always grant her every wish, but this time it won't work.

"Your father is so old, and since your mother passed away, he has never thought about remarrying. I don't know where this rumor came from."

Lin Ruhai sighed repeatedly, and said apologetically,

"Mr. Yuan, I'm so sorry to have dragged you into this mess."

"Lord Lin, others may not know, but you should. Lin Yuanhang and I were engaged long ago. Although he is no longer here, I will not marry anyone else." Yuan Hongqu said calmly, as if she were talking about someone else's business.

"Mr. Yuan, I've heard about your affair with Brother Yuanhang..."

“Then let’s say that,” Yuan Hongqu interrupted Lin Ruhai. “I am your cousin’s widow, and I’m taking care of Daiyu in your home. That reason should be reasonable, right?”

“Mr. Yuan, that’s too serious. You and Brother Yuanhang were not married before he passed away. Being a widow would not benefit you in any way in your current situation.”

Lin Ruhai was surprised that Yuan Hongqu had such thoughts and quickly stopped her.

After all, a girls' academy with an older spinster as its headmistress has a reputation a hundred times better than one with a widow as its headmistress.

"Heh, so what? Can't a widow be a female official? Can't a widow become the head of an academy?" Yuan Hongqu sneered. "I'm just afraid that the Minister of Rites will say something like, 'A lonely man and a lonely woman, without any relatives or friends, living under the same roof,' which will cause a lot of gossip. I'm afraid that people will gossip and it will be bad for Daiyu's reputation. Do I care about anything else?"

"Mr. Yuan, thank you for doing this for my daughter." Lin Ruhai knew that Yuan Hongqu was straightforward and disliked roundabout ways, but he did not expect that Yuan Hongqu would come up with such a roundabout solution for Daiyu.

“Granny Yuan,” Daiyu said, unaware that her casual remark had caused such a storm.

"Daiyu is wrong."

Although she knew she had caused trouble, she hadn't expected that she would have to ruin the nanny's reputation just to protect her own, and she was filled with fear and regret.

"It's alright, Daiyu, it's nothing. After we deal with Lord Qiu tomorrow, I'll take you for a ride outside the city." Yuan Hongqu gently comforted Daiyu, then gestured for Zijuan to take Daiyu back to her room to wash up and prepare for bed.

"Lord Lin, after your promotion, will you go to Yangzhou or stay in the capital?" Yuan Hongqu comforted Daiyu before turning to ask Lin Ruhai.

In the original novel, Lin Ruhai never returned to the capital, nor did he appear to be serving in the capital, so he most likely went back to Yangzhou.

"As the Governor-General of Liangjiang, he will not be in the capital. But Daiyu will have to stay in the capital."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Hongqu nearly dropped the teacup in her hand.

Lin Ruhai has become a high-ranking official?

No wonder she's so popular at her age; everyone wants a piece of her pie.

A high-ranking official of the second rank!

Previously, they only managed the salt administration, but now they have to manage everything.

Yuan Hongqu composed herself. "Is Daiyu a hostage left in the capital by the Emperor?"

Realizing this, Yuan Hongqu was somewhat unhappy.

Lin Ruhai shook his head, "Not really, I'll be able to come to the capital to see her once a year from now on."

"Hmph!" Yuan Hongqu looked coldly at Lin Ruhai.

"Are you really determined to become this official? You only have one daughter..."

"I am very relieved that Yu'er is with Mr. Yuan." Lin Ruhai's gaze was firm. "His Majesty has entrusted me with an important task and trusted me. I will do anything to repay His Majesty's kindness."

"Why are you working so hard at your age? Wouldn't it be better to just stay with your daughter and enjoy the rest of your life?" Yuan Hongqu seemed to be talking to Lin Ruhai, but it also seemed like she was talking to herself.

Yuan Hongqu did not understand Lin Ruhai's political ambitions, just as Lin Ruhai did not understand that Yuan Hongqu, despite her abilities and talent, as the head of the female officials, could have done more for the benefit of the country and the people.

However, Yuan Hongqu did nothing; she devoted most of her attention to Daiyu.

"I will have to trouble Mr. Yuan to take care of my daughter in the days to come." Lin Ruhai bowed deeply.

Yuan Hongqu did not move and accepted his bow without hesitation. Although Lin Ruhai was older and held a higher official position than her, she was worthy of this bow!

Lin Ruhai then added,

“My daughter spoke carelessly and caused trouble for you, sir. To silence the gossip, all you need to do is show disdain for me in front of others. They will know that it was just my wishful thinking. It will not affect either my daughter’s or your reputation.”

After Lin Ruhai finished speaking, he glanced at Yuan Hongqu tentatively, but saw that she remained unmoved and expressionless. He thought that he had not had much contact with Mr. Yuan in the past, and it seemed that Mr. Yuan only paid attention to him because of Daiyu.

If it weren't for Daiyu as a link, Mr. Yuan probably wouldn't have bothered to pay any attention to him.

It has to be said, Lin Ruhai was right.

"As for Lord Qiu's arrival tomorrow, I will explain everything to him myself. I brought the contract we signed with me. The contract was for a five-year term, and the term has not yet expired."

Lin Ruhai asked the person next to him to bring out the contract that Yuan Hongqu signed with Lin Ruhai when she went to the Lin family.

“Since Lord Lin has brought the contract with him, and Lord Qiu is coming tomorrow, why don’t we ask him to be a witness and we can sign a new contract?” Yuan Hongqu suddenly said.

Lin Ruhai nodded. "That's only right. Mr. Yuan, what conditions do you have? Please let us know first."

"Ignore everything else, but there's one thing: you can't force Daiyu to get married in the future, you can't pressure her to marry, and you can't arrange a private engagement for her in any way!"

Although Yuan Hongqu herself was not married, she had seen a lot and understood the difficulties of marriage.

In particular, he comforted Wang Xifeng, who wanted to escape from her marriage, today.

She couldn't help but think more about Daiyu.

In Lin Ruhai's mind, work is more important than Daiyu. Yuan Hongqu was afraid that Lin Ruhai would do something foolish again and ruin Daiyu's life.

"Isn't Mr. Yuan's request a bit unreasonable?"