Lin Daoqing and Lin Daowei originally plotted to seize the wealth of the eldest son's family, but not only did they fail, they also lost three hundred taels of silver to the Shen family. The two brothers each contributed one hundred and fifty taels, which made them very frustrated.

Lin Daowei didn't have much money after buying a courtyard, and now he had to pay 150 taels of silver in compensation, which he simply couldn't afford.

Left with no other choice, Lin Daowei had to bite the bullet and go to Lin Daoyan's door again. He said to Lin Daoyan with a troubled expression, "Brother, Shen Qiyuan died because his eldest niece sprayed pepper spray in his eyes when he came to your residence to propose marriage. So, do you think you should pay the compensation of three hundred taels of silver?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Daoyan frowned.

He understood in his heart that Shen Qiyuan's death was indeed related to his daughter. Although he was somewhat surprised by this sudden turn of events, considering the seriousness of the matter, he still considered paying compensation.

Lin Daoyan looked at Xu Shi's worried expression and couldn't help but sigh.

He decided to resolve the issue and turned to Madam Xu, saying, "Go and get some silver for my third brother to settle this matter."

"Yes, husband." Madam Xu nodded in agreement. She also wanted to settle the matter with money, otherwise she was afraid it would affect her daughter's reputation.

If a girl's reputation is ruined, she may never be able to marry into a good family.

Lin Daowei was overjoyed to see that he could get the money.

Just then, Lin Yajun suddenly strode out from the inner courtyard.

Lin Yajun's face was frosty, her sharp eyes fixed on Lin Daowei. She said coldly, "You two families schemed against our shops and houses, so you sent someone to propose marriage. Now that this has happened, you still have the nerve to come to our family to ask for money?"

Lin Daowei was stunned by his niece's sharp rebuke.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but found that he couldn't find the right words at all.

Lin Yajun continued mercilessly, "Do you think our whole family are fools? That we'd be sold out and then have to count the coins for you?"

She pressed on, "Do you have any shame? Don't you have any conscience?"

Lin Daowei's face grew increasingly red, and a fine layer of sweat even began to appear on his forehead. Faced with his niece's questioning, he felt as if something was blocking his throat, rendering him completely speechless.

"I won't give you any money. If you dare to come asking for money again, be prepared to go blind," Lin Yajun threatened.

Upon hearing this, Lin Daowei knew that his niece was a woman of her word, so he could only turn around dejectedly and slink away.

Through this incident, Lin Daowei realized a fact: the most powerful person in the eldest branch of the family was not the eldest brother and sister-in-law, but his eloquent and cunning niece who was good at launching surprise attacks.

The incident subsided, but the rumors spread even more wildly.

On the day that Young Master Shen proposed marriage to the Lin family, a shocking thing happened—he died mysteriously in the river!

This sudden turn of events sent the entire city into an uproar, with all sorts of rumors and gossip flooding the airwaves.

The most eye-catching rumor was that the eldest daughter of the Lin family was a jinx to her husbands, and this claim spread like wildfire.

Along with this rumor, another rumor also spread: "The eldest daughter of the Lin family owns a thriving shop that brings in a thousand taels of silver a day. It's a shop under her name, and it will naturally be part of her dowry!"

"This shop is not only in a prime location, but it's also thriving and making a fortune every day."

Such immense wealth naturally aroused the covetousness and greed of many people.

Among these people was a seventh-rank general named Wang, who secretly pondered, "My illegitimate son has a terrible fate, having already caused the deaths of two fiancées. Perhaps my son and the eldest daughter of the Lin family are a match made in heaven!" Thus, a plan gradually took shape in his mind.

General Wang's plan was this: he would have his illegitimate son marry a woman from the Lin family, taking the shops as her dowry, and then find a way to transfer the shops to his legitimate son so that his son could marry a woman from a high-ranking family. In this way, he could obtain the Lin family's wealth and also use it to elevate his legitimate son's status.

Having made up his mind, General Wang did not hesitate to invite an official matchmaker and entrust her to propose marriage to the Lin family.

When the official media learned of General Wang's intentions, they were taken aback and hurriedly asked, "General Wang, are you unaware that Miss Lin is a jinx to her husbands?"

General Wang waved his hand dismissively, saying nonchalantly, "That's just nonsense. My eldest son is also a guard, and he will surely gain Lin Daoyan's appreciation and trust."

Seeing General Wang's resolute stance, the official media could not say anything more and could only reply, "Alright then." Afterwards, she took Young Master Wang with her to the Lin residence.

With a knock on the door, the gatekeeper of the Lin residence opened it, and a matchmaker stood at the door, smiling and saying, "This humble woman has come to propose marriage for General Wang's eldest son."

When Madam Xu heard that an official matchmaker had come to propose marriage, she was somewhat surprised, but she still went out to greet him and asked, "Which family's young master is it?"

The official matchmaker quickly replied, "Madam Lin, he is General Wang's eldest son, Young Master Wang." The matchmaker then told Madam Xu about Young Master Wang's situation.

After hearing this, Xu hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked into the courtyard. She saw Lin Yajun and Zhao Canchen sitting in the corridor, each holding a book and reading.

Madam Xu walked to Lin Yajun's side and asked softly, "Yajun, a matchmaker has come to propose marriage. He is General Wang's eldest son and is also a military household member. What do you think?"

Upon hearing that another official matchmaker had come to propose marriage, Lin Yajun frowned slightly and said firmly, "Mother, I don't plan to consider getting married for the next two years."

Sitting to the side, Zhao Canchen put down his book and muttered to himself, "Is he interested in you, or in your shop?"

Lin Yajun sneered and replied, "Since he's not afraid of my reputation for bringing bad luck to husbands and still came to propose marriage, then he must have his eye on my shop."

Upon hearing Lin Yajun's words, Madam Xu's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

She knew her daughter had a point, after all, Lin Yajun's shop had recently become quite famous in the city, and selling cloth bags had made the business exceptionally prosperous.

Young Master Wang came to propose marriage; it's hard to say he wasn't interested in this shop.

Madam Xu turned to reply to the official matchmaker, saying politely, "I'm so sorry, my daughter has no plans to get married at the moment, please forgive me."

Upon hearing Xu's words, the official mediator gave an awkward smile and quickly said, "It's alright, it's alright." She turned to look at Young Master Wang and said with a forced smile, "Young Master Wang, let's go."

Young Master Wang was surprised to be rejected by Madam Xu, but he did not give up.

He stepped forward, bowed deeply to Madam Xu, and said sincerely, "Madam Lin, my feelings for your daughter are genuine. My purpose in coming here to ask for your hand in marriage is entirely sincere. I hope you can give me a chance to prove my sincerity."