Chapter 593 Clear-headed
Qin tried to get information out of her for a long time, but she didn't get anything out of her. She turned her back and gritted her teeth, but when she came back to her senses, she was all smiles again.
No, if I break ties with Lin Ergou now, he definitely won't admit it.
Over the years, she had sent many people to keep an eye on things. The Jingzhao Yin government spent a lot of money bribing the runners, but apart from the occasional official going out to drink and have fun in private, there was no other useful information.
The Qin family remained calm and decided to hold back.
“Madam, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away. This year is the first year that Yue Sha has returned home. My mother has also been brought to the capital. Our family will finally be reunited in the truest sense.”
Lin Shusheng changed into casual clothes, sat at the tea table, and sipped tea with a leisurely air.
"yes."
Old Mrs. Lin and Lin Yuesha are relatives of Lin Ergou, what does she have to do with them? Qin Shi thought disdainfully, but said against her will, "We should prepare some big dishes to celebrate the reunion festival."
Madam Qin poured Lin Shusheng a cup of fine Biluochun tea, which she had brought back from her parents' home. She glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, but in her heart she was thinking, "Logically speaking, when the sorceress asked Madam Wei to intercede on my behalf that day, Madam Wei should have taken it to heart. Could it be that Lord Wei didn't mention it to him at the morning court session?"
Seeing Lin Shusheng's calm expression, as if nothing had happened, Qin Shi became puzzled again.
However, at this critical juncture, she could not test the waters with words, lest she give herself away.
"Excellent tea!"
Lin Shusheng took a sip of tea and then praised, "Brother-in-law, you really have connections. It's hard to buy such good Biluochun tea in teahouses in the capital."
"That's because you, sir, understand tea."
While trying to please Lin Shusheng, Qin was inwardly cursing. What good tea? It was just the top-quality tea sold in ordinary shops, something you could find anywhere in the capital.
Lin Shusheng, the son of a peasant from the south, was so unsophisticated when he first arrived in the capital that he drank tea like a cow, causing quite a few laughs. Even after more than ten years, he still only had a superficial understanding of tea ceremony. He firmly believed that the tea from the Qin family was superior, much to the Qin family's dismay.
You can fool people by just using some similar tea leaves.
So, true wealth and status isn't just about being rich; it's also about being noble. Why do powerful families refuse to associate with country bumpkins? It's because their heritage and rules are ingrained in their very being, subtly instilled. No matter how much a country bumpkin is trained, they'll still carry an air of crudeness and awkwardness in their manner of walking and sitting.
"Sir, would you like some more tea and snacks?"
Qin made conversation even when she had nothing to say.
"No need."
Lin Shusheng had eaten some pastries at Old Madam Lin's place, so he wasn't hungry at the moment.
Qin lowered her eyes. It seemed that he really had gone out to meet the little vixen. He returned to the manor and sat quietly, not even saying that he should go to bed early.
Lin Shusheng sipped tea and admired the moon, reciting a few sentimental poems, while Qin secretly examined the rouge on the lip print and finally concluded that it was not a brothel woman.
Those who sell smiles in brothels wouldn't use such fine cosmetics. Some noble merchants cherish their reputation and would never sell cosmetics to the lowest of the low.
"Madam, please don't be busy yet."
After finishing his tea, Lin Shusheng invited Qin Shi to sit down opposite him.
"You are the mistress of the household, and no one can surpass you. How has Yue Sha been these past few days? Has she adapted well?"
"Look at what you're saying. If she doesn't like it, wouldn't she complain?"
Mentioning Lin Yuesha, Madam Qin still felt a pang of regret thinking about the jewelry she had given away. "If she had been mistreated, the grapevines you planted wouldn't have been almost completely cut down."
No one knows what's wrong with Lin Yuesha, but she keeps her eyes on the grapevines and takes her maid to pick a couple of bunches whenever she has free time. It's not even Mid-Autumn Festival yet, and there are only a few scattered bunches of grapes left.
"Haha, it's just a few bunches of grapes."
Lin Shusheng laughed heartily, showing no sign of blaming his daughter. On the contrary, he felt that she was so relaxed because she treated the Lin family mansion as her own home.
“I am not an unreasonable person. Yue Sha is almost of marriageable age, and her jewelry box is empty. If she goes out, it will be a disgrace to the Lin family. So I specially searched the storeroom for a few items.”
Qin used this to start a conversation, and Lin Shusheng immediately chimed in, "Yes, she's a big girl now."
After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked around a few times.
"Master, is something on your mind?"
Having been married for over a decade, Qin Shi knew Lin Shusheng somewhat. Seeing him pacing back and forth, she was pretty sure that Lord Wei had spoken on his behalf.
"After court today, Lord Wei came to chat with me and brought up the marriage between the Wei and Lin families."
Lin Shusheng was confused. The two families were engaged, but Lin Yue'e was still young and Wei Xiaogongzi was only seventeen. The two families tacitly agreed to wait until Lin Yue'e came of age to marry into the family.
Some time ago, Lin Shusheng wanted to delay, and after hearing that Young Master Wei had fallen off his horse and was unconscious for a while, he thought that he could break off the marriage between the two families after he kicked the horse. However, Young Master Wei recovered and became very violent.
“Yue’e is my daughter, after all. How can a father bear to let her marry a paralyzed man?”
Lin Shusheng spoke from the heart, but unfortunately, the Wei family's daughter was actually made empress, and the Wei family's status rose accordingly. This marriage was now unavoidable, and they had no choice but to accept it.
"What did Lord Wei want to talk to you about?"
Qin Shi grinned, thinking, "They've come!" Her face full of anxiety, she said, "They're not bringing up marriage again, are they? Our Yue'e is still so young."
"They've brought up marriage. They said that Madam Wei had a dream a few days ago that said Young Master Wei needs to get married soon so he can pass the age of eighteen."
Lord Wei did not say it explicitly, but only mentioned Lin Yuesha who came to the capital from the north. Lin Shusheng immediately understood that the Wei family wanted to replace Lin Yue'e with Lin Yuesha.
"How...how could this be?"
Lin Shusheng was well aware of Qin's plan to marry in place of her, so Qin stopped pretending and asked directly, "Then what did you say, sir? Did you agree?"
Whether they agreed or not, they had to agree and wait for the imperial decree to be issued, at which point everything would be settled.
"The statement wasn't definitively closed."
A girl is like water spilled on the ground; of course, one should choose the one who is more beneficial to oneself. Although the Wei family holds a high position, compared to Prince Luo, the Wei family is not royalty; they are merely benefiting from his influence.
Once the Empress falls out of favor, the Wei family will lose their value.
The reason why Lin Shusheng did not readily agree was because the Prince of Luo kept asking about Lin Yuesha and even hinted that the old princess liked her very much and wanted to invite her to the palace.
Prince Luo is getting old and will get married in the next couple of years. If the old princess takes a liking to Lin Yuesha, the princess's status will be more prestigious than that of the young mistress of the Wei family. Lin Shusheng himself can also barely get in and become a half-royal relative.
Immediate benefits are merely superficial; long-term benefits are what truly last. Lin Shusheng was clear-headed and discerning, and he was quite pleased with himself. Others would surely have succumbed to temptation and readily agreed, but he was different.
"We can't afford to offend the Wei family."
Qin added that she did not believe Lin Shusheng had any fatherly affection for Lin Yuesha. If it weren't for the censor finding fault with her, Lin Yuesha would never have been brought back from the north.
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