Old Mrs. Lin fled in a panic, like a headless fly. Every now and then she would turn her head and see the servants chasing her as ghosts. She quickened her pace and crashed headfirst into the wall of the house. Suddenly, she saw golden light and felt dizzy.
Old Mrs. Lin felt as if all the strength had been drained from her legs, and her body suddenly lurched forward. Before she could react, she fell heavily to the ground.
Due to inertia, her body continued to slide forward, finally slamming hard against the stone bench where the horses were tied in front of the house. The impact was like a thunderbolt; Old Lady Lin felt a sharp pain in her lower back, as if countless fine needles were piercing her body at the same time.
She couldn't help but let out a scream, rolled to the ground, and completely lost the ability to move.
Seeing this, the servants rushed forward to help Old Madam Lin up, anxiously asking, "Madam, where are you hurt?"
At this moment, Old Lady Lin was tormented by excruciating pain to the point of almost losing consciousness. Her eyes rolled back, her mouth was crooked, and her whole body was convulsing uncontrollably. She was completely unable to answer the servants.
Upon seeing this, a maid immediately exclaimed, "Something terrible has happened! The old lady is injured! Quickly carry her back and fetch a doctor!"
Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly lifted Old Lady Lin up and prepared to carry her into the house.
Although Old Lady Lin was delirious, she still mustered her last bit of strength and groaned, "Ghosts, ghosts... I don't want to go back, I want to go to the temple..."
Before she could finish speaking, her eyes rolled back completely, and she fainted.
Seeing this, the Lin family dared not delay. They quickly summoned a carriage and carefully lifted the old lady onto it. They then rushed to a nearby pharmacy and loudly called for a doctor.
Upon hearing the noise, the doctor hurriedly came out from the inner room. After checking on Old Madam Lin's condition, he shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Madam, this fall was really bad. I'm afraid you won't be able to stand up again."
The doctor, with a grave expression, said to the servants standing to the side, "The old lady's fall was quite severe; her spine is broken. My medical skills are limited, and I am truly powerless to help. Unless she is the reincarnation of the legendary physician Hua Tuo, I'm afraid the old lady will have a very difficult time getting up again."
The servants were stunned by the doctor's words, looking at each other in disbelief, not knowing what to do.
After a long while, one of the servants finally came to his senses and muttered in a low voice, "What should we do? With the old lady ill, what will become of the family?"
Seeing this, the doctor shook his head helplessly and sighed softly, "The elderly are already frail, and this broken spine is just adding insult to injury. Based on my many years of medical experience, I'm afraid the old lady won't live much longer."
Hearing the doctor's words, the servants became even more flustered.
They looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.
After a moment of silence, an older woman finally stepped forward and said, “Now that things have come to this, we can’t just sit here doing nothing. I think we should send someone back to report this to the master and let him make a decision. The rest of you should take the old lady to the temple so she can recuperate there in peace.”
"This arrangement is good." Everyone nodded in agreement.
So they sent a quick-moving servant back to the mansion to inform the master about the old lady's condition.
The remaining people carefully lifted the old lady onto the carriage, preparing to send her to a temple outside the capital to settle down.
Unexpectedly, the monks of the temple also learned of what had happened in the capital. When they saw that Old Lady Lin wanted to be brought into the temple at night, they refused to open the gate and said, "It would be better for you to find another place to stay. Our temple does not have a doctor and cannot cure people's illnesses. If we delay the treatment, we will be in great guilt."
Left with no other choice, the servants found a dilapidated, uninhabited house at the foot of the mountain to settle down.
At this moment, Lin Daoqing was unaware that his mother had accidentally broken her back while fleeing in a panic, and that he was still in the eldest son's courtyard.
At this moment, when he faced his elder brother again, his attitude underwent an unprecedented change, becoming exceptionally respectful.
Lin Daoqing stepped forward and bowed to Lin Daoyan, then said, "Brother, what happened before was indeed wrong of our family, and I apologize to you. Now that you are unwilling to let us continue to live here, our family will move away immediately."
Lin Daoqing paused for a moment, seemingly considering what to say next.
After a moment, as if he had made up his mind, he continued, "There is one more thing, brother, that you may not know yet. Ren Chuanhe, the eldest son of the Ren family, will soon be engaged in another marriage exchange. This time, he will come to marry my niece and make her the daughter-in-law of the eldest branch of the Ren family."
He pleaded, "Brother, please forgive me this once, for the sake of our father."
After saying this, Lin Daoqing bowed respectfully to Lin Daoyan again, then turned and instructed the servants behind him: "Go quickly and carry the lady away. Move our things to the second house's cloth shop overnight. Once there, settle the lady in first, then go and invite a doctor to treat her."
"Yes, sir," the servants of the second branch replied in unison, and then quickly got to work, carrying out Lin Daoqing's instructions.
Lin Daoqing then instructed his two half-grown sons, "Eldest son, come with me to find your grandmother, and second son, protect your mother to the shop."
After arranging the move, he hurriedly rode off to catch up with Old Lady Lin.
If his mother dies, then observing three years of mourning would be a huge problem.
Lin Yajun and her family stood in the courtyard, all frozen in place, completely stunned by what Lin Daoqing had said.
After the eldest son left, the courtyard fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
A moment later, sounds came from the courtyard.
"What? The Ren family wants to arrange another marriage?" Lin Daoyan looked on in disbelief, wondering if he had misheard. He stared at his wife with wide eyes and murmured the question.
Lin Songhao shook his big head like a rattle drum and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no, my sister absolutely cannot marry into the Ren family! I would rather my sister never marry, and I would support her for the rest of my life than let her marry into the Ren family."
Madam Xu looked distressed, her brows furrowed. She nodded reluctantly and complained indignantly, "The Ren family is making this marriage like children playing house. They've changed the marriage once and now they want to change it again. What kind of behavior is this!"
Lin Yajun snorted coldly from the side and muttered, "Hmph, they want to go through another marriage exchange? The Ren family must be dreaming! If they think they have too long a life, they can come and try again!" She made up her mind that if the Ren family dared to come and ask for a marriage, she would massacre them.
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