Meeting Her Family
After returning to the capital, Lin Yunwan gave gifts to all of Qi Lingheng's relatives and old friends, and also went to a banquet with him.
In the end Lin Family was left behind.
The affair Di Daughter of the Lin clan and the Wuding Marquis Residence was common knowledge back then.
Although many years have passed, everyone who has heard about those events still feels Lin Family.
It's understandable that when Prince Huan returned to the capital, he and his Princess Consort paid their respects to his teacher's wife.
They went very discreetly.
The Lin Family did not give them a grand welcome.
When Lin Yunwan and Qi Lingheng returned home together, only their elderly mother, younger brother, and a few old servants were there.
Looking at the old roof beams and tiles, she felt an overwhelming sadness.
"Long..."
Lin Yunyi immediately changed his address. "Prince Huan Consort, Your Prince, please come in."
Lin Yunwan gripped her handkerchief tightly, nodded, and followed Lin Yunyi into the inner courtyard.
Madam Lin had been unable to hold back her emotions for a long time, and tears welled up in her eyes the moment she saw her daughter.
She hugged Lin Yunwan tightly and sobbed on her daughter's shoulder.
"My son, my son... you really are..."
Qi Lingheng consciously avoided him, Lin Yunyi led him next door to have tea and talk.
"Yun Wan, let your mother take a look."
Madam Lin was in tears, laughing as she cried, "Your brother always says you're doing well, but I can't see you, and I always feel like he's lying to me."
Lin Yunwan wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "Don't you recognize your daughter's handwriting?"
"Those family letters are all genuine."
Madam Lin cried and said, "Yun Yi wouldn't let me keep your writings. Every time I finished reading them, I burned them. Once they were reduced to ashes, there was nothing left. It felt like I had just woken up from a dream."
"Your daughter is unfilial."
Lin Yunwan wept uncontrollably.
Madam Lin held her daughter for a long time before she finished speaking.
Several years have passed, and she has become more calm and rational.
Madam Lin pulled Lin Yunwan down to sit and said, "Good child, it's enough that you're doing well. If you're always worrying about me and your brother, it will only cause you trouble. I'd rather never see you again."
Lin Yunwan felt increasingly distressed.
Madam Lin knew that even if they met now, it wouldn't be the same as before, when her daughter could openly call her "Mother" and the family could reunite whenever they wanted.
Not wanting to say anything unpleasant, she said, "This is the first time you've brought the Prince back. It's supposed to be your homecoming day, so your mother can't make a big fuss about it. But I've personally cooked a few of your favorite dishes from when you were little."
"Jiangqian is very different from our the Capital, isn't it? You probably haven't had your mother's cooking."
Lin Yunwan bittersweet. "Even if others copy the appearance of your dishes, they can't grasp the essence."
The mother and daughter then had a long, intimate conversation.
Madam Lin was still somewhat uneasy and quietly asked Lin Yunwan, "Is the Prince really treating you very well?"
Lin Yunwan nodded. "Just like how Father treated you."
She was even gentler and more considerate than her father.
Madam Lin patted her hand and said, "A husband's thoughtfulness is most precious."
Over the years, with so many twists and turns, she didn't want to say much more. She simply said, "Yun Wan, you're grown up now. You've also undergone a rebirth. Whatever plans you and the Prince have, that's yours to do! I won't interfere, but your brother will always be your brother, and I will always be your mother. As for the people of the Lin clan, let's not count on them."
Lin Yunwan nodded.
She casually asked a few questions about the clan, "How are the elders doing these days?"
When she left the Wuding Marquis Residence, her clansmen also helped her.
Madam Lin sighed, "It's good, but bringing glory to one's family is never easy, the Lin clan is becoming increasingly less successful."
Scholars also have their own contradictions; the Lin clan family was also beginning to decline, lacking anyone truly capable of shouldering the responsibility.
Let's not talk about this anymore.
Madam Lin didn't want to talk about household matters.
Lin Yunwan asked with concern about her eyes, "You can see everything now, so it's okay for you to cry?"
Madam Lin told her, "As long as you don't look directly at the scorching sun, your eyes will be no different from those of an ordinary old woman, constantly weeping."
She smiled and said, "Seventh Master Li is kind-hearted; he comes to visit me every year or two when he returns to the capital."
Lin Yunwan said, "He only came because of Old Madam Xia and the Prince, right? How is his health?"
"I still look quite healthy and enjoy drinking. Yun Yi stores wine for him every year, burying it under the apricot tree in our courtyard, waiting for him to return to the capital to retrieve it."
Lin Yunwan was very pleased. "Yun Yi has taken good care of everything at home, big and small."
She still had one thing on her mind, so she asked Madam Lin, "Mother, why didn't Yun Yi take the exam three years ago?"
Madam Lin was taken aback.
Lin Yunwan.
Madam Lin sighed and said, "Yun Yi told me not to say, you should go ask him yourself."
"Sister, haven't you and Mother finished talking yet?"
Lin Yunyi came in.
Lin Yunwan stood up and smiled faintly, "I'm done. Yun Yi, come with me. I have something to ask you."
She smiled, but her tone was very serious.
Lin Yunyi hadn't seen Lin Yunwan for several years and wondered what he had done to upset his sister. He glanced at Qi Lingheng.
He wanted his brother-in-law to help him.
Qi Lingheng coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "Yun Yi, good luck to you."
Lin Yunyi was speechless.
As she brushed past Qi Lingheng, she said, "How can your brother-in-law be so unreliable?"
Qi Lingheng followed with a faint smile, "If your sister wants to get angry, even Qi Zaijun wouldn't be able to help, let alone me."