The third son Lin Xiaohe, was different. He was enrolled in a prestigious Britain school from elementary school and eventually graduated from University of Oxford with a law degree. Even after Lin Xizhen was shot and killed, Lin Xiaohe returned to Hong Kong for the funeral, but his mother arranged for him to return to Britain. He eventually earned a double degree in Arts and Civil Law from University of Oxford. In 1932, Lin Xiaohe obtained his barrister's license in Britain, becoming the youngest foreign barrister in the Britain legal profession. The legal profession in Britain is extremely conservative and exclusive, with very few doors open to foreigners. The fact that Lin Xiaohe, a China person, could become a barrister in London Britain meant that he was one of the very few foreigners to succeed in Britain. Such foreigners, if they did not succeed, would be fine, but once they succeeded in the profession, they were more likely to receive attention than the Britain themselves.
In 1937, Lugou Bridge Incident, Lin Xiaohe, who was only 28 years old but already had a certain reputation in the Britain legal community, was invited back to China to serve as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Stabilization Fund Committee of the Republic of China. At the age of 34, Lin Xiaohe became a director of the Shanghai Commercial Bank of the Republic of China. At the age of 37, he became an advisor to the Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China and the Special Assistant to the Permanent Representative of the Republic of China to the United Nations and the Chief Representative of China to the United Nations Security Council.
After the War of Liberation, Lin Xiaohe did not follow the Kuomintang to Taiwan, nor did he choose to stay on the mainland. Instead, he resigned from his public office and returned to Hong Kong. Based on his experience in World War II and his previous work experience in London, Britain, Lin Xiaohe easily became a guest of honor of many high-ranking Britain officials and dignitaries, such as the Governor of Hong Kong, the head of Jardine Matheson, and the board of directors of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, who were difficult for others to meet even if they flattered him.
He is the one whom the First Madam painstakingly cultivated, the current head of the Lin Family who doesn't need to step into the limelight to manage the Lin family's business, but can keep the Lin Family stable as Mount Tai simply by standing behind the scenes.
Lin Xiaohe gained power through politics, while Lin Xiaosen made money through business. The two biological sons of the First Madam kept a low profile to outsiders, but within the Lin Family, they truly held great power.
This was the work of Madam Lin, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lin Family.
Chapter 325 One Blade
"A-Yao, you didn't buy Xizhen Properties because of me and Yunzhi, right?" Lin Yujing at the dining table, quietly watching Song Tianyao across from her, who was eating a bowl of rice with relish, before carefully choosing her tone and asking.
Song Tianyao shoveled a piece of fish and rice into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. He looked up Lin Yujing, then straightened his neck slightly to swallow the food. In Lin Yujing's eyes, the way Song Tianyao ate was exactly the same as when the Song Family ate together when she was a child.
Lin Yujing laughed at Song Tianyao's gait—his neck bulging as he swallowed large mouthfuls of food, his throat gurgling—and handed Song Tianyao a box of tissues, saying, "Don't choke. Eat slowly, we can talk after you finish. You're so old already, don't eat like a child."
Song Tianyao smiled brightly at Lin Yujing, then continued eating with his chopsticks, shoveling large mouthfuls of rice and vegetables into his mouth. Only after finishing the entire bowl Song Tianyao pull out a tissue to wipe his mouth. "I'm full."
Seeing his third aunt quietly watching him, waiting for his reply, Song Tianyao let out a breath. "I do have some money on hand right now. To say it's just to spite the Lin Family and Yunzhi with Third Aunt is an exaggeration. It's just that I want to buy some land. It doesn't matter whose land I buy from. Since the Lin Family also has land, and I don't like them, I'll buy from the Lin Family. So there's a reason behind it."
"Could you... not hold a grudge against the Lin Family?" Lin Yujing hesitated for a moment before saying to Song Tianyao, "The most important thing is for you to earn money and be filial to your parents and grandfather. Keep the family harmonious, don't be impetuous and reckless in your youth, and the most important thing in life is to live a peaceful and stable life."
Sitting next to Lin Yujing, Yunzhi, who had finished eating early, held an English book in her hand and seemed to be reading intently, but her ears were perked up and her eyes kept glancing at Song Tianyao and her mother.
Song Tianyao picked up a soup spoon from the table, ladled a bowl of lily and quail soup, and placed it in front of his third aunt. "I know, third aunt, you're worried that I can't compete with the Lin Family Lin Family will be dealt with by them. Third aunt, I know it will hurt you to talk about the past, but have you ever thought about it? Does anyone in the Lin Family owe you anything? Have you met the two daughters of the Lin Family's eldest wife? They studied in Britain, one married the son of the Ji Family of the Bank of East Asia, and the other married into the Zheng Family. Now they are both ladies of prominent families, while you are living in the Lin Family as if you were living under someone else's roof. The Lin Family was once your home too. You should have had the same life as your two older sisters. Aren't you angry? Aren't you resentful? If you resentful, you should take back what was taken from you back then."
Feng Yunzhi, standing nearby, almost raised both hands in agreement with Song Tianyao's words. His mother and several other aunts were all daughters of the Lin Family, but his mother was the only one who lived such a miserable life, constantly being targeted by the Lin Family.
"Whether you're angry or not, it's all in the past. I married your third uncle, so I'm a member of the Song Family. You're the only heir of the Song Family's next generation, and the Song Family still depends on you to continue its lineage. I don't want to see you work so hard to get to where you are today, only to get into trouble because of provoking the Lin Family. Besides, you said that the Lin Family used to be my home, and as a daughter of the Lin Family, I don't want anything to happen to the Lin Family." Lin Yujing pursed her lips, reached out and gently stroked Song Tianyao's hair, and said softly, "Listen to your third aunt. If you want to buy land to do business, go and discuss it properly with other families. Don't fight with the Lin Family over such petty matters. Your third aunt doesn't know much about business, but she knows one thing: harmony brings wealth. My father was shot and killed by someone hired because he fought with someone over opium distribution rights."
Song Tianyao took out a cigarette, lit it, and remained silent for the duration of half a cigarette before looking up at Lin Yujing: "Alright, I'll make a profit in the stock market and then withdraw, then go and discuss buying land with other companies. But it's not that I'm afraid of the Lin family; it's that I don't want to put you in a difficult position, Third Aunt. Grandpa said that Third Uncle has a clear conscience, above all else, and below all others, except for you and Yunzhi. The Song family owes you a lifetime's worth. If you don't want me to buy Xizhen Real Estate, then I won't. Tomorrow I'll talk to the Lin family and stop trying to get involved with their Xizhen Real Estate. I'll bring you and Yunzhi back to the Song family, and from then on, we'll have nothing to do with each other."