Zhang Daqi and Zhang Dazhi rode their horses at full speed. They didn't know why they didn't stop drinking tea. On the fourth day, just after midnight, they actually escorted Daiyu back.
Lin Ming was keeping vigil in the mourning hall when he heard the news. He hurriedly went to receive it. When Daiyu saw the white muslin on the signboard and Lin Ming and his two concubines wearing it, she burst into tears before she could get off the carriage.
" Father is serious, really…" Daiyu couldn't say this sentence. She choked on her tears and couldn't stop coughing.
Lin Ming helped her breathe and comforted her softly,""There's still me."
A person's passing was like a lamp going out. How could Daiyu not understand this truth? She only hated herself for not knowing at all. She did not know why her father was sick. She did not know when her father was seriously ill. She did not even know when her father had passed away.
When her father was suffering in the hospital bed, she might still be joking with her sisters. Thinking of this, Daiyu couldn't help but feel as if a knife was twisting in her heart. She gritted her teeth and actually bit her lips.
Lin Ming didn't persuade Daiyu and let her regret and hate. After handing Daiyu over to the two aunts to support her, Lin Mingyou went up to Jia Lian. Jia Lian did not waste time talking to her and only comforted her with a few words. He said that the old ladies at home knew that Master Lin had passed away and were very sad, so he sent him down. Firstly, he told them about his grief. Secondly, Sister Lin was young and could not handle things well. She was also a girl. He also asked him to do his best to help her with her funeral.
Now that there was a new funeral and many things to do, Lin Ming didn't thank him and only said,""That's right. Dai Yu and I didn't know how to get it. First, we wanted to write a letter to ask Second Sister-in-law to come. We just thought that this residence couldn't do without her. Uncle's funeral should only be done with etiquette. It's not good to be extravagant. I don't have a proper way to arrange the specific places. I'm in charge of the front. Now, I'll ask Second Brother Lian to take over. Just ask the four stewards about everything.”
Jia Lian was, after all, an elder and a man, so he had seen many of such incidents. That night, he and the four stewards immediately dealt with the matter. All the items were counted, and the difference in the amount was also made up by the number of heads and hours.
Moreover, Daiyu was a daughter and was weak, so she couldn't attend the ceremony. Lin Ming was an uncle and niece, and he had almost recognized her as his daughter, so he could share the burden with her. Therefore, the matter of welcoming and accompanying guests was handed over to Jia Lian. Only a few very close ones were still accompanied by Lin Ming.
Lin Ming, Dai Yu, and the two concubines received the tributes. This way, even though Ruhai had no descendants, his funeral would not seem to be neglected. Especially since Lin Ming had been in the officialdom recently, he knew a lot of his colleagues who came to pay their respects. There were more connections between their conversations, and they were not empty. It was hard to tell that Ru Hai was someone who did not have a son to carry on his will and establish a family.
"We have been colleagues for decades. When we heard that Duke Lin had passed away, we were filled with grief. Duke Lin was born to serve the people, and he vomited blood and vomited blood. When he passed away today, thinking about how Duke Lin had no son to send him off, I only wished that my son could come and hold Duke Lin's funeral.”
Lin Ming served tea to Old Li." Uncle treats me like his own son. Uncle doesn't dislike me, so I should be thrown in front of the mourning hall.”
Old Li nodded and praised,"A few days ago, Duke Lin sent a letter to me recommending you to work in the Imperial Court. I was still wondering how there would be a girl who could be an official, but I didn't care about Duke Lin's advice and just didn't send a letter.”
Lin Mingyi replied that he didn't dare to. Just as he said this, someone ran over and reported that the Zhang family of the water transport had brought a large group of people here. They were afraid that something had happened. Fortunately, Sun Hujun had stopped them outside with his men and asked the young lady to go and take a look.
Elder Li hurriedly said," You don't have to waste time here. Political affairs are more important. Master Lin entrusted the disaster relief to you, and you've done it. You're always involved in the follow-up. Especially since the Zhang family has a lot of power and is not easy to deal with. You have to deal with it well. I'll go to the hall now so that I can greet my colleagues with you."”
"Thank you for your understanding, Old Master Li," Lin Ming quickly thanked him. Uncle suddenly fell ill and the higher-ups did not have time to send someone to take over. I could only slowly hand over all the work. Moreover, I was afraid that the Zhang family would have any setbacks in this disaster relief matter.”
Lin Ming arranged for someone to send Old Li over, and then he went to the door himself. He was really worried that Ru Hai had just passed away, and the Zhang family no longer had any power to rely on. He was afraid that it would not be disciplined. His thoughts raced along the way, and he finally calmed down. If Zhang Xiangqi had not insisted on joining the army, there would really be no way to suppress the Zhang family.
When they reached the door, they saw two groups of people confronting each other. On one side were Zhang Hujun's dozen guards, and on the other side were thirty to forty strong and fierce men in black. In terms of bravery, they were more aggressive.
" Who is it?" Zhang Dazhi roared." Who is so bold to cause trouble in the Lin Manor?!" Whoever dares to behave atrociously in front of Duke Lin's memorial is going against the people of Su Yanghang. I, Yang Dazhi, will be the first to meet him!”
Lin Ming was relieved. He walked out and said,""Steward Li, long time no see. Why have you come to the residence? Why are you confronting the guards? Quickly put away your swords.”
Steward Li cupped his fists and ordered everyone to get back to their stance. He said,"Reporting to Young Lady, the head of the canal knows that Master Lin has just passed away, and Young Lady will definitely come back to attend the funeral. He is afraid that Young Lady has something to do here, so he sent us here to wait for orders. Master, Madam, and Second Miss followed behind and arrived in about two days.”
When Lin Ming heard this, he knew that he was overthinking things. He thought that Ruhai was powerful and had no children. He was afraid that someone would plot to cause trouble when the two girls 'families were holding funerals, so he sent a group of powerful people to help her maintain her reputation. Lin Ming's heart warmed. He thanked Zhang Hujun and then went in with the others.
With the addition of the smart and capable Steward Li, everything became easier. Lin Ming returned to the mourning hall and told Daiyu to rest first. He would take her place for a while.
Daiyu said," Father has never shown any filial piety on his sickbed. I won't go to rest today. Please let me kneel. It's also my heart to burn some paper money for Father."”
Lin Ming said," How can Uncle not know your heart? Uncle has always doted on you. You kowtowed for a whole day, and your body can't take it. Isn't that making him uneasy? Besides, look at your eyes. They're swollen beyond recognition." I'll take your place here. You go eat some food and rest for a while before coming back.”
In the end, Daiyu didn't go, but her body couldn't stand it anymore. Lin Ming asked people to set up a small couch behind the cloth curtain on the left side of the mourning hall. He asked her to lie there and asked people to use eggs to put on her eyes.
"What was all that noise outside just now?" asked Daiyu, leaning against the couch."Could it be that the uncles are coming?"”
Lin Ming said," Don't worry. The uncles won't cause a ruckus if they come. It's my god-relatives who are afraid that the two of us girls won't be able to handle it, so they sent someone to help. I asked him and Second Brother Lian to come together. The two of them will take turns to pick up the guests. It won't be so hard."”
"You acknowledged her as your god-relative? They're actually kind enough to be considerate and think about these things for you.”Speaking of this, she thought of her mother, her father, and even Lin Er, who had recognized someone else as her godmother. She was going to be alone in the future. Daiyu couldn't help but cry again. Her mother, who was anxiously applying her eyes, hurriedly said," Aiya, why are you crying again? You can't cry when you apply your eyes, or else you'll hurt your eyes."”
"Are you crying for Uncle or something else?" Lin Ming asked. If you cry uncle, don't just stand there and cry. It's still a token of my appreciation when I come here. If you cry for something else, there's no need.”
"Why do you care? You have your godfather and godmother, godbrothers and godsisters who love you."
"Is this the time to be angry?" Lin Ming asked. You should quickly put up with your temper.”Daiyu wanted to say more, but she heard a man outside invite her, saying that the magistrate had come and wanted to invite her out to discuss some matters.
When Lin Ming heard this, he knew that it was Manager Li who brought it over. When she went downstairs, Daiyu saw that she was determined to leave, so she fell down and cried again. The mother tried to persuade her, saying,"It's not that I want to criticize you, Young Lady. I know that Young Lady is upset that Master has passed away, but Young Lady shouldn't say such things." Since the Old Master left, the Second Young Lady immediately rushed back to handle it. She was so busy inside and outside that she didn't even have the time to squint her eyes. In these few days, she had also lost a lot of weight. Even her biological son was only so dedicated. She was so busy, she had to receive the officials and deal with the important matters left behind by the old master. How could she cry? The young lady only saw that the Second Young Lady was crying less, so she said these words to stab her, wasn't it wrong?”
"I didn't want to stab her," she cried."I only hate myself."”It turned out that after returning from the trip, Grandmother Jia had also thought of this weak and lonely girl, Daiyu, and was afraid that she would make a mistake. She had actually discussed the severity of the matter with her. One said that her father had passed away and had no son, leaving behind the family business. Her uncles would probably have a say in it. The other said that she had only joined Ruhai in the past and came to the capital. She was not considered a relative of the Jia family. Now that Ruhai had passed away, she did not know where she had gone.
Daiyu had played with Lin Ming since she was young. How could she not be sad when she heard this? She only said that she was like Lin Ming's biological sister, so she should at least beg Grandmother Jia to treat her as another granddaughter. Grandmother Jia sighed and said that this was only natural. Even for Yu 'er's sake, the Fu would not let her eat. It was just that this Lin Er girl was too ambitious and had already acknowledged a god-relative. She was afraid that she would not be willing to come to the capital.
Daiyu was innocent. She did not know that Grandmother Jia had a knot in her heart about Lin Ming's instigation of Baoyu. She thought that Lin Ming really had his own scheme. After going to Yangzhou to acknowledge his god-relatives, he would not be with her from now on. Therefore, when she saw him, she always felt sad.
Lin Ming went to meet the magistrate and was shocked when he heard what he said. It turned out that the prefect had received news that refugees from all over the country had come to Suzhou for some reason. The exact number was unknown, but it was not a small number. What if there was a rebellion? The magistrate was shocked and frightened, and he immediately asked what to do. He wished that he could bring Ru Hai out of the coffin and ask for a solution.
Lin Ming comforted him and said," The border was in chaos, the people were already suffering, taxes were increasing, and there was no breathing space. If the heavens sent a disaster, wouldn't it cut off the lives of the people? When uncle was still alive, he was always afraid that the people would have no way out and become bandits. Could it be that uncle had just passed away and added such a disaster?
Lin Ming looked back at the mourning hall, thinking that his uncle had worked hard for the people all his life. Could it be that at the end, he couldn't rest in peace and let the people stir up the last journey to peace?
"We don't have accurate information yet, so we can't panic." Magistrate, my daughter pleads for your peace. This news is not yet true, and you should not reveal it. You should return to the yamen and issue an order to inform the various departments. Tell them that Master Lin has just died and the Emperor will send an angel to appease him. The various departments need to strengthen their patrols and maintain discipline. In addition, send a secret letter to inform the various towns and governors to strictly organize the army and prepare for battle!”
"That's the only way," the magistrate said."Should we report such a big matter to the Imperial Court? If it happens, won't we be charged with negligence?”
"You mustn't report this to the imperial court!" Lin Ming hurriedly waved his hand. Firstly, since the flood, many people have become refugees. It is common for them to migrate to survive. If there is no rebellion and you report it, how will the Emperor look at you? Secondly, if there were any misfortunes, the Emperor would definitely reprimand the officials for their poor governance. It was inevitable that they would be sentenced to quell the rebellion. The crime of negligence was actually negligible and not worth mentioning.”
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