Although he knew it was wrong, Shang Mingjie couldn't help but think, "Grandma, in your and Father's hearts, is Auntie's family more important?"

  The old lady looked at him with a sad expression and said in a tired tone, "Of course, your aunt is my own daughter, I loved her the most when she was at home."

  "In your and your father's heart, isn't the Lin family more important than the Zhao family?"

  The old lady pursed her lips and didn't speak, her mind racing with thoughts. Ming Jie would never ask about something like this.

  Who taught him to ask such a thing? Was it Lin Qingyu?

  Seeing her grandmother not responding, Shang Mingjie looked at her with a stubborn face.

  The old lady had a headache. She spoiled the child too much, so that he developed a kind heart and would not think about the troubles of the world.

  Now this child is obviously enlightened, but some things are really hurtful. Why must you say it out loud when you understand it in your heart?

  The Lin and Zhao families, emotionally speaking, are naturally closer to the Lin family. However, in terms of importance, when Lin Jiang was around, the Lin family was more important. But now that Lin Jiang is no longer around, in the future, the Shang family will still need to work together with the Zhao family at court.

  Otherwise, why would she turn a blind eye to many things that Shang Er's wife did?

  Shang Mingjie saw his grandmother hanging her eyelids and not speaking, and he couldn't help but withdraw his gaze in disappointment, which was different from his usual understanding.

  He always thought fairness came first, then closeness, and interests were the last thing that needed consideration.

  Whether from a fair or close perspective, he has to stand on the side of the Lin family. He thinks that his grandmother and father are the same as him.

  It wasn't until his cousin questioned him this morning that he suddenly realized that maybe it was just his own wishful thinking, and his grandmother and father didn't think so.

  The old lady finally broke the silence after a long time and said: "Erlang, you will understand when you grow up."

  Shang Mingjie pursed his lips, "Now that the child has grown up, Mother, whatever considerations you have, it's better to tell me clearly. Otherwise, the child will be left in the dark and might end up ruining things for you."

  The old lady's face sank as she asked, "Are you blaming your grandmother?"

  Shang Mingjie pursed his lips and didn't say a word.

  The old lady's face turned even uglier, she suppressed the anger that was surging up from her heart and said: "Second son, who are we doing all this for? Isn't it all for you?"

  "Not for me," Shang Ming Jie said with tears in his eyes, suppressing his grievances: "I never thought of inheriting the title, nor did I ever think of relying on my uncles to achieve anything. Moreover, the Lin family is my aunt's family, and my grandmother... was it really worth losing fairness and kinship for the sake of my own household?"

  Doing good deeds is for the sake of the family, but doing bad things is only for his own benefit. Yet no one has ever asked him if he was willing to accept their so-called "good intentions".

  The old lady's face turned pale blue.

  Shang Mingjie turned to face her, grasping her hand, and his head heavily knocked on the ground. "Grandmother, if the Lin family is at fault, I will go and advise Aunt Lin. If the Zhao family is in the wrong first, I will also advise my uncles. Our family has ties with both families, so it's not good to lean towards either side. It's better to handle things impartially."

  The old lady looked at him deeply, withdrew her hand and said lightly: "If you think so, then go ahead. But I ask you, what if your uncles don't listen to advice?"

  Shang Mingjie said solemnly: "We can't interfere with Zhao's family affairs, but at least we Shangs should handle things fairly."

  The old lady sat on the cushion and asked, "Then I'll ask you, has our Shang family ever been biased towards anyone? Has there ever been any unfair treatment?"

  Shang Mingjie thought carefully and found that it was indeed the case. Although his mother had made her attitude clear, the Shang family had never helped the Zhao family suppress the Lin family. Of course, they hadn't helped the Lin family either.

  It's none of their business, and at most, the grandmother would scold the mother a little, just to express her dissatisfaction with the Zhao family.

  But this attitude is also hurtful, yet facing his grandmother, Shang Ming Jie opened and closed his mouth, still saying nothing.

  In Grandma's heart, the Shang family was the most important. Now that Eldest Uncle is stationed at the border with troops under his command, he holds a position similar to Father's, but their weight is not the same.

  Grandma could only go as far as scolding her brother's family through her daughter, doing any more would likely be seen as taking a stand with the Lin family.

  And he, Shang Ming Jie bitterly smiled, what could a young boy still in school, who had to be accompanied by servants wherever he went, do?

  How much more discourse power?

  Didn't he persuade his mother and uncle?

  But let alone his uncle, even his mother had never listened to his opinion, after all, it was because he couldn't convince people.

  Or he didn't have convincing power.

  Shang Mingjie lowered his eyes, and when he raised his head again, his gaze was much firmer. "Grandmother, I am the master of washing inkstones and serving ink, their rewards and punishments are decided by me. If I did something wrong, you can punish me."

  The old lady was now worried about the Lin family, seeing her grandson being stubborn like anything, and she didn't want to worsen the relationship between the grandfather and grandson because of this matter, so she nodded and said: "Okay, it's up to you, you handle those two."

  Shang Mingjie let out a long sigh of relief and knelt on the cushion, looking up at the ancestral tablet above.

  Nan Chun supported the old lady and turned back to look inside the ancestral hall, asking in a low voice, "Old lady, Second Master..."

  The old lady sighed and shook her head slightly: "He's injured, let him go back to recover first, and come back for punishment when he's better."

  She paused and said: "You personally go and send the washing basin and servant to serve ink back, let them carefully attend to Erlang. If there is another mistake, no matter whose servant he is, I will intervene."

  Nan Chun was startled, so the old lady intended to let the two young servants off?

  She was just standing in the courtyard and didn't hear what was being said inside, but she knew how abnormal this was.

  Before Second Master was found, Old Lady would have liked to tear apart Washing Basin and Servant Ink, so why did she let them off lightly this time?

  And it's definitely not easy to deal with the second lady.

  Seeing Nan Chun's embarrassment, the old lady snorted and pulled away her hand: "If Erniang has any opinions, just let her come find me."

  Nan Chun hastily said: "I'm afraid Second Mistress will have a falling out with Second Master and his mother because of this."

  The old lady said meaningfully: "They are mother and son, how can they have overnight grievances? If she is not happy, just scold her son."

  She didn't want the Shang and Zhao families to drift apart, but she also didn't want her grandson to be too close to the Zhao family. Erlang is too sentimental, it's good that things are like this now.

  The old lady immediately sent for the stewards after dismissing Nan Chun, and first asked which steward had accompanied people to Lin's villa that morning, who was in charge of receiving them, and whether they had seen either Mrs. Lin or Miss Lian.

  What did Lin's family say...

  The stewardess had a comeback, and now not only was the old lady silent, but even the head stewardess fell silent.

  The half-awakened steward ventured to say: "Old lady, I'm afraid the Lin family has some misunderstanding with us, why not send someone again?"

  The servant led the person away and didn't say that they hadn't seen Lin Qingyuan, nor had they even seen Lin Yuhong's face before being sent back, clearly having fallen out with the Shang family.

  It was Mrs. Shang Lao who had sent for her, and she was the maternal grandmother of Lin Yutang, so that even if she were only a third-class servant, she should have been summoned to pay her respects.

  The old lady was a bit heartbroken, her grandson had just quarreled with her, and even her granddaughter was estranged from her?

  She waved her hand wearily and said, "Select some medicinal herbs from the warehouse to send over. They have just repelled the rioters, so there must be many injured people in the mansion, which is exactly when they need medicine."

  Dai Guanshi should go down and personally go to the warehouse to select things, and even personally send them to Lin's family villa.

  The Lin family is still the largest clan in Jiangnan, and a dead centipede does not stiffen. They should not make their relationship so stiff.

  Mrs. Zhai was still angry about Old Mrs. Zhai's letting the servant girl off from washing the inkstone and waiting on her with ink, but she paid no attention to it, her mind being entirely taken up with her son's injury.

  Shang Dan Zhu saw that the house had finally calmed down, and she let out a slight sigh of relief. She turned to Shang Dan Lan and Shang Dan Ju and said: "Let's also pack some things and ask Da Guan Shi to send them to Lin Tai Jie. I wonder if she was scared."

  Shang Danlan nodded repeatedly, "I wrote her a letter, do you want to add a few words too?"

  The two sisters then said: "Great, you bring the letter over and we'll add a few more sentences together."

  When the steward of the Leng family arrived at the Lin's secondary estate, the sun had already set, and the village was bustling with activity.

  Lin Qingwan and others had just woken up from a nap, while in another courtyard, people were bustling about preparing food.

  She visited the wounded, confirmed that everyone's injuries had not deteriorated and then returned to the small shrine. Lin Guan Jia had already sent someone into town to buy coffins and collect the bodies, only waiting for their families to arrive tomorrow before burying them.

  A lot of incense was burned in the ancestral hall, all by people from the village, to express their gratitude for the contributions made by the four men in protecting the farm and the other courtyard.

  Jing Zhen was bowing deeply in front of the memorial hall when Jing Rong rushed in from outside. He paused for a moment, waiting for Jing Zhen to straighten up before approaching him and saying in a low voice, "The steward of the Shang family has arrived again, this time bringing a whole cartload of medicinal herbs."

  Lin Qingwan nodded slightly and turned around, saying: "Let's go take a look."

  Jing Zhen said: "If you don't want to see him, why not let Lin the housekeeper go?"

  Lin Qingwan slightly shook her head and said meaningfully, "What the Lin family needs to do now is to keep a low profile. The Shang family is the second most powerful family in Jiangnan, and those who want to surpass us must first surpass the Shang family."

  Although it's subtle, the fact is that the Shang family hasn't made a move against the Lin family, but instead, the Zhao family has been pressing in step by step, while the Zhou and Xie families have been watching from the sidelines.

  If the Shang family also makes a move, the Zhou and Xie families will definitely not be able to bear it either. With the four families surrounding them, the Lin family will surely fall quickly. At that time, let alone the position of the number one family in Jiangnan, even the second or third place may not be preserved.

  For the sake of family interests, nothing is impossible.

  Even if Lin's family is related to Shang's and Xie's families.

  Although some things have come between the two families after this incident, Lin Qing still doesn't want the relationship between the two families to become too stiff.

  That's not good for the Lin family.

  She hopes that on a certain day, the Shang family will remain silent for one day, and the Lin family will still be the number one family in Jiangnan.

  And during this time, let's see if Lin family can accumulate strength and keep their first place.

  Lin Run also thought so, and upon hearing that the head of the Shang family had arrived, he hurried over to find Lin Qingyu, hoping she wouldn't be too impulsive or show her emotions, lest it deepen the rift between the two families.

  Like He Lin Yubin, he also had some doubts that it was the Zhao family who instigated the refugees to attack the Lin family's detached house.

  He just didn't expect Lin Qingyan to be so calm, when he arrived, she was smiling and receiving the steward of the Shang family.