"Your family is also generous."

  The water lily usually blooms in April, but now it's only January, so it must be grown in a greenhouse. I heard that the Lin family's old mansion has a hot spring resort with many flowers, and this water lily is probably also grown there.

  This flower may not be delicate, but in this kind of weather, it will definitely not last for many days.

  "This flower is quite resilient, even if it withers and dies, its roots won't die. By then, it will have taken root in the creek, and who knows, maybe by autumn, we'll see it bloom again. Our creek is too barren, it's about time we planted something."

  But the three sisters of the Shan family still thought that the Lin family was extravagant. After all, at this time, except for plum blossoms, other flowers and trees should not be in bloom.

  A pot of water lilies can sell for a lot of money in the flower market, let alone now looking at the flowers and trees placed on both sides of this stream, you know how much effort they put in.

  The little girls tried their best to pick the water lilies, but they couldn't get any. They didn't lose hope either. It's unknown who started it first, but soon a group of little girls began tickling each other and ran into the plum forest again.

  The girls standing by the stream all wiped away a cold sweat, it's too dangerous by the water, they should go into the woods instead.

  At this time, plum blossoms are in full bloom, with red, pink and white ones everywhere. Little girls flit about among them, made even more lovely by the plum blossoms.

  The ladies who had already moved to the second floor of the Guan Jing Xuan couldn't help but feel a stir in their hearts when they saw this, and began to pull out the eligible young men from their families.

  It's really delightful to look at these little girls, I want to take them home as daughters-in-law.

  So everyone tested each other, and slowly gathered together in twos and threes, making implicit appointments to go out and play next time.

  Lin Qingwan remained seated in the first position, leaning forward to pour tea for Mr. and Mrs. Shi on either side of her.

  Shi Xian's gaze returned from the plum forest below, and he took over the tea to ask, "I remember that your niece is coming of age next month, should we start discussing marriage?"

  "No rush, she's only 15, after all. It's better for a girl to marry late." Lin Qingyan lowered her eyes, took a sip of tea and smiled: "What, Sister Xian wants to arrange a marriage for Rong Jie?"

  Shi Xian sighed, "She'll have to wait a few more years."

  Choi Rong's marriage is even more difficult than Lin Yuheng's.

  Lin Yuhuan was an orphan, but both her father and mother were known for their good character. With the capable Aunt Lin Qingwen around and being a county mistress herself, marriage might be difficult, yet not impossible.

  Two years ago, perhaps the whole family would still be hesitant, after all, a motherless girl is not married, but now everyone has seen Lin Qingyan's ability, with this aunt personally teaching, how bad can Lin Yuhong be?

  So with good upbringing, Lin Yuhbin had no difficulty in saying that relatives are not hard to find when doors face each other.

  But Cui Rong was different, her father was a scoundrel, so much so that her mother took the two children and wanted to divorce him.

  His mother, Shi Xian sighed, in the marriage between the two families of Shi Cui, she was reasonable again, but when she left with her children, she became unreasonable in the eyes of others.

  Those big families will definitely worry that Choi Rong is like her, so Choi Rong's marriage will be much more difficult.

  Shi Xian deeply understood how much harm an unsuitable marriage could bring to a woman, and would rather not marry at all than suffer such a fate.

  Isn't it just paying a tax for being unmarried past the due date? Shi Xian can still afford it.

  Lin Qingwan understood her concerns, glanced at the ladies in the pavilion, and whispered to her ear: "Don't worry, take your time while she's still young, it'll take ten or eight years at most, but you'll definitely find one."

  "Is this supposed to be comforting?" Shi Xian said with a glance at her.

  Lin Qingwan nodded, "Of course, you think it's easy for me to choose a jade pendant?"

  She's also having a hard time, okay? Lin Jiang had intended to marry Shang Mingjie before he passed away, but she seems to have made things a bit awkward between the two families.

  She wanted to find someone else, but she was already dizzy and didn't know who to look for.

  Lin Jiang's ultimate goal is to let Lin Yuhuan live a happy life, if she accidentally finds her a scumbag, it will be a great loss, and then she really has nowhere to cry.

  She was still in the dark about Yu Bin's marriage, but she had some misgivings about Shang Zhou's grain prices.

  Not Shang Dan Zhu but Shang Dan Lan.

  This matter is still entrusted by Shang Mingyuan.

  Shang Danlan was also quite pitiful, having a mother who might as well not exist. Shang Daitai spent all her time in her own courtyard eating vegetarian food and reciting Buddhist scriptures, never coming out unless it involved the Shang family's noble title.

  Shang Danlan was already of marriageable age, but her marriage had yet to be arranged. In fact, not only had it not been settled, but no one had even mentioned it.

  The old lady was also busy with something every day, and her granddaughter would appear in front of her at dawn and dusk. She still hadn't thought that Shang Danlan needed to get engaged but hadn't yet.

  The second lady wouldn't care even more, she doesn't even care about her own mother, why would she bother with this?

  Shang Mingyuan had no choice but to let his wife go and persuade the old lady in a roundabout way.

  The two of them knew that Old Lady Shang had understood, but the other party said she was old and couldn't take care of it, so let Mrs. Shang decide for herself.

  Shang Mingyuan: ……

  What can Shang Mingyuan do? He's also very desperate. If he could have called his mother out of the courtyard, he would have done so long ago.

  The elder brother is like a father, and the elder sister-in-law is like a mother. They can indeed speak on behalf of Shang Danlan, but the key is that Xiao Fangshi knows few people.

  Mrs. Shang went out very rarely, and Mrs. Fang even less so; basically, except for Lin Qingjuan's place, she hardly ever socialized with outsiders anymore.

  Xiang Mingyuan, on the other hand, knew many people, but they were all his fellow rascals and scoundrels.

  Although he is a rascal, he also knows that he absolutely cannot find a brother-in-law who likes to eat, drink and prostitute like him for his sister.

  What to do? After some thought, Shang Mingyuan had no choice but to seek Lin Qingwen's help.

  Lin Qingwan knew few people in Suzhou, but wasn't she going to host a literary gathering? At that time, not only would the ladies of Suzhou attend, but also many madams from other places would come from afar to join the meeting.

  At that time, Lin Qingwan only needs to help mention one or two sentences, even if it allows Xiao Fangshi to get to know a few more people.

  His sister is no longer young and can't delay anymore.

  Shang Mingyuan still plans that if Lin Qingwan's side doesn't make progress, he'll keep a close eye on Wen Hui's side to see who has talent but is not yet married, and then pull one over to be his brother-in-law. It's better than staying single forever, anyway.

  Looking at Shang Mingyuan's expression of impatience for Shang Danlan to get married immediately, Lin Qingwan couldn't help but add three more points to her mind.

  So when Mrs. Zhou saw the three girls of the Shang family with a look of intention, she was moved in her heart.

  The Zhou family is not bad either, that little kid of the Zhou family, Lin Qingwen curled her lips, and I don't know if that child has learned well or not. The writing style is good, but the heart is a bit small. Looking back, it's possible to ask Shang Mingjie about it.

  If only we could have further contact.

  Madam Zhou did not know Lin Qingyuan's thoughts, she was staring at the girls below, her son was not young either, two years ago she wanted to arrange his marriage, but Master always said he was afraid of distraction, and wanted to wait for another two years.

  It's already late now, and the Zhou family has only this one descendant left. She is eager to hold her grandson.

  She said that all the girls who came today look good, but it's hard to say what they're like inside.

  Madam Zhou turned her eyes and said to Lin Qingwen, "Princess, the children are tired from playing. Why not let them sit down and rest for a while, and play some elegant games?"

  "She pointed outside and said, 'The weather is still cold now. If you run out of sweat and get blown by the wind, it won't be good. Why not let them come in and have a competition to show off their skills? It's both elegant and fun, what a great idea!'"

  The children are having a good time, why restrain them? Lin Qingyan was about to refuse, but the other ladies all agreed and they also wanted to see the children's talents.

  Moreover, the children are all brought by them, and if they can make a name for themselves in the literary world, it will be very good for their future reputation.

  Lin Qingwan saw that most of them were in agreement, so she swallowed her words and nodded: "In that case, let's call them in."

  The girls chattered and swarmed in, fortunately the hall was large enough, they put away the round table and chairs, spread out mats and thick cushions, and everyone sat cross-legged.

  Only the front row had low tables placed for people to use when competing.

  Lin Qingwan had heard a lot about Wen Hui's games, but this was her first time participating, so she nominated Shi Xian as the chief judge. "Mr. Shi is here, no one else is more suitable to be the chief judge than you."

  "The princess was joking, who doesn't know that you are the number one talented woman in Jiangnan, it's most suitable for you to be the host and judge."

  "Yes," someone immediately responded, "Perhaps it's been a long time since the poetry of Lin Guizhi has been widely circulated. This is a good opportunity to open our eyes."

  Lin Yuheng sat cross-legged on the floor, glanced at his aunt and immediately stood up to bow to everyone: "Ladies, please forgive me. My aunt no longer writes poetry nowadays, but she can help you with your critiques."

  Everyone was stunned and looked at Lin Qingyuan one after another.

  Lin Qingyan was a renowned talented woman in Jiangnan, who gained fame at the age of nine when she accompanied her sister-in-law to her first literary gathering. Nobody had ever thought that she would stop writing.

  After all, she is still young.

  Lin Qingwan smiled slightly in response to everyone's gaze, saying: "It's just that I've been a bit lazy, so I haven't written poetry since three years ago, and I won't be writing any more in the future. Please forgive me."

  Everyone thought of Xie Erlang at the same time, and after a slight pause, they smiled and said: "It's an honor to get the county master's comment. This judging only needs evaluation, and the county master is naturally capable of doing it."

  Lin Qingwan shook her head, "Let Mr. Shi come instead, who can compare with Mr. Shi in terms of erudition?"

  Everyone finally stopped being forced and acknowledged Lin Qingwan's appointment. The "Literary Society" on the south side of the garden can be said to have begun.

  But in North Garden, it had already begun, and everyone was fighting fiercely.

  Apart from poetry and essays, they also have to compete in policy debates, and tomorrow they will have to debate written arguments. Not to mention the other scattered talent competitions.

  Anyway, these three items are the most important in the hearts of literary people.

  So at this time, the North Garden was bustling with excitement. For the ranking of the three poems, not only did the judges on stage engage in a war of words, but also the students below the stage almost rolled up their sleeves and fought.

  Fang Datong, who was standing guard with a broken arm, was splashed by everyone's saliva and silently wiped his face. Who says scholars are elegant and refined?

  From now on, he never believed in such words again.