Shang Ping sat on the seat, watching Lin You lead the young men of the Lin family to send off the guests one by one. His foolish son and foolish nephew were still helping to direct the servants to clean up things.

  He lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea, then stood up and walked towards Lin You.

  "Uncle," Lin You bowed respectfully and smiled: "The carriage is ready, I'll send you out."

  Shang Ping's face revealed a smile and he said: "I also want to visit your aunt, is she in the Wen Garden?"

  Lin You was taken aback for a moment, then said: "Auntie was still here at noon, but whether she is still here now I don't know. Why not wait for a moment, Uncle, and let me send someone to take a look in the south garden."

  Lin Qingwan was still there, and she and Lin Yuhong had just sent the female guests away. At this time, they were about to clean up and go back. As for the things in Wengarden, naturally, it was handed over to her nephew and niece-in-law to do.

  Xiao Yatou came over to pass on a message. Lin Qingwan thought for a moment and said, "Yubin, let's go see your second uncle."

  Lin Yuhbin's eyes widened in surprise, "Second Uncle is back?"

  "Yes," Lin Qingyan said with a slight raise of her eyebrows, "you don't even remember what he looks like anymore. The imperial court has issued the 16th decree, and I reckon he'll be leaving in these two days, so you might as well take this opportunity to pay your respects."

  Lin Yuhu last saw her second uncle in the first year after her mother's death, when he returned to Suzhou for Chinese New Year, but he never came back again in the following years.

  Lin Yuhong sighed, "Second uncle is back, grandma must be very happy."

  Lin Qingwan smiled but didn't speak, pulling Lin Yubin towards the main gate.

  Court officials have family leave, for example, officials in the capital, but their families are elsewhere, and their parents or wives and children are not by their side, so they have family leave every year.

  Local officials are no exception.

  The length of home leave is determined by the distance between the place of work and hometown, and Shang Ping naturally also has home leave.

  But all these years he never took a break, Lin Qingyan couldn't believe that such a person would return to his hometown during the New Year's holiday because of homesickness.

  Is something wrong?

  All her worries instantly dissipated when she saw the line of people waiting at the gate, and a faint smile appeared on Lin Qingyan's face as she immediately spotted Shangping standing beside Lin You.

  Shang Mingjie really doesn't look like his father, Lin Qingyan smiled and stepped forward, turning her head to say to Lin Yuhbin: "Yuhbin, haven't you greeted your second uncle yet?"

  Lin Yuhbin hastily stepped forward and bowed his knees, Shang Ping hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him and said: "Don't be too polite."

  He looked at Lin Yuhong with emotion and said: "This year, I haven't seen my niece, she's grown up to be a big girl, and she looks more and more like her mother."

  Lin Yuhu's eyes dropped slightly, and Lin Qingwen smiled: "Yes, I also think that Yuhu is more and more like his sister-in-law, especially this brain, getting smarter and smarter. If sister-in-law could see it, she would be very happy."

  Shang Ping finally turned to Lin Qingyuan and bowed his hands in greeting: "Your subordinate pays respects to the young mistress of Lin."

  Lin Qingwan stood still, accepting his salute without leaning forward or backward, and smiled as she pretended to support him: "Lord Shang is too polite, you are Yu Bin's uncle, why be so formal."

  Shang Ping sighed as he looked at Lin Yuhong, "Unfortunately, I am far away in the capital and cannot take care of my niece. I have a lot of guilt in my heart."

  Lin Qingwan's face had a faint smile, she didn't like this kind of hypocritical small talk, so after politely saying two sentences, she didn't want to say more.

  The atmosphere was a bit awkward for a moment, and Shang Ping asked Lin Yubin two more questions as if he didn't notice anything, before leaving with his nephew and son.

  Xiao Fang had already taken the three Shang Danlan sisters back, and at this time they were surrounding Old Lady Shang, chattering about what they did today.

  Shang Danzhu hugged her grandmother's arm and coquettishly said: "Grandma, tomorrow we'll go out to play again."

  The old lady smiled and said, "Go go go, you want to go then go, anyway it's the first month, after the 15th we'll be back in school, by that time you won't be allowed to think about playing anymore."

  "Grandma can rest assured, we'll just play for these two days."

  The old lady saw them so excited and couldn't help but ask: "Is Wenyuan really that fun?"

  "It's going to be fun, Grandma will know when she sees it." Shang Danzhu's eyes lit up and said: "Let Grandma come with us to see, at that time you and Lin Auntie sit in the pavilion drinking hot tea, we'll play in the garden."

  The old lady just smiled and said: "It's too cold outside, I don't want to move around, you all go ahead, when the weather gets warmer I'll go take a look."

  Shang Dan bamboo still wanted to entwine, Shang Ping conveniently led in Shang Mingyuan and his brothers. She trembled, hastily getting up to stand aside.

  Shang Ping said to Shang Lao's wife, "It's getting late, tell the kids to go back and rest."

  Mrs. Shang stood up and looked at Shang Ping with a hesitant expression.

  "Please go back first, madam," Shang Ping said with a smile, "I'll have a word with Mother."

  Mrs. Shang's face relaxed and she smiled in response.

  The people in the house retreated, leaving only two people, mother and son. Shang Ping sat on his mother's lap, took up a hammer and gently massaged her legs. "Mother, I saw Lin Guizhu today. What kind of person do you think she is?"

  The old lady smiled and said: "A clever and capable person, isn't that what Xiao Qi's brother is like?"

  Shang Ping lowered his eyelids, covering up the emotions in his eyes and smiled: "Yes, if she were a boy, she might have been my second sister-in-law."

  The old lady nodded in satisfaction, "I was worried that Yubin would be bullied at the Lin's house before, but now I'm not worried. With her protection, no one can bully Yubin at the Lin's house."

  Shang Ping paused for a moment and asked: "Isn't Yubin getting old? Has he gotten engaged?"

  The old lady slightly frowned, looked down at her son and said after a while: "What do you think of Ming Jie?"

  Shang Ping was startled, but his face remained calm as he said, "Didn't your brother-in-law disagree with this marriage at the time? We can't force someone to do something they don't want to do."

  "It's not like I didn't agree," said Old Lady Shang. "At the time, wasn't it also related to the Lin family's property? I think your brother-in-law was also quite pleased, otherwise he would have directly refused."

  The old lady still thought it was best for her granddaughter to marry into the family, even though Lin Qingwen's relationship with the Lin clan was good now, but after all, she was a woman, and when she got older or something happened, who would support Yuhai on the Lin side?

  Marrying into another family would inevitably lead to some hardships, but marrying into the Shang family was different. Ming Jie and she had grown up together since childhood, and the two children got along well, so they encountered fewer difficulties afterwards.

  Moreover, Lao Er is her own uncle, in the Shang family, who dares to give her a hard time?

  At this time, Mrs. Shang Lao subconsciously ignored Mrs. Shang Er, who was really not worth mentioning in her heart.

  But Xiangping himself was not very willing.

  He reviewed his son's homework last night and found that the foundation was still solid, but the writing was lively and creative. Combined with the insight he showed when writing the letter of advice earlier, Shang Ping firmly believed that he would have a great future ahead of him.

  If so, how could he let his son marry Lin Yuhong?

  She has no father or brother to rely on, what else is there besides the title of a county princess?

  It's no use trying to help her son, so Shangping thought for a moment and smiled: "Mother, it's still too early to say these things. I think Lin Guizhu doesn't want Yubin to get married early, maybe she'll have to stay for a few more years."

  The old lady frowned and said, "Yubin will be coming of age next month, and Mingjie is not young either. Now let's first settle the engagement, and after preparing the betrothal gifts and dowry, one or two years will pass. Sixteen or seventeen is just the right time to get married."

  Shang Ping smiled and said, "However, Mother, when I was in the capital, I had someone calculate Ming Jie's fortune, and it said that he shouldn't get married early. It's not even suitable for him to get engaged too early, or else he will bring bad luck to the girl's side. If the Lin family isn't in a hurry, we can wait two years before discussing it again."

  The old lady bowed her head and quietly looked at her son for a while, then closed her eyes and said: "You are the father of Ming Jie, you have made up your mind, what can I say?"

  Shang Ping hastily said, "What did Mother say? Ming Jie was raised by you, so his marriage should naturally be decided by you. I'm just worried that arranging the marriages of the two children at this time will hinder Yu Bin. After all, her body has always been weak. If something happens to Ming Jie because of this, how can I, as her uncle, bear it?"

  The old lady sighed and said, "I know, let's wait another two years then."

  Shang Ping let out a sigh of relief. In two years, Lin Yuhu would be seventeen, and he didn't believe the Lin family wouldn't be in a hurry to arrange her marriage.

  Which girl would stay unmarried until seventeen?

  As for his son, in a noble family, it is common for men to marry late, so he was not in a hurry.

  It's just right to let his son try taking the imperial examination. If he passes, then the range of choices for marriage will be even greater.

  The old lady closed her eyes, as if she had fallen asleep. Shang Ping slowly got up and covered her with a quilt before calling in Yatou to attend to her, then quietly withdrew.

  The old lady waited until his footsteps faded away before opening her eyes and looking towards the door, lost in thought.

  "Old lady?" Nan Chun said softly: "Let me help you get some rest in bed."

  The old lady nodded and got into bed with the help of her maid, but she couldn't sleep no matter what.

  She could guess her son's thoughts, but other things were fine. The marriage of the two children was a mutual intention when the daughter was alive, and she could also see the affection between the two children.

  How can you regret it at this time?

  And if she doesn't marry Ming Jie, what will happen to Yuhin after she goes to her husband's home and gets bullied?

  Not marrying Shang Mingjie, Lin Yuhbin had many choices. At this time, Lin Qingwen flipped through the small booklet handed over by Lin You, which not only had a small photo of the man but also his family background and some personality preferences.

  "These are all rough estimates, and even I don't dare say they're accurate. Auntie, take a look first, and later I'll send someone to investigate one by one."

  Lin Qingwan waved her hand, "Don't rush, with so many people, it would take a lot of manpower and resources to investigate one by one. Just interact with others as usual and pay more attention to their character, this matter is not urgent."

  "Could it be that my younger sister's birthday is not next month..."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "It's just a matter of time before I get married, I'm not 70 or 80 years old yet, what's the hurry?"

  Lin You wiped away a cold sweat from his forehead and said, "In your eyes, Auntie, isn't it only when the girl is 70 or 80 years old that she can't get married?"

  "Letting you draw this is just to have a number in my heart," Lin Qingyan patted her hand with the booklet, and said contentedly: "It seems that there are still many young talents of suitable age in the world."

  Lin You'e's forehead was sweating even more, "Auntie, you absolutely cannot spread this book around."

  Lin Qingyan gave him a white eye, "Am I such an unreliable person? Alright, you go down first, there's still the literary meeting tomorrow. By the way, today you can't steal the show, but tomorrow you must add some strength, don't expect to win the first place, at least say a few more words."

  Lin You bowed his head respectfully and replied with a "yes", before retreating to rest.