Lin Qingwan gazed at her solemnly and said, "In the past, these things were all taken care of by your father, but he cant always protect us, so we also need to learn how to take care of ourselves."

  Lin Yuhong opened his mouth, feeling a lump in his chest, somewhat uncomfortable, but couldnt quite put his finger on why he felt that way.

  What my sister said seems right, yet somehow wrong.

  Lin Yuhu was still a little dazed when she left Chunhuiyuan until dusk, and when she passed by the small garden, she involuntarily stopped in her tracks, looking towards the direction of the study in the front yard, "Has Father returned?"

  Yingyan had been carefully observing her expression, and upon hearing this, she immediately said: "At this hour, he should have returned. Eldest sister will see the old master during dinner time."

  Lin Yuhbin suddenly turned around and said: "Ill go take a look."

  "Big sister..." Yingyan tried to stop her but couldnt catch up, and could only follow behind.

  Lin Yuhu rarely came to the front yard. Her father had a small study in the backyard, where he usually taught her to read and write.

  The big study in the front yard was only visited by her mother and younger aunt, but in her memory, her younger aunt came more often because she read a lot of books, some of which were only available in the big study.

  When Lin Yuhu entered the study, Lin Jiang was buried in a pile of documents, coughing from time to time. When he saw his daughter, he hurriedly drank tea to suppress the itch in his throat and held back his cough, smiling and beckoning her to sit down beside him.

  "Dad, your complexion doesnt look good, is your illness not yet better?"

  Lin Jiang smiled and said, "Its just some old problems, nothing serious."

  Lin Yuhbin looked at the documents on the table and pouted, "If you dont pay attention to maintenance, small problems will become big ones."

  Lin Jiang sighed, "Thats also unavoidable, Father has to fulfill his duties as an official every day, the people of Jiangnan and the generals on the border are all looking up to him."

  Lin Yuhbin was taken aback, looking at her father with a puzzled expression. This was the first time he had ever brought up official business with her; in the past, whenever she mentioned taking a break, he would just laugh it off and agree, and then things would go on as usual.

  Fathers change made Lin Yuhuans unease intensify, she was originally a sensitive child, and now she was even more sensitive to the extreme, "Dad, Xiaojies body hasnt recovered yet, how can you let her take charge?"

  "Big sister has grown up and will take care of little sister." Lin Jiang looked at her with affection and said, "Since big sister is worried about little sister, why dont you help your little sister share some of the burden?"

  Lin Yuhuan clenched her handkerchief, "Didnt Lin Guanjia and Lin Nainai used to take care of these things before?"

  Lin Jiang looked at his daughters hand and let out a faint sigh. He had previously only known that his daughter was clever, but after seeing the Peeping Mirror, he realized that she was not only clever but also very sensitive and suspicious. This was his fault, sending her to live with his in-laws, thinking that she would receive good upbringing, but unexpectedly putting pressure on the child by relying on others.

  "Some things Lins mother and Lins aunt cant make decisions on, now Father is busy and cant take care of the family for a while, so you need to take over, Big Sister has also grown up and can help your Little Aunt."

  Lin Yuhbin bit his lip and nodded in agreement.

  But soon she found out that Xiaogu was in charge of not only the household chores of Lins mansion, but also checking the assets of Lins mansion.

  People in charge from various places in Jiangnan started to visit Lins residence one after another. Lin Yubin followed his younger sister to see many people and helped her copy the list of property while she was calculating accounts.

  She didnt know why she had to plan a copy, but her father and younger aunts movements made her feel uneasy.

  And this unease reached its peak in Fathers increasingly serious illness day by day.

  Lin Qingwan looked at the little girl holding a pen and scribbling unconsciously on the paper, her face pale, and she couldnt help but sigh, taking the pen from her hand and putting it in the pen holder.

  "Little aunt?"

  Lin Qingwan reached out and gently touched her little head, saying softly: "Yuhin, go see your father."

  Lin Yuhuans tears fell down with a "splat", and she looked at her younger sister in distress, "Younger sister, why do you and father want to divide up the family property?"

  He also sent his loyal slaves who were unwilling to leave to Suzhou as if entrusting them with future affairs.

  Lin Qingwan didnt answer and instead insisted: "Go see your father."

  Lin Yuhbin gritted his teeth and wiped away a tear as he ran towards the study.

  As soon as he rushed into the courtyard, he heard Lin Jiangs thunderous cough. He coughed and said: "The grain and grass have been transported to the border, Xia Quan is about to arrive, all places must do a good job in prevention, and there should be no more chaos before autumn harvest."

  "Sir, recently there has been too much rain and Taihu Lakes water level is rising too quickly. Do you think we should reinforce the embankment?"

  Lin Jiang fell silent for a moment, but then couldnt help coughing again. After a while, he calmed down and said, "Collecting military taxes and then imposing corvee labor will be too much for the people to bear. The dike was reinforced just two years ago, so this years problem shouldnt be too big. Lets talk about it next year."

  The staff no longer mentioned it, but this year the people of Daliang all had a hard time. Even though the adults had reduced the military tax paid by ordinary civilians as much as possible, the collection of this military tax came at a time when the old grain was not yet available and the new grain was not yet ripe, so everyone didnt have much stored grain left.

  The people of Daliang who were subjected to corvée labor not only had to exert themselves to the point of death, but also had to bear their own travel expenses and accommodation costs. At this time, it was inevitable that many people would die from corvée labor.

  Lin Jiang sorted out the information he got from the Peeping Mirror, and the "three lives" he saw all showed that it was raining a lot in Jiangnan at this time. However, the old heaven still had some mercy, letting them pass through with surprise but no danger. The embankment of Taihu Lake was very stable and did not burst, so only some fields by the lake were flooded by rainwater, with little loss.

  Lin Jiang coughed while discussing official business with his staff, and a startled face flashed by the door of the study room. Lin Jiang knew someone was looking for him.

  He clenched his fist and pressed his lips together, unable to hold back two more coughs, ordering the attendants to withdraw.

  Zhaos attendant hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said: "Sir, your cough has been getting worse lately. Shall we call in a doctor to take a look?"

  Lin Jiang waved his hand and said, "Ive been taking medicine all along."

  Zhaos attendants sighed and retreated with the others. Jingfeng saw them out before turning back to report, "Master, Eldest Young Miss has arrived."

  Lin Yuhbin stood in front of the window of the side house watching them leave, then turned around to go to the study to find his father.

  Lin Jiang had been working late into the night to raise military rations and had to travel to various places for supervision, his originally poor health became even worse, and he also contracted a cold, which still hasnt recovered until now.

  He knew he would die like this.

  The "three lives" in the Peeping Mirror are all such a process and result, and Bai Weng also said that he cant change this process.

  So he can only get sick. Now his illness has reached a high level, with a pale complexion and a hint of greenish tint. Lin Yubin has been ill for so long that he has become an expert in medicine; how could he not see the state of his father?

  Her footsteps did not pause for a moment.

  Lin Jiang looked up and smiled at her, beckoning: "Yuer, come over quickly."

  Lin Yuhong stepped forward with pursed lips.

  At the same time, Lin Qingwan was putting away her original wedding dress and poetry manuscripts into a box.

  These are all the letters and poems exchanged between Yuan Shen and Xie Er Lang, which she wanted to burn before but couldnt bear to do so. Now Lin Qing Wan has sorted them out to be buried with her.

  Xie Yimings funeral has been scheduled for tomorrow.

  Xies ancestral home is in Yangzhou, and his ancestors tombs are also located in the suburbs of Yangzhou, so there is no need to travel far.

  The next day, Lin Qingwan went to Xies house in mourning attire and followed Mrs. Xie to the temple to hold a memorial service.

  Xie family members and Xie Yimings several fellow students all went, seeing Lin Qingwen in a dress that was not mourning attire, they all had complex expressions.

  Two months ago, they thought Lin Qingyuan would not survive either, but unexpectedly she pulled through.

  The pallbearers slowly carried the coffin into the tomb, Lin Qingwen turned to look at Lichun and Li Xia, both of whom were pale-faced as they brought up two boxes.

  Lin Qingwan took it over and was about to follow behind the coffin into the house.

  Mrs. Xie was wiping away tears when she saw this and grabbed her, asking in alarm, "Mei, what are you doing going downstairs?"

  Lin Qingwen comforted her with a smile and hugged the box, saying: "Auntie, I have something to give to Xie Ergou."

  "Let the servants take her away, why must you go down personally?" Mrs. Xie said tightly grasping her arm.

  "Yes, yes." The others also gathered around, watching her guardedly in case she suddenly jumped into the pit to die with him.

  If Lin Qingwen dies here, Lin Jiang will definitely go all out to find the Xie family.

  Lin Qingwan hugged the box in her arms and insisted, "I want to take it down myself, I still have some words to say to Xie Ergou, dont worry, Auntie, Ill be right back."

  Seeing Lin Qingyans calm expression on her face, everyone didnt dare to let her go anymore.

  Xie Yimings fellow student, Zheng Yi, took a step forward and looked at Lin Qingwan with some unbearable emotion: "Younger sister, the deceased is gone, you should be stronger, even if its for the sake of your aunt, you cant think about it too much."

  Lin Qingwan: ……She just wanted to give something to Xie Erlang and whisper some words to him, why does everyone look like shes going to die with him?

  Lin Qingyan pursed her lips, thinking that Wan Jie had died so silently and unnoticed, while Xie Er Lang had many people come to see him off, but she only had Lin Jiang to remember her, and could only give her a blank memorial tablet. Her determination in her heart was strengthened by two points.

  Let Xie Yiming know that Wanjie is dead, so he can find her in the underworld and reunite with her underground.

  Although she didnt know if Xie Yiming could hear what she said, perhaps they had already reunited, but there were some things that if she didnt do, her heart would be uneasy.

  Lin Qing looked stubbornly at Mrs. Xie, "Mother, let me go down for a while, Ill be back in a moment."

  This was the first time Lin Qingyan had called Xie Furen "mother".

  Mrs. Xie covered her mouth and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let Yangs nanny accompany you down."

  Lin Qingwan glanced at Yang and nodded: "Good!"

  The chamber was spacious, and there was a place beside the coffin that had been reserved for Ruan Jie. Around it were placed some utensils, clothes, pastries, fruits, and books, all of which were things that Xie Yiming often used.

  Lin Qingwan stepped down and stopped at the entrance of the room, she slightly turned her head to Yangs nurse and said: "Nurse, wait here for a moment, Ill have a word with Second Brother Xie."

  Yangs aunt carefully observed Lin Qingwans expression, seeing that her expression was still good and nodded, but she still didnt dare to relax and stared at her tightly, afraid that if she wasnt careful, she would rush into the tomb chamber and die with him.

  Lin Qingwan placed the two boxes in her hands in front of the coffin, knelt on the ground and whispered: "This is sister Wans wedding dress and your poetry manuscripts and letters..."

  Her voice was barely audible, but her words were very clear. She thought that if Xie Erlangs soul really still existed, she hoped he could hear her words.