"Second Master, the letter has been delivered, but the steward of the Lin family said that Lord Lin is seriously ill and cannot receive guests."

  Zhao Sheng furrowed his brow, "Are you saying its our Zhao family? Our family and the Lin family are relatives!"

  "It was said, but Lins steward still didnt loosen his mouth," the long-following paused and continued: "The little one also saw the long-following of the Zhou familys master in the gatehouse, and similarly didnt see anyone from the Lin family."

  Zhao Sheng was annoyed, "When will someone from the Shang family arrive? The Lin family doesnt see us, its not possible that no one from the Shang family sees us either?"

  Chang nodded immediately and said: "Second Master, dont worry. Suzhou is not far from Yangzhou. If the lady comes, she will arrive in three days. If its the masters who come, they will arrive even faster, riding horses for two days."

  Zhao Sheng curled his lip, "The Lin family has been spreading the news for five days now. Whoever should come to Yangzhou City has already arrived. The Shang family is so close yet theyre dragging their feet like this... If you ask me, Brother-in-law shouldnt have let Shang Mingyuan be in charge of the household. Hes just a good-for-nothing who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun. What does he know about serious matters..."

  Zhao Sheng complained without any reserve, the short table next door heard it and curled their lips, and made a face with their friend across from them, saying that Shang Mingyuan was incompetent, what was this second master of the Zhao family capable of?

  Although they are relatives of the Lin family, they cant even enter the gate, which shows that their relationship is not close.

  Today, the eight guests sitting in the guest house are families and businessmen who came for the Lin familys properties. Each one of them is a local big shot, so no one dares to offend Zhao Sheng.

  There are those who dont get along with Zhaos family, and they directly show a look of disdain when facing them, not fearing to stir up trouble at all.

  Lin Qingwans move stirred up all the water in Jiangnan, and various big families and merchant houses sent people over.

  More cautiously, the host came in person.

  If the master of the house cannot come in person, he will send a senior member of his household, as in the case of the Zhao family.

  Lin Qingwan didnt see anyone, nor did he let the Lin familys steward reveal any information. After discussion, they decided to set the meeting and auction venue at Shengji Hotel.

  Lin Qingwan closed the book and said to the servants sitting below: "The price is set, you can all think about it in the next few days. Those who are willing to follow me, I will naturally not treat unfairly. Those who are unwilling, whether to be released or to follow the new master, please decide as soon as possible. You can rest assured that if you want to follow the new master, I will make it clear with them before the transaction. If you are released, my Lin family will not ask for your redemption silver, and we will consider our master-servant relationship settled."

  "Miss, are you really going to sell all of these properties? This is the accumulation of the Lin familys efforts over ten generations, from our ancestors migration south with the Sima family until now. The foundation of the Lin family in Jiangnan was built up bit by bit... how will you and Master face our ancestors if we sell everything?"

  Lin Qingwan stroked the book on the table, and pulled the corner of her mouth: "Uncle Zhong, my heart is also in pain, but these things, we two cousins cant keep. Wealth is important, but its not as important as people leaving, as long as people are still here, Lins family will still be able to rise again."

  Zhong Daguan didnt believe Lin Qingwans words at all. The Lin family was the first among several big families in Jiangnan, how could they not even protect their own property?

  "Isnt there still a clan?" Zhong Daguantie couldnt help but say: "Young Miss, its not that Im pouring cold water on you, but handling the family property like this...the Lin clan will..."

  Lin Qingyans face, always gentle and soft, revealed a sarcastic smile as she said coldly, "This is my familys property, not the clans. Do I need their approval to handle my own familys assets?"

  More than a dozen high-ranking officials saw the cold smile on Lin Qingwans face, and their hearts skipped a beat. They looked at each other, and their minds were filled with suspicion.

  This time, the young lady and the old masters attitude towards the clan is really strange. Although they didnt have a close relationship with Suzhou in the past, whenever there was something going on in the clan, the old master would always lend a hand. If someone in the clan had a disaster or difficulty, the old master and the young lady would also help out. But over the past two months, the attitude of the old master and the young lady has been very subtle.

  Up to now, they would rather scatter all their property than leave it to the clan. Moreover, even if they dont give it to the clan, they should sell it first to the clansmen, which is almost a tacit rule. But the eldest sister would rather post publicly to invite people to bid than contact the clan first... Could it be that the clan did something to offend the old master and the eldest sister?

  The servants didnt dare to talk about it anymore, as they had all witnessed the methods of the young lady over the past two months. Although she was still a bit awkward and naive at first, she quickly got the hang of things, calculated accounts quickly and clearly, and most importantly, her mind was clear and able to think logically, often coming up with a whole string of ideas from just one hint, very much like an old master.

  What a pity! Shes just a girl; otherwise, even if the old master had passed away, this family property wouldnt have been scattered.

  Zhong Daguan also had doubts in his heart, he was loyal to Lin Zhi, seeing the second sister so angry and thinking that it was the Lin family who did something wrong, he certainly couldnt speak for them again, so he retreated with a bow.

  Out in the open, Zhong Daguantie turned around to find Lin Guanjia, "Lin Ge, I wasnt in Yangzhou, and many things I didnt know about. You cant keep hiding and concealing, Master and the young ladies dispersal of family wealth, you must give me an explanation."

  After Zhong Daguans death, several other high-ranking officials followed suit.

  They were all Lin Zhis confidants. The old master has only been gone for sixteen years, and it was easy to manage the Lin family so well. It cant be that unclear what happened to him.

  Lin Guan furrowed his brow, thinking of the old masters instructions. He looked around and sighed to several old colleagues: "The old master and the young lady were also forced into a dead end. The clan on that side was eager for the eldest sister to die, so they could take over the Lin familys property in a logical manner. Otherwise, the old master would not have agreed to let the young lady marry into the Xie family first and then return to the clan to observe widowhood. You know, the Xie family still owes our eldest uncle an explanation..."

  As expected, several high-ranking officials looked unhappy and hastily pulled him over to ask: "What did the clan do to your elder sister?"

  It is obvious that Lin Jiang has only one daughter, Lin Yu Bin. If Lin Qing Wan were to get married, then Lin Yu Bin would be the sole heir of the direct line.

  Lin Guans family vaguely said: "Specifically, I dont know either. Its just that the old master and the young lady are not willing to leave the family property to the clan, but rather scatter it away as favors, saying that these things are all troubles, if people can keep them, wealth will come later. But if people cant keep them, no matter how much wealth there is, its all a bargain for others."

  Zhong Daguanshi gritted his teeth and turned around, saying: "Im going out to take a walk, even if its with the idea of scattering wealth, I have to get a good price. Tell Big Miss that Old Zhong is a person of the Lin family when hes alive, and a ghost of the Lin family when hes dead. The whole Zhong family will follow Big Miss."

  The several servants behind also hurriedly said: "We were all rescued by the old master, we will follow the young lady and big sister, with us around, even if they return to Suzhou, they wont be able to bully the young lady and big sister."

  "Ill also go out and take a look around. Im quite familiar with the steward of the Zhou family, they must be thinking of getting information from me at this time."

  "Ill go too, the Sheng family hasnt been stingy with me when buying tea leaves, our several tea gardens arent for sale, Ill go and take a look at their attitude."

  "Ill go take a stroll around the guest house..."

  "I went to the wine building..."

  Lin Guanjia quickly dispersed with his family, he let out a slight sigh, actually until now he still didnt know what the old master and the young lady were after.

  It was as if overnight Old Master and Eldest Young Miss became vigilant, not just towards their own clan, but also towards the Shang and Zhao families...

  But Master and Miss are so clever, they wont be wrong.

  Thinking of Old Masters words, Lin Guan hastily collected his emotions and turned to go to the backyard. The Zhong family stewards had surrendered, this matter needed to be told to the young mistress.

  Lin Qingwan was supervising the inventory in the warehouse, this mansion was an official residence, Lin Jiang had lived here for many years, but if he resigned, he would definitely not be able to stay here, so its better to pack things up as soon as possible, and a batch can be transported back to Suzhou first.

  Velvet, satin, silk fabrics, spices, jewelry and ornaments, gold, silver, jade and bronze ritual vessels, even antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and rare books will not be donated.

  So even if Lin Qingyuan sold out so many immovable properties and donated half of the gold and silver, she was not worried at all. These things may not be easy to cash in, but they are also assets.

  And the big shots of other forces are not yet at odds with them for these worthless things, Lin Jiang saw very clearly that the Lin family, apart from gold, silver and grain, only had those good fields, shops and tea gardens that were most tempting.

  "Miss, you still have a few properties left, right? You can let them manage those when the time comes. Theyre capable and itll also be a way to reward their loyalty."

  Lin Qingwan was not going to cower in a corner and live a life of self-pity. Now, she was just getting rid of the hot potato, and later on, she would definitely work hard to manage the estate for Yu Bin. So, she nodded and said: "Anyone who is willing to stay will be kept, the steward will remember their names, and then let people pay attention to them, see what kind of character and ability they have."

  In this era, talent is the most scarce resource.

  Lin Guans family was delighted to hear that, recently the young lady had been acting as if she wanted to squander all the familys wealth and slaves, which worried him to death.

  Although the young lady said that those who were unwilling to leave could stay, she only left two farms, a bookstore and four bookstores. How many people can such a small industry support?

  The Lin family is almost worried to death.

  He wanted Miss to stay a little longer, but the old master said that if she stayed any longer, it would attract attention, so he had to swallow his words and leave.

  He didnt know what the old master and the young lady had gone through, but they were so frightened that they didnt even dare to stay in a shop.

  If it werent for Old Master Lin saying that the Lin family is a scholarly household, the bookstores and bookshops couldnt be sold, perhaps those four bookshops wouldnt have been preserved either.

  The most valuable among all the Lin familys industries is the Linji Silver Building, the second most profitable is the Linshi Silk Store, and the third is the Tea Garden. There are also fertile fields scattered throughout Jiangnan that cannot be bought with money.

  The old man and the young lady are about to disperse without batting an eyelid.

  Lin Guan hastily withdrew his thoughts, he couldnt think about it anymore.

  "Mr. Lins family, Mr. Lins family, Young Master Shang has arrived, he is already at the door..."

  Lin Guan returned and went to find Lin Qingyuan, "Eldest Miss, the young master of the Shang family has arrived."

  Lin Qingwan raised an eyebrow, "Is it the eldest young master or the second young master who has arrived?"

  The little servant who was panting behind him immediately said: "Its the young master of the Dai family, only bringing one steward and two small servants."

  Lin Qingwan turned around and said, "Please ask him to sit in the flower hall, Ill go see him in a moment."

  Lin Qingwans sister-in-law, Shang Shi, was the youngest daughter of the Shang family. She had two older brothers, and her father, Shang Dà Lǎoye, had passed away early on. The current head of the household was Shang èr Lǎoye, but he lived in Kyoto, so the one managing the affairs at home was Shang Mingyuan, who was also the eldest son of Shang Dà Lǎoye.