On May 1st, the weather was fine and sunny. Early in the morning, Lin Qingyuan had already packed the six gifts for worshiping her master into a basket and brought Lin Yuhong to Mount Qingfeng to pay respects to her master.

  The Lin family's villa was very close to Qingfeng Mountain, so they didn't leave until the sun was shining brightly. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they happened to run into the Shang family's carriage.

  Shang Mingjie, who was riding a horse beside the Shang family's carriage, immediately turned his horse around and came back to greet them, "Aunt Lin, cousin, you've also arrived quite early."

  Lin Qingwan lifted the curtain and smiled, "Why is it you who came? Didn't your mother come?"

  Shang Mingjie scratched his head and smiled: "I also want to become an apprentice, so I came. My mother is in front, and my older brother and sister-in-law have also come."

  As soon as the words fell, Shang Mingyuan also rode over to greet them, "The old lady originally wanted to make an appointment with Auntie in advance and set off together at that time. But Auntie said that Auntie lives near Qingfeng Mountain and must have left early, so it's better not to disturb you. I didn't expect it to be so coincidental, our two families still met."

  Lin Qingwan smiled, "This master-disciple relationship also pays attention to auspicious timing. We came too early and it's also troublesome for the host family, so we set out at a fixed time. It's hard not to meet by chance, why bother making an appointment in advance?"

  Indeed, all those who came to pay respects today are blocked at the entrance of the Lu family's school.

  Lu's family specially dispatched two housekeepers and a nanny to entertain the guests. Second Madam Shang got down from the carriage, holding Danzhu's hand, and came over to greet Lin Qingyuan, "Today Yubin is really dressed up."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "It's just that the clothes are a bit more tidy, and there's not much difference from usual. It should be because of today's good weather and Second Madam's good mood, so everything looks nice."

  The girls who came today were all dressed in bright clothes, after all, it was a ceremony of respect for their teacher, and they had to be more grand.

  Lin Qingwan and Lin Yuhuan also changed into new clothes, but they were still plain-colored, with only the original dark patterns on the fabric, not even a single flower.

  Lin Qingwan had only two pearl flowers and a simple wooden hairpin on her head, while Lin Yuhong had only a plain-colored hair ribbon and a pearl flower on his head, which made them stand out among the crowd of people in their finery.

  When the two got off the car, the girls and parents waiting at the door couldn't help but look over, but the two cousins, one calm and confident, the other beautiful and lovely, looked straight back at them with a big smile, neither humble nor arrogant. After eye contact, the crowd nodded slightly to greet them.

  After hearing Mrs. Shang Er's greeting and knowing their identities, they didn't dare to underestimate them even more.

  Not to mention that the two are now a county master and a county master, but just relying on the prestige of the Lin family in Jiangnan is worthy of respect from the crowd.

  So everyone quickly made way and let the two stand in first place.

  Mrs. Shang saw Lin Qingwen smiling and greeting people while standing in the leading position, and she couldn't help but clench her fists in annoyance.

  It's like this, no matter if it's the Shang family or the Zhao family, every time they encounter the Lin family, they have to take a back seat. It was tolerable when Lin Jiang was still alive, but now that he's dead, his sister and daughter are still standing above them.

  Outside the door were people from other surnames who had come to pay their respects, as well as members of the Lu and Shi families. To be exact, apart from Cui Rong and Lu Ling, all the others who had come to pay their respects were waiting at the entrance.

  Shang Ming Jie also wanted to join in the excitement, but today was also his day of becoming an apprentice, so he hadn't had time to squeeze forward before being pulled by Shang Ming Yuan towards the Lu family's school.

  "Those are all women, what are you crowding up front for?" Shang Mingyuan whispered to him, "Be careful not to be mistaken for a rascal and chased out."

  "I just want to see sisters worshiping their master."

  "You'd better take care of yourself first, it's easy to pass Mr. Lu's assessment, but if you're late in becoming an apprentice and get rejected, your mother will break your legs." Shang Mingyuan rolled his eyes and lowered his voice: "Don't think I don't know you want to stay there to see Lin sister."

  Shang Ming Jie's face turned red with shame, and he walked silently with his head hung low.

  Shang Mingyuan coughed lightly and leaned in close, saying in a low voice, "Don't blame big brother for not reminding you, but Second Aunt isn't too fond of Lin's cousin. If you get too close to Lin's cousin, be careful that Second Aunt doesn't take her anger out on Lin's cousin."

  Shang Mingjie slightly furrowed his brow, "My cousin is gentle and kind, and has always respected her elders. Why doesn't my mother like my cousin?"

  "It's because your cousin is now surnamed Lin."

  "This doesn't make any sense, we're all relatives. Our family has always been close to my uncle's side, and after my aunt passed away, my uncle even entrusted my cousin to our care. How could my mother not like the fact that my cousin is a Lin?"

  Shang Mingyuan sneered and said: "That's because Second Aunt doesn't have the surname Shang, she has the surname Zhao."

  Shang Mingjie was displeased with his pursed lips, somewhat unhappy that Big Brother spoke of his mother like that.

  Shang Mingyuan asked, "Then tell me, does Second Aunt really like the Lin family?"

  Shang Mingjie lowered his head and didn't say anything.

  "You have a number in your heart, why are you still afraid to admit it?" Shang Mingyuan sighed and said: "I think you'd better stay away from Lin Biao's sister from now on, anyway, your marriage didn't work out."

  Shang Mingjie was taken aback and asked: "Marriage? What marriage?"

  Shang Mingyuan's heart was excited, but his face remained calm as he said: "What else could it be? It's naturally the engagement between you and Lin's niece. When your uncle was still alive, our ancestors wanted to arrange a marriage for you two, and your mother agreed. She even specially chose a jade Ruyi to take to the Lin family to finalize the arrangement, but there was one condition."

  Shang Mingjie's eyes widened and he asked, "Then I'm engaged to Lin's sister?"

  Shang Mingyuan couldn't help but roll his eyes, is this the key point?

  "No," he said irritably, "I've already told you, Second Aunt has conditions."

  Shang Mingjie furrowed his brow, "What conditions?"

  "Second Aunt asked the Lin family to hand over all their property to the Shang family for management, and in the future, when Lin's younger sister gets married, she will directly take it as dowry to the Shang family," Shang Mingyuan shook his head and said: "But at that time, Uncle had already submitted a memorial to the Emperor, expressing his intention to donate the family property, so the matter was dropped."

  Shang Mingjie stumbled and asked blankly, "Why would Mother propose such a condition?"

  "What's wrong with that? Lin's sister's family is wealthy and prosperous, rich enough to rival a country, many people are jealous of them."

  Shang Mingjie was both angry and sorrowful, his eyes were red, "That, that's the engagement between me and my cousin."

  "Alas..." Shang Mingyuan sighed and said: "It's not considered successful, nor is it considered unsuccessful. At that time, my uncle replied that the family property had already been donated, but he would also give Lin a generous dowry. If the Shang family still wants to form an alliance, then they will, if not, then this matter will be dropped."

  Shang Mingyuan looked at him obliquely and said, "At that time, the old ancestor was angry and didn't respond. Second Aunt didn't answer either, so I took the jade Ruyi back."

  Shang Mingjie's heart was shattered and he squatted on the ground in silence, overcome with emotion.

  Shang Mingyuan was startled, he wanted to take the opportunity to stir up trouble between his younger brother and second aunt's mother-son relationship, but didn't expect him to get into trouble, today is a big day for becoming an apprentice, if he can't become one and goes back...

  Shang Mingyuan immediately squatted down beside him and said in a low voice, "However, later on, the old ancestor regretted it and let me leave the jade Ruyi with the Lin family. Although your engagement has not been finalized, you already have a token of betrothal. It's just a matter of whether your mother agrees or not..."

  Shang Mingjie raised his reddened eyes and looked at him seriously, asking "Really?"

  "It's really true, can't be any truer, if you don't believe me go ask Lin Auntie, she must know about this matter, it's just that your mother won't agree..."

  Shang Mingjie bit his lip and thought for a long time before saying, "I will definitely persuade Mother."

  Shang Mingyuan sneered coldly in his heart, if Second Aunt could be persuaded, he would twist off her head and use it as a stool to sit on.

  After more than half a year of observation, he found that Zhao's family's hostility towards Lin's family was not just a little bit, and it was no different from the enemy.

  He didn't believe that his aunt would let her only son marry into a "family of enemies".

  Shang Mingjie had calmed down and wiped away his tears, then strode into the flower hall to pay his respects to Mr. Lu.

  Lu Su saw that the person was slow to arrive, and he had already furrowed his brow. When he heard the footsteps, he looked up to see Shang Mingjie entering with red eyes, and couldn't help but frown and ask, "What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

  Shang Mingjie bowed his head and said: "Greetings, sir. I'm a bit reluctant to part with the master of the school and my fellow students."

  Lu Su's eyebrows relaxed, and he nodded slightly: "Although you have left the Imperial Academy, Qingfeng Mountain is not far from the Imperial Academy. In the future, it will be fine to go back and visit often. What is a man crying about?"

  "Yes, students learn."

  Shang Ming was stunned, his eyes wide with surprise. When did his honest younger brother also learn to tell lies?

  At this time, the ladies and female students at the gate were finally welcomed in. Shi Xian and Shi Hui, along with another gentle lady, stood at the entrance of the flower hall to greet them.

  Lin Qingwan guessed that she was another Mrs. Lu of Nüxue.

  As expected, Shi Hui said when introducing her, "This is my second younger sister, her maiden name is Jin."

  Lin Qingwan immediately returned the courtesy, and Lu Er's wife slightly yielded, saying: "The county master is not disdainful, just call me Sister Jin, I heard from my sister-in-law that you are sisters with them."

  "From now on, Auntie Jin doesn't have to call me 'young mistress' either. Just like Hui and the others, you can just call me Qingyuan or Wan Jie."

  "I'm much older than you, so I'll just call you Little Sister Wen from now on." It was actually because Lin Qingwen was too young, almost the same age as their own children.

  Lin Qingwan had Lin Yuhong come forward to pay his respects, and then Lu Er's wife introduced her sister-in-law and nieces from her natal family to Lin Qingwan and Lin Yuhong.

  This time, the Jin family also sent two girls over to study, one named Jin Shuang and the other named Jin Xue, who were cousins.

  Cui Rong and Lu Ling also ran out of the back hall to find Lin Yubin, introducing her to their own sisters and cousins. With the two of them by her side, Lin Yubin was surprisingly the first among the newcomers to recognize everyone, and quickly became one of them.

  She naturally didn't forget about Shang Danlan and the others, so she turned around and pulled over her three sisters to introduce them to each other. Since Mrs. Shang Er had been unable to get a word in edgewise, Shang Danlan and her sisters were all a bit awkward. At this time, they were brought over, and as they were all girls of similar age, there were many topics to discuss, and their personalities gradually opened up, and they couldn't help but joke and laugh with their new friends.

  Mrs. Shang Er was not so lucky, the Lu family in Suzhou had always looked down on the Zhao family, and Mrs. Shang Er was too arrogant when she first returned to Suzhou that year, relying on the Shang family being a baronial family, she offended many people.

  Others are afraid of her, but the Lu and Shi families are not, so they rarely come into contact with the Shang family, and even less so with Mrs. Shang Er, the few people who only nod to each other.

  So Shi Hui and Lu Er Furen just exchanged a brief greeting with Shang Er Furen, and Shi Xian was just being polite.

  As a result, apart from the people she knew before, she hardly spoke to the three ladies, while Lin Qingyan was surrounded in the middle, with everyone smiling and greeting her.

  The second lady is furious to death, but still has to maintain a smile on her face.

  If it were someone else who was surrounded in the middle, she might not be so angry, but why is it a person from the Lin family?

  The Lin family is her arch-nemesis!