The rain poured down, as if to wash away all the sins of the world.
The joss paper, not yet thrown, was drenched and then washed away by the water; there was no music, and a funeral procession of more than ten people walked forlornly through the rain-drenched streets.
"Is that the Lin Family's Young Miss?"
"Yes, that young miss is truly pitiful."
"Why?"
Seeing an outsider ask, the waiter became chatty and said, "The Lin Family was originally a prominent household in our Wu County. The Lin Family's Second Master was even more remarkable; a few years ago, he started a shipping business and amassed a considerable fortune.
Unfortunately, before the New Year, he rushed back for the celebrations, and his ship, not yet fully repaired, departed from the harbor. It encountered a storm, the ship capsized, and both the Lin Family's Second Master and Fifth Young Master died.
Only Madam Lin and a young miss were left in the family. The Lin Family's Young Miss was originally betrothed to the Wu Family's Third Young Master. Ah, esteemed guest, do you know the Wu Family? Yes, yes, the one with three successful imperial examination candidates in one generation and three Grand Secretaries over five generations.
Our Wu County is the ancestral home of the Wu Family. Although the Lin Family's Young Miss was betrothed to a collateral branch, it was still one of the top families in Wu County, and the Third Young Master had already passed the provincial examination, with a promising future.
Yes, ah ah, right, she was originally betrothed to the Wu Family's Third Young Master. However, when the Lin Family's ship sank, over a hundred people died. Later, the Lin Family's Patriarch, ah, that is, the Lin Family's Eldest Master, consulted a deity, who said that the Lin Family's Young Miss was cursed with the 'Heavenly Solitary Star' and would bring death to all her relatives.
So, the Wu Family broke off the engagement. The Lin Family's Eldest Master then opened the ancestral hall and expelled this young miss from the family, reclaiming all the second branch's property for the clan.
This young miss was quite resolute; she applied to the yamen to establish her own household, bringing Madam Lin with her. Alas, now Madam Lin has also passed away, and this Lin Family's Young Miss is truly alone."
"Heavenly Solitary Star? Hmph~" A young man in blue, sitting by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, let out a sneer and said to the young man opposite him, "This Wu Feiren really dares to do such a thing; to curry favor with the Wang Family, he'd go to such lengths."
The young man's face was hidden in the shadows of the window frame, his expression indiscernible. Hearing the waiter downstairs begin to change the subject, he watched the figure of the woman in white mourning clothes slowly recede into the rain and said, "How much property of the Lin Family was swallowed?"
"Quite a lot," the young man in blue said after a sip of tea, "Not to mention the silver, there are four large ocean-going ships, over fifty shops, and more than ten large estates totaling a thousand acres of fertile land."
"When Lin Shen had his accident, wasn't it said that there were five large ships in the returning fleet?"
"Yes, only the ship he was on had an accident; the other ships arrived safely. After Lin Family Steward sold all the cargo from those ships, he reportedly exchanged it for hundreds of thousands of taels. After Lin Shen died, no one in the Lin Family dared to run ships, so they sold the ships and crew to a Guangzhou sea merchant.
Oh, and there's one more ship—the one Lin Shen was on when he had his accident. The Lin Family's Young Miss exchanged an estate from her mother's dowry for it. That estate also had a hundred acres of fertile land, yet she exchanged it for a broken ship. This young miss is truly…."
"Even if she hadn't exchanged that estate, it probably wouldn't have been saved. Everyone in Wu County, from top to bottom, is likely controlled by Lin Family Steward and the Wu Family."
"Then should we lend a hand?" the young man in blue asked with a mischievous smile.
"The Wu Family has acquired such a large sum of money. If you have time, stay behind," the young man's words immediately silenced the young man in blue.
"Yes," the young man in blue chuckled lightly.
She was just an orphaned girl; how could she compare to the struggle for the throne? The Lin Family's Young Miss, after establishing her own household, reportedly enshrined the spirit tablets of her father and brother, changed her name, and sold the remaining meager portion of her mother's dowry. She was only waiting to bury her mother before leaving Wu County.