Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"It's just nonsense!"

In the main hall of the Lin Mansion on Jing'an Street, where light and shadow are dim, the atmosphere is so solemn that it seems as if water can be squeezed out.

Old Master Lin, with white hair and beard and a solemn face, suddenly slammed his palm on the Huanghuali wooden table beside him, causing the celadon covered bowl on the table to clink.

"Marriage is such a serious matter, how can you treat it so lightly? Xu Yucheng is fickle and unfaithful, and he is not a good match for you. You can tell your parents and ask them to cancel the marriage on your behalf."

As Old Master Lin spoke, he pointed at Lin Xi, who was kneeling upright in the hall, his chest heaving violently.

"Even if your parents are useless, I'm still here, an old man like you. Who can't make decisions for you? Not only did you act on your own, you even went so far as to run away from home. Do you still respect your parents and elders? Do you still respect the Lin family's rules and regulations?"

Seeing this, Mrs. Lin, who was standing by, quickly put down the Buddhist beads in her hand, stood up, gently stroked his back, and advised him in a gentle voice: "Old man, calm down, take care of yourself. Xixi is young, so it's inevitable that she might not be thoughtful enough..."

"Young? She's already eighteen. If she were a few years older, she would have been married and had children crawling around. How could she still act like this?"

Old Master Lin glared at Lin Xi, who was standing on the ground with his back straight and an obviously unconvinced look, and scolded him with a look of disappointment.

"You also said it was a long time ago. It's different times now." Old Mrs. Lin patted his hand and said in a soothing tone.

As she spoke, she turned to look at Lin Xi who was kneeling on the ground, her tone full of fear and helplessness.

"Xixi, do you know that after you ran away, news came from Shanghai that you were missing? Your grandfather and I couldn't eat or sleep for the past two days, worried that something might happen to you out there..."

Mrs. Lin paused, took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes before continuing, "If anything were to happen to you, how would we, two old men half buried in the earth, survive? Wouldn't that be the end of us!"

Lin Xi, who was kneeling on the ground, felt pain in her knees from the cold and hard tiles, and her face turned pale. Although she felt a little uneasy when listening to her grandmother's tearful words, she still gritted her teeth and defended herself.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I... I didn't mean to make you worry. I left a letter for Mom and Dad, saying I wanted to go out and relax... Besides, I'm already this old, not a child anymore, what could possibly happen..."

"Leave a letter? Relax?" Old Master Lin was so angry at her nonchalant words that his face turned even paler and his beard trembled slightly.

"You still dare to talk back! That's what you call leaving a letter? That's called executing first and reporting later. It seems that if I don't use the family rules today, you really don't know what the heaven is and what the rules and regulations are!" As he said this, he was about to raise his voice to call for people.

"How can we call for family discipline?" Old Mrs. Lin, who was standing by, heard this and quickly reached out to stop them. "The child is already that old, how can you just call for family discipline? Look at her hand, it's still injured, wrapped in such thick gauze, it hurts just looking at it. We finally got her back safely, why can't we talk to her in a nice way and teach her the rules slowly?"

As she persuaded him, she secretly winked at Lin Xi and spoke to Old Master Lin in a low voice.

"Besides, Jingyuan is still waiting outside. He finally came back to Jinling, and he helped search everywhere without taking a break. He must be exhausted from all the running around. We should let the children settle down first, rest their feet, and have some hot tea, right? Other things...it's not too late to talk about it later."

Old Master Lin's gray eyebrows twisted into knots. He glanced at Lin Xi's bandaged hand and glared at her fiercely. In the end, he suppressed his anger and shouted in a deep voice: "Why don't you get up! Are you still kneeling and waiting for the reward?!"

Lin Xi felt as if she had been pardoned and quickly stood up from the ground.

Her knees were sore and numb, and she subconsciously wanted to bend down to rub them, but she caught a glimpse of her grandfather's stern gaze and grandmother's worried expression, and immediately suppressed the thought. She bowed politely and acted submissive.

"Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma, for your forgiveness. I know I was wrong."

The old man snorted heavily and turned his head away, as if he would get angry if he looked at Lin Xi any longer. He just shouted out the door, "Auntie Wu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an old woman wearing a neatly washed black silk trousers and jacket, with her hair neatly tied into a bun, came in and stood at the bottom of the hall with her hands hanging down and bowing.

"Take the young lady back to her room," the old man waved his hand and ordered, "Keep a close eye on her. Don't let her leave the courtyard for the next few days. Make sure she follows the rules!"

"Yes, old man."

Aunt Wu's voice was calm, but it inexplicably made Lin Xi feel uneasy, and she couldn't help but complain in her heart.

This Wu Ma is the most rule-abiding old woman around my grandmother. She was one of the maids who forced Lin Xi to bind her feet. As a result, Lin Xi is frightened whenever she sees her.

Lin Xi, who had always been lawless in the Lin Mansion, was now as obedient as a quail. She lowered her head and followed Wu Ma out of the main hall gate without saying a word.

As soon as she stepped over the high threshold, she saw the tall figure standing under the porch.

He stood with his shoulders straight and his face calm, as if he knew nothing about the argument that had just taken place in the hall.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Lin Xi's anger that had been suppressed all morning boiled over.

Early this morning, before daybreak, she was drowsily playing mahjong with Zhou Gong when she was ruthlessly woken up by this man.

She was so sleepy that she could hardly open her eyes. She was almost helped to put on her clothes and comb her hair with her eyes closed by the hotel owner. Then she was stuffed into the rickshaw in a daze and fell asleep again as she swayed along the way.

Unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes again, what she saw were the two dark and oppressive gates of the Lin Mansion. She didn't know where to run even if she wanted to.

Thinking of this, Lin Xi was furious. She had felt somewhat grateful to him for saving her life last night, but she had not expected that this man would "sell" her back home.

Recalling the terrifying look of her grandfather with his beard puffed and eyes glaring just now, and glancing at the neatly combed back of Wu Ma's head in front of her, she couldn't help it after all. She turned her head and bared her teeth at Shen Jingyuan, silently accusing him with her mouth.

"It's all your fault!"

Unexpectedly, Wu Ma, who was walking in front, seemed to have eyes on the back of her head and suddenly coughed twice very lightly.

"Cough cough!"

The voice was not loud, but it carried an obvious warning. The rich expression on Lin Xi's face suddenly froze, and then collapsed.

Then, she straightened her back, tried hard to put on a face that showed deep hatred and resentment, and followed Wu Ma away with steady steps without looking around.

Shen Jingyuan calmly took in her ever-changing expression. The corners of his tightly pursed mouth curved up imperceptibly, as if the ice skin had just melted, but then quickly dissipated and he returned to his usual coldness.

Then he reached out to straighten his wrinkle-free collar, turned around and walked into the main hall.