A life of ups and downs is pure joy

It was two days later when we arrived in Luofeng City, and Prefect Chen was there to greet us at the city gate early in the morning.

"General Luo Feng is back!" Prefect Chen happily stepped forward to greet Lin Ancai who was riding a horse in front.

"The weather is so hot, why is Lord Chen being so polite?" Lin Ancai said as he looked at Prefect Chen who was sweating from the heat.

"Of course, of course. Are Lord Gonglie and Madam Zhonglie back together?" Prefect Chen looked at the two carriages behind, wondering who the distinguished guests were.

"It's just me and my sisters this time. Magistrate Chen, there's no need to bother. Let's go back and visit our grandmother first." Lin Ancai looked back at Lin Qinghuan's carriage. Xiao Yi had told him in advance that he didn't want to show up in Luofeng this time. After all, a second-rank official like him coming to Luofeng would surely cause a stir, and he was here to investigate some official business.

I saw Chen Zhifu wipe the sweat from his head and said flatteringly, "I have asked someone to urge the processing of General Luo Feng's official file. General, just take a good rest now that you are back."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Chen!" Lin Ancai said, and then he led a large number of troops into the city and headed towards the Marquis' Mansion.

Prefect Chen watched the two carriages pass by him, and the sweat on his back soaked his clothes.

"Sir, the people in this carriage should be the young ladies of the Marquis' Mansion!" said Master Zhao from the side.

"It's hard to say. I heard that the nobleman is coming. He is now the son-in-law of this marquis. Maybe he will come with us this time." Prefect Chen said nervously.

"Do you want me to go to the Marquis' Mansion and keep an eye on it?" asked Master Zhao.

"Go, know every move you make. Send someone to secretly watch you. Even if a fly flies out, keep a close eye on it." Prefect Chen nodded and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "It's such a horrible day! It's so hot!"

Lin Qingru and Lin Zhichuan were waiting at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, looking towards the intersection. The elderly Nanny Dong was also watching eagerly with the help of her maid. Since Lin Qinghuan entered Jinhan at the age of thirteen, the old Nanny had never seen this girl who she had watched grow up since she was a child. The longing in her heart was no less than that of Grandmother Lin who was also anxiously waiting in Anxinzhai.

"When will my second brother and sisters arrive?" Lin Zhichuan squatted on the ground and poked the ants with a small wooden stick for a long time, but when he looked up, there was still no noise.

"How should I know? It's almost time!" Lin Qingru said resentfully.

"Miss, the second young master is back!" Lianrong shouted happily as she ran from the intersection to the marquis' mansion.

Lin Qingru noticed that the first person to appear at the intersection was her beloved second brother Lin Ancai, and she ran over happily. When Lin Zhichuan saw his sister running away, he ran after her, muttering to himself.

Lin Ancai immediately jumped off his horse and hugged Lin Qingru who was running towards him.

"Brother Ancai." Lin Qingru immediately burst into tears, feeling wronged. "You guys are finally back. Ru'er missed you so much."

"Sister-in-law, are those the two brothers and sisters born to Aunt Xue that you mentioned?" Xiao Qiannan asked, but found no response. Turning around, she found that Lin Qinghuan had gotten off the carriage without her noticing. "Big brother, sister-in-law is very agile right now."

It was inconvenient for Xiao Yi to get off the car at the door, so he could only sit in the car.

"You go down with your sister-in-law."

"Sister Huan, Ru'er missed you so much." Lin Qingru cried and laughed happily, and was very excited. Lin Qinghuan also shed tears and stepped forward to help up Nanny Dong who was about to salute her.

"Good girl, go home quickly. The old lady is getting worried." Nanny Dong happily held Lin Qinghuan's hand and was reluctant to let go. Before entering the house, Lin Qinghuan looked back at the two carriages heading towards the side door. Hong Qi patted her shoulder, indicating that someone was watching the intersection. Lin Qinghuan nodded, and then pulled Xiao Qiannan into the house with everyone else.

The surveillance person at the intersection looked for a while and found nothing unusual, so he left.

"Young Master, as expected, someone has started to follow us at the intersection. Your visit this time has leaked some information." Da Yuan and Lin Ancai came to find Xiao Yi. It was really difficult for the new son-in-law to accompany his wife home for the first time and have to come down from the stable yard.

"If this is true, then there is something fishy going on. This trip is well worth it." Xiao Yi said.

"Brother-in-law, everyone in the mansion is our family, and no one will leak it out. I just don't know what you will do in the future?" Lin Ancai led him to the main hall, where Lin Qinghuan was waiting for him.

Lin Qinghuan and Xiao Qiannan saw Xiao Yi and Lin Ancai from afar and walked over quickly.

"You didn't go to your grandmother's?" Xiao Yi asked Lin Qinghuan in surprise.

"I'll wait for you to go see grandma together." Lin Qinghuan said.

Xiao Qiannan glanced at Lin Ancai, then lowered her head happily.

"Sister-in-law, this mansion is so big. It's quite a distance for Grandmother Lin to walk from the gate to her own yard." Xiao Qiannan said as she walked.

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought about this. No wonder grandma rarely leaves the yard." Lin Qinghuan said.

"Grandma has a sedan chair to ride in." Lin Ancai said from behind.

"There are such good things. Why didn't you ask me to sit here and have a look in my early years?" Lin Qinghuan turned around and asked in surprise. Xiao Yi couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth when he saw her like that.

Anxinzhai is still as quiet as before. The furnishings in the yard have not changed, and the flowers that Grandma Lin likes are still the same kinds, which have never changed.

"The food in my grandmother's room is delicious." Lin Qinghuan whispered to Xiao Qiannan.

"Is it better than what Mrs. Huang makes?" Xiao Qiannan asked.

"You have a pretty good mouth."

Walking into the main hall of Anxinzhai, Lin Qinghuan saw from afar an old lady sitting above her, looking at her with loving eyes, and leaning on the golden tiger-head cane that she had seen since childhood.

Lin Qinghuan pouted and walked over with tears in her eyes and knelt in front of the old lady. Xiao Yi and Xiao Qiannan also knelt down and paid their respects like her.

"Grandma, Huan'er has come back to see you with her husband and sister-in-law." Lin Qinghuan said with a choked sob and a wronged look on her face.

"Oh, my dear grandchildren, please get up quickly." The old lady wanted to stand up and help up the three children who were kneeling on the ground. Xiao Yi quickly stood up and helped her. Grandma Lin glanced at Xiao Yi, smiled and sat down again. Lin Qinghuan stood up and knelt in front of Grandma Lin's knees again, lying on her legs and crying.

"Grandma, Huan'er misses you and Luo Feng so much." Lin Qinghuan said coquettishly.

"Look at my eldest granddaughter. When she was little, she was in poor health and she never cried even when she took bitter medicine every day. Now that she has recovered, she has become more spoiled. I, an old woman, don't cry anymore, but she can't stop crying." Although Grandma Lin said this, her tears never stopped. What she felt most distressed about were these two siblings without a mother, especially the granddaughter who was in poor health.

Xiao Yi stepped forward to help Lin Qinghuan up, and wiped her tears with his own robe, "Don't cry, you should be happy to be home."

Lin Qinghuan looked at him, nodded, and then happily walked forward to hug Grandma Lin. Seeing this, Lin Qingru also hugged her grandmother like her sister.

"I want to hug you too. I want to hug my grandma too." Lin Zhichuan broke free from Mother Zhang's arms and ran over.

"Okay, okay, okay, grandma will hold them all." Cheng Ping smiled happily, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out as she looked at the children in the room. Aunt Dong next to her also looked at the twins with satisfaction, and then glanced happily at the handsome Xiao Yi. Seeing that he cared about and loved Lin Qinghuan very much, she felt very touched.

Lin Ancai told his grandmother about the two battles of Neichi, and said that swords and knives were merciless on the battlefield. Nanny Dong listened and chanted "Amitabha" all the time.

"My grandson has really grown up now. He has transformed from a naughty boy who wet his pants into a little general in such a short time." Chen Ping pinched Lin Ancai's face and said happily.

Xiao Qiannan had also been listening very carefully. When she heard the old lady say that Lin An had wet his pants, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at? Didn't you wet your pants when you were a kid?" Lin Ancai said.

Lin Qinghuan rolled his eyes at his honest and brainless brother, then glanced at Xiao Qiannan and Xiao Yi.

"I'm a girl, I definitely won't do that." Xiao Qiannan muttered.

"Child, how old are you this year?" Grandma Lin looked at Xiao Qiannan lovingly and asked.

"Grandma, Nan'er is fifteen years old." Xiao Qiannan walked forward and said obediently.

"Well, you're a good-looking child. You and your sister look a bit like your aunt." Grandma Lin looked at the Xiao brother and sister carefully and said.

"Thank you for the compliment, grandma." Xiao Qiannan said shyly, and glanced at Lin Ancai who was picking cakes and eating at a table in the distance.

Grandma Lin ordered the kitchen to prepare a large table of delicious food for the children. Lin Ancai and Lin Qingyi were drooling at the sight of the delicious food. Grandma was old and could only eat light vegetarian food, but she was also very happy to sit with the children and watch them eat.

Lin Ancai still had the habit of breaking off a big chicken leg and putting it in Lin Qinghuan's bowl, and then he and Lin Qingyi started to eat and drink.

"Sister-in-law, you actually like to eat chicken legs?" Xiao Qiannan said in a low voice with a smile.

"Qinghuan and Ancai love chicken legs the most. They've always complained about how a chicken only has two legs, even though they each have one." Lin Qingyi said, taking another sip of the bayberry wine beside her. Then she squinted her eyes with a bitter face, "It's a bit sour."

Xiao Yi looked at his sweet wife chewing on the chicken leg with gusto, smiled, and considerately poured her a cup of tea.

Grandmother Lin has been secretly observing this young talent who is very famous in Jinhan. He is now the most relied-upon strategist of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and the youngest second-rank civil servant in the history of Dasheng.

"No wonder Huan'er has been talking about how delicious the dishes in grandma's yard are. They are indeed delicious." Xiao Yi noticed that Grandma Lin had been looking at him intentionally or unintentionally, so he spoke.

"Big brother, I think it's really delicious too. When grandma goes to Jinhan, please take the cook with her. This way, I can go to the Lin Mansion with my sister-in-law from time to time to eat and drink." Xiao Qiannan said without any hesitation.

"Hahahahahahahaha... these children are so adorable. Grandma promises to take them all with her and make delicious food for you every day." Grandma Lin said happily.

"Good good."

After lunch, the children chatted with their grandmother for a while, and then left Anxinzhai after her rest.

Lin Qingyi took Xiao Qiannan to live in Shi'an Garden because compared with Lingzhu Garden, it was closer to Lin Ancai's Jingde Hall, so Xiao Qiannan did not pester Lin Qinghuan and Xiao Yi.

Lin Qinghuan let go of Xiao Yi's hand and gently pushed open the door of Lingzhu Garden. The maids inside were already waiting there. They were the little girls who had not gone to Jinhan City with her before.

"Miss...Sir..." The maids all knelt down and saluted.

"Everyone, get up. It turns out you have been here all the time." Lin Qinghuan said.

"The girl has changed so much that we can't recognize her anymore. She's like a fairy descending to earth." Taohua stepped forward and said. Lin Qinghuan remembered this girl. Her sister Taoye didn't survive the epidemic back then.

"It's been four or five years since we last met, and you've all grown up." Lin Qinghuan said with a shy smile.

"Miss, your husband should come into the house and have some rest soon. We keep the house clean every day." Taohua stepped forward and supported Lin Qinghuan. Everyone was used to supporting the girl who had difficulty walking in the past.

"No need to help me, I'm no longer the sick girl I used to be!" Lin Qinghuan glanced at Taohua and walked briskly into her room. After taking two steps, she turned back to look at Xiao Yi who was still looking around. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." Xiao Yi walked towards Lin Qinghuan.

Lin Qinghuan looked around and found that it was exactly the same as four years ago. Looking at the curtains on the bed, he suddenly remembered the days when Brother Yu treated him, and this table, the table where Brother Yu wrote prescriptions.

The girls outside were whispering to each other.

"The girl is so beautiful now, like a fairy, and her illness is cured."

"That's right, look how handsome my uncle is, and so tall."

"What's that saying? A talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven."

"Let's go make some tea."

Xiao Yi walked around the room and saw several paintings on the wall. One of them was painted by Wanqing Jushi, Lin Qinghuan's mother. Xiao Yi knew it, but these paintings were painted by Su Jin...

"Huan'er, who is Su Jin? I saw her works in Su Heju." Xiao Yi asked after looking at the painting for a while.

"What do you think of her paintings?" Lin Qinghuan's memories were interrupted by Xiao Yi, and she realized that she was daydreaming again, so she hurried towards Xiao Yi.

"The painting style is delicate and can be considered graceful, but the artist has only practiced for five or six years. It can be used to cultivate one's sentiments and be appreciated, but it is a little immature compared to your mother's works." Xiao Yi said.

"You know my mother?" Lin Qinghuan looked at Xiao Yi in surprise.

"Huan'er, Ms. Wanqing has been studying under Mr. Gao Fan since she was five years old, and she is also Mr. Gao's most proud student. Their works are displayed in Jinhan's famous painting gallery." Xiao Yi said, then pointed to the paintings on the wall and asked, "Who is this Su Jin?"

"Well, it was drawn by a little girl. I thought it was pretty good, so I asked her to draw a few more." Lin Qinghuan sat down, supported his chin with both hands, and said as he looked at the paintings he had made when he was young.

"If she is just a little girl, she is quite accomplished. Who is her teacher? She has practiced painting for several years. She can be trained well." Xiao Yi looked at several paintings on the wall carefully again. Suddenly he saw the double swords on the woman in red. Then he looked at Lin Qinghuan who had been laughing secretly.

"Huan'er, is this a painting you made when you were a child?" Xiao Yi asked in surprise, sitting down next to Lin Qinghuan.

"I had only been learning painting for less than half a year at that time. Husband, how is Huan'er's attainment?" Lin Qinghuan asked Xiao Yi with a smug look.

"I didn't know you were so talented in painting." Xiao Yi looked at Lin Qinghuan in a daze.

"Painting is not as attractive as dancing or playing music. It's natural that you don't know." Lin Qinghuan said as he thought of the enchanting dancers in the Music House.

"Dancing, huh, huh... Huan'er, are you blaming me?" Xiao Yi pulled Lin Qinghuan over, hugged her in his arms and asked in a low voice.

"I...I didn't, I was just telling the truth." Lin Qinghuan said in panic, regretting that she had said that inexplicable thing, as if she was jealous, but she felt weird in her heart, was she really jealous?

"Huan'er... only you can win my heart. It doesn't matter if you don't know anything, as long as I know it." Xiao Yi whispered softly in Lin Qinghuan's ear.

“…” Lin Qinghuan rolled her eyes in his arms.