CHAPTER 310: CHAPTER 279: DIVORCE AND RETURN TO JIZHOU (PART 2)

Having money really makes things easier; Lin Fu didn’t know how to communicate with the government office, but he had people post notices all over the streets offering a hefty reward for finding someone, and no government officer came to stop him.

When the Hidden Guard Xue Cheng went out on an errand, he happened to see the notice and brought one back.

Lin Xiaoyue stared at the words "hefty reward for finding someone" and immediately thought of her father, instructing Xue Cheng, "Go find out for me, is it my father who came?"

With the man absent, and no in-laws to rely on, she had been alone for several days. Thinking that her own father might be coming to the Capital, Lin Xiaoyue felt an unprecedented sense of belonging, as if everything would be stable as long as her father was there.

...

Wen Wan accidentally saw the notice on her way home from school and asked Song Yuanbao to take one down. After returning home, she went to find Lin Xiaoyue.

Lin Xiaoyue had already received news from Xue Cheng, and when Wen Wan asked, she smiled, "It’s not the Prime Minister looking for me; it’s my father."

If the Prime Minister wanted to find her, he would never use this method and would just do it secretly.

"Your father?" Wen Wan was surprised.

"Yes, I asked Xue Cheng to investigate during the day, and my father’s indeed come to the Capital."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"I’ll go back first. I can’t hide at your house forever," Lin Xiaoyue said, with a tone less anxious than the past couple of days.

It was obvious that her father’s arrival in the Capital brought her a lot of security.

Wen Wan knew very little about the Su Family’s matters and couldn’t insist on keeping her, "If you’ve made up your mind, just go back. If it doesn’t work, you can come back anytime."

This casual remark was as heavy as a life-saving grace to Lin Xiaoyue.

Knowing that Wen Wan didn’t like her constantly saying "thank you," Lin Xiaoyue pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes full of gratitude.

While Lin Xiaoyue was packing her things, Wen Wan picked up Ah Nuan from the cradle.

The little girl couldn’t recognize people very well and seemed quite happy to be held and walked around. Her chubby little face made Wen Wan’s heart melt.

After Lin Xiaoyue finished packing, she turned around to see Wen Wan affectionately interacting with her daughter and smiled, "If you like little girls, why not have one yourself?"

Wen Wan shook her head, "Jinbao still can’t walk; I don’t plan to have another one right now. Besides, I still have to go to Hongwen Academy; if I get pregnant, it would all be for nothing."

She asked Lin Xiaoyue again, "Are you really not planning to go back to Hongwen Academy?"

Lin Xiaoyue gave a bitter smile, "I used to think about going back after having the child, but you’ve seen our situation. Mr. Qi is away all the time, and I don’t have in-laws to help with childcare. The Su Family is full of wolves; if I leave Ah Nuan to go to Hongwen Academy, I could be in danger at any moment. After much thought, I’d rather not learn those things and keep my daughter safe."

Wen Wan looked at her and suddenly said, "It feels like you’ve grown a lot in the past year."

Lin Xiaoyue’s smile grew bitter, "Without a man around, and still having to deal with all this while being pregnant, even the most naive person would have to develop some resilience. Thinking back, I was really immature."

Wen Wan didn’t agree, "Growing up in a year isn’t the worst thing."

...

When Lin Xiaorou left, she only took the diapers Granny Song gave her, returning Jinbao’s small clothes after washing them.

Jinbao was holding onto the door frame, watching ’Meh Meh’ being taken away. Even though he usually couldn’t walk steadily, he suddenly set off on his little legs for a short chase, shouting ’Meh Meh Meh’ repeatedly.

His wobbly figure looked as though he could fall at any moment.

Wen Wan worried and followed behind him.

The little guy did surprisingly well, walking quite a long distance without falling, though he was left panting, his small face flushed red, with mist escaping his mouth.

Wen Wan squatted down, brushing the snow and mud off his pant legs, and gently told him, "Sister is going home; when you grow up, you can play with Jinbao again, okay?"

Without a playmate, Jinbao seemed quite upset, pouting and saying nothing.

That night, Jinbao didn’t respond to anyone, not even his father; he lay on his little bed with his back to his parents, refusing to eat.

But children forget quickly, and Jinbao’s little grudge lasted only half the night. In the second half of the night, hunger overtook him, and he climbed down from the small bed, wobbling toward the big bed, tugging at Wen Wan’s sleeve, repeatedly saying, "Food, food..."

Wen Wan had anticipated the little guy getting hungry at night, so she left the lights on and didn’t fall into a deep sleep.

As soon as Jinbao called, Wen Wan immediately opened her eyes, smiling at the little guy, "Done with the tantrum?"

The little guy sat on the footstool and looked up at his mother, saying with wronged eyes, "Jinbao is hungry."

To serve the little ancestor, they kept the kitchen fire burning all night, keeping the porridge warm.

Wen Wan put on clothes, got out of bed, washed her hands, and went to the kitchen, quickly bringing the porridge.

The little one thought his mother was feeding him too slowly, so he took the spoon himself to eat, though he ended up with food all over his face. It seemed he had forgotten about the little sister who couldn’t yet talk or walk.

It was too cold outside, and Wen Wan couldn’t be bothered to return the empty bowl, so she just placed it on the table. She wiped Jinbao’s mouth and coaxed him to sleep.

Jinbao refused to return to his own baby bed and clambered onto the step-up bed with a grunt.

Wen Wan lifted the quilt for him and let him sleep in the middle.

After eating and drinking his fill, the big bed was warm, and Jinbao quickly fell asleep once he lay down.

Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief and finally settled in for sleep.

——

Lin Xiaoyue returned to her own mansion, the main courtyard was still under repair, so she chose a side courtyard for herself and then went to see her father.

Lin Fu had been staying at the Martial Champion Mansion these past few days, anxiously searching for his daughter, nearly turned his hair white.

Upon hearing from the servants that Granny Qi had returned, Lin Fu’s eyes lit up, and he briskly stepped over the threshold just as Lin Xiaoyue approached, father and daughter collided.

"Father?"

"Where have you been these days, Yueyue?"

"I was at a friend’s house," Lin Xiaoyue was stubborn by nature and did not wish to express too much bitterness in front of her father, hastily urging him to discuss matters inside the house.

Once seated inside, Lin Xiaoyue voluntarily explained that she and the girl were both fine, having only stayed outside for a few days. She originally planned to return when the main courtyard was nearly finished, but upon seeing the street filled with search notices, she returned early.

Lin Fu frowned, "Only the main courtyard of your house burned, nowhere else, why didn’t you stay at your own place but went to others?"

Lin Xiaoyue lied, saying Ah Nuan had just turned one month, and encountering such events was unlucky, thus needed to avoid them.

Lin Fu wasn’t naive and could tell his daughter wasn’t telling the truth, directly asking her, "Was it the people from the Prime Minister Mansion who bullied you?"

Lin Xiaoyue lowered her head and didn’t speak.

Lin Fu asked again, "Did they start the fire?"

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t want her father involved, "It’s rare for you to come to the Capital, don’t worry about it, I’ll have someone take you out for a tour."

"Not interested!" Apart from making money, Lin Fu had no interest in sightseeing.

His tenacity was comparable to Song Wei; back then, he was accidentally injured, and though it wasn’t disclosed publicly, for a man, it was quite a blow. Even Granny Song thought this son might never recover.

Contrary to expectations, unable to bear sons, Lin Fu simply stopped taking concubines and focused solely on business, making money with fervor. Those years, his eyes saw nothing but money, money, money.

The Lin Family started prospering this way, business growing larger and larger, and Lin Fu genuinely had money. Using money to crush someone was no mere boast for him.

Even the Su Family had to look up at him in this regard.

Otherwise, Su Xiang wouldn’t be cursing Lin Fu behind his back for being an uneducated, ill-mannered country bumpkin reeking of money, but when money was offered, he’d change his face faster than anyone.

Seeing his daughter’s skinny appearance, Lin Fu felt distressed, "Is the Su Family having a hard time?"

All these years, every time he wrote, his daughter would always reply saying everything was fine.

Giving her silver and coins she didn’t want, claiming she was well-fed and clothed here, lacking nothing.

Now he had time to come to the Capital to see, fine indeed!

The famous Su Family was filthy inside like a stinking gutter.

Lin Fu was very angry, "With such a big issue at your place, where is Su Qing? Is he treating you badly? If he is, don’t serve him anymore, let’s just divorce and return to Jizhou, I can support you!"

With the family in trouble and the man absent, Lin Xiaoyue indeed felt uncomfortable thinking about it, but divorce wasn’t even a consideration for her, "Father, where did you imagine that from? Mr. Qi was transferred externally over half a year ago; he’s far away in the border area and it’s normal that he doesn’t return immediately."

"But since he’s not here, didn’t he arrange for his men to protect you?" Lin Fu internally cursed Su Qing’s ancestors up to eighteen generations.

"He arranged." Lin Xiaoyue said.

"Then how can your backyard catch fire?"

Lin Xiaoyue was speechless.

To this day, she didn’t know exactly how the fire started that night; she only thought it was too peculiar.

However, thinking it was the work of people from the big mansion made sense.

Those women’s schemes, if you can’t think of it, they can execute it, setting a fire quietly in the backyard is a piece of cake for the big wife.