flstandardbreds Chapter 337 World 549
Chapter 337 World 549
Yinyin thought for a moment and said, "If Mother wants to make more for me, please bring some cotton cloth. Cotton is breathable and comfortable to wear. It's much more comfortable than silk when you're out and about."
"As for these fine materials, I feel it would be a waste if they weren't made into beautiful clothes."
"When it's done, I'll change my outfit every day at home for Mom to see, okay?"
Mr. Lin, who had been sitting and drinking tea, chimed in, "I think Yinyin's idea is good. She can wear pretty clothes at home and cotton clothes when she goes out. They're breathable and convenient."
"Although silk is beautiful, it is also delicate. If it gets snagged by grass or trees, where will Yin Yin get it patched?"
"It's not that easy to tear it. Jingjing is dressed perfectly fine," Lin's mother said, and finally agreed.
Yinyin breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not that she doesn't like wearing silk and satin, it's just that when she's out and about, Yin Yin has to wash these things herself!
If you accidentally use too much force, it will break before the branch even catches it.
Besides, these clothes usually lose their vibrancy after being washed a few times, and they don't look as good as they did when they were first worn.
She was also quite impatient having to constantly watch her clothes from getting damaged while she was working on them.
Although the Lin family could afford to replace the clothes, she couldn't possibly fill her small bag with clothes all the time. Perhaps they should ask each of the Lin family's shops to prepare another set for her as well.
After they finished selecting the fabric, a farm manager came downstairs to give a report. Lin's father was going to the front yard, and he also asked Yinyin to come along and listen in.
The head of the estate came to do nothing more than bring some fresh food and report to Lin's father on the spring planting plan and progress.
Before long, only the father and daughter remained in the study.
"Yinyin, was there a commotion in your yard last night?"
Yesterday, almost all the maids and servants who served her in the courtyard came out. With such a commotion, it would be strange if Lin's father hadn't received the news.
"Yes, but I beat them all up, so they probably won't dare to come back again."
Lin's father nodded: "If there's anything difficult to handle, just tell me."
“There is indeed something I need Father’s help with,” Yin Yin walked up to her father and whispered, “Father, do you remember when we met Zhuo Sikong in Yun City, there was a child who stood up to speak for me and Young Master Xiao Yuan?”
Although Lin's father wasn't present at the time, he knew the details very well. Now that Yinyin mentioned it, he naturally remembered, "Which Third Young Master was it who said the imperial court would do this or that?"
“It was him,” Yin Yin lowered her eyelids. “I met him a few times during the martial arts tournament last year, but we weren’t familiar with each other. Last night, however, he chased one of Zhuo Sikong’s disciples into my courtyard.”
"While coincidences do exist in the world, too many coincidences must be suspicious."
"Father, I suspect he has some ulterior motive."
“I have my master’s protection, so as long as I ignore him, I don’t have to worry about anything.”
“But if he doesn’t get any progress from me, I’m afraid he might try to do something to you, my parents.”
Lin's father immediately became serious: "Tell me about the times you've seen him."
When Yinyin spoke of the beginning, Lin's father could still think of it as a young man's infatuation, but when he heard Yinyin's guess about the identity of this third young master, his brows furrowed.
"Yinyin, are you sure?"
"It's pretty close to the truth," Yin Yin knew that her father was asking about the identity of the Third Young Master.
“I understand,” Lin’s father said quickly. “I will ask people to keep an eye on things. Yinyin, you don’t need to worry about home.”
Compared to Yin Yin, Lin's father thought more deeply and understood men's minds better.
I might like her, but a beautiful woman who can bring me benefits is worth spending more effort on.
If you want to know what benefits Yin Yin can bring him, just look at how often he mingles in the martial arts world these days, and you can guess a thing or two.
Whether it's martial arts prowess or social standing in the martial arts world, he is far superior to the still relatively unknown Third Young Master.
Considering the Third Young Master's identity, his enthusiasm is most likely related to the imperial court.
With limited information at hand, Lin's father set aside this matter for the time being and instead told Yin Yin about another thing.
"Your mother and I are planning to arrange a marriage for your sister."
"Engaged?" Yin Yin quickly realized, "Is it with the same family as Yuan?"
Lin's father nodded: "I plan to write to Her Majesty the Mysterious Lady in a few days to mention this matter."
Yinyin chuckled: "It seems he's destined to be my father's son-in-law; nothing can change that."
Lin's father also thought of the time a few years ago when he intended to arrange a marriage between Lin Jingjing and Yuan Zhongkang, but then stopped it.
“When fate brings you together, it will never change,” Lin’s father said, and then took a box from the shelf. “These are the dowry items that your mother and I planned for Jingjing to take with her.”
Yinyin looked at the box but didn't touch it: "Father, you can decide. Why should I give my sister's dowry?"
“The entire family business will be handed over to you in the future, how can you not be happy about it?” Lin’s father looked at Yin Yin and was a little emotional. “If you hadn’t been in Yaochi Palace all year round, you would be learning how to run the shop from me by now.”
“Father is still young,” Yin Yin said, still not opening the box. “Father, please endure some more hardship. Call me back when you really want to rest.”
Yin Yin felt she was still young and was focused on improving her martial arts skills, so she had no interest in managing the household affairs.
After thinking for a moment, Lin's father hinted, "In that case, I will take care of them for a few more years. If you save someone outside and they are loyal to you but have nowhere else to go, you can bring them home."
"When the time comes, I'll pick the most talented ones to teach, and they'll always have a way to make a living."
Yin Yin understood; this was her father's way of planning ahead, preparing her for reliable help.
She immediately agreed: "I will be more careful."
Seeing that she took it to heart, Lin's father then led her back to the main house.
After the family finished eating, Yin Yin went back to practice her martial arts. Lin's mother then looked at her husband and asked, "Have you spoken to Yin Yin about this?"
“I’ve already said that, but Yin Yin’s mind is still more on martial arts right now,” Lin’s father sighed. “Yin Yin has a good talent for martial arts and is willing to improve herself, so how could I bear to ask her to come home directly to learn business from me?”
“Didn’t I say that if Yinyin doesn’t mean it that way, then we should teach more reliable people?” Lin’s mother paused. “Although Jingjing has learned more from me, I can tell from her eyes that Yinyin is more adept at this.”
"If the commotion last night hadn't been so loud and attracted the attention of people outside, we wouldn't have gotten any news at all."
Speaking of this, Lin's father couldn't help but curl up his lips again: "Yinyin only comes back for a short time each year, yet she can still win over everyone in her yard to her side. She truly is my daughter."
Lin's mother snorted at him irritably: "She's your good daughter, but shouldn't you be more at ease now? Your daughter knows how to use people, so you don't have to worry too much about losing us and having your family business swallowed up by others."
Lin's father replied, "If it were Jingjing, I'm afraid I'd have even more to worry about. But with Yinyin in her care, I'm not worried at all."
Lin's mother thought for a long time, but she really couldn't come up with a rebuttal.
After a long while, Lin's mother whispered, "No wonder the two children are so talented, yet the Venerable Xuan Nu seems to value Yin Yin more, even taking her with her every year when she goes back to her hometown."
“When we were young, we were far away and couldn’t see clearly. Now that Yin Yin has come back, we understand the difference.”
"They say you can tell what a person will be like at three years old," Mr. Lin gently patted his wife, who was feeling a little down. "Yinyin has always been clearer about what she wants to do than Jingjing since she was little, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Never mind, Zhongkang is a good boy, and he has made great progress in martial arts. With him protecting Jingjing, we can rest assured," Lin's mother said, but then sounded a little discouraged.
“Actually, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it before, but Yinyin is now a top-notch expert, while Jingjing hasn’t made much progress over the years. She spends less and less time practicing martial arts at home every day, and I feel a little uneasy about that.”
Mr. Lin didn't think anything of it, and instead advised his wife, "Everyone has their own destiny."
"Jingjing is now a second-rate expert, and with the Venerable Xuan Nu as her master, her future husband will also be at least a second-rate expert. In this martial world, no one dares to provoke her, isn't that enough?"
"She likes to enjoy herself, likes fancy clothes and hairpins, and doesn't like to suffer, but that's not a big deal. Our family and the Yuan family can provide her with enough."
"As long as the child is a decent person and lives a good life, that's all that matters."
That's the logic, and Lin's mother just hoped that her eldest daughter could make good use of resources like her youngest daughter so that she could have a better life in the future.
But the two daughters had different personalities, so Lin's mother could only ignore the matter.
"I'll have someone make some clothes quickly, otherwise, judging from Yinyin's appearance, she won't stay at home for long."
Lin's father agreed with this statement. Now that they had left the mountain gate, they needed to undergo proper training, which was only right.
Just as Lin's parents had expected, Yin Yin had only spent a few days at home with her parents and hadn't even waited for her fellow students to come to visit before deciding to go out and find them herself.
Having anticipated this, Lin's parents didn't stop her. They simply prepared the necessary items for her and gave her a token to retrieve things from the shops under the Lin family's name. They also instructed her to check on the shopkeepers and accountants of the shops when she had time to see if they were qualified and if there was any deception or cover-up.
Yinyin wouldn't refuse to do the auditing herself, just to oversee things. However, she took the things her parents had prepared out the door, then quietly returned to the small building to put away a few unnecessary items before heading to the daily contact point with her fellow disciples.
As soon as Yinyin stepped out, she sensed that someone was spying on her.
Yinyin changed her mind and immediately changed her itinerary, heading out of the city first.
She grew up in this area and often went out with her father when she was young, so she knew more about the outside world than most people. Soon she arrived at a small path in a bamboo forest, and after several twists and turns, she disappeared from sight.
She tethered her horse some distance away, used her lightness skill to hide in a tree in the bamboo forest, and soon a furtive person appeared.
As the man was trying to figure out which way to go, Yinyin took her sword, pushed off a tree trunk, and used the momentum to swoop down towards him.
The pursuer quickly raised his sword to defend, but he was not skilled enough to be a match for a master like Yin Yin. In just one round, he was sent flying by Yin Yin, crashing into the bamboo behind him and then bounced to the ground.
"Woman, spare your life!"
Before Yinyin could even ask a question, he knelt down and presented a token with both hands: "Heroine, spare my life! I am the Third Young Master's subordinate."
Yinyin glanced at it and confirmed that the person was indeed holding the Third Young Master's folding fan. She frowned but did not lower her guard: "The Third Young Master? What is he planning now?"
The man was taken aback and quickly said, "My young master wants to apologize to you for what happened a few days ago, and he also wants to discuss something with you."
Yinyin moved her hand and touched the fortune chart on her waist.
A thought struck her: "But I have nothing to discuss with the Third Young Master."
After saying this, Yin Yin turned and left.
But when the man saw Yinyin walk away, he took out a signal firework from his pocket and set it off into the sky.
When Yinyin saw the fireworks, she was so angry she almost laughed. She simply walked back and said, "It seems I was too kind, which is why people are taking advantage of me."
The man lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, young lady, it's just my duty."
“It’s your job, and it has nothing to do with me, but it’s caused me a lot of trouble, so I’m very unhappy,” Yin Yin said coldly. “I was thinking of letting you off the hook, but you didn’t cherish the opportunity, so don’t blame me.”
After Yinyin finished speaking, she didn't draw her sword. Instead, she used the scabbard to strike him, giving him a good beating. Then, she found a rope and, with the help of a few bamboo poles, tied him up in the middle.
Anyone who tries to untie him will be accidentally injured by the inertia of the bamboo, unless they cut several bamboo stalks at the same time. They will also be bounced around by the bamboo stalks.
After doing all that, Yinyin walked to the place where she tended the horses.
She mounted her horse, but instead of leaving immediately, she fiddled with the horoscope a couple of times and left in the direction it indicated. Sure enough, she didn't encounter anyone else.
Yinyin has already left the city and has no intention of going back. Anyway, there are Lin family shops and fellow disciples from Yaochi Palace in the next city, so she can just send a message when she gets there.
Yinyin was lucky; her fellow disciples who were going to her home happened to be there too.
Meeting Yinyin today saved them the trouble of making the trip again.
For the next month or two, Yinyin and her fellow disciples traveled around doing missions, and along the way they also picked up two innocent orphans who were being bullied by their clans.
By the time the sect's affairs were almost finished, it was almost summer and the weather was getting hot.
Yinyin bid farewell to her fellow disciples and returned to Yuncheng with her two children.
Lin's parents were overjoyed to see her return, and they were also very welcoming when they saw the orphan she had taken in. They immediately had someone take him away to care for him.
After the children left, Mr. and Mrs. Lin said, "Yinyin, you've come back just in time. Jingjing also sent someone to say that she'll be back in the next couple of days."