Far away in Taoyuan Town, Zhao Baihui received Lin Xuejin's letter, along with separate letters from Jinyuan and Mingcheng.
All three accounts of the incident were essentially the same.
Both Lin Xuejin and Mingcheng expressed their apologies in their letters.
Zhao Baihui scratched his head. "What a mess. Not worth all this fuss over one foul-mouthed old man."
"Jinyuan and the Lin family had such a good relationship going. Now it's ruined — things will probably never go back to the way they were."
Jinyi was working at her desk while listening. She set down her brush and said, "If it had been me, I would have done the same as Mingcheng. After all, it was Mr. Lin who caused this situation. He should have known his father's temperament — he should have done something to smooth things over beforehand."
"Right, right, right, none of you did anything wrong — it's all that foul-mouthed old man's fault. What do you say, next time I see him, I give him a good one-two punch?"
Jinxiu was eating fruit and laughed. "Master, stop joking. With your personality, you could never actually do it. Well... unless someone said something like that about us..."
"It's not appropriate for Jinyuan to stay on there anymore — let's call her back. Same goes for Mingcheng and the others; send someone else. But make sure things are sorted out first. What happened is in the past. Whoever goes to old Lin's place is going there to help, not because old Lin caused us trouble."
"Then I'll go. It's better for Elder Sister to hold down the fort at home. Someone has to, since Master here shirks all his duties and dumps everything on her."
"I can also take a look around while I'm there and see if there are any good rouge and face powders to bring back and share with everyone."
"Jinxiu, now I don't mean this unkindly, but you're already beautiful enough as it is. Keep primping like this and there won't be a young man in the world who can measure up to you — they'll all be scared off by those clouds of powder flying in the wind, ha ha!"
"Master!"
The two of them dissolved into a chase around the room, laughing and squabbling. Jinyi shook her head and returned to her work.
The Master was like a child every single day, able to clown around with absolutely anyone.
It was... really rather wonderful.
A few days later, Jinxiu arrived in the prefecture city with a group of people.
Lin Xuejin, Jinyuan, Mingcheng, and the others all came out to meet her. The two sides stood neither too close nor too far apart — the distance between them was noticeably cool.
"Sister Jinxiu..." Jinyuan came over and threw herself into her arms, the corners of her mouth curving upward, looking just a little aggrieved.
Jinxiu patted her on the head. "You did really well, you know. All told, you squeezed over two hundred thousand taels out of them — more than any of the rest of us have earned."
"Hehe, not bad, I suppose," said Jinyuan, tilting up the corners of her mouth with a touch of pride.
"When you get back, you'll be taking over my position. Train hard. There's even more important work waiting for you down the road."
"You are the Master's right hand, after all!"
"Mm, I will."
With a few words Jinyuan was reassured. Jinxiu then stepped forward two paces to stand before Mingcheng and handed him a slip of paper. "Brother Mingcheng, would you like me to say something comforting to you as well?"
"Ahem — no, no, that's quite all right." Mingcheng went red with embarrassment.
He unfolded the paper Jinxiu had passed him. It was in the Master's own hand, a single line.
*"You little rascal — were you just trying to make your Master feel moved?"*
Mingcheng smiled. The Master wasn't angry with him. Of course — how could the Master ever bring himself to be angry with him? He had been overthinking it all along.
Jinxiu finally came to stand before Lin Xuejin. "Forgive me, Mr. Lin, for saving my greeting to you for last. That's because I really am a little bit upset."
"First, because my Master was insulted. You should know perfectly well what our Master means to us."
"Second, because my brothers and sisters were made to suffer."
"Third, as my Elder Sister said back home — you know your father's temperament. This should never have happened."
Lin Xuejin gave an awkward smile. "I'm sorry. It was my fault."
"I'm saying this in front of all of us, which means it's settled and we move on. But I hope there won't be a next time."
"All right, understood."
"The Master isn't angry with you. When all is said and done, it wasn't really your fault."
"Here. This is for you."
Lin Xuejin took the slip of paper and opened it. There was a single line.
*"Old Lin, you've lost one chance to ask me a question. And tell that old man — if he's still not satisfied, he's welcome to come debate me in person. I guarantee I'll leave him speechless, frothing at the mouth, and seriously injured!"*
Lin Xuejin smiled, carefully folded the note, and put it in his pocket.
"Miss Jinxiu, please come inside."
"Hold on — your old man isn't here, is he? Because if we run into each other again, I suspect one of our two parties is going to have to be carried out horizontal."
"My father and father-in-law have gone to Taoyuan Town. It seems you didn't cross paths on the road."
"What — he actually dared go to Taoyuan Town?"
"Indeed. I told him Master Zhao was extraordinarily, extraordinarily capable, but he wouldn't believe me and insisted on going to challenge him. What can I do? I'm his son."
"Ha ha! Old Lin, you do have good taste! Let's go — is Mengxuan here? It's been ages since I've seen her. I actually miss her quite a bit."
With that one remark, Lin Xuejin dissolved most of the sudden sense of distance that had crept in and restored the newcomers' regard for him.
Question: How does one win the approval of the Zhao household?
Answer: Simply praise Master Zhao without reservation. The more extravagant the praise, the stronger the approval.
Lin Xuejin had just delivered a textbook demonstration.