These three children were so blessed. How could they have two old people who loved them so dearly?

  Controlling death?

  There were only a few people on earth who delayed their death with their mental strength and will alone. If she had known, she would have wanted her master to be free earlier. There was no reason for her master to be in such agony just to allow the three children to have a nice birthday. “What kind of illness did my master have? Why is he so skinny?”

  The sight of Lin Yuankang lying in the coffin, with almost half of his shroud empty pierced through Qiao Nan’s heart.

  “Late-stage stomach cancer. The doctor said that it was really not easy for Uncle Lin to have persisted until today. Initially, the doctor had diagnosed Uncle Lin with a critical illness, meaning that Uncle Lin could not hold on for long. But Uncle Lin exceeded the doctor’s expectations by a whole month.”

  Zhai Sheng had arranged many things for Lin Yuankang personally.

  Unlike Old Master Zhai, Old Lin knew early on that he was about to pass on. He was pressing on solely for the three children. And as such, he had asked the caretaker auntie to prepare all the things that he knew he would need once he passed on.

  In this way, once Zhai Sheng appeared, he only had to take what was already there and helped Old Lin put on his shroud.

  On the other hand, Old Master Zhai gave no prior signs and suddenly passed on. When Tian Dong awoke, he immediately went out to buy the things that would be needed for the funeral without hesitation. Along the way, Tian Dong also informed his parents of Old Master Zhai’s passing.

  The Tian parents were taken aback and rushed down to the Zhai family house to help out.

  \r \r \r

  Be it Old Master Zhai or Old Lin, the passing of these two veteran revolutionaries was bound to evoke a huge reaction in the central committee, let alone their own families. Together with their neighbors, the central committee quickly sent cadres to the Lin family and the Zhai family to attend the funeral of these two veteran revolutionaries, who had made great contributions to China’s development.

  On the three children’s birthday the previous day, both Old Master Zhai and Old Lin had sensed each other’s situation, so before they both ‘left’, they had left behind instructions, which was to place their urns side by side so that they would have company.

  To lie alone with no company was such a cold and boring thing to do.

  With the two urns together, the wave after waves of people coming to commemorate the two elderly would pay their respects to one, and then the other. The four children stood two at each side. On Old Master Zhai’s side, just Miao Jing alone could make everyone cry. On Old Lin’s side, Qiao Nan remained silent, but everyone who saw her could feel a deep sense of sorrow.

  Very quickly, Deng Wenchang, who had received the news, came. Or rather, a few representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arrived.

  Lin Yuankang was the most senior in the early days of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It could be said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been founded by Old Lin himself.

  In the face of the death of their founder, it was impossible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to react. Amongst them, He Yi was the most sorrowful. Unlike Qiao Nan, he could not apply for leave to stand guard by Old Lin’s urn and send Old Lin on his final journey.

  So the best thing he could do to repay his master was to secure the position that his master had handed over to him. When the time was right, he believed that his junior, Qiao Nan, whom his master had taken a liking to, would be capable and powerful enough to take over.

  It was just that when He Yi arrived at the Zhai family’s house along with Deng Wenchang and another companion and bowed to pay their respects to the two deceased parties, Deng Wenchang’s expression changed. He had always known that his father and Peng Yu were hiding something from him. He also knew that the Qiao family and He Yi’s master seemed to be rather close.

  Initially, he had thought that He Yi was being kind to Qiao Nan because she lived next door to Old Lin.

  But just now, Deng Wenchang suddenly realized that Qiao Nan had become Old Lin’s disciple long ago. And because of such a relationship, Old Lin chose to purchase this house next door to Qiao Nan to live close to her, even though he already had countless other properties in the capital.

  Qiao Nan had such a close relationship with Old Lin. No wonder He Yi always looked at Qiao Nan in a different light, and Qiao Nan always had opportunities that he never had. Qiao Nan was his equal, but how could He Yi treat him and Qiao Nan equally?

  Everyone knew that the only reason He Yi could ascend to his position was that his master, Old Lin, had intervened and supported him. So this could also be an inheritance.

  The leaders in the central committee all respected Old Lin. After all, the people that Old Lin brought up were all capable and had never lost. They were perfectly strong and sensible. As such, who could be better to be the next minister of foreign affairs if not someone cultivated by Old Lin himself?

  But he thought back to his father always reminding him that it was not over and the victor was not decided yet. At that, Deng Wenchang let out a self-mocking smile.

  It was not decided yet?

  Not certain enough?

  Just based on Qiao Nan’s capabilities and her relationship with Old Lin, could there really be a ‘not certain enough’? Not unless the sun rose from the west and set in the east!

  At this point, the deeply saddened Qiao Nan was in no state of mind to care about how Deng Wenchang was looking at her. Now, Deng Wenchang acted as though he were in the office and looked at Qiao Nan like she was a fighting rooster, but Qiao Nan would not respond.

  Looking at the photo of his master on the altar, He Yi wiped his eyes. “Little junior, take care of your own health. I’m sure that master would want that for you. So for him to go peacefully, you and the three children must be well.”

  For He Yi, Old Lin had not left suddenly. Old Lin had hidden his illness from Qiao Nan, but He Yi had known about it. He had prepared himself, but he had not expected the day to come so suddenly.

  Knowing that the doctor had given Old Lin a death sentence, he had seen Old Lin survive pass the doctor’s expected death date by over twenty days. He Yi felt that Old Lin might even live through this year.

  Who knew……

  “Thank you, senior. I know.” Qiao Nan’s voice was hoarse as though she had contracted a bad cold. She could hardly speak.

  At this time, the lawyer that the caretaker auntie had mentioned, Shan Shan, arrived. Although she was late, she had still made it. “I’m so sorry. There was a massive jam on the road that I took. By the way, which of you is Qiao Nan? Before he passed on, Mr. Lin left a letter for me to pass to Qiao Nan.”

  “That would be me,” the kneeling Qiao Nan replied.

  “Hello, I’m the lawyer that Mr. Lin found before he passed on. There were some matters he entrusted to me. When would be a good time to announce Mr. Lin’s will?”