Making money, taking exams and supporting the family

chapter 58: The Truth of the Beginning 3

Liu Youtian spoke up, and the truth of the matter became clear.

In fact, the whole thing was not that complicated; it was really the Wei family’s own fault.

Initially, Wei Hongjue had no sons, so he thought about marrying off his daughter to improve the Wei family’s status. The chosen groom was close by, Ji Juren, a former student of Wei Hongjue.

In general, it would have been a good match for a teacher to marry his daughter to his former student. However, the problem was that Ji Juren was already married. He had married a woman from a poor family when he was young.

If it had been someone else, they probably would have given up. But Wei Hongjue was not really a truly noble and virtuous teacher, and Wei Yunying herself thought of herself as the daughter of a renowned teacher in Nanyang Town. If she could not become the wife of an official, she at least wanted to be the wife of a scholar.

Therefore, the Wei family coveted Ji Juren‘s fame and status, while Ji Juren coveted Wei Yunying’s youth and beauty, so they agreed to marry despite him already having a wife.

But could Ji Juren‘s first wife, who had endured hardships with him and finally seen some success, accept it? Why should she suffer while someone else reaped the benefits?

Ji’s first wife was a woman from the village, gentle but not weak. The Wei family insisted on marrying their daughter to her husband as a concubine, which naturally made her unhappy. She could not let the Wei family off easily.

So, Ji’s first wife bribed Liu Youtian, who had always resented Wei Hongjue, and conspired to arrange the incident of “drunkenly entering the women’s quarters.”

“We had arranged for someone else, but we didn’t expect Lin Xiucai to stumble in…”

So, was Lin Ze the one truly innocent and wronged in all of this?

Everyone looked at Lin Ze with great sympathy. Was he just incredibly unlucky or incredibly unlucky?

Lin Ze remained silent, understanding perfectly well in his heart.

No wonder Lin Jianwen was not afraid to follow them to the county yamen (government). It turns out they were just playing along, and no matter what he said, Lin Jianwen was always “accidentally” involved.

“Lin Xiucai, the guilt in the heart of this villain for falsely accusing you for many years is immense. I do not seek your forgiveness. I am willing to accept the punishment of the law, but I hope the gentleman will accept three bows from this villain. Please do not blame my family. This matter stems from my own resentment and greed for money, seeking revenge.”

Liu Youtian was indeed someone who dared to take responsibility and was clever.

Since he admitted it, he stopped being evasive and tried to bear the blame alone, seeking a way out for his family.

Lin Ze admired such a decisive and clever person. His main goal today was to clear his name, and if he achieved that, he would not be overly harsh. Besides, the real culprit behind his involvement in this turmoil was someone else.

“I only wish to clear my name today. I will accept any punishment according to the county magistrate’s judgment.”

Lin Ze nodded in agreement.

As long as the plaintiff did not pursue the matter further, what Liu Youtian did at most made him an accomplice, not enough to implicate his family.

When he sold himself to Master Wei as a steward, it was an informal agreement. According to the rules, he did sell himself, but his wife and children remained free, and Master Wei could not control them.