Chapter 521 That's just unfriendly.
Grandma Lin knew that she couldn't let Lin Zi say those words out loud, if she did that then her grandson's reputation would be dragged through the mud. Back then she sold Lin Zi to that old man because she wanted money to send her precious grandson to the academy, if Lin Che passed the county level exams and became an official such a thing wouldn't have mattered after all they sold Lin Zi for a good cause and that was to nurture a genius. But Lin Che failed and he has been failing ever since he started studying in the academy, if not for that skilled master who told her that her family will have an official in the coming years she would have already pulled Lin Che out of the academy. But now that she knew of the prediction that the old master gave her Grandma Lin couldn't pull Lin Che out of the academy nor could she let anyone taint his pristine image.
Thus, even if she wanted to fight Lin Zi to the end, she still backed down. " what do you want, Lin Zi?"
When the others saw that Grandma Lin was willing to retreat they knew that something wasn't right. After all, the old Madam Lin was a hard nut to crack she wouldn't go down just like that, she was more of an ' if I am going down I will take you down with me,' but right now she actually stopped fighting Lin Zi? Though they didn't know the exact facts, the villagers all understood that there was something shady with the marriage that Lin Zi had in the past.
Grandma Lin didn't know that her abrupt reaction actually made the villagers even more suspicious, all her attention was focused on Lin Zi who casually lifted her shoulder up and shrewdly said, " You heard me, I want to get out of the family. Now that sister in law is living the house then all the work will fall on me," she crossed her arms behind her neck and smirked. " I am not willing to be your slave anymore soooo, let me leave this family."
After listening to Lin Zi's words, Grandma Lin was so angry that her entire body convulsed, it was as if she was having an attack. But no one was sympathetic towards the old woman, at first, they thought that Grandma Lin was indeed upset about Lin Zi leaving the family but now it seemed like she was just upset about losing a free slave.
No wonder Lin Zi wanted to get out of this family.
Grandma Lin stared at Lin Zi as if she wanted to eat her alive. " are you sure you want this... Don't come regretting to me once you start starving on the streets.!"
Lin Zi raised her brows and shrugged, " Regret? I will never regret anything. I did give this family a chance to act like a bunch of decent human beings but" chuckling in amusement, Lin Zi sneered. "You guys showed me that animals can never ever act like humans."
"You.....!" Grandma Lin was stunned when she heard Lin Zi call her an animal, she was really gutsy huh? Does she think that she who was an abandoned woman worth something? Humph. Though Grandma Lin thought that it was a pity that Lin Zi was bent on leaving but she wasn't someone who would beg her daughter! She wanted to leave then she was free to be her guest. " Fine, we will sign the separation documents right now and you can get out of this animalistic family at once!"
" Aunt—" An Xia has just begun to speak when Grandma Lin interrupted her. " What are you worried about? Isn't there young master Xing? As long as we take good care of him, he will treat our family well."
An Xia's face was twisted. Lord Xing? This family was still thinking of latching on to Xing Bengt's thigh? Wasn't giving that useless Lin Ze a job already a good enough grace? Now they wanted someone to take care of their household as well?
Though An Xia's entire face was shrouded with dark mist, Grandma Lin didn't pay attention to her. She wasn't the only one who was lazy in the family, An Xia was the same. As long as she wanted to live comfortably, An Xia would definitely ask for some workers, thus Grandma Lin wasn't that much worried, she easily signed the separation document and then threw it at Lin Zi like she was a queen of a realm or something.
Lin Zi knew why her mother was acting like that and sneered. ' act as arrogantly as you want, Su Wan and my nephews already knows about Xing Bengt, just you wait. We will see who will regret first.'
Though Lin Zi thought like this, she didn't say anything to Grandma Lin and walked out of the house with Zhang Xiaohui after picking up the document that grandma Lin has thrown on the ground.
As the two of them walked out towards Lin Jing and Su Wan who was waiting for them, Grandma Lin shouted behind them. " Don't you dare to come back, even if you are dying or starving, don't come back to our house!"
" Now that's just unfriendly," said Lin Zi as she shook her head in disappointment.
" Totally," said Su Wan as she watched Grandma Lin shut the door on their faces after she sent Village head Luo away just after Lin Zi and Zhang Xiaohui came out.
" Aunt Zhang give that to me, it seems heavy," said Lin Jing as he watched Zhang Xiaohui carry the cloth bag in her hand. Actually, the bag wasn't heavy at all but Zhang Xiaohui's entire arm was filled with red welts. Anyone with eyes could see that she was beaten by a heavy stick every day.
Zhang Xiaohui felt awkward she was really guilty of acting like a bully to these kids. Look at them worrying about her while her own kids silently watched her get beaten, though she was feeling awkward, Zhang Xiaohui still handed her bag to Lin Jing. As Lin Jing took her bag, Zhang Xiaohui mumbled hurriedly, " Sorry and thank you." It wasn't that she was embarrassed to say thank you but she felt like she wasn't deserving of their forgiveness.
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Chapter 522 Abandoned woman
After everything was settled the group of five returned home, while they were walking towards their house.. a lot of Vila pointed and whispered behind Zhang Xiaohui's back.
" Shh, have you heard that Zhang Xiaohui divorced her husband?"
" Really? I thought it was a rumour but looking at her now, it looks like she was indeed kicked out of her house, or why else Lin Jing would be carrying such a big cloth bag with him?"
" She is really something, to divorce at such an old age is she not scared of losing her face? Who will accept an old baggage like her? Is she going to live the rest of her life alone?"
" Sigh~ what else do you think will happen to her? No matter who was in the wrong, she is an abandoned woman after all. No matter what happens from now on, her fate would never get better, she will have to spend the rest of her life all alone, I don't know what she was thinking, even if she was beaten by her husband and mother in law at least she had a family who will look after her, now what? Is she going to be a burden on her brother and her nephews? That's not right, is it?"
Abandoned woman...burden... baggage. Though these words weren't even pointed at Su Wan the latter's face was turning darker and darker because these were the exact same thing she was called when she went through the divorce. After her divorce from her husband, suddenly she became an abandoned old baggage that no one wanted but that bastard husband of hers was a f*cking Prince Charming as he was able to marry another woman just a few weeks after their divorce. What a joke, she became an abandoned woman and her husband was still on the market just because he was a man? Just because she went through a divorce does it means that her life was going to end?
The more Su Wan listened the more her expression turned frigid, she turned her head and glared at the women who were gossiping despite seeing that Zhang Xiaohui's entire complexion has gone pallid. " What do you mean by that? We don't have a problem bringing her home and I am quite sure that even Aunt Zhang's brother would have a problem with her staying at his house! So what if she divorced her husband? Does a woman need to stay with a cheating man just because he is her husband? Why? Is he the f*cking air that she is breathing? Or he is the sun that if he doesn't rise from the bed his wife would die? Get your facts right, it's not Aunt Zhang who was abandoned, it's that cheating man who was abandoned! And I want to tell you all before you start wagging your tongues, that a commoner can't keep another woman next to him while his wife is still alive, alright? What that man did was a crime!"
The group of gossipy women exchanged a few looks with each other and walked away, however after walking a few paces down, their nasty voices once again travelled over to them.
" What is she getting angry for? A woman who can't even keep her husband can't be even considered a woman was there anything wrong with what we said?"
" Ignore her that girl always had her own brazen ideas."
"Humph, an abandoned woman, a widow and a shared wife- all of them are birds of the same feather of course they will flock together. Hahaha."
" You bitch...!" Lin Zi was so angry that she took off her shoe and hurled it at the women, hitting one of them right at the back of her head. " What are you running away for? If you have the guts, come here and say it to my face! I swear once I am done dealing with you, even your mother won't recognise you!"
The group of women of course didn't dare to stop, they all started to run even faster without even looking back once.
" F*cking cowards." spat Lin Zi as she turned to Zhang Xiaohui and poked her forefinger in Zhang Xiaohui's forehead. " and you- didn't you have a lot of guts before? Why did you not say anything now? Are you deaf or mute?"
Zhang Xiaohui clenched her fingers as she licked her lips and said, " I was going to scold them but I didn't know what to say, they weren't wrong either, I am after all an abandoned woman, my husband left me for someone else, how am I supposed to fight them?"
" Like you used to fight reasonably before?" jeered Lin Zi as she rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaohui.
Su Wan scoffed. " What do you mean by an abandoned woman? Just you wait, if that man didn't come crawling to you in a few months you can change my name!"
When she said that her lips were curled into a scary smile that made Lin Jing and Lin Chen shiver, no matter what happens in the future they will never wrong their wife angry or else she was going to make them crawl like their uncle one day! Not that they had any thought of wronging her but still it was better to be safe than sorry.
The group of five reached their house without any further incident and Su Wan brimming with anger immediately rushed to her uncles who were sipping on their tea. " Eldest uncle, second uncle! Did you two finish Xing Bengt and his family? Are they dealt with?"
Shen Junxi was just going to leisurely sip his tea but when he saw that his dear niece's face was red immediately stopped what he was doing and placed his teacup on the table as he hurriedly said, " of course, their family is dealt with. They will never dare to find trouble with us, but what happened why are you so upset?"
Su Wan sneered as she took a seat and poured herself some calming tea. " What else? Old madam Lin was so arrogant right now, if I don't teach her a good lesson who will—"
She was just going to continue when someone dropped something on the ground with a loud bang.
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Chapter 523 A new development
Actually, a lot of things happened at the same time, Lin Yan who was working in the kitchen came out to look at what was going on but just as he walked out, someone came running and knocked into him. Lin Yan who was carrying a bucket of dirty water in his hands stumbled and dropped the bucket on the ground, as for the person who knocked into him has already rushed past him and was standing in front of Lin Zi like a dog who has found his master at last. " Sister Zi, it's you!"
Lin Zi who entered the house after Su Wan was surprised when a pup like a man came rushing to meet her, she looked at her nephews and carefully tried to remember whether she has forgotten one of them but even after carefully looking at the man in front of her, she knew that she this man in front of her was not one of her nephews, in the end, she stopped thinking and carefully asked, " do I know you?"
Fang Zimo's face turned red as he nodded his head. " Sister Zi, you might not remember me but when you were married, I once came to your house for a banquet and ended up falling from the stairs because someone pushed me, back then you were the one who helped me. You even treated my injuries."
While he was saying all this, his face was getting redder and redder.
Everyone who was watching: "..." ohho, new development and here I /we thought that this guy was a fruity.
" Oh, it's you?" Lin Zi had no recollection of Fang Zimo's face but when Fang Zimo pointed it out so carefully to her, she finally remembered. There was indeed a boy that she helped once after he fell from the stairs. She nodded at him since Lin Zi wasn't used to smiling and said. " you have grown up a lot? The last time, I didn't know that you were friends with my nephews that's why I asked you to call me sister. That was kind of rude of me, you can call me aunt just like my nephews do."
Fang Zimo: "...."
Su Wan and the nephews: "....." ah, this aunt was a blockhead. Wasn't she?
Fang Zimo's entire face turned purple, no one knew whether it was because of anger or embarrassment but he just stared at Lin Zi teary-eyed and rushed back inside. ' Call sister Zi, aunt? He refused.'
Everyone watched him go and then turned to look at Lin Zi who frowned and nodded like she understood something. Just as everyone in the courtyard thought she went through her breakthrough, Lin Zi opened her mouth and said, " Oh, looks like the boy was really happy that he got the permission to call me aunt!"
Everyone: "...." You call that happy? Just how blind are you?
———
" I don't know who that blind girl is who trusted the wrong man and let him mess with our shops' products," said a salesgirl as she sat on her bed in the servants' quarters at the Zhimei and complained, " Because of her now all of us are going to get into trouble, the old manager was already fired since he couldn't manage the shop properly and turned a blind eye to suspicious people coming in and out and the new manager Li is just too strict, I heard she has been sniffing around to look for the culprit ever since she was appointed. If the manager was sacked for such a small reason I fear to think what will happen to that girl who invited this trouble to our shop."
" She would be sent to Yamen, what else?" Answered her friend with a contemptuous smirk. " Even the manager was sacked off who do you think that girl is? Humph, I already told them that they should stop dreaming and pay attention to work properly but instead they all turned around and went ahead to secretly look for this man and that, now see what happened. One by one all of them are being brought to being questioned and their men who promised that they will look after them all their life, they are declining their relationship with the girls before even entering the office, tsk tsk- and yet those men were the ones who promised that they will redeem them."
The two girls' voices weren't at all small and of course everyone who was sitting inside the quarters could hear what they were saying but the thing was those who were raging were in the wrong and those who were calm thought that whatever the girls were saying was indeed the truth because of these women all of their jobs were on the line. If they could simply save a little of their savings and redeemed themselves! And what was the hurry to quit? Wasn't their boss and big boss nice? Their big boss Su even gave bonuses to them from time to time, compared to other shops their conditions were a lot better but these girls just had to be greedy!
" You! Who are you scolding?" One of the girls who was seeing a man stood up. Her face was red as she glared at the two girls.
" We were speaking to whoever just spoke!"s replied one of the girls viciously. " The boss is so nice and our salary is good too but because of you foolish women we are on the verge of being sacked off! Three hundred copper coins, just to smile and greet the customers, and yet you guys weren't happy? What was the rush? Were you all dying with heat that you looked for men in such a hurry? Now all because of you guys the shop is going to be closed and even if it's not going to be closed, who knows whether or not we will be hired again, you all ate our jobs and now we aren't even allowed to say anything is that it?"
" exactly not only did they look for men, but they also chose the worst kind possible, only a few stayed and the rest heh-if I were you, I wouldn't even show my face here again!"
" You!" The girl who was being scolded was named Jian Yiyi, because she was fair and had a decent appearance she was much more arrogant compared to the rest. She believed that even if she was sold off as a slave there will be a day when she will be able to live a better life! Yet, she was cheated off! No, she refused to believe she was cheated! Anger flared in her heart as she rushed out.
Surprisingly the gates weren't closed, Jian Yiyi ran out because she was in a fluster, she didn't even look behind the two figures that stepped out from the corners.
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Chapter 524 Got you
Jian Yiyi rushed to the shop where her lover worked, ever since the shop was shut down, she and the rest of the servants couldn't even leave the scrutiny of manager Li who was strict and overbearing, that woman didn't even listen to their sobbing complaints where they asked her to let them go out of the shop. But manager Li didn't listen to a thing they had to say and simply scolded them back to return to their quarters. Jian Yiyi was upset, she didn't believe that her man would be willing to cheat on her, she was beautiful and her wits were a lot sharper than the other girls who were working with her in the shop. There was no way that the smart and charming her would be cheated on right?
Jian Yiyi was confident in herself thus, she was certain that something must have gone wrong with her man and nothing else. So, she rushed to the Xing Carpentry shop full of concern and worry for her lover but as she walked past the carpentry shop and entered the alley next to it, headed to the usual spot where she used to meet her lover. Jian Yiyi found an incredible scene playing in front of her, her lover whom she trusted and loved so much was actually hugging another woman as he teased and pinched her here and there, the sight seemed to have burnt itself in her mind as she let out a hair raising scream, " XIAO WU!"
The man called Xiao Wu jumped and so did the woman in his arms, and in synchronisation, the two turned to look at Jian Yiyi who was panting with rage. Seeing Jian Yiyi standing in front of him, Xiao Wu's face blanched. ' what the hell? What was this woman doing here? Shouldn't she have been sold off to another human trader by now?'
These were Xiao Wu's thoughts but he obviously didn't say them out loud, instead of saying anything that might cause misunderstanding between his lover and him, he hurriedly cleared his throat and shouted back. " Who are you? Why are you screaming my name?"
When Jian Yiyi heard this, she felt like the sky has fallen on her. Was this man serious? She lost her livelihood because of him and now he was in the arms of another woman and actually dared to ask her, who she was?
But Jian Yiyi was a woman not to be trifled with either, she was someone who could love someone to death and lift them to high heavens but she was also very clear-headed when she was bent on taking revenge. She sneered as she rolled her sleeves, " who am I? Haha, do you think that I, Jian Yiyi, am someone you can play with Xiao Wu? If you are not going to think about me, then just wait! I will not let you have a good life either." With that, she flung her sleeves around and turned to leave but just as she took three steps, two men who were hiding in the shadows came out.
" Ah, Xiao Wu... you have been hiding yourself so well, I was going to get bored to death while looking for you," said Lin Yu as he limped over to the thin and dark man, his lips bent in a cruel sneer. " You did a damn good job but too bad, in the end, you were caught by us."
Xiao Wu's eyes spurned as he took a step back and plastered a flattering smile. " Master ...masters, I .. . I don't understand what you are trying to say? Hide? Why will I hide? I didn't do anything wrong haha—"
Though he was saying this, sweat was dripping down his forehead. He didn't think that he would be caught, several servants were working in the shop and as long as Jian Yiyi kept her mouth shut in the fear of getting caught, everything would have drowned under dust, but this woman! She just had to ruin this for him, can't she stay in her servant's quarters and just bow her head low?
Lin Rui smiled as he gently walked over to Xiao Wu and dipped his head so that he was staring right in the eyes of the culprit who has snatched the sleep from their nights. " Don't worry we help you remember everything." Then he snapped the half-moon fan in his hands close and chopped it right at Xiao Wu's neck. The latter slumped against him as Lin Rui helped him up, then turning to the woman next to him, he softly whispered with a smile, " Young missy, I hope that when you go out, you will very patiently and nicely explain to the workers in the shop that your dear Xiao Wu caught a bug in his stomach and ended up getting diarrhoea."
" Of course, you can shout for help," said Lin Yu from behind her with a sunny smile on his face like a little cute bunny. However, the next second that sunny smile turned to a thin, threatening smile. " if you wish to suffer along with him."
The woman liked Xiao Wu because the man was swift, smart and had a nice salary. Though her fondness for him wasn't small it hasn't exceeded to the level where she would be willing to live and die with him and what was more she was more and less assured that something was going on between Xiao Wu and the girl who just came rushing to confront him, even if Xiao Wu refused to admit that he knew the girl with tactfully, the woman wasn't a fool either. Seeing that Xiao Wu has done something so stupid as to offend someone he shouldn't have, she hurriedly nodded and ran out of the alley.
Lin Rui and Lin Yu didn't pay any attention to that woman with one glance they knew that the woman was a smart one, she wouldn't make a rookie mistake such as screaming and grabbing the attention for a man who wasn't even loyal to her.
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Chapter 525 Double the trouble THUMP.
Lin Rui dropped the sack that he has been carrying on his shoulder and huffed. " This man doesn't look like he weighs much but he is really heavy." He rolled his shoulder as if he was worried it was going to get dislocated.
Lin Chen hurried over to the sack and untied the rope before dropping the man on the floor and looking at him with an attentive gaze. " I have never seen this man in my entire life, when did he mix things up in the products?"
Lin Yu rolled his eyes as he sat down on the rock table and poured himself some tea to quench his parched throat. " do you think he is so stupid as to come in the shop and mess with the products in your presence? He came when you weren't in the shop but in your office, he would often come to the shop and would ask that girl name Jian Yiyi to show him this and that from the counter and the girl was such a fool in love that she used to agree and show him the products that he wanted to see. He used her trust and then added something to the products, as for what he used to add- we will have to wait for him to wake up."
And as soon as Lin Yu said this the man on the floor mumbled something before rolling on his back. As soon as he turned around on the hard floor his head fell down with a flump on Lin Chen's shoes causing the man's eyes to twitch and snap open. At first, the man was disoriented, he didn't understand where he was or what he was doing but when Lin Chen's grinning face came into focus, he jolted awake trying to scurry away from him. " You...Young master Chen why did you bring me here? I don't think we have any feud between us?"
Lin Chen chuckled as he took a threatening step forward and almost stepped his shoes right in the centre of the crotch of Xiao Wu. " Are you sure about that?"
Xiao Wu was scared stiff when he saw that Lin Chen was actually willing to harm him, he shuddered as he recoiled his legs and covered his crotch. " You..you can't hurt me. There is no way you are going to hurt me!"
Lin Chen smiled as he swooped down and knotted Xiao Wu's hair in his fist before pulling the strands as if he was trying to rip Xiao Wu's brain out of his skull. " You should have thought that before you tried to harm me and my family's shop, don't try to deny it because we know it you, we have investigated every other man who was hooking up with the girls in my shop... and they all are clear, only you alone don't have a clean background nor do you have an alibi."
Actually, it was all a lie. The brothers didn't have the time to deal with every man who was dating this or that, they were just waiting for someone's patience to run out. And Jian Yiyi did, it was such a coincidence that she was one of those who insisted that she was dating someone from her village and yet it turned out that she was dating a man from the Xing family's shop with a criminal record of stealing and causing a ruckus in the bar for not being able to pay the debt he owed them.
Even if there was someone else who was on their suspect list the brothers would still have placed their best bet on Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's face changed when he heard Lin Chen, now he was upset and angry at his stupidity. He knew it, he should have left the town and taken a long break in his village. Anyway, the money that master Xing paid him was enough for him to buy a few farmlands and live a free life. He was the one who got greedy for a wife from the town and didn't leave when he had the time to, now he was going to regret it. However, he wasn't willing to give up either, he smiled as he said, " my master won't let me go to the jail, he will surely protect me."
" Oh bless his poor heart," said Su Wan as she came out to the front yard after settling Aunt Zhang and second aunt Lin in her room. The guest rooms of their house were full and she had no choice but to settle the two women in her room, as for her she would just start sharing rooms with her husbands. " He still thinks that his master will save him."
Lin Chen grinned as he immediately rushed to Su Wan when he saw that the latter sat down next to Lin Yu and started to massage her shoulders. " Yeah, he still has hope for his master."
Listening to the two of them play the same tune, Xiao Wu got scared he looked at them as a bad feeling rose in his heart. " You...what did you do?"
Shen Zizhen snorted lightly. " What else? Just gave him a taste of his own medicine."
——
Turns out the taste of Xing Bengt's own medicine was really bitter. Three days later, complaints started to get filed against the Xing carpenters for using poor quality materials in their furniture. But the situation accelerated on the fourth day when the bed of an official wife's cracked and splintered. The official's wife was with a child and the sudden accident startled her and caused her to go into early labour, though the child and the mother were fine, the official was enraged. He immediately started an investigation against Xing Bengt and brought out the matter of them silencing their workers in their backyard and all the tax invasion they have done under their power.
All of a sudden one after another misfortune fell on the Xing family and they became a family of streets rats that everyone avoided from a versatile bunch of businessmen.
Even Xing Bengt was going crazy. So, why in the hell, will he worry about a menial servant?
But it didn't matter, even if Xing Bengt didn't care doesn't mean that the Lin family didn't care as well, after the second final nail was hammered into the Xing family's coffin, they took Xiao Wu to the Yamen and filed a complaint against Xing Bengt for intentional injury and damage to their customers and shop.
And When Xing Bengt heard about it, he felt as if he ended up inviting the devil.
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Chapter 526 Got you.
When Xing Bengt heard from the yamen, he was so shocked that his world started to swing around. At first, he was confused as to why things became like this, though it was true that he and his family used substandard wood in their furniture but that was only for the poor! The one who had no connections and no authority as for the high officials, the wood that they used has always been fine so how can the bed that was sent to the Huo family be substandard? There was no possibility of something like this happening unless someone tried to make things difficult for him deliberately.
Xing Bengt was furious, he was the young master of the Xing family and never before did he run into any hard wall before but this man named Lin Chen not only turned out to be a hard wall but he was also a damn hard wall to crack! He used so many schemes and plans to make sure that this matter was never traced back to him, he even sent that servant who was responsible for seducing the girl and mixing that slow-acting poison in the perfumes. But Lin Chen actually tracked that servant boy down and even linked the matter to him.
Now, what was he supposed to do? Xing Bengt nervously paced around his room. He wanted to get out of this mess as soon as possible, the official named Huo Ci was already proving enough trouble as it was. He was actually pursuing the matter to the point where he was demanding their family to be given a death sentence! He was still young only twenty-five and he was facing a death charge, if the matter of causing harm to those young mistresses was also linked down to him then he wouldn't be able to save his neck no matter how hard he tried to flail his legs and hands! He will be dead no matter what! At least right now his family still had a chance to turn the tides around but if Lin Chen really dragged him down in this case then he wouldn't be able to say ' I didn't' before he would be dragged to the beheading ground.
That Huo Ci was watching their family like a hawk if they made even the slightest mistake,l he would chomp down their necks until neither of them would be able to get out of this...Xing Bengt nibbled on his nails. What should he do? Should he run away? But how was he supposed to run away? Even their house was being guarded by that Huo Ci's soldiers!
" Young master the Yamen officers are asking you to hurry up." One of the servants who were responsible for helping Xing Bengt hurried over to his room and called him. The servants were really scared, this time, it was not just a small matter that could be swept under the rug, if they weren't careful enough, they too would be dragged by their masters! Yamen officers visiting their house twice in just a week! Was this a f*cking joke? Of course, it wasn't!
If Xing Bengt ran away, then he would be the one the Yamen officers would be dragged to the prison! In the end, even though the helper boy was scared of Xing Bengt, he still tried to make Xing Bengt hurry.
" I know!" snapped Xing Bengt. He was feeling more and more irritable ever since his family was caught in this mess and what was more he couldn't help but feel that the servants of his house were now looking at him with questioning gazes. Those side-eye looks and the haunting whispers — they were annoying the heck out of him and now this!
Though Xing Bengt was angry, he could only rush out of his room and take the carriage to the yamen with the officers who were with him.
When he arrived at the building of Yamen, he hurried inside and sure enough, he saw Xiao Wu kneeling on the ground. His heart swelled with even more anger, he has given so much money to this man- he just needed to return home and do absolutely nothing yet this stupid fool!
Xiao Wu could sense that his young master was angry and immediately shrank his neck. It wasn't as if he was dancing in front of these men and got caught, so why was his young master getting angry at him? If only he didn't offend these men then would something like this happen?
However, no matter what Xiao Wu was thinking in his head, he didn't say anything. At the moment he decided to see things clearly before he decided on something—
Xing Bengt didn't know that Xiao Wu was actually planning something in his cunning head, instead, he plastered a flattering smile on his face and approached the Yamen head who was looking grim. " Good day, my lord. How did you remember this servant of yours?"
The Yamen head glanced at Xing Bengt and then glanced at Lord Fei who was calmly sipping his tea. At first, he wanted to smooth things over for Xing Bengt after all he was the son of his friend but after watching Lord Fei's stance it was clear, that he wasn't here to negotiate but instead he was here to deliver the final blow to the Xing family's coffin.
" Young master, Xing. The matter is like this- the Lin family is here to file a complaint against your shop's servant. According to them, this servant deliberately tried to harm their shop's prestige and their customers. What's your stance on this matter, would you like to clarify what's going on here?"
What stance can Xing Bengt have other than refusing? " My lord, How am I supposed to know why this servant dared to do such a thing? He was the one who was responsible then shouldn't you ask him why he did that? After all what feud do I have with Brother Lin and his family? His shop isn't in the same business as mine!"
When he said this, Xing Bengt warningly glared at Xiao Wu, asking him not to open his beak.
" You.. da.. my dear lord Xing, how can you say something like that so carelessly?" Lin Chen was furious when he saw that Xing Bengt has refused to have any relations with the matter. He wanted to scold Xing Bengt and his seven generations before threatening him to say the truth but then his waist was harshly pinched by Su Wan who was standing beside him, yeah- how can he forget the plan? They were supposed to act like victims here, what kind of victims cursed and threaten their culprit? So, he could only simmer his voice down and smile gently as he continued, " Your servant boy confessed that it was you who ordered him to do that, In fact, even I wanted to know how exactly did I offend you, I am just a small shopkeeper in the town. And I haven't even met you before this, so why did you scheme against me like this?"
While he was saying this, he even pulled a pitiful expression as he looked at Xing Bengt who was turning blue from anger. How did he offend him? How can he not offend him after doing what he did! Not only did he snatch his woman from him but he also called out to his dignity as a man! How can he suffer such an offence silently? However, Xing Bengt couldn't mention the incident that caused him to go against Lin Chen, so he could only stifle his anger as he said, " That's what I said, I don't even know you, young master Lin. S, why will I go against you? It must be the servant's fault— maybe he was offended by something that you did or said, I can assure you that I did not ask this man to do any harm to you."
' Got you' snickered Lin Chen inwardly, before Xing Bengt's arrival the Yamen officers have already told Xiao Wu that if he was proven guilty that he would be sentenced to death but if he was ordered by someone then he would only get life imprisonment.
— p.s : I broke my wrist in a two wheeler accident and had to release the pre written chapter. It's not good but I will try to write a better one.
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Chapter 528 How can you be so cruel?
Xing Bengt was tongue-tied, he looked at the Yamen chief in shock. This was his good uncle, the one who played with him when he was a child but yet now he was actually pushing him to the edge of the cliff? Why?
How can Xing Bengt understand that the chief wasn't pushing him? It was him who started everything, he was the one who chased after a woman he shouldn't have, nor he should have tried to force himself on her and when he was caught, he should have accepted the matter as it was and just let it go. But he was bent on making it bigger and bigger until it could no longer be controlled.
"Chief——"
" Xing Bengt, you will be releasing your apology to the public on the execution ground just before your execution." said The Yamen Chief who looked away from Xing Bengt's face, he was the son of his good friend and of course, it was downright hurtful for him to watch this child whom he watched grow up but this matter was no longer in his hands. Young master Huo's frame and power were not something that he could go against, and neither could he save Xing Bengt from Lord Fei's wrath who was backing the Lin Family. It was clear that even if he didn't give out the order, Lord Fei might actually have the Emperor write it down, no one was unaware of Lord Fei's power in the imperial court. It was said that in the imperial court you can offend the Emperor once and yet somehow manage to escape with your life but in case one offended Lord Fei, this great Buddha that the Emperor respected a lot then even God cannot save that man. " Your execution is three days later, you can think of an apology by then."
Think of an apology? F*ck this! He was going to die and yet he has to write an apology? Does that mean he has to agonise on this matter even in his death? Doesn't it mean that even his death was going to be embarrassing? He didn't want to! " No, Yamen Chief. You can't do this to me! I know I was at fault but I am still young, I can learn from this matter and become a good human, why do you have to do something like this to me? Don't give me such a heavy punishment! I ... I can compensate them..how about that?"
When Yamen Chief didn't say anything, Xing Bengt turn to Lin Chen as he anxiously shouted, " Lin Chen don't be so cruel to me, alright? Why don't we settle this matter in private? You have already heard that I am going to be executed no matter what so why don't you let go of this matter? At least let me die with some dignity intact...if I apologise to you, then—— then the public will spit on my name even after my death!! See, I have accepted my death already so why not let me go?"
Lin Chen was so furious that he wanted to punch Xing Bengt, let him go? If he let him go then who was going to let him go? " F*ck Xing Bengt! Can't you be so disgusting? You added poison to my products, and even left me to suffer, if Karma didn't bite your ass you would have silently stood by the side and watched my family suffer right? Even if we were executed you wouldn't have come forward to clear this matter right? Now that you are caught, you want me to forgive you? Why don't you tell me how will I ask forgiveness from my customers who got hurt because of you? If you won't clarify then who will?"
Xing Bengt was speechless, he was already facing execution—— and yet Lin Chen was being so hardhearted to him. If this goes on then—— " Lin Chen! Do you really have to be so cruel?" shouted Xing Bengt as his back started sweating crazily, right now he was regretting his decision to corner Lin Chen, this guy and his family—— they really didn't know any fear! They actually went to such limits to get even with him! " I am already going to die! Why can't you just let me die peacefully? At least show some humanity to me at my last moments——"
"Who are you shouting at?"Su Wan, who already had enough of Xing Bengt, immediately stepped forward courageously and shouted back, " Did my husband ask you to add that poison to our products? Did he ask you to go against us? Did he ask you to think of such a rotten plan? No, right then why are you asking my husband to forgive you? Have you done anything to get his forgiveness? Xing Bengt doesn't be so thick-skinned! Forgiveness is earned not given, and since you can't do that, you are shouting at my husband? Who gave you the guts to? Even I don't dare to scold him with such a loud voice, how dare you use that tone with my husband?"
Before Xing Bengt could finish speaking, Su Wan retaliated against him so bad that he was completely speechless. In the end, he couldn't say anything and the Lin Family simply left the Yamen office ignoring the resentful glare of Xing Bengt. The news of Xing Bengt being the one behind the Zhimei rash case was leaked out of the Yamen before his execution, once this news was known to the general public, everyone was even more furious.
Especially the young misses who suffered so much because of this cruel merchant. And when the day of Xing Bengt's execution arrived, these young misses rushed to the execution grounds and pelted Xing Bengt who was reading his apology in the middle of his family's beheaded corpses with rotten eggs and rotten tomatoes. Just as Xing Bengt worried even his death was extremely embarrassing, his name was spat on for days after his death.
But of course, this happened in the future.
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Xing Bengt: pelt me with eggs!
Lin Chen: Pelt me with comments and power stones baby girl! And I will send you a flying kiss ;*
author san: come back here you flirt!! Don't corrupt my sweet readers' mind
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Chapter 529 Cantaloupe seeds.
Of course, no one from the Lin family was worried about what was going to happen to Xing Bengt, the man was evil himself and though it was a pity that even the wives and the children were going to be executed along with him, there wasn't much they could do about it, such was the law and their family had no way to plead for those who weren't guilty.
" I will say goodbye to you guys here," said Lord Fei as soon as he stepped out of the Yamen, with an apologetic smile, he looked at Su Wan. " I am sorry, my dear but your grandmother's sickness has flared up again and I can't leave her alone at the moment."
After her birthday banquet madam, Fei fell sick because she was over exhausted. Though she managed to stay warm and avoided the risk of catching a chill, her body was fragile, to begin with, and during her birthday banquet, she went against the doctor's orders and pushed herself to entertain everyone who came to congratulate her, of course, Lord Fei tried to stop her but his wife was adamant saying that she wanted to make the most out of what was left of her life, her words had been upsetting but in the end what she said was the truth, the two of them were already so old, it was just a matter of days when one of them——
Lord Fei was still thinking about it when Su Wan walked toward him and took his wrinkled hands in hers. " Grandpa what are you saying? Do you really take us as outsiders? Why will you apologise for such a thing? Just like you, I too am worried about Grandma, if not for you stopping me I would have already shifted to your house to take care of grandma."
Su Wan's words were sincere, she was indeed really worried about Madam Fei's health. The old madam was really too frail, she only stepped out of her room for six hours and yet she ended up falling sick and that too so badly that it has been more than a month. Su Wan wanted to meet madam Fei and check up on her, though she was no doctor, she could still help madam Fei recuperate but the Fei mansion had so many servants and a physician as well, compared to her they were the ones who were professional that was why Su Wan never really insisted to Lord Fei to bring her to madam Fei, after all, it was madam Fei who refused to see her apparently the woman had a childish temper and was very particular about her looks, she didn't want to let Su Wan see her when she was lying on the bed, looking like a mess—— thus, the delay.
" Aiye, I have said the same to your grandma." Lord Fei shook his head when he remembered the childish temper his wife threw at him when he told her that he wanted their granddaughter to move into their house and take care of her. His wife only heard half of what he wanted to say and then exploded calling him a scheming man—— saying how he wanted to take advantage of the situation and win their granddaughter over to his side, he could still hear her ringing voice in his head.
' Old Fei you are very good! I knew it, you are trying to make an impression on our granddaughter by showing this messy and ugly side of me? But let me tell you that's never going to happen!'
(Read-only on webnovel-don't read on pirated sites)
Lord Fei had a headache that day, he tried to talk nicely to his wife but the latter was just not willing to listen to him. In the end, he was the one who had no choice but to listen to her.
Su Wan smiled, she knew her grandmother's feisty and childish temper. She had once gone to the Fei mansion to look for madam Fei, but this grandmother of hers was really —— naughty, she hid under the bed and told her handmaiden to tell Su Wan that she wasn't at home back then Su Wan was standing right in front of her room. But since she didn't want to embarrass the old lady, she simply left the chicken porridge that she cooked in the hand of Madam Fei's maid and leave. "It's alright, Grandfather but in case Grandmother changes her mind remember to call me, I will be there as soon as I can."
" Good child," patting Su Wan's silky hair, Lord Fei praised her and while he was praising her, he sensed five incensed gazes directed at him. When he looked up he was surprised to see that the five Lin brothers were staring at his hand enviously——
Lord Fei: "..." was this necessary? It was after all just a head pat!
But he didn't comment on it, after staying with the Lin brothers for so long, he knew that they would even get jealous of a male cat, at least he was still human. " Oh, Wan Wan before I forget——here you go" taking out a crisp packet that smelled of the ocean, Lord Fei handed it to Su Wan.
When Su Wan took a look inside the package, her eyes started to shine with excitement. What else can it be but melon seeds!
" I didn't know what kind you wanted so I had my men pick one packet of every kind," explained Lord Fei. " Since its summer, they are quite popular, so it wasn't trouble, to get the seeds of the crane, cantaloupe and honeydew—— these are the new ones that just started to sell, so I had these picked up for you, but the shopkeeper warned me that it won't be easy to take care of these. If you want to grow sweet and juicy cantaloupes, you need to take care proper care of them."
Su Wan smiled as she nodded. " Don't worry Grandpa, just wait, I will grow the sweetest cantaloupes!"
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Chapter 530 Making babies.
Su Wan was fairly confident in growing a nice batch of cantaloupes—-umm, melons. She was used to farming with her grandma when she lived in the countryside after her father abandoned her there, most of Su Wan's time was used up in farming and learning how to cook with her grandmother. Thus, she wasn't afraid of failure.
Seeing that she was confident, Lord Fei said nothing, he raised his hand to bid goodbye but then Su Wan gasped as she clapped her hands. " Oh no, how can I forget!" after exclaiming this so suddenly, she rushed to the carriage in which Lin's family arrived here and took out a wooden tiffin that she asked Lin Jing to make. " Grandfather, here. I cooked some abalone porridge for grandma, eldest uncle told me that grandma likes to eat this the most."
Lord Fei was really amused, this child, even though her family was in such big trouble she never forgot to send a packed lunch to his wife who has gotten used to Su Wan's cooking but was too shy to say it. He only mentioned it once yet the Su Wan has been sending boxed lunches without missing a single day. The girl was really too filial for her own good, it was just too bad that not everyone was fortunate enough to be treated like this, he smiled as he took the lunch box. " I won't say a no to this, you have spoiled your grandmother so much that she doesn't even like eating the cooking of those imperial chefs. Sometimes I really wonder whether you are a little nymph or something."
Su Wan just smiled and didn't say anything, it wasn't that she was a little nymph or the imperial chefs were lacking it was just that she has learned the skills of the five-star chefs and combined with the fresh and pure cooking materials, she was able to cook such delicacies. Lord Fei took the lunch box and bid goodbye, the Lin family too got in their carriage and returned home. They all have already put this matter in the past and decided to move on.
When they arrived at their house, the entire courtyard was fragrant with the scent of meat. Lin Chen who could finally feel the hungry worms in his stomach once again, sniffed the air and rushed inside while Zhang Xiaohui was putting the last dish on the table when she saw that it was Lin Chen who rushed in, she awkwardly wiped her hands and smiled. " you ..you all are back? I have prepared a feast for you all, hurry up and sit down."
Lin Chen wasn't one to feel awkward when food was concerned he hurriedly took a seat and was just going to take a bite when Su Wan came from behind him and twisted his ear. " Who is going to wash your hands huh? Don't tell me you were going to put your hands right in the food without washing your hands hmm?"
" Wife, of course, I wasn't going to," putting on a flattering smile, Lin Chen hurriedly spoke as he grinned up at Su Wan. " There is no way I was going to something so unhygienic, I was just...just——"
" Just what?" asked Su Wan with an eye roll, she raised her hand and pointed to the door. " Go and wash, your hands before eating anything! I don't want you to bring unwanted diseases into the house because of your carelessness."
Lin Chen was not the one who would ignore a command from his wife, he immediately got up from his seat and rushed out to wash his hands. Once he was gone, she turned to Zhang Xiaohui who was standing in the corner with her head lowered, Su Wan sighed. " Aunt Zhang, you don't have to be polite with him. If he makes a mistake you can scold him." She wanted to say that Zhang Xiaohui can scold Lin Chen just like before but then she realised that it was the wrong thing to say, after all, Zhang Xiaohui seemed to have lost a part of her confidence after her divorce but there was no need for her to rush everything, she can take it slowly. Maybe one day Zhang Xiaohui's confidence might return.
After Su Wan passed the order, everyone washed their hands, only then did they sit down. The food cooked by Zhang Xiaohui was of course not on par with Su Wan's but compared to the rest of the womenfolk's cooking in the village it was still better.
Lin Chen who seemed to be the reincarnation of a hungry ghost gobbled up huge pieces of meat. Zhang Xiaohui and Lin Zhi who weren't used to his extreme eating speed were shocked as they hesitated between taking the meat out of the bowl or not... they of course cooked enough for everyone to eat but in case —— if it wasn't enough then how can they eat it?
The two of them exchanged a look with each other and then decided to just stick to the fried eggs. They were a better option and a bowl was completely filled with it, so maybe ——
They were still thinking when Lin Yan pushed a plate full of meat towards them and coughed. " Eat."
Lin Chen who was eating, immediately paused and looked at Lin Yan and smiled as he cooed. " Aww, Second brother you are so nice."
Lin Yan's face flushed as he glared at Lin Chen. " Eat your meal silently." Then he picked up his rice bowl and started to eat, his own meal.
Lin Chen rolled his eyes and then looked at Su Wan who was munching on pig trotters. A wicked smile decorated his face as he said, " Wan Wan, why don't we celebrate this victory by making a child?"
At once the whole group of people sitting around the table started to cough. And Shen Junxi who was sitting opposite Lin Chen immediately threw a bone at the latter's face that Lin Chen easily dodged. Who was he? Lin Chen! And he knew how to learn from his mistakes.
Su Wan coughed and then looked at Lin Chen who had a teasing smirk on his face. She smiled and placed her pork trotters down as she said, " Even if I wanted to celebrate this occasion by making babies, you still have to wait for your turn because it's Lin Yan's turn next."
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Lin Chen: My baby?
Lin Yan: MY BABY!