Page 113

Seeing that Old man Chen and his wife had run out of words to say, Lady Yang tugged at the sleeve of Lin Jianling’s clothing.

Lin Jianling coughed once and, without giving Lin Yuan so much as a glance—let alone an opportunity to explain, had Liuzi tied up with a rope, his mouth stuffed with one of his own foul shoes!

"Boss, now that the adulterer has been caught, the matter seems clear enough," he said.

"Go and fetch the village head. Although this is a matter for our own Lin family, this is a big deal, involving the ducking stool, and without the elderly village head to ensure justice is done, we might be accused of bullying the second brother’s family. "

Lin Jiazhong received the order and turned to fetch the village head. A quick-witted young fellow at the doorway ran ahead to do it faster—when else to curry favor with the official wife’s father?

When Lanhua and Aunt Wang heard Lin Jianling planned to subject his own granddaughter to the ducking stool, they would have none of it, protectively causing a commotion around her.

But Li Feng’e and Lady Ma were not pushovers, and with Xiao He’s mother, who was no peacekeeper herself, they managed to keep Lanhua and her daughter at bay.

Lin Changqing, being a man, didn’t normally stoop to bickering with these old women.

But seeing the crowd picking on his mother and sister, calling for Lin Yuan to be bound and thrown into the ducking stool, how could he remain indifferent?

Picking up a hoe leaning against the doorway that belonged to some fellow, he wielded it and chased Li Feng’e and Lady Ma’s group to one side.

Lady Liu and Lin Wei, having heard that things had escalated to the point of the ducking stool, rushed out in a panic, clutching their bellies—one crying a tearful storm, the other fuming with stomach pain.

Lin Yuan knew very well that Lin Wei couldn’t protect Lady Liu, so she promptly gave Lanhua a look and, without further ado, led Lady Liu back inside.

What a joke, it was barely starting. Hadn’t they said they would summon the village head?

Lin Yuan was waiting for just that. If the village head came, all the better; she refused to believe that in the entire Lin family enclave there wasn’t a single person who would speak fairly!

And even if there wasn’t, wasn’t Old Fan still inside the house?

As soon as he stepped in, this affair of adultery would be settled instantly.

These fools didn’t even use their brains to think—adultery has to take place at night, not first thing in the morning!

To leave the carriage in the Linzi, as if her house wasn’t large enough to hide a carriage, those idiots!

Seeing Lin Yuan standing silently without speaking, Lin Jiaxiao sneered at her: "Stinking brat, you’re scared now, aren’t you? Weren’t you the one swinging a kitchen knife at me? Let’s see you act so arrogantly today!"

Soon, the village head was called over. The moment he entered, he stamped his foot and looked at Lin Jianling: "I ask you, what kind of grandfather are you? Leading people to tarnish your own granddaughter’s reputation! This is infuriating, absolutely infuriating!"

Lin Jianling had not expected the village head to start scolding him as soon as he walked in.

The memory of the last time the family divided their assets was still vivid in his mind, and now he was even more embarrassed.

But this time he believed he was in the right.

The adulterer had been captured, after all, and even with the village head’s arrival, the facts couldn’t be twisted.

"Sixth Uncle," he said, "you can’t blame me for today’s affair.

Just look at what your granddaughter, that Little Disaster Star, has done—hiding a man in her house!

Such shameful, indecent acts against the manners and morals of our society, how can we condone them?

Even if she is my own granddaughter, I cannot cover up and indulge her wrongdoings! "

Lin Jiazhong added, with his hands behind his back and shaking his head, "My father is right, Sixth Grandpa. Lin Yuan has tarnished our family’s name and brought shame upon our ancestors.

Our coming here today to catch the adulterer is to uphold justice over family loyalty!

I, Lin Jiazhong, declare in front of the whole village that, no matter that the one who has committed this indecency today is my own niece, even if she were my own daughter, I would not subvert justice, cover up, or indulge! "

No sooner had Lin Jiazhong spoken than the people at the door, eager to flatter, shouted their approval.

Some even complimented, "What are you saying, Brother Lin? Your daughter is about to marry into the Master Magistrate’s family, such a fine girl would never do something shameless like this Little Disaster Star, sneaking around with men!

Brother Lin, rest assured, we all support you! "

It must be said, ever since the announcement of Lin Siyu marrying into the Master Magistrate’s family, Lin Jiazhong indeed garnered quite a bit of support from the villagers.

As for Lin Yuan, a young girl with a not-so-great reputation and without the support of her birth parents, she found herself even more isolated and unsupported.

Lin Yuan observed the sycophantic faces with a cold eye, the corner of her mouth hooking up into a disdainful smile.

She brushed past Lin Changqing and Aunt Wang, who had been standing in front of her blocking the crowd, and strode up to the village head, who was so angry his chest was heaving.

"Village Head Grandpa, there’s no point in reasoning with these people.

Yuanyuan is waiting for you to do me justice," she said with neither servility nor overbearing pride.

The village head, in his heart, didn’t believe the words of Lin Jianling and the others.

Even though there was indeed a stranger tied up in front of him, what did that prove?

It was clear from the doorstep that the Lin family had barged in suddenly, and both Lin Yuan and the young man were dressed neatly, without a hint of impropriety.

And after all, this was her home. Even if Lin Jiaxin was physically unable to come downstairs due to his disability, wasn’t there also Lady Liu?

Lady Liu might seem weak, but she wasn’t foolish.

Would she overlook it if her unmarried daughter was having a secret rendezvous with a man?

"Girl, don’t be afraid, even if your grandpa doesn’t believe you, the Village Head Grandpa believes you," the old village head said, extending his rough hand to tenderly stroke Lin Yuan’s head.

Lin Yuan felt moved; this village head, with whom she had no blood relation, was warmer and more reliable than her own biological grandfather.

"If that’s the case, Village Head Grandpa, with you in charge, let’s make everything clear now," Lin Yuan said gratefully, nodding to the old village head, then raised her eyes to look at Liuzi, who was tightly bound by Lin Jiaxiao.

She swept the corner of her eye and caught sight of Lao Fan raising his eyebrows at her through a crack in the window.

The old rascal, she had stalled for so long here, and only now had he finished his tasks; he was so slow!

"What does the little bitch have to say! Trying to argue your way out of this?"

"Exactly, just soak her in a pig cage and drown her already!"

"Village Head, you mustn’t be deceived by this girl’s sweet talk, and that disgusting man needs his legs broken and to be thrown out of Lin family’s ravine!

" Lin Jiaxiao was also thinking about Liuzi’s carriage, anxious to deal with Liuzi so that the carriage would become his.

With this in mind, he encouraged the villagers who were there to watch the excitement to shout even louder.

"Quiet! Everybody be quiet!" The old village head was getting on in years, and the buzzing in his ears from the clamouring crowd was driving him nuts, but no matter how loudly he shouted, he couldn’t drown out their voices.

Lin Yuan casually snatched the hoe from Lin Changqing’s hand and swung the stick at the loudest shouting man among them! Clang! People could even hear the crisp sound of the stick striking the man’s leg bones!

This was the very man who had trampled her doorstep with his muddy feet and had led the charge to smash the carriage. His voice was indeed not just for show; with one swing, he howled in pain, instantly overshadowing the commotion of the crowd!

Before the villagers could react and protest, Lin Yuan had already placed the hoe in front of everyone and said coldly, "The village head has something to say. Those who want to listen, stand quietly! Those who don’t, hmph, I’ll make sure this stick sends you all the way back home!"