No sooner had he finished speaking than Granny Lin immediately chimed in, crying out, "Yes, Shen Qingtang! You are such a kind person, you would never stand by and watch someone die! If you can save Sanlang, our Lin family will remember your kindness for the rest of our lives!"

But they say they "remember the kindness."

Everyone could tell that there wasn't a trace of genuine worry in his eyes.

The Lin family had long been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the distribution of their family property.

Lin Sanlang was the only son of the first wife.

Lin Erfang had long wanted to seize these things.

Lin Sanlang being blown away by the wind might be seen by Lin Erfang as a good thing, "removing an obstacle." Now, she is crying and begging Shen Qingtang to save him, just to establish a "loyal and righteous" persona and to morally blackmail Shen Qingtang.

If Shen Qingtang cannot be saved, they can turn around and accuse Shen Qingtang of "failing to save someone in distress".

Looking at their hypocritical expressions, Shen Qingtang curled her lips into a half-smile: "Lin Dalang, Lin Pozi, are you sure you want me to save Lin Sanlang? Do you genuinely want him to come back alive, or do you feel much more comfortable if he's 'gone'?"

These words were like a slap in the face, landing hard on Lin Erfang's cheek.

Lin Laoda's face froze instantly, and Lin Pozi stopped crying, pointing at Shen Qingtang and urgently defending herself: "What nonsense are you talking about! How could we wish for Sanlang to die? You are slandering our Lin family!"

"slander?"

Shen Qingtang raised an eyebrow.

Looking at Lin Dafang in the crowd, Lin Sanlang's wife had been silent the whole time, her eyes red, but she didn't cry out like Lin Erfang, which showed that she was really worried about her son.

"Tell me, ever since the death of Old Master Lin, who doted on his wife and neglected his concubines, has the second branch of the Lin family been causing trouble for the first branch every day, trying to seize the shops in your hands? A few days ago at the post station, didn't Lin Dalang and Lin Sanlang have a fight?"

Lin Sanlang's wife was stunned for a moment, then nodded with red eyes, her voice choked with sobs: "Yes... they just wanted to steal Sanlang's things... when Sanlang was blown away by the wind, they weren't crying for Sanlang..."

When the truth came out, the people around immediately went wild.

His gaze toward Lin Erfang was full of disdain: "So you were planning to use the guise of saving someone to do something shady! How disgusting!"

"He wishes for his relative to die, yet he dares to morally blackmail Shen Qingtang. He's shameless!"

The people from Lin's second branch were so embarrassed by their words that they wanted to disappear. The eldest son of the concubine, Lin Dalang, blushed.

But he dared not mention "saving people" again, and could only sit down dejectedly, head down, not daring to utter a sound.

Shen Qingtang glanced at them coldly and said to everyone, "The wind is so strong outside. Going out to rescue people is suicide. I won't risk everyone's lives. Once the wind stops, we can send people to search the area, but whether we find them or not depends entirely on luck. As for those who want to use 'rescuing people' to scheme against me, they'd better not try anything."

The wind was still howling outside the cave.

Lin Sanlang's wife stared at the cave entrance, silently wiping away her tears, while Lin Erfang's people huddled in a corner, their previous "passionate" plans gone.

It all came to nothing.

Seeing that Lin's second son had been humiliated, Madam Pei put on that "compassionate" look again.

He slowly spoke to Shen Qingtang: "Qingtang, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Sanlang is a living person after all. Even if the wind is strong, you should still think of a way. You are so capable. If you don't even try, people will say that you are too hard-hearted."

Her words implied that Shen Qingtang was ruthless, but she made her tone exceptionally tactful, leaving no room for criticism.

Those collateral branches of the Lin family that had remained silent before.

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, Shen Qingtang, even if the chances are slim, we should still try. We can't just watch her die."

They may not truly care about Lin Sanlang; they just want to join forces with Old Madam Pei to put pressure on him.

If Shen Qingtang doesn't save her, she'll be branded as "cold-blooded."