misfortune

"Have you heard? Mr. Tan was arrested?"

"Ah? What did he do wrong?"

"Sell it! It is said that he even risked murdering his brother and sister-in-law."

"Murder? Didn't Mr. and Mrs. Tan die when their carriage fell off a cliff?"

"He bribed the driver and deliberately caused the fall off the cliff. The driver was also arrested that year."

"The workhouse was also closed down. The orphans there were temporarily placed in the Chastity Hall, but all the servants and guards were imprisoned. Only one old servant disappeared in the fire. I wonder if he was burned to ashes."

"Can our county jail hold so many people at once?"

"If the county office can't hold them, then send them to the prefectural office. Anyway, our prefect, Lord Wang, has been dismissed and investigated. The prefectural office is now fully taken over by Lord Qin, who has long since retired and is temporarily serving as the prefect."

In just three months, the situation changed suddenly, and the crime of Tan Mozhu and Lord Wang using the orphanage to secretly engage in looting and selling had become known to everyone.

Lord Wang was dismissed from his post and detained in the government office awaiting trial.

Tan Mozhu, Zhang Kaigui, Shen Qiushan and others were thrown into prison. In addition, several cases of bribery were uncovered and the parties involved are being arrested one after another.

The entire Fushun County, and even Xuzhou Prefecture, were in panic. The Tan family's business was thoroughly investigated, and Mingyuezhai's business was also greatly affected.

Just when everyone thought that the Tan family was about to fall into chaos, the mistress of the family, Fan Wenlan, suddenly appeared in the county court on the day of Tan Mozhu's trial, causing an uproar.

Facing the majestic and upright former relative-in-law, Lord Qin, Fan Wenlan was not afraid at all and confidently proved his son's innocence.

"It was because of this foolish woman's poor parenting that my son lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong, became a tool for others to exploit, and aided the evildoers in their evil deeds."

"But my son is not the mastermind. Everything was ordered by Lord Wang. He was just soft-hearted and did not dare to resist Lord Wang's coercion. So he had no choice but to contribute money and effort to help him expand his illegal business."

"Master Qin, my son is by no means a bad person. He is completely unaware of the looting and selling that Master Wang's gang has committed. He is merely a pawn, a shield."

"My family has been doing good deeds for many years, and I'm sure you've all seen it. Over the years, it may seem like my grandson is donating money and materials, building bridges and roads, and helping the people, but in reality, it's my son who's been secretly supporting him and providing him with money."

"My son has always done good deeds without caring about the results. Since he has no children, he hopes to pass all his merits on to my grandson so that our Tan family can prosper even more."

"But I never expected that Lord Wang would take advantage of his softness and kindness and do so many things that would be condemned by God. My son was indeed wrong. His mistake was that he shouldn't have trusted him and chose the wrong person."

After saying this, she knelt heavily on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and kowtowed to Lord Qin several times.

As a former relative, Lord Qin couldn't bear it and immediately ordered the yamen runners to help her up.

In Tan Linshuang's eyes, this scene was like falling into an icy cave.

He had imagined that his grandmother would give up a fortune to protect Tan Mozhu, but he didn't expect that she would go to court in person and lie in public.

What made him even more heartbroken was that his grandmother actually attributed all the good things she had done for the Tan family over the years to the credit of that black-hearted Zhuzi.

His face was gloomy and his heart sank to the bottom.

Lord Qin glanced at him and then sternly questioned Fan Wenlan, "Then how do you explain the deaths of your eldest son and daughter-in-law, given the witnesses and evidence?"

"It was indeed an accident, but it was also man-made." Fan Wenlan said hurriedly.

Afterwards, Zhang Kaigui was brought up and knelt, kowtowed repeatedly. "It's all my fault. I drank before setting out that day, and I got dizzy at the bend on the cliff, killing the master and the mistress... I was injured afterwards, but out of fear, I fled the scene. I was later rescued by my current wife. I was afraid of being held accountable by the Tan family, so I pretended to have lost my memory and followed her home. We fell in love over time and started our own family."

"I feel so sorry for my first wife, and even more sorry for the master and mistress whom I killed..."

There were a few more "dong dong" sounds, and Tan Linshuang suddenly felt as if his heart was being hit by a heavy hammer.

He was careless!

He only sent people to look after Zhang Kaigui, but ignored his other family.

His first wife had been married to him for only a few years and had only one daughter, but he had been with his later wife for more than ten years and had two sons and one daughter. In terms of feelings, the latter was naturally deeper than the former. If Tan Mozhu threatened him with his current wife and children, he would have no choice but to give in.

Looking at Lord Qin's gradually softening expression, Tan Linshuang knew that he had lost.

His plan was both made and broken by Lord Qin.

"I am just a businessman after all!"

Tan Linshuang flicked his sleeves and left the county government office angrily.

Seeing him come out in anger, Qin Yurong hurriedly went to meet him and explained, "My father has always wanted to overthrow the forces behind Wang Zheng. Once he has eradicated Wang Zheng and his followers, he will definitely bring Tan Mozhu to justice."

Tan Linshuang looked at her coldly, "Whether it's me or Tan Mozhu, we're just stepping stones for your father's career."

He didn't wait for Qin Yurong's response and left resolutely.

It turns out that his blood feud was nothing but a speck of mosquito blood in the political struggle, insignificant!

Because of Lord Qin's covert actions, all the witnesses and evidence that could have led to Tan Mozhu being brought to justice became a sharp knife for Lord Qin to use against Lord Wang and the forces behind him.

In the end, Lord Wang was dismissed from his post and imprisoned awaiting sentencing. Zhang Kaigui was sentenced to exile for accidentally killing Tan Linshuang's parents. Shen Qiushan was also exiled as Lord Wang's accomplice in the looting and selling. Dozens of people, including Xu Qiaolian's husband, were imprisoned for several years to more than ten years for other crimes.

Only Tan Mozhu was able to escape punishment after Fan Wenlan voluntarily handed over all the business of Zhulin Trading Company outside Yongnian Town, as well as nearly 60% of the Tan family's land and houses.

However, Lord Qin specifically told her to keep an eye on his precious son. If he committed another crime or new evidence emerged against him, even if the remaining money of the Tan family was turned over to the national treasury, it would not save him.

Fan Wenlan took the advice to heart and knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Are you satisfied?"

After being carried back to the mansion exhausted, she saw Tan Linshuang waiting outside the door. Her eyes flashed and she questioned him through gritted teeth.

There was no more kindness on her face.

And Tan Linshuang was also not respectful.

"I should ask you, Grandmother, this question. Are you satisfied with giving up most of your family fortune to protect the beast who killed your eldest son?"

"Don't talk nonsense! The person who killed your parents was Zhang Kaigui..."

"grandmother."

Tan Linshuang sternly interrupted her angry retort, staring at her expressionlessly, her eyes tinged with ice. "In this family, my parents are not the only ones who have been killed, directly or indirectly, by you and Tan Mozhu."

Fan Wenlan was startled, then heard his words piercing her heart like a cold knife: "When you lie down at night, do you sleep well? Don't you notice their wronged spirits lingering in your room for a long time?"

"You..." Fan Wenlan grabbed the armrest of the recliner tightly.

Tan Linshuang suddenly leaned forward, staring at her sinisterly, the coldness in his eyes growing even colder. "Every Qingming Festival when we pay homage to our ancestors, when we face the ancestors of the Tan family and my grandfather, don't you feel guilty at all?"

"The Tan family has been wiped out by my generation, but it's all thanks to you!"

"You...Puff..." Fan Wenlan was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Tan Linshuang dodged in time and barely avoided it.

"Old lady!"

Fan Wenlan fainted on the spot, and Tan Linshuang just patted his sleeves and left indifferently...

After this day, the Tan Mansion lost its bustle and became like a stagnant pool of water.

The gate of the main courtyard was never opened again. Fan Wenlan never left the house. After waking up, he entrusted Nanny Fang to hand over all affairs to Tan Linshuang, including the business of Zhulin Trading Company and all matters in the mansion.

Although the grandfather and grandson had torn their faces apart, Fan Wenlan could not completely become enemies with his grandson, especially after learning that he had been pretending to be sick and dormant all these years. Only then did he wake up from his dream and realize that his son and grandson had been fighting openly and secretly for so long.

If she had seen it earlier and stopped it in time, the Tan family would not have ended up in this situation.

Unfortunately, it's too late. Now, I can't rely on my son anymore, but I hope I can save his life.

As for her grandson, she felt both resentment and guilt, but no matter what, the future of the Tan family depended on him.

"I hope the grudges of the past will disappear from this world."

Fan Wenlan lay in bed, and overnight his hair turned completely white.

"How's Lin'er?"

A few days later, Tan Moxiang and Zhao Mingyan sat under the bamboo forest in the south house, drinking tea and chatting.

After Fan Wenlan handed over the power of the mansion, Tan Moxiang regained her freedom. The gate to the outer courtyard of the South Mansion was no longer closed, and anyone could enter and exit freely, including herself.

However, she seemed to have gotten used to this world and had never stepped out of the front and back gates.

Zhao Mingyan took a sip of the nourishing ginseng tea and spoke slowly, "I've been running around, busy with the business affairs, and by the way, I've been cleaning up the mess for the guy next door."

As she spoke, her eyes glanced towards the high wall at the end of the bamboo forest.

There were also swaying bamboos inside the wall, but it was silent, as if no one had left the building.

Tan Mozhu has been released. In order to avoid any complications, he came back in the middle of the night and was personally sent back by the yamen runners. He has been detained in the South Courtyard and guarded by several guards.

Therefore, at this time, there were not only people in the South Courtyard, but there were quite a lot of people. However, everyone was silent, and there was a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

Hearing this, Tan Moxiang also turned to look at the wall and said meaningfully: "Lin'er can finally stand on his own."

"It's just... he won't accept that." Her eyes deepened.

"What about you, aunt? Are you willing to accept this?" Zhao Mingyan turned her gaze back and looked at her directly.

Tan Moxiang smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Hatred flickered in her eyes. "If I were willing, I would not stay here any longer and guard here."

"But what other ways can we use to reverse the situation? Lin Shuang has been planning for many years and enduring humiliation, but in the end he is just a pawn of the powerful officials. He can't even avenge his parents' blood feud with his own hands!" Zhao Mingyan said angrily.

Tan Moxiang shook his head. "If he wants to take revenge personally, it's not difficult. But he doesn't want to resort to lynching. Even if my eldest brother is still alive, he wouldn't agree."

"Although our Tan family has been engaged in business for generations, we have the bearing of scholars in our bones and have always adhered to the principle of 'serving the public as if it were the law, and equality between the upper and lower classes, and equality between the upper and lower classes makes the country strong.'"

"Once lynching is used, it violates the patriarchal law."

"But someone has already violated it!" Zhao Mingyan emphasized seriously.

"That's why the Tan family suffered such a disaster." Tan Moxiang said solemnly.

"I feel sorry for Lin Shuang!" Zhao Mingyan clenched his fists.

Tan Moxiang held her clenched fists and looked at her with burning eyes, "We don't need to resort to lynching, we can also send that person to jail."

"Aunt, do you have a good idea?" Zhao Mingyan's pupils flashed and her eyes suddenly brightened.