Winning the case

"Zhao Guangzu and others, claiming Zhao Guangliang has no descendants, are trying to divide up his family's land and property. This is sheer wishful thinking!"

After the chief clerk handed the complaint to Mr. Qi, Tan Mozhu knelt upright and began to speak in a resounding voice.

"Just the phrase 'no offspring' is the most ridiculous thing in the world!"

"Everyone knows that Zhao Guangliang has a daughter. Before she got married, she inherited the family business and managed Mingyuezhai with great success. After she got married, she not only assisted in the management of our family's business, but also led the chaste women of Zhenjietang to make brocade for a living and become self-sufficient."

"For such a heroine, people like Zhao Guangzu actually use the word 'no descendants' to justify her. How shameless!"

Lord Qi reminded him, "But according to the laws of our dynasty, a woman no longer has the right to inherit her parents' property after she gets married."

Tan Mozhu said: "The land and houses that Zhao Guangzu and others are trying to seize are all Tan Zhao's dowry and are no longer her natal family's property."

"To put it bluntly, they are trying to steal things from our Tan family."

"Ah? This..."

This statement caused an uproar.

Zhao Mingyan was also shocked.

She clenched her fists, suppressed her surging emotions, and continued to listen to what Tan Mozhu had to say.

Tan Mozhu continued slowly, "Our dynasty's laws also stipulate that if a family has no male heir, a male heir can be adopted from the clan to inherit. However, Zhao Guangliang's widow, Zhao Li, does not need to do this. Because when the Tan and Zhao families married, our Tan family promised that the first son born to Tan Zhao would be naturalized as a Zhao family citizen. Therefore, the Zhao family is not without descendants."

“Wow!”

"The Tan and Zhao families actually formed a marriage like this."

The hall became noisy again.

Tan Mozhu remained calm and composed. "Even if Tan Zhaoshi fails to give birth to a son, Zhao Lishi can still adopt a male heir from the clan as an heir. There is no possibility of 'no descendants' at all."

"But right now, Zhao Guangzu and others are eager to seize Zhao Guangliang's inheritance. This is unacceptable both legally and morally!"

"What they're doing is no different from wiping out the entire family. But they've forgotten that Zhao Li's in-laws are from our Tan family. If they continue to harass us, our Tan family will fight them to the end!"

…

"Uncle, thank you!"

Two days later, Zhao Mingyan won the case, and the government ordered Zhao Guangzu and others not to force Li Yuzhu to hand over the land deed or harass her, and fined them 20 taels of silver as a punishment.

Originally, this inheritance dispute lawsuit would not end so quickly. According to the litigation process of the time, after the prosecution and acceptance, both parties need to make statements and debate in court. The government will then make a ruling based on the statements of both parties and the evidence provided, including personal evidence, physical evidence, and documentary evidence, etc.

However, when Zhao Guangzu and others learned that it was Tan Mozhu who represented Zhao Mingyan to fight this lawsuit, they immediately became cowards and did not even dare to go to court, and lost the case unilaterally.

They had calculated everything, but they had overlooked the fact that Zhao Mingyan's current husband's family was no ordinary family, and that she was highly valued in her husband's family. They thought that she would be like other women in the Zhao family, and once married, she would be like spilled water, with no one to rely on, either her parents' family or her husband's family.

Zhao Mingyan suddenly realized this the moment Lord Qi announced that she had won the case.

So, after leaving the county government office, she turned around, faced Tan Mozhu, leaned over with her hands on the ground, knelt on her left foot, bent her right foot, kowtowed three times, and performed a kneeling ceremony to express her gratitude.

"Yan'er, you can't do that!"

Tan Mozhu quickly helped her up. "Our two families are related by marriage, which is closer than relatives beyond three generations. How can we allow others to bully you?"

"To bully you is to bully us."

"Of course... You don't have to take seriously what was said in the hall a few days ago. Your dowry has already been stored in the Tan family's warehouse, and those fields and houses are the inheritance your father left to your mother."

"Uncle..." Zhao Mingyan choked with sobs.

Tan Mozhu patted her hands and said with a smile: "We have reached a cooperation with Wenxuan Paper Shop, thanks to you."

Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan burst into tears of joy and could no longer stop her tears from flowing.

Her hard work was not in vain, even though the final fruit was not picked by her own hands.

Since my uncle can take this matter to heart, my grandmother may be less resentful towards me because of it.

"Oh!"

In a corner not far away, looking at the two people, one laughing and the other crying, Tan Linshuang curled the corners of his mouth and left in a huff.

The news of the Zhao family's lawsuit had already spread in Zhaohua Town. A Ri, who came to investigate Zhao Mingyan's whereabouts, soon learned about it and reported it to Tan Linshuang.

When Tan Linshuang was about to stand up and help Zhao Mingyan win the lawsuit, he heard A Ri say that Tan Mozhu had taken the lead and became Zhao Mingyan's male relative in the court.

He laughed out loud on the spot.

"She thought I was dead?"

"You didn't come to me, your husband, but chose to ask that black-hearted Bamboo for help. Aren't you afraid that he will use this to threaten you in the future?"

He asked two questions in a row, leaving Ari and Ayun present looking at each other in bewilderment.

However, despite being angry, he still couldn't help but quietly rushed to the county government office. He happened to hear that Zhao Mingyan had won the case, and happened to see Zhao Mingyan kneeling down to thank Tan Mozhu, which made him angry again.

"Master, are you going back now?" Ayun hurriedly followed.

Tan Linshuang paused, thought for a moment, and then changed direction. "Since I'm here, I'll go visit my mother-in-law."

"Well, we can't let Madam Li think that you haven't contributed anything to this matter. At least you care about it." Ayun nodded to herself.

Tan Linshuang staggered and bit her back teeth.

I wanted to help, but Zhao Mingyan wouldn't let me! She kept me completely in the dark.

He was so angry that he rushed forward, without showing any of his usual weakness.

Ayun trotted after him, trying to remind him that they were outside, "Stop... Ouch!"

Tan Linshuang stopped suddenly, and before he could retract his foot, he bumped into his back.

"Master?"

Ayun rubbed his forehead and stepped back, and saw Tan Linshuang looking at a certain place intently, and couldn't help but look at him curiously.

"Thank you, Saburo."

"Hey! They're all hens raised at home. The chickens in our fields roam freely, and the eggs they lay taste delicious."

Li Yuzhu and a tall young man were seen standing outside the door, talking and laughing. Nanny Li next to them was holding a basket, which must be the eggs brought by the man.

"Master, who is that person?" Ayun asked in a low voice.

"Nie Sanlang." Tan Linshuang squeezed out these three words from between his teeth.

Then he pulled Ayun back a little, but his eyes were still fixed on Nie Sanlang's back.

Just as the other party said goodbye and left, he was about to leave when he heard Li Yuzhu say to Li Ma beside her: "Sanlang is a good boy, but it's a pity that he has a bad family background."

"A man of poor origin is only suitable for marrying into the family. At the beginning, the eldest lady was very fond of him. If you hadn't arranged the marriage with the Tan family behind her back, you might have become a grandmother and wouldn't have let the third branch have any bad intentions."

"Alas! Now that things have come to this..."

As the two walked into the door, the voices of their conversation became quieter and quieter, while Tan Linshuang's expression became increasingly gloomy.

Ayun took a step behind him, trying to reduce her presence.

Ouch! What did I hear?

What about recruiting a son-in-law, what about being engaged behind someone else's back... I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything...

He kept shaking his head, trying to shake off what he had just seen and heard.

"go home."

Suddenly, Tan Linshuang turned around abruptly, passed him with a dark face, and strode straight to where the carriage was parked.

Ayun took a deep breath, hurried to catch up, got on the carriage and headed straight for Yongnian Town, speeding all the way.

The carriage was shaking and bumping, just like Tan Linshuang's ups and downs at the moment.

"I knew that Nie Sanlang and Zhao Mingyan had something going on. I never thought they were that kind of relationship!"

"If we hadn't gotten married, you two would have had children by now, right?"

"Nie Sanlang obviously still has feelings for me. He's probably hoping that I won't live past my twenties, as the rumors say, so he can marry into the Zhao family."

"What a shame to disappoint him!"

Tan Linshuang's eyes were sharp and he gritted his teeth.

After returning, he acted as if nothing had happened, but was a little colder than usual.

But Zhao Mingyan didn't care. She was still immersed in the joy of victory, and at the same time was thinking about how to deal with those vampire relatives.

Since they gave her the nickname "Zhao's Mother Yasha", she must live up to the name.

Tan Mozhu remained as usual and did not mention this matter at the dinner table.

The dinner seemed to be no different from any other.

As soon as Tan Linshuang and Zhao Mingyan left, Tan Mozhu picked up his toothpick and said to Fan Wenlan, who was drinking ginseng tea, "Mother, your son, with his eloquence, has saved the land and house in Zhaohua Town for the descendants of our old Tan family."

…

It was late at night and quiet. Zhao Mingyan, who had washed away the bad luck with water boiled with pomelo leaves, returned to the room refreshed. As soon as he lay down on the bed, he was pinned down by Tan Linshuang, who had lay down first, and was kissed all over.

“Husband…husband…”

She was caught off guard and reached out to push Tan Linshuang away, but he grabbed her wrist and pressed it above her head.

"Husband, what are you doing?"

Facing Tan Linshuang's gloomy eyes, Zhao Mingyan was confused and also felt afraid.

She had never seen Tan Linshuang with this expression before, as if she wanted to eat herself.

"To you, I have no other use except to help you carry the sun and the moon. If that's the case, then I will help you conceive as soon as possible so that you don't have other thoughts."

After saying that, he let go of Zhao Mingyan's wrist, untied her belt, and lifted up her skirt.

"Husband...ah..."

Zhao Mingyan was in a panic, protecting the upper part but losing the lower part. Soon, she was made weak all over by Tan Linshuang's kiss, which was different from the past, and could not help moaning.

"Husband, what happened to you today?"

Just as Tan Linshuang lifted her legs and straightened her waist and hips, Zhao Mingyan quickly stepped back, putting some distance between them.

Tan Linshuang didn't answer, but just looked at her straight, which made her feel guilty.

Seeing her eyes flicker, Tan Linshuang sneered, holding her legs and pulling them down...

"Ah...husband..."

Zhao Mingyan was caught off guard, and even her shouts were as fragmented as clouds blown away by the wind.

In the end, he could only hold on to the red silk curtain tightly, tears streaming down his face.

The candlelight went out, but the bed was still creaking. The red gauze curtains had been crumpled into two pieces by Zhao Mingyan, and her voice was hoarse, so she could only make tiny sobs.

An hour later, when the dew had dried up, Zhao Mingyan finally released his hands and placed them on top of his head.

Before she could catch her breath, she heard Tan Linshuang lean over to her ear and whispered, "Are you tired, ma'am?"

Zhao Mingyan opened her mouth and listened to him again: "The night is long, and the red waves are endless."