Chapter 66 Going to Court: Pulling Up a Radish Brings Up Mud

Startled by the sudden commotion, Lin Youmin nearly fell off the wall. Looking down, he saw that Lin Youfu had been pinned against the wall by Liu Xu, his mouth stuffed with a tattered piece of cotton cloth, unable to move.

After shouting a few words, Liu Dazhuang stood under the courtyard wall with a torch, waiting for Lin Youmin to jump down. Lin Youmin was perched on the wall, unsure whether to jump or not, caught in a dilemma.

It was now the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), and the village was quiet. Most people were asleep, with only the occasional bark of a dog breaking the stillness of the night.

Liu Dazhuang's shout woke up the sleeping villagers nearby, and one by one, people put on their clothes and went out to see what was going on.

Upon hearing that Lin Yao's house had been burgled, Grandpa Zhang quickly woke up his two grandsons and said, "A thief broke into A Yao's house! Go and lend a hand!"

Zhang Ping and Zhang An didn't dare to delay, quickly put on their shoes and ran outside. The two houses were close by, and as soon as they stepped out, they saw the person sitting on the wall. By the moonlight, they recognized him as Lin Youmin, who was usually elusive and rarely seen.

Zhang Ping stopped next to Liu Dazhuang: "Hey! Brother Min, it's been almost half a year since we last met? Have you paid back all the money you owed?"

Lin Youmin was a gambling addict and owed a lot of money, so he rarely returned to the village and mostly hid from his creditors. Hearing Zhang Ping directly hit a nerve, he was instantly enraged and yelled, "Shut up! It's none of your business!"

More and more villagers were awakened by the commotion at the Lin family's old house and gathered around, pointing and whispering about the two brothers, Lin Youfu and Lin Youmin. Seeing this, Zhang An went directly to fetch the village head.

As soon as the village head arrived, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

The torchlight flickered on his deeply lined face, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

He looked up at Lin Youmin, whose face was pale, perched on the wall, then glanced at Lin Youfu, who was being pressed against the wall and whimpering. He shouted sternly, "Aren't you coming down? Do I have to beg you?"

Seeing this, Lin Youmin had no choice but to climb down from the wall. As soon as he came down, Zhang Ping and Zhang An grabbed his arms.

Liu Xu increased the pressure on Lin Youfu's hands, causing Lin Youfu to arch his back in pain. Liu Xu grabbed Lin Youfu by the back of his collar and shoved him forward, saying, "Village head! These two thieves climbed over the wall into Lin Yao's house; I don't know what they stole!"

The village head walked up to Lin Youmin and questioned him, "Tell me, what did you take from Ayao's house?"

Lin Youmin said matter-of-factly, "I didn't take anything. My mother just lost a longevity lock at the old house, and I came to help her look for it. As you know, Grandpa Village Head, Acheng and Ayao never say a word to us, and now that they've moved to the city, they have even less chance to talk. We just want to get my mother's things back." As he spoke, he pulled out a peace lock from his pocket, which at first glance actually looked legitimate.

Lin Changshou and Madam Hu rushed over upon hearing the commotion, and heard these words as soon as they arrived. Madam Hu immediately understood and quickly replied, "Yes, yes, that longevity lock was part of my mother's dowry, and it will be passed down to my grandson in the future."

Seeing that the village head remained silent, the group thought they could get away with it, but the village head snatched the longevity lock, looked at Hu, and said, "It is still unknown whether this longevity lock is yours. If it is as you say, I will definitely return it to its rightful owner. Now tie them both up and lock them in the ancestral hall. Tomorrow at dawn, we will go to the government office together for a trial and find out the truth."

Lin Youmin thought he had reacted quickly and his words were quite appropriate, but to his surprise, he failed to persuade the village head at all. Upon hearing that he was to see an official, he was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he let Zhang Ping and Zhang An drag and throw him into the ancestral hall.

Lin Yougong followed behind the village head and asked curiously, "Grandpa, do you believe what Lin Youmin said?"

The village head handed the longevity lock to Lin Yougong and said, "Look at this longevity lock. With such craftsmanship, you couldn't buy it for less than ten taels of silver. Where would Lin Da's family get that kind of money? Only Lin Yao's family in the whole village has that kind of wealth. That girl, Yao, is really promising."

The next day, as soon as Lin Yao opened the door, she saw Liu Xu waiting outside: "Did it work?"

Liu Xu nodded excitedly and said, "I didn't expect them to fall for it so quickly! Last night, the village head ordered them to be locked in the ancestral hall. Now the whole village is waiting for you to come back."

After a quick tidying up, the three Lin siblings set off in their donkey cart towards the village. Along the way, Liu Xu was incredibly excited, vividly recounting how he had put on a show and completely outmaneuvered Lin Youfu over the past two days. Lin Yao listened with great interest and couldn't help but tease, "If Brother Xu were a storyteller, his stall would probably be packed with people every day."

Liu Xu scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I don't know many characters, how could I have that ability?"

Back in the village, Lin Yao first checked the spice powder in the kitchen, but there was no trace of the jewelry. Greed had indeed led to this! She closed the door and led everyone to the ancestral hall.

Inside the ancestral hall, Lin Youmin huddled in a corner, his mouth stuffed with cotton cloth, his hands, bound all night, still throbbing with pain. He stole glances at the village head and his parents in the center of the hall, his heart filled with unease.

Lin Changshou and Madam Hu were kneeling in front of Li Zheng. Madam Hu tearfully recounted how Lin Yao and Lin Cheng were unfilial and disloyal, and how the longevity lock was part of her dowry from her family. She went on and on, giving Li Zheng a headache.

As soon as Lin Yao entered, the village head was overjoyed, saying, "A-Yao is here! Your aunt said she left a longevity lock in the old house, so last night your second cousin climbed over the wall into your house to look for it. Come and see this longevity lock."

Lin Yao took the longevity lock, looked at it for a few moments, and then said, "This is a birthday gift I bought for Song'er, not for my aunt."

"You're talking nonsense! This is my dowry!" Upon hearing this, Madam Hu tried to lunge forward, but Lin Cheng quickly pulled her away. Madam Liang and Madam Li also stepped forward to restrain Madam Hu.

Lin Yao was too lazy to argue with her and said, "Since Aunt insists that this longevity lock is yours, then let's go to the government office and let the magistrate make a judgment!"

Having witnessed Lin Yao's ruthlessness, Madam Hu panicked upon hearing that they were really going to the government office. She hurriedly said, "No! We can't go! We shouldn't air our dirty laundry in public! We don't want this longevity lock anymore!"

Lin Yao didn't back down at all, saying, "Whether you go or not is not up to you. I don't want to be falsely accused of embezzling my aunt's dowry. After all, I don't have my aunt's boldness and decisiveness; I wouldn't do something like embezzling someone else's dowry."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Hu went limp and collapsed to the ground.

When she was young, she had heard that some people were executed for theft. She didn't know how the authorities would punish them; she only thought that being caught stealing meant certain death. She quickly got up, knelt before Lin Yao, kowtowed repeatedly, and cried out, "We were wrong! They are your brothers! Please let them go! We will never bother you again! Please!"

Lin Maode remained calm at first, but when he heard Lin Yao say she was going to report to the authorities, he realized she was serious and began to panic.

He knew that even if he put on his authority as the head of the family, Lin Yao, who was unconventional, wouldn't be able to resist, so he turned his attention to Lin Cheng: "Cheng, you are the eldest son of the second branch of the Lin family. How can you let your sister act so recklessly? If a sister sues her brother, where will the Lin family's reputation be?"

Lin Cheng remained unmoved. He had already disowned this grandfather when he forced his father to join the army, and now he still wanted to instruct his sister on how to act; he really thought he was someone important.

Seeing that Lin Cheng remained silent, Lin Maode didn't press the issue further. He changed his tune, pretending to be a grandfather concerned about his grandson, and said, "Even if you don't care about the Lin family's reputation, you should at least think about A Yao! She's young and doesn't understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,' but don't you understand it too? If you indulge her like this, even if you win the case, A Yao will probably be known as a shrew. Who in the surrounding villages would dare to marry her then?"

If the timing hadn't been inappropriate, Lin Yao would have applauded his brilliant move. It must be said that he had timed his move perfectly. Reputation and marriage were of paramount importance to women in ancient times. As soon as he said this, even Madam Liang and Madam Li showed expressions of worry.

“How can someone with such a short-sighted view be worthy of my Ayao? But what you said, Grandpa, is ridiculous. It was clearly my uncle’s family who stole from us, yet we are afraid to sue the thieves and ruin our reputation. Is there no law anymore?” He turned to the village head and said firmly, “Please, Grandpa Village Head, make the decision and handle this according to the village rules.”

"Unfilial descendant! You..." Lin Maode was about to burst into a tirade when he saw that the village headman was unmoved and slammed his cane on the ground, interrupting him, "Send him to the authorities."

The group arrived at the government office in a grand procession.

Lin Yao knelt below the hall, her voice clear and bright: "I, Lin Yao, accuse Lin Youmin and Lin Youfu of breaking into my house late at night by scaling the wall and stealing items including a silver hairpin, a silver bracelet, a longevity lock, and my restaurant's secret seasoning—five-spice powder!"

Hearing Lin Yao rattle off a string of things, the Lin family's eyes widened in surprise; she even knew about the five-spice powder! Lin Changshou quickly retorted, "You're talking nonsense! We didn't steal your five-spice powder!"

Lin Yao said, "Sir, they sold the stolen five-spice powder to Yuelai Restaurant. The grilled fish that Yuelai Restaurant has been offering these past few days tastes quite similar to the one at my house."

Among the onlookers outside the yamen, some recognized Lin Yao.

"Isn't this the young manager of Lin's Restaurant?"

"Yes! No wonder I haven't seen her these past few days."

"No wonder the grilled fish at Yuelai Restaurant tastes so much like the Lin family's; it turns out they stole their secret recipe!"

The magistrate replied, "Among the same restaurants, there are quite a few with similar tastes. What evidence do you have?"

Lin Yao shook her head and said, "My lord, I have no substantial evidence, but there is one method we can try."

The county magistrate raised his hand, gesturing, "Tell me your story."

Lin Yao said, "There are too many people here and too much talk. Please allow me to write instead of speaking."

The county magistrate nodded and ordered a bailiff to bring pen and ink. Lin Yao quickly wrote down the method and handed it to the bailiff.

The magistrate took the paper, glanced at her method, and then at the young woman kneeling below. Though not a brilliant plan, it was still quite eye-catching. However, the handwriting was truly unbearable to look at. He summoned the registrar and gave him instructions.

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