Chapter 54 Lin Erniu Dies
After the matter was settled, Lin Changning bid farewell to Wan Jin and the county magistrate and prepared to return home. Lin Erniu had been beaten with a hundred strokes of the cane one after another, and when they left, they were visibly breathing heavily.
Wan Jin mounted his horse and galloped into the village with Lin Changning: "Baihu, I've seen your second uncle's injuries. He only has two days left. I reckon he won't make it to exile."
Lin Changning, riding Mo Yun, gently pulled on the reins to slow down slightly and asked, "How did you know?"
Wan Jin caught up with him, laughing: "My father was originally a centurion in the army. He knows a thing or two about the cane. I saw it. The yamen runners went all out. His spine was shattered. He's paralyzed. His internal organs are stagnant and rotten. Even a god couldn't save him."
Lin Changning nodded: "I never intended for him to come out alive."
Wan Jin hesitated: "His son doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with, Centurion, you need to be careful."
Lin Changning shook his head: "Now that today's matter is over, Lin Changqing will inevitably get himself into a mess. Scholars value their reputation, and with a father like that around, his path to the imperial examinations is over. Today, the county magistrate ordered him to be flogged without any leniency, and his reputation is ruined. Unless there are special circumstances, it will be difficult for him to pass the exams in the future."
Wan Jin scratched his head before finally understanding: "So, Centurion, you were just putting on an act today? I knew it! You were the fiercest when killing the Tartars. They all avoided you. How could they not have come back alive?"
Lin Changning glanced helplessly at Wan Jin: "Wan Jin."
Wan Jin looked at Lin Changning with an innocent expression: "What's wrong, Commander?"
"Eating more pig brains is good for your health."
"..." This time he realized that Lin Changning was calling him stupid.
When the two arrived home, Madam Wang was the first to greet them. After helping to tie up the horse, she asked, "How did things go, Sixth Brother?"
Lin Changning smiled warmly: "Sister-in-law, it's all done. Let's go back to the room and talk."
After saying that, he hurriedly went inside. When he saw his second brother and mother in the room, Lin Changning knelt down, his back straight and his eyes showing excitement.
Madam Chang hurriedly tried to help the person up, saying, "What are you doing? Get up quickly."
"Mother, Second Brother, the verdict in Lin Erniu's case has been reached. He was given ninety strokes of the cane and exiled to Daxing!!"
Lin Changsi, who was lying on the bed, suddenly became excited, his face flushed and his eyes filled with excitement: "Is it really true? Liu Lang?"
Lin Changning got up following Chang's hand, and smiled and nodded at his second brother who was about to get out of bed: "Of course, Lin Erniu has already confessed and has been punished with caning. Second brother, don't get agitated. The doctor said your leg needs to be properly rested."
Chang turned around and pressed her two excited sons down.
"Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!!"
Upon hearing the noise, Madam Niu and Madam Wang entered and looked at Lin Changning with surprise.
Is what my uncle said true?
Lin Changning nodded: "Wan Jin went with me. If you don't believe me, you can ask Wan Jin. Lin Erniu has already confessed."
Wan Jin followed him into the house and heard Lin Changning's vivid description: "Today, thanks to our centurion, the witness is dead, dying suddenly in prison. Fortunately, the centurion acted quickly and immediately went to find the magistrate to hold the trial ahead of schedule. That's how we found out that the person confessed and the crime was sealed. By the time so-and-so's son arrived, the beatings were almost finished!"
Wang invited someone to sit down and poured a bowl of cool boiled water. With an excited look in her eyes, she and Niu sat by the bedside and listened.
Wan Jin described the scene to the people in the room with great enthusiasm: "Elder sister, you don't know, that guy's son was so vicious. He pointed at the magistrate and said that the magistrate had tortured him into confessing, and the magistrate immediately gave him twenty lashes! Seeing that he couldn't save his father, he tried to smear us, the centurion. It was extremely hateful!!"
Wan Jin took a sip of water and continued his description: "Oh my, thank goodness the centurion was quick-witted. What he said was so satisfying! The centurion said that because of that so-and-so, one of my father and the other had disappeared. That family had cut off our family's path to the imperial examinations and was even trying to seize our fertile land. If their plan failed, they would cut off our family line. They were extremely vicious. He told the people watching to find out for themselves. The people were so angry that they threw rotten vegetable leaves at the two of them! It was so satisfying!"
Wan Jin paused for a moment: "The people below the hall were particularly indignant when they saw that our centurion was thin and had knife scars on his body. They cursed that so-and-so's son so much that he couldn't even lift his head. They even said that such a person was a mere candidate for the imperial examination and that he had tarnished the reputation of the examination system!"
Lin Changning blushed slightly at the praise, and secretly gave Wan Jin a thumbs-up with her phoenix eyes curving upwards.
Wan Jin raised an eyebrow, looked around, and then lowered her voice: "Big sister, my father is a military household. The beating he received today was skillful. I saw that Lin Erniu. He probably won't live more than three days. His back is rotten inside. He can't be cured. He only has these last two days."
Lin Changsi looked intently at Wan Jin and said "good" three times.
Lin Changning looked at his mother tenderly: "Mother, my third cousin caused a scene at the county government office today and was beaten with twenty strokes of the cane. He has already offended the county magistrate. I also exposed the dirty deeds that Lin Erniu did in front of everyone. His reputation is ruined from now on, and he will have little chance of success in the imperial examinations."
Wang and Niu were also delighted. Chang wiped away her tears of excitement and said, "Your father can rest in peace in heaven now. It's a good thing, a really good thing! Let's make something nice for ourselves today, let's eat meat!"
Wang chimed in, "Mother is right. We should go and help. We've avenged our great enemy, and we should be happy!"
The three of them then went out to the stove to cook. Wan Jin, not wanting to linger, said, "I'll go help fetch water. You two chat, Baihu."
Lin Changsi looked at his younger sister with gentle eyes, then, as if remembering something, rummaged under his pillow for a while, pulled out an oil paper package, and handed it to Lin Changning.
"Second brother remembers you like to eat this. Yesterday, Sanya found it and specially saved it for you. You've worked hard these days, Aning. Lin Erniu is finished, and second brother has gone home. You can finally put down your burdens."
Lin Changning took the oil paper package, which contained a bag full of pine nut candy. Lin Changning was stunned for a moment, and suddenly the memory of pestering his parents to buy pine nut candy when he was a child flashed through his mind. When he was a child, the family was not well-off, and they could only eat it during the New Year. That year, the family had a poor harvest, so they did not buy pine nut candy.
She kept asking for some, but her parents said they would buy it next year. She was disappointed for a long time. Later, her second brother set up a stall at the market for three days during the New Year and saved up money to buy her pine nut candy. He also brought some paper money for her younger brother. Her second brother always loved them the most.
Lin Changning took one and popped it into his mouth. The pine nut candy was so sweet and fragrant that it warmed his heart. He handed it to his brother, saying, "Second brother, you should have some too."
Lin Changsi shook his head: "I don't like sweets, you can eat it yourself."
Lin Changning smiled and said, "Then I'll take it and share it with Er Ya and San Ya."
Lin Changsi smiled gently, but his eyes were filled with sorrow as he looked at his sister: "There's no need to share with them. This is for you. Aning has suffered too much. The family owes you. I hope things will go better for Aning in the future."
Lin Changning stopped smiling, realizing that her second brother was worried about her. She didn't say anything and ate another pine nut candy.
"Second brother, it's really sweet. Try some, I'll feed you."
"Okay, thank you very much, Aning."
Lin Erniu's house —
In the afternoon, Lin Changqing sent someone to inform his family, but to his surprise, no one was willing to go even if he offered money. The news of the court hearing spread throughout almost half of the county. Passersby looked at him with disdain, and some even spat on him as he passed by.
He had never been so humiliated, but his father was in a coma and time was of the essence, so he had no choice but to go and fetch a doctor himself.
Unfortunately, after going back and forth, it was still late.
By the time they finally managed to find the person and persuade them to take him to prison, it was too late for the father to save him.
The doctor simply took his pulse, then shook his head and told him to prepare for his death.
He spent all the money he had to hire the jailer to make a trip to his home to find his family.
That evening, just as Liu and Lin Changxiao arrived at the door, the man breathed his last in the prison. His eyes were wide open in his final moments, his hands gripping his eldest son's tightly, his throat churning with gasps. His last words were: "Lin Changping! You little beast! You deserve to die!"
Watching his father die in prison, Lin Changqing's hatred for Lin Changning reached its peak.
"Father, as long as I live, I will avenge you..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
