Chapter 94 Compensation for Half of the Property
According to the Da'an Law, those who plot to murder the princess of the current dynasty should be executed along with their entire family.
As if he didn't expect Song Yanxi to be so cruel, Lin Tingfeng stood there in a daze, unable to react for a long time.
Princess Huayang's eyes flashed with displeasure as she asked, "Yong'an, do you really have no regard for the bond between husband and wife? Do you want me to severely punish the entire General's family?"
Song Yanxi raised her head and asked instead of answering, "On the day of our wedding, General Lin didn't even finish paying homage to heaven and earth before he hurriedly led his army on his way home. In the past two years, he has sent no more than three letters home.
I, your Highness, would like to ask you, what is the bond between us as husband and wife?"
After hearing these words, many women in the courtyard had tears in their eyes.
Especially when he thought about the two years that Song Yanxi had been waiting for him in Beijing, and Lin Tingfeng had always had a beautiful woman by his side, with her charming red sleeves and a fragrant scent, he felt even more angry.
The eldest princess's expression was indifferent. "When faced with the righteousness of family and country, how can we talk about children's personal feelings?"
The words seemed to be defending Lin Tingfeng, but they made him break out in a cold sweat.
This is not speaking for him, it is clearly pointing at him. As a general of a country, he cannot distinguish between public and private.
Lin Tingfeng quickly knelt down and said respectfully, "What happened today is entirely my fault.
As a husband, I was busy with military affairs and neglected to care for my wife. As a brother, I did not discipline my sister well, allowing her to do such a cruel thing because of a momentary misunderstanding.
I have failed to live up to the high hopes placed in you, Your Majesty, and Her Royal Highness, the Princess. I deserve to die!"
He hardened his heart, pulled out a military token from his bosom, raised his hands high, and said in a painful voice: "I can't even keep my family safe, how can I have the face to lead the three armies? I hope Your Highness will take back this military token on behalf of Your Majesty."
The courtyard was silent for a moment, and no one dared to breathe.
Looking at Lin Tingfeng, who looked remorseful, Song Yanxi frowned slightly.
What exactly does this person want to do?
Based on her understanding of him, asking Lin Tingfeng to resign from his position as general would undoubtedly be like asking for his life.
Whether it was his original plan to marry her, or getting the help of the Yan family, or being with Zhuang Shihan under the guise of so-called true love now, he has always had only one purpose.
That is to use all the power you can to climb up step by step until you reach the highest position in the country.
If his abilities were not so limited and he did not want to be branded as a traitor, he would even dare to covet that position.
Would such a person resign without any fight?
Absolutely not!
Princess Huayang straightened her expression and asked coldly, "General Lin, have you made up your mind?"
Lin Tingfeng said without hesitation, "I hope Her Royal Highness the Princess will grant me this."
"Okay, I'll grant you your wish."
Everyone stared at Lin Tingfeng intently.
But until the military token that symbolized his identity was taken away from him and fell into the hands of the eldest princess, his expression did not change much.
On the contrary, when he heard someone calling him to get up, he felt relieved, as if a huge stone in his heart had finally been lifted.
Princess Huayang played with the military token in her hand and said calmly, "I pity your determination to protect your sister, so I will spare her life.
But after all, Yong'an County is the legitimate daughter of the Yongchuan Marquisate, and was personally appointed as a princess by the Emperor. Even if I don't mind, you should at least give her an explanation for humiliating her like this."
Upon hearing this, Lin Tingfeng turned to look at Song Yanxi, his dark eyes filled with heartache and guilt.
Before he could speak, Song Yanxi spoke first, "General, there's no need to say more. The Third Miss is your sister. Even if she pokes a hole in the sky, you, as her brother, will clean up the mess for her.
The general has already gone this far. If I continue to press him, wouldn't it seem a bit ungrateful?"
Everyone was originally moved by the brother-sister love, and felt that although Lin Tingfeng was a little heartless, he still had humanity.
But when he heard what Song Yanxi said, he immediately tasted that something was wrong.
This is not an attempt to apologize to the other party, it is clearly an attempt to force someone to commit a crime by threatening to resign.
What? Just because his own sister is a sister, other people's sisters can be wronged at will?
Besides, Song Yanxi was his legally married wife. Whether he liked it or not, she was the mistress of the general's mansion and Lin Tingxuan's sister-in-law.
His own sister framed his wife like this, but he came over without a single word of criticism, nor did he offer a single word of comfort...
Listening to the whispers around him, Lin Tingfeng's face became uglier. He tightened his hands hanging by his side and bowed to Song Yanxi.
"Today's incident was all caused by Tingxuan's mistake in a moment of confusion. Now she has suffered the consequences of her own actions. I beg Madam to be magnanimous and spare her life."
He said this, but in his heart he wished that Lin Tingxuan would just faint and never wake up.
Song Yanxi knew that he was pretending to be magnanimous, so she simply agreed with him and said, "General, what you said makes sense. After all, I haven't suffered any substantial harm."
Unexpectedly, she gave in so quickly. Lin Tingfeng bit his back teeth and said softly, "Thank you, Madam, for your consideration."
Madam Qiu was furious when she heard this. She held back Yan Qing, who was about to step forward, and said coldly, "Yan Xi is just too easy to talk to. That's why she's been bullied by your General's Mansion for the past two years. Even a little sister-in-law dares to bully her."
Lin Tingfeng frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean, Madam Qiu?"
"As a member of her family, I am standing up for Yan Xi."
Madam Qiu snorted coldly, took two steps forward, and asked, "You keep saying that you feel guilty towards Yan Xi, but you can't just say it without even offering a word of compensation, right?"
When he heard about compensation, Lin Tingfeng thought of the more than 30,000 taels he had given her and blurted out, "My mother already gave her 30,000 taels a few days ago."
Song Yanxi frowned and asked, "General, are you talking about the thirty thousand taels that my mother-in-law took out of Princess Shihan's dowry that day in front of the general's mansion?"
When Lin Tingfeng heard the first half of her sentence, he realized that something was wrong and wanted to stop her, but it was too late.
Princess Huayang raised her eyebrows slightly, "Is this really true?"
Seeing Lin Tingfeng's face was ashen, Song Yanxi kindly recounted the whole story of that day.
The Princess asked, "I heard that you donated 40,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue a few days ago. Is this the money?"
Song Yanxi nodded with a bitter smile on her lips, "If it weren't for my mother-in-law's insistence, I would not have planned to settle this account with the General's Mansion.
Just ask yourself, what woman in this world would be willing to live like a stranger with her husband's family? "
Princess Huayang admired her for being sensible. She caught a glimpse of Lin Tingfeng, whose face looked gloomy and as if he wanted to eat someone, and she felt inexplicably angry.
She said in a deep voice, "I also think that what Madam Qiu said is reasonable. Your family should compensate Yong'an."
Song Yanxi raised her eyes, glanced in the direction of Lin Tingfeng, and said hesitantly: "This servant is not short of money, Your Highness, please don't embarrass the general."
This actually reminded the eldest princess.
Since Lin Tingfeng couldn't give her the love of a husband, it would be good to give her some money or something.
Thinking of this, Princess Huayang looked at Lin Tingfeng and asked with a smile, "The General's Mansion owes Yong'an a great deal. Now that you have no official position, I'm afraid it will be difficult to repay her in the future. How about giving her half of the mansion's property as compensation?"
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