Chapter 122 The Cui Family and the Lin Family
Cui Xiang had nine sons, but only the eldest son and the ninth son were born to the first wife; the others were born to concubines or maids.
The other sons weren't particularly valued originally, but now that Cui Jiulang is dead and Cui Dalang has gone to Hebei Province, and the Cui family is currently enjoying success, many people are eager to curry favor with Cui Qilang.
Just as he was feeling smug, he suddenly heard someone publicly insulting his family, and he was immediately enraged.
He immediately stood up, and upon seeing that it was the second young master of Minister Lin's family, he immediately rebuked him sternly.
"Your Lin family has committed such shameful and disgraceful acts, yet you still dare to come out and embarrass yourselves, even spouting nonsense to denigrate our Cui family? Who gave you the audacity!"
Lin Xuezhu was already drunk, and when he jumped out, she was even more disdainful.
"You, a mere illegitimate son, dare to yell at me? If you're so capable, call someone from your Cui family who has the right to speak up!"
These words struck a nerve with Cui Qilang. He turned ashen with anger, rushed forward, and clenched his fist to smash it into Lin Xuezhu's face.
"I'll beat you to death, you ignorant bastard! Let me tell you, even if you all join your Lin family, you're not worth a single finger of our Cui family. You dare to spout such nonsense here?"
Lin Xuezhu was already quite drunk, and the punch made her stagger, her cheeks instantly turning red.
He also got angry, wiped his face, and immediately swung his fist back, cursing, "You bullying illegitimate son, how dare you hit me? The Cui family is dog shit, and you are the dog shit of dog shit, what's there to be proud of?!"
The two immediately started fighting, smashing cups, plates, and bowls, and spilling food and drinks all over the floor.
Guests around gasped and made way, some scrambling to avoid the fight, while others watched from a distance. Several officials rushed forward to mediate.
"Stop fighting! We're all colleagues, let's talk this out!"
"This is the Third Princess's banquet; it would be extremely improper to cause such a scene!"
Lin Xuesong was exchanging pleasantries with his colleagues when he heard the urgent report from his servant and rushed over.
At a glance, one could see that Lin Xuezhu and Cui Qilang were still fighting, hurling insults at each other.
His heart tightened, and he quickly called for people to come forward and forcibly separate the two.
Cui Qilang was helped up and sat in a chair, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at Lin Xuezhu and cursed, "You, Lin, just you wait! I will make you pay for today's humiliation tenfold!"
Lin Xuezhu was also being held by the arm, her eyes blurry with drunkenness but she still stubbornly retorted: "Return it? I'm afraid you don't have the ability! If you're so capable, have your Prime Minister Cui come and get me, don't send a bastard like you to embarrass yourself!"
Looking at the chaotic scene before him and the probing gazes of those around him, Lin Xuesong felt a burning sensation on his face.
He knew that he couldn't explain this to the Third Princess, and once the news got out, the Lin family would be permanently at odds with the Cui family, leaving no room for maneuver.
He took a deep breath and cupped his hands in greeting to Cui Qilang. "Young Master Cui, my younger brother was drunk and behaved inappropriately today, spouting wild words. I hope you will forgive him and not take it to heart. I will personally bring him to apologize another day."
"An apology?" Cui Qilang sneered, flicking his sleeve and rebuking, "How can you possibly salvage the reputation of the Cui family with a mere apology? This matter is far from over!"
"Who do you think you are, daring to be so arrogant!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xuezhu struggled to rush forward again, but was held down firmly by her attendants.
Lin Xuesong could no longer bear it. He turned to his servants and sternly ordered, "Gag him, tie his hands and feet, and send him back to the manor immediately!"
The servants dared not delay, and immediately took out strips of cloth to gag Lin Xuezhu, tied his hands and feet tightly with hemp rope, and half-dragged and half-carried him out.
After dealing with everything, Lin Xuesong forced himself to calm down and turned to the guests in the hall, bowing repeatedly.
"Please forgive me, everyone. My younger brother was impolite and spoiled your enjoyment. I apologize to you all!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the Third Princess's personal maidservant strode over and asked coldly.
"Young Master Lin, His Highness sent me to inquire about the commotion in the main hall."
Lin Xuesong's heart tightened, and he hurriedly followed the maid to the main seat, pondering in his mind how to explain to the Third Princess and try to salvage the situation.
In the front hall, the maids were busy cleaning up the mess of cups and plates, while several officials who were familiar with Cui Qilang surrounded him, whispering words of comfort.
No one noticed that the figure in the blue robe who had been sitting in the corner had quietly gotten up and limped out of the princess's residence with Lin Xuezhu.
Inside the carriage, Lin Xuezhu, whose hands and feet were bound, was still struggling. He spat out the gag from his mouth and cursed incoherently.
"That bastard Cui Qilang! That vile son of Lin Xue'an! And those stupid women who only care about looks..."
One minute he's cursing the Cui family, the next he's cursing Lin Xue'an, and then he's cursing the eldest princess and the third princess.
They just want to curse whoever comes to mind.
The accompanying attendants had no choice but to urge their horses back to the mansion as quickly as possible.
Just as they turned into a quiet alley, several burly men suddenly appeared in front of them, holding wooden sticks, and blocked the middle of the road.
The attendant immediately sensed something was wrong and, forcing himself to remain calm, shouted, "Who goes there? This is Minister Lin's carriage! Get out of the way immediately and don't block the way!"
But the burly men ignored them, expressionless, and continued to approach step by step, carrying their wooden sticks.
The servant had never seen anything like this before. He was so frightened that his hands trembled. He no longer cared about his master in the carriage. He jumped off the carriage and ran wildly out of the alley without looking back, wishing he had two more legs.
Before Lin Xuezhu could react, a large hand pulled her out of the carriage and slammed a stick into her back.
He cried out in pain, instantly waking up from his drunken stupor and looking up.
He saw four or five masked men standing in front of him, each holding a wooden stick and with fierce eyes, which terrified him.
"Who are you? What do you want? My father is Minister Lin, you dare to touch me!"
The burly man at the head of the group sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "Who we are is unimportant. What matters is that you've offended someone you shouldn't have!"
He stepped forward and pointed at Lin Xuezhu with a wooden stick, "Go back and tell your father that this is just a small lesson. If you dare to speak disrespectfully to the Cui family again, be careful that your entire Lin family loses its lives!"
As soon as he finished speaking, more wooden sticks rained down on him.
Lin Xuezhu curled up on the ground, clutching her head tightly with both hands, her screams heart-wrenching.
...
In the shadows at the alley entrance, Du Cong leaned on his wooden cane, coldly watching this scene, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
As Lin Xuezhu's screams gradually subsided, he ordered his subordinates, "Break his legs, strip him naked, and throw him at the gate of the Lin residence."
The subordinate bowed and replied, "Yes!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com