"How could that be? Your father has always loved you the most." The beautiful woman laughed awkwardly.
She had never heard such blunt words spoken to her face, leaving her with no way to refute. If someone really said this, the Lin family's reputation would be completely ruined. The harsh treatment of the legitimate son would be enough to make the imperial censors report him countless times.
"Of course, my son knows," Lin Su said with a respectful smile, "so I just wanted to choose a literate servant. Father is kind and will not lecture me on this matter."
Lin Chu's beard twitched, and he gripped the armrest of his chair tightly. "But where did you go? Who did you buy? A brothel is not a place for scholars! If you are upright, why don't you bring the person back? If your reputation gets out, will you consider my reputation as your father? Will you consider the reputation of our Lin family? As a father, I am kind, but are you filial?"
This hat was enough to make Lin Su suffer a lot. The saying that if you have a stepmother, you will also have a stepfather was really appropriate.
"If my son really wanted to have sex with men, he should have stayed out all night. I wonder who twisted the facts in front of my father and alienated our relationship. Their intentions are truly sinister," Lin Su said with a bow. "If it were a servant, anyone who slanders their master like this should be dragged out and beaten to death."
"No, no!" The beautiful woman stopped him directly. Meeting Lin Su's meaningful gaze, she couldn't help but clench her handkerchief. "They are just concerned about your reputation, Zhiyuan. After all, if the matter of the brothel gets out, it will be detrimental to your future career. How can those lowly musicians know any proper reading? If you think the servant is not good enough, your father will naturally choose a better one for you. You can judge for yourself, and there is no need for others to take the blame. It is better to sell the bad ones as soon as possible."
Lin Su has many servants. If he were to pick more and go back and forth, people would only think that the legitimate mother is virtuous and the legitimate son is difficult to serve.
Lin Su sighed, and the beautiful woman sat up straight and stared at him, afraid that he would do something strange.
But Lin Su was still thinking about something else: "Forget it, I won't hide it from father. When Zhiyuan was young, he got lost at the Lantern Festival. It was my servant's parents who helped me. Now I can be like my father and filial son, so that my father won't lose his wife and son and be talked about by others. He is my benefactor. When I learned that my benefactor was in trouble and was sold to that kind of place to become a servant, I couldn't bear to see him suffer any more. That's why I helped him. A drop of water should be repaid with a spring, let alone a life-saving grace. Such a great favor, even if he was in trouble temporarily, others might say he was of low status. My Lin family knows how to repay kindness, how can we humiliate my benefactor like this? If it gets out, won't people laugh at my Lin family for being ungrateful?"
He can also wear a tall hat.
The beautiful woman stood there in a daze: "Mother didn't know this would happen. Zhiyuan, why didn't you explain it clearly earlier?"
Lin Su ignored her and looked at his father. "Father, you said I didn't bring him back. It wasn't because I felt guilty, but because I was afraid of being criticized. To repay your kindness, I gave him a courtyard and a job. I used your authority to prevent him from being disturbed by others. Please understand."
"You've said all the good and bad things." Lin Chu sighed, "Is he really just a servant, not a waiter?"
"Father, you can send someone to check whether the words Qing Tang are on the signboard of Cuinong Pavilion." Lin Su said respectfully.
He swore so solemnly that Lin Chu could not retaliate: "Forget it, it's late tonight, you should go back first. We will verify it later. If you lied at all..."
"Then the son is unfilial. The father can remove the son from the family tree if he wants." Lin Su looked straight at him and said.
Lin suddenly waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can go back."
The two people in the room felt heartbroken after the conversation. The beautiful woman wanted to say something, but the fact that she had both a stepmother and a stepfather made it difficult for her to speak. Lin Chu kept sighing, and the atmosphere was quite stagnant.
Lin Su went into his own courtyard, where someone brought him hot water. After washing up, he fell asleep comfortably.
After spending a few days in the Imperial Examination Hall, he had to work non-stop to redeem the person and also had to fight with his stepfather and stepmother. Even he needed a rest.
He slept soundly, but when the cock crowed, Lin Su was awakened by the sound of people talking outside.
"The eldest young master came back yesterday and acted so arrogantly that both the master and his wife were speechless."
"This trip to the capital is different. I'm not sure if I can pass the exam, but I'm putting on airs."
"After all, he is a scholar, so he can't say anything."
"You know you can't talk, but you're still gossiping here," Lin Su said, pushing open the window and leaning his head to look at the people who were talking. "You're trying to sow discord between my father and me. You really deserve a beating. Come on, beat them up!"
If you only offend the eldest young master, you may not be beaten, but if you offend the master, you deserve the beating.
Lin Su beat the man up and immediately spread the reputation of Diao Nu. Reputation is something that can easily be spread by false accusations.
"Madam, you have to make the decision for us. The young master is too cruel."
"It's really inhumane to hit someone without any reason."
"We have also worked hard for the Lin family all our lives, how can we be treated like this?"
“…”
There was a chorus of crying and the second wife was also in a dilemma. She had just heard that someone was beaten, and then she heard the rumors outside. If she went to Lin Su to make trouble again, she would probably be accused of allowing the servant to mistreat the eldest son.
She finally realized that the guy had been patient like a sheep before, but now his true nature was revealed. He was clearly a wolf, the kind that would bite people painfully.
"You guys just have to be patient for now. He is the master's eldest son. How can I afford to offend him?" the second wife comforted.
Lin Su was too lazy to argue with a woman. Instead of firing machine guns at her, he might as well cut off the source of the problem.
While the second wife was still temporarily enduring the turmoil, the rumor that the Lin family had no children and the concubine was childless was actually caused by the second wife began to spread. Before the second wife could react, Lin Ju had already found her and even found out about the contraceptive soup he had given to the concubine.
There was a big quarrel every three days and a small quarrel every two days, and the entire Qinghe Prefecture was forced to watch the fun.
"It turns out that her previous kindness and generosity were all fake."
"I was wondering how a stepmother could possibly be kind to my deceased wife's children. She's just being hypocritical."
"Jealousy is one of the seven deadly sins."
“…”
Although rumors were rampant, Lin Su felt much more relaxed and could go out to the streets to learn about the rules and regulations of this world.
Qinghe Prefecture is not far from the capital. Within a few days, all the candidates who had taken the exam had returned. Some of them invited Lin Su to sit in a teahouse or tavern to talk about love, learning, and gossip.
Men are not without gossip, but they cannot talk about gossip in front of women.
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