Chapter Sixty-Seven: Someone Will Take Care
With each increase in the price, the village chief frowned, feeling a strange mix of emotions. Looking at Lin Youcai's particularly arrogant expression, he suddenly understood what was causing his unease and said, "Master Lin, please don't waste your time. This humble villager will wait for the magistrate to uphold justice."
She emphasized the words "upholding justice" very much, completely ignoring Lin Youcai's aggressive gaze.
Seeing that the village chief had made his choice, Shen Zhiyi, fearing that the other side might resort to desperate measures, couldn't help but ask, "Does Master Lin have anything else to say?"
"Your village is very good," Lin Youcai said with a forced smile.
Shen Zhiyi stared directly into Lin Youcai's sinister eyes, showing no fear, because she believed that there was always "reason" in this world, otherwise how could human civilization continue?
"Young Master Lin, don't run so fast. My acupuncture skills are unparalleled..." The doctor's urgent words reached the hall. A dark figure darted over, knelt on the ground with a thud, and hurriedly said, "Sir, I confess! I'll confess to everything!"
"I ordered people to open the sluice gates and dig ditches to flood her land!" Lin Fusheng said urgently, his gaze falling on the doctor who had come after them. Seeing the doctor approaching, he quickly moved back.
Who told him to open his eyes only to see someone stabbing him with a needle thicker than his own hand? Wasn't that torture? Although he didn't know where the needle was hidden, getting away from that person was the best way!
The snapping sound pulled Lin Fusheng back from the jumbled thoughts in his mind. He blankly looked up at the person in the seat above him, only to hear the other person's cold, indifferent voice, like that of the King of Hell, asking: "Why did you do this?"
In the blink of an eye, those blue-faced, fanged figures vanished. Lin Fusheng, still shaken, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his temples and asked, "M-Sir, what are you talking about? What did I do?"
The stark contrast in their reactions immediately alerted Lu Jingbai, who asked in a deep voice, "Why did you order the sluice gates to be opened and the ditches to be dug, causing the fields and houses of the villagers in Xiaba Village to be flooded?"
"I..." Lin Fusheng was about to speak when he suddenly heard Lin Youcai coughing over there. He turned his head and his eyes widened in shock. He saw the green-faced ghost appear there again, and he quickly looked away, facing Lu Jingbai directly. His last bit of hope had long been shattered by the ghost that had reappeared. "Because I hate her!"
"She openly demanded payment at the restaurant, making me lose face. I just wanted to teach her a lesson." Lin Fusheng calmed down, but dared not look around, fearing that it might be one of those terrible things again.
Of course, there was an element of lying involved, for fear of being exposed.
If it weren't for that wild girl, the people in the village wouldn't have become increasingly disobedient, so focused on clearing land and farming! Father wouldn't have had such a headache because of this; he did all this to share his father's burdens.
It was just bad luck.
"I never thought it would turn out like this," Lin Fusheng said helplessly. The water wasn't strong enough, otherwise he would have drowned long ago. But in court, he still had to act repentant. "I know I was wrong and shouldn't have done that. Please punish me leniently, Your Honor."
Lin Youcai's heart was filled with mixed emotions. He wished he could step forward and beat this unfilial son awake. He had made all the arrangements, and even if it was eventually found out that it was Mo Wen's doing, he had to jump out at this moment to ask for punishment!
The incident happened in the blink of an eye. Lin Youcai could only quickly weigh the situation in his mind before decisively stepping forward and slapping Lin Fusheng several times. He then knelt angrily in the hall and said, "I never expected that this was your doing! How can you face my ancestors and all my neighbors!"
As they were talking, Lin Youcai struck Lin Fusheng hard. At that moment, Madam Lin rushed over like a butterfly, choking back tears as she cried out, "Master, please stop hitting him! Sheng'er is still so young, how can he withstand such a beating?"
Lin Youcai sighed helplessly and muttered, "It's true what they say, a doting mother spoils her son... It's because you pamper him like this that he did such a wrong thing!"
As the play came to an end, Lin Youcai knelt in the courtroom once more, pleading, "Your Honor! I know that what he has done is unforgivable, but things are not yet beyond redemption. I am willing to make amends with money and effort!"
Lin Youcai turned to look at the village chief and asked, "Village Chief Li, please tell me what compensation you want!"
This time, the village chief was put on hold again.
Shen Zhiyi tugged at the village chief's sleeve, gesturing towards Lu Jingbai, who was sitting in the hall.
The village chief, being shrewd, immediately knelt down and addressed the person in the high seat, saying, "Please, Lord Lu, do justice for us!"
After watching most of the show, although he was able to prove Lin Fusheng's guilt step by step, he did not expect the other party to admit it so suddenly. It was obvious that they had prepared a backup plan, so it seemed that there was no need to be on guard anymore.
Lu Jingbai slammed his gavel and said, "According to Article 339 of the law, those who destroy land must compensate for fifteen times the harvest of one crop, and the principal offender must be given thirty strokes of the cane. According to Article 340 of the law, those who destroy houses must compensate for twice the value of the house, and the principal offender must be given ten strokes of the cane."
"Village Chief, are you ready for a contest?" Lu Jingbai asked in turn.
When she heard how many articles there were in the law, Shen Zhiyi focused intently on understanding how to make the compensation. She then carefully calculated the figures with the village chief, and the village chief was surprised by the numbers they came up with. He said several times, "Calculate it carefully," which caused a slight delay.
After several verifications, the results were exactly the same, and the village chief could only reply, "Your Honor, according to the laws and regulations you mentioned, I have already calculated it."
"Ninety-seven taels of silver and six hundred and fifty cash," the village chief honestly replied.
As soon as the village chief finished speaking, the crowd listening to the commotion outside erupted in a clamor—
"What? It's worth that much money?"
"What rare things are growing in that field?"
"Xiaba Village, Xiaba Village, isn't that the village that grows chili peppers!"
With a few words, the matter was settled, and the noise gradually subsided. Lu Jingbai stopped striking the gavel and said, "Lin Fusheng, did you hear that clearly? Do you have any objections?"
"I understand, and I have no objection." Lin Fusheng said disdainfully, glancing at Shen Zhiyi. All this trouble for less than a hundred taels of silver was just a few days' worth of his expenses.
At this moment, he thought that since he had been fined, there was no need for him to be beaten. However, Lin Youcai and his wife were clear-headed and knew that this matter was not over.
Just as Lu Jingbai was about to announce the punishment in court, Lin Youcai, with his love for his son, pleaded, "Sir, my son is weak, and considering that he has confessed voluntarily, please be lenient and let us redeem him with silver."
"The law is not a game!" Lu Jingbai said in a deep voice, demonstrating his commitment to upholding justice.
At this moment, Lin Youcai looked for help at Chen Caiguan, who had been silent since entering the hall. Seeing this, Chen Caiguan could no longer refuse and said, "Lord Lu, if I remember correctly, there is a law that states that, except for the most heinous criminals, if they are forgiven by the victim, they can redeem their crimes with silver."
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Lin, the loving mother, led Lin Fusheng toward Shen Zhiyi, knelt down with a thud, and said in a tearful voice, "Girl, please have mercy! If those dozens of lashes are cast, how will my son survive!"
It's also clever of her not to mention what evil deeds she did or what bad consequences they caused; it's all about a mother's heartache for her son.
Lin Fusheng's malicious intent to drown her was enough to send chills down Shen Zhiyi's spine. It was only because she was quick-witted and dodged that a tragedy was averted, and she was able to listen to these social niceties here, which made it seem as if she was being unreasonable.
This person is also not pure of heart.
Shen Zhiyi knew that her energy was limited and she couldn't afford to waste it on fighting wits with these people. She wanted to settle things peacefully, but was that really possible?
“Madam Lin, I have never provoked your Lin family,” Shen Zhiyi said sincerely. “But your son, out of so-called jealousy, did something as simple as opening the sluice gates to flood the village. This is no longer an excuse that ‘he is young’ can be forgiven.”
At this point, Shen Zhiyi looked past the mother and son in front of her and towards Lin Youcai, and said, "I need Young Master Lin to write a letter of apology for this matter. If he makes the same mistake again, I will make the letter public. I think that even the most ignorant person should learn from their mistakes, otherwise they would just be a fool."
There are many ways to spread this message, but she doesn't intend to directly break off relations.
She doesn't cause trouble, but she's not afraid of trouble either.
"Alright, we'll do as you say, young lady," Lin Youcai said in a deep voice, he had a backup plan.
“As long as he’s willing to write, we’ll forgive him,” Shen Zhiyi said earnestly.
“In that case, then Young Master Lin…” Lu Jingbai looked at Lin Fusheng, who remained silent, “would you be willing to do so?”
"I'm willing to write!" Lin Fusheng quickly said. The first few strokes were painful enough, and there were still dozens more to go. Wouldn't that kill him?
The clerk recording the proceedings in court promptly handed over pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. Only after the letter of apology was handed to Lu Jingbai and he had read it did he say, "Since the sins are to be redeemed with silver, half of the money should naturally belong to the aggrieved party. Neither party has any objection to this, right?"
Shen Zhiyi hadn't expected that she was involved in this, so she could only stay in the hall.
"Registrar Zhou, thank you for your trouble," Lu Jingbai said to the middle-aged man sitting next to him.
Zhou, the registrar, rose and bowed to Lu Jingbai. Then, with an indifferent expression, he looked at the people in the courtroom, took out a memorial that he had prepared at some point, opened it, and began to read: "Today, the court will hear..."
Listening to the other person's pedantic speech, Shen Zhiyi was exasperated. After the person finished reading, Lu Jingbai said, "Lin Fusheng, the ransom for forty strokes of the cane is four hundred and sixty taels of silver. Do you accept the punishment?"
"I accept the punishment!" Lin Fusheng hurriedly said. It was only four hundred and sixty taels of silver, yet it had caused such a commotion...
Thinking of this, he glanced at Shen Zhiyi and saw that she indeed looked like a beggar.
“In that case, this letter…” Lu Jingbai’s gaze fell on the letter of apology on the desk, and then he heard Shen Zhiyi say, “Just leave it with the magistrate for safekeeping. I am very relieved.”
"But I don't really want the ransom money. Perhaps I could exchange it for land?" Shen Zhiyi said somewhat embarrassedly.
She needs land to conduct her research, but given her circumstances, she simply doesn't have a large enough plot of land to buy.
Lu Jingbai casually folded the letter, looked at Lin Youcai, and asked, "Is it alright?"
Lin Youcai was seething with anger inside, but he still had to put on a smiling face and say, "Of course! However, the land in our family is all grown by tenant farmers. If we give it away so easily, those tenant farmers will..."
Shen Zhiyi and Lu Jingbai frowned. Lin Youcai, who was mainly observing Lu Jingbai's side, said, "If the young lady doesn't mind, there are a few mountain plots available at home, worth two hundred and thirty taels each. It's the place not far from Xiaba Village, which is called 'Chicken Mountain' by passersby."
"Chicken Mountain?" the village chief repeated incredulously. The mountain was not high, but the soil was extremely fertile. He had thought it was a joke, but seeing that Lin Youcai was very serious, he said, "Girl, that mountain is acceptable."
The mountainous terrain was no challenge for Shen Zhiyi, so upon hearing that it was this mountain, she agreed without much hesitation: "Then let's do as Master Lin says and use Jigong Mountain as payment."
Seeing that both sides had finished their discussion, Lu Jingbai slowly said, "I hereby declare the case closed."
"Then it will be up to you to review it," Lu Jingbai said meaningfully to Zhou, the registrar, before leaving.
"Yes, I will certainly handle it well," Zhou, the registrar, replied softly.
After Lu Jingbai left, Lin Youcai took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve without blinking, and respectfully handed them to Zhou, the registrar, saying, "This is four hundred taels of silver notes. Please use the extra to have some tea. It's so late and you're still working so hard."
"Master Lin is truly generous." Registrar Zhou said indifferently to the clerk beside him, "Record it: Lin Fusheng shall compensate the aggrieved party with 97 taels and 650 cash for the land and house, pay the yamen 230 taels as atonement money, and give the aggrieved party the land deed for 'Chicken Mountain'. In total, Lin Fusheng shall receive 400 taels of silver notes."
After saying this, Zhou, the registrar, said to Lin Youcai and Shen Zhiyi with a forced smile, "Tomorrow at 3:45 AM, both parties must bring their yamen officials to settle the matter in person."
Lin Youcai, on the contrary, narrowed his eyes and felt that the yamen had changed from the inside out. Was the thing he was trying so hard to hide going to be dug up by the new magistrate?
With an almost animalistic instinct, Lin Youcai felt at that moment that he could not stay in Pixian for long.
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