Public execution
Lin Huaiyin introduced herself, and the women were astonished.
Forty or fifty pairs of eyes scrutinized Lin Huaiyin from head to toe.
Depending on their background and preferences, the noble ladies of the capital each had their own social circles, and they generally knew each other. However, the Lin family's daughter was not one of them.
The Lin family, who commanded the Imperial Guard, held a crucial position. On the surface, they enjoyed immense prestige, but in reality, the more prominent they were, the more dangerous it was. To achieve merit, they had to guard against suspicion, making it a precarious situation. Therefore, successive heads of the Lin family strictly adhered to the ancestral precept of not forming cliques or engaging in politics.
As a daughter of the Lin family, Lin Huaiyin never had the right to socialize, travel, or invite friends like other young ladies from wealthy families.
She had been hanging out with Xie Ao at the Imperial Guard's training ground since she was a child. Outsiders only knew that the Lin family had a daughter, a noble lady among noble ladies, but they could never actually see her.
The only time she made a public appearance was last year, when Lin Huaiyin was trapped in the White Lotus Sect's den for half a month and her reputation was ruined. She was rescued by Shen Congyun, wrapped in Shen Congyun's outer robe, and the two rode a horse through the city in a ostentatious manner.
The women were unsure whether the person before them was Lin Huaiyin or not, because when Shen Congyun returned victorious from suppressing the bandits last year, their eyes were all focused on Shen Congyun's face.
But one thing they were absolutely certain of was that Madam Shen was, after all, Madam Shen. How could the wife of the Grand Secretary possibly embarrass herself by setting up a shabby stall to sell her dowry?
Counterfeit.
It's obviously a fake.
The women didn't believe Lin Huaiyin's lies and prepared to join forces to beat her when she was down.
Lin Huaiyin noticed their reaction and knew that her prey had taken the bait. She just had to wait to be dealt with. Anyway, the bigger the commotion, the more embarrassed Shen Congyun would be.
She bowed respectfully to the master of ceremonies and said, "It is my fault for presumptuously borrowing your esteemed temple to sell goods. Please release my maid first."
She bowed slightly, her posture respectful and deliberately not putting on airs, which made the other women even more certain that Lin Huaiyin was an imposter.
However, Lin Huaiyin's respect was not a sign of weakness; she was simply thanking her.
The Buddhist temple is a pure and tranquil place, far removed from worldly affairs and free from strife. Yet, a sacred pagoda conveniently provided her with the means to avenge her blood feud. It truly is a case of the Buddha opening the door of convenience to all beings, helping those with affinity.
Lin Huaiyin felt grateful, but the thought that after killing someone, she would continue to cause trouble and even planned to cause trouble in front of the Buddha and the Great Buddha Hall made her feel guilty.
She bowed deeply in thanks and apologized sincerely.
When the guest master saw her sincerity, his eyes lit up. Although there were many female benefactors today, most of them were arrogant and haughty, treating him like a servant. A benefactor like Lin, who put her hands together with him and called herself his disciple, was truly a rare sight.
Although he was a person outside the secular world, he had heard about Lin Huaiyin being kidnapped by the White Lotus Sect traitors last year. Now, seeing the pitiful girl from the rumors, who was young and composed, and seemed to have transcended that incident, he was very happy and his goodwill towards Lin Huaiyin increased. He put his palms together and praised, "Amitabha, well done, well done."
Immediately, the guest master nodded, signaling the warrior monks to release the fish and crab claws.
"Wait a minute."
The woman in crimson shouted sternly, "Don't let it go!"
However, the monks of Tiefo Temple did not obey her commands. When the guest master told them to let go, they immediately released their grip.
Seeing this, the woman in crimson sneered and ordered, "Take her down!"
In an instant, two guards dressed in tight-fitting clothes appeared. Yu Li and Xie Ao, who had just regained their freedom, were once again roughly controlled with their shoulders tied behind their backs.
Crab Ao was highly skilled in martial arts, and the two guards were no match for her. She could easily kill them. However, she remembered Lin Huaiyin's instructions to avoid impulsiveness and trouble, and to act according to the situation.
Therefore, neither the crab claw nor the fish resisted.
They caused trouble in public and became violent at the entrance of a Buddhist temple.
The guest master was in a rather difficult position.
Based on his extensive experience in judging people, he was certain that Lin Huaiyin was the third young lady of the Lin family and the legal wife of Grand Secretary Shen Congyun. However, it was quite absurd that while Lord Shen was painting in the Great Hall of the Buddha, Madam Shen was setting up a stall at the temple gate to sell her dowry. The relationship between the couple was quite delicate, which made him have to act cautiously and wait and see.
Lin Huaiyin noticed that among the group of female guests, the woman in red was clearly the leader, and she went straight to the point, asking her, "Who are you?"
These words caused an uproar among the women.
The woman in red remained silent, while the others teased her, "Aren't you Madam Shen? How come you don't even recognize Miss Liu?"
Everyone scoffed. Lin Huaiyin took a closer look at Miss Liu and realized that she was indeed arrogant and imposing. She suddenly realized that she was the granddaughter of Imperial Censor Liu Cang, and also the niece of Consort Hui in the palace—Liu Yinjun.
With Consort Hui favored and pregnant with the emperor's child, the Liu family is now extremely powerful, and the status of the eldest daughter of the Liu family certainly commands respect.
However, the most crucial point is that in Lin Huaiyin's nightmare, Shen Congyun mentioned that: Censor Liu Cang was a henchman of Princess Pingyang. The White Lotus Sect was rampant in the local areas, and the court had tried to suppress it several times but failed to eradicate it completely. This was all because the Censorate forced local reports and manipulated things from top to bottom to deceive the emperor.
Thinking of this, Lin Huaiyin stared intently at Liu Yinjun, and through her face, she immediately nailed a target to Liu Cang's head.
The unfriendly gaze was instantly received by Liu Yinjun, who was startled and felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, experiencing a fear that seeped into her bones for no reason.
Lin Huaiyin noticed the tremor in her pupils and quickly suppressed her murderous intent, revealing her fear.
Her timid face made Liu Yinjun momentarily think it was some kind of illusion, unsure which moment was real.
She found Lin Huaiyin very strange. Every piece of jewelry she brought was a treasure, and most of them were better than the ones she had seen at her aunt's place. Their origins were highly questionable. She couldn't figure out Lin Huaiyin's ways, but she firmly believed one thing—Shen Congyun's women would never show their faces in public!
It's ridiculous that the Prime Minister's wife is setting up a street stall.
Lord Shen is the Grand Secretary, second only to the emperor. How could he not support his family and his wife, and have to ask his wife to sell her dowry to make money?
Even someone who impersonates another person should use their brain.
Liu Yinjun didn't know where to begin her mockery. Anyway, she had caught the thief red-handed and originally wanted to hand him over to the Jingzhao Prefecture, but the monks of Tiefo Temple were ungrateful and wouldn't listen to her. So she didn't need to give them face. She might as well just bring the fake goods to Lord Shen and expose them in public. This would be a good way to save face for her grandfather and make Lord Shen owe him a favor.
Liu Yinjun was different from other women. She had a fiancé arranged by her parents. As for Shen Congyun's good looks, she could admire him, just like meeting up with her girlfriends to listen to music or watch a play, just for something new, interesting, and pleasing to the eye.
However, she disdained men who had been with other women and had no interest in Shen Congyun's favor. Given the rare opportunity, she wanted to help her grandfather and secure a favor for the Liu family from the current Grand Secretary.
Without further ado, Liu Yinjun gave a signal, and the guard handed the crab claw to another person, who then twisted Lin Huaiyin's arms behind her back.
Lin Huaiyin let out a "Ya!" and curled up like a little white rabbit.
Crab and Fish looked at her, their eyes met, and the three of them turned into little rabbits, their eyes red, their panic written all over their faces.
After capturing the three swindlers, Liu Yinjun gestured to her maid to pick up the stolen jewelry, and with her head held high and chest out, she walked gracefully toward the mountain gate.
The guest master secretly realized something was wrong—the abbot and Lord Shen were painting and meditating in the main hall, and such unauthorized intrusion would cause everyone to lose face!
He looked at Lin Huaiyin, thinking that this child came from the Lin family and had an extraordinary demeanor, so he should have a way to escape. Unexpectedly, Lin Huaiyin did not struggle or resist. She was lifted forward as if she was frightened, and did not utter a sound.
What's going on? Is Benefactor Lin so easy to bully? The guest master sensed something was wrong, very wrong, and ordered the monks to intercept them, but unexpectedly, a group of young ladies stepped forward to stop them.
Since men and women are not supposed to touch each other, and these women were all noble ladies, the warrior monks were instantly suppressed and had nowhere to use their strength.
The guest master was at his wit's end and rushed to Liu Yinjun's side to persuade her: "Please calm down, lady. You can't go to the inner hall. If you insist that Lin is impersonating someone else, you can go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to verify his identity, or you can go to the Lin family."
Liu Yinjun ignored him, stepped over the threshold of the mountain gate, and passed through the Heavenly King Hall.
The guest master was at his wits' end, but he couldn't physically pull her away. He kept looking at Lin Huaiyin, who looked like a little rabbit in a cage, her eyes full of innocence.
He wondered if Lin was unaware that Lord Shen was inside.
"Benefactor Lin, are you aware that Lord Shen is currently in this temple?"
The guest master looked worried. When Lin Huaiyin heard this, she thought to herself, "I know. I went there for him. Didn't you see that I didn't struggle at all and was trying to maintain my appearance?"
I'm going to make it look beautiful and see him crack on the spot.
Lin Huaiyin felt a surge of anticipation, but her face betrayed utter shock. She struggled violently, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Let me go! Let me go! My husband is inside!"
Her screams were so piercing that they echoed through the Maitreya Hall, the Guanyin Hall, and reached the Mahavira Hall.
——
Inside the hall, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and the chanting of sutras echoed softly.
Shen Congyun, dressed in an elegant black robe, stood before the painting "Sakyamuni Emerging from the Mountain," and was adding details to Sakyamuni's features with his brush.
He was tall and straight, with a jade-like profile, elegant and dignified, like a celestial being descended to earth.
The women in the crowd held their breath, their eyes filled with fascination.
Shen Congyun loved this feeling.
After sending Lin Huaiyin away to raise money, he was restless in his study. His pride made it difficult for him to ask a woman for money, but for the sake of his cause and Princess Pingyang's great cause, he had no other choice.
He hated that bitch Lin Huaiyin, who guarded the Lin family's gold mine but only brought a meager 500,000 taels as dowry and didn't hand it over voluntarily, making him have to ask her.
She deserves to die.
Therefore, Shen Congyun came to Tiefo Temple.
The place was solemn and the sound of chanting filled the air, which calmed the mind. He painted and washed the elephants here, gradually finding peace in his heart. But the peace did not last long. Before he could finish a painting, he faintly heard Lin Huaiyin's voice again.
Shen Congyun felt like he was hallucinating. He heard Lin Huaiyin calling "Husband," and other words, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.
That vile woman's ghost won't leave you alone; she's even haunted the Iron Buddha Temple.
He frowned slightly, trying to dispel the illusion, but to the women watching, the immortal suddenly seemed more alive and less unattainable!
Lord Shen's furrowed brows are so handsome!
I really want to rub it for him!
Are you tired? I really want to give him a shoulder massage.
If you don't want to draw a Buddha statue, you can draw me! I can paint my whole body!
A subtle expression captivated everyone.
"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!"
The Liu family guard's rough voice abruptly shattered the silence.
Everyone turned around in surprise.
Two guards were seen shoving three women, whose arms were tied behind their backs, making them look quite disheveled. Just as they were wondering what had happened, Liu Yinjun appeared right behind them.
It was Miss Liu. The women recognized her at a glance and felt a sense of apprehension. When they saw the imposing figure behind her, followed by many other women, they panicked for no reason. The front courtyard of the main hall, which had been as solid as an iron fortress, was forced to make way for her.
Seeing this, the guest master knew there was no way to salvage the situation and was beyond tears.
Upon hearing the commotion, the abbot and Shen Cong in the hall exchanged glances—"Lord Shen!"
Liu Yinjun raised her voice, filled with the excitement of claiming credit, "I just caught a few swindlers. They were incredibly audacious, selling stolen goods of dubious origin for a pittance outside the temple, and even spouting nonsense, claiming they were yours..."
She paused deliberately, stood at the palace gate, and scanned the entire room with her gaze, successfully attracting everyone's attention. She looked triumphantly at Shen Congyun, but only saw his suddenly furrowed brows.
Shen Congyun put down his pen and turned around. When he saw that the person being escorted was Lin Huaiyin, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a crack appeared on his gentle and jade-like face. He was extremely shocked—how dare this bitch appear here? And in such a despicable manner!
"Insolence." Shen Congyun stood still, his brows instantly smoothing out. In an extremely calm tone, he said coldly, "Who gave you the audacity to treat women like this in the pure land of Buddhism? Let go and apologize to the abbot."
He intended to take the initiative by characterizing Lin Huaiyin as a "frightened woman" and keeping the conflict at the level of a "misunderstanding" rather than delving into Lin Huaiyin's identity.
However, Lin Huaiyin moved the instant he finished speaking.
She looked pitiful, like a little animal waiting to be slaughtered seeing its savior. Two streams of hot tears fell down her cheeks, and Lin Huaiyin called out pitifully, "Husband, it's me, husband!"
With a sob in her voice, her words, though not loud, were clear and distinct, filled with tears and blood, and pierced through the Buddhist temple.
A deathly silence fell over the hall and its surroundings.
Two cries of "Husband" pierced everyone's ears like sharp blades. The two cries were so mournful and pitiful that everyone felt sorry for them.
"Amitabha." The abbot, with a compassionate heart, immediately stood up and stepped forward, instructing the guards to release the person.
At this moment, the Liu family guards, Liu Yinjun, and all the people behind Liu Yinjun were completely dumbfounded.
The master of ceremonies finally seized the opportunity and released Lin Huaiyin and her two servants from the guards.
Lin Huaiyin immediately stumbled and staggered towards Shen Congyun.
Shen Congyun was completely stunned. As Lin Huaiyin approached step by step, he felt inexplicably frightened and his hair stood on end. He couldn't tell whether she was crying or laughing.
"Husband!" Lin Huaiyin buried herself firmly in his arms, like a lost little rabbit finding its way back down its burrow, sobbing and complaining:
"Husband, husband, sob sob sob, you asked me to raise money, but I can't just go back to the Lin family and ask for such a large sum of money. So I thought I'd sell my dowry and jewelry first, and if that's not enough, I'll go home and ask for more."
"I wanted to leave as soon as I heard you were here, but this Miss Liu wouldn't let it go and insisted on slandering me. Waaah! I already said I was your wife, but she still dragged me in and humiliated me in public. Husband, husband, everything I did was for you! Waaah! Husband, you must stand up for me!"
"Ahhhhh!" Lin Huaiyin cried out hoarsely, her entire face swollen. Every word she uttered could be heard clearly inside and outside the Great Buddha Hall. The Buddha saw it all clearly. Mahakasyapa held a flower in his hand, smiling without saying a word. The chanting of sutras and Buddhist chants continued for a long time.
Hundreds of women, both inside and outside, covered their mouths in astonishment.
Lord Shen asked Madam Shen to raise money.
Madam Shen sold her dowry to raise money.
Selling wasn't enough; she even had to go back to her parents' home to ask for more money.
Lord Shen, a gigolo.
He appeared refined and aloof in public, but in private he forced his wife to sell her dowry and even set his sights on her family.
Just now, I saw Madam Shen being carried away, looking disheveled and humiliated, and you still wanted to pretend you didn't know her and casually address her as "a woman"?
Oh my god.
The young ladies' hearts shattered, and their gazes toward Shen Congyun instantly transformed from infatuation and admiration to naked contempt, disgust, and unbelievable disillusionment!
Seeing Lin Huaiyin crying in the arms of a gigolo, and the little white rabbit begging for affection on the belly of a big bad wolf, is just incredibly stupid.
The ladies were itching to drag her out, slap her a few times, and knock her senses out on the spot!
Liu Yinjun gripped the door frame tightly, her fingernails digging deep into the wooden door. Seeing that Shen Congyun remained silent, neither refuting nor clarifying, seemingly acquiescing, she was completely dumbfounded. Her face turned even paler than Shen Congyun's. Only then did she realize how big a hornet's nest she had stirred up!
She didn't arrest an imposter at all, but the real Madam Shen! And she personally exposed Shen Congyun's most shameful secrets to everyone.
Oh my god, I've made an enemy of Shen Congyun and gotten Grandpa into trouble!
Thump!
Liu Yinjun could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
Shen Congyun's body swayed precariously as Lin Huaiyin arched him. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his vision went black. Although he could not see the scene outside the hall, he could feel the countless contemptuous gazes around him, each one like a knife, and he endured them with blood.
His carefully cultivated image as a refined and virtuous prime minister, built up over many years, was utterly shattered today, in this very hall, by that vile woman Lin Huaiyin, in front of everyone! If this were to reach Princess Pingyang's ears, how would she view it…?
The thought of Princess Pingyang caused Shen Congyun a sharp pain in his heart, more painful than being slapped on the face. He grabbed Lin Huaiyin's shoulders, his nails almost piercing through them, wanting to curse, but the abbot beat him to it.
The abbot walked up to him with a calm expression and said, "This humble monk does not know what troubles Lord Shen. You have painted for our temple, and it is only right and proper for our temple to show our appreciation. We will send the fee to your residence later, and we hope that you will not refuse it."
Although the abbot meant well, his words completely reduced Shen Congyun from an elegant painter who worshipped Buddha to a lowly painter struggling for a living. It was too hurtful. Shen Congyun felt a sweet taste in his throat and blood welled up in his throat.
He swallowed his words, staring intently at Lin Huaiyin with a cold and sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through her heart and lungs. In front of everyone, he didn't want to speak and had to control his expression, with only endless humiliation churning in his chest.
Lin Huaiyin's shoulder ached so badly that it went numb and made her tremble.
She was restrained by Shen Congyun, her body still in shackles, unable to break free, and she dared not reveal the triumphant joy in her eyes. But she was truly happy. In the past year, plus the three years of nightmares, for a full four years, she had never been so carefree, so unrestrained, so excited that her whole body trembled and her blood was boiling.
She loved this feeling—torturing him, torturing him to death, repaying him a hundredfold or a thousandfold!
"Husband," she whispered softly, barely able to make a sound, "Husband, it seems we can't continue selling the dowry. I'd better go directly to the Lin family. I absolutely cannot delay your important business."
She exhaled in a breathy voice, each word weak and strained, except for the two words "major event," which Lin Huaiyin uttered with all her might.
As expected, upon hearing this, Shen Congyun instantly regained his composure.
For Princess Pingyang, he could endure anything. Now that things had come to this, he had lost face, but he absolutely could not afford to lose any money.
No matter how much he hated or was unwilling, he could only grit his teeth and let Lin Huaiyin go.
As soon as Lin Huaiyin got away, she delicately placed her hands on her left waist, gracefully completed the curtsy, and slowly withdrew from the main hall.
Fish and crab were overjoyed and quickly took her outside.
Lin Huaiyin's obedience stunned everyone present, who secretly cursed her for being bewitched, having to coax and pamper this gigolo.
One is useless, and the other is even more useless.
The women were heartbroken by the couple and quickly dispersed.
The young talents who had been watching the spectacle from the corner no longer had any admiration in their eyes.
If the Grand Secretary's private conduct is like this, one wonders if he is also two-faced in court. The group exchanged silent glances, dejected, and left in disappointment.
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