Lin Dan had just settled Qi down when a group of people came to the inn, clamoring to look for her. The shop owner was afraid that these people would damage his store when they caused trouble, so he refused to let them in. Unable to get in, these people just stood outside the door and cried, attracting passers-by to stop and watch.
Lin Dan opened the window a little and looked out, and found that the person leading the group was an old woman. She was wearing a washed-out dress and had no pearl hairpins on her head. She looked very shabby. Yan Yikuan supported her and called her "Mom" repeatedly, seeming to be extremely sad.
It seems that this is Yan Bo’s wife, Lin Baotian’s master’s wife. Logically, Lin Dan should call her Master’s wife. But she really couldn't call out the honorific Lin Dan, because what the old woman was doing now was enough to bring the reputation that Lin Dan had worked so hard to clear for Lin Baotian into the abyss.
The old woman beat her chest and cried, "Damn Lin Baotian, it's fine that you bully us orphans and widows, but you let your daughter bully us! Your daughter said that you took care of my old man and saw him off to the grave, and you are a filial son. Bah! Do you feel guilty when you say this? The old man has been lying in bed for several months, and Lin Baotian didn't even serve him a glass of water. I took care of everything. I asked Lin Baotian to send a letter to my son, but he was afraid that my son would come back and tell him about it. He promised to fight for the family property, but he burned the letter as soon as he left the house, causing my son to be unable to come back in time to see his father for the last time. Do you think he is cruel? The biological son should inherit the family business, what right does he have to stop it? The old man died, and he was so angry that he didn't have a son. He threatened me with this and asked me to give him all the money in the family. If I didn't, he would not let the old man be buried. What can I do when I have no one to rely on? The old man's coffin is still at home, and I can't let him be homeless..."
The old woman's heartbroken appearance made passers-by cry. If this continues, the reputation that Lin Dangang has cleared for Lin Baotian will be tarnished again.
Qi, who had finally closed her eyes, had woken up in shock and said angrily, "She's talking nonsense! She's talking nonsense! Your master's father was ill, and your father wanted to send a letter to Yan Yikuan, but your master's wife stopped him, saying that Yan Yikuan was about to take the imperial examination and couldn't be distracted. How could she know that your master's illness would develop so rapidly? In less than half a month, he became confused and couldn't even take care of himself. If you want to contact Yan Yikuan now, he has already gone out to study and no one knows where he has gone. Your father took care of your master's shit and urinated, served him soup and medicine, and had to support the family after that. He did all the work outside by himself. Your master's wife avoided him because it was dirty and tiring. When your master's grandfather died, she said that all the money had been given to her son for his studies, and she could not afford the extra money to hold your master's funeral. She cried and begged your father to think of a way. In the end, your father took out all his savings and borrowed 50 taels of interest, so that your master's grandfather could be buried safely. In order to repay the debt, your father did not rest for a breath. He went out to work and earn money the day after the burial. He came to the capital after many twists and turns. He has been sending money back all these years, but it's a pity that he did not leave any receipts. We can't explain it even if we have a hundred mouths!"
Qi opened the package and took out two tablets, crying, "Your father is a good man, but why do good people never get good rewards?"
She also wanted to run out and argue with the old woman, but after all, she was Lin Baotian's master's wife and had raised him since he was a child. The seniority and favor were there. The more she argued, the more she seemed disrespectful and sarcastic, and she ended up being in a disadvantageous position. This is exactly the ethics in the world - the elders can beat and scold the younger ones as they want, but the younger ones cannot disobey them in the slightest. The word "filial piety" can crush a person to death. Furthermore, she was not eloquent and was led astray while speaking, and ended up bringing injustice to her late husband.
Compared to the group of people outside, Lin Dan naturally trusts Qi more. Moreover, in her memory, Lin Baotian was indeed a good man who had never done anything wrong in his life. Since Lin Dan is his daughter, she must find a way to protect his reputation. But arguing was obviously a bad idea. No matter how eloquent she was, she had already lost half the battle by just being a disciple. It is not an honorable thing to win an argument with elders.
"Mom, pack your bags and let's leave the capital now." Lin Dan said with determination, "Give me the tablet and I will return it to them."
Qi handed the thing over without thinking. Unconsciously, her daughter had become her backbone.
Lin Dan wrapped the tablet with white silk, held it carefully in her arms, and walked downstairs.
"They're out, they're out! The mother and daughter of the Lin family are out!" Someone recognized Lin Dan and Qi and shouted loudly. Passersby, who were already extremely interested in this matter, gathered around to see what was going on.
"Well, you finally come out!" The old woman wiped away her tears and rushed forward, ready to grab the two of them and argue with them, determined to ruin their reputation. She is Lin Baotian's master's wife and Lin Dan's mistress, so no matter what she says, she is right and she is not afraid of the mother and daughter making a scene.
Lin Dan raised the tablet to block it, and when the old woman opened her five fingers to grab his collar, he stuffed the tablet into her hand, then knelt down and kowtowed three times, slowly saying: "Master's wife, my mother and I will leave the capital now, please take care. This is the tablet of our master, please take it back, my mother and I are not qualified to worship him anymore."
The old woman hated Lin Baotian's family so much that she didn't even listen to what she said. She just threw the thing in her hand to the ground without thinking.
Qi cried out and hurried to fish it out, but was still a step too late. After the tablet fell to the ground, it bounced a bit, and the loosely wrapped white silk spread out, revealing the words carved on it. Everyone stretched their necks to take a look and found that this was indeed Yan Bo's tablet. The base was mostly blackened by smoke, but it did not look dirty. Instead, it had a layer of oily sheen, which showed that people often offered incense and candles to it on weekdays, and some people wiped it carefully with silk cloth.
But the tablet that was maintained so well was now cracked by the old woman. What a sin!
Someone nearby immediately cursed: "You even smashed the tablets of our ancestors. Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"
The old woman was stunned when she saw the tablet, and Yan Yikuan was also slow to react. Qi, however, took up the tablet and kept wiping it with a handkerchief. Her fingertips were trembling when she touched the gap, which showed how uneasy she was inside.
Lin Dan, who had always had a blank expression on her face, finally shed tears. She took the tablet and wiped it gently and carefully with her sleeve, then placed it respectfully on the steps, pulled her mother and kowtowed three times, then staggered away.
Both of them had blood on their foreheads, leaving two bright red marks in front of the steps, which was shocking to see. They didn't say a word, but it was more powerful than the old woman's words. The passers-by who were indignant before all fell silent, and no longer spoke of helping the old woman to catch Lin Dan and her daughter and give them a good lesson. Right and wrong, loyal and treacherous, all can be seen clearly from this tablet.
"Old, old man!" The old woman slowly came to her senses, her legs went limp and she collapsed to the ground. Yan Yikuan was neither kneeling nor standing, his face was red and white, which was very interesting.
No one noticed that the old steward of the Yongding Marquis's Mansion was standing outside the crowd watching, while the young marquis was sitting in the teahouse opposite, watching the farce clearly. Staring at the direction where Lin Dan and her daughter were going, he sighed, then took out a few banknotes and gave them to his long-time attendant, asking him to chase them.
Lin Dan naturally declined the young marquis's help. Her intuition told her that the only way to live a peaceful life was to stay away from the Young Marquis and Yan Langqing.
When the young marquis saw that his long-time attendant had brought back the banknote intact, he felt mixed emotions. He thought he knew Lin Dan very well, but it was not until now that he realized that she was so stubborn and fierce that she would wade through the thorns barefoot even though she knew the road ahead was full of thorns.
When the young marquis returned home unhappy, the old housekeeper was reporting the situation to the old marquis in detail: "When I went there, Zhou was making a scene, attracting many people to watch. She poured basin after basin of dirty water on Chef Lin's head, which frightened Lin Dan and Qi so much that they dared not show up. Seeing that they were getting more and more outrageous, I was about to step forward to stop them, but Lin Dan and Qi were forced to come out. Without saying anything to defend myself, I returned the tablet of Yan Yuchu to them, kowtowed three times to Zhou and the tablet, and then left. Zhou knew that it was the tablet of Yan Yuchu, but she still lifted it up and smashed it hard on the ground, leaving a big hole immediately..."
In fact, Zhou had no idea that it was Yan Bo’s tablet. She was cursing fiercely at the time, and Lin Dan deliberately slowed down his speech and lowered his volume, so it was strange that she could distinguish carefully. It’s a pity that others paid special attention to Lin Dan’s words, so they all knew that the thing wrapped in white silk was Yan Bo’s tablet, and naturally they thought that Zhou knew it.
Hearing this, the old marquis sighed and said, "She even smashed the tablet of her late husband, which shows that what Zhou said before was all nonsense! She really has no feelings for Yan Yuchu, so how could she take good care of him when he was seriously ill, not to mention her unfilial son. If there were no treasure field, the Yan family would not be where it is today. In the end, it's all about money. These people are so greedy for money that they have lost their conscience."
The old housekeeper echoed, "That's right! If they don't throw dirty water on Chef Lin, how can they legitimately snatch the golden knife, the recipes, and the restaurant? Chef Lin has finally made the Yan family cuisine famous, and they want to take advantage of it, and they think that everyone else is a fool and can't see their calculations! No matter how they slander Chef Lin for being unkind, unjust, disloyal, and unfilial, just this tablet that is worshipped all year round can silence them! If he really did something to betray his teacher and ancestors, would Chef Lin dare to worship his master's tablet at home every day? On the contrary, Zhou and Yan Yikuan were so scared when they saw the tablet that their legs went weak, which shows that they have done a lot of bad things."
"I know Baotian best. He would never do such evil things. Inheriting a mantle is not like inheriting family wealth. Once it is given to you, it is yours and you can spend it as you please. But first of all, you have to have the ability to do so. It is not easy to be the successor of the imperial chef. Whether you have real skills or not will be revealed once you step into the stove. Unless Yan the imperial chef is old and confused, he would pass on the mantle to the clueless Yan Yikuan. Wouldn't that just destroy his own reputation?" The old marquis became angrier and angrier as he spoke.
"That's right! The Yan family has seen clearly that Chef Lin is already dead, and they cannot stand up to confront them. Poor Lin Dan and Qi have no way to defend themselves, and can only leave sadly." The old housekeeper shook his head and sighed.
"Send someone to bring them back. It's not easy for orphans and widows." The old marquis couldn't bear it any longer and finally waved his hand.
The old housekeeper went there in a hurry. The old marquis then found his son standing at the door. He frowned and said, "Go and send Yan Langqing away. We don't want to keep people with bad morals in our mansion. I can hire as many skilled cooks as I want. She is not a big deal."
The young marquis nodded, bowed, and left without saying a word.
Yan Langqing, who was preparing to stay in the Marquis' Mansion to show her talents, never dreamed that the quarrel between her grandmother and father not only failed to restore the reputation of the Yan family, but also ruined her good job.
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