After Lin Dan secretly went to the border, the Lin family was in chaos for a while. The old lady didn't even dare to get sick. She hurriedly got up to take care of the household affairs and sent people to look for her granddaughter along the way, for fear that she might encounter any danger. A good family has been turned into a mess due to the deaths and separations.
On the contrary, Aunt Shi and Lin Wan, who were driven out by the old lady, lived a very comfortable life. The Lin family has many children, and all of them are talented in both literature and martial arts, and have a promising future. Therefore, the child in Aunt Shi's belly is not so precious. After the child was born, the Lin family could give him something to eat, but nothing more. But now, the situation is completely different. All the good sons of the Lin family died on the battlefield, and only Lin Qing survived by chance, but he was fighting at the border, and the situation was very dangerous. Therefore, the child in Aunt Shi's belly became an indispensable existence to the Lin family and must be well protected and brought up.
The same night the old lady received the bad news, she sent someone to invite Aunt Shi back home. Aunt Shi kept saying that she was weak and couldn't move, and she refused to get on the carriage. The old lady understood what she meant, so she went to pick her up in person the next day and apologized to her in a serious manner. For the sake of the children and the future of the Lin family, the old lady can endure anything.
Aunt Shi then stopped making trouble and brought Lin Wan back home in style. After staying there for a few days, Lin Wan was found to be pregnant, which almost made the old lady die of anger. Everyone then realized that Lin Wan and King Kang had already accomplished good things and sowed evil seeds on the night they were stranded in the wilderness. Looking back now, the words that Ding Mujie used to praise them are simply a slap in the face. What noble character and chastity? One of them is despicable and the other is frivolous. They are really a shameless pair.
The old lady was so angry that she felt dizzy and almost vomited blood, but she had to send someone to deliver a letter to King Kang. Prince Kang had been married for five years but still had no children, and he was a little anxious. Although Lin Wan was of little use and the Lin family was in decline, the child was the key to the succession to the throne, and he could not give up on her. So he ordered people to carry a sedan chair to pick up Lin Wan.
Lin Wan was not able to have a grand wedding, and she felt somewhat unwilling in her heart. However, she felt relieved when she thought that she was carrying the only child of King Kang, and that she would be honored as a mother by having a son. She might be able to become the principal wife in the future. Seeing that the Lin family was becoming increasingly dilapidated, and that she herself had married into the royal palace and would enjoy endless wealth and splendor in the future, she felt very proud. What's more, she was still fantasizing about Lin Dan's miserable situation at this moment.
In her opinion, it was extremely foolish for Lin Dan to go to the border alone. He might have been abused and killed by some bandits by now. She really wanted to say to the old lady: Don't rush around looking for someone, just go look for the body directly, it will be faster that way.
Unfortunately, her pride did not last long as a battle report came from the border that General Xue Zhao had been killed in battle. Lin Dan was given the task and replaced Xue Zhao as the commander of the central army. He led the Western Expedition Army to defeat the Huns and recapture the Hetao area that had been seized.
In his battle report, King Zhuang repeatedly praised Lin Dan for his achievements. He also said that although he had no choice but to employ a female general, facts had proved that his vision was correct and that Lin Dan was indeed worthy of important positions. He asked his father to forgive him and so on. He also mentioned the female generals of all dynasties one by one and praised them again, making his words sound very nice.
The emperor was slightly relieved by King Zhuang's kind words, but more importantly, Lin Dan was capable enough to defeat the remnants of the Xiongnu one after another, and recaptured many villages, towns and even cities, leaving the emperor speechless. Let her be a female general, as long as she can fight, anything is fine.
Since the emperor did not say anything, the ministers under him naturally kept silent, and the matter of Lin Dan taking on the role of commander passed by quietly. As time passed, Lin Dan's military exploits piled up higher and higher, and his prestige grew stronger and stronger, to the point where he was even known as the God of War. The Lin family, which had been in turmoil and on the verge of collapse, slowly stood up again.
The old lady was relieved to learn that her granddaughter was still alive. Seeing that the once deserted Lin family was gradually regaining its former glory, she couldn't help but smile more. Mrs. Lin, who had been ill for a long time, was gradually recovering. These days, she was able to help the old lady with household chores and was no longer immersed in the pain of losing her husband and son. All the servants who had already begun to think about leaving now settled down and served their masters.
Probably the only unhappy person in the mansion was Aunt Shi. These days, she was really proud of the baby in her belly and often ran to Mrs. Lin's room, under the pretext of visiting the patient, but actually showing off her power. She was also trying to persuade the old lady to make her her equal wife. You know, Lin Qing is still killing enemies on the battlefield, and it is unknown whether she can come back alive. It is no exaggeration to say that the seedling in her belly is the treasure of the Lin family. As the child's mother, how could she be a concubine?
The old lady felt annoyed when she saw her selfish face. She retorted to her with a few words and told her that there would never be a so-called concubine in the Lin family. The wife is the wife, and the concubine is the concubine, how can they mess up the hierarchy?
Aunt Shi was so angry that she gnashed her teeth and hated the old lady and everyone in the Lin family even more. She secretly swore in her heart that she would take revenge one day. But she never expected that the opportunity for revenge would come so quickly. One day, the maid she bribed brought her a message saying that General Lin was not killed in battle, but was shot to death by Lin Dan himself. In order to protect Lin Dan's reputation, the entire Western Expedition Army kept silent and was not allowed to talk about the matter. They only said to the outside world that General Lin, like Marshal Lin and his men, had died in battle.
But Lin Dan couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart, so he wrote a letter personally to confess his guilt to the old lady, and said that he would give an explanation to the whole family after returning. After reading the letter, the old lady cried uncontrollably and fainted on the couch. Several maids rushed to help her and saw the words on the letter. After the old lady woke up, she strictly ordered the few people not to tell anyone, but they couldn't resist human greed and the news finally leaked out.
Aunt Shi rubbed her hands excitedly and rewarded the maid with a large sum of silver. Then she wrote a letter to Lin Wan, asking her to find a way to discipline Lin Dan, so as to prevent Madam Lin from being too proud and overshadowing her. Lin Wan was worried that she had no chance to win the favor of Prince Kang, so she revealed the news to Prince Kang that night. As a result, the next day, memorials impeaching Lin Dan for murdering his biological father fell on the old emperor's desk like snowflakes. Many slanderous rumors also continued to reach his ears, which made him fear Lin Dan. Only then did he issue an imperial decree to summon Lin Dan and Prince Zhuang back to the capital.
Fortunately, King Zhuang was well prepared. He ordered his men to deliver a joint letter signed by the officers and soldiers that recorded the truth of the matter, and also pleaded with knowledgeable people to argue for Lin Dan in front of the emperor.
The matter that she had originally planned to keep secret until her death became known to everyone overnight and became a hot topic. When the old lady heard people outside scolding her granddaughter for being cruel and heartless, she felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She had no time to punish the traitor, so she immediately put on the first-rank court robes, took the dragon-headed cane bestowed by the emperor, and went to the palace to meet the emperor.
The old lady had once saved the late emperor and the empress dowager. She insisted on breaking into the Golden Palace. The imperial guards on duty did not dare to stop her and quickly sent someone to ask the emperor for instructions. In the Golden Palace, the court officials were divided into two factions and were arguing fiercely. One faction accused Lin Dan of murdering her biological father, which was an unforgivable crime, and immediately recalled her to the capital for accountability; the other faction stood up and tried their best to defend her, saying that she was forced into a desperate situation and that it was understandable, so it would be better to let her go.
The emperor was so annoyed by their noise that when he heard that the old lady had arrived, he let her into the palace without thinking. Whether Lin Dan is guilty or not, whether he can be forgiven or not, let the old lady, her closest relative, judge. If the court officials want to argue, let them argue with the old lady.
Sure enough, after the old lady walked into the hall with her dragon-headed cane, both sides fell silent and looked at her with burning eyes.
The old lady bowed respectfully to the emperor and said slowly, "I heard your argument just now while I was waiting outside the palace. I think you have seen the details of why Lin Dan killed her father in the joint letter from King Zhuang and the generals. Whether you say she is unworthy of being a son or that she has excusable circumstances, both are reasonable. I am not here to quarrel with you, I just want to express my own opinion."
The old lady bowed to the court officials one by one and continued, "It is difficult to be both loyal and filial. This saying has existed since ancient times. You are all civil officials, so you must not feel deeply enough, but in our family of military generals, this is an eternal problem. How to choose between loyalty and filial piety is a personal choice. I dare not comment on it, but in our Lin family, if loyalty to the emperor and patriotism are placed on the same scale as filial piety, we will definitely choose loyalty to the emperor and patriotism and abandon filial piety. The sons of my Lin family will leave their mothers after they grow up and go to the border to fight. They will dedicate their lives and deaths to the country and the monarch, and have never been filial for a day. In the small family and the big family, They chose to protect the big family and give up their small family, but it was precisely because of their choice that there were thousands of stable and peaceful small families. Can you say that their choice was wrong? When you were living a stable life, have you ever thought about their sacrifice? For the victory of Wei State and to prevent the Xiongnu cavalry from trampling our mountains and rivers, my son chose to die generously, and my granddaughter chose to shoot her father. One of them died with a smile, and the other lived in pain, and they will be trapped in this day forever. I was also heartbroken when I received the news, but I don’t think my granddaughter did anything wrong. "
The old lady looked around at the court officials around her, and said word by word with ups and downs: "I believe she has never regretted it. Even if she is given another chance, she will still shoot that arrow, because in her heart, loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and defending the country are more important than filial piety. Without her arrow, the army's morale would not be as stable as a rock, the soldiers would not be so motivated, and our Great Wei would not have achieved the current victory. When you impeached her, you must have thought that she was wrong, and you must have thought that between the emperor, the country and her parents and her small family, she should choose her parents and her small family. Filial piety is the top priority for you, and your small family is far more important to you than the country. I dare not comment on your thoughts, but I cannot agree with them. The family motto of my Lin family has been passed down for hundreds of years, and it has always been only eight words-live loyal to the emperor, die for the country. We only know that there is a country, not a family. Is this wrong?"
The old lady knelt down slowly, kowtowed with tears in her eyes, and said: "My Lin family has been loyal to the emperor for generations. This is clear as day and the moon can testify to it. I beg the emperor to understand!" Her sonorous voice echoed in the hall, making all the court officials feel ashamed. They did not dare to look at the emperor's face.
In this court, in front of the monarch, who dares to say that his parents and family are far more important than the monarch and the country of Wei? The old lady's words undoubtedly slapped the faces of all the officials who impeached Lin Dan, and also moved the emperor.
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