Chapter 137 Eating one's own child
Mu Qing understood what Lord Su meant, nodded slightly, gave a wink to a constable beside her, and slowly walked towards Old Man Lin.
As soon as Mu Qing's hand touched Old Man Lin's body, Old Man Lin shuddered, and a strong smell of urine wafted out.
"I'll talk, I'll talk." He's so old; if he were really given fifty lashes, he'd be half-dead, if not killed.
"Lin Dayou is not actually my son. We found him on our way back to our hometown..." Old Man Lin was so frightened by Lord Su that he finally revealed the secret he had kept hidden in his heart for a long time.
It turns out that Lin Dayou was not Old Man Lin's child at all. He found him next to a woman who was seriously injured, lost too much blood, and died from postpartum hemorrhage shortly after giving birth.
As for whether there was anything that could prove his identity, or clothing, Old Man Lin avoided the topic.
When Old Man Lin admitted that he was not Old Man Lin's child, Lin Dayou's thoughts had already drifted far away, and he didn't notice the loophole in Old Man Lin's words at all.
"That's not right. If I remember correctly, Old Madam Wu was also six months pregnant at that time. If Lin Dayou wasn't Lin Jiyong's biological son, then where did their child go?"
The elderly villagers who had been listening to Old Man Lin's words finally seemed to remember something and asked in confusion.
"Yes, back then, Old Mrs. Lin was tormented by her own mother-in-law. In the dead of winter, she had to go to the river to wash clothes while heavily pregnant..."
Upon hearing the old woman mention it, the other women, who were about the same age as Lin and Wu, also remembered it.
"..."
Presumably, the villagers' discussions were too loud, and Old Man Lin heard them too, so he explained:
"I did have a second son, but he starved to death in the dead of winter thirty years ago..." Something flashed in Old Man Lin's eyes, and he lowered his head to hide his emotions from others.
"That's not right, Old Man Lin. You said your youngest son starved to death in the dead of winter thirty years ago? How could that be? I remember that winter, the smell of meat would waft from your house from time to time. I squatted outside your courtyard wall for days, craving it for almost half a month..."
Before the man could finish speaking, he seemed to remember something and immediately stopped talking.
I felt like I'd swallowed a fly; I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
Seeing the speaker's expression, the others realized something and immediately looked at Old Man Lin with eyes that seemed to look at a demon.
"You, you... you actually ate your own son..."
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Lord Su recalled the rumors of child cannibalism he had heard during his travels among the common people, and looked at Old Man Lin with a grim expression.
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so what is this human heart made of that would be so cruel as to eat his own child?
"I didn't... I didn't... I just wanted to live..." With his secret exposed and Lord Su still present, Old Man Lin panicked even more and shook his head in denial.
"That was a living, breathing human life!"
"Give him twenty lashes and then send him back to his house."
There were too many cannibalistic incidents in the past to punish them all, but since Old Man Lin, the murderer, had delivered himself to the authorities, Lord Su gave him a symbolic punishment.
"Lord Su, please wait. It's not too late to fight after I've asked him clearly." There were too many loopholes in Old Man Lin's words, and Lin Luoxi wanted to ask him more questions.
"Miss Lin, is there anything else you'd like to ask?" Lord Su asked curiously, not refusing Lin Luoxi's request.
"Old man Lin, when you found my father, was he wearing anything or anything on him...?" Lin Luoxi stared intently at Old Man Lin, not missing a single emotion in his eyes.
"No!!" Faced with Lin Luoxi's questioning, the old man Lin answered readily.
Even if he did, he wasn't going to reveal it so easily; at the very least, he should be given the compensation he deserved.
Old Man Lin had a very dark heart; he only told half the truth about what happened back then, keeping the other half hidden.
"Good, very good." Lin Luoxi sneered upon hearing Old Man Lin's words and repeatedly said "good."
Knowing that she couldn't get any useful information from Old Man Lin, Lin Luoxi took two steps back and told Mu Qing to start hitting Old Man Lin.
Lin Dayou has only now come to terms with the fact that he is not Old Man Lin's biological son. He was just about to ask Old Man Lin what he had before he was found, and whether he had any identification on him.
He heard Lin Luoxi ask the question he wanted to ask, so he calmed down, pricked up his ears, and didn't want to miss anything.
But while feeling disappointed when Old Man Lin said no, he inexplicably felt a sense of relief.
Indeed, in those days, people were so hungry that they would even eat their own children, so it was quite normal to find abandoned children at random.
Without any hesitation, Mu Qing raised his broadsword as a weapon and struck Old Man Lin hard.
"Ah!" The shrill scream made all the villagers who were watching the commotion tremble in fright.
Good heavens, Old Man Lin wanted this magistrate to help him get justice, but he ended up getting himself involved too. What bad luck!
That makes sense, though. Such a person is too vicious; he would even eat his own child. Being beaten is the least he deserves.
Lying on the ground, Lin Daguang didn't dare to step forward to help his elderly father when he saw Mu Qing beating him. He kept silent and tried his best to minimize his presence.
"I'll talk, I'll talk..." Old Man Lin, who had been stabbed, finally became honest this time and shouted at Lin Luoxi.
Upon hearing Old Man Lin's words, Mu Qing stopped what he was doing, first glancing at his superior, and only after seeing Lord Su nod slightly to him did he look at Lin Luoxi.
Lin Luoxi gave Mu Qing a grateful smile before looking at Old Man Lin.
"Speak!" Lin Luoxi's expression was indifferent, and she was indifferent in her heart as well.
"I said yes, but I have a condition." Old Man Lin was furious at Lin Luoxi's indifferent attitude. When he saw Lin Dayou looking at him with hopeful eyes, a smile of anticipation for victory appeared on his lips.
"Okay, what are your conditions?" Lin Luoxi was about to reply, "Tell me if you want," but Lin Dayou beat her to it and hurriedly agreed to the old man's so-called conditions.
"My condition is simple: give me fifty taels, no, give me two hundred taels. If you give me two hundred taels, I'll tell you where I hid the little blanket that wrapped you up all those years ago..."
Taking advantage of Lin Dayou's anxiety about knowing his background, Old Man Lin revealed his greedy appetite and made an outrageous demand.
"You, humph, why don't you just rob it?" Lin Wenqian was so angry when he heard Old Man Lin's words that he jumped up and down.
Lin Wentao didn't speak, but quietly watched Lin Dayou, wanting to see how Lin Dayou would choose.
Lord Su and the constables and yamen runners all looked at Lin Dayou, wanting to know what he would choose.
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