At this moment, the village chief also arrived.
The village chief looked at Yang Cui, then at the Lin clan, and said, "Clan Chief Lin, Clan Fan, what are you playing at? You've become successful and now you're abandoning your wives? If you Lin family descendants don't care about your reputation, don't drag the rest of Ji'an Village down with you!"
Chief Lin said, "Everyone has misunderstood. It's not that I abandoned my wife, but that I divorced her because she didn't give birth to a son."
Village Chief Zhou said, "Although Yang didn't give birth to a son, she has worked hard for your Lin family for so many years. Even if she didn't make any great contributions, she still deserves credit. The Yang family has also helped the Lin family a lot over the years. Now that Lin Shikang has become successful, it won't sound good if you kick her out."
Lin Shih-kang's father, Lin Da-he, has been dead for twelve years. If the Yang family hadn't tightened their belts and saved every penny to help the Lin family all these years, Lin Shih-kang would never have made it this far!
"Clan leader, why don't we talk to Yang Cui?" a member of the Lin clan suggested softly.
"Yes, the clan chief made her sign a guarantee that she wouldn't say anything out of line, otherwise all the children in our clan would suffer."
Lin Shikang went to the capital to serve as an official, far from the emperor's reach, so he could disregard the villagers' opinions. However, the Lin family still had to live here, and there were so many unmarried descendants. If this reputation spread, how could they find wives? Who would dare to marry into the Lin family? Weren't they afraid of ending up like Yang Cui?
Moreover, the Lin family has many educated sons; if their reputation is damaged, how can they participate in the exams?
Yang Cui smiled slightly: "What makes you say that, Clan Chief Lin? I am a mother, and I spend my days taking care of my husband, children, and the kitchen. I live an honest and upright life. Yet Lin Shikang has never slept with me, and you insist that I cannot have a son. If I had given birth to a son, that would be strange!"
"What? They've been married for so long and haven't even consummated their marriage!"
"No wonder I haven't gotten pregnant for so long!"
"The Lin family has done something utterly shameless! From now on, don't even consider anyone with the surname Lin when it comes to marriage!"
The villagers were talking amongst themselves, their eyes darting back and forth over Yang Cui.
Chief Lin has completely lost face today!
The village chief then said, "If that's the case, then there's no reason for your Lin family to divorce your wife!"
Fan glared at Yang Cui. Now that her son was about to become an official, Fan felt superior and no longer respected Village Chief Zhou. She gave him a cold look: "This is a matter for my Lin family. Village Chief, you are meddling too much!"
Village Chief Zhou was displeased, but he didn't show it on his face. He said, "Your commotion here is affecting the reputation of the whole village. Your Lin family may not care about its reputation, but the descendants of our Zhou clan cannot be shameless. How about this, your entire Lin clan will move out of Ji'an Village, and I won't care. How about that?"
"What do you mean? Do you want to drive our entire Lin clan out? Zhou Daqing, don't push your luck!" Elder Lin Qi said sternly.
"I didn't say that!" Zhou Daqing said seriously. "As the village chief, of course I have to put the interests of the whole village first. If you were to resolve this behind closed doors, I certainly wouldn't say anything. But you've made such a big fuss. If word gets out, people will definitely think that everyone in our village is just as ungrateful, abandoning their wives and children as soon as they become successful. Who would dare to marry their daughters here? If the young men in our village can't find wives and can't carry on the family line, who will take responsibility? Will you take responsibility?"
"Yes, it affects our ability to continue the family line. Aren't you responsible for that?"
“My son is fourteen this year. If he can’t find a wife, should we marry a girl from the Lin family to him?”
"If you won't give it to the girl, give us the money back, and we'll buy a new one."
...
Seeing this situation, Yang Cui knew she had the upper hand! As long as she held her ground, she could not only get a smooth divorce but also get her money back.
Hearing these words from the Zhou clan, the Lin clan was furious and hated Yang Cui to death.
Zhou Daqing added, "If you think that the Lin family has produced a golden nugget and that you're all going to rise to power and become unruly, then you can have Lin Shikang's new in-laws dismiss me, the village chief."
Chief Lin trembled with rage, while Yang Cui, her face grim, finally gritted her teeth and spat out a few words: "Fine, fine! I had no idea you'd been hiding this so well all these years! Very well done!"
Chief Lin has held sway over the Lin clan for so many years, when has he ever bowed his head? When has he ever suffered such a humiliation?
Clan Chief Lin gritted his teeth and asked, "Yang, what exactly do you want?"
"Is Chief Lin preparing to have a proper talk with me?" Yang Cui asked with a smile in her eyes. "I just wonder if the mother of the third-ranked scholar wants to talk?"
"Come inside, let's talk!"
"Don't come inside, I'm afraid I won't make it out alive. Let's talk here! It's spacious enough!"
Village Chief Zhou sized up Yang Cui. The Yang Cui of the past was honest and docile, never uttering a sound, but today…
Yang Cui then said, "Village Chief, you are the village chief, and I have great faith in your character and conduct. I would like to ask you to be my witness today."
Yang Cui flattered Village Chief Zhou, and compared to Fan Shi's arrogance, Yang Cui's words were extremely pleasing to Village Chief Zhou.
"Since you've put it that way, as the village chief and an elder, I naturally have to listen to you."
Chief Lin coughed up blood again!
Regardless of what the Lin family thought, Yang Cui sat down, straightened her back, and said, "I can divorce Lin Shikang. Listen carefully, it's a divorce!"
"You're dreaming!" Fan Shi interrupted Yang Cui again.
This time, Yang Cui didn't speak, so Chief Lin shouted, "Shut up! Let her finish!"
When Chief Lin lost his temper, Madam Fan chickened out and shut up reluctantly.
Yang Cui continued, "Lin Shikang has spent so much money on my Yang family over the years, he has to pay me back with interest. I don't want much, just thirty taels. In addition, the house and everything in the house are mine, and the vegetable garden behind the house is also mine. As for the children... let them choose for themselves."
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