“Zhou Daqing, this isn’t Ji’an Village, and Yang Cui isn’t from Ji’an Village anymore. This is none of your business!” Chief Lin was equally unceremonious with Chief Zhou.
Village Chief Zhou choked.
Village Chief An: "It's none of his business but mine! You've come to our Anjia Village to bully a widow and her orphan. Don't you have any shame?"
An's uncles immediately chimed in, "A bunch of heartless ingrates! What if all of us An's family members are dead?"
Madam Fan said disdainfully, "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, or when my son comes back, he'll throw you all in jail!"
"The common people cannot fight against the officials." As soon as Fan said this, An's uncles immediately fell silent.
"Yang Cui, you bitch! You let the people from the Star Gazing Tower beat my son! How cruel you are! You must apologize to my son!" Madam Lin Niu was furious, her eyes practically spitting fire.
"Apologize! You must apologize!"
"Not only do you have to apologize, you also have to pay compensation! Do you think you, a despicable person, can scheme against the Lin family? You're tired of living!"
"Ha." Yang Cui scoffed, "You yourself said that your son was beaten by the people from the Star Gazing Tower. What does that have to do with me? Are you trying to form a group to extort money?"
Chief Lin angrily rebuked, "Stop pretending! You're the one who ordered the people from the Star Gazing Tower to beat up my Mingcai!"
With her hands on her hips, Wen scolded, "Have some shame! Your son was trying to steal the business from the Star Gazing Tower, and he got beaten up. He deserved it! Do you think Lin Shikang is so great just because he ranked third in the imperial examination? The Star Gazing Tower has much stronger backing! He still wanted to steal their business, so he deserved to be beaten up!"
"you……"
Chief Lin stared at Yang Cui with a sinister look in his eyes. He thought Yang Cui had moved because she was afraid, but he didn't expect that Yang Cui would have the audacity to scheme against his grandson!
"Yang Cui, either pay up, or my Lin clan will beat you every time we see you! You'll have your day!" the Lin clan chief threatened with a dark face.
The Lin family is temporarily not planning to continue the business of peaches, ginger, and plums. They are not afraid of even Lin Shikang from the Star Gazing Tower, so they guess that the Star Gazing Tower has an even stronger backing. Therefore, they dare not act rashly and it is even more impossible for them to seek "justice" from the Star Gazing Tower. They can only turn to Yang Cui, since in their opinion, Yang Cui is the easiest to bully!
Upon hearing Chief Lin's threat, Village Chief Zhou and his wife glanced at Yang Cui with concern. They were absolutely certain that Chief Lin would keep his word.
Was Yang Cui not worried? No, she was worried, but she wouldn't back down. She said, "You have Lin Shikang backed by a mere third-ranking scholar who has just become an official, but I have the Star Gazing Tower backed by me. It's not certain who will win this battle!"
Lin Niu Shi: "You're just an abandoned woman, why should the Star Gazing Tower protect you? Stop putting on airs and trying to scare people!"
Yang Cui smiled and said, "Of course, it's based on my true abilities and value! Otherwise, why do you think Guanxinglou attacked Lin Mingcai? Was it really just because they were afraid he would steal Guanxinglou's business?"
The Lin family members hesitated now. Guanxinglou was clearly not afraid of Lin Shikang, and Yang Cui seemed so confident. Could it be that Guanxinglou really was her backer?
If that's the case, things will get complicated.
Seeing that the Lin family hesitated, Yang Cui knew that her attempt to intimidate them had temporarily worked.
Madam Fan retorted sharply, "I don't believe they'll protect you! My son is a third-ranked scholar, and my future father-in-law is a vice minister. No matter how powerful the Observatory is, would they risk offending such a high-ranking official for a lowly woman like you? Pay up! You caused Mingcai to be beaten, you must pay up! Give us back the house and land!"
"Fan Yuhua, what sweet dreams are you having?" Wen scolded.
“An family, mind your own business. When my son comes back, believe me, I’ll have him arrest you first! You have four sons, your family will have its share of loneliness eventually!” Madam Fan also resorted to threats, and this tactic was indeed effective. Madam Wen immediately dared not speak. Her son was more important than anyone or anything else.
"The owner of the Star Gazing Tower is the Su family of Kyoto. With the power of the Star Gazing Tower, I think it will be easy for news of what you've done to reach Kyoto. Once it reaches Kyoto, Lin Shikang will not only lose this marriage, but even his chance to become an official will be in question. I don't believe that with such vicious relatives and clansmen, the Censorate will not impeach Lin Shikang. With my relationship with the Star Gazing Tower, I'll let them spread these things to Kyoto, to the ears of the Wang family's political enemies, and to the Censorate. I don't believe that Lin Shikang can still be the Wang family's son-in-law! Or become a high-ranking official!"
What censor? What impeachment? The Lin family, and even the An and Zhou families present, didn't understand, but when it came to political enemies, everyone understood.
In this remote mountain village, the Lin family felt that they could bully Yang Cui as they pleased, and who would care? But if word got back to the capital, things would be different!
The Lin family finally produced an official; they can't let him die before he even gets a chance to benefit from it!
Is Yang Cui really that close to the Star Gazing Tower? The Lin family isn't sure, but they dare not gamble!
The Lin family arrived in a haughty manner, but ultimately left in a sorry state.
However, Yang Cui was not complacent because of this small victory; on the contrary, she was even more worried.
Winning over the Observatory is an urgent matter.
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