Fan cursed loudly in the clinic, showing no regard for the fact that it was a public place, which drew frequent glances from passersby.
"See that? This is the mother of the third-ranked scholar. Her mouth... tsk tsk, it's truly vicious!"
"Otherwise, why would they want to split up the village? They must be struggling to make ends meet before they ask for it."
"Anyone who marries into their family is truly cursed!"
...
Hearing these comments, Lin Chenshi was furious. Seeing that Fan Shi was about to rush over and argue with them again, Lin Chenshi glared at Fan Shi fiercely: "Don't you think it's shameful enough?" Then she turned and left.
Lin Mingfa called out from behind, "Where are you going?"
"I'm too ashamed to stay here, I'm going home!"
Lin Chenshi ignored it and left without looking back.
The others had no choice; they couldn't just leave the person there.
Under the care of the doctors at the clinic, Chief Lin finally woke up in the evening. However, this time he was furious, and coupled with his advanced age, his mouth and eyes were crooked and he was drooling. He had suffered a minor stroke!
"Damn it! My son is in jail, and my father-in-law is like this too. My life is so miserable!" Lin Niu Shi suddenly lost her composure and sat on the ground, wailing loudly.
Lin Niu cried, and Lin Mingcai's wife, Lin Qiu, also cried. Lin Mingfa was extremely distressed.
The doctor couldn't cure Chief Lin's condition; he could only tell them to take good care of him and avoid any agitation, as his life wouldn't be in immediate danger.
The Lin family led the person back to Ji'an Village while crying.
The news that the Lin family lost the case, Lin Mingcai, Guo Dazhuang, and Wang Yuhe went to jail, and that the Zhou family was going to divide the village had already spread throughout the village.
So, as soon as the Lin family arrived at the village entrance, Aunt Guo rushed over: "Niu Aihua, you troublemaker! My son is in jail now! We agreed that all we had to do was be a witness, so why is my son in jail? What will happen to my grandson if my son is in jail? How will he ever get married?"
When Aunt Guo heard that her son was in jail, her hair turned white with worry.
“Your son is in jail, but my son is in jail too!” Lin Niu said, tears streaming down her face. “If you want to blame someone, blame that bitch Yang Cui!”
“We agreed that I would just say a few words to the county magistrate, and that my son would go to jail. Now I’m telling you, my son is in jail, so you can’t just give me five taels of silver. Give me another twenty taels! Otherwise, I’ll go to the yamen and sue you for fraud!”
Lin Niu was furious. This time, her family had already emptied their savings by bribing Wang Yuhe, Guo Dazhuang, and that yamen runner. Where would they get any money left?
"You still want your money? Your son turned against you in court after being told off by that bitch Yang Cui. I haven't even asked you for a refund yet! Give me my money back right now!"
In front of everyone, Lin Niu Shi and Guo Da Niang started arguing.
The villagers weren't surprised that Guo Dazhuang accepted money to give false testimony. After all, they knew what kind of people Yang Cui, Yang Liu, and Guo Dazhuang were. The excuses Lin Mingcai made in court might fool outsiders, but the villagers didn't believe a word he said.
"My son went to jail for doing favors for you, so you should pay me back! If you don't pay me back, I'll go to the yamen and sue you!" Aunt Guo was so angry that she jumped up and down.
"You still want to sue us? Go ahead and do it if you dare! When that happens, your son's taking money to give false testimony and deceive the county magistrate will be exposed, and it won't be seven days in jail, it will be seventy days, seven months!"
Lin Niu's words successfully frightened Aunt Guo. She had heard that the prison was very chaotic. It was okay to stay for seven days, but if it was seventy days or seven months, she really didn't know if her son would ever come back.
Grandma Guo burst into tears, lamenting her bitter fate and bad luck.
After a long day of commotion, the Lin family was exhausted. They ignored the wailing of Aunt Guo and drove their oxcart home.
This defeat has affected not only the Lin Mingcai and Lin Shikang families, but also the entire Lin clan, significantly impacting their children's marriage prospects in recent years.
The Lin clan members had been restless for a long time, and as soon as Lin Mingfa and the others returned, they all came over.
"What happened to Chief Lin? Did he have a stroke?"
“Since you’ve had a stroke, you should rest well, avoid overexertion and worry, and naturally, you can no longer serve as clan leader,” said Elder Lin Sanjin.
“Third Uncle is right. This time, your family has caused the entire clan to suffer reputational damage. The clan leader needs to be replaced by someone who knows what’s important,” Lin Huaqiang said, stepping forward.
Upon hearing this, Lin Mingfa became furious: "Lin Huaqiang, what do you mean?"
"It means exactly what it says." Lin Huaqiang sneered. "If your grandfather had known what was important, this wouldn't have happened. Lin Shikang finally became a third-ranked scholar, and instead of helping him build his reputation, you dragged him down. Now look what's happened, the whole clan is suffering, let alone benefiting from the third-ranked scholar's success."
Lin Zhongqiang added, "You guys don't know yet, do you? Yang Cui is going to raise ducks with the Zhou family to make money."
"What?"
The Lin family and clan members were greatly surprised.
Elder Lin Sanjin asked, "Zhongqiang, are you serious?"
"Although I've only heard about it, it's probably true." Lin Huaqiang sneered. "Originally, Yang Cui was a member of our Lin family, and we should have a share in the profitable businesses, but now we can only watch others eat and drink."
After Lin Huaqiang finished speaking, the Lin clan members naturally felt uncomfortable and began to resent the clan leader.
Chief Lin kept making "uh-uh" sounds, expressing his strong dissatisfaction.
Lin Huaqiang was just trying to provoke him. Back then, Lin Rongguang and Lin Huaqiang's father, Lin Shuangyi, were vying for the position of clan chief. The old clan chief actually favored Lin Shuangyi more and knew that Lin Rongguang lacked foresight, was somewhat impatient for quick success, and was not objective enough in his dealings with people. He would make decisions based on personal emotions. However, the clan chief used underhanded means to frame Lin Shuangyi, causing Lin Shuangyi to miss out on the position of clan chief.
Although Lin Shuangyi is dead, it doesn't mean the resentment has disappeared. The brothers Lin Huaqiang and Lin Zhongqiang are still happy to see the Lin clan chief suffer.
Lin Sanjin now harbored resentment towards the Lin clan chief. They had all agreed to divorce Yang Cui, but after the divorce, the clan chief continued to harass Yang Cui relentlessly. Lin Sanjin had objected, but the clan chief hadn't listened. Now, the Lin clan's reputation was ruined, while the Zhou clan was rising up, mainly because of Yang Cui, whom they had driven out. The more Lin Sanjin thought about it, the angrier he became.
Lin Sanjin said to the clan elder Lin Qi, "Seventh Elder, now that Rongguang is in such a state, let's find a day and elect the next clan leader as soon as possible!"
Lin Qi nodded: "Yes, we can't be without a leader. We're all getting old, it's time to elect a new clan leader. Rongguang, you should rest well and recover from your illness as soon as possible. Don't worry about anything else."
Lin Rongguang tried to speak, making "ah ah" sounds, but he was so anxious that saliva was dripping everywhere, and he just couldn't say anything.
He was filled with hatred!
He had originally planned to step down and let his son, Lin Mingcai, take over as clan chief, but unexpectedly, Lin Mingcai went to jail, and he suffered a stroke before he could make any arrangements.
When he heard what the Lin brothers said, he also felt a little regretful. If he had only severed ties with Yang Cui, things wouldn't have developed to this point.
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