Brothers Lin Daoqing and Lin Daowei, holding the keys, bent over and slowly crawled under the bed.
They groped around in the dark, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find the box.
Lin Daoqing was a little confused. He remembered that he had brought more than ten boxes in with his men, and his mother had specifically instructed that they be placed under her bed.
He decided to shine a lamp under the bed again to see if he could find any trace of the box.
When the light shone under the bed, Lin Daoqing and Lin Daowei were both stunned—there was nothing under the bed!
Lin Daoqing stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to accept the fact for a moment. He clearly remembered putting the box here, so how could it suddenly disappear?
"Mother, all your trunks are gone!" Lin Daoqing's voice was filled with shock and disbelief.
"Impossible!" the old woman exclaimed. "I even peeked out the other day, and those boxes were clearly under the bed!"
Lin Daoqing turned to look at his brother, only to find Lin Daowei staring at him with a questioning gaze. That gaze seemed to say, "Did you hide the box?"
Lin Daoqing suddenly felt a surge of tension; he felt like he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the river. How could he possibly steal his mother's trunk? But now the trunk had disappeared right under his nose—how could he explain it?
"I'll get up and see." The old woman struggled to get out of bed, and the two brothers rushed forward to help her.
The old woman weakly squatted down, peered inside, and looked around. There was nothing there. "Where's my box? My money, my..." Overwhelmed with anger, she rolled her eyes and fainted.
"Mother..." Lin Daowei said anxiously, "Someone, quickly go to the city and fetch a doctor."
His mother was dying, and he had to observe three years of mourning. His position as head constable was also given to someone else.
The servant rode into the capital and hurriedly summoned a doctor. After examining the patient, the doctor shook his head and said to the Lin brothers, "The old lady has at most three to five days left. You should prepare for her funeral."
The two brothers stood dejectedly by the bedside, looking at their mother lying there groaning in pain, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing on their chests. Their mother had lost all her money, and the shock had taken its toll on her; they felt utterly defeated, having lost everything.
Lin Daowei grumbled discontentedly, "Ever since the second branch of the family changed the eldest branch's marriage, our two families have been getting worse and worse. We've really had a lot of bad luck."
With things having come to this point, Lin Daowei could only prepare for mourning.
Lin Daowei now wants to find his mother's wealth, even if he can only get half of it, so that he can live a better life in the future.
Lin Daowei pressed on, "Second brother, Mother once said she had more than ten thousand taels of silver. How exactly did she lose it?"
Lin Daoqing said angrily, "Third brother, my mother's money must have been stolen by my elder brother, who used it to buy that shop. Otherwise, where would the eldest branch have gotten so much money to buy such a big shop?"
At first, Lin Daowei suspected that his second brother had stolen it. He used investigative methods to observe Lin Daoqing's subtle expressions and saw that he was sweating profusely and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. He was convinced that it was not his doing.
Therefore, Lin Daowei agreed with his second brother's statement, "It is entirely possible that this was done by Lin Daoyan. His kung fu is unfathomable, he can come and go as he pleases, and moving these things would be easy for him."
Lin Daoqing gritted his teeth and said, "We want to make their eldest son's family return all their wealth, and we want to take over their mansion and shops."
"I'll do whatever you say, Second Brother," Lin Daowei readily agreed. After leaving the Lin residence, he bought a small house and paid for all his own expenses, feeling that he was living beyond his means.
After discussing it, the two brothers made a decision: "We'll proceed as we agreed beforehand. We'll have Shen's nephew propose marriage first. Once he gets close to the eldest branch of the family, we'll have a chance to make our move."
Under Lin Daoqing's meticulous planning, that afternoon, his cousin Shen Qiyuan, dressed in a brand-new blue cotton long gown and a matching hat, stood in front of the Lin family's gate. He carried gifts in his hands: a piece of pork, two jugs of liquor, and two packets of pastries, accompanied by a matchmaker dressed in worn clothes.
Lin Daowei quietly followed behind them, hiding in the shadows and silently observing everything before him, praying in his heart that the marriage proposal would go smoothly so that he could get some benefits.
Shen Qiyuan stood before Lin Daoyan's door, raised his hand and knocked on the heavy door, his voice echoing through the quiet street. "Open the door, I am the seventh young master of the fifth branch of the Shen family, here to propose marriage at the Lin residence." His voice was loud and clear.
Lin Daoyan was demoted to the position of gatekeeper and had no official post. Since the second and third branches of the family moved away, the Lin family has not had any gatekeepers assigned to their gates.
Normally, the Lin family's gate is kept tightly closed, and only when someone knocks on the door will a servant come out to open it.
Shen Qiyuan arrived at the Lin family's door and knocked, but after a long while, the door remained closed.
Shen Qiyuan began to get anxious. He raised his voice and shouted, "I am a member of the Shen family, here to propose marriage. Your Lin family refuses to see me. Do you not recognize our kinship?"
His shouts echoed through the quiet street, attracting the attention of passersby. People stopped and watched the scene with curiosity, pointing and whispering among themselves.
"Look, someone has come to the Lin family to propose marriage."
"Judging by his attire, he's just a country bumpkin."
"Even if the Lin family is impoverished, they are still a military household. How can they send someone like that to propose marriage?"
These whispers reached Shen Qiyuan's ears, making him feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed. But he did not back down, remaining steadfastly standing in front of the door, waiting for the Lin family to knock.
...
Suddenly, a crack opened in the side gate of the Lin residence, and a man who looked like a waiter poked his head out and asked, "Who are you?"
Upon seeing this, Shen Qiyuan quickly stepped forward and said, "Go and announce that I am Shen Qiyuan from the fifth branch of the Shen family, and I have come with a matchmaker to propose marriage." His tone was somewhat urgent, hoping to go in and see Lin Daoyan, the head of the Lin family, as soon as possible.
Lin Daoyan stood in the courtyard and frowned upon hearing these words from outside. He remained silent for a moment, then waved to the servant beside him, signaling him to open the side gate.
Soon, Shen Qiyuan led the matchmaker into the Lin residence. As soon as he entered the courtyard, Shen Qiyuan saw Lin Daoyan standing there, staring at him with cold eyes, his expression clearly showing displeasure.
Lin Daoyan asked bluntly, "What brings you here?" His tone was harsh, clearly indicating that he was not welcoming of Shen Qiyuan's arrival.
Faced with Lin Daoyan's indifference, Shen Qiyuan felt a little uneasy, but still forced himself to say, "Uncle, I've come to propose marriage to you. I hope to marry your daughter, my eldest cousin from the Lin family."
Lin Daoyan sneered and said bluntly, "I've heard that your Shen family came to propose marriage simply because you're after my daughter's dowry. Even if you marry her, I'm afraid you won't treat her well."
Shen Qiyuan hurriedly explained, "Uncle Lin, you've misunderstood. Our Shen family sincerely wants to marry Miss Lin; it's absolutely not what you're saying."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com