Old Mrs. Lin and the second wife's family forcefully barged into the east courtyard of the eldest son's house. Their eyes swept over a young and handsome man standing in the corridor. They knew who he was, but they ignored him and did not bow. They walked aggressively into the main hall of the eldest son's house.
Only Lin Daowei hesitated for a moment and stopped. After his mother and brother entered the hall, he respectfully bowed to Zhao Canchen before walking into the hall with his head bowed and back bent. He stood silently in the corner of the doorway. His wife and children, as if they had found their pillar of support, quickly moved over and stood with him, like a few gatekeepers.
Old Mrs. Lin sat down in the seat of honor in the main hall, fuming, and shouted, "Lin Daoyan, get out here right now!"
She decided to settle old scores and new grudges on this day, and said to the old woman, "Go and call that wicked woman here. If she doesn't come, drag her here no matter what."
The old woman nodded and walked towards the back courtyard.
Seeing that his grandmother and second uncle's family had come with ill intentions, Lin Songhao stayed by Zhao Canchen's side but dared not leave. He kept jumping up and down anxiously, "What should we do? What should we do?"
Zhao Canchen whispered, "Xiao Hao, don't rush, let's wait and see. No matter how many of them there are, they can't beat your dad. Don't be afraid."
"Alright." Lin Songhao forced himself to quiet down and stood with Zhao Canchen at the window, looking inside.
Lin Daoyan and his wife, Xu, entered the main hall one after the other, bowed, and stood to one side.
Lin Daoyan asked respectfully, "Mother, may I ask what brings you here?"
Madam Lin pointed at Lin Daoyan and began to curse, "You audacious scoundrel, you actually threw frogs into the Ren family's bridal chamber and ruined the newlyweds' wedding night!"
"You also sent people to steal the Ren family's valuables."
"If you don't want to die, hand over everything right now."
Lin Daoyan was quite surprised. He hadn't expected that his stepmother would frame him for everything that had happened at the Ren residence.
He protested, "Mother, I didn't do these things. Please don't wrong me."
Old Mrs. Lin, with her wrinkled face and wide, triangular eyes that made it appear as if there was more white than black in them, said sternly, "Who else could it be but you? Only your eldest son's family resents the Ren family for the arranged marriage."
Old Mrs. Lin threatened, "If you don't hand over the Ren family's valuables, I will have someone report you to the authorities for the heinous crime of insubordination and filial impiety."
Lin Daoyan and his wife's expressions changed drastically; they were at a loss and caught in a dilemma.
Wasn't it their doing? What are they going to hand over?
If they cannot hand over the items, the old lady will accuse them of the grave crime of filial impiety, and they will be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.
Lin Daoyan thought for a while, then swallowed his anger and said, "In that case, Mother, you should go to the government office to report it. Perhaps the officials can find out the truth and recover the lost wealth of the Ren family."
"You, you think I wouldn't dare?" Old Mrs. Lin slammed her fist on the table and roared. When she was furious, the veins on her forehead looked like earthworms wriggling.
Seeing that his elder brother would rather go to the government office than admit to taking away the Ren family's wealth, Lin Daoqing did not dare to search the mansion for a while.
His eyes darted around, and he immediately came up with a brilliant plan that would kill two birds with one stone: If this mansion fell into my hands, and if my brother took away the Ren family's wealth, wouldn't it all be in my hands? Even if he didn't take away that wealth, I would still take over this East Courtyard.
So Lin Daoqing took the opportunity to suggest, “Brother, you are now a lowly soldier guarding the city gate. You are not qualified to live here. You should move to the military camp’s tenement.”
He made a strong decision: "Leave today, or don't blame your brothers for being ruthless and heartless."
Lin Daoyan retorted indignantly, "Second brother, that's going too far. This entire Lin family estate is our ancestral property, my mother's dowry, which she left to me as her private property. It has nothing to do with your second branch of the family. What right do you have to seize it?"
Lin Daoqing sneered, "Just because I am the chief guard of the princess's residence, what can you do if I forcibly occupy your house?!"
"You...you..." Lin Daoyan was so angry at his second brother's ingratitude that he couldn't speak.
Back then, after his father passed away, Lin Daoyan observed three years of mourning before taking over his father's position as a bodyguard and becoming a bodyguard for the Prince of Song. He was skilled in martial arts and loyal, which earned him the Prince of Song's trust, who assigned him to protect Zhao Canchen. He was gradually promoted to the position of head bodyguard.
It was Lin Daoyan who asked the Prince of Song to intervene and introduce Lin Daoqing into the Princess's residence as a guard.
Otherwise, Lin Daoqing would only be a lowly soldier in the army, risking his life to fight for his future step by step.
The third brother, Lin Daowei, also got a minor job in the government office thanks to Lin Daoyan, and later rose to become a constable.
Now that the eldest son's family has just fallen on hard times, the second son's domineering nature has been revealed. Not only has he taken away the eldest son's daughter's marriage, but he also wants to take away the eldest son's house.
In fact, the main courtyard where Old Lady Lin lives and the courtyards where the second and third wives live all belong to the eldest son's family.
Originally, it was a three-courtyard siheyuan. The main courtyard was where Mrs. Lin lived, the left and right wing rooms were where the second and third wives lived, and the third courtyard was where the eldest son's family lived.
A few years ago, Old Lady Lin used the excuse that the second and third branches of the family had too many people to move the eldest branch to a small side room built on the east side. She also proposed that the eldest branch should share the family's food and drink, but the eldest branch had to pay a monthly allowance to the public treasury.
At that time, Lin Daoyan was the chief bodyguard of the Song King. With both connections and money, he bought the land to the east and expanded it into a three-section courtyard house.
This made Old Lady Lin and the second wife's family extremely envious, but they dared not reach out to snatch it.
Things are different now. Lin Daoyan has been demoted to a lowly soldier guarding the city gate, so it's fine if they take it.
Lin Daoqing declared domineeringly, "These houses all belong to my mother. Whoever she wants to kick out must get out immediately!"
When his wife, Cheng, heard her husband's words, she was overjoyed.
She knew that today she could finally take over the courtyard of the eldest son's family. Overjoyed, she strode to the outside of the courtyard and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Guards! Call a team of people for me and drive all those people from the eldest son's family out!"
Lin Daoqing waved his hand and said to his brother and sister-in-law without any politeness, "What are you two dawdling for? Get out of here now, or I'll call someone to make a move, and that won't look good!"
Seeing that Lin Daoyan was standing there and wouldn't leave, Old Lady Lin slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and angrily shouted, "You heartless bastards, get out of here! I never want to see any of you in this household again!"
"Men, drag them out!" Lin Daoqing shouted.
At Lin Daoqing's command, his henchmen and a dozen servants from the second branch of the family surged in like a tidal wave, their imposing manner suggesting they intended to forcibly drive the eldest branch's people away.
"Go, go, go..." some people shouted, stepping forward to pull Lin Daoyan.
"You should leave too!" Two other old women dragged Xu Shi away without any politeness, trying to drive her out of the courtyard as well.
"Wait a minute." A clear voice came from outside.
Lin Yajun moved with lightning speed as she rushed into the hall.
"Anyone who dares to touch my father and mother will have to try!" Lin Yajun stood firmly in the hall, her voice booming like thunder, echoing throughout the room. Her gaze was piercing, sweeping over everyone in the hall.
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