The next morning, Yu Dong and his wife were taken to the government office.
No matter how much they begged and cried, with witnesses and physical evidence, they were quickly convicted.
According to the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty, anyone who seduces another into becoming his wife, concubine, or child shall be punished with ninety strokes of the cane and two and a half years of penal servitude. If the person is not sold, the punishment shall be reduced by one degree. Therefore, Yu Dong and Zhang Cuihong, husband and wife, were sentenced to one and a half years in prison and ninety strokes of the cane.
Yu Zhaodi's actions could be considered as those of an accomplice, but considering her youth and the fact that she was forced into it, the county magistrate did not punish her too harshly. He simply had her father, Zhang Cuihong's son, take her back.
Zhang Cuihong's son originally worked in the county and was not usually in the village.
The few coins he earned each month were only used to cover his own expenses.
Upon learning of this, he was furious and, as soon as he stepped outside, he gave Yu Zhaodi a severe beating, constantly cursing his parents.
The language was so vulgar that even Lin Weiming and a few other villagers couldn't stand it anymore.
“Sigh…” Lin Weiming shook his head and said, “If the Yu family’s children had a father like this, they probably wouldn’t know how to survive.”
Everyone nodded.
Surprisingly, he was right!
A few days later, everyone noticed that the Yu family's door was tightly shut, as if no one was home.
It was only later that they found out that after Yu's son returned to the village, he sent all his sons and daughters to Zhang Cuihong's parents' home, forcing his uncles and maternal grandparents to raise his sons.
They only said that their family was harmed by Zhang Cuihong, so naturally Zhang Cuihong's family should be held responsible.
After dropping off the child, Yu's son packed up all the valuables in the house and took them away, leaving nothing behind, and even disappeared without a trace.
When the village head heard about it, his face turned somber, and that very night he summoned all the men in the village to his home.
"I'm sure everyone has heard about what happened to the Yu family, so I won't say anything more," the village head said sternly. "They were originally a perfectly good family, but because of their insatiable greed, they ruined the whole family!"
"..." Everyone remained silent.
"I've gathered you all here today not for any other reason than to prevent some of you from having any ulterior motives. Seeing other people living well, you get greedy and want to secretly steal their daughters to raise! If I find out, I will not let anyone with such thoughts off the hook!" The old village head was old but experienced, and he understood what Zhang Cuihong and her husband were up to after a little thought.
Since Yu Dong and Zhang Cuihong think this way, it's possible that other people in the village have the same idea.
The village headman summoned everyone to give them a dressing down for this very reason.
"Ahem..." Sure enough, some people chuckled sheepishly: "Grandpa, what are you saying? How could anyone from our village do such a thing? We may envy the Lin family for living a good life, but apart from that old bastard Yu Dong, who else would do something like stealing a daughter? Don't worry, there aren't many heartless people like that in our village."
"It's good that you have this idea." The old man from the village headman continued, "Don't blame me for not telling you the ugly truth beforehand. If anything like this happens again, no matter whose child is stolen, it will be treated the same as the Yu family's case. They will be reported to the authorities and severely punished!"
“If you want to live a good life, then live it properly and stop thinking about those crooked ways.” The old man from the village headman’s eyes shifted. “Even if you don’t have that intention yourself, you still have to keep your wives in check and not let others instigate them.”
“My wife is not as formidable as Zhang Cuihong, so you can rest assured, sir.”
The village head nodded and said, "That's good! I've been giving you all this advice not just for that little girl from the Lin family, but also for your own good."
"Since that little girl is so capable, let her stay in our village. Wouldn't that still benefit you? Whether it's catching ghosts or helping to look after graves, we're all from the same village. Do you think she'd take your money? And what about Du Fan's family? If it weren't for the direction that little girl pointed out, Du Fan would probably be dead. Even if you don't think about others, you should think about yourselves."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Everyone nodded quickly, agreeing that this was indeed the case.
"Furthermore..." the old man from the village headman said, unconsciously lowering his voice, "I've had my son inquire about the rain in the surrounding villages. Our area has been experiencing the most rain. If it has nothing to do with that little girl, that's fine. But if it does, then anyone who dares to touch her is affecting the lives of everyone in our village!"
The speculation that had been circulating among the villagers was now confirmed by the village head, which surprised everyone, but also felt was somewhat expected.
After the men returned home, they all relayed what the village head had said to their wives.
“I think the old man is right. Having that little girl in the village is good for us all. You should stop thinking about your family every day,” the man warned.
The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Do you need to tell me? When I go back to see my mother, I don't even dare to tell her about this, for fear of letting it slip."
"That's good... From now on, we'll have our son and daughter help keep an eye on things, so that no one from the other villages steals them." The man became a little nervous when he thought about the Yu family's situation.
"Look at your useless coward! They're not even afraid of the Lin family, but you're so scared." The woman pouted, but she still remembered this in her heart.
...
Unlike the gossip of other families in the village, Lin Weiming carved two small wooden tablets for Laifu and Xiaofendie and placed them next to his father's tablet.
He brought his four sons and Lin Wanyue to offer incense to the three memorial tablets.
"Father, they don't eat this."
"Oh no, then I've wasted my money! This incense is very expensive." Lin Weiming held the incense, feeling like he had been ripped off.
Lin Wanyue covered her mouth and laughed.
Lin Zhongyuan and his three sisters laughed at their younger sister, their laughter becoming even more unrestrained and loud.
"Then let's not light them. They'll just look nice." Lin Weiming quickly came up with a solution: he simply placed the incense sticks in front of the three memorial tablets so that they wouldn't be wasted if they weren't lit.
Lin Weiming patted his sons on the head, "What are you laughing at? Hurry up and come over to thank the two great spirits! If it weren't for them, you wouldn't even be able to protect your sister."
"Yes!" The four boys immediately became obedient, stood respectfully in front of the memorial tablet, and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Sister Little Pink Butterfly and Brother Laifu, for saving my sister. From now on, we will share all the good food in our house with you!"
Lin Wanyue bowed along with her four older brothers, silently threatening: Since you have accepted Father and your brothers' worship, don't forget to take good care of them!
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