Chapter Nineteenth: Household Rules

  After Lin Dehai's angry shout, the door of a room next to him creaked open and a middle-aged woman propped herself against the door frame, blocking the entrance. Lao Jia Nu Lin Zhong was standing at the door, looking at Madam He who was blocking the door, unsure of what to do.

  Lin Dehai saw his normally obedient wife behaving in such a manner, and felt that he had lost all face. He strode up to Madame He, pointing at her as he said: "Today I will mete out family punishment! You are my wife, yet you do not know how to show consideration for your husband, instead opposing me - have you never heard the saying 'a married woman follows her husband'? The Lin family has always been renowned, we cannot tolerate a disobedient person!"

  These words were extremely severe and even threatened to divorce He Shi. He Shi was not eloquent and didn't know how to refute them, stuttering and unable to utter a complete sentence.

  "How can Father say that, Mother was protecting me by blocking the door, how can it be considered disobedience to her husband? Moreover, disobedience to her husband is not one of the seven grounds for divorce, how can Father say that Lin's family cannot tolerate Mother?" Li Mingfeng, who was lying on the bed inside the house, couldn't see Lin Wan'er's appearance, but just from her voice, he could tell that she was also a sharp-tongued and quick-witted person.

  Lin Dehai was just angry that He Shi had lost face, and didn't really intend to divorce her. Letting his daughter argue with him a bit, he found himself at a loss for words instead. Just as he wanted to explain a few things, he suddenly remembered that he was here to mete out family law, so what skill did this unfilial daughter have to debate with him?

  "Lin Zhong, go and fetch the family rules. This daughter of mine, if I don't teach her a lesson today, she'll be climbing up onto the roof and tearing off the tiles tomorrow."

  Lin Zhong opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words reached the tip of his tongue and he swallowed them back. He walked into the house, took down the family law bamboo whip from the case, and respectfully handed it over to Lin Dehai.

  Lin Wan'er knew she had tripped a scholar-official, and by rights it was still Li Mingfeng's fault, but because of the official's status, Lin Wan'er couldn't say that Li Mingfeng's horse had stolen dry grass, and the official would think of running away. Lin Wan'er thought her father might scold her a bit, but didn't expect her father, who had never been able to bear hitting his children, to actually want to use family law this time.

  "Kneel down!" Lin Dehai's face turned iron-green as he bellowed.

  The family law is as big as a mountain, Lin Wan'er, no matter how sharp her tongue was, didn't dare to disobey her father when he was furious. She sighed and knelt down in front of the main hall where their ancestors were worshipped.

  Lin Dehai also loved this daughter very much. If it weren't for Lin Wan'er, the situation of the Lin family would have been much worse in recent years, and they probably wouldn't be able to maintain their grandeur anymore. Loving her is one thing, but this unfilial daughter actually offended a noble person from the Lin family, which was something that Lin Dehai couldn't tolerate at all.

  Thinking of his and his son's future, thinking of the Lin family's future, Lin Dehai gritted his teeth, raised his bamboo whip, and fiercely lashed it at Lin Wan'er's back.

  The bamboo whip was extremely painful when it hit, and with one strike, Lin Wan'er let out a loud "ahh" of pain. The mother and daughter were connected at heart, and seeing Lin Dehai raise the whip again, Madame He hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Husband, Wan'er is also your daughter, how can you bear to hit her like this?"

  Lin Dehai didn't mind his daughter, but he couldn't bear to lose face in front of Li Mingfeng, so he let Lin Wan'er off. Lin Dehai secretly turned his head and glanced at the room where Li Mingfeng lived, only to see Lin Sheng walking out with his back to Li Mingfeng, and a chair was still placed at the door.

  Li Mingfeng had been hoping in his heart that Lin Wan'er would be punished, this little girl secretly harming him, how could he let it go? Hearing that Lin Wan'er was being beaten, Li Mingfeng's heart itched a lot, and in order to see the 'grand scene' with his own eyes, he directly ordered Lin Sheng to move the chair outside, while he himself had Lin Sheng carry him out.

  Seeing Li Mingfeng come out, Lin Dehai, who had been somewhat shaken, steeled himself and whipped again.

  Crack, crack, crack, after a few lashes, Lin Wan'er, this weak woman, spat out a mouthful of blood. As soon as she spat out the blood, He Shi, who was already crying beside her, couldn't bear it anymore and rushed to her daughter's side, refusing to let Lin Dehai hit her again. Lin Dehai also took the opportunity to stop his hand and turned his head towards Li Mingfeng.

  But as for Li Mingfeng, he was stunned at first sight of Lin Wan'er, what a beauty with brows and eyes like a painting, natural and elegant.

  Actually, many female stars in later generations are also very beautiful, but they don't have the classical feeling of Lin Wan'er. Just as Li Mingfeng was admiring this woman's classical temperament, Lin Wan'er suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and Li Mingfeng's heart skipped a beat, exclaiming that Cao Xueqin's Lin Daiyu should also be of this temperament.

  Lin Dehai turned around to see Li Mingfeng's infatuated gaze, and this old guy was overjoyed, never expecting that this scholar would still have some feelings for his own daughter.

  Lin Wan'er has already passed the age of 28 this year, and at the age of 29 in the Qing dynasty, she is considered an old maid. Because Lin Wan'er was not at ease with leaving the family business to her brother and father who only knew how to hold a pen, it had been delayed for a long time. According to convention, men should be older than women, but now there are hardly any scholars in the surrounding villages who are older than Lin Wan'er and have not yet taken a wife, so Lin Wan'er's marriage has become another headache for Lin Dehai.

  Lin Dehai already knew that Li Mingfeng was still unmarried when they had dinner together yesterday. Now, seeing this old gentleman showing interest in his own daughter, how could he not be delighted?

  Feeling Lin Dehai's gaze with profound meaning, Li Mingfeng's face was a bit hot, but his mouth didn't stop: "How can Mr. Lin be like this? I'm not wrong in saying that the fault doesn't lie with your daughter, sir. Please stop punishing her."

  These words were spoken beautifully, even Mrs. He looked at Li Mingfeng with gratitude. The maid next to her got the hint from her mistress and quickly helped Lin Wan'er into the house.

  The beauty has left, Li Mingfeng is not interested in sitting in the yard anymore, and immediately orders Lin Sheng to carry himself back, but unexpectedly Lin Dehai also follows in.

  "As soon as you left, I sent Xing Sheng to the county government office to retrieve the documents. I estimated that he would return by nightfall, and I planned to set off for Guangzhou to join you tomorrow. But then this thing happened." Lin Dehai had read many books, but his brain wasn't foolish. After realizing Li Mingfeng had intentions towards his daughter, this old fellow didn't hesitate to call him "Li Brother", a term of endearment.

  "I'm just leg injured, my body is fine, rest for a few days and rent a horse cart, I can ride on it." Li Mingfeng now bears the weight of his recent losses heavily, but he still plans to return to his hometown as soon as possible, at least in Guangzhou, he has home court advantage.

  When he heard that he was going to hire a horse-drawn carriage, Lin Dehai's face was slightly embarrassed. Li Mingfeng pondered for a moment and understood the reason. He directly ordered Lin Sheng to bring his own package and took out a gold ingot of about 10 taels: "This is 10 taels of gold, take it to hire a carriage, and use the rest to improve the family's food."

  Lin Dehai was about to push it away, but after thinking twice, he thought that in the future they might still be a family, and it's not good to divide the silver too clearly. Moreover, his family has been quite tight on finances recently, so he didn't stand on ceremony and took the gold instead.