Chapter 28: A Lesson in Blood! (1)

  Lin Chun saw that everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived, so he walked up front. Da Tou and Er Ya were waiting at the gate for Cui Hua Dang Ma and Xiao Shan. They had left Gei Gei and Du Du at Da Shan Bo Bo's house earlier, in order not to let the two dogs bark and ruin Lin Chun's plan to catch the thief. Da Tou and Er Ya reluctantly left Gei Gei and Du Du at Da Shan Bo Bo's house for a while, guessing that Cui Hua Dang Ma and Xiao Shan would bring them over soon. Da Tou and Er Ya were eagerly waiting.

  "Village chief, who is this gentleman?" Lin Chun had agreed with Shi Wen beforehand that they would not reveal their relationship and keep a distance, so as to avoid the villagers looking at her and her three siblings with strange eyes in the future. After all, people who know the truth will tell the truth, but it's hard to guarantee that there won't be some gossipmongers who like to add fuel to the fire and ruin people's reputations. Moreover, if everyone knew about their close relationship with Shi Wen, and later on, the punishment for Lin Lao and Liu Erniang was too severe, people would think that Shi Wen was taking revenge for her own sake, avenging her adopted daughter's personal grievances. This would also damage Shi Wen's reputation, which is not what Lin Chun wanted to see, so it's best to pretend they don't know each other.

  "Hey, this is County Magistrate Shi, the father of Yuxiang Town. Decades ago, when our village's western mountain caught fire, the flames reached the sky... Now again... The government attaches great importance to this matter, so... You'd better not say more, now that your family's kitchen was burned down by Liu Erniang, and Lao Lin and others were caught red-handed stealing from your home by the constables. This is no longer something our village chief or village elders can handle. Magistrate Shi will surely do justice for you three siblings!" Lin Dafu, who had returned at some unknown time, explained to Lin Chun behind the village chief's back.

  "Yes, Da Ya, today is New Year's Eve, and everyone in the village has gone to East Mountain to pay respects to their ancestors. After returning home, they usually stay at home to guard the year. If it weren't for Liu Erniang setting fire to your kitchen, you three siblings would have arrived just in time after paying respects to your ancestors. But if only the three of you had discovered them, who knows what kind of evil things they would have done?! Don't worry about today's events anymore, just go home and take a look later, check if anything is missing from your house." Da Shan Bo Bo knew Lin Chun's plan, so he took Xiao Shan to East Mountain early in the afternoon. After returning home, he came to Lin Chun's house and joined forces with Shi Wen.

  "Hmm, I see." Lin Chun replied obediently, waiting for Cui Hua to come over and check on the house after a while. Since they were putting on an act, they had to do it thoroughly.

  "It turned out that this young lady was the owner of the house. I, the official, originally planned to take a walk around on New Year's Eve to see how each village was celebrating, but unexpectedly, just as I arrived at the intersection of your village and Chenjia Village, I saw a huge fire raging on the west mountain, with thick smoke billowing everywhere. At first, I thought someone had intentionally set the fire, but then I saw the villagers carrying basins and buckets to put out the fire. The wailing voices inside the house were terrifying. I, the official, saw that only the kitchen was on fire, so why were people screaming inside? I didn't expect that when I entered the house, everything was in disarray, scattered all over the floor, and these few people were lying on the ground, unable to move because of the mouse traps set by the owner."

  "However, I have many things that are quite suspicious and would like to ask the village head and villagers of Linjia Village to tell me..." said Shi Wen, furrowing his brow.

  "Adults have something to ask, please ask directly, the village chief will definitely answer truthfully. Village affairs, everyone generally knows and can testify." Lin Tianliang saw Shi Wenfa speaking up and hurriedly stepped forward to respond.

  "Oh, since that's the case, I'd like to ask Village Chief Lin, earlier I heard that several people on this land are relatives of this young lady, but how could they come to her house and set it on fire, and commit theft?" The village chief, upon hearing Shi Wen's question, immediately broke out in cold sweat, but didn't dare to conceal the truth. He explained the relationships between Lin Chun, Lin Lao Tou, Liu Er Niang's two families, as well as how Lin Chun had already cut ties with Lin Lao Tou's family. However, regarding the arson and theft, Lin Tian Liang wasn't entirely clear either, so he didn't dare to say more. The villagers began discussing the rumors about Lin Chun's family encountering a noble person."

  After listening to the village head and villagers, Shi Wen felt a little heartache. Although he had already known about it, he still... "So that's how it was! Lin Lao Tou, Lin Er Lang, Liu Er Niang, and Lin Da Zhuang took advantage of the New Year's Eve when Da Yu San brothers went to East Mountain for ancestor worship, they were not at home, and came to Da Yu's house to steal. It makes sense, after all, who knows how much wealth Da Yu's family has? Previously, Lin Da Shan from Linjia Village and Qian Fu Yuan's shopkeeper came to the county government to handle documents, I was thinking about this matter! Originally, I planned to send a few yamen runners to help watch the mountain, but later heard that they had already found someone, so I gave up. Who would have thought...?"

  "Sir, I'm very clear about this theft. Liu Erniang came to Lao Lin's house a few days ago to discuss... and said that once they got their hands on it, they would knock out Da Ya and her siblings and throw them into the deep mountains!" Ruhua, who was being guarded by a yamen runner, finally couldn't hold back anymore. In order to clear herself of suspicion, she hastily told everything about the secret meeting at Lao Lin's house that night. "Sir, I knew about these things, but I didn't participate. It was Lin Er Lang who said he would take me home and give me a good life, so I followed him to Linjia Village. I didn't expect it to be just a few thatched cottages..." Ruhua's face was full of disdain.

  "You cheap woman, if it weren't for you seducing me and saying you were pregnant, I would have taken you home. Now you're still spouting nonsense here. Sir, don't believe this bitch's words, she's a prostitute at the Cuìhóng Building in town. If she hadn't met me, who knows how many men... You cheap woman, just wait for me..." Lin Er Lang was furious and also started cursing loudly.

  "What pregnancy, I wasn't even pregnant! It was you, Lin Er Lang, who wanted to get your father's approval, so you had me pretend. Now you dare to scold me as a cheap woman? You said that once we got the money from Da Yu, we would run away together and not care about anyone, old or young. How can you say this isn't what you said? You're the one who is a cheap man, your whole family are cheap people!" As Hua spoke, she reached into her belly and pulled out a bundle of cotton padding, and as soon as it was removed, her stomach instantly flattened.

  Lin Chun saw Lin Er Lang staring blankly, his eyes lifeless, and he didn't think it was an act. He thought that Lin Er Lang might also have been deceived by Ruhua, and if so, the purpose of Ruhua and Lin Er Lang's return home from the beginning was to target their own family.

  "It turned out to be self-inflicted..."

  "What's that? Didn't you just hear Lin Er Lang say that this is the one from the Green Red Building in town... Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

  "No wonder, Lin Er Lang was actually working at the Emerald Red Pavilion, previously he said he was in a wealthy family in town, no wonder he wanted to sell Da Ya to the brothel, originally..."

  The news of the brothel spread quickly, and soon everyone in Linjia Village knew that Lin Er Lang's wife was a prostitute who had faked her pregnancy to get married... Moreover, the villagers would always speak ill of women, this deeply rooted traditional thinking made these poor women carry a heavy burden forever, Lin Chun sighed.

  Digression

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