good season

Chapter 237 Lively Scene (Two chapters combined)

Lord Zheng continued speaking, and it was no wonder that Li Shaoqing had Lord Zheng read the petition aloud. Lord Zheng spoke clearly and with intonation, and the onlookers could hear him clearly.

"My God, I've seen people who exploit their family's assets, but I've never seen anyone like the Lin family. They not only seized the family property, but also made that Lady Luo bear children for the Lin family at such a young age."

"It's one thing to give birth to children, but to give them a proper status, they not only refuse to do so, but also send them to the countryside to marry noble ladies, separating them from their families."

"If you ask me, the authorities must investigate this thoroughly. I suspect that Mrs. Luo, who died in a fit of madness, was also murdered. Otherwise, how could a perfectly healthy person suddenly go mad? Knowing she was insane, why did they let her run around in the street? And that runaway horse, how could it be such a coincidence that she bumped into the runaway horse as soon as she entered the street? This is all a conspiracy. We must investigate, we absolutely must investigate!"

"Yes, yes, and that Lady Luo, she was defiled by Lin Sen and gave birth to his child. There were no proper betrothal rites or marriage certificate. How is Lin Sen any different from a womanizer?"

"Yes, we can't let the Lin family off lightly just because the Luo and Lin families are relatives. Although Lin Sen turned himself in, we can't let him off easily either."

However, in the area where officials were gathered, the opinions expressed were exactly the opposite of those of the common people.

“Scholar Lin must also be kept in the dark. He is well-versed in the classics and is upright and honest. He would certainly not despise such a despicable thing.”

"Yes, and there's that Luo family mother and daughter. They have no male heirs. Admittedly, the Luo family has no close relatives, but there are still distant relatives. As long as the Luo family still has members of the same clan, the Luo family's property should not fall into the hands of outsiders. But this woman of the Luo family neither handed over the property to the Luo clan nor adopted a son from among the distant relatives of the Luo family to continue the family line. Instead, she took her vast wealth and went to live with her sister in her maternal family. In short, she just wanted to embezzle the Luo family's property. Such a person is not worthy of pity!"

No one noticed a grandfather and grandson among the officials. The grandson, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wore a royal blue round-necked scholar's robe. Although dressed as a scholar, he couldn't hide his innocent face: "Sir, may I ask your name, where you are from, and which government office you work for?"

The official who was speaking fluently paused, realizing that he was being asked a question. Seeing that the old man was plump and wealthy, and the young man was refined and cultured, he guessed that the old man was a relative of some official. He puffed out his chest and said loudly, "I am Ma Wenhai, a native of Hezhou, and a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue."

The young man nodded: "So you're from Hezhou. I'll send someone to Hezhou right away to inform the Ma clan members that those with sons should protect them and prevent them from being harmed. Those without sons should hurry up and have sons, and those who want to find husbands for their daughters should stop. That distant relative of theirs, Ma Wenhai, is about to come back with a face thicker than a city wall to seize the property of the destitute. Not only in Hezhou, but all the people with the surname Ma in the world should be careful. After all, Lord Ma said that as long as they are of the same surname and clan, they can openly seize the property of the destitute. He is an official, and if he has his eye on them, they can't afford to offend him. They can only offer themselves up."

Ma Wenhai was stunned. He pointed at the boy and shouted angrily, "You, you, you!"

Before he could finish speaking, someone in the crowd burst out laughing. The others couldn't help but laugh along with him. This Ma Wenhai, the doctor, was known in the yamen for having a small official position but a big attitude. He was also known for his lecturing. Most importantly, he was stingy. Whenever someone in the yamen invited him to a meal, he would go, but he never reciprocated. He had never even treated anyone to a bowl of plain noodles.

Seeing him being ridiculed in public, his colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue, who were originally too embarrassed to laugh at him in public, simply lowered their heads and chuckled as someone else started to laugh.

He didn't laugh out loud to save face for the Ministry of Revenue.

Ma Wenhai's face flushed red and then turned pale. Seeing everyone laughing at him, he originally wanted to scold the boy, but now he couldn't open his mouth. With a red face, he squeezed out of the crowd and went to find a place to heal his wounds.

Seeing him leave, the boy rolled his eyes: "Check him out later, he might be the same kind of person as Lin Sen."

The boy said it casually, but the listener took it to heart. Someone in the Ministry of Revenue took note of it and sent someone to Hezhou to investigate. They didn't find out that Ma Wenhai had taken advantage of a childless family, but they unexpectedly discovered that when Ma Wenhai was still a scholar, he had an affair with a widowed woman in his clan and was caught in the act. Because he was the only scholar in the clan, the clan chief suppressed the matter and had the widowed woman drowned. Ma Wenhai, however, was unharmed. Later, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, which brought honor to the Ma clan. So they kept quiet and never mentioned it again.

So when the next evaluation came around, this old story came back to light. Ma Wenhai was morally deficient and was sidelined, with no hope of promotion in his lifetime.

Of course, at this moment, the young boy dressed as a scholar and her chubby grandfather had no idea that their words today would directly ruin Mr. Ma's future.

At this moment, in front of the Dali Temple, Lin Sen's body finally moved. He had finished reading Lord Zheng's petition. Li Shaoqing nodded and pointed to the pile of rotten flesh on the ground: "I will accept this petition. I will first put this person into prison and make a decision after we have ascertained his identity."

what?
Isn't this Lin Sen himself?

Li Shaoqing: Lin Sen is a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and a prospective imperial son-in-law. If I were to say that he is Lin Sen, how could I imprison him? If I don't imprison him, how can I make him suffer?
The bailiffs from the Dali Temple carried Lin Sen, his body mangled and bloodied, and followed behind Li Shaoqing and Lord Zheng, disappearing in a flurry.

The officials and ordinary people who had gathered were reluctant to leave; such explosive news had to be shared.

"Does anyone here know Lin Sen? And does the Lin family have any relatives in Beijing?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a plump aunt slapped her thigh: "Oh my, I remember now! My daughter's mother-in-law's sister's husband's cousin has a courtyard in Gaosheng Hutong where a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) lives. He's also a prospective son-in-law of the emperor. He's probably that scoundrel surnamed Lin."

After all, he was a prospective son-in-law, so the plump aunt swallowed the last word.

A young man chimed in, "Yes, that's him. He lives in Gaosheng Hutong. I work at a brokerage firm. He came to our firm a few days ago, wanting to buy a house on Fulan Street."

"Tsk tsk tsk, how expensive are the houses on Fulan Street? They really don't care about spending other people's money. They're using the Luo family's money to buy a house for themselves. This family is shameless."

After some conversation, many people headed towards Gaosheng Hutong.

Everyone in Beijing knows Gaosheng Hutong, but apart from scholars, ordinary people don't go there.

But today is different. Such a big thing has happened, and the neighbors in Gaosheng Hutong should know about it. What if some kind, naive, and wealthy people are deceived by this Lin family?
Others are just there for the spectacle, enjoying the show and having nothing better to do than go and take a look.

The grandmother and grandson were also in the crowd; they were there to see what was happening.

Grandson: "Grandpa, the capital is really great. There are exciting things to see every day. I love the capital."

Grandpa: Didn't you cause all this commotion today?
A group of people headed towards Gaosheng Hutong, and the crowd that had been watching the commotion in front of Dali Temple finally dispersed.

At the intersection of Liubu Street, inside an ordinary-looking carriage, Princess Huixin looked bewildered.

Where exactly did things go wrong? Why is it Lin Sen instead of Luo Liqiong playing the drum?

Although Lin Sen's evil deeds were exposed in public, it was a good thing for her.

But what about Luo Liqiong?

Luo Liqiong was new to the capital and rather naive. If she fell into someone else's hands and revealed that she had been instructed to beat the petition drum, then she...
Gaosheng Hutong is located near the Imperial Examination Hall, and it only takes about two cups of tea to walk from here to the Imperial Examination Hall.

The group soon arrived at Gaosheng Hutong. Just as they were wondering which house Lin Sen lived in, they heard someone in the crowd say, "It's that door, the fifth house from the east."

There are no large houses in Gaosheng Hutong; they are all single-family courtyard houses. Because the rent is expensive, most of the courtyards here are shared by several people. It is very rare for someone like Lin Sen to rent a house alone.

Without even looking to see who was speaking, the crowd surged toward the fifth house to the east.

Upon arriving at the gate, they found it wide open, with a servant standing there looking around.

"Who are you looking for?" The servant was startled by the sudden appearance of so many people. "Does Lin Sen live here?" someone asked.

The servant nodded: "My young master is not here. What can I do for you?"

These days, people come here almost every day to give gifts, but these people always come empty-handed, which puzzles the servant.

"Of course your young master isn't here. He's in jail, and he's probably going to be beheaded."

As they talked, they peered into the courtyard: "Look, there are so many things in this courtyard! Tsk tsk, did you see those bright red and vermilion lacquered items? They don't look cheap at all. They must have been bought with the Luo family's money. The Lin family is really shameless!"

"It's not just about the objects; do you know how much silver a courtyard like this in Gaosheng Hutong costs per month?"

"How many?"

"Fifteen taels, this courtyard costs fifteen taels a month."

"My goodness! Fifteen taels a month for this courtyard? How much is that a year? They really don't care about spending other people's money! The Lin family is rotten to the core, a whole bunch of bad seeds!"

"Who are you calling a bad seed?"

A group of people came out of the house and happened to hear these words. The middle-aged woman in the lead immediately retorted loudly.

This woman was Lin's mother. They had arrived last night, but the city gates were closed, so they had to stay at an inn outside the city. Early this morning, they sent someone into the city to deliver the message, but after waiting and waiting, Lin Sen did not come to pick them up. Helpless, they had to go to the address written in Lin Sen's letter, only to find that only the servant was at home, and Lin Sen was not there.

Both servants said that the young master had left early in the morning without them, and was probably going to the yamen to hand over his duties.

They dared not say that they had overslept and woken up to find that their young master was not at home. They also did not expect that they would sleep until the sun was high in the sky, and that their heads hurt when they woke up, as if they had been beaten.

Zhao Shiqing: Yes, I did it.

The Lin family produced a prince consort, which caused an even greater sensation than Lin Sen passing the imperial examination. The Lin family parents received so many gifts that they were overwhelmed. Even the local magistrate personally visited them. Hearing that they were coming to the capital, the magistrate presented them with a formal ceremony. All of the Lin family's uncles, aunts, and cousins, including Lin Sen's, wanted to come along.

Despite further reductions, Lin's parents still brought more than a dozen relatives to the capital. Now, all of these relatives were here. Hearing the commotion at the door, they all came out to see what was going on. They heard people calling the Luo family shameless and the Lin family shameless.

These people all share the surname Lin; they're being insulted along with them.

"How dare you! Do you know where you are? How dare you spout nonsense and slander the Prince Consort? Do you want your family wiped out?"

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed. "You even went so far as to raid their homes and exterminate their entire families? You've got some nerve!"

The plump aunt was the first to start cursing. She spat at the Lin family: "Pah! I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you. You don't know, do you? Your son-in-law has sued his parents, and they're in jail right now. Oh my, they're going to confiscate your property and wipe out your entire family. You're right, your Lin family can just wait to have their property confiscated and be wiped out."

The Lin family relatives looked at each other, bewildered.

Lin's mother immediately panicked. Her eldest son had sued his parents? And he'd been imprisoned?
How can it be!

She rushed up to the plump woman, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws: "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth apart! If you dare to spread rumors about my son, I'll have the authorities arrest you!"

The plump aunt rolled her eyes: "Oh dear, so you're that wicked woman who ruined her own sister? How could you be so despicable? You'd even kill your own sister for a man! Aren't you afraid your parents will crawl out of their coffins and come after you?"

Lin's mother was shocked. How did these people even know that she had killed her own sister?
When everyone saw her expression change, they knew that their previous guesses were true: the reason why Luo's mother went mad and died was because of the Lin family.

Zhao Shiqing struggled to squeeze to the front, but no, she had to yell at him to her face to vent her anger.

Hey chubby lady, could you please move aside and give me a chance to attack head-on?

Just as the plump aunt was about to give the dog a good beating, a small head peeked out from behind her. She recognized it; it was the plump old man's eldest grandson.

Zhao Shiqing stuffed a bag of melon seeds into the plump aunt's hand: "These are my favorite melon seeds, please try them."

This auntie has a chipped front tooth; she's obviously someone who loves eating sunflower seeds.

The plump auntie immediately beamed and gave up the best spot.

This child is so sensible.

As expected of a ruthless and vicious cunning person, Lin's mother had already recovered from her shock in a short while.

Regardless of where these people heard these things from, she can simply deny them. Her sister is long dead, so there's no way to verify anything. As for that little bitch Luo Liqiong, even if she weren't locked up in the manor, she wouldn't dare to do it, let alone be locked up now.

My son is right. There's no evidence or proof of that incident, so we're not afraid of anything, not even the King of Heaven himself.

She gave a cold laugh and yelled at the two bewildered servants, "What are you still standing here for? Close the gate!"

She turned to the Lin family relatives and said, "Our Ah Sen has gained the Emperor's favor, which has aroused jealousy. When Ah Sen returns, we will arrest and punish these troublemakers!"

The relatives stared at each other, wondering what they had just heard.
Aunt Lin said, "Yes, yes, our Ah Sen can even marry a princess, how can people not be jealous? Sister-in-law, you have such a good temper. If it were me, I wouldn't close the door, I would definitely tear these people's filthy mouths to shreds!"

Aunt Lin: "Even if we don't tear it up, we should still reason with them and get to the bottom of it. How can we just close the door and let it go? Isn't that letting them off easy?"

The two servants were about to close the door when they heard what the Lin family relatives said, so they stopped what they were doing.

But at that moment, Zhao Shiqing suddenly took a step and walked in from outside the door.

"Hey everyone, come in and take a look! Everything in this yard was bought with the Luo family's money!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people behind him followed and came in. Some people couldn't squeeze in, so they simply climbed onto the top of the wall.

Now the servants couldn't close the door even if they wanted to.