The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 103 A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings.
Upon hearing this, Lei Sanxiang walked up to Lin Jiye, raised his palm as big as a palm leaf fan, and made as if to slap him.

Lin Qian stopped Lei Sanxiang, saying, "Don't make a move."

The slap was so powerful that Lin Qian was afraid she might have killed the old man.

It doesn't matter if a person dies; what matters is that we haven't even asked where the silver is hidden yet.

Lei Sanxiang stepped aside.

Lin Qian said to Xie Er, "Go and untie the muzzles of all the masters, mistresses, and stewards in the mansion."

Xie Er had no choice but to do as instructed.

Lin Qian said to Bai Langzai, "Take a few people and check the areas we marked earlier."

"Yes."

After Bai Langzai left, the ropes binding the mouths of the various house owners were untied. Everyone looked pained and spat out the dirt from their mouths. For a while, the women's hall was filled with the sounds of spitting.

"Tell me where you hid the silver. If you don't, I'll kill one person for every half incense stick's time," Lin Qian said coldly.

"A hero needs money, please go to the accounting office to get it; all the money in the manor is kept there," Lin Jiren said in a trembling voice.

"Do I need to tell you who the accountant is?" Lin Qian said. "I'm asking where the rest of the silver is hidden."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone from the Lin family below changed.

Lin Jiren pleaded, "Hero, our magistrate's family is known for its philanthropy and has established numerous free schools and soup kitchens throughout the county, earning us a long-standing reputation..."

As they were talking, a crew member came in from the backyard carrying a box and placed it in the hall.

Upon opening it, the box was filled with gleaming silver. It contained a chest of standard ten-tael snowflake silver, neatly stacked, totaling about three hundred taels.

"The ship's owner found it under the bed in the third room."

After the two crew members finished speaking, they went back to the backyard.

The third master trembled and dared not raise his head.

Lin Qian's voice was devoid of any emotion: "Half an incense stick's time has passed. Let's start with the Third Master."

After Xie Er pointed out the Third Master, several crew members rushed up, pinned him down, drew their knives, and were about to stab him.

The third master's face was pressed against the cold ground, distorted by the pressure, as he struggled and cried out, "I have silver! I have silver! I still have silver!"

Lin Qian waved her hand, and the crew left.

The Third Master said, "In the southwest corner of my bedroom, move the wardrobe aside, and under the stone slab, there are five hundred taels."

Lin Qian sent a crew member to retrieve it.

"Well, you scoundrel!" Lin Jiren roared, "So it was you who embezzled the money in the manor!"

The third master slumped down, shrinking back, not daring to look at him.

Old Master Lin had been joyfully celebrating his birthday during the day, but now he was kneeling here. The contrast was too great for him to accept. His white hair and beard trembled as he murmured, "The Book of Changes says, 'A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings.' Even if my Lin family has no abundant blessings, it should never have come to this..."

Lin Jiren picked up the conversation and continued, his voice trembling with emotion, "Indeed, not to mention anything far back, just last year's great flood. Our family used our own farmland to release the floodwaters, inundating over a thousand acres of land and saving the people of the entire city. Everyone in Taizhou Prefecture knows about this, and the prefect even personally inscribed a plaque for my family..."

Lin Qian's words were devoid of emotion: "You never mention the tenant farmers who drowned during the flood."

Lin Jiren hurriedly said, "Not many, not many! Only a hundred or so tenants drowned, really not many..."

"The Lin family only has about a hundred people. According to you, even if I killed them all, it wouldn't be too much?" Lin Qian said calmly.

Lin Jiren was stumped by the question and froze on the spot.

He couldn't understand how the lives of people from noble families could be compared to those of tenant farmers.

Three more crew members came in from the back room and placed two boxes, one large and one small, on the floor.

Once opened, it was filled with snowflake silver.

Lin Qian glanced at it; the large box contained about a thousand taels, and the small box about five hundred taels.

"Boatman, the small box was found in the Third Master's room, and the large box was found in the ancestral hall."

"Ah."

Several crew members disembarked.

Lin Qian turned to the hall and said, "Aren't you going to tell me? Half an incense stick's time will be up soon." Lin Jiren said, "Good sir, the rent for the Lin family's tenants is the lowest in the entire Huangyan County..."

Lin Qian casually pointed to a member of the Lin family, and the crew dragged the man out like a dead dog, pressed him down in front of the hall, and stabbed him in the back.

A sweet, pungent smell of blood permeated the air, and dark red blood meandered along the cracks in the floor tiles.

Lin Jiren's words stuck in his throat, and he could no longer speak. The Lin family members in the hall fell silent for a moment.

Four more crew members carried in two boxes, which were placed on the ground with a dull thud. As usual, they opened them and found neatly arranged silver coins, totaling about two thousand taels.

The prize pool has accumulated to 3,800 taels.

"Boat owner, these two boxes were found under the floor tiles of the ancestral hall."

"You wicked villain! How dare you destroy my ancestral hall!" Old Master Lin wailed.

Seeing this, Lin Qian asked, "Did you bring the family tree?"

"Brought it."

The crew handed over a red cloth package, which was opened to reveal a thick stack of documents. The top sheets of paper were newer, while the lower sheets became increasingly yellow.

As soon as this thing was taken out, Old Master Lin was like a goose whose neck had been choked. His voice tightened, and his eyes seemed to bulge out as he stared intently at the family tree.

Lin Qian asked the crew to bring candles, placed the family genealogy on the table, picked up the top book at random, and brought it close to the fire.

Old Master Lin said, "Wait!"

Lin Qian stopped. The genealogy book was only an inch away from the candle flame, and its edges were already slightly scorched.

"Alas! Forget it, I still have over a hundred taels of silver in my room for my own use. Take it, sir."

Lin Qian curled her lips into a mocking smile and brought the family genealogy closer to the flames.

"No! Don't burn it, don't burn it..." Old Master Lin cried loudly, as if he himself was the one being burned.

So many guards and servants of the Lin family died in one night, but Old Master Lin didn't even frown.

Just now, a relative of the Lin family was stabbed to death in the hall, but Old Master Lin did not shed a tear.

It's ridiculous that a tattered book could make him weep so bitterly.

As you draw closer to the candlelight, the family tree is stained with flames. The names of the Lin clan members are swallowed by the flames, turning charred black and yellow, and turning into charcoal dust.

The entire family genealogy book was burned. Lin Qian threw it in the hall, and it gradually turned into a fireball and was completely consumed.

Heavy footsteps came from behind the hall, and the crew carried in five or six boxes one after another.

When the box was opened, it gleamed with a precious light. Inside were jewelry, loose silver coins, land deeds, and documents, clearly collected from various households, especially the women's residences.

"Master, we've searched the entire backyard, and this is all we found," the crew member said, bowing.

Lin Qian frowned slightly. The silver in the hall totaled no more than ten thousand taels, which was far from enough compared to such a large mansion, so many ships, and such an ancient family.

Lin Qian said, "Search the front yard again."

The crew received orders and dispersed, moving forward without any hindrance, as if they knew the way by nature.

The women's hall was small. A crew member walked around in the hall and accidentally bumped into Lin Zhishu. Lin Zhishu flinched, and this was seen by Lin Qian.

Lin Qian stepped forward and kicked him: "Stop pretending, go kneel down over there."

Lin Zhishu quickly got up and took small steps to kneel down among the clansmen.

Lin Qian took out another family tree, brought it close to the candle, and as the flame flickered, it turned into charcoal.

The old man let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Lin Jiren ignored the family genealogy and focused his attention on Lin Zhishu with great concern.

Seeing this, Lin Qian put down the third family genealogy book and pointed at Lin Zhishu.

The crew members strode forward and pinned him to the ground.

Lin Qian stepped forward, stomped on his head, and stabbed him with her knife.

"Stop!" Lin Jiren shouted, "I'll confess, just don't kill my son!"

(End of this chapter)