GD (QT) Chapter 10

“Lin Yu, since you’re home, why didn’t you answer the door?”

The head of the Lin clan was a small, elderly man who liked to walk with his hands behind his back. He entered the house with a commanding air, immediately starting with a reprimand.

He was clearly here to pick a fight.

There were many people in the Lin clan of Qingshan Village, but most were simple farmers with no great achievements. Because the Eldest Lin’s family had two sons currently studying—who were said to be quite promising and likely to pass the examinations and become officials—the Clan Leader had always favored them.

He had come to settle the score on behalf of the Eldest Lin.

Lin Yu didn’t even lift his head. “Oh, it’s you, Old Sir. I was wondering which tubercular ghost was coughing at my door. I was afraid of bringing bad luck into the house.”

The Clan Leader’s face instantly darkened.

His sharp eyes glared at Lin Yu. When Old Mrs. Lin came to him crying and complaining earlier, he hadn’t quite believed her. He hadn’t expected that Lin Er, who used to be the most filial, had truly changed so drastically.

The Clan Leader slammed his hand on the table. “Lin Er, what do you mean by that!”

Lin Pan and Lin Lai both jumped in fright.

Lin Yu finally lifted his eyelids. “If I had known it was you, I would have opened the door long ago. Why didn’t you say anything? How was I to know who it was just by the sound of coughing?”

“You…” The Clan Leader’s face turned bright red.

Lin Yu stood up with a grin and poured him a cup of water—plain, cold water. “Clan Leader, at your age, running around like this makes your breath uneven. Come, have some water to moisten your throat before you speak.”

How could the Clan Leader not know Lin Yu was mocking him? His expression was grim.

“This old man doesn’t have the fortune to drink water from your house. I’m afraid I’d be poisoned to death,” the Clan Leader said unceremoniously.

Hearing this, Lin Yu simply took the water back and drank it himself. “See? No poison.”

“At your age, you just love to let your imagination run wild. We have no grudge, so if I poisoned you, wouldn’t I have to pay with my own life?”

“You should rest more at home and stop wandering about, so you don’t always feel like people are out to get you.”

In just a few exchanges, the Clan Leader realized that Lin Er had indeed changed completely; he had become sharp-tongued and difficult to provoke.

He knitted his brows, sized Lin Yu up, and sneered, “Lin Er, your mother says your personality has changed and that you smashed up the Eldest Lin’s house. Is that true?”

Lin Yu nodded. “It’s true.”

“Lin Da allowed his wife to plot behind my back to sell my daughter. Smashing his house was a light punishment. If he dares to keep harrassing me, I’ll go to the county yamen and sue him. At that point, the entire Lin family will be caught in a lawsuit.”

The Clan Leader’s expression shifted slightly.

He hadn’t expected Lin Yu to be so stubborn. Seeing that force wouldn’t work, he softened his tone and adopted a grandfatherly manner.

“Erzi, I know your mother has been biased in the past and you have resentment in your heart. But the two of you are blood brothers. Bones may break, but the tendons remain connected. This kinship cannot be severed.”

Lin Yu scoffed. “Give it a rest. Having a brother like that is a sin from my past life. Cutting him off early is the only way to stay clean.”

The Clan Leader had made grand promises before coming here, but he hadn’t expected Lin Er to be immune to both soft and hard tactics. If he couldn’t handle this, wouldn’t it damage his prestige as Clan Leader?

The Clan Leader said in a heavy voice, “Then have you considered who will hold the ritual banner and wail at your funeral after you’re gone? Without a nephew, you won’t even be able to enter the ancestral graves. You’ll just be a lonely, wandering ghost.”

“No matter how powerful you are now, you’ll have to rely on your nephews in the future. With the way you’re acting, do you think Guangzong or Yaozu will provide for you in your old age?”

These words made Lin Pan and Lin Lai turn pale. they looked at their father with worry.

The Clan Leader added pointedly, “Daughters are meant to be married off. Once they marry, they belong to another family. You’re young and strong now, so everything is fine, but what will you do when you’re old? Do you plan to be thick-skinned and beg for food at your son-in-law’s house?”

“Take your oldest, Zhaodi. She’s been married for three years now. How many times does she come back in a year? Don’t even think about her taking care of you in the future.”

Lin Pan bit her lip and suddenly spoke up: “Then I won’t get married. I’ll stay home my whole life to take care of my dad.”

“I won’t marry either! We’ll take care of Dad together!” Lin Lai added.

The Clan Leader’s face darkened, and he shouted sternly, “When adults are speaking, what right do you children have to interrupt? Erzi, your wife died early, and these two girls have indeed been raised without manners. If your mother or your sister-in-law stepped in to discipline them, no one could say they were in the wrong.”

Lin Yu laughed from anger. “My daughters don’t need anyone else to discipline them. Clan Leader, if you love their ‘discipline’ so much, send your granddaughters over to let them be managed. I certainly won’t stop you.”

“You… you just can’t listen to reason!” The Clan Leader slammed the table again in a rage.

Lin Yu said indifferently, “At your age, instead of enjoying your golden years at home, why are you running around sticking your nose in things? Watch your hands; if you hurt yourself, I won’t be paying for the medicine.”

“You!”

“Fine, fine, fine! It seems everything your mother said was true. You used to fake your filial piety, but who knew you were actually such a cold-hearted person? Lin Er, I’m putting it plainly today: if you don’t kowtow to your mother and admit your mistake, you are unfilial. And an unfilial son is not fit to enter the ancestral graves!”

Having finished his piece, the Clan Leader flicked his sleeves and stood up to leave, waiting for Lin Yu to burst into tears and beg for mercy. To his surprise, there wasn’t a sound as he reached the door.

He looked back and nearly collapsed from rage. Lin Yu was slowly drinking his water, completely ignoring him.

Lin Yu looked up and smiled. “Old Sir, why haven’t you left yet? Do you think I actually care about entering the ancestral graves? An ancestral grave that ignores right and wrong and knows nothing of propriety—I wouldn’t deign to enter it.”

“If the ancestors underground knew you were a Clan Leader who couldn’t tell black from white, they’d come looking for you at night.”

“Bullshit!” The Clan Leader was nearly dead from fury, jumping in rage. “Lin Er, you remember this: from this day forward, you are no longer a member of my Lin family!”

“Safe travels, I won’t see you out,” Lin Yu said flatly.

The Clan Leader pointed at him. “I will bring out the genealogy, open the ancestral hall, strike your name, and have the Village Chief kick you out of Qingshan Village!”

“Strike the name as you wish. As for kicking me out of Qingshan Village, we’ll see if you have the ability.” Lin Yu didn’t care in the slightest.

…

The Clan Leader left in a fury. Lin Pan and Lin Lai were terrified.

“Dad, what do we do now? Will he really remove our names? What if he really kicks us out?”

Lin Yu was prepared. He selected a box of pastries from those given by the Magistrate. “Dad has his own plans. Even if he gets kicked out, we won’t. I’m going to the Village Chief’s house.”

The two sisters looked at each other. “Second Sister, will Grandpa Clan Leader really remove us from the records?” Lin Lai asked worriedly. In a child’s world, being removed from the clan records was a terrifying punishment reserved only for the most wicked.

Lin Pan was also anxious, but she muttered angrily, “The Clan Leader is biased, too. He only speaks for Eldest Uncle’s family.” They both understood that because their two cousins were students, the villagers thought they would be successful. Meanwhile, their family only had three daughters—they were a “dead-end house”—and their father used to be a pushover, so everyone bullied them.

Lin Lai gritted her teeth. “If he removes us, let him! I don’t want Dad to bow his head and admit to making a mistake to them.”

Lin Yu, of course, had no intention of bowing his head. If he did, he would be sacrificing his daughters’ futures; no one was going to sell his daughters for a bride price.

Being young and fast on his feet, Lin Yu arrived at the Village Chief’s house with the gift before the Clan Leader could get there.

“Village Chief.”

The Village Chief was drinking tea; when he heard the voice, he nearly sprayed it out. The scene of Lin Yu smashing the house was still fresh in his mind. He felt uneasy seeing him, fearing that if he said one wrong thing, this man would go mad and smash his house too. Such a “crazy” person was truly not someone to provoke.

“It’s Lin Er. What brings you here? Have a seat. Mother of my children, pour some tea.”

The Village Chief’s wife hurried to pour tea and then locked the children in the inner room, fearing they might provoke Lin Yu.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, noting that his “madman” act was very effective; at least no one dared to mess with him now. Placing the items on the table, he stated his purpose: “Village Chief, these are snacks given by the County Magistrate. My family can’t finish them all, so I brought some over for the children to taste.”

“What?” The Village Chief couldn’t believe his ears. “Who gave them to you?”

“The County Magistrate.”

Lin Yu spoke with a beaming smile. “Lord Cao, our local official of Changhe County, and I felt like old friends at our first meeting today. We had a very pleasant conversation. When I left, the Magistrate personally escorted me to the gate and specifically ordered his men to prepare these pastries for me to bring home.”

The Village Chief felt like he was losing his grip on reality.

Lin Yu left it at that and stood up to say goodbye. “Village Chief, keep these and enjoy them. I have things to do at home, so I’ll be going now.”

As soon as he left, the Village Chief’s wife ran out. “What did Lin Er just say? The County Magistrate? Seeing him out? Sending pastries? Has he lost his mind?”

“Grandma, what are the pastries? I want to eat them!” The children didn’t care about the implications; they just wanted the treats. One of the bolder ones tore open the box, revealing beautifully crafted pastries.

“Wait!” The Village Chief slapped his grandson’s hand away. He leaned in to inspect the pastries and cried out in shock, “This… this is from the Miguo Shop in town! I heard a single box costs a hundred copper coins!”

Such a high price was unheard of for country folk. The wife’s hands were shaking. “Then… what he said might be true? Lin Er really has a connection with the Magistrate?”

The Village Chief pondered. “He said the Magistrate saw him out today, so someone must have seen it. Hurry, call our eldest sons back. We need to go to the county town to find out more.”

…

While the Village Chief was sending people to investigate, the Clan Leader arrived.

The Village Chief thought he was there for the same reason and spoke up before the old man could say a word: “Are you also here to talk about the Magistrate favoring Lin Er? I already know about it.”

The Clan Leader had been about to file a fierce complaint, asking the Village Chief to kick Lin Yu out of the village before going back to open the ancestral hall. He hadn’t expected to hear this “thunderclap” the moment he entered.

“What?”

The Village Chief looked at him strangely. “You don’t know? Then what were you in such a hurry to come here for?”

The Clan Leader no longer dared to say anything. If Lin Er really had a connection with the Magistrate, he wouldn’t even be able to suck up to him enough, let alone kick him out. Now, the Clan Leader didn’t mention anything about Lin Er being “unfilial”—he only blamed himself for listening to Old Mrs. Lin’s instigation.

…

When Lin Yu returned home, he told his daughters the matter was settled.

Lin Pan and Lin Lai were still a bit worried, but a few days passed and the Clan Leader’s side was silent. There was no mention of kicking them out, and no news from the ancestral hall. Once, they even ran into the Clan Leader outside. The old man, who usually looked at them with pure disdain, actually squeezed out a smile.

Though the smile was stiff and distorted—frightening the sisters so much they turned and ran home—once they calmed down, they knew their father had found a way to make the Clan Leader change his mind. They admired their father’s ability even more.

Not only that, but the sisters soon discovered that the Village Chief was also smiling whenever he saw them. The two girls felt completely at peace. With enough food and rest, they gained a few pounds, and their complexions looked much healthier.

However, as Mid-Autumn Festival approached, they waited and waited, but Zhaodi, the eldest sister, still hadn’t returned home.