GD (QT) Chapter 5

The moment she was shut in that dry well, Lin Pan was consumed by regret.

When Grandma Lin had come to the door demanding she help with chores, Lin Pan hadn’t been willing, but such things happened often. She figured she’d endure a scolding at most, finish the work quickly, and go home. She never imagined her own biological grandmother would harbor such a venomous intent as to bind her and sell her off.

The well had been covered, plunging her into pitch-black darkness. With her mouth gagged and her hands and feet bound, she could cry out to the heavens and the earth but receive no answer. She had cried until her tears ran dry.

She had heard Grandma and Aunt Lin discussing how they would hand her over as soon as the Qian family arrived. Once the “raw rice was cooked,” it wouldn’t matter if her father disagreed—it would be too late.

Fear and terror gripped her, but from the depths of her heart, a bitter resentment began to sprout. She loathed the cold-blooded cruelty of Grandma and Aunt Lin; she hated her Uncle and cousins even more for being man-eaters who didn’t even leave a trace of blood; but most of all, she hated herself for being so stupid as to walk right into their trap.

Trapped in the well, she prayed for someone to find her and save her, but as she waited, only despair arrived. Lin Pan knew that the next time the cover was pushed aside, she would be dragged up only to be sold to Master Qian. At the thought of marrying a half-old man whose children were older than her—a man who beat his wives—Lin Pan was filled with utter hopelessness.

It would be better to smash her head against the well wall and die clean. The thought took root: death would be a form of purity.

Creak. The well cover was pushed aside again.

Lin Pan gritted her teeth, preparing to throw herself against the stone wall.

“A-Pan!”

The familiar voice pierced the darkness, delivering the girl from the bottom of the abyss. Lin Pan looked up in disbelief. Squinting against the blinding light, she saw the person at the wellhead. It was her father.

“Mmph! Mmph!” Lin Pan began to struggle violently.

“A-Pan, don’t be afraid. Dad is pulling you up right now.”

The echoes of “don’t be afraid” swirled around the well, allowing the terrified girl to slowly calm down. She nodded vigorously.

Lin Yu could now see his daughter’s condition clearly: bound hand and foot, her mouth stuffed tight. It was too dark at the bottom to see if she had other injuries.

“Lin Yu, you—”

Grandma Lin tried to rush forward to cause trouble, but she was pinned in place by his icy glare. Lin Yu didn’t have time for her; he grabbed the rope and began hauling it up. Lin Pan was at the other end.

“A-Pan, don’t be scared. Dad is pulling you up slowly. Try not to struggle.”

Lin Yu kept his movements steady, terrified of hurting his daughter. The neighbors who had just been condemning him poked their heads over and were frightened out of their wits. One shrieked, “Good heavens! Old Lady Lin and the Eldest branch threw the Second Son’s daughter into the well!”

“Quick, help pull her up!”

The villagers were in an uproar. While it was common for grandmothers to favor boys and scold granddaughters, throwing a person directly into a well was unheard of.

“That is too cold-hearted!”

“No matter what, you can’t throw a living soul into a well!”

“This is total disregard for human life!”

“Something’s happened! Quick, go get the Village Chief!”

“This is her own granddaughter. How could Old Lady Lin do such a thing?”

Grandma Lin realized things were going south. She plopped her bottom onto the ground and began to wail, “The dead girl wouldn’t listen! She was lazy with her chores and talked back! I just wanted to teach her a lesson!” She didn’t mention a word about selling the girl.

Aunt Lin regained her senses and joined in the crying. “The child grew up without a mother and has no upbringing. One of us is her grandmother and the other is her aunt; we just wanted to discipline her.”

They twisted black into white, making it sound like they were acting out of the goodness of their hearts.

Lin Yu ignored the gossip and the wailing, focusing entirely on pulling his daughter out of the well.

“A-Pan!” Finally, he hauled the child out and immediately began untying the ropes.

The moment she was free, Lin Pan threw herself into her father’s arms. “Dad, I thought I’d never see you again!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Dad is here. Don’t be afraid.” Erzi could only comfort her over and over, blaming his own carelessness for letting his daughter fall into such a dangerous situation.

Lin Pan sobbed until she could barely breathe, clearly traumatized. Fortunately, there were no other visible wounds on her body. Lin Yu held her tight, speaking softly to calm her until she stopped shaking so violently.

“What’s happened? What’s going on?” The Village Chief arrived, dripping with sweat after hearing the news. The villagers spoke all at once, and the Chief’s brow furrowed deeper as he listened.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, what were you thinking? No matter how disobedient a granddaughter is, you can’t throw her in a well!” the Chief scolded.

Grandma Lin cried out, “I was just blinded by anger! I wanted to give her a scare, just to teach her a lesson!”

Aunt Lin slapped her own mouth. “Chief, look, the child is fine, isn’t she? Nothing happened. It’s not a big deal for us elders to discipline her a little.”

The Chief snapped, “Is this how people discipline others? If a life were lost, you’d all be rotting in jail!” He turned to the father and daughter. “Lin Er, what do you want to do about this?”

Lin Yu held his daughter close. “I want to report this to the authorities.”

He would not condone this.

“Report to the authorities?!”

The villagers were stunned. Very few people reported “family matters” to the officials. Even Grandma Lin, who had been threatening to sue Lin Yu for being unfilial, was terrified.

The next moment, she began to wail, “Oh, Heavens! I try to discipline my own granddaughter out of the kindness of my heart, and my son wants to sue his own mother! Why don’t you send a bolt of lightning down to strike him dead!”

The Village Chief was in a difficult position. He said, “By right, this is a private family matter for the Lin house. Pan—er, Pandi is fine and unharmed. Erzi, I’ll give you a word of advice: you and the girl are the juniors. If a junior sues a senior, I’m afraid the County Magistrate won’t even listen, and you’ll end up taking a beating for nothing.”

Lin Yu frowned. He realized that in this ancient world, “filial piety” ruled the land, and the word ‘filial’ could crush a person to death. Parents could practically beat a child to death without losing their own lives, let alone a situation where Lin Pan wasn’t actually killed.

Seeing the situation exposed, Grandma Lin had been afraid, but hearing the Chief’s words, she perked up again. She shouted, “What’s wrong with a grandmother disciplining her granddaughter? She isn’t dead! I’m not afraid of the yamen!”

“Go ahead and sue if you’ve got the guts! Let’s see whose side the Magistrate takes—a grandmother disciplining a girl, or a son committing the crime of unfilial rebellion!”

The Village Chief cleared his throat. He knew Grandma Lin was exaggerating, but he tried to mediate for both sides. “Sister-in-law, don’t say such angry words. ‘Unfilial rebellion’ isn’t something to throw around lightly; it’ll make the whole village lose face.”

Then he said to Erzi, “Since the child is fine, it’ll look ugly for the family to go to court. How about this: let the Eldest branch give you some eggs to help the girl recover from the shock, and we’ll call it even. Otherwise, word gets out and it’ll be hard for a girl like A-Pan to get married in the future.”

“Why should I give eggs?!” Aunt Lin protested.

The Chief’s face fell. “Because you threw a child in a well! Is that what an elder does?” He looked around and didn’t see the Eldest Brother. “Where is Lin the Eldest? Why is he hiding when something this big happens?”

Lin Da, who had been playing invisible, finally walked out from the back of the crowd. He kept a stiff face and immediately slapped his wife. “Trouble, trouble! Now that you’ve caused a scene, are you happy?”

Aunt Lin clutched her face and wailed, “I only did it for the good of this family! If Second Brother doesn’t want me disciplining her, fine, I won’t do it anymore!”

Lin Da looked honest and simple, but his words were anything but human: “Second Brother, you see how it is. These women have long hair but short sight. She had good intentions but did a bad thing.”

“That’s not true!” Lin Pan, finally calming down in her father’s arms, shouted loudly, “Dad, they wanted to sell me to Master Qian! I heard them clearly just now!”

The crowd gasped again.

“You little tramp! You wanted to get married yourself, and now you’re framing me? I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Aunt Lin shrieked and tried to lung forward.

Lin Yu raised his leg and kicked her squarely, sending her flying back. Aunt Lin hit the ground and couldn’t get up.

Lin Da’s face darkened. “Second Brother, talk is talk, but laying hands on your sister-in-law is crossing the line.”

Lin Yu sneered. “Justice is in the hearts of the people. Chief, what is the legal punishment for an aunt selling her niece?”

The Chief looked at the expressions of the Lin family and knew the girl’s words were likely true. Grandma Lin shouted, “She’s farting! She’s lazy and does nothing but tell lies! That’s why I punished her!”

The Chief sighed. “Erzi, it’s a family matter. Going to the yamen won’t benefit anyone. Even with proof, she’d only get a few days of hard labor, but A-Pan’s reputation would be ruined. For the sake of the child, stop this.” He whispered, “How about this: make the Eldest branch pay a heavier compensation, and end it here.”

The Chief turned to Lin Pan. “You should talk to your father too. If this gets out of hand and your Grandma really sues him for being unfilial, your father will be the one suffering.”

Lin Pan bit her lip and, sure enough, tugged at her father’s sleeve. “Dad… let it go.”

Lin Yu smiled. He turned and led his daughter out of the gate. The Lin family breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the matter was over. Grandma Lin even looked a bit smug, thinking Erzi’s temper wouldn’t last.

Little did they know that after taking three steps, Lin Yu stopped and made his daughter stand outside the gate.

“A-Pan, watch closely. Today, I’m going to let everyone know that no one can bully Lin Yu’s daughter.”

Having said that, he stepped forward and delivered a massive kick, directly shattering and sending the Lin family’s front door flying.