Chapter 156

Chapter 156

[After Zhu Yuanzhang Returned to the Great Ming – 7]

Life and death had separated them. Now, seeing his old wife in her youth again filled Zhu Yuanzhang with both joy and sorrow.

After thirty years as husband and wife in their previous lives, she had become as essential as his own limbs and organs, inseparable from him. Yet heaven had shown no mercy. She left him too soon, abandoning him in the world with a shattered heart.

Lin Lanyi and her attendants entered the temple and walked away. Zhu Yuanzhang did not follow. He sat sideways on the railing before the mountain, looking caught between laughter and tears.

The emperors knew the depth of his love for Empress Ma and could imagine the emotions churning through him at this reunion. They did not disturb him, allowing him time to recover alone.

His confidant had assumed that someone mentioned the verbal betrothal once discussed by the late Princess Consort of Lu and Madam Lin. The Prince, devoted to his late mother, had therefore asked about the Lin girl.

Now that the information had been gathered and the Prince had met her, his expression showed that he was extremely pleased. If he did not approach for a chance encounter now, when would he?

The confidant was quick-witted. Without awaiting orders, he sent men to watch Lin Lanyi. As a precaution, he posted people at both the front and rear gates of Fu’an Temple.

Half an hour later, when Zhu Yuanzhang recovered, the confidant presented a thick stack of scriptures. “This subordinate knew Your Highness intended to honor the Lin couple, so I had these sutras copied for you to offer before the Buddha today!”

He added softly, “The Lin girl went to the front hall. If you go now, you are certain to meet her!”

Delighted by his thoroughness, Zhu Yuanzhang praised him, took the scriptures, and prepared for a second chance encounter. Just then, an estate attendant hurried over and told the steward, “Something happened below the mountain. The Lin Family’s movements look suspicious!”

The confidant’s brows jumped. Before he could ask, Zhu Yuanzhang stiffened and pushed him aside. “There are too many eyes and ears here. Speak somewhere private!”

They found a secluded place. Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly, “What happened with the Lin Family? Tell me every detail!”

The attendant answered respectfully. “The steward ordered several of us to wait below and report any movement. Just after the Lin girl left her carriage at the gate, a pageboy arrived with a slick-looking fellow…”

Breathless from running, he wet his lips. “The pageboy looked familiar. He belongs to the Lin Family; I saw him while investigating them. We thought nothing of it at first. But after the slick fellow entered, the pageboy remained at the gate as if waiting for someone. Soon Mother Lin arrived with Madam Wu. The pageboy greeted her. She didn’t even look at him, merely waved him away. Yet he looked delighted, as though he had completed a task!”

Mother Lin visiting the temple was ordinary, but why today?

She and Madam Wu had plainly arranged to enter together. Why had she not invited her niece, instead ensuring they arrived separately?

Unless she was plotting something!

The motive was obvious. To fund her son’s marriage to Tao Chuqing, she had misappropriated the property left to the senior branch’s only daughter.

That damned woman had stolen Old Ma’s possessions and now dared scheme against her!

She was courting death!

Seeing the Prince’s face, the confidant kicked the attendant. “Finish talking! Stop dragging it out!”

“Yes, yes!” The attendant saw Zhu Yuanzhang looked ready to kill and rattled on. “After Mother Lin and Madam Wu entered, the pageboy turned to leave. But several men sprang from the pine grove, pinned him down, and dragged him among the trees. Their movements were so efficient they looked like soldiers. Only those of us concealed nearby noticed.

“We didn’t dare alert them. Head Jiang followed quietly. From what he overheard, those men were former subordinates of Lin Lanyi’s father, summoned by the Young Miss herself. It’s a trap within a trap. Someone inside must already be handling that slick fellow. If Mother Lin truly means harm, she’ll steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait!”

The attendant wiped his mouth. “That’s truly everything!”

The confidant cautiously studied his master. “Your Highness, what do you think…?”

After the first half, Zhu Yuanzhang’s square face had turned black as ink, murder rolling off him as he prepared to split Mother Lin in two. After the second half, all gloom vanished. He frowned in thought for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The attendant was bewildered by the Prince’s laughter. The confidant stared too, then ventured, “Your Highness, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Zhu Yuanzhang waved them away and explained to the emperors with pride, “Our Old Ma truly is compassionate and merciful, but even the Buddha has his wrathful guardians. She was Empress of Great Ming and mother to the realm for years. Even reborn as a girl, how could petty villains like these defeat her?”

Emperor Gaozu and Li Shimin understood. “Your concern clouded your judgment.”

Ying Zheng knew little of such lifelong devotion but did not disparage it. Liu Che wanted to make a sarcastic remark, then touched his still-swollen face and wisely restrained himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned his men and headed for the front hall. Old Ma could resolve matters herself, but going to support her was another matter entirely.

Carrying a thick stack of sutras, he entered with a line of martial attendants. An elderly monk, impressed by his bearing, stepped past the worshipers to greet him.

Zhu Yuanzhang returned the courtesy. “My late mother was a friend of Madam Lin. Today is the anniversary of her death. Having only recently learned of it, I came in my mother’s place.”

The senior Lin couple had been prominent in Luoyang and had donated generously to the temple. Since Lin Lanyi had just visited, the monk understood at once. “You came for the Lin couple? What a coincidence. Their daughter was here moments ago.”

Zhu Yuanzhang asked where she was, thanked him, and led his men onward.

…

Second Madam Lin intended to pair her niece with a nephew from her maiden family. The senior branch had only this orphan daughter, so all its property belonged to her and would become her dowry. Marrying her into Second Madam Lin’s maiden family merely shifted wealth from one hand to the other.

After misappropriating the girl’s inheritance for her son’s wedding, Second Madam Lin suspected Lin Lanyi had noticed. She decided to strike first and settle the matter while Lanyi worshiped at Fu’an Temple. As insurance, she invited Madam Wu, wife of the General of Radiant Might, a respected and famously proper woman whose testimony would prevent Lanyi from retracting anything later.

After worshiping in each hall, the two women grew tired and headed for the guest rooms. Second Madam Lin dismissed the novice guide, asked where her niece was, and told Madam Wu, “Today is my sister-in-law’s death anniversary. Lanyi arrived early. Since the temple is crowded, let us share her room.”

At the door, Lanyi’s maid looked anxious and repeatedly glanced inside. Second Madam Lin felt triumphant. The maids tried to bar entry, but she was too eager to collect the fruits of victory to be stopped.

She burst in with Madam Wu-and saw her maiden nephew and his servant bound beside the Lin pageboy she had sent to watch Lanyi. All were bruised, gagged, and bleeding. Fierce soldiers stood nearby, familiar as former men under Lanyi’s father.

Lin Lanyi sat composedly with two matrons beside her. Confessions bearing bloody fingerprints lay on the table.

Second Madam Lin froze, plunging from heaven into hell.

She had lost.

Madam Wu despised sordid affairs, but hated being used even more. One glance told her exactly what Second Madam Lin had planned. Contempt flashed in her eyes before she composed herself.
After steadying herself, she deliberately let a trace of surprise show. Her brows drew together in suspicion as she turned to study the bound men. “They look somewhat familiar…”

The soldiers’ faces darkened with anger. Their eyes, sharp as blades, fixed squarely upon Second Madam Lin.

Second Madam Lin…

Her mouth filled with bitterness, as though she had swallowed an entire pound of coptis root.

At precisely the right moment, Lin Lanyi let several tears fall. She dabbed them away with a handkerchief and choked out, “Fortunately, these uncles came to pay respects to my late mother and happened upon this. Otherwise, how could I possibly have gone on living? I would have dashed my head against a wall and died!”

With that, she rose and walked over to the Lin Family pageboy. Her voice was gentle, but her gaze was glacial. “This ungrateful wretch ate the Lin Family’s grain, yet committed such a treacherous act. He colluded with outsiders in an attempt to destroy my reputation, and after he was caught, he even tried to smear Aunt by claiming she had ordered everything… It is simply inconceivable!”

Second Madam Lin felt as though she had been slapped across the face; her cheeks burned. Her fingers twisted helplessly around her handkerchief. She desperately wished someone would rescue her from this predicament and spare her the humiliation of the confrontation to come.

But Madam Wu meant to make things difficult for her in revenge for having been used as a knife. She therefore played along with exceptional enthusiasm. Covering her mouth with her handkerchief as though badly frightened, she exclaimed, “How could anything so dreadful happen? Madam Lin, did you order this? Heavens-one may know a person’s face without knowing her heart. How could you do something so vicious?!”

Second Madam Lin’s face turned red, then white. She wanted to defend herself, yet she did not know how much evidence Lin Lanyi possessed or exactly what those men had confessed. Her lips moved several times, but in the end she did not dare speak.

Madam Wu looked even more horrified. “Madam Lin, why won’t you explain? Are you admitting it by remaining silent?!”

Second Madam Lin: “…”

She wanted nothing more than to find the version of herself who had sent Madam Wu an invitation three days ago and slap that fool several times.

That would teach you to meddle!

How did you fail to realize this woman was a double-edged blade?

Well? Now it has cut your own hand!

Second Madam Lin had no answer. Her embarrassment reached its peak.

Lin Lanyi sneered inwardly. No longer looking at the trembling pageboy, she slowly approached Second Madam Lin and stared directly at her. “That is not all. They also said Aunt devised this poisonous plot to eliminate me because you had embezzled the property my father left behind. You feared I would discover it, so you joined forces with outsiders to remove me in one stroke. Once I was dead, everything my parents left would fall into Aunt’s purse!”

Madam Wu gave another cry of shock. “What a vicious heart! To commit such an inhuman act for the sake of wealth!”

Second Madam Lin: “…”

She had thought she had constructed an exquisitely clever trap for her niece to enter. Never had she imagined that her niece would casually set another trap inside it and catch her instead.

At this critical moment, her mind raced.

Her husband’s elder brother and sister-in-law were dead, and their daughter lived under her roof. Even with Lanyi’s maternal family supporting her, any marriage still required the consent of Second Madam Lin and her husband. Unless circumstances forced her, Lanyi certainly would not want a complete break. That was why she had not pronounced a final verdict, but had deftly left Second Madam Lin an opening.

If she could make the story hold together, return what she had taken, and let the girl vent her anger, perhaps the matter could end here. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to contain.

Once Second Madam Lin understood this, anguish clawed at her heart. The delight she had felt while taking advantage was matched exactly by the agony of having to disgorge the spoils.

But she had already lost today. Madam Wu watched her like a tiger on one side; on the other, her niece held every witness and might at any time follow their testimony to physical evidence. How could she afford to gamble?

The muscles in Second Madam Lin’s cheeks twitched. She whirled around and slapped her maiden nephew hard across the face. “You worthless bastard! It was bad enough that you never studied or learned a useful skill, but you even dared set your sights on our Lanyi. You are courting death! How could an accomplished and beautiful girl from our family ever marry a wastrel like you? A toad dreaming of eating swan meat-utterly delusional!”

Lin Lanyi merely watched her with a cool expression and said nothing. Gritting her teeth, Second Madam Lin struck left and right, slapping her nephew seven or eight more times. “Stay here and reflect upon yourself. Later, I will take you home and explain everything to your parents!”

After disciplining her nephew, she hurried several steps forward and, face livid, kicked the pageboy she had sent to gather information, knocking him down.

Her horse-face skirt was too loose and she was unused to such movements, so she nearly toppled over herself. Only the matron beside her caught her in time and kept her from landing flat on her back.

At a moment like this, however, Second Madam Lin could no longer care about dignity. Holding the matron’s hand, she straightened and hurled abuse at the pageboy. “You lard-brained beast! You gambled so much you stopped caring even for your own parents. I caught you stealing wine to sell several times and had you beaten, so you bore a grudge and secretly ruined my reputation. Tomorrow I shall have your parents bound with you and sell the whole family. Nothing less will settle this!”

After cursing both sides in a single breath, Second Madam Lin had more or less picked her discarded dignity back up. She squeezed out several crocodile tears, wiped them with her handkerchief, and wept soundlessly. Then she stepped forward, clasped her niece’s hand, and reddened her eyes with emotion.

“Lanyi, you know what kind of person I am. I may govern the household strictly, but my heart could not be more upright. Your parents died early, and you have lived with us all these years. I cherished you like my own daughter and always gave you first choice in food, clothing, and every daily expense, for fear you might suffer the slightest grievance. Who could have imagined these villains would stir up such nonsense and leave me too ashamed to face you!”
As she finished, she seemed overcome by emotion and began sobbing.

Lin Lanyi shed several tears as well. Her eyes equally red, she said, “I know. All these years, I have regarded Aunt as my own mother. I had people stop you outside and refused to let you enter only because I feared that learning what these villains had done would break your heart and damage the bond between us as mother and daughter.”

Second Madam Lin: “…”

You are acting so convincingly that even I have no idea how to continue.

Fortunately, Lin Lanyi had written the script long ago. She affectionately held her aunt’s hand. After they gazed at one another for several moments, she broke through her tears into a smile. “I knew everything they said was false. Aunt has always been as pure as a fresh breeze beneath a bright moon, noble and incorruptible in character. How could you possibly have embezzled the money my father left me?”

Second Madam Lin’s heart bled with pain, but she gritted her teeth and followed the script. “Your father died early, and you were still young. Those things could not be entrusted to you, so your uncle and I had no choice but to safeguard them on your behalf. Now that you have grown up, everything should naturally be handed over to you. Otherwise, if something like today’s affair happened again, how could I ever show my face in public?”

“Aunt has considered everything most thoroughly.”

Lin Lanyi nodded cheerfully, laughter glimmering in her eyes. “In that case, I ask these uncles to serve as witnesses. Let us set a deadline of seven days, by which time Aunt will return to me in full the two hundred thousand taels Father left behind…”

Second Madam Lin started violently. “Two hundred thousand taels?!”

There had never been that much!

One hundred eighty or one hundred ninety thousand at most!

At that moment, the more powerfully built soldier beside them said something. Lin Lanyi turned to listen, and obvious shock crossed her face. “What? Uncle wants to hand these people over to the authorities?!”

Second Madam Lin: “…”

Swallowing her anger, she said, “I remembered incorrectly. It was indeed two hundred thousand taels.”

The burly soldier said something else. Lin Lanyi turned once more, this time frowning deeply. “Uncle, Aunt and I have lived together for many years. I know she is not the kind of person who breaks her word. Surely there is no need to draw up a written agreement and stamp it with her fingerprint?”

Second Madam Lin: “…”

A metallic sweetness surged into her throat. She was just about to cough up blood when Lin Lanyi abruptly raised her voice, unable to conceal her astonishment. “What? If the affair becomes a scandal and damages the Lin Family’s reputation, Cousin might even lose his status as a provincial graduate?!”

With a gulp, Second Madam Lin swallowed the mouthful of blood. Her expression twisted ferociously. “I’ll write it!”

Lin Lanyi laughed inwardly. The corners of the soldiers’ mouths also curved upward.

Madam Wu could plainly see that they had joined forces to dig a pit for Second Madam Lin. Yet she resented the woman’s attempt to scheme against and use her, and she despised her for embezzling her niece’s property. She therefore spoke coolly from the side, lending Lin Lanyi her support.

“Madam Lin, allow an outsider to speak honestly. This is all for your own good. The sooner you put the agreement in writing, the sooner some suspicion will be lifted from you. The mouths of the crowd can melt metal. Once word spreads and the whole city is in an uproar, it will be too late even if you want to write it then!”

Defeated again and again, Second Madam Lin had no fight left. Her face was ashen, like a rooster that had lost a battle.

At the proper moment, Lin Lanyi pushed brush, ink, paper, and inkstone toward her. “Aunt, if you please?”

Second Madam Lin felt as though her heart, lungs, and intestines were all being torn apart. But she was in the weaker position and had no choice but to bow her head. Her fingers cracked around the brush, showing just how much force she was using.

She wrote the agreement, signed it, and pressed her fingerprint to it. Unwilling to look at it even once more, she immediately turned her face away. Breathing slightly hard, she ground out, “Is that enough?”

Lin Lanyi picked up the document and read it over carefully. Then she smiled. “Your niece thanks you, Aunt.”

Second Madam Lin knew the painted skin concealing her true face had already been ripped away before her niece and Madam Wu. She had lost both dignity and wealth, and rage seethed inside her. No longer able to maintain her generous facade, she said, “Lanyi, you have truly made Aunt see you in an entirely new light!”

She turned to the servants and matrons around her and snapped resentfully, “Why are you still standing there? We’re leaving!”

The servants were silent as winter cicadas, none daring to make a sound. The two quickest hurried forward to open the tightly shut doors. Just as their hands were about to touch the bolt, tremendous force struck from outside.

Both door panels flew open. Light and shadow shifted in an instant, revealing a tall, powerfully built figure.

“Stop!”

Zhu Yuanzhang strode boldly into the doorway, his face radiating a terrifying chill. Seizing Second Madam Lin by the neck as though grabbing a chicken, he hauled her back inside. A murderous gleam burned in his eyes.

“Without this prince’s permission, who dares leave?!”