Chapter 8

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When Mother came back, she saw the two bamboo baskets and asked curiously, "Who came by?"

"Lin's girl..." Yinyin whispered.

"Her?" Mother flew into a rage, "Didn't I say no one from the Lin family is allowed to step into this house?!"

"But she brought mooncakes, roasted meat, and ginseng from Liaodong," Yinyin said, pulling out a stack of banknotes from her sleeve, "And ten strings of cash." It turned out that the Lin girl had brought money, but was just wary of Wang Er.

"Uh..." Mother took the money, smacking her lips, "Actually, thinking about it, the crime doesn't extend to the family. It was her brother's fault, and she doesn't have any deep-seated grudge against us."

"Right, right," Yinyin nodded repeatedly, "The Lin girl even promised twenty strings of cash, saying she's short on cash now and will make up for it later."

"Oh?" Thirty strings was a large sum. Although the value of banknotes had plummeted, it would take a poor family like theirs two years of hard work to earn that much. Although Mother was tempted by the money, she still had some sense, "Why does she want to cover your brother's medical expenses?"

"I know, I know," Yinyin became excited, leaning on Mother's shoulder and vividly recounting what she had seen and heard, including some embellishments...

"Oh?" "Ah?!" "Eh?!" "Ha!" Mother listened in amazement, and after a long while, she stroked her chin and said, "Although she's been jilted and her family seems poor, how could she possibly be interested in your brother?"

"Maybe my brother has some hidden strengths we haven't noticed," Yinyin's impression of her brother had subtly changed, and she was now thinking positively about him.

"Could they have...?" Mother made a suggestive gesture with her fists and thumbs, then, remembering it was her daughter, quickly changed her expression, "Get back to what you were doing!"

"What do you mean?" Yinyin mimicked her gesture, asking innocently. Mother's face turned red, and she roared, "If I don't beat you for three days, you'll tear the roof off! Get back to cooking, do you want to starve me to death?!"

"Alright..." Yinyin was scared and fled in a hurry.

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Two days later was the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the three major traditional festivals in China. Eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival was a custom invented by the founding emperor. This custom had become deeply ingrained, and if a family didn't eat a mooncake during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it wouldn't be considered a proper celebration.

This year, with the Lin girl's gift, Mother no longer had to worry about where to get a mooncake. However, she only kept one for the whole family to share, and had Yinyin deliver the rest to the neighbors. It wasn't that she had suddenly become generous, but the neighbors had helped a lot over the past six months. Eating the mooncakes alone would have been selfish, even for Mother.

Besides, when had Mother ever taken a loss? Soon after Yinyin returned, the neighbors started to return the favor, one bringing a watermelon, another two lotus roots, and even a generous family returned a live fish!

The three siblings were amazed when they saw Mother exchange a basket of mooncakes for enough ingredients to host a Mid-Autumn feast, and even earn a good reputation! They were in awe of her wisdom in life!

Mother smirked triumphantly, looking at the piece of cured meat hanging from the eaves, pondering whether to use a bit of it for each meal until the Winter Solstice, or to save it for the New Year's Eve dinner in the twelfth month. Sigh, it was really a headache...

The next morning, Mother and Wang Gui put on clean clothes and headed to the countryside to celebrate the birthday of the clan elder, Uncle San.

As soon as Mother left, Yinyin eagerly awaited, even neglecting her shoe-making work.

Wang Xian was sweating profusely in the courtyard, rehabilitating, with a thick copy of the "Great Ming Code" in front of him. Although the Wang family wasn't a scholarly family, due to his father, they had both the "Great Ming Code" and the "Great Proclamation," though the latter was rarely used. To familiarize himself with the laws of the Great Ming, he only needed to read the former.

He read the "Great Ming Code" not just for the Lin family's case, but because it covered all aspects of the Great Ming's laws and regulations, including rites, household, criminal, civil, and engineering. Mastering this book would give him a broad understanding of the society's rules, what he could and couldn't do, and what he should do in the future!

Although he had only read part of it, it already gave him a clear understanding of his situation. No wonder Wang Er dreamed of returning to the past! It turned out that the Great Ming was a rigid hierarchical society, where the higher your status, the more rights you enjoyed, and the lower your status, the more restrictions you faced.

He was now the son of a criminal, just a step above the lowest class. He couldn't take the imperial exams, couldn't become a clerk, and couldn't even engage in commerce, as the government wouldn't issue him a travel permit to leave Fuyang County!

In an era where bloodline was paramount, because his father was a criminal, he was destined to be trapped in his current situation, unable to break free!

One by one, the seemingly unreasonable laws from the perspective of later generations were like heavy shackles, binding him and preventing him from moving.

These days, he had been thinking about his future, but in the end, he found himself with no path forward...

If he didn't want to continue as a ruffian, his only options were to work tirelessly for others like his brother, earning a few dozen coins a day, and risking losing his income and having to pay for medical expenses if he fell ill or got injured.

Or he could ignore the law and engage in activities like asking passengers on a boat whether they wanted "rolling knife noodles" or "dumpling noodles."

Both choices were so bitter that he found himself daydreaming like Wang Er—how wonderful it would be if he could clear his father's name!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. It turned out that Wang Er's self-abandonment had its pitiable side...

"Brother, you still have the heart to laugh?" Yinyin pouted, "It's already this late, your Lin sister might not come at all."

Wang Xian snapped back to reality and smiled, "She'll come when it's time."

"Brother, you've really changed," Yinyin looked at him for a long time, then said seriously, "You're like an old man now."

Wang Xian smiled bitterly, not knowing how to explain, or perhaps it was better not to explain at all.

"Before, you were always making noise and arguing with me," the little girl said, somewhat sadly, "After you got better, I've never seen you take the initiative to speak, let alone argue."

"You can talk, and I'll listen," Wang Xian smiled, "Besides, you're so sensible, arguing with you would be foolish."

"Ah, actually, arguing occasionally is quite nice..." True to her mother's daughter, she had a strong desire to fight.

"Ha ha..." Wang Xian laughed and ignored her, focusing on his leg exercises.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon that a knock came at the door. Yinyin jumped up and hurried to open it, and sure enough, it was Lin Qing'er, wearing a veil, with her old servant Uncle Qi behind her.

"Sorry, I had some family matters today and could only come now," Lin Qing'er apologized to Yinyin after removing her veil. She was still wearing plain clothes, her face pale, and her lips devoid of color, looking very ill, which was quite pitiful.

"Are you sick?" Yinyin welcomed her in, concerned, "Why do you look so bad?"

"I'm fine," Lin Qing'er shook her head and smiled. In fact, her condition was largely due to Wang Xian. If he hadn't destroyed her hope, Lin Qing'er could have continued to hold on, until the last thread snapped.

These days, she had been like a soulless person. On the Mid-Autumn Festival last night, she had only her mother to celebrate with, thinking of her brother in prison and her father who had died unjustly, it felt more like the Ghost Festival than the Mid-Autumn Festival!

Lin Qing'er was overwhelmed with sorrow, and she fell ill overnight. This morning, she felt dizzy and weak, and didn't want to go out at all. Moreover, after calming down, she didn't believe that Wang Er could help her. She only came out of a sense of duty...

Yinyin led her into the house, where Mother had cleaned the west wing room spotlessly that morning, even removing the spider webs she cherished. She had also placed a pot of chrysanthemums... Yinyin said they were stolen from the county office. Unfortunately, Lin Qing'er was too preoccupied to notice.

Even the wise Mother had her miscalculations.

Wang Xian was surprised by Mother's sudden kindness and the room's arrangement, but he didn't dare to ask. He just sat across the table from Lin Qing'er, with a pot of chrysanthemums between them. He carefully read through the case records she had brought. He had made up his mind that if there was even a sliver of hope to overturn the case, he would do his best!

Through the records, he finally understood the full picture of the case... It started with a simple missing person case. Lin Rongxing's stepmother, Zhao Shi, had gone missing, and her father reported it to the county, accusing his son-in-law of murder.

The then County Magistrate, Chen, didn't believe it, as the Lin family was both the richest and the most charitable in the county. They had supported the magistrate in building bridges, roads, and the county school. Moreover, Lin Rongxing was a scholar at the county school, known for his good character and reputation. The magistrate naturally wanted to protect the Lin family.

So, the magistrate, citing the need to "see the person alive or the body dead," temporarily postponed the case and ordered both families to search for Zhao Shi. The county also sent people to search and even sent notices to neighboring counties for assistance. Two months later, the local constable of Lingqiao Town reported finding a female corpse on the riverbank.

In peacetime, a murder in the county was a major event. The magistrate immediately associated the corpse with the missing Zhao Shi and ordered the clerk, Wang Xingye (Wang Xian's father), to take the coroner and accompany him to the scene, while notifying the families to identify the body.

Upon arrival, the Zhao family immediately recognized the body as Zhao Shi and began to wail. However, Lin Rongxing denied it, saying that although the woman's face was mutilated by wild dogs, she still looked different from his wife.

The coroner's examination concluded that the woman, though of a similar age to Zhao Shi, had died no more than seven days ago, while Zhao Shi had been missing for two months, so they could not be the same person.

The Zhao family immediately protested, but were suppressed by the constables. In the end, the magistrate accepted the coroner's findings, treated the body as a separate case, and ordered both families to continue searching for Zhao Shi.

At this time, the Western Zhejiang Circuit Inspector came to the county to inspect the judiciary and accept complaints. The Zhao family boldly appealed, not only against the Lin family but also against the magistrate and Wang Xingye, accusing them of corruption, favoring the rich, and fabricating the coroner's report!

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