“Bang!”
The already rickety gate of the Lin family’s courtyard was violently kicked open. The wooden hinges let out a mournful creak, and the door nearly crashed into the snow-covered ground.
The peaceful atmosphere in the courtyard was instantly shattered.
“Lu Yuan! You ungrateful little bastard who has betrayed your ancestors and teacher! Get out here!”
Accompanied by a furious roar, Lu Dagui strode into the Lin family courtyard with a dark expression.
Behind him was his stepmother, Zhao Shi.
Following them was the Lu clan patriarch, supported by two young men from the clan, along with more than a dozen burly men from Lujia Village, each carrying wooden sticks and looking aggressive.
Inside the main room, Lu Yuan had just put down the books he had bought. Hearing the commotion, his eyes instantly turned as cold as frost.
That greedy Widow Wang from next door really was vicious to the extreme.
Just to see the Lin family make a fool of themselves, she had actually braved the freezing wind and snow, traveled twenty li, and gone all the way to Lujia Village to report everything!
“What do you want? Do you really think there’s no one in the Lin family?”
Eldest brother Lin Daniu let out a furious roar, grabbed the shoulder pole from the corner, and rushed outside.
Lin Erniu and Lin Sanniu also became furious. They grabbed a hoe and a woodcutting knife respectively. The three brothers stood like three iron towers, firmly blocking the entrance to the main room.
“Rebellion! This is outright rebellion! You peasants from Qingshui Village actually dare to hit people?”
Zhao Shi hid behind the crowd, jumping up and down while shrieking insults.
She had come prepared today. Not only had she brought the clan patriarch, she had also brought so many men with her. Naturally, she felt extremely confident.
Last time, Lu Qiang had been beaten until his ribs were broken and had been writhing in pain on the bed.
Zhao Shi had been desperately looking for somewhere to vent her anger when Widow Wang came running over and told her that Lu Yuan had made a fortune in town and had been eating meat and drinking well every day in Qingshui Village!
The moment Zhao Shi heard this, jealousy nearly made her eyes bleed.
She immediately went to the clan patriarch and promised that if they managed to get the money back, she would give some of it to the ancestral hall to repair its roof. Only then had she managed to persuade the old patriarch to come along.
“Where is Lu Yuan? Tell him to come out and kneel!”
The old patriarch heavily struck his cane against the ground, putting on the full airs of an elder of the clan.
“Today, this old man wants to see what kind of rebellious wretch would dare steal the family’s ancestral secret recipe and make a fortune!”
The old patriarch snorted coldly and immediately slapped Lu Yuan with a charge serious enough to crush him.
“The New Year is almost here. There are no parents in this world who are ever wrong!”
“Lu Yuan, as the eldest son, not only did you steal the family’s secret recipe, you also ignored your younger brother’s life!”
“Today, this old man will make the decision. You must hand over all that money to treat your younger brother, and then kneel before your parents and confess your crimes!”
The moment those words came out, the three Lin brothers were furious.
“Bullshit! That recipe was something my brother-in-law figured out himself from studying books!”
Lin Sanniu trembled with rage.
“You shameless bloodsuckers! The moment you saw us making money, you came here to rob us! I’m going to cut you down today!”
As he spoke, Lin Sanniu raised his woodcutting knife and was about to charge forward.
“Third brother! Stop!”
Lu Yuan lifted the curtain and calmly stepped over the threshold.
His tall, slender figure stood straight, his gaze sharp as lightning, without the slightest trace of panic or fear.
“Brother-in-law! Don’t stop me! I’m going to beat these bastards to death today!” Lin Daniu gripped the shoulder pole tightly.
“Big brother, put it down.”
“If a dog bites us, we don’t bite the dog back. Beating it to death with a stick is the proper response.”
Lu Dagui’s beard practically stood on end from anger when he heard this.
“You insolent bastard! Who are you calling a dog?”
“Whoever came to my Lin family’s home barking today is the dog.”
Lu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his sharp eyes sweeping across everyone from the Lu family.
“Patriarch, you keep saying that I stole the family’s secret recipe and demand that I hand over my money?”
Zhao Shi immediately jumped out.
“How could you not have stolen it? You sickly wretch spent all day in the woodshed. Where would you get the ability to make money? You obviously stole the foundation of my dowry!”
“Your dowry?”
Lu Yuan seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world and burst into laughter.
“What a Zhao Shi! What a vicious woman who doesn’t know when to stop!”
He did not waste any more words. Instead, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper bearing a bright red seal.
“Slap!”
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Yuan sent the paper flying straight into Zhao Shi’s face.
The document fluttered down onto the snow.
“The laws of the Great Jing Dynasty, the Household and Marriage Code, clearly state!”
Lu Yuan’s voice rang out like a bell, every word carrying immense force as it echoed through the Lin family’s courtyard.
“A stepmother who secretly appropriates the dowry of the deceased legitimate wife shall be treated as having stolen property belonging to the household!”
“Anyone who steals property worth more than one hundred taels shall receive fifty strokes of the cane and be exiled three thousand li, with no pardon even if an amnesty is granted!”
Lu Yuan pointed at the pawn ticket lying on the ground and advanced step by step.
“Zhao Chunhua! Ten years ago, you secretly pawned the gold hairpin and jade bracelet left behind by my birth mother at the Wanto Pawnshop in town!”
“Your thumbprint is clearly stamped on it!”
“The pawnbroker at Wanto Pawnshop has already checked the old records. He can appear in court at any time and testify against you!”
The entire courtyard fell into complete silence.
Lu Dagui’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He stared at the pawn ticket on the ground in disbelief, feeling as though the world were spinning around him.
“You… you’re talking nonsense! That was because… because the family couldn’t even afford to eat…”
Zhao Shi’s legs went weak. With a “thud,” she collapsed to her knees, trembling like a leaf.
Lu Yuan gave her no chance to argue. He abruptly turned his head and fixed his gaze on the old clan patriarch.
Strike the snake at its weak point.
This was his ultimate weapon!
“Patriarch! If I take this pawn ticket to the county office and beat the grievance drum, Zhao Shi’s crime of theft will be firmly established!”
“And as for my good second brother, Lu Qiang—the Great Ming laws stipulate that the son of a convicted criminal woman is forbidden from participating in the imperial examinations for three generations!”
“He will permanently lose his qualification to take even the lowest-level examinations! He won’t even be able to set foot inside an examination hall in his entire life!”
Lu Yuan sneered, his voice carrying an overwhelming pressure.
“Not only that, Lujia Village will have a criminal woman with sticky fingers among its people, and the reputation of the entire Lu clan will be ruined forever!”
“After that, who will dare to stand as guarantor for the young men of Lujia Village? Which respectable family will still dare marry their innocent daughters into your village?”
The old patriarch had originally come here to extort money.
But after hearing these words, he was so frightened that even the cane in his hand slipped from his grasp.
Ancient clans valued the imperial examinations and their reputation more than life itself.
Lu Yuan had grabbed the entire Lujia Village by its Achilles’ heel!
“Vicious woman! You shameless woman who has disgraced our family!”
The old patriarch trembled with fury. He suddenly turned around and, using all his strength, slapped Zhao Shi hard across the face.
“Slap! Slap!”
He struck her twice, one after another, leaving the corners of Zhao Shi’s mouth bleeding.
“Patriarch, please calm down! She was only confused for a moment…” Lu Dagui tried to plead for mercy.
“Shut up! You’re a useless man who can’t even control your own household!”
The old patriarch pointed at Lu Dagui’s nose and cursed furiously.
Then he turned back toward Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.
This sickly scholar who had once been at everyone’s mercy had now become a vicious wolf that could devour a person without leaving even the bones behind.
“Lu Yuan, what exactly do you want?” the old patriarch asked through gritted teeth.
“Simple.”
Lu Yuan straightened his body, his voice cold and leaving no room for negotiation.
“First, immediately rewrite an official ‘Severance of Family Registry and Kinship’ document. Stamp it with the Lu clan’s seal and remove my name completely from the family genealogy. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other, alive or dead!”
“Second, Patriarch, you must personally write an ‘Explanation of Circumstances.’”
Lu Yuan’s thoughts were meticulous to the extreme. He would leave no hidden danger for his future pursuit of the imperial examinations.
“It must state that I left the Lu family because my stepmother was cruel and the household was in constant turmoil, and absolutely not because I was unfilial or disrespectful!”
“If anyone ever uses filial piety to attack me in the future, this document will be ironclad evidence!”
“As long as I receive these two documents, I will burn this pawn ticket in front of all of you.”
The old patriarch weighed the advantages and disadvantages.
To protect Lu Qiang’s examination eligibility and preserve the clan’s reputation, he could only swallow his anger.
“Fine! This old man agrees! Bring paper and ink!”
Before long, two freshly written documents were handed to Lu Yuan.
Both bore the bright red seal of the Lu clan.
Lu Yuan carefully inspected them. After confirming that there were no problems, he took out a fire striker and, right in front of everyone, burned the pawn ticket into a pile of ashes.
“Get out. If any of you dare step into my Lin family’s courtyard again, I guarantee you’ll regret ever being born into this world.”
Lu Yuan dusted off his sleeves and coldly ordered them to leave.
Lu Dagui and Zhao Shi fled like stray dogs. Under the furious glares of the Lin brothers, they scrambled to their feet and followed the old patriarch out of Qingshui Village.
This time, they had not gotten a single coin.
They had also thoroughly offended the old patriarch. Their days after returning to the village would certainly be more bitter than huanglian.
The courtyard gate closed.
Several days later, it was New Year’s Eve.
“What a good day! Today is truly a day for celebration!”
Mother-in-law Wang Shi brought out a small silver ingot weighing a full tael and boldly stuffed it into Lin Erniu’s hand.
“Second son! Hurry! Go to Butcher Zhang’s house in the neighboring village!”
“We’re going all out today! Buy half a pig’s worth of meat! And buy dozens of jin of Chinese cabbage. We’ve eaten all the cabbage in the house!”
Wang Shi loudly gave her instructions.
“And buy several sheets of red paper! This year, our Lin family is going to celebrate a truly prosperous New Year!”
“Got it, Ma! I’m going now!”
Lin Erniu took the silver and ran off like the wind.
This was Lu Yuan’s first New Year after transmigrating into ancient times.
Without those troublesome relatives around, the Lin family’s courtyard was filled with an unprecedented sense of happiness.
Night fell, and heavy snow drifted down from the sky.
But inside the Lin family’s main room, it was as warm as spring.
A large iron pot in the kitchen bubbled away, filled with braised pork. Its rich aroma, mixed with the sweetness of cabbage, drifted through the doorway and filled the entire courtyard.
On the old square table sat a large bowl filled with glossy red braised pork, perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat.
The whole family sat around the roaring brazier, every person’s lips shining with the happy grease of a good meal.
Father-in-law Lin Dashan took a sip of cheap homemade liquor. As the fiery alcohol went down his throat, his eyes nevertheless reddened.
“In all my life, your father never dared dream that we’d live to enjoy days like this, eating meat to our heart’s content.”
Lin Dashan put down his bowl and looked at the thatched roof leaking cold air. He gritted his teeth and made a major decision.
“When the ground thaws in spring, I’ll make the decision. We’ll take ten taels of silver from the money you gave us.”
“We’ll tear down this broken mud house! We’ll hire the village bricklayers and build a bright, spacious house with green bricks and a proper tiled roof!”
Hearing that they were going to build a new house, the three Lin brothers excitedly rubbed their hands together and cheered.
Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. He picked up the softest piece of braised pork and placed it in Qingyue’s bowl.
“Father is right. This house really does need to be renovated. Otherwise, Qingyue and the two children will freeze.”
Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks, picked up the wine jug, and poured Lin Dashan another cup.
“Father, Second Brother told me that our Qingshui Village chief also passed the Tongsheng examination when he was young?”
“Yes.” Lin Dashan nodded. “The old village chief’s surname is Zhou. He’s quite learned and highly respected in our village. Why do you ask?”
Lu Yuan smiled slightly, and a long-term plan flashed through his deep eyes.
“Now that I’ve been removed from the Lu clan, I naturally can’t keep my household registration there either.”
“Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year. I’ll bring two jin of pork belly and pay Chief Zhou a New Year’s visit.”
Lu Yuan looked around at his family, his voice firm.
“I plan to officially register my household here in Qingshui Village. From now on, I, Lu Yuan, will be a man of Qingshui Village!”