The Lin siblings stood united. No matter how hard Old Madam Wu tried to sow discord between them, it was useless. For a moment, she stood there awkwardly, feeling as though a lump was stuck in her throat—unable to swallow it or spit it out.
“Then report it to the authorities if you want. I don’t even want to study anyway,” Lin Yaozu said dismissively. If his family hadn’t forced him, he would never have gone to the village school.
Lin Yaozu was the same age as Lin Sheng, but he was a head taller and much sturdier. One look at him was enough to tell that he had grown up pampered and had never known hardship.
The moment Old Madam Wu heard him say that, she hurriedly turned around and covered his mouth.
“You mustn’t say such nonsense!”
She still dreamed of Lin Yaozu bringing honor to the family and glorifying their ancestors. There was no way she would allow him to lose the opportunity to study.
By now, she could tell that Lin Wan was clearly trying to extort her. With an ugly expression, she demanded,
“What exactly do you want?”
Since Old Madam Wu was finally asking sincerely, Lin Wan stopped beating around the bush.
“Return the thirty-three taels and four mace of silver, and write a severance document. If you do that, today’s matter will be over.”
Those were the two things Lin Wan had been working toward this entire time.
The old Lin family had done many terrible things to the original owner of this body, but revenge didn’t have to be taken all at once. The other grievances could be settled slowly in the future. However, the silver and the severance document were things she absolutely had to obtain today.
“You’ve got some nerve asking for that much!” Old Madam Wu glared at her angrily. The so-called thirty-three taels and four mace of silver had been completely fabricated by Lin Wan, yet she kept insisting on it.
“But that’s exactly how much silver I lost. If you’re unwilling to return it, then we’ll settle this in court.”
Her meaning was crystal clear: either repay the silver or face the authorities. There was no third option.
Village Chief Zhang also spoke up from the side.
“Sister-in-law Lin, that silver belonged to Lin Wan in the first place. Return it, and this matter can be resolved peacefully.”
Old Madam Wu shouted angrily,
“I never took any silver at all!”
And she was telling the truth.
If she had actually taken the money, she would have produced it long ago when Lin Wan first insisted on reporting the matter. The problem was that she hadn’t even seen a single copper coin. Where was she supposed to find thirty-three taels of silver now?
But nobody believed her.
Seeing that she remained stubborn even now, Village Chief Zhang’s expression darkened.
“If you continue to refuse to admit your mistake, once this reaches the authorities, not only will you have to return the silver, but you may also face imprisonment.”
He wasn’t trying to scare her.
Under the laws of the Great Li Dynasty, theft was punished severely. Once the matter reached the government offices, regret would come too late.
Old Madam Wu felt utterly wronged. No matter what she said, nobody believed her. The frustration was unbearable.
Lin Wan stood to one side watching quietly.
If Old Madam Wu hadn’t spent years stirring up trouble and ruining her reputation throughout the village, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a situation.
The thought of the dark and terrifying county jail made Old Madam Wu nervous. Yet the idea of paying out so much silver pained her greatly. Her eyes darted about before she suddenly said,
“I can write an IOU first. I’ll make up the silver later.”
By now, she understood that explanations were useless. The villagers didn’t believe her, so why would government officials?
Her plan was simple: write an IOU to buy time, then find an opportunity later to retrieve it.
After all, today’s situation only happened because Village Chief Zhang and so many villagers were present. She had no idea why that wretched girl Lin Wan had suddenly gone crazy. Once there were no outsiders around, controlling Lin Wan would be as easy as squeezing dough in her hands.
Old Madam Wu’s plan sounded wonderful in her own mind, but who would end up controlling whom remained to be seen.
“Why write an IOU? My silver only went missing today. Surely it couldn’t have all been spent already?”
Lin Wan immediately rejected the idea.
She could see through Old Madam Wu’s scheme at a glance. If she accepted an IOU today, there would be endless disputes afterward. She had no intention of wasting that much time.
“That’s right. Just return the silver!”
The villagers began whispering among themselves.
Old Madam Wu had been denying everything earlier, but the moment she suggested writing an IOU, it was practically the same as admitting she had taken the silver.
She had only been thinking about delaying the matter and completely overlooked the fact that once she acknowledged the debt, she would never be able to take her words back.
Village Chief Zhang nodded firmly.
“Exactly. Hand over the silver immediately.”
Even Lin Yaozu edged closer and asked curiously,
“Grandma, do you really have more than thirty taels of silver on you?”
Old Madam Wu was speechless.
Finally, under pressure from everyone present, she gritted her teeth.
“Fine. I’ll bring the silver over later. And I’ll sign the severance document too. But Lin Sheng is still my biological grandson!”
As long as she could keep a hold over Lin Sheng, Lin Wan wouldn’t remain arrogant for long. Sooner or later, the silver she had tricked out of her today would find its way back.
As she spoke, Old Madam Wu tried to put on a kindly smile.
“Xiao Sheng, come to Grandma. Grandma will take you home.”
Lin Sheng didn’t move an inch.
Instead, he declared firmly,
“My only family is my sister.”
From the day he was born until now, no one in the old Lin family had ever shown him the slightest kindness.
If his sister hadn’t always worried that being without clan relatives would leave them vulnerable to bullying—and hadn’t continued to harbor a tiny bit of hope toward the Lin family—he would have severed ties with them long ago.
The smile on Old Madam Wu’s face froze.
Inside, she cursed him viciously.
What an ungrateful little wretch. Refusing a favor when it’s offered!
In the end, with Village Chief Zhang and all the villagers serving as witnesses, Lin Sheng personally wrote the severance document.
The contents were exactly as Lin Wan had requested. Once Old Madam Wu signed it and pressed her thumbprint on it, the siblings would have no further connection whatsoever to the old Lin family.
Although Old Madam Wu’s face was dark with resentment, things had progressed beyond the point where she could back out.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, she finally pressed her thumbprint onto the document.
As Lin Wan carefully put away the severance agreement, Old Madam Wu angrily threw out one last warning.
“You little bitch, don’t come crying with regret later!”
Without clan relatives to rely on, if anyone bullied the siblings in the future, nobody would stand up for them. Their day of regret would surely come.
But Lin Wan merely smiled and tucked the document away safely.
Regret?
That was impossible.
She saw things clearly. Even without severing ties, the old Lin family would never protect her and Lin Sheng. Not only would they refuse to help them, they would constantly look for ways to exploit and squeeze them dry.
For her and Lin Sheng, severing relations was like smashing apart a massive boulder that had been pressing down on them for years.
From now on, life would only become easier—and better.
“Now all that’s left is the silver. Hurry up and return it.”
Lin Wan stretched out her hand toward Old Madam Wu.
Inside the house was her seriously ill future husband, and beside her stood her frail younger brother. Both of them needed proper nourishment.
Right now, what she lacked most was money.
And Old Madam Wu’s silver was arriving at exactly the right time.