Chapter 103: A Family Of Good Deeds Shall Have Lasting Blessings
Lei Sanxiang, upon hearing this, walked up to Lin Jiye, raised his palm as big as a palm-leaf fan, and made as if to slap down.
Lin Qian shouted to stop Lei Sanxiang: “Don’t hit him.”
This slap was too forceful; Lin Qian feared one slap would kill this Great Master.
It didn’t matter if the person died; what mattered was where the silver was hidden—they hadn’t asked yet.
Lei Sanxiang retreated to the side.
Lin Qian said to Xie Er: “Go untie the muzzles from the Great Masters and Great Madames of each house, and the manor stewards.”
Xie Er had no choice but to comply.
Lin Qian said to Bai Langzai: “Take a few people and first check the previously marked areas.”
“Yes.”
After Bai Langzai left, the ropes in the mouths of the masters of each house were untied; everyone spat out the dirt from their mouths with faces full of pain, and for a time the Women’s Hall was filled with endless spitting sounds.
“Tell me, where is the silver hidden? If not, every half incense stick, kill one person.” Lin Qian’s voice was cold and stern.
“Esteemed hero, if you need money, please go to the accounts office to get it; all the manor’s silver is kept there.” Lin Jiren said tremblingly.
“Do I need you to tell me about the accounts office?” Lin Qian said. “I’m asking where the other silver is hidden?”
As soon as these words came out, everyone from the Lin Mansion below changed color.
Lin Jiren pleaded: “Esteemed hero, our manor is benevolent and charitable, having opened countless charity schools and congee stalls in the county city, with a long-standing fine reputation…”
While speaking, a crew member carried a box in from the backyard and placed it in the hall.
Opened it: full of silver gleam, a box of standard ten-tael snowflake silvers, neatly stacked, about three hundred taels.
“Ship Master, found under the Third Master’s bed.”
After the two crew members spoke, they went back to the backyard.
The Third Master’s body trembled, not daring to raise his head.
Lin Qian’s voice held no emotion: “Half an incense stick’s time is up; take the Third Master first.”
After Xie Er identified the Third Master, several surrounding crew members went up, pinned the man down, drew knives, and smoothly thrust down.
The Third Master’s face was pressed against the cold ground, distorted; he struggled and shouted: “I have silver, I have silver! I have more silver!”
Lin Qian waved his hand; the crew members retreated.
The Third Master said: “In the southwest corner of my bedroom, move the wardrobe; under the stone slab, there are still five hundred taels.”
Lin Qian sent crew members to retrieve it.
“Well done, Old Three!” Lin Jiren angrily said. “So you embezzled the manor’s silver!”
The Third Master dejectedly cowered, not daring to look at him.
Old Master Lin had been jovially celebrating his birthday during the day, but knelt here at night; the disparity was too great, he couldn’t accept it for the moment—his graying beard and hair trembled as he murmured: “As the Book of Changes says, a family that accumulates good must have surplus blessings. Even if my Lin Family has no surplus blessings, it shouldn’t come to this…”
Lin Jiren picked up the thread, continuing to appeal to emotion with tears streaming: “Exactly. Not to speak of distant matters, just last year’s flood—our manor sacrificed its own fields for diversion, flooding over a thousand mu of cropland and saving the city’s people. The whole Taizhou Prefecture knows this; the prefect even personally inscribed a plaque for our family…”
Lin Qian spoke without joy or anger: “You don’t mention at all the tenants drowned in the flood diversion.”
Lin Jiren hurriedly said: “Not many, not many! Only over a hundred tenants drowned—really not many…”
“The Lin Mansion has only about a hundred people top to bottom; by your reasoning, even if I killed them all, it wouldn’t count as many?” Lin Qian’s tone was flat.
Lin Jiren was stumped and froze in place.
He couldn’t understand why noble clansmen’s lives should be compared to tenants’.
Three more crew members came from the back hall, placing a large and a small box on the ground.
Opened: both packed full of snowflake silver.
Lin Qian glanced: the large box about one thousand taels, the small about five hundred taels.
“Ship Master, the small box was found in the Third Master’s room; the large box from the Ancestral Hall.”
“Mm.”
Several crew members withdrew.
Lin Qian turned toward the hall: “Still not saying? Half an incense stick is almost up.”
Lin Jiren said: “Esteemed hero, the Lin Mansion’s tenant rent is the lowest in all Huangyan County…”
Lin Qian casually pointed at one of the Lin Clan’s clansmen; crew members dragged him out like a dead dog, pinned him at the hall entrance, and stabbed straight into his back.
A fishy sweet bloody smell spread; dark red blood snaked along the tile crevices.
Lin Jiren’s remaining words caught in his throat, unable to come out; the Lin Mansion crowd in the hall fell deathly silent.
Four more crew members carried in two boxes, thudding as placed on the ground; opened as usual—inside neatly arranged snowflake silver, about two thousand taels.
The pool had accumulated to three thousand eight hundred taels.
“Ship Master, these two boxes were found under the tiles beneath the Ancestral Hall’s spirit tablets.”
“You thieves! How dare you ruin my Ancestral Hall!” Old Master Lin wailed.
Lin Qian seeing this said: “Did you bring the genealogy book?”
“Brought it.”
A crew member handed over a red cloth bundle, opened it: thick stack of documents, the top pages newer, yellowing further down.
As soon as this was produced, Old Master Lin was like a goose with its neck pinched—voice taut, eyes bulging, staring fixedly at the genealogy book.
Lin Qian had a crew member bring a candle, placed the genealogy book on the table, casually picked up the top one, and held it near the flame.
Old Master Lin said: “Wait!”
Lin Qian stopped; the genealogy book was mere inches from the candle flame, edge already slightly charred.
“Sigh! Fine. This old man still has over a hundred taels of personal silver in his room—take it, esteemed hero.”
A mocking smile tugged at Lin Qian’s lips as he held the genealogy book to the flame and lit it.
“Don’t! Don’t burn it, don’t burn…” Old Master Lin sobbed loudly, as if it were himself burning.
That night so many Lin Mansion guards and servants had died, yet Old Master Lin hadn’t frowned once.
Just now a Lin Mansion relative had been stabbed dead right there in the hall, yet Old Master Lin shed no tears.
But one tattered book reduced him to streaming tears—truly laughable.
Held to the candle flame, the genealogy book caught fire; one by one the Lin Clan names were devoured by the flames, blackening and yellowing into charred bits.
The entire genealogy book burned up; Lin Qian tossed it into the hall, where it gradually became a fireball, completely consumed.
Heavy footsteps came from behind the hall; crew members successively carried in five or six boxes.
Box lids opened, gleaming with treasure: all filled with jewelry, ornaments, loose silver taels, and deed documents—clearly collected from each house, especially the women’s quarters.
“Ship Master, the backyard has been completely searched; only these.” The crew member cupped his hands.
Lin Qian frowned slightly; the silver in the hall totaled less than ten thousand taels—far short for such a large manor, so many fleets, such an ancient noble family.
Lin Qian said: “Search the front yard again.”
The crew members received the order and dispersed, moving without obstruction, as if they knew the paths innately.
The Women’s Hall wasn’t large; a crew member accidentally bumped Lin Zhishu while moving through, and Lin Zhishu’s body twitched—Lin Qian noticed.
Lin Qian stepped forward and kicked him: “Stop pretending; go kneel to the side.”
Lin Zhishu quickly stood, shuffled in small steps, and knelt properly among the clansmen.
Lin Qian took out another genealogy book, held it to the candle; amid leaping flames, it turned to charcoal.
The old master let out shrill wails.
Lin Jiren ignored the genealogy book, staring fixedly at Lin Zhishu with deep concern.
Lin Qian seeing this set down the third genealogy book and pointed at Lin Zhishu.
Crew members strode forward and pinned him to the ground.
Lin Qian stepped up, pinned his head with a foot, drew his knife, and thrust.
“Stop!” Lin Jiren shouted. “I’ll confess—don’t harm my son’s life!”
