Chapter 95: What If They Don’t Want Someone From Your Clan?
The Old Clan Leader listened to the message that Mo Ziyuan had asked Lin Jing to pass on, showing no reaction for a long while, lowering his eyes and puffing on his tobacco pipe with a “pa ta pa ta” sound.
“Dad~” Lin Jing couldn’t help but speak up.
The Old Clan Leader gave him a sidelong glance. “Those people are no simple folks! Tell the clan members from now on to stop gossiping about Xin Yatou, try not to offend her if possible. As for what Young Master Mo told you, don’t breathe a word of it. Also, have your son play more with Lin Nan. Who knows, our family’s good fortune might lie with him in the future.”
After speaking, he leaned back against the bedding pile again, closed his eyes, and resumed puffing on his tobacco pipe with a “pa ta pa ta” sound, no matter how much Lin Jing asked; he wouldn’t open his mouth.
Helplessly, Lin Jing had no choice but to go out and find Uncle Lin Six, who held the most prestige in the clan besides his father.
“Uncle Six, how can we stop the clan members from gossiping about Xin Yatou?” Lin Jing was utterly troubled; no matter how he looked at it, this seemed like an impossible task.
Uncle Lin Six fiddled with the herbal medicine in the courtyard and laughed. “What’s so hard about that? Let them talk! Xin Yatou isn’t one to mess with. If she’s pushed too far, she’ll handle it herself. Killing the chicken to warn the monkey might not sound great, but it works!”
“Oh come on, Uncle Six, don’t tease your nephew like this.” Lin Jing sighed with a troubled frown.
Uncle Lin Six had seen enough of his worried look and advised, “People will always find ways to get themselves into trouble. Even if you stop them once, you can’t stop them forever. Your dad always wants our Lin Clan to look pristine, covering up all the dirty and smelly stuff. Unfortunately, even with dirt up to his neck, he hasn’t achieved it. Some people need to learn the hard way what ‘disaster comes from the mouth’ means.”
Seeing Lin Jing still looking troubled, he sighed. “You can’t manage the clan’s affairs. Go back!”
“Sigh!” Having gained no specific advice from the visit, Lin Jing racked his brains and decided he still needed to give Lin Xin a heads-up in advance. They were all from the same clan; no need to go too far—just a small punishment as a warning.
After searching around, he found her in Mo Ziyuan and the others’ new house.
Seeing Lin Jing again, Lin Xin felt no surprise. He was the Old Clan Leader’s son, raised by his side since childhood, so his principles naturally aligned with his father’s—everything for the clan.
“Uncle Jing, are you looking for me for something?” Seeing Lin Jing rubbing his hands and not speaking, she took the initiative to ask.
With her question, Mo Ziyuan, Gao Yong, Zhou Qi, and the others all turned to look at Lin Jing. All battle-hardened veterans, their stares nearly made him flee in panic.
“Um, Xin, Xin Yatou, c-could you come out with Uncle Jing for a moment? Uncle Jing has s-something to tell you.” Stammering several times, Lin Jing finally mustered the courage under immense pressure to finish speaking.
“Sure.” Lin Xin readily agreed, holding the drowsy Lin Tao in her arms as she stood and walked out of the room.
“Speak, Uncle Jing. Why are you looking for me?” Standing in the spacious courtyard, Lin Xin looked at Lin Jing and asked.
Under her clear, piercing gaze, Lin Jing actually felt a sense of oppression. He uncomfortably twisted his neck. “Um, Xin Yatou, Uncle Jing will just say it straight.”
Lin Xin nodded.
“You’ve lived in our village for so many years and understand the villagers. They’re just a bit loose-tongued, but no real malice. Of course, if Uncle Jing hears them talking about you, he’ll stop them. But if they go too far, could you…”
“I can’t,” Lin Jing’s words were cut off by Lin Xin. “Uncle Jing, to be honest with you, I’ve already found a mister for Nan Nan. He’ll start enlightenment next year, and in another three to five years, he’ll take the imperial examination. Uncle Jing surely understands what that means. So if someone foolishly comes at me, I absolutely won’t hold back.” Here, she changed the subject:
“One more thing I’ll let you in on ahead of time: Nan Nan’s mister is the Emperor’s personally appointed Top Scholar, from the Capital City, and he’ll be staying in the village for a while. Offending me means suffering for my people, but if you annoy the mister, I don’t need to spell out the consequences!
Oh, right, Uncle Jing has already met Young Master Mo—he’s Nan Nan’s martial master.”
These two bombs left Lin Jing dizzy and disoriented. After mumbling a few incoherent words he himself didn’t understand, he stumbled away on unsteady feet. Watching his retreating figure, Lin Xin smiled to herself, suddenly finding that pulling the big flag worked pretty well.
“What did your next clan leader want with you?” As soon as she returned, Mo Ziyuan asked.
“What else? You heard the villagers’ talk. Probably wants me not to take it to heart!” Lin Xin shrugged, letting Lin Tao lean on her shoulder to deepen his sleep.
“What do you plan to do?” Mo Ziyuan asked again, and this time even Meng Yichen turned to wait for her answer.
Lin Xin laughed, pointing at them. “I pulled your tiger skins, and Uncle Jing got scared off.”
Gao Yong’s loud voice boomed again. “Miss Lin, our tiger skins are yours to pull from now on.” He turned to Ling Qing, Zhou Qi, and Chu Yu. “Right, brothers?”
Ling Qing and the others nodded. “Exactly. If anyone bullies you, just tell us. We can’t touch them openly, but dealing with them in secret will be like play.”
Lin Xin laughed even more, suddenly feeling pretty lucky to have run into this group. Turns out not all ancients were rigid old sticks!
Lin Jing returned home pale-faced, startling his wife. “Husband, what’s wrong? Are you unwell? I’ll go call Uncle Six to check on you!”
Lin Jing had no mood to deal with his wife right now. Irritated, he waved her off. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’ll go talk to Dad. You do what you need to.”
With that, he headed to the Old Clan Leader’s room, tripping over the threshold on the way in and nearly face-planting.
Lin Jing’s wife watched his figure disappear through the door, biting her lip, lost in thought.
“Dad, Dad…” Entering, Lin Jing saw his dad still leaning against the bedding pile with eyes closed and hurriedly called out loudly twice.
“Why yell so loud? Your dad isn’t deaf yet!”
“Dad, did you know about Lin Nan taking a master?” Lin Jing ignored his dad’s tone and leaned in to ask.
“Mm, I know. Who in the village doesn’t?”
“No, I don’t mean that old doctor—I mean the mister teaching him literacy and martial arts.”
“Literacy and martial arts?” The Old Clan Leader suddenly opened his eyes and frowned. “Did Xin Yatou tell you?”
“Mm, she said the literary mister is the Emperor’s appointed Top Scholar, and the martial master is that Young Master Mo. Dad, do you think this is real or is she fooling me?”
“Fooling you? Why would she need to fool you?” The Old Clan Leader leaned back against the bedding pile and closed his eyes again. “She’s putting us on notice! If any clan member foolishly offends her, it’s impossible to make her suffer like with the Old Lin Family incident again!”
“How can Xin Yatou be like this? We’re all from the same clan. If the clan’s reputation is ruined, what good does she get?” Lin Jing shared the Old Clan Leader’s view: even if it meant some loss, the clan’s reputation must not be tarnished.
“What if she doesn’t care about this clan of yours?”
