Chapter 65 — Asking for an Explanation • The Overall Arrangement before Dividing up The Family
The Village Head, Ling Qicai, the Old Clan Patriarch, and several esteemed elders had all been ushered into the main hall after receiving word of the commotion. After “investigating” the events, the elders had unanimously ruled the incident an accident. Their verdict: Ling Chenghua hadn’t intentionally collided with Ling Wang-shi. Furthermore, they shifted the blame onto Ling Wang-shi herself, claiming that since she hadn’t disclosed her pregnancy, the fault was hers; had she spoken up, everyone would have been more careful, and the tragedy could have been avoided.
Consequently, Old Master Ling had given Ling Chenghua nothing more than a symbolic scolding for being “reckless,” and that was the end of it. Logically, once the matter was “cleared up,” the Village Head and the Elder should have departed. However, due to the sudden arrival of Ling Jingxuan—the man expelled five years ago—and the “sorcery” he’d used to floor Ling Chengcai, they stayed behind. It was obvious they were there to bolster the Ling family’s authority. To put it bluntly: they were there to deal with Ling Jingxuan.
The people in the hall were oblivious to what had just transpired in the second branch’s quarters. When they saw the three brothers flanking a resolute, grim-faced Ling Chenglong, the entire room glared with naked fury and disdain. Following behind them were Physician Zhou and the couple from the first branch; Ling Jinghong and his wife. Since Ling Jingxuan hadn’t yet revealed his hand or cleared them of suspicion, they were still shaking like leaves, their faces ghastly.
“Ling Jingxuan, in consideration of the fact that you came to visit your mother, I will overlook your insolence this once. Leave the Ling residence immediately. You are not welcome here.”
Before anyone else could speak, Old Master Ling frowned, his voice dripping with loathing. Between the incidents involving Ling Jingwei and Ling Chengcai, he found the sight of this family disgrace more unbearable than ever.
“Don’t be in such a hurry, Old Scholar. Once I’ve finished what I came to do, I’ll leave of my own accord,” Ling Jingxuan replied indifferently, his cold gaze sweeping the room. This was a grand performance, and he had all the time in the world to play his part.
“You—!”
THUD!
Ling Qiyun flared with rage and was about to roar a reprimand when Ling Chenglong suddenly dropped to his knees. The man, who had been honest and filially pious to a fault his entire life, looked up at the gathered assembly. His gaze met the Old Master’s with unwavering steel. “Patriarch, Elders, Second Uncle, Second Aunt… since you are all here, I ask you to bear witness. I want to split the family and live separately.”
From his youngest son being cast aside to his wife’s sudden miscarriage—and then the discovery that someone had tried to finish her off—Ling Chenglong was at his breaking point. He didn’t bother with flowery language; he went straight for the jugular.
The room went deathly silent, stunned by his bluntness. Ling Chenglong and his wife were famous for their subservient piety; for him to repeatedly demand a separation now… was he not afraid of being cursed by the entire village? Or was it…?
One by one, their eyes swiveled toward Ling Jingxuan. In their minds, the couple was too honest and dim-witted to think of this; someone must be pulling the strings. Even now, no one considered that the Ling family itself might be the problem. Reflexively, they pinned every ounce of blame on Ling Jingxuan.
“You unfilial beast! Your mother is still alive! You want to split the family? Wait until your father and I are dead, then we’ll talk!”
The Old Madam was the first to snap. Infuriated, she lunged forward, hand raised to deliver a stinging slap. But her wrist was caught mid-air in a grip of iron.
“You shameless bastard, let go of me! This is Ling family business! It’s no place for someone kicked out like you to stick your nose in! LET GO—!”
Driven by her intense hatred, the Old Madam had completely forgotten how terrifying he could be. She shrieked like a common street shrew. Ling Jingxuan gave a cold snort and shoved her back.
“I couldn’t care less about your ‘Ling family business.’ Right now, I want to know exactly how my mother miscarried. If you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation today, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
They dared to touch my mother. Not poisoning them on the spot was already me showing immense restraint.
“It has nothing to do with you. This is an internal Ling matter,” Ling Qiyun said, his face stern and cold after Ling Chenghu and his wife helped the Old Madam back to her feet. He clearly didn’t think Ling Jingxuan was worth the dirt on his boots.
“Old Scholar Ling, there’s no need to keep harping on about the ‘Ling family.’ I’ve told you—I don’t give a damn about any of you. I didn’t then, and I won’t now. My mother may be a daughter-in-law of your house, but she is also the mother who raised me. Even if I was expelled, that fact doesn’t change. Is it ‘wrong’ for a son to ask why his mother lost her child? Since when does the Da Qing Dynasty forbid a son from caring for his mother’s well-being?”
As he spoke, Ling Jingxuan’s eyes remained locked on Ling Chenghua, who was cowering behind the Old Madam. He wasn’t deaf; even if no one told him, the gossip of the villagers outside had been enough to tell him who had harmed his mother. As for whether it was an accident? Her evasiveness and refusal to meet his gaze told him everything he needed to know. Frankly, he’d underestimated this village woman; he’d thought her merely a sharp-tongued shrew, never imagining she had the stomach for cold-blooded murder.
Ling Qiyun stood speechless, caught in a rhetorical vice. If he argued that Jingxuan was wrong, he’d be teaching the village that filial piety was irrelevant—and who would send their children to his private school then? But if he agreed, he’d be granting an expelled member the right to interfere in Ling family affairs. He was trapped.
“Since you’re all so tight-lipped, Jingpeng—you tell me. Exactly what happened?” Ling Jingxuan’s cold gaze swept the room as he called his younger brother forward, loathing the idea of wasting another breath on the elders.
“It was the Young Aunt! She—”
Ling Jingpeng, who had been simmering for ages, stepped forward and recounted exactly how Ling Chenghua had “collided” with Ling Wang-shi. He ended with a venomous glare at her. Not waiting for Jingxuan to react, Ling Chenghua—emboldened by the presence of the elders—puffed out her chest and barked:
“It’s not like I did it on purpose! I saw Father heading to Second Uncle’s place and just wanted to go with him. Who knew that when I stepped out the door, I’d accidentally bump into Second Sister-in-law? Didn’t I rush to help her up immediately? Besides, who told her to keep her pregnancy a secret? If she’d said something, we all would’ve been more careful, and this wouldn’t have happened!”
There wasn’t a shred of remorse on her face; instead, she looked as though she were the victim. Seeing the other elders nodding in silent agreement, Ling Chenglong and his sons felt a bone-deep chill. As for Ling Jingxuan? He was so incensed he actually started laughing.
“So, by your logic, this is my mother’s fault? Is that what the ‘Esteemed Scholar’ and the village elders believe as well?”
A cold, razor-sharp smile slowly spread across his lips. His gaze raked over them one by one. For reasons they couldn’t name, everyone he looked at felt an instinctive surge of terror and reflexively averted their eyes. After a long silence, Old Master Ling stiffened his neck and grunted, “Chenghua was certainly reckless, but Wang-shi is not without blame herself.”
In other words, he was siding with his daughter.
“Heh… I see. A daughter is precious, but a daughter-in-law is just cattle. Everyone says Old Scholar Ling is a man of great virtue and prestige, but now it seems that’s just a farce. No matter what you think of my mother, she was a woman legally wed and carried into this house in a formal bridal sedan. As the heads of this household, instead of showing her compassion for the years she’s worked like an ox and a horse for you, you allow your daughter to trample all over her. Tell me—where is the justice? Regardless of whether Ling Chenghua did it on purpose, the fact remains she caused a miscarriage. You refuse to lift a finger and even try to sweep it under the rug. Are you not afraid that word of this ‘family tradition’ will get out and ruin your reputation?”
His smile grew more brilliant, his words more biting. But Ling Jingxuan knew that in this era—devoid of surveillance cameras or forensics—proving the “accident” was intentional would be impossible. He wouldn’t get “legal” justice today. But he didn’t need it. He had plenty of ways to make Ling Chenghua pay later. Blood debts must be repaid in blood. For the unborn sister she stole, he would eventually take her life.
Seeing them red-faced and choked by his words, Ling Jingxuan slammed the medicine pot onto the table. His voice suddenly spiked in volume:
“Fine. Aside from Ling Chenghua herself, perhaps no one knows if that ‘bump’ was intentional. However… someone placed Rougui(Cinnamon Bark) in my mother’s medicine, intending to cause her to bleed to death. That is a fact, backed by evidence. And that person is undeniably a member of the Ling family. This is something you must give me an explanation for!”
Gasp!
The entire room let out a collective breath of horror. They stared wide-eyed at the medicinal dregs Ling Jingxuan had spilled onto the table. Most simple farmers would never dream of committing actual murder; Ling Jingxuan’s words shook them to their core. In that split second, Ling Jingxuan’s eyes scanned the room like a radar. When his gaze hit Ling Jingwei, a flash of killing intent sparked in his mind.
On Ling Jingwei’s face, he didn’t just see shock. He saw a fleeting flicker of resentment, terror, and panic.
Found you. He now knew exactly who wanted his mother dead.
“Impossible! Stop your baseless slandering!”
It took a long time for Ling Qiyun to find his voice. He pointed a trembling finger at Ling Jingxuan, but the slight shake betrayed him. Clearly, even he was starting to believe it.
“Whether this is ‘baseless slander’ is something I believe Physician Zhou and your eldest grandson’s wife can verify. Old Scholar, why don’t you ask them yourself?”
Stepping back slightly, Ling Jingxuan leaned down to help his father up from the floor. Separating the family today was non-negotiable, but he refused to let his parents bear the stigma of being “unfilial.” This was the sole reason he was wasting so much breath on these people. Once they were out, his second brother’s health would recover, and he’d be sitting for the Imperial Examinations this winter; Jingxuan wouldn’t have people gossiping that the boy had parents who rebelled against their elders.
“Old Master Ling, Village Head, Clan Patriarch, Elders… the prescription I wrote was indeed a standard one for a miscarriage. As for where that cinnamon bark came from, I truly have no idea!”
Struggling to keep his footing, the aged Physician Zhou cupped his hands in a plea for innocence. He felt utterly aggrieved; had he known the Ling family was such a nest of vipers, he wouldn’t have come even if they’d beaten him to death.
“I was only following Grandfather’s orders to brew the medicine! I had no idea what was inside,” Ling Qian-shi sobbed, her voice trembling with a sense of profound injustice. As the daughter of a landlord, she had been a pampered young lady at home; when had she ever faced such a terrifying accusation? “Since I married into this family, I’ve never had a grudge against Second Uncle or Second Aunt. Why would I murder her? Elders, please, you must seek justice for me!”
“Grandfather, Xiuyun would never do such a thing.”
Ling Jinghong pulled his wife into a protective embrace, looking up at the Old Master. Unlike the rest of the clan, Jinghong was a man of few words, neither lazy nor deceptive. He had been obedient since childhood, but his obedience wasn’t the “weak” honesty of Ling Chenglong; he wasn’t someone people could easily bully. Consequently, the Old Master and Old Madam doted on this eldest grandson, giving him a certain degree of standing in the family.
“Father, Xiuyun is gentle and kind-hearted. How could she ever commit murder?”
Seeing the situation, Ling Li-shi quickly stepped forward to defend her daughter-in-law. Regardless of their personal friction, she couldn’t stand by while her daughter-in-law was branded a killer of kin.
“What exactly is going on here?! To think someone almost lost their life! Ling Qiyun, if you don’t get to the bottom of this, I won’t let you off!”
The Old Clan Patriarch, a man in his late seventies or eighties sitting in the seat of honor, suddenly erupted in a thunderous rage. Murder. Such a thing had never happened in Lingjia Village. If this reached the magistrate’s ears, how would the people look at them? How could they ever hold their heads up again?
“The Patriarch is right! This must be investigated!”
“Check everything! We must find the truth!”
“Lingjia Village cannot harbor a murderer!”
The other elders chimed in with harsh, severe tones. At this point, it was no longer about whether the Old Master liked the second branch or whether Ling Chenghua had “accidentally” caused the miscarriage. It had escalated into an attempted murder case. Since it threatened the “face” of the entire village, they could no longer afford to be biased.
Watching them act more agitated than the next, a sneer flickered in the depths of Ling Jingxuan’s eyes. Who are you putting this show on for? He would bet his head that this “investigation” would eventually end in a quiet whimper of “insufficient evidence.”
“Father, don’t say a word later. Leave the separation to me,” Ling Jingxuan whispered into Ling Chenglong’s ear while the elders bickered. “No matter what I say, just nod. Remember—even if you won’t think for yourself, think of Jinghan and Jingpeng. Jinghan is recovering; he will take the exams, and a high ranking is not impossible. This family is too toxic; we can’t let them become a stumbling block for his future. And Jingpeng is fourteen; in two years, he’ll be looking for a wife. We can’t let these people ruin his marriage prospects.”
Anything else, Ling Jingxuan wasn’t afraid of—he only feared his father’s soft heart.
“I… I’ll listen to you,” Ling Chenglong whispered back.
He could see his son wasn’t just after a simple separation. In the past, he would have hesitated; no matter how wrong they were, they were his blood. But after one blow after another, his heart was cold. If he didn’t act, he would lose his sons’ respect, and even his wife might leave him.
“Jinghan, Jingpeng, keep a close watch on the room for me. Follow my lead later.”
Having secured his father’s agreement, Ling Jingxuan was still a little uneasy. He gave his brothers a few more instructions. The groundwork was laid; it was time to pull the net. Though he might not be able to crush the person who poisoned the medicine today, there’s plenty of time. They were in the same village—he had all the time in the world to play with them. Today, he’d just collect a bit of interest.
The two brothers nodded without a second’s hesitation. Ling Jingxuan gave a satisfied smile. It was time to end this farce. He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade.
“So? Have you ‘honorable’ gentlemen decided on an explanation for me yet?”
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Translator: LazyHermitGal
Author: LazyHermitGal
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