Ch. 121..125: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 121-125

Chapter 121: Chapter 121 Opportunity_1

A faint clamor came from beyond the wall, followed by the vague sight of people scaling it. Standing at the corner of the corridor, Lin Ziyin began to count the intruders.

...Five, six, seven, eight - precisely eight people.

Only the old man, Zige, Changting, and Guo Huiniang with her child were left in the courtyard. Quite a few people, alas, not particularly strong in combat. Lin Ziyin pondered on how to quickly resolve the situation without alarming her family.

"Spread out," a masked man whispered in the moonlight, instructing his companions, "Search everywhere and force that woman to reveal the directions."

"Yes, boss," a man next to him replied softly.

They came prepared! Lin Ziyin watched as the silhouettes slowly drew nearer, sneering. Suddenly, she stepped forward from the shadow of the corridor, and casually said, "Gentlemen, isn’t it rather strange to visit this late? And to whom does the ’woman’ you spoke of refer to?"

The masked men were taken aback, not expecting that Lin Ziyin would discover them in the middle of the night, and they froze momentarily.

"Quickly catch her before she attracts attention," a burly man commanded.

Lin Ziyin sneered as they approached, and suddenly, she pulled a rope hidden along the corridor. Instantly, the eight men either fell into a trap or were hoisted off the ground by their ankles. One was even more unfortunate, getting his foot caught in an iron clip.

"Ah, save me!" Before Lin Ziyin could utter another word, cries for help erupted from the captured thieves.

The thieves’ cries were swiftly followed by the glow of candles being lit in the rooms of Guo Huiniang and Zige.

"What is going on?" The old man was the first to rush to Lin Ziyin’s side, carrying a solid stick with a serious expression.

"Nothing much, a few thieves sneaked in and they’ve all been captured," Lin Ziyin answered nonchalantly.

"Thieves? What are we going to do?" asked Guo Huiniang, looking anxiously at Lin Ziyin and the old man.

"How about we call Uncle Lou Zheng," suggested Zige, who also was scared. She was just a timid girl and had never witnessed a scene of this magnitude.

"Grandpa, shout loudly and bang on a pot, awaken all the villagers," Lin Ziyin suggested, "We are not sure if there are more of them outside. None of you may leave."

"Ziyin is right, bring out the pots from the house and make as much noise as you can," ordered the old man, his eyes constantly scanning the immobile thieves, prepared for any sudden retaliation.

Guo Huiniang and Zige quickly understood. They fetched the pots from the house, and also got the two children involved. Together, they banged the pots and shouted loudly, "Catch the thieves! Catch the thieves!"

"Please, let us go," pleaded one of the men dangling from the tree upon hearing the commotion, "We’ll do anything as long as you let us go."

Both Lin Ziyin and the old man remained silent.

In a short while, the disturbance at the Lin residence woke up all the villagers, each of them coming armed with various tools – pitchforks, shovels, polearms, all they could get their hands on.

"Grandpa, what has happened?" The first ones to arrive were Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw the captured thieves.

"Don’t fret. We just had a few uninvited guests," the old man responded calmly.

"We absolutely cannot let these audacious thieves off easily," Wu Dayou stated fiercely.

"You will regret it if you don’t let us go," the thief with his foot caught in the clip retorted defiantly.

Lin Ziyin watched him and scoffed, "Breaking into a civilian house, bearing weapons in the middle of the night, it’s clear you meant to murder and rob. Do you have any idea what kind of punishment awaits you when these charges reach the government offices? I heard our Prince treats the common people with leniency and decisiveness. How do you think he will respond upon hearing about murderers and thieves on his land?"

"Maiden, cease your absurd statements! Who killed anyone? Aren’t all of your family standing right here?" shot back one of the thieves. His words carried a defiant tone, yet the underlying fear rendered them less persuasive.

"How did they find us?" asked Lou Zheng.

"They knew about our family, as to how - that’s something they should answer," Lin Ziyin speculated. ’Someone inside the village must be in cahoots with these thieves. But who could it be?’ She dwelt on it; these days, she was too engrossed in improving her family’s living conditions to socialize with the villagers. Hence, she was not familiar with them.

"Young lass, don’t try framing us. Who killed anyone?" the masked thief continued his tirade.

"If no one was killed, then what were you doing breaking into our house late at night with knives?" Wu Dayou marched up to the dangling man and slapped him squarely in his face.

The slap sent the thief swinging wildly in mid-air, and that noticeably dampened his spirit.

The villagers gathered were discussing the pathetic sight of the thieves amongst themselves.

’Thieves in the village, this is a big deal. Even though the thieves did not come for them, the villagers were still disturbed. Look at the audacity of the thieves, eight men together, a show of utter disrespect towards the population of Shili Village.’

’Were they belittling Shili Village for having no strong men?’

"Uncle Lou Zheng, I think it would be best if we turn these people over to the officials," suggested Lin Ziyin, uninterested in arguing with the thieves. She decided to leave them to Lou Zheng for further action.

"Yes, let’s take them to the government offices. The local officials will surely banish them," one of the villagers interjected gleefully.

"Indeed, who do they think they are, belittling the people of Shili Village?" echoed another villager.

"People like them deserve to be beaten to death."

....

"Please don’t send us to the authorities. We only came here because of Ma Erlang’s scheme," pleaded one of the thieves, betraying their internal accomplice upon hearing of possible banishment.

"Yes, yes, it was your village’s Ma Erlang who brought us here," others chimed in, corroborating the betrayal.

"Shut up," the leader of the thieves chastised.

Chapter 122: Chapter 122 Opportunity_1

Upon hearing that it was Ma Erlang who had instigated these thieves, the villagers immediately burst into an uproar.

"It’s quite possible, haven’t you noticed that no one from the Ma Family has shown up?" Some astute onlookers had already begun to take note.

"Boss, there’s no use protecting Ma Erlang now. That guy has hurt us badly." someone bickered back. "Didn’t you see him baiting us into the trap by claiming he was keeping watch outside? But when things go south, he slips away. Is this his idea of loyalty?" A dispute broke out among the thieves.

Lin Ziyin watched as they bickered amongst themselves. Excellent. Before the authorities even began their interrogation, these guys were already exposing themselves.

"What did Ma Erlang ask you to do?" Lin Ziyin asked.

This time, no one responded to her. Perhaps they felt she was just a woman, and did not give much importance to her.

Without a word, Lin Ziyin picked up the fallen rod and rained down brutal blows on the suspended men.

The sound of the thunderous blows landing on flesh made everyone on the scene shiver uncontrollably.

"You despicable wench, you cold-hearted slut! It serves your Lin Family right to be played!" The man being beaten howled in pain but still attacked verbally.

"Who are you cursing?" Lin Changshu blew his top, charged over and delivered more thunderous blows to the thief’s face.

"Your Lin Family will get your deserved punishment sooner or later, and your entire family will be wiped out!" The thief ranted on.

Lin Ziyin threw down the rod in her hand, reached out arm, and twisted the thief’s arm forcefully. Everyone heard a cracking sound and then saw the thief’s arm unnaturally hanging down.

"Ah," the thief couldn’t help but cry out.

Lin Ziyin remained stoic, and did it again, another cracking sound, and his other arm also looked as if it had been broken.

"My arm, my hand."

"Speak. What did Ma Erlang ask you to do?" Lin Ziyin sternly questioned, keeping her face rigid.

The villagers were shocked by Lin Ziyin’s brutality. Never having imagined her capable of breaking the thief’s arms without batting an eye, scared them involuntarily into stepping back. Many made up their minds to avoid her in the future, never to cross her.

"Got a tough mouth, do you?" Lin Ziyin chuckled coldly, not giving the thief time to react, she moved to another thief and twisted fiercely. The tragedy was repeated, his arm was also broken.

"You don’t have to hit me, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything." This one wasn’t tough. Just losing one arm scared him enough to spill everything, just like pouring beans from a bamboo tube. "Ma Erlang told us that your Lin Family has the techniques for making soybean oil and tofu, which made a lot of money for you. He also said that you offended some important people at the market. Those profitable techniques will be taken from you sooner or later, so he asked us to take the initiative, to snatch those techniques, and also rob the Lin Family’s silver."

Upon hearing this, another wave of discussion erupted among the villagers. Even though they harbored petty-minded thoughts, they were not brutal people at heart. The Lin family were villagers like them, and they didn’t want their fellow villagers bullied by outsiders. Ma Erlang’s betrayal was seen as something utterly unforgivable.

"How can we be sure you are telling the truth?" Lin Ziyin asked, grinning coldly.

"We have evidence. Our boss was afraid that Ma Erlang was lying or would back out if anything happened. So before all this started, Ma Erlang had to put his fingerprint on a contract for us." Seeing his partner had confessed everything, another thief hurriedly chimed in, hoping to curry favor.

"Where is the fingerprint?" Lin Ziyin persisted, great, as long as there was tangible evidence, Ma Erlang’s family couldn’t escape.

"Our boss has it." Figuring that there was no point in lying now that they had confessed, the thief answered Lin Ziyin’s questions straightforwardly.

"Uncle Lou Zheng, what do you think we should do next?" After finishing her questioning, Lin Ziyin looked at Lou Zheng, pushing the remaining matters onto him.

"Go grab a few people and fetch Ma Erlang from his house." There was a traitor in the village and Lou Zheng was very angry at this moment.

The villagers were equally irate. The morals in the Shili Village had always been good, with rarely any cases of pilfering or theft. Although they were a bit poor, the villagers still felt a sense of pride and simplicity in their community. But today, they discovered Ma Erlang, who had committed a great betrayal. Today he could make a move on the Lin Family, tomorrow he could conspire with outsiders to bring harm to the whole village.

As soon as Lou Zheng finished speaking, several people went off to catch Ma Erlang.

Many people left, and they returned quickly. However, there was no sign of Ma Erlang among the people who came back. Instead, Bao and her two crying kids had come.

Lin Ziyin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the others in the Lin Family also showed signs of displeasure.

"Where is Ma Erlang?" Lou Zheng was furious.

"Damnable fools, you guys are just bullying us. What are you trying to do, waking us up in the middle of the night?" Bao started to throw a tantrum as soon as she entered the courtyard.

Lin Ziyin watched coldly, waiting for Lou Zheng to handle the matter.

"Stop wailing," Lou Zheng roared and Bao’s voice quieted down. "Open your eyes and see. These thieves were attracted by Ma Erlang. They all have evidence from Ma Erlang."

Bao cried louder upon hearing the first half but as soon as Lou Zheng mentioned that the thieves had evidence, she immediately opened her eyes wide and could no longer cry.

"Speak, where has Ma Erlang gone?" Lou Zheng glared at her and asked harshly.

"Lou Zheng, I don’t know. That dead man said he was going out to have some drinks with friends, and he never came back. Lou Zheng, it couldn’t possibly be the Lin Family that beat him up and hid him, could it?" Bao quickly tried to turn the tables. "My Erlang is fond of the drink, but is a coward at heart. He wouldn’t dare engage in such dangerous business. It’s clearly the Lin Family colluding with others, trying to frame my Erlang."

After finishing, she started crying again.

Lin Ziyin, hearing her words, had a slight smirk on her lips. She was certain in her heart that Bao had some knowledge of Ma Erlang’s deeds.

"We truly have evidence. Were it not for Ma Erlang inciting us, how would we have known about the Lin Family’s matters?" One of the thieves yelled out.

"Ma Erlang is missing, Ziyin, what do you think we should do next?" Though Lou Zheng was very annoyed with the Ma family, he didn’t want to make a big fuss about a traitor in his village and lose face. Thus, he was rather reluctant to throw Ma Erlang into the government offices.

Chapter 123: Chapter 123 Opportunity_1

"Uncle Lou Zheng, do you think that at this point, Erlang Ma could easily escape?" Lin Ziyin asked with a faint smile.

"These thieves were provoked by Erlang Ma. If we don’t teach him a lesson today, I am afraid we won’t be able to live in peace in the Lin Family hereafter." Lin Changshu wasn’t willing to let Erlang Ma off either.

Lou Zheng sighed quietly, "Tie these thieves well, and detained them in the house at the entrance of the village until dawn, then escort them to the government offices."

"Uncle Lou Zheng, our Erlang is innocent..." Mrs. Bao protested, crying, and made a fuss, asking Lou Zheng to stand up for the Ma family. "Lin Ziyin, Lin Changshu, you are so cruel, you framed our Erlang, you will not die a good death!"

Hearing her foul language, Lin Changshu became furious, but he couldn’t lay a hand on a weak woman, so he just stood aside and blew off steam with Wu Dayou.

"With the government presiding over this, whether Erlang Ma is wronged or not will be determined by the magistrate." Lin Ziyin stared at her with a straight face, "The Lin Family wouldn’t dare to falsely accuse someone in front of all these people, and I don’t think the Lin Family would benefit from doing so?"

Mrs. Bao glared at her in response, "You’re just jealous that our Gouzi has beaten your brother and nephew, you black-hearted beast."

"Who is black-hearted, only they know. If you feel wronged, you can follow these thieves to the government offices tomorrow to proclaim your complaints." Lin Ziyin spoke calmly, "By the way, I heard that whoever plots the crime is considered the mastermind, and they are punished more severely if a life is lost. But it seems no serious harm has been done today, you thieves are lucky. But there must be a mastermind, is it you or him?"

She pointed casually at two of the thieves.

"The idea was Erlang Ma’s. He is the mastermind, and we are just accomplices." The thieves were not stupid. After hearing her words, they quickly blamed all responsibilities on the fugitive Erlang Ma.

"You..." Mrs. Bao, furious at Lin Ziyin’s cunning, jumped up, ready to jump venomously at her.

Lin Ziyin sneered and remained silent.

Neither Lin Changshu nor Wu Dayou would allow Mrs. Bao a chance to harm Lin Ziyin. They immediately stood in front of her.

The villagers saw Lin Ziyin trap Mrs. Bao in just a few words, and they gained a new understanding of her. Of course, they also held some fear towards her in their hearts.

"She is right. If you have any grievances, go to the government offices to speak out." Uncle Lou Zheng was not confused. He thought it was a fair conclusion. Seeing Mrs. Bao’s tantrums, he immediately retracted the tiny sympathy he had had for the Ma Family.

Upon hearing that she was supposed to go to the government offices, Mrs. Bao became scared and immediately shut her mouth, but she glared ferociously at Lin Ziyin.

No matter what kind of gaze it was, it had no effect on Lin Ziyin, so she didn’t even glance at Mrs. Bao, "I’m sorry to have bothered you all this late at night. Let’s do this. Tomorrow, each family could come to ours to claim a pound of tofu as our token of appreciation."

The villagers were immediately delighted upon hearing that there was something to eat.

Lou Zheng wanted to persuade the Lin Family not to spend so much, but when he saw the villagers were joyful, he swallowed his words.

"Alright, everybody go home." Lou Zheng shouted.

All the villagers left with the tied-up thieves, all while discussing in awe and with lively reactions.

"From now on, I will move back home." Once everyone had left, Lin Changshu sighed.

The family’s industry was now thriving, but so was the number of people keeping an eye on the Lin family. If he and Wu Dayou just looked after the workshop, they might give the opportunistic people a chance, so he didn’t trust leaving the house alone.

"Alright." Lin Ziyin nodded, "If Brother Bai and the others are going to stay at the oil press at night, then add more silver."

Lin Changshu nodded in agreement. It’s only just to give more wages to those who work day and night in the workshop.

The next day, Lou Zheng really sent the thieves to the government offices. Soon after, news came out that the offices were issuing a warrant for Erlang Ma.

The Bao Family immediately caused a commotion in the village with their crying, and they also heavily cursed the Lin Family.

Wu Dayou wanted to settle up with Mrs. Bao, but the old man stopped him. The Lin Family closed their front door and continued their own lives.

"Lin Changshu really has no sense of shame, they didn’t injure anyone from their house, but they still managed to bring trouble to the second family." Mrs. Yan grumbled quietly in her house.

"Do not meddle in Uncle’s affairs." Ma Zhicai frowned and said.

"We cannot ignore this." Ma’s eldest son glared at his son, "Although the things the second family did are disgraceful, they are still part of our family. If we don’t care for their weak and young, the villagers will make our lives hell, and our Zhicai’s future scholarly aspirations may also be problematic."

Upon hearing that Ma’s eldest son was going to look after Mrs. Bao’s family, Mrs. Yan was immediately displeased.

They were struggling to survive. And now they are supposed to take care of the second family? Thinking of Mrs. Bao’s frail family, she frowned deeply, "Can we manage to help them now? We have separated from their family long ago and we all live our own lives, why should we handle their problems?"

"Short-sighted." Her husband sneered at her, "If you don’t want what’s best for Zhicai, then keep stirring the pot."

"Mom, it’s not like we are giving all our households items to Uncle’s family, we are just helping them out when they face difficulties." Ma Zhicai also gave Mrs. Yan a glance.

Mrs. Yan usually obeyed her husband and son, so even though she was annoyed that the two men in her family sided with the second family, she didn’t continue to make a fuss.

Lin Changshu did move back to live at home, but Lin Ziyin was still uneasy. The Lin Family’s business was supposed to grow bigger and bigger, and in the future, many people would be keeping an eye on them.

Fortunately, after the incident at the market last time, the so-called noblemen didn’t come to cause trouble again. She thought that the intervention of Ding’an Temple or Si Jinhan may have played a role in this, but even so, Lin Ziyin was still not at ease.

"Grandpa, I plan to buy some servants for our family." At lunch, Lin Ziyin discussed this with her family.

"Why do we need to buy servants? We only have so much work to do at home, why do we need outsiders?" Lin Changshu was the first to object.

"Sister, no need to buy people. You don’t need to take care of the kitchen, and didn’t we hire people for the oil press? Besides, we don’t have much land; why do we need to buy people?" Guo Huiniang also disapproved of purchasing servants.

"What’s the point of you buying people? If there’s anything you need us to do, just tell us." Zige was even more contrary.

She had always lived a hard life, and even though their lives had improved recently, jumping from a poor country girl to a young lady, she was not used to.

Chapter 124: Chapter 124 Opportunity(1)_1

"The workshop is yours, as is this family that you earned. If you wish to buy slaves, go ahead. However, the people you buy are your responsibility, as you deem fit," The old patriarch looked at her deeply but made no objections. "If you fear not having enough hands, hire some more suitable people from the village."

Lin Ziyin pondered over these words from the old patriarch.

"Is there anything you are worried about, grandpa?" Lin Ziyin asked humbly.

"Doing things in a village can’t compare to anywhere else. People within our community, if they aren’t considered during times of prosperity, they will not consider you when you need help, just like when we encountered a thief the other day," the old patriarch spoke slowly while Lin Ziyin listened attentively.

"We definitely need to hire people from the village, just not at the moment. Plus, even if we hire people, I am not planning to share the critical skills associated with the oil mill with outsiders," Lin Ziyin spoke. "As for the people we buy, holding their lives in our hands will make us more accountable and secure. Furthermore, our family assets are hidden. If we don’t have our people involved, it may seem weak."

"As long as you have plans," the old patriarch nodded. He then turned to Lin Changshu. "Ziyin has built houses for you all, and those are yours. As for the rest; the business, the servants, you need not worry, those are all hers."

Lin Changshu and Guo Huiniang quickly agreed.

"Although there are many houses in our family, the places that require manpower are not too many. I suggest we only purchase two, preferably gatekeepers," Lin Changshu said hesitantly.

Lin Ziyin smiled in agreement but had other thoughts in her mind.

With the sale of crude oil, to be honest, she did have some silver at hand. She not only wanted to buy people but also land.

Once the family made agreements, Lin Ziyin decided to take a trip to the city to finalize the purchase.

What she didn’t expect was for a group of people to take the initiative to come to her for selection before she even went to the city.

"Sister-in-law, sister, why is it so noisy outside?" Lin Ziyin came back from the backyard with her two children while washing her hands and asked.

"Ah, it is another batch of death-row prisoners being sent for deployment at the frontier," Guo Huiniang said while sorting beans.

"Death-row prisoners?"

Lin Ziyin asked in confusion. She was quite new to the Lin family and consumed with improving their financial situation and dealing with some troubles, she hadn’t had a chance to learn much about other things.

"It is said that the official in the capital is clueless," Zige whispered, "Consequently, how can his subordinates be competent? Every year, some innocent death row prisoners are sent to the Northern Lands for labor. They eventually die far from home."

"Big sister, keep your voice down." Guo Huiniang cautioned, although Zige’s voice was already low.

Zige and Ziyin smiled knowingly at each other. They knew the rule, Do not discuss political affairs. Zige only spoke because she was at home.

"Let’s go out and take a look." Out of the blue, Lin Ziyin spoke.

"Why suddenly interested in the commotion?" Zige asked while sorting the bad beans.

"It’s rare to have a spectacle in the village, Changting, go and get your grandfather to join us," Ziyin instructed the two children by her side.

"I’ll fetch grandpa." Changting dashed off.

Soon, the old patriarch appeared in the front yard. "You want to see the spectacle?"

"It’s rare to have a spectacle to watch. Let’s go together, grandpa, and leave behind the fieldwork for a while, "Lin Ziyin affectionately held onto his sleeve, not minding that he had just come from the fields.

Chapter 125: Chapter 125 Opportunity(2)_1

"Let me wash my hands first." the old man agreed.

After the old man had washed his hands, Ziyin, holding a child’s hand, followed him out the door, while Zige and Guo Huiniang continued to pick beans at home.

The village was bustling. As the sun was setting in the west, a group of soldiers escorting a large number of convicts stopped. These convicts, both men and women, were quietly sobbing, but no one dared to make a fuss. Irrespective of gender, all their hands were shackled by iron chains, it seemed like there was no chance of escape.

Children over seven or eight years old were lined up, sitting on the ground in terror, motionless.

"Hands off." The escorting soldiers shouted angrily at the weeping women.

"Don’t behave, I’ll whip you to death." A man who appeared to be the leader approached and lashed out at the crowd.

Suddenly, the prisoners burst into chaos, pushing and cursing each other, especially the previously weeping ones, who became the targets of everyone’s venting anger.

"Still making a fuss?" Another whip crackled.

The villagers all drew a breath of cold air. They could clearly see the barbs on the whip and couldn’t imagine the pain if it hit someone. The clothing of those hit by the whip was torn and bleeding ensued.

"Stop it." Seeing that the prisoners being whipped were all weak women, several men became particularly agitated, and the children were also clenching their fists in hatred towards the leader.

"What, you want to fight the military master?" The man became even more ferocious, lashing out with his whip again towards the restless men.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting." The weeping of the women became more intense.

"Tough cookies, aren’t you? If you don’t behave, let’s let you experience it properly." Seeing the villagers watching, the leader became more ruthless and even seemed excited.

What followed was a scene of havoc. Although there were some convicts who resisted, the iron chains handicapped them, and they ended up at a disadvantage.

"Go ahead, make a fuss. I guess you will not live long. If you have the ability, someone will buy you. Did you ever think that the dignified head of the Brave Escort Agency would also end up in such a fate?" The leader laughed aloud as he looked at the people sprawled on the ground.

Only then did Lin Ziyin realize that among this group of men, there were several who were more severely injured.

"Injustice." A few young men mumbled with their eyes closed, and there were a few who remained silent. They might have been so numb from the many injuries sustained along the way.

"Grandfather, can these people be bought and sold?" Lin Ziyin asked after hearing the guard’s words, her mind stirring.

The old man nodded, "They are serious offenders who were originally sent to the border for hard labour. Most of them will not survive. Our Feng City is a part of the Northern Land, where population movement is strictly controlled. Wealthy households needing servants or worn-out horses can select from amongst these people."

Lin Ziyin’s eyes brightened.

"People who have been bought and sold will have marks tattooed on their faces, signifying that they are servants for life, but for them, this might just be a chance to survive." The old man sighed a little.

"Grandfather, I want to buy some people from this group." Lin Ziyin looked at her grandfather and spoke.

"Hmm?" The old man glanced at her, thought for a moment, and said, "That’s fine. It could be seen as giving them a chance to live. But among these people are some who have committed grave crimes. If you choose poorly, it might bring trouble to our household."

He wanted Lin Ziyin to think carefully.

Lin Ziyin nodded, "I understand. That’s why I need grandfather to help me look."

"Alright." The old man hesitated for a moment and then agreed. By doing so, they would be saving several lives, and it could be considered a good deed.