Ch. 216..220: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 216-220

Chapter 216: Chapter 216 Undriven (3)_1

Several villagers who had heard exchanged nods of agreement.

"Miss, haven’t you read the Women’s Conduct?" the glamorous lady smirked at Lin Ziyin.

Her mocking smile suggested that she thought of Lin as a country bumpkin lacking in exposure and education.

"I am but a country girl, unprivileged enough to get an education." Lin Ziyin’s remark sparked laughter in the two ladies of higher status.

"No wonder you attach no value to one’s purity." The younger lady scornfully sneered, not bothering to hide her disdain.

"Could the ladies please listen to our grievances? These two grown men took liberties with my niece and planned to merely walk away. Can I not go to the government offices to report them?" Yan Daniu perked up when he saw respected figures extend their help.

"Please, madams, stand up for our girls." Yan’s wife pleaded on her knees fervently.

Lin Ziyin watched the scene with a stoic expression, pondering over the identities of these two women. They had once tried to seize her tofu recipes at the marketplace, were later suppressed by Si Family and had now strangely surfaced again.

"Fear not, we’re here to step in when injustice is done. I absolutely despise those who misuse their power," the young lady pompously stared at Lin Ziyin and suggested, "Sister, why don’t we play matchmakers and bless these girls with marriages?"

"We’ve just made vows at the temple. Facilitating two marriages might be a way to accumulate virtue." The lady responded with a smile.

Picking up the inference, Yan Daniu, Yan Yun and others understood that these ladies planned to favor Yan family. Despite not understanding their motivations, they knew that not depending on those with power would be foolish.

"I thank you, madam and the young lady, on behalf of my poor nieces." Yan’s wife was the first to kneel down in gratitude, "A girl’s reputation means everything to her. Without your guidance, they would be..." She choked up and couldn’t continue.

Seeing her tearful state, Yan Yun and Yan Liu immediately clung to her and began sobbing.

"According to Daqin’s laws, any man guilty of tarnishing a girl’s purity should be branded and jailed for three years. Even though you rescued the victims, it doesn’t atone for their lost honor. Bringing the girls into your home means adding allies within. Have you thought it through?" The lady smirked at Lin Ziyin provocatively.

"May I ask who you are?" Lin Ziyin was slightly irked. She could tell that escaping from the situation wouldn’t be easy.

"We’re helping you. You don’t need to remember our good deeds," replied the young lady with a cold smirk, withholding her identity.

"I never knew Daqin’s laws were meant to be used like this. May I ask if anybody can meddle with another family’s business?"

"How dare you insult us?" The young lady was instantly triggered by Lin Ziyin’s comment.

"Ziyin." Seeing Lin Ziyin clash with respected figures alarmed Lin Changshu and Guo Huiniang. Zige turned pale with fear.

"Though villagers of Shili Village are citizens of Daqin and subjects of the prince, we’ve never heard of any outsider having the right to enslave us. We can settle disputes at the government offices. Your kindness is appreciated."

The villagers nodded in agreement before Lin Ziyin’s standpoint. Indeed, the stature of the visitors didn’t warrant them the right to force marriages. Even the prince would respect the laws of the Northern Land.

Red with temper, the young lady hissed, "Regardless of your attitude, today, your agreement becomes necessary."

"Are you planning to resort to force, like you did when you tried stealing Lin family’s recipes earlier?" Lin Ziyin retorted with a cold smirk. Some matters can’t be handled merely with fear, especially now when she is no longer an anonymous, helpless villager.

Chapter 217: Chapter 217 Undriven (4)_1

Not to mention that King Ling wouldn’t permit anything to happen to her at the moment; even Ding’an Temple would strictly forbid her to make any mistakes.

Upon hearing this, the villagers were shocked. Everyone was accustomed to the façade of prosperity the Lin Family presented, never knowing that behind the scenes, the Lin Family had been threatened. Recalling Lou Zheng’s heartfelt words to them, and considering why Lin Ziyin urged everyone to train in martial arts, many people finally understood why Lin Ziyin had become so assertive.

"Don’t slander me. No one saw you," said the young lady indignant amid the whispers of the crowd. "No one is trying to steal your prescriptions; we clearly offered to buy them with silver, but you refuse to appreciate the gesture."

"I never dare to forget the lady’s and madam’s words that one needs to stay alive to use the prescriptions and should bear the consequences. I respect both of you as matchmakers, which doesn’t mean I am ungrateful," Lin Ziyin said, her tone suddenly softening.

"It’s best if the young lady can see the larger picture. What’s the point of all this bargaining?" The lady also began to laugh, believing that Lin Ziyin was now afraid.

"However, her becoming the principal wife is absolutely out of the question. As a concubine, barely. Don’t you all agree?" Lin Ziyin loudly asked the villagers.

The villagers didn’t understand what she was angling for, they initially insisted on not letting the Yan ladies into the house, but now they seemed to soften their stance.

Then they observed the noble figure emerging with a fierce look, and it made sense. Perhaps the Lin Family wanted to avoid trouble and sought to pacify the situation. They looked at the Yan sisters on the ground who had stopped crying; no trace of sympathy remained for them.

Lin Ziyin was right; the Yan sisters were not kind-hearted either, how could they force a marriage? To become the principal wife, even when neither Hui- Niang nor Zige had committed any errors.

"Do you agree to be concubines?" Lin Ziyin asked the sisters on the ground softly. Compared to their initial firmness, their attitude had softened considerably.

Happiness came so swiftly that Yan Yun and Yan Liu were surprised and at a loss for words. They looked at each other, nodded continuously and a shy smile slowly spread across their faces.

"Ziyin!" Zige stomped her foot in anger.

"I don’t agree!" Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou uttered together, glaring fiercely at the sisters on the ground.

But Yan Daniu did not care for their opinions, knowing that his daughters would ascend to a higher status. Seeing the cargo carriages coming and going at the Lin Family’s gate, he had no worries about them providing him with silver in the future once his daughters had entered the grand doors of the Lin Family.

Yan’s mother was also pleased, considering her own son’s intention to marry Lin Zige as the Lin Family marrying beneath them. Since Lin Zige was unwilling to marry Zhicai, the Ma Family couldn’t be blamed for being unjust towards her. Once her nieces entered the Lin Family, she was certain Lin Ziyin would have to connect with her own son.

"Let’s follow Ziyin’s decision." The old master who was about to leave didn’t, instead, he had been observing the developments closely.

Only he, among the Lin Family, did not object to Lin Ziyin’s decision.

"Grandfather." Both Lin Changshu and Lin Zige were on the verge of tears. But there was nothing they could do, they had to comply with the old master’s orders.

Those who felt betrayed stood in the corner, fiercely glaring at the two sisters.

Yan Yun and Yan Liu felt the disdain and anger directed towards them, but both sisters chose to ignore it.

"The old master is indeed wise. Don’t worry, in the future, these two girls will ensure the prosperity of both the Lin and Wu families," Yan Daniu said triumphantly.

"Bah, who cares!" The Zhang family members spat at him.

Yan Daniu was unfazed by their scorn; he wore a wide smile that radiated happiness.

"Since they are to be concubines, each will receive two taels of silver. This should be enough for the countryside, right?" Lin Ziyin asked with a gentle smile.

Chapter 218: Chapter 218 Undriven (5)_1

"Nonsense, you think a couple of girls are as common as the grass that grows on the ground. Silver, two taels, that’s hardly enough to get stuck in your teeth!" Yan Daniu grumbled as soon as silver was mentioned.

He was indebted to the gambling den for several taels of silver. The Lin Family was willing to give only two taels for taking two of his daughters. It would have been better to sell his daughters to a brothel.

"Only two taels of silver were spent when Big Brother married his wife, do you think taking a concubine would cost more than that?" Lin Ziyin sneered at the so-called nobleman with a mocking tone in his voice. "What do you think, madam?"

The noble lady was annoyed when she found herself on the receiving end of another difficult question. A country bumpkin actually had the nerve to set traps for her at every turn.

"Times have changed." The young girl’s face was overcast with gloom as she glared at Lin Ziyin with complete hostility. She’d never encountered anyone who dared to be so disrespectful to her before. This country girl, bolstered by her connections with the Prince, was completely outrageous. She decided to teach Lin Ziyin a lesson, "Since your family is in business, finding some silver should not be a problem."

On hearing this, Yan Daniu’s eyes brightened up. He cackled to himself, grateful to his ancestors for his chance encounter with the rich.

The villagers may have been simple-minded, but they could see the so-called nobleman’s hostility towards the Lin family. Everyone was reluctant to offend the noble lady. Most of the village sided with the Lin family, but no one dared to speak out. Even Lou Zheng kept silent at Lin Ziyin’s discreet suggestion.

"Of course, I have the silver, but I refuse to pay. What will you do about it? There’s a way we do things here in the country and I don’t want to break our rules. I won’t let a concubine who hasn’t even stepped into our house to start throwing her weight around. My sister-in-law hasn’t done anything wrong, I, as the head of the household, will not let her be humiliated." Lin Ziyin mockingly stared at the noble lady, waiting to see her next move.

"You’re shameless." The girl could not hold herself back any longer. She unhitched a whip from her waist and lashed it at Lin Ziyin.

"Ah!" The villagers gasped in surprise. How could she suddenly attack someone without any provocation?

But the whip did not land on Lin Ziyin. Instead, it was caught firmly by Jue Ming.

Jue Ming’s eyes were filled with coldness as he looked at the girl as if she were already dead.

The girl, unafraid of his murderous intentions, struggled to retrieve her whip. Despite exerting all her strength, Jue Ming did not budge an inch, leaving a flush on her face from the exertion.

"How dare you, do you know who I am?" She angrily shouted at Lin Ziyin as she continued to struggle with the whip.

"If you don’t know who you are, how am I supposed to know?" Lin Ziyin retorted coldly.

"Wretch, you’ve got some nerve. Our young lady is the cousin of the Prince." A serving girl rushed over to help the young lady yank the whip away.

The noble lady sneered at Lin Ziyin upon hearing this, expecting her to start begging for mercy.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ziyin just laughed lightly upon hearing this, "You two are so ’low-key’. I was scratching my head over how to deliver a gift of thanks to the noble woman. Now it seems I know how I can get the gifts to the residence."

"We don’t need your false kindness. Even if you give us the entire Lin Family household as a gift, our young lady wouldn’t want it. Let him release the whip now!" The girl shouted as she pulled with all her might, but unfortunately, Jue Ming didn’t loosen his grip.

Seeing this, a guard drew his sword and rushed forward, ready to rescue the young lady.

Jue Hui and others immediately shielded Lin Ziyin and the other masters. Tensions ran high as both sides were ready for a showdown.

"What a coincidence Lord, we arrived right in the middle of an exciting scene. Shili Village is proving to be very lively." At this critical juncture, Si Jinhan, known for his treacherous smile, appeared in the crowd. Standing next to him was the indifferent Chu Suifeng.

 

Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Undriven (6)_1

"Greetings, my lord," said the lady, her eyes flickering as she hastily went over to bow.

Upon seeing Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan, the young girl’s face changed. She didn’t bother with the whip in her hand and let go of it, turning around and taking a few steps before kneeling before Chu Suifeng, "Yanran greets cousin."

"My lord has quite a formidable cousin," teased Si Jinhan, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

At this moment, Li Yanyan couldn’t share in the amusement, given that she knew all too well Chu Suifeng’s character.

Although Chu Suifeng was the lord of Feng City, his personality was always low-key. He detested those who exploited his status to cause mischief. Unfortunately, she was caught in the act today.

This was all Lin Ziyin’s fault – if it weren’t for her, how would the Prince have seen her in such a state?

Mrs. Yu smiled politely, her heart fluttering anxiously. She intended to discuss some business with Lin Ziyin today, hoping to take a slice of the Lin Family’s prosperous business. The Lin Family’s business was so booming that it piqued her interest. She heard that their peanut oil and soybean oil had sold beyond Feng City, taken to various provinces by merchants, it was even recognized by the Tatars.

The Lin Family wasn’t like it used to be, with the support of the Prince and Ding’an Temple, they could not be plundered. But given the status of the Li Family, it should not be a problem to get a share of profits from the Lin Family.

Pity that her young sister-in-law is too petulant, picking a fight with Lin Ziyin over baseless jealousy.

Although she believed her sister-in-law wasn’t sensible, as a member of the Li Family, she had to side with Li Yanran. Of course, she also had her interests. She wanted to put Lin Ziyin in her place through Li Yanran, aiming to maximize profits in the business discussions.

But she never expected Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan to appear in Shili Village. Didn’t their spy say that the Prince and Si Jinhan would not show up at Lin Family?

"Little girl, what gift do you plan to send to Li Residence?" Si Jinhan was familiar with Li Yanran and Mrs. Yu. Therefore, he was quite indifferent to these two women. If it weren’t for saving face for Chu Suifeng, he would have dealt with Li Yanran and Mrs. Yu long ago.

What a pity, since the Prince is still alive, he had to act accordingly. However, simply sparing Li Yanran and Mrs. Yu freely upset him greatly.

Just as Si Jinhan’s discontentment was rising, he glanced at Lin Ziyin, who was standing aside with a straight face. An idea came to his mind.

Your enemy’s enemy is your friend. It looked like the little girl had a backup plan for dealing with Li Yanran and Mrs. Yu, so he decided to add fuel to the flames. "Tell me what it is, so I can help you make a decision," he prompted.

"A gentleman friend doesn’t take without giving in return. Since this lady and Miss have kindly provided a match for the Lin Family. I can’t shortchange the lady. Although the young lady is not out of the pavilion, and the gift can’t be sent out temporarily, I can keep it and send it when it is feasible." Lin Ziyin’s words were obscure.

Si Jinhan seemed to have found a kindred spirit on hearing this, "Little girl, you still haven’t told me what gift you plan to send?"

"I plan to let my family servants find some beautiful women for the Li Residence and tell them that they can enter the Li Residence and serve as sisters to the lady as long as they scar their chastity. I believe that the Residence will certainly be lively at that point, and surely this lady’s husband will praise her wisdom," replied Lin Ziyin indifferently. "I hope Miss Li can also accept this gift from the Lin Family soon."

"You dare?!" Li Yanran was furious. She was not married yet, and Lin Ziyin was already plotting to find concubines for her future husband. Such a shameless, despicable woman!

Hearing this, Mrs. Yu became even more infuriated with Lin Ziyin. If things went as Lin Ziyin said, she would certainly be in a bad position in the Residence. Although her husband was a womanizer, he dared not seek women of doubtful character. If Lin Ziyin brought such women to make a scene in front of Li Residence, the first one to be blamed would certainly be her.

Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Undriven (7)_1

Such a scoundrel! Every villager was looking at Lin Ziyin with admiration and awe. The young lady of the Lin Family had truly changed her disposition; she was even bold enough to provoke the royal prince’s in-laws. Highly commendable!

Savoring the pallid complexion of Madam Yu and the infuriated expression on Li Yanran’s face, Si Jinhan roared with laughter, pleased to see all his displeasure vanishing. "Little Miss, excellent idea. If you can’t find a suitable choice, I’ll help you find one."

Clear enough, the easygoing gentleman opted to assist Lin Ziyin.

"Master Si, Miss Lin might merely be jesting," Madam Yu quickly replied with a relaxed tone, smirking, afraid that Si Jinhan might actually meddle.

"I never joke with unfamiliar folks. Having received such a significant gift from the Madam and little Miss Li, I have to reciprocate it, or else I can’t justify the Madam’s favor upon me. Though I might be rather uncouth, I wish to emulate the Madam and little Miss’s elegance. I might not excel at other things, but I think I’m quite capable of doing such good deeds," Lin Ziyin replied with a slow and composed smile. "Does the Prince agree with me?"

"Very well," replied Chu Suifeng, indifferently. "Since the Third Master has agreed to your request, he will certainly look out for you."

"Cousin?" pleaded Li Yanran with a pitiful look towards him.

Madam Yu looked even more pale and embarrassed as she glanced at him. Knowing that Chu Suifeng was genuinely furious, she didn’t dare to plead for Chu Suifeng’s mercy.

If it weren’t for Si Jinhan and Chu Suifeng’s intervention, no matter what Lin Ziyin planned against the Li Residence, she would have ensured that Lin Ziyin ended up dead without a proper burial. But with their backing, no matter how outrageous the acts of Lin Ziyin were, she had no means of retaliating.

Distressed, sorrowful, worried.... all kinds of complex emotions surged up in the heart of Madam Yu.

"Thanks for the support of the Prince and Third Master," Lin Ziyin expressed her gratitude with a bow.

"Little Miss, I’ve helped you enormously, so how do you plan to compensate for my hard work?" Si Jinhan jested with her.

"It seems that the Third Master is indeed dog-like," Lin Ziyin retorted with a faint smile. "I was planning to propose a business to the Third Master and the Prince, but it seems that both of you have taken the initiative."

Si Jinhan was about to burst out in anger due to her insult, but was immediately silenced by the next sentence she uttered.

"If you don’t express enough sincerity, be careful of your head being chopped off. " True to the saying that the homer sometimes nods, Si Jinhan was certainly influenced once he heard there were benefits to be gained. Although raging from within, he swallowed his anger.

Madam Yu was once again shocked. Her original intention was to collaborate with Lin Ziyin, but her impatience resulted in her attempts to suppress Lin Ziyin, which instead ended with her being full of frustration without gaining anything.

"Miss Lin, can you spare some more silver for their elder sister and their sister-in-law?" Yan Daniu, sensing that the situation was off, laughed awkwardly and pleaded.

"Two six-tael silver bars, not more than that," Lin Ziyin responded coldly. "However, once they receive the silver, they belong to our Lin Family, and you have no rights concerning them anymore. If you refuse, you’re free to do as you please."

Yan Daniu isn’t blind, he had noticed that the dependable Prince and the Si’s Third Master were siding with Lin Ziyin. Weighing that in his mind, he thought that as long as his daughters had a foothold in the Lin Family, he had nothing to worry about in the future. So, he accepted, saying, "Alright. Six taels each, but you should come to fetch them soon."

"Get lost," Wu Dayou felt an urge to kick him.

But Yan Daniu was standing too far away, completely indifferent to his rage.

Yan Liu and Yan Yun got what they wanted, their faces were flushed with modest smiles and joy.

The only one who sensed something amiss was Madam Yan. Given Lin Ziyin’s temperament, she didn’t believe that things would be sorted out so easily. How could she stand by and watch while Guo Huiniang and Zige were mistreated?

With suspicion, she asked nervously, "Lin Ziyin, when are you planning on letting the two ladies move in?"

"Move in? I’ll just have someone take them directly to the dentist to sell them off tomorrow," Lin Ziyin impatiently replied.

"You dare to sell my daughters?" Yan Daniu blurted, his hair standing on end.

"Why wouldn’t I dare?" Lin Ziyin asked with a bright smile. "As long as you take my silver, they will become the concubines of my brother and brother-in-law. According to our imperial laws, I can sell my sisters-in-law and sisters at will. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Prince or the Third Master."

Upon hearing this, Yan Liu and Yan Yun were dumbfounded as if they were struck by lightning. Lin Ziyin was ruthlessly cunning; they never anticipated that, despite all their efforts, they might be sold by the Lin family even before moving in.

Guo Huiniang and Zige, who had been seething with anger, felt a sense of invigoration as they observed their flustered reactions.

Yan Daniu was at a loss for words, he protested, "You’re talking nonsense, they haven’t even moved in yet, how can you sell them?"