Sixth Master Lin, Lin Kun?

So it was him…

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t surprised to hear this name at all.

“When she saw Master Zhu silently taking out rope and locks, she cursed, ‘Don’t think that just because you kill me, no one will know about his deeds! The Lin family has caused Sixth Madam to miscarry repeatedly, and Sixth Master Lin knows about it, yet pretends ignorance, all just to make the Ren family turn against the main branch of the Lin family, so that when he divides the family property, the Ren family will stand on his side! Bah! Is he even a man? He’s asking you to kill me now, isn’t he killing me to show the chickens and scare the monkeys, wanting to warn my master?”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi was stunned, her face showing bewilderment.

Lin Kun knew that Ren Shijia’s repeated miscarriages were the handiwork of the Lin family’s main branch. How was this possible?

Ren Yaoqi instinctively didn’t want to believe it, because if it were true, it would be too cruel for Ren Shijia.

Moreover, during her recent visits to Ren Shijia’s courtyard, she had seen Lin Kun showing great affection for his newborn child, and this affection didn’t seem fake. So even though she felt Lin Kun was a somewhat complex person and might not be simple, she found it hard to believe that Lin Kun would treat his wife and children’s lives as worthless as grass.

Although Ren Yaoqi was extremely shocked inside, she still suppressed her emotions and continued asking, “Who is the master that Sister-in-Law Wen mentioned?” By this time, Ren Yaoqi already had a guess, but she still wanted confirmation.

Pingguo immediately said, “Master Zhu just sneered and said, ‘You’d better shut up and die. No matter how capable your master is, what can he do to our Sixth Master? After you die, remember to keep your eyes open and see clearly whether he dares to make a sound!'”

Sister-in-Law Wen screamed, “Don’t come over! Why wouldn’t my master dare? My master is at least a sixth-rank court official with unlimited prospects! What does Sixth Master Lin amount to in front of him! If you dare kill me, my master will not let you go!”

Zhu Ruomei remained unmoved: “I’m just following orders. What does your death have to do with me? I’ll take the money and leave.”

Sister-in-Law Wen had a sudden inspiration and immediately said, “Brother, don’t let yourself be fooled! The reason Sixth Master Lin wants to kill me is that I know he conspired against his in-laws and wife to seize the family fortune. I just told you about this matter, too. Do you think he can spare you? When you go back, you probably won’t get the money before being silenced!”

Zhu Ruomei was startled, then sneered, “What do I know? I won’t go out talking nonsense!”

Seeing Zhu Ruomei about to pounce, Sister-in-Law Wen became anxious and said again, “Little brother, I’m not lying to you! My master sent me to assist our young madam. After our young madam learned about the Lin family’s affairs, she wanted to cooperate with Sixth Master Lin for mutual benefit, so our young madam even helped him. Who knew that Sixth Master Lin had such a vicious mind – one face in front, another behind – crossing the river and destroying the bridge. Not only does he refuse to acknowledge past debts, but he also wants to use this method to intimidate my master, telling him not to interfere in the Lin family affairs. Think about it, he’s such a cautious person, how could he feel at ease with you, someone who might also know his secrets? Until the Lin family fortune is in his hands, he won’t rest easy for a single day.”

Seeing Zhu Ruomei’s body pause, seemingly somewhat disturbed by her words, Sister-in-Law Wen secretly observed her surroundings looking for a chance to escape while continuing to exercise her silver tongue, racking her brains to distract Zhu Ruomei’s attention: “The Lin family’s main branch schemed to kill Sixth Master Lin’s mother and caused him to remain childless until nearly thirty. Brother, tell me, isn’t this an irreconcilable hatred? All these years, he’s been careful and submissive in front of the main branch and his in-laws, all for the day he could seize back the family property and avenge his mother! Such a person’s mind is unfathomably deep! But if his use of the Sixth Madam to gain his in-laws’ help to leak out, not only would his in-laws abandon him, but even the main branch would become wary of him, making his success even more difficult. So he definitely won’t allow this matter to leak out. If you kill me, my fate today will be your fate tomorrow!”

It must be said that this Sister-in-Law, Wen, really had some ability. She spoke eloquently all the way, and it was all sensational secret matters. Zhu Ruomei couldn’t help but listen somewhat attentively, though to a large extent he was pretending, but this woman’s tongue was truly formidable.

Sister-in-Law Wen discovered that if she wanted to jump off the donkey cart, she would definitely need to squeeze past Zhu Ruomei, which would be quite difficult. And although the window was right behind her, it wasn’t large enough for a person to fit through.

As she spoke, she was so anxious that cold sweat poured down her entire body, and she almost lost control of her bladder.

Also, because Sister-in-Law Wen was truly afraid, she didn’t notice why an assassin would listen to her say so much nonsense, and why the killing tool was a thick, long rope.

“What benefit would I get from letting you go?” Zhu Ruomei toyed with the rope in his hands, staring fiercely at Sister-in-Law Wen, not giving her too much time to think.

Sister-in-Law Wen was frightened by his vicious gaze and shivered, extremely afraid. Indeed, she had no time to think about what was wrong. However, this person’s words suggested that things weren’t without room for negotiation. Sister-in-Law Wen’s words came out without going through her brain: “There would naturally be benefits! If you don’t kill me, I’ll give you all the valuables on me. I know brother might look down on this small amount of money, but don’t be hasty. As long as you stand up to testify against Sixth Master Lin when my master needs it in the future, my master definitely won’t shortchange you! You should know my master is an official, while Sixth Master Lin is just a powerless clay Buddha in the Lin family. How could he possibly fight against my master?”

“Who can say for sure about future matters? Let’s talk about the present! Your master isn’t in Yanbei right now, is he? Distant water can’t put out a nearby fire. Should I run to Jiangnan to ask him for silver? Do you think I’m stupid?” The fierce light in Zhu Ruomei’s eyes was like a hungry wolf, terrifying to behold. Sister-in-Law Wen became even more convinced this person was a desperado.

“This… how about you let me go back, and I’ll ask our young madam for some silver?”

Zhu Ruomei looked disdainful: “Your so-called young madam is just a concubine, isn’t she? What decisions can she make? If you want me to betray Sixth Master Lin, at least bring someone reliable! Otherwise, when Sixth Master Lin comes to trouble me later, I’ll have nowhere to cry injustice, right?”

Sister-in-Law Wen couldn’t think carefully and immediately said, “Then brother, just wait a bit longer, it won’t be too long! My master’s wife will come to Yanbei in a while. At that time, if you want to seek a position, my madam can make that decision. A person with your abilities being a thief would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? If you follow my master, at least you’d have a good future!”

“Oh? Why is your madam coming to Yanbei?” Zhu Ruomei couldn’t help asking.

But this question brought back some of Sister-in-Law Wen’s lost vigilance, and she couldn’t help showing a suspicious expression.

Zhu Ruomei silently cursed his mistake and immediately swung the rope in his hand, saying impatiently, “Forget it, why should I listen to you woman’s nonsense? After saying so much, it’s all irrelevant, and I don’t even know if it’s true! I might as well kill you and go back to report to Sixth Master Lin!”

When Sister-in-Law Wen saw Zhu Ruomei’s rope loop around her neck in the blink of an eye, how could she have time to be suspicious? She immediately screamed, “I didn’t tell a single lie! Why don’t you spare my life and wait and see? See if my madam will come to Yanbei? Our young madam wrote a letter back to Jiangning a few days ago, asking my master to send his wife to attend Sixth Master Lin’s son’s full moon celebration. Besides giving our young madam face, it’s also because our young madam wants to arrange a good marriage for her daughter. Given my master’s regard for his sister, he will have his wife make this trip!”

Seeing Zhu Ruomei’s rope tight against her neck, needing only a little force to break it, Sister-in-Law Wen coughed while tears and snot flowed as she said, “Cough cough… Moreover, my master might also be assigned to serve as an official in Yanbei in the future. Not just yourself, you must have family and friends in Yanbei, right? Offending my master would cause big trouble!”

Listening to Pingguo’s vivid description of the scene, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help frowning when she heard this: “Fang Yacun’s wife is coming to attend the child’s full moon celebration? Fang Yacun plans to come to Yanbei?”

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but start recalling events from her previous life. In her previous life, Ren Shijia hadn’t given birth at the Ren family home, and Old Madam Ren hadn’t taken her to the full moon celebration, so she had no memory of whether Fang Yacun’s wife had gone to Yunyang City for the full moon celebration.

However, she vaguely remembered that it seemed to be from that time that Concubine Fang became increasingly favored by Old Madam Ren. Even the affairs of their Ziwei Courtyard were eventually handed over to Concubine Fang to manage, with the excuse being that Li Shi was in poor health and needed to focus on properly educating her two daughters.

At the time she didn’t know the reason, but thinking about it now, Old Madam Ren would definitely not be someone who would treat unimportant people well for no reason. She must have received some benefit from Fang Yacun, or been promised future benefits, which made her look favorably upon Concubine Fang.

And Fang Yacun later seemed to have indeed been promoted again and came to Yanbei, though not to Yanzhou, but to some other prefecture not too close to Yanzhou. Even so, Concubine Fang became more confident because she had a natal family member she could maintain contact with.

What this Sister-in-Law Wen said, though perhaps not every sentence was true, at least part of it was truthful.

However, this wasn’t good news for Ren Yaoqi.