flstandardbreds Chapter 30 Ghost Relatives
Chapter 30 Ghost Relatives
The two sisters stood under a jujube tree. Meng Fuqing put down the wooden bucket in her hand and said to Meng Ranran, "Go and find the village chief quickly. If the village chief asks, just say that the people our father offended outside have come to our doorstep."
Meng Ranran felt nervous when she saw the group of servants who seemed to have ill intentions. She had barely uttered the word "okay" when she ran a good distance away. "Sister, wait for me, I'll be right back!"
At the entrance of the Meng family's residence, a servant from the Lin family arrogantly said to Shan Qiyu, "Today we are here to take Miss Fuqing to live in the Lin family mansion. Meng Shaoyuan has already sold your eldest daughter to our Lin family. Our Lin family is large and powerful, and many people would kill for such a good thing. Why don't you hurry up and call her out!"
Shan Qiyu also heard the news of Lin Yuanwai's death and was momentarily confused about what was going on.
However, she stubbornly denied everything, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. I know nothing about this. If you want people, go underground and ask Meng Shaoyuan for them!"
As she was about to close the courtyard gate, she was stopped by one of the Lin family's men.
A middle-aged man in his forties stepped down from the carriage and arrogantly pointed at Shan Qiyu, saying, "Who are you, woman? And where is Meng Fuqing? I advise you to hand her over right now, or you'll see the power of the Lin family!"
"I'm here, what do you want from me?"
Meng Fuqing's voice came from behind everyone, attracting everyone's attention.
The middle-aged man was the steward of the Lin family. He squinted and looked Meng Fuqing up and down, thinking to himself, no wonder Meng Shaoyuan had the confidence to sell his daughter to the Lin family. Apart from the vulgar and worldly air in the portrait, he was not much different.
"You are now a member of the Lin family, so you should come back to the Lin family with me. Miss Meng, please come with me!"
He gave his men a wink, and they immediately surrounded Meng Fuqing, about to seize him, when Shan Qiyu, carrying a carrying pole, rushed out of the courtyard and wildly waved it around among the men.
"Anyone who dares to touch my daughter, I'll fight them to the death! Let's see who dares!"
She was a woman, and although she didn't swing the carrying pole with much force, it still hurt quite a bit when it hit someone. Without the steward's permission, the servants didn't dare to get too close.
Hearing something amiss outside, Yao Shanyun from next door called Jinbao and Ali to go to the fields and call their three sons back.
After the two children ran away, she glanced outside, her eyes darted around, and she took a basin of water out of the courtyard gate and splashed it out, which happened to hit the Lin family steward who was standing at her doorway while trying to avoid the carrying pole.
The butler dodged, but his sleeves and half his body were still soaked, water dripping down his back. He looked at the culprit with a livid face.
Startled by his gaze, Yao Shanyun took a few steps back, dropping the basin she was holding. Realizing what was happening, she preemptively put her hands on her hips and said, "Who are you? What are you doing standing at my doorstep!"
The butler shuddered, instantly enraged. He didn't want to deal with these unruly country bumpkins anymore and roared, "What are you standing there for! Tie them up and take them away!"
The servants were taken aback, thinking that the steward was angry and wanted to teach the woman who splashed water a lesson. So they stopped surrounding the Meng family mother and daughter and instead walked menacingly toward the woman who splashed water.
Yao Shanyun's heart skipped a beat, and she slammed the door shut with a bang.
The steward was furious and kicked each of the approaching servants, yelling, "You idiots! You're all fucking idiots! I told you to tie up that girl surnamed Meng, and you're coming after me? Get her now!"
The servants, having been kicked, turned around like headless flies towards the Meng family mother and daughter...
Before they could even get close to the mother and daughter, the three in front of them were hit on the chest by a carrying pole and fell to the ground, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Meng Fuqing withdrew her hand, patted her mother's shoulder, stepped forward to pick up the carrying pole, lifted one end, and slammed the other end heavily into the chest of a servant rushing towards her, causing another servant to fall to the ground.
The carrying pole seemed weightless in her hands as she swung it around, striking the legs, arms, backs, and chests of the four servants rushing towards her. In just a short while, a total of eight servants from the Lin family were lying on the ground.
Shan Qiyu and Yao Shanyun, who climbed over the wall to peek: ...
The village chief and the Ji family's sons, summoned by Meng Ranran and Meng Ali: ...
Everyone was momentarily stunned. Beating someone up... was it that simple? How could Qing girl knock someone down like it was nothing?
The butler trembled, both from the cold and from fear.
At this moment, he really wished he could dig up Meng Shaoyuan's grave. A scholar raised a daughter who was a martial arts expert, and then sold this plague to his master—as if he was afraid that the Lin family's chaotic inner quarters would not be able to prevent any deaths.
Of course, he only dared to complain in his heart. The master died suddenly in bed a couple of days ago. His death was suspicious. The storeroom in the mansion was also stolen.
The family invited a Taoist priest to perform a ritual. The priest said that they needed to find a virgin to arrange a ghost marriage so that the old man could rest in peace. Fortunately, there was a suitable virgin in Mengjia Village, so they came.
He looked at Meng Fuqing with a dark expression, "Even if this matter goes all the way to the magistrate, you'll still have to come with me today—"
With trembling hands, he pulled a dry piece of paper from his pocket and held it high. "The indenture your father signed on your behalf is in the hands of the Lin family. From the day it was signed, you have been a servant of the Lin family. It is a favor from my master not to tie you up and send you back to the Lin family for so long. You are not only ungrateful, but you also beat and killed a servant of the Lin family. Aren't you afraid that the Lin family will sell you to a brothel?!"
Meng Fuqing hadn't expected Meng Shaoyuan to be so ruthless, actually signing a contract of servitude. She frowned slightly; this was a bit troublesome.
Dan Qiyu was so shocked by the indenture that she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, a woman who was watching the commotion came forward to support her and helped her regain her balance.
"absurd!"
Meng Bochang shouted and stepped forward to the Lin family steward, saying, "Since you say this is a contract of sale, may I take a look at it?"
Good citizens are crucial to tax revenue, and there's no reason why the village chief wouldn't know about someone signing a contract of servitude. Besides, nothing like this has ever happened to his Meng clan before; he has to step forward no matter what.
The Lin family steward withdrew his hand, hiding the contract behind his back. "And who are you?"
"The village chief of Mengjia Village is also the patriarch of the Meng clan, and Qingyatou is a member of my Meng clan. Is this identity sufficient?"
The Lin family steward, however, refused to hand over the contract and threatened and intimidated the magistrate by citing the Lin family's kinship with him.
Meng Bochang and Meng Fuqing exchanged a glance, and they understood what was going on.
Meng Fuqing said, "You said my father had already signed a contract of servitude with the Lin family, which should have been in triplicate. Why didn't I find the contract among my father's belongings? If you don't let me see it, how can I know if it's real or fake?"
The steward hesitated. He knew that Meng Shaoyuan was a notorious good-for-nothing with two great hobbies: drinking and beating his wife. He was not well-liked by the villagers.
They thought that with his reputation, no one would risk offending the Lin family to stop them from taking Meng Fuqing away, but they didn't expect this village chief to be such a busybody.
Without showing the indenture, I probably won't be able to leave, but...
After much deliberation, he showed Meng Fuqing the contract and pointed to Meng Shaoyuan's signature, saying, "Did you see your father's signature? Let's see how you deny it!"
The contract was briefly held in his hand before being taken back.