Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 360 Those who respect others will always be respected.

"Show weakness? The Minister of Justice used to be very cautious, and now he's even less friendly to the Lin family. Showing weakness is useless." Lin Congli shook his head in disapproval.

Lin Shi'an, however, felt that Lin Zhiqing's thoughts were not so simple: "Uncle, Zhiqing's show of weakness is probably not that simple."

“That’s right.” Lin Zhiqing nodded. “I’m laying the groundwork.”

The setup before unleashing a powerful attack.

"What?" This time, even Lin Shi'an didn't understand.

Lin Zhiqing smiled slightly, a sly glint in her eyes, and spoke again: "Simply put, it's about planting a seed in his heart."

“I have been hinting that the Zhenyuan Marquis’s Mansion will deal with him. No matter what he thought before, he will now be on guard against the Zhenyuan Marquis’s Mansion.”

"They are more defensive towards the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence, so they naturally don't care as much about the Lin family."

"Don't care about the Lin family? What's the use of that?" Lin Congli was still somewhat puzzled.

Lin Zhiqing explained earnestly:
"Uncle, when a major event occurs, people tend to focus on a relatively powerful individual and ignore other relatively weak individuals."

"For example, on the battlefield, why do enemies often try to capture the leader first, trying to control the enemy's general?"

Lin Shi'an, well-versed in military strategy, was the first to answer: "It's because the general plays a leading role in the overall situation."

Lin Zhiqing nodded:
"Yes, that is indeed the superficial reason. The fundamental reason is that no one pays attention to nobodies. Everyone only focuses their attention on the person who poses the greatest threat to them."

Lin Congli squinted, understanding Lin Zhiqing's meaning:
"You mean to say that, for the Minister of Justice, your show of weakness will make him feel that the greatest threat he faces is the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion, thus causing him to overlook the Lin family."

“That’s right. Ignoring the Lin family will make it easier for me to proceed.” Lin Zhiqing clearly had a plan in mind.

Lin Shi'an and Lin Congli exchanged a glance and asked no further questions.

There are some things that Lin Zhiqing will naturally say when she wants to say them, and if she doesn't say them, there must be a reason for it.

However, Lin Shi'an understood the general meaning, but he wanted to confirm it again:
"Zhiqing, are you trying to bring the Minister of Justice to the Lin family's side?"

"That's only half true," Lin Zhiqing replied.

"To be more precise, I want to pull him away from the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion. Whether he sides with the Lin family or not is not important."

This time, Lin Shi'an and Lin Congli understood what she meant.

Seeing that the two understood, Lin Zhiqing asked, "Cousin, Uncle, do you know anything about the son of the Minister of Justice?"

This is why they plan to start with the son of the Minister of Justice.

Lin Shi'an had a guess in his mind, and said:

"This person went to the border region when he was young, but did not make a name for himself. After returning to the capital, he kept a low profile, turned to literature, and enjoyed attending poetry gatherings."

“I did meet him once before. He seemed like a refined gentleman and didn’t look down on me at all.”

After listening to Lin Shi'an's words, Lin Zhiqing understood the situation.

These things were similar to what she had discovered, which showed how well this person had hidden himself.

However, this also shows that the Minister of Justice must have given his son a lot of advice.

After all, if anything else goes wrong, the Minister of Justice will be unable to escape the control of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion.

However, Lin Zhiqing always felt that the son of the Minister of Justice would not be so well-behaved; after all, a leopard can't change its spots.

She must find an opportunity to investigate carefully.

As they pondered this, they soon arrived at the residence of the Imperial Censor.

Unlike the other two, this was Lin Zhiqing's first time meeting the Censor-in-Chief.

Previously, she had only heard of the name of Wang Yuan, the Imperial Censor. Lin Zhiqing had been keeping an eye on this person, after all, the former Imperial Censor was the one who directly presented evidence of Lin Congrong's treason, making him the culprit behind the Lin family's downfall.

His student, Wang Yuan, was naturally also an object of Lin Zhiqing's observation.

Moreover, this observation was second only to that of the Marquis of Zhenyuan.

However, even though Lin Zhiqing tried every means to collect information, he could not find any trace of Wang Yuan's dealings with the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion on the surface.

Furthermore, Wang Yuan had consistently opposed the retrial of Lin Congrong's case.

Even when Marquis Jiang Yunhe of Zhenyuan personally requested permission, he did not change his mind.

Lin Zhiqing had good reason to suspect that this person had no intention of clearing the Lin family's name.

With these thoughts in mind, when the carriage stopped outside Wang Yuan's residence, Lin Zhiqing got out and carefully observed the external environment of Wang Yuan's residence.

The first impression this mansion gives is that it's small, even smaller than the Lin family's.

However, since the Lin family holds the title of Marquis, it's not a problem for their mansion to be large.

Just as Lin Zhiqing was observing, a servant from the Lin family came up and knocked on the door.

Not long after, the doorman came out and looked at Lin Zhiqing: "Miss Lin, my master has caught a cold and is not fit to receive guests. Please leave."

After saying that, he turned back without waiting for the Lin family to say anything more.

With a bang, the door slammed shut.

After being turned away, Lin Shi'an and Lin Congli both frowned.

Lin Congli, in particular, behaved extremely rudely and showed no respect for guests whatsoever.

Lin Zhiqing remained calm about this: "In that case, let's go back."

"The Lin family has already fulfilled all the proper etiquette. As for what happens to the others, that is not our concern."

Since Lin Zhiqing had already said that, Lin Congli and Lin Shi'an naturally wouldn't say anything more.

After getting into the carriage, Lin Congli was still somewhat annoyed:
"I've never seen an official act like this before. He's openly showing his dislike for the Lin family. It's incredibly rude!"

Lin Zhiqing knew that Lin Congli was upset because of the humiliation suffered by the Lin family, so she offered a word of comfort:
"Uncle, how others treat us is their business. Our Lin family only needs to take care of ourselves and stand tall, and that's not shameful."

"Moreover, the people in the Censorate have always disliked the Lin family."

"After my affair with my cousin came to light, the stuttering censor who came to our residence didn't give us a friendly look either."

“Those are people Wang Yuan brought out, so naturally they're on Wang Yuan's side.” Lin Congli's chest heaved slightly.

"Looking back now, I realize that all that groveling and fawning over them didn't earn me a single kind word in return. What was the point?"

My uncle has actually come to this realization now?

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiqing and Lin Shi'an exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat surprised, they were mostly gratified.

Lin Zhiqing smiled and said, "Uncle, what happened before is long gone. It's a good thing that you have this idea now."

"Those who respect others will always be respected; those who value others will always be valued."

“If he doesn’t respect you, you don’t need to go to great lengths to please him. The troubles of the Lin family cannot be solved by pleasing one person.”

If Lin Congli had heard these words before, he would have found the word "flattery" extremely grating.

But now, after experiencing so much, he knows very well that Lin Zhiqing is right.

Lin Zhiqing is the most insightful person in the Lin family.