New and dark light years

Chapter 378 The Jiang Family Joins the Fray, and the Scene in the Capital Changes

Lu Pingchun knelt down in the pool of blood and wailed loudly.

At this moment, a group of soldiers ran in from outside and surrounded him.

"Take him to prison...lock him up for six months. We'll talk about it when Diancang sends someone to pick him up."

At Li Lin's command, several soldiers were about to tie up Lü Pingchun.

At this moment, Lü Pingchun suddenly looked at Li Lin and said with tears streaming down his face, "I have no objection to being imprisoned, but please, County Commandant, let me bury my master."

His eyes were filled with hatred, and tears streamed down his face, yet his expression remained calm.

At this point, Lü Pingchun no longer dared to confront Li Lin.

The extraordinary and beautiful sword strike of Tianjingsha not only killed Luo Jinyan, but also left an indelible impression on Lü Pingchun's heart.

Li Lin shook his head: "No need. The local coroner will bury your master on the barren mountain north of the city and will help erect a simple tombstone. If you want to take his remains back to Diancang Mountain in six months, you can dig up the coffin yourself."

Lü Pingchun hung his head in dejection.

At this moment, Madam He stepped forward and looked at Lü Pingchun with great heartache.

Lu Pingchun turned to look at him, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Juanmei, since you're not going to marry anyone else, can you wait for me for another six months?"

Su Bei, who was standing nearby, snorted when she heard this.

Both Master He and his wife looked very unhappy.

Master He said helplessly, "Young Master Lü, I've never treated your family badly before, and now you're coming here to cause trouble for us. Is this any way to behave?"

“I didn’t mean to harm you. I just wanted to come back to find Juanmei. We had a secret love affair before, and I haven’t forgotten my promise.”

Mrs. He stared at him intently.

“Since you’ve already made a private commitment, why didn’t you say so before?” Li Lin looked at Madam He with dissatisfaction. “You clearly had the opportunity to tell her about it. Su Bei could have chosen another woman to marry. He wouldn’t have forced you.”

He did not speak, but kept her head down and remained silent.

Lu Pingchun, who was already tied up, shouted, "Young Master Paper, why are you making things difficult for a weak woman? She has her father to control her, and that Captain Su is also a military officer. How dare she speak out or resist?"

Li Lin laughed and said, "That sounds nice, but actually you're just unsure if you'll come back to find her. You're looking for a better option while still looking for someone else... Master Lü, why hasn't your second daughter come over yet?"

"I've already sent someone, it'll be done soon."

Li Lin feigned displeasure and snorted, then waved to the soldiers and said, "Take the corpse and this man away through the side gate."

Lu Pingchun was dragged away, but he kept looking at Madam He with tenderness in his eyes.

Mrs. He also stared at him intently.

Li Lin said to Master He, "Take your daughter with you through the side door as well."

Generally speaking, only those who are disliked and looked down upon use the side door.

Master He's face was rather unpleasant, but he dared not say anything.

Firstly, it was indeed the He family's fault, and secondly, Li Lin's status was beyond his reach.

Soon, the unrelated people left, and the courtyard fell silent.

Several servants came over and washed away the bloodstains on the ground.

Li Lin turned his head and asked, "Su Bei, do you have any objections to me asking you to marry the second daughter of the He family?"

"No," Su Bei said with a cupped hand and a smile, "It's all up to Godfather."

Su Bei was only in his early seventeens at the time, so he naturally didn't have much of his own opinion.

Moreover, in his view, he had also come out ahead.

He could marry a more beautiful wife and receive double the dowry.

Li Lin smiled and said, "Then let's do it this way. Go and get ready. Once everyone arrives, we'll reopen the door and continue the wedding. I'll be waiting for you and the bride in the main hall in the backyard to serve tea."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble, godfather." Su Bei smiled happily.

Li Lin then went to the backyard, where only Huang Qing and Madam Su were present, besides a few maids.

As the two were talking, they both stood up when they saw Li Lin enter.

Huang Qing asked, "How is the situation?"

“The He family will exchange their daughter for someone from Subei to marry, and the dowry will be doubled.”

Li Lin sat down.

Madam Su immediately poured him a cup of tea and offered it to him, while asking, "Is the He family willing?"

“They dare not refuse!” Li Lin took a sip of tea and continued.

"That's good." Madam Su breathed a sigh of relief, then said with some concern, "But in this case, the relationship with our in-laws may not be very good in the future."

Huang Qing then pulled Madam Su back to sit down and said with a smile, "Madam Su, you need to get used to your status. Su Bei is already a captain at such a young age, with a bright future ahead of him. In the future, the He family will be begging you, not the other way around."

After thinking for a moment, Madam Su smiled and said, "That's true... We have to thank County Magistrate Li for his help."

Li Lin waved his hand and laughed, "It's also because Su Bei is sensible and promising."

At this moment, the sound of gongs and drums came from the front yard again, and firecrackers went off once more.

Then, a lively chorus of voices could be heard.

It was as if nothing 'strange' had happened before.

After a while of commotion in the front yard, a voice was heard shouting, "Please go to the back yard to pay respects to heaven and earth and meet your parents."

Not long after, a group of people escorted the two newcomers in.

Upon seeing Li Lin and Huang Qing, the excited crowd quieted down a bit.

After all, Li Lin's identity is not ordinary.

Under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, after the newlyweds paid their respects to heaven and earth, they paid their respects to their parents and served tea.

Su Bei took the bride's hand and knelt down in front of Su Shi, bowing three times and kowtowing nine times.

The bride serves the tea.

Su placed the jade bracelet that she had prepared beforehand onto the bride's wrist.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mother." Although the bride's face could not be seen clearly under the veil, her voice revealed that she was very happy.

Then the two newlyweds came before Li Lin and Huang Qing and performed the same three kowtows and nine bows.

Although Li Lin was very young, no one dared to object to his position as an elder.

Then many people envied Su Bei for being able to have such a young and promising man as his godfather.

They even wished that the person worshipping was themselves.

"Godfather, godmother, please have some tea."

The bride knelt down to serve tea to the couple, and Li Lin smiled as he accepted it and took a sip.

Huang Qing then plucked one of the gold hairpins from his head and placed it in the bride's hand.

"This is from your godmother, please take it."

This gold hairpin is very well made. The issue isn't whether it's expensive or not, but whether you can even buy it.

Only high-ranking female officials and their wives were qualified to purchase such gold hairpins from the Gold Manufacturing Bureau.

The bride happily bowed her head in gratitude.

After the bride was escorted to the bridal chamber, Li Lin went to the banquet room and had a few drinks with the guests. Just as he was about to take Huang Qing home, he saw Jiang Jili and Wen Bi walking towards him at the same time.

"Qing'er, you go home first."

Huang Qin bowed slightly to the two people opposite him, then turned and left.

Her sedan chair was outside, escorted by servants, and besides, she herself was quite skilled in martial arts, so her safety was not a problem.

Jiang Jili walked over and said with a smile, "What are your thoughts on becoming an elder at such a young age?"

"It's alright," Li Lin smiled.

Wen Bi also laughed and said, "A talent like Captain Su is indeed worth putting some effort into."

Li Lin looked at the two of them and asked, "Is there something you need from me?"

"Let's talk in private," Jiang Jili said.

The three men went to an empty house next door. Actually, someone lived there, but seeing the three county officials go in, no one dared to go any closer!
Inside the room, Jiang Jili said, "The Huang family in the capital is helping that person in the Cold Palace. Are you involved in this?"

Li Lin looked at him with considerable surprise: "Your Jiang family found out so quickly?"

Jiang Jili said, "Since the Youth-Preserving Pill can be given to the Empress and the Imperial Concubine, could we share some with our family?"

"Does the Jiang family really want to get involved?" Li Lin asked.

Jiang Jili laughed: "Why not... The current emperor doesn't care about affairs, everyone has their own little schemes, and our Jiang family is no exception, is that not surprising?"

Li Lin nodded: "Not surprising."

He then looked at Wen Bi: "So, with the magistrate here, it means you're with the Jiang family?"

Wen Bi gently cupped his hands in greeting: "I'm just asking the Jiang family to treat me to some good food."

"I never expected that the two of you would end up together."

Li Lin shook his head helplessly.

Jiang Jili said, "Kun Ge, don't misunderstand, we have no intention of forming an alliance behind your back."

Wen Bi also said, "I only asked the Jiang family to teach me how to establish myself in officialdom; I didn't mean to target you."

Li Lin smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm not angry about it."

Actually, it's quite normal for the two of them to do this.

The main reason is that Li Lin is 'too amazing'.

He was not only a county magistrate, but also the chief military commander of Jin County.

He keeps moving upwards, and if this continues, the gap between these two and Li Lin will become even more obvious.

At that point, it will be difficult for the two of them to speak to Li Lin.

Uniting together was a last resort.

Seeing that Li Lin was not angry, Jiang Jili said, "The Empress's actions are too... She is unwilling to suffer losses, so the Mu family has actually gone a bit too far recently. Our Jiang family believes that letting Consort You Rong come out of the Cold Palace and continue to fight against the Empress will make our lives much easier."

Li Lin smiled and said, "That's what I thought too. That's why I sent a batch of Youth Preservation Pills to the capital a few days ago."

"How many of these will our Jiang family get in the next batch?"

"One-fifth, I guess."

Jiang Jili breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright... whatever price the Empress Dowager gives you per bottle, we'll add 10% to the price."

"No problem." Li Lin cupped his hands in greeting.

Wen Bi listened silently the whole time.

The conversation between the two men felt 'unreal' to him.

He was just a county magistrate in a small town in southern Xinjiang, but his words and the 'business' he did were related to important people in the capital.

It sounds absurd.

"In two months, I will also send a batch to the Jiang family. Do you still need the Life-Generating Pills?"

"want!"

Li Lin asked, "Does your Jiang family still have enough money?"

They need both youth-preserving pills and vitality-building pills; the cost of these is not insignificant.

Jiang Jili laughed and said, "At worst, we can just sell some of them. There are plenty of rich people in this world."

Li Lin and Jiang Jili both burst into laughter.

An inexplicable murderous aura emanated from the two of them.

Wen Bi felt as if he were seeing two monsters in human skin chatting, which was quite terrifying.

(End of this chapter)