Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 98 - 93: Sis-in-law Entrusts Herself to You
Suddenly, Mrs. Lin Wu slapped herself twice, then fell to her knees, "Father, Mother, Sister-in-law, Brother, Shanzi, Sister-in-law, Tingfan, I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I dragged you into this."
"Shanzi, divorce me."
If she was divorced, the gambling house and her brother would have no reason to trouble the Lin Family.
An’er, staying with the Lin Family, would surely not be mistreated.
After a whole day’s running, Lin Shan was a bit tired. Hearing this, without thinking, he said, "I won’t divorce my wife."
Immediately, Lin Han sternly reprimanded, "The Lin Family has never divorced a wife."
"This matter will be resolved by the family, don’t worry too much, I refuse to believe there’s no justice left." He said with some anger at the end.
Li Guifen chimed in, gritting her teeth, "Second son’s wife, don’t overthink, even if the family ends up paying everything, as long as we all stay healthy, that’s more important. At worst, we’ll just live a bit poorer."
"Father, Mother, I’m sorry..." Mrs. Lin Wu collapsed into Lin Shan’s arms, sobbing. If there was any other way, she would never have wanted the Lin Family to divorce her.
Being a daughter-in-law in the Lin Family was better than being a daughter.
The Lin Family felt bitter, and Lin Sheng spoke up, "Second brother, over the years, your sister-in-law and I saved five or six taels of silver, later I’ll have your sister-in-law give it to you for emergencies."
The always frugal Mrs. Lin Xu nodded, at times like this, money was a small matter, the children were the priority, "I’ll get it for you right away."
Lin Shan couldn’t refuse, they were indeed short on money, but he still felt uneasy, "Thank you, big brother, sister-in-law, I’ll definitely pay you back in a couple of years."
"No rush." Lin Sheng shook his head.
At this moment, a woman’s voice interjected, "Don’t give the money just yet, if you give it too easily this time, there’ll be a next time."
Everyone immediately turned to the young woman next to the teenager, Lin Shan murmured, "There’s no other way."
They couldn’t completely cut off ties with the wife’s family; the in-laws had treated them decently, occasionally slipping them things.
This time, with the situation at hand, they were angry too, but there was nothing they could do.
Moreover, the wife’s brother had injured his head, and although he had awakened, the doctor said it was serious and needed a long time to recover.
This matter had ensnared the Lin Family no matter how one looked at it.
Lin Qiao explained, "Second brother, second sister-in-law injured someone, so compensating with money is necessary, but it’s also because her brother brought people from the gambling house to cause trouble, so it’s not entirely her fault."
The issue was indeed with the fight; compensation was certain, but not directly paying Wu Qiang’s gambling debts. Otherwise, if Wu Qiang gambled again, the Lin Family would be taken for fools.
She paused, "Second brother, report to the authorities."
Mrs. Lin Wu sobbed and replied, "The gambling house people say they have a relative who’s a county magistrate; reporting won’t do any good."
"What does the gambling house’s relationship with the county magistrate have to do with us? Second sister-in-law, you’re to report your brother."
Lin Qiao continued, "Report him for leading people to illegally enter a private home. As for the fight, you accidentally injured him in helplessness."
"In such cases, you’ll compensate with medical expenses, but as for your brother, he’d get punished. However, as he’s injured, the county magistrate probably wouldn’t punish him, which should reduce what you have to pay in medical expenses."
"This way, you’re paying for the medical bills, and however he uses the compensation is no longer your concern."
If she were Mrs. Lin Wu, she wouldn’t reduce the medical expenses; she’d want Wu Qiang to get a good beating to learn a lesson.
The Lin Family pondered for a moment, their expressions brightening slightly, and Lin Han affirmed, "We’ll do as the daughter says, we can’t take this injustice lying down."
Li Guifen thought further, who would think what if they sue the second son’s wife’s brother? How would the in-laws react?
She hesitated, "But the second son’s wife’s family..."
Before she could finish, Mrs. Lin Wu interrupted, her eyes red, "Mother, even if my parents are displeased, I still must report to the authorities; my brother is incorrigible."
"We’ll head to the county now."
Lin Qiaoxin was quite satisfied with the Lin Family, fortunately, no one was soft-hearted; if they were, there would be no end to this injustice.
"Second sister-in-law, it’s not enough yet."
Seeing the Lin Family quiet down again, she explained, "To report, you’ll need a formal complaint, and you’ll need Mr. Cheng to write it."
She paused, looked at Mrs. Lin Wu again, "Second sister-in-law, leave your hair uncombed, go to the county in the worst state possible, and insist that the injury was accidental."
So that people would instantly believe it was accidental.
She accidentally caught sight of Song Tingfan staring at her dumbfoundedly, feeling a bit guilty.
The Lin Family understood her intention, playing the victim. Mrs. Lin Wu raised her hand and messed up her hair violently, Lin Qiao: "..."
This looked nothing like an unkempt state; others would just think she was a sloppy country woman.
A crazy woman.
Not only did she think so, but next to her, Song Tingfan cautiously said, "Second sister-in-law, it looks a bit off."
The others nodded.
Mrs. Lin Wu thought she hadn’t messed it up enough, so she continued fussing with it, but Lin Qiao couldn’t stand it anymore, stepped in to help, leaving only a few strands on each side and her forehead, "Second sister-in-law, too messy is not good either."
"Second sister-in-law, you’re frightened to report this, and it’s only out of necessity."
Seeing her confused look, Lin Qiao sighed endlessly, she couldn’t even act.
"Second sister-in-law, being scared is normal, but you must still present your grievances."
"Sister-in-law, how should I say it?" Mrs. Lin Wu, with swollen eyes, looked at her, seemingly trusting her completely.
Lin Qiao: "..."
She glanced at the antagonist, then steeled herself, eyes tear-filled, voice slightly choked, "Honorable county magistrate, this woman is the second daughter-in-law of the Lin Family in Xingyu Village, Wu Guihua, and I wish to report my brother from my maiden family, Wu Qiang."
"Yesterday, Wu Qiang brought a group of strong men to break into my in-law’s home, demanding money, more than twenty taels, which this woman couldn’t produce."
"When they saw no money was forthcoming, they smashed things in the house, this woman and her family tried to stop them, but couldn’t, and everything was broken."
"Who knew after smashing things they still weren’t satisfied, they wanted to take this woman’s child, but how could this woman let them? In the struggle, Wu Qiang got hurt accidentally."
"Honorable county magistrate, this woman is willing to pay for the medical expenses, whatever the cost, but only asks for justice."
At the end, her tears slid down her cheeks, her voice lightly choked, as if wronged beyond measure.
Soon, she returned to normal, wiping her tears seriously, "Second sister-in-law, just follow what I did."
The Lin Family and Song Tingfan stared blankly for a while, then snapped back to reality, Mrs. Lin Wu, looking like she hadn’t caught on, hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, please say it again, I didn’t remember."
Lin Qiao: "..."
...
With the complaint from Cheng Sheng, Lin Han, Mrs. Lin Xu, and Lin Shan and his wife took the Zhou Family’s donkey cart to the county under the cover of darkness.
Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan stayed with Li Guifen and the others for a while longer. It was already late when they left the Lin Family, the night so dark the path was indiscernible.
Song Tingfan looked at Lin Qiao beside him, with a hint of unease in his voice, "Sister-in-law, shall I guide you?"
In the darkness, Lin Qiao looked ahead into total blackness, reached out to the side, took his hand with a bit of a joke, "Little brother-in-law, sister-in-law is entrusting herself to you, walk steady."
