A Series of Twists and Turns-How Many Turns?

Among the crowd.

Lin Chen's gaze sharpened. He took one step forward, frightening First Aunt into retreating several paces.

"Lin Chen, you... what are you trying to do?"

"What is First Aunt afraid of? You're my elder. How could your nephew fail to understand seniority and hierarchy?"

Lin Chen's words let First Aunt breathe a sigh of relief. "Since you understand, then..."

"Since First Aunt has already put things this far, there are also some words I can't hold back any longer." Lin Chen's gaze swept over his grandfather, Lin Chaoyang, without the slightest pause. To him, this old man was now no more than a stranger.

The old man's loneliness only made Lin Chen feel a savage satisfaction.

"When Lin Ming entered the Martial Hall, the family gave him two strings of coins every month. Every ten days or half a month, First Aunt, you would take eggs and eels caught at home to the Martial Hall to nourish Lin Ming. During the half year I spent in the Martial Hall, the family never once asked about me or gave me anything. We're both grandsons, so why was I treated so differently?"

First Aunt's lips moved. She wanted to argue, but had no grounds to do so, because Lin Chen was speaking the truth.

"It wasn't easy for the family to support Lin Ming's martial training. I knew that, so I even agreed with Grandfather that if I could pass the academy's six-month assessment, the family would then pay to support my martial training."

"Because I had no money, I couldn't afford meat in the Martial Hall and was mocked by the other trainees. Gu Fei and two other villagers can testify to that."

"After finally passing the Martial Hall's assessment, how did Grandfather repay me?"

Mockery showed on Lin Chen's face. "He brushed it off with a single 'There's no money.' My mother suggested borrowing some, but he refused. I actually thought he was afraid the family couldn't repay the debt. Who would have thought he wanted to keep the valuable Land Deed so he could borrow money for Lin Ming?"

"I could endure the humiliation from outsiders, but I can't accept being stabbed in the back by my own family."

"With a grandfather like this, how could I acknowledge him? From the night we separated the households, our family and yours became two separate families."

Every word struck the heart; every sentence pressed for an answer.

First Aunt's face went pale, and she didn't dare meet Lin Chen's eyes.

The villagers looked at Lin Chen with sympathy. They knew Lin Chaoyang was partial, but they hadn't expected him to be partial to such an extent.

Weren't they both his grandsons?

The younger grandson had promise, so he should have let the younger grandson study martial arts.

Seeing the sympathy in the villagers' eyes, Lin Chen wasn't surprised. Half the reason he had said all this was because he had held these words in for too long. If he didn't spit them out, he would never feel at ease.

The other half was that he had deliberately said it for the villagers to hear. His family had no ties left with his grandfather, and he, Lin Chen, would never acknowledge this grandfather.

He had cultivated Essence Energy. If he didn't make things clear, who knew whether Grandfather and First Aunt would once again use his name to scheme behind his back?

"If you don't want the ancestral fields to pass out of the family, then bring out the Land Deed. Second Uncle's family and ours can pool the money together. Or does Grandfather think that the fields only count as staying in the family if they remain with First Aunt's household, while giving them to Second Uncle's family and mine counts as letting them pass out of the family?"

After saying this, Lin Chen looked straight at Lin Chaoyang. He wanted to see what this partial grandfather would decide now that matters had reached this point.

Lin Chaoyang's lips moved several times, but he couldn't make a sound. The village chief beside him couldn't help saying, "Chaoyang, Lin He and Lin Jiang are also your sons. Giving the fields to them doesn't count as letting the ancestral land pass out of the family. If the fields are lost, how will you face the Lin family's ancestors in the future?"

By the end, the village chief's voice had turned stern.

Lin Chaoyang's partiality and unfairness as a grandfather had originally been a family matter, and even as village chief, he had found it inappropriate to interfere. But things were different now. Lin Chen had cultivated Essence Energy, which was a good thing for the entire Lakeside Village.

Lin Chen was going into the city to study martial arts. The ones remaining in the village would be Lin Jiang and his wife. The few acres of barren land Lin Jiang had received could hardly be considered a family estate. In a few years, once Lin Chen made a name for himself in martial arts, he would move away with the entire family.

If those few acres of ancestral fields were given to Lin Jiang, at least they would have something tying them here.

"Divide them. Once the debt is repaid, let the few acres belonging to the eldest household be divided between you two brothers."

Lin Chaoyang finally agreed. After saying this, his already stooped back seemed to collapse completely, and all his vitality drained away.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, your family can take four acres and mine can take one. Does that division work?"

Lin Chen looked at Second Uncle. Second Uncle nodded, while Second Aunt had calmed somewhat. Sniffling between sobs, she said, "Chen'er, you can decide."

"Father, Mother..."

"There's no need to ask. Mother agrees. We'll do as Chen'er says." Mother Lin agreed directly.

Lin Chen looked at the burly man. "Fifteen taels. Come back tomorrow to collect it."

The burly man leading them replied in a deep voice, "Fine. We'll come again tomorrow."

As if he'd come!

He wouldn't come tomorrow even if someone beat him to death. If anyone came, it would be someone else.

The burly man led his people away. The village chief looked at Lin Chen. "Little Chen, let's go welcome the people from the Martial Hall."

"Good." Lin Chen nodded, then looked at Second Uncle. "Second Uncle, go to town and invite a physician. Tell him about Brother Hui's condition first and have him bring enough medicine. Don't try to save money on this."

Usually, when villagers went to town to invite a physician, the physician would write a prescription, and the villagers would then go to the apothecary to fill it. The physician could also bring the medicine, but the price would be higher.

Second Uncle hurried away. Second Aunt and Mother Lin supported Lin Hui home, sighing as they walked. "In the end, you still have to study martial arts. Just look at how impressive Chen'er is. Sister-in-law, you're going to enjoy good fortune from now on."

"How could I enjoy good fortune? Chen'er's martial training will probably cost even more money from here on. Besides, as his mother, I still have to save money to find Liang'er a wife. I won't be like certain people and favor one child over another."

"With Chen'er as his younger brother, how could Liang'er fail to find a wife? Many girls would probably marry into the family without even asking for betrothal gifts."

Second Aunt's words were full of flattery. After hearing them, Mother Lin smiled so broadly that the crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes stretched long. Several village women followed alongside them, all saying pleasing things as well.

Lin Chen and Father Lin followed the village chief toward the congratulatory procession not far away.

Only Grandfather, First Uncle, and First Aunt remained in front of the ancestral residence.

"Father." First Aunt looked at Grandfather pitifully.

Grandfather shook his head, his expression desolate. "Everything is the result of your own actions. I'm old. From now on, I won't manage anything anymore."

First Aunt watched as Grandfather turned and shuffled into the house, his back hunched. Unwilling to accept this, she turned to First Uncle beside her. "The fields..."

"Enough." First Uncle suddenly glared at her. "Chen'er was right about one thing. In order to let Lin Ming study martial arts, we really have treated Second Brother and the youngest unfairly. Since Ming'er has cultivated Essence Energy, he'll walk the road ahead on his own. As his father, I don't have the ability to help him anymore."

"Lin Hai, what do you mean? Now you're talking about brotherly affection? Do you think your nephew is about to rise, so you want to play the good person as his First Uncle? When Father refused to give Lin Chen money back then, I didn't see you objecting."

"What would a woman like you understand!"

"I don't understand? If I hadn't spoken well of him in front of Father every day and served your father more attentively than I served my own, would Father have given Ming'er so much money?"

Lin Chen knew nothing about First Uncle and First Aunt's argument. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have taken it to heart.

At that moment, he was entertaining the congratulatory procession from the Martial Hall.

What Lin Chen hadn't expected was that Steward Zhang was leading the procession. From what Steward Zhang told him privately, he learned that Instructor Yu had arranged it.

There had never been such a congratulatory ceremony before.

Unless someone had entered a martial academy and won a placing in the martial academy's grand competition, in which case the academy would send people to deliver the news and the Martial Hall would send people along.

Lin Chen only had to think for a moment before he understood why Instructor Yu had done this.

He had told Instructor Yu about his family's affairs, so Instructor Yu was creating an opportunity for him to slap them in the face.

Steward Zhang and his people sat in Lin Chen's house for a while. The inner room wasn't large, so some villagers directly carried tables and stools over from their own homes and set them up in the Lin family's courtyard.

The other villagers immediately understood what was happening. Those with fruit, pastries, or snacks at home brought them all over in one go.

This was a perfect opportunity to curry favor with the Lin family.

Everyone knew that from this day onward, the Lin family was going to soar.

Steward Zhang sat in the courtyard for nearly half an hour, praising Lin Chen's performance in the Martial Hall to the heavens. The villagers gathered in the courtyard and around its perimeter cried out in amazement again and again.

Lin Chen found it secretly amusing as he listened. Steward Zhang had a gift for storytelling. Lin Chen's uneventful career in the Martial Hall became, in Steward Zhang's mouth, a series of twists and turns—how many turns, anyway? In any case, he had given Lin Chen an excellent boast.

After completing his task of boasting, Steward Zhang took his leave. The villagers were still reluctant to disperse.

"Little Chen took first place in the Martial Hall. That's a joyous occasion for our village. In my opinion, we should hold a banquet in the village tomorrow..." the village chief said with a broad smile.

"Village Chief, wouldn't that be a little too showy? I haven't even entered a martial academy yet."

Lin Chen frowned. He had never considered holding a banquet. That sort of thing cost money.

Father Lin and Mother Lin, however, brightened. For parents, nothing could bring more honor to their faces than seeing their child make something of himself.

With a banquet, the entire village—and even the neighboring villages—would learn that their son had cultivated Essence Energy and taken first place in the Martial Hall.

"Little Chen, don't concern yourself with this. It's our village's custom. I'll personally arrange everything for you."

Hearing the village chief say this, Lin Chen realized that the village would be paying for the banquet. Seeing the eager looks in his parents' eyes, he nodded and agreed.

"All right, those who want to watch the excitement can come to the feast tomorrow. For now, everyone go home."

The village chief dispersed the villagers, then whispered a few more words to Lin Chen before leaving. Lin Chen watched him go, but fell into deep thought.

"Chen'er, did the village chief ask you to do something? If it's difficult, we can turn down the banquet. I'll go speak to him." Seeing his son standing motionless, Father Lin asked worriedly.

"Father, what the village chief told me was a good thing. It has to do with Scholar Jiang."