A Silver Tongue

He hated!

The Lin Family had already been left without an heir, yet the person who had caused that had not received the punishment she deserved. Lin Fu felt stifled with resentment.

If that Courtesan had received a severe punishment, he would not have felt this wretched.

What he had not expected was that at the crucial moment, County Magistrate Zhang had chickened out. Not only had he chickened out, he had done so completely, even drawing a clear line between them.

That left him utterly despairing. Remembering that his family line had already ended only made his feelings more tangled.

"I send you silver every month, and this is how you treat me."

"Other people take money and get things done. You take the money, then forget all about it!"

Lin Fu gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, boundless fury written across his aged face.

The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt.

It was as though fire were about to burst from within him, utterly beyond his control.

He was old, and his body was not in good shape. Amid his rage, Lin Fu felt weak all over.

Just then, there came a knock at the door.

"Don't come in! Did you take what I said for a fart?!" Lin Fu roared.

No one dared approach his courtyard, yet the door was pushed open at that moment, and a masked man walked in.

"Who are you?!"

Even in his fury, Lin Fu sensed that something was wrong. How had a masked stranger gotten in?

He regained his composure, caution filling his eyes.

"Master Lin seems very angry..." Other than his hands, only Xu Bai's eyes were exposed. He lowered his voice and made it sound hoarse.

"What do you mean? This is the Lin Residence." Lin Fu had weathered the business world for many years and had encountered such scenes before, so he barely managed to remain calm.

"I came to see whether you have any desire to avenge your son." Xu Bai spoke calmly.

Avenge him?

The instant those two words left his mouth, Lin Fu sprang to his feet.

Did he want revenge? Of course he did! He dreamed of it every day. Upon hearing those words, no matter how well he tried to hide it, he could not help reacting.

"If you have something to say, say it plainly. What exactly do you mean? What revenge?" Lin Fu forced himself to stay calm, but his emotions were impossible to conceal.

"Your only son is dead, yet you have no way to avenge him. Doesn't that leave you feeling terribly stifled?" Xu Bai asked slowly.

Lin Fu said nothing.

He stared straight at Xu Bai, his thoughts unreadable.

"At the root of it all, the problem lies with County Magistrate Zhang. If he had helped you, how could things have ended up like this?" Xu Bai continued.

Lin Fu still said nothing, but from Xu Bai's angle, he could see that Lin Fu's fists were clenched tight.

"With no heir in the family, what use is such vast wealth? Your son is dead, yet as his father, you cannot avenge him. What kind of father does that make you?" Xu Bai went on.

This time, Lin Fu finally reacted.

"Do you think I don't want revenge? Sheng County is County Magistrate Zhang's county alone. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away—no one can deal with him."

Of course he wanted revenge, but with County Magistrate Zhang blocking him, how could he possibly take it? "Methods are devised by people. As long as you want to do it, there will be a way." Xu Bai smiled.

"What way?" Lin Fu asked.

At this point, after Xu Bai's step-by-step provocation, he had already fallen into the trap.

"As long as you can bring down County Magistrate Zhang, before the next county magistrate arrives in Sheng County, with the Lin Family's influence, wouldn't killing a woman of the streets be as easy as turning over your hand?" Xu Bai said slowly.

Lin Fu froze. Then a monstrous storm surged through his heart.

If County Magistrate Zhang heard those words, he would be finished.

He had never considered this method, because in his fixed way of thinking, commoners did not fight officials.

But after Xu Bai's reminder, it was like a seed planted in the soil, gradually sprouting after being watered by rain.

Impossible to dispel, impossible to scatter.

Lin Fu swallowed hard and asked instinctively, "How can I... bring him down?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he immediately shut up.

"You surely know every sum you bribed him with better than anyone. If those amounts are made public, then no matter how capable he is, he will be powerless to turn the tide." Xu Bai rested a hand on his long saber and spoke slowly.

"You are trying to destroy the Lin Family. The one who takes bribes will be in trouble, but the one who gives them will not fare well either," Lin Fu said.

Though he said that, the feasibility of the plan had already surfaced in his mind.

Sheng County was remote, a tiny little county. There, County Magistrate Zhang truly covered the sky with one hand.

This plan was indeed good. Once County Magistrate Zhang's bribery was exposed, the Great Chu Kingdom would certainly punish him without mercy.

A mere county magistrate—losing one was no great matter.

The Great Chu Kingdom was in a period of vigorous development. If this matter were exposed, it could destabilize the people's hearts, so the Emperor would absolutely not be lenient.

He could even use the fall of this petty county magistrate to kill a chicken and scare the monkeys.

But... there was one crucial premise: the person giving the bribes would also face severe punishment.

Otherwise, why would County Magistrate Zhang be so fearless?

Because they were grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If something went wrong, they would all go down together.

Lin Fu had to consider the Lin Family's affairs. If he truly did this, he would definitely be implicated as well.

"Have you still not understood what I mean? Everything must have a just cause. If you use your son's death as an excuse to do this, then you will certainly be finished. But if you change the approach, that may not be the case." Xu Bai shook his head.

Change the approach? Lin Fu felt his brain was not quite up to it.

No matter how he changed it, he had still given bribes.

Could he really escape it? "Think carefully. A man who has suffered oppression for so long, forced into giving bribes, finally cannot endure it any longer and reports County Magistrate Zhang. Instead, you will become someone who does not fear the powerful." Xu Bai said bluntly.

As soon as those words were spoken, the room fell silent.

Lin Fu seemed to be weighing the plan's feasibility.

After a moment, he asked, "Who exactly are you?"

Only now did he raise the most important question.

"I have a grudge against County Magistrate Zhang. You need not ask what kind of grudge. If I wanted to deal with you, I would have acted long ago," Xu Bai said.

He gave himself a reason, or else it would not be easy to persuade this old fellow.

"Fine!" Lin Fu finally made his decision. "There is an account book in my home, with everything recorded clearly. When the time comes, I'll take it to the capital and make sure he cannot bear the consequences."

He had made up his mind. Thinking of how his son had died and he could not even avenge him, then thinking of how he had no descendants left, fury rose from his heart.

These days, the ruthless feared those who did not fear death.

That was what Lin Fu thought.

Xu Bai had thought he could only make Lin Fu write it down, but he had not expected there to be an account book.

An account book?

Even better!

"Just say that your son's death stirred thoughts of resistance in you, which was why you decided to reveal the matter. That way, you will be fine. Of course, there is still one step in the process." Xu Bai raised his index finger.

"What step?" Lin Fu asked.