Lu Ying immediately summoned a trusted steward. "Go to Fayuan Temple and find out whether the Lin Family's third young lady went there to offer incense before the new year, whom she met, and what she did. I want the results before daybreak."
"Yes!"
The steward acknowledged the order and disappeared into the night.
In truth, Lu Ying already believed it was seventy or eighty percent true.
All the Lin Family's strange behavior when the marriage was proposed now had a reasonable explanation. They had humbled themselves so much and set the wedding date in such haste. So this was the root of it all.
What a fine century-old family, and what fine tactics!
But his many years in office had long since taught him to demand evidence in all things. The letter's arrival was suspicious, and he still did not know who was behind it or what their purpose was. If it were a political enemy's ploy to drive a wedge between the Lu and Lin families, wouldn't he be playing right into their hands by acting rashly?
An investigation was necessary.
The investigation proved even simpler than expected.
In just one hour, the old steward hurried back, his expression grave.
"Master, I've found out. A novice monk at Fayuan Temple remembered it clearly. Third Young Lady Lin did go there to offer incense before the new year, and she also spent a long time alone in the rear hall."
Every piece of information fit the contents of the anonymous letter perfectly.
Lu Ying said nothing more and simply gave his orders in an even voice.
"After daybreak, load everything the Lin Family sent onto carts and return it all, without leaving a single thing out."
"Then tell them that the Lu Family is calling off this marriage."
"Yes!"
The steward withdrew.
Lu Ying glanced at his son, whose face was filled with grief and indignation, and sighed softly. "Go back to bed. I'll be sure to get you an explanation for this."
"Yes!" Lu Jingcheng could say nothing else. He could only force down his frustration, bow his head in salute, and take his leave.
After he left, Lu Ying raised his teacup and took a gentle sip, his eyes full of coldness.
Early the next morning, earth-shattering news swept through the capital's high society in an instant.
The household of Vice Minister Lu of the Ministry of Personnel had broken off the engagement!
And in the most merciless, face-slapping manner possible, they had returned everything the Lin Family had sent, including the bright red marriage contract, exactly as it was!
This was no longer just a broken engagement. It was as if they were pointing a finger at the Lin Family's nose and cursing them!
For a time, the entire capital buzzed with discussion. Countless pairs of eyes turned toward the Lin and Lu families, waiting to see how this grand drama would end.
At the Lin residence, the oppressive atmosphere was thick enough to drip water.
Lin Hong, the family head, sat in the main hall, looking at the returned items. His face was purple with rage, and his whole body trembled.
The Lin Family had stood in the capital for a hundred years. When had they ever suffered such humiliation?
"Lu Ying! You've gone too far!"
Lin Hong slammed his hand on the table and sprang to his feet. "Ready the carriage! I'll go ask Lu Ying myself what he thinks he's doing! If he doesn't give me an explanation today, the Lin Family won't let him off!"
At this point, Lin Hong still knew nothing of his daughter's scandal. His principal wife had kept the matter completely under wraps, thinking only of marrying their daughter off quickly and tossing this bomb to someone else.
So Lin Hong was now filled with rage and bewilderment.
Before long, the Lin Family's carriage arrived at the gates of the Lu residence in a menacing show of force.
To everyone's surprise, the gates stood wide open. Lu Ying, dressed in ordinary clothes, stood before them with his hands behind his back, as though he had long expected Lin Hong to come.
"Vice Minister Lu! What is the meaning of this?" As soon as Lin Hong stepped out of the carriage, he demanded furiously, "A marriage between our families should be a happy occasion. Why have you humiliated the Lin Family like this?"
Faced with Lin Hong's accusation, Lu Ying merely smiled, though his smile held a bone-deep chill.
"Patriarch Lin, calm yourself. As for why the Lu Family broke off the engagement... I'm afraid you shouldn't be asking me."
He paused, then said pointedly, "Why don't you go back and ask your precious daughter just what fine things she's been up to?"
Lin Hong froze, not yet grasping the deeper meaning of those words.
Just then, a clear voice filled with suppressed fury came from within the Lu residence.
"Father, there's nothing to say to this sort of person!"
Lu Jingcheng strode out, his eyes bloodshot as he glared fixedly at Lin Hong. With no regard for the man's status as his elder or the face of either family, he unleashed all the fury he had held back throughout the night!
"Patriarch Lin! You still have the face to demand an explanation? What do you Lin Family people take me, Lu Jingcheng, for? The biggest living cuckold in the capital?!"
"Before the new year, your beloved daughter, Third Young Lady Lin, had a secret tryst with her lover and fornicated with him on the sacred grounds of Fayuan Temple! Now she's secretly carrying his child, and you're in such a hurry to make a living cuckold of the Lu Family, to have us raise that bastard whose father is who knows who!"
"I, Lu Jingcheng, may lack talent, but I've spent more than ten years reading the books of the sages, and I know the meaning of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame! Your Lin Family has done something so filthy, yet you still have the face to come here and demand an explanation?!"
"Your Lin Family can keep this bright green hat and wear it yourselves! I, Lu Jingcheng, can't bear it!"
His words exploded through the crowd like peals of thunder.
Lin Hong stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, his mind completely blank. He had spent half his life on the battlefield and acted decisively in officialdom, but when had anyone ever pointed a finger at his nose and berated him in front of an entire street of people, as they had today?
He wanted to refute him, to angrily accuse him of spewing malicious lies. But Lu Jingcheng's bloodshot eyes and his fury, suppressed to the utmost, did not look feigned at all.
Besides, there was his daughter's strange behavior of late, his wife's evasive manner, and the wedding arranged in such extreme haste... In an instant, all the clues fell into place.
A chill shot from the soles of Lin Hong's feet to the crown of his head. The world spun around him, and his vision went dark.
"Patriarch Lin," Lu Ying, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. His voice was quiet, but carried an unquestionable coldness. "The Lu Family's temple is too small to house a great Buddha like your Lin Family. Please leave. From this day forward, let there be no further mention of marriage between our families."
With that, he could not even be bothered to look at Lin Hong again. He turned, swept his sleeves, and walked back into the residence.
Bang!
The gates of the Lu residence slammed shut before Lin Hong, like a ringing slap across his face and the face of the entire Lin Family.
Lin Hong climbed into his carriage in a daze and fled the scene in utter disarray.
That very afternoon, the shocking scandal spread through every street and alley of the capital at an incredible speed. From princes and nobles down to peddlers and porters, almost everyone was talking about the Lin Family's happy affair.
The storytellers treated it like a priceless treasure and immediately turned it into new tales, with titles like "The Pretty Maiden's Secret Pregnancy and Scholar Lu's Furious Rejection of the Marriage" and "The Romantic Affair at Fayuan Temple." They performed them in teahouses and taverns everywhere, drawing cheers from packed rooms.
What followed was the complete ruin of the Lin Family's third young lady, Lin Yan.
Chen Ye, the instigator behind all this, was sitting beneath the eaves of a crowded courtyard residence, leisurely eating a bowl of plain noodles.
After finishing, he wiped his mouth and opened the system panel.