Chapter 696: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 696: Slapping Mo Qingze's Face at High School (1)
Understanding why snow ball was reluctant to speak, Mo Yan tickled the spirit tool fiercely until it was too exhausted to laugh or cry. Only then did she release it, feeling a bit of sympathy for its plight. Nonetheless, she agreed with snow ball’s approach. Relying on external help for everything without improving oneself would create a strong dependency, something she didn’t want to become.
However, given the complexity of the issue, snow ball did reveal some crucial information. It indirectly confirmed the accuracy of her and Xiao Ruiyuan’s previous speculations. The Lin family’s leverage was indeed related to Emperor Huian’s fight for the throne, which made addressing this issue from that angle much easier.
From snow ball, Mo Yan learned that while the other members of the Lin family were not very impressive, Lin Taishi, the veteran mentor of three emperors, was still quite wise. However, his direct descendants were underwhelming—a useless legitimate son and a similarly mediocre illegitimate son.
Having devoted himself to the royal family for many years, Lin Taishi neglected the upbringing of his descendants. As he grew older, he found himself increasingly powerless to guide and discipline them. Thus, he turned a blind eye to their misdeeds. When his legitimate son and granddaughter conspired to kill Empress Chunyi, he used this leverage to threaten Emperor Huian, hoping to protect them.
Mo Yan speculated that Lin Taishi probably hoped Prince Heng would ascend to the throne, allowing the Lin family to avoid annihilation. However, he likely did not anticipate the emergence of someone like her, causing Prince Heng to be severely injured and unable to claim the throne, shattering the Lin family’s last hope. Such a heavy blow must have been unbearable for the Lin family, and they probably harbored intense hatred towards her, the “culprit.”
Given that the Lin family had previously shown interest in harming her, Mo Yan didn’t believe they were unaware or uninvolved. Although the Lin family had managed to bide their time and seek opportunities to deal with her slowly, her recent appointment as Marquis of the County was like rubbing salt into their wounds. Even if Lin Taishi could endure it, his descendants might be plotting against her, aiming to eliminate her in one fell swoop.
The next morning, Yan Junyu personally arrived with a full cart of congratulatory gifts. Before the gifts could be unloaded, news of his visit reached the nobility in the capital, and those who had no direct connection to the Mo family sent their own congratulatory gifts as well.
Carriage after carriage formed a long line at the Mo family’s doorstep, causing another sensation in the village. Villagers, forgetting about breakfast, flocked to watch the commotion.
Mo Qingze, now sober, looked at the carts of gifts and didn’t know whether to accept them or return them. Eventually, reassured by Yan Junyu’s casual remark that these gifts were merely ceremonial and didn’t need to be recorded or reciprocated, he reluctantly accepted them.
As the gifts were moved into the Mo household, more carriages continued to arrive. The villagers, initially amazed, became numb, mentally calculating the value of the gifts and how long they could sustain their own needs. After a bit of calculation, they found it impossible to determine the total value.
Before long, gifts from the Liu and Han families also arrived. Master Liu was busy with teaching and couldn’t come in person, so Madam Liu and Liu Tinglan were also delayed. Their gifts were sent by the carriage driver.
Han Zhiyun, having participated in the autumn imperial examinations and preparing for next year’s spring examinations, had recently completed some pressing matters. With rare free time, he brought his family along with congratulatory gifts to visit the Mo family.
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