Chapter 79: Song Ruyi

The Lin family stood as the preeminent power in Wangjiang City, unlike the Wang, Fang, and Zhang clans of Fenglin, who merely shared the title of the 'Three Families.' In Wangjiang, the Lin surname reigned supreme, towering over all others.

This dominance reached its zenith when Lin Zhengren emerged victorious from the Five-Year Tri-City Martial Contest.

Though the later appearance of Zhu Weiwo, the Lone Spear, momentarily cast a shadow, it was not the Lin family alone who suffered humiliation, but the entirety of Wangjiang City. Thus, the Lin family's power remained largely unscathed.

Where some basked in glory, others wallowed in ignominy.

And the brighter the stars shone, the deeper the shadows fell upon him.

The Lin family's lucrative medicinal herb trade, once his birthright, slipped through his fingers. Lin Zhenglun, in a single night, plummeted from the clouds to the dust.

As a scion of the Lin family, want and need were strangers to him. Yet, the vibrant company of Wangjiang Tower, once his playground, was replaced by the lonely hawking of wine on the streets, and dreams sought in the rough embrace of a wild kiln.

He burned with hatred, yet was utterly powerless.

Lin Zhengli, a legitimate son of the Lin family, a shining elite of the Wangjiang Daoist Academy, whose father was the family head and brother the celebrated Lin Zhengren!

What resources did he possess to contend with such a paragon?

Some fates, it seemed, were etched into the very fabric of birth. He had once scoffed at such notions, but now, he was a reluctant believer.

…

"Pour!" Lin Zhenglun, like a soul-less automaton, lurched into the tavern and flung a plump gourd onto the brazier.

The tavern owner took the wine gourd, his face etched with discomfort. "Lin... young master, the wine you took the last two times... it still hasn't..."

"What?" Lin Zhenglun straightened abruptly, his gaze fixing on the owner. "Afraid I can't afford the wine? We'll settle at the end of the month!"

"Ah, alright, alright." After all, he was a descendant of the Lin family, and the tavern owner dared not offend. He bowed his head and set about fetching the wine.

Suddenly, a voice drifted into the tavern. "Isn't this Brother Zhenglun?"

Lin Zhenglun turned his head to see Lin Zhengli, surrounded by a retinue of figures. It seemed he was engaged in some task and had merely been passing by, his ears catching the exchange between Lin Zhenglun and the tavern owner.

"Zhengli... Young Master Lin." Lin Zhenglun managed with difficulty. The current scene was unbearably awkward, especially under Lin Zhengli's gaze.

Lin Zhengli looked up at the sky, then back at the downcast Lin Zhenglun, a smile playing on his lips. "Such a fine day, perfect for wine."

"You jest." Lin Zhenglun offered a strained smile, picked up the wine gourd, and made to leave.

He almost fled, like a whipped cur.

"I just remembered..." Lin Zhengli's casual voice followed him. "It seems the medicine shop recently lost a manager, and there's a vacancy!"

Lin Zhenglun's footsteps faltered.

He turned, forcing a somewhat unnatural smile onto his face. "Young Master Lin thinks... I might be suitable?"

"Brother Zhenglun's abilities are naturally beyond question." Lin Zhengli smiled, leaning forward toward the deliberately stooped Lin Zhenglun and whispering, "I heard the widow you married is quite beautiful... is that right?"

"Ruyi?" Lin Zhenglun recoiled two steps. "No, no!"

He shook his head vigorously, as if this was not enough to dispel the terrible struggle in his heart. "This... this won't do!"

Lin Zhengli straightened, still maintaining his composed smile. "I don't force matters."

He turned his head, a smile and an apologetic air directed at the tavern owner, and then pointed at Lin Zhenglun. "This is a member of my Lin family! You must not slight him! In the future, whatever wine he desires, give it to him. The Lin family will settle the bill at the end of the month."

The tavern owner responded with alacrity. "Aye! Young Master Lin has spoken! How dare a humble man be negligent!"

Lin Zhenglun forced a smile. "Thank you, Young Master Lin."

"No need to thank me." Lin Zhengli waved a hand and moved on.

The group surrounding him followed, departing.

From time to time, voices of flattery could be heard.

"Young Master Lin is truly righteous!"

"What Young Master Lin, you blind fool! You should call him the Young Patriarch!"

…

Lin Zhenglun clutched the wine gourd and stumbled back to his home.

The wine today seemed particularly potent. He had taken only two sips on the road, yet he felt already drunk.

This was a two-courtyard home, kept meticulously clean. The front yard, in particular, boasted a collection of flowers and plants, lovingly tended, a feast for the eyes.

Lin Zhenglun, unsteady on his feet, bumped into a flowerpot, sending it tumbling. Impatience flared, and he simply kicked it to shards!

*Hua la!*

Song Ruyi rushed out from the inner chambers, unable to suppress a reprimand. "Lin Zhenglun! What's gotten into you now?"

"What's it to you!" Lin Zhenglun glanced at her and staggered into the house.

Song Ruyi moved to block his path, swallowing her grievances. "You spend your days in a wine vat. What exactly do you intend? Do you not want to live?"

"Ha! Amusing." Lin Zhenglun, still carrying the wine gourd, laughed. "What, do you still wish to divorce me?"

"Divorce it is!"

"Ha, I didn't hear clearly, what did you say?"

Song Ruyi closed her eyes tightly, forcing back the tears. When she opened them, they were cold and indifferent. "I said, let's divorce."

"Ha! Ha!"

Lin Zhenglun laughed twice, then abruptly slammed the wine gourd in his hand onto the ground!

The gourd bounced twice on the flagstones before rolling down the steps. The gourd itself remained intact, but the stopper had been dislodged, and the wine spilled out, instantly filling the entire courtyard with its potent aroma.

"You don't even look at yourself!" Lin Zhenglun roared. "A widow, and now willing to be a discarded woman! Do you truly believe you can still find a good match?"

Song Ruyi gritted her teeth, hatred burning in her eyes. "That's better than following a failure!"

"What did you say? Say it again!" Lin Zhenglun strode forward, his fingers gripping her neck, pinning her against the wall, his eyes bloodshot. "Say it again!"

Song Ruyi's face turned crimson. She struggled, gasping, "You... strangle me! This life is better... dead anyway!"

Lin Zhenglun released his grip and staggered back two steps.

"You feel wronged? You still feel wronged, do you?" Lin Zhenglun pointed at her. "You send money to Fenglin City! You send jade! Is that right? You use my money to subsidize your ex-husband's child! Do you understand the state of our family now? I can't even afford to drink wine!"

Song Ruyi coughed for a long time before she could breathe evenly. She looked at the man before her and felt that everything was utterly alien.

"Leaving aside whether I should send things to An'an. My dowry alone is enough to support her for ten years without needing anything more!"

"Your dowry?" Lin Zhenglun drew out the words, then suddenly roared, "Where is it?"

He bellowed, "Damn it, why do I have nothing!?"

"You lacked the ability and were robbed by others, and you blame me?"

"I have no ability? I have no ability!" Lin Zhenglun's face was red, his neck thick, all semblance of composure gone. "I just didn't have a good father! That short-lived wretch, other than the surname 'Lin', left me nothing!"

He looked at Song Ruyi, his voice venomous. "Otherwise, would I have married you? Let people laugh at me? Laugh at me for marrying a widow?"

"Now you despise me for being a widow?"

Song Ruyi's voice trembled. "You said you were a member of the Lin family, from a noble house. Afraid that others would look down on you and laugh. I even cast An'an aside and came to Wangjiang City with you!

I left her in the care of her brother, and her brother is only seventeen! He hasn't even come of age yet! I also took away his family property!

My heart has been so cruel, shouldn't I send her some money? Ah? My Lin family member!"

She stepped closer, looking directly into Lin Zhenglun's eyes, her voice laced with fury. "Lin family members who have nothing to eat, nothing to wear, and live in a two-courtyard home?!"

*Pa!*

Lin Zhenglun slapped her to the ground.

"Absurd! Ridiculous!"

Lin Zhenglun turned and strode out, stepping into the puddle of wine, and the man himself slipped, falling to the ground.

He quickly scrambled back to his feet, stumbled, and lurched out. "It's too absurd! Utterly ridiculous!"

"Lin Zhenglun!" Song Ruyi lay on the ground, her hands covering her face, crying, her voice tight with rage. "Now, I just ask you one thing, was it true when you said you loved me?"

"Ah ha, ah ha! Love?"

Lin Zhenglun kicked another flowerpot away.

"Go to hell! What is this ethereal nonsense?"

He fled, crashing out of the courtyard.

He did not know where he wished to go, where he could go. But it seemed he could no longer remain, his face stripped bare.

He must leave, he must escape.

A stray dog, truly lost its home.