Chapter 76: Catching Someone

Ancient people were like this: arranged marriages were dictated by parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words.

No matter whether you were willing or not, as long as your parents were insistent, the children still had to get married. Filial piety could be overwhelming and suffocating.

Song Lin had no choice but to agree to the marriage.

He probably thought that once he got married, his parents’ control over him would lighten a bit.

But who would have thought that as the wedding approached, he was still confined at home.

Since the incident in Pear Blossom Alley, he hadn’t gone out to find the young official.

He had been cooped up for months, craving for a man’s touch.

Just like the Lu family, the Song family also had a servant by the master’s side to relay messages and provide convenience.

Knowing that Song Lin had this peculiar interest, the Song family naturally withdrew the more attractive servants from his side.

The new ones weren’t unattractive, but they were certainly not as handsome as the previous ones.

Despite this, Song Lin didn’t mind. Not long after, he had started an affair with another servant, this time one who looked even less remarkable.

At that time, there were still a lot of men who liked men. If not, the young official in Pear Blossom Alley wouldn’t have had customers.

Men with such desires in their homes, sometimes even had affairs with their servants.

But men’s physical strength decreases around the age of forty or fifty, and by then, these older men didn’t have the energy for such activities. Gradually, they would stop pursuing such things.

It was usually presented as having matured and become more reasonable, but in reality, it was just a sign of old age and loss of sexual ability.

Since men couldn’t get pregnant, as long as they could still marry and have children, many families didn’t strictly oppose male-male relationships, as long as it didn’t interfere with family hierarchies.

However, the men of the Song family, especially the old master, could not accept that their son preferred to “walk through the back door,” so they were strongly opposed.

According to Wang’s words, the old master had been at peace for some time, thinking that his son had settled down. He had even planned to sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

But before the old master could even enter the yard, he was deliberately stopped outside by someone from Song Lin’s room.

Wang spoke passionately, wiping her mouth as she continued, “The old master sensed something was off, so he pushed past and went straight to the third son’s room. Who would have expected that the third son was… was actually hugging a servant and doing such a thing!”

Wen Ruyu, who was listening, was stunned. She had also enjoyed reading some boy-love stories in modern times, but only in an anime form, and was not particularly obsessed.

In real life, she didn’t really have any strong feelings about men liking other men.

After all, homosexuality is a minority group, and people can love whoever they like. As long as they don’t show off in front of her, it had nothing to do with her.

However, Song Lin truly left her speechless.

First of all, Song Lin wasn’t a handsome man, and second, he was about to marry a woman.

In modern times, this would clearly be seen as a scam marriage, but in ancient times, it could only be regarded as a man indulging in play.

Wen Ruyu thought to herself, she had no words to describe it…

Zhao Shu, who was also listening, couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

For someone with her conservative nature, what Song Lin had done was already beyond her tolerance.

Lu Jinnian’s feelings were more complicated.

On the one hand, he looked down on Song Lin for not being picky about men, eating anything when he was hungry.

On the other hand, he himself was attracted to men, so when he heard these things, he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

Lastly, he hated Song Lin, so there was some degree of schadenfreude.

Naturally, the sense of schadenfreude prevailed.

Although family scandals should not be aired, Wang had already distanced herself from the third son.

Moreover, once such things happened, it wouldn’t be long before everyone in the neighborhood would find out, so there was no point in hiding it.

Wang continued, “The old master was so furious that he passed out on the spot.”

“How is he now?” Zhao Shu asked, concerned for the elderly man.

“The maid in the third son’s room saw this and feared the situation would escalate, so she came to find me. I hurried over and called a doctor, then we put the old master on the third son’s bed. At that time, he was barely breathing.”

Wang sighed deeply, “I couldn’t afford to delay, so I had them call Qi Yuan.”

“The doctor came, and after inserting a needle, the old master’s breath was faint, and he still wouldn’t wake up. The doctor said we needed to prepare for the worst. Qi Yuan, unable to control his anger, cursed the third son a few times. The old lady was crying and shouting, saying she no longer acknowledged the third son as her son and wanted to throw him out.”

Lu Jinnian, curious, asked, “That’s none of your business. Why did you come running out, sister-in-law?”

When Wang heard this, she almost slapped her thigh but tried to remain graceful, only patting her hand lightly.

“Yes!”

“This had nothing to do with me. But the third son, that scoundrel, was so embarrassed and furious that he grabbed a sword from his room and started hacking at people, shouting that we should all die together!”

“I was there and, fearing for the safety of others, I ran away with the nurse and the child. The house was in chaos, and he was chasing us, hacking randomly. Our old lady was even knocked down by him. I still don’t know if she’s alive or dead!”

Zhao Shu was alarmed. “Oh no! Shouldn’t someone report this to the authorities?”

Wang sipped her tea after it had cooled slightly and then said, “Qi Yuan has already sent someone to report it. I ran away while he wasn’t chasing after us. I don’t know if the third son has been caught yet.”

Thinking back, Wang shuddered and wiped away tears, “He was going to kill someone! He was utterly mad! Killing an old man wasn’t enough; he wanted us all to go down with him!”

After falling out with Song Yuanwai last time, Wang had stopped caring about the rest of the family. As long as she and her two children were safe, she didn’t care about anyone else.

Wen Ruyu, upon hearing this, comforted Wang, “Good girl, you stay here and hide. I’ll have Tiejui check to see if they’ve caught him. You can go back later, it won’t be too late.”

Tiejui was well-known for his strength, and everyone who knew them was aware of his reputation.

However, this was Wang’s family’s issue, and since Tiejui belonged to the Lu family, Wen Ruyu didn’t want to send him to capture Song Lin.

If something went wrong, it would be a loss for the Lu family. If Tiejui hurt Song Lin, Song’s family might come after the Lu family for revenge.

After the incident with Song Lin and Lu Jinnian, except for Wang, Song’s family members had distanced themselves from the Lu family, and their relationship was no longer as close as before.

So Wen Ruyu only sent Tiejui to inquire but not to capture Song Lin.

About half an hour later, Wen Ruyu sent Tiejui and two of their stronger men to Song’s house to gather news.

Tiejui quickly returned with news for Wen Ruyu.

“The officials have already been by. They said the third son of the Song family has disappeared, and now Song Yuanwai is planning to file a case. The old Song lady has lost too much blood and fainted, and she’s still at home.”

Even though Song Lin had a sword, and despite the many people sent to capture him, they all valued their own lives, so they couldn’t catch him immediately, and he managed to escape.

In ancient times, without surveillance or pictures, once a person ran away, it was difficult to capture them without great effort.

Of course, whether Song Lin was caught or not had nothing to do with Wen Ruyu and her group.

When Wen Ruyu heard that the Song family was no longer in danger, she had Wang sent back.

The next day, Song Yuanwai’s father passed away.

A white lantern hung outside the Song family’s gate. A joyous occasion turned into a funeral.

The engagement between the Song and Jiang families was no longer possible.

Posters with Song Lin’s likeness and a reward of one hundred taels for his capture were put up on the streets, accusing Song Lin of being unfilial, causing his father’s death, and injuring his mother.

This charge wasn’t a death sentence, but it was enough for him to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Normally, for such cases, the authorities would offer a reward of ten taels, but because someone had caused his father’s death and injured his mother, the reward was raised to a hundred taels.

This additional amount was likely added by Song Yuanwai himself, indicating that he was determined to catch his brother and give his parents an explanation.

Within the next month or two, the whole of Osmanthus Alley was buzzing with rumors about Song Lin fleeing from justice.

The old master of the Song family had passed away on an auspicious day, and it was said that they would hold a mourning ceremony for forty-nine days before they could perform the rites.

To ensure the old man’s peace in the afterlife and that his descendants could live well, Song Yuanwai had invited monks and Taoists, and the chanting could be heard even from Wen Ruyu’s courtyard.

With this, the matter of the Song family reached its conclusion.

Since the incident with the Song family, Lu Jinnian had felt quite complicated.

After a period of being down, he eventually had his horse prepared and went to Longxing Temple.

The weather had warmed up, and although the world was in turmoil, the incense at the temple was flourishing, showing no signs of decline.

Lu Jinnian searched for a while before finding Monk Miaozhen and called him out to speak behind the mountain.

He hadn’t seen Miaozhen in a long time, and he missed him dearly.

Looking at Miaozhen’s increasingly handsome and mature face, Lu Jinnian originally wanted to say something to cut things off but found himself unable to speak.

Monk Miaozhen, who hadn’t seen Lu Jinnian for a long time, had been anxious for some time.

Upon seeing Lu Jinnian, he finally felt relieved.

The shy monk, rarely taking the initiative, hugged Lu Jinnian’s waist in the back mountain.

“Fourth Master, I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinnian moved his hands, but he didn’t take the initiative to embrace Miaozhen.

Miaozhen, sensing something was wrong, raised his eyes and said to Lu Jinnian, “Fourth Master, it’s been a long time since we met. Do you think I’ve grown taller? In two years, I’ll be about the same height as you.”

As he thought about it, he lowered his eyes slightly.

As men grew older, their physical features became more obvious. Would Lu Jinnian still like him then?

But soon, Miaozhen pushed away those negative thoughts and immersed himself in the sweetness of the present.

There was no point in thinking too much about it. He decided to cherish the moment.

Miaozhen deliberately let his breath brush against Lu Jinnian’s ear, “What do you think? Do I look taller now?”

Lu Jinnian wasn’t made of stone. With a beauty right before him, it would be strange if he could remain indifferent.

Hearing Miaozhen’s words, all Lu Jinnian could see and think about was Miaozhen, completely forgetting about the old lady at home.

Without thinking, Lu Jinnian pulled Miaozhen closer, his hand reaching for his face.

The two handsome young men kissed each other, lost in the moment, unaware of anything else.

A cool breeze passed through the mountain, the trees blocking the sunlight, the wind rustling the leaves, carrying the scent of incense from the temple. Each wave of sensation came one after another.

As they were lost in their passion, suddenly, a voice came from the road ahead: “What are you two doing?!”