Chapter 646 The Funeral of the Jin Family
The servant of the Jin family led the way, and the three followed.
Lin Mengya took a careful look along the way. The decoration style of the Jin Mansion was different from that of the Lin Mansion. Although the decoration was noble and elegant instead of vulgar or extravagant, it revealed a rough heroic spirit.
This accorded with the personality of the Jin family. Unlike the Lin family, the Jin family had a lot of family members. Mere Jin Jue himself had three sons.
It was said that Jin Jue’s new concubine had given birth to a son for him a few years ago. Moreover, the Jin family was a rare big family which was of one mind.
In the past few years, the old general Jin Jue’s brothers had always followed his leadership. A family like this was bound to thrive.
So, if the Lin family and the Jin family were united by marriage, there would be no harm except that the Emperor might get a little ambivalent.
After all, only the father and the eldest son of the Lin family looked somewhat promising. If there was no other power injected, the Lin family would soon lose the strength to compete with the Jin family.
The Emperor would naturally consider the pros and cons.
Besides, since Lin Mengya had married Long Tianyu, the Lin family of her generation would never rebel.
But when they just arrived in the backyard, they heard depressed cries from inside. Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu exchanged glances and read a touch of confusion from each other’s eyes.
After the servant led them to the gate of a small yard, he went in, knelt on the ground, and began to weep. Lin Mengya stood at the gate and looked inside, and she felt bad.
She figured out what was going on here. Obviously, they were mourning.
But among the immediate relatives of Jin Jue, there were no more seniors except for him. Long Tianyu said he had met Jin Jue and his sons this morning. Could it be that Jin Jue’s wife passed away?
Before she could think about it carefully, Long Tianyu asked Lin Kui to go to the mourning hall and inform the Jin’s elders of their arrival. Lin Mengya took a look at the yard and found it very exquisite and quiet. It was not like a place where a madam lived but like where a young lady lived.
Was it possible that Miss Jin had an accident?
“Your Highness Prince and Princess Yu, I didn’t know you had come, so I didn’t go to the gate to greet you. Please forgive me.”
Following Lin Kui out was Jin Jue, the head of the Jin family.
It was said that the ancestor of the Jin family was a bandit in the mountain, and he attached most importance to “brotherhood”, so his soldiers were more bandidos-like than other soldiers.
They were brave in battles. But mere braveness was not enough for an army. Compared with the Lin family’s army with strict military disciplines, the reputation of the Jin family’s army was much worse.
The enmity between the two families also resulted from this.
But the veteran general Jin Jue, who used to have a dignified appearance, looked quite feeble now.
The hair at his temples was white, and his eyes were deflated. He looked like a different person from the usual old general.
“No need to apologize. It is our fault for not informing you before we came. We didn’t know you’re conducting a funeral. I’m sorry for your loss. Please tell me if there is anything we can help with.”
Long Tianyu spoke earnestly. Fortunately, they were all wearing plain clothes that day.
If he had known about it, they would not have walked in when they were holding a funeral.
“Thank you, Your Highness. It is my children who lack God’s blessing with short lives!”
As Jin Jue spoke, drops of tears fell from his eyes.
As the saying went, men did not easily shed tears. It seemed that Jin Jue was really sad.
While they were talking, a few young men walked out of the mourning hall in the small courtyard.
Seeing Jin Jue in grief, the young men with sorrowful expressions immediately walked forward to comfort him. But when they saw who the guests were, their eyes fell on Lin Mengya, who was standing behind Long Tianyu.
A young man wearing a light gray shirt suddenly glared at her.
“You… you are a murderer! How dare you come! You killed my sister! Today, I will let you repay!”
Then he raised his hand, intending to hit Lin Mengya fiercely.
Fortunately, Long Tianyu was quick in response and stood between Lin Mengya and the man in an instant. Lin Kui reacted quickly as well. As a silver light flashed, a steel knife was placed on the young man’s neck.
“Jin Wu, don’t be rude!”
What came together with the steel knife was Jin Jue’s scolding voice.
The originally solemn scene became a bit noisy after such a tumult. All the other people moved their gazes to them, and a few sharp-eyed people actually recognized Lin Mengya.
Now, Lin Mengya had become the target for all. Many stares, either shocked or angry, fell on Lin Mengya.
In an instant, she became a sinner in everyone’s eyes. “Father, it’s her! It’s her who killed my sister! If Lin Mengya hadn’t played tricks on her, how could she have ended like this! How could she…”
The man was distraught, completely ignoring the steel knife on his neck. He pointed at Lin Mengya and widened his eyes with anger as if she had done something heinous.
Lin Mengya hid behind Long Tianyu, but she was totally confused. “Kill his sister? Impossible! I have never harmed Miss Jin.”
Though she had made a mistake unintentionally, how could she have killed Miss Jin? Being blamed for no reason, Lin Mengya was also angry.
Lin Mengya stood behind Long Tianyu with a sneer. She was so fearless that she looked into the accusing eyes of the Jin family. “You must be Jin Wu, the second son of the Jin family. I am really sorry for what happened back then. However, your accusation is too far-fetched! You said I killed Miss Jin. Do you have solid evidence? If not, I will seek justice for your slander on me today!”
Lin Mengya had a sharp tongue. Even Qinghu was always defeated, not to mention a martial ruffian who only knew how to fight with fists.
Her words almost made Jin Wu vomit blood with anger. It was a pity that his father had stopped him and that Lin Kui and Long Tianyu were protecting her. He couldn’t even get close to Lin Mengya, let alone strangle her.
After seeing Jin Wu so crazy, young men around him stopped staring at Lin Mengya anymore and hurriedly took him away. Jin Jue sighed heavily as he looked at his second son, who was still yelling.
He was a very broad-minded person, so after seeing Lin Mengya, he didn’t show any blaming emotion. But because of Jin Wu’s scolding, the people in the yard had surrounded Lin Mengya, Long Tianyu, and Lin Kui.
Jin Wu was a fool, but Jin Jue was clear-minded. Lin Mengya was the daughter of the Lin family, who they couldn’t afford to offend. Moreover, her status as a princess was much higher than theirs now.
If Jin Wu had really hit her, it would bring the Jin family a disaster. He had lost a son and a daughter. So, he couldn’t bear to lose any more children.
After a heavy sigh, Jin Jue smiled apologetically and then said in a deep voice, “Your Highness Princess Yu, please forgive my son. He was too sad and confused. To be honest, today, both my daughter and youngest son suddenly passed away. He was just too grieved.”
Lin Mengya was actually not very angry. She just couldn’t stand the unprovoked criticism.
Now that Jin Jue had said so, she decided not to pursue the matter.
But it was a bit coincidental. When she just wanted to come to the Jin family to sound them out about their intentions, the young lady of the Jin family passed away.
If it weren’t for Long Tianyu’s decision to pay a surprise visit, she was afraid that when they came a few days later, they would only see the skeleton of Miss Jin.
“It’s not a big deal. But what happened to the young master and Miss Jin? Did they have any chronic illness?”
At this moment, Lin Mengya was full of curiosity.
Jin Jue shook his head sadly and sighed before saying, “This is divine retribution! The ancestors of our family must have done something wrong so that my children had to repay. I am not worthy of being a father!”
Seeing Jin Jue so frustrated, Lin Mengya felt that things might not be so simple. As the saying goes, one reaps what he sows. But how could the wrong doings of the ancestors of the Jin family be retributed to these two youngsters?
Unless–
Lin Mengya’s eyes glinted, but she felt something wrong in her heart. The mourning hall was so close in front of her. Even if it was really retribution, she must see it herself so as to avoid any grounds for others to blame her.
“Jin Jue, although we are not invited to the funeral, we’ve already been here. We also want to mourn for the young master and young lady. Although our families have some misunderstandings, the deceased is the most important. I don’t want other people to misunderstand the Jin family, thinking you’re narrow-minded. Can you allow me to go in to burn the incense sticks and express the condolences on behalf of Prince Yu?”
How could Jin Jue reject it?
Moreover, what Lin Mengya said was indeed reasonable. Although it was not suitable to hold a grand funeral for kids who died young, no parents were willing to see their kids passed away silently.
“I will go with you.”
Long Tianyu looked around coldly, frightening those people itching for making trouble. He wanted to go into the mourning hall together with Lin Mengya. But Lin Mengya pushed his hand and shook her head gently.
Long Tianyu represented the royal majesty. He couldn’t mourn for the children who died young in person. If Long Tianyu entered the hall, he would disgrace the royal family.
Although he was worried, Long Tianyu knew that Jin Jue would not let his family make trouble now. So, he agreed to let her go into the mourning hall alone.
Long Tianyu and Lin Kui were exuding a cold aura all the time, so no one dared to make things difficult for Lin Mengya right now.