Chapter 153: The Public Has Discerning Eyes

Just as Shen Zhao stepped down from the carriage, a plump woman collapsed onto her knees right in front of her.

Opening her mouth, she wailed, "General... This humble woman has finally laid eyes on you. I am the wife of the Lin family, mother to Lin Feihu.

The very same Lin Feihu who died a tragic death on the battlefield to save you.

Now our family can no longer survive, so we have come to seek refuge with you."

A strange gleam flickered in Shen Zhao's eyes. Wasn't this woman none other than Lin Jiaojiao's second stepmother, whom she had seen while tailing Lin Jiaojiao that day?

Well, what do you know? Scarcely a few days had passed, and this Madam Lin had already tracked her down.

It seemed Lin Jiaojiao had not been enjoying much peace these past few days either.

Today's timing was truly fortunate; she wouldn't even need to go out of her way to gather Chu Mu's deputy generals.

Zhang Liang and Liu Zhong were, after all, the senior-most veterans among all of Chu Mu's deputy generals.

With the two of them present today, they would be able to see through Lin Jiaojiao's true colors.

By tomorrow, every single soldier under Chu Mu's command would know the truth.

Madam Lin's words visibly caused the expressions of Zhang Liang and Liu Zhong to shift.

However, the two men did not overstep their boundaries as subordinates to rush forward and question her directly.

With a cold face, Shen Zhao asked, "Esteemed Madam, are all these things you say true? Do you realize that impersonating the family of a fallen martyr is a violation of the laws of Southern Chu?"

Madam Lin choked back a breath. How was she supposed to know about such laws? Besides, she wasn't pretending; she was legally married into the family by Lin Feihu's own father.

No matter how anyone argued it, Lin Feihu still had to address her as mother.

"How would this humble woman dare to deceive the General? This humble woman truly is Lin Feihu's mother."

With that, she pointed at Father Lin and said, "That is Lin Feihu's father."

Then, pulling over Lin Tiehu and her youngest son, she introduced them, "He is Lin Feihu's second younger brother, and this is his youngest brother.

We are, without a shadow of a doubt, members of the Lin family, the surviving kin left behind by Lin Feihu.

If the General does not believe me, you may ask Jiaojiao; she is, after all, a daughter of our Lin family."

How could Shen Zhao not believe it when she had seen and heard it all with her own eyes and ears that day?

With a stern expression, she looked at Lin Jiaojiao and inquired, "Miss Lin, are the things she says true? Are they truly members of the Lin family?"

Lin Jiaojiao desperately suppressed the nervousness churning in her heart.

Before Lin Jiaojiao could even utter a word, Deputy General Zhang, who was still gripping Father Lin by the collar, stepped forward to clear the path and rescue Lin Jiaojiao from her predicament.

"General, if you do not believe Miss Lin, do you not believe your subordinate? It was I who personally traveled to Lin Family Village to fetch the Lin family.

I sought out the village head, and it was the village head who led me to the Lin household.

The Lin family truly had only Miss Lin remaining.

These people must have been hired by someone determined to ruin Miss Lin's reputation and force her to leave the Grand General's Estate."

As Deputy General Zhang spoke, his gaze drifted intentionally or otherwise toward Chu Mu, who was standing at the estate's entrance.

The implication was as clear as day, stopping just short of explicitly accusing the Madam of hiring actors to stage a scene outside the estate in order to harm Miss Lin.

Following Deputy General Zhang's line of sight, Zhang Liang and Liu Zhong also spotted the Madam standing at the entrance.

They rarely saw the General's wife, but they had heard various rumors about her.

In particular, rumors of the Madam being narrow-minded, ungrateful, and prone to bullying and oppressing Miss Lin were known by virtually everyone in their army.

This was entirely thanks to Deputy General Zhang's aggressive propaganda campaigns. Deputy General Zhang had even incited other brothers in the army, attempting to rally them into submitting a joint petition to force the General to divorce his wife and remarry.

However, they had not followed Deputy General Zhang's advice. Although Miss Lin was Lin Feihu's younger sister, the General's personal affairs were not something they, as subordinates, could participate in or manipulate.

No matter how bad the Madam might be, as long as the General did not mention a divorce, they would not force the General to cast his wife aside.

Even so, their resolve was shaken at this moment. No matter how unreasonable the Madam might be, she shouldn't have hired people to make a scene right outside the Grand General's Estate.

This didn't just ruin Miss Lin's reputation; it ruined the General's reputation as well.

Such conduct was disgraceful and deeply chilling to men like them.

Lin Feihu had died a miserable death on the battlefield to save the General, and not even his remains were ever recovered—one could only imagine how horrific his end had been.

No matter how much the Madam disliked Miss Lin, she had no business stirring up trouble over this matter.

A favor as small as a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring, let alone a debt of life and death. The Madam was driving the General into an unjust and unrighteous position.

"Zhang Cheng, let me ask you: have you forgotten what happened in the estate just two days ago?

Can you truly be certain these people were hired to act and are not actually members of the Lin family?

Zhang Cheng, you are my right hand, a man I trust deeply. I do not wish for my men to be blind to right and wrong and act purely on impulse.

Have I ever told you that if there is a next time, you need not blame me for casting aside old ties and driving you out of the estate?"

Shen Zhao's words gave everyone much food for thought, especially Zhang Liang and Liu Zhong.

What had happened at the estate two days ago? Zhang Cheng, just like them, was someone deeply trusted by the General.

What on earth had he done to make the General question his words?

Indeed, Zhang Cheng could produce no substantive evidence to prove the people before them were hired by the Madam to frame Miss Lin.

Yet, stubbornly convinced that Miss Lin would never deceive him, he stiffened his neck and replied, "General, two days ago it was indeed my failure to grasp the full picture that led me to wrong the Madam; I admit to this mistake.

Had the Madam not constantly abused and mistreated Miss Lin, how could I have possibly suspected that she was bullying Miss Lin yet again, rather than someone else in the estate?

Today's affair is clearly the work of someone maliciously targeting Miss Lin. Miss Lin is nothing more than an orphan girl; why must that person be so narrow-minded and refuse to give her even a sliver of space?"

The "person" Zhang Cheng referred to was, of course, Shen Zhao.

Shen Zhao let out a cold laugh. "In your eyes, Miss Lin has had a miserable time in this estate? The Madam has mistreated her? Is that it?!"

"Yes! Miss Lin's life in this estate has been far from pleasant, and the Madam everywhere ostracizes and suppresses her."

Today, Zhang Cheng was ready to throw caution to the wind; he was determined to strip away the Madam's true facade in front of everyone and seek justice for Miss Lin.

"Good, very good, excellent. So in the Deputy General's eyes, it is my Grand General's Estate that has mistreated Miss Lin."

Zhang Cheng was momentarily stunned. He had said the Madam mistreated Miss Lin; he had never said the General mistreated Miss Lin.

Why would the General phrase it this way? Having poured all his heart and soul into the military camp, how could he possibly know the inner workings of the household?

"General, your subordinate spoke of the Madam, not of you."

Shen Zhao walked over toward Chu Mu, then gestured to Lin Jiaojiao, calling out, "Miss Lin, would you be so kind as to stand alongside my wife?"

A faint ripple of disappointment washed over Lin Jiaojiao's heart. How could Elder Brother Mu address that wretched woman Shen as his wife in front of everyone?

And Elder Brother Mu... shouldn't he be reacting as he always did, placing absolute faith in Deputy General Zhang's words, publicly slapping the Shen woman across the face, and punishing her?

Reluctantly, and with heavy steps, Lin Jiaojiao complied with Shen Zhao's directive and went to stand side by side with the Madam.

Everyone present was utterly bewildered. Instead of dealing with the farce unfolding right before him, why was General Chu having his wife and this Miss Lin stand together?

Amidst the general confusion, Shen Zhao spoke up once more. "I believe you are all perceptive people of clear vision. Today, I must wrong my wife for a moment—let us all look and see if there are any distinct differences between these two?"

The social customs of Southern Chu were open and progressive, placing very few heavy restrictions on women.

There were nearly as many women coming and going in the streets as men, so Shen Zhao asking the crowd to observe Lin Jiaojiao and Chu Mu (Note: referring to the persona/attire context) side by side carried nothing improper.

Today, Chu Mu was dressed in the very garments Shen Zhao had worn two years ago, adorned with the exact accessories she had worn in the estate over the past two years.

Anyone with discerning eyes could immediately spot the stark differences between the two of them.

Sure enough, someone in the crowd voiced out, "Well now... How is it that, aside from the natural aura of dignity, I can't see the slightest trace of a proper lady in this General's Wife?

On the contrary, Miss Lin over there looks far more like the mistress of the house."