Chapter 437 New Family Head

Chapter 437: The New Clan Head

With that, he paused, his gaze sweeping over those present, as if looking for agreement.

"If we jump in rashly and back the wrong side, it could wipe out the whole clan."

The moment he finished, someone jumped in.

"Yeah, Third Granduncle's right." A middle-aged clan elder on the right nodded along:

"The Chen family's got serious power—two hundred thousand troops in the capital garrison. What's Zhou Xing got? Our Lin family's been respectable for generations—why wade into this mess?"

"What matters most is protecting our own hides." Another voice arose from the corner. "The family head's got heaven's protection—he'll be fine. Once he gets out, he'll understand we meant well."

"The Lin family's survived in court for a hundred years by reading the room and never acting rashly. Nanshu, you're still young and don't get these things—we all understand that..."

"Yeah, the young are hot-headed. Wanting to save your grandpa is noble, but you can't gamble with the whole clan's lives..."

The voices grew louder and more numerous.

Some sighed, some shook their heads, some muttered to each other.

Lin Nanshu sat in the seat of honor, listening in silence.

He listened to all the talk of "protecting ourselves," of "reading the room," of "youthful hot-headedness."

His face was completely blank.

When the voices finally died down, when everyone figured he'd back down—

He finally opened his mouth.

"Protecting ourselves?" His voice wasn't loud—you might even call it soft.

But those four quiet words landed, and the hall went dead silent for a beat.

Lin Nanshu stood up, under the full glow of the candles, facing the assembled clan elders.

"Grandfather's trapped in Wenhua Hall, and we don't even know if he's alive.

And here you all are, talking about protecting yourselves, reading the room, the disaster of clan annihilation—"

His eyes swept over each face. "This is your idea of good intentions?"

The hall went dead quiet.

Someone opened their mouth to speak, but that gaze hit them, and they couldn't get a word out.

Lin Nanshu took half a step forward, his voice still quiet, but every word landed clearly in everyone's ears:

"Have you all thought about how powerful the Chen family is, and how many people in court suck up to the powerful?

Our Lin family's been respectable for generations—we've never sided with powerful eunuchs or the empress's relatives. Everyone in court and beyond knows that."

He paused for a moment.

"Chen Zhengqi's people tried to win Grandfather over more than once, and he turned them down every time. You all here should know that better than anyone."

A few of the clan elders' faces changed slightly.

Some lowered their heads, some looked away, some picked up their teacups and pretended to drink.

Lin Nanshu's gaze swept the room. "The Chen family's known for a long time that the Lin family wouldn't side with them.

In fact, they already clashed with the Lin family over that Northern Di marriage alliance.

Do you really think that by hiding now, you'll be safe later?"

His voice stayed low, but every word hit like a stone to the chest.

"When Chen Zhengqi wins, will he spare a Lin family that turned him down and now just stands by doing nothing?"

"Will he believe we were just reading the room, and not sitting on the fence?"

"Will he leave a family that might flip sides at any moment hanging around to get in his way?"

The hall was dead quiet. No one spoke—no one dared.

The clan elders who'd been shaking their heads and sighing moments ago now sat pale-faced, eyes darting around.

But right then—

A voice came from the back: "Nanshu, you're being too harsh."

Everyone turned. Lin Fangze stepped out of the crowd.

He wore an indigo-blue robe, his face dark, his eyes fixed on Lin Nanshu with something unreadable in them.

It was hatred, resentment—the jealous fire that had been burning in his chest for years.

He walked slowly to the front of the hall, stopping among the clan elders.

"The Chen family is powerful—that's a fact." He looked at Lin Nanshu, his voice quiet but clear enough for everyone to hear.

"Father's trapped, and we're all worried. But worried is worried—we can't have the whole clan buried with him."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over those present.

"You're young and hot-headed, and you don't get these things—we don't blame you. But something this big, it's not your call."

The moment he finished, people immediately chimed in.

"Fangze's right!"

"He's the father, after all—he sees things clearer than his son!"

"Nanshu, your father's spoken. What more do you got to say?"

Lin Nanshu's eyes landed on his father's face.

He looked at that face, at the jealousy and venom churning in those eyes.

He didn't speak right away—he just looked, for a long time.

So long that Lin Fangze started to squirm under his stare, so long that people began whispering to each other.

Then he finally spoke.

"So Father's saying—we just do nothing about Grandfather?"

Lin Fangze frowned: "What I mean is, we need to take the long view. Acting rashly will only bring trouble down on our heads."

"Take the long view."

Lin Nanshu repeated the phrase, his voice still calm.

"Wait until Grandfather dies in Wenhua Hall, then we'll talk?"

"You—!" Lin Fangze's expression twisted, his finger trembling as he pointed at Lin Nanshu.

"How dare you say that! He's your grandfather!"

"Of course I know he's my grandfather." Lin Nanshu's voice remained calm, but beneath that calm, something was seething.

"But what about you, Father? Do you remember that he's not just my grandfather—he's your father too?"

Lin Fangze's face turned bright red.

"You—you ungrateful wretch!" His voice suddenly rose. "Do you even respect me as your father?! You killed Hengyu and his mother, and I haven't even settled that score with you yet. Now you're spouting nonsense in the clan—" Lin Fangze's face was now a deep, mottled red.

Lin Nanshu raised his hand. The teacup arced through the air, dregs and all, and smashed hard onto the ground at Lin Fangze's feet.

"Crash—!" Porcelain shards scattered, tea splashed, a few drops landing on Lin Fangze's robe, soaking into dark, wet stains.

The sound was deafening, like a clap of thunder.

It was so loud that everyone in the hall froze.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

No one dared to breathe.

Lin Fangze stood frozen in place, looking down at the shattered porcelain at his feet, at the tea splattered on his robe, as if he'd been turned to stone.

His lips trembled violently, his face shifting from red to white, then to an ashen gray.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Lin Nanshu stood in the center of the hall.

His hand was still frozen in the throwing motion, and only after two breaths did he slowly lower it.

The candlelight flickered behind him, casting his shadow on the ground, stretching it long across the floor.

The crowd finally shook off their shock at the shattered porcelain.

As if awakened by that sharp crack, or as if they had finally found an outlet for their frustration—

"Lin Nanshu! What do you think you're doing!"

Third Granduncle leaned on his cane, his beard and hair standing on end, and banged the cane hard on the ground.

"Disrespecting your elders! Throwing cups and smashing things in front of so many elders—have you no decency?!"

"Mutiny! This is outright mutiny!" Uncle Qi stood up as well, his face red with anger.

"We're only trying to give you good advice, and you act like this! With your grandfather absent, you dare treat your elders like this—if your grandfather were here, you'd be the death of him!"

"No respect for your elders! Out of control!"

"Such a disgrace deserves clan punishment!"

"Yes! Clan punishment! Kneel before the ancestral shrines and beg forgiveness!"

"Make him kneel for three days and three nights! Let's see if he still dares to be so arrogant!"

The cacophony of condemnation grew louder and more intense.

They had been worried about finding fault with Lin Nanshu, but now they seized the chance to pile on.

With Lin Zhufeng absent, each branch of the family had their own agendas—it was the perfect time to carve up the power.

At the very least, propping up that useless Lin Fangze as a puppet head of the family would be far easier to control than Lin Nanshu.

Those who had been shrinking back, too scared to speak moments ago, now seemed to have found their backbone, standing up one by one, getting in Lin Nanshu's face and cursing.

"Who do you think you are! Your grandfather isn't even dead yet—this Lin family doesn't answer to you!"

"What happened today, we will surely report to the old master! Let him decide how to deal with you, you disgrace to the family!"

"Someone! Someone! Bring out the instruments of clan punishment!"

Some had already started rushing toward the door, shouting for someone to bring the punishment tools.

Lin Fangze stood among the crowd, his face still pale, but a faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

He looked at Lin Nanshu, standing there in the center of the hall, and slowly clenched his fists.

Let him make a scene—the bigger, the better.

Best to crush this brat completely, so he can never get back up.

Lin Nanshu stood his ground.

He just stood there, in the middle of the accusations and curses filling the hall, in the midst of the tide of condemnation surging toward him.

The candlelight guttered behind him, throwing his shadow long across the floor.

He did not move.

He simply listened quietly.

Listening to those cries of "no respect," those calls for "clan punishment," those demands to "kneel before the ancestral shrines and beg forgiveness."

"I... I think my brother is right..."

Suddenly, a very soft voice, tinged with a tremor, cut through the chorus of condemnation.

It was jarringly out of place. Lin Nanshu glanced over at him—it was a boy of thirteen or fourteen.

His face turned bright red, but he didn't back down. Yet the very next moment—

A hand suddenly reached out from the side, grabbing his arm and yanking him back hard.

"Shut up!"

His father's face was livid, his grip on his arm nearly digging into the flesh, his voice lowered to a whisper:

"You're a concubine's son—if you want to die, don't take our whole family down with you!"

The curses around them grew louder, instantly drowning out that small show of support.

As the crowd grew more heated, as someone actually lunged for the door—

He suddenly turned his head and shot a glance at the entrance.

It was subtle.

Quick.

Just a look.

But the instant that glance landed—

The doors burst open, thrown wide from both sides.

A group of men filed in.

Dressed in black, swords at their hips, steps in perfect lockstep.

They filed in silently, splitting into two rows behind Lin Nanshu.

The candlelight caught them, reflecting the cold gleam of their scabbards.

The noise in the hall was cut off as if by a single blade.

It came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone's eyes fell on the guards, on the swords.

On those expressionless faces. No one spoke. No one dared to move.

Those who'd been shouting the loudest moments ago now stood frozen, mouths still open, but no sound coming out.

Third Granduncle's cane hung frozen in midair, forgotten mid-swing.

Uncle Qi's face went red, then pale, then a sickly green.

The man who'd rushed the door was now blocked by two guards, stuck inside, unable to move forward or back.

The faint smile at the corner of Lin Fangze's mouth froze on his face.

Lin Nanshu's gaze moved from the guards, settling back on those pale faces.

"Honored Clan Elders... what were you all saying just now?"

His voice wasn't loud—calm, even.

But that calm, dropping into this deathly silence, sent chills down everyone's spine.

No one answered.

No one dared to.

Lin Nanshu waited a moment.

Then he pulled a seal from his sleeve and held it up.

The candlelight hit it, casting a cold gleam.

"Grandfather has already handed me the family head's seal."

His gaze swept over each face in turn.

"From now on, the Lin family's affairs are mine to decide."

Third Granduncle's cane finally hit the ground with a dull thud.

"You—you—" He pointed at Lin Nanshu, fingers trembling, unable to get a full sentence out.

Uncle Qi's face had gone totally white.

He stared at the seal, at those four characters, his lips trembling violently.

"No... impossible... how could the family head..."

Lin Fangze gripped the table, his whole body seeming to lose all its strength.

He stared hard at the seal, the triumph in his eyes long replaced by fear, by disbelief.

"No..." His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. "How could he... how could he possibly hand the family head position to you now..."

No one answered, and Lin Nanshu didn't even look at him.

He just stood there, holding up the seal, his gaze sweeping over those stunned faces one by one.

Finally, it landed on those who'd been shouting the loudest moments before.

"All these years—"

Lin Nanshu's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a blade forged in ice, cutting into this deathly silence.

"You've enjoyed the Lin family's protection, lived without want, been schooled as gentlemen. You were supposed to share the family's honor and disgrace, to know shame, to understand propriety."

His gaze swept over those pale faces one by one.

"But what have you done?"

He stepped forward.

"Using the Lin family's name, you've bullied the countryside, lining your own pockets."

He took another step.

"You're no different from thugs and lowlifes."

He stopped, his gaze landing on Third Granduncle's face.

"Three years ago, your son seized farmland outside the city by force, driving a family of three to their deaths.

You used the Lin family's name to bury the case, then sold the farmer's wife and daughter into a brothel to silence them."

All the color drained from Third Granduncle's face.

"I... I..." His lips were trembling violently, yet he couldn't form a complete sentence.

Lin Nanshu's gaze shifted to Uncle Qi.

"Five years ago, using the ancestral hall renovation as a pretext, you skimmed thirty thousand taels of silver from the clan's coffers."

Uncle Qi's knees gave way beneath him. "Nanshu... Nanshu, I..."

Lin Nanshu didn't look at him. His eyes swept onward.

"And you—charging sky-high interest on loans, letting the interest pile up, driving countless families to ruin.

And those loan agreements bore the Lin family seal you had privately carved."