Chapter 438 Apology?

Chapter 438: Apology?

Lin Nanshu's gaze swept over the crowd.

Those who had been shouting moments ago now looked away guiltily, scared of being called out for their wrongdoings.

Some hung their heads, some looked away, some quietly shuffled back.

The Lin family was vast, with a hundred years of accumulated wealth and deeply intertwined interests.

Over the years, who hadn't tried to line their own pockets?

Those accounts, those cases, those shady dealings that couldn't see the light of day—who among them didn't have their hands dirty?

But those who had just been named now seemed like cornered dogs, baring their teeth.

Third Granduncle gripped the pillar, wheezing for breath, then suddenly looked up.

"Lin Nanshu!" His voice was hoarse, but carried a desperate, vicious bite. "These are all things of the past! What are you trying to pull by dredging up all this old stuff?!"

Uncle Qi also scrambled up from the ground, his face twisting with venom.

"Exactly! These are all in the past! We are Elders of the Lin clan—by seniority, even your grandfather would have to call us Third Uncle and Seventh Brother! What do you intend to do?!"

"You wouldn't dare try to discipline us, would you?!" Another named elder joined in. "Even with the clan leader's seal, you've got no right to use clan law on us!"

"That's right! We've labored for the Lin family for decades—if not for merit, then for toil! Who the hell do you think you are, you little whelp?!"

The more they talked, the more worked up they got, the more they convinced themselves they were right.

As if those stolen farmlands, those embezzled silver taels, those lives they drove to death were just "water under the bridge."

As if they were still the lofty clan elders, deserving of respect.

Lin Nanshu stood still.

He looked at these people, at their flailing, at their hollow, blustering eyes.

He said nothing. He simply watched, for a long time.

So long that those people started to squirm under his gaze, so long that their fake bravado slowly leaked out of them, so long that some started looking away, unable to hold his gaze—

Finally, he spoke.

"Didn't the elders just say that the Lin family has always been noble and pure, and that looking out for yourself is what matters most?"

His voice was not loud—calm, even—but that calm hit the crowd like a slap, leaving them stunned.

The named elders exchanged glances, a flicker of confusion in their eyes, then a faint spark of hope.

Was this... him coming around?

The crowd quickly caught on, plastering on smiles and nodding along, scared Lin Nanshu might change his mind.

"Yeah, yeah! Nanshu, good that you finally see reason!"

Third Granduncle nodded repeatedly, the wrinkles on his face easing up, his voice softening by several notches.

"We're all looking out for the Lin family's best interests! Your grandfather will definitely understand where we're coming from!"

Uncle Qi also scrambled to his feet, wiping the tears off his face, and chimed in in a hurry.

"That's right, that's right! Where there's life, there's hope."

The named elders, like they were grabbing at a lifeline, all rushed to speak at once.

The voices grew louder and more numerous.

As if the accusations, the curses, the threats of clan discipline had never even happened.

As if they'd always had the Lin family's best interests at heart, always sincere and well-meaning.

Lin Fangze stood among the crowd, watching Lin Nanshu, his pupils shaking slightly.

So he's finally caving, huh? See, after all that fuss, he still has to bow his head.

Lin Nanshu waited for the voices to die down, then suddenly let out a faint smile—so brief, just a flash.

But that smile hit the crowd like a jolt to the chest.

"Very well." His voice wasn't loud, but every word landed loud and clear in everyone's ears.

"Since you all think looking out for yourselves is the right way—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over their faces one by one.

"Someone, bring out the clan registry."

The moment those words left his mouth, the hall went dead silent.

Every face went pale in an instant. The crowd exchanged confused looks, none of them knowing what this meant.

"Lin Nanshu... what... what do you mean?!" One person blurted out instinctively.

Lin Nanshu didn't even look at him, slowly pacing a few steps across the hall.

The incense burner on the table was engraved with interlocking lotus patterns, and the mythical beast on its lid breathed out a wisp of smoke, half real, half dream.

"Didn't you all just say that one must look out for oneself and share the clan's honor and shame?"

His voice remained calm. "Then I'll grant you that wish."

"From this day forward—" He paused, his gaze fixed on the crowd.

"In the name of the current head of the Lin family, I hereby expel you from the clan and remove your names from the registry."

The words hit like a thunderbolt.

"Lin Nanshu! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!" An elder jumped to his feet, pointing right at Lin Nanshu's nose, his voice cracking.

"What right do you have to kick us out of the clan?!"

"What right!"

"We want to see the clan head! We want to see the old man!"

"This is personal revenge!"

They were sons of a noble house, having lived under the clan's shadow since the day they were born.

The name on the clan registry was their greatest support, their license to throw their weight around the countryside, and their ticket to a life of luxury and ease.

If they got kicked out of the clan, not only would their reputation suffer, but all the resources, benefits, and protection of the clan would have nothing to do with them anymore.

They were used to being waited on hand and foot, with servants at their beck and call. Kicking them out of the clan would be no different from killing them.

Their voices grew louder and more agitated, each one surging forward as if to lunge at Lin Nanshu and tear him apart.

But then—

"Thud!" A dull sound.

A sword-bearing guard kicked the lead man right in the back of the knee.

The man screamed in agony, collapsing forward onto his knees right in front of Lin Nanshu.

At the same time, the other guards drew their blades in unison, the gleaming blades glinting coldly in the candlelight.

"Shing—" The sound was perfectly synchronized, and the noise in the hall was cut off as if by a single stroke.

It came to an abrupt halt.

The ones who had been charging forward froze in their tracks.

Their mouths were still hanging open, but not a single curse word came out.

They stared at the blades, at the stone-faced guards, at the young man standing in the candlelight—

No one dared move. No one dared make a sound.

Those who had been clamoring moments ago now stood with ashen faces, their legs so weak they could barely stay upright.

Lin Nanshu looked down at the man kneeling before him.

"First article of the Lin clan's precepts—"

His voice wasn't loud, but in the deathly silence, every word landed loud and clear in everyone's ears.

"Share the clan's honor, share the clan's fate."

"Second article—"

"Loyal and upright in public, filial and dutiful at home."

"Third article—"

"Conduct yourself with integrity, never compromise for wealth."

His gaze swept over their faces one by one.

"First article of the Lin clan's precepts—"

"And you—"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a blade forged in ice, each word landing like a blow.

"When the sovereign is in peril and the state is on the brink of collapse, you don't think of serving the nation—you shrink back and retreat—"

"That is disloyalty!"

"Bullying the weak, terrorizing the countryside, with no regard for the law—"

"That is moral corruption!"

"Selfish and greedy, taking bribes without a shred of shame. When clan members are thrown in prison, you stand by and do nothing.

When the clan prospers, you're first in line for the glory; when the clan faces hardship, you're first to run—"

His voice rose higher and higher, each word cutting to the bone: "That is refusing to share the disgrace!"

His voice echoed through the hall, rattling everyone's eardrums.

Lin Nanshu's gaze swept over their faces one by one, speaking slowly, deliberately: "For people like you—disloyal, corrupt, unwilling to share disgrace—"

He paused, his voice thundering: "How dare you call yourselves members of the Lin clan?!"

His words hit like a thunderbolt.

The candle flames flickered behind him, casting a long, stretched shadow across the ground.

He stood in the full blaze of the candlelight, before the rows of ancestral tablets.

No one dared meet his eyes. No one dared make a sound.

A deathly silence fell.

"You..." One of them stepped forward, his lips trembling violently, like he wanted to say something.

Lin Nanshu looked at him, waiting for him to go on, but nothing came out.

He just stood there with his mouth open, like a fish flopping on the shore, gasping helplessly without a sound.

Lin Nanshu looked away. "Since you all say the Lin family is a noble house and you want to protect yourselves—"

He paused. "Then today—I'll take it upon myself to purge the clan!"

The words landed, and the hall went as silent as a graveyard. The crowd stared at him like he was a madman.

Their eyes held fear, disbelief, and confusion—

As if the man before them wasn't the gentle, refined Lin Nanshu they knew, but a demon wearing human skin.

Lin Nanshu ignored them. He turned and walked to the big rosewood desk, spread out a sheet of white paper, and picked up a brush to dip in ink.

He was going to draft the clan's writ of expulsion. This was the final step in casting them out—putting their crimes down in black and white for the whole clan to see.

Only then did the crowd start to panic. They finally realized Lin Nanshu wasn't trying to scare them, wasn't bluffing, wasn't bargaining—

He was really going to do it.

"Lin Nanshu! You can't do this!" Uncle Qi stumbled forward a few steps, his voice cracking.

"We're the elders of this clan! Even your grandfather showed us respect! You can't treat us like this!"

Third Granduncle pushed himself up using a pillar, his voice hoarse:

"Aren't you afraid people will stab you in the back?! Aren't you afraid of being called cold-hearted and disrespectful to your elders?! Don't you care about your reputation at all?!"

Lin Nanshu's brush did not stop; he didn't even raise an eyelid.

Those men were completely panicked now. They turned to look at the clansmen who had remained silent all along, their eyes filled with pleading.

"Say something! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!"

"We're family! Are you just going to watch this madman drive us out?!"

No one responded. Those who had been silent before now hung their heads even lower, shrinking their shoulders, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Forget speaking up for them—they wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground, terrified of drawing even one glance from Lin Nanshu.

The men's hearts sank. They finally understood—Lin Nanshu was determined to make an example of them.

No one could stop him. No one dared to stop him.

But just then—one of them suddenly looked up, a wild glint flashing in his eyes.

"Lin Nanshu!" His voice was shrill and cutting.

"You want to expel us from the clan? Fine! I'll accept it!" He paused, then suddenly let out a laugh, his smile dripping with venom.

"But if you're going to expel us, then be fair about it!"

Lin Nanshu's brush paused.

The man, as if grabbing a lifeline, raised his voice: "If I remember correctly, your father's made quite a few blunders himself, hasn't he?!"

The moment those words fell, everyone's gaze snapped to Lin Fangze.

Lin Fangze stood among the crowd, his body going rigid, his face flushing crimson.

But the man grew more excited with each word, speaking faster and faster:

"All these years, how much trouble has he caused with his drinking and carousing? Which mess didn't the Lin family have to clean up after him?!"

"All these years in the city, who doesn't know what kind of man your father Lin Fangze is?!"

His voice echoed through the hall, every word a poison-tipped arrow.

The other men named immediately caught on, frantically chiming in: "That's right! If you expel us, expel him too!"

"Your father Lin Fangze is no better than we are!"

"Since we're not fit to stay on the clan register, your father isn't either!"

Their voices grew louder, more brazen, as if they'd finally found a weapon to strike back with.

They seemed to have finally found Lin Nanshu's Achilles' heel, pressing on with growing fervor, their voices swelling.

"Lin Nanshu! You keep talking about purging the clan—fine! Start with your own father!"

"Didn't you just say that those who are disloyal, unjust, and unwilling to share in the clan's disgrace don't deserve a place in the Lin clan register? Your father—does he measure up on every single charge?!"

"Then cross your father's name off the register too!"

"If you don't dare, then you're playing favorites! What right do you have to expel us?!"

Their voices reverberated through the hall, carrying a near-maniacal triumph.

Lin Fangze stood in the crowd, his body rigid with terror.

All eyes darted between Lin Nanshu and Lin Fangze.

Lin Nanshu was famed throughout the realm and fiercely protective of his reputation—anyone with half a brain could see the stakes.

Those men knew it like the back of their hands—Lin Nanshu could expel them from the clan; they were the ones in the wrong, and no matter how much of a fuss they kicked up, they couldn't overturn that.

But Lin Fangze was different—he was his father, his biological father.

No matter how great a parent's faults, since ancient times, one could only remonstrate with them, never cast them out of the family.

That was the moral order, the heavenly principle, the iron rule written into every clan's regulations.

If Lin Nanshu dared to expel his own father from the clan, he would be violating filial piety, committing the gravest act of unfilial conduct.

Outsiders would surely point at his back and curse him—call him an unfilial son, a madman, a beast devoid of all kinship.

He didn't dare.

He absolutely didn't dare.

At that thought, those men straightened their backs a little more.

Lin Fangze stood in the crowd, his face cycling through shades of pale and red, utterly unable to maintain his dignity.

Those words stabbed him like knives. He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but not a single word came out—because every word was true.

But to be berated to his face in front of so many people—where was he supposed to put his face?

His complexion shifted from white to red, then from red to purple, finally settling into a deep, mottled purple.

He jerked his head up to look at Lin Nanshu.

That young man standing in the candlelight, that son he had never deigned to truly look at, was now facing away from him, brush suspended over the paper, without even turning his head.

A surge of inexplicable rage flared up.

He was the father!

He was the elder!

This unfilial son—what right did he have to humiliate him like this?!

Lin Fangze took a deep breath, trying to muster some semblance of authority.

He straightened his back, his voice barely containing his fury as he barked at Lin Nanshu: "You unfilial son!"

"Have you lost your mind, spouting such nonsense, uttering such treasonous words?!"

He stepped forward, pointing at Lin Nanshu's back, his finger trembling.

"Now—right now—apologize to the Clan Elders and admit your wrongs!"