The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

As soon as Lin Dan had settled Lady Qi down, a group of people came to the inn and yelled to see her. The shopkeeper stopped them from entering as he was afraid that these people would destroy the inn if he let them in. Those people started crying at the entrance and attracted passers-by to stop and watch.

Lin Dan pushed the window slightly and peeked at what was happening. She saw that the person who was leading the group was an old woman who looked desolate. She wore a set of garments that had turned pale from overwashing and she was not wearing any ornaments on her head. Yan Shouye kept yelling "mother" as he held her and looked extremely sad.

She seemed to be the wife of Lin Baotian's master, Yan Bo. This meant that Lin Dan should address her as Madam Grandmaster. But Lin Dan was likely unable to address her in that respectful manner because what this old woman did was enough to overturn all her previous efforts of cleaning up Lin Baotian’s reputation.

The old woman beat her chest and cried, "Damn you, Lin Baotian! I don’t care if you bullied me and my child, how can you make your daughter do the same thing to us too?! Your daughter said that you are a filial man who took care of the old man’s funeral? That’s nonsense! How could you lie without batting an eye! The old man was lying on the bed for several months, and Lin Baotian didn't even pour a glass of water for him, not to mention taking care of him! I was the one who arranged everything. I asked Lin Baotian to send a letter to my son, he agreed to do so on the surface, but he burned the letter as he was afraid that my son would appear and fight for the old man’s inheritance! This was why my son could not make it back in time to see his father for the last time. Isn’t he a vicious man? My son should be the one to inherit the family business, what gave him the right to stop my son from doing so? When the old man died and didn’t have a son to complete the rites for him, Lin Baotian took the chance to threaten me into giving him all the family’s assets, or he would not let the old man rest in peace. I had no one to turn to and there’s nothing I could do! The old man's coffin was still at home, I only wanted him to rest in peace…"

The heartbroken look of the old woman drew the passers-by to tears. If this continued, Lin Dan reckoned that what she did to clear up Lin Baotian’s reputation would have gone to waste.

Lady Qi, who finally could rest, woke up and said angrily, "She is talking nonsense! That was all lies! When your grandmaster was ill, your father had wanted to inform Yan Shouye immediately. It was her who stopped your father as she didn’t want to distract Yan Shouye who was about to take the imperial examinations. Little did she know that your grandmaster’s health deteriorated quickly and went into a coma just in two weeks. When your father wanted to contact Yan Shouye, he had already gone out to study and nobody knew where he went. Your father took care of all your grandmaster’s needs, cleaning his piss and poop, prepared medicine for him, and even had to support the family. Your father was the one who did all the hard work, while your madam avoided taking care of him because she didn’t want to dirty her hands and tire herself. When your grandmaster died, she said all the money was used to fund her son’s studies, and she couldn't fork out any extra money for the funeral of your grandmaster. She cried and begged your father to find a way, and eventually, your father used all his savings to pay 50 taels of interest so that your grandmaster could be buried in peace. In order to repay the debt, your father had no rest and went out to work immediately one day after the burial. He came to the capital in the end and had been sending money back. It’s unfortunate that there was no proof of what he did. We can’t even prove our innocence!"

Lady Qi opened her bag and took out two memorial tablets. She cried, "Your father was a good person, but why is he not rewarded for being a good person!"

She also wanted to run out and argue with the old woman, but the old woman was the wife of Lin Baotian’s master who had raised him since he was a child. It would be difficult for Lady Qi to argue with the old woman due to her seniority and the kindness they had shown Lin Baotian. If she had argued, it would make her seem as though she was unkind and disrespectful to the elders. This was how the world worked – it was acceptable for seniors to beat up and reprimand the juniors, but the juniors could never disobey the seniors. The word "filial piety" was enough to crush people alive. Besides, she was not an eloquent speaker, she could easily be deceived by others, let alone speaking up for her wronged, deceased husband.

Lin Dan naturally believed Lady Qi rather than the group of people outside. Besides, in her memory, Lim Baotian was indeed a good person and had never done anything wrong in his life. Since Lin Dan had taken up the identity of his daughter, she must find a way to protect his reputation. However, she knew that arguing and rebutting was obviously a bad idea. No matter how eloquent she was, she had already lost in terms of seniority. It was not honorable at all to win a quarrel against a senior.

"Mother, pack up your bags, let's leave the capital." Lin Dan made up her mind and said, "Give me the tablet. I will return it to them."

Lady Qi handed it over without hesitation. Before she knew it, her daughter had become the decision-maker for the family.

Lin Dan wrapped the tablet in a piece of white silk cloth. She carefully held it in her arms and walked downstairs.

"She’s out, she’s out! The mother and daughter of the Lin family are out!" Someone who recognized Lin Dan and Lady Qi screamed. Passers-by who were already very interested in this matter gathered closer to see what happened.

"Wow, you are finally willing to show yourselves!" The old woman wiped her tears and rushed forward. She wanted to grab the two ladies and argue with them, so as to tarnish their reputation. Since she was the wife of Lin Baotian's master and the madam of Lin Dan, she would always be in the right no matter what she said. She was not afraid that the mother and daughter would revolt against her.

Lin Dan raised the tablet to block the old woman’s approach. When the old woman spread her five fingers and wanted to grab her collar, she took the chance to put the tablet into her hand. She then knelt down and kowtowed three times, before saying steadily, "Madam, my mother and I will leave the capital. Please take care of yourself. This is the grandmaster's tablet and you may have it back. My mother and I do not deserve to pay respects to him."

The old woman hated the Lin family to the bone and would not care to listen to Lin Dan carefully. She smashed the thing in her hands on the ground without thinking.

Lady Qi cried out in shock and quickly tried to save it, but she was one step too late. The memorial tablet fell to the ground and the loosely wrapped white silk cloth spread out, revealing the words carved on it. Everyone craned their necks and looked carefully. They realized that it was indeed Yan Bo’s tablet. Although the base of the tablet was mostly blackened due to smoke, it did not seem dirty at all. In fact, it was radiating with a soft luster, which was produced when people often worshipped and cleaned the tablet with a silk cloth regularly.

The memorial tablet that was so well maintained had cracked under the hands of the old woman. “What a grave sin had she committed!” They thought.

Someone nearby immediately chided, "How dare you ruin a memorial tablet? Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the heavens?!"

The old woman was dumbfounded when she saw the tablet and Yan Shouye was unable to react in time. It was Lady Qi who took the tablet and wiped it with the silk cloth. Her fingers trembled whenever she touched the crack on the tablet, she was badly shaken by what had happened.

Lin Dan, who had always worn an expressionless face, finally shed tears. She took the tablet lightly and wiped it with her sleeves cautiously before placing it respectfully on the platform. She pulled her mother and did three loud kowtows before hobbling away.

Both of them had kowtowed so hard that there was blood on their foreheads. It had left two bright red marks on the stairway which created a ghastly sight. Although the mother and daughter did not utter a word, their actions had meant more than what the old woman had said. The passers-by who were outraged before had turned silent. They stopped saying that they wanted to help the old woman teach Lin Dan and her mother a good lesson. They thought looking at what happened to the tablet, it was obvious who was right and who was wrong, who was good and who was bad.

"O-Old man!" The old woman slowly regained her senses and slumped on the ground after her legs turned jelly. Yan Shouye did not know whether he should keep standing or get down on his knees. It was unsure whether his face was red with embarrassment or pale in shock.

At that moment, no one had noticed that the old steward of the Marquis of Yongding was standing outside the crowd, while the young marquis was sitting in a teahouse nearby, observing what had happened. He stared at the direction where Lin Dan and her mother were walking towards before heaving a long sigh. He took out some silver notes and ordered his servant to catch up with them.

Lin Dan naturally declined the young marquis’ help. Her instinct was telling her that she could only enjoy a peaceful life only if she kept a distance from the young marquis and Yan Langqing.

Seeing that his servant brought the silver notes back, the young marquis was having mixed feelings. He thought that he knew Lin Dan well, but he suddenly realized that she was more stubborn and resilient than he thought. The mother and daughter insisted on leaving while bringing nothing with them, even though they knew that it would be very challenging ahead.

When the young marquis returned home unhappily, the old steward was reporting the situation to the old marquis in detail. "When I arrived, Lady Zhou was making a scene at that place and had attracted many passers-by. Lady Zhou was spouting words of slander about Head Chef Lin and it has made Lin Dan and Lady Qi so scared that they dared not show up. But as Lady Zhou was speaking even more outrageously, before I was able to stop her, Lin Dan and Lady Qi appeared out of no choice. They did not say a word, except returning Imperial Chef Yan’s memorial tablet to Lady Zhou before giving her and the tablet three loud kowtows. Lady Zhou knew that it was Imperial Chef Yan's memorial tablet, but she still smashed the tablet hard onto the ground, creating a big crack on the tablet…"

In fact, Lady Zhou had no idea that it was Yan Bo's tablet. She was so furious at that moment that she did not care what Lin Dan said, especially when Lin Dan had deliberately slowed down her speech and was speaking softly. It was unfortunate that the passers-by were paying special attention to Lin Dan's words. This was how they all knew that it was Yan Bo’s tablet that was wrapped in the white silk cloth and they naturally thought Lady Zhou knew about it too.

Upon hearing this, the old marquis sighed, "She smashed her deceased husband’s tablet?! This goes to show that what she said was all nonsense! Since she had no real affection for Imperial Chef Yan, how could she take care of him when he was gravely ill? I also expect nothing more from that unfilial son. Without Baotian, the Yan family would not enjoy what they are having today. In other words, money is the source of all these troubles. These people are filled with greed that they are willing to sell off their conscience."

The old steward agreed, "That’s right! They wouldn’t be able to take back the Golden Knife, the recipes, and the restaurant in a rightful manner without tarnishing Chef Lin’s reputation. Chef Lin went through so much to make Yan’s dishes popular, and now they just want to ride on his successes. Do they really think people are fools and don’t know what is up their sleeves? They can accuse Chef Lin of being ungrateful, unfaithful, and unfilial for all they want, but the tablet that was worshipped and maintained regularly is enough to keep their mouths shut. If Chef Lin really deceived his master and brought shame to his ancestors, would he dare to pay respects to his master’s tablet at home regularly? On the contrary, it was Lady Zhou and Yan Shouye whose legs turned jelly the moment they saw the tablet, it’s obvious that they were guilty of their wrongdoings."

"I know Baotian’s character the best. He is definitely not someone who is capable of doing bad things. Inheriting his master title is different from inheriting the family’s wealth. It is not something you can spend freely when it’s given to you, but a title that one must prove to be worthy of. It's not easy to be the successor of the imperial chef, as people would judge whether you’re worthy of that title once you whip up a dish. Unless Imperial Chef Yan was old and muddleheaded, he would be tarnishing his own title if he had passed his title to Yan Shouye who knows nothing about cooking!" The old marquis got more furious as he spoke.

"Exactly! The Yan family seized the chance knowing that Chef Lin is dead so that he can't stand up and defend himself. Poor Lin Dan and Lady Qi had no choice but to leave." The old steward shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

"Send someone to get them back. It'll be tough for an orphan and widow to survive out there." The old marquis could not let things pass and shook his hand.

As the old steward went hurriedly, the old marquis found his son standing at the door. He frowned and said, "Send Yan Langqing away. We do not keep such evil people in the Marquis Residence. We can always hire good chefs and we don’t lose anything by firing her."

The young marquis nodded. He took a bow and left without saying a word.

Yan Langqing, who intended to show off her culinary skills in the Marquis Residence, had never dreamed that the scene her grandmother and father created had not only failed to restore the Yan family's reputation, it had also ruined her plans.