Chapter 211.2

In the Great Dé Dynasty, within the Lin household.

The steward ran in with a panicked expression: “Master, there’s trouble!”

“What now?” Lin Yuandong was very angry.

Having suffered losses at the hands of the Demon Sect, his temper had been quite foul these days.

“Master, we’ve been slandered!”

The steward handed over several storybooks, urgently saying, “These are storybooks circulating in the market, and the content inside is utterly defaming our noble family. The impact is extremely bad. It’ll be too late if we don’t stop it now!”

Lin Yuandong was dismissive: “Just a few storybooks, how bad can it be?”

Although he didn’t take it seriously, he still took them to take a look.

The more he read, the darker his face became, and the more he trembled with anger!

Were their noble families really that evil?

Most of us were scholars who read the classics and were reasonable people!

Even if we were to bully someone, we wouldn’t bully the lower classes for no reason!

That’s so beneath our standards!

But these storybooks painted them in such a dark light that he couldn’t help but want to commit suicide in shame!

Lin Yuandong roared in extreme anger: “How dare they! I have been an official for thirty years and have never seen such brazen behavior! Where did these novels come from? Seal them immediately! Arrest all related persons and throw them into the dungeon!”

The steward’s face was filled with bitterness: “Master, we can’t seal them!”

“Why not?”

“Because these storybooks are being sold by the shop across from us!”

“What…?” Lin Yuandong was shocked.

Of course, he knew the background of the shop across the street; it was a powerful force that even he could not afford to offend.

If he angered them, he might very well find his head relocated by nightfall.

Lin Yuandong felt extremely aggrieved inside!

You Demon Sect, you’ve gone too far!

They are not content with stealing our business; they even have the audacity to slander our reputation!

This is utterly preposterous!

Desiring revenge but lacking the courage to act, Lin Yuandong pressed the question, “Are these storybooks… really having such a bad influence?”

The steward replied with a pained smile, “Master, I have served you for over 20 years. How could I dare deceive you? If you don’t believe me, just go out and see for yourself. Then you’ll know whether my words are true or false.”

Of course, Lin Yuandong trusted his steward because lying about such a matter simply wasn’t worth it.

Still, he decided to go out and see for himself.

No sooner had he stepped outside than a clump of mud fell from the sky.

But his guard blocked it.

Lin Yuandong was furious: “Who threw that at me? Show yourself!”

No one responded, and no one admitted to it.

He took a few more steps and another clump of mud was hurled his way.

Lin Yuandong shouted again, “Who’s doing this?”

Still, no one owned up, and no one was spotted.

As he continued forward, more mud fell from the sky, along with some stinky water, garbage, and so on.

Even with strong guards, not everything could be prevented!

In the end, he hadn’t even reached the main street before he returned while covered in filth!

“Bastards! A bunch of bastards! I’m so angry! Just wait until I catch you; you’ll see what’s coming to you!”

Lin Yuandong bathed, changed into clean clothes, and then picked up the storybooks again, reading them carefully.

He discovered that each storybook was exceptionally well written, with vivid character portrayals and captivating twists and turns—truly masterpieces that would become classics and celebrated for generations!

In this way, their noble family would be associated with infamy for eternity, impossible to cleanse!

“No, this is too much! These books must be banned; they cannot be allowed to spread!”

The next day, he joined forces with others from noble families and reported the matter in court.

“Your Majesty,” he reported.

“Recent storybooks like ‘The Butterfly Lovers’ and ‘The White-Haired Girl’ have become popular throughout the country, maliciously slandering our noble families, with a very detrimental impact! We implore you to investigate and ban these storybooks!”

The Great Dé Emperor was well aware of the matters concerning the Demon Sect and the noble families.

With a slight smile, he said, “Minister, I think you’re overreacting! These are just storybooks, entertainment for the common people in their leisure time; how can they have such a detrimental impact?”

“But Your Majesty!”

Lin Yuandong urgently said, “These storybooks are slandering our noble families, in which many accusations are completely unfounded! If left unchecked, it will dishearten the officials!”

“Did they name names? Did they write you into the stories?” the Emperor countered.

The officials fell silent: “That… no, they did not!”

“Since they did not, where is the slander you speak of? You are clearly unfairly judging others based on your own narrow-minded suspicions! Therefore, there is no need for me to intervene!” The Great Dé Emperor dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand.

“If there is anything more, report it. If not, court is adjourned!”

The noble families’ offspring returned without success while feeling extremely frustrated.

But they did not give up there.

If they couldn’t deal with the Demon Sect, couldn’t they deal with others?

Thus, they used their private influence to confiscate all the circulating storybooks from the market!

They arrested all the storytellers, forbidding them from continuing to tell stories!

If someone discusses the plot, arrest them all as well!

Thus, the influence was finally curbed.

……

Upon learning of this, Lin Beifan chuckled, “They think they can just seal off my novel? How could it be that easy?”

With a wave of his hand, he summoned an elder from the Beggar Sect.

Elder Qian Yuan arrived and respectfully asked, “Your Majesty, what are your orders?”

Lin Beifan got straight to the point, “My storybook novel has been banned by the noble families, and I’m very displeased! Select some martially adept and eloquent disciples from the Beggar Sect to spread the content of this storybook far and wide!”

“As you command!” Elder Qian joyfully accepted the task.

After departing, he immediately set things in motion.

At this point, the widespread distribution and large numbers of the Beggar Sect came into play!

They took the storybooks and ran to every farm and field, calling out to the resting farmers, “Have you heard the story of ‘The White-Haired Girl’?”

“No, we haven’t…”

“Well, if you haven’t, let me tell you about it!”

The Beggar Sect disciples, holding the storybooks, began to vividly narrate, “There was a farmer’s daughter named Xi’er, who was very beautiful. She lived with her father, Yang Bailao, relying on each other for survival…”

After listening, everyone was deeply moved and filled with anger.

“For such a nice girl to be forced to become ‘The White-Haired Girl’!”

“This is the true face of the noble families, insatiable in their greed and utterly repulsive!”

“Damn that Huang Shiren! Damn that noble family!”

Just then, as the Beggar Sect disciple noticed the approach of the officials, he slapped his buttocks and slipped away.

“Everyone, I must take my leave now, goodbye!”

Due to the large numbers of the Beggar Sect, these stories quickly spread throughout the land, even reaching many remote mountainous regions.

Everyone who heard them was furious, cursing the noble families.

In the end, the noble families were shocked to find that the more they tried to suppress the stories, the more widely they were known!

They couldn’t help but feel frustrated and spat blood.

***

TLN: Waves of tips coming from Bryan, Sici, and Somebody! Thanks guys!

160/265 –> 160/269.5

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