To avoid seeing his parents' mournful faces, Lin Hongtao planned to return directly to his own courtyard after coming back from outside.
As he passed through the garden in the backyard, he happened to encounter Concubine Tao, who was also returning from the funeral rites.
Lin Hongtao found Concubine Tao to be beautiful and charming, with a pair of large, bright eyes that were narrow and alluring. Her skin was like smooth, solidified fat. Although she wore mourning clothes, they could not conceal her graceful figure. Her hair was styled simply with a wooden hairpin, and her makeup was light and casual, appearing clean and elegant, which instead highlighted the exquisiteness of her adornment.
Lin Hongtao’s eyes went straight to Concubine Tao as he saw her, and he reached out to stop her.
"Concubine Tao, where are you going?"
"Young Master, I am returning to my own courtyard."
Concubine Tao bowed her head towards him, not wishing to entangle herself with Lin Hongtao.
"Coincidentally, I am also returning to my own courtyard, so we are on the same path."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Tao found it quite amusing. Clearly, Lin Hongtao's courtyard was on the east side of the garden, while her small courtyard was on the west side. How could they possibly be on the same path?
Concubine Tao saw through Lin Hongtao’s ulterior motives at a glance.
"Young Master, my courtyard and yours don't seem to be on the same path, do they? Your courtyard is on the east side of the garden, and mine is on the west," Concubine Tao exposed him.
"Heh heh, that doesn't matter. If I say we are on the same path, then we are. Let's go, I'll escort you back to your courtyard," Lin Hongtao replied shamelessly.
Just then, Concubine Tao happened to glimpse Lin Zhenfei slowly walking towards them.
Her eyes flickered.
"Young Master, thank you, but I am the Master's concubine. It is not good for me to be too close to you. If those servants misunderstand and rumors reach the Master and Madam, they will have me beaten to death."
Concubine Tao said pitifully with her head lowered. Whenever Lin Hongtao got closer to her, she would retreat a little, trying to maintain a distance from him.
"My parents are grieving over my sister's death right now, they don't have the mood to bother with matters in the backyard. Even if we were to go to a room and be intimate, my parents wouldn't know."
Lin Hongtao laughed wildly and loudly, unaware that danger was imminent.
Upon hearing his son's words, Lin Zhenfei's entire face contorted with rage.
He casually grabbed a broom that a servant was using to sweep the ground and struck Lin Hongtao on his back.
"Ouch, it hurts so much! Who is this fool who dares to ambush this Young Master from behind?"
Lin Hongtao first let out a painful cry, then he roared loudly.
"It's me, Lin Zhenfei!"
Duke Lin's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Lin Hongtao froze completely upon hearing his father's voice.
Damn it, he was just too unlucky!
"Father, I was just saying a couple of words to Concubine Tao, I, I wasn't doing anything else!" Lin Hongtao said with a crying, contorted face.
"If you weren't doing anything else, do you want me to catch you in the act before I believe you?"
As Lin Zhenfei spoke, he grabbed the broom again and swung it at Lin Hongtao.
"Whack, whack, whack…"
Lin Zhenfei hit Lin Hongtao several times hard on his body. The force was immense, making him quickly dodge.
"Father, I was wrong, I was wrong! I will never dare to tease Concubine Tao again, woo woo…"
"You unfilial, good-for-nothing dog! Your sister was just buried, and you're already like this…"
The more Lin Zhenfei spoke, the angrier he became. He stopped chasing Lin Hongtao and directly ordered a servant to fetch a rope, having the guards tie Lin Hongtao up and bring him before Madam Lin of the Duke’s Mansion.
"Master, what's wrong? Why have you tied up Tao'er like this?" Madam Lin, Qin Minzhi, looked at her son with heartache, her face showing confusion.
"Ask your good son."
Lin Zhenfei's eyebrows were filled with rage, his gaze towards Madam Lin was distant, and his face was covered with frost.
"Tao'er, what have you done again to make your father so furious?" Madam Lin asked him with concern.
"Mother, Tao'er doesn't know how he provoked Father. I was just saying a couple of words to Concubine Tao, and Father started hitting me with a broom. Woo woo… Mother, your son is being wronged so badly!"
Lin Hongtao, relying on Madam Lin's affection for him, complained to his mother with half-truths and half-lies.
Having just lost her daughter, Madam Lin, seeing Lin Hongtao's miserable state, was already filled with pity.
"Lin Zhenfei, you are simply too overbearing! We all live under the same roof. Tao'er encountering Tao's in the backyard and exchanging a few words is a perfectly normal thing. Why are you punishing him so harshly?" Madam Lin raised her hand and pointed at Lin Zhenfei, scolding him angrily.
"Then ask your son what he said. 'My parents are grieving over my sister's death right now, they don't have the mood to bother with matters in the backyard. Even if we were to go to a room and be intimate, my parents wouldn't know.'" Lin Zhenfei repeated Lin Hongtao's words to Concubine Tao to Madam Lin.
Upon hearing this, Madam Lin's expression also changed.
"Tao'er, Mengzhi is your own sister! She's gone, and it's one thing if you're not sad, but to dare to tease your father's concubine on the day of her burial, and even want to do such a thing with Concubine Tao, are you even human?"
Madam Lin raised her hand and slapped Lin Hongtao.
Her son's courage was growing bolder and more reckless. Usually, when he teased the prettier maids in the manor or occasionally brought back a few young girls from outside, she wouldn't say anything.
But this Concubine Tao was his father Lin Zhenfei's concubine. If something truly happened, her Tao'er would be the subject of gossip for a lifetime. She really couldn't indulge this matter.
However, that little vixen Tao was truly something. She was walking, but why did she have to seduce her son?
It seemed that because she, the mistress of the house, hadn't found fault with that little vixen recently, she was getting an itch.
Lin Hongtao, having just been severely beaten by his father and now receiving a slap from his mother, felt extremely wronged.
"Mother, why are you hitting me too?"
"Tao'er, for your mother's sake, I can't bear to hit you, but look at what you've done? That little vixen Tao is your father's concubine, you absolutely cannot touch her. Otherwise, not only will people gossip about you for a lifetime, but it will also implicate your father and lead to him being impeached in court. Do you understand?"
Madam Lin patiently lectured him.
"Ah, Father, Mother, Tao'er was wrong, Tao'er knows he was wrong."
It was uncertain how much of Madam Lin's words Lin Hongtao actually absorbed. In the end, he lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"Tao'er, there must not be a next time," Madam Lin warned him.
"Mmm, mmm, Mother, your son understands. Please help me untie these ropes quickly. Those servants tied me too tightly, and my body hurts so much!" Lin Hongtao pretended to be pitiful again.
"No! Without my permission, no one can untie you."
Lin Zhenfei, standing nearby, could no longer tolerate their mother-son affection.