Chapter 62 Her Doubts Are Destined to Remain Unanswered Tonight

On this night in the story, the once-renowned general who dominated the battlefield finally passed away, and the hero's tale came to an end. On the other side of the Duke's mansion, the Duchess suffered a sudden postpartum hemorrhage and also succumbed to her injuries.

On this chaotic night, someone silently took away the Duchess's newborn son, and then brought another baby back to the original place.

When the maidservant beside the Duchess finally remembered the young master, she found the child sleeping peacefully in bed.

The next day, everyone in the mansion knew that the Duchess had passed away after giving birth to a son, while the child born to the Duke's concubine had died shortly after birth due to congenital defects and had already been sent out for burial.

Later, out of gratitude for his deceased wife, the Duke submitted a memorial on the day his eldest son turned 100, requesting the establishment of an heir apparent.

The heir of the Duke's mansion displayed astonishing martial arts talent from a young age. At the age of five, he began learning martial arts from the former Duke's subordinates, and at the age of twelve, he broke through to the martial artist realm and officially began his cultivation.

In just over a decade, under the full support of the Duke's mansion, the Duke's heir has become one of the top genius cultivators in the capital and has entered the army for further training.

Whenever people see him, they always praise him, saying that the successor of the previous duke is outstanding, and the heir is exceptionally talented, inheriting the style of his grandfather.

Meanwhile, far from the capital, in Jeju, a poor scholar who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations had just lost his adoptive parents.

The scholar felt dejected, thinking that it was because he had failed to pass the imperial examination for many years that his adoptive parents had to work so hard to support him, and that he had ultimately fallen off a cliff and died tragically.

From then on, he completely gave up the idea of ​​taking the imperial examinations, and no matter how much the teachers at the academy tried to persuade him, he could not change his mind. Later, through the introduction of a relative, he found a job as an accountant in a restaurant.

But even when he was home alone, he still didn't forget to read, write, and practice calligraphy. Although he no longer took the imperial examinations, he didn't want to give up the knowledge he had acquired over the years.

One day, his classmates from the academy came to visit him and invited him to a literary gathering. They said that there would be distinguished guests from the capital at the gathering, and those guests were particularly fond of calligraphy. If one of his pieces of calligraphy could win the guest's favor, he might become famous and no longer have to make a living as an accountant.

The scholar was persuaded and joined his classmates at the literary gathering.

The distinguished guest indeed treated the scholar differently, not only asking him for a piece of calligraphy but also giving him a generous fee. However, for some reason, the guest kept staring at the scholar's face and inquired about his background. The scholar had no choice but to tell the truth, saying that he had been adopted by his parents.

Not long after, the distinguished guest from the capital left Jeju and was never heard from again.

Upon returning to the capital, the distinguished guest immediately visited the Duke's mansion. It turned out that this man was the younger brother of the current Duchess. Thanks to his sister's influence, his business had grown immensely, and ordinary people dared not disrespect him.

After the death of the late Duchess, the Duke never remarried, only allowing his concubine, who had lost her child, to take care of the heir.

For many years, the concubine devoted herself to the crown prince. When the crown prince was ten years old, the Duke, at the crown prince's urging, finally made the concubine his second wife. Two years later, she gave birth to his own child.

The crown prince held the concubine who raised him in high esteem, and the two had a relationship as close as that of a mother and son.

When he went to pay his respects to the Duchess, he overheard her talking to her younger brother. Her brother mentioned a young man he had seen in Jeju who looked very much like the portrait of the former Duke, and also bore a resemblance to the Crown Prince. However, the young man was an orphan with no known parents and his background was unknown.

He asked his sister if the child she gave birth to had really died, or if it was possible that the child hadn't actually died.

The Duchess refused to answer, only weeping incessantly. Her younger brother, realizing he had touched on a painful topic, gave up asking further questions and instead tried to comfort her.

Upon hearing this news, the Crown Prince was first shocked, and then sent people to Jeju to investigate. If the young man was indeed his stepmother's child, his younger brother, he would bring him back to the Duke's mansion even for the sake of his stepmother.

Afterwards, he found an opportunity to tell his stepmother about it in private. He just wanted to make her happy, but his stepmother's expression changed immediately after hearing it, and she said that he could not bring the person back to the capital.

His stepmother's reaction was too unusual. Under his persistent questioning, she finally told him the truth, but the truth was something the prince could not accept at all.

The stepmother said that the Crown Prince was her biological son, while the young man from Jeju might be the son of the late Duke's wife.

At this moment, the people the crown prince sent to investigate returned.

Although the young scholar's origins were not fully investigated, his lineage was confirmed; he was indeed a descendant of the Duke's family.

But now, the crown prince no longer wants anyone to return; he would rather he had never let anyone investigate this matter in the first place.

Meanwhile, in Jeju, the scholar gained fame at the literary gathering, and his calligraphy and paintings began to be sought after, so his life was no longer difficult.

Later, after several attempts to persuade him by his teachers and classmates, he finally decided to try the imperial examination again.

He failed to pass the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai three times, not because he lacked talent. On the contrary, he always ranked first in the academy's examinations, and his literary talent impressed the academy's teachers and classmates.

But his luck was really bad. For some reason, every time before the imperial examination, there would be accidents, big or small. He would either miss the exam or get injured or sick. This happened three times in a row, which made him more and more discouraged. He felt that he might just be unlucky.

Now that he no longer had to worry about making a living, he returned to the academy, intending to try again after his parents' mourning period was over.

Little did he know that a disaster was about to strike.

Although the crown prince learned the truth from his stepmother, he was unwilling to believe it and instead ordered his confidants to investigate the old events of that year.

After much investigation, it was discovered that what his stepmother had said was true. He was not the legitimate son of the former Duchess, but the biological son of the former Duchess's concubine, now the Duchess's second wife, and an illegitimate son of the Duchess's family.

But he had been the heir of the Duke's mansion for over twenty years, and there was absolutely no way he would give up everything.

The best way to keep a secret, besides getting rid of those who knew about it back then, is to kill the most crucial person, the real legitimate son of the Duke's mansion.

Anyway, he's just an incompetent scholar all these years, and no one will care if he dies.

Even if his father finds out the truth one day, the legitimate son is dead, and the position of heir can only be his.

The crown prince's confidant quietly left the capital and infiltrated Jeju.

One dark and stormy night, the scholar was painting at home when the door to his study suddenly opened.

As the story reached this point, Achan's heart clenched. There was no one else in the scholar's house, so how could the study door have suddenly opened?

She turned to the next page, only to find it completely blank!

Ah Chan was dumbfounded. And then? How could they just disappear? Was the person who came really an assassin sent by the fake prince?

How can the scholar escape this calamity?

Unfortunately, her questions will remain unanswered tonight, and she may have to wait several more days to see the next book!

Ah Chan spent the whole day reading the two storybooks.

Especially the revenge story, which prevented her from even having a proper dinner, resulted in Mr. Baomu digging such a big pit and burying her deep at the bottom.

Achan put down the storybook, rolled around on the bed several times, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, until midnight when she finally closed her eyes in a daze.

She felt she had only been asleep for a short while when she opened her eyes and found herself in a state of introspection. She had anticipated this state and was already used to it.

She lay quietly on the bed for a while, wondering if the third chain was finally going to break. She thought that her health would be better then, and she wouldn't be sick so often. The last few times she was sick, Hui Niang had been worried sick.

But after waiting for a long time, there was no sound at all.

Achan flicked the black chain around her neck with her paw. The chain trembled slightly with her movement, and then a series of cracking sounds came from it. Several large and small black symbols floated out from the chain.

She waited expectantly for the chains to disappear, but after the sound faded, the chains were still there.

Achan stubbornly continued to grab for a while longer, and several more symbols floated out of the chain, but the chain remained firmly fastened around her neck.

Wasn't it agreed that helping others would break a chain? She clearly helped Lin Sui and automatically entered an introspective state, so why is it different this time?

Achan began to rack her brains, trying to figure out what was different about this time compared to the previous two times.

If we have to say, neither Xiao Linshi nor Hui Niang can be considered alive, but Lin Sui is still alive.

Another point is that she was emotionally volatile during her first two attempts to help. The actions of the Zhao and Yan families genuinely angered her, and she wouldn't have stepped in to help otherwise.

But this time, Achan wasn't that angry about the Lin family's situation, nor did she feel too much empathy for them.

It wasn't because Lin Sui's experiences weren't tragic enough, but because Lin Sui's actual combat strength was astonishing. With only a little help, she charged forward on her own.

First, she broke her own brother's leg, then she wiped out her enemy's entire family, including their entire clan. Achan felt she hadn't done much; she had just been watching the spectacle the whole time.

Rather than whether the person being helped is still alive, Achan feels that the emotions she invests in a matter are perhaps the key.

However, these are all just her guesses and need to be verified later. Let the chain stay around her neck for a while longer.

When Ah Chan woke up in the morning, she had huge dark circles under her eyes.

Chen Hui was startled by this and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

This question immediately reminded Achan of the storybook that had no sequel, and the chain around her neck that only emitted symbols. She felt that the chain was mocking her, and her mood became even more depressed.

"Why don't you take a nap after dinner?" Chen Hui suggested.

Achan shook her head: "I can't sleep. I'll go out for a walk after dinner to clear my head."

After finishing her breakfast, Achan prepared to go out for a walk to clear her head. She didn't plan to go far; she intended to sit in a teahouse in the neighborhood and listen to the storyteller's tales, hoping it might help her escape the influence of the revenge story.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw two carriages parked outside the General's Mansion across the street, with the Lin family members standing beside them, including Lin Sui.

Achan watched from afar, and before long, she saw Lin Sui's mother being forcibly helped out of the Lin family mansion by two strong and robust nannies.

The reason it was forced is that even Achan could hear her cursing, and her feet even left the ground, yet the two old women still escorted her to the carriage without changing their expressions.

At first, Madam Yao was scolding the two unfamiliar old women who didn't listen to her, but she stopped scolding them when they got to the carriage and saw Lin Cheng.

When Yao saw Lin Cheng, her face was full of grievance: "General, I have borne you children and taken care of the family for you all these years, but where have I not done well enough? How can you treat me like this?"

Upon hearing her words, a hint of guilt flashed across Lin Cheng's face. To him, Yao Shi had been incredibly devoted, but...

Lin Cheng said to Yao in a deep voice, "It's out of consideration for our many years of marriage that I didn't pursue the matter even after learning two years ago that Lin Ting wasn't our daughter and that you had given our child to someone else to raise for over a decade. I feel that it's because I haven't been able to be by your side often these past years that you've done something wrong."

You wanted to keep Lin Ting, and I agreed. But my indulgence almost ruined the whole family.

"But I'm a victim too. My older brother lied to me. I was giving birth alone back then. Do you know how scared I was?"

Yao spoke with heartfelt sincerity, but Lin Sui suddenly interjected coldly, "Why weren't you afraid when you gave birth to my eldest brother and Lin Heng? I heard that Father wasn't home at the time either. But when it was my turn for the third time, you became afraid? Are you afraid of childbirth, or are you afraid that my birth will hinder you?"

"Shut up! It's none of your business to speak here!" Yao's eyes turned red with anger at Lin Sui's words. It was all her fault. If it weren't for her, how could this family have become like this?

Lin Sui, however, did not do as she wished, and said, "Mother, Father and eldest brother can tolerate you; they feel indebted to you. The only person in this family who cannot tolerate you is me. So you don't need to beg Father; it was I who forced him to send you away."

"It really was you, Lin Sui! You cold-blooded monster, you beast who would even harm your own mother!"

“Yes, that’s the kind of person I am.” Lin Sui said expressionlessly. “When Mother is cultivating in the mountains in the future, she can scold me loudly as much as she wants.”

"General, General, look at this rebellious daughter! How could you send me to the mountains for her sake?"

Lin Cheng avoided Yao's gaze, so Yao went to beg her eldest son again.

"Yi'er, haven't I been good enough to you? You and your father left, and I thought about you every day, worried that you would get hurt on the battlefield. I couldn't sleep at night. And now, you want to send your mother away for her sake?"

Lin Yi remained silent for a long time before saying, "Mother, so many days have passed, and you still don't think you did anything wrong, right?"

"Yi'er, your mother has been deceived by them!"

"But at first, Lin Ting was just someone you particularly liked. Even if you didn't like Sui Sui, you could have kept her by your side. The one who truly decided to send your own daughter away and ignore her was you. You were also the one who gave Yao Dingbang and his wife that opportunity."

Your second brother was arrested along with Sui Sui. This time, without Lin Ting's influence, you turned a blind eye to Sui Sui's grievances and blamed everything on her.

Mother, you gave me life and raised me, and I will visit you in the mountains someday. But you've lived in this house for over twenty years; now it's Sui Sui's turn.

"Lin Yi!" Yao screamed, "You Lin family members are all ungrateful wretches! Lin Cheng, how could you raise such a cold-blooded son! You Lin family members have no conscience!"

During Yao's struggle, she was forcibly put into a car by two nannies. Another car contained Yao's clothes, as well as some daily necessities and food.

After the troops were ready, Lin Cheng waved his hand, and four subordinates stepped forward, clasped their hands in salute, and said, "General."

"Make sure to send my wife to my hometown in Jiaozhou, and then give my letter to the clan chief. He will know what to do." Lin Cheng took out a letter and handed it to his subordinate.

"Yes, Your subordinate will certainly fulfill the General's instructions." The subordinate received the letter and carefully put it away.

"Let's go." After Lin Cheng gave the order, the carriage started moving.

At first, Yao could still be heard cursing Lin Cheng from inside the carriage, but later only muffled sounds could be heard, presumably because the two old women had covered Yao's mouth.

Once the carriage had gone some distance, Lin Sui suddenly realized something. She turned to Lin Cheng and asked, "Why didn't Father tell me that he was going to send her back to our hometown in Jiaozhou?"

She thought her father would do what other families did and send her to a Taoist temple in the suburbs of Beijing.

“It’s quiet back home, and there are relatives there to help. It’s a good place for your mother to cultivate her mind and character.” Lin Cheng looked at his daughter, whose eyes were filled with joy, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Their family has long since fallen apart, and there's no need to force everyone to stay; it will only increase resentment.

"Isn't she coming back?"

“Yes, she’s not coming back,” Lin Cheng said. “From now on, with Father not at home, all the big and small things at home will fall on Sui Sui’s shoulders.”

Lin Sui assured him, "Father, don't worry, I will take good care of my elder brother."

Lin Yi chuckled and patted Lin Sui's head.

Seeing that Lin Sui was not affected by Yao Shi, Lin Cheng was relieved and asked, "I have to go to the palace in a while, and your elder brother has to go on duty. What about you?"

Lin Sui looked up and saw A Chan not far away. She waved to her before saying, "I'm going out for a walk with my friends. I'll be home as soon as possible."

After she finished speaking, she was slightly taken aback. It turned out that she had a friend with whom she could confide her innermost thoughts. Unconsciously, many things had changed.

"Alright." Lin Cheng thought for a moment and then said, "Knowing that you don't like to go out with maids, I'll leave you two guards, just in case."

Lin Sui wanted to say there was no need, as accidents rarely happened to women who went out alone in the capital. She didn't want to stay in the General's Mansion and often went out for walks by herself.

However, after thinking about it, she still did not refuse Lin Cheng's kindness: "Then let them follow me for the time being, and I won't need to anymore after I have achieved success in my cultivation."

Lin Cheng laughed: "Okay, then you'd better work hard."

After watching the Lin family father and son leave, Lin Sui walked quickly toward A Chan.