Chapter 83 Wei Yin gently placed her hands on the young man's...

Wei Yin gently placed her hands on the boy's thin shoulders, her bright eyes gazing at him. Though she didn't say it aloud, the meaning was clear. Lu Hun stared blankly at her, his eyes growing darker with each passing moment. Suddenly, he curled his lips into a smile, and the gloom around him inexplicably dissipated. After a while, he seemed to be reddened by Wei Yin's burning gaze and shyly lowered his head.

Wei Yin also looked down at him. The boy was shy and quickly blushed when Wei Yin looked at him, then turned his head away again.

This boy had suffered greatly since childhood. Could it be that he couldn't think straight because of this? Wei Yin held the melancholy boy's hand, her face full of worry. Lu Hun seemed to see through her thoughts and shook his head, saying, "Sister, don't worry. I swore an oath before Grandmother's sickbed that I would not take my own life."

Wei Yin was stunned.

Lu Hun's gaze returned to the night he passed the imperial examination five years ago.

The usually quiet Bodhisattva Temple was bustling with activity today. Many onlookers had gathered outside the temple because a sixteen-year-old boy living there had become the top scholar in the provincial examination. During the day, officials came to announce the good news, which startled the entire street. The crowds gradually dispersed and returned to peace late at night.

However, the young scholar who had passed the imperial examination showed little joy. He still lived in the simple hut where he usually studied. This hut was a back room attached to the main hall and had been empty in the past. The furnishings in the hut were very simple. Apart from his desk, there was only a small bed. He was very tall, so he naturally did not sleep comfortably. But the young man did not care about these things. At this moment, he continued to bury himself in his books as usual, preparing for next year's spring examination without any slackening. Even though he had finally passed the examination, he did not go out to celebrate with others.

The weak, flickering candlelight barely illuminated a corner of the desk.

The boy turned the pages of the book, looking melancholy and focused.

The Bodhisattvas in the main hall had lowered their heads and looked compassionate.

Someone carrying tea came in from outside. It was a servant who tended the incense. "Master Lu passed the imperial examination today. Why is he still studying here? Even if a young man is diligent, he should go out and socialize more."

Lu Hun looked up, took the tea, and remained silent without saying a word.

This person seemed to know him well, and seeing his reaction, didn't mind. So he changed the subject and said, "When I came to deliver tea earlier, I saw another lady outside the door. She said she wanted to see Master Lu. Should we invite her in?"

Today, after Lu Hun passed the imperial examination, several ladies with daughters came to congratulate him. Lu Hun is a gentle person and did not want to turn them away, so he nodded and asked them to invite them in.

The lady arrived, and the people tending the incense immediately withdrew. Lu Hun closed his book, stood up, and froze in place. This noble lady was none other than Madam He.

Upon seeing her face, Lu Hun felt his heart, which had been calm for many years, tremble once again.

After that night, Madam He and Lu Hun never met again. Madam He often secretly sent things to the Lu family, but Lu Hun always returned them. Later, when Old Master He retired and returned to his hometown to enjoy his old age, the He family also left the capital. It wasn't until recently, when He Wenqing and Wei Yin got engaged and married, that Madam He came back to the capital.

After not seeing him for many years, even Madam He, his biological mother, had to look at Lu Hun for a while before recognizing him.

Lu Hun has changed a lot. Not only has he grown taller, but he has also become very thin and frail, as if he is all bones with hardly any flesh. The biggest change is his gloomy and melancholy temperament. He doesn't look like a teenager at all; he looks like he's aged.

Madam He had obviously rushed over and seemed unaware of Lu Hun's passing the imperial examination today. She tried her best to be friendly with Lu Hun and said, "I inquired for a long time before I found out that you moved here to study after your grandmother passed away. But why is the temple so chaotic inside and out? There are so many worshippers today."

Lu Hun didn't explain anything, he just looked at her calmly.

"Soul?" Madam He asked in surprise, "Don't you recognize your mother? Why don't you say a word to her?"

Lu Hun finally spoke, his tone as cold as a stranger's, "Is there something you need?"

"Your elder brother is getting married soon, which is why I was able to come to the capital. Hun'er, how have you been these past few years? You are all alone now, do you have enough money? These past few years, I have been having people secretly send you some money from the desolate state, but you, child, don't want a single penny. Your father is long gone, and I heard that your grandmother's eyesight gradually deteriorated. How can you two, an old woman and a child, have money to live?"

"Madam He asked."

Lu Hun knew all along that He Wenqing was getting married.

He remained silent for a long time, seemingly somewhat annoyed and even more melancholy, before turning his head away. "If there's nothing else, please go back."

Seeing his tone, Madam He could only sigh, "Actually, besides wanting to see you, there's something else I'd like you to help me with."

Lu Hun turned around and stared at her blankly.

"It's like this." Knowing he was impatient, Madam He didn't dare delay and immediately told the truth: "Wenqing, do you remember? Your eldest brother, I've discovered over the years that he... he has some difficulty conceiving. If there are no offspring, the He family's great wealth and fortune will fall into the hands of others. Wouldn't all my life's efforts be wasted?"

Lu Hun frowned. "How did you know?"

"How could I not know?" Madam He said with a pained expression, "Because Wenqing's father... he didn't have one, so after Wenqing was born, I was very careful and secretly found some skilled doctors in this field to examine him. They all said he didn't have one. I didn't dare to tell Wenqing or the He family."

Lu Hun was stunned, "Then..."

Madam He clenched her fist: "You don't need to worry about Wenqing's background. I just want you to do me a favor. Rather than Wenqing having no children and letting others benefit from her, it would be better for her to have her own grandson."

Lu Hun took a step back. "What do you mean?"

"Wenqing is married now, isn't she? She's married to a girl from the Wei family in the capital, named Wei Yin." Madam He then smiled. "Although I don't particularly like her, she's a rare beauty after all. I believe you will like her. I want you to have a child with her on Wenqing's behalf, to give me a grandson. What do you say?"

Lu Hun stared at her with wide eyes in disbelief. His gaze was unfocused for a moment before he said, "You're completely insane."

"Don't worry, I'm handling this very carefully. No one will find out. Even if there's any trouble with the He family, I have a way to deal with it."

Madam He was thinking that even if Old Master He didn't know about Wenqing's affair, even if he did, what happened between her and him back then wasn't honorable. If the old man dared to expose her, then no one would have a good time.

However, Madam He was unaware that Old Master He knew more about the infertility of the men in the He family than she did. She thought she could keep it a secret and assumed that her father's infertility was just an accident in the He family.

Madam He smiled and said, "Just help your mother out. You won't lose anything. When the time comes, I'll take advantage of Wei Yin's inattention and secretly bring her out to you. As long as you give your mother a grandson, I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life."

In this way, Wei Yin will have to be mindful of her mother-in-law's feelings from now on.

Lu Hun stared at her absurdly for a long time before finally saying, "This is absolutely impossible. You should leave."

"Soul?"

"Go away."

After Lu Hun finished speaking, he suddenly felt extremely weak and had no strength left. He looked at his body in confusion, and Madam He stepped forward to support him.

“Soul, I secretly had someone slip something into your tea when that person wasn’t looking. But don’t worry, I won’t harm you. I just want you to be obedient. I had no other choice. Besides your older brother, you are my only biological son. No one else can help me. I’ve worked hard in the He family for half my life, and I even turned against my husband for the sake of having children. I don’t want to waste my efforts.”

Lu Hun finally understood, and with the last bit of strength, he pushed Madam He out hard.

Seeing that he wanted to leave, Madam He immediately stepped back and called over a few trusted men to lock the room. Standing outside the small house, she said, "Hun'er, don't move around. I will send someone to watch over this place. I will send someone to bring a carriage to take you away."

Lu Hun was locked in the room, and he braced himself on the table to avoid falling to the ground.

He tried to get up, but as soon as he managed to stand up, he suddenly lost his strength and slid back down, spilling all the tea and ink on the table onto the book. The pages of the book, which he usually took great care of, were now a mess and obviously unusable.

Lu Hun looked up at the sky with a sorrowful expression.

His birth mother, who had never cared about him since childhood, left him with a lifelong shadow. He had finally managed to convince himself to slowly forget everything, but she had come up with such an absurd idea again...

She wanted him to have a child for He Wenqing and Sister Wei.

How could he?

How could I do such a filthy thing to her?

Lu Hun waited for a long time, but his body did not return to normal. He tried to crawl over and call for help, but Madam He was already on guard, so naturally no one could hear him.

Once Madam He arrived, she took him somewhere.

He could no longer escape; she would definitely try every means to achieve her goal, perhaps even resorting to drugging him and Wei's sister with that drug to force them...

He turned his head and saw a ball of hemp rope lying behind the door; it was used to tie things up.

Lu Hun actually chuckled, but his laughter was full of bitterness.

grandmother.

It's not that he's unwilling to keep his vow.

Heaven will not tolerate him.

He shouldn't have been left in this world in the first place.

He Lu Hun.

He was an illegitimate child born out of wedlock.

His biological parents disliked him.

He suffered misfortune in his childhood.

Alone and miserable.

My grandmother is gone too.

Wei's older sister also got married.

There is no possibility of anything between us anymore.

Lu Hun gave another bitter laugh, crawled over, and went to get the rope...

When Madam He returned to the Bodhisattva Temple, the wind blew the lock off the door. Standing far away, Madam He looked at the small house and saw the boy's extremely sad and sorrowful eyes. His neck was caught in a noose. She screamed and quickly called for help to rescue the boy. However, the boy had already closed his eyes. Madam He immediately fell to the ground, staring in shock at the scene before her, unable to recover for a long time.

A voice came from somewhere, shouting, "Fire! Fire!! Help!"

It turned out that the fire started in the main hall and spread to the small hut.

As Madam He watched the fire engulf the boy in the hut, she cried out again, "Soul!"