Chapter 54 She's such a good person
"Let go! What kind of thing are you to dare stop me!" Yao's voice was shrill as she tried to break free of the hand on her wrist, but she couldn't budge it an inch.
Chen Hui shook off her hand, and Yao Shi lost her balance and fell backward. The maid she brought rushed forward to support her, and there was still a bright red handprint on the maid's face.
"Madam, there are still injured people in the inner room, please keep your voice down."
"It's none of your business to interfere with what I'm doing. Get out of my way." Seeing Chen Hui's kind attitude, Yao's arrogance immediately returned.
She grabbed Lin Sui's sleeve, her gaze seeming to want to tear Lin Sui to pieces.
She gritted her teeth, as if she wanted to devour Lin Sui alive: "If I had known this would happen, I should have drowned you when you were born, you cold-blooded beast who wouldn't even spare your own brother!"
"Is Madam Yao talking about herself? A beast who doesn't even spare her own daughter, isn't it normal for her to give birth to someone like me?" Lin Sui pulled her sleeve back from Madam Yao's hand.
She once doubted herself, wondering if she had done something wrong that her mother had always treated her coldly.
Later, my heart grew cold, and I lost all expectations of her. I thought, so be it if she favored Lin Ting; she's just a mother, after all. She wasn't good to me, and I didn't care about her anyway.
Only now does Lin Sui realize that the woman in front of her has never treated her like her own daughter.
She was captured by the tiger demon along with Lin Heng, but all she could see was Lin Heng; she didn't even ask him a single question.
Lin Heng said that she had harmed him, and she never had the slightest doubt before concluding that she was guilty.
She really should have... when they were on the mountain.
Lin Sui clenched her fists. If Hui Niang hadn't arrived and told her that her brother was still alive, she would have broken Lin Heng's neck with that stick.
Lin Sui was slightly dazed as she recalled what had happened on the mountain. Her gaze passed over Yao Shi and landed on Lin Heng.
Lin Heng also looked in their direction, and when their eyes met, he looked at her with fear and obvious avoidance.
"You disobedient and unfilial wretch who insults your own mother! From this day forward, you have no further connection with our General's Mansion!" Madam Yao continued to curse.
After finishing her rant, she turned to Bai Xiuming and said, "Lord Bai, this beast almost killed my son and also killed the son of the Lady of Jinyang. Shouldn't he be arrested immediately?"
"Since when has the General's wife been allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Mingjing Division?"
At this moment, Yao's blood was boiling, and she was not afraid at all under Bai Xiuming's questioning. She said fiercely, "Am I wrong? Lord Bai could have rescued my son last night, but he deliberately delayed and only brought him back this morning."
Now, the murderer who killed my son and the others is right before our eyes, yet you stand idly by. When my general finds out, he will surely impeach you for dereliction of duty!
Bai Xiuming spoke calmly: "General's wife, there's no need to worry. General Anxi will arrive soon, and then the truth will be revealed."
Yao sneered inwardly. Bai Xiuming could only be arrogant for a short while. If her husband knew that their son had become like this, he would definitely fight him to the death.
Thinking of this, she glared at Lin Sui again before returning to his side amidst Lin Heng's screams.
After witnessing this scene, Achan lifted her skirt and walked down the steps towards Chen Hui and Lin Sui.
Chen Hui looked up and saw A Chan. Seeing that her cheeks were rosy, she thought to herself that Bai Xiuming had taken good care of her last night, and she could finally relax.
"Have you found your brother?" Achan asked Lin Sui.
Lin Sui nodded, looking much more relaxed: "Found him, but he lost too much blood. We just gave him his medicine, and he hasn't woken up yet."
Seeing that many people outside were looking in their direction, Chen Hui whispered, "Let's go inside first."
Achan followed the two into the side room, and the door was closed, blocking the view of the people outside.
The furnishings in the side room were simple. A wooden bed was placed against the wall, and a boy was lying flat on it.
The boy's head and upper body were wrapped in bandages, suggesting he had suffered a serious injury.
Seeing Achan staring at the bandages on Gao Luo's body, Lin Sui whispered, "Lin Heng said that Xue Zhao shot an arrow at Xiao Luo, causing him to roll down the mountain and hit his head."
Chen Hui glanced at Gao Luo and praised, "When I found him, he had broken the arrow himself, leaving only the part inside his body. He even found some hemostatic herbs to apply to the wound. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long."
At most, she simply brought the person down the mountain and handed him over to the Mingjing Guards who arrived later. The one who truly saved Gao Luo was himself.
"It's good that everyone is alright."
Achan could see that Gao Luo was Lin Sui's support.
Even though her biological mother, Yao, cursed her with such nasty words, she remained unmoved. But if Gao Luo were to get into trouble, Lin Sui would probably be in a very different state now.
Chen Hui also said to Lin Sui, "You don't need to take your mother's words to heart. All your actions were forced by the tiger demon. You didn't kill anyone, so no matter which government office you're in, they can't punish you."
Lin Sui shook his head: "I'm not worried, and I'm not afraid of death. When I was captured by the tiger demon, I was already prepared not to come back."
She even considered that even if she were killed by the tiger demon, she would perish together with Lin Heng.
Lin Sui looked at A Chan. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't be able to sit here peacefully today waiting for her younger brother to wake up.
As for why Achan was able to persuade the tiger demon, and what she meant by what she said to the tiger demon, Lin Sui didn't care at all.
All she needs to remember is that Achan and Huiniang saved her and her brother's lives.
"I thought you wouldn't let Lin Heng go." Achan was a little curious. When she made the bet with the tiger demon, she really thought she would win.
Although Lin Sui only broke Lin Heng's leg and left at first, she still felt that Lin Sui would go back to find Lin Heng after catching up with the others.
Lin Sui has a ruthless streak; if pushed too far, she can go crazy.
“That was originally the case.” Lin Sui recounted his experience in the mountains. “With those vengeful spirits guiding me, I quickly caught up with the others, except for the one who died. After catching up with them, I went back to Lin Heng, intending to have him pay for my brother’s life, but then Hui Niang came over.”
Chen Hui responded, "We asked Lin Heng a few questions, and only after hearing the answers did we decide to let him go for the time being."
"What's the problem?" Achan asked curiously.
"The general's wife is unkind to Lin Sui because she is a devout believer in metaphysics and thinks that Lin Sui is incompatible with her. But what about Lin Heng? Where does his hostility towards Lin Sui come from? And why does he keep targeting Gao Luo, Lin Sui's younger brother whom he hasn't seen for two years?"
“Jealousy?” Achan guessed, then shook her head. “He doesn’t even care about Lin Sui, so why would he care about her brother?”
“We interrogated Lin Heng, asking him why he went to Huangxi Village and why he went to cause trouble for Gao Luo. He actually said that both times he went to see Gao Luo, it was at the suggestion of Lin Sui’s adopted sister, Lin Ting.”
Achan was slightly surprised: "Why would he listen to Lin Ting? Is such a grown man so easily swayed?"
Lin Sui scoffed: "I might doubt it if it were anyone else, but Lin Ting has that ability. You've never been to the General's Mansion, so you probably haven't seen the scene where the whole family revolves around Lin Ting."
On the first day she was brought back to the general's mansion, Lin Ting caught a cold. Her mother and Lin Heng were so anxious, as if their own father had died, that they wished they could stay by Lin Ting's side day and night to take care of her.
She was left standing in the main hall for half a day, and not a single person even glanced at her.
From that day on, she had no good feelings towards Lin Ting.
All the maids in the mansion said how wonderful the second young lady was, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what was so wonderful about Lin Ting, which Lin Sui found utterly absurd.
Achan narrowed her eyes slightly: "You and Lin Ting don't get along, so she wants to use someone else to kill your brother and force you to break with the Lin family?"
"Maybe so. She never wanted me to be happy, and I didn't like her either, but I never expected her to be so ruthless."
"Did General Lin and your elder brother treat Lin Ting as well as your mother and Lin Heng?" Achan asked again.
Lin Sui frowned and pondered for a while, then hesitated and said, "They treat her very well, but not to the point of being completely obedient. However, there were two times when I took advantage of Lin Ting's mistakes, and Father could have punished her, but he let her off the hook."
"Such a deep and calculating person is surprisingly likable; it's truly fascinating." A-Chan's eyes flickered slightly. That General Anxi doesn't seem like the type to be so unreasonable. He's not his wife; why would he favor his adopted daughter?
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Feng Yang's voice rang out: "Miss Ji, Miss Lin, the master requests your presence."
Leaving Chen Hui behind, A Chan and Lin Sui got up and walked to the door. After opening the door, A Chan found that the people and corpses in the courtyard were gone, and Bai Xiuming was not in the courtyard either.
"Where is Lord Bai?" Achan asked.
"My lord is in the Princess's courtyard." Feng Yang led the two out of the courtyard, saying as they walked, "The heir of the Duke of Liguo and the Marquis of Jinyang have all arrived and are currently with the Princess."
Achan understood: "You want me to come over so you can interrogate me?"
Feng Yang quickly denied it: "Miss Ji is joking."
Achan was not as optimistic as Feng Yang. After entering the Princess's courtyard, she stepped into the main hall, and the people sitting in the hall turned to look at her at the same time.
Among them, the one that Achan was most familiar with was the Marquis of Jinyang. However, it had been some time since she had seen him. This man, whom Ji Chan had called father for more than ten years, looked quite haggard. It seemed that losing his son in middle age had been a great blow to him. It didn't matter; he would get used to it sooner or later.
Achan's gaze slid away from Marquis Jinyang and landed on General Lin Cheng of Anxi.
He seemed much calmer and more composed than his wife; at least he didn't pounce on Lin Sui the moment he saw her, trying to break off their relationship. His gaze was very calm.
Achan didn't recognize the other three. One of them was the youngest, dressed in a brocade robe and wearing a jade crown. He was handsome and looked to be about the same age as Bai Xiuming. He was sitting in the lower left seat, seemingly the highest-ranking person.
Achan guessed that this should be the heir of the Duke of Li.
There was no seat reserved for Achan in the hall, so she could only stand in the middle with Lin Sui and Feng Yang, enduring their stares.
"Lord Bai, my son says this woman colluded with the tiger demon and almost killed them. As the Commander of the Mingjing Division, shouldn't you give us an explanation?"
The first to step forward was the short and stout Ningyuanbo, who, despite his short stature, exuded a powerful aura.
"Ji Chan, what do you have to say?" Bai Xiuming, sitting in the main seat, spoke indifferently, as if they were not acquainted.
Achan's bright eyes turned to Ningyuanbo: "This... sir, please don't make false accusations. If I were really colluding with the tiger demon, what you see today would not be your son, but a pile of human bones that have been eaten clean."
"This is alarmist!"
Standing on the other side of Achan, Feng Yang clasped his hands in greeting to Lord Ningyuan: "Lord, there are no fewer than thirty skeletons piled up in the mountain god temple where that tiger demon lives, and more than a dozen people in Huangxi Village at the foot of the mountain have been turned into ghouls by it. Miss Ji is not exaggerating."
This is what Feng Yang admires most about A Chan; to be able to escape unscathed from such a ferocious monster is something no ordinary person could do.
Unfortunately, these nobles only cared about the lives of their own sons.
"How can you explain that she deliberately let that tiger demon play some kind of hunting game, causing my son's legs to be broken?" Ningyuanbo asked again.
"That was my fault," Achan admitted obediently. "Next time I encounter a monster, I will definitely advise it to eat people to end the matter, instead of racking my brains to think of a way for these people to escape."
"With your clever words and flattering manner, not only did my son not escape, but his legs were deliberately broken." At this point, the Earl of Ningyuan glared fiercely at Lin Cheng, "General Lin has raised a fine daughter, but she is truly ruthless."
Lin Cheng remained silent, while A Chan rolled her eyes: "He only lost two legs, he's still alive, isn't he? If Lin Sui hadn't deliberately shown mercy, and if the tiger demon and I hadn't gone to great lengths to lure it away, you'd probably be holding a funeral at home today, instead of sitting here criticizing me."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Ning Yuanbo was somewhat embarrassed.
"Lord Ningyuan, in any case, this young lady did indeed fight the tiger demon and save several lives," said the heir of the Duke of Li, putting down his teacup.
The Earl of Ningyuan glanced warily at the heir of the Duke of Liguo and snorted, "Who knows if what she said is true or false."
That being said, it seems they intend to let the matter rest, since their son's leg is broken but he can recover with rest and isn't dead.
After the Earl of Ningyuan finished his outburst, the Marquis of Jinyang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Achan, Xue Zhao is your brother. Tell me, how did he die?"
Achan looked disgusted: "Lord Jinyang, don't try to make connections with me. My mother only has one daughter, me."
Marquis Jinyang ignored Achan's words and stared intently at her: "Since you've been following that tiger demon all this time, you must know how my son died."
“I know.” Achan and Marquis Jinyang exchanged glances. “It’s all thanks to Marquis Jinyang’s excellent teaching. If it weren’t for the fact that the Marquis taught your son such exquisite archery skills, the tiger demon probably wouldn’t have looked down on him.”
Upon hearing that there was more to this story, everyone stared intently at Achan, waiting for her to continue.
"What did Zhao'er do?"
Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes swept over the people present: "I think you gentlemen all know that before your sons and brothers went up the mountain, they forced a boy from a commoner's family to be their guide. After they used the boy, they used him as a target and each shot an arrow at him."
At this point, the expressions of the people present all changed.
If such things happen in private, they can still find ways to remedy the situation. But now that it's been brought into the open, and the censors have found out, there will inevitably be another round of impeachment.
"Don't try to downplay the important points," Marquis Jinyang said in a deep voice.
Seeing that the others looked unwell, Achan's tone became even more cheerful: "My lord, isn't it a coincidence that the one who finally shot the boy was none other than Young Master Xue, whose archery skills are the most superb?"
The tiger demon probably thought that Young Master Xue's archery skills were so superb that he was the most worthy of being turned into its vengeful spirit, and thus it relentlessly pursued him. Unfortunately, Young Master Xue resisted to the death, angering the tiger demon, and thus lost his life.
Ah Chan's storytelling was so vivid that I almost believed it myself.
Although she let the tiger demon trample Xue Zhao to death, she personally crafted a heroic ending for him. She was truly a good person.
"Does anyone else have any questions?" Bai Xiuming gave A Chan a deep look but did not refute her words.
The heir of the Duke of Liguo was the first to stand up: "No, it was my younger brother who caused this trouble because he didn't know what was important. I must thank the two young ladies for saving his life."
After speaking, he bowed to Achan and Lin Sui.
Since the heir of the Duke of Liguo has said so, this matter is considered closed. Whether he is doing this out of consideration for someone else or truly believes that the matter has nothing to do with Achan and the others, at least on the surface, he will not make things difficult for them.
It's clear that not everyone can accept this outcome, at least not the Marquis of Jinyang, whose son had died.
Unfortunately, he had no evidence.
Achan watched the Marquis of Jinyang leave, feeling happy.
At this moment, Lin Cheng stood up, walked to Lin Sui's side, and whispered, "Let's go outside and talk."
Achan looked at Lin Sui, who lowered her eyes and gave a soft "hmm".
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