Zou Shuang'er's eyes flashed with guilt as she lowered her gaze and said, "It's my fault, I should have told you sooner."
Then she looked up again.
"You said you met the Zhu family?"
Lin Shixuan's face was pale, and he endured his discomfort to say, "Yes, I saw him."
Zou Shuang'er asked nervously, "Are they...doing well?"
Lin Shixuan sighed.
"not good."
"They were boiled in oil, branded, and subjected to all sorts of torture."
"Mother, when I saw them, they were unrecognizable, like walking corpses, with not a single part of their bodies intact."
Upon hearing this, Zou Shuang'er's heart clenched.
Her lips trembled, and her eyes glistened with tears.
"They...they really live like that?"
Lin Shixuan was also deeply distressed, and he nodded again.
Zou Shuang'er burst into tears once again, the memory of being five years old still vivid.
She was the apple of the Zhu family's eye, the child her parents doted on. She never had to worry about food or drink since she was a child, but unexpectedly, she has fallen to this state.
"Mother, what has our Zhu family done wrong?" Lin Shixuan was eager to know.
She gritted her teeth and said:
"They've been slandered. The late emperor was ruthless, cruel, and bloodthirsty. Just because our Zhu family was so powerful, he was afraid of us, so he found a pretext to wipe us out!"
"Shixuan, we have been wronged. You must avenge your maternal grandfather and restore the Zhu family to its former glory for your uncle."
"With a powerful maternal family as our backing, we will no longer have to live on thin ice."
"Who does Ye Lanyin think she is? A military officer dares to talk back to a civil official?"
Lin Shixuan's eyes blazed with anger, but he suppressed his emotions and asked, "Is that really so?"
"Yes." Zou Shuang'er nodded emphatically. "When has your mother ever lied to you?"
Lin Shixuan couldn't hold back any longer. He squinted, rubbed his eyes, and finally slumped onto the table, weakly saying:
"Mother, I don't know what's wrong, but I feel very weak since I woke up this time. If I feel like this during the imperial examination, I'm afraid I won't even be able to pass."
Zou Shuang'er had placed all her hopes on Lin Shixuan, and now, after hearing Lin Shixuan's words, she was extremely anxious.
"What should we do?"
"I have some tonics stored away. I'll go get them for you."
Zou Wanqing stood on the chair, holding onto the table. She looked Lin Shixuan up and down, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
“Mother, my elder brother is not like this because he is healthy. His forehead and eyelids are dark. It must be because he was tortured too severely when he was summoned by the spirit, which damaged his vital energy.”
"What should we do then?" Zou Shuang'er walked to her side, her face filled with anxiety. "Wanqing, do you have any good ideas?"
“If your older brother fails the exam, your father will be disappointed. If Ye Lanyin discovers our secret, all our efforts will be in vain.”
Zou Wanqing stretched out her hand and did some calculations with her fingers.
“Mother, noon is when the yang energy is at its peak. If I make a talisman and have my elder brother drink it, it will change his vital energy.”
Upon hearing this, Zou Shuang'er was overjoyed.
"Wanqing, you're amazing."
"Is it enough to just drink it?"
Zou Wanqing shook her head, "We still need to set up an array in the due west direction, burn three sticks of incense, have the eldest brother kowtow three times, and then sprinkle chicken blood on his courtyard gate three days later."
Lin Shixuan forced a smile after hearing Zou Wanqing's words.
He reached out and gently rubbed Zou Wanqing's cheek. "Thank you, little sister."
Zou Wanqing received the affirmation, and a smile that seemed beyond her years appeared on her lips.
"It's my honor to be able to help you, brother."
"I just hope that when my brother is at the height of his fame, he will remember his little sister."
Even without Zou Wanqing saying it, Lin Shixuan would have done it anyway.
Of the three siblings, only Wanqing has not yet been officially recognized by her ancestors, so he will naturally help her out.
"Mother, if there is a chance, please ask Father to secretly add my sister's name to the family genealogy."
"Anyway, this Marquis's mansion will be ours sooner or later, and no one will investigate then."
Zou Wanqing said quickly, "Brother, do you even need to tell me? I already had Father put me in the family genealogy."
...
On the other side.
Ye Lanyin was looking at the inlaid yellow jade pendant in her hand in front of the dressing table.
More than ten years have passed, and I never expected to see it in that little wooden house. I wonder if it was fate.
She really wanted to know where the other jade pendant had gone.
She had told the Marquis of Zhenbei that he had put it away, but today she went to his study and searched everywhere but couldn't find it.
"Mother~"
"Mother~"
Ye Lanyin heard Lin Wanwan's childish voice calling out to her. She turned around and saw that, good heavens, she was calling Huaxin "Mom".
She was speechless.
“Miss, I am your aunt, call me Aunt Huaxin~” Huaxin said with a smile, instructing Lin Wanwan to speak.
But the little guy opened his mouth and stubbornly refused to say the word "aunt".
[Ugh, I can't get the tone right!]
Who understands my frustration...?
[Waaaaah...]
The little one was pointing excitedly at her mouth, but Huaxin had no idea what she was saying.
Thinking she was hungry, I smiled and put the milk in my hand directly into her mouth.
Lin Wanwan: ...In the end, she bore it all alone.
Just then, Hua Mei walked in from outside the door with light, quick steps.
She lowered her voice and leaned closer to say:
"Madam, Master went out very strangely today, acting suspiciously."
“I noticed he was carrying a basket, and I could vaguely see incense sticks inside.”
Ye Lanyin put away the jade pendant in her hand and asked in a low voice, "Why is he going to offer incense at this time?"
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