Chapter 96 One of my sons killed another son!
Nan Zhu, covered in blood, rushed to Old Madam Huo, her voice trembling, "Your subordinate... Your subordinate is not dead!"
"I failed to protect you, my lord! I risked my life to overcome numerous obstacles and return to the capital."
He quickly pulled out the notebook, which was already mostly soaked in blood, from his pocket and held it high above his head.
"Madam! This...this is what the Marquis asked me to bring out before he died! The Marquis...he was murdered!"
The old lady was so startled by this sudden turn of events that she trembled and the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand rolled to the ground.
She stared intently at Huo Yunting's confidant, who should have been dead long ago, and then at the shocking blood-red notebook in his hand. Her mind went blank.
Granny Wang quickly took the note, and Nan Zhu finally let out a long breath, her voice rapid and weak, as if she had used up her last bit of strength: "Old Madam... the one who killed the Marquis was..."
Old Madam Hou had already come to her senses and hurriedly interrupted him sharply: "You are not Nan Zhu at all, you are talking nonsense!"
Her face was somewhat pale, and she gripped Wang Mama's arm tightly, but her voice was incredibly firm: "Don't talk nonsense! The Marquis is clearly still alive! What are you saying about killing the Marquis?"
Her heart was pounding, and she had a vague suspicion and premonition, but she absolutely could not... let Nan Zhu say it!
Nan Zhu's eyes widened in astonishment. She was about to speak when she exclaimed, "Madam! The Marquis is dead... It was... the General who coveted the Marquis's title and deliberately set a trap on the battlefield!"
"Shut up!" Old Madam Hou suddenly cried out in alarm, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. "Guards! This man is impersonating Nan Zhu! Drag him away and lock him up!"
Nan Zhu seemed to have also discerned something from the old lady's attitude. His face turned deathly pale, and he said in disbelief, "You are the Marquis's... mother! How could you..."
Faint, slightly disordered footsteps could be heard outside; the guards had arrived. Nan Zhu glanced at the old lady of the Marquis with a dark look in her eyes, her emotions churning, and suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Then he stopped looking at the old lady, and with all his might, he leaped up from the ground. In a few leaps, he disappeared into the deep night, leaving only some messy bloodstains on the ground, and the notebook in Wang Mama's hand that exuded a strong bloody smell.
The guards who rushed in upon hearing the news found that Nan Zhu had already disappeared.
"Madam?" the guard asked in a low voice.
Granny Wang cautiously glanced at the old lady's pale face, quickly waved her hand to dismiss the guards, and then took the note and helped the old lady back to the Buddhist hall.
Old Lady Hou sat blankly on the prayer mat, her whole body ice-cold, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
She reached out her hand, trembling, and took the notebook.
The notes seemed to have been soaked in blood several times; some were completely dry, while others were still slightly damp.
She turned to the first page, and the familiar handwriting, mixed with bloodstains, was like a sharp knife, piercing her heart.
Every word is an accusation!
Every stroke of the pen is filled with grievance!
"He was clearly my twin brother, born of the same mother, so why...did he kill me?"
"I don't understand! Why did he kill me?"
Upon seeing the last sentence, the old lady felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and a mouthful of blood, which she could no longer hold back, gushed out, staining the scriptures she had just offered red.
"Madam!" Granny Wang exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly stepped forward to support the old lady.
Old Madam Hou was already in tears, her voice extremely hoarse: "When Yun Zhan returned with the coffin, I recognized him at a glance, not Yun Ting."
"When I asked him for confirmation, he gave me an evasive explanation, saying that Yun Ting died in battle and he had no choice but to take this drastic measure for the sake of the Marquis's mansion. In fact, I did have some doubts."
Old Madam Hou closed her eyes, overwhelmed with grief: "But I only had a moment of doubt, I didn't even... dare to think about it too much!"
"How could I possibly think that! One of my sons killed my other son!"
"I had been convincing myself that it was all just an accident, and that Yun Zhan was doing all this for the sake of the Marquis's mansion. But then, Nan Zhu came back!"
"They actually told me that my suspicion, which I had only ever thought about and which terrified me, was actually true."
"How could I dare to listen? I don't even have the courage to listen!"
The old lady of the Hou family sobbed, her voice filled with guilt: "I have no choice. I've already lost one son. I can't lose both of them at the same time, can I?"
"What can I do? I know I'm just fooling myself, but I have no other choice!"
"Yun Ting is dead!"
He's dead!
"If I were to brand Yun Zhan with the crime of killing his brother because of this, then... then what would I do? What would happen to this vast Marquis's mansion?"
She cried uncontrollably, her sobs were so pitiful that Granny Wang was at a loss for what to do.
Madam Hou clutched the note tightly: "But Yun Ting was innocent too! He had always been so good to Yun Zhan. Even before he died, he was still in disbelief, constantly asking why Yun Zhan had killed him!"
"How am I supposed to...explain this to him?!"
Granny Wang gritted her teeth, staring intently at the note. She took a deep breath and, taking advantage of the old lady's inattention, snatched the note away.
The old lady froze, looking at her with a somewhat blank expression.
Granny Wang took a deep breath: "The old lady is right, the Marquis... has passed away."
"Since he has already passed away, there is no need to investigate why he died."
"When a person dies, they have nothing left."
"We cannot make things difficult for the living because of a deceased person. It is simply... useless except to add to the pain and trouble."
"We who are alive still have to live well, don't we?"
The old lady looked at her with a murmur. Granny Wang was her dowry maid who had served her for decades and understood her best.
"Is that so? But... won't Yun Ting be angry because of this?"
Granny Wang shook her head: "The Marquis wouldn't do that. He cares most about you, Madam, and the entire Marquis's mansion."
"He will surely understand you; you're doing all this for the sake of the entire Marquis's mansion!"
Granny Wang whispered, "Moreover, what you said earlier, Madam, was correct. The Marquis... is not dead at all."
"The dead man was a general."
"It can only be a general."
After she finished speaking, she gritted her teeth, finally made up her mind, and quickly held the note to the burning candle in front of the Buddha statue. The note almost immediately burst into flames...
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