Revealing Kinship
Chapter 41: Revealing Kinship
Everything came to a temporary end, but Peng Xun's health became worse and worse. By the beginning of June, the imperial physician concluded that he would die in a few days.
This was Yi Huan's first time to come to Peng Xunyuan, and he felt a sense of distant unfamiliarity.
"I'll go in and talk to the old man first. If you want to come in, come in. If you don't want to come in, just stay in the front hall. We'll go back together later."
"Um."
Apart from the maidservants carrying medicine coming in and out, there was no other sound in the entire courtyard. It was so quiet.
Yi Huan sat for a long time, then stood up and casually looked around the furnishings in the house. A summer breeze was blowing gently in the gap of the main hall. On the thin screen, a girl's back was embroidered with blue thread. The light moved slightly, and the person's sleeves were waving, making Yi Huan suddenly see the ugly woman.
There was only a back view, Yi Huan walked forward, wanting to see more clearly.
Peng Zuoyuan went out for something. Peng Xun was confused and suddenly saw the portrait he had been looking at day and night walking towards him, muttering to himself.
"Jinjin, Jinjin, are you here to pick me up?"
Yi Huan was momentarily surprised by his pale and agonizing appearance, and asked, "Who is that person on the screen?"
The girl's front was as delicate and beautiful as expected, while the ugly woman had burn scars on her face and neck. Yi Huan stretched out her hand to block the left half of the girl's face on the screen. Four pairs of eyes overlapped in her mind, and her hope was dashed.
"It's you." Peng Xun's cloudy eyes cleared up for a moment, and he recognized her as Peng Zuo's new bride. Even as he was about to die, he no longer cared about her identity, and said with nostalgia: "The girl on the screen, the one I feel the most guilty about and the one I love the most in my life."
Peng Xun breathed a sigh of relief, and the last line of his voice revealed his regret and love.
The concubine Deng in the mansion is called Deng Jin.
Yi Huan seemed to have confirmed something terrible and took a step back in horror.
Peng Xun noticed her sudden change of expression and pressed her, "Why do you ask? Have you met her? What's your relationship with her? No way, you're only that old. Jinjin left me 26 years ago."
"Do you have a half crescent-shaped jade fan?"
Peng Xun, hearing her visibly excited description, quickly sat up and said, "Yes, that curved jade fan also comes with a pair of fan pendants. Did you know that?"
"I saw it when I was young, but I didn't expect the other half to be here."
Every time she saw the ugly woman, she would show a sad and gentle expression. She didn't know before that it was because of this.
"Yi Huan, tell me, where is she?"
"She is in Yizhou. She is my mother."
"And then?"
Yi Huan thought about the past and replied, "Later, when the family fell into hardship, my ugly wife pawned it. She treasured it very much at first, but when I asked her about it, she said that now that she has me, some things are no longer important."
In Yi Huan's memory, Deng Jin was called an ugly woman because of the scars on her face, but those eyes, which were always gentle, were what little Yi Huan relied on before he was six years old.
Later, the ugly woman died and the child was sold to the Zhang family. Although Yi Huan's memory was not very clear when she first came here, the ugly woman accompanied and warmed her throughout her childhood. As a mother, Deng Jin gave her 100% love.
Peng Xun's face was filled with speculation and surprise. He carefully tilted his head to observe Yi Huan's features, sighing, "No wonder. It turns out I wasn't wrong the first time I saw you. You must be 26 years old this year. It turns out Jinjin left the house and had our child."
"What makes you think I'm your child?"
Peng Xun was only 90% sure at first, but the unwillingness to believe in Yi Huan's eyes made him even more resolute in his original belief.
"I trust Jinjin, and I trust the intuition between us father and daughter." Peng Xun smiled and said with amusement, "Is she okay? Ugly woman? Why would Jinjin be called that? When she was in the mansion, she hated it most when people called her ugly."
"But she hasn't fallen to this point yet."
Peng Xun lowered his head in silence, then asked expectantly, "Huanhuan, where is your mother? She hasn't looked for me in all these years. Doesn't she want to see me?"
She died, after completely letting go of her disappointment in you, and died of worry about whether her second child could grow up safely.
Yi Huan looked down at him with a cold expression, showing no concern for his dying condition. He calmly said what was a blow to him, "The ugly woman passed away twenty years ago and never missed you."
"Well, I, in this life, am the one who is ultimately sorry to Jinjin. Huanhuan, can you tell me about your story? How did you get by during the years I was away?"
"The ugly woman is not Deng Jin."
Yi Huan only said this and didn't want to mention Deng Jin anymore. The ugly woman was unhappy when she mentioned the past. Now she had been here before, and it was indeed a place where people were eaten.
"You said I'm your biological daughter, can I ask you for a favor?"
Peng Xun perked up and said eagerly, "You tell me, I can definitely do it."
"You want him to let me go."
There was no need to mention the name, Peng Xun knew who she was talking about, and sighed helplessly. Peng Xun felt sad in his heart that they were originally brother and sister, but by some strange combination of circumstances they ended up being husband and wife.
"Okay, I swear. Huanhuan, can you come closer and let me see you? I didn't expect that I would see you when I was dying."
Yi Huan stood still, with no intention of moving forward.
During the standoff, Peng Zuoyuan stepped in, put down the medicine he was holding, and pulled Yi Huan to his side. He replied, "Why are you getting so close? What can you see with your dim eyes?"
"Let go, Huanhuan, come forward, I have something to say to you."
Hearing the sudden change in his address, Peng Zuoyan suppressed the denial that was about to come out of his mouth and said impatiently, "You drink yours. I've seen it all. We should leave now."
Yi Huan was led out of the door by him. Reflecting on what had just happened, he was not surprised at all. He stopped and asked, "You knew it a long time ago."
"yes."
Peng Zuo'an had sensed something was wrong from an old servant's words a long time ago, so he investigated the cause and effect. After being angry, he had to make a choice. At that time, Peng Zuo'an was reluctant to let go, and now that they were married, he would not let go even more.
"Ah Huan, don't even think about recognizing your relatives. The old man only has a few days left. Coax him to leave happily. Our identities can never be an excuse for you to leave."
"What are you talking about? Do you know what you're talking about?"
Peng Zuoyan saw that she looked a little crazy and reached out to hug her, "Ah Huan..."
"Don't hug me!"
"Brother and sister making peace? Hahaha, you already knew that, you scumbag! Disgusting bastard!"
Peng Zuoyan's face flushed with anger at the word "brother and sister." He angrily said, "Do you think I want this? My beloved woman has become a half-sister, Ah Huan, do you think I want this? I don't want this relationship between us anymore than anyone else."
"You are shameless! You pretend to be ignorant and continue to make mistakes."
Yi Huan pointed at him and made him retreat, constantly scolding him, "You knew we were related by blood, yet you still insisted several times. Don't you think about us every time you get close? Don't you think about the fact that we share the same father?"
"Stop talking."
"I'm shameless. If I hadn't taken any action, you would have nothing to do with me. But love is unreasonable. Ah Huan, no matter what your surname is, you are my woman, Peng Zuoyao, unless I die, unless we start over in this life."
Yi Huan stumbled back, sobbing angrily, "Should I praise your deep affection? You've done all sorts of evil, but you've only ever been deeply in love with me. I'm truly blessed to have earned this much in ten lifetimes, to be valued so highly by you! Why can't you just let me go? Peng Zuoyuan, can't you just show some mercy and let me go?"
"Ah Huan, blame me for everything. Don't play tricks on yourself." Peng Zuoyan forced her into a hug despite her resistance, whispering lonely, "Ah Huan, this is all my fault. All the retribution and punishment will be paid back to me. I only ask you to love me. Nothing else matters. Ah Huan, no one will know about our relationship. I swear, no one will dare to say a word."
But what Yi Huan couldn't get over was the hurdle in his own heart.
Yi Huan cried and hit him, sobbing and yelling, "Let me go! You are so disgusting! I beg you not to touch me."
Peng Zuoyan pressed her shoulders down into his arms again and again, denying her excited words one after another. His eyes swept across the outside of Peng Xun's house, and he knew what Yi Huan wanted without thinking too much.
Peng Xun doesn't have much time left, so Peng Zuoyang may be able to coax him to leave. If not, he will let him go and apologize to the people over there with regret.
A living person cannot force a dying person to compromise himself.
"Where's Huanhuan?"
After Peng Zuoyao settled Yi Huan, he sat down and asked directly, "Why did you call me here?"
"Xishan, I promised Huanhuan that I would convince you. As a father, I'm begging you. She's my little daughter, the one I haven't raised since she was little. Huanhuan has suffered so much all by herself, and I didn't even know about it. She used the word 'beg', so I want to do this for her."
After Peng Xun finished speaking, he looked at him with implicit expectation. Peng Zuoyan said nothing, but raised his hand to carefully brew the tea in front of him.
The person on the bed leaned towards the edge and advised, "Xishan, love is not the most important thing in life. I beg you to let Huanhuan go. You don't have to have her. You will meet more people in the future. Huanhuan is not happy either. Didn't you say you love her? Love means letting go."
"If it weren't for your indecision, we wouldn't be in this situation."
Peng Xun turned pale at his words. Peng Zuoyan, mindful of his serious illness, softened his tone and said, "Father, don't you think this is incredibly unreasonable? You fulfilled your promise, and Ah Huan left me. What about me? Should I be abandoned as a favor? If I were willing to do so, why didn't you break up earlier?"
Peng Zuoyan knew about their relationship earlier than anyone else. If he had let go, all those forced actions would not have happened.
"But Huanhuan has no feelings for you, Xishan. Forcing it won't bear fruit."
Peng Zuoyan was amused by his domineering attitude. It turned out that this was how his mother felt when she was disappointed and sent to the hospital after being marginalized by him. They were all his children and concubines, so why couldn't he treat them equally?
Putting aside the suspicion in his heart, Peng Zuoyan simply said, "Okay, I promise you."
The oath was nothing. Peng Zuoyuan thought that if Yi Huan knew, she would definitely scold him for being unfaithful and unfilial. However, Peng Zuoyuan would only be loyal to her in this life and would never regret it until his death.
Peng Zuoyuan chose love on the scale of family affection and love, and was criticized and scolded by everyone, but he was the only one who bore it.
Yi Huan made a scene and smashed the porcelain cups in the house. He drove out all the maids and locked the inner room from the inside. He knelt on the ground with his knees bent, not saying a word.
Peng Zuoyuan approached the courtyard and heard Chang Yi report: "Master, the lady is inside the door and will not let anyone in."
"Is there any accident?"
The man, with long legs and light feet, climbed up to the beam of the house. He had just seen her half a quarter of an hour ago and replied, "The lady was just squatting silently. There was no sign of suicide."
"Well, keep watching in secret. The porridge is cold, bring a new bowl."
After hearing the latter words, the maid in the yard bowed and left.
Peng Zuoyuan sat in the yard and drank a cup of tea, waiting for new food to be served before he walked up the stairs with his hands behind his back.
Peng Zuoyuan roughly estimated where she was through the wall, half-knelt over to her, and coaxed her, "Ah Huan, even if you hate me for beating you, you need to eat enough to have the strength. If you confine her like this, won't it hurt Ah Huan? Give me some food. If you don't want to see me, I'll stay away."
It was a scorching summer. Peng Zuoyang put his hand in the crack of the door and felt the uncool temperature inside. He glanced at the servants in the yard with displeasure.
"Ah Huan, it's hot in here. Open the window, or ask someone to bring some ice. I know you want to be alone, but I ask you to take good care of yourself and don't get angry with me."
Peng Zuoyan is not as important as he said. Yi Huan listened attentively, feeling very tired in his heart. It was the stagnation of being in a trough and unable to find the direction after being in a trough for a long time. He wanted to let it develop without any care, but he couldn't let go of the persistence in his heart.
"I've had Aunt Deng's yard cleaned up again. If you want, I can go with you to take a look. The old man is still waiting to see you. He said it's up to you whether you want to go or not. He wants to see you one last time and talk to you again."
Yi Huan closed her eyes and turned her head. The ugly old woman was her mother. The honorable Doctor Peng and Aunt Deng in the Peng Mansion were strangers. Only the small village in Yizhou was her home. At this time in the past, it was very hot inside and outside the house. The ugly old woman would take her to the shade under the tree, holding a dry palm-leaf fan, and watching her run around with a smile.
In the long silence, Peng Zuoyan loosened his clenched hands, confirming that she was not going to come out.
"Ah Huan, ever since I found out about our relationship, I've been fantasizing about how you would have grown up in the mansion. I would have watched you grow up with my own eyes, and you might even have a second brother. Ha, given your personality, you would definitely not be able to stand me."
Peng Zuoyuan laughed to himself, as if he was dismissing blood ties as nonsense.
Yi Huan blocked his ears with his index fingers, and shameless words flew into his ears, causing him to vomit. He opened his mouth repeatedly to vomit, but there was no food in his stomach, and the squeezing made his stomach ache unbearably.
Peng Zuoyang finally broke into the room and forced his way in. Yi Huan felt unwell and fainted.
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