Chapter 90 Why did he die so coincidentally?
The guard said that Leng Zhen left the manor at night, insisting on riding a horse to the outskirts. Yi Yinwan was worried that something might happen, so she sent several servants to keep an eye on her from a distance. Unexpectedly, Leng Zhen rode her horse and sped through the mountains and forests. The servants hurriedly chased after her, and when they found Leng Zhen, they saw her and her horse tumble down the edge of a cliff.
"The manor has already sent people down the mountain to look for Young Master Leng," the guard gasped, "but I'm afraid the chances of survival are slim."
"The cliff was not only steep, but fortunately, if a person fell down it, they would be lucky if they were not decapitated."
Leng Cuizhu frowned, but didn't seem particularly sad. She asked in a deep voice, "Does the master know about this?"
"Understood," the guard nodded. "The patriarch just grunted and didn't say anything or give any instructions. After hearing the servant's message, he went back to his room to rest."
"...His reaction is actually quite normal."
Leng Cuizhu nodded: "Brother, thank you, I understand. I will go to the manor tomorrow to talk to the master about this matter."
"If that child really dies, at least we should find his body and give him a proper burial. Alas."
Leng Zhen's death left her with mixed feelings. After all, he was her own child, so she naturally felt worried and heartbroken. But at the same time, she felt that he deserved his fate and could only blame himself for doing too many bad things and being punished.
The next morning, she got ready early, took a basket of paper money and headed to the Yin residence, thinking that it might come in handy.
They arrived at the destination at exactly 1:15 AM. Yin Yuan had just returned from his official duties, and his carriage was still parked at the gate of the mansion, but he had disappeared without a trace.
"Hey, isn't he inside?" she asked, peering into the empty car.
The coachman shook his head: "Madam, the master isn't here; he just went in."
"Oh, thank you." She carried the basket inside, but as soon as she stepped across the threshold, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
She stumbled, and the bamboo basket in her hand fell to the ground, scattering white paper money everywhere.
"Yin Yuan? What are you doing? Weren't you inside?"
The man remained silent, glancing down at the paper money on the ground.
"I'm sorry for Leng Zhen's death, but you don't need to be so sad."
Leng Cuizhu bent down to pick up the paper money, and was somewhat taken aback by what she heard: "What do you mean by that?"
Yin Yuan glanced at her, then quickly looked away: "The servants found his body at the foot of the cliff this morning."
"He really died from the fall?" Her mind was in turmoil, unsure of what to think. "Where's the body... I want to see it."
"He's already been buried in a coffin." Yin Yuan looked up at her, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "I can't bear to look."
"Lingniang, our child is gone."
"Hmm..." she replied perfunctorily.
The man continued to stare at her, without blinking: "It's my fault for not taking good care of him. Over the years, I've neglected him, and you too."
“It’s okay,” she said. “Actually, I don’t care about the past anymore.”
The man remained silent: "...He's dead. Will you leave me? You have no more attachments now."
She felt that Yin Yuan seemed a little strange today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just felt that he was gentler than usual and that his voice was more pleasant to hear.
But what good is being gentle and considerate? With Leng Zhen dead, she felt empty inside, as if a piece was missing, and his caring words could not fill that void.
"No," she reassured him, "My lord, I will not leave you."
Her indenture is still in this man's hands; she can't leave even if she wants to. So the question isn't whether she'll leave, but whether she can. It seems she absolutely cannot; she'll probably be caught by the authorities before she can even run a few miles. If Yin Yuan were just an ordinary wealthy merchant, it would be easy, but unfortunately, he's an official in the court, his influence extending throughout the county and even the entire prefecture. Capturing her would be a piece of cake.
“Your attention isn’t on this,” the man said, moving closer to her and stroking the prominent bone in her shoulder. “Besides this, what else is on your mind… Is there anything more important or more troubling than the death of our child?”
However, his expression and his eyes were far more blank and sorrowful than hers.
What's wrong with them? They're not in sync at all, yet they're both so lost in thought.
"I……"
Leng Cuizhu wondered, with Leng Zhen dead, would his past be buried forever in his coffin? Yin Yuan couldn't take him away from her; he would always be her child, her flesh and blood…
Why, what a coincidence! Why did he die so conveniently? It made her chuckle involuntarily.
"No," she pursed her lips, her dimples appearing shallow, and shook her head repeatedly, "No, no..."
She inhaled the faint scent of sandalwood emanating from the man, then silently embraced him, leaning against his chest and listening to his slow yet distinct heartbeat.
She was delighted.
Although her only flesh and blood, her only relative, had died, she also lost someone who could bind her.
Naturally, I will be delighted.
Leng Zhen's death was too sudden. She, Yin Yuan, and several others who knew Leng Zhen were more or less unable to accept it and unwilling to believe the news of his death.
Yi Yinwan: "How is that possible? What kind of person with a sound mind would go horseback riding in the suburbs at night? And even ride to the edge of a cliff? Isn't it obvious that they've been framed!"
“Besides, I saw the dead horse and its harness. They were brand new, without a single mark. Even if you don’t stop it from going to the edge of the cliff, there would still be marks left from its use, right?” She sneered. “Furthermore, I don’t remember this child knowing how to ride a horse.”
“Alas, madam…” the coachman stammered, “What you say makes sense, and I think so too.”
Jiang Mimi glanced at everyone in the hall, then covered her mouth and said, "I also think this matter should be thoroughly investigated; it may be murder." She then said nothing more.
Yi Yinwan raised an eyebrow: "Fine, what does the child's birth mother think?"
Leng Cuizhu sat there in a daze, not really listening to the argument in the hall, when Yi Yinwan caught her off guard: "Ah... I, I didn't think of that."
"Then, where is the master?"
Yin Yuan pondered for a moment: "Let this matter rest. Do not mention it again."
“I think,” Jiang Mimi echoed, “we should listen to the master. The master is discerning and knows how to handle this matter properly. We women should not interfere.”
"What do you think, Lady Leng?"
Leng Cuizhu didn't have much to say about it; investigating was fine, but not investigating was also fine. After all, Leng Zhen was dead, and no matter how much they investigated, it wouldn't change the fact that he was gone. They should all look forward.
"I just wanted to give Leng Zhen a proper funeral, instead of this perfunctory one... and bury him somewhere we just found."
Yi Yinwan said lazily, "Leng Zhen is a concubine's daughter. If we don't just find a random spot in the suburbs to bury her, do we expect her to be buried with the Yin family?"
“That’s not what I meant…” Leng Cuizhu was speechless for a moment.
“Yes,” Yin Yuan agreed, “then let them dig up the coffin, hold a proper funeral, and then bury Leng Zhen in the Yin family cemetery, change her surname to Yin, and include her in the Yin family ancestral hall.”
Yi Yinwan suddenly burst into laughter.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just couldn't help it," she apologized repeatedly, muttering under her breath, "What a piece of trash..."
"In that case, I'll start preparing these next few days. If you're free, Miss Leng, you can come and help me with the funeral arrangements, or give me some extra money. I'm a bit short on cash lately, since I have a whole family to take care of."
She nodded, still a little dazed, and said, "Okay..."
In the following days, she and Yi Yinwan were busy preparing for the funeral and were too busy to take care of the two men in the house. Even when she occasionally ran into Yin Yuan, she could only exchange a few words with him.
Leng Zhen's coffin was temporarily placed in an empty room in the west of the city, awaiting the funeral procession on the day of the funeral. The coffin would be carried by a master craftsman around the city before being taken out of the city to the cemetery for burial. Leng Cuizhu was not very knowledgeable about these matters and did not want to interfere too much in the process.
That night, she helped the maids set up the mourning hall. Knowing she would have to come back early the next morning, she decided to stay there instead of going back, to avoid being scared walking alone at night.
She feels more at ease staying here, surrounded by familiar dead people.
"What's burning here?" She walked up to the maid, squatted down to look at the blazing brazier on the ground, the firelight reflecting in her brown eyes.
“Your Highness, it’s pine needles. Lord Yin asked us to burn them,” the maid said, taking a handful of dark green pine needles from her pocket and placing them in the brazier. “He said it was to mourn the deceased and pray for their well-being.”
The maid whispered, "Speaking of these pine needles, they were taken from the Huashan pine tree that the master likes the most in his courtyard. We've plucked that tree bare."
The pine needles, when burned, did not burn like other things; instead, they had a fresh, slightly bitter aroma that permeated the quiet mourning hall, adding a touch of gentleness.
She hadn't expected Yin Yuan to be willing to do this. She thought Yin Yuan was eager to send Leng Zhen away, but then again, the dead should be respected.
"Let me burn them for you," Leng Cuizhu said, grabbing a handful of pine needles from her pocket as the maid instructed and throwing them into the brazier.
She didn't control her strength well and used too much force, causing the pine needles to scatter the dust in the basin, which hit her right in the face.
"Cough, cough..."
"Oh dear, are you alright? Did you inhale some ash and choke on it?" the maid asked with concern.
"Um, cough..." She coughed incessantly, hurriedly getting up. "I cough, I... I need to catch my breath."
She hadn't been able to help the maid at all, and instead had ended up coughing incessantly herself. She was very embarrassed and tried to suppress her cough, but it backfired. Her shoulders trembled, and her eyes filled with tears, making it difficult to see clearly.
The only sounds in the mourning hall were the crackling of burning pine needles and her weak cough.
After a long while, she finally pulled herself out of the excruciating coughing fit, leaned against the table to catch her breath, and looked up at the brazier.
"Huh..."
Where did that little maid who tended the fire go?
She looked left and right, but couldn't see a single person. She was the only one in the huge mourning hall. The wind made the white curtains on the beams sway like a flock of white doves flapping their wings.
A sudden chill ran down my neck.
She was startled when that hand completely covered her neck, stroking the back of her neck, its fingertips touching the most delicate tendons and grinding silently over them.
She took a breath: "...Why are you here?"
"I just finished my shift. I was worried about you setting up the funeral hall, so I came." Yin Yuan withdrew his hand and asked quietly, "Did I scare you?"
She was taken aback by the question and stammered, "Uh... a little."
“Every time you come over, there are no footsteps, and you don’t even tell me beforehand…”
"I'm sorry." The man accepted all her words, his face still cold and aloof, and said, "I will try to correct my mistakes in the future."
Leng Cuizhu: "Huh?"
“I know that I have long lost my credibility in your heart. You would rather trust a stranger than trust me.”
"But... I really want to change. Can't you see the changes in me? I've indulged you time and time again and tried to control my temper. So, Lingniang, can you give me a chance?"
What's wrong with Yin Yuan? He's like a completely different person, so obedient. So obedient that she can't believe she's not dreaming.
"Why would I give you a chance? ... Making changes is your own task, it has nothing to do with me..."
The man interrupted her: "How can it be nothing?"
“Every time, I made changes for you. How can you say it’s okay?” His sincerity vanished, his smile crumbled, and he stared at her menacingly.
Not content with just staring at her, he moved closer and closer, cornering her against the wall until he saw her utterly astonished.
"I've given you so many chances, why can't you give me just one?"
"Now that our child is dead, you have no more attachments and can't wait to sever ties with me, right?"
"That's not how it is, calm down..." She hurriedly tried to push the man away, but after only a few pushes, he grabbed her wrist.
"Didn't you hate me before? Why don't you hate me anymore?" His tone was calm, but each word he spoke was filled with more and more anger and resentment. "Didn't you want to kill me and always curse me to die? Now what are you pretending to be, indifferent and heartless?"
He leaned close to her ear and asked sharply, "Why don't you kill me? There are only the two of us here, and it's late at night. If you kill me here, no one will find out. Only by killing me can you truly be free of all attachments. No one in this world can stop you anymore. Your secrets will be buried with me and with Leng Zhen. You can move to a new place where no one will know about your past."
"I'd rather you hate me to the core than be completely indifferent to me..."
Before the man could finish speaking, she pulled her hand away and slapped him across the face.
One time wasn't enough, so she did it twice, three times... until the man stopped being stunned and stepped away from her.
Several bright red handprints appeared on Yin Yuan's pale face, not only on his cheeks, but also on the corners of his eyes, the bridge of his nose, and between his eyebrows, and there were even a few bloody scratches from fingernails.
She stood still, turning her wrist, her brow slightly furrowed.
Come here.
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Author's Note: There will be red envelopes in this chapter!
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