Bai Ziqian slapped Ling Ran on the back and sincerely praised him: "Brother Ling, your family is really amazing, producing a high-ranking official of the second rank!"
"Not just a second-rank official, but a governor is a second-rank official, plus the vice minister of the Ministry of War is a full second-rank official. He was already a full second-rank official last year." Ling Ran said the words of praise, but his eyes were colder than the moonlight.
Even Qin Yilin was shocked this time.
A second-rank official—if the Prince of Yan hadn't rebelled, he would have been a shoo-in for the cabinet.
This is no longer just a thick thigh, it's a golden thigh!
She asked curiously, "Ling Ran, what's your relationship with Ling Ce? You should hold on tight to such a powerful patron."
Shui Qing was thinking that by holding on tight, she could avoid struggling for thirty years, no, even a lifetime.
Then he thought of Ling Ran when he first arrived, dressed in tattered clothes, crying for help, making a living by manual labor, and hiding here and there. He had obviously offended someone. But if the Ling family had produced a high-ranking official, wouldn't he have been able to walk around with impunity? How could he have fallen to such a state!
Could it be that he offended Ling Ce? But what could a mere teenager have done to warrant Ling Ce hunting him down...?
Shui Qing, who was hesitating about whether or not to let Ling Ran go to Sihui, heard Ling Ran's next words.
"He... is my father."
The three blinked, then blinked again, and even forgot how to react.
Bai Ziqian asked blankly, "Is it a blood relative?"
After asking, I wanted to slap myself! What a load of rubbish he had! No one would randomly claim to be their father!
"Yes, but my mother passed away early, and less than three months later my father married my childhood sweetheart, whom I had known since I was a child. I also gained a half-brother who is only one year younger than me."
The three of them were truly stunned and stood there speechless for a long time.
There was so much information that Shuiqing felt like her brain was a mess and she needed to sort it out.
This half-brother is also Ling Ce's child! He is only one year younger than Ling Ran, which means that while Ling Ran's mother was pregnant with him or in her postpartum period, Ling Ce and his childhood sweetheart were already having an affair and she became pregnant.
Ling Ran's mother kept it a secret from the matriarch of the household, but as soon as her mother passed away, she didn't even want to wait any longer and married her childhood sweetheart.
Does having a stepmother mean you'll have a stepfather?
She opened her mouth, then asked worriedly, "You ran away, was it because your stepmother wanted to harm you? Does your father know about it, or was he even involved?"
Ling Ran remained silent for a while before raising his eyes and saying, "He wasn't involved, but I can't gamble on whether he would cover it up if he found out."
The three immediately realized that Ling Ran's stepmother wanted to harm him, and that his biological father was not trustworthy.
“You can’t go to Sihui. Draw the route to Sihui and explain it to the villagers in detail. You should be able to find it then,” Shuiqing said quickly.
She couldn't let Ling Ran take such a risk.
Bai Ziqian added, "You can tell me, I'm really good at finding my way around!"
Ling Ran shook his head, as if he had made up his mind. He first looked at Bai Ziqian and said, "It's too chaotic outside. It's safer for you to stay in the village."
Otherwise, how could Bai's parents be at ease, and Aunt Shuiqing wouldn't be able to explain it to her friend?
After saying that, he looked at Aunt Shuiqing and smiled slightly, saying softly, "Auntie, I should have left at the beginning of this year, but I was reluctant to leave because I was so attached to the warmth of home. Now I really have to go."
"This is the only thing I can do for you before I leave."
Even if a high-ranking official of the second rank wasn't on his annual leave, he wouldn't care about these dozens of bandits. He knew his father; only if he intervened would his father possibly help.
And he, too, had to leave.
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