Chapter 58 Your Father Is Not Your Father

Jiangnan seemed to be different from before, but Shen Yingxue couldn't tell exactly what was different.

The mosaics here are no different from before, but there is a feeling that it looks different from the Jiangnan that Shen Yingxue is familiar with.

I don’t know if there is something wrong with Shen Yingxue’s memory or if there have really been changes.

When I left, winter had not yet ended in Jiangnan, but when I came back, it was already spring. The leaves were growing, and everywhere was green. The weather was very good today, and the sun was warm and bright.

The curtains in the carriage were drawn open, and warm wind blew in. Soon Shen Yingxue fell drowsy.

"Master, we're here."

Lan Jin woke Shen Yingxue up. Shen Yingxue opened his eyes and saw that there seemed to be many more trees in front of him, which was completely different from his memory. "Is this Zanhua Lane?"

"It's Zanhua Lane." Lan Jin helped him get off the carriage. "I ordered people to plant some osmanthus trees around it. It's not time for them to bloom yet. Now you can only see the seedlings."

Shen Yingxue nodded: "So that's how it is. I was wondering why the taste here is different from before."

Is there any difference? Lan Jin sniffed it and didn't feel any difference from before.

Osmanthus flowers only bloom in autumn, when there are few leaves on the trees and the fragrance is far from being there.

Jiang Hanfeng also brought Tingxuan out from the carriage at the back. His attitude towards Shen Yingxue had returned to normal, but Lan Jin did not let him and Shen Yingxue get along together, so he could not express his goodwill. Shen Yingxue still avoided him a little, and Jiang Hanfeng was helpless.

Lan Jin called the people from Zanhua Lane to take Tingxuan away. Jiang Hanfeng followed Shen Yingxue in a few steps, "I..."

Lan Jin said, "I just came back from outside. It's time to take a good rest. Mr. Jiang, why don't you go back to your room first, take a shower and change clothes, and then come back. Someone will prepare wine to welcome you and clean up your mess."

Jiang Hanfeng didn't want to push Shen Yingxue too hard, so he nodded.

Shen Yingxue watched him leave and said to Lan Jin, "What should we do? Is it too late to notify Xun Yan to disguise himself?"

"Why doesn't the master just tell him the truth?"

"I'm afraid he won't believe it, which will cause more trouble," said Shen Yingxue.

Lan Jin was silent for a moment, "Master, have you ever thought about why Jiang Hanfeng doesn't believe it?"

Shen Yingxue shook her head in confusion.

"Of course, this is due to Jiang Hanfeng's own reasons, but it has nothing to do with you. The information you convey is always changing, so Jiang Hanfeng naturally dare not make a final conclusion."

Most importantly, who would have thought that Shen Yingxue would pretend to be the flower owner and invent a person who does not exist at all? This is unprecedented since ancient times, and it is even more impossible to guess the truth based on this information.

Lan Jin said these words not to resolve the knot between them, he just simply couldn't stand Jiang Hanfeng and Shen Yingxue being so close.

The reason why Shen Yingxue tolerated Jiang Hanfeng's proximity was precisely because she wanted to have some fun with him. As long as this layer was exposed, they would have no reason to be so close anymore.

When Shen Yingxue was about to arrive at the courtyard, Xun Yan and others came out to greet him. Because of his status, the ceremony was not grand. Xun Yan came over and looked him up and down. Lan Jin told him what Shen Yingxue had done outside. When he knew that Shen Yingxue was using herself as bait, he was also nervous.

Lan Jin also told him about the disguise that fell off and Shen Yingxue's condition these days.

"I'm fine." Shen Yingxue followed them into the house.

"These days, Zanhua Lane has recruited several hundred people, and this lane can no longer accommodate them. Li Baiqi led a group of people to leave Zanhua Lane and found another place not far from here. The rules are still the same as here, and they are ready to be dispatched at any time." Xun Yan talked about the situation in the past few days, "King Zhongxin sent someone to greet you. He has completely taken over the Yueyue Tower. King Zhongxin means to establish a new sect, just like the Yueyue Tower, dedicated to gathering information."

Shen Yingxue listened quietly. After he finished speaking, the system suddenly spoke: [Congratulations, you have entered the third stage.]

Shen Yingxue was stunned for a moment, trying to recall what the third stage was.

It seems that you can read novels and some other things.

He took out the game console, but didn't notice any changes in the mosaic. However, after turning it on, there was an update reminder, indicating that it could connect to the Internet.

[Where can I read novels?] Shen Yingxue asked while fiddling with the game console. The system said: [You should have discovered this by yourself, just like you saw a game console.]

[So, there must be something that has been coded to look like a mobile phone?] Novels and forums are functions that can be found on mobile phones. Shen Yingxue made a reasonable guess: [Could that thing be the martial arts secret book that can heal my body?]

The system said: [You can look around.]

Shen Yingxue suddenly felt like he was playing a game of finding differences, which was even harder than finding mosaics in comic books. He had to find such a small thing among so many mosaics, and most importantly, he had limited space to move around, and he couldn't ask others to help him find it. It was simply hellish.

However, based on the progress of the previous times, the system should not cheat him like this.

Shen Yingxue was stunned for a while, then thought: [At this stage, does it mean that the Hairpin Flower Lane has become quite strong?]

Even if his true identity was known to others, there would no longer be any bloody disasters or the daily worry of being plotted against and wiped out.

After the system gave a positive answer, Shen Yingxue smiled.

He can finally do things openly and honestly!

Lan Jin and Xun Yan looked at each other. Seeing Shen Yingxue's strange state, they were both a little worried about him. Lan Jin asked hesitantly, "Master, what's wrong with you?"

Could this be another hallucination?

Shen Yingxue looked at him and smiled: "Nothing, what did you just say? I didn't hear it."

Xun Yan said: "Prince Zhongxin has decided to establish a new intelligence organization in the martial arts world to replace the Suoyue Tower."

Oh, Shen Yingxue did hear this, but she didn't expect that Xun Yan didn't continue talking while he was talking to the system.

Shen Yingxue said: "That's great. This way, Prince Zhongxin will have almost all the people in the martial arts world under his control."

Lan Jin was very worried: "The secret of Zanhua Lane..."

"What secrets does Zanhua Lane have?" Shen Yingxue asked.

"He also knows your identity. What should we do?"

"Prince Zhongxin only knows that Ling Yun is Shen Yingxue, but he doesn't know that Huazhu is Shen Yingxue. Moreover, he doesn't know Huazhu's origins, nor the origin of Zanhua Lane, which is enough." Shen Yingxue said, "Even if he knows, I'm not afraid, because he will reveal the truth sooner or later."

When he takes revenge, he must use his own identity, otherwise what is the point of revenge?

Lan Jin asked: "What about Jiang Hanfeng..."

Shen Yingxue groaned, "You are right. It is time to make things clear to Jiang Hanfeng. We cannot allow him to misunderstand us any further."

After hearing what Shen Yingxue said, Xun Yan understood and stopped disguising himself as Hua Zhu.

In the evening, Huazhu held a banquet and called Jiang Hanfeng and Zhu Chengyu to come and have dinner together.

Zhu Chengyu hadn't seen Hua Zhu for a long time, so he came over impatiently, arriving earlier than everyone else.

Shen Yingxue was sitting in the main seat. After seeing him, she remembered that she had such a son. She rubbed her head with a headache.

"Daddy." Zhu Chengyu came over with a sweet smile, "I have been studying hard every day since you left. If you don't believe me, you can ask Master Xun Yan. My grades are much better than before."

Shen Yingxue responded perfunctorily a few times, and saw Zhu Chengyu facing him with an indescribable expression. She seemed a little nervous, a little shy, and had an indescribable reluctance to speak, and a hint of not-so-obvious enthusiasm.

Shen Yingxue asked him: "What's that expression on your face?"

"I...I think..." Zhu Chengyu said, "I have been working very hard. What if I still cannot meet your requirements? Daddy, do you want to test me? See if I am qualified to inherit your business."

What inheritance?

Shen Yingxue looked at him blankly for a while, and it took her a long time to remember the immature remarks Zhu Chengyu had made before.

What about waiting for King Zhongxin to obtain the throne and pass the position to Shen Yingxue, and then killing Shen Yingxue and taking the throne himself?

Zhu Chengyu still wanted to inherit the throne and become the crown prince.

This is too crazy, he really dares to think like that.

"I remember telling you before that I don't have that plan." Shen Yingxue said helplessly, "Jiang Hanfeng should have also told you that your guess is wrong. I don't have such big ambitions and have never thought about owning an empire."

Xun Yan had heard Zhu Chengyu say similar things in the past few days and did not find it strange. Only Lan Jin was shocked and looked at Zhu Chengyu as if he had seen a ghost.

It would be fine if this man became the master's son inexplicably, but now he is trying to instigate the master to rebel?

Even though the master was wrong before, it was a great kindness for him to accept him as his son. Did he really think that the master was a person without his own opinion? Did he think that the master would agree with him no matter what he said?

Shen Yingxue said to Lan Jin: "Take him to sit down."

"yes."

Zhu Chengyu was the youngest, so Lan Jin led him to the seat farthest from Shen Yingxue, next to Han Jing. However, Han Jing had not arrived yet, so Lan Jin and Xun Yan were sitting next to Shen Yingxue, and it seemed as if Zhu Chengyu was isolated.

Zhu Chengyu tidied his hair and acted pitiful, looking at Shen Yingxue from time to time, showing weakness with his eyes, but Shen Yingxue ignored him.

Han Jing and Jiang Hanfeng arrived almost at the same time. Han Jing moved calmly and sat next to Zhu Chengyu, while Jiang Hanfeng was stunned for a moment.

He knew that this was a banquet hosted by Hua Zhu, so why was Shen Yingxue sitting at the main seat, and Hua Zhu nowhere to be seen?

"Please sit down." Lan Jin said for Shen Yingxue.

When Shen Yingxue was not sick, he was a very strong person. Lan Jin had never seen him afraid of anyone. However, in front of Jiang Hanfeng, he seemed to be sealed and dared not say a word.

Because of this, he disliked Jiang Hanfeng.

Jiang Hanfeng sat next to Han Jing, with Xun Yan on his left, and Shen Yingxue on Xun Yan's left.

"Where is Master Hua?" Jiang Hanfeng asked.

Zhu Chengyu blinked blankly, "Isn't Daddy right here?"

Jiang Hanfeng had a bad feeling just now. After hearing this, he seemed to understand something and found it unbelievable. He did not dare to make a decision and looked at Shen Yingxue.

Shen Yingxue said calmly: "I am the flower owner."

Jiang Hanfeng's pupils suddenly shrank and he looked at him in surprise.

He thought there were two Flower Masters. One was the real Flower Master, for whom he had no feelings and had never been moved. The other was Shen Yingxue in front of him, the Flower Master he pretended to be. Jiang Hanfeng could recognize her at a glance. He could not help but feel itchy just by looking at their identical bodies without even seeing her face.

But Shen Yingxue said that he was the owner of the flower.

Is his condition getting worse, or does he really think he is the flower owner now?

Where is the real owner of the flower? How many owners are there?

After Shen Yingxue finished speaking, she ignored him. The dishes were served, Lan Jin helped him pick up some dishes, and Shen Yingxue just ate without paying attention to anything else.

Xun Yan said: "Don't you want to know the true identity of the flower owner? This is the truth."

Zhu Chengyu tilted his head in confusion: "What?"

Jiang Hanfeng looked at Shen Yingxue, then at Xun Yan and Lan Jin. The attitudes of these two people towards Shen Yingxue were indeed the same as their attitudes towards Hua Zhu.

But how could this happen?

Jiang Hanfeng asked: "Why?"

Xun Yan said: "Isn't this obvious? It is inconvenient for you to go out with your identity, but if you want to appear openly, you must have strong support. You have no choice but to resort to this last resort and fabricate a new identity in order to protect yourself."

Jiang Hanfeng thought it was ridiculous: "If that's the case, wouldn't it be more convenient to have a better identity? Why bother to create a birthmark and pretend to be disabled?"

Shen Yingxue was also very curious about what he was thinking at the time, so he pricked up his ears while eating.

Lan Jin said softly, "Of course I want to stop you guys from having these evil thoughts."

Yes, it seems like that.

Lan Jin sighed: "But who could have known that even if the master pretended to have these shortcomings, he was still so charming that your attention was still on him."

Zhu Chengyu was extremely shocked. Unlike Jiang Hanfeng, he couldn't see with his eyes and had no idea which face Shen Yingxue was using at this time. But he knew that the man on the main seat was his father.

Why did Dad say that?

From what they said, my father is actually Shen Yingxue?

Could it be that Daddy was dissatisfied with him and used this method to figure out his evil intentions?

Zhu Chengyu knew that Shen Yingxue was not even older than Jiang Hanfeng. If the flower owner was Shen Yingxue, then he could not be her father.

Zhu Chengyu couldn't accept this. He would rather this was his father's punishment for his disobedience than lose his father.

Jiang Hanfeng said: "I have always liked the person in front of me, regardless of his identity."

A flash of darkness flashed across Lan Jin's eyes. He really wanted to poison Jiang Hanfeng, but his master would not agree, so he could only suppress his temper.

"I don't believe them, I only believe you. You have always been upright, I just want to hear your explanation." Jiang Hanfeng said.

Shen Yingxue put down his chopsticks, wanting to say something but stopping himself. When he raised his eyes, he found that Jiang Hanfeng was not looking at him at all, but was staring at Xun Yan next to him.

Well, he was just being too sentimental.

Shen Yingxue picked up the chopsticks again, added a piece of pork ribs from the plate in front of her, and sucked the sauce on it.

Xun Yan said: "What the cat said is right, what else can I say?"

Jiang Hanfeng asked: "When the Flower Master first appeared, was it Shen Yingxue pretending to be her?"

Xun Yan: “Yes.”

Jiang Hanfeng: "Who disguised him?"

Xun Yan: “It’s me.”

"So he is not that old at all, nor has he stayed in Zanhua Lane for more than ten years. Even his attack on Wan Baogui and the others was a spur-of-the-moment decision. The hatred between Huazhu and Fu Sheng is exactly the hatred between Yingxue and Fu Sheng?"

"nice."

Jiang Hanfeng asked smoothly at first, but he paused for the last question, and asked in a complicated and cautious tone: "Is Yingxue crazy?"

"He's really crazy." Xun Yan said, "Three years ago, I took him to escape from Shattered Shadow Mountain. He was seriously injured, his dantian was shattered, his tendons and veins were destroyed, his internal energy collided in his body, and he stopped breathing several times. When he woke up, he was like this."

Lan Jin had never heard Xun Yan say that when he was treating Shen Yingxue, he could guess how dangerous the situation was. But after hearing it with his own ears, he still felt shocked and heartbroken.

Zhu Chengyu listened expressionlessly.

Jiang Hanfeng clenched his hands and watched Shen Yingxue eat slowly and gracefully, not at all like before when she needed someone to feed her.

Xun Yan said: "Now the young master is much better."

Jiang Hanfeng nodded sternly.

He couldn't blame Shen Yingxue. This was just Shen Yingxue's way of protecting herself. He just wanted to survive and didn't mean to deceive.

The room was extremely quiet, with only Shen Yingxue and Han Jing eating.

Zhu Chengyu only remembered when he heard the sound of dishes colliding beside him that he had not heard Sister Jing'er talking.

"Sister, aren't you surprised?" Zhu Chengyu asked in a low voice.

He felt extremely helpless at this moment, not knowing whether he should believe it or not. On the one hand, Zhu Chengyu felt that they were using this dinner to reveal the truth, but on the other hand, he felt that his father just wanted to deceive Jiang Hanfeng.

He is still my father, otherwise, what does his love for me mean?

Why would he acknowledge me as his son without any reason? A normal person should have told the truth when he acknowledged me as his father, instead of dragging it out until now... Zhu Chengyu's anger overwhelmed his grief, but he was always good at judging the situation and knew that he had no right to be angry.

He could only vent his anger on Jing'er.

Jing'er is just the adopted daughter of the Flower Lord, so she probably knows even less. She is more pitiful than me. The Flower Lord adopted me as his son purely out of love and protection, without any use. Jing'er is different. Although Jing'er is an adopted daughter, she is almost the same as those subordinates.

Han Jing put down his chopsticks in bewilderment, "Why are you surprised?"

Zhu Chengyu discovered that her voice was hoarser than usual. She was definitely not as calm as she appeared, and she must have been very shocked inside.

Zhu Chengyu whispered, "Daddy said he was Shen Yingxue, weren't you surprised?"

Han Jing said, “No.”

Zhu Chengyu asked: "Why?"

"Shen Yingxue is my adoptive father. I have always known his identity. Why are you surprised?" Han Jing did not understand Zhu Chengyu's sensitivity and fragility. In his opinion, Zhu Chengyu and her adoptive father had only known each other for less than half a year. What kind of feelings could they have?

When Zhu Chengyu heard this, his face changed drastically.

How could this happen?

Jing'er is not Hua Zhu's child, but Shen Yingxue's child?

Is he the only one who is kept in the dark?

Jiang Hanfeng could understand what Zhu Chengyu was thinking. When he was teaching Zhu Chengyu to read, every time when he learned about "filial piety and brotherhood", Zhu Chengyu would mention Hua Zhu.

Jiang Hanfeng also thought at first that Zhu Chengyu was Huazhu's biological son. Who knew that Shen Yingxue was Huazhu and Zhu Chengyu had nothing to do with him?

He was about to comfort Zhu Chengyu, but he saw the white-haired boy suddenly turned his head and looked at him, staring at him stubbornly, his voice trembling, "Why did you lie to me?"

Jiang Hanfeng was stunned: "What?"

"Why did you lie to me?" Zhu Chengyu suppressed his anger and looked ahead blankly. In his eyes, there was no Jiang Hanfeng or anyone else. From beginning to end, he only had himself. "I'm not his son at all. Why did you tell me that he is my father!"

Jiang Hanfeng: "When did I say..."

Zhu Chengyu felt extremely wronged, and hot tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. He raised his sleeves to wipe them away, "You don't admit it? Do you think my jokes are funny?"

Zhu Chengyu stood up, laughed twice, and walked outside.

Shen Yingxue swallowed the vegetables in her mouth and said to Xun Yan, "Go and watch him order."

Xun Yan nodded, stood up and chased after him.

Jiang Hanfeng stared blankly in the direction where Zhu Chengyu left, and suddenly recalled the conversation that day.

He was clearly testing the relationship between Zhu Chengyu and Hua Zhu, so why did he end up telling Zhu Chengyu that he was Hua Zhu's son? Wasn't this something Zhu Chengyu confirmed himself?

The most important thing is, Zhu Chengyu himself doesn’t know who his father is?

Didn't he always live in Zanhua Lane? How could he trust him, a person who came later, knew nothing about Zanhua Lane, and was even envied by the owner of the flower?

Jiang Hanfeng couldn't figure it out. Zhu Chengyu was a child whose thoughts were too difficult to guess.

Shen Yingxue said in a meaningful tone: "It turns out that Zhu Chengyu recognized me as his father because of you."

"It's not me..."

"I was shocked when he suddenly came over and called me dad." Shen Yingxue tilted her head, "I thought I had gone so crazy that I didn't even remember my own son."

Jiang Hanfeng originally wanted to defend himself clearly, but after hearing his words, he fell silent.

Shen Yingxue didn't say anything else and picked up her chopsticks to eat again.

He and Han Jing were the only ones at the table who had a good appetite and ate without restraint. Shen Yingxue skipped the dishes with strange mosaics and only picked out the ones she liked.

Jiang Hanfeng looked at his seemingly carefree appearance and didn't know what to say for a moment. In the end, he could only sigh deeply.

He had made up his mind a long time ago to be good to Shen Yingxue. No matter what Shen Yingxue did, he could tolerate her. Shen Yingxue's madness was real, and he didn't mean to do so. Jiang Hanfeng couldn't bring himself to condemn him, and only felt that he was a little pitiful.

Han Jing noticed that the atmosphere in the room had become stagnant, but he remained unmoved.

He watched his adoptive father eating and drinking as usual, and at the same time he felt deep sympathy for the others.

As expected, he was the only one who knew the truth.

How many people did the adoptive father deceive by pretending to be crazy? They couldn't guess what the adoptive father was thinking, and they fell into his trap unknowingly and worked hard for Zanhua Lane. But it was really abrupt that the adoptive father suddenly revealed his true identity.

He glanced at Jiang Hanfeng secretly.

Han Jing had a hunch that his adoptive father revealed that he was Shen Yingxue at this time because of this person.

It seems that not only the second senior brother likes the adoptive father, but the adoptive father is also moved by his sincerity.