Seventy Feathers
I can't remember which day it was, but it rained for three whole days, and Qu Yaoguang knelt in the rain for three whole days.
"Father, we love each other, why can't we be together? You saw it too, he almost lost his life trying to save me!"
In the study, Ye Zhanli argued with the clan leader. Since her mother died early, she had become the clan leader's treasure. He always agreed to any of her requests, but when it came to marriage, they both insisted on their own opinions and neither was willing to give in.
As a young girl, Ye Zhanli was even more unwilling to spend the rest of her life with someone she didn't love.
The clan leader sighed, "Alas..." He looked at his daughter, whose face was filled with disappointment and anger. He was silent for a long time, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He looked out the window at the heavy rain and said, "How about this, if he's willing to kneel outside for you until the rain stops, I won't interfere with your marriage anymore."
"Father!" Ye Zhanli frowned and turned his head to look at the rain outside the window. There was no sign of it stopping. Although he knew that his father had shown leniency, he couldn't help but worry when he thought about Qu Yaoguang's serious injury and that he had not recovered.
"You know! His injury hasn't healed yet. If something goes wrong while kneeling and he develops a chronic illness, his life will be ruined!" Ye Zhanli slowed down his tone and pleaded.
"Then it depends on his luck. If something unexpected happens, even if he can't be your husband, I will allow him to stay here to recuperate. It is entirely up to him to decide whether to stay or go. I will not interfere."
As Ye Zhanli's red eyes gazed upon her, the clan leader gently placed his hand on her shoulder and said earnestly, "Ah Li, marriage is a major event in life, not a joke. I've already lost your mother, and I absolutely cannot let you suffer any more. I hope you can understand your father's feelings."
Ye Zhanli wanted to argue again, but in a moment, she caught a glimpse of the mottled silver hair on her father's temples, and her heart ached. She understood her father's good intentions, but she also felt sorry for Qu Yaoguang's injured body. However, being caught in the middle was destined to be difficult to have both, so for long-term considerations, she finally agreed.
"Okay, thank you for your kindness, Father. I'll go talk to him."
Ye Zhanli was about to turn around and leave when the clan leader called him.
"Wait a moment."
She turned around in confusion, "What's wrong? Father."
The two looked at each other, but the clan leader spoke without looking away, "Come here, take the young lady back to her room. Without my permission, you are not allowed to step out of the door--"
Ye Zhanli's heart suddenly jumped into his throat, and he was stunned, thinking that the patriarch was going to go back on his word. "Father! What do you mean by this?"
As she was being dragged back by the housekeeper, she heard her father's low explanation, "Ah Li, men's minds are very unpredictable and they are good at pretending. If you tell him the deadline in advance, if he doesn't really care about you, he might pretend to be affectionate for a while. But if he truly loves you, I believe this little hardship will be nothing to him."
Only men understand men best, and how could he allow his daughter to be hurt unnecessarily?
Looking down from the balcony of the bedroom, Ye Zhanli could just see Qu Yaoguang kneeling upright in the pouring rain. He was mesmerized for a moment and watched quietly for who knows how long.
She had many suitors, and her father had also found some for her, but none of them suited her. Only last time, when she was going to cooperate with Qu Yaoguang, she saw his information and photos and was inexplicably moved by him.
"Ling'er." She called out.
She was the little maid who grew up with her.
"Hey." A girl about the same age as Ye Zhanli ran in from outside the door in small steps.
"What are your wishes, young lady?"
Ye Zhanli thought for a moment and said, "Go get me the bottle of medicine my father gave me when I was injured last time..."
Before she could finish her words, a nervous expression appeared on Ling'er's face, and she said in a panic, "Miss, are you hurt?"
Ye Zhanli smiled lightly, which was rare. "Don't be nervous. It's not me, it's him." As she spoke, she glanced downstairs.
"Oh, miss, you scared me!" Ling'er patted her chest, she was really scared.
"Give the medicine to the person who delivers the food..." she said, pausing for a moment before changing her tone. "No, you mix the medicine in the food you deliver to him, then personally deliver it to him, watching him eat it before you leave."
"Miss, do I need to tell him?"
Ye Zhanli shook his head, "No need."
She was not the type to act on her own. After thinking it over calmly, she felt that what her father said was indeed reasonable. It was rare to be able to gamble on the happiness of the rest of one's life, so she would not act on emotion.
"But if the clan leader finds out, he won't blame you, young lady, right?" Ling'er was a little worried.
Ye Zhanli smiled and raised his hand to smooth Ling'er's bangs. "No, don't worry."
The illusion gradually faded, and Ye Linghan knew that the scene was about to change again.
"So you really knelt until the rain stopped?" He looked at Qu Yaoguang beside him. He was caught off guard by his father's sudden appearance, and this old story was also instilled into his mind in a very sloppy and hasty manner.
"Yeah, three whole days."
"It really is true love..." Ye Linghan couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
Qu Yaoguang glanced at him with a meaningful look on his face, "You and him...are you the one on the bottom?"
According to observation, his son doesn't look like the one who can be on top.
"Ah?" Ye Linghan's face turned red instantly, and he had to play dumb, not knowing what the other person meant.
Knowing that his child was shy, Qu Yaoguang did not ask any more questions and snorted coldly, "Learn a little and don't tell everything right away."
"Oh...I see." Although he managed to escape by luck, he still felt a lingering fear.
"Then mother, why did you become like this?" Ye Linghan quickly changed the subject.
As Qu Yaoguang spoke, the scene before his eyes changed. "She saved a girl on a rainy night, but her face was remembered by her enemies, and that girl..."
He paused what he was about to say. Ye Linghan, who was standing beside him, followed his gaze and saw a girl with a blurred face being pinned down by a strong man, struggling and calling for help.
Looking at the man's back, Ye Linghan suddenly felt that he looked familiar. He squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly focused, "Could he be Zhao Xingjian?"
So he turned to look at Qu Yaoguang and got the answer from the other's eyes.
"Yes." He nodded.
In this case, Ye Linghan recalled the second child that Jiang Wanru mentioned, as well as her motive for killing Zhao Xingjian and the person she had been hiding. It seems that the person his mother saved that year was actually Jiang Wanru.
"But why does this girl look so different from my senior sister?" Even though her face was blurry, one could still roughly see something. Even though Jiang Wanru was still young at that time, she would still have some of her childhood shadow when she grew up, so she wouldn't be completely different.
"Have you forgotten? She is a vampire. It is not difficult for her to change her appearance through supernatural powers." Qu Yaoguang explained.
He didn't elaborate, but continued, "After rescuing Jiang Wanru, we learned she had no parents, so we took her in at the Research and Investigation Department. Not long after, a group of people came to our door and demanded we hand her over by name. At that time, Ah Li had just given birth to you and was weak. To protect you, she exhausted all her energy..."
The rest of the words were stuck in my heart, but it was obvious that there was no need to say any more.
After a long silence, a gust of wind blew in from the window and sprinkled on Ye Linghan's cheek, like a mother's caress. He felt a slight coolness and didn't know when his face was covered with tears. In an instant, all the resentment disappeared. Even if he had never had the care of his parents in his childhood, it no longer mattered at this moment.
He calmed down and said, "But why did you leave me in an orphanage? I thought I really had no father or mother."
"An orphanage? Is that what he explained to you?"
"What?" Ye Linghan was confused.
Facing the other party's doubts, Qu Yaoguang only smiled bitterly, "I didn't abandon you in the orphanage back then. On the day we were hunted, I was seriously injured and almost couldn't escape the Research and Investigation Department. I ran with you all the way, and in the end, I was exhausted. In the moment of despair, it was Yin Chen who rushed to save us both."
"Achen?"
How could it be him?
Ye Linghan only felt that he recognized these words when they came out of Qu Yaoguang's mouth, but when they were put together, it seemed as if he could not understand them at all.
"Well, I was so weak at the time that I thought handing you over to him was the best option."
A large amount of information was forced into Ye Linghan's mind, making it difficult for him to digest it for a while. Thinking of Yin Chen's previous hesitation, it seemed to explain it. It turned out that the other party had always known his identity but had never mentioned it.
But why did he hide this from me... Isn't it the best choice to tell me this when we are most in love?
After all, they are blood relatives. By trying to figure out Ye Linghan's expression, Qu Yaoguang could tell what he was thinking.
"It's not his fault, actually. I didn't let him tell you."
His words interrupted Ye Linghan's thoughts. He looked at Qu Yaoguang and said, "There's something I've been puzzled about. If that's the case, why don't you take me back to my grandfather?"
Even though my parents being together broke the rules passed down by their ancestors, I am the only bloodline passed down after all. My grandfather will not disown me no matter what. So why did my father prefer to believe in the vampires rather than wait for his injuries to heal and take me back under the circumstances at that time?
Qu Yaoguang did not rush to answer Ye Linghan's question, but took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him.
"What is this?" Ye Linghan took it. There was a distinct smell of medicine on it.
"It can stop the bleeding." Qu Yaoguang raised his chin and looked at the blood-soaked collar of Ye Linghan's chest. He said with a double meaning, "Thank you for your hard work for so long."
Ye Linghan raised his eyebrows, "It's not hard, it's just a hard life..."
He pressed the handkerchief on the wound. Qu Yaoguang controlled the strength very well, keeping it in a state where it just bleeds but doesn't hurt too much. As a result, after a long time, if the color wasn't too eye-catching, he would have forgotten that he was injured.
"The reason I handed you over to Yin Chen was a deal between us. Your bloodline just happened to complement his, so he promised me to take good care of you. At the same time, because I wanted to avenge your mother, he promised me that no matter who the murderer was, he would not interfere. In other words, I have absolute access to him."
"And... I didn't feel like going back after Kagome died." His voice trailed off until he added, "But I now realize how naive and irresponsible my thoughts were back then."
"So you are essentially selling me out?" Ye Linghan asked subconsciously, feeling somewhat helpless, as if something was stuck in his throat.
Qu Yaoguang immediately retorted, "What kind of words are you talking about? What do you mean by selling you out? I paid the price, okay..."
"What have you paid for?" Ye Linghan was so angry that he laughed. He didn't know whether he should be angry or not. On one side was Yin Chen who had always doted on him, and on the other side was his biological father. Although he could understand their difficulties, who could he turn to for justice for all the things he had missed out on over the years?
"Aren't you curious why I didn't recognize you after seeing you?"
"I have my reasons... After all, there are unspeakable reasons for selling me out. What could be more difficult than this?" Ye Linghan's words were full of sarcasm. Although he knew he shouldn't do this, he really couldn't help it.
Fortunately, Qu Yaoguang didn't care about it. He knew he was in the wrong, and he considered it as returning the fatherly and motherly love that Ye Linghan had lost for many years to him.
"In order to concentrate on my research and avenge your mother, I asked Yin Chen to erase my memory of meeting him. So it's not that I don't want to recognize you, but like you, my memory was erased."
"It seems like you and your son had a good chat."
Suddenly, a vortex of mist visible to the naked eye appeared in front of the two of them. As the sound came, Jiang Wanru's figure appeared in front of them.
"Senior Sister--" Ye Linghan nodded slightly. He was no longer surprised by Jiang Wanru's sudden appearance.
Jiang Wanru nodded in response, then nodded to Qu Yaoguang.
"How are things over there?" Qu Yaoguang asked.
"I met Yin Chen, and it went pretty smoothly."
"Achen? How is he?" He still subconsciously cared.
But this does not mean that he has to forgive immediately. Because of love, he can let it go, but as for how to untie this knot in his heart, it depends on the other party's sincerity.
Jiang Wanru looked at him with a smile, "Yin Chen has recovered very well. He would be very happy if he knew that you still cared about him after knowing the truth."
Ye Linghan smiled faintly, "He is the one I love, no matter what."
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