Chapter 59 Possessed by a Ghost Mu Hanshi lowered his brows, a faint smile playing on his lips…
*
Inside the main courtyard of the Yu family mansion, only the original family remained, except for the addition of Yu Qingxue.
Shen Linlang, Yu Zhiheng, Yu Jingxian, Yu Liuzhu, and Xie Shi. Not long ago, the five of them were a true family, with a loving mother and filial children, a loving husband and wife, and deep sibling affection—a harmonious and enviable family.
Now, mother and son are estranged, husband and wife are no longer friends, and siblings are no longer related; my heart is filled with utter devastation.
The opportunity has passed, but Yu Liuzhu is still unwilling to give up.
She was still questioning Madam Xie, "Grandmother, things have come to this point, Mother wants to divorce Father, and this family is about to fall apart. Aren't you going to tell us the truth?"
Xie's heart felt like it was being roasted over a fire, enduring unprecedented torment.
If she admits that everything was her own conspiracy, then the family can be preserved, her son and daughter-in-law should not divorce, and perhaps they can still be like before, a family that respects and loves each other.
But what about the child?
A face with dark, empty eyes and tears kept appearing in her mind, and the word "grandmother" kept echoing in her ears.
Seeing that she still didn't speak, Yu Liuzhu's hatred intensified. "Grandmother, what are you afraid of? Uncle and Aunt are both gone. What are you afraid to say? What time is it? Why are you still only thinking about Sister Ali? Look at my father, look at my mother, and look at my elder brother. We have become like this because of you!"
"I..." She opened her mouth, speaking with difficulty.
Her most valued son was Yu Zhiheng. If her son was not good, how could she be good?
"Mother, please tell me quickly, what exactly happened?" Yu Zhiheng urged her, his meaning clear.
They were all pressuring her, forcing her to make the choice that was most beneficial to the current situation.
Shen Linlang maintained the same posture, propping her head up with her hand, her face somber and silent, as if listening to them talk, or as if she were lost in thought.
“Grandmother, if you don’t want to talk, you can just nod or shake your head.” Yu Liuzhu cried. “No matter who you look at, Ali is more like Aunt’s daughter. You made up such a huge lie just to make up for the fact that you forced Aunt to marry into the Su family. Am I right?”
Xie wanted to nod, but her body wouldn't obey her commands; it was incredibly stiff, as if she couldn't move at all.
“Grandmother, think about it. In this situation, no one but Ali will be alright. Is this the result you wanted? You know in your heart that she is not my mother's daughter, but I am! Please stop hiding it from me…”
"Stop talking." Shen Linlang slowly raised her head, sat up straight, and looked at them one by one. First Yu Zhiheng, then Yu Jingxian, Xie Shi, Yu Qingxue, and finally Yu Liuzhu. "These sixteen years of mine have been truly laughable. Not only did I raise other people's children, but I also didn't teach them very well."
"Mother..." Yu Liuzhu changed her address to "Aunt" under the unfamiliar gaze she had never seen before.
Her words were like those of a completely different person; her tone was calm, even somewhat nonchalant, as if it were none of her business. "Ali is right, it's true that you are born like your mother. You are just as selfish and greedy as your own mother."
Yu Liuzhu had been pampered by her for over a decade, and had never heard such words before; he was completely overwhelmed by them.
Yu Jingxian could hardly believe his ears. "Mother, she's Tang'er! Your most beloved Tang'er! How could you say such a thing about her? Her suspicions aren't unfounded. What if all of this is Grandmother's conspiracy..."
He paused, then stopped speaking, his face contorted with pain. “Why did this happen? Our family was doing just fine. Why did it turn out like this? I really wish things could be the same as before, with my father going to work and my mother and Tang’er staying home to manage the household. Our family would be so happy and harmonious.”
The family he mentioned did not include Yu Jingliang or Shen Qinglu.
Upon hearing this, Shen Linlang felt even more ridiculous and pathetic.
It turns out that all these years of believing in a harmonious family was just an illusion!
She wanted to laugh, but she also wanted to curse. As soon as her sharp expression appeared, her heroic eyebrows and eyes immediately became fierce.
As she slowly stood up and walked step by step to Yu Zhiheng, there was no trace of her former tenderness. "I was born into a general's family and have never studied needlework or calligraphy since I was a child. I detest the idea of women in the inner quarters obeying their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage."
Since marrying you, I've been content to live a life of domesticity, learning to be a wife and mother, managing the household, a role I disliked. I am a daughter of the Shen family, and my willingness is priceless. But now, I am no longer willing!
She slightly raised her chin, her eyes looking down at others, her expression carrying the innate arrogance of a woman from a noble family, and her brows and eyes exuding a nobility that ordinary people could not attain.
Just like when they first met.
They were still husband and wife, standing opposite each other, supposed to be equals. Yet, Yu Zhiheng felt as if the ground beneath his feet was constantly collapsing, one higher than the other. The higher one remained aloof, while the lower one, though not quite reduced to dust, could only look up at the other.
This disparity in status and position can change in an instant, like the transformation of the sea into mulberry fields in a blink of an eye.
Shen Linlang looked at him and said clearly, "We were husband and wife, so let's part amicably."
He was overwhelmed by the sudden change in his situation and understood the meaning behind Shen Linlang's words. They had been husband and wife, had children, and shared the bond of parenthood. If they were to break off all ties, given the Shen family's status and power, he would gain nothing and his future would be ruined.
After a long silence, he reluctantly uttered, "Linlang, think it over again."
Without another word, he turned and left.
"father!"
"father!"
Yu Jingxian and Yu Liuzhu shouted at the same time.
Yu Jingxian hurriedly pleaded with Shen Linlang, "Father did nothing wrong, why are you blaming him? For Ali's sake, you don't want Tang'er, you don't want Father, Mother, why are you so heartless?"
Shen Linlang's heart was indeed ruthless at this moment. If she weren't ruthless, how could she sever the bond of twenty-one years of marriage? However, this ruthlessness was a double-edged sword, hurting both herself and others.
Others may call her ruthless, but her children cannot!
"Darling, it seems that I have been a terrible mother all these years."
"mother……"
She didn't look at Yu Jingxian, but gave Granny Yu a wink.
Granny Yu understood immediately and said to Madam Xie, Yu Qingxue, and Yu Liuzhu, "Please, everyone."
Yu Liuzhu suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Chen Linlang, "Mother, you don't want me, I don't hate you, please tell me, why do you believe that Ali is your daughter?"
God must have felt sorry for her and gave her a second chance at life!
She couldn't understand how her grandmother could determine she wasn't her mother's daughter based on just a few words. There was only one witness, no corroborating evidence, and no physical proof. Why did her mother believe it so readily?
“Because Heaven has eyes,” Shen Linlang said.
It's God again!
Yu Liuzhu wiped away her tears, her eyes filled with stubbornness. "Mother, I just want to know, you once said that we were destined to be mother and daughter, and that the child in your pregnancy dream looked like me. How could I not be your daughter?"
“I told you that the child isn’t you, it’s Ali.”
"How could it be Ali? She looks so much like Auntie, what makes you so sure it's her?"
The child in her dream looked similar to her, but why wasn't it her, but someone else?
Yu Liuzhu had considered countless possibilities, but he still couldn't figure out why.
"You don't need to know." Shen Linlang waved her hand. "You can go now."
Sixteen years of raising a daughter, who could have imagined it would end like this?
She stopped looking at everyone and turned her back, listening to the people in the room leave one by one until they were all gone and the tea had gone cold, leaving her all alone.
Years of hard work have gone to waste; no one can know her pain and sorrow. All the laughter and joy of the past years have now turned into mockery of her.
Just then, a cracking sound of a whip came from outside the door. The whip was clearly hitting the air, yet it made a sharp, rustling sound, which made one's body inexplicably tense.
The newcomer was dressed in fiery red, with cold and beautiful features; it was none other than Mu Miaohua.
Mu Miaohua asked nothing and said nothing, but instead took out two jugs of wine and placed them on the table. "Linlang, let's drink until we drop to our hearts' content today, shall we?"
In that instant, it was as if the past had returned.
Shen Linlang was clearly smiling, but her eyes were red, and tears kept flowing out. "Miaohua, I'm so sad..."
Even if you understand and comprehend everything, your heart is not in control of itself.
The pain and self-blame will be immense; I dare not recall them, for each recollection is a heart-wrenching self-inflicted torment.
Mu Miaohua let her lean on him. "You have to get through it, no matter how sad you are. You can't go back on the road you've traveled. So can I."
"You still can't forget..." she murmured, "You're a fool, and so am I. What 'Twin Beauties of the Capital'? We're both complete idiots. I misjudged people, while you saw things too clearly..."
*
After leaving the main courtyard, Yu Jingxian was at a loss as to where to go.
Home is no longer home; the warmth of the past is gone. Even the same scenery, which he has seen for many years, now feels somewhat unfamiliar.
He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
"Big brother."
Hearing Yu Liuzhu's voice, he immediately turned around.
"Tang'er..."
With red-rimmed eyes, Yu Liu approached and choked out, "Mother doesn't want me anymore. I'm leaving today, and we may never see each other again. Brother, I really can't bear to part with you... We've been together for over ten years. Tell me, how can I not be your sister?"
"Tang'er, don't cry." Yu Jingxian always doted on her, and her heart ached immediately when she cried. "In my heart, you will always be my sister."
"But Mother won't acknowledge her!" She cried even harder. Her face, which had been slightly sickly after years of being cared for by Shen Linlang, was now pale and sickly. "Big brother, I'm scared. I'm scared that all of this is someone else's conspiracy. Have you noticed that Sister Ali is acting a little strange? How could a fool be cured?"
Yu Jingxian's heart skipped a beat.
He read the classics and also miscellaneous anecdotes.
Among the supernatural and mysterious figures recorded in those miscellaneous books were those who possessed bodies and were reborn. It was somewhat eerie for a fool to suddenly regain his senses.
"Tang'er, have you discovered something?" He swallowed nervously.
Yu Liuzhu pretended to be scared, looked around, and seeing that no one was around, lowered her voice and said, "I can't really say, but I just feel that ever since she got better, things have been unsettled in the house. My grandmother has also changed. She set herself on fire and said that she switched children. It all sounds very eerie."
“That’s right, that’s right!” The more Yu Jingxian thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was true.
The seed of doubt was planted in his heart, which was exactly the effect Yu Liuzhu wanted.
"Brother, after I leave, please be careful in everything you do and take good care of yourself."
"Tang'er..."
"Brother, I can't talk to you any longer, I have to go."
When a gust of wind blew by, Yu Liuzhu had already gone far away.
Yu Jingliang looked around and found the unfamiliar scenery increasingly frightening, as if the swaying trees had come to life and were greeting him, which almost made him scream.
He dared not linger any longer and ran out of the house as if a ghost were chasing him.
After leaving the house, I was momentarily at a loss as to where to go.
Although he had been seeking peace and quiet with Master Tang these past few days, he still occasionally heard people talking about the matter of the real and fake sisters. If his parents were to divorce, he believed it would soon spread, and he would inevitably be ridiculed.
Besides the fear that had just arisen, he also felt depressed and irritable.
Suddenly he thought of something and headed straight for the Da Xuan Kong Temple.
Da Xuan Kong Temple is a royal temple with many eminent monks, but the more enlightened a monk is, the less likely he is to be seen by ordinary people.
If a place outside the world is under the emperor's power and the rule of the imperial family, then all the laws and regulations will inevitably follow the established rules of the mortal world, and everything will follow the principle of hierarchy.
He knew that if he wanted to see a high-ranking monk, he couldn't be a member of the Yu family, but rather a nephew of the Shen family.
The scent of incense and candles permeated the air, and the main hall was solemn and majestic. The towering Void Tower stood between heaven and earth, seemingly reaching straight into the clouds, or perhaps looking down upon all living beings.
The lamp, as bright as the moon, was lit, yet dimmed in the daylight.
Before long, he was invited in, and after speaking with the high monk who received him, he obtained several talismans and left.
He was unaware that someone had been following him ever since he and Yu Liuzhu started talking, and he was even more unaware that someone was watching him from the top of the tower, which seemed to be high in the clouds.
Clad in white, her face radiant with snow-white grace, she appeared so lonely, for the heights seemed unbearably cold.
"This eldest son of the Yu family is so careless. He was followed all the way without even realizing it. It seems to be that maid named Xia Chan." Yang Zhen sighed, "I'm afraid the two young masters of the Yu family combined are not as cunning as that Miss A Li."
Upon hearing this, a subtle ripple appeared in Mu Hanshi's calm eyes.
"Go ask him what he's here for."
Yang Zhen turned around and gave a wink to the person in the shadows.
Soon, the person who had been given the order returned and reported, "Young Master Yu said that his newly recognized sister is not well. He suspects that she is possessed by a ghost and asked for some talismans to exorcise the ghost."
“This is truly absurd!” Yang Zhen shook his head. “She is, after all, his own sister. She was foolish for all those years, and now that she’s suddenly become good, he, as her own brother, is not only not happy about it, but he even suspects that his sister is possessed by a ghost. If Miss Ali knew this, I don’t know how heartbroken she would be.”
She won't be sad.
How could someone so cold-hearted be saddened by the actions of someone they don't care about?
Mu Hanshi lowered his brows, a faint smile playing on his lips.
It's just possession by a ghost, what's there to be afraid of?
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