Ling Xiang followed behind them, neither too close nor too far, neither disturbing nor giving up.
Even after they entered the house, he didn't look back at Ling Xiang.
Ling Xiang, who had been silent all the way, suddenly spoke:
"Ling Chengfu attempted to seize the family property but failed, and he wasn't involved in the poisoning. Even if he received the heaviest punishment, what would it mean? Caning, imprisonment, or exile? How can such a light punishment comfort those he killed?
"Grandpa told the truth today, which means abandoning his only son. How can he feel good about this? Although I let Ling Chengfu go today, it was actually to reassure Grandpa. However, Ling Chengfu will pay the price for his mistakes one day!"
Lian Cailiang turned around from his wheelchair and looked at Ling Xiangyao.
Over the years, he decided to stay in the capital, mainly because he was worried about Ling Xiang.
Many times, he sent people to secretly keep an eye on her.
But every time I got news it was disappointing.
She is weak, ignorant, inferior, and good for nothing, and has not inherited any of the virtues of the Marquis and his wife.
She makes no distinction between friend and foe, always bringing pain to her loved ones and joy to her enemies.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that she was extremely stupid.
Many times, when he found out about the stupid things she had done, he wanted to give up on her and ignore her.
But in the end, the figures of the Marquis and his wife were imprinted in his mind, prompting him to convince himself again and again to stay, hoping that she would truly grow up and become sensible.
The girl's eyes are clear and firm, confident and calm.
She seems really different now.
"I'm relieved that you've returned home safely. There are many things at home that need to be dealt with urgently. I'll leave first and come back another day." Ling Xiang bowed and turned to leave.
The fifth sister-in-law stretched out her hand to keep him, but she didn't know what to say.
"Why don't you keep her?" asked the fifth sister-in-law.
"Wait and see." Having experienced too many disappointments, Lian Cailiang did not dare to make a hasty decision.
…
Inside the Shuntian Prefecture government office, Xuanyuan Qi sat with his legs crossed in the seat that originally belonged to Yuan Zhengqing: "You actually showed mercy to Ling Chengfu's men today. This is not like you."
Yuan Zhengqing sighed, "Sacrificing one's own family for the greater good sounds admirable, but the person who made this decision must be suffering the most."
"So you feel the same way and sympathize with Old Master Ling." Xuanyuan Qi played with Yuan Zhengqing's paperweight without any awareness of exposing someone's scars.
Yuan Zhengqing shook his head: "Do you know what a 'perfect victim' is?"
"Oh?" Xuanyuan Qi instantly became interested. "Tell me about it."
"An orphan girl, who should have been the heir to the entire Marquis's estate, has lived a life of dependence on others for a long time. Her childhood, which should have been carefree, has been suppressed for a long time.
“When she found out she was poisoned, instead of panicking, she immediately thought of how to fight back.
"She first reported the case, leading everyone to discover her actual situation at home, winning sympathy from others while also ensuring her own safety and preventing the hidden hand from harming her again.
"She knew that this was far from enough to get her things back, so she deliberately challenged the authority of her family, causing some trouble, and escalated the matter to the level of robbery and murder.
"Then, she spared no effort to seize control of the household and established her authority with thunderous force, making it impossible for anyone to look down on her. Only in this way could the servants in the household dare to speak the truth to the officials. It was also because of this that she could use the servants' mouths to reveal many things she wanted others to know, without her being caught in any trap.
"She did so much, but in the end, what she presented to everyone was just a poor person who had been oppressed for a long time and was murdered by her relatives for money. She was a perfect victim."
Once, his teacher told him about such a case, but he didn’t understand it at the time and found it unbelievable.
But now, he saw that with such a perfect victim, no one could punish her even if what she had done was made public, because she was truly a victim.
She did not break the law, nor did she even touch the moral bottom line. She fought back perfectly within the scope of reason, rationality and legality.
Xuanyuan Qi narrowed his eyes and said, "Sir Yuan, are you too nervous during the trial and are you starting to have delusions?"
Yuan Zhengqing smiled and jokingly said, "Don't you also think she's special? That's why you keep coming to me and secretly telling me news that might be beneficial to her."
"If it's according to you, she is so smart, yet she can plan so meticulously, just for the little property of the Marquis of Zhenguo Mansion? Wouldn't it be easier to just take the property away? Why go through so much trouble and even lose her beautiful face?" Xuanyuan Qi disagreed.
"I'm also curious about what her ultimate goal is." Yuan Zhengqing waited and saw.
He felt that a woman who could risk her life like this should not be such a superficial person.
Xuanyuan Qi clearly saw the deep curiosity and interest in Yuan Zhengqing's eyes, and patted him on the head: "If you ask me, you should take a good vacation. If you keep daydreaming and making random assumptions about others, you might become a lunatic."
"If I really become a madman, I will definitely beat you up first - you really deserve a beating." Yuan Zhengqing waved his fist, his expression seemed to be joking but also serious.
"I'm waiting for that day!" Xuanyuan Qi waved and left.
Ling Chengfu returned to the Marquis of Zhenguo's Mansion, settled his father, and immediately sorted out all the things he was in charge of. Then he went to the ancestral hall and knelt in front of his ancestors to confess meticulously.
As soon as Ling Xiang arrived home, the housekeeper came to greet her and said, "Second Master has packed everything and is waiting for Third Miss to come back and give it to you."
Ling Xiang waved her hand and said, "Let's ignore everything else. Where is Grandpa?"
After many years, Old Master Ling once again returned to the courtyard that Ling Chengtian specially bought for him. Every tree and blade of grass in the courtyard carried the laughter and joy of the past, which made people evoke nostalgic memories.
Before I knew it, tears blurred my vision.
A handkerchief gently wiped away his tears: "Grandpa, why are you crying? You should be happy to be home."
"I'm happy. Xiang'er is so sensible. Grandpa is very happy." Old Master Ling wiped away his tears and looked at his granddaughter in front of him.
Over the years, he was immersed in his own grief and did not want to be reminded of the past in the Marquis' Mansion, so he moved to the manor. He knew very little about what was going on in the mansion, which was unfair to his poor granddaughter.
If Ling Xiang had not gone to Zhuangzi a few days ago to take care of his health, he would have almost forgotten that he had such a granddaughter.
The granddaughter was so well-behaved. She had obviously suffered a great injustice, but she refused to say it out loud because she didn't want to make him sad.
It was his selfishness that gave the second brother and his wife the opportunity to embarrass Ling Xiang and fueled the second brother's greed.
It's all his fault!
Ling Xiang pulled Old Man Ling to sit down and carefully felt his pulse. "Grandpa's health has improved significantly. He'll be back to full health after a few more days of recuperation. Grandpa, please stay. Let your granddaughter fulfill her filial duty on your behalf."
Old Master Ling nodded repeatedly: "Okay, from now on, Grandpa will protect you and will never let anyone bully you again."
"Yeah!" Ling Xiang nodded vigorously.
Since her grandfather was willing to tell her the truth, she had already accepted him in her heart.
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