When Wu Tong vaguely heard the words “Concubine Su” from outside, a strong sense of crisis rose in her heart.
She knew of Lin Xingxue’s past trauma, and was so anxious that she could only run to seek Shen Hanxing’s help.
When Shen Hanxing arrived at the door of the inner room, he happened to overhear Lady Han saying, “That General Shen is afflicted with a strange poison.” Lady Han, both overtly and covertly, insinuated that he would die. Everything that she uttered, Shen Hanxing heard it all.
He did not think there was anything wrong with those words; after all, he was indeed a dying man.
He just didn’t expect Lin Xingxue’s reaction to be so intense.
He looked down at Lin Xingxue’s eyes, which were now clouded with a layer of mist.
The young woman still did not shed a tear, showing great stubbornness.
Shen Hanxing knew that Wu Tong’s urgency in seeking him out was not because Lady Han spoke ill of him. Something that she said before he got here was likely the real reason for Wu Tong’s panic.
He recalled the girl’s expression from last night; she had clearly woken up from a nightmare, with tear stains at the corners of her eyes.
The girl harbored something in her heart, like an irreparable wound.
And those words Lady Han had intentionally spoken, the ones he hadn’t heard, must have brutally pressed on the girl’s painful spot.
“It’s alright, get up, and stand by my side.”
Shen Hanxing spoke to Lin Xingxue in a consistently gentle manner, awkwardly patting her head, trying to comfort her.
Lin Xingxue lowered her eyelashes, barely managing to compose herself, and stood up beside him. She dependently tugged at a sleeve of Shen Hanxing’s, not caring about any etiquette in front of others. Only like this could she feel a bit more at ease.
Shen Hanxing allowed her to hold onto his sleeve and forgot his habit of not liking others to approach him casually.
As he looked up at Lady Han, his gaze suddenly turned sharp and dangerous.
He was not a weak scholar, nor was he a refined gentleman.
Lady Han’s back broke out in cold sweat as she met his eyes; she instinctively felt that the person in front of her had changed.
At this moment, she understood why Lin Fucai had to be so humble and respectful to a cripple[1].
“General Shen, I was just talking with Ah Xue. What reason did you suddenly come in for?” Lady Han asked with a strained smile, trying hard to conceal her guilt.
“Oh?” Shen Hanxing asked nonchalantly, “You were talking about when I would die? When would my Jinning Hou title fall into the hands of others?”
As soon as Shen Hanxing finished speaking, Lady Han’s face changed drastically.
She didn’t expect Shen Hanxing to hear it all; she thought that the servants outside would’ve stopped him.
Lin Fucai also didn’t expect Lady Han to dare speak so openly, and he glared at Lady Han, bending over to plead, “My wife is foolish; I hope General Shen can forgive her.”
“Forgive?” Shen Hanxing sneered, playing with his sleeve blade and casually tossed it forward, accurately pinning it at Lady Han’s feet.
Lady Han’s knees went weak; she had never encountered such a direct person, who immediately resorted to violence.
Shen Hanxing slightly leaned forward, his voice carrying a hint of menace: “Who told you that I am a generous and magnanimous person?”
“Unfortunately, I am the kind who loves to be meticulous about every penny. Madam Lin[2] dares to speak ill of me behind my back, do you know what happened to those who spoke ill before?”
Lady Han’s face turned pale; she dared not respond to Shen Hanxing, vaguely guessing that the outcome would not be good.
As expected, the next moment she heard Shen Hanxing casually say, “I cut off their annoying tongues and threw their bodies into a mass grave for wolves to tear apart, their bones hard to find among the masses.”
“Madam Lin, are you prepared for the consequences of your reckless words just now?”
If someone else had said this, Lady Han might have thought they were just scaring her.
But Shen Hanxing was not just anyone.
He was a blood-soaked demon who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Lady Han could no longer smile; she looked at the sleeve blade at her feet. The cold light of the blade was piercing, making one fearful just by looking at it. Her knees weakened, and she finally learned to be as submissive as Lin Fucai[3], bending and kneeling: “I should not have said those words in front of Madam Shen. It was a misunderstanding due to rumors outside; I hope General Shen can understand.”
Shen Hanxing chuckled softly: “A misunderstanding? Does Lord Lin also think it is a misunderstanding?”
Lin Fucai broke out in a cold sweat, and he replied stiffly, “My wife spoke recklessly; I will definitely punish her severely.”
“Lord Lin plans on how to punish her?”
Lin Fucai thought for a moment and tentatively suggested, “My wife acted improperly and should kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days…”
“I heard that the Jing Si Monastery in the outskirts of the capital is remote and quiet.”
Lin Fucai paused for a moment, then resolutely continued, “I will send my wife to the Jing Si Monastery for half a month for reflection. She will surely not dare to speak recklessly again in the future.”
Lady Han’s face would be completely lost if the matter of the main wife of the family being sent to the Jing Si Monastery for self-reflection spread. Even if she tried to hide it, it was currently New Year. Many people were visiting and paying New Year’s calls, so some interested parties would definitely catch wind of it. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Though Lady Han was unwilling in her heart, she had to take responsibility for her indiscreet words.
But there were still people who failed to see the situation clearly.
“Why is General Shen so overbearing?” Lin Xingran couldn’t hold back any longer, her eyes reddened, as if she were the one being wronged, “General Shen eavesdropped on others and now is bullying us with his power[4]. Is this General Shen’s demeanor?”
“Demeanor? I do not have such a thing.”
So what if he bullied them with his power?
When Lady Han was poking Lin Xingxue’s pain spot, wasn’t that bullying with power?
Currently, he was here to back her up, but what about in the past? Just how many hurtful and heartless words was the girl subjected to when there was no one to support her?
Moreover, the girl had once fallen to a point where she couldn’t even afford charcoal; he didn’t believe Lady Han would treat the girl well.
Shen Hanxing held Lin Xingxue’s hand, feeling that it was slightly cold; he held it even tighter to warm her, “I am most protective of my own. But Madam Gu’s implication is that I have fallen to a state where anyone can talk about me behind my back, and anyone can say that my wife’s husband is a dying man in front of her. She can only rely on her natal family, is that it?”
Shen Hanxing coldly glanced at Lin Xingran, who, frightened, hid behind Gu Yan. She did not forget to condemn Lin Xingxue, “Sister, are you just going to watch Mother being humiliated like this?”
Lin Xingran’s eyes were filled with tears, as if she were very disappointed[5] in Lin Xingxue.
Gu Yan could not help but frown, also feeling that Shen Hanxing had gone too far. Although Lady Han was at fault, she was still an elder, and such bullying was excessive.
“General Shen, Madam Lin is after all Ah Xue’s…”
“Shut up.” Shen Hanxing coldly interrupted Gu Yan, his eyes showing growing impatience.
They kept calling her Ah Xue and Sister, did they really take him for dead?
Lin Xingxue felt Shen Hanxing’s grip tighten, and though she showed no reaction to the plea for Lady Han, she seemed to be thinking of something else.
When Shen Hanxing reached out to hold her, she finally had some reaction.
She looked at Shen Hanxing, seeing his thin lips part slightly, his voice raised, “Remember, she is not anyone’s Ah Xue. She is my wife, Shen Hanxing’s wife, the general’s wife of the Hou residence, and a person who everyone must bow to when they see her.”
These few words struck a chord in some people’s hearts.
Lin Xingxue’s reaction became more apparent; her fingertips trembled slightly, and her once rigid body gradually warmed up.
That phrase “she is Shen Hanxing’s wife” seemed to warm her cold heart little by little, and she tried hard to hold back the tears in her eyes, gently writing a word in his palm: “Leave.”
She didn’t want to stay here anymore.
But before leaving, she needed to take her mother’s belongings.
When Shen Hanxing turned to leave, Lady Han’s foot wobbled, fortunately, Nanny Gao helped her up.
Lin Xingran looked at her mother with distress, then went to comfort her.
Lin Fucai sighed, unable to hide his anger: “Foolish! How could you say whatever you want?”
“Why does Father blame Mother? Clearly, they…”
“Shut up.” Lin Fucai was too lazy to argue with them and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Lin Xingran looked at Gu Yan with great grievance but found Gu Yan standing in place, somewhat absent-minded.
Seeing him like this, Lin Xingran’s heart ached.
She dared not imagine why Gu Yan would be in a daze.
In Yunxiu Courtyard, Lin Xingxue checked the box of items at her feet, which contained some old clothes, hairpins and accessories that had belonged to Concubine Su in her lifetime.
On the day she got married, a servant had carelessly left this box behind; she had returned today to take her mother’s belongings.
Seeing that nothing was missing, Lin Xingxue was relieved and closed the box, having it carried out.
As she walked out, she saw Luo Yan alone waiting outside.
Seeing her look of confusion, Luo Yan explained, “The general will be back soon; please wait a moment, Madam.”
Her husband went out alone? Where did he go?
Luo Yan also did not know where Shen Hanxing had gone, so Lin Xingxue had to wait for him in Yunxiu Courtyard.
Old Madam Lin had returned early.
She had previously gone out of town with the youngest master of the house but unexpectedly returned today.
As soon as Old Madam Lin arrived, someone explained everything that happened in Yunxiu Courtyard in detail, and she immediately decided to send Lady Han to the Jing Si Monastery.
“Both of you young ladies are married now and may rarely have the chance to meet in the future. Old Madam returned after a long journey, and she would like to see both of you. If the second young lady is free, why not visit Shou’an Hall for a while?”
Old Madam Lin clearly wanted to ease the atmosphere. After all, she was the elder here, and it was proper for Lin Xingxue to pay her respects. Moreover, Old Madam Lin had lowered her posture[6].
Lin Xingxue nodded in agreement.
It was just a visit. She would see her and leave, but she needed her husband to be there as well.
Lin Xingxue didn’t know where Shen Hanxing had gone. She waited in the courtyard for a while and still did not see him return, so she had to set out to look for him.
On the other side, Lin Xingyan[7], who had returned with Old Madam Lin, was about to find his mother when a maid stopped him, vividly recounting the events that happened in Yunxiu Courtyard.
The maid painted Lady Han as very pitiful and helpless and described Lin Xingxue and Shen Hanxing with fierce terms like wolves and tigers.
“I didn’t expect that the second young lady would humiliate the mistress like this when she came back to visit. Alas, the mistress is now going alone to the Jing Si Monastery; she must be very lonely and pitiful. The second young lady seems very happy.”
The maid’s few words ignited Lin Xingyan’s anger.
Unlike Lady Han, who could endure, Lin Xingyan was a little tyrant at home and had bullied Lin Xingxue in the past.
He still regarded Lin Xingxue as that easily bullied illegitimate daughter. He tightly gripped the firecracker in his hand, ready to teach Lin Xingxue a lesson.
Meanwhile, Lin Xingxue and Wu Tong had split up to search. She arrived in front of a bamboo forest, paused slightly, but did not dare to go further.
She turned her back and tried to breathe deeply.
A passing maid came forward, concerned, and asked, “Madam, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Lin Xingxue shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
The maid glanced at the bamboo forest and reminded, “Master[8] plans to build a tower in the bamboo forest; it might be dirty and messy inside. Madam should not go in to avoid falling into a pit.”
Lin Xingxue’s eyes widened in shock. The reason she came here was that the maid along the way had told her that Shen Hanxing had inquired about the bamboo forest’s layout.
If he had entered the bamboo forest, if he fell into that pit…
Lin Xingxue felt that something was wrong, but the sudden anxious emotion clouded her judgment.
She turned back to the bamboo forest, hesitated for a moment, and quickly walked forward.
The rustling sound in the bamboo forest seemed to amplify as Lin Xingxue entered.
She tried to steady her mind, searching around. When she saw the empty pit, her anxiety subsided a little.
As the anxious feeling faded, the surrounding environment affected her dramatically.
The rustling sounds seemed to turn into whispers, sometimes distant and sometimes near, Lin Xingxue couldn’t make out the words, and her vision began to blur. She saw a pair of vicious eyes glaring at her.
She knew it was all an illusion, a hallucination.
She covered her ears and closed her eyes, trying to escape the unreal illusion.
Until, several whistling sounds cut through the air, followed by several “papa” sounds exploding in Lin Xingxue’s ears.
In an instant, all resistance was futile.
Lin Xingxue heard the sound of falling into the water and felt an unbearable choking sensation in her throat.
The bamboo forest grew dim, thunder rumbled in the distance, and she heard someone cursing softly. Cold tendrils wrapped around her neck. She felt like a drowning person, with no way to struggle.
Her world fell into darkness.
[1] bro this family is so disgusting…if he wasn’t disabled, they wouldn’t be able to say a word
[2] This is still Lady Han, except with a different title. Even though her surname is Han, she’s married to Lord Lin, so she’s called Madam Lin.
[3] ngl, it’s kinda sad that Lin Fucai of all people happens to be the smartest of the bunch. Everyone else has been spoiled rotten
[4] lmfao what. This guy has a way higher rank than you. If the emperor caught you saying that he was gonna die soon, would you be saying that he was at fault for eavesdropping? Insanity 😭
[5] bruh I hate people like this
[6] as in wanting to ease their relationships
[7] Lin Xingran’s younger brother
[8] Lin Xingxue’s father