Chapter 164: The Outcome

Chapter 164: The Outcome

"It must be hard for Madam Fan to come here every day."

Madam Fan came to teach Lin Yunwan, and at the end of the lesson, Lin Yunwan suddenly said this.

"For the sake of the miss, a little hardship is worth it."

Madam Fan smiled, her dimples deepening.

Lin Yunwan paused slightly, then expressed concern, "I've noticed that Madam Fan hasn't been looking well lately..."

Madam Fan had some chronic ailments from her youth.

She smiled and said, "Miss, you are observant. I am a bit under the weather, but it's nothing serious, just prone to sweating."

Lin Yunwan glanced at the bright sun outside; day after day of clear weather seemed to be too much for Nanny Fan, who came daily for lessons.

"Nanny, I was thinking... if the old lady wouldn’t mind, I could visit her daily to pay respects, and you could teach me there as well."

"That would save you the daily trip."

Lin Huabin had previously suggested Nanny Fan stay with them, but she had declined. Now, with her health faltering, it seemed necessary to find a solution.

After pondering, Nanny Fan said, "I'll discuss it with the old lady. If she agrees and you don't mind the trouble, then let's do that."

"Yes."

Lin Yunwan knelt to see Nanny Fan off.

Once back with the old lady, she mentioned this plan.

After some thought, the old lady asked Nanny Fan, "What do you think?"

Nanny Fan smiled and replied, "I think... Miss Yunwan is considerate. Since I started teaching her, she's never been late or left early. She's never missed a single assignment."

"As a teacher, I wouldn't want to think ill of such a student."

The old lady then said, "Since you say so, let her come."

Closing her eyes, she added indifferently, "I'm just an old woman with nothing to offer her."

Thus, Lin Yunwan started taking her lessons in the backroom of the old lady's courtyard.

Everything was fine at first, but within ten days, Dong Shuangshuang came to pay respects to the old lady.

Nanny Fan found it odd, "The Dong family moved away years ago, why would she think to pay respects now?"

The old lady, uninterested in meeting her, sent Nanny Fan and the first wife to deal with her, considering it an overqualification.

"I remember Yunwan was quite close to her as a child. Let Yunwan go and talk to her."

"Yes."

Nanny Fan sent Lin Yunwan to meet Dong Shuangshuang, who had left a modest gift for the old lady and then accompanied Lin Yunwan to the Lin family's garden.

"I didn't expect the Lin residence to be so grand now..."

Lin Yunwan said, "It belongs to the main branch of the Lin family."

The Lin family had long since divided its estate; the garden of the main house had no connection to the secondary branch.

As they walked through the lush foliage, Dong Shuangshuang reminisced about their childhood. Lin Yunwan didn't recall those memories, leading Dong Shuangshuang to chuckle, chiding herself, "Look at me! You were only four then, what could you remember."

Once they were alone, Lin Yunwan finally asked, "How is your husband doing now?"

"Paralyzed and with a broken leg."

Dong Shuangshuang's tone was surprisingly cheerful, almost making her seem delusional. To an outsider, it would appear odd for her to be so happy about her husband's paralysis.

Grasping Lin Yunwan's hand and biting her lip, she expressed with triumph, "I cry every day at home, but I only dare to speak my heart out when I'm with you."

Lin Yunwan harbored another concern, "Does your husband suspect you? What does your mother-in-law say?"

Dong Shuangshuang paused, then whispered, "Don't worry, everything is fine with me."

Lin Yunwan inquired further, "The silver you sent, it was counterfeit. Didn't your mother-in-law or husband question you about it?"

Dong Shuangshuang's gold necklace was fake, and so was the silver she exchanged it for.

How she acquired these fake items, Lin Yunwan didn’t know, but she was certain the Lu family wouldn't just let the matter slide.

Dong Shuangshuang casually explained, "I just said I was duped too, made up a story about being swindled, and said the person who took my necklace had fled. They had nowhere to inquire further."

"Given my usual demeanor, they all believed what I said."

"No matter how unsavory the Lu family is, the master of the house holds a title. It’s not like officials from the court would come to interrogate me."

She felt incredibly fortunate, "Yunwan, I don't know who’s backing Li Lao San, but I heard he was released too… The whole affair just fizzled out like that!"

Could it really be that simple?

Lin Yunwan thought of Qi Lingxing and Ah Fu. Was it the prince exerting influence behind the scenes?

Regardless, the prince had helped her again...

"By the way, Yunwan. I'm pregnant."

Dong Shuangshuang suddenly announced.

Lin Yunwan was momentarily taken aback, then smiled, "Your child's arrival couldn't be more timely."

How could it not be?

Dong Shuangshuang, touching her belly, smiled.

The day her husband Lu Rong was carried back, he nearly died, and her mother-in-law, knowing the whole story, slapped her.

It wasn’t until the doctor said her husband was beyond saving and would be bedridden for life that her mother-in-law harbored thoughts of killing her.

But then she suddenly became pregnant, and everything changed.

"Old Madam, if you wish to take my life, I'll die right now along with my child!"

The old Madam of the Lu family, seeing her daughter-in-law so determined to die, panicked and hurriedly consoled her, "My dear child! Why speak such nonsense? I can't bear to lose either you or the child."

The old lady soon accepted reality, arranged care for her son, and then focused entirely on her daughter-in-law's unborn child and her only granddaughter.

No matter how reluctant, she had to prioritize her daughter-in-law's pregnancy.

Otherwise, the Lu family would have no descendants!

When Lu Rong regained his senses, he and his mother argued, "It’s all that wretched woman’s fault, exchanging the wrong silver, ruining me. Mother, kill her for me! I want her dead!"

Dong Shuangshuang, listening nearby, waited until the old lady left, then personally fed her husband medicine, "You need to take this to recover quickly. You heard what the doctor said. If you don’t take your medicine properly, you might never stand again. Staying in bed too long can lead to bedsores."

"Get out! Wretched woman! Leave me!"

Lu Rong, still able to move his hand, knocked over the bowl of medicine.

Dong Shuangshuang sadly shook her head, "If you refuse to eat, so be it."

Not eating is good for her...

She couldn’t be a widow this time, but there would come a day when she could be.

"Your sister's marriage... what do you plan to do about it?"

Lin Yunwan remembered that Dong Shuangshuang's daughter was betrothed to someone.

"It's been called off."

Lin Yunwan raised her eyebrows, surprised that Dong Shuangshuang had taken such a bold step!

Dong Shuangshuang said, "I told the old lady, if she doesn’t call off my daughter's engagement, I won't live on."

Carrying the only potential heir for the Lu family, what wouldn’t the old lady agree to for her?

Lin Yunwan said with a light smile, "I remember how frightened you were of your family's elder matriarch when we went to watch the play at Prince Huan's mansion."

Dong Shuangshuang gave a bitter smile, "…If it weren't for my daughter, how could I have mustered such courage?"

The courage of a mother.

After discussing the matters of the Lu family, Dong Shuangshuang and Lin Yunwan talked about, "There's a Qijian Mountain here, with a garden on it. Many scholars in Jiang Qian meet there for literary gatherings, and I've heard they've even formed a group called 'Qijian Society'."

"Most of the scholars I've chosen for you are from the Qijian Society."

"If you want to observe them from a distance, you're sure to see them at the Qijian Society."

Wouldn't being near the Qijian Society allow her to discreetly observe all the scholars she was interested in?

Lin Yunwan was very intrigued.