Chapter 194: Not a Proper Father

Chapter 194: Not a Proper Father

While the two were talking, a maid ran over.

"Sister Shuanghong, the young mistress is calling you back!"

Hearing this, Shuanghong stopped wasting time with Captain Qian and continued running back to the main courtyard.

Watching her leave, Captain Qian smiled and shouted, "Miss Shuanghong, I'll treat you to tea next time!"

Shuanghong's ears immediately flushed red as she ran.

Lu Lingyun was waiting for Shuanghong in the courtyard.

After scolding Shuanghong that morning, everyone in the courtyard was on edge, too afraid to chatter and hover around her as they usually did. They all busied themselves quietly with their tasks, fearing another scolding.

Lu Lingyun also didn’t feel like talking to the others. She sat quietly in the main room, enjoying the rare moment of peace. After a while, Shuanghong ran in.

"Young mistress." Still feeling the weight of the earlier reprimand, Shuanghong stood at the door with her head bowed, offering her respects.

Seeing her meek demeanor, Lu Lingyun’s heart softened. She sighed and beckoned Shuanghong to come closer. "Come here."

Shuanghong obediently stepped forward.

"Are you angry at me?"

"This servant dares not." Shuanghong started to kneel.

Lu Lingyun grabbed her arm to stop her from kneeling, causing Shuanghong to look at her with both fear and unease.

Seeing her like this, Lu Lingyun chuckled softly. "Do I look like some kind of monster to you? Why are you so afraid of me?"

"No, young mistress, you are generous and forgiving. Everyone in the household knows you’re kind-hearted and fair."

Shuanghong hurriedly replied.

It was well-known that Lu Lingyun was kind to her servants. As someone who closely attended to Lu Lingyun, Shuanghong understood her character even more. She wasn’t the type to be sweet-faced but treacherous, like some other mistresses might be.

However, when Lu Lingyun was strict, she was truly strict, with swift and decisive measures. Moreover, Lu Lingyun was extremely wise, and no one could escape her sharp eyes.

Like a watchful tiger or a calm deity, she maintained a peaceful yet authoritative presence.

She observed everything in her domain with a balanced gaze, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.

For the most part, she provided everyone with a sense of security, but when she was stern, people couldn’t help but fear her.

Hearing Shuanghong’s words, Lu Lingyun chuckled. She pulled Shuanghong closer, her tone easing with a slight sigh. "Shuanghong, you and Zhiran have been with me since we were young. The two of you are different from the others in your service to me."

"This servant understands." Shuanghong looked up.

Lu Lingyun gazed deeply into her eyes. "You scared me a little today by bringing your sister."

"This servant was rude and promises there will be no next time."

Seeing Shuanghong about to kneel again, Lu Lingyun pulled her up. "I'm not blaming you for that. Didn’t your sister escape with your mother and go missing after that? How did she find her way here? Did your mother send her?"

Lu Lingyun asked, pretending to know nothing.

"No." Shuanghong, unaware, honestly explained, "My mother has already passed away. According to my sister, after I was sold, she and my mother escaped and were taken in by someone. That person lived with them. Recently, when my mother passed away and her funeral was held, my sister encountered my father, grandmother, and brother. That's how they reunited."

Lu Lingyun listened to the same story she had heard in her past life, a bitter laugh rising in her heart. What a masterful way of twisting the truth.

They could make betrayal and ingratitude sound so tender.

"Oh? You said your mother and sister were taken in by someone. Was it a man or a woman?"

Shuang Hong frowned slightly. "A man."

"A man took in your mother and sister? What kind of situation is this? Did he force your mother into anything?"

"No, that's not it," Shuang Hong quickly shook her head in defense, explaining, "I asked. My sister said he was her stepfather, and she used to call him father."

"Was he good to her?"

"Very good. I heard that stepfather doted on her, never made her do rough work, and spent all the money he earned on her and my mother," Shuang Hong said, unable to hide her happiness for them. "My mother was lucky."

As her words fell, Lu Lingyun asked, "Then why did your sister abandon her kind stepfather to reunite with your father and his family?"

Lu Lingyun's question instantly stumped Shuang Hong.

Shuang Hong was simple-minded and didn't have many convoluted thoughts about other people's words. She had only listened to her sister's story and noticed some inconsistencies but couldn't quite articulate them. Seeing Dan Hong's joyful expression, longing for a family reunion and hearing how well her family treated her, Shuang Hong didn't ask further even though she had doubts.

Only now, after Lu Lingyun pointed it out, did she realize that her sister's abandonment of the stepfather who had raised her for over a decade in favor of her biological father could indeed be seen as betrayal and ingratitude.

Seeing Shuang Hong's stunned expression, as if she had understood something, Lu Lingyun continued, "Also, you just mentioned you have a younger brother. I thought your mother only gave birth to you and your sister?"

Shuang Hong nodded stiffly. "That younger brother was born after my father rented a wife."

Her father could no longer afford to marry a second wife, but the family needed to continue the lineage. With her grandmother's insistence and financial support from her savings, her father rented a cheap, poor woman to give birth to a son for them.

After listening, Lu Lingyun said slowly, "After your mother left, your father rented a wife just to have a son. Your mother remarried, and her new husband didn't ask her to continue the family line but instead raised your sister well. Compared to your father, who sold both you and your mother, he really is a despicable person."

"My father is indeed a scoundrel," Shuang Hong said at this point.

Her eyes cleared instantly, as if a fog had lifted, revealing the wounds that time had buried, and the temporary blindness caused by the reunion with her family dissipated before her.

Yes!

Her mistress was absolutely right.

Both men, yet why was it that her stepfather could overlook blood ties, care not for gender, and selflessly support her mother and sister, while her biological father sold her and her mother, only to rent a wife and have another son afterward?

He really was a despicable person!

Not fit to be called a father!

"Ah, now I find it strange," Lu Lingyun continued, "Why did your father and the rest of the family come looking for you? They should just be searching for your sister to bring her back. But since you were sold under indenture, why would they go to such lengths to find you?"

At this point, Shuang Hong had an epiphany. "They came for money!"

"How detestable!" Lu Lingyun cursed, tightening her grip on Shuang Hong's hand. "Frost Red, those people already sold you once and considered it payment in full. Don't let them take advantage of you again."

"I understand," Shuang Hong nodded solemnly. "I will go back to work now."

Seeing that Shuang Hong was starting to understand, Lu Lingyun felt a bit more at ease.