Chapter 11 Chapter 11

Chapter 11

1

The air grew tense.

The Second Young Miss's expression was truly too unpleasant, appearing almost contorted under the light.

Ms. Liang, living up to her position as the Family Head, could still keep a poker face at such a moment. She glanced sideways at Lin Chenxin and spoke, "The Young Mistress's concern for the Eldest Young Master is quite enough. After all, the thought is what counts."

The people present exchanged glances but remained silent.

"Everyone, please don't stand on ceremony. Today, to mark this happy occasion, the Chen residence will open one of its Treasure Pavilions. I've heard there are many connoisseurs among the guests. Later, please do proceed there to have a look."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Who didn't know that the Chen family had vast wealth and countless antiques and treasures? They had at least ten Treasure Pavilions alone, each housing rare and exotic jewels.

Now, who still remembered the earlier incident? The atmosphere quickly became harmonious and joyful again.

Ms. Liang shot a glance at Lin Chenxin, a trace of coldness in the narrow corners of her eyes under the light and shadow, but she soon turned her gaze to the Second Young Miss.

Receiving her look, the Second Young Miss took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and once again stepped into the crowd.

The Second Young Miss transformed back into that radiant swan, holding court among the crowd.

Lin Chenxin, sitting alone at the banquet table, watched this scene quietly.

The bright light falling on her seemed to cut her off from the lively scene ahead.

Under the same lamp, the Second Young Miss standing among the crowd was not in the same beam of light as her.

She withdrew her gaze, her eyes obscured by strands of hair, her feelings unreadable.

Seeing the dispute had ended, the Little Young Master quietly approached Lin Chenxin and said softly, "Sister-in-law."

"Little Young Master," Lin Chenxin did not turn her head, her tone indifferent, not in high spirits.

The Little Young Master smiled, not taking offense.

After a moment, as if remembering something, he took out a fountain pen and said, "Last time, I took Sister-in-law's flower and didn't know what gift to give in return. Then I thought I still hadn't given Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law a wedding gift. After much thought, I decided to give my favorite fountain pen. I hope Sister-in-law won't find it unworthy."

Lin Chenxin turned to meet the young man's bright eyes. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Thank you, I'll pass it on to him."

Truly a pampered child, indeed.

Lin Chenxin lowered her gaze to look at the fountain pen in her hand.

Seeing she had accepted it, the smile on the Little Young Master's face deepened a little more.

No one was eating at the deserted table, but Lin Chenxin didn't mind.

As she ate the food on the table, she asked offhandedly, "I heard the Little Young Master has also started considering marriage and starting a family."

Mentioning this, the Little Young Master frowned tightly.

"That's all Father and Mother's idea. I have absolutely no such thoughts myself."

The aversion in the Little Young Master's tone didn't seem feigned. Lin Chenxin glanced at him and said, "Could it be they're in a hurry for you to continue the family line?"

After all, Eldest Young Master Chen didn't seem capable of fathering children.

And who knows what it would produce.

Thinking this, Lin Chenxin really let her mind wander for a moment.

Then she clicked her tongue and dismissed the strange thoughts from her mind.

Probably had too much to drink.

Thinking this, she lowered her eyes and took another sip of wine.

Hearing her words, the Little Young Master's expression froze for a moment, then his fair face quickly flushed red.

This topic was clearly a bit too risqué for this young man who had just come of age.

Lin Chenxin saw this and couldn't help but snort inwardly.

The children of wealthy families outside sowed their wild oats, yet this Little Young Master of the Chen family was still pure as the driven snow.

The Chen family's customs were truly strange.

Call them old-fashioned, yet they held this "marriage mart" so lavishly. Call them open-minded, yet the entire Chen residence always seemed permeated with a lingering air of feudal remnants.

"I don't know either. It's just that Father seems very anxious," the Little Young Master lowered his head.

Lin Chenxin, recalling that Mr. Chen was not particularly old, said, "Your father was also quite young when he had children, wasn't he?"

The Little Young Master looked at Lin Chenxin.

Eldest Young Master Chen was ten years older than the Little Young Master. When the Little Young Master was born, Mr. Chen was still in the prime of his youth.

The Little Young Master opened his mouth hesitantly, "Y-yes, I think so."

His eyes held confusion. Somehow, he shuddered. A strange chill seeped into his heart, giving rise to a sense of groundless fear.

He remembered the ancestral hall during the annual ancestor worship ceremonies, its roof towering high, filled with rows of ancestral tablets, all belonging to the Chen family's ancestors.

Yet the people they represented had all died early.

Among them, two rows of tablets were covered with red cloth. His father forbade him from looking too closely, saying he could see them when he was ready to head the family.

As a naive child, he had even tilted his little head up and asked his father when he would be allowed to manage the household.

His father had looked at him with an inscrutable gaze and said, "When you have a child."

Then, his father had turned to look at the neatly arranged tablets above and said, "The new are born, the old die. Only then can our Chen family continue unbroken."

As a child, he hadn't understood the meaning of his father's words. He had just looked up at his father's face, shadowed and unclear, and his eyes, whose emotion he couldn't discern. He always felt that when his father said those words, he seemed to carry a heavy burden and an indescribable gloom.

Regarding his marriage and having children, his father was both urgent, yet didn't seem entirely happy.

There was even a kind of cruel pity in the way he looked at him.

"Little Young Master, what are you thinking about?"

Lin Chenxin's voice suddenly rang out. The Little Young Master snapped back to reality, startled to realize he had broken out in a cold sweat.

He let out a somewhat weak breath, forcing a smile as he said, "Nothing. Sister-in-law hasn't participated in the family's ancestor worship ceremony yet, has she?"

Ancestor worship?

Lin Chenxin's interest was piqued.

The young master's pale face regained some color as he looked at Lin Chenxin and said, "The ancestral hall is in the backyard. It's only opened on major holidays. Inside are the illustrious ancestors of the Chen family, each of whom made outstanding contributions to the family's legacy."

As he spoke, a barely concealed pride appeared on the young master's face.

The ancestral hall.

A thoughtful glint flashed in Lin Chenxin's eyes.

"Especially, especially those..."

The young master thought again of the spirit tablets covered with red cloth, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Somehow, whenever he recalled that image, it felt as if countless pairs of dark, hollow eyes beneath those tablets were watching him, as if they could even snatch away his very soul, sending chills down his spine.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, let out a soft sigh, and said, "You'll see for yourself then, sister-in-law."

Seeing the young master's various peculiar reactions, Lin Chenxin took a keen interest in the Chen family's ancestral hall.

"It seems like a grand occasion. All members of the Chen family will be present, right?"

"No." The young master's expression turned somewhat strange. "Eldest Brother isn't."

Lin Chenxin froze mid-bite.

The young master also seemed to find it unreasonable but didn't know how to explain it.

"I've never seen Eldest Brother go to the ancestral hall."

In fact, the young master had seen his eldest brother only a few times in his life.

His only remaining memory was from when he was little, accidentally passing by the Junzi Courtyard and seeing a tall, slender figure standing in the shadows, seemingly watching him.

But he didn't know why the other person didn't come out.

He wanted to go in but was stopped.

From then on, he was warned not to disturb his eldest brother in the Junzi Courtyard.

That place seemed to have become a forbidden area.

The young master's face didn't look too good, as if speaking too much had touched upon some vague shadows from his early childhood.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman's voice suddenly sounded outside the door.

"Young Master, the Madam asks you to go to the Treasure Pavilion to accompany the guests in appreciating the antiques."

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman's eyes fixed directly on Lin Chenxin.

The young master snapped back to reality and noticed that the guests in the hall and courtyard had all left at some point.

He immediately stood up. "S-sister-in-law, I'll take my leave now."

"Go ahead."

Lin Chenxin held the gaze of the middle-aged woman opposite her.

After the young master left, the middle-aged woman did not follow.

Instead, two stout, sturdy women entered behind her.

Lin Chenxin set down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth unhurriedly, and said, "Thank you for the hospitality. I learned a great deal."

——

With a *thump*, Lin Chenxin was pushed roughly into a pitch-black room.

Lin Chenxin staggered but steadied herself, then turned and kicked the door shut.

"Don't you know how delicate and precious this young lady's skin is?!"

Outside, it was silent and deserted, with no response.

Only the faint sound of laughter from hosts and guests enjoying themselves drifted over from the distance.

Lin Chenxin lowered her eyes, slowly crouched down, and reached out to catch the light seeping through the door crack. Her slightly lowered eyelashes cast a vague, shadowy gloom.

A moment later, she clenched her fist tightly, as if grasping that beam of light in her hand.

"What's so great about it..."

Some time later, Lin Chenxin stood up, peering through the crack in the door at the dazzling lights outside.