Chapter 39 Chapter 39

Chapter 39

1

Ms. Liang looked at her own face in the mirror and suddenly asked, "Have I gotten that old?"

Noticing the cut at the corner of Ms. Liang's mouth, the middle-aged woman couldn't bear to look. She took a deep breath, then turned back to Ms. Liang and said softly, "No, miss, you're just the same as always."

Ms. Liang's fingertips trembled, and her gaze went blank as she raised a hand to her face.

"Why do I feel so old?"

The middle-aged woman's throat tightened, the bitterness welling up left her unable to speak for a moment.

"You've just lost some weight," she said, her voice hoarse.

Ms. Liang touched her cheek, her eyes going out of focus for a moment.

"Really?"

How could she feel so different?

Her eyes were sunken, her cheekbones more prominent, her lips thinner—she looked cold and mean, with a touch of ugly bitterness.

Seeing the expression in Ms. Liang's eyes, the middle-aged woman was overcome with sorrow, tears spilling from her eyes.

She quickly turned away, wiped the corners of her eyes, and pressed her lips tight.

At that moment, a fierce hatred rose up in her heart.

Ms. Liang married into the Chen family when she was just twenty-one, having just graduated from university and about to be recommended for grad school, poised to become the youngest finance master's graduate in her college.

Yet her life was cut short in this grand mansion.

She was just twenty-two when she had her child.

—

Standing alone at the entrance to the ancestral hall, Mr. Chen looked up at the towering ancient tree before him.

His tall frame seemed thinner in the dim light.

Half of him was in shadow, the other half overtaken by dark clouds.

He stepped over the threshold, hunched over.

In the dim light, countless white hairs were visible at his temples.

The wind rustled the hem of his clothes. He bent down and picked up the scattered leaves one by one.

When his hands couldn't hold any more, he took off his coat, spread it on the ground, and carefully gathered the leaves inside.

Finally, he sat on the thick roots, facing the open doors.

Just beyond the threshold, the vast sky stretched outside.

As a child, he had been afraid to come in here too.

He was afraid of this tree, the spirit tablets inside, his father's shadowy, indistinct face, and those cold, sharp eyes.

But his father always said he'd understand when he grew up.

When he became the Family Head, he'd realize how heavy the burden of responsibility was.

He had been lost, scared, struggled, and rebelled.

In the end, he made the choice his position required and stood where he was supposed to.

So, his child would understand too, one day.

Behind him, the ancestral hall flickered with candlelight, the countless spirit tablets weighing down like a mountain.

Mr. Chen's eyes were dark, his sharp features like a coldly glinting blade.

The Chen family's thousand-year legacy couldn't be destroyed in his hands.

The bloodline, so carefully preserved and passed down through generations, couldn't end with him.

"Send someone in."

In the quiet night, hurried footsteps approached.

A middle-aged man stood respectfully at the door.

"Without my orders, no one sets foot outside the Chen family estate."

—

The second young lady was stopped at the entrance to Lanting Courtyard. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "Open your damn eyes and see who I am! Since when does this Chen household take orders from you!"

The middle-aged man lowered his eyes and held out his hand, saying, "Please leave, Second Miss."

"I'm not leaving! What are you gonna do about it?"

The middle-aged man said flatly, "Then I'll have to ask the master to come settle this."

The second young lady clenched her sleeve and stomped her foot in frustration.

"Just you wait and see!"

She turned and left reluctantly, but as she walked away, she glanced back uneasily.

The brightly lit Lanting Courtyard, under the thick clouds, gave off an inescapable gloom and chill.

Leaving Lanting Courtyard, she didn't return to her own yard but went to Changsheng Courtyard instead.

The young master was a little better and could get out of bed.

Seeing her, he leaned on the doorframe and asked, "Sis, did you see Mother?"

The second young lady looked at his still pale and thin face from a distance, then lowered her head, twisting her sleeve as she said, "Yeah, I saw her. Nothing much."

The young master sighed in relief. "That's good."

The second young lady walked over and said impatiently, "You're still sick, and you're standing at the door in the wind. If you get worse, Mother won't have time for you, and I'm not coming to sit by your bedside!"

The young master quickly said, "I'll go in now."

He moved slowly, struggling with each step. The second young lady frowned in annoyance, took his arm, and said, "By the time you get to the bed, the sky will be light!"

Hearing these words, the young master flinched, like a reflex.

The second miss’s heart clenched, and she shut her mouth quick.

But the young master pulled himself together fast, even if his lips were still white.

He sat on the edge of the bed, quiet for a long time.

After a bit, he dropped his head, fingers digging into the bed frame, and whispered, "Sis, you’re lying. You didn’t see Mom, did you?"

The second miss’s fingers twitched, and she turned her face away, silent.

Silence filled the room, thick with the smell of medicine.

She couldn’t take it anymore, so she turned to him and said, "Yes, I didn’t see her. Dad won’t even see me. Everyone in this house is acting weird. I don’t know what’s going on, or what’s wrong with everybody!"

As she talked, her eyes got red, tears welling up.

The undercurrent of change had her totally lost.

The feeling of a storm coming kept her anxious and scared all day and night.

She didn’t know what was up; her own home had suddenly turned strange.

Everyone was silent, Mom was basically under house arrest, and in the tense, oppressive atmosphere, her own nerves were stretched to the snapping point.

Seeing the hot tears streaming down her face, the young master looked totally lost.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. Sis, don’t be afraid."

Hearing that, she glared at him through tear-filled eyes, sobbing, "Who the hell are you to say that? You were a scaredy-cat and useless as a kid, and you haven’t gotten much better as an adult. You’ve wrecked your own body, you’re too chicken to even say a word, and now you can’t even step out of the yard. What right do you have to comfort me?!"

Getting yelled at, the young master didn’t get mad. He just pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

She slapped his hand away, sulking, "I don’t want yours. It reeks of medicine, gross. I have my own."

With that, she sat on a stool and wiped her own tears.

The young master put the handkerchief away, his back slumping even more.

He was too tired to sit for long, so he lay down on the bed, turning his head to look at her wiping her tears, and said softly, "Sis, if there’s really no other way, go find our sister-in-law. She’ll definitely have a way."

When he mentioned Lin Chenxin, his eyes lit up.

After he spoke, weakness washed over him like a wave, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes, but he still mumbled, worried, "Our sister-in-law likes the flowers in my yard. If you give her a flower, she’ll definitely help out..."

She wiped her tears clean and glared hard at him.

Always taking the side of outsiders!

He closed his eyes, his arm hanging limp over the edge of the bed.

She was quiet for a moment, then moved the stool closer to the bed, tucked his arm in, and pulled the covers up for him.

The dead silence and the gloomy sky outside brought a crushing fear and unease.

She moved the stool a bit closer, her hair falling to hide her eyes.

—

Lin Chenxin sat on the bed, hugging her knees, head down.

Suddenly, there was a banging sound from outside. She immediately looked up, opened the door, and walked out.

She saw a heavy wooden door had been installed on the moon gate, locked with a padlock.

Seeing her, the servant bowed his head and said, "The master says the eldest young mistress should rest well in the Gentleman’s Courtyard. From now on, if you need anything, someone outside will bring it to you."

Lin Chenxin stood there, silently watching him.

Under her stare, the servant felt his skin crawl.

But he braced himself and raised his hand, signaling the others to keep working.

Lin Chenxin looked up and noticed that iron mesh was also being installed on the walls of the Gentleman’s Courtyard.

"So, he intends to imprison me until I die," she said with a cold, expressionless laugh.

The servants dared not listen, keeping their eyes down and focusing on their tasks.

Mr. Chen would never let her out. She still had her uses, so he couldn’t harm her either.

So he would just keep her locked in here until the day she died.

Even if she died, her bones would rot here.

Listening to the fading banging sounds, Lin Chenxin lowered her eyes, turned, and walked away. As she climbed the steps, she paused and turned to look at the study door.

It was silent there, with only two red lanterns swaying in the wind.

Just then, her phone buzzed with a message.

It was the Kindergarten Principal, who had taken her younger brother to the hospital to see their sister.

The two little ones held flowers in their hands, smiling brightly at the camera.

Lin Chenxin couldn’t help but laugh, while a pang of bitterness surged in her heart.

Her younger siblings always showed their brightest smiles in front of the camera.

They were so young, yet they had already learned to be considerate of her, not to worry her.

Back when they all lived together in the basement, she had to attend classes and work. Most of the time, she would put away sharp objects and lock the door from the outside.

The basement was dim, with only one window that let in a beam of light at sunset.

Her younger siblings, alone at home, lived in that dark cage, their big eyes waiting for the moment the sun set, standing on a stool to look outside.

During that time, the brightest color in their eyes was the fleeting sunset.

That was also the purest light in their eyes.

Lin Chenxin looked at her siblings’ faces on the screen, her eyes lowering, casting a shadow of gloom.

She gripped her phone tightly, veins bulging on the back of her hand.

If she had to choose, she would inevitably pick herself and her siblings.

But the moment she made that choice, Chen Gujun was also abandoned by her.

What broke her heart was that Chen Gujun had known this all along.

Lin Chenxin’s fingers trembled, her heart torn apart by the excruciating pain.

Bearing this agony, she took a deep breath, lifted her red-rimmed eyes, and dragged her heavy feet to the door of the study.

At that moment, Chen Gujun, leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes, silent and still, with his white hair cascading to the floor.

Only when the person outside stopped walking did he open his eyes, turning his dazed eyes toward the door.

He had become much slower.

He couldn’t see as clearly, nor hear as far away.

But he could still sense Lin Chenxin’s presence in an instant.

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

“I’m coming in.”

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and a shadow stretched across the threshold and onto the floor.

Chen Gujun straightened his back, reached out, and picked up a brush.

His back was straight; he closed his eyes, then opened them again, his face calm and composed, showing no trace of weakness.

Footsteps approached the desk.

Chen Gujun’s heart skipped a beat, and by the time he realized he had forgotten to spread out the paper, it was too late.

Lin Chenxin appeared before him.

His fingertips quivered, and ink dripped onto the desk, leaving a dark blot.