Chapter 577: I Don’t Owe You
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Lin Yuan was placed in a small courtyard in the south. Li Quanxin specially arranged for two old women to take care of him, while the rest were guards watching over him. When Mingzhu entered, Lin Yuan was awake, lying in bed staring blankly out the window, his small face devoid of life.
The old women greeted Mingzhu first, then smilingly said to Lin Yuan, “Young Master Lin, the Wangfei is here.”
Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze, looking at Mingzhu coldly without saying a word.
Mingzhu didn’t do anything like cutting fruits to feed him, trying to show care. Instead, she sat down directly on a nearby chair and said, “I’m sure you already know who I am. Your father hopes you can live on, live a long life, have a happy family, and a prosperous life. I promised him, swore an oath for it. But there’s one exception: if you bring trouble upon yourself, then I won’t be able to protect you anymore. Your father must have told you this when you last saw him.”
Lin Yuan tightly pressed his lips together, still silent.
Mingzhu continued slowly, “Actually, I’ve known your father for many years. When I was young, your father was renowned for his pipa skills, a master musician known throughout the capital, highly sought after by the great mansions. My father went to him several times to seek instruction. Finally, he became my teacher with an ancient painting as a gift…”
She recounted the story of her apprenticeship with Teacher Lin, how Teacher Lin left after his wife’s sudden death, and the incident last winter when Teacher Lin appeared with Wang Ahniu to seek medical treatment. Seeing Lin Yuan listening attentively, she continued, “You see, your father didn’t genuinely want to be my teacher back then. He didn’t genuinely want to help the child from the Wang family either. He had only one goal from start to finish: to harm people. The difference is that the Wang family had no power and no defenses, so they were easily ruined by him. I was cautious, careful enough, and had people on my side, so I wasn’t harmed by him. Considering his malicious intentions towards us, should we let him live or not?”
Lin Yuan lowered his eyes and turned away.
Mingzhu said, “I know you may not come to terms with this for a while. You probably still think you need to remain loyal to your supposed Zhongshan Wang, believe your father did nothing wrong, and want to avenge your father’s death, regretting your own lack of ability. Some have advised me to eradicate the roots and not keep you as a troublemaker.”
Mingzhu intentionally paused, seeing Lin Yuan stiffening up completely, visibly afraid. Then she continued, “But I think, you’re just a pitiful child who lost his parents when he was young, raised by strangers, never having a single day of peace and happiness. If you recover, I’m willing to give you a chance, let you investigate your mother’s true cause of death, and then you’ll understand why your father chose to betray Zhongshan Wang at the last moment.”
Teacher Lin was already dead, having said all he knew, he simply died after that because he knew, with his identity and what he had done, neither Yuwen Chu nor Zhongshan Wang could afford to let him live. Rather than lingering on and causing trouble for his son, it was better to die decisively, seeking Yuwen Chu’s best efforts to protect Lin Yuan thoroughly.
But no matter what, he ended up dying at the hands of Yuwen Chu. Mingzhu didn’t believe that in such circumstances, she could still earn Lin Yuan’s love and trust, so she never intended to get close to Lin Yuan from the beginning. She only gave Lin Yuan the power to know the truth and a reason to live, everything else depended on Lin Yuan himself. The path was his to walk, and if Lin Yuan truly wanted to head towards ruin, she couldn’t pull him back.
Finally, Lin Yuan responded, “Are you not going to keep me locked up forever?”
Mingzhu chuckled lightly, “Why would I keep you locked up forever? You’re just a child. You can go wherever you want, but you need to be careful. Once you leave Ying Wang Mansion, there might be people waiting outside to harm you. Alright, it’s up to you how to proceed. If you need anything, you can send someone to let me know. That’s it.”
Lin Yuan asked again, “Why didn’t you bribe me?”
Mingzhu looked at him, neither mocking nor finding it amusing, and calmly said, “Would you have been bribed by me? What would I bribe you for? I’m just fulfilling my promise, nothing else. I don’t owe you anything, you need to understand that.”
Your life and how you live it are your own business, not anyone else’s. Lin Yuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Mingzhu returned to Yinghui Hall, where Zhuang Zhuang had woken up. She took him to the courtyard for a walk and to bask in the sun. Zhuang Zhuang had gained some weight, and his eyes were bright, like black grapes, especially lively as he often stared at Mingzhu for a long time. Mingzhu held him, talking and laughing, regardless of whether he understood or not, pointing out the flowers, plants, trees, and people in the courtyard with enthusiasm.
Soon, someone came to report that Lin Yuan had voluntarily taken medicine and food, and no longer opposed the old women who were taking care of him. Zheng Momo sighed, “It’s all thanks to Wangfei.”
Mingzhu shrugged, “He’s clever himself. He should live.” Then she lowered her head to play with Zhuang Zhuang.
That night, as agreed with Mingzhu beforehand, Yuwen Chu came back early to accompany her for a drink. The couple talked, laughed, and enjoyed themselves. When they mentioned the incident with the iron caltrops during the day, Mingzhu joked, “I said it was a torn bag, Jing Song said it was intentional. What did you think? If it was due to negligence or infighting, they deserved their misfortune.”
“What do you think?” Yuwen Chu dipped his drink and wrote a “si” on the table, saying softly, “Could he be planting nails in the major mansions and the palace? I would. The external accounts’ fourth si records these expenses.”
Mingzhu’s mouth opened slightly, “You mean… oh, he’s in danger.” Plans like this were often meticulously guarded against, and anyone involved would be closely monitored. Whoever caused the bag to be torn took a considerable risk to get to this point. Now that something went wrong, they would surely be thoroughly investigated. Hopefully, he could pass this test smoothly.
Yuwen Chu was pleased, “Although the information he conveyed was very cryptic, it’s not easy to transmit it. You should understand the difficulties faced by those who work under you, rather than nitpicking. Be more understanding and treat them well, and you’ll gain everyone’s support and respect. Naturally, people will be willing to listen to you and help you.”
Mingzhu firmly said, “I will definitely be able to do it.”
Yuwen Chu looked out the window, “Tonight, someone will have trouble sleeping again.”
In the house in the south of the city, the lights were dim. Yuwen Cong sat silently on a chair, staring expressionlessly at the row of men in front of him.
All the men had their shirts stripped off, kneeling neatly on the ground. Each of them had whip marks on their bodies, and the whips continued to fall, but none of them cried out in pain.
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