106 FCADW? IRTBTMOTMM

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 Favoring Concubines and Destroying Wives? I Refuse to be the Mistress of this Marquis' Mansion

 Chapter 106: 

 Killing Intent

Lin Yunyi left quickly, and his steps were stiff as he walked away.

Worried, Tao Ye asked, "Madam, what did you say to Young Master Yunyi?"

Lin Yunwan did not reveal a single word.

After a few days, Lu Chang Gong and Qing Ge'er came to pay their respects.

Although they came to pay respects, it was actually an attempt to persuade her to return.

Qing Ge'er said, "Mother, both Grandmother and Father miss you and want to see you. Your sons... also miss you."

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He was always good with words, leaning in and saying, "Mother, when you are in the mansion, your sons can be filial to you at any time. But in the temple, we cannot visit you as often."

Lin Yunwan knelt before the Buddha, tapping the wooden fish with closed eyes.

Liu Changgong watched his mother silently, refraining from speaking.

Qing Ge'er, following instructions, whispered to Liu Changgong, "Big Brother, try to persuade Mother..."

Liu Chang Gong knelt down and said, "Mother, let your son accompany you in chanting scriptures."

He had never read Buddhist scriptures before, but having heard them recited occasionally, he could only repeatedly recite a few lines: "Beholding the self-existing Bodhisattva, practicing profound Prajnaparamita, clearly seeing that all five aggregates are empty……" [1]

Qing Ge'er felt embarrassed. 

Clearly, both the Old Madam and Father had instructed them to persuade their mother to return, but why wasn't Big Brother listening! 

He had no choice but to kneel down as well. He didn't know how to recite any lines; he just bowed his head and rubbed his arms. 

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The Buddhist hall was too cold, not as warm as their home. 

"You may all rise."

Lin Yunwan put down the wooden fish, stopped chanting, and said to her two children, "You're still young, why follow me in chanting sutras?"

Taoye helped both Lu Chang Gong and Qing Ge'er to stand up.

Lu Chang Gong calmly remarked, "Sons chant sutras not for anything else, but with the same heart as Mother, praying for the well-being of our elders."

Qing Ge'er quickly added, "Big Brother is right, this son also thinks the same way!"

Regardless of whether Mother pays attention to him or not, he cannot offend her. If Big Brother says something nice, he will just follow suit.

Lin Yunwan told them to go to the east wing and straightforwardly stated, "Go back, don't bother, I won't return."

Both of them lowered their heads. 

Of course, Lu Chang Gong also hoped that his mother would go back because the temple was too harsh.

As for Qing Ge'er, it goes without saying... if Mother returns, the family will be peaceful.

"Qing Ge'er, do you know why I don't want to go back?"

Lin Yunwan suddenly asked.

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Qing Ge'er lifted his head, looking at her bewildered, and said, "Son... I don't know."

Lin Yunwan looked at him with gentle eyes and said, "Because of your birth mother. Qing Ge'er, you were originally my legitimate son, and I was your legitimate mother. The family was harmonious. But because of your birth mother, you became an illegitimate son, and I had to retreat to this temple."

"Do you know how people will talk about you and treat you when you grow up?"

Lin Yunwan paused and said, "You don't have to wait until you grow up; you'll understand when you enter the family school."

Qing Ge'er felt a sudden anxiety, pursed his lips, and asked, "How will they treat me?"

Lin Yunwan remained silent.

Qing Ge'er couldn't sit still. He walked up to Lin Yunwan, pleading, "Mother, you are my birth mother! In my heart, I have always regarded you as my birth mother! Mother, please don't disdain me. Can you come back home?"

"I will surely be as filial as Big Brother to you!"

Lin Yunwan heartlessly pushed away his hand, saying, "Qing Ge'er, it's not that I want to dislike you, and it's not that you are detestable. Think carefully, if your mother hadn't coincidentally fallen into the water on your birthday, would we be in this situation now?"

"Even if you can't understand it now, it doesn't matter. You have a long time to slowly figure it out, a lifetime to contemplate. One day, you will understand what is truly good and what is harming you."

Qing Ge'er recalled the incident on his birthday when his birth mother fell into the water.

Could his mother have... not fallen into the water on that day? Then, would he... forever be his legitimate  mother's true son?

He also thought about the soup he gave to Yan Mama. He knew that the soup was definitely not ordinary.

"Is it really for his own good?" He didn't know, he didn't know...

"Big Madam! Do you really have to say such harsh words to a child?" Ge Bao'er rushed in, and even the maids couldn't stop her.

She looked at Lin Yunwan with cold eyes, hating her in her heart!

So, when she's not around, Lin Yunwan speaks ill of her in front of Qing Ge'er! The people in the room all looked at her, very impatient.

Qing Ge'er also became a bit cautious, pursing his lips without getting closer to her.

Ge Bao'er nervously said, "Qing'er, don't listen to her nonsense! Mother has never harmed you! The drowning incident was also... an accident!" She certainly couldn't admit that she intentionally fell into the water.

Qing Ge'er lowered his head.

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Lin Yunwan didn't want to listen to Ge Bao'er arguing here, so she stood up to see them off, "You all can go back now."

Lu Chang Gong bowed and said, "Take care of yourself, mother. Son and younger brother will take leave."

Qing Ge'er also followed, saying, "Take care, mother. Your son takes his leave." Their tones were very gentle.

He didn't know why, but whenever his stepmother showed a slightly better attitude toward him, he couldn't help but get close to her. It made him forget the harsh words she had said to him. In his heart, he even wished to mend his relationship with his stepmother.

As the two brothers left, Qing Ge'er only hurriedly called out "Mother" to Lin Yunwan and didn't even speak to Ge Bao'er. Gebao'er kept watching Qing Ge'er's figure as he walked away, feeling a pang in her heart.

"This is her son! How can he be so close to Lin Yunwan!" she thought to herself.

How does he feel about her now? Has he believed Lin Yunwan's instigation?

"Big Madam, please don't say such things in front of Qing Ge'er in the future. He is just a child!" Ge Bao'er said coldly.

Lin Yunwan smiled and asked back, "Aren't I speaking the truth? Do you think that if I don't say it, he won't figure out that it was you who turned his legitimate status into an illegitimate one? You are also the one who exposed him to public criticism. Qing Ge'er is very intelligent, and he will grow up quickly. I believe it won't take long for him to understand everything."

Ge Bao'er listened, feeling a chill in her heart.

In a few more years, her son would begin to resent her!

Back in the room, she picked up a pair of scissors and ruthlessly punctured the pillow she had brought with her.

"Lin Yunwan, if you don't die, Qing Ge'er will truly come to hate me!"

She stared at the east wing, laughing, completely disregarding the warnings from the Old Madam.

"No matter what I've done, as long as I retrieve the jade pendant, what can the Lu family do to me?"

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

"The jade pendant... Hide it as much as you want, I don't believe you can take it into the coffin when you're dead!"

~

Late at night.

Having finished chanting the scriptures, Lin Yunwan rose from the cushion. The Buddhist hall was illuminated by the flickering light of candles.

Tao Ye had been accompanying her and, while helping her back to her room, said, "Big Madam, the mistress hasn't slept yet. When you came out, she glanced towards the Buddhist hall."

Lin Yunwan replied, "Let her look, consider it as if we didn't see anything."

Worried that Ge Bao'er might have ill intentions, Tao Ye secretly observed for several nights and informed Lin Yunwan, "Every night when you come out of the Buddhist hall, the madam secretly watches you!"

Lin Yunwan remained indifferent.

Lu Chang Gong came over to accompany her in prayer. They both stayed until midnight before returning to their rooms.

"It's late now; you should go back to your room and get some rest."

"Yes."

As Lin Yunwan was about to leave the Buddhist hall, she noticed that several candles on the stand had gone out. She replaced them with new ones before returning to her quarters. Ge Bao'er waited for Lin Yunwan to enter the room before opening the window, observing openly and brightly.

In the past few days, she had figured out Lin Yunwan's daily routine—when she woke up, when she rested, and how much time she spent in the Buddhist hall. She knew when Lin Yunwan's maids were present and when they were not.

She waited until the lights in Lin Yunwan's room were extinguished before closing the window. In the darkness, Lu Chang Gong stood not far away, his gaze calmly fixed on the window of Ge Bao'er's room.

He quietly closed the window, becoming the last person in the temple to retire for the night.

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

•••

[1] "观自在菩萨，行深般若波罗蜜多时，照见五蕴皆空":  a fragment from the Heart Sutra, a fundamental text in Mahayana Buddhism. 

This excerpt emphasizes the practice of perceiving emptiness and the wisdom associated with the Bodhisattva path in Mahayana Buddhism. The idea is to recognize the emptiness or lack of inherent existence in the components of human experience, symbolized by the "five aggregates" representing aspects of individual existence. The recitation of the Heart Sutra is a common practice in Buddhism and is believed to lead practitioners toward enlightenment and wisdom.

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