Chapter 234 FCADW? IRTBTMOTMM

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

 Chapter 234: 

Reunion 

"Still said to follow me to pray for blessings, but didn't even make it to the Chi Xiang Temple and fell asleep."

Lin Yunwan shook her head while holding Qi Zaijun.

Her son came out of the palace and insisted on going everywhere to play, but fell asleep in the carriage all the way.

They couldn't wake him up even after carrying him out of the carriage.

Lu Mama smiled and said, "Madam, let me carry him!"

Lin Yunwan nodded and handed the child to Lu Mama, while Cuqing helped her put on the veil.

She said to Lu Mama, "I'll take Cuqing to pray for blessings. You take Jun'er to the wing to rest for a while."

"Yes."

Arriving at the Temple, Lu Mama went to the wing, while Lin Yunwan prayed for blessings and then went to see that piece of calligraphy.

Yunyi said that Chang Gong's clerical script was very similar to hers.

As soon as she arrived at the door, she couldn't help but want to see the characters Chang Gong wrote when he was a child.

As soon as she reached the door, she saw a pair of brand new couplets, which looked very familiar.

Lin Yunwan stopped a young monk, frowned, and asked, "How come the couplets here have been changed?"

The young monk clasped his hands together, looking very bewildered. "This benefactor, I... This poor monk needs to go and ask the abbot."

Lin Yunwan nodded.

As the young monk entered, a young man came out of the room. Stepping over the threshold, he calmly said, "It was changed by the younger generation."

Lin Yunwan turned her head to look at the young man.

The young man had very clear and handsome features, but his contours were distinct, and he stood there quietly without any shyness!

Lin Yunwan's heart surged with tumultuous waves. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil, so the people around couldn't see her expression at all.

She turned her head to look at the new couplets on the wall, written in clerical script.

Not only did they resemble her handwriting, but they surpassed it by far!

No wonder they looked familiar.

These were done by the student she had taught. How could they not be familiar?

Lin Yunwan hesitated to speak several times, not knowing what to say. In the end, she simply nodded and praised, "The new couplets are excellently written."

"Thank... Madame for your praise."

Lin Yunwan tightened her handkerchief and invited him, "I have also studied clerical script. I wonder if there is a chance for me to learn from the young master?"

"It would be my honor."

Lu Chang Gong deeply bowed, his voice low.

He said, "There is a quiet bamboo grove in the Temple. Madame, please follow me."

Lin Yunwan followed him, wearing her veil.

Cuiqin, seeing an outsider, was naturally cautious, but Lin Yunwan instructed her to step aside and whispered, "This young master's calligraphy is remarkable. I'll discuss calligraphy with him for a while. You wait outside."

"Yes, Madame."

With her attendants, Cuiqin stepped back.

Lin Yunwan followed Lin Chang Gong to the vicinity of the bamboo grove. She then removed her veil and spoke softly and gently, "Chang Gong, the examination is coming soon. Why did you come here?"

She couldn't help but sigh, "You've grown taller and matured."

After several years apart, if it weren't for the couplets in front of her, she wouldn't have recognized this child at all.

Lu Chang Gong stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes reddening and tearing up slightly. He choked, "You... you haven't changed much."

Thinking day and night about his mother, he should be happy.

But he felt like crying instead.

Still choked up, Lu Chang Gong continued, "You still look as young as before."

Lin Yunwan smiled faintly, "I'm already past my thirties, still young?"

Lu Chang Gong lowered his head, finally showing a hint of shyness from his childhood. He pursed his lips, his face turning crimson. "I didn't flatter you, but you haven't aged at all."

Suddenly realizing that he was no longer her son.

He looked up at Lin Yunwan with embarrassment, wondering if she would blame him.

Her eyes were still so gentle, as if he were taking care of his mother from the beginning.

"Chang Gong, what's wrong?" Lin Yunwan, curious about his changing expressions, asked gently.

Lu Chang Gong couldn't calm his emotions.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't speak for a long time.

He noticed that she had styled her hair in the manner of a married woman, indicating that she had married and likely had children by now.

And he, he was just a foster son she had once cared for!

Or worse, he was the son of her former husband, whom she might despise...

Would his mother reject him, or worse, had she already forgotten about him?

Breathing heavily, Lu Chang Gong asked, "Can I still call you mother?"

His heart clenched, afraid of his mother's rejection.

Lin Yunwan joked with him, "At my age, if you don't call me mother, do you want to call me sister instead?"

"Mother... Mother..." Lu Chang Gong's tears flowed freely.

How wonderful it would be if he were truly her biological son, then he could freely throw himself into his mother's arms.

But he wasn't.

He had entered the mansion at the age of nine and couldn't openly embrace his mother as he wished.

Lu Chang Gong kept his head down, pulling at Lin Yunwan's sleeve as he sobbed for a while.

"Mother, I miss you so much..." he managed to say amidst his tears.

Feeling sorrowful herself, Lin Yunwan gently stroked his forehead.

But Lu Chang Gong, having grown up, quickly regained his composure after crying for a while.

He wiped away his tears, just as he had outside, and respectfully stepped back, bowing shyly. "Madam, I apologize for my emotional outburst."

He knew well that even if he longed for his mother, he couldn't reveal her true identity.

Lin Yunwan dabbed at her eyes and spoke gently, "Accompany me for a walk up the mountain."

Lu Chang Gong asked her, "Madam, would you like to pay respects to the Grand Tutor?"

"I remember one year you took me and Uncle to pay respects to the Grand Tutor," Lin Yunwan recalled, nodding in agreement.

Leaving the Chi Xiang Temple, they headed up the mountain together, engaging in conversation along the way.

Lu Chang Gong first asked Lin Yunwan how things had been outside, and why she had decided to come back.

Lin Yunwan naturally wouldn't admit to any hardships she might have faced outside. She simply replied, "The capital is my home. My loved ones are all here. No matter how far I roam, I will eventually return here."

She added, "I've heard about Yunyi's situation at Mingshan Academy. I've been worried too."

Lu Chang Gong felt a twinge of guilt. "I've been useless, unable to help Yunyi Uncle."

Lin Yunwan reassured him, "How could it be your fault?"

Knowing her foster son's personality well and seeing that he hadn't changed much over the years, she comforted him, "You are you, and the Lu family is the Lu family. They harmed Yunyi, don't blame yourself for their actions."

Agreeing, Lu Chang Gong also mentioned some matters regarding the Lu family. His mother was well-informed, and in the future, they could work together to deal with the Lu family.

Lin Yunwan listened attentively, asking questions as she went along.

"Muer? Did Zhuqing Aunt name herself? It's a good choice."

Lu Chang Gong replied, "Aunt said she was named for you. You're the person she admires the most."

However, when naming a younger generation, it was customary to avoid using characters from the names of older generations, so they only used the character "Mu" from "admire."

"Madam Wei and the Marquis have both moved out?"

Lu Chang Gong nodded. "After Aunt Ge took charge, they've been gone for several years."

Lin Yunwan smiled faintly. She knew Madam Wei's temper; perhaps she couldn't tolerate Ge Bao'er's presence, but she also couldn't defy Lu Zhengliu.

"How is the Old Madam doing now?" Lin Yunwan's tone was casual, but she actually wanted to know if the old lady had passed away.

Lu Chang Gong, also disdainful of the Old Madam, replied indifferently, "She had a stroke and is paralyzed. Life's not worth living."

Lin Yunwan wasn't surprised. After all, when the Old Madam poisoned Ge Bao'er, how could Ge Bao'er let her off?

Lu Chang Gong continued in a detached tone, "Since you left, there hasn't been a madam in the Lu family. No one is willing to marry in. All the affairs are managed by the stewardess, in fact, it's Ge Bao'er who's in control. Later, he... took in a few concubines, but only for childbirth purposes, never granting them any dignity."

"Aunt Zhuqing is still favored and helps manage the household."

"The Lu family's ancestral studies have also scattered. Just after you left, the Lu family nearly fell apart," Lu Chang Gong explained.

It sounded like a mess, but it was all expected, and Lin Yunwan wasn't interested in hearing the details.

"Ge Bao'er isn't an easy person to get along with. Chang Gong, how have you been these years?" Lin Yunwan inquired.

Lu Chang Gong smiled. "You don't need to worry; I've been doing well."

Lin Yunwan wanted to hear more.

Lu Chang Gong continued, "Aunt Zhuqing is very intelligent and takes good care of me. She... also dotes on me and Muer. I live in the front yard, after all, Aunt Ge is just a concubine; she can't really do anything to me. Lu Chang Zong has also been rendered useless, so there's not much of a threat."

"The Marquis's wife left, and the Old Madam doesn't handle matters. Now there's no one in the Lu family who can trouble me. But..."

"But..." Lin Yunwan asked, "But what?"

Lu Chang Gong pursed his lips and whispered, "It doesn't feel like a home without you."

Lin Yunwan's gaze softened even more. 

She cautioned Lu Chang Gong, "It sounds like you're doing well in the Lu family, but Aunt Ge has a malicious mind. You and Zhuqing need to be careful. Don't let others handle your daily meals."

In fact, with Zhuqing's attentiveness, Lin Yunwan's words were unnecessary.

Lu Chang Gong, however, sensed something amiss and furrowed his brow. "Are you saying..."

Lin Yunwan was direct and explicit. "Before I left, the old madam poisoned Aunt Ge, and she herself knows about it."

Lu Chang Gong was indeed surprised. 

After careful consideration, he suddenly realized, "No wonder the old madam suddenly became paralyzed. Aunt Ge later became very close to the Yan Mama by the Old Madam's side."

Could it be that she was poisoned by Aunt Ge!

Today, he truly learned a serious secret!

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