CHAPTER 1284: CHAPTER 1279 LIN QIANQING IS BACK

Lin Qianqing returned, and Madam Lin struggled to lift herself from the bed, sitting in the room, where mother and daughter clung to each other, crying bitterly.

So many things had happened at home that even Old Madam Lin, who usually had a good temperament, looked much more haggard than before. Seeing them like this, her heart ached, and she wanted to cry, too.

She turned to her son and said, "Our family has been plagued by so many disasters these past few years. As the head of the household, you must hold this family together. Your wife is unwell and has no time to manage the household. Just look at the mess it’s in now. Yesterday, your concubines fought in the back courtyard and even ran to my quarters, asking me to decide things for them. At my age, I can’t handle such commotion."

"Is there really such a matter?" Lin Xingyi said in shock.

Old Madam Lin snorted coldly, "Without your wife keeping them in check, those foxy women are practically running wild. Haven’t you noticed?"

Lin Xingyi was rendered speechless.

He didn’t want Madam Lin to remain ill forever either, but matters of the Ducal Residence were not trivial. Such great concerns—if she couldn’t come to terms with them, no one could help her.

"I’ll go take a look," Lin Xingyi said, ready to leave.

"Hey, come back." Just as he stood, Old Madam Lin called him back.

"Why the sudden urgency? Not earlier, not later, but now? Qianqing just returned and hasn’t had a chance to say a word to her father yet. She’s a woman—have you considered how she’ll live the rest of her life?"

Lin Qianqing’s eyes reddened, and suddenly she knelt down.

She said, "Father, Mother, Grandmother, I want to go to the Zongrenfu to see His Highness King Jin."

"What are you going to see him for? If it weren’t for his ingratitude, your maternal family wouldn’t have faced such calamity." Madam Lin became visibly agitated at the mention of King Jin.

"What do you want from such a man? He can’t give you children, and he committed such outrageous acts—his life is ruined. He’ll never leave Zongrenfu."

Lin Xingyi sighed, "Even without King Jin, the Ducal Residence was bound to be confiscated sooner or later. They’ve been plotting treason for many years."

"Yes, I know you feel awful about it, but with crimes of such magnitude, that our family wasn’t completely wiped out is already a blessing from our ancestors." Old Madam Lin’s face was filled with helplessness. "If Qianqing wants to see King Jin, let her go. If it weren’t for King Jin sending her away back then, she might’ve been defiled by Jin Wei, that beast. Wouldn’t that have been even more tragic? No matter how bad King Jin is, he at least treated Qianqing decently and knew to protect her first when trouble arose."

"This... the wrongs they committed shouldn’t be borne by our Qianqing. They have nothing to do with her; how can I..."

"Mother!" Lin Qianqing cried out, "Whether you agree or not, I’m going to see him."

Having spoken, Lin Qianqing fled in tears, leaving the others with faces full of sorrow.

Madam Lin wept, "What sin have we committed for our good days to turn into this?"

"Who else could be blamed? Isn’t it just some people’s insatiable greed?"

Madam Lin, at a loss, could only remain silent.

...

Jin Zijin and Yue Rujing were inquiring all the way about the Witch Doctor’s whereabouts, chasing their leads into Yunhe Mountain.

Jin Zijin was asking a local villager about the white-haired Witch Doctor, while Yue Rujing gazed expectantly at the fog-covered mountain peaks.

"The white-haired Witch Doctor indeed passed by. He entered the mountain ten days ago. I don’t know if he managed to find the medicine he’s searching for."

Jin Zijin thanked the villager, "Thank you for the information. My junior brother and I will head into the mountains now to seek our master."