"Hahaha..."
Lin Zhanyang looked at the man opposite him, who was laughing uncontrollably, and felt a pang of annoyance. "Am I wrong?"
"Young Master, you are too naive and innocent. Didn't you ever consider that with the Prime Minister's high position, and with you all being so disappointing, he wouldn't think of other solutions? For example, having a few more sons and raising them well from a young age?" Wu Caiwei looked at him as if he were an idiot. They hadn't noticed anything after all this time.
"What do you mean by that?" Lin Zhanyang stood up abruptly, asking in shock.
"Exactly what you're thinking. Xinghua Hutong, number 25. Go and see for yourself, and you'll understand everything." Wu Caiwei left him with a light sentence and quickly slipped away.
He ran out of the opera house and reattached his falling beard. If his fake beard hadn't been about to fall off, causing the other party to suspect him, he wouldn't have fled so disgracefully.
Lin Zhanyang reached out, wanting to call out to him and ask for clarification, but he had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Feeling uneasy, and fearing that what he said was true, he quickly took his attendants and left his favorite opera house. He went to the address he provided and kept watch, wanting to investigate the matter thoroughly.
They watched for several days, but their father never appeared. They breathed a sigh of relief, thinking perhaps the other party was mistaken. However, just as they were about to give up, he arrived.
The Prime Minister knocked on the door with practiced ease. A boy of eleven or twelve opened the door. Upon seeing him, the boy's face lit up with a smile, and he happily called out "Dad," ushering him inside.
Lin Zhanyang stood there with a grim expression for a long time, motionless. His attendants were somewhat frightened; this was unlike their young master's usual demeanor, but they dared not speak up to remind him.
He walked to the outside of the courtyard and listened to the laughter and chatter within. He thought about how his father had never shown them brothers a kind face since they were young, always looking at them with disappointment, frustrated by their lack of ambition, resorting to beatings or scoldings. As a result, they would avoid their father whenever possible, never knowing he had such a side.
He clenched his fists, flicked his sleeves, and left in a rage.
He returned to the mansion and quickly found his mother, telling her what had happened.
Prime Minister's wife listened to her son's description. At first, she didn't believe him. Then, she realized her son wouldn't lie to her, especially about something so significant. She found it hard to accept and swayed precariously, with a maid quickly helping her to sit down.
After dismissing her son, she sat alone at the table, weeping silently.
When the Prime Minister returned home that afternoon, he saw this scene. He walked up quickly, looking at his wife's red eyes, and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Who made you angry? Tell me, and I'll teach them a lesson."
Prime Minister's wife looked at him, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.
"What's wrong? Don't hold it in, speak it out." The Prime Minister genuinely loved his wife. Otherwise, after so many years of marriage, there wouldn't even be a concubine in the mansion. Seeing her like this, he knew something must have happened, or she wouldn't have lost her composure.
Prime Minister's wife looked at the concern in his eyes, which didn't seem fake. She remembered the past.
She had been the daughter of a Minister back then. Her sisters had all married into suitable families, but she had unintentionally met him when he had just passed the imperial examinations and was still a poor scholar.
They were deeply in love, but her parents disagreed, thinking he was too poor to be worthy of her. Young as she was then, she was devoted to love and felt she couldn't live without him.
Her parents couldn't dissuade her, so they married her off with lavish dowry. Her married life was very smooth. Her in-laws were sensible and protected her everywhere, and their affection for each other remained as good as ever. The following year, she gave birth to their eldest son.
Her sisters teased her about marrying a poor man, which sometimes angered her, but with her father's promotion, he rose steadily in his career.
Later, she even felt fortunate about her choice. Her sisters were all troubled by concubines, but for so many years, her husband had only had her. Someone had tried to send him beauties before, but he had refused them all. She thought her judgment had been good, but now it was a huge irony, and her children were already grown.
She also blamed herself for trusting him too much, as he had always acted so well. She had never investigated him and knew nothing about his affairs outside. She felt her life was a joke.
Now, this man was hypocritically looking at her with those eyes. She steeled herself and said, "No one made me angry. I just heard about what happened at Xinghua Hutong, number 25, and I want you to tell me yourself whether it's true or false."
The Prime Minister's eyes flickered involuntarily. He hadn't expected that what he had hidden for so many years would be exposed. He couldn't meet her eyes, nor could he answer.
Prime Minister's wife looked at him like that, and she understood everything. The last flicker of hope in her heart vanished. She asked in a voice so calm it was frightening, "Why?"
"Why else? Look at our three children. Which one of them is promising? If even one of them were outstanding, I wouldn't have had others outside. When they were young, I wanted them to study and write, but you stopped me, saying they were too young and it was too hard. As a result, each of them is proficient in drinking, eating, gambling, and whoring. When I go out, where can I put my old face?" The Prime Minister, speaking of this, also had a bellyful of opinions about his wife.
"But when you married me, you said you would treat me well for life and wouldn't find other women." Prime Minister's wife was indeed a bit guilty about educating her children and didn't want to admit her mistakes at this moment. Thinking of his promise back then, she felt he had betrayed her.
"I kept my promise. Nowadays, which official doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Only my mansion is clean. Even if I kept concubines outside, that was later. And to avoid disturbing you, I resolutely refused to let them into the house," the Prime Minister said self-righteously.
Although the concubines outside always tried their best to enter the house, including those few children who wanted to acknowledge their ancestors, he had sternly suppressed them and forbidden them to mention it again.
"Are you saying I should thank you?" Prime Minister's wife was truly angry. After sharing the same bed for so many years, she had a new understanding of the person beside her for the first time.
"I didn't mean that. Although our Prime Minister's mansion looks good on the outside, in reality, my heart is empty, and I have a deep sense of crisis. I'm getting old, and in a few years, I'll have to retire. Then our Lin family will disappear from the capital, completely forgotten by people. I'm not reconciled. After struggling for so many years, this shouldn't be the outcome," the Prime Minister quickly explained.
"This is not a reason for you to betray me. If you're afraid our Prime Minister's mansion will be forgotten, you could have supported more impoverished scholars. Then, even if we were no longer in court, someone would speak up for us and offer protection." Prime Minister's wife came from an official family and understood some things. She no longer believed him easily.