Сохраним красоту - Глава 105
"If you can't vent your anger, sitting down will feel suffocating. Walking like this is more imposing. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I wouldn't dare," Long San said, looking timid.
Xiao Wu took a few steps and said, "I need to talk to Feng Ning about Bao'er's matter. She's homeless and barely able to take care of herself, and she's with such a bad man. I won't allow her to suffer with Bao'er."
“But Bao’er is, after all, her own flesh and blood…” Long San also felt reluctant to part with Bao’er, but logically speaking, she was indeed Bao’er’s biological mother.
"So what if she's my own flesh and blood? Do you know, when she first came to me, she didn't mention Bao'er once. She didn't ask if Bao'er was alright, how tall she was, or how fat she was. All she cared about was how to tie Lan Hu down and how to make him treat her well. How can you entrust your child to a mother like that? And that Lan Hu, with such a bad character, what if he runs out of money in the future? Will he sell Bao'er?"
Long San frowned; these were indeed problems.
Xiao Wu paced back and forth several times, saying, "Bao'er is the most shy and timid. She's so young, yet she's so sensible. If we give her to that Feng Ning, how will she know about the difference between a biological mother and a biological mother? She'll definitely think we don't want her anymore, and she'll be heartbroken. If Feng Ning and Lan Hu treat her badly, how much suffering will my Bao'er endure, and how scared will she be?" The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case. She said, "No, Bao'er is my child, and I will not give her away."
Long San thought for a moment and nodded: "Then we'll leave Bao'er here. Feng Ning is obsessed with Lan Hu, and Lan Hu is in our hands, so she won't object."
“I don’t care whether she agrees or not. We’re not forcing her; she’s the one who doesn’t care about Bao’er. So whether she agrees or not, it’s the same. I need to make this clear to her. Do you think she can just take the child away from your Long family? Besides, Uncle has taken care of Bao’er for so long. Bao’er is so well-behaved and lovable. Uncle must like Bao’er too. I’ll talk to him about how Bao’er will suffer if she leaves. He’ll definitely be reluctant to let her go. With Uncle and us watching over her, I don’t believe she’ll dare to take the child away from us.”
Long San nodded repeatedly. Now, whatever his Feng'er said was right; how could he dare to disagree? He could also see that although his Feng'er was angry, her mind was perfectly clear. She knew how to use the Long family's power to oppress others and understood how to win over Long Er's support. Long San felt a pang of sadness. Could it be that she wasn't leaving him to protect Bao'er? Was he more important to her, or Bao'er? Or perhaps, the baby in her womb was more important?
Xiao Wu walked for a while longer before finally stopping: "You're right."
Long San was stunned and nervous, wondering what he had said? Had he accidentally blurted out his true feelings? Was he really not as important to her as the child?
Xiao Wu said, "The more I think about it, the more I feel that Qiao Li is suspicious. Maybe she has harmed my mother and me. Even if she didn't, she must have known but didn't tell. If my mother had suicidal thoughts and wanted to entrust her children to her, there's no reason why she would only entrust one to her. Even if she entrusted one to her and entrusted me to someone else, she must have known. She told my father that she only had one child. She must have something to hide."
Long San remained silent, waiting for his wife to give instructions. Sure enough, Xiao Wu continued, "We must find a way to expose her true colors."
Author's Note: I thought it was Saturday yesterday. My writing week usually starts from Saturday, so I said yesterday that it would be finished this week. But some readers pointed it out in the comments, so I'm correcting that. The week should start from today, Saturday, and the main story should be finished by then.
I need to think carefully about how to expose their true colors. Do you have any suggestions?
79. The Truth (1)
Xiao Wu cried and fussed all day, and felt unwell the next day after falling asleep, which worried Long San greatly. Fortunately, Xiao Wu was always strong and healthy, ate well, drank well, and slept well, and finally recovered after a few days of rest.
Long San summoned a doctor to confirm the situation, and only after confirming that his wife was alright and the baby was fine did Long San finally feel relieved.
In the past few days, Long San has been working hard to handle the matters at hand and has finally completed them. So, at Xiao Wu's request, he took Feng Ning, Lan Hu, and a group of guards and subordinates and set off to return to the Long Mansion in the capital.
Meanwhile, Qiao Li, Feng Zhuojun, and Zhong Sheng finally found the treasure's location. It was a small cave in a remote mountain, the entrance completely sealed with mud. This remote mountain was covered with zinnias, so the local people called it Hundred-Day Mountain, and the village at the foot of the mountain was called Hundred-Day Village.
The cave where the treasure was hidden was very well concealed. Feng Zhuojun and his companions had been searching for it for days without success. They had been wandering around the mountain for several days without any results. Later, they heard from the locals that the Hundred-Day Grass always grows and that brotherhood is always strong. Feng Zhuojun's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He didn't rush to search any further. He wandered around the foot of the mountain for several days, listening to the farmers tell him the legends of Bai Ri Mountain. The legend said that long ago, there were two brothers, one surnamed Long and the other Feng, who depended on each other for survival, sharing both glory and hardship. At that time, the world was in a terrible state; bandits roamed everywhere, and villages were frequently robbed. The two brothers were good people, often helping those in need. But it was precisely because of this that they got into trouble.
One day, the younger brother saved an old man in Baili Village, but was then pursued and killed by a band of bandits. Outnumbered, the younger brother fled to the mountains. The older brother, returning from his errands, heard of this and rushed to the mountain to rescue him. However, the villagers advised him against it, saying that the bandits were numerous and highly skilled, and he would surely die if he went. But the elder brother, surnamed Long, refused to listen, leaving behind the words: "We brothers were not born on the same day, month, and year, but we can die on the same day, month, and year." With that, he took his sword and went up the mountain.
Later, the villagers heard that on that mountain, the two brothers fought the bandits for three days and three nights. Blood flowed like a river, staining the ground. The bandits were all killed, and the two brothers also perished there. The villagers never saw them come down the mountain again, and their search on the mountain yielded no results. But the following spring, many zinnias suddenly bloomed on the barren mountain. The zinnias were incredibly resilient, their flowers blooming without fading, each flower supporting another, climbing upwards as if supporting each other. The villagers all said that the spirits of the two brothers, Long and Feng, resided there.
From then on, the mountain was called Bai Ri Mountain, and the village was renamed Bai Ri Village, in memory of the two loyal brothers who risked their lives to save the village.
After hearing this story, Feng Zhuojun couldn't sleep for several days. He carefully reviewed in his mind what happened after his father was wrongly accused. He was angry, helpless, resentful, and bitter, but he really never said a bad word about the old master of the Long family. With his fiery temper, if he were framed by his good brother and his family was destroyed, how could he resign himself to his fate and slink away to the countryside?
Feng Zhuojun's heart trembled. For so many years, he had never considered any other possibility. He was convinced that the Long family had harmed the Feng family, and he was determined to take revenge. Long Er had said that the whistleblower, Lord Zhao, was later found guilty and executed by the old master Long. At the time, Long Er said that this could be considered revenge for the Feng family, but to him, it seemed more like a cover-up.
That's how the human heart is; it always hopes things will go the way it wants, and no matter what happens, it can always find a reason to justify it. Feng Zhuojun opened his eyes and looked at the top of the bed curtains, suddenly realizing that things had completely exceeded his expectations.
"Ah Li, do you think it's really possible that it has nothing to do with the Long family?"
"It's too early to draw conclusions since the treasure hasn't been found yet. In this day and age, even brothers and fathers can turn against each other and kill each other for money and profit, let alone sworn brothers."
"But every clue on that map, just like this Hundred Days Village, holds the stories of the two old men's affection. As I walked this far, I suddenly realized that this is not a map, but a memory left behind by the old men."
"Feng Lang, don't overthink it. We've come this far, and we're only one step away from the truth. No matter what we dig up, as long as we follow the clues, we'll eventually find the truth about the Feng family's injustice."
"Could it really be a priceless treasure?"
"If not, why would someone be tempted to kill and try to take it for themselves? Actually, the rarer the treasure, the better. Such things are easy to investigate. How did the two old men get it? What happened back then? Maybe there was some agreement or incident. Perhaps it's because of these things that we've come to this conclusion."
Feng Zhuojun remained silent, lying there in a daze. Regardless of the treasure, regardless of how it was acquired, the two old men had been inseparable throughout their lives, sharing life and death. If, in their twilight years, they were to turn against each other over a treasure, what a profound regret that would be! He suddenly felt he dared not investigate further. He thought he understood why his father hadn't mentioned it a word. A lifetime of affection rewarded with betrayal—no one could bear that. In despair, everything seemed ashen.
But why did Father not seem to have such feelings? Although life was hard, he never uttered a word of complaint about the Long family. There was no hatred, no irritability. It seemed that he had truly swallowed his anger.
Feng Zhuojun was completely baffled, so he went up the mountain again to search for the hidden treasure. Later, he saw that the zinnias on the mountainside were growing exceptionally well and densely. He remembered the story circulating in the village at the foot of the mountain, so he went to take a closer look. This time, he noticed something: the soil on the mountainside seemed looser than elsewhere, and the zinnias seemed to have been planted there intentionally. He hesitated for a moment, then finally started digging. And with that digging, he unearthed a hole.
Zhong Sheng, who was accompanying them, was on high alert. He was about to say that if they were going in, they should all go in together, in case Master Feng took something, he would have to keep a close eye on him. But Feng Zhuojun stood motionless at the cave entrance, staring blankly at the dark cave wall.
Zhong lit a torch, held it inside to check for danger, and urged, "Master Feng, let's go in and get things done quickly so I can give my elder brother an explanation."
He launched a smoke bomb into the sky, and when his helpers and Qiao Li, who were waiting at the foot of the mountain, saw it, they quickly grabbed the boxes they had prepared beforehand and went up as well. These boxes were for moving the treasure.
Feng Zhuojun stood there for a long while, then finally gritted his teeth and led Zhong Sheng inside. The cave wasn't large; one could barely walk in by bending over. It was quite deep, but empty, without any clutter. Zhong Sheng saw candles hanging on the cave walls and lit them all. Now it was clear that the entire cave was spotless, with nothing but two boxes, one large and one small, at the bottom.
The bell-ringing man waited outside the cave, but Qiao Li didn't wait and crouched down to go in as well. Seeing that Feng Zhuojun was looking at the box without moving, she couldn't help but push him. Feng Zhuojun thought for a while but still didn't move. Instead, he said to the bell-ringing man, "You come in."
Zhong Sheng had no hesitation or fear; his responsibility was to find the treasure, prevent the Feng family from causing trouble, and ensure that the treasure was returned to the Long family intact for safekeeping. So, when he was asked to open it, he strode forward, carefully examined the area around the box and the design of the opening, and, confirming there were no hidden weapons, used his broadsword to pry open the lid. After waiting a while and seeing no hidden weapons fly out, he peeked over to take a look. Upon seeing it, he let out a scream of surprise, startling Feng Zhuojun, who also quickly leaned over to look.
Where were the treasures? The box contained only two blood-stained garments, neatly laid out. Feng Zhuojun stood frozen, a mixture of relief and disappointment swirling in his heart.
Qiao Li stood behind him, and seeing that he hadn't moved for a while, she couldn't help but step forward to look. What she saw surprised her greatly, and she asked, "What is this?"
Zhong Sheng, with his sharp eyes, noticed a sign on top of the box next to the clothes. He picked it up, read the words on it, and read them aloud: "To live and die together, this is our proof."
Qiao Li sneered: "That sounds nice. They said they would live and die together, but in the end, it was our old master Feng who was trapped and died in the countryside, while the Long family enjoyed wealth and luxury in the capital."
Feng Zhuojun suddenly said, "I remember now, this is what my father was talking about. He said they were on a mountain, intending to die together with the bandits, but General Cheng led his troops by and rescued them from the brink of death. That's when they joined the army. My father said they kept their blood-stained clothes. It turns out they left them here..."
Zhong Sheng held the plaque, looked at it again and again, then at the blood-stained clothes, his eyes welling up with tears: "You two old men are clearly brothers, yet you two insisted on creating a feud between your families."