Unable to Father Children

[Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a picture of loving devotion. I wonder if Second Master Su would still want to get Lin Wei out if he knew the woman he loved had put a green cuckold's hat on his head.]

[Speaking of Second Master Su, he really is a bona fide cuckold champion, with one green hat piled on top of another. He doesn't even know he can't father children, yet he spends his days indulging in all sorts of bedroom games. Not one of his four children is his own. He's raised other men's children for over ten years and still struts around so smugly, completely oblivious to the lush green meadow growing on his head.]

Second Master Su's expression changed drastically as he heard Ning Sang-sang's thoughts.

What? He couldn't father children, and not one of his four children was his own?

What nonsense was this girl spouting? How could he possibly be unable to father children?!

Hearing Ning Sang-sang's thoughts, Ning Hui looked at the top of Second Master Su's head. Hmm... for some reason, it did seem awfully green up there.

Ning Xiaotian and Duke Su both glanced at the top of Second Master Su's head after hearing this.

Even Pei Xingjian, who normally had no interest in gossip, couldn't resist casting a glance at the top of Second Master Su's head.

Noticing their gazes, Second Master Su's expression grew uglier.

"Second Master, what's wrong?" Unable to hear Ning Sang-sang's thoughts, Little Lin saw his darkening expression, and her heart lurched. An inexplicable sense of foreboding rose within her.

Second Master Su stared at Lin Wei with a complicated expression, finding it hard to believe that the gentle, kind little woman before him would betray him.

He reassured himself that the girl must be talking nonsense. His Wei would never betray him.

Of course, what he found most impossible to accept was that he couldn't father children, and that none of his four children was his own.

His stare sent a chill through Little Lin's heart. She asked softly, "Second Master, what on earth is wrong? Please don't frighten me."

"Lin Wei, tell me honestly. Have you done anything to betray me?" Second Master Su demanded, his face stern.

Watching this unfold, Ning Sang-sang raised her eyebrows.

[Who switched on Second Master Su's brain today? He actually figured out that Little Lin betrayed him. What a rare sight.]

Little Lin's heart lurched at his words, and she hurried to reply, "Second Master, why would you suddenly say such a thing? Heaven and earth can bear witness to my devotion to you. I've never done anything to betray you."

Little Lin looked at him with utter sincerity, her words earnest. Seeing her like this, Second Master Su suddenly felt he might have misjudged her. He opened his mouth and was just about to say something when that teasing voice rang out again:

[This woman really knows how to act. She betrayed Second Master Su, yet she can still put on a show of deep devotion right in front of him. You really have to admire her acting.]

[Second Master Su falls for this every time. Seeing Little Lin looking so pitiful and fragile that anyone would want to cherish her, he must be thinking he's misunderstood her, ready to apologize and coax her into smiling again.]

[Little does he know that while he treasures Little Lin like a jewel, she utterly despises him.]

Hearing Ning Sang-sang's thoughts, Second Master Su looked at the pitiful Little Lin and suddenly felt nothing at all. His voice grew lower as he told her, "Someone told me I can't father children."

A flicker of panic flashed through Little Lin's eyes. Although it vanished in an instant, Second Master Su, who had been watching her closely, still caught it. His heart sank. Could that girl be telling the truth? Could he really be unable to father children? Then his four children...

"Second Master, don't listen to other people's nonsense. How could you possibly be unable to father children? If you couldn't, how could Concubine Xie and I have borne your children?" Little Lin explained anxiously.

[Second Master Su, don't listen to her nonsense. Not one of the children she and Concubine Xie bore is yours.]

Ning Sang-sang made her snide remarks inwardly.

Hearing her words, Second Master Su's expression grew uglier. He opened his mouth, about to say something to Little Lin, when guards escorted an ordinary-looking middle-aged man into the hall.

At the sight of the middle-aged man appearing in the hall, Little Lin's expression instantly darkened.

Chen Ping...

It really was Chen Ping.

Chen Ping really wasn't dead!

Seeing the guards escort Chen Ping inside, Pei Xingjian, who had been quietly enjoying the spectacle, finally began hearing the case.

"Chen Ping, give an honest account of the evil deeds you and Lin Wei committed back then," Pei Xingjian said sternly.

Over the years, Chen Ping had concealed his identity and lived as a sweeping monk at a temple, and he had already repented in his heart. At Pei Xingjian's words, he honestly confessed to all the evil deeds Little Lin had ordered him to commit, including how she had asked him to find men to get her pregnant behind Second Master Su's back.

As Chen Ping confessed everything, Little Lin's face instantly drained of every trace of color. It was over. It was all over.

Slap.

Hearing Chen Ping describe how Little Lin had sought out men to father her children behind his back, Second Master Su's expression turned hideous. He struck her hard across the face and cursed furiously:

"You shameless bitch! How dare you sneak around with other men behind my back! I've treated you well all these years. Why would you do this to me?"

"Treated me well?" Little Lin laughed aloud as though she had heard a joke, looking at him scornfully. "Ever since I married you, you've had one woman after another, neglecting me and leaving me out in the cold. Even those women of yours, seeing I was out of favor, tried to lord it over me at every turn. I wanted a child to secure my position, and you couldn't even give me that. Yet you have the nerve to say you treated me well?"

At this point, a strange smile suddenly spread across her face. "Second Master, for the sake of our years as husband and wife, let me tell you a secret."

Without waiting for him to speak, she enunciated every word. "Second Master, you can't father children. You can't have children at all. The children Concubine Xie bore aren't yours either."

She herself had only learned this six months ago. Before that, she had never imagined Second Master Su couldn't father children. It was only when she accidentally overheard a conversation between Concubine Xie and her personal maid that she learned he was infertile, and that Concubine Xie's children weren't his either.

Second Master Su's face grew so dark it seemed ready to drip ink. He glared fixedly at Little Lin, too furious to speak.

[Now that's killing a man and stabbing him through the heart. After hearing Little Lin say that, Second Master Su's lungs must be about to burst with rage.]

[I have to say, everyone in the Duke of Su's Estate is an idiot.]

Hearing Ning Sang-sang call his entire family idiots, Duke Su's expression darkened, and he looked at her.

[What are you staring at me for, Eldest Master Su? You should be comforting your brother right now. Look at him-he's so furious he can't even speak. As his elder brother, shouldn't you go over and comfort him?]

[Oh, I forgot. Eldest Master Su is a cold-blooded creature. He doesn't know how to comfort anyone, only how to stab them in the heart. He's wounded his own daughter so badly that she's withdrawn into herself.]

Duke Su: "..."

"From this moment on, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me," Second Master Su said in a low voice, staring sternly at Little Lin.

Without waiting for her response, he stormed out of the hall.

Seeing his younger brother leave, Duke Su felt there was no reason to remain and followed him out.

Watching the Su brothers leave so resolutely, Little Lin knew they had no intention of helping her. Despair filled her face, and she lost all hope of staying alive.

Without Duke Su and Second Master Su obstructing the proceedings, Little Lin's case went smoothly.

It was soon concluded, and Little Lin and Chen Ping were ultimately exiled to grow watermelons in the desert.

Ning Sang-sang was very satisfied with this outcome. Before leaving the Dali Temple, she couldn't resist warning Pei Xingjian, "Junior Minister Pei, I see darkness between your brows, a sign that petty villains and ravenous beasts around you are stirring up trouble. You may soon face a bloody calamity. Be careful."

[This is all the warning I can give you. Whether you escape this calamity depends on whether you understand what I'm getting at.]

Pei Xingjian's eyes flickered at her words. "Thank you for the warning, Miss Ning. I'll be careful," he said softly.

"Junior Minister Pei, my sister's predictions are very accurate. You must be careful," Ning Hui urged him earnestly.

Pei Xingjian nodded and said softly, "I will."

After what had just happened with Second Master Su, he had taken Ning Sang-sang's thoughts about him to heart.

Only when he saw that Pei Xingjian had taken his words seriously did Ning Hui feel reassured. He didn't want to see his idol murdered.

"Let's go. We're heading home," Ning Xiaotian said.