Chapter Fifty-Nine: Go and Be with Him

Page 1 of 3
Tresses gathered, double loops entwined;
Lily blossoms skillfully adorning her temples.
A white wedding gown, as light as drifting smoke;
Her beauty in bridal makeup surpasses the flowers themselves.
Firecrackers crackle, colored ribbons dance;
A large red character for joy is pasted by the window.

The Lin estate was alight with lanterns and festooned with banners; the air inside and out was saturated with festivity. Every servant wore a smile, yet now those smiles seemed hollow and insincere.

A swaying bridal sedan chair, carried by several porters, stopped at the gates of the Lin estate. Colorful flags, suona horns, bronze gongs, and tall lanterns followed in procession.

Everything appeared perfect, idyllic, until a woman descended from the sedan chair—a vision of ethereal beauty, a face capable of toppling kingdoms, radiant as the moon and as lovely as flowers.

"Is that my mother?" Lin He murmured as she watched the scene unfold. She was always so beautiful.

"Yes, isn’t she?" The woman beside Lin He laughed softly.

"She is," Lin He nodded lightly.

Jade rings, a touch of rouge, golden hairpins and ornaments glinting in her hair; dressed in a crimson gown, she was supported by others as she walked step by step into the Lin estate—step by step into the abyss.

Within the estate, a young man with sharply defined features and an air of authority was clinking wine cups with another man amid laughter and lively conversation.

"Do you recognize him?" the woman beside Lin He asked quietly, her tone calm.

"Yes, that’s my uncle—at least, until a few months ago, that's what I called him," Lin He replied in a whisper. In this darkness, aside from the shifting scenes, only their voices remained.

So quiet.

"And the man beside him?" she pressed.

Lin He did not answer, though he knew. The man was the one who had always despised him.

Inside the Lin estate, congratulations rang out from every corner; gifts of all kinds were carried in, making for a scene of unparalleled bustle.

"Mother, where are you?" Lin He asked softly, unwilling to watch these images any longer, finding them unbearably ironic.

She was silent. The images abruptly sped up—sunset fell, night arrived, guests departed or lingered.

Still, it was lively.

In a meticulously decorated room, red festive ornaments filled the space, and the windows were plastered with bright red double happiness characters.

A phoenix coronet and red veil, wine cups raised and exchanged glances, twin red candles burning.

At the square table, two people sat opposite each other—his mother on one side, a man with a sullen gaze, whose brow bore a resemblance to the Lin family head, Lin Ling.

That was his former father, Lin Yan.

"So, did everything begin here?" Lin He turned to look at the woman before him. She was still so beautiful; time had left no mark upon her face, just as it was seven years ago.

"He, how much do you know about this Mr. Mo you spoke of?"

"How much does he know about that night, and how much do you know?"

Page 2 of 3
The woman circled Lin He softly, step by step, whispering near his ear—speaking to him, yet as if to herself.

Lin He shook his head gently, continuing to watch.

"Are you so unwilling?" Lin Yan said coldly, his demeanor now utterly changed from the convivial man in the courtyard—a different person entirely.

"I've done as you asked, so where is my family?" Xu Ziyi demanded, looking him in the eye.

"You've done as I asked? But the bridal chamber hasn't even begun," Lin Yan tilted his head at her.

"Lin Yan, let me tell you! I married you only to ensure my family’s safety! Now I am here—tell me, what will it take for you to let them go?"

In the vision, Xu Ziyi suddenly stood, bracing her hands on the table and leaning toward him.

"I want you to do something for me," Lin Yan replied, utterly unfazed by her outburst.

"What?"

"This is the Lin estate, but it has never truly been mine. I am the younger brother of the family head, but in both means and talent I am far inferior to him. You know what I want," Lin Yan said, pouring himself a drink.

"So, you want to climb higher," Xu Ziyi observed. For men, those desires need not be spoken—power, wealth, status, women.

"I have always coveted the position of family head, but I know well that my brother is not a soft-hearted man. If he ever found out, not even I could escape with my life," Lin Yan said, eyes cast down.

"So what do you want me to do?" Xu Ziyi asked, suppressing her emotions.

"Accompany him," Lin He murmured, sipping his wine.

"Lin Yan! You go too far!" Xu Ziyi shouted again, her face flushed with rage.

"Now, now, is that anger? Xu Ziyi, didn’t you notice at today’s banquet how many men stared at you, utterly entranced? Did you see my brother’s reaction? He’s infatuated with you—anyone can see that," Lin Yan said with a half-smile, as if unconcerned she might refuse.

"I will never agree to such a thing! Besides, what good does it do you?"

"Good? At the very least, it does no harm, does it? And do you really have the right to refuse?"

"You’re despicable and shameless! Imagine, on your wedding night, handing your own bride to another!" Xu Ziyi spat through gritted teeth.

"Thank you for the compliment. Do you know how fatal your allure is? Even I am not immune. But I care nothing for that—I want power! My only aim is to climb ever higher! I have my plan—do you agree?"

Expressionless, Lin Yan raised his cup, sipping again.

"Will you guarantee my family’s safety?" After a long silence, Xu Ziyi finally choked out the words, her face growing pale.

Like a lily—extraordinarily beautiful, yet slowly, inexorably, withering.

"As long as you obey," Lin Yan replied carelessly.

"Fine." She clenched her fists, her bowed head hiding her expression.

"I have my plan, you have your considerations. If you do as I say, it will be best for both of us." So saying, he opened the door. "Wait here and make yourself more presentable. I’ll fetch my brother."

A red candle burned in the bridal chamber. She sat with her head lowered, lost to all sound.

Everything began here.

"So, what was his plan?"

Page 3 of 3
Lin He watched all this, his expression unreadable, as if none of it concerned him.

"I don’t know," the woman shook her head.

"And did he succeed?" Lin He asked again.

"Obviously not. He grossly underestimated his brother. Playing games was never his strength. After that day, he was pushed to the margins of the family, left with nothing but the title of the family head’s brother—never again favored."

They seemed like outsiders, watching a play unfold in this place—nothing more.

In the room, the candlelight flickered. The double happiness character on the window blazed—so bright, so mocking.

"Brother, on your wedding night you’d rather spend time with us than with your lovely bride, eh? Ha ha ha."

"Indeed! What, are we more attractive than your flower of a wife?"

Laughter erupted.

"There were so many guests today, I didn’t get to drink properly with you all. Let’s continue in my room—including my brother—none of us leave sober!"

"Does this look familiar?"

From the darkness outside the scene, she spoke.

"It does."

From the darkness, he replied.

This scene—so familiar, these men—etched into memory.

"Sister-in-law, why haven’t you lifted your veil? Lin Yan, is this how a groom should behave?"

All eyes in the room turned to her—naturally, how could they not?

"My oversight—I’ll remove it now."

Lin Yan picked up a jade ruyi and lifted the veil, revealing a face of unearthly beauty, stunning enough to topple a kingdom, yet utterly lifeless.

Suddenly, she smiled—a strange, captivating smile that stole the souls of all present.

Her smile bloomed like a flower.

A lily.

What followed was as those men had anticipated: after the wine, old tricks repeated, and she could not escape her fate. On their wedding night, Lin Yan still handed his bride away. Only this time, Lin He saw something different.

"Why?!" Lin He grew agitated, confused.

He saw that she had drugged the wine—not with poison, but with a potion to stir the deepest, most primal desires.

"Guess what happened next? Only those with the strongest cultivation could resist the effects. What a scene that was," she mused, head tilted, frowning, as if genuinely recalling.

"Yes, just so," she said, watching the flashing scenes.

Slowly, fearfully, Lin He turned his head toward that direction.

"No, it can’t be, it can’t!" Lin He clutched his head desperately, tears streaming down his face. With just one look, he could bear it no more.

He was, in the end, afraid.