Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 514 Will I Listen to Slander?

Zhen Huailin thought that Madam Lin’s rescue of him from the heavy rain and bringing him home was their first encounter.

Little did he know, Madam Lin had recognized him long before then.

That year, after he failed the imperial examination, he was returning to his village in dejection when he encountered a heavy rain with nowhere to take shelter. His body was growing cold, and just as he was about to collapse, it was Madam Lin who appeared. She took off her outer garments to wrap him up and called for someone to save him.

Because Madam Lin held him to keep him warm, it resulted in a damaged reputation for her, but he was grateful to Madam Lin, thinking of her as a kind and gentle savior sent from heaven, so he boldly proposed marriage.

To his surprise, Madam Lin did not despise his poverty and married him.

Not long after their marriage, Madam Lin became pregnant. Becoming a father for the first time, Zhen Huailin was overjoyed, and after the child was born, he doted on the child even more.

It was in the second year after the child’s birth that he was granted the title of Scholar. The corrupt County Magistrate who had wronged him was brought to justice for corruption and lawlessness not long after his wedding, with those responsible either executed or exiled.

In his heart, he was grateful to Madam Lin. She married him during his most impoverished and difficult times, always encouraging him to continue pursuing official titles, making progress time after time. All these years, he felt that without Madam Lin, there would be no today for him.

He was very kind to both Madam Lin and their children, and he worked diligently, gradually advancing in his career, never taking a concubine.

Until more than ten years ago, when a local official presented his daughter to him. Having been made drunk that day, he woke up to find he had committed an indiscretion, and taking a concubine was done out of necessity.

He felt guilty towards Madam Lin, as he had once promised not to take a concubine, so after that, he never visited the Concubine’s quarters, but unbeknownst to him, the Concubine became pregnant.

She then bore him a son.

At that time, he was nearing forty, and his youngest child was already in his teens—it was like having a son in his old age. Moreover, the Concubine had a difficult labor, he went to see her once, and seeing that the child closely resembled him, he couldn’t help but like his own flesh and blood somewhat.

Additionally, the Concubine was well-educated and rational, never competitive or pressing, gentle and considerate in ways that Madam Lin, who came from a peasant family, could not match.

Gradually, he began to show slight favoritism.

He also knew that the Concubine’s difficult labor was not unrelated to Madam Lin.

Feeling guilty towards Madam Lin, he did not pursue the matter with her, but later he thought, had the Concubine died in childbirth, Madam Lin would have been a murderer. How could he then ask the Concubine to forgive Madam Lin?

Indeed, those two years were difficult for him, torn between his wife who had shared in his adversity and the Concubine who was uncompetitive and could soothe people’s hearts, along with their innocent young son.

After discovering several times that Madam Lin intended to harm the Concubine and her young son, Zhen Huailin’s patience had limits, and he became increasingly biased toward the Concubine. Eventually, they had two more sons—these three children were intelligent and lively, resembling him closely and winning his affection.

As the saying goes, without comparison there is no harm; truly, the children that Madam Lin bore were all overly dull, and even though he had taught them with care in earlier years, to no avail. However, these three children caught on quickly and learned with ease, which gave him great comfort.

After he passed away, the Zhen Family would have someone to carry on his legacy.

If these three children could achieve official titles and continue in the realm of government service, they would also be able to protect their less successful older brothers, illuminating their family’s name.

Yet Madam Lin’s jealousy grew stronger and stronger, and there was one instance when she pushed the Concubine down from the attic. Luckily it was not fatal, but she broke a bone in her leg, needing nearly half a year to fully recover.

Since then, Zhen Huailin lost all patience and tolerance, dealing with Madam Lin severely according to family law.

Later, whispers began to circulate that the sons Madam Lin bore were from her distant cousin of some sort.

Zhen Huailin knew it was the Concubine’s retaliation, but he did not take it seriously and never doubted Madam Lin. Although in the early years Madam Lin’s cousin often visited to take advantage, there didn’t seem to be an illicit relationship between him and Madam Lin.

To Zhen Huailin, Madam Lin was the wife of his youth, deserving of great credit for their shared hardship. Even though she had many faults, the mere fact she shared adversity with him in the early stages was enough to make him remember her for a lifetime.

However, that all changed when Madam Lin visited her hometown.

Within days, her elder cousin brother drunkenly drowned late at night.

"Was it not a natural death from illness?"

Jun Yuyan slowly spoke up.

Zhen Huailin was startled, having not expected the Emperor to even be aware of Madam Lin’s cousin brother’s affair!

He hastily explained, "The natural death was just an outward claim, his actions were absurd; when he drowned, he was holding a red bellyband of a woman in his hand, likely stolen from somewhere. His family felt shamed and claimed he had died suddenly."

Jun Yuyan nodded, signaling Zhen Huailin to continue.

Zhen Huailin did not dare to take the matter lightly and carefully recounted the subsequent events.

He thought the death of Madam Lin’s cousin was suspicious, and some in the manor even said that Madam Lin, fearing the exposure of the truth, had murdered to silence him.

How could Madam Lin, a mere woman, commit murder?

Zhen Huailin certainly didn’t believe it.

After all, over the years, Madam Lin had been a devout Buddhist, spending her days reciting scriptures with utmost piety.

He felt that her cousin’s death was merely an accident.

However, he had a chance "encounter" with the personal servant boy of the County Magistrate’s son from those days and learned something he could hardly believe.

In her early years, Madam Lin had wished to become a concubine to the County Magistrate’s son. Unfortunately, with her unremarkable appearance, the son showed no interest in her and instead toyed with her. Desperate for his favor, she willingly offered herself to him. Moreover, after learning that Zhen Huailin had offended him, she intentionally laced his porridge with laxatives while he was not paying attention, leading to his failure in the imperial examinations.

Zhen Huailin was shocked when he heard this but could not bring himself to believe Madam Lin was that kind of person.

The servant boy added that the County Magistrate’s son had once said he would take Madam Lin as a concubine if it were not impossible, but only if she bore his child—thus gaining status through the child.

However, these words were completely in jest. The son had several children already and later suffered an injury while riding that left him impotent. Although he could sleep with women, he could not father children. His taunting suggestion knew of Madam Lin’s cunning, wanting to see what scheme she would devise.

"So she turned to her betrothed?" Jun Yuyan asked flatly.

Zhen Huailin’s face showed surprise, but he nodded repeatedly, "Exactly! She had a fiancé her family faced a crisis, and he was to enter the palace to become a eunuch. So on the eve of his departure, she was intimate with him. So many years have passed, whether he is still alive or not is unknown."

"He is alive; he is Eunuch Li, who served both the late emperor and myself."

Eunuch Li!

Zhen Huailin naturally knew of Eunuch Li, a favorite at the Emperor’s side. He wondered, if the Emperor knew about this, could it be that Eunuch Li had been gossiping to His Majesty?

Jun Yuyan didn’t leave him guessing and straightforwardly said:

"On the day of the Empress’ coronation ceremony, Madam Lin got in touch with Eunuch Li. However, when I came to inquire, of course, I would not listen to slanders."

The words "slanders" slightly reassured Zhen Huailin; the Emperor was much better than the late emperor by countless measures—how could he believe the one-sided words of a eunuch?

Yet, what he truly had not expected was that Madam Lin, behind his back, had once exchanged letters with Eunuch Li!