Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 515: Family Disgrace Not to Be Spread Abroad, Even the Emperor Knows

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: Family Disgrace Not to Be Spread Abroad, Even the Emperor Knows

"Lord Zhen continued speaking," someone requested.

Zhen Huailin hastily replied, "This humble official had no knowledge that Eunuch Li was still alive, as Madam Lin had not been in contact with the Capital City or the palace for years. Mentioning him was only because there was a tragic fire that killed the entire Li Family, and the servant boy said it was all Madam Lin’s doing!"

"Oh? Why so?"

"The servant boy meant that the Li Family discovered the person who had poisoned others to death in their diner was none other than Madam Lin!"

Next door, Murong Jiu had been drinking tea, but upon hearing this, he paused, astonishment flashing through his beautiful eyes.

The Li Family’s diner killed someone, leading to a lawsuit over the death. Not only did they lose their entire fortune, but they also incurred huge debts. Eunuch Li’s parents fell ill and never recovered, prompting Eunuch Li to become a eunuch in the palace.

Even Murong Jiu couldn’t imagine that a woman was capable of such a deed.

How old was Madam Lin back then? Sixteen or seventeen?

But thinking about it, it wasn’t hard to explain.

Madam Lin was betrothed to Eunuch Li but looked down on the Li Family’s diner business for its meager earnings and longed to ascend to the Magistrate’s Family. She preferred to be a noble concubine rather than a commoner’s wife.

Thus, with a cruel heart, she poisoned the ingredients at the diner, implicating the Li Family in a death lawsuit, and schemed to break off her engagement.

Perhaps, Eunuch Li’s becoming a eunuch also had her incitement behind it.

As for why she pretended to "sacrifice" herself to Eunuch Li, firstly, she worried that once Eunuch Li gained power in the palace, he might come back to trouble her. It was better to set up a story of sacrifice, making Eunuch Li forever remember his first love. If he became influential later, she could use that to rise again.

Secondly, Madam Lin wanted to get pregnant at the time and thus thought of Eunuch Li.

It served a dual purpose.

Her vision was indeed far-reaching and not ordinary.

What Zhen Huailin said next could be guessed.

Madam Lin wanted to get pregnant but could not place all her hopes on Eunuch Li, so she became ambiguously involved with his distant cousin.

Soon, Madam Lin became pregnant and joyfully approached the son of the County Magistrate.

Little did she know that he was just mocking her, treating her like a plaything. He sent a servant boy to watch her, who had long known about her deeds, and he even told the Li Family about her involvement in harming them.

The Li Family came to confront her. She deceived them during the day, and at night, she poisoned the well, causing the entire Li Family to perish tragically in a fire.

However, Madam Lin was also fortunate because the very next day, the Magistrate’s Family was imprisoned, and no one cared about how many people in the Li Family had died in the fire. The case was hurriedly closed as a common accident.

When Madam Lin heard that the Magistrate was to be executed and his property confiscated, knowing his power was lost, but with a pregnancy to secure, she set her sights on the then impoverished scholar, Zhen Huailin.

Because the son of the Magistrate disliked her and feared Zhen Huailin’s potential due to his intelligence, Madam Lin saw potential in Zhen Huailin who would not despise her background. She intentionally took off her outer clothes on a rain-drenched day and embraced Zhen Huailin for warmth, ensuring others saw them.

Thus, as a scholar, Zhen Huailin, for the sake of his reputation, had no choice but to grit his teeth and marry her.

But Zhen Huailin turned out to be even better than she imagined. Not only did he not despise her, but he also treasured her as a precious gem. With his dedication to studies, he became an Imperial Scholar within a few years, and she became the official’s wife.

Although Zhen Huailin’s official career had not been entirely smooth, having experienced demotions, he had not let her suffer hardships over the years. Without conditions he still created them, allowing her to live a life of comfort and luxury, which everyone envied.

Indeed, if no one knew of Madam Lin’s deeds, everyone who heard her story would only envy her for having good judgment, picking a good man, and leaping from a peasant farmer girl to a Fifth Rank Official’s Wife.

However, upon close reflection, it was terrifying that Zhen Huailin’s respected bedfellow, for so many years, secretly had more than a dozen human lives on his hands, heartless and ruthless, poisonous like a scorpion.

But the concubine in Zhen Huailin’s quarters must also have been clever, otherwise, she would have been killed by Madam Lin long ago.

The servant boy from the Magistrate’s Family must surely have been brought in by the concubine. The so-called "chance meeting" couldn’t really be a coincidence, could it?

Zhen Huailin was well aware of this as well.

Being calculative isn’t bad so long as it depends on how one uses it. Naturally, it is unacceptable to be vicious like Madam Lin, but if it harms no one, then it doesn’t really matter.

However, at that time, Zhen Huailin still did not believe what the servant boy said, and even suspected the concubine of purposely slandering Madam Lin, so he had once warned the concubine not to frame others for personal gain.

At that time, Madam Lin’s distant cousin had not yet died, and the rumors in the house became more exaggerated, implicating Madam Lin’s children as illegitimate. Zhen Huailin planned to write back to his hometown for clarification. After Madam Lin returned from a visit there, the news of her cousin’s death arrived, and only then did Zhen Huailin start to doubt Madam Lin’s character.

Madam Lin insisted that the other party had accidentally fallen into the water while drunk, and Zhen Huailin could not produce any evidence.

Although there was no evidence, the marital relationship also began to show cracks and earlier this year, after accidentally witnessing Madam Lin abusing a cat raised by a concubine, Zhen Huailin was greatly shocked and questioned her if she had ever killed anyone, and whether the death of the entire Li Family had anything to do with her.

Zhen Huailin still remembered her panicked expression at the time, though it was quickly concealed. But as there was already a rift between them, he no longer fully trusted Madam Lin, and not long after, the concubine’s three sons suddenly fell seriously ill, it was found to be poisoning, he suspected Madam Lin’s involvement, hence he began to consider divorcing her.

However, before the divorce could be finalized, rumors spread through the neighbors that he intended to favor the concubine and dispose of his wife. Some even compared him to Chen Shimei, and even the higher-ups warned him to be cautious about his private morals, so the divorce had to be temporarily shelved.

This was the entire progression of events.

Zhen Huailin had been married to Madam Lin for thirty years, sharing both joys and hardships. If it were not for her shocking behavior and his inability to tolerate it any longer, Zhen Huailin would not have considered divorcing his wife from humble beginnings.

As for whether his three sons and one daughter with Madam Lin were really his, he had no way of knowing.

He personally raised these children, and although they weren’t very successful, their behavior was not improper. Initially, he indeed had high hopes for them, but later only wished for the children’s health and safety, and that they would establish themselves and their families properly.

But Zhen Huailin had only just found out that Madam Lin had already approached Eunuch Li, and declared that the eldest son was Eunuch Li’s seed. At that moment, he also began to suspect whether those children were really his own flesh and blood.

Upon hearing this, Jun Yuyan was somewhat silent.

If Zhen Huailin had not taken that concubine, he might have been blinded by Madam Lin for a lifetime, raising someone else’s sons and daughters, his lifetime of effort benefitting others, truly a great injustice indeed.

It can only be said that the heavens also refuse to spare those who commit many evils.

"Beloved Minister Zhen"

"Your servant is here!"

Zhen Huailin’s emotions were complex and anxious, his old face could hardly maintain composure.

As the saying goes, one should not air dirty laundry in public. Now, even the Emperor was aware.