001 Ming was a child born out of wedlock

  "Wet nurse, wet nurse, want some water..."

  As expected, there was no response, and the snoring sound remained "melodious". Lin Jing only opened her eyes and turned to look at the person beside her.

  Lin Jing quietly got up, carefully avoiding the woman who was like a mountain to her now, and crawled under the bed. It took some effort in between. However, Lin Jing turned back to look at the woman on the bed who was still snoring away, and a smile spread across her mouth. Fortunately, this woman was not paying attention, otherwise, it would have been difficult for her to sneak around and do something quietly.

  She crept around the screen and quietly listened at the door, but there was no sound outside. She carefully opened a slit to look out, and there was not a single person outside. Fortunately, right? A smile that didn't match her age appeared on the little girl's face, and Lin Jing finally came out of the house.

  Originally small in stature, coupled with intentional hiding and people's neglect of this place, Lin Jing dodged and weaved through the flowers and trees under the corridor, making it seem like she was familiar with the route. After that, somehow, she managed to grope her way to the back of the main house, which was Lin Jing's destination.

  Before Lin Jing approached the ambush, the voices from inside the house had already faintly transmitted out. The voices were not loud, and listening to them was somewhat vague, but under the quiet afternoon and deliberate effort, Lin Jing still caught seven or eight parts of it.

  "Madam, why don't you take a rest? You're going to wear yourself out with no sleep or respite." This was the voice of a middle-aged woman. As soon as she heard it, Lin Jing's eyes conjured up an image of a slightly plump middle-aged maid. The woman looked kind-hearted and gentle, but Lin Jing understood that her loyalty to the madam also made her fiercely strict with herself.

  "Nanny, I couldn't sleep. After all these years of hardship, we finally have this child. If I don't see him safe and sound, how can I possibly rest?" The voice was that of the mistress of the house, but at this moment, it was clear that she was weak and lacking in vitality.

  "Brother is already showing signs of improvement and will soon be fully recovered. If you were to collapse, how would brother and big sister be able to bear it?"

  The maid was still persuading her, but it seemed that the mistress wasn't listening. After a while, she suddenly let out a faint sigh and said, "Nanny, these past two days, I've been thinking about it and I'm getting more and more scared. My brother was fine at first, but after what happened in the west wing, he's not himself anymore."

  "Madam," the old woman exclaimed in a raised voice, then deliberately lowered it, but the sinister tone was not concealed, "You said someone..."

  "The people around Ge'er were all carefully selected by you and me, and almost under my personal supervision. Even when they're not with me, they have you to watch over them. I'm not saying that's the issue. What I'm saying is, isn't this some kind of heavenly punishment for me?"

  "Madam, what are you saying! That ungrateful servant girl had no shame herself, and you kindly kept her on, not scolding or beating her, but even giving her face. It's just that the master looked down on her, never entering her room again, nor allowing her to appear before him. But who would have thought, in just one night, she got pregnant! Because of this, how much suffering did you endure in front of the old lady back then? That servant girl is enjoying herself with all her might, but when she couldn't survive childbirth, whose fault was it?"

  "Wet nurse..."

  "Madam, this is that wretched woman's fate being so thin. Even if she had used some trickery, what of it? And as for Xixiang, she doesn't have to worry about food or clothing, and was personally raised by you, Madam, with such a high status, if her luck is too weak to be suppressed, who can blame whom? If one says it's the heavenly punishment, it's only directed at me, this old slave. This is all my doing, what does it have to do with Madam, and how could it affect Master? I'm just resentful that Xixiang has such a strong vital energy as a servant girl. Just when you thought she was going to die from lack of breath, she came back to life again! You're still so kind-hearted, Madam, keeping her alive with this precious medicine, look at her now, after just a few days, she's like a lively shrimp, able to eat and drink and run and jump!"

  "Nanny, I'm scared. Maybe I'm thinking too much, look, that one has come around and the child is calming down. Now that one is better, the child is also recovering well. If it's really... no, nanny, just let the west wing be."

  The lady's anger was still simmering, but the meaning behind her words was firm and unyielding. The old woman, though unwilling, did not dare to take these supernatural sayings lightly, nor did she want to go against the lady's wishes. "Whatever you say, milady, I will obey," she said. She thought to herself, "That thing was originally just a tool to block the old lady's words and curry favor with her. Now that it has grown up, if the master were to find out and harbor resentment in his heart, it would be disastrous." However, upon further reflection, she realized this wasn't a big deal after all. Ever since that incident, the master had felt guilty towards the lady and not only disliked the cheap servant girl but also grew tired of that thing. For so many years, he had chosen to ignore it. If that thing knew its place and accepted its circumstances, enjoying the blessings it received, then when it grew up, with the lady's kind heart, she would give it a good explanation. But if it were to become ungrateful, then it would have no one to blame but itself.

  Lin Jing heard this and felt that the sword of Damocles that had been hanging over her head for days was finally lifted. Even with a calm temperament, she couldn't help but feel her heart racing wildly at this moment, her legs going weak. For a moment, she almost collapsed, nearly falling to the ground, fortunately managing to catch herself just in time, otherwise she would have startled the flower tree into making a noise.

  Having learned the most wanted information, Lin Jing was afraid of being discovered and quickly slipped away quietly. All the way back, he didn't let anyone notice him, but at this moment, Lin Jing didn't have time to appreciate the benefits of not being noticed, he just wanted to take a good rest and sleep for a while. It's worth noting that since coming here, he had been on high alert even when sleeping, leaving only a thread of vigilance. This body was just a young child, and it was easy for others to take advantage of him. Wasn't the previous master's illness just a cold? In this world, a cold could be life-threatening, and it was easy to catch one too. With this small body, as long as he was stripped of his quilt in the middle of the night, with the door open and the wind blowing in, it would be hard not to catch a cold!

  Although coming here was not Lin Jing's intention, if she were to die now, whether it would be true death or return, Lin Jing did not dare to gamble. So, still have to live well, live long and forever. Then... can only then.

  She dragged herself back to her room, the snores inside were still loud and clear. Lin Jing crawled onto the bed, lay down, and truly felt that her small arms and legs were exhausted. Closing her eyes, sleepiness didn't come easily. For so many days, she had carefully collected information, and what she got was truly astonishing:

  The population of this mansion is relatively simple, except for myself, there are the old master, the madam, the eldest daughter, the son, and two or three concubines who are half-slave and half-mistress.

  The old master and mistress were deeply affectionate, although they had several concubines, they didn't get too close to them. Except for himself, the elder daughter and son were all born from the mistress's belly. As for his own origin, although he was raised in front of the mistress, it was somewhat unspeakable.

  It is said that in those years, although the old master and wife had been married for many years, the wife was still unhappy. At that time, the old lady was still alive, and although she followed the rules of a scholarly family and did not interfere with her son's affairs, she had some minor criticisms of her daughter-in-law due to concerns about her son's descendants.

  This led to some people having ideas, but those who dared to take action were extremely few. Among them was the wife's maid, her own birth mother being a victim. Taking advantage of the timing and circumstances, she climbed onto the master's bed in the study. The specific details are still under investigation by Lin Jing. Anyway, that's how it happened, and that's how this child's previous owner came to be. As for what happened to the maid, there's no need to say more. Of course, just as the wife's confidante and wet nurse, Lai Erjia, said, she was not favored by the master. Even when there were no children in the household at that time, and even after two years had passed, the wife only gave birth to a daughter, but the master still showed his dislike for her, and didn't even give this child a proper name until the wife gave birth to a son. It wasn't until the son's first birthday, when he was given a name, that this child was also given a name.

  It's just that now Lin Jing thinks about it, and because of this name, people are tense, so there is his own arrival.

  It wasn't just these things that surprised Lin Jing, after all, how could the big mansion not have any secrets. But when she found out that this Yangzhou Lin Manor was actually an official residence, and Old Master Lin was the current Salt Inspector, with the surname Lin, name Hai, and courtesy name Ruhai, Lin Jing was a bit unable to hold it in.

  Although many Red Mansion experts have dug out a lot of things from the Red Mansion, including fierce battles at the gate, political intrigue, dirty and smelly things, and even erotic descriptions, in the hearts of most people, it is still a classic love story. But now Lin Jing is trapped in this situation, and feels that his original perception of the Red Mansion has collapsed. For this ordinary person, life is always more important than art!

  But surprisingly, it's more than that.

  Lin Jing didn't know when she fell asleep, or how long she had slept. At this moment, she felt someone roughly shaking her body. Perhaps due to the recent days of being on high alert, no one expected Lin Jing to be sleeping so soundly and deeply. In order to wake Lin Jing up thoroughly, someone pinched her arm hard.

  This sudden pain made Lin Jing gasp, and she suddenly opened her eyes. The face that entered her line of sight was a fat and impatient one - it was Lin Jing's nanny. At this moment, looking at Lin Jing who had just woken up, she said with annoyance: "Jing Ge is so heartless, your younger brother by birth is seriously ill, and the madam hasn't slept or rested while taking care of him, but you sleep soundly."

  Jing Ge Er, not Jing Ge Ge!

  She is currently Lin Ruhai's eldest illegitimate son, but in reality, she is actually a daughter!