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墨書 Inktalez
Sang Qingxiao did not want Ji Rui to go mad at this moment; there were still many things she needed to handle, and did she still want to find her son?
Ji Rui's cries abruptly stopped. "I do!"
"Then we need to start with your son-in-law."
This Yao Yao Xi is powerful, but we first need to know what kind of demon he is so that we can prepare before capturing him. We must ask him, as he knows you best, to reveal his true nature.
When you interact with him, you must remain calm. The stronger the demon, the sharper its senses; even a slight fluctuation in your emotions could alert him. If he runs away, that would be minor, but if he uses everyone in the Ji Mansion as leverage, we would be in a passive position.
But given your current state, I am very worried. Can you bear such a heavy responsibility?
Ji Rui's gaze was firm, her eyes filled with deep hatred. "I can! As long as I can find my son, I can endure anything!"
This woman could be quite terrifying when she became rational.
"There's no need to rush. Let's talk about your son-in-law."
Ji Rui forced herself to calm down and recalled the past. He said his name was Lin Nai and that he was from Bingzhou County, a place plagued by constant warfare where education was extremely difficult. Yet this was his only path; after persistent effort, he managed to become a scholar.
It should have been a joyous occasion, but he was impersonated by a local official's son. Before he could resist, he was driven out of Bingzhou by a group of powerful people.
When they were expelled, they had nothing; some of his relatives died from anger, some from starvation, and others succumbed to illness without money for treatment. He was the only one left alive, filled with hatred and barely surviving. After several years of hard work, he managed to establish a small business and opened a few shops.
I had carefully considered the matter of marrying off my daughter; the most important criteria were that he had no family ties or burdens and could fully devote himself to our family. Secondly, he needed to have good character and possess business acumen to help share the burden.
He met all these essential criteria. From his experiences, it was evident that he was well-rounded; there was no need to mention his literary talent.
As for his martial skills, he claimed that during his time in Bingzhou, he sought advice from old soldiers specifically for self-defense in those chaotic times. After his family perished, he hoped for a chance at revenge and diligently learned many skills.
Additionally, I was drawn to his face; although he was ten years older than me and bore signs of hardship, his bone structure was excellent. At that time, I thought: what does age matter? He knows how to care for others and has a mature mindset; he could help me shoulder responsibilities.
At the beginning of our married life, it indeed unfolded as I had imagined. However, just over two months later, he disappeared.
The Ji Family had conducted a rough investigation into his past and found everything matched up until his disappearance. When I delved deeper after he went missing, problems arose.
Lin Nai's past matched what he had said—there truly was such a person—but their appearances did not align at all. My son-in-law had clearly assumed another person's identity. A few days later, the local government found Lin Nai's corpse; according to the coroner's examination, he had died about six months prior.
At that moment, I realized I had been sleeping next to a beast. However, after entering my home, there were no financial losses or any murders at Ji Mansion; for a time, I couldn't guess what his motives were.
A year after my child went missing, I saw him again. He returned with injuries and claimed that treating them delayed his return. Upon hearing about my lost child, he showed genuine sorrow but did not blame me excessively; instead, he took on the heavy responsibility of finding our child.
When I asked about his true identity, he vaguely stated that Lin Nai was not killed by him; he merely borrowed Lin Nai's identity to evade enemies and left out of necessity because they were already searching for him—his departure was actually an act of protection.
He spoke too much that day for me to discern truth from falsehood; however, his promise to search for my child touched me deeply.
I provided him with a place to rest and gave him enough money. Later, he would return once or twice a year, needing money for his injuries, yet he always claimed he couldn't find any. Each time I asked him about it, he grew increasingly annoyed, his temper flaring as he accused me of being hurtful with my words. Yet, my guilt kept me feeling inferior to him. This twisted relationship continued for eighteen years.
Ji Rui shared many thoughts, but there wasn't much useful information among them. Sang Qingxiao asked her if she had noticed any changes in his body during their time together. Ji Rui self-deprecatingly replied that only his injuries seemed to heal faster.
Riri mentioned that he always kept some distance from her. At night, in the pitch darkness, even if there was a chance to see him, there was no light. She used to think that when they worked together at night, he was perfunctory and dull, treating it like a task to complete. She didn't want that, but he never cared about her feelings.
Some words had been bottled up in her heart for too long. Ji Rui finally expressed them aloud and realized that she was surrounded by a group of young men and women. She didn't feel embarrassed; instead, she joked that life was hard for women and that the men should be more understanding and not indulge in fleeting pleasures.
"Ji Young Lady!" Sang Qingxiao timely interrupted her, reminding her they were discussing her situation.
Ji Rui chose to end that topic, but while her mouth was silent, her mind was still recalling him—how he suddenly disappeared without wanting the Ji family's wealth or holding any grudge against them. Could it be because I was pregnant?
With this reminder, she remembered how he would touch her belly every morning at dawn and check her pulse when she woke up. When she asked him if he understood medicine, he only smiled and said it was just superficial knowledge.
The day before he vanished, he spent the longest time checking her pulse and even hummed a few tunes. He was someone who rarely showed his emotions; she had only seen such an expression once before, which made it memorable.
Ji Rui hit her head with her fist in frustration. Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner? If she had realized it earlier, could she have found their child sooner?
Sang Qingxiao comforted her, saying that Ji Young Lady was kind-hearted and wouldn’t maliciously speculate about others. Even if she guessed right, what could she do? Could she overpower him? Did she have the ability to reclaim their child? Moreover, they didn’t even know if the child was alive or dead.
Sang Qingxiao handed her a type of incense that could be burned on her clothes; standing within three meters of him for half an incense stick's time would suffice.
Ji Rui nodded in understanding as she took it.
Sang Qingxiao added with concern that despite the hatred simmering within her, even if the time hadn't come to withdraw yet, she mustn't act rashly and alert him.
"Don't worry; I know how to handle this," Ji Rui assured her.
She returned home to change clothes and deliberately applied makeup to appear frail and sickly, making herself look particularly dispirited and lacking vitality. She painted her face pale to hide the last traces of her former self.
After completing all this, she set out on her way. Before even approaching the dilapidated courtyard, she could hear the sound of a woman's delicate laughter from outside the wall.
Are you cheating again?
It’s not the first time. Ji Rui had heard about it before, and resentment brewed within her. She resented that the useless son-in-law was infatuated with women, neglecting the important matter of finding a child. Yet, she couldn’t voice her feelings; she had no standing to do so.
Today, her heart was filled with hatred and determination. She would no longer get tangled up in these trivial matters; she focused solely on getting things done. Bao'er should be able to see her soon, right?
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