Feng Jin glared at the man fiercely, truly rendered speechless by his shamelessness.
"I really should let all the young ladies in the capital see what a scoundrel the man they long for is. They'd surely realize their mistake and regret being so easily deceived."
She was also amazed by those girls, how they flocked to Ling Mo Han like flies to a rotten egg, rushing forward one after another. How could decent young ladies be so blind, letting themselves be utterly infatuated with him.
Ling Mo Han pursed his lips and deliberately teased Feng Jin, "Aren't you worried those girls will rush towards you when they see your husband?"
"I'm not afraid. I wish they'd all snatch you away. Then you wouldn't be lingering around me all day, bothering and upsetting me."
"You said it. Then don't you go competing with those girls for me."
"Rest assured, I naturally won't. Three-legged toads are hard to find in this world, but two-legged men are plentiful. I wouldn't lose my composure and fight over a man."
She was no love-struck fool, nor would she lose herself for a man. Even if she loved him, a woman needed to stand on her own two feet. Blindly depending on a man would eventually lead to her own downfall.
Ling Mo Han's expression instantly darkened. He grabbed Feng Jin's wrist and said with earnestness, "Are you saying you don't love me?"
"It's not that I don't love you. Precisely because I love you, I don't want to lose myself for that love, to become your appendage. I am an independent person, even while loving you."
Feng Jin analyzed calmly. Her love for Ling Mo Han was undeniable, but that didn't mean she had to lose herself for it, becoming his dependent, living solely for him, and losing everything if he were gone.
Ling Mo Han lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within, and said in a deep, suppressed voice, "I have something to attend to. I'll be going now."
"You..." Feng Jin watched his retreating back, her lips parting slightly, but the words on her tongue retreated.
Had she said something wrong? Everything she said was the truth. She had long anticipated that Ling Mo Han would be angry upon hearing her words, but she still chose to speak them. Firstly, it was to remind herself not to be blinded by this ethereal love.
Secondly, it was to clarify with Ling Mo Han that she wasn't the type of woman who would solely depend on a man.
Even less so was she someone who understood female virtues and abided by rules and etiquette. She disdained being that kind of woman.
Feng Jin sighed softly. She wouldn't dwell on it anymore. The words were out, and they couldn't be taken back.
There was no point in agonizing over it. She should go busy herself with more proper matters.
With the children away today, she could enjoy a leisurely day and cast these vexing thoughts aside. A faint smile touched Feng Jin's lips.
She would take this opportunity to go back and catch up on sleep, and then pick up the children after she woke up.
Just as Feng Jin returned to her room, preparing to rest, a clamorous commotion erupted outside the door.
"Eldest sister-in-law... Eldest sister-in-law..."
Before Ling Mu Zhu's figure appeared, his deafening voice reached her.
Feng Jin quickly put on her outer garment and pushed the door open. The moment she saw Ling Mu Zhu, she had already guessed the reason for his visit.
"Eldest sister-in-law, I..."
"Why you are here, I can also guess. Let's go to the front hall and sit down to talk slowly."
Interrupting Ling Mu Zhu, Feng Jin led him towards the front hall.
As soon as they sat down, Ling Mu Zhu eagerly asked, "Eldest sister-in-law, why did Grandfather suddenly become enraged and confine my father to the ancestral hall?"
He had rushed to the ancestral hall as soon as he received the news, wanting to ask his father directly what had happened. However, the ancestral hall was guarded by black-armored soldiers inside and out, and he couldn't get in.
He was also met with a closed door when he tried to see his grandfather, being tricked and cajoled out by the steward.
He couldn't find his eldest brother either, so he had no choice but to come to his eldest sister-in-law for answers.
Feng Jin took a sip of tea, unsure how to tell Ling Mu Zhu.
She was worried that if she told him, he wouldn't be able to bear it. With the imperial examinations approaching, being delayed by this matter would be a lifelong regret.
"Eldest sister-in-law, please tell me the truth."
Ling Mu Zhu, like an ant on a hot pan, paced anxiously, urging Feng Jin. He desperately wanted to know the truth of the matter.
"This..." Feng Jin opened her mouth, but swallowed her words. She organized her thoughts, hesitated for a moment, and still couldn't speak.
"Eldest sister-in-law, please tell me. No matter what it is, I can bear it. It's better than knowing nothing and being kept in the dark."
"Mu Zhu, why don't you go ask Grandfather instead?"
Feng Jin eagerly wanted to pass the buck. Old Master Ling was a wily old fox; he'd surely have other excuses to gloss over it.
"I've already gone to see Grandfather. The steward said Grandfather is ill and not receiving visitors. I was truly at my wit's end, so I came to you, Eldest sister-in-law."
Ill... This illness came quite swiftly. When she left, he was clearly as lively as ever, running around the courtyard with Da Bao and Er Bao. In such a short time, he fell ill.
Feng Jin's lips twitched uncontrollably. Had the old master foreseen that Ling Mo Han would come to question him about this matter and deliberately feigned illness?
She even suspected that Ling Mu Zhu's visit to her was deliberately orchestrated by Old Master Ling, who, not knowing how to face the situation himself, had pushed it onto her.
"Eldest sister-in-law!" Ling Mu Zhu called out, anxious.
"Alright, sit down. Stop pacing around, you're making me dizzy. I'll tell you the truth."
Feng Jin decided to resign herself to it. After all, this matter could only be hidden for a while, not forever. Since it had been pushed onto her, she wouldn't be blamed for telling the truth.
"Your eldest brother investigated and found that your father had colluded with the Third Prince, accepting his gold, silver, and beautiful courtesans. Grandfather had wanted to persuade your father to turn back from his erroneous path, but your father insisted on his ways and refused to heed advice. In his rage, Grandfather confined your father to the ancestral hall."
Ling Mu Zhu listened quietly, absorbing the information quickly. Though shocked, he could accept it.
The Ling family had ancestral laws strictly prohibiting their descendants from participating in the struggle for succession. For generations, the Ling family had adhered to this decree, never daring to engage in such disputes.
This was also why, through dynastic changes and numerous emperors, the Ling family had remained aloof, relying not only on their accumulated merits but more so on their unwavering loyalty to the reigning emperor, never associating with any faction.
And now, for his father to violate the ancestral laws by colluding with the Third Prince meant that the entire Ling family was now beholden to the Third Prince.