The night was already deep, and the night patrol guards no longer had the same energy as when the night first began. Yet they still forced themselves to make their rounds through the mansion.
After they left, two small figures peeked out from behind an artificial hill and quickly ran into a somewhat secluded courtyard. The old woman guarding the gate had nodded off, her head tilted lazily. The two exchanged a glance; one of them reached out and struck the old woman hard on the neck, ensuring she wouldn't wake for at least an hour or two before confidently pushing open the door and entering the room.
"Hmph. That Chun Tao brat must have gone off to slack again. Ning Yu, you really can't keep spoiling her!"
Lin Ningyu, wrapped in a thick cloak and leaning on her arms, looked at the two who had just entered. "If I didn't spoil her, sister wouldn't have been able to get in so smoothly. Then brother would have had to intervene once more."
"…" Lin Zhiyu choked on her words. That was true—it wouldn't have been convenient for them to come at night. She then turned her head and glared at Lin Xuanyu. She had told him to be gentle, yet he always hit so hard. One old woman was fine—no one noticed—but if the two guarding the young lady both woke up groaning with neck pain, it would definitely draw attention.
Lin Xuanyu rolled his eyes and ignored her. He didn't argue with a little girl.
"Sister, don't worry. I know my limits and will properly discipline her in the future. But since we've just returned to the mansion, it's not the right time to cause a scene. Please bear with it for now," Lin Ningyu said with a smile, watching the interaction between her brother and sister. In their family, the eldest sister and second brother were supposed to be the senior members, but the brother seemed like the eldest, while the sister felt almost like a younger sibling—less mature than him.
"Sigh," Lin Zhiyu knew it was better to stay still at a time like this. Their mother had just passed away, and if they acted rashly, it would be disastrous. "You'll just have to suffer for now."
Lin Zhiyu gently patted Lin Ningyu's head. This little girl was only five years old, right in the stage of craving parental love. Yet she had lost her mother at one and had long been ignored by her father. Now that she had finally returned to the mansion, she barely got a word in with her real father. Who knew how hurt she might be?
"Sister, with you and brother here, how could I feel wronged?" Lin Ningyu smiled. If she weren't afraid of sounding strange, she would have told them outright that she had no real expectations of her father.
"All right, all right, we're here," Lin Zhiyu said, seeing only calm in her eyes without any trace of loss, finally relaxing. "Show me your hand."
Obediently, Lin Ningyu held out her wrist for Lin Zhiyu's routine check. Though she didn't understand where her elder sister had learned medical skills at such a young age, the fact that she would reveal them in front of her meant trust. Lin Ningyu never asked questions.
Especially when she was younger and lived next door, her sister would disappear almost every night, only to reappear the next day. Once, she even sent away an old woman who had come looking for her.
She never told anyone that from the very start, she could sense the unusual aura around the two of them. Just as she never questioned her brother's ability to conjure fire from thin air—it was simply something she chose not to know.
Lin Zhiyu was always solemn when practicing medicine, naturally causing people to forget she was only eight years old. But today, her expression was somewhat off.
Lin Xuanyu saw his sister's face grow paler and felt a pang of worry. His sister's medical skills were exceptional. Ever since Lin Ningyu's recovery a year ago, he rarely saw this expression on her face, and now he was tense.
He had been in this world for seven years. Finally letting down his guard, he now had these two relatives—and he didn't want anything happening to them.
"Sis, what's wrong?"
Lin Zhiyu shot him a sharp look at the tremor in his voice. "See? Don't be scared. With me here, Ning Yu won't get hurt." Though she said this, her expression remained grim.
"She's been through quite a lot these past few days, and Ning Yu caught a chill. She'll probably need two or three years to fully recover."
"Damn it! I'll deal with those old crones sooner or later!" Lin Xuanyu's eyes turned cold. Just thinking about his little sister returning to the frail state she had been in a year ago—skinny and fragile enough to be knocked over by the wind—filled him with rage. They had worked so hard to restore her health, and now, just returning to the mansion, she was hurt again.
"Brother." Lin Ningyu covered Lin Xuanyu's tightly clenched fist with her small hand. She knew her brother too well—if she let him act recklessly, very few of the Jia family's maids would survive a month. She didn't care about them, but she didn't want her brother to bring trouble to both the Lin and Jia families in the process.
"Don't worry, brother. Once Madam is sent back to her ancestral estate in a couple of days, this matter will be over. Those maids won't have the chance to trouble me anymore."
Lin Zhiyu snorted lightly. Her little sister's thinking was too simple—this matter was far from over.
"My silly little sister," Lin Xuanyu shook his head and looked at Lin Zhiyu. This story needed her explanation. In the era he lived in, such tales had long been forgotten. "Go ahead."
Lin Zhiyu nodded and handed the spring water she had stored in her space to Lin Ningyu. Once she drank, Lin Zhiyu began explaining what she knew, phrasing it as a series of reasoned speculations.
"Father's current position is special, and we don't know how many eyes are watching him—especially the Jia family far away in the capital. They were meritorious officials at the founding of the kingdom, but their descendants are incompetent. Now, the two noble houses of Rongning have reached the end of their luck and are doing everything they can to maintain their ancestors' glory.
They are related to the Lin family by marriage. The Lin family could give them some support, but now that Jia Min has left, the connection between the Jia and Lin families can no longer be as close as before. So to maintain leverage over the Lin family, the Jia family will certainly take action."
Seeing Lin Ningyu look a little surprised, Lin Zhiyu took a sip of water and continued.
"What better plan is there than raising the Lin family's daughter themselves?"
In this era, if a girl grew up without her mother's guidance, it would bring gossip and even affect her reputation. The Lin family, being of noble rank, could not allow their legitimate daughter's reputation to suffer. Therefore, no matter what the arrival of her and Lin Xuanyu might affect, Lin Daiyu would inevitably be sent to the Jia family.
Once the legitimate daughter was sent, could the illegitimate daughter remain in the Lin household? Not to mention whether the Jia family was willing to raise her—just to avoid the scandal of mistreating an illegitimate daughter, they would bring her along as well. And the Lin family would hardly refuse.
Lin Xuanyu had previously been briefed by Lin Zhiyu on the story of Dream of the Red Chamber. Though he regretted the tragic fates of those girls, it didn't concern him—he rarely meddled in others' affairs. The biggest lesson his experience in the post-apocalyptic world had taught him was: mind your own business.
But now, this story was unfolding around him. It could affect people he cared about, and he could not just stand by.
He couldn't let Lin Zhiyu and Lin Ningyu end up in that deep, perilous mansion where people ate each other alive. Lin Zhiyu was somewhat protected—with her mysterious space and flawless medical skills, she could escape if necessary. Though she tried to hide, she could never truly escape the senses of other ability users. Even though his powers had reset, his mental strength remained, and sensing such things wasn't difficult.
Lin Ningyu was different. They had observed and tested her many times, finding no abnormality. She was almost certainly just an ordinary little girl. Sending her to the Jia family could result in a fate even worse than Lin Daiyu's.
Though he didn't understand why Lin Ruhai had inexplicably ended up with so many children in that world, with two being outsiders, now that they were here, he couldn't let the story end in tragedy.