Linque

The crisp sound of the chopsticks falling into the porcelain cup awakened everyone's stupefied thoughts for a moment, their eyes narrowed slightly, but still no one spoke.

From the mistress Ye Shi, to the eldest daughter Chu Xuan sitting beside her, the eldest son Chu Chen, and the other sons and daughters present in the Hou family, as well as Chu Xin and Chu Yan, everyone's expressions were unnatural, and they couldn't help it. He looked at him time and time again, with scrutiny, disbelief, strangeness, and faint awe in his eyes.

It was like meeting him for the first time.

This is not like the treatment that Chu Heng should have received when he came to the Marquis Mansion, isn't it usually ignored when you see it?

Chu Heng's brows moved slightly, and he glanced around at the people with different expressions in the hall, and instantly guessed the reason why Zhong Pinghou called him back home in a hurry.

He went to Huaize City as Ji Wuyue this time, and he didn't hide his appearance. When he confronted Fang Hongzhen in that manor, he was in front of all the disciples who were robbed in Lishan and the other party's guards, and the wind leaked out. Inevitably.It's just that I didn't expect that when Huai Ze was not known by many people, the Hou family had already got the letter.

Just now when he entered the door, the concierge saw that he did not show any abnormality, and the person who wanted to come to the Hou's mansion to know about this was probably the one in the flower hall now.

Chu Heng glanced at Chu Xin and Chu Yan who were sitting on the side, and did not ignore the slight hesitation and dodge in the eyes of the siblings.

Chu Heng spoke first to break the silence, and said to Zhong Pinghou, who had a complex expression on his face, "Father called me back to the Hou's mansion, what's the matter?"

Today's weather is not good, early in the morning there are dark clouds and ink, and the heavy rain is coming, the surrounding air is stuffy as if frozen.

Zhong Pinghou was silent.

When Chu Heng spoke, his tone was very flat, with a kind of alienated respect, just like before.But today Zhong Pinghou heard it in his ears, but he felt very uncomfortable.Why asked him to come back? Zhong Pinghou didn't believe that Chu Heng was unclear, but he stood there with a calm expression, neither caring whether his family knew or not, nor did he have any intention of explaining.

——I am his old man!Is his biological father!

Zhong Pinghou clenched his fists, his face sank like water, and he said: "Then go to the ancestral hall and kneel down, look at the ancestors and think about it."

The wife Ye who was beside her was suddenly surprised, and turned her head to look at Zhong Pinghou Chuhong in astonishment. The sons and girls who were sitting with her didn't expect their father to have such a reaction, and they looked at Chu Heng helplessly.

This is...

Chu Heng still had that indifferent look, his eyes flicked past Chu Xin and Chu Yan, and when he moved silently, he turned and walked outside the door.

Everyone stared at his back, watching him walk away with a heavy heart, descending the steps, passing through the patio and corridor, and turning into the moon gate—the direction of the ancestral hall.

He went.

As soon as the tense strings in everyone's hearts were loosened, they suddenly felt relieved, slightly relieved, and continued to sit quietly with lowered eyebrows.

The sky is too cloudy, and it is so cloudy that people feel stuffy.There was no sound in the flower hall, and every breath felt long. After a long time, Zhong Pinghou turned his gaze back to the outside, picked up his chopsticks again, and said, "Continue to eat."

There was the rustling sound of plates, spoons and chopsticks in the hall again, and the table was full of delicacies, but it tasted chewy in the mouth.

The breakfast ended in silence.

The other concubines and concubines resigned and left, only Chu Xin and Chu Yan stayed.

There is an important property distributed by the Chu family in Huai Ze City, and the news that Chu Heng is Dong Jun was spread in this way.From the moment this secret letter arrived at Zhongpinghou's mansion, everything at home was different.

Sitting on Zhong Pinghou's side, Mrs. Ye glanced at the two siblings with downcast eyes. This is no longer uncomfortable, unfair, and scheming can change and waver.

Last summer, Chu Xin and Han Chengmiao, the heir apparent of South Korea, got married.After hearing this, Mrs. Ye thought about it, and later chose a noble family marriage for her eldest daughter. Although it was not as good as the South Korean government, her daughter was born directly. , with a strong waist, and she would not look up to anyone when she married her.And what about Chu Xin?A concubine under Zhong Pinghou's knees, she has a father's family but no mother's family. She is married to the heir of the Han family in Yuyang.

But now, Mrs. Ye looked at her again, the younger sister of Lishan Junji Wuyue, she was an unambiguously matched family.Han Chengmiao really deserved to marry her.

Ye Shi clutched the handkerchief in her hand, and from now on, neither of the two siblings could be intervened or stopped by her.How Zhong Pinghou and Chu Heng's father and son will make peace, and what will happen to Dongjun and the Chu family, let alone what she can ask.

Mrs. Ye sat with her for a while, got up and stroked her skirt, and found an excuse to leave. His eldest son Chu Chen and daughter Chu Xuan saluted Zhong Pinghou, and then followed them out.

Only Chu Xin and Chu Yan were left in the flower hall, and Zhong Pinghou sat at the head without saying a word.

The sky was as cloudy as ink, the door of the ancestral hall was not closed, the wind passed through the hall, the candlelight on the surrounding lanterns was blown slightly, the time passed bit by bit, Chu Heng had already knelt down in the ancestral hall. Two hours.

There was no futon under his knees, and he knelt directly on the cold bluestone floor.

He was thinking of Chu Xin and Chu Yan.

There was muffled thunder in the depths of the black clouds. Zhong Ping Hou Chuhong came to the gate of the ancestral hall and looked at the son he had never known with a complicated face.

A few days ago, when he received an urgent letter from Huai Ze, he stared at the few lines and read them no less than a hundred times. He couldn't believe that the most useless second son under his knees, Chu Heng... must have made a mistake!He thought this way over and over again, but since the Chu family in Huaize City sent the letter urgently, they must confirm it again and again, not to mention that the letter also attached a small portrait of Dong Jun, and those disciples in Lishan called him "big brother".

There will be no fake.

All these years, it was their Zhongpinghou Mansion who made a mistake!

Chu Hong was stunned for a long time before he could barely recognize this fact. His mood could not be calmed down for a long time, and he had been absent-minded for several days. Seeing this unknown son with his own eyes, he still couldn't believe it.So far they are nothing like father and son, they should be very familiar with each other, but now they are strangers and alienated, for a moment he couldn't tell whether the deception and mistakes caused more annoyance, or the ecstasy after the shock prevailed.There are mixed feelings.

The 17-year-old Mahayana realm is astonishing as the ancients and the present. If Chu Heng had been raised by his side since he was a child, how beautiful the Chu family would be today!This is obviously his blood, as it should be!But it was taken away by Lishan, and this became... Zhong Pinghou remembered something, his eyes suddenly darkened, and his face became slightly gloomy.

After a long silence, the clouds rolled out of the thunder again, and sparse raindrops fell on the pond outside the ancestral hall. Zhong Pinghou looked at Chu Heng with complicated eyes for a moment, and finally walked in.

The brilliance of the ever-burning lamp reflected the ancestral tablets, and lines of inscriptions were engraved with gold powder on the surrounding stone walls—that was the most glorious part of Zhongli Chu's family history.

Zhong Pinghou was not in a hurry to ask Chu Heng, took the sandalwood from the altar, and inserted it into the incense burner respectfully, he stared at the engraved glory until the incense was half burned, then looked back at Chu Heng , said: "Do you know how to write the word 'family'?"

Chu Heng lowered his eyes, and his voice was flat, without any ups and downs: "Father wants to tell me how to add the golden inscription on the half wall of the ancestral hall?"

Without waiting for Zhong Pinghou's next words, Chu Heng started talking and asked suddenly: "Spring, summer, autumn and winter, do you still remember which season I was born in?"

Zhong Pinghou was taken aback for a moment, not knowing why.

Chu Heng expected that he would not be able to answer, so he lowered his eyes and couldn't see his expression clearly. He was silent for a while, and suddenly pulled the corner of his lower lip very lightly, showing a faint smile, "I know your birthday, before you go to Lishan Just know."

He left home at the age of four, and Chu Heng has lived in Lishan for 16 years. Whenever there are festivals and Zun Changshou's birthday, he will send congratulatory gifts with letters from his family.When I was young, my master, wife, or junior uncle would help, and when I grew up, I wrote it myself.

Father's birthday, 16 years, never falls once.

He knew that he was not favored since he was a child, and he wrote letters from his family. Although he never heard from his father, he was disappointed but not desperate. .

He pretends to be passionate but doesn't know, no one cares about his safety.

Then went home.

The heart-wrenching rebuffs again and again finally taught him to recognize that in the past twenty years, his expectations for his family and his father had been his wishful thinking from beginning to end.

The family had long since abandoned him.

Zhong Pinghou frowned slightly, with a vague premonition that the situation was going off track, he said in a deep voice, "I have been studying art at Lishan Mountain for a long time, so don't forget your last name."

Chu Heng understood what Zhong Pinghou meant, but——

What is my last name?

He once also wanted to ask Zhong Pinghou, his "father" - 16 years in Lishan, do you remember this son for a moment?Did you think about him when you sent him to the Hall of Martial Arts knowing that he was not successful in martial arts?Doesn't his success embarrass the Chu family in your eyes?

Whatever you sow, you will reap the fruit.

From the moment they landed, the Zhongpinghou Mansion has raised the twins for 19 years, and they have never been short of food or clothing to pretend to treat them badly. The kindness of life and nourishment is as important as a mountain. In this life, Chu Xin and Chu Yan will always be surnamed Chu.

His mother sent him to Lishan to give him a future. After she passed away, his younger siblings were his responsibility.

As far as the Chu family is concerned, he is the elder brother of Chu Xin and Chu Yan, that's all.

"I know what my father means." Chu Heng said in a low voice, but his tone did not allow refutation, "Chu Heng has always been surnamed Chu, but Lishan Dongjun's surname is not Chu."

——Dongjun Ji Wuyue, the son of Ji Wusu, a native of Lishan, will never change.

Foreign surnames are not included in the ancestral hall. In the future, the ancestral hall of the Chu family will be full of family history, whether it is brilliant or dusty, there will be no Dong Jun's name.

"The person kneeling in front of you today is Chu Heng from the Zhongli Chu Clan, not Lishan Dongjun Ji Wuyue."

Thunder suddenly sounded, and the heavy rain that had been brewing for a long time poured down. The lightning that tore through the sky illuminated the two figures kneeling and standing in the ancestral hall.

The words were like knives, and hit the most embarrassing point in Zhong Pinghou's heart - it was the Chu family who disliked Chu Heng. Dong Jun followed his mother's surname and refused to look back. In the future, everyone will know that the blind Zhong Pinghou Chuhong, It is Dayin Kyushu's biggest joke, he can't even explain it to the ancestors of the Chu family!

Chu Hong's eyes widened, his face flushed red and changed several times, he opened his lips and couldn't speak for a while, almost furious, and slapped him hard: "Nizi!"

This slap was so heavy that Chu Heng's head was turned to one side, his face turned pale for a moment, and then there were a few red and swollen fingerprints, and traces of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Chu Heng lowered his eyelashes, and the last ray of light reflected in his eyes by the ever-burning lamp was finally completely dimmed. He quickly knelt down and didn't say a word.

Chu Hong's eyes were completely reddened by his indifference, he pointed at Chu Heng with trembling fingers, and shouted out hissingly: "Come here, pass on the family law!"

Standing in front of the door, Chu Xin finally couldn't bear it any longer, stepped in, knelt on the ground and cried, begging Chu Hong to take back his life.

Chu Yan also stopped the guard who was ordered to go.

Zhong Pinghou raised his brows coldly, and the anger in his heart became more intense. He was about to reprimand him sharply, but Chu Heng turned around first and said, "Everyone back down."

Chu Xin looked at her father, then at her elder brother, "Brother..."

During the stalemate, the housekeeper in the mansion suddenly walked over in the rain, stopped in front of the ancestral hall, glanced at Chu Heng who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head and said cautiously to Chu Hong: "Master Hou, the shadow guard of the emperor in the palace Come to deliver the decree, Second Young Master Xuan immediately enters the palace to face the saint."

Zhong Pinghou's complexion was uncertain, he was silent for a moment, and said coldly: "Tell the shadow guard who passed the decree, just say..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Heng had already stood up. With his back to Zhong Pinghou, he said indifferently: "I am in the Mahayana realm. Even entering the emperor requires an order. Entering the palace is even more outrageous. To put it more seriously, It is enough to be regarded as an assassin. You sent me to the Hall of Martial Arts back then, if His Majesty pursued my crime of despising the law of the country and deceiving the king, would you and the Zhongli Chu family be willing to bear it with me?"

He turned around and looked at Zhong Pinghou calmly.

As soon as the words fell, the emperor's shadow guard suddenly appeared in front of the ancestral hall, Zhong Pinghou's heart skipped a beat, the first thought in his mind was what Chu Heng said just now, did the shadow guard hear it?If the emperor really settles accounts after autumn, then this trip to see...

Chu Heng looked at him quietly.

"..." Zhong Pinghou's throat moved, and he couldn't make a sound for a while.

The shadow guard outside the door made a hand salute as if he didn't realize it, "Mr. Zhong Ping, according to His Majesty's order, the second son of the Xuan Mansion will immediately enter the palace to face the saint. There is no room for error."

The blue veins on Zhong Pinghou's forehead twitched, he gave a vague "hmm", said nothing, and left with a bad complexion.

Chu Xin and Chu Yan's hanging heart relaxed slightly, Chu Xin knelt on the ground, cold sweat had already oozed out from her forehead at some point, her legs were so soft that she could hardly stand up, her fingertips were white and she tried her best to hold on to the ground, A hand was suddenly held in front of her eyes.

Chu Xin was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was her brother, and at the same time... Chu Xin suddenly didn't know how to face her elder brother. The two brothers and sisters don't meet each other often. It is even more unreachable.

"Ah Xin?"

Chu Xin regained consciousness suddenly, looked at the hand in front of her, hesitated for a while, and put it on it.

Just as soon as she stood up, she immediately withdrew her hand, slowly curled her fingers, and lowered her eyes.

Chu Heng stared at her, sighed insignificantly, stretched out his hand to stroke her hair, and said warmly: "No matter who I am, it will not change that I am your brother. When you are 20 years old, my brother will marry you."

Chu Xin's cheeks were flushed, and she pursed her lips and gave a soft "um".

Chu Heng walked out of the ancestral hall and stopped in front of Chu Yan. Chu Yan glanced at the shadow guard who was waiting not far away, and hesitated to speak: "Brother, Your Majesty..."

"Don't be afraid," Chu Heng understood what his younger brother was worried about, "he knows who I am."

Only then did the tension in Chu Yan's heart relax, and a smile spread across his face: "That's good."

If my elder brother is Dongjun, then he will not become a vassal when he is with His Majesty. Even if the relationship is no longer there one day, he will have the ability to retreat completely.

The rain outside the eaves formed a curtain of rain. Chu Heng touched Chu Yan's head, took the umbrella from the shadow guard of the Son of Heaven, and walked into the rain.

"Your Majesty knew that you were back this morning. After waiting in the palace for two hours without seeing anyone, he guessed that you were stuck by the Hou's residence." The shadow guard said.

Chu Heng tightened his grip on the handle of the umbrella, and the scar on his face felt a little hot. He suddenly had a feeling of "being close to the hometown" for no reason, and he even didn't want to go to the palace, and didn't want His Majesty to see it. The way he was wronged in the Hou's mansion.

But obviously not possible.

There was an inconspicuous carriage parked in front of Zhong Pinghou's mansion, and the shadow guard led him forward. Chu Heng slowly opened the curtain of the carriage, and was stunned for a moment.

He suddenly realized that the unreasonable "near-native feeling" in his heart was just because he hadn't met this person yet.

The pain that could have been endured on his cheek suddenly became sharper, and the high barrier in his heart that could hide all grievances very well, the moment he saw this person, it all collapsed, and Chu Heng felt that his eyes began to "disappoint". Waking up, even a little sour after a long absence.

Ling Ye sat in the car, looked at his face and stretched out his hand towards him, his brows were furrowed, and his voice was gentle: "Come here and let me have a look."

Chu Heng stepped into the carriage with his head down, and was pulled into Ling Ye's arms. His warm palm brushed away the hair around his ears. Ling Ye frowned and looked at the red and swollen marks on his face. After a while, he stretched out. Gently stroke the red marks with your fingers.

He frowned and asked Chu Heng: "Does it still hurt?"

Chu Heng leaned against him, listening to the beating of his heart in his chest, his mood gradually calmed down, and he shook his head lightly: "It doesn't hurt too much."

Ling Ye's heart twitched violently, he lifted Chu Heng's robe, and put his hands on his knees through a layer of material, knowing without thinking, the flesh under his palm must be bruised and purple.

How can it not hurt?

Mahayana is also a human being, a body of flesh and blood.

He had never been wronged like this outside, but when he returned to his home, his body was covered in bruises.

Ling Ye said in a deep voice: "Tomorrow when Marquis Zhong Ping enters the palace, I will beat him and make him kneel for two hours first."

Hearing the words, Chu Heng pulled the corner of his lower lip, was silent for a moment, but shook his head.

"No need."

This slap woke him up completely, and also extinguished the last faint hope for fatherly love in Chu Heng's heart.

In all fairness, in Zhong Pinghou's mansion, no matter what the mistress Ye did in secret, what Chu Hong, the father, did not do badly.

Not to mention the eldest son Chu Chen, the daughter-in-law Chu Xuan, and the other sons and daughters, Zhong Pinghou has them in his heart.

When Chu Yan enters the court, Zhong Pinghou will use the connections of the Chu family to pave the way for Chu Yan and manage the affairs from top to bottom.

For the daughters of Chu Xin and other concubines under his knees, Zhong Pinghou will find a marriage worthy of his family, and will not be wronged to marry any of them.

All these are not only to honor the lintel of the Chu family, but also to have the compassion of Zhong Pinghou as a father.

Only for Chu Heng.

This son who was born at an untimely time, was troubled by many disasters, seemed to be born to restrain his father, and would only cause him trouble in the difficult years.

The blunt Chu Heng is a burden and stain on his past, and the unparalleled Dong Jun is mocking and slapping him now.

No solution.

It is best not to have this son from the beginning.

——It's not that Zhong Pinghou doesn't know how to love his children, he just doesn't know how to love Chu Heng.

Before coming to Hou's mansion this morning, it's not like Chu Heng never thought about having a good talk with his father about him being Lord Lishandong.

but--

Can not go back.

It was the Chu family who first decided not to want me.

As long as Zhong Pinghou has a little compassion for Chu Heng, it will not end like this today.

The scars on his face still felt burning pain, Chu Heng looked down at his knees that were swollen and sore from kneeling for a long time, he took everything given by Zhong Pinghou.

"There's no need to knock any more," Chu Heng said, "Anyway, this is the last time."