Chapter 17: The Lin Family Has Dragged You Down

Da Lin felt that Lin Zhiyi was acting strangely.

He had just sent two carriages away from the Qin family, so why did she still have her mother prepare a cart for her? Why was she riding in the cart instead of a carriage?

After all, she had been raised as a pampered young lady in the Lin family—perhaps she didn’t understand what walking a thousand miles really meant.

“You don’t understand. The young lady has her reasons for doing so. She’s clever,” Fang Mama said as she climbed into the carriage.

“By the way, you must have heard what we said earlier. What do you think?”

Da Lin scratched his head. “I’ll listen to mother.”

Originally, Da Lin had a rather poor impression of Lin Zhiyi. This was because when she was young, she had a strong aversion to him. One time, when she saw Da Lin standing beside Fang Mama at the Lin residence, she directly pushed him over.

Fang Mama had hurriedly apologized to Lin Zhiyi and sent Da Lin home.

From then on, she never dared to bring Da Lin into the Lin residence again.

Even when Da Lin cried and begged his grandmother to take him to see his mother, his grandmother could only hold him and cry, but dared not take him to the Lin residence.

At that time, Da Lin didn’t understand. Why couldn’t he see his mother, who was his own? Why couldn’t he grow up by her side?

It wasn’t until Da Lin grew up that he understood—his mother was a servant of the Lin family, and she had no freedom.

Even though Fang Mama often spoke highly of the Lin family and Lin Zhiyi, the memories from his childhood lingered, making it hard for Da Lin to feel fond of Lin Zhiyi.

But after spending these last few days with her, Da Lin began to think that this Lin family young lady wasn’t so bad after all.

On the road, the two of them traveled together, one master and one servant.

“Are you tired? Should I pull for a while?”

Lin Zhiyi turned to look at Chai Ya.

Chai Ya was surprised. “How can I let the young lady do such a thing? If you’re tired, you can sit on the cart, and I’ll pull for you.”

Lin Zhiyi knew that Chai Ya was strong and that it wouldn’t be a problem even if she got on the cart.

But she couldn’t do that. This girl was not only clever but also loyal. After Lin Zhiyi had fallen on hard times, Chai Ya had used her own monthly silver to buy medicine for her. She couldn’t treat her like a servant.

From now on, Chai Ya would be her family.

“I’m not tired yet. When I am, you can pull me,” Lin Zhiyi replied.

“Alright,” Chai Ya said.

“Are you afraid of going to Fangzhou with me?” Lin Zhiyi asked.

“I’m not afraid,” Chai Ya said, but then hesitated, “It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I’m most afraid of going hungry.”

Chai Ya had come from a poor family, and her appetite was large. She remembered that since she could remember, she had never had a full meal, which was why her family had sold her.

“Good girl, don’t worry, I won’t let you go hungry in the future,” Lin Zhiyi reassured her.

The two had walked about half a mile when they finally saw the Ten-Mile Pavilion.

From a distance, Lin Zhiyi noticed two to three hundred people, all dressed in ochre-colored clothes and wearing shackles.

Perhaps they hadn’t committed serious crimes but were instead implicated by the deposed crown prince, exiled to Fangzhou to perform hard labor. None of them wore neck collars.

It seemed that besides the people in ochre clothing, there were also some others in normal attire, though they were wrapped up tightly. Perhaps they wanted to send off their family members but were afraid of being targeted by Prince Qi.

Lin Zhiyi searched her memory for any sign of her mother, Song Ruolan, her father, Lin Fu, and her two brothers to avoid recognizing the wrong people.

When she saw a woman in the distance eagerly looking out for someone, she immediately recognized her as the original owner’s mother.

Song Ruolan thought for a moment that she might be mistaken. She rubbed her eyes and, seeing that it was truly her daughter, quickly moved a few steps closer, saying, “Zhizhi, it’s really you!”

But she was stopped by the officer in charge, who was holding a whip. “Stop!”

Hearing his mother’s shout, Lin Xiuran looked up and saw his sister in the distance.

He hurried forward and grabbed his mother’s arm, explaining to the officer, “Sir, my mother did not intend to escape. She was simply overcome with emotion upon seeing her family.”

The officer, seeing that a woman had indeed approached from a distance, sheathed his blade.

The others from the Lin family, who had thought Song Rouolan was mistaken, were about to mock her when they saw Lin Zhiyi’s figure drawing nearer.

When Lin Zhiyi reached Song Ruolan, Song Ruolan immediately hugged her daughter and began to sob uncontrollably. “It’s really you, Zhizhi, I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“It’s me, Mother,” Lin Zhiyi replied.

She stood still, though she had the original owner’s memories, she still felt unfamiliar with Song Ruolan.

She had lost her mother when she was young and had never been held by her, so she didn’t understand the deep affection of a mother’s love.

To her, “Mother” was just a stiff term, neither sorrowful nor joyous.

But seeing Song Ruolan cry so sorrowfully, her face much more haggard than in the original memories, her body thinner, Lin Zhiyi felt some pity.

“Mother, that day I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been so confused as to force Father to sign the severance letter. It’s all my fault for being so thoughtless,” she said.

Song Ruolan stopped crying and wiped her tears with her sleeve. “You can’t blame yourself. It’s the Lin family who has dragged you down.”

Lin Xiuran and Lin Xiuyan also stepped forward. “Little sister, has the Qin family made things difficult for you because of this?”

Lin Zhiyi looked at her two brothers, and their eyes were full of concern. They didn’t mention anything about the original owner forcing their father to write the severance letter, nor about the original owner throwing rotten vegetable leaves at them and calling them “useless, good-for-nothing brothers.”

She was touched.

Looking at Song Ruolan’s worried expression, Lin Zhiyi subconsciously said, “No, he wouldn’t dare!”

Before she could finish her sentence, a voice interrupted, “Are you Miss Lin? Ah, I’ve been watching you from afar. You’re truly a pitiful child. The Lin family has fallen, and the Qin family—those heartless, wolf-hearted people—actually dared to take your dowry and divorce you. They will surely be struck down by heaven!”

The words of the woman who had been seeing off a relative immediately stunned the Lin family!

Lin Xiuran’s face turned ashen. “What? Zhizhi, tell us, what’s really going on?”

Madam Zou, Lin Zhiyi’s second aunt, quickly grabbed the woman and asked, “What did you say? Lin Zhiyi was divorced? Is it true?”

Madam Zou’s face was full of schadenfreude.

The woman, thinking that Madam Zou, as Lin Zhiyi’s aunt, was concerned, replied, “It’s true. It’s even reached the Jingzhao Prefecture court. Ah, never mind, you’d better ask her directly.”

The woman sighed inwardly, recalling how she had warned that Lin Zhiyi’s marriage had been a mistake, mismatched from the start.

And now, it had come true!

The woman had originally come to deliver money and food to her relatives. Now that she had done so, it was inappropriate to linger, so she left.

Upon learning that her daughter had been wronged, Song Ruolan could no longer bear it and nearly fainted. Lin Zhiyi quickly supported her. “Mother.”

It took a while for Song Ruolan to catch her breath. She clung to Lin Zhiyi and cried out loudly.

Lin Xiuyan clenched his fists in anger. “That bastard! I’m going to settle this with him!”

Before he could take two steps, he was blocked by the officer with a large sword.

Furious, he shook the shackles from his wrists. “I told you he couldn’t be trusted, and now it’s clear!”

He glanced at Lin Zhiyi, his heart full of worry. What would become of his sister in the future?

At that moment, Lin Fu, who had been resting a little farther away, heard the commotion and hobbled over. “Zhizhi, it’s all my fault for dragging you down.”

Lin Zhiyi turned her head to look at her father, whose face was full of guilt, his eyes filled with concern and pain. Lin Zhiyi scolded the original owner in her heart—how could she have hurt such a family?

“It’s not your fault, Father. It’s my fault for not knowing people well.”

Lin Fu sighed deeply and spoke softly. “Lord Chen from the Ministry of Revenue, your father has a debt of gratitude to him. Zhizhi, go seek him for help. I believe he will take pity on my face and provide you with food.”