Uncle Nine, where are you running to?

Having made a good brother, Lin Jiu's thin lips unconsciously curled up at the corners.

He put down his teacup and waved his hand towards the outside. "You can't go to Tianranju for the time being. I promised to treat you to a meal. Let's go to Ruyilou."

Jingzhi, on the contrary, seemed a little listless.

"No, I want to go back and lie down for a while."

She had to go back and digest the fact that husband and wife had suddenly become brothers.

Hearing her say this, Lin Jiu, who was well versed in health preservation, expressed disapproval. "Brother Lin, you must have regular meals. You can't skip one meal and then skip the next."

As he spoke, he pulled her sleeve and pulled her out of the study.

Then he turned around to lock the door, and then gently pushed Jingzhi's back, who didn't want to move, and walked out of the yard.

The two walked side by side on the road. Jingzhi would occasionally glance at Lin Jiu, who was walking on her right with a smile on his face, with a sad look on his face. "Brother Bao and Brother Hai haven't eaten either."

Lin Jiu's smile froze on his face. "They will solve it themselves."

Lin Jiu paused, then said:

"Brother Lin, from now on just follow my lead and call them Abao and Xiaohai."

Jingzhi looked at her toes absentmindedly, nodded and said okay.

After the fight with A-Bao just now, it was past dinner time and there were quite a few empty seats in Ruyi Building, which was usually packed with people.

Lin Jiu ate the meal with great joy, while the depressed Jingzhi was afraid that he would notice something, so she had to put on a smile and pretend to enjoy the meal.

Lin Jiu had no idea that his act of sworn brotherhood was enough to make her feel overwhelmed.

Lin Jiu was so perceptive, how could he not notice something was wrong with Jingzhi who was often distracted at the dinner table?

After eating and drinking, the two passed by the government gate. Lin Jiu stopped and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry I didn't ask about your preferences beforehand. Did the meal just now not suit your taste? Boss He's new restaurant is opening tomorrow. Would you mind if we could have dinner together then?"

Jingzhi looked at the sincerity in his eyes and found it hard to describe. The food she had just eaten seemed to be stuck in her throat, making her speechless.

She sighed secretly, wiped her face, and forced a polite smile at Lin Jiu:

"No need. Going out to eat out every day is too expensive, Brother Lin."

"It's okay." Lin Jiu didn't know why he couldn't find any fault with the person in front of him. Maybe it was because she looked too weak, which made him want to feed her a few more mouthfuls of food.

"Boss He's shop sells boat porridge, and the price is very affordable. You don't have to worry."

Now that things have come to this, there is no point in her refusing.

So he nodded in agreement.

"Then you take a rest, I'm going back." Lin Jiu said.

Jingzhi touched the key in the purse at her waist, thought for a moment, turned, and walked towards the end of the street.

When she turned around, she was actually going the same way as Lin Jiu.

"You're not going back?"

"I go home."

Lin Jiu asked in surprise: "You have a family?"

As soon as he said this, he felt that it was too rude, so he cleared his throat and asked again:

"Have you found your relatives?"

Jingzhi glanced at him quietly, then suddenly stared into Lin Jiu's eyes and said teasingly:

"Brother Lin is my elder brother, so how can he not be considered a relative?"

Lin Jiu showed a warm smile on his face, and touched Jingzhi's head as if he were a little brother, and said:

"Never mind. Where is your home? I'll take you there."

Seeing that he accepted it well, Jingzhi suddenly became like a deflated balloon, losing all her energy and spirit. She pointed to the left and said, "It's right there, the house at the end of the street, the small courtyard closest to the river."

Lin Jiu's expression suddenly changed.

"that……"

"If you live there, you have to be careful."

Jingzhi raised her head and looked at him with some confusion, "Why?"

Lin Jiu turned his head and looked around. Seeing that no one was following him, he leaned close to Jingzhi's ear and said:

"There's an old man who likes to stalk people. I often see him hiding in that corner."

"puff……"

Jingzhi was amused by his frightened look.

Lin Jiu felt a little uncomfortable with her sudden laughter.

He tightened his hands behind his back, frowned and said seriously:

"I'm not one to gossip about others behind their backs. This incident... is indeed my own personal experience. Although he is the highly respected Mr. Liang in town, he has been with me for a long time and likes to talk nonsense."

The most important thing is that every time he was followed by him, he would have that dream when he returned home that night.

Every time he woke up, he had to take a long time to recover.

Jingzhi coughed lightly, and her expression suddenly changed. The sincerity in her eyes was even more sincere than his:

"He is my long-lost relative. I am not afraid of him."

Only after reaching the entrance of the yard did Lin Jiu digest this fact.

He said with some worry:

"Well... I'm leaving first. If you need anything, come find me next door."

"next door?"

Jingzhi took two steps outside and took a look.

Well, seven or eight meters away from the entrance of her yard is the gate of his Taoist temple.

Jingzhi touched the back of his head and said, "I didn't notice it."

Lin Jiu suddenly glanced at the slightly swaying tree trunk extending from the outside of her yard and said meaningfully:

"This tree has extended beyond the courtyard. Brother Lin should prune it to prevent anyone with malicious intentions from climbing in through the branches."

Jingzhi reached out and picked up a green leaf that had fallen from above her head. She looked at it for a few seconds and nodded in agreement.

After Lin Jiu left, Jingzhi didn't even need to use the key to open the door because the lock on the door was still hanging.

After pushing the door open and entering, before she had time to reminisce about the past, she quickly walked over and stood under the tree, and said to the 80-year-old man standing on the trunk:

"Get down here! Don't you know how old you are? If anything happens to you, how am I going to explain it to your descendants?"

Liang En's eyes rolled around, full of guilt.

"I, I won't go down. I'm hiding from people."

Jingzhi was so angry that she turned around twice. When she found a branch on the ground, she picked it up and poked his calf. "What are you hiding for? You're hiding in a tree. Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Hey hey hey, don't poke me, it's itchy, I'm ticklish!" Liang En squatted down tremblingly, holding the trunk of the tree. His old face was now full of grievance and resentment.

"I don't know who started the rumor that I had an illegitimate child. My old lady beat me all the way there, and I still have a bump on the back of my head."

"I don't dare go down. She must be nearby. She has been practicing martial arts since she was a child. If she hits me again, I think I will be buried this year."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Come down quickly. If she comes, I will help you explain." Jingzhi retracted the branch that was still causing trouble and touched his nose.

Suddenly, a ray of light came from nowhere and reflected into her eyes.

Jingzhi raised her hand to block the light, squinting her eyes to find the source of the light.

"...Put down the telescope in your hand. I will confiscate it from you, your grandmother."

"Grandma, do you know this is a telescope?"

Liang En was a little surprised. This was a new toy that his younger generation bought from foreigners.

It is very useful for spying on his great-grandfather or avoiding old women.

He was a little reluctant to give it to Jingzhi, so he slowly put the telescope behind him and said to Jingzhi under the tree with a wry smile:

"How about you ask for something else? Or some silver? I'll ask Liang Ji to send some over."

Jingzhi put her hands on her waist and said, "No, the money you gave me is enough. I just want the telescope."

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell your wife that you used it to spy on young girls!"

"Hey, Grandma, you can't talk nonsense like that!"

Liang En held onto the main trunk, eager to try and push down to the side branches, while lowering his voice and saying:

"If my wife hears this, she'll definitely break my old bones..."

Before Liang En finished speaking, Jingzhi couldn't stand his nagging and kicked his foot.

Liang En only felt a tightening of the back of his neck, a light breeze blowing past, and then his feet stepped on the ground.

As soon as a smile appeared on his face, the telescope hidden behind him was taken away by Jingzhi.

She held the two tubes of the mirror in her hands and looked around.

Liang En has already gained experience in using this thing.

He helped Jingzhi rotate the gear in the middle of the lens barrel with the attitude of an experienced person. "Hey, turn it here to zoom in or out of the object you want to see. Isn't it very clear?"

Jingzhi curled her lips proudly, took a step to the side and said: "When I was playing with these things, you didn't even know where you were."

"Then why are you stealing mine?" he muttered.

"you……"

Before he could finish his words, an old woman pushed open the half-closed door with her cane, "Liang En!!!"

Liang En was so scared that he took two quick steps and hid behind Jingzhi.

"You said you would help me explain." He tugged at Jingzhi's clothes on the back and shrank his 1.8-meter-tall body, trying to hide himself behind Jingzhi's 1.6-meter-tall body.

Jingzhi smiled at the old lady in front of him with gray hair and an angry face and said:

"There are rumors that he is my cheap dad."

The old lady gnashed her teeth and said, "Liang En, you actually brought your illegitimate child here. Aren't you afraid that your grandfather will come to you in your dreams and scold you in the middle of the night?"

Lin Jiu next door suddenly sneezed.

The old lady's voice was as loud as a bell, and the name "Liang En" was heard by Lin Jiu who was sitting in the study.

He walked to a corner of the courtyard wall and listened to the noisy conversation next door.

So... Brother Lin and Mr. Liang have this kind of relationship. No wonder he is not afraid.

At this moment, Jingzhi said again:

"Are you Liang Yuan, Liang Zan's granddaughter?"

The old lady snorted coldly with an expression that said, "Don't get involved."

"Everyone in this town knows me, Liang Yuan. Don't try to get close to me. I won't let you into my Liang family."

As she spoke, she held the crutch in her hand horizontally, pointed directly at Liang En behind her, and admonished Jingzhi:

"You are innocent. I don't blame you. This is his romantic debt. Hand him over to me. After that, as long as you leave Liangjia Town, I will forgive you."

Liang En suddenly came out from behind Jingzhi, spread his arms and blocked Jingzhi tightly, "Absolutely not! She can't leave."

Liang Yuan's gray eyebrows knitted together tightly. She slammed her cane on the ground twice. "At this time, you are still defending her?"

"Ayuan, you don't recognize me! I held you in my arms when you were little!"

She poked her head out from behind Liang En, and when she pulled out the hairpin on her head, her snow-white silver hair fell all over her shoulders.

She pinched her sleeves and rubbed her thick eyebrows.

Liang Yuan stared blankly at the face that was getting darker and darker, but suddenly merged with the beautiful face deep in her memory. Her throat tightened.

"Silence, silence N——"

Before grandma could say anything, Liang En held her mouth tightly.

"Hush! She won't let us reveal her identity."

Lin Jiu next door nodded.

It’s right not to make it public. Illegitimate children can never be seen in public.

No wonder Lin Di is so thin and waited until she grew up before coming to see Mr. Liang. It shows that she is a person of integrity.

He always speaks incoherently.

What does "I held you in my arms when you were a child" mean? Mrs. Liang is 86 years old now, so it must be her who held his brother Lin in her arms.

……

On the other side, Jingzhi was pulled into the house by the old man and the old woman to talk.

"Grandma Jingzhi, why...are you back?"

In other words, their older generation knew Jingzhi's true identity. After all, Jingzhi's daughter Liang Yao married Liang Zan's eldest son.

Liang Yao is a civet cat, and even Liang Yuan has civet cat blood, but she can't turn into a cat. At most, she can live longer.

Because of Jingzhi, the two families have a strong and healthy offspring, and are a well-known longevity family in the local area.

Therefore, the two families reached a consensus that the matter of the civet cat would be diluted in their bloodline after three generations, so it had to be suppressed and no one was allowed to mention it again.

Otherwise, if it is discovered by someone with ulterior motives, the whole family may be wiped out.

……

Jingzhi sighed, gently stroking the dressing table that Erdi had built for her. Her eyes surveyed this old place that was buried deep in her memory, and she replied quietly:

"I never thought that I would be able to come back here one day."

Liang Yuan looked at Jingzhi's nostalgic expression in the mirror and suddenly felt sorry for her.

She and Erdi had been in love for decades, and this love was widely known not only within Erdi's family, but also in her own family and even in the entire town at that time.

Erdi has been dead for so many years, leaving her alone to face the long years. Isn't this... more torturous?

Jingzhi looked through the mirror and saw the wrinkled face of the old lady behind her, and suddenly a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Ayuan, don't worry about me. I've already let it go."

"Liang En, take him back. I made up that rumor. Please apply some medicine on the back of his head when you get back. Elderly people need to take good care of their heads."

Seeing that she didn't look like she was about to cry, Liang Yuan could only nod in response.

"If you want to stay here, I'll have someone send you some daily necessities."

Jingzhi was about to say no, but Liang En touched the back of his head and interrupted with a smile:

"No need. As soon as grandma said she wanted to move in, I asked Ji'er to arrange it."

"You're smart." Liang Yuan said.

"Come back with me." She, an old lady, pulled Liang En by the back of his neck and walked very fast.