Quick Transmigration: Refusing to Be a Victim's Child

He glanced at the luggage scattered around him, took a deep breath, and suddenly picked up his son, who was crying hysterically and gasping for breath. He gritted his teeth and limped to flag down a passing carriage.

The wheels creaked and groaned as the carriage slowly bumped along the gravel road toward the Seventh Princess's residence.

Amidst the rising dust, one could vaguely see Shao Zhili's hand gripping the carriage curtain tightly, his knuckles white, as if he had used all his strength.

The steward stared in the direction the carriage had disappeared, rubbing his hands together, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Seeing this, Shao Linshen simply spoke up:

"Just say what's on your mind, don't be so coy like a woman."

"Yes."

The butler responded respectfully:

"My lord, this old servant just saw many servants from the residences of nobles and officials watching nearby. I'm afraid your actions just now have already been noticed by them."

If someone were to impeach you, saying that you can't tolerate your brothers..."

"I can't even tolerate my brothers? What a joke!"

Shao Linshen chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the people hiding around him, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Anyone who dares to say such sarcastic things should first offer their wife to their brother to have children."

"I, the dignified Marquis of Jingyuan, have earned all my achievements through real battles. Those old fogies in the court who only know how to talk big, what do they know? Do you think I'm afraid of them? Humph!"

The emperor is now getting old, and his sons are already locked in a fierce struggle for power.

If a marquis with military power were to be cautious and meticulous in everything he did, the old emperor might feel uneasy.

Regardless of who comes, he's now pretending to be a brainless brute.

Thinking of this, Shao Lin glanced at the old clothes Shao Zhili had used on the ground and instructed the steward:

"We pawned everything that could be pawned, and gave the rest to the poor people. We used the money to buy some extra food for the old soldiers in the manor."

Since Shao Linshen took over the Marquis's residence, it has been completely transformed.

Those treacherous servants were all sold off, and the vacant positions were filled by wounded and disabled veterans.

And you know what? Despite their physical disabilities, these people were extremely loyal to Shao Linshen.

As long as Shao Linshen doesn't speak, not even a fly can get out of the old Marquis Jingyuan's side.

Perhaps having heard about Shao Zhili being kicked out of the house, Madam Hou "coincidentally" fell ill that afternoon.

A maid came looking for Shaolin Shen:

"The old lady has fallen ill and would like to invite the Marquis to Shou'an Hall."

"If you're sick, go see a doctor. I don't know how to treat illnesses, so what's the use of going?"

Shao Linshen lay under the shade of a tree, listening to a tune, basking in the sun, reading a book, and having his maid feed him fruit, speaking leisurely and contentedly.

The old woman looked troubled, but dared not disobey Shaolin Shen's wishes, and could only stammer an explanation:

"My lord, the old lady is seriously ill this time. She keeps calling your name. It seems she misses you and wants to see you."

Shao Lin snorted coldly, casually tossed the book aside, sat up, his eyes full of disdain:

"Hmph, she's thinking about me? I'm more interested in her precious second son. She went to great lengths for Shao Zhili and the Jiang family before, and now she's thinking about me?"

Seeing Shao Linshen's unpleasant expression, the maidservant carefully handed him a cup of tea and softly advised:

"My lord, the old lady is, after all, your mother. She is ill now, so you should go and see her to avoid giving others cause for gossip."

Shao Linshen took the tea, took a sip, and stared at the other person's face, remaining silent for a long time.

The servants around were so frightened that they all knelt down and dared not show their faces again.

"Get up! Next time anyone is presumptuous and says things that I, the Marquis, don't like to hear, go find the steward and find another job."

Having said that, he simply stood up, dusted himself off, and walked straight away...

-

Inside Shou'an Hall, all was quiet.

As Madam Hou leaned against the bed, her cheeks, which had been slightly rosy, changed instantly upon hearing the sound of boots scraping against the stone path under the eaves.

She hurriedly grabbed the powder box and applied a thick layer of powder to her face, instantly turning her complexion deathly white, like a sheet of paper.

The old nanny beside her reacted quickly, wringing out the wet cloth from the basin, folding it gently, and carefully placing it on the old lady's forehead.

The old lady caught a glimpse of someone entering from the corner of her eye. She closed her eyes, let out a weak groan, and mumbled her eldest son's name from time to time.

"Lin Shen, Shen'er..."

However, after waiting for a while, there was no response from the person. Instead, the sound of someone cracking sunflower seeds could be heard.

The old lady's murmur abruptly stopped, her hands, hidden under the quilt, clenched involuntarily, her heart filled with resentment:

[Look at what this unfilial son has done! He's so "sick" he can't even get out of bed, and he still has the leisure to eat sunflower seeds. What an unfilial and disrespectful beast! No wonder I've always favored my second son.]

Back then, when my eldest son wasn't home, it was my second son who often stayed by my side, showing me care and concern.

Whenever he had a slight headache or fever, the child would practically invite all the doctors in the city to treat him.

Although the second child has some minor flaws, why can't the eldest brother be more accommodating to his younger brother?

If it weren't for this rebellious son exposing the family's shameful secrets, the Shao family wouldn't have become a laughing stock in the circle of nobles.

Now look what's happened. The old man has been blaming himself a lot, and even his daughter is being ostracized and hasn't been able to leave the house for a long time.

Oh, God have mercy, I wonder where Zhili is living now, and whether he is hungry or cold.

The old lady's mind was in turmoil. She slowly opened her eyes and laboriously turned her head to look at the bedside.

Upon closer inspection, she saw her eldest son casually sipping tea and reading a book, as if nothing had happened, with his legs crossed, seemingly oblivious to her presence in the room.

The old lady almost lost the loving expression she had managed to maintain on her face.

Her trusted nanny beside her was frantically trying to signal to her, and she finally managed to compose herself, speaking in an extremely weak voice:

"Lin Shen, I know I was wrong. I was really confused back then and that's why I did that."

Please, for the sake of your mother's advanced age, spare Zhili. He's raising a child alone and penniless; how is he going to survive out there?"

"If you can't survive, then just die. It'll save you from wasting food in this world."

Shao Linshen coldly mocked:

"Mother only felt sorry that her second son could not survive independently. Did she ever think that her son had been alone for five whole years without any memory of the past and had become a vagrant without a household registration?"

Forced by circumstances, he had no choice but to sell himself into slavery and worked as a stable boy for five years... Did his mother ever ask him a single question about the hardships he endured?

Now that my son has finally returned, you treat me like an enemy, scheming against me and keeping secrets from me at every turn. Is this the heart of a loving mother?

"Lin Shen, no, it's not like that, your mother just..."

The old lady blushed deeply when questioned, her eyes darting around, and she stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Just then, the outer door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang.

A pretty girl dressed in pink stormed in angrily.

She spotted Shao Linshen sitting in the chair at a glance and couldn't help but complain:

"Brother! You've made Mother so sick, and you're still deliberately provoking her. How can you be so unfilial?"

"When you disappeared, who in the family wasn't worried and saddened? Even though His Majesty sent so many people to search for you, they all returned empty-handed."

In the end, those people only found your armor at the edge of the cliff. Everyone thought you had fallen off the cliff and were long gone.

You were already 'dead' by then, do you expect us to mourn and die with you? It was the enemy who hurt you and caused your amnesia, not us, so why are you blaming us for all of this?

"If you hadn't been so useless and disappeared, why would Mother have helped Second Brother cover up his affair with Jiang Wanyin? It all comes down to your fault..."

"Smack—Ouch!"

Before Shao Mingzhu could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a loud slap.

She covered her burning, swollen cheek, staring incredulously at her elder brother, whose expression was fierce, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You, you actually hit me?"

"I'm not only going to hit you, I'm going to kick you too."

As Shao Linshen spoke, he kicked Shao Mingzhu, sending her flying into a corner.

Shao Mingzhu clutched her stomach, in so much pain that she couldn't get up from the ground for a long time.

"Pearl!"

Seeing this, the old lady no longer cared about pretending to be sick. She threw off the quilt and rushed to her daughter's side, anxiously and carefully examining her daughter's injuries.

"Mom—, my older brother hit me! Just because I said a few words of justice, he started hitting me without saying a word."

Shao Mingzhu nestled in her mother's arms, sobbing, her gaze towards Shao Linshen filled with resentment, as if she were looking at her father's killer.

"Jiang Wanyin is right, he's just a violent and reckless man. No wonder that woman would rather sleep with Second Brother—"

"Shh! What nonsense are you talking about? Is this something a little girl like you should say?"

"Looks like those little sluts around you have corrupted you again. One of those days, I'll sell them all into brothels."

The old lady quickly covered her daughter's mouth, glared at her, and gave her a stern warning.

Then, she turned to look at Shao Linshen, who was still sitting there nonchalantly "watching the show." Her chest heaved violently for a long time before she finally calmed down and said:

"Eldest son, I know you're holding a grudge. If you have anything to say, just take it out on me. Mingzhu is your own sister!"

Even if she said something wrong, you could have punished her by making her copy books or sending her to the ancestral hall to reflect on her actions. How could you be so cruel to her?

At this point, seeing that Shaolin Shen was still unmoved, the old lady gritted her teeth, got up, and pushed her daughter to the servants, telling them to quickly apply medicine to her daughter.

Then, she strode to the dressing table, pulled out a red gold hairpin, pressed it against her neck, and with a sharp movement, pricked her wrinkled skin, drawing a bloody mark.

“If you don’t bring Zhili and Yuan’er back to the Marquis’s mansion today, I will die in front of you.”

"I'd like to see how you'll have the face to serve as an official in the court after the news of you driving your own mother to her death gets out."

Shao Linshen looked at the old lady's series of actions, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes, but he did not panic in the slightest.

He put down his teacup, slowly stood up, and stared coldly at the old lady, his voice low and chilling:

"Is Mother threatening me? Using her own life to blackmail her son, do you think that's honorable?"

The old lady felt uneasy under Shao Linshen's gaze, but with the die already cast, she had no choice but to proceed. She gritted her teeth and said:

“Lin Shen, your mother has no choice. Zhi Li and Yuan’er are your family after all, and you can’t just watch them wander the streets.”

"Is such a vast manor not enough to accommodate them, father and son?"

-

Shao Linshen sneered, slowly took a few steps forward, and stood firmly in front of the old lady, saying each word clearly:

"That's right, this Marquis's mansion simply cannot tolerate the father and son, and it has no intention of doing so."

If Mother insists on making a choice for that beastly thing, then I will naturally follow your wishes.

At that time, I will petition His Majesty to strip myself of my title, so as to comfort my mother's spirit in heaven.

Upon hearing Shao Linshen's words, the old lady trembled violently with rage. The gold hairpin that was already pressing against her neck tightened even more, and beads of blood continuously seeped from the wound, causing Shao Mingzhu, who was standing nearby, to scream in terror.

"Brother! How can you be so unfilial? You've driven Mother to this state, can't you just go along with her a little?"

Do you really want to watch your mother die before you're satisfied?

"Brother, I'm begging you, please let my second brother and nephew come back."

Upon seeing this, the maids and servants nearby all knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Shaolin Shen.

The scene made it seem as if he had committed some heinous crime.

Shao Linshen merely lifted his eyelids slightly, his expression remaining unmoved.

He casually scratched his slightly itchy back, and even had the leisure to pick up a piece of pastry from the table and slowly savor it.

Only when the old lady's neck was bleeding so badly that her collar was almost soaked, and her body began to sway precariously, did he cough lightly and slowly begin to speak:

"Little sister, it's not that your elder brother is heartless, it's just that Mother is doing this for the sake of the second son, completely disregarding our lives."

Shao Mingzhu was stunned by his words and stood there blankly: "...What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, in Mother's heart, only the second son is her real son, and the two of us are just there to make up the numbers."

If you don't believe me, just think back to your childhood. Didn't your mother always give the second son the best things first, and only the things he didn't want would be given to us?

Now that you've turned 15, you've reached the age where you should be looking for a spouse. Although the disgraceful things your second son did have somewhat affected the reputation of our Jingyuan Marquis's mansion.

But don't forget, the glory of our manor was all earned by your brother fighting on the battlefield.

"As long as you have your elder brother backing you up, there will be plenty of people eager to curry favor with you in the future. You'll be spoiled for choice among all the young talents in the capital."

"Hey! Big brother—"

Upon hearing this, Shao Mingzhu immediately covered her cheeks shyly, stomped her feet repeatedly, and pouted, scolding him:

How could you say... say such embarrassing things?

Seeing her lovestruck expression, Shao Linshen had completely forgotten about her elderly mother who was waiting for her support. A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes, and he sighed softly, saying:

"What a pity, Mother is so eager for the second son to come back. That shameless bastard has completely disgraced the Shao family."

If we let him stay in the Marquis's mansion, gossip will be terrible. You'll probably be seen as the same kind of person as him, and be looked down upon and scorned."

"Alas! It's a pity that I've been thinking of this family with all my heart, but I never expected that none of you would understand my good intentions."

"Since that's the case... then let's follow Mother's wishes and bring her back."

As Shao Linshen spoke, he looked at the frail old lady, his expression one of utter despair.

Upon hearing this, the old lady's expression suddenly sharpened, and her previously clouded consciousness due to blood loss instantly cleared. She hurriedly asked:

"Are you speaking from the heart? You really promised to let the second son and his father go back..."

"No! I won't agree."