Silent Era - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“You’re talking nonsense!” Gu Zhen panicked before Bai Sihuan could finish. He retorted, “You look so honest, but you lie without blinking! Uncle, don’t believe him! He’s on Lin Heng’s side!”

“I’m not lying. If Lin Heng really told Karen to bite you, Karen would have already hurt you. And without his instructions, Karen would never let go. If you don’t believe me, ask Lin Heng to try.” Bai Sihuan had experienced this firsthand and understood it better than anyone.

Bai Sihuan looked at Lin Heng, motioning for him to give Karen instructions. Lin Heng froze for a moment, a look of shock on his face. He hadn’t expected Bai Sihuan, usually so gentle and naive, whose words were incoherent, to be able to explain things so clearly and even intimidate Gu Zhen.

Lin Heng naturally didn’t understand why someone who barely knew how to ride a horse would risk his life on horseback to protect him, and why he wouldn’t dare to tell the truth.

After half a second, Lin Heng realized what Bai Sihuan was saying and coldly called out, “Karen.”

Karen barked, her teeth bared. Gu Zhen took a step back, immediately cowering. “Is it true, I heard wrong? I saw the dog running towards me and thought it was going to bite me, so I fell off, okay?”

The confusion was reversed once again. Mr. Zhu’s face changed drastically. He glanced at Bai Sihuan and asked Gu Zhen, “Then why was the child injured? Why did Lin Heng hit you?”

Gu Zhen was like a liar, spinning lies faster than water from a faucet. “He didn’t know how to ride and accidentally fell off. As for Lin Heng… our competition was so intense just now. There was a small misunderstanding, and I didn’t explain it clearly, so he hit me!”

“How funny! This Young Master Gu is the equestrian champion? How can he even compete with Lin Heng in equestrianism?” A girl in the crowd laughed deliberately.

Having a girl expose the truth and then mocking him like that, Gu Zhen felt both ashamed and angry. He wanted to glare at the gossiper, but he didn’t dare look back.

Mr. Zhu felt his nephew had acted so shamefully, unable to even tell a coherent lie. He felt completely humiliated, his expression growing increasingly uglier. If it weren’t for his pride, he would have slapped Gu Zhen.

Gu Zhen saw his uncle’s sullen face, and he turned pale with fear, trembling all over. Gu Zhen knew better than anyone what his uncle looked like when he was angry.

That day, Lin Musheng, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, went to Mr. Zhu to plead for his release of Lin Xianyan. She accidentally said a few unkind words, and he slapped her twice in public and ordered a beating.

Even a dignified daughter of the Lin family, who had accidentally said something disrespectful in front of him, was beaten by him. How much more so was his nephew, who lived under someone else’s roof and had mediocre parents.

Seeing Lin Heng cleared, Cheng Sutang’s brows relaxed, and she stepped forward to smooth things over. “Mr. Zhu, young people are just like that, impulsive. They might become close friends tomorrow, but we shouldn’t worry too much about their affairs.” She took Mr. Zhu’s arm and walked aside, saying, “Anyway, let’s not offend anyone, okay?”

Mr. Zhu’s expression brightened slightly, and a smile curled his lips. “Mrs. Lin is right.”

Cheng Sutang, having taken advantage, started to play nice. “But after all, it was our Lin Heng who started the fight. It’s our Lin Heng who’s in the wrong. How about this? I’ll have someone send you a painting tomorrow as an apology. I know you love calligraphy and painting, Mr. Zhu. This painting, I bought from Mr. Shibasaki for six hundred. It’s an Edo-period ukiyo-e.”

“Six hundred, then I’ll have to see it too!” Mrs. Chen said, following. The “hundreds” they mentioned usually had to be followed by tens of thousands. Such transactions were common among those in the inner circle: a pile of cash exchanged for a modest item, nothing new.

The elders brushed the matter off and left, chatting and laughing.

Gu Zhen, disheveled, felt embarrassed to mingle with his peers. He followed the elders and glared back at Bai Sihuan and Lin Heng, “Just wait!”

After they left, Lin Heng pulled Bai Sihuan aside, questioning him and wanting to see where his injuries were.

Lin Siying said, “Let’s take him to the hospital first. I’ll go talk to Dad.”

The three of them left the deer park first, taking Bai Sihuan to a nearby hospital for an examination.

The examination revealed nothing serious, just some bruises on his thigh and a scrape on his back. No internal injuries; a little medication would suffice.

They didn’t return to the deer park. After leaving the hospital, the three of them took a taxi home.

Back home, Lin Heng had the servants apply medicine to Bai Sihuan, looking completely distracted. Bai Sihuan noticed something was wrong and wanted to ask, but didn’t know how.

Lin Heng’s mind replayed Gu Zhen’s provocative words. Gu Zhen wasn’t trustworthy, as evidenced by his defense after the accident. But the words he’d spoken while riding horses lingered in his mind. He wondered if Gu Zhen’s words were true or just provocation. How much truth was there? How much was false?

At this point, he heard Bai Sihuan suddenly hiss. He looked up and saw Aunt Liu, bewildered, holding the medicine in one hand and a cotton swab in the other. Lin Heng chided her, “I asked you to apply the medicine, but why are you so clumsy?”

“That broken skin is going to hurt if you apply this kind of medicine,” Aunt Liu said awkwardly, looking at Lin Heng.

Bai Sihuan quickly spoke up for Aunt Liu: “Aunt Liu, you didn’t hurt me. I just felt the medicine was a little cold, not painful.”

Normally, when Lin Heng got angry with a servant, Bai Sihuan could calm them down with a few kind words. This time, however, it didn’t work. Lin Heng snatched the medicine from Aunt Liu’s hand and waved his hand impatiently: “Get out of the way!”

Aunt Liu pursed her lips, fearing Lin Heng would lose his temper again, and hurried away.

“Lin Heng, don’t be so angry all the time.”

“Hmm?” Lin Heng paused as he was about to apply the medicine to him at Bai Sihuan’s sudden words.

In the past, Bai Sihuan would never have dared to speak to Lin Heng like that, but after what happened today in Deer Garden, he felt that as Lin Heng’s older brother, he needed to teach him a lesson: “If you hadn’t been so determined to pick a fight with that Gu Zhen today, you wouldn’t have let him succeed so easily.”

Lin Heng remained silent.

Bai Sihuan thought, “Oh no! This young master is about to lose his temper again.” His exposed back was furious, and his body stiffened, not daring to move, waiting for Lin Heng’s outburst.

A few seconds later, Lin Heng suddenly pinched his cheek, squeezing it twice and saying, “You’re getting bolder and bolder.”

Bai Sihuan was pinched so hard that tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing his red eyes, Lin Heng softened his heart and released his hand, softening his tone. “Okay, I promise I won’t get angry so easily again.”

Bai Sihuan rubbed his face, a smile of relief spreading across his face as he finally listened.

Two hours later, Cheng Sutang and Lin Huan returned, and Lin Heng and Bai Sihuan happened to see them coming upstairs as they left their room.

Lin Huan was about to look for Lin Heng: “Heng, come here. I need to tell you something.”

Lin Huan walked towards the study. Lin Heng paused for a moment, then followed closely behind.

After Lin Heng and Lin Huan left, Cheng Sutang saw Bai Sihuan still there and glared at him, cursing, “You evil bastard! You’re as worthless as your mother.”

Lin Heng hadn’t returned for over half an hour. The distance from Bai Sihuan’s room to the study was quite long; it required passing through an art gallery and an antique street.

It was late at night, but the lights in the gallery were still on. The gallery had been renovated with new Nordic-style wallpaper, and all the valuable paintings on the walls needed to be taken down and replaced. Two servants were retrieving the Edo-period ukiyo-e painting. Even though it was hanging from a single hook, they handled it with great care: “Be careful! Don’t damage it! It’s for Mr. Zhu, and you can’t get it dirty!”

Seeing Bai Sihuan pass by, the two of them glanced at each other but remained silent, continuing to focus on retrieving the painting. Bai Sihuan’s current position in the family remains awkward. While he’s the mistress’s son, a young master, and even ranks higher than Lin Heng, he’s ultimately a bastard, forced to keep his mother’s surname. If Lin Huan dies first, it’s uncertain whether he’ll leave him any money. Whether he can stay in this family depends entirely on fate.

In the servants’ eyes, they only know that the mistress dislikes Bai Sihuan. He’s weak and incompetent, with no standing in the family. The little respect he’s managed to squeeze out must be reserved for those of higher status. The rice bowl they hold in their hands is like blue and white porcelain: beautiful and valuable, but fragile. Holding it for whom doesn’t matter; holding it firmly is what matters.

Walking through the long gallery and down the antique path, Bai Sihuan finally sees the door to the study.

From a distance, he could hear Lin Huan’s deep voice behind the door, shouting, “Who made them born into this family? Born into this family, this is their fate! How do you think the Lin family has managed to survive all these years? Were they given away for nothing?”

“But they are your biological daughters!” The voice belonged to Lin Heng.

Bai Sihuan could only vaguely hear Lin Huan’s curses. Just as he was about to move closer, a familiar voice rang out from behind him: “Sihuan.”

Bai Sihuan turned and found Lin Siying standing behind him.

“Ignore what’s going on in the study. Go back to bed,” Lin Siying warned him.

Bai Sihuan hesitated, and only after Lin Siying emphasized, “Let’s go,” did Bai Sihuan slowly leave. He glanced back at the study again, hearing the commotion inside. He couldn’t help but worry: “Are they arguing about my eldest and second sisters? Is it because they’ve left the Lin family, that’s why…?”

Lin Siying, always smiling, suddenly frowned, and said, half-warningly, “Don’t ask about these things anymore. Go to bed.”

Bai Sihuan was stunned. Seeing Lin Siying’s reaction, he didn’t dare to ask any more questions. He nodded and slowly walked back to his room.

He truly felt like an outsider in this family.

The next morning, the family of five gathered for breakfast again, acting as if nothing had happened. Lin Heng, however, had a pale face, and aside from asking Bai Sihuan to sit closer, he didn’t say a word the entire time.

Bai Sihuan seemed accustomed to the depressing atmosphere at the table, lowering his head to eat his meal.

Halfway through breakfast, the doorbell rang, and the servant went to see who had arrived. Five minutes later, the servant hurried in and whispered in Old Pei’s ear. Old Pei’s expression grew increasingly serious as he listened, glancing at Bai Sihuan.

Lin Huan, seeing this, put down his porridge spoon and asked, “What’s going on?”

Old Pei paused, then replied, “A kid’s here, claiming to be Young Master Sihuan’s younger brother.”

Hearing this, Cheng Sutang and Bai Sihuan also put down their chopsticks.

Cheng Sutang curled her lips, her eyebrows raised. Just as she was about to ask Old Pei to send the kid away, she heard Lin Huan say, “Oh, really? Then let him in.”

Given permission, the servant nodded and went to open the door.

“I’ll go check.” Bai Sihuan hurriedly stood up and followed them out.

Lin Heng, hearing that the person who had come was Bai Sihuan’s younger brother, felt a little uncomfortable watching Bai Sihuan leave, and stopped eating as well.