Chapter 277: Not A Loss
The Lin family valued her highly.
The vehicle turned a bend on the mountainside. It was nearing dawn, the night sky was vast and silent, and the Lin family mansion was brightly lit.
It was a European manor style from the last century, five and a half stories, with two annexes, all with yellow brick roofs and pearl granite dry-hung facades, surrounded by blue jacaranda trees.
The vehicle drove in through the main gate, circled a giant fountain, and stopped specially at the hall doorway.
The Lin family had generations of wealth. While not the foremost clan in Hong Kong, they had consistently ranked in the top four for decades, with their main and branch families extending to sixty members, who gathered to greet two elders over ninety years old standing on the twilight steps.
Lin Xianzi had introduced the family members in advance, and Liancheng couldn’t remember them all but had a general idea.
As soon as she got out of the car, the two elders came forward. One hugged her, and the other stood by, tears streaming down his face, “It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back…”
He was so choked up he couldn’t speak.
Lin Xianzi supported him and called to Liancheng, “Call him Grandpa.”
Liancheng had thought about this moment, anticipating that she might cry uncontrollably, or stammer, or feel overwhelmed with emotions too complex to describe.
“Grandpa.”
The old master had ruddy cheeks and silver hair; his eyes were sharp, his hearing acute, and he stood steadily. Yet, this single, obedient address made him feel overcome.
“And what about me?” The old madam, who had hugged Liancheng, cupped her face. “My dear, what do you call me?”
“Grandma.”
Lin Xianzi burst into tears.
With internal and external turmoil overcome, and dangers navigated, this moment was one of pure joy.
After the family recognition and greetings, Liancheng was officially back. Knowing she had been through a lot and hadn’t had dinner, the family shared a late-night meal.
Lin Xianzi took her back to her room. “Time is short, and I couldn’t fully understand your preferences. Your uncle made some rough adjustments. If you don’t like it, we’ll have plenty of time later to design it slowly.”
Liancheng looked around. The large bedroom with a balcony had an overall Morandi palette of gray and pink, mature, serene, with minimalist lines and meticulous attention to detail, incorporating current popular styles.
It was a far cry from the Lin family’s opulent decor. It didn’t seem like a rough adjustment; it seemed like it had been carefully understood and designed.
“I like it.” She ran her hand over the sofa. “Did Uncle investigate my past?”
During her adolescence, she liked to act mature. A month before Liang Wenfei returned, Yao Nianci expanded the greenhouse. During an interview, there was a designer whose concept she really liked, but Yao Nianci didn’t.
In the end, Liancheng persisted, and Yao Nianci agreed to let this designer renovate her bedroom. The initial draft was in gray and pink tones.
Liang Wenfei returned, and it was dropped.
“Do you feel offended?” Lin Xianzi pulled her towards the walk-in closet. “It’s me who wants to understand what kind of life you lived—”
Lin Xianzi’s tone faltered, “—what kind of life you lived.”
When the past, and Liang Chaosu, were mentioned, Liancheng lowered her eyes and remained silent.
The ring light strip in the walk-in closet automatically illuminated. Lin Xianzi accompanied her as she walked around the island counter.
“I found a nanny who was close to you in the Liang family, named Wang. She said you used to love dressing up and only stopped in the last few years. Some of these jewelry pieces were given by Grandpa and Grandma, some by your uncle, and the rest were chosen by your mother: hair clips, necklaces, earrings, rings—”
She opened the jewelry cabinet door. Liancheng walked over and looked at each piece: red diamonds, jade, amethysts. There were over fifty sets, a dazzling array, brilliant and sparkling, collector-quality pieces.
There were also a few pieces that Liancheng was very familiar with. These were the ones she had sold or traded over the past four years to buy birthday gifts for Yao Nianci.
“Aunt Wang told you everything.”
Lin Xianzi picked out a necklace and adjusted the mirror’s light. “She didn’t say much. Her son failed the civil service exam and is trying to make his way. Your uncle arranged for her, and I brought her here to accompany you for a while.”
The Lin family was a large clan. Beneath the kinship and blood ties, there were also personal connections and different fields of development, making smaller social circles unavoidable.
Liancheng’s recognition in the family was one thing, but wanting to be close and integrate was another. The Lin family was a foreign environment to her, and she was a stranger of the same bloodline to the Lin family members. Initial contact was inevitably marked by courtesy and awkwardness.
Lin Xianzi knew this clearly. Finding Aunt Wang was to prevent Liancheng from feeling even a trace of loneliness or helplessness during the initial adaptation period.
“Thank you.”
Lin Xianzi held the necklace and held it up against her neck but never actually put it on.
Through the mirror, Liancheng saw Lin Xianzi’s reddened eyes again, her lips pursed, the bittersweet joy constricting her voice.
“Rest now,” she said, putting away the jewelry. “Don’t think about anything. You have Mom. Don’t do anything. Mom is here. Sleep well. When you wake up tomorrow, all the noble families in Hong Kong will come to congratulate your return. Liancheng, you no longer have any burdens. From now on, you’ll be carefree.”
Liancheng smiled obediently.
Lin Xianzi’s emotions became even more uncontrollable. She went downstairs in a disheveled state and entered the study.
Lin Lanfeng had just finished a phone call. Seeing her tear-streaked face, he paused for two seconds and offered her a tissue.
“She just had her birthday. She faced life and death at twenty-three. Liang Chaosu’s ordeal must have frightened her. It’s normal for her not to recover her emotions immediately.”
Lin Xianzi covered her face, forcing herself to calm down. “What about Lian Yingying? Has she been caught?”
The police had stopped them the moment they returned to Hong Kong. The clues in the kidnapping case were very clear. Mo Shicheng was in the detention center. In the urgency of the situation, his subordinates hadn’t had time to report, and he had directed Lian Yingying to meet Shi Daya twice by car.
Whether she was the mastermind or not, she was a principal culprit. The arrest warrant was issued when Liang Chaosu was taken to the hospital. Six or seven hours were enough to search all of Hong Kong; even a mosquito would have been found.
However, Lin Lanfeng shook his head. “It’s confirmed. At 4:30 PM, before the kidnappers made their move, she secretly set sail from the port.”
“Impossible.” Lin Xianzi’s eyes flashed with a sharp, cold glint. “Mo Shicheng is brutal, and his subordinates are vicious. Lian Yingying was a key participant. Would they let her leave before there was a result?”
Lin Lanfeng nodded in agreement. “I thought so too. After confirming Jin Tonghai was the mole, most of my attention in Hong Kong was focused on Liang Chaosu. By unexpectedly discovering He Jinian and benefiting Liang Zhengping, I paid little attention to Lian Yingying.”
Lin Xianzi countered, “Do you think the problem lies with Lian Yingying? To secretly leave the country like that, she would have to deceive not only Mo Shicheng and Mo Shifu but also us. Could she have done it all by herself?”
Lin Lanfeng frowned, disapproving. “You suspect Lin Ziqiu? This kidnapping targeting Liancheng has already proven that the mole is Jin Tonghai without a doubt. Only when their vital point is attacked will Mo Shicheng’s people retaliate.”
“I did suspect Lin Ziqiu before, but not now.”
Lin Lanfeng understood. “You think there’s someone else within our Lin family?”
Lin Xianzi said in a deep voice, “When Liang Chaosu came to Hong Kong, he went directly to the villa where you had just decided to hide Liancheng. Mo Shicheng’s foundation in Hong Kong is not as strong as Liang Chaosu’s, yet he managed to get guns. Before you went to the mainland, you took precautions at home. Lian Yingying, without some probing, would not have been able to determine your whereabouts so quickly.”
“And her secretly setting sail, these three points together, Lin Ziqiu couldn’t have managed them.”
Lin Lanfeng remained silent.
Before he went to the mainland, for Liancheng’s safety, he had specifically screened the Lin family and caught two servants, believing the Lin family’s leaks had been plugged.
Now it seemed they were merely scapegoats.
“I know. We’ll start by investigating those in the family who were close to Lian Yingying. It will also serve as a warning to our family members, letting them understand the importance of Liancheng, so they make fewer serious mistakes. There will always be ‘harmless’ minor flaws.”
Lin Xianzi turned to another matter. “Liang Zhengping sent Liang Wenfei to Hong Kong and then handed over Liang Chaosu’s leverage. A pair of children in exchange for a temporary truce, what do you think?”
“It’s not a loss,” Lin Lanfeng said. “Our next steps are, first, to find evidence that Jin Tonghai tampered with Far East Pharmaceutical, and second, to deal with European pressure. We were already stretched thin and couldn’t deal with him.”
“Regardless of whether he is genuinely showing sincerity or wants to use us to get rid of Liang Chaosu, we are not at a loss.”
