Chapter 7: Her past life

Her heartbeat was too loud in her ears, and Madam Lin could not hear what the man was saying at all.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes in shame, just like how it had always been in the previous life when her husband suddenly acted like a rogue.

After waiting for a while with bated breath and nothing happening, Madam Lin finally opened her eyes.

The man was towering above her. He was tilting his head to look down slightly at her, but his gaze was not the passionate or affectionate one he used to have.

It was a gaze full of condescension, and also, disgust.

A large bucket of cold water seemed to splash over Madam Lin’s head.

Her mind that had gone foggy and confused after seeing the man’s face finally cleared up, and she realized just how ridiculous she had been acting in front of everyone.

Madam Lin was no longer the Madam Lin in a woman’s body. She had now become a man, and in everyone’s eyes, her name was Lin Feng, the son of a wealthy and aristocratic family in the capital of the country.

Her approach just now to Hou Yizhen, who clearly did not remember their past lives together, was seen as a man showing a romantic interest in another man.

In this era, the world was very open-minded, especially in many overseas countries.

But this country, even several hundred years later, still retained a conservative view on the practice of cut-sleeves, or what was now known as homosexuality.

Many men in this country looked down on such people, and homosexuals tended to hide in their closets.

In other words, Madam Lin had stepped into the man’s landmines quite a few times, acting like an infatuated homosexual who kept on making advances to Hou Yizhen, who disliked his approach.

...Wait, Madam Lin seemed to remember something.

Did Hou Yizhen just say that he was her uncle?

They were actually family members?!

Madam Lin suddenly swayed, her face paling.

So not only did she commit the sin of homosexuality in Hou Yizhen’s eyes, she also appeared to have attempted to form an incestuous relationship as well!

Intense shame, humiliation, and shock enveloped the already fragile nerves of the ancient woman’s soul, and unable to take it, her delicate heart shattered.

She swayed, and then fainted.

Hou Yizhen’s originally annoyed face suddenly changed, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as he caught the falling body of the young boy.

What the hell? He just glared at him, and the boy already fainted?

How can a man be so delicate?

Despite his inner surprise, Hou Yizhen carefully put him down, straightened up, and with a few large steps, walked back to the door and opened it.

"The boy fainted. Check on him," he ordered tersely.

Later, Hou Yizhen simply waited outside the room while the doctors and nurses rushed inside and busied themselves around the patient.

While running around for the doctors’ errands, the nurses could not help but secretly glare at the tall man who appeared like a thug leaning on the wall, inwardly blaming the person for appearing too fierce.

They highly suspected that this scary-looking man must have scared off the delicate and frail youth.

Madam Lin had a dream.

In that dream, she was meeting her husband face to face for the first time officially, which was during their wedding night.

He lifted the red veil off her head, and his deep black eyes looked into hers, calm and unbothered.

At that time, Madam Lin was suffused with joy from head to toe, and was also afraid of the man.

She was a quiet boudoir young lady pampered by her parents and was never allowed to meet men aside from her own family members. She rarely stepped out of the house, save for the few banquets she was required to join and the family visits they paid to the temple to pray for blessings.

Her mother had instructed her about the wedding night, and after seeing the fire avoidance books once, she could not continue and shamefully threw them into the fireplace, terrified of the maids noticing the book’s existence.

The wedding night was a night full of joy. Madam Lin was inexperienced and had no idea of what to do, but the man above her seemed to be able to move on instinct, perhaps because he already had concubines who served him. When she woke up the next day, her body ached terribly, and she was barely able to stand on her bound feet, despite her maids’ assistance.

Life soon became a routine in the Lin household. Her husband’s parents were still alive and well, including the old patriarch and the old matriarch. There were some minor disagreements with the second branch, but they were nothing special. The Lin family was still considered a very harmonious family.

Soon, Madam Lin was pregnant. To serve her husband while she was inconvenient, Madam Lin raised one of her close maids, who was also the most beautiful, into a concubine.

She soon gave birth to a son, and the entire household celebrated. She also saw for the first time a truly happy smile on her usually aloof husband’s face.

Years passed, and her caring and thoughtful husband looked at her with more and more affection.

However, the border had been quite turbulent, and his time away from home would often extend to months whenever the borders requested assistance.

Until finally, the emperor sent a decree. Her husband would be stationed at the border as the general to lead the army.

Although terrified, Madam Lin had wanted to go with him, but the entire family resisted, and her husband also ordered her to stay in the capital.

Madam Lin could only ask her close maid to follow her husband and serve him well.

During the years her husband was away, the old patriarch passed away, soon followed by the old matriarch.

But her husband was unable to return.

Then, she heard good news one after another.

The lost territories were recovered one by one, until her husband finally drove out all the barbarians from the country, making them fear the sound of his name.

Her husband returned with great victory. The entire capital sang in joy. The palace bestowed treasures upon treasures of rewards to the Lin family.

Everyone thought that the Lin family would take this chance to rise to prominence, but when the emperor offered to bestow a title of prince to her husband, her husband declined. He also declined the title of a Duke.

Until the emperor insisted and even wrote a decree to ennoble her husband with the title of the Marquis of Wei, only then did her husband, an upright and patriotic man, finally accept the emperor’s grace.

Madam Lin did not care. What was important to her was her husband’s safety. She was very happy about his return.

Her husband, the concubine, and the concubine’s son and daughter came home after years of absence, and a grand banquet was held in celebration. Madam Lin could finally sleep beside her husband’s warmth.

Her husband was still affectionate with her, respectful during the day, and passionate during the night.

However, his body had been plagued with many weaknesses after years of war. He was full of scars, and his old injuries flared up regularly, becoming especially worse during the cold and rainy days.

Her father-in-law, the current patriarch, became ill and soon passed away, and as if a signal had been lit, her husband’s health worsened. Despite her attempts to look for medicinal treasures and legendary doctors, her husband was not able to live long.

Distraught, the matriarch also fell ill. Madam Lin, who was in deep grief, was almost in despair. Fortunately, her mother-in-law held through. To ensure that her mother-in-law would not be too exhausted, Madam Lin took over the duties of a matriarch under her mother-in-law’s guidance, and bit by bit, slowly became an impeccable and virtuous matriarch of the household.

When the matriarch finally passed away, Madam Lin was no longer as distraught as before, because she knew that she could not fall. Her son soon showed promise and was able to secure a high position in the officialdom. Soon, it became apparent that like father, like son, and no tiger father would give birth to a rabbit son.

Her son became a proud official who entered the court before he even reached his prime. His abilities shone, and he was able to prop up the entire Lin family by himself.

Her daughter-in-law was also filial, giving birth to a few healthy heirs, and was from a scholarly family. She was able to teach the future head of the family excellently.

Life was peaceful.

Until that day, after a few days of serving porridge to the refugees, Madam Lin was persuaded to visit the temple to pray for blessings. She saw the poor monk surrounded by refugees, and soon, her carriage rushed to the cliff.

Madam Lin was falling, her body was in the air, and she could feel the wind rushing all around her as she screamed in terror, and the next moment—

The boy bolted up from the bed, gasping for breath, his face deathly pale and his wide eyes dilated in terror.

Sometimes, revelation came at an odd moment.

Things you never truly thought deeply about before, but all of a sudden, they became crystal clear.

Why did she visit the temple at such a time, when there were many refugees on the streets due to famine?

Madam Lin finally realized that she had been schemed upon.

Someone wanted her dead.