Meng Lin's eyes widened. She seemed to understand what her brother meant, but she was unwilling to believe it. Her brother's words made her dream clearer and clearer, but she did not want it to become a reality. Thinking of this, she subconsciously shook her head."Brother, this…is impossible."
Azurepeak heard his sister's answer and knew that Meng Lin had guessed 70 - 80% of it. He just didn't want to face reality. Azurepeak didn't continue. He couldn't look at Meng Lin's shocked eyes and lowered his head without saying a word.
When Meng Lin saw her brother's pained silence, she seemed to have understood something. Her nose turned sour and two drops of tears fell. Although she was not her biological father, and although this fateful relationship between her parents had fallen from the sky, this father had treated her well. Before Meng Lin transmigrated, she was born into a single-parent family. Her father's early death made her exceptionally tenacious, independent, and capable. After she came to Shanghai, she wanted to earn more money so that her mother could live a good life. She accidentally transmigrated to the Xia family. This made Meng Lin feel the long-lost feeling of being loved by her father. This feeling made her feel warm and secure. She did not have the time to cherish it, but who knew that it would disappear like a meteor. When she left the Xia residence, she was still fine. How could she…Just as he was thinking, the Japanese carriage stopped. The coachman put down the handle. Azurepeak looked and saw that they had already arrived in front of the Xia residence.
The red lanterns on both sides of the door were replaced with white lanterns. The elegiac couplet hung on the door frame, and the two pairs of stone lions at the door also hung elegiac couplet. When the siblings saw this scene, they had no choice but to accept reality. With heavy steps, the two of them walked into the courtyard. From afar, they saw the servant maids and housekeepers wearing mourning clothes and kneeling in two rows. In the middle of the main hall was a mourning hall. In front of it was an uncovered coffin. Beside the coffin were Second Aunt, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle burning paper. Mother sat on the ground and cried bitterly. The luggage in the hands of the Qingfeng siblings instantly fell to the ground. They shouted "Father" and rushed towards the coffin.
Old Master Xia was dressed in a lavish shroud and lay peacefully in the coffin. Meng Lin cried out loud. She seemed to have returned to the scene of her father's early death. She was only 14 years old at that time. The pain of losing a loved one was experienced again today. Qingfeng controlled his emotions along the way, but when he entered the house, he completely collapsed and cried out loud. When his mother saw that the two children had returned, she said,"My son, it's good that you're back. Today is the last day of the wake, and tomorrow is the funeral. You can make it in time to send your father on his last journey."
Azurepeak wiped his tears and asked his mother,"Mother, Father's body is very good. How could this be?"”
" I don't know either. He was fine that morning and said that he was going out to do something. Who knew that in the second half of the night, he would say that his heart felt uncomfortable and wanted to look for Doctor Lin but felt that it was too late. He would wait until daybreak to talk about it. Who knew that when I woke up the next day, he…was already dead." As he said that, he was already in so much pain that he was in so much pain that tears flowed down his face.
" Is Doctor Lin here?" Qingfeng asked.
"He's here. He's saying that he has a heart disease."
" Brother, a heart attack is a heart attack. It might not look like a problem normally, but it might suddenly flare up. If you don't save it in time, it will be fatal," Meng Lin interjected.
" I still think it's strange, but I can't think of anything strange," Azurepeak said as he glanced at his sister.
" Aiya, what's so strange about it? Didn't Doctor Lin already say that Eldest Brother is sick? Who doesn't have a disease when they're old? Death is like a lamp going out. My condolences," Third Brother stood up and said impatiently.
Azurepeak instantly shifted his eyes to Third Uncle. Seeing Third Uncle's indifferent attitude, Azurepeak was instantly filled with righteous indignation. His elder brother was dead, and he still had such an attitude. He did not feel any pain at all. This really made Azurepeak hate Third Uncle to the extreme. The second girl, who was listening at the side, stood up unhurriedly and opened fire at the third brother."Third Brother, what are you talking about? Why don't you act like an elder at a time like this?”The third brother glanced at the second girl and muttered something. He didn't hear what it was clearly, but from his expression, he knew that it was most likely something like scolding the second girl. Azurepeak looked at Third Uncle with hatred and worry. He felt that in front of his father's mourning hall, he had to endure even the greatest things, so he resisted the thought of using violence on Third Uncle.
" Mother, I'll be keeping vigil with Eldest Brother tonight," Meng Lin said.
" Okay, you two accompany your father and talk. A few days ago, your father was still concerned about how your business in Shanghai was doing. He even said that he would go to the hospital to take care of you when the beginning of autumn is cool. Who knew…" As she spoke, Eldest Mistress started crying again.
" Mother, where are Grandfather and Grandmother?" Azurepeak looked around and realized that the two elders were not present.
"Your grandmother and grandfather are both sick and are in the hospital now. This matter is causing trouble."
Qingfeng comforted his mother and told her to go back to rest. He arranged for a few servant girls to cook. He received the neighbors who came to mourn the whole day. Old Master Xia was a good person. No matter if the neighbors had money or not, they would send some paper money to appease the family. Unknowingly, it was night time. After three days of crying, his family was tired. Azurepeak told them to go back and rest early. The funeral would be busy the next day, so he and his sister would stay overnight to watch the funeral.
At night, there were only the siblings in front of the coffin. Meng Lin continued to burn the paper. Qing Feng looked at his sister and asked if she was afraid. Meng Lin said that he was not afraid. Firstly, he was his father and not an outsider. Secondly, he had his brother to accompany him. The two siblings were reminded of the scene at this time, and tears fell. Meng Lin said that he had made great progress in Shanghai recently. Every time he made progress in his work, he remembered it very clearly. It was to see his father and share his happiness with him. Qingfeng also said that it was all his fault. He thought that he would come back to visit his father after dealing with the matter of Ah San. This way, his father would have an explanation when he asked about his work. Who knew that before Ah San could be found, his father had an accident. When it came to his father's accident, Azurepeak asked his sister what she thought. Menglin said that he had read about heart disease and it was quite similar to his father. In other words, his father might have been born and aged normally. Azurepeak was a little hesitant. He did not doubt his sister's words, but he reserved his opinion. His father was 80% likely to have died of old age and illness, and 20% likely to have other reasons. Meng Lin asked if there was any other reason. Azurepeak said that he didn't know either. He also didn't understand why he had such a premonition. If he could explain it clearly, he wouldn't hesitate anymore.
It was already late at night. The door was open during the wake. The cold wind blew at night. Meng Lin was a little scared at this time. Azurepeak saw that his sister was afraid and said, let's change the topic. Let's not talk about such a heavy matter. Therefore, Azurepeak suggested to talk about the two of them when they were young.
" Do you still remember how much you liked to eat sweets when you were young? Mother was afraid that you would break your teeth, so she hid the sweets she bought every year during the New Year. You were very smart when you were young, and you could find them every time. However, there was one year when you couldn't find them no matter what. Later, there was no other way. Father saw that you looked pitiful without sweets, so he couldn't help but tell you where to hide the sweets..." Qingfeng said.
"Is that so? What was the result?"
"In the end, you must have found the candy and then ate it all like in previous years.”
"What fun was there when I was young?”Meng Lin asked again.
"When we were young…I brought you to set off firecrackers. You were afraid of the sound, but when you saw me set off firecrackers, you were envious. Later on, you slowly got used to the sound."
"Anything else?"
"Also…right, why don't you remember anything? I'm only a few years older than you, and we've experienced many things together.”Azurepeak looked at Meng Lin in surprise.
" I... I don't know either." Meng Lin lowered his head and used a wooden stick to pull away the ashes of the paper that were about to burn out. He used this to escape Azurepeak's wise gaze that seemed to be able to see through people.
Azurepeak kept looking at his sister, who had her head lowered and remained silent. Meng Lin did not know whether it was because of the psychological pressure in the solemn and special atmosphere of the mourning hall that she did not dare to lie, or if it was because she had been hiding her true identity for a long time that she felt tired of it. At this moment, she did not use an excuse to get away with it, but directly said that she did not know. She even recalled the dream that she had. In the dream, her father had said that he had long known that she was not the real Xia Menglin, so he did not dare to lie in front of his father.
Azurepeak noticed that his sister was silent. He thought for a moment and said,"Menglin, there are some things that big brother doesn't know whether to say or not."
Meng Lin's wooden stick that was pulling away the paper ash stopped. It was as if she had long expected that one day, she would face the suspicion and questioning of others. She did not expect that this day would come so quickly, and it was the brother she loved.
" Go ahead." Meng Lin put down his wooden stick, displaying a calm and prepared mental state.
Azurepeak saw that his sister's state had changed greatly. She had deliberately avoided the situation before and now she was calm in the face of danger. This made him a little unprepared and surprised. However, since his sister was prepared to be questioned, there was no reason for the person who asked to withdraw halfway.
" I always feel that ever since you came back from overseas, you've been acting weird a lot of the time." Azurepeak frowned.
Meng Lin's heart skipped a beat. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him. Although she had thought that her brother might have suspected her before, as long as her brother did not say it out loud, she would think that she was overthinking things. Although she was mentally prepared, she still felt her scalp tingle and her heart tremble when her brother asked her a question that she did not know how to answer. Meng Lin subconsciously looked at her father's coffin and recalled the words her father had said in her dream. She felt that it might be God's will to tell her brother on such an occasion. As for whether telling him the truth was good or bad, and what kind of ending it would bring, it was up to fate. Just like how she had transmigrated to the Xia residence, she never dreamed that she would have a fate with this family. This was also destined. Thinking of this, Meng Lin seemed to have a sense of relief as if he had been relieved of a heavy burden. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Brother, I…I think it might be Father's idea for you to ask me this question tonight, so I have to tell you the truth."
"The truth? What other truth do you have?" Azurepeak was stunned.
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