“Of course!”

Yan Sanhe reached up to rub the space between her brows.

“Surely Old Master Ji knows the importance of husband and wife sharing the same bed in life and the same tomb in death?”

What did this mean for a woman?

It meant she was recognized by the clan, by the man, by descendants for her entire life; it also meant in the next life she could continue the bond with this man again.

Even if this woman didn’t even have a full name on the tombstone, it was still the highest honor for her.

Ji Chunshan’s final choice to share a tomb with his first wife was tantamount to telling the Ji family descendants one thing:

I, Ji Chunshan, only recognize Zhang-shi in this lifetime. In the next lifetime, I also only wish to continue my bond with Zhang-shi. You, Hu-shi—in my eyes, you are nothing!

“If it were me, I couldn’t swallow this grievance.”

Yan Sanhe: “Both wives, both having names recorded in the Ji family genealogy, I even left descendants for the Ji family. Why can’t I share a tomb with my husband?”

Pei Xiao was also curious. “Right, why not?”

“It’s still because…”

Yan Sanhe looked directly into Ji Lingchuan’s eyes, suddenly changing tack. “You sons also believe she’s unworthy?”

Boom!

All the blood in Ji Lingchuan’s body surged to his face. His two eyebrows twisted tightly together. For a long time, he couldn’t utter a single word.

“Old Master Ji, it’s not that I must pry into your Ji family’s private matters. Some things that seem insignificant to others might be precisely what became an obsession for your mother.”

Yan Sanhe was exceptionally calm.

“If the matter is to be resolved, you must tell me the truth—you can only tell me the truth. Otherwise…”

“Uncle, just speak!” Pei Xiao beside him was dying of anxiety.

From Maternal Grandmother’s death until now, he had never considered this question. If not for Yan Sanhe raising it today, he would still think it was perfectly natural.

Ji Lingchuan’s gaze fixed on a certain spot, silent for a long while before speaking.

“Actually, this was my and Second Brother’s idea.”

“Wait!”

Pei Xiao’s voice cracked. “Did Maternal Grandfather make any deathbed instructions or not?”

Ji Lingchuan looked at this nephew with vacant eyes. “Your maternal grandfather left no words at all.”

“Why!”

Pei Xiao listened with smoldering anger, slapping the table wanting to curse. “Uncle, how can you be so wrongheaded?”

“Impudent!”

Ji Lingchuan flew into a rage from shame, shouting back very impolitely.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Pei Xiao didn’t even acknowledge his own parents, let alone a Ji Lingchuan. He immediately pointed at his nose and scolded.

“Where did Maternal Grandmother ever wrong you that you would falsely claim it was Maternal Grandfather’s intention to have her buried separately? No wonder her coffin won’t close—you’re the one who harmed her.”

“You…”

Ji Lingchuan was both angry and anxious, cursing back, “Your grandmother’s—mind your own damn business.”

“I won’t mind it then!”

Pei Xiao rushed before Yan Sanhe. “You don’t mind it either. Whoever wants to suffer misfortune can suffer misfortune. What does it have to do with us? Why bother with this trouble?”

“Pei Mingting, you, you, you…” Ji Lingchuan clutched his chest, unable to catch his breath.

“Crack!”

A teacup shattered on cue.

Both men froze.

“You, sit back down and shut your mouth.”

Yan Sanhe’s gaze slanted, then looked toward Ji Lingchuan. “You, tell me the truth.”

Pei Xiao’s white eyeballs encircled his black pupils as he fiercely glared at Ji Lingchuan, then obediently sat back down.

Little beast!

Ji Lingchuan cursed inwardly, then said through gritted teeth, “Miss Yan, I grew up at my legitimate mother’s side. I…”

His legitimate mother was a gentle, water-like woman who taught him to read, taught him to be human, pouring all her maternal love into him without holding back a bit.

“Miss Yan, you may not believe this when I say it.”

Ji Lingchuan sighed long and deeply. “Until I was ten, I always thought I was her own child. Not until she passed away did I learn the truth.”

Yan Sanhe: “So, in your heart, she is your true mother?”

“Yes!”

Tears slowly seeped from Ji Lingchuan’s eyes.

“She fed me spoonful by spoonful of rice and soup; she raised me through shit and piss. I must repay this debt—I must.”

Yan Sanhe said nothing. Her gaze slanted toward Li Buyan in the corner.

Li Buyan lightly shook her head at her.

Don’t believe it.

Men are as reliable as pigs climbing trees.

Moreover, it wasn’t as if there was no solution that benefited everyone. Three people sharing one tomb—this matter could also be justified.

Yan Sanhe was silent for a moment, then said flatly, “Old Master Ji, what kind of background does your legitimate mother Zhang-shi’s natal family have?”

Ji Lingchuan was greatly shocked. “Why do you ask this?”

Yan Sanhe: “You only need to answer me, not question me back.”

Cold sweat seeped from Ji Lingchuan’s palms. He answered truthfully, “The current Crown Princess is surnamed Zhang.”

So that’s it!

It was actually this!

Some things Yan Sanhe hadn’t understood in her mind now all had explanations.

“So all this talk of repaying debts is just deceiving people.”

Yan Sanhe’s words were extremely impolite.

“The real reason is that the Zhang clan wields great power. You don’t want to offend them, or you have requests of them, or they can give you benefits. So you let your father be buried with Zhang-shi?”

“I…”

Ji Lingchuan’s lips trembled. He couldn’t speak.

“Let me analyze this entire matter. Old Master Ji, listen to whether I’m correct.”

Yan Sanhe stood up and walked to the threshold. Outside in the courtyard, spring filled the air, yet inside this flower hall, one felt cold to the bone.

One threshold, two different worlds—weren’t people and matters in this world just the same?

Some people sat high above; some people’s lives were like ants. Some people enjoyed deep fortune and fulfillment; some people schemed exhaustively for nothing.

“Though I don’t know the details of the Zhang clan’s influence in the capital, a clan that could produce a Crown Princess clearly wields extraordinary power.

“Zhang-shi marrying into the Ji family was already marrying down. That’s why even after two miscarriages left her unable to bear children, she still wasn’t divorced and could remain secure in her position as the legitimate wife.

“When Hu-shi entered the Ji family and bore you, the Ji family, under pressure from the Zhang clan and to put Zhang-shi at ease, adopted you under Zhang-shi’s name.

“Your adoption wasn’t your mother’s scheme. No mother in this world would willingly hand over her son to another. She had no choice.”

“Quick, keep going!”

For the first time in his life, Pei Xiao felt that these twists and turns of the inner chambers’ women truly hooked his heart!

“Your father said your mother was innocent and adorable when young, quite different from the young ladies of the capital’s great houses. First, your mother was a fisherwoman’s daughter—your father found her novel.

“Second, she’d seen little of the world and was simple in heart. This kind of simple woman most draws a man’s pity and affection.”

Yan Sanhe paused, then continued analyzing.

“But having her son taken made her gradually understand that as a concubine in the Ji family, she was insignificant. Never mind her son—even if Zhang-shi wanted her life, she could only give it.

“But she quickly discovered that this matter, aside from that bit of pain at losing her son, brought her nothing but benefits.

“Her son’s future was secured. The man felt he owed her and doted on her more. Zhang-shi, for the son’s sake, was more tolerant of her. However…”

“However what?” Pei Xiao couldn’t wait.