Chapter 198
Chapter 198
Zhong Dingyan did not know what to feel as the icy hand gripped him tightly.
Before coming here, he had considered what he would do if his father truly was the murderer who killed Second Brother.
Could he have his father imprisoned and convicted as a killer? How could he possibly do that?
His emotions tangled, but he obediently crouched and said softly, “Father, what do you wish to tell me? Your son is listening…”
Zhong Ming sighed, then spoke words that chilled him to the bone.
“I killed Yue’er.”
He admitted it directly, without evasion.
Zhong Dingyan could not speak. The words struck his chest like a blow.
He would rather his father had been possessed by a Vengeful Ghost than hear him admit to the murder…
Only after a moment did he ask hoarsely, “Why… why did you do it?”
Zhong Ming explained, “Because I had to choose between you and him.”
“Choose?”
Zhong Dingyan could scarcely believe his ears.
He had never imagined such a reason.
“Why did you have to choose? Second Brother and I… are both your sons.”
“What could possibly require a choice between life and death?”
Instead of answering, Zhong Ming asked, “Do you know where this place is?”
Zhong Dingyan shook his head blankly.
“I do not.”
“This was originally meant to be your home.”
The revelation struck Zhong Dingyan like a thunderbolt. “Father, how can you joke about this? The Zhong Family… isn’t it…”
Zhong Ming swept his empty gaze around. “Before the Zhong residence existed, this was our home…”
Zhong Dingyan had never heard of it.
He looked around. The house was dilapidated, with missing roof tiles, a pitted floor, peeling walls, and doors and windows riddled with holes…
It could not have differed more from the grand, spacious Zhong residence.
“Father, why did you never tell me?”
Remembering the blind woman outside, he asked, “Who is that woman? Is she connected to the Zhong Family?”
Zhong Ming shook his head. “No. The house stood empty after we left. I expect… her family later bought it.”
Zhong Dingyan still did not understand. “Even if this was once the Zhong Family home, what of it?”
“You are now the Minister of Justice, a second-rank official with your own residence.”
“If you miss this place, we can simply buy it back.”
Zhong Ming tightened his grip.
“Yan’er, do you know the price I paid for everything I possess today?”
Zhong Dingyan knew his father had always been modest. Despite decades in office, he had never boasted of his hard work or achievements.
Stunned again, he answered, “I know only that as Vice Minister of Justice, you earned the sovereign’s trust, the respect of the court, and the love of the people. You are a rare and honorable official.”
Zhong Ming sneered. “I spent thirty years rising and falling in officialdom, easing His Majesty’s burdens, serving the court, and ridding the people of harm. But sooner or later, every man becomes useless.”
“Now everyone at court knows the Ministry of Justice has Ren Fengjue. How many still remember Zhong Ming?”
Zhong Dingyan had no answer.
Zhong Ming sighed. “Looking back, the day I entered the Capital feels like yesterday…”
“Great Qi was founded only thirty-six years ago. Yet those thirty-six years passed in the snap of a finger…”
Zhong Dingyan assumed his father merely longed to return to the Capital and resume his duties.
He clasped his father’s hand in return. “Father, you are still strong. If you recuperate properly, perhaps you can return after spring begins.”
Zhong Ming’s voice was hollow. “This body will never return. Even if it did, it would not last long.”
“If only I could go back more than thirty years and be your age again…”
He raised his other hand and stroked Zhong Dingyan’s face. “Yan’er, you and Yue’er are both my biological sons, but only you truly resemble me…”
“Looking at you is like seeing myself in my youth…”
“I still remember that I was your age when I traveled to Shangjing for the examinations…”
Zhong Dingyan remembered hearing that story from his father.
The years when Zhong Ming studied hardest had also been the most chaotic under heaven.
After order was finally restored, the dynasty changed, and the court reinstated the civil examinations.
He passed the prefectural examination, only to encounter bandits while traveling to Shangjing.
They robbed his silver, stripped away even his clothes, and abandoned him in the wilderness.
He nearly died. Fortunately, a kind traveler passed by and brought him to the Capital, allowing him to attend the provincial and palace examinations.
Zhong Dingyan had marveled at his father’s hardships and felt grateful for Heaven’s protection.
But now Zhong Ming said coolly, “In truth, I died once that night…”
Zhong Dingyan did not understand. “Father…”
Zhong Ming continued, “I was not traveling to Shangjing alone.”
Zhong Dingyan started again, sensing another secret.
His voice trembled. “You said you were alone. Who else was there?”
“Another man traveled with me. His learning was inferior to mine, but he was handsome, dignified, and shared my surname.”
A terrible premonition filled Zhong Dingyan. “Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Zhong Ming spat out the word coldly.
His expression and tone frightened Zhong Dingyan again.
His father still held his hand in a crushing grip…
He tried to pull free but failed. Panicking, he asked, “How… did he die?”
“Because only one of us could live. Just as… only one of you and Yue’er can live.”
All color drained from Zhong Dingyan’s face. “Father, I don’t understand…”
“Second Brother often angered you, but he was still your own son.”
Zhong Ming smiled strangely. “Indeed. Both of you are my sons, so it is only right that you make some sacrifices for me.”
“Without me, how could you have become the Eldest Young Master of the minister’s residence and lived amid wealth and luxury?”
“You would likely have spent your life in this house, poor and insignificant.”
Zhong Dingyan could no longer speak.
“You have enjoyed twenty years of wealth and status. By any measure, you should be satisfied.”
Looking at his terrified son, Zhong Ming smiled coldly again and spoke one last, cryptic sentence.
“Yan’er, you are my good son. My affection for you was not wasted…”
Zhong Dingyan’s eyes widened, terror filling them.
But his limbs had gone rigid and would not move.
In despair, he watched his father raise his other hand and cover his eyes…