Chapter 7

Lin Ruhai was utterly bewildered by the chaotic scene before him. What on earth was happening? What did his sister mean? Did Xu Yang really look just like his nephew? Wasn't his nephew only three years old when he went missing? And now, even the child's eyes looked exactly like his father's! He had only opened his eyes for a brief moment, and fortunately, his sister's presbyopia allowed her to see clearly! Lin Ruhai wanted to tell his sister that this could not possibly be his nephew, having come from hundreds of years in the future. How could that be? But at that moment, Doctor Qin also arrived to examine Mrs. Xu, stating that there was nothing serious. Seeing his sister laughing and crying at the same time, he simply could not bring himself to say it out loud.

Xu Yang dreamed of many things; he seemed to see his mother crying, his father crying, and many, many people gathered together in tears. He wanted to say that he was fine and for them not to cry, but he could not make a sound. He saw his mother's white hair, saw the furrows on his father's forehead; he saw many, many things, yet it seemed he could not see anything clearly.

Yet it was a single remark from Aunt Meng that startled Lin Ruhai awake. She was a woman, and women are prone to flights of fancy. At this moment, she was bewildered by the strange developments of the situation. After much effort, she had settled Xu Yang into the courtyard prepared for him, assigning two capable maidservants from Aunt Meng's side to attend to him. Mrs. Xu followed closely behind but stubbornly refused to return to her large courtyard, insisting on staying by Xu Yang's side, unwilling to see her brother, only waiting for Xu Yang to awaken. Aunt Meng, at her wit's end, helped Lin Ruhai back to the study. She too felt somewhat disoriented and murmured, "Isn't this child from hundreds of years in the future? How could he be the young master? What a coincidence, how similar! Could it be that the young master is a reincarnation from hundreds of years later?"

Is there a better arrangement than this? Sister www.hetushucom.com Sister has a son, bringing hope. The family assets of the Xu family have long been divided among others by my sister. Now, having recognized Xu Yang, she only states that she will not reclaim the property, and no one will obstruct his entry into the family register. Xu Yang is not of the Xu bloodline; he deceived my sister with lies to ensure she had someone to rely on in her later years, and he does not covet the Xu family's possessions, so he feels no guilt towards the deceased brother-in-law. Xu Yang knows many things. Although I admire and appreciate him, I cannot help but feel some discomfort due to the private matters he is aware of. However, now that he has become my nephew, he is family, and all that remains is genuine admiration and gratitude.

Xu Yang was extremely sad, desperately shouting and calling out. He suddenly sat up, only to see a familiar yet unfamiliar woman's face in front of him

By coincidence, Lin Ruhai's servant was just bringing Xu Yang back to the Lin residence to recuperate. Lin Ruhai was kind-hearted, and Xu Yang had won his favor. Upon hearing that Xu Yang's illness had worsened and that he had consulted several doctors without improvement, Lin Ruhai decided to have him brought to his home for treatment. Moreover, since Physician Qin had been visiting daily to check his pulse, it was convenient to have him at home for further examination. It was inappropriate to have Physician Qin running back and forth to that chaotic and dilapidated place; such friendships should not be taken for granted. Besides, there were no female relatives in the house, and given the spaciousness of the residence, staying in a side courtyard was not inconvenient. To the outside world, it would simply be said that a distant relative had come to visit. Coincidentally, the axle of the corner gate was broken and under repair, so Xu Yang's soft couch was carried through the side door. At that moment, Mrs. Xu had just alighted from her carriage and was preparing to switch to a sedan chair to enter through the second gate. Seeing a person being carried down from a cart and waiting on the other side of the main gate, seemingly waiting for them to enter first before proceeding, she became curious and casually inquired. The servant was unsure but mentioned that it seemed to be a relative of Lord Lin's younger generation who had come to visit, having fallen ill on the way. Lord Lin was worried about him being outside, so he had someone bring him in. Mrs. Xu, being older and having no taboos, thought that a relative was indeed a relative, and since she had heard he was ill, she felt no hesitation at her age of over fifty. Thus, she approached to take a look.

Then suddenly it seemed that everyone went about their own business; Father was in a meeting, Mother was in class, and Brother and Sister-in-law were playfully teasing their son...

Lin Ruhai's skill in spinning tales is quite remarkable. He is well aware that lying is a technical endeavor, requiring a mix of truth and falsehood to avoid being easily exposed. Thus, he pretended not to know that the child was his nephew in front of his sister. He gradually recounted the story of how he came to know Xu Yang, blending truth and fiction.

The face, which closely resembled his mother's, displayed an expression of disbelief, a mix of a smile and tears. The woman in ancient attire suddenly embraced him tightly, weeping, "Yang'er, my Yang'er! My unfortunate child, it is mother's fault; I will never abandon you again"

This sentence seemed to have grasped Lin Ruhai like a lifeline! Indeed! Where in the world could there be such a coincidence? Lin Ruhai thought of Xu Yang, who had crossed hundreds of years to come here, separated from his family, yet somehow knew the future of himself and his family, as if he had come specifically to save them. Now, with such a coincidence, could it be that he truly was the reincarnation of his deceased nephew, coming back to continue the bond between mother and son with his sister? Lin Ruhai had never believed in ghosts or deities, but the events of the past month had changed his disposition. He had always liked Xu Yang for his kindness and gentleness, and with this possibility, he increasingly felt that what Aunt Meng said made sense. How could such a good fortune occur, with a child who was neither kin nor acquaintance coming to save their family? If it were indeed his own nephew reincarnated, it would be understandable. With this realization, Lin Ruhai's mind quickly became clear.

Aside from the deceased Master Xu, only Lin Ruhai is aware of this matter. Yet, it is peculiar that Xu Yang shares both the name and appearance of his late nephew. With Xu Yang's mysterious background, how should he explain this to his sister, who treasures him so dearly

He was blaming himself, when suddenly he was struck with fear! His brother-in-law, Mr. Xu, had privately informed him that his nephew was not lost, but had fallen into the river and drowned while watching the lanterns on the bridge during the Lantern Festival. Not wanting to cause his mother and wife further sorrow, he had only sent away those who had not taken care of the child, claiming instead that the child had been abducted, so that his mother and wife would have something to hold onto and not be unable to endure. He had secretly prepared a grave for himself and dug a hole beside it to bury his son there. Mr. Xu's health was poor, and he had long given up the hope of having another child. Because of this, he felt distressed but had no one to confide in, and he was determined to grieve himself to death. His relationship with Lin Ruhai was quite good, but he felt so stifled that he eventually confided in Lin Ruhai.

He cried out for his father, called for his mother, but no one could hear his words. They went about their lives at their own pace, as if he did not exist at all

How did it come to this? Lin Ruhai could not understand; everything seemed to have changed since that evening. The inexplicable youth, the mysterious book, the unfathomable experiences... He thought he had encountered the most extraordinary events in this world, yet who would have thought that there was still such a bonus gift waiting for him

This sight was alarming; Mrs. Xu was taken aback. The eyebrows, the eyes, the age, the mole by the ear! Moreover, thinking about how her younger brother had acted out of character, insisting on coming over, and the strange things he had said, which were completely unlike his usual self, it was clear he had forced himself to come. She felt she was beginning to understand her brother's good intentions. At that moment, Xu Yang, who was lying there, suddenly opened his eyes. He first looked at Mrs. Xu in a daze, then struggled to leap into her arms and began to cry loudly. As he called out "Mom, Mom," Mrs. Xu could no longer hold back and also embraced Xu Yang, crying. After they had cried enough, she realized that the child in her arms had already fainted again. This led to another flurry of activity, leaving Lin Ruhai, who had come to greet them at the door upon receiving the news, ignored. She kept shouting, "My son, are you trying to take your mother's life? After all this time, if anything happens to you, I won't live either!" She also scolded Lin Ruhai for being irresponsible, saying that he should have informed her sooner about bringing her son back, which had caused her to rush over after so many days. If her son were to leave her just like that, she would hang herself with a rope.

Determined to make a decision, Lin Ruhai immediately took action. After discussing with Aunt Meng about how to fabricate a lie, he thought it over carefully. Then he went to the courtyard where Xu Yang was staying, trying to persuade and stop her, and eventually managed to convince his sister to return. After that, he began to concoct a story.

Lin Ruhai never anticipated that events would unfold in such a manner. In the twenty-first century, we might say, "This is simply an unbelievable turn of events!" However, Lin Ruhai did not understand this expression. He could only stroke his beard, pretending to be profound, while exerting force with his hand, nearly pulling out a few strands of his beard.

Mrs. Lin's husband is surnamed Xu, and everyone calls her Mrs. Xu. Mrs. Xu arrived a month after Lin Ruhai sent the letter. She received a letter from her brother, crying inconsolably, selling everything that could be sold, giving away what could be given away, and only leaving the old residence of her in-laws. She had the family properties and most of the farmland witnessed by the clan elder, distributing them among her husband's relatives. She dismissed the household servants, keeping only a few elderly people to look after the old residence, and left several hundred acres of land for their sustenance. She took with her the movable dowry, hired two large boats and two small boats, and traveled north along the Grand Canal from Zhenjiang to Yangzhou. After two days of bumpy sailing, she switched to horse-drawn carriages. Fortunately, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are prosperous, and there were plenty of carriages available, so there was no need for Lin Ruhai to specially send a carriage to pick her up. In this way, along with the time spent organizing her household affairs and traveling, it took her over twenty days to finally arrive at Lin Ruhai's official residence.

Thus, Lin Ruhai blamed himself again, lamenting his poor memory! At this moment, he suddenly understood why he felt a sense of closeness to Xu Yang. Wasn't it so? He bore a resemblance to himself, perhaps three or four parts alike; a nephew resembling an uncle. It was likely that the child his sister lost also bore some resemblance to him, which explained why his sister had mistaken him. He suddenly recalled that his nephew was indeed named Xu Yang. Since he had left early, Lin Ruhai had only seen him once when he was young, so he had not thought of it immediately. Alas, this truly cannot be blamed on others; it is his own carelessness. He suddenly remembered that his nephew was indeed named Xu Yang. Since he had left early, Lin Ruhai had only seen him once when he was young, so he had not thought of it immediately. Alas, this truly cannot be blamed on others; it is his own carelessness.

Mom! Xu Yang completely failed to notice the astonished gaze of the person in front of him. He abruptly threw himself into the other’s arms and cried out: "Mom, Mom, please don’t leave me! I won’t run around anymore, I won’t make you worry again! I am your Yang Yang, please don’t abandon me..."