Chapter 12 Persuasion

  He Huan stood under the corridor, watching the man leave with a faint smile. She handed him over to Shen Jinglin, not only could she eliminate the hidden danger, but also make Shen Jinglin realize that the Shen family was not absolutely safe, and he had to be careful to protect their son in the future. As for whether she owed her "savior", if he hadn't wanted to do evil, how would she have had the opportunity?

  "Miss, what are you laughing at?" Bai Mou stared blankly at He Huan.

  He Huan shook his head and said in a low voice: "We must hurry to find Aunt. Later, Brother-in-law will definitely send someone to look for us."

  In a moment, He Huan entered the Da Korean's infirmary alone. Lin Nuoyan saw her and immediately blocked the door, saying loudly: "Mother is resting, no one can disturb her." He had never seen He Huan before, but judged by her clothes that she was not a maid of the Shen family.

  Seeing her younger brother using his small body to protect their mother, He Huan's heart felt both sweet and bitter. Before she could speak up, Da Han's maid came forward and bowed to her, politely asking her not to disturb Da Han while he was recuperating from illness.

  The Great Khan inside the house was awakened by a series of sounds and weakly asked: "Nuo Yan, what happened?"

  He Huan heard her mother's voice and could no longer hold back her emotions. She strode past Lin Nuo Yan, suddenly kneeling down beside Da Han Shi's bed, choking out a cry of "Aunt".

  Han saw her, was taken aback for a moment, turned his face away and said stiffly: "I don't want to see anyone, go away."

  "Mother told you to leave, why are you still not leaving quickly? Otherwise I'll go tell your sister's husband." Lin Nuoyan protected his mother with a anxious heart, stretching out his hand to push He Huan.

  "Be polite, she's your cousin." Mr. Daehan scolded his son.

  "Are you He Jia's older cousin?" Lin Nuoyan sized up He Huan, "I've heard my sister mention you." The wariness in his eyes deepened a little more.

  He Huan sighed and lowered her head. Her mother was too kind, too soft-hearted, so she had entrusted her younger brother to not let people with ulterior motives get close to their mother. The two words "He Huan" were clearly on the list of those with ulterior motives. She said to Lin Nuoyan: "Cousin, the phrase 'blood is thicker than water' should have been taught to you by your master. I just want to say a few words to Aunt..."

  "We have nothing more to say." Mr. Da Han interrupted He Huan and ordered the maid to take her out.

  He Huan said loudly: "Aunt, my cousin has passed away, she had a hard time giving birth to Nian Xi..." Before she could finish speaking, Da Han's eyes were already filled with tears and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

  "Mother, don't be sad." Lin Nuo spoke in a grown-up tone, half-lying on the bed, using his small white hand to wipe away his mother's tears. "I promised big sister that I will take good care of you. And also little cousin, I will protect him and not let others bully him."

  Watching this scene, He Huan's tears slipped down from the corner of her eyes. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked up at the ceiling.

  Daehan listened to his son's childish voice, and tears poured down even more. He hugged him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, muttering: "Such a big thing as giving birth, I should have been with your older sister... It's all because my body is not good enough... If only I had been with her, at least I could have seen her one last time..."

  "Mother, don't cry. If elder sister sees you crying, she will also be heartbroken." Lin Nuoyan's pale face turned bright red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

  He Huan looked at them, took a deep breath to calm her emotions, and said to Da Han Shi: "Auntie, as the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. Don't you want your niece's hard-won son to grow up happily and carefree?"

  These words made Da Han suddenly speechless, and tears rolled down one by one. Lin Nuo was still young after all, and she seemed to understand but not really understand He Huan's words, only looking at her with confusion.

  Daehan thought about what He Huan said, slowly wiping away his tears. Shen Jinglin was good, but after all, he was just an ordinary man. In the future, when a new person enters the house, if it's a kind-hearted woman, it's fine, but if she encounters a vicious woman, she will definitely regard the eldest son born by her predecessor as a thorn in her eye.

  Dae-han's fear grew as he thought about it more, and he ordered the servant girl to take Lin Nuo Yan away. He pointed at the stool beside the bed, indicating for He Huan to sit down, and softly sighed: "It's hard on you to remind me."

  He Xuan lowered his head, shook it silently, and muttered: "Auntie, although we had some misunderstandings before, I have always treated you as my own mother. Three years ago, I was also helpless. Today, my cousin is in trouble, how can I not fulfill the responsibilities of a close relative?"

  When she heard this, Mrs. Han cried again and said: "Xiyuan's body has always been healthy, and during pregnancy, she was very careful. The midwife and doctor all said that the fetal position was very good, her pulse was steady and strong, how could it become like this!"

  "Auntie, Eldest Cousin certainly doesn't want to see you sad for her sake." He Huan sat down at the edge of the bed and took out a handkerchief to wipe away Da Han's tears.

  Dae-han grasped her hand, sobbing: "In the past, your older cousin was also like you, sitting by my bedside to comfort me. If it weren't for her, I might have followed your aunt long ago."

  He Huan let out a helpless sigh and softly consoled Da Han. Da Han wept for a long time before slowly stopping her tears. He Huan saw this and said in a soft voice, "Auntie, when Nian Xi was just born, I thought that after Sister enters the earth safely, there will definitely be many people who come under the pretext of taking care of Nian Xi... ask Brother-in-law to remarry within a hundred days..."

  "Think of Xi, my poor grandson." The old lady burst into tears again.

  "Aunt, you should know many things in your heart!" He Huan said anxiously and angrily. The second house of the Lin family must have been planning how to marry Lin Mengyan into the Shen family, but her mother only knew how to cry. If tears were useful, she would even cry blind if it meant returning to her son's side, but are tears useful?

  Dahyun was heartbroken and at a loss for words, muttering to herself: "Someday Brother-in-law will remarry anyway, what can I say?"

  "Auntie, at least you can prevent the second Miss Lin from becoming Nian Xi's stepmother. Can you bear to let your only grandson fall into her hands?"

  In an instant, Daehan forgot to cry. Speaking of the second house of Lin's family, she hated her teeth itching. Ten years ago, not long after giving birth to her son, she received news that her husband had been killed by pirates. She was at a loss, and even her husband's body was not found, but the second house attempted to harm her son. Her daughter was only nine years old, and after traveling for several days and nights, she knelt down and begged her uncle in Jizhou to take them away. If it weren't for her daughter leaving the city overnight, perhaps her only son would have fallen into the hands of the second house.

  "Nian Xi is the child I gave birth to with my life, and even if I die, I won't let Er Ya become his stepmother." Da Han's fists were clenched tightly as she got out of bed.

  He Huan hastily pulled her back and asked: "Aunt, what do you plan to do? You also said just now that my cousin's husband wants to remarry, but you can't make the decision."

  Dahyun was stunned. Her son-in-law had always been decisive, and Lin Mengyan was so good at pretending to be clever. Lin Guqing and her son-in-law had a long history of business dealings. To ensure the relationship between the two families, probably everyone would agree that Lin Mengyan should marry Shen Jinglun. Could she still go to Shen Jinglun and say, you can marry anyone, just not my daughter's cousin?

  "If I had another daughter!" Mr. Daehan blurted out.

  He Huan was so happy that she wanted to laugh. "Aunt, whether or not my sister's husband will remarry within a hundred days is all up to him. At this moment, instead of secretly crying here with you, it would be better to take my brother and stay by Nian Xi's side. My sister's husband is busy and can't take care of everything, so he needs you to watch over Nian Xi in order to feel at ease." She advised Han Shi not for the sake of her son, but for the sake of his mother and younger brother. She believed that Shen Jing Lun would definitely protect their son well. As long as his mother and younger brother were with their son, he would definitely make arrangements to ensure their safety.

  Hàn shì yī tīng zhè huà, máng bù dié diǎn tóu dào: "Duì, wǒ yīng gāi shǒu zhe niàn xī. Zhè jǐ tiān rén duō kǒu zá, wǒ děi tì huà yán hǎo hǎo shǒu zhe tā!"

  Translation:

  Hàn nodded hastily and said: "Right, I should guard Niàn Xī. These past few days have been chaotic with many mouths speaking carelessly, I must take good care of him for Huà Yán!"

  "Aunt, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but please don't mention the rumors about the Lin family's second household in front of my sister's husband. He dislikes it the most when people discuss others' right and wrong behind their backs."

  Mrs. Han looked at He Huan in surprise. At first, Lin Mengyan took advantage of her daughter's pregnancy and ran to the Shen family several times. She reminded her daughter that she must let Shen Jinglun see Lin Mengyan's true face. Of course, her daughter also advised her so. "How did you know about this?" She suddenly realized that today's He Huan seemed different from before.

  He Xuan smiled and said slowly, "Auntie, Brother-in-law is a humble gentleman who never speaks ill of others, nor does he like gossipy women. Many people know this. Now, Brother-in-law is heartbroken over Sister's death. If you keep chattering in his ear about trivial matters, it will only annoy him and have the opposite effect."

  Dahyun looked at Hwahwa with suspicion.

  There was a moment when He Huan really wanted to tell her mother that she was Lin Xiyue, her daughter. In the end, she still swallowed the words that had already reached her lips and sincerely advised: "Auntie, your niece is gone, only you can protect your nephew and Nianxi. You should be very clear about who regards your nephew as a thorn in the eye and a stab in the flesh."

  Dae-han naturally understood the implication of Heo Hwan's words, but she didn't know what to do. Her parents had already passed away, so should she go ask her older half-brother for help like she did ten years ago? Or perhaps, in order to thoroughly sever any thoughts of the second household, she should suggest that Shen Jing-lun marry her half-brother's daughter?

  He Huan saw the expression of Han's family and hastily persuaded: "Aunt, people's hearts are separated by a layer of skin. You have all seen that I am having such a hard time, but Uncle has not even given me a grain of rice." Han Qi, the younger brother of Da Han, was the same as He Huan's mother, Xiao Han. Han Qi ignored He Huan and instead got close to Da Han's family, only because he was afraid of losing face in front of the Shen family. With such parents, it is easy to imagine what kind of daughter they would raise.

  Dahanshi had heard Lin Xiyue mention it several times, that she couldn't be too close to her uncle's family. Now even He Huan was saying the same thing, so she immediately put aside this idea and let out a sigh, saying: "I know, these past two years you've been having a really tough time... actually it's not that Auntie didn't want to help you... back then if you hadn't gone too far, Xiyue and I wouldn't have been able to ignore your life or death."