Beijing.

Lin Xu walked around three times and found himself in the secret courtyard.

After more than ten years of raising other women outside without being discovered, Lin Xu was not as cautious as he was at first, so he walked around for a while and went to the house.

Tan Chaoli followed her husband quietly until he entered the yard.

The person who opened the door for him called out "Master" in a flattering manner. Tan Chaoli heard Lin Xu ask something from a distance, and the concierge said.

"The madam and the girl have just had dinner, sir, don't worry."

Madam... girl...

Tan Chaoli's feet shook for a while.

She stepped back in disbelief, temporarily avoiding the concierge as he watched privately.

She never knew that Lin Xu had such a courtyard, but she somehow remembered that he used to love to go to the courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing when he was sleeping. She had gone with him several times, but every time she took her son In the past, he would despise the noise, saying that he came to the suburbs of Beijing just for peace and quiet. She brought many people to make noise, so how could she get peace?

Tan Chaoli is his wife. After Mrs. Lin passed away, she became the Lin family's wife. She was in charge of the Lin family's internal affairs and had no time to spare. She never left after that.

After all, her husband is not a womanizer. He doesn't even have sex with his concubines, so what else can she doubt about him?

But today...

Tan Chaoli stood in front of the door for a while, calmed down, and asked people to ask the neighbors of the house, and they had a good time.

This yard is not under Lin Xu's name, and the house has been empty for a long time. It has only been occupied in the past two days. As for who lives in it, the neighbors don't know.

Coincidentally, there happened to be a neighboring house for sale, which was right next to Lin Xu's secret courtyard. Tan Chaoli bought it immediately without hesitation.

The landlord was naturally overjoyed and agreed to Tan Chaoli's request to keep her secret completely.

At noon, she entered the house she had just bought.

There was only a wall between them, and she could hear the sounds inside while standing under the next wall.

She didn't hear the maids chewing their tongues, or the servants bickering. Instead, at some point, she heard the voice of a hysterical woman.

"Lin Xu! Let us go! You can use your power to imprison me for more than ten years or even a lifetime. What about Ning Ning?! She is only fifteen or sixteen years old, do you want to trap her for a lifetime? You still say yes Marry her to anyone according to your wishes!"

The woman's voice was stern, and Lin Xu's angry and helpless voice came.

"Yanyan, keep your voice down! I will make arrangements for our daughter. I care about you mother and daughter. Do you still doubt this..."

There was a sound of the door closing.

Tan Chaoli couldn't hear what Lin Xu said next.

Just the two words he said to his "Yanyan" were enough to make Tan Chaoli's head feel like it was smashed, and she fell into a trance.

When she saw the letter from someone unknown this morning, she still didn't believe it. But when she found this secret courtyard, she couldn't bear to disbelieve it. Now she heard the words from Lin Xu himself.

Tan Chaoli suddenly wanted to laugh.

It turns out that her so-called husband, who is a perfect match for her and has been in love with her for more than ten years, has actually raised a woman next to her who has been away for many years, and has a daughter who is fifteen or sixteen years old? !

Back then, when she was still pregnant, she asked Lin Xu many times whether she wanted to have a marriage or be a concubine, but he refused without saying a word. At that time, she didn't know how touched she was. She felt that it was worth all the hard work and fatigue for Mrs. Lin in this life.

So later on, she followed whatever her father-in-law, Lin Ge, said and Lin Xu told her, and she never doubted Lin Xu at all.

But now that she thought about it, she felt cold all over.

Lin Xu didn't want to have sex with his concubines because he only cared about the person he loved, and he was his wife and couldn't get pregnant for many years. What was the reason?

Tan Chaoli was in a daze, but she wanted to laugh more and more.

Lin Xu loved "Yanyan" so much, but the woman seemed to hate him so much that she didn't want to stay with him at all.

What does this mean? Do you deserve to be punished for your own misfortune?

In the hot weather of midsummer, Tan Chaoli did not come to expose Lin Xu. She just felt cold all over and walked out with her arms folded.

She has worked hard for Lin Xu and the Lin family for half her life, and will she get such a reward?

Her father-in-law, Mr. Lin Ge, should also know, right? Is it because of that woman's status that she couldn't enter the noble family of the Lin family, so Lin Xu could only raise her outside, but he married her and later let her bear him a child. This was considered as fulfilling his mission in the family. .

Tan Chaoli did not take the Lin family's carriage again. She even walked on the street in a daze, not knowing where to go.

Will you still return to the Lin family and continue to be the envied Mrs. Lin?

Can she deceive others or herself?

But if you try to expose Lin Xu, there's nothing you can do, but at most you can let that woman in. Even so, Lin Xu won't be grateful to her for it, and it won't be of any benefit to himself or his son.

As she walked slowly down the street, too many thoughts ran through her mind.

If she never has a child, she should divorce immediately and no one should be disgusted with her anymore, but she still has a son who still has Lin's blood.

What should she do?

However, Tan Chaoli suddenly thought of another thing - who was it that sent her this letter, and what did it mean?

However, the next breath, a boy came out of the teahouse facing the street and walked towards her.

"Zhengji?" Tan Chaoli was stunned, "Why are you here? Where is your uncle?"

Zhengji saluted Tan Chaoli.

"Madam, the uncle is at the teahouse. It's Ling Xiao who came to invite madam to the teahouse for a chat."

Tan Chaoli was startled for a moment, and she vaguely understood something.

...

in an inconspicuous private room in a teahouse.

Tan Ting looked at his aunt. She was always bright and dazzling. Although she was still wearing gorgeous clothes, her face was pale, her eyes no longer had the sharp light, and her face had a haggard look.

Before Tan Ting could speak, he heard his aunt ask him.

"Is this the letter you sent me? When did you know about it?"

Tan Ting was somewhat impressed when he saw that his aunt remained rational and calm even after going through this.

"My nephew has known about this for some time, but the Lin family still has many secrets. At that time, my nephew had been investigating, so he did not tell his aunt immediately."

Tan Chaoli did not blame him. In the eyes of everyone, she was the protector. The first person in the Lin family's noble family, even if her surname is Tan, she is also from the Lin family...

Tan Chaoli laughed at herself, but asked Tan Ting.

"You said Lin's secret? What secret? What did you find out?"

After she asked this, Tan Ting had no intention of hiding it anymore.

"My aunt probably doesn't know that the four great families of Lin, Chen, Cheng and Li have been killing Zhongliang for many years. My father-in-law Xiang Zhiyuan, the eunuch Gu Xianying, and..."

He paused for a moment and his voice became hoarse for a moment. He looked at his aunt Tan Chaoli.

At that moment, Tan Chaoli's heart stopped as she heard her nephew's words.

"And my father... they all joined forces to kill him!"

Because these four aristocratic families joined forces, they deliberately chose people who could not take office. There were successive incidents before it, and it was Tan Chaokuan's turn to get rid of the epidemic. Chen was secretly doing things in the district, which resulted in Tan Chaokuan's "accidental" death.

They killed Tan Chaokuan, which was equivalent to suppressing the entire Qingkan Tan family.

This is exactly what Mr. Lin Ge ordered!

If it were not for the support of Tan Ting by the three old masters and the fifth old master, and the position of eldest son fell into the hands of Tan Chaoxuan, the Tan family would have completely become a vassal of the four major families.

After Tan Ting finished speaking, Tan Chaoli closed her eyes forcefully.

She thought that her husband, who was in love with Qin and Se, had been deeply in love with others for more than ten years, but the brother she loved most since she was a child was killed by her husband's family and the family next to her.

It's ridiculous that she doesn't know anything, allows herself to be manipulated by the Lin family and her son, and yet continues the Lin family's bloodline and has a child!

At that moment, Tan Chaoli was so filled with hatred that a few words popped out between her teeth.

"Ms. Lin, you've brought me to this..."

Tan Ting's men also started to hold on. Lin Ming was already in great danger and it was impossible for him to stand up again.

And what should he do with his aunt who was harmed by the Lin family?

He couldn't help but think of a difficult matter that no one could discuss when the prince was discussing matters.

If the prince returns to the palace forcefully, he will inevitably be blocked by the four major families. While the emperor is still in the palace, it cannot be ruled out that the four major families will spread rumors and cause trouble, causing the prince to rebel and force the palace. They will defeat him, bring down the reputation of the East Palace, and cover up their crimes.

Even if it doesn't work out, the prince is a son and a minister, and the emperor is a father and a king. Once such rhetoric spreads, it will be detrimental to the prince's reputation for benevolence and virtue.

During the discussion at that time, no one had a good idea, but Tan Ting looked at his aunt and thought of the inseparable relationship between her aunt and Lin, and a plan was quietly formed.

Lin Xu didn't get any favor from Shen Yan and his daughter. He wanted to persuade them again, but his father called him back to the Lin Mansion.

Lin Ge Lao saw the scratch on his son's neck at a glance and snorted coldly.

"You are really promising. You have only cared about this one woman your whole life."

Lin Xu didn't want to talk to his father about this. His father despised the common people and it was useless to say anything.

Mr. Lin Ge did not want to say anything more, "Okay, at such a critical moment, let's focus on the court affairs."

He said, "The prince has not been seen alive, and his body has not been found dead. Duke Ding led his army to look for him again. , I feel really uneasy. I have found a substitute now, and the body will be found in two days. You will take the substitute body back to the capital for burial. Even if the prince is not dead, he will not come back.

" Ge Lao thought about his plan and felt a little at ease.

Although he heard his son's answer, he thought that his son was not as resolute as him and was always caught up in matters between men and women, so he couldn't help but remind him.

"I don't care if you raise people outside, but you can't ruin my big things, and don't be discovered by Tan at this juncture. When everything is settled in the future, the Tan family will naturally collapse. At that time, you let Tan bring Shen into the family. It doesn't matter, after all, Mr. Tan can no longer be stubborn."

He said and told Lin Xu a few more words.

After the father and son finished speaking, they left.

But behind the lush trees not far away, Tan Chaoli closed her eyes and sneered again and again after hearing what the father and son said.

Tan Ting received the news from his aunt from the Lin family and immediately went to the other courtyard where the prince was hiding.

Lin Ge Lao wanted to use his substitute to carry out the death of the prince, and it had only been a day or two. The prince laughed after hearing this.

"What a coincidence, Gu's army has arrived tonight, and I can't wait for Mr. Lin Ge's substitute to come on stage."

At these words, everyone cheered up.

...

It is night, and there is no difference between the inside and outside of the capital city as on weekdays.

The Cheng family was responsible for guarding the territory and outside the country. Due to the arrival of Duke Dingguo's troops, Cheng Luo personally boarded the city gate at night.

Although they were on guard against Duke Ding, Duke Ding and his men had just arrived in the capital. They had kept things secret for so many years, so how could Duke Ding know that there was something else going on about the prince's disappearance.

Cheng Luo didn't pay too much attention, he just thought that a group of unknown people took advantage of him and snatched the eunuch from his hands. After several days, he couldn't find it.

The eunuch, like the missing prince, disappeared into the sea.

Thinking of this, Cheng Luo felt a little uneasy. He recalled the figure of the person who came to kidnap Gu Xianying that night, and suddenly a burst of thoughts flashed through his mind.

That man turned out to be somewhat similar to the Taoist priest next to the prince.

The Taoist priest next to the prince... Gu Xianying...

Cheng Luo suddenly thought of it.

Gu Xianying had a nephew who became Xiang Zhiyuan's adopted son, and then left the Xiang family and disappeared.

Cheng Luo's eyelids twitched. It must be his nephew who kidnapped Gu Xianying this time. So, could his nephew be a Taoist priest from the East Palace whose origin is unknown? !

On top of the city tower, the night wind blew past my ears. When I looked out of the city, it was completely dark. Only the top of the city tower was covered with torches, but they were blown by the wind and swayed brightly.

Cheng Luo's mouth was a little dry and he called the people around him.

"Bring me a cup of tea."

The close guard went and didn't return soon for some reason.

Cheng Luo didn't pay too much attention, he just kept pondering his guess. But when he looked outside the dark city in the distance, he saw something moving in the darkness.

When he took another closer look, he saw that a dense army seemed to be walking out of the darkness.

The officers and soldiers on the tower also saw it.

"Who? Who is outside the city?!"

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Luo saw a man wearing a bright yellow python robe appearing in front of the dense army.

"Prince?!"

Cheng Luo was stunned, and the officers and soldiers on the city wall were in an uproar.

When the prince appears, will the city gate be opened or not? !

Immediately, people from the Cheng family came to find Cheng Luo.

Cheng Luo, on the other hand, was also surprised and immediately turned around to call someone.

He was seeing people wearing the clothes of his personal bodyguard coming over with tea. He was about to ask the bodyguard to report the news. He first reported the news to Mr. Lin Ge, telling him that the old prince led an army to the city.

Unexpectedly, the guard suddenly drew his sword and stabbed him with the sword.

The sword made a sound of breaking through the air, and the man immediately raised his head.

Cheng Luo's eyes were cracked, and in the dim light of the torch, he saw facial features that were very similar to Gu Xianying's when he was young.

The person opposite had a stunning face and a smile on his lips, but his eyes were shining coldly like the sword in his hand.

The sword struck straight at him, but Cheng Luo dodged hastily. The sword made a mistake and opened his veil.

The face burned by the fire under the veil was hideous and terrifying. At this moment, Cheng Luo suddenly got up with a voice of hatred and wanted to respond to the enemy.

But that man's sword skills were extremely fast, and without any hesitation, he pierced Cheng Luo's shoulder with his sword.

Cheng Luo fell down suddenly.

Gu Yansheng lowered his head and looked at Cheng Luo, who had tortured his uncle for many years, and sneered.

"When you humiliated my uncle Gu Xianying, you should have thought that you would end up like this! I have been with the prince for many years, and I have been waiting for today!"

Cheng Luo's eyes were completely broken.

The Taoist priest from the East Palace is really Gu Xianying’s nephew!

But it was too late, he was knocked unconscious by Gu Yansheng and caught.

Gu Yansheng took a deep breath and let it out.

Whether it is Cheng or Lin, their evil deeds have come to an end.

After tonight, no one can stand up!

The news Cheng Luo sent to Mr. Lin Ge was blocked on the road before it was even sent out.

The Lin Mansion still doesn’t know what happened.

Lin Ge Lao was originally going to stay in the palace tonight, but his only son Lin Xu suddenly fainted. Tan Chaoli hurriedly sent him a message asking him to go home.

Mr. Lin Ge only had this son, so he had to arrange things in the palace and return home.

Lin Xu fainted for some unknown reason, and the imperial doctor didn't find anything wrong with him. It was good that he would be fine now.

The old people couldn't bear the trouble, so they stopped going back to the palace and stayed at home.

After dinner in the evening, he felt tired and went back to his room to rest. The arrival of Duke Dingguo's troops really made him uneasy, but his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Tan, was considerate and made him a cup of soothing tea and brought it to him personally.

"Thank you for your hard work, father."

Mr. Lin Ge waved to her politely and asked Tan to go back first, take good care of Lin Xu, and give Lin Xu the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor.

Tan responded one by one.

"Father, don't worry, my daughter-in-law will cook it with her own hands."

Mr. Lin Ge didn't notice anything unusual. After all, he was his daughter-in-law who had been married for more than ten years. She was never careless in doing things for the Lin family, so she was considered a qualified daughter-in-law.

...

At night, Lin Xu suddenly felt waves of discomfort in his abdomen, and woke up in pain.

For some reason, Mrs. Tan didn't sleep next to him, so he held himself up and called someone.

For some reason, there was some noise outside, and there seemed to be chaos in the city.

The night sky that should have been dark and boundless lit up all around, and a heavy smoke and smoke blew from the night wind.

Lin Xu felt something was wrong and shouted out twice.

Someone pushed the door open and walked in.

Under the moonlight, he saw his wife Tan.

Mrs. Tan was actually dressed up. She was wearing a blood-red dress. Her bright eyebrows were even more exquisitely made up, and her red lips were as bright and dazzling as the red dress.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?"

Tan Chaoli laughed and walked forward slowly.

The red dress swayed slightly, and there was a charming but strange feeling in the flickering light.

Lin Xu was a little frightened, but he had abdominal pain and chills, so he couldn't stop shouting.

"What do you want to do? Why don't you invite me a doctor?"

"Call a doctor?" she asked again.

Lin Xu was already rolling on the ground in pain, and he suddenly realized something.

"You...did you drug me?! Did you harm me?!"

The red dress had already walked in front of him.

The woman looked at him condescendingly, her red lips raised.

"Lin Xu, you have lied to me for so many years, and now it's time to taste the bitter pill. For the Tan family, for your son, and for myself, your good life is over..."

She finished, He raised his foot and stepped directly on his elegant and handsome face.

The moment Lin Xu was crushed under his feet, tears fell from the corners of Tan Chaoli's eyes.

She wiped away her tears, laughed out loud, and mocked Lin Xu, who was lying in pain at her feet, with contempt.

"The prince is about to enter the city. After today, the Lin family will be defeated. But don't worry, my son and I will be in peace. But you and your father are going to hell!"

She finished her words, Lin Xu screamed.

"Bitch! Bitch!" But the pain made him unable to say more. He only said in a voice of hatred, "My father is not easily manipulated. It is still unclear who will live and who will die... "

However, Tan Chaoli only used the soles of her feet to crush his face, and finally asked with a smile.

"Really?"

"Then let me tell you, my nephew Tan Ting is not a vegetarian either!"