"It seems like there really was such a person before, but... But I can't remember... Recently, I always feel like I have forgotten a lot of things. I almost forgot who I am. Nanny, what's wrong with me?" The woman stopped plucking the strings, slowly turned over her palm, and looked carefully. There was a hint of sleepiness in her clear eyes.
Seeing the woman's appearance, the nurse's eyes flashed with pain, but it was fleeting, replaced by a kind smile, and she comforted her softly: "Miss, this is the sequelae of your serious injury. The doctors said it's not serious. After a while, you will be fine after taking medicine."
"Seriously injured? Have I ever been injured? I don't seem to remember it." The only thing she remembered was what she had just recited. Those few words seemed to be engraved on her heart, repeating in her mind constantly, and she could not forget them even if she forgot them.
"Miss, the wind is blowing, let's go inside. You are not well yet, don't catch a cold again." The nurse took two steps forward, helped the girl up, and turned to walk into the house.
At this moment, the woman suddenly stopped and did not move.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
"Someone broke in."
... ...
In the misty clouds, the blue brick ancient town is looming, and the gatehouse made of blue stones is simple and solemn.
The courtyard of Taoist Ling's family looks like a quaint town.
It is divided into three inner courtyards and six outer courtyards according to nine levels, with strict security at each level.
As the eldest son, Lingqing should have inherited his father's business and legitimately become the next head of the family. But he never expected that an accident happened when he was 23 years old. His legs lost the ability to walk in that accident.
Because of his physical disability and his peaceful character, he was gradually replaced by his second brother Lingyuan. Lingqing, out of consideration for the deep affection between brothers, voluntarily retired to the less luxurious west courtyard.
Looking at the old man who pushed the door open in a hurry, Lingqing's pupils suddenly shrank.
"Father?" There was a hint of doubt in his tone, as if he was not sure of what he saw. Because of my little sister's matter, my father had not been back for a long time.
The old man didn't say anything, nor did he pay attention to his eldest son's doubts. He walked straight to his seat and sat down.
Lingqing turned the mobility chair around and faced the old man. She respectfully poured a cup of tea and placed it on the table beside the old man.
"Father, has something happened to my little sister?"
In this generation of the Ling family, there are three brothers and sisters. The eldest son Lingqing, the second son Lingyuan, and the youngest daughter Lingxi. In the Ling family, there are few girls. Even in the side branches, most of them are boys. The father was very happy to have such a daughter and regarded her as the apple of his eye.
Not long after my sister was born, my father was invited by a good friend to a banquet with my mother. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by criminals on the way, and my mother died in order to save my father. My newborn sister lost her mother.
Therefore, the father loved his daughter even more.
When my sister was one year old, my mother's uncle came to ask for a marriage between his son Lan Xihe and my sister. My father thought that my mother's death was his responsibility, so he felt guilty towards the Lan family and accepted the marriage. Both parties agreed to hold a wedding and form a good marriage after the two children grew up.
Later, the younger sister grew up, and she was the most gifted genius of their generation. Although the younger sister was not as old as their two brothers, her cultivation was already comparable, and she was even more likely to surpass them.
My sister often travels around to gain experience and knowledge, and to improve her cultivation. But I never expected that my sister would fall in love with someone else and even get married to him.
My father was a conservative and stubborn man. He was very angry when he found out about it. He demanded that my sister immediately cut off contact with that man and come back to marry Lan Xihe.
My sister was very stubborn and refused to listen, so she ran away from home in anger.
When he saw his sister again, she was seriously injured and dying. After his father brought his sister back, he locked her up in the back mountain.
In name it was house arrest, but in reality he knew that his father was doing it to save his sister's life.
The back mountain is the forbidden area of the Ling family. There is plenty of spiritual energy inside, and there is also the essence left by the ancestors. Not only can you speed up your cultivation progress, but you can also prolong your life.
But after waking up, the younger sister insisted on going out to save her husband and children.
My sister was in such a situation that her own life was in danger, let alone saving others. So my father sternly rejected her and ordered that she was not allowed to step out of the back mountain.
From then on, a grudge was formed between my father and my sister.
The father was so angry that he ran away from home because whenever he returned home, he would think of his daughter and feel very sad.
So Lingqing was very confused about her father's sudden arrival, and even thought that she was hallucinating because she missed her father too much.
The only thing that could make my father so panicked was probably something about my sister.
"No, I came back this time to help a girl find someone." That's right, this old man was the one Ling'er met, the head of the Ling family, the father of Lingqing and Lingyuan, Linglong.
"Looking for someone?" My father was not a very sociable person and he had very few friends. So when Lingqing heard him talking about someone else, she was a little curious.
Linglong nodded, "Yes, find a child, three years old. The girl said that the person who kidnapped the child told her to come to the Ling family. So she concluded that the kidnapper was from the Ling family."
"But my son hasn't heard of any disturbances in the Ling family recently. I guess it must be something done secretly." Ling Qing thought for a moment and asked someone to find his eldest son Ling Zheng.
"Zheng'er greets grandpa and meets father." Lin Zheng has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks very righteous.
"Zheng'er, help Daddy check if there is a child who has entered Qishan City recently. He is about three years old and may have been kidnapped."
When he heard the word "kidnapped", Lingzheng frowned.
In his opinion, the Ling family is a decent family, and such petty thefts should not happen to them. The Ling family has always been aboveboard in their dealings.
"Father, is the news wrong? How could someone kidnap a child and enter Qishan City?" Ling Zheng would not hide anything in front of his father and grandfather, so he immediately raised the question in his mind.
He had great confidence in the Ling family and felt that there would definitely not be anyone with bad intentions in the Ling family. So, the only possibility was that the news was wrong.
Lingqing knew her son well. A person without evil intentions would naturally think that the world was beautiful and there were no bad people. Besides, Zheng'er had never left Qishan City, so he naturally did not understand the evil in people's hearts.
"Zheng'er, don't be so presumptuous. This news was told to your father by your grandfather himself." If this news came from someone else, then it might be a false rumor, but since it was said by his father, then it is absolutely impossible.
Lingzheng immediately knelt on the ground, "Grandpa, please forgive me."
Linglong raised his hand, "Get up, it's not a big deal, go check it out, grandpa is very anxious." After all, it was a kidnapping, who knows what else might go wrong if it takes too long. If the child was injured in his Ling family, he would be too ashamed to face that girl.
After saying this, Linglong retreated.
"Father, where is your friend? Will you introduce her to your son?" Lingqing was really curious about the girl that Linglong was talking about.
I didn't expect that my father, who has always been quiet, would actually meet a girl and ask my father to do things for her. It's really hard to imagine what kind of woman she is.
Linglong glanced at Lingqing and was about to say something when the door was suddenly pushed open.
His eyes moved upwards and fell on Lingyuan who was bathing in the sunshine.
"Old man, I've been away for too long. Have you forgotten the rules? What do you want to do by breaking into your eldest brother's room without permission?" His eyes were as sharp as torches, fixed directly on Lingyuan, as if he could see through everything.
"Father, please forgive me. I was so anxious when I heard that you had returned that I acted so recklessly. I hope you will forgive me this time because I miss you so much." Lingyuan immediately knelt on the ground, bowed his head and said with a look of regret.
"Father, my second brother hasn't seen you for a long time, so he is a little anxious. Please don't bother with him." Lingqing spoke at the right time to ease the tense atmosphere. Seeing that his father didn't speak, Lingqing shook his head helplessly and pushed the wheelchair to the side of the kneeling Lingyuan.
"Second brother, get up. Father doesn't blame you anymore."
He reached out and pulled up the kneeling Lingyuan.
Lingyuan looked at Linglong. Linglong noticed his gaze, snorted coldly, and then turned his head to the side.
Among these two sons, Linglong trusts the eldest son more.
It’s not that the second son is a bad person, it’s just that his personality makes him too power-hungry.
Although Linglong seldom came back in recent years, he knew very well what his two sons did.
If the eldest son had no resentment in his heart and was not opposed to the position of head of the family, he would have come out to discipline the second son long ago.
Lingyuan was power-hungry, but he was indeed very capable. Apart from not being very good with his eldest brother, he managed everything else in an orderly manner.
During the years when Linglong was not in the mansion, all the affairs of the mansion were handled by the second son. Basically, there were no major mistakes.
"Father, is there anything important that brought you back this time?"
The first thing the two sons thought of when they saw their father was the same. This shows that the father in this song really rarely comes home.
"Father..." Lingqing wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she was interrupted by Linglong.
"Why, old man, can't I come back if I'm fine?" Because of the situation of his eldest son, Linglong still had some resentment towards his second son. Although he couldn't say that he had a comprehensive understanding of the temperaments of his own children, he still knew roughly what they were like.
He interrupted Lingqing on purpose because he was worried that the kidnapping had something to do with his second son.
Of course, he also hoped in his heart that he was worrying too much, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
Therefore, he did not plan to let his second son know about this matter for the time being. He would wait until Zheng'er had found out the truth before making a decision.
Facing Linglong's unfriendly tone, Lingyuan pretended not to notice and replied with a smile, "Father, you are joking. I just want to share your burden. If you really have something important, I will deal with it quickly to avoid delays and affect your mood."
Although Lingqing's words were interrupted just now, Lingyuan knew that what Lingqing wanted to say must be what he wanted to know. He just didn't know whether his father's interruption was accidental or deliberate.
If it was the former, it wouldn't matter. His father had been treating him badly for a long time, and he had long been used to it. But if it was the latter, it would be a bit troublesome. Something that his father didn't want him to know was definitely not a good thing.
"How is Xiaomei's illness?" Xiaomei is Lingxi. Linglong has always called her Xiaomei, which also represents his love for her.
This question actually reduced Lingyuan's anxiety a lot.
"In reply to father, my sister is feeling much better now. As long as she continues to use the Great Elder's elixir, her injuries will not get worse. But the elixir she is using now has a side effect that affects her memory. She will gradually forget things from the past. The Great Elder can't do anything about this."
"It's better to forget. If you forget, you won't feel pain." When Linglong thought of his daughter, his face was filled with sorrow. Although he said that his daughter was unfilial and he didn't recognize her, deep down, he was still most worried about her.
"Is there no better medicine to treat it?"
"Father, you know that my sister's injuries are so severe that they cannot be saved. If it weren't for the twelve elders working together, my sister would have died... She is in such a good condition now, and we are thankful for it."