Lu Yin thought of everything about the Lu family, his eyes filled with terror, and his voice was sharp, unable to hide his trembling.
"I don't want to go back, I won't return to the Lu family. If I go back, they will kill me..."
"Tang Ning, Tang Ning, please don't send me back. I beg you, I know I was wrong... Cousin knows he was wrong... I beg you to save me..."
He knelt on the ground, grabbing Tang Ning's sleeve with his hands, as if clutching a lifeline
"I, I can't go back to the Lu family, I can't go back..."
Tang Ning looked at the weeping Lu Yin and frowned, saying, "You say the Lu family wants to kill you?"
Lu Yin said urgently, "It's true, they want to kill me." He rolled up his sleeve, revealing mottled scars: "They beat me every day, tormenting me in every way possible. Last night, they almost pushed me into a well. If I had fallen, I would have died there."
"Tang Ning, I carried you on my back when you were young, I even took you horseback riding. You called me cousin. Even for the sake of our past relationship, please save me."
He cried miserably, clutching Tang Ning's sleeve tightly, pleading in a low voice.
Seeing Tang Ning being pulled off balance, Yuejian wanted to kick him away, but even when Lu Yin fell to the ground, he refused to let go.
Yuejian's face turned cold, wanting to step on his hand to break it, but Tang Ning stopped her. She looked down at Lu Yin, who was clutching her reddened sleeve on the ground, her face showing a moment of complexity.
Once upon a time, she had also begged the young man like this, pleading with him to call him "cousin," begging him to save her for the sake of their childhood relationship. She cried out time and again that she had done nothing wrong, hoping for a shred of mercy, but in the end, all she got was cold ridicule. This pitiful young man before her had even pushed her into the abyss of hell with his own hands.
“Don't call me cousin, it disgusts me!”
“Song Tang Ning, look at how ugly you are now, why don't you just die!!”
Tang Ning had originally intended to send Lu Yin back to the Lu family directly, but seeing him in this state, she suddenly changed her mind. She waved for Yuejian to step back, then squatted down to face Lu Yin.
"Cousin, it's not that I don't remember our past relationship."
"Cousin..."
Lu Yin looked up abruptly, his tear-streaked face full of surprise.
The lantern above the girl's head cast its light on her face, and as if remembering the past, her brows and eyes softened.
"I am not a cold-hearted person, how could I not remember our past kinship."
"I still remember how you protected me and fought with others when we were young, how you and brother took me fishing and horseback riding. Every time you got into trouble, you would pitifully beg me to cover for you with auntie."
"You used to be the most filial to auntie, always remembering to bring her a share of wild fruits. You even said that even after I got married, you would always protect me."
"I always thought you were the best cousin in the world, and auntie considered you her pride. But why did you treat auntie and me like that before?"
"You almost killed auntie and me."
If Tang Ning had scolded him harshly, Lu Yin might not have felt so bad, but when she looked at him with such soft words and sad eyes, he wished he could bury his head in the ground.
"I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. I didn't mean to harm Mother, I didn't mean to harm you..."
That night, he didn't know that father wanted mother's life. He thought mother had really killed the old lady. By the time he found out the truth, he was already terrified.
Those crossbows were meant to kill, and father was so ruthless. He just wanted to save his own life...
"It was father... he deceived me, he deceived me..."
"Tang Ning, I know I was wrong. Can you forgive me this once? I won't dare again..."
Tang Ning frowned slightly: "Cousin, you're hurting me."
Lu Yin quickly let go, crying, "I, I didn't mean to..."
"I know cousin didn't mean to, cousin is just scared, right?"
The girl took out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt from his face.
"Cousin, don't be afraid, you didn't hurt me."
Faced with the girl's gentle words, which he hadn't heard in a long time, and watching her gently wipe his face, saying with full trust that he wouldn't harm her.
A wave of guilt surged in his heart. He suddenly remembered when Tang Ning was sick as a child, she wouldn't let anyone near her except him and Song Jinxiu. The little girl would only smile softly when they were around.
She would always grab his sleeve and call him cousin, share sweet cakes with him, and joyfully play around with him. But as she grew older, she became more obedient and sensible, no longer liking to play with him.
He grew tired of her always talking about Lu Zhinian, annoyed by her constant talk of rules, becoming dull and unlikable.
He began to lose patience with her calling him "cousin," finding everything about her displeasing, but forgetting that every time he got into trouble, his cousin would still be the first to help him beg for mercy from mother...
Lu Yin suddenly burst into tears, covering his face with his hands, not daring to look at Tang Ning.
Tang Ning listened to his wailing, as if also saddened, and said in a low voice, "I know cousin's situation is difficult. You must have come to me because life in the Lu family is hard. But you know my relationship with the Lu family. If I keep you in Jiyun Alley, how could the Lu family let it go?"
"They just tried to harm me, almost costing me my life. Auntie and I are just weak women. Not only would we not be able to help cousin, but we might also lose our lives."
"Cousin, I really want to help you, but..."
The girl's voice choked, and Lu Yin looked up in a panic, seeing her biting her lip, her eyes red with guilt.
Although Lu Yin's life in the Lu family was not good, he was not completely unaware of the outside world. He knew that the Lu family had tried to harm Tang Ning, almost killing the Emperor, and the Lu family had been punished for it, with Lu Chongyuan being demoted.
In the past few days, when the younger members of the Lu family attacked him, they cursed angrily, many of the foul words directed at Tang Ning.
Tang Ning was not lying to him.
"It's all my fault. If I were stronger, I could protect cousin." Tang Ning's eyes were red.
Lu Yin looked at her sad expression and suddenly felt that he was a great sinner.
"No, it's me, I didn't consider you." He said in a low voice, "I... I'm sorry..."
"It's not cousin's fault, it's the Lu family being too much."
Tang Ning frowned slightly: "The matters between Prince Cheng and the Lu family have nothing to do with cousin. If it weren't for Prince Cheng's cruelty, cousin would still be a nobleman, just like Lu Zhinian back then, his status not much lower than a prince's son. But now, cousin is clearly of the Lu family's bloodline, yet he is being bullied like this."
"Even if Prince Cheng had an affair with Guo Shi, cousin is innocent. Even when the Emperor questioned the prince's mansion, he didn't implicate cousin, only sending you back to the Lu family. Even if Lu Chongyuan and the others don't like you, why must they treat you like this?"
"Cousin, didn't your father and mother help you at all?"
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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