Sheng Zexi left Commander Lu’s office.
In the following days, everything seemed eerily calm, as if nothing had happened.
But Sheng Zexi knew—this was merely the calm before the storm.
Sure enough.
One day, the entire Lin family was arrested.
Their arrest came so abruptly that everyone in the military district was caught off guard. It was as if everyone woke up the next morning only to hear that the entire Lin family had been taken away.
“How could the Lin family just be arrested like that? Old Man Lin is the second-in-command here. Who could possibly arrest him? Unless it was the top leader?”
“The whole family was taken? Did they all commit crimes?”
“I have inside information.”
“What? What inside information?”
“I heard… the Lin family are actually from R Country!”
“What? R Country? How is that possible? Lin Chushi and the others have lived on Huansha Island for decades!”
“That’s exactly what makes it so terrifying. They’ve been lying dormant for decades—who knows what they were planning?”
“I heard that Lin Chushi’s older brother couldn’t bear the fact that he was of R Country descent and wanted to expose them. So Lin Chushi killed him and made it look like he drowned at sea.”
“My God, is that true? If they really are from R Country, then they deserve to die.”
No one had a shred of goodwill toward people from R Country—there was too much blood and hatred between the nations.
“It must be true. Otherwise, why would the entire Lin family be arrested all at once?”
…
Meanwhile, the sudden arrest left Old Man Lin and Lin Chushi completely stunned.
How had they been exposed so suddenly?
When Old Man Lin saw the letters retrieved from his secret chamber, he slumped in defeat. There was no room left for denial.
Decades of painstaking effort—just a few more years, and they would have succeeded. But now, on the verge of victory, they had failed. The bitterness of it gnawed at him.
But what came next shocked him even more.
“W-what did you say? My eldest son, Lin Chuchen… was killed by my youngest son?”
“No, that’s impossible!”
“Lin Chushi has already confessed.”
The news struck Old Man Lin like a thunderbolt.
Soon, he stood face-to-face with Lin Chushi, his eyes bloodshot with fury. “Why? Why did you kill your brother? Your brother didn’t accidentally drown during a typhoon—it was you, wasn’t it?”
Lin Chushi, now seemingly resigned, sneered at his father’s questioning. “Yes, it was me.”
“I lured him to the shore, held his head underwater, and drowned him myself.”
Old Man Lin’s eyes bulged, veins throbbing in his temples. “Why? Lin Chushi, he was the brother who doted on you the most! How could you do such a thing? You’re a beast!”
“Yeah, I am a beast. But then again, it takes an old beast to sire a young beast like me.”
“You strangled your own wife to death with your bare hands. Drowning my own brother? That’s nothing compared to you.”
Old Man Lin staggered back, his face pale.
“Y-you…”
“You want to know how I found out? Because I was hiding in the corner, watching.”
“And don’t blame me. I did him a favor by killing him—did you one too.”
Old Man Lin let out a hoarse, disbelieving laugh. “What kind of nonsense is that?”
“The truth. You know how righteous your eldest son was, don’t you? Do you have any idea how horrified he was when he found out he was of R Country blood? Do you know he was planning to turn you in?”
“If I hadn’t drowned him, you’d have been locked up decades ago. Instead, you got to live these years in luxury as the mighty second-in-command. Doesn’t that make me your savior?”
Old Man Lin clutched his chest, too enraged to speak. “You… you…”
Lin Chushi ignored him, his expression cold and detached.
Anyway, they had already been exposed and arrested. Their fate was predictable.
But…
How was Meimei doing?
What would she think when she found out he had been arrested?
…
As for Zhang Qiumei, she had only been in prison for a short while, but it was already unbearable.
She was desperate to get out.
She knew begging Sheng Zexi or Gu Jianing would be useless.
Now, the only person she could rely on was Lin Chushi.
She could only bet that Lin Chushi still loved her—and that the child in her belly would move him.
No matter what, he shouldn’t just abandon her.
So, Zhang Qiumei regretted her earlier attitude toward Lin Chushi.
She shouldn’t have cursed at him. She should have softened her tone and begged him to find a way to get her out.
Hadn’t Lin Chushi said that his family held a high position in the military district?
His father was the second-in-command. Surely, they had the means to help her.
She decided that the next time she saw Lin Chushi, she would coax him properly.
But no matter how long she waited, Lin Chushi never came.
What was going on?
Had… Lin Chushi abandoned her too?
Did he no longer want her or their unborn child? Was he planning to marry someone else?
“I want to see Lin Chushi! Tell Lin Chushi to come see me—now!” she demanded of the guard.
The soldier overseeing her sneered. “You want to see Lin Chushi? That won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“Has he abandoned me? Is he remarrying?”
“No. It’s because Lin Chushi—no, the entire Lin family—has been arrested.”
“What? The entire Lin family? No, that’s impossible! You’re lying to me!”
“Why would I lie? The Lin family are all of R Country descent—spies who infiltrated our ranks. Of course they’d be arrested. Even the child in your belly carries their blood.”
The soldier’s words struck Zhang Qiumei like a bolt from the blue.
She stood frozen, stunned.
She never could have imagined this was the reason.
The Lin family… were all from R Country? Even her unborn child…
Zhang Qiumei collapsed to the ground in despair.
Now, she finally understood—there was no hope of ever leaving this place.
…
A week after the Lin family’s arrest, an official announcement was released.
Just as the rumors had claimed—
The Lin family were indeed from R Country!
“Thank goodness they were caught! Who knows what evil those damned R Country spies were planning after lurking on Huansha Island for so long?”
“Did you see? It was the Lin family who kept insisting Dr. Gu’s typhoon warning was nonsense. They probably wanted us all dead!”
“It was Regiment Commander Sheng who exposed them. He’s incredible—in such a short time on the island, he rooted out this cancer for us!”
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