Mated at First Sight
Chapter 755 - 502

Chapter 755: 502

An air of antiquity.

Gong Muxue’s room was reminiscent of an ancient lady’s chamber, exuding an olden charm and warmth. It was evident that Grandpa Gong put a lot of thought into the arrangement.

Mu Lin carried Gong Muxue back into the room, placing her on the bed. Muxue clung to her clothes tightly. Mu Lin felt somewhat helpless, but more than that, she felt a peculiar pain in her heart.

It seemed that one day, she too would understand what it meant to feel heartache.

To feel heartache for her own mother; it was a feeling indescribable.

She gently patted her mother’s back in an attempt to soothe her, her words tender, "Don’t worry. I won’t leave. I’ll never leave you again." As she spoke, she managed to gently prise Muxue’s hand from her clothes.

Perhaps due to her calm demeanor, Mu Lin was able to pull her hand away from her clothes with ease this time.

Grandpa Gong looked at Mu Lin in surprise, he did not expect her to exhibit such patience towards Gong Muxue.

After tucking her in the bed, Mu Lin stood up and turned to Grandpa Gong, "Grandpa Gong, could you share with me the story of Miss Gong? I believe it might be helpful for me in planning the subsequent treatment for her." Although Mu Jue left a letter with Mu Lin revealing his relationship with Gong Muxue, he didn’t specify about the process; Mu Lin wasn’t sure if her Master knew about Gong Muxue’s mental state, or if he knew that she had already lost her mind over two decades ago.

At least when her Master wrote that letter, he must’ve been unaware.

Now, however, Mu Lin wasn’t sure if her Master knew the whole truth when he escaped from that place.

She remembered Bi’an mentioning that he had just borrowed a place from someone else. Who was that someone else? Was it Tang Qian, or someone else related to Tang Qian? These were the mysteries she needed to unravel.

"Understood," said Grandpa Gong after a slight pause. "Let’s move to the front hall. The space here is too cramped and affects ventilation." For him, he was willing to reveal whatever that could aid in curing his daughter’s illness.

Mu Lin nodded, and they all stood up to leave.

"Take good care of the little miss," Grandpa Gong commanded dispassionately before leaving the room, "Don’t let that man approach her." "That man" was no other than Tang Qian.

It seemed that Grandpa Gong really disapproved of Tang Qian.

Everyone continued walking, their paths leading forward without any conversation.

Mu Lin had noticed even earlier that there was a woman standing in the distance. From what she gleaned, this woman was likely responsible for looking after her mother, albeit from a safe distance.

As they walked, Grandpa Gong glanced at Mu Lin, "Young girl, thank you for your help just now."

In truth, he himself was unsure what he should be thankful for.

However, Mu Lin simply shook her head slightly, "No need, it’s what I’m supposed to do." Having been Muxue’s daughter for over two decades, she considered this a small act of service to her mother.

Unfortunately, Grandpa Gong hadn’t grasped the hidden meaning behind her words. He assumed that Mu Lin felt duty-bound to treat Gong Muxue as a repayment for the favors Gong Yu had done.

Despite his reputation, Poison Doctor always stuck to his word. Though he was no saint, he still upheld medical ethics; this was even more applicable to his disciple, Mu Lin.

Once they returned to the main hall, Mu Lin initially wanted to resume her seat. However, Grandpa Gong had ushered her to the seat of honor.

This left Mu Lin slightly taken aback.

She wondered if this was against etiquette.

Of course, she didn’t dwell on it; she simply sat casually besides Grandpa Gong.

Once everyone was seated, Grandpa Gong slowly began to recount his tale.

"As a matter of fact, Xiaoxue wasn’t always like this." He heaved a deep sigh and his voice was filled with sorrow, "It all occurred roughly about twenty-one years ago..." And then...

"Lass, I believe you’ve already seen Xiaoxue’s husband, right?" The same man she had unhesitatingly caused a fracture in. To be honest, he felt a thrill of happiness in that moment.

"I did." Mu Lin nodded, her eyebrows arching. "However, I don’t think that man is worthy of Miss Gong." What right did such a man have to be mentioned in the same breath as her master? He couldn’t even compare to a single finger of her master.

"Yes, indeed he is unworthy." Grandpa Gong nodded. That’s what he had always believed, and it was also the common sentiment among the Gong Family. "But what can we do? Xiaoxue... chose him of her own accord." To this day, he still couldn’t understand why such a thing had happened.

His Xiaoxue could have lived a happy life, and someone else could have carried on his mantle.

"However, from the situation just now, Miss Gong does not seem to like that man. In fact, she seems to reject him." Observing Grandpa Gong, Mu Lin spoke indifferently, as if she were merely an onlooker.

"She’s probably never cared for him." Grandpa Gong said, "Actually, Xiaoxue once had a childhood sweetheart she loved dearly; but one day, more than twenty years ago, for some unknown reason, Xiaoxue suddenly announced her separation from him. Days later, she decided to marry this Tang Qian."

This man was not worthy to be compared with his chosen disciple. "I inquired for a while, but Xiaoxue refused to reveal why she made this choice. With no other option, I agreed."

Mu Lin raised her eyebrows.

So there must be some unknown intrigue involved. As for the truth behind this matter, probably only Gong Muxue and this Tang Qian knew.

Or perhaps...

Mu Lin guessed that perhaps Gong Ning’s mother also knew.

Mu Lin’s intuition told her that although Gong Ning was a fake Miss Gong, not her mother’s daughter, she could be sure that she must have a great deal to do with Tang Qian. She did not think that such a man as Tang Qian would willingly raise another’s child for free. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to harm her and switch Gong Ning in.

Wasn’t that too much trouble?

"Grandpa, so Auntie used to have her own lover." Even Gong Yu was hearing about this for the first time. She had always wondered how a woman as excellent and gentle as her aunt could fall for Gong Ning’s dad. Turns out she never did.

Thank goodness, her aunt didn’t have such poor taste.

At this point, probably only Gong Yu could afford to make such commentary.

"Hmm." Grandpa Gong nodded, "After that incident, I no longer allowed anyone to disclose the events that took place more than twenty years ago, so the younger generation didn’t know."

Having said that, Grandpa Gong once again turned his gaze towards Mu Lin and continued, "Then, approximately nine months later, Gong Ning was born."

"Since that incident, Xiaoxue has been entirely engulfed in madness, not recognizing anyone." As he got to this point, feelings of sorrow and heartache were still unavoidable.

"What happened that day?" Mu Lin asked.

"That day," Grandpa Gong sighed slowly, "what happened was like this."

One day, 21 years ago, after enduring thousands of hardships and sacrificing nearly half her life, Gong Muxue finally gave birth to a child.

"Bring the child to me." With disheveled hair and a face soaked with sweat, Gong Muxue instructed the midwife beside her.

Even though this was not her child with the man she loved most, since the child was inside her, it was her child and her precious treasure. She had considered aborting, but in the end, she could not bring herself to do so.

She had already lost the man she loved the most. She could not lose this child as well.

Aside from crying immediately after birth, the child was quite peaceful and obedient at this moment.

"This child is beautiful." One person carried the child to Gong Muxue and said, "I have never seen a child as beautiful as this."

"Thank you." Gong Muxue thanked her, her gaze slowly settling on the child before her. A weak smile appeared on her exhausted face, "Linlin."

My Linlin.