Chapter 8: You Lost

"Aunt An! You are an elder, please don't speak so harshly," Lin Luochen's eyes turned red, shimmering with tears.

"I speak harshly? And yet you engage in such sneaky behavior, and I'm not allowed to speak harshly?" Aunt An sneered, her laughter brazen, feeling confident that this time she had caught the little troublemaker red-handed.

"You..." Lin Luochen's tears flowed, trembling as she pointed at Aunt An, "I am an unmarried woman, and you would treat me so disgracefully?"

"Disgraceful?" Aunt An laughed coldly, "This is all your own doing! Master is on his way here, and I won't touch you! You won't escape! Guard all the exits! Not even a fly will get out!"

Lin Luochen cried even more heartbrokenly, her sobs sounding like a beautiful melody to Aunt An's ears.

Before long, the lord returned home from court. He had been intercepted on the way by a servant reporting the situation, and he hurried to Lin's courtyard.

Upon entering, he saw Lin Luochen tightly wrapped in a blanket, her eyes swollen from crying.

On the bed, although it was surrounded by curtains, the man's clothing was still visible on the edge of the bed, and inside the curtains, it was clear that someone was moving under the blanket.

"What... is going on?" the lord roared.

"Father!" Aunt An's tears fell instantly as she knelt on the ground, "I came to check on Luochen's illness, but as soon as I entered, I saw this scene that shouldn't have been seen..."

"Luochen... you..." the lord's face turned red, feeling too embarrassed to speak.

Lin Luochen glanced at Aunt An, sneering. Pretending to be weak and innocent was her specialty!

"Father! You must speak up for your daughter!" Lin Luochen cried breathlessly.

"Speak up?" Aunt An's voice was full of pity, "How can I speak up for you when you've done such a thing?"

"What have I done?" Lin Luochen looked at Aunt An, crying so much that she was almost fainting, "I was just changing the medicine behind closed doors, but Aunt An barged in, bringing many people with her and saying many hurtful things. As an unmarried girl, how can I live in the future?"

"Just changing the medicine?" Aunt An sneered, "There are men's clothes on the bed, and there's someone in the bed!"

Lin Luochen, upon hearing this, cried even more heartbrokenly, "Father! You go and see for yourself! The men's clothes on the bed are for my brother! There are even needle marks on them! As for the person, you go and see if there's anyone there!"

Upon hearing this, the lord pointed to the housekeeper, "You, go!"

The housekeeper quickly walked over, picked up the men's clothing on the bed, and indeed, it was the pattern that the young master liked to wear, and the clothing only had one outline, indicating it was unfinished.

She then pulled back the curtains, and a cat jumped out from under the blanket, meowing before running away. She shook the blanket, revealing that there was no one in the bed.

"You..." the lord, from shock, turned to anger. This time, Aunt An had committed an unforgivable mistake!

"Lord!" Aunt An immediately knelt down, tears streaming down her face, "It's my fault! Please forgive me, Lord!"

"Smack!" A loud sound echoed as the lord fiercely slapped Aunt An across the face, his body trembling with anger. "What are you doing? Luochen was just beaten by you a few days ago, and now you want to harm her like this?"

Lin Luochen looked at Aunt An, seeing her helplessly crying, and a victorious smile appeared on her lips.

Aunt An's eyes met Lin Luochen's, and Lin Luochen mouthed, "You've lost!"

"You..." Aunt An shouted, "You did this on purpose! You set me up!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Luochen's crying immediately intensified, "Father! I don't want to live anymore! This is the second time Aunt An has falsely accused me. A woman's innocence is more precious than anything else. What's the point of living?"

"Smack!" Another slap resounded as the lord struck Aunt An across the face again, then kicked her to the ground.

"Do you still want to stay in this house?" the lord angrily asked.

"Father, please spare Mother!" Lin Xueyun, who was standing nearby, kept kowtowing and pleading for mercy.

Lin Luochen added fuel to the fire, shifting her body and, with a sense of despair, said to the corner of the table, "Father, I just want peace in our home. After I die, please don't be too sad. In my next life, I want to be your daughter again!"

After saying this, before the lord could react, she slammed her head into the table, closed her eyes, and fainted.

"My Luochen! My Luochen!" the lord wailed, rushing over...

The family's physician quickly arrived, and Chunyue and Xiaying laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket.

The physician prescribed calming medicine and an external application, sighing, "Miss must not be subjected to any more stress, or her life will be in danger!"

"Life in danger?" the lord was shocked, "We must protect my Luochen's life! She is the future Princess Li!"

Lin Luochen sneered inwardly. Her father was only afraid of losing her status, and there might not be much genuine affection between them!

"Lord, please don't worry. Miss is not in immediate danger, but her meridians are in disarray. She must not endure any more hardships!"

Upon hearing this, the lord glared fiercely at Aunt An. Aunt An buried her head deeply, unable to believe that the girl's body was truly so weak.

"Guards!" the lord roared, and two hidden guards immediately entered, "Confine Aunt An to her room. She is not to leave until Luochen has recovered!"

"Lord..." Aunt An panicked, "Please have mercy, Lord!"

"Drag her away!" The lord suddenly slammed the table, his eyes filled with indifference and disgust, leaving An Shi in disbelief.

An Shi was taken away, her pleas for mercy growing louder, but the lord paid no attention, his expression cold and stern.

Finally, half an hour later, only Lin Luochen remained in the room. She opened her eyes, retrieved the antidote from the intelligent medical cabinet, and took it. She rubbed her forehead, grimacing in pain.

At that moment, the door curtain was lifted, and the nanny came in, crying as she threw herself onto Lin Luochen. "Miss, are you alright? This old servant was so worried!"

Lin Luochen shook her head and looked at Xia Ying, smiling. "They did well, we succeeded!"

Xia Ying, with tears in her eyes, said, "Miss, this plan is clever, but you must not disregard your reputation! If An Shi had brought a servant with her, wouldn't they have seen your back?"

Lin Luochen's gaze was resolute, but her face remained impassive. "To achieve great things, one must be ruthless!"

The nanny sighed. "This illness has dragged on for a month, and now your forehead is injured again. This old servant's heart..."

Her tears caused the two maids to cry as well. Lin Luochen frowned. "I don't like all this crying! Quiet down, all of you!"

Chun Yue sobbed, "Miss, with your condition, you can't afford to be startled or agitated anymore!"

Lin Luochen lowered her eyes and said solemnly, "No! I must use this sickly body one more time! The next time is crucial!"