Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 68 Lord Ning's Last Will and Testament

Wu Song and Lin Chong noticed a small wooden stick popping out from the foot of the bed where Chen Jinhuan was kneeling. Chen Jinhuan noticed it too, so she twisted the stick hard, and a floor tile in front of her loosened. She quickly flipped the tile over and found a small square wooden box underneath.

Chen Jinhuan froze, clutching the small wooden box to her chest. Seeing this, Du Shiniang quickly stepped forward and said to Chen Jinhuan, "Jin'er, this must be something Ning Zhanyan left for you. Open it and see what's inside?"

Chen Jinhuan snapped out of her daze, carefully placed the small wooden box on the bed, and opened the lid with trembling hands. Inside were two pieces of paper and a silver-gray hairpin with a begonia flower pattern.

Chen Jinhuan recognized the hairpin as a gift from her father at her coming-of-age ceremony. Hers was decorated with a begonia pattern, while her sister Chen Jinyan's was decorated with a peony pattern. Both hairpins were specially made by the craftsmen at the jewelry shop at her father's request, and their names and birth times were engraved on the back of each hairpin.

"Is this silver hairpin a token of love from Ning Zhanyan?" Du Shiniang reached out and picked up the silver hairpin from the small wooden box, examined it carefully, and then asked Chen Jinhuan with a puzzled look.

“No, this hairpin was a gift from my father when I came of age. It was taken away by the yamen runners when I was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. Ning Zhanyan probably found it for me later, but he has never returned it to me,” Chen Jinhuan replied calmly, her expression revealing no emotion.

“I see your name and birth time are engraved on this hairpin, which should be something that can prove your identity. Ning Zhanyan doesn’t want you to leave, so it’s normal that he won’t return this to you. Quickly take a look at what’s written on the other two pieces of paper.” Du Shiniang said as she put the silver hairpin back into the small wooden box, then took out the two pieces of paper and handed them to Chen Jinhuan.

Chen Jinhuan unfolded one of the blank sheets of paper. Judging from the ink marks, it was estimated that the paper had been written at least two years ago. At the end of the paper, there was a red ink mark and a signature. After reading the text again, she realized that it was a confession. Du Shiniang, Lin Chong, and Wu Song couldn't help but step forward to read the contents of the confession together.

The above content roughly states that the criminal who signed the document was the palace servant who slandered Chen Jinhuan. This man, named Wang Daoyuan, claimed that he had received money from Chen Jinyan to deliberately defame Chen Jinhuan, saying she was destined to bring misfortune to her husbands and was unsuitable to be selected as a concubine. He also said that after doing this for Chen Jinyan, she secretly instructed him to use the claim of similar fates to harm two other concubines.

"So it turns out that Ning Zhanyan has been investigating the events of that year for Miss Jin'er all these years, and he wasn't just deceiving her." After reading the confession, Lin Chong turned to Chen Jinhuan and Du Shiniang and sighed.

Du Shiniang glared at Lin Chong with a mournful look, as if she wanted to say, "You're just making things worse. You know that Chen Jinhuan couldn't bear to kill Ning Zhanyan before, so why do you have to say things like this to make Chen Jinhuan sad?" However, Du Shiniang didn't want to embarrass Lin Chong, so she swallowed her words back down.

Chen Jinhuan listened to Lin Chong's words but did not respond. Instead, she picked up a second sheet of paper. The ink on this paper was clear and still carried a faint scent of ink, suggesting it had been written nearly three months ago. The contents of the paper stirred Chen Jinhuan's emotions more and more as she read, causing her hands to tremble and two streams of tears to flow unnoticed.

Seeing this, Du Shiniang quickly snatched the paper from Chen Jinhuan's hand and carefully read its contents. It turned out to be Ning Zhanyan's suicide note, suggesting that he had prepared for his imminent death three months prior. The note read as follows:

"Jin'er, by the time you read this will, I will probably already be dead at the hands of my enemies or you. Three months ago, envoys from the Jin Kingdom came to the Mingfu Cave. They lost money in the cave and threatened to destroy it, and they even killed several Cuju (ancient Chinese football) prisoners. I'm afraid the Emperor will find out soon that I'm using prisoners to run the Mingfu Cave. I hope to arrange your fate before then. However, I really can't bear to let you leave me. If I am destined to die, then dying at your hands is my only wish in this life."

Upon reading this, Du Shiniang's eyes reddened, and she couldn't help but glance at Chen Jinhuan, who was already sobbing beside her. She turned to look at Lin Chong, and the two of them slowly recalled their visit to the Underworld Cave these past few days, as well as Ning Zhanyan's reaction. Du Shiniang couldn't help but wonder: could it be that they killed Ning Zhanyan so easily because he was already prepared to die and deliberately let them take Chen Jinhuan away?

Du Shiniang and Lin Chong reviewed the second half of Ning Zhanyan's last letter again:

"Jin'er, for the past three years, I have thought of avenging you every single moment. However, the women in the palace are not people that an outsider like me can easily approach. Your sister, Chen Jinyan, is a formidable woman. She gained the Emperor's favor soon after entering the palace and climbed the ranks step by step by currying favor with the Imperial Concubine. I finally managed to arrest that palace servant who harmed you in the Imperial Observatory back then. Under torture, he confessed that he had accepted bribes from your sister to slander you. However, he was later silenced, and I could only hide his confession so that I could avenge you in the future."

Furthermore, I arranged for a death row inmate to die in your place, so everyone believed Chen Jinhuan was dead. If you were to appeal your case again in the future, you would likely find it difficult to prove your identity. I discovered that you were wearing a silver hairpin when you were imprisoned, so I sent people to search for a long time before finally redeeming it from a pawnshop. I know it was a gift from your father and can prove your identity.

However, I have a selfish reason for not wanting to return this hairpin to you. I'm afraid that one day you might run away and use it to prove your identity, and I don't want to let you go. After thinking about it, I modified the hairpin. It has a small mechanism on it; when you touch the flower's stamen, a small blade will pop out from it. You can wear it for self-defense in the future.

Jin'er, I actually love you very, very much, but my way of loving you is a bit domineering and unhealthy. Can you forgive me? I never received love from my parents growing up, so I don't know how to love someone. If there is an afterlife, I will definitely love her in a different way, but I'm not sure if you would still be willing to accept my love.

Upon seeing this, Lin Chong couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that Ning Zhanyan isn't as cold-hearted as he appears. He's quite devoted to the girl he loves, but his love is a bit too domineering!"

"My heart shines as brightly as the moon, and I hope you will remember me as the first snow. I will never regret spending three years with Jin'er!" Du Shiniang read the last few sentences of Ning Zhanyan's last letter in a slightly trembling voice. Lin Chong frowned as he listened, while Wu Song felt an unbearable pang of sorrow in his heart.

"Ning Zhanyan is a madman!" Wu Song couldn't help but curse. After cursing, he glanced at Chen Jinhuan and saw her leaning against the headboard, her face ashen, as if her heart was broken, completely lost, and her eyes empty.

Du Shiniang quickly put the two slips of paper back into the small wooden box and then handed the items to Lin Chong. Lin Chong pulled the lid back on, but found that his hand holding the small wooden box was a little rough. So he held the small wooden box high and sure enough, he found a line of small characters engraved on the bottom of the small wooden box: "My hidden weapon manufacturing diagram is hidden in the bell in the room."

Du Shiniang approached Chen Jinhuan, snatched the silver hairpin from her hand, and carefully inserted it into her hair. She gently advised her, "Jin'er, Lord Ning is gone. He probably already knew what we were planning these past few days. He deliberately killed you. Don't be sad! You mustn't let his efforts go to waste. You must live well!"

"Shi Niang, thank you! My heart died three years ago, but Ning Zhanyan kept it warm. Unknowingly, he warmed my heart. No matter what, I must avenge myself and find out the real master behind the Mingfu Cave. I'm sure this person wants to use me to get rid of Ning Zhanyan." Chen Jinhuan sobbed, her voice filled with sorrow.

Du Shiniang comforted Chen Jinhuan for a few more moments, then saw Lin Chong untie all the silver bells in the room and place them on the table. There were more than twenty bells of various sizes. Lin Chong was examining each bell carefully, one in each hand, muttering to himself, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"

"What's so wonderful about it? Brother Lin, what are you doing?" Wu Song sat down at the table with a puzzled look and stared at Lin Chong's face as he asked. Lin Chong did not answer Wu Song, still engrossed in the pile of bells.

At this moment, both Wu Song and Du Shiniang smelled something burning. Wu Song shouted, "Oh no! We were so busy searching Ning Zhanyan's things that we forgot to warn the people at the theater outside to wait until we came out of the cave before setting fires. At this hour, Xu Gui has probably already ordered those guards to set fires all over Mingfu Cave. We should get out of here quickly!"

Lin Chong quickly put the twenty-odd bells into his pocket, turned to Du Shiniang and Chen Jinhuan and said, "Shiniang, Jin'er, let's leave here quickly."