To Hold One’s Joy

hapter 12-2: The Truth

Sheng Laotaitai was taken aback. A strange feeling rose within her as she gazed into the girl's serene eyes. Indeed, Hongdou had claimed that Jia Lan had pushed Luo Sheng into the lake, and Luo Sheng had never refuted Hongdou's statements. Hence, she has to choose whether to believe in Sheng Jia Lan or Luo Sheng, which has nothing to do with the maid.

Sheng Laotaitai looked at Luo Sheng, then at Sheng Jia Lan, and sighed inwardly. Which one should she trust? It was a complicated dilemma. Deep down, she believed in the well-behaved Sheng Jia Lan. However, if she were to handle the situation in that manner, Luo Sheng would not let the matter rest. And if not handled carefully, this problem could also involve her son-in-law.

In addition, setting aside the identity of her son-in-law, it would be somewhat inappropriate for her to side with Jia Lan, considering he had entrusted his daughter to the care of the Sheng family. Well, let's appease Luo Sheng first and privately compensate Jia Lan for the unjust treatment she had endured.

Just as Sheng Laotaitai had resolved to handle the situation in this manner, a young boy's panting voice from the door: "Waizumu, I saw it." Following it came Sheng Sanlang's voice: "Biaodi, why had you come here instead of resting in your room?"

Holding onto the door with one hand, Luo Chen appeared slightly out of breath from rushing there, and his cheeks flushed with an unusual blush. Upon hearing Sheng Sanlang's words, he tightened his grip on the door. He said to Sheng Laotaitai, "Waizumu, I have something important to say."

Luo Chen, who was already weak, had exhausted his energy diving into the lake to save Luo Sheng, leaving him looking extremely frail. Sheng Sanlang grew concerned and urged, "What could be so urgent that you need to say it now? Take some rest first, and we can talk later when you've recovered."

Luo Chen shook his head determinedly and insisted, "I must say it now."  "What do you want to say, Chen'er?" The unexpected presence of Luo Chen in Funing Hall undoubtedly surprised Sheng Laotaitai. Previously, she had been frightened upon hearing that Luo Chen had dived into the lake to save Luo Sheng. Her heart remained tense, particularly after receiving the doctor's report that Luo Chen might have caught a cold.

Luo Chen glanced at Luo Sheng and said word by word: "I saw with my own eyes Sheng Jia Lan push my sister into the lake."

Silence enveloped the room as soon as these words came out, and then Sheng Jia Yu exclaimed: "Impossible!" Luo Chen glanced at Sheng Jia Yu and asked, "Biaojie, I understand it's difficult for you to trust my sister, but can't you trust me either?"

Sheng Jia Yu hesitated. Luo Chen had always been sensible, making it unlikely for him to lie. However, it was also difficult to believe that Ermei would commit such an act. Sheng Jia Yu turned her gaze towards Sheng Jia Lan, biting her lip, and asked, "Ermei, what exactly happened?"

Sheng Jia Lan's complexion turned as pale as snow, and she trembled.

After a moment of silence, Sheng Laotaitai finally spoke, "Chen'er, please tell me in detail what you witnessed."

Luo Chen cleared his throat lightly and began to recount, "I was taking a walk in the garden then and walked to the lake to find that my sister was there too. While I was hesitating whether to leave or not, unexpectedly, I saw Sheng Jia Lan approaching my sister..."

The sudden shift in Luo Chen's attitude towards Sheng Jia Lan did not go unnoticed. Previously, he used to address her as erbiaojie[1], but now he directly used her name, just as Luo Sheng had done earlier. The others in the room instinctively turned their gazes toward Luo Sheng.

While her face remained composed, Luo Sheng felt warmth upon hearing Luo Chen's words. She had faith that Luo Chen, who had witnessed the truth, would testify in her favor. However, she never anticipated that Luo Chen would dive into the lake to save her. Nor did she expect him to testify immediately, disregarding his own health.

Although Luo Chen's concern was for the real Miss Luo, now that she had become Miss Luo, she understood that she was now indebted to him.

But—looking at the frail and pale young man, Luo Sheng smiled slightly. This child is quite clever. He clearly encountered Hongdou before going to the lake but tactfully avoided mentioning it in his statements[2].