Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 458 True and False Brothers
Several days passed, and the flute player made no progress whatsoever.

Lin Zhiqing had received far too little information previously.

She felt that she must have made a mistake somewhere, otherwise the flute player wouldn't have remained completely unresponsive.

She wrote down the information she had received earlier on a piece of paper.

Father, mother, frontier.

After removing the useless information, all that's left are these three words.

People in the border regions are as numerous as hairs on a cow, making it extremely difficult to find a family among them.

Moreover, the flute player's situation was special; he didn't even know how he ended up in the hands of the Marquis of Zhenyuan.

First, the flute player may have been forcibly taken by the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion and hypnotized by Liu Mang.

Secondly, it is possible that the flute player was raised in the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion from a young age and underwent hypnosis by Liu Mang.

Third, it is very likely that the flute player was lost as a child and became an orphan, eventually ending up in the hands of the Marquis of Zhenyuan.

It is certain that, in either of the first two scenarios, the flute player's parents are likely no longer alive.

If it's the last scenario, where the flute player's parents are still alive, it would be extremely difficult to find them even if they were just a needle in a haystack.

Lin Shi'an had already checked and there were no unusual birthmarks on the flute player's body.

In this situation, it is almost impossible to find any clues by simply searching.

Lin Zhiqing shook her head. Since this information was useless, she decided to let it go.

She recalled the flute player's reaction from back then.

From the very beginning, when Lin Zhiqing mentioned Daliang, Di Ren was clearly agitated and angry.

This situation definitely indicates that the flute player has some connection with Daliang, and Daliang may even have harmed him.

This is highly likely. The people of the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion colluded with the people of Daliang, and it's quite possible that they joined forces to torture the flute player.

In addition, the people of Dasheng, who came from the border regions, also had a conditioned reflex of aversion towards Daliang.

This is a legacy issue stemming from years of war between the two countries, which left the people in dire straits.

Aside from the main beam, the flute player's initial emotional fluctuation occurred when Lin Zhiqing described the scene of him interacting with his family.

When Lin Zhiqing mentioned Di Ren's parents, Di Ren's emotions were relatively stable, but when the dog was mentioned, Di Ren's emotions became unstable.

This proves that the "dog" in the flute player's "father, mother, dog" is likely not actually a dog, but rather something else he wanted to say but didn't finish.

Following this line of thought, Lin Zhiqing wrote down everything he could think of that sounded similar to the word "dog".

Strange, fruit, official, aunt, ghost, brother...

After she finished writing, she circled the words "aunt" and "brother" in particular.

Given the situation, if the person speaking of the flute was referring to his family, then both his aunt and brother were possible candidates.

She had tried before, but the flute player didn't react when she mentioned those two words.

Not only those two words, but he didn't react at all when the flute player's parents were mentioned.

This likely indicates that the flute player's self-defense mechanism has become more sophisticated and profound.

He didn't want to reveal these secrets hidden deep in his heart, which is why he remained in a deep sleep.

Therefore, Lin Zhiqing herself was not sure what the flute player was talking about.

But one thing is certain: besides his parents, he must have other family members.

Is it my brother?

If it were her older brother… a bold idea popped into Lin Zhiqing’s mind.

The Yan family was harmed by the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion, and the flute player was also controlled by people from the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion.

So, is it possible that these two are brothers?

Just as Lin Zhiqing was pondering, there was a knock on the door, one light and one heavy.

This was a secret code she had previously agreed upon with her bodyguards.

"Come in." Lin Zhiqing looked towards the door. "Miss, we've found something from Xing'an Prefecture." The guard handed Lin Zhiqing a letter.

Xingan Prefecture is where Yan Yu found Yan Hang.

Lin Zhiqing took the envelope and opened it immediately.

After quickly reading the letter, she narrowed her eyes:
“Is the source credible?”

"Miss, I spent a lot of money to gather information, and everyone around here is saying the same thing," the guard replied.

"So, Yan Hang really is Yan Yu's long-lost younger brother?" Lin Zhiqing frowned.

The guard nodded: "Based on the results of the investigation, there are no problems."

"It is said that it was taken to a small village in Xing'an Prefecture and sold."

"How did Yan Yu confirm that he was Yan Hang?" Lin Zhiqing asked again.

"The villagers around here don't know anything about this, they only vaguely heard that Yan Hang had a birthmark somewhere."

"A birthmark?" Lin Zhiqing sighed. Di Ren didn't have any birthmarks.

It seems that the flute player and the snipe are indeed unrelated.

For some reason, Lin Zhiqing felt slightly disappointed.

The guard stood to the side and asked, "Miss, shall I continue investigating?"

Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Keep an eye on him. We can't let our guard down, especially with Yan Hang. He has to report his whereabouts to me every day."

"Yes." The guard acknowledged the order and then disappeared into the darkness.

Lin Zhiqing read the information in the letter again, and then burned it.

If Yan Yu were to see this, he might think Lin Zhiqing had ulterior motives.

Lin Zhiqing knew that Yan Yu cared deeply about his younger brother Yan Hang. Back then, he risked his life to help the Lin family, not only to avenge his father but also to find Yan Hang.

That's why, even though Yan Hang was a bit strange, Lin Zhiqing never mentioned it to Yan Yu.

She was afraid that Yan Yu would be suspicious.

If Yan Hang really is Yan Yu's younger brother, then everything will be fine.

But if he isn't, Lin Zhiqing fears another fact that Yan Yu would find hard to accept.

What if Yan Hang is no longer alive?
Thinking of this, Lin Zhiqing took a deep breath.

At least for now, people who have gone to Xing'an Prefecture have not found anything amiss.

Therefore, Yan Hang is Yan Yu's younger brother.

Lin Zhiqing is willing to admit this.

However, she never expected that Yan Hang would cause trouble the very next day.

Lin Zhiqing originally wanted to go to Jianxin Hall with Lin Yangyang, but as soon as she arrived outside Lin Yangyang's courtyard, she saw a large group of people gathered outside.

"What happened?" Lin Zhiqing pushed through the crowd and immediately saw Lin Yangyang, who was furious, and Yan Hang, whose eyes were red.

Upon seeing Lin Zhiqing arrive, Lin Yangyang pulled her over immediately:
"Qing-meimei, come and see! This brat dares to bully Yan Hang! I'm so angry!"

Lin Zhiqing looked at the servant kneeling on the ground and frowned, saying:
"what happened?"

The servant quickly kowtowed several times:

“Miss Zhiqing, I was on duty outside Miss Yangyang’s courtyard today when I happened to run into Young Master Yan, who came to deliver pastries.”

"I was doing a routine check and I didn't hold it properly, so I spilled the pastries. Miss Yangyang misunderstood and said that I was bullying Young Master Yan."

"Even if I had a hundred more lives, I wouldn't dare to ridicule him, Miss! Please see the truth!"

As he spoke, the servant kowtowed to Lin Zhiqing again.

"Wait a moment," Lin Zhiqing said, looking at Yan Hang.

"Yan Hang, tell me what happened."

Yan Hang's eyes were like a little rabbit's; he waved his hand slightly.
"Miss Zhiqing, perhaps I have misunderstood. It's nothing."