Chapter 1794: Chapter 1794: A Living Witness
Mr. Chen shook his head and said, "I don’t know, even the owner doesn’t know. It’s forbidden. You should be aware of the rules of Tianhai Mountain Villa. But don’t worry, since Cuiniang bore the Young Master, she will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life."
Even if there is no worry for food and clothing, one still has to endure the pain of family separation.
Jian Shiqing had known about this rule since childhood. Although he missed the mother he had never met, he didn’t dwell too much on it.
He took a deep breath and asked, "Mr. Chen, could you tell me what exactly happened back then, why were you all sent away?"
Recalling the events of that year, there were still many things Mr. Chen couldn’t figure out.
After thinking for a while, he said, "That year, the butler Qu suddenly said he wanted to leave, and the owner became restless and didn’t want to let him go. But in the end, the butler Qu left, without saying goodbye.
After he left, I clearly noticed changes in the owner. That year, the owner, who rarely left the villa, went away alone for half a month. We searched everywhere, and he returned on his own after half a month. Less than ten days after his return, he sent away Granny Liu, whom he regarded as a mother. He said she was old and chose a quiet place for her to retire.
But before that, everyone thought Granny Liu would stay in the villa for her retirement. However, it was the owner’s decision, and we couldn’t say much. When Granny Liu left, she was actually quite uneasy. She knew the owner best and was the first to notice his changes."
Pausing for a moment, Mr. Chen continued, "I never expected the owner to be a fake, let alone that the real owner had long ago... been murdered."
On his way here, when he heard others telling him about the events at Tianhai Mountain Villa, he still couldn’t accept it.
Jin Luoyin then asked, "So how did you come to think of secretly leaving the villa?"
This question made Mr. Chen blush, and he said, "We all knew something was wrong with the owner because during that time, he sent away everyone close to him. But I never suspected the owner had been replaced, only thinking he changed drastically because the trusted butler Qu left, causing him emotional distress.
My leaving had nothing to do with the owner; it was because the steward of the villa had a daughter they fancied for me, and I didn’t want it. Living with such a family would have been inevitably awkward!"
Was this the reason? Everyone gasped. The girl who fancied Mr. Chen inadvertently saved his life.
"Back then, I was young and rash, acting on impulse. After everyone was sent to the villa, they didn’t leave. They thought the same as me, believing the owner was just in a momentary lapse and would call everyone back once he regained his senses. Meanwhile, I had an advantage over them because I was literate and had read many books. I even considered myself knowledgeable!"
As Mr. Chen spoke, he blushed unconsciously, "I thought since he drove me away, I would become the Top Scholar and return to make him regret it. But after leaving, I realized I wasn’t destined to be a Top Scholar, at most just a teacher. I was stewing over this but too embarrassed to return, so I’ve been living under an alias all these years, becoming a son-in-law and inheriting my father-in-law’s school, becoming a teacher."
He was indeed lucky, otherwise, his fate might have been like the others who were silenced.
