Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 70 The only person you can trust is me.

Ning Zhanyan was her biological brother; no wonder she knew he had a mole behind his ear. No wonder she was so agitated and had a headache when she saw Ning Zhanyan's corpse. It turned out her real name was Ning Zhanshuang; she had almost forgotten she had a brother. However, now her brother had been betrayed by her sworn sister Du Shiniang and Lin Chong, and poisoned by her future sister-in-law Chen Jinhuan. How was she supposed to face Du Shiniang and Chen Jinhuan now?

When Wu Song heard the mysterious man reveal the relationship between Ning Zhanyan and Du Rushuang, he was indeed taken aback. Fortunately, Ning Zhanyan and Shuang'er were only siblings; otherwise, he would have gone mad. He couldn't accept that the woman he loved had once had an experience like the cold-faced queen Chen Jinhuan.

Seeing Du Rushuang deep in thought with her eyes downcast, Wu Song guessed that she must have been startled by the information revealed by the mysterious person. So he took Du Rushuang's hand and comforted her, saying, "Shuang'er, don't be sad! If Ning Zhanyan is indeed your brother, we should first bury him and let him rest in peace. We'll face the rest together, okay?"

"Okay! I'll do whatever you say." Du Rushuang replied obediently, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

However, by the time Wu Song and Du Rushuang came to their senses, the mysterious man had already vanished without a trace, carrying Ning Zhanyan's body. Du Rushuang clenched her fists, wanting to chase after the mysterious man, but Wu Song solemnly said to her, "Don't chase after him! I suspect that mysterious man deliberately mentioned that Ning Zhanyan was your brother to distract us and unsettle us. I just don't know why he stole your brother's body?"

"So you think he was lying to me when he said Ning Zhanyan was my brother?" Du Rushuang looked into Wu Song's eyes and said in a tone that was hard to tell whether she was angry or sad.

"Whether he is your biological brother or not, I believe Shuang'er can judge for herself. But I think this mysterious person and the organization behind him must have plotted your brother's death, as well as Du Shiniang and us." Wu Song hugged Du Rushuang's slender waist tightly, gently stroked her cheek and said softly.

“Ning Zhanyan really is my brother. Just now, I recalled the scenes of our childhood when we lived together. That mysterious person didn’t lie to me. But what was his purpose in stealing my brother’s body? My brother is now dead. Who should I seek revenge on? And why did I get separated from my brother and end up at Zixiang Pavilion?” Du Rushuang leaned her head on Wu Song’s shoulder and poured out her feelings to him with a tone of heartache and confusion.

Du Rushuang's series of questions left Wu Song somewhat bewildered, but he felt that he should comfort her first. So he gently kissed her forehead and comforted her, saying, "Shuang'er, no matter what, we must not tell Du Shiniang and Brother Lin about your relationship with Ning Zhanyan after we return to Zixiang Pavilion. The mystery of your origins is still unsolved. The only person you can trust is me, understand?"

"I understand, Brother Wu. Now, Shuang'er only trusts you." Du Rushuang tiptoed and gently kissed Wu Song's chin. Wu Song's eyes immediately darkened, and he tightened his embrace around Du Rushuang. He then cupped the back of the girl's head in his hands and passionately kissed her rosy lips. Wu Song held Du Rushuang and kissed her for a long while, only letting go when he realized she was struggling to breathe.

Du Rushuang's mood seemed to have been completely soothed. She decided to return to Zixiang Pavilion with Wu Song first, since Chen Jinhuan—the person her brother liked—was there. After returning, she was sure she could get some clues about her brother and the mysterious organization behind him from Chen Jinhuan.

Before long, it was fully light. Wu Song and Du Rushuang walked hand in hand, whispering to each other, slowly making their way back to the Zixiang Pavilion in the city under the warm morning sun. Flocks of wild geese flew over the hillside from time to time, carrying away the sorrow and leaving people with only more expectations.

After returning to Zixiang Pavilion, Lin Chong placed the twenty-odd bells he had brought back from Mingfu Cave on the table. Then he asked Xu Gui to bring him a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and he carefully copied the pictures engraved on each bell in his study.

Five or six hours passed in this way. Xu Gui looked at the large stack of drawings that Lin Chong had placed on his desk. He was grinding ink beside him and, looking at these drawings, couldn't help but ask Lin Chong curiously, "Instructor Lin, what are these drawings of yours?"

"Chief Steward Xu, these are the blueprints for manufacturing hidden weapons. They were all developed by Ning Zhanyan. I have to admire this guy. He is truly a genius in manufacturing hidden weapons. He shouldn't be in the Ministry of Justice. He should be transferred to the Ministry of War to give full play to his talent and ability." Lin Chong stopped holding the brush and said excitedly to Xu Gui beside him.

At this moment, Du Shiniang led Chen Jinhuan into Lin Chong's study. Chen Jinhuan saw the blueprints piled on Lin Chong's desk and couldn't help but exclaim, "I never imagined that Sixth Prince's hard work would be preserved on the bell in my room. It's fortunate that Instructor Lin was clever enough to discover these blueprints for making hidden weapons that he left behind."

"Perhaps this is the fate between Ning Zhanyan and me. Although we only met once, I felt that he was a hero. If we had met earlier, I believe he would have become a close friend of mine." Lin Chong looked at Chen Jinhuan and said with a regretful tone.

Du Shiniang looked at the blueprints and suddenly remembered the power of the Nether Sphere. So she asked Lin Chong, "Brother Lin, have you found the blueprints for the Nether Sphere? I think this thing might be useful to General Zhou. It can be used to deal with the enemy on the battlefield in the future. I believe the Nether Sphere will be a powerful weapon."

Upon hearing Du Shiniang's words, Lin Chong said to her in a sour tone, "Shiniang, it seems you really care about General Zhou. Look at this, isn't this the blueprint for the Netherworld Ball?" As soon as he finished speaking, he forcefully shoved a blueprint into Du Shiniang's arms.

Du Shiniang quickly took the blueprints for the ghost ball, examined them carefully, then went to the desk, took a blank sheet of Xuan paper, and copied the blueprints to make a new one. She folded the old blueprints and put them in her sleeve, then turned to Lin Chong and winked, saying, "Keep this copy of the ghost ball's blueprints. I'll present your copy to General Zhou, and he'll give you a great reward."

"A major commendation? That would be wonderful! I thank you, Shi Niang, for recommending me to General Zhou." Lin Chong's words were sarcastic, but Du Shi Niang was too lazy to argue with him. She simply pursed her lips and replied perfunctorily, "You're welcome!"

Chen Jinhuan, who was observing from the sidelines, was exceptionally intelligent and had long since realized that the relationship between Lin Chong and Du Shiniang was not simple. However, she kept quiet about it, because these two powerful figures were her future support, and she dared not offend them.

Seeing Chen Jinhuan staring thoughtfully at the bells on the desk, Du Shiniang asked her, "Jin'er, are you reluctant to part with these bells and want to take them back to keep as a keepsake?" Realizing that Du Shiniang had seen through her thoughts, Chen Jinhuan sighed and replied in a somewhat heavy tone, "I am a little reluctant!"

"What good things are you reluctant to part with? Sister, you didn't even save any for Shuang'er." Du Rushuang, who had just entered the study hand in hand with Wu Song, overheard Chen Jinhuan and Du Shiniang's conversation and playfully interjected.

When Chen Jinhuan saw that it was Du Rushuang who had returned, she hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and questioned her sharply: "Du Rushuang, why did you take Ning Zhanyan's body away yesterday? Is he your mortal enemy? Even though he is dead, you still can't let go of his body and want to desecrate it?"

"Jin'er, what are you saying? I don't know Ning Zhanyan at all. Yesterday, I was only tempted by a mysterious person to exchange Ning's corpse for information about my identity. I have amnesia and don't know anything about what happened before I came to Zixiang Pavilion. If you don't believe me, you can ask my sister." Du Rushuang frowned as she spoke to Chen Jinhuan. She knew she couldn't hide the fact that she had taken Ning Zhanyan's corpse yesterday, so she could only give Chen Jinhuan a half-truth.

“Miss Jin’er, I can testify for Shuang’er. Last night, I went with her to see that mysterious person. While Shuang’er and I were talking, that person stole Ning Zhanyan’s body. Shuang’er’s actions yesterday were indeed forced, and I can guarantee that Shuang’er has indeed lost her memory.” Wu Song quickly pulled Chen Jin Huan’s hand away from Du Ru Shuang’s sleeve, cautiously hugged Du Ru Shuang in his arms, and then briefly explained to Chen Jin Huan.

“Yes! Shuang’er is my sworn sister. She did indeed lose her memory and was chased by soldiers, so she broke into my Zixiang Pavilion. She was injured and fell into a coma. When she woke up, she had lost her memory. I gave her the name Du Rushuang.” Du Shiniang also explained for Du Rushuang, her tone sincere.

Seeing this, Chen Jinhuan didn't say anything more. After all, Du Rushuang and Ning Zhanyan didn't know each other, and she had never heard Ning Zhanyan mention that he had any other women or enemies in the past few years. So Chen Jinhuan just silently lowered her head, took out a silk handkerchief from her bosom, packed up all the bells on the desk, and then picked up the silk bag and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, Miss Jin'er, I have another question I'd like to ask you privately?" Du Rushuang approached Chen Jinhuan and, without waiting for her reply, pulled her behind the screen in the study, asking her mysteriously. Wu Song knew what Du Rushuang wanted to ask Chen Jinhuan, so he coughed lightly and stood in front of the screen to prevent Du Shiniang, Lin Chong, and the others from interfering with Du Rushuang's private conversation with Chen Jinhuan.

Chen Jinhuan, unaware of what Du Rushuang wanted to ask her privately, asked with a puzzled look, "Shuang'er, what do you want to ask me? Is it related to Ning Zhanyan?"

“It is indeed related to Ning Zhanyan. I want to ask you if you have heard him mention his family in the past few years? Does he have a younger sister who was separated from him when he was young?” Du Rushuang asked Chen Jinhuan directly.

Chen Jinhuan was stunned by Du Rushuang's question. She searched her memory for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said to Du Rushuang, "Yes! Liu Lang once mentioned to me about his parents' divorce. He said that his father met his mother while on a case trip. His mother was from the Jin Kingdom, but she was extremely beautiful. His father was captivated and took her back to Mingfu Cave. Eight years later, his mother's family found Mingfu Cave. By then, his mother had already given birth to him and his sister. Because his mother was a noblewoman from the Jin Kingdom, his father was afraid of the emperor's wrath, so he agreed to the divorce, and his mother left with his sister. The two never saw each other again, and Ning Zhanyan never looked for his sister after he grew up."

"I see!" Du Rushuang exclaimed in sudden realization after hearing Chen Jinhuan's words. However, Du Rushuang then wondered, if she had indeed been separated from Ning Zhanyan since childhood, then she should have returned to the Jin Kingdom with her mother. But how did she end up in the Song Dynasty? And what was the story behind her assassinating the emperor? Was she an assassin from the Jin Kingdom?

Although Du Rushuang is certain that Ning Zhanyan is her brother, her memories of him only go back to when she was a child. Now that her brother is dead, it seems pointless for her to tell Chen Jinhuan that she is Ning Zhanyan's sister.