Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 161;Lu Yuze & Lin Shuyin (k)

But he had to maintain some level of engagement because of his parents.

They were the ones who had requested his assistance, who insisted he couldn’t completely separate himself from family business. They were still a family connected by blood.

So he did the minimum required to keep them satisfied and maintain his own independence. Whatever wealth he had, he had worked hard for it, and all belonged to his daughter, and now that he had a wife, he needed to change the will and add his wife too.

Ah Ling nodded, accepting the postponement without comment, and returned his attention to his own work.

Lin Shuyin paid no attention to their business discussion.

She was focused entirely on Yuyan, her fingers working through the girl’s long silver-white hair with surprising gentleness.

The hair was beautiful but clearly hadn’t been properly cared for this morning, it flowed wild and free down Yuyan’s back, nearly reaching her waist, tangled from sleep.

Shuyin gathered sections carefully, her movements practiced despite claiming she had no experience with children.

She braided the hair with precise, even tension, her fingers moving in a rhythmic pattern that was almost meditative.

The braid grew steadily, incorporating all that length, before she secured the end and carefully rolled it into an elegant bun at the base of Yuyan’s neck.

Yuyan sat perfectly still throughout the entire exercise, eyes half-closed with contentment, making small sounds of pleasure when Shuyin’s fingers gently massaged her scalp.

Lu Yuze watched from the corner of his eye, pretending to look at his own phone while actually observing this unexpected moment of maternal care.

Something in his chest tightened. He could tell Shuyin was warm and welcoming but not all the times someone can be tolerant to kids that aren’t hers.

Chen Wan remained quiet beside Shuyin, her gaze fixed out the window but seeing nothing.

Her mind was already at the Chen family compound, already facing what awaited her there.

Her children.

That’s what mattered.

Not the brothers-in-law or husband who’d made her life hell.

Not the inheritance or the property or any of it.

Just her children.

Her babies.

Her triplets who’d been five years old for such a short time, who’d witnessed too much violence, who needed their mother to be strong.

As usual, she would be strong.

ARRIVAL AT THE CHEN COMPOUND

The convoy slowed as they approached the Chen family gates, tall, imposing barriers of ornate metal and stone that had stood for three generations.

Nobody could tell from outside what kind of atmosphere waited within those walls.

But Shuyin knew with absolute certainty what she would find.

Relief.

The women inside were relieved that those men were dead.

They’d been abused for so many years, beaten, belittled, controlled, treated as property rather than human beings.

Their husbands’ sudden deaths were tragedies they had to perform grief for, but privately?

Privately, it was liberation.

The gates began to open slowly, pulled by remote control or servants watching from inside.

The mechanical grinding of metal on metal seemed loud in the morning quiet.

The van rolled forward into a traditional courtyard, cobblestones worn smooth by decades of footsteps, carefully maintained gardens, the main mansion rising in traditional architecture that spoke of old money and older pride.

The vehicle came to a smooth stop.

Ting Fei exited first, opening doors with practiced efficiency.

The security detail from the following vehicles fanned out, taking positions that were protective but not overtly aggressive.

They all alighted, Lu Yuze moving with his usual controlled grace, Yuyan practically bouncing with contained energy, Shuyin stepping out like she owned the place, Chen Wan last, her legs slightly unsteady as she returned to the site of so much pain.

"Mrs. Chen..."

The maids who’d been walking across the courtyard stopped, greeting her with surprised respect.

Their eyes darted curiously to the two silver-haired people, so obviously related, so obviously wealthy, and to Shuyin, who radiated something that made them instinctively lower their gazes.

One maid stepped forward hesitantly.

"The... the others are in the main sitting area. Having breakfast with the children."

Chen Wan nodded stiffly, her throat too tight for words.

They walked through the entrance, through corridors Chen Wan knew by heart, toward the main family gathering space.

The sitting area was exactly as she remembered, large, opulent, designed for family meals and formal gatherings.

Sunlight streamed through tall windows, illuminating a long table where women and children sat eating breakfast.

The women looked up as they entered, various expressions crossing their faces, surprise, curiosity, wariness, recognition.

Chen Wan’s children saw her first.

"Mama!"

Three small bodies launched themselves from their chairs, scrambling around the table, nearly tripping over each other in their desperation to reach her.

Triplets, five years old, two girls and one boy, all with the same dark hair and anxious eyes.

They crashed into Chen Wan with enough force to make her stagger backward.

She caught them, gathering all three into her arms, her face crumpling as she buried it in their hair.

"My babies," she choked out.

"My babies, I’m here. Mama’s here."

They clung to her with the desperate strength of children who’d learned too young that nothing was permanent, that people could disappear without warning.

Shuyin stood back, giving them this moment, but her presence was a constant pressure in the room.

The temperature had begun to drop perceptibly, frost crystallizing at the edges of windows, breath becoming visible.

When Chen Wan finally looked up, her eyes red but determined, Shuyin leaned in close and whispered:

"Have you chosen the one I’ll take? Remember, this was part of the deal."

The words were soft but absolute, a reminder of the bargain struck.

One child.

That was the price for all the deaths, for freedom from abuse, for the inheritance she was about to claim.

Chen Wan’s face went white.

She looked down at her children, her babies, her heart walking around outside her body in three small forms.