The fat man shook his head and said regretfully, "That Feng Shui master had been planning for half of his life. He set up a small trap in his own tomb. When the county magistrate who caught the Feng Shui master's family had personal intentions, he deliberately found a few death row prisoners to pretend to be the family members and executed them first, secretly hiding the real family. It's not that he wanted to help this family, but mainly because he wanted to build a good relationship with the future emperor in case the Feng Shui master's grave was broken. If it was broken, then it would be beheaded. If it couldn't be broken, and something unexpected happened, it would be good to have the support of the future emperor."
"He made preparations on both sides, hiding the family while sending people to dig the Feng Shui master's grave. However, despite burying a person over a meter deep at the time, and even with dozens of people digging together for a day, they didn't find anything! The next morning, when they went back to dig, the deep pit dug the previous day was already level!"
"The county magistrate was delighted. Fortunately, he had kept an ace up his sleeve. Otherwise, if a secret son of the Feng Shui master suddenly appeared, he would have become famous, and he would have been in trouble. But on the surface, he still wanted to dig. If the trap was really broken, it would still be a great achievement. He dug for a whole day the next day but still found nothing."
"By the third day, the county magistrate thought that if they still couldn't find anything, he would secretly release the family and make them national heroes in the future. However, on the third day, the court astronomer came in a rush from eight hundred miles away, because at this point, the imperial star in the sky was as big as a cape! The emperor was already furious! At this time, forty-eight days had passed since the Feng Shui master was buried, and everything seemed to have become a foregone conclusion. However, the court astronomer still ordered the digging. He was the same as he came, and dug all day but found nothing. In the evening, the court astronomer ordered people to dig with torches and they dug into the morning. Today is the forty-ninth day, and the court astronomer was sweating profusely. Just as dawn broke, suddenly, from the pit dug in the graveyard, thousands of golden lights emerged, and a golden dragon rose into the sky!"
"But this dragon was still wearing a pair of underpants! The court astronomer immediately ordered it to be chopped down. When the officials and soldiers saw the dragon, their legs went weak, and they no longer dared to pursue. The astrologer said that the dragon was a sign of good fortune, not the mythical creature that controls the weather. Chopping it down and handing in the head would bring promotions and wealth. So, the officials and soldiers, despite their despair, started to pursue. The astrologer was also desperate. The dragon flew away in a moment, and there were no fighter planes at that time. How could they pursue? But at this moment, the dragon's underpants suddenly got caught on a jujube tree at the top of the mountain, covered with thorns. No matter how the dragon struggled, it couldn't free itself. Later, the officials and soldiers who caught up with it chopped off its head. After the head was chopped off, the dragon's body unexpectedly turned into the body of the Feng Shui master!"
"After the county magistrate returned, without saying a word, he directly killed the entire family of the Feng Shui master. So, little guy, don't think that having Lin Xiaoyao means that good fortune will fall from the sky. Even if you sit at home all day and do nothing, it still won't happen," the fat man said, not forgetting to lecture me.
"That Feng Shui master wasn't bad. It's just that his son was a bit of a disappointment. If he hadn't worn those white underpants, it would have been fine. If he hadn't killed that black dog, it would have been even better. It's a pity," I shook my head and said.
"Pity my ass, that's just fate!" the fat man shot me a glare.
By the time we finished talking, we had already reached the ancestral graves. Our entire Lin family also had several branches. Relying on my memory, I quickly found the ancestral graves of Lin Xiaoyao's branch. I was able to find the grave of Lin Xiaoyao's grandfather not because of my good memory, but thanks to Lin Sanshui's wealth in recent years, so there was a tombstone in front of his old man's tomb. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found it.
When we arrived at Lin Sanshui's father's grave, the fat man paced around it a few times. I thought he was going to dig up the grave, but he only inspected it without saying a word. After looking around, he took me away, and his expression seemed troubled, as if he had something on his mind. After inspecting Lin Sanshui's father's grave, he took me directly to the back hill, which was just a small hill. He remained silent as he led me to the top of the hill, his brow furrowing even deeper.
It seemed like he was pondering something, and I didn't dare to ask. I could only follow him like a shadow. After we descended the hill, he nearly led me to circle the entire village. Finally, with a heavy heart, he took me back to Lin Sanshui's house. By this time, blisters had formed on the soles of my feet, and I was extremely thirsty. I picked up the teapot and went to boil water, regardless of what Liu Fatty was up to.
When I returned after boiling the water, the fat man had already pulled out a map from Lin Sanshui's room and was studying it. I also stared at the map, feeling dizzy from the lines drawn on it. I became even more curious about what the fat man was studying.
After finishing the map, he drank the lukewarm water from the table in one go and then laid back on the chair, grabbing his hair, muttering to himself frantically, "Damn it, this shouldn't be. It can't be, could I, Fatty, have calculated something wrong?"
Three "damn it"s in a row were enough to illustrate the fat man's dilemma.
I couldn't hold back anymore and handed him a cigarette, saying, "Fatty, what's going on? You seemed so confident earlier."
The fat man took the cigarette, took a few puffs, and cursed, "Damn it, Linjiazhuang is really weird! After I calculated Lin Xiaoyao's fate, I didn't foresee such a situation. I told you about the Feng Shui master earlier. Since Lin Xiaoyao has such a destiny, she must also have found the dragon's den, or at least be nourished by the dragon's spirit. However, after checking your family's ancestral graves, the Feng Shui layout there is very ordinary and doesn't have any auspiciousness. I then took you to the back hill and confirmed that I, Fatty, definitely didn't make any mistakes. Linjiazhuang's Feng Shui is nonexistent, and I can't let go of it. After studying the layout of the entire town, something is still amiss."
"Where did the Mother of the World's destiny come from if there's no dragon's den?'' the fat man mused with a troubled expression.
"Could it be that Xiaoyao isn't Lin Sanshui's biological daughter? Her birth parents are someone else? Her biological parents found the dragon's den?" I suggested.
The fat man clapped his hands and ruffled my hair, exclaiming, "You sometimes have clever ideas! Let's go! This is probably the only explanation! Either Lin Sanshui's wife had a child with someone else! Let's go and ask Lin Sanshui's wife!" With that, the fat man rose and pulled me back home.
"Fatty, I know you're a capable person, with extraordinary abilities, but can I advise you to be careful with your words?" I was genuinely worried about the reckless and irritating Liu Fatty and asked, implying that he might blurt out something offensive to Wu Miaoke.
"Is Fatty someone who can't speak properly?" the fat man nodded.
I really wanted to say, "Who the hell gave you the right to speak well after having my grandmother's milk for breakfast?" Despite those thoughts, I couldn't help but feel a little fearful of Liu Fatty asking Wu Miaoke directly if Lin Xiaoyao was her biological daughter.
Sense prevailed, and I nodded, acknowledging the fat man's caution. We walked into the yard, and Wu Miaoke hesitated, looking at us with suspicion before accompanying me to my room. As soon as she entered, I closed the door.
Wu Miaoke shivered all over and spoke in a voice as quiet as a mosquito, "Xiaofan, we can't continue like this."
I was at a loss. There were still many people outside; could I, Lin Xiaofan, appear so desperate for it? Despite my misgivings, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. She had spared no effort to seduce me before, and now she was refusing me with all her might. Did she really see me, Lin Xiaofan, as nothing more than a tool for producing children?
Although I was thinking that, I said to her, "Aunty Miaoke, there's something I need to ask you, but first, don't be angry. It's all for Xiaoyao's sake." She probably understood the wrong meaning earlier, as her face reddened even more, and she nodded slowly.
"Aunty, is Xiaoyao really your and San Shui's biological daughter? I don't mean anything else by it—this is related to Xiaoyao's face!" It felt a bit presumptuous to ask such a question of a woman.
Wu Miaoke, who had been looking down and was afraid to meet my eyes, looked at me with an incredulous expression upon hearing my question, and then tears welled up in her eyes at an even faster rate.
"Aunty, I don't mean anything else, really." I hurriedly explained.
"Xiaofan, apart from you, San Shui and I have only each other in this lifetime," she looked straight at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Fine, Aunty, don't go out. I'm going to talk to Fatty," I hastily escaped. I locked the door as I left, and now Wu Miaoke was outside with tears in her eyes. What would my grandmother and father think if they were sitting outside? How would they see me?
As I walked out, I regretted it. Why did Fatty push me to ask that question? Was it appropriate to ask a woman this kind of question? Was I being too intrusive? When I walked out, I dragged Fatty out of the courtyard.
"Lin Xiaoyao is definitely the biological daughter of Wu Miaoke and Lin Sanshui; I can guarantee it with my vital parts!" I was a little angry, speaking with an edge in my voice.
"This is just strange. What's going on?" Fatty scratched his head, looking puzzled.
After a while, he suddenly said to me, "It looks like we'll have to wait till tonight and open the coffin to see."