Chapter 137 A Familiar Face: The Mystery of Lin Zhang
"Mom, who is that beautiful woman in Grandpa's study? Is she Grandma?" Zuo Qinghuan asked Lin Jingxian coaxingly. There was one portrait in Qin Zheng's study, and Qin Wanshu originally had one in hers too. Although Wanshu had obediently put hers away after Qinghuan asked her not to hang it, Qinghuan was still very curious about who the beauty in the painting was.
Lin Jingxian shook her head; the woman in the painting wasn't her mother-in-law.
"Apparently, the subject of that painting was a woman named Lin Zhang." Wanshu had also copied the painting once. She found it beautiful and had shown it to her mother, who exclaimed that the person in the painting greatly resembled the Lin Zhang of her time.
"Lin Zhang? Who's that? Is she related to the Lin family?" Qin Wanshu's curiosity was piqued as well.
"That Lin Zhang was from the Lin family of East Tai, unrelated to our Lin family of West Tai. The East Tai Lins were once even more prominent than our Lin family or the Qin family. It's said they produced exceptional people for generations, but their lineage dwindled, and the family's fortunes declined day by day. By Lin Zhang's generation, she was the sole daughter left, and her family had become somewhat poor. Still, they were a scholarly family. Lin Zhang was naturally gifted, blessed with literary talent and grace, possessing an extraordinary aura, and born with an almost ethereal beauty. Lin Zhang first married Zhao Yan, then moved far away with her husband's family. However, I heard Zhao Yan died young. Forced by the pressures of the era, Lin Zhang had to remarry. Who she remarried, nobody really knows. After all, in those times of war and chaos, people could barely protect themselves, let alone find the spare time to worry about others." Lin Jingxian had only heard her own mother mention this once or twice.
"Was that Lin Zhang really so remarkable?" Zuo Qinghuan felt the name Lin Zhang sounded a bit familiar, but couldn't recall when she might have heard it.
"Yes. Wanshu's maternal grandmother only met Lin Zhang once, but she said she was the kind of woman you could never forget after seeing her just once – gentle and refined like jade, clear and pure like water, uncommonly transcendent like an immortal. It's a pity she was born in such chaotic times." Lin Jingxian's mother had never praised anyone so highly, which hinted at just how extraordinary Lin Zhang must have been.
"Then her and Grandpa…?" Since he kept the painting in his study, he must have admired her.
"I never heard that Grandpa had any interaction with Lin Zhang." Lin Jingxian wasn't sure about the specifics either. Besides, these were all matters of the distant past. If she hadn't shown her mother Wanshu's copied painting that one time, prompting her mother to reminisce with a few words, who would even remember Lin Zhang anymore?
Qin Zheng himself had only seen Lin Zhang once. That single encounter was stunning enough to last a lifetime – and 'stunning' didn't just refer to her appearance. Even today, Qin Zheng could recall that fleeting, breathtaking glimpse. That single look had given rise to a profound sense of loss, making him wish he could have met her before she was married. Qin Zheng and Lin Zhang never had any real connection; it was merely Qin Zheng's regret born from admiration at first sight.
"Qin Wanshu!" Zuo Qinghuan, lying in bed, suddenly cried out.
"What is it?" Qin Wanshu, who had just closed her eyes, was startled by Zuo Qinghuan's sudden outburst.
"I think Lin Zhang is my maternal grandmother! My mom mentioned my grandmother once when I was little, but I didn't pay much attention. Racking my brains just now, I finally remembered – my grandma really was named Lin Zhang! That jade bracelet was something Lin Zhang left for my mom!" Zuo Qinghuan said excitedly.
Qin Wanshu stared at Zuo Qinghuan in astonishment. When she had investigated Zuo Qinghuan's background before, the trail mostly stopped at Zuo Yan. Where Zuo Yan actually came from remained a mystery.
The woman whose portrait her grandfather and she herself had displayed for so long turned out to be Zuo Qinghuan's grandmother. It felt as if, mysteriously, fate had destined them to be connected all along.
"It's hard for me to imagine how someone like Lin Zhang could give birth to a daughter like my mom…" Zuo Qinghuan remarked with a sigh.
"Mothers and daughters are fundamentally independent individuals; they aren't necessarily alike," Qin Wanshu said, lifting her left hand to gently touch the jade bracelet on her wrist. She had worn it ever since Zuo Qinghuan gave it to her. It seemed their connection was indeed guided by Lin Zhang.
"Do you think maybe your grandpa had a secret crush on my grandma, and then raised you to be like her?" Zuo Qinghuan asked, her imagination running wild.
Qin Wanshu pondered for a moment. Actually, it seemed quite possible.
"Qin Wanshu, we really are fated to be together," Zuo Qinghuan sighed emotionally.
"Mm," Qin Wanshu reached out, wrapping an arm around the still-excited Zuo Qinghuan's neck, reminding her it was time to sleep.
Zuo Qinghuan buried her face in Qin Wanshu's chest, nuzzling against her softness. Finding a comfortable spot, Zuo Qinghuan drifted off to sleep, utterly content.
Whatever bonds existed between her and Zuo Qinghuan, those details weren't important anymore. What mattered was that they were together now.
"Qin Wanshu, calling you by your full name like this feels so formal," Zuo Qinghuan suddenly realized one day.
"I'm used to it," Qin Wanshu didn't particularly mind.
"We need a nickname! How about Qin'er? Wan'er? Or Shushu?" Zuo Qinghuan asked in a cheesy, overly sweet tone.
Qin Wanshu felt goosebumps prickle her skin.
"You can just call me like you usually do," Qin Wanshu said, feeling it was perfectly fine. She didn't feel any distance when Zuo Qinghuan called her full name with that affectionate tone.
"No, there absolutely has to be a nickname!" Zuo Qinghuan became stubborn on the nickname issue.
"Wanshu. That's what my family calls me," Qin Wanshu suggested, feeling a distinct aversion to adding diminutive suffixes like 'er'.
"Family is different from a lover! It has to be exclusive! How about Athena? Little Ya? Little Na?" Zuo Qinghuan was genuinely serious about finding a pet name for Qin Wanshu.
"No!" Qin Wanshu refused flatly. She felt Zuo Qinghuan was getting increasingly ridiculous.
"Darling? Baby? Honey? Which one do you like?" Zuo Qinghuan asked excitedly.
"Let's just stick with Qin Wanshu," Qin Wanshu replied. For some reason, hearing Zuo Qinghuan say those mushy pet names made her skin crawl. She really didn't appreciate overly explicit or fervent expressions of affection.