On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2157 Dragon's Roar Island Mentioned Again

Young Master Ding finally regained some color in his lips. Leaning against the edge of the stretcher, he looked past his mother, who was embracing and weeping, and onto Governor Ding, who was being beaten on the ground in the corridor.

Those familiar features should have been the image of his father in his memory, but seeing them now only sent an indescribable chill down his spine.

His breathing was still a little labored, but he still struggled to raise his hand, his fingertips trembling as he pointed at the person. His voice was weak, but it carried an undeniable certainty: "Mother, he is not Father!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he choked on his own rapid breathing, his chest heaving violently, and he began to cough repeatedly, each cough sounding as if he were coughing up his lungs.

Madam Ding hurriedly reached out to pat him on the back, her eyes reddening again. She patted his back while glaring at the people in the corridor: "You thief, how dare you put on an act here!"

Ding Cishi, who had been beaten by Yin Ding, Sun Qing, and Wu Liang for a long time, had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his hair was disheveled, and his clothes were torn to shreds. Hearing this, he spoke up and retorted.

He tilted his head to avoid Wu Liang's falling fist, and squeezed out a muffled laugh, his voice sarcastic: "You unfilial son!"

"Just because your mother cheated on you, just because I discovered her affair with her lover, not only do you not stand up for me, her own father, but you also side with her and her lover. Now you even dare to lie through your teeth and disown me! My Ding family has no descendants like you!"

These words were like a poisoned knife, stabbing straight into Madam Ding's heart.

She was trembling with anger, and just as she was about to speak in rebuttal, she saw Yin Ding punch Governor Ding on the shoulder again.

Governor Ding groaned in pain, his body slumped halfway down, but he still held his neck straight, his eyes filled with malice.

Young Master Ding coughed for a while before calming down. He took a small sip of the water that Madam Ding handed him, and his breathing gradually became steady.

He raised his eyes, his gaze coldly fixed on Governor Ding. There was not a trace of filial piety in his eyes, only a clear understanding that saw through everything: "Don't think that you can get away with all this by deliberately smearing me and my mother. What you have done will be revealed to the world sooner or later."

As he spoke, his chest still ached slightly, but he forced himself to sit up straighter. He turned his gaze to Su Zhenhai, who was standing to the side, his forehead veins throbbing with anger. He bowed slightly, cupped his hands in greeting, and said earnestly, "Envoy Su, I have a request."

Su Zhenhai already hated this fake prefect to the core. Seeing Young Master Ding's appearance, he quickly stepped forward and softened his tone: "Young Master Ding, please speak freely. As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse!"

Young Master Ding gave a bitter smile, a smile filled with years of grievances and bitterness. He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth and slowly began to recount the long-buried past: "Envoy Su, gentlemen, the drowning back then was real, but it was not an accident, but a faked death."

That day, my mother and I were traveling by boat to visit my maternal grandparents. When we reached the middle of the river, the boat suddenly rocked violently. I felt someone push me from behind and I fell into the river.

The river water was cold and swift; I choked several times and quickly lost consciousness.

He paused, and Madam Ding tightened her grip on his hand, her fingertips tracing the calluses on the back of his hand, tears welling up in her eyes and falling again.

"I was unconscious for a long time. When I woke up again in a daze, I felt sore all over and was lying in an unfamiliar place."

The room was dark, with only a small window that let in dim light. I moved around and realized that my limbs were weak and my head was spinning.

Young Master Ding's voice lowered, as if he were lost in that painful memory: "At the time, I thought I had been rescued by a kind person, and that I was just weak because I was feeling unwell after falling into the water. But not long after, I realized something was wrong."

“Every day someone brings me soup. The soup doesn’t smell strange, but every time I finish eating it, I fall into a drowsy sleep, sometimes for a whole day and night.”

At first, I thought it was just because I had injured myself in the water, and that being sleepy was normal. But when it continued for half a month, I became suspicious.

He glanced at everyone, his tone tinged with relief: "Later, every time I was fed soup, I would pretend to swallow, but secretly spit some into my sleeves or the gaps in the bed. It was through this method that I was able to stay conscious for a little longer."

But the place was so remote that when I was awake, I could only hear the occasional sound of waves outside. I couldn't even distinguish between day and night, let alone figure out where I was or who had captured me.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the crackling of the torches and the slightly weak voice of Young Master Ding. Even Governor Ding, who was being held down, was temporarily silent, his eyes flickering as if he were thinking about something.

"I lived like this for almost a year. I became so thin that I was just skin and bones. I didn't see anyone other than the person who delivered my food."

One day, the person who brought me food changed. A man in a brocade robe came in. He stood by the bed and stared at me for a long time. When I looked up, I realized his features were exactly like my father's.

As Mr. Ding spoke, his bitter smile deepened. “I was overjoyed. I thought my father had found me. I struggled to get up and call him, but he just looked at me coldly, said ‘Not dead yet,’ and turned away.”

"At that time, I didn't realize what was happening and didn't understand why my father was doing this."

He came a few more times after that, each time with a strange hostility. His tone of voice and manner of treating people were completely different from the father I remembered.

The father I remember, though strict in his official duties, treated me extremely well. Our father-son bond was deep; he would never look at me with such cold eyes, much less scold or beat the servants who brought him meals.

He took a deep breath, his gaze falling on Prefect Ding again, and said clearly, "It wasn't until later that I realized he wasn't my father at all!"

He was the mastermind behind my arrest back then, and he was a beggar that my father had saved on the street years ago!

My father was kind-hearted and, seeing his pitiful state, took him back to the manor, gave him a meal, and even healed his wounds. Little did he know, he had invited a wolf into the house!

"Nonsense!" Governor Ding struggled suddenly, but was held down firmly by Yin Ding. He glared at Young Master Ding and roared, "This is clearly my face. Everyone in Rongzhou has seen it and knows that I am Ding Hengshou!"

You call me a beggar? Who would believe you? You've been corrupted by your promiscuous mother and are trying to frame me with outsiders!

Su Zhenhai kicked the bluestone slab next to his leg, making a dull thud: "Shut up! Young Master Ding has already said so much, and you still dare to argue!"

Young Master Ding ignored Governor Ding's clamor and calmly looked at him: "As for the face, I really don't know what method you used to make me look exactly like my father."

But I overheard you talking to a man in black when you weren't looking, and you mentioned a place.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu's eyes flickered slightly: "Young Master Ding, think carefully, where is the place they mentioned?"

The wind in the courtyard seemed to have picked up, ruffling the stray hairs on Young Master Ding's forehead. His gaze became incredibly resolute as he spoke slowly and deliberately the place name that had been hidden in his heart for so long: "They mentioned it repeatedly back then. The place is called—Dragon's Roar Island."