SBCEJM -Chapter 157 Twenty Years of a Double Life! The Shocking Secret of the Prime Minister’s Illegitimate Sister

When Chu Ruoshuang heard Feng Zexuan’s words, her heart jolted.

She hurriedly handed the child to her husband and was about to leave the banquet.

“Husband… I have something I need to take care of!”

“Mm, be careful. Take a few guards with you.”

The eldest son of the Lin family knew she was going to save her elder sister and gently reminded her.

【Chu Ruoshuang is really desperate to save her sister!】

Feng Zexuan raised her wine cup, just about to continue watching the drama unfold.

Suddenly, an old nanny collided head-on with the rushing Chu Ruoshuang.

“Ah!”

The old nanny fell to the ground. Her bun came undone, and a few strands of gray hair hung messily along her cheeks.

Chu Ruoshuang quickly helped her up. “Nanny Zhou, are you alright?”

“I… I’m fine.”

Nanny Zhou touched her face, a flicker of panic flashing across her expression.

【System, why does this Nanny Zhou feel a bit strange?】

Feng Zexuan stared at that wrinkled old face, sensing something was off.

While everyone was drinking and chatting, they “casually” turned their attention to the old nanny as well.

Yet they saw nothing unusual.

In their eyes, she was just an ordinary old nanny—hunched back, face full of wrinkles, moving slowly.

【Host, she’s not the real Nanny Zhou. Someone is impersonating her!】

【Huh? An assassin?】

The moment those words landed, the atmosphere at the banquet instantly tightened.

Imperial guards around the Emperor and Crown Prince immediately went on alert.

Generals subtly placed their hands on their sword hilts, and civil officials became vigilant as well. Some even quietly stepped back.

Chu Ruoshuang also froze, nervously staring at Nanny Zhou.

【Host, the real Nanny Zhou died twenty years ago!】

The “Nanny Zhou,” just helped up, stiffened completely upon hearing this inner voice.

Her heart filled with shock, and she turned to flee immediately.

But Chu Tiankuo reacted quickly and pressed a hand on her shoulder.

“Nanny, since you’ve fallen, why not sit and rest a while?”

His voice was gentle, but his grip was terrifyingly strong.

The old nanny struggled desperately, but she found she couldn’t move at all.

Her breathing quickened, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.

“Go quickly and call the family physician!”

The eldest son of the Lin family cooperated seamlessly, wearing a concerned expression.

Feng Zexuan laughed inwardly.

【Everyone’s really quite respectful to the elderly—nice, nice!】

Xiao Juechen in the corner nodded inwardly. These ministers’ responsiveness was indeed excellent.

The system dropped a bombshell:

【Host, this Nanny Zhou is actually Lin Prime Minister’s illegitimate younger sister, Lin Yanmei, in disguise!】

The Prime Minister’s eyes widened as he stared hard at that wrinkled face.

Impossible!

His younger sister had married into Jiangnan ten years ago. How could she still be here?

Besides, she was only twenty-eight this year—yet this old nanny looked at least sixty!

And this nanny had been in the Lin household for so many years—if there were any issues, she should have been discovered long ago.

【Lin Yanmei was raised by Nanny Zhou since childhood. Her birth mother only cared about seducing the Lin patriarch and never cared about her daughter.】

【When she was eight, Nanny Zhou died of illness. Unable to bear losing her only support, Lin Yanmei secretly buried her in the courtyard where she lived.】

Everyone sucked in a breath.

An eight-year-old child burying a corpse?

How desperate must she have been!

【So no one in the Lin household knew Nanny Zhou was already dead.】

【Then why is she impersonating her?】 Feng Zexuan asked.

【Because Nanny Zhou was her entire world. Before Zhou died, she was like a fledgling bird—only needing to stay in her room and wait for Zhou to feed her.】

【She lived a life of being served hand and foot.】

【After Zhou died, her world collapsed. Suddenly having to face everything alone, she simply didn’t know how to survive.】

【But human potential is also immense. In order to live, she slowly began interacting with the outside world.】

【However, she had a problem—whenever she saw people, she would blush intensely, speak unclearly, stammer constantly, and was often laughed at by servants.】

Feng Zexuan curled her lips.

【Is the Prime Minister’s household management that loose?】

【Host, twenty years ago it wasn’t even the Prime Minister’s estate yet! And Lin Yanmei’s mother was seducing the patriarch at the time, so the Lin Prime Minister didn’t even want to deal with them.】

【Besides, Lin Yanmei rarely left her courtyard. She simply had no chance to interact with others.】

The Minister of Revenue whispered, “Prime Minister Lin… your sister really had a hard life.”

The Prime Minister recalled his mother’s past complaints, his emotions turning complicated.

He had indeed held resentment toward that mother and daughter—but he never imagined his sister had lived such a miserable life.

If he had cared a little more back then, perhaps none of this would have happened.

【Host, a person’s life is lonely. One day, she began wearing Nanny Zhou’s clothes, pretending she was still alive.】

【Later, she used paint to whiten strands of her hair and applied special ointments to make her face wrinkled and aged.】

【She knew all of Nanny Zhou’s habits and even mimicked her speech patterns perfectly. Slowly, she became Nanny Zhou.】

【From then on, she lived a life acting as two people.】

【When she went out, she was Nanny Zhou; when alone, she was herself.】

Feng Zexuan sighed.

【People always eventually find the way of living most suitable for them—even if that way is a bit… unusual.】

The “Nanny Zhou” sitting in the chair trembled violently, her face pale as paper.

All her secrets of twenty years had been exposed in an instant. That humiliation felt like being stripped naked and thrown into the street.

She tightly closed her eyes, not daring to look at anyone.

The system continued:

【As Nanny Zhou, Lin Yanmei could speak normally with others and even personally served tea to the Prime Minister.】

【She even took the initiative to approach him.】

【So she still longed for family affection deep down.】

The Prime Minister recalled how “Nanny Zhou” had occasionally brought him pastries over the years.

So his sister had been quietly caring for him all along.

Yet he had never known—and had never even looked at her properly.

Guilt and tenderness filled his gaze as he looked at her.

【But when she was herself, she became completely stiff—unable to speak, unsure how to move or express herself.】

【She was basically an extreme social anxiety case who would “die on contact.”】

【Later, when she was eighteen, her stepmother arranged for her to marry a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan.】

【How did she get out of it?】 Feng Zexuan asked.

System replied:

【She used her dowry to bribe a maid and had one of them take her place in the marriage, while she remained in the Lin household as Nanny Zhou.】

【And the maid agreed?】

【She was an orphan. Becoming a merchant’s wife was far better than being a servant.】

Everyone suddenly understood.

So that’s how it was—a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Lin Yanmei lowered her head. Although still in the appearance of Nanny Zhou, her demeanor had completely changed.

She had become that timid young girl again.

She clutched her sleeves tightly, knuckles white, curling into herself as if trying to hide.

Twenty years of disguise had been torn away in an instant, and the panic nearly shattered her.

The Prime Minister looked at this pitiful sister, his heart filled with guilt.

He slowly walked toward her, his voice softer than ever:

“…You are Yanmei, aren’t you?”