gunpowder smoke
Some say that Dou Yanxun was frivolous in his youth, and that his past deeds of drinking in brothels and composing poems were merely a facade of romanticism. In reality, he was exceptionally intelligent and used this to subtly win people's hearts. This is why Emperor Su defied public opinion to appoint him as an imperial inspector, and why he later achieved outstanding political results.
Some say that this person is actually a hypocrite who holds grudges and harbors resentment. He suffered a lot of torment from his stepmother and ancestral family when he was young, which made him develop a sinister and ruthless nature. This is why the Dou family was destroyed overnight, and Dou Tonghan, who was also from the Dou family's ancestral family, never received Dou Yanxun's protection after passing the imperial examination. To this day, he is just a minor Hanlin Academy probationary official.
Some even claimed that while Dou Yanxun outwardly served the Crown Prince, he had secretly been working for Prince Mao, displaying remarkable opportunism. They speculated that Dou Yanxun's sudden defection was partly due to his instigation. These rumors, already rampant, intensified after Dou Yanxun gained significant power.
But unexpectedly, these words have now gradually affected Lin Xu as well.
At some point, rumors began to circulate that Lord Dou's current cold-blooded and ruthless demeanor was due to the instigation and provocation of a wicked woman, Lin Xu, who had been entangled with several powerful men since their divorce.
Another, even more extreme, theory suggested that the fire at the Dou family home was caused by Lin Xu's disrespect for her elders and her resentment towards her mother-in-law. It was only to protect her reputation that Dou Yanxun kept it a secret. Thus, the rumors intensified, even specifying the date and location of the incident, making it seem as if these people had witnessed it themselves. The old scholars in the court, who usually valued female virtue, could no longer tolerate this and submitted memorials requesting the court to reopen the case of the Dou family fire and to arrest the wicked Lin Xu as soon as possible.
When these words reached Lin Xu's ears, she simply lowered her eyes and smiled calmly.
Her reputation in her previous life wasn't good either, but back then everyone thought she was stupid and stubborn. In this life, she only gained a brief reputation for bravery and righteousness for saving Liao Yan. But now the filth has been thrown back at her, and she has even become a rumored scheming, vicious, and manipulative woman. Perhaps she should even be happy that others finally don't believe she is so foolish.
Fearing that Lin Xu might be upset, Gao Youyi summoned many noble ladies to the mansion every day after the New Year to play games and set up a stage, making it lively and bustling, as if she were afraid that Lin Xu might be sad. In fact, Lin Xu had already taken these things in stride and had no time to care about these absurd rumors. She was just a little amused and exasperated.
Meanwhile, Father has gradually gained a foothold in the court. Just as Emperor Su was on his deathbed and power was being delegated, Father took the opportunity to promote a number of talented young people, including Xu Yanqing, who was highly regarded by him.
After Xu Yanqing achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examination, he first served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy for a period of time. Just after the New Year, his father, seeing his outstanding talent, petitioned Emperor Su to promote him to the fifth-rank position of Zhongshu Sheren, who was also responsible for compiling the national history.
It is said that Xu Yanqing, though exceptionally talented, had a truly eccentric personality. Within months of entering the Hanlin Academy, he had infuriated several elderly scholars, who even declared that his eccentricities made him unworthy of the academy, leaving him sidelined for a long time. However, during these same months, some of Xu Yanqing's casual poems and verses composing in his spare time became widely circulated and highly sought after. Whenever his calligraphy or paintings appeared in the market, they were immediately snapped up by many people offering high prices.
Another well-known rumor in Mujing is that Yechao, a neighboring country of Dayu, has been making many unusual moves recently.
Since the palace coup, the political situation in Dayu had not yet stabilized, and several neighboring countries on the borders immediately sprang into action. Among them, the most arrogant and powerful was the Ye Dynasty, which had been Dayu's neighbor for many years and had almost shared the Central Plains with it.
The two countries had been at peace for many years, and in recent years they had even opened a market on the border to exchange goods. However, perhaps because Prince Mao, who had been fighting on the frontier for many years, was now being taken as a concubine, and the crown prince had fallen out of favor, the Ye Dynasty thought that Dayu had no one to rely on, so it became even more unscrupulous. For a time, war broke out frequently on the border, and the scouts of the two countries clashed repeatedly.
It even reached the point where it nearly led to war.
Amidst the turmoil, everyone in the court felt insecure.
After all, the Ye Dynasty was unlike other barbarian tribes. Located in the western part of the Central Plains, bordering the northern frontier, it shared the Bian River and Qingchuan River as its boundary with Dayu, and the two countries had coexisted for nearly a century. Although the Ye Dynasty was geographically harsh and its people were hardworking, it had always specialized in metalworking, and its smelting, weaponry, and armor were far superior to Dayu's. Since the founding of Dayu by its founding emperor, the two countries had ceased their conflicts and joined forces to fight against the southern barbarians and pacify the Central Plains. In the eighth year of the Yuanzhen era of this dynasty, Prince Mao had also defeated the Ye Dynasty, forcing the frontline cavalry to retreat. For decades, the two countries had been at peace.
Now, the smoke of war has reignited, and after all the military generals who once followed Prince Mao were wiped out, Dayu is now lacking in generals and has no one to lead the troops. Although the end of the year has just passed, the court officials are all in fear, and some timid commoners have already packed up their belongings and fled south to seek refuge.
Therefore, his father, who was acting prime minister, was naturally very troubled.
The court officials soon split into two factions.
The pro-war faction, led by Zhao Qiang, the current Minister of Personnel, and Princess Kunrou Liao Yan, was determined to send troops to fight, and even wanted to recover several lost territories that had been occupied by the Ye Dynasty at the founding of the country.
The peace faction, on the other hand, believed that although Emperor Xiao Zhuo of the Ye Dynasty was old, his sons were all talented. Moreover, the Ye Dynasty now valued both civil and military affairs and had strict laws. In the past, when the Dayu Kingdom was at its peak, only Prince Mao could fight against it. Now, Dayu had no good generals, and it would be a very bad idea to launch a campaign rashly.
They believed that they should not act rashly at this time.
The two factions of court officials argued over this for nearly half a month, but could not decide whether or not to send troops.
Lin Xu and Liao Yan had a few tea breaks, but Liao Yan noticed that her eyes were dark and swollen, and she looked like she had a terrible headache. With the Empress not yet appointed, the important matter that she and Lin Xu had been planning for a long time was at its final stage. However, Liao Yan's temperament made it impossible for her to stand idly by and watch her country be in turmoil, be invaded by foreign powers, and suffer immense loss of life.
However, just as Liao Yan finally persuaded the eldest princess to personally lead the troops into battle, news suddenly came from the front lines, claiming that the Ye Dynasty valued peace and could not bear to see innocent people suffer from the ravages of war, and was willing to cease hostilities.
However, Xiao Zhuo's only request was to marry a member of the imperial family of Dayu to Ye Dynasty as part of a political alliance.
The government and the public were naturally in an uproar once again.
Xiao Zhuo was already quite old, and it was rumored that he already had nearly a dozen concubines and more than twenty children. For a time, all the relatives of Dayu were in a state of panic, fearing that their own precious daughters would be chosen. All the eligible young women who were of marriageable age either claimed to be ill or hurriedly got engaged, after all, no one was willing to bear the price of leaving their hometown.
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The day was sunny and clear, a rare bright day in the first month of the lunar calendar. The snow outside the window was melting little by little, and crystal-clear water droplets dripped from the eaves.
Gao Youyi brought her two sons, Qingge and Rongge, to visit Mianxue. The children played and laughed in the courtyard as usual. Inside the hall, Lin Xu and Gao Youyi sat by the window. She listened quietly to Gao Youyi's words, but a sense of unease welled up in her heart, which had been calm for a long time.
Before she knew it, the embroidery needle in her hand suddenly pierced her fingertip, and blood gushed out instantly.
Gao Youyi couldn't help but cry out in pain, and quickly instructed Zhu Ling and Rong Wei to treat her wound.
Lin Xu nervously put down her needlework; she hadn't expected this day to actually come.
The conflict between the two countries had intensified during this period, but she never expected it to end in this way. Even more unexpectedly, the heavy responsibility of maintaining peace and stability for the nation would ultimately fall on the shoulders of a woman.
Gao Youyi thought she had frightened Lin Xu, and sighed reproachfully. Faint lines appeared on her smooth, full forehead, but she couldn't help but feel indignant:
"...To be honest, no family would dare to marry their daughter off like this. Besides, there are only a handful of daughters from the imperial clan, and the most distinguished one, Wei Tingya, has only recently married. All the other eligible women are already engaged. How can we possibly choose?"
Lin Xu looked at the little tiger-head hat she had spent most of the day embroidering. The once appalling work was now almost acceptable, though her injured fingertips trembled slightly. She stared blankly at the intricate floral patterns on the hat and whispered:
"There is a shortage of royal daughters, so the court will soon bestow a new noblewoman with an honorable royal status, and she will be sent to the Ye Dynasty in her place."
He will never be able to return home.
She died in despair, her beauty turning to dust and ashes, ultimately ending up far from home.
...That was He Miaoyi's fate in her previous life.
Lin Xu thought that now, having successfully overcome the Lin family's difficulties, avenged her mother and herself, and gained her most adorable daughter, many things were quite different from her previous life. However, unexpectedly, the fates of others still, to varying degrees, returned to their predetermined course.
She recalled the charming, adorable, and straightforward He Miaoyi from her memories, as well as all the moments she had shared with her, and felt a pang of melancholy. She had thought that since the palace coup, all of Prince Mao's old subordinates had fallen, and He Qijiang, having not participated and still carrying old injuries, had managed to escape unscathed, only needing to lay low for a while.
But what was destined to happen was ultimately unavoidable.
Because of her many worries, she, who was always a light sleeper, was now even more unable to sleep. It seemed that even Mianxue could see through her worries, and when she leaned against her and acted coquettishly, she was much more clingy than usual.
Sure enough, within a few days, someone in the court suggested that there was a shortage of eligible women in the imperial clan, and that several noble ladies should be selected, granted titles of nobility, and sent to Ye Dynasty for marriage alliances. Among the few candidates was He Miaoyi, the only daughter of the He family, who had been a former subordinate of Prince Mao but whose status among the noble families had plummeted and who was now subjected to scorn.
Liao Yan and He Miaoyi had known each other since childhood, so she naturally couldn't bear to watch He Miaoyi go to her death. The next day, she took advantage of the darkness to come to the Lin residence to have tea and discuss things with Lin Xu.
"This is utter nonsense!"
Liao Yan took a big gulp of tea, and before even taking off his outer robe, he couldn't help but berate several old ministers in the court who were strongly advocating for marriage alliances.
Lin Xu had also heard his father mention that in the past few days, several old ministers from the former Zhao family had submitted memorials requesting that the He family be granted titles. "...His younger sister, Miaoyi, is gentle and beautiful, and could be granted the title of Princess for marriage alliance."
"These old bones, in the past, whenever the territory of Dayu was invaded, they were the pro-peace faction that no amount of horses could pull back. It was because of them that the southern region of Dayu was repeatedly invaded and suffered endless humiliation at the hands of the Ye Dynasty over the years. Now these men do nothing, but they're eyeing innocent young women. It's truly utterly laughable!"
Even though Lin Xu and Liao Yan had been through countless trials together, they had never seen her so angry. But she already knew how this would end, and for a moment she didn't know what to do.
Liao Yan rarely saw Lin Xu so silent, and assumed that she was still frightened by the palace coup and no longer wanted to engage in fighting and killing. She took a sip of tea and softened her tone:
"Lin Xu, you've always been the most resourceful, and Miao Yi is very close to both of us. Let's think this over carefully and find a solution, right?"
Lin Xu put down his teacup, feeling that words were simply not enough to express the regret in his heart.
She absolutely did not want the same ending to happen again. Since her falling out with Dou Zhen, she had no one like a sister to her anymore. How could she bear it?
But Liao Yan and I have already expended so much effort and sacrificed so much along the way. If Liao Yan were to personally lead the army, not to mention the vast disparity in military strength between the two countries, if anything were to happen to her, not only would she lose her chance at the throne, but she might also end up like Liang Si...
She simply couldn't bear to see her loved ones suffer any longer.
But Lin Xu didn't expect that the matter would be resolved unexpectedly the next day.
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