Planning (Revision)
As night deepened, a festive atmosphere filled the capital city of Mu. Soldiers raised their cups and drank merrily, celebrating the pacification of Huidong. Their hearty laughter carried far and wide.
Lin Xu, wearing a hooded hat and simple clothes, carrying an octagonal glass lantern, walked briskly alone through the brightly lit alley, following the sound, until he stopped in front of a magnificently lit courtyard. The faint aroma of roasted meat and alcohol wafted from the dim night.
She waited quietly outside the door for a while, and while the servant was greeting guests, she turned around and quietly slipped inside.
The victory banquet was a lively scene of clinking glasses and boisterous laughter. The men's hearty laughter rose and fell, and the soldiers talked about their triumph in pacifying Huidong, their pride evident. The rich aroma of wine mingled with the sizzling smell of roasted meat.
Lin Xu lowered her head slightly and slowly walked into the noisy crowd. Her expression was indifferent, and she was surrounded by a lonely halo. Her face, which was covered by a thin veil, shone with a faint light, making her almost unnoticeable.
However, after pausing for a moment, she spotted the person who had come looking for her.
Everyone was drinking and chatting happily, and several generals were flushed from drinking, laughing loudly from time to time. However, one figure stood out in the crowd, appearing remarkably upright among the group of drunken people who were staggering around.
Qin Ziyuan was chatting and laughing with several military generals, raising his glass in invitation. His face was full of composure, radiating an exceptionally soothing spring breeze.
Lin Xu stood still for a moment, then walked towards him.
Before she even got close, Qin Ziyuan noticed her, turned to look at her, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
A sharp-eyed general noticed something amiss. As the man drank more, his mind became filled with lewd thoughts. He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth excitedly, glance at Lin Xu from head to toe, and give Qin Ziyuan an ambiguous smile.
Lin Xu's face was mostly covered by a thin veil, so the soldiers couldn't see her face clearly. They could only tell from her figure that she was a beautiful woman, so they started to make a fuss and cheer.
"Brother Qin, you haven't even settled into your position as deputy general yet, and you already have such a beautiful woman's favor. We are truly envious!"
Amidst the laughter of the men, Lin Xu frowned slightly.
Qin Ziyuan put down his wine glass. A person next to him patted his shoulder. He stood up and looked at her with a half-smile:
"Young lady... is there something important you need?"
Lin Xu stopped beside him, his gaze cold, his tone carrying an undeniable sharpness:
"Qin Ziyuan, why did you frame my brother?"
Upon hearing this, the person on the other end immediately changed color.
Even though everyone was sitting together, only he and Lin Xu were standing, so only he heard her low, pressing question.
Qin Ziyuan calmly composed himself, then picked up the wine pot on the table and poured himself a full cup. He feigned raising the cup to toast her, but the instant the cup was handed to her, he spoke in a voice only she could hear, threateningly:
"Who are you?"
Lin Xu remained unmoved. She did not take the wine glass, but simply stared at the face in front of her, her eyes filled with a chill like the frost floating on the river on a winter night.
She spoke slowly, each word carrying a resolute and unwavering tone that seemed incongruous with her appearance.
"I once met Vice General Qin at the martial arts training ground. It's probably just that he has a bad memory and doesn't remember me."
Qin Ziyuan was momentarily stunned by that expression, and only after a moment did he regain his senses, trying to glean some clues from beneath the thin veil. However, due to the surrounding noise, he couldn't question her more directly, so he lowered his voice and reached out towards the empty fence, saying:
"Since we have important matters to discuss, please allow this young lady a moment to speak with us."
After saying that, he guided her forward.
The soldiers and officers sitting together had not heard what the two were saying and were confused. They assumed that Qin Ziyuan's past romantic entanglements had come back to haunt them, so they all chuckled softly, and some even whistled in their drunkenness.
Qin Ziyuan raised an eyebrow, feigning agreement with the crowd's commotion, tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, then casually placed the glass on the table.
His gaze swept over the laughter and noise of the banquet, then turned to look at her. He spoke seemingly casually, but his eyes revealed a chilling ruthlessness.
"Your brother? Who is your brother? Young lady, don't speak irrelevantly. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
Lin Xu scoffed coldly.
"Vice General Qin, how long are you going to keep up this charade? You used the battle of Huidong to frame Liang Zhengyuan, and then made a big fuss about Liang Zhengyuan deliberately concealing his swordsmanship, trying to kill him. You even tried to sow discord in the court regarding our Lin family. Vice General Qin, you've played your cards right, so why do you now seem completely oblivious? Or... do you think you can control the situation, but if the situation backfires, do you think you can remain unscathed, Lord Qin?"
The voice was full of indifference and contempt. Her voice was naturally cold and clear, and it seemed to blend with the wispy fog of wine all around, creating a gentle sound that could bewitch people.
But those eyes that were fixed on him remained sharp as blades, refusing to yield an inch.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ziyuan didn't get angry but laughed. His expression calmed down again, and he thought to himself that she was just an unarmed woman.
Instead, he leaned forward and whispered:
"So it is the renowned Miss Lin of the capital. I am truly sorry for my rudeness. But may I ask, Miss Lin, what exactly is the meaning of my so-called scheming? As for you, you are going to great lengths for a criminal who will soon pay for his murder. You are truly devoted and righteous, and I admire you greatly."
Miss Lin didn't have a good reputation in the capital city. Although she was beautiful, she was known to be a good-for-nothing, so Qin Ziyuan wasn't afraid of her.
Lin Xu slowly curled the corners of his lips, his voice icy:
"Lord Qin is exceptionally intelligent and will naturally understand what I mean. The Fourteenth Division is currently enjoying great prestige in the capital, and even you, sir, will likely soon experience a meteoric rise to glory. However, as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and you surely understand the principle that good fortune is followed by misfortune. Therefore, I urge you not to become too complacent."
Seeing that Lin Xu was relentless, a hint of coldness flashed in Qin Ziyuan's eyes.
He slowly straightened up, the faint smile on his face fading, leaving only a meaningful look:
"I never knew Miss Lin, who seemed so gentle, could be such a person, and she spoke with such arrogance! My relationship with your imprisoned cousin was merely a brief acquaintance from the martial arts arena. We haven't been in contact since he joined the Fourteenth Division. Besides, he killed someone else, and the person who testified against him was not me, Liang. What does it have to do with me? Miss Lin is eager to save her brother, so please don't make baseless accusations against me."
After saying this, he seemed to realize something, and a look of increasing pleasure appeared in his eyes. He then continued mockingly:
"I've heard that this case will be heard soon. I suppose Liang Zhengyuan doesn't have much time left to live. If you really care about him, don't waste your time. Go and burn some incense for him."
Lin Xu had anticipated that Qin Ziyuan wouldn't admit it, and his sarcastic tone didn't provoke her anger; instead, the smile on his lips deepened.
She didn't care what he said at all.
She slowly lowered her head, took out a soft handkerchief from her sleeve, and handed it to Qin Ziyuan.
Qin Ziyuan suspected something was amiss and did not reach out to take it. Lin Xu then smiled and said:
"What? Is Lord Qin worried that I've poisoned this handkerchief?"
Without waiting for his response, she unfolded the handkerchief and slowly said:
"What Lord Qin said may fool a five-year-old child, but in the end, the evidence is irrefutable and cannot be hidden from anyone."
The handkerchief was made of soft material and shimmered with a lustrous sheen under the candlelight.
It was a fine brocade with gold thread, and the edge was embroidered with a blue-purple five-petaled flower, a pattern that was very rare in the capital city of Mu.
It exudes an exceptionally alluring vibrancy.
Qin Ziyuan only caught a fleeting glimpse of that bluish-purple color, and his lips immediately turned pale with shock. He couldn't help but take a few steps back, his voice trembling as he said:
"You—you—"
Lin Xu's smile deepened, and his eyes gleamed with an almost eerie light, making Qin Ziyuan's heart tremble even more.
How did she end up with this thing?!
How could this be?!
Qin Ziyuan's heart pounded like a drum. He could no longer pretend and instinctively reached out to snatch the embroidered handkerchief.
But Lin Xu seemed to have anticipated this, and with a quick sidestep, he nimbly dodged his outstretched hand.
Despite her seemingly frail and vulnerable body, she was far more agile than he had imagined. Not only did she dodge his attack with lightning speed, but she also stuffed the embroidered handkerchief back into her sleeve and even shifted her body to the side.
And it was precisely this leaning that made his gesture of reaching out to snatch the item seem less innocent—
His hand landed right on the soft, thin veil around her waist. Even though he tried desperately to dodge after noticing it, it was too late. Instead, his hand was almost entangled by the veil.
Before he could react, the next instant saw the person in front of him wearing a veil, retreating hastily, then covering their face with their sleeve and lowering their head in tears.
A very bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
—He still fell into the trap.
From a distance, however, it appeared as if the man was acting frivolously, and the woman was startled in public and had no choice but to flee in haste.
The soldiers who had been huddled together were already quite drunk, and some of the busybodies kept glancing over while raising their glasses, naturally taking in the whole spectacle unfolding by the railing.
The deputy generals who usually shared command with Qin Ziyuan over other battalions immediately burst into loud laughter:
"Old Qin, you absolutely mustn't take advantage of being drunk to do anything indecent!"
With that burst of laughter, more and more people immediately turned to look in their direction.
Qin Ziyuan, already uneasy, suddenly blushed and waved his hands repeatedly. But before he could explain, he saw the slender but beautiful woman standing to the side with reddened eyes, her gaze filled with innocent light.
He clearly looked like he had been wronged!
Through the thin veil covering her face, faint sobs could be heard, and the figure trembled slightly, as if she had suffered a great humiliation and was about to collapse.
As more and more people looked in their direction, the beautiful figure seemed to be overwhelmed by the attention. She simply reached out to adjust her veil and then hurriedly left with her head down.
Lin Xu kept her head down to avoid the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, walking hurriedly, but in her haste, she accidentally dropped the scarf that was originally tied around her arm to the ground.
Amidst the chaos and laughter, only one kind-hearted soldier staggered to his feet, picked up the gossamer-thin scarf, and clutched it in his hand.
Using the faint candlelight hanging high in the alley, Lin Xu dodged several times and finally hurriedly escaped from the narrow and dark alley.
At the alley entrance, Zhou Qi had already prepared a sedan chair for her and had been waiting for a long time. Seeing her finally emerge, Zhou Qi's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
He looked at himself with concern. Lin Xu rushed into the sedan chair, and as the curtain slowly fell, he whispered:
"Don't worry. Everything is as I expected, there's nothing to worry about."
It was already late at night when Zhou Qi returned to the Dou residence. He had already found out the changing of the guards at the side gate in advance, and took advantage of the darkness to avoid being noticed by anyone when he returned to the villa.
After a busy day, she can finally catch her breath.
Knowing she was busy, Zhu Ling considerately offered her a cup of cooled tea while saying with concern:
"Madam, you've been working so hard; please be careful not to overwork yourself."
Lin Xu took a sip of tea, caught his breath, and said:
"What does it matter if I'm tired? Liang Si's life is still hanging over the shoulders of the Ministry of Justice. If I slow down now, his life and death will be even more precarious. If that happens, how will I explain myself to my father and maternal grandfather?"
The trial of Liang Zhengyuan has recently commenced, and the matter has already caused quite a stir in the city.
Lin Fu had already received the news, and Gao Youyi even sent a message saying that although Lin Fu did not have much of a relationship with the people in the Ministry of Justice, he went to visit Vice Minister Niu's residence overnight, fearing that he might delay the Liang Si case.
However, officials are merely fulfilling their duties in government affairs. If Father, worried about Liang Si, goes to find Niu Wenyuan in a moment of panic, it may backfire and tarnish his reputation for integrity over the years by making a taint of using public office for private gain.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the father was also at a loss due to his anxiety.
That's why she didn't tell her father in those three letters at the beginning.
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