Previous Life (2)
After Lin Yi left, Tang Yuelin stared at the bowl of medicine in front of the bed in a daze.
Six years ago, Tang Yuelin married and moved to Suzhou, and she and Lin Yi had not seen each other since then. But now, he has become the prime minister, and her family has been broken up. She never expected that the two would meet again in this way.
Now is not the time to think about these things. Tang Yuelin has more important things to do. She wants to clear the grievances of her father and mother and prove the innocence of the Marquis' Mansion to the world.
Tang Yuelin sat on the bed all night, thinking about what to do in the future.
The next day, Tang Yuelin wanted to leave the Lin Mansion quietly, but was stopped by Lin Yi before she could leave.
"Where do you want to go?" Lin Yi asked, pulling Tang Yuelin's arm.
"My parents were wronged, and I want to clear their grievances. Now you and I have nothing to do with each other. I am the daughter of a criminal, so it is better for Mr. Lin not to interfere." Tang Yuelin controlled her emotions and looked up at Lin Yi.
"Now, everyone in the capital is looking to capture you. There are rumors that you are colluding with Prince Jing's rebels. His Majesty has ordered a full-scale arrest. How can you escape?"
"They wronged my parents and now they want to slander me. My mansion has devoted itself to His Majesty for so many years. Doesn't he trust the mansion at all?" Tang Yuelin clenched her fists.
At this moment, Tang Yuelin realized that if His Majesty had not distrusted the Marquis' Mansion and had not given the Marquis' Mansion a chance to prove their innocence, her father and mother might not have died.
Tang Yuelin began to hate His Majesty. Why didn't he leave a chance for the Marquis's Mansion to survive? Since the death of Empress Wende, what has His Majesty done that was right?
She raised her head suddenly and remembered that the man in front of her was no longer the iron judge of Dali Temple, but the prime minister whom the emperor trusted most.
Your Majesty is no longer the same Majesty as before, but is Lin Yi still the same Lin Yi as before?
Seeing Tang Yuelin lost in thought, Lin Yi continued to persuade her: "Why don't you stay in the mansion first? It's safe here now."
Tang Yuelin slowly raised her head and sneered: "Leave me here and then bring me to His Majesty so that His Majesty can praise you."
Lin Yi didn't expect Tang Yuelin to ask this and stood there in a daze.
Tang Yuelin thought that this was a guilty conscience, so she continued, "Lin Yi, is the current emperor still the same emperor from back then? He killed the regent who raised him, and bit to death everyone he suspected like a mad dog."
"And what role did you play in this? What did you do about the Marquis's Mansion?"
After saying that, Tang Yuelin turned and walked towards the door. Just as she took a step, she was knocked unconscious by Lin Yi.
When Tang Yuelin woke up again, there was no one around. She wanted to leave the house, but the door was locked.
"Is anyone there? Is anyone there? Someone come here!" Tang Yuelin knocked on the door and shouted.
A maid came over and said, "Miss Tang, the master told you to stay here. He will find evidence about your parents' affairs."
"Let me out, he doesn't need to worry about my affairs. You go and tell him that if he doesn't let me out today, I will die here," Tang Yuelin threatened.
"The master also said that if Miss Tang threatens to kill herself, then let me tell you that if you die, everyone in the mansion will be buried with you, and your parents will never be cleared of all charges."
Lin Yi certainly knew how to control Tang Yuelin. After hearing the maid's words, Tang Yuelin calmed down.
For the next half month, Tang Yuelin kept trying various ways to escape, but Lin Yi arranged guards around her, and she was caught every time she tried to escape.
During this period, Lin Yi never appeared. What Tang Yuelin did not expect was that the next time she heard about him was the news of his death.
The maid let Tang Yuelin out. When she saw Lin Yi's body being carried into the mansion, Tang Yuelin was completely stunned.
Before she could find out what happened, the imperial edict from His Majesty arrived.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have ascertained that the Marquis of Loyalty had no connection to Prince Jing's rebellious group. Now that the Marquis of Loyalty and his wife are dead, I express my deepest sorrow. I hereby confer the title of Princess Pingyang on Tang Yuelin, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, and grant her the fiefdom of Pingyang County. I decree this."
Tang Yuelin listened to the eunuch's words in a daze, and only reacted and accepted the order after being reminded by the maid behind her.
After the messenger left, Tang Yuelin took a long time to find her voice. She stared at Lin Yi's body and asked the guard who carried Lin Yi in: "Why did he die?"
The guard's eyes were red as he told everything in detail.
These days, Lin Yi has been doing one thing, which is to investigate the case of Yongning Marquis Mansion, which even caused the displeasure of His Majesty.
After Gu Shi, who is now the left prime minister, informed the emperor about the past relationship between Lin Yi and Tang Yuelin, the emperor was furious, thinking that Lin Yi was investigating because of his own private affair.
After leaving, His Majesty issued an order ordering Lin Yi not to investigate further and dismissed him from his post and sent him home.
When Lin Yi heard the emperor's decree, he said nothing, returned to the Lin Mansion, and sat quietly by the window all night.
On the second day, Lin Yi knelt in front of the emperor's study for a whole day, requesting to meet His Majesty.
It was not until dark that the door of the imperial study was opened.
That night, Lin Yi slit his throat with a dagger, and blood splattered all over the imperial study.
No one knew what Lin Yi said to His Majesty. They only heard from the people guarding outside the imperial study that Lin Yi stayed in the imperial study for a long time that night and said a lot.
After Lin Yi's death, His Majesty ordered a thorough investigation of the case in the Marquis' Mansion.
He left behind a lot of evidence he had found, and with the emperor's drastic measures, the truth was soon revealed.
The newly promoted deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhao Tong, who discovered the collusion between the Marquis' Mansion and the rebels, was the missing son-in-law of the Zou Mansion, Zhao Qing.
Five years ago, Zhao Qing planned to marry into the Zou family and transfer most of the Zou family's assets away. It is obvious where they were transferred to.
Until now, he has framed everything on the Marquis' Mansion just to get himself out of it.
After listening to the maid's narration, Tang Yuelin stood there in a daze. At this moment, she didn't know where to go.
The Lin Mansion is very big. Tang Yuelin came here once seven years ago to ask Lin Yi why he didn't marry her.
But now, she stood here, but Lin Yi was gone.
Tang Yuelin walked through every corner of the Lin Mansion step by step. In a trance, she saw Lin Yi standing not far away and waving at her: "Alin, come here."
Tang Yuelin rushed over quickly and wanted to hug him, but everything was just an illusion.
Tang Yuelin finally came to Lin Yi's study.
There were several books on the table. Tang Yuelin opened them and found that they were Lin Yi's notes.
The words above caught my eye.
"On the third day of the fourth month of the third year of Jinghe, I returned to Beijing. On the way back, I thought about dying many times, but thinking of my elder sister's last words, I gave up. I continued to take the imperial examination and became the top scholar. If it were in the past, my elder sister would surely be happy for me."
"On the first day of March in the fourth year of Jinghe, Yizhou asked me what kind of official I wanted to be. I said I wanted to be the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. After that, we both fell silent. Yizhou also remembered that when the three of us got together for a drink, my elder sister said I could be the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. My elder sister said that my brain was most suitable for solving cases and that I was smarter than anyone else."
"On the third day of the fifth month of the fourth year of Jinghe, Arlin came to find me. I threatened that we would have nothing to do with each other from now on. She left in anger. Watching her leave with red eyes, I was in pain. I wanted to tell her that I loved her and wanted to marry her, but someone like me, who had angered my father to death just to become an official, was no match for her."
"Today, on the seventh day of the fifth month of the fourth year of Jinghe, I saw the dagger my father gave me. I couldn't help but pick it up and stab myself in the arm. Watching the blood flow from my hand, I felt an indescribable joy, as if this could offset the guilt in my heart. I killed my father, I let my sister down, I failed Arlene, and I deserve this for someone like me."
"On October 20th of the sixth year of Jinghe, Arlene got married. She sent me an invitation and I went, but I went secretly. Watching the sedan chair being carried out of the Marquis' Mansion, I kept hoping that it would be me who would marry her, but I was not worthy. After that day, my illness worsened. Yes, I was sick. I was already sick the day I learned of my father's death. Every day I couldn't control myself and slashed my hands with a dagger. It was like this in my dreams and it was like this in reality."
"On July 30th of the eighth year of Jinghe, I learned that A-Lin and Zhong Yuxi were good friends. Over the past two years, I've accidentally learned that Zhong Ningning, the eldest daughter of the Zhong family, is the little girl my sister picked up. Since I'm considered Zhong Ningning's brother, I've taken good care of her. I've also learned that Zhong Yuxi isn't a good person. I wanted to warn A-Lin, but I don't have the authority to do so, so I doubt she'd believe me."
"On the fourth day of the first month of the ninth year of Jinghe, elder sister disappeared unexpectedly. I didn't dare to inquire about her news over the years. I never thought that she had been missing for three years. Yizhou told me this. I went to find Ningning, and the news I got was that elder sister had lost contact with her three years ago. Zhong Ningning said that elder sister sent a message three years ago saying that she was going to practice martial arts in seclusion, and there was no news from her after that. The news Yizhou found was also cut off in Nanshan. In the past few years, everyone thought that elder sister had gone into seclusion. In addition, Doctor Zhao disappeared three years ago, and everyone's attention was on looking for Doctor Zhao. Now there is no news from Doctor Zhao. Now it seems that the disappearance of Doctor Zhao and elder sister are not coincidental. Elder sister's martial arts cannot be said to be unmatched, but it is definitely not someone who can beat her. But there is no news about elder sister. We have been looking for clues about elder sister all day long these days and we are going crazy looking for them."
………………………………………
"It's the fourth day of the second month of the eleventh year of Jinghe, and there's still no news from my sister. His Majesty and Zhong Ningning are getting married. If my sister were here, she would definitely come and attend. She would definitely be happy."
"On January 13th, the 13th year of Jinghe, Song Yizhou told me that my elder sister was now in Qingzhou. Although I was too embarrassed to see her again because of what happened back then, I was still worried about her after not seeing her for eight years, so I went to look for her."
"On June 20th, the 13th year of Jinghe, Qingzhou was far away from the capital. I stayed there for several months. I don't know if Yizhou's information was wrong, but I didn't see my sister. But unexpectedly, after returning to the capital, everything had changed drastically. Ningning died, Yizhou died, and Alin's parents died too. If I hadn't arrived in time, even Alin would have almost lost her life."
"On June 23rd of the 13th year of Jinghe, Arlin was in a coma for three days. I investigated everything that had happened in the past five months. The Queen, also known as Aning, passed away, and I had no news at all. Afterwards, His Majesty was grief-stricken and suddenly seemed like a different person. He arrested Yizhou and threw him into prison, where he died inexplicably. After Yizhou's death, His Majesty's behavior became more and more bizarre. He began to frantically investigate the affairs of Prince Jing's rebellious party. Anyone related to Prince Jing was either confiscated or exiled. No one was spared."
"It's the fourth day of the seventh month of the thirteenth year of Jinghe. Arlin hasn't woken up yet. During this time, I've been incredibly calm and never mentioned Ningning and Yizhou to Your Majesty. I want to know why Your Majesty is like this, and how Ningning and Yizhou died."
"On July 20th, the 13th year of Jinghe, Arlin almost died. At that moment, my spirit was on the verge of collapse. Fortunately, Arlin woke up. She broke down and cried for the death of her parents. I'm sorry, Arlin, I couldn't save your parents."
"On the sixth day of September in the thirteenth year of Jinghe, His Majesty ordered me to stop and investigate the case of the Loyalty Marquis' Mansion. I sat by the window and thought all night, but I couldn't figure out why His Majesty had become like this. What happened in less than a year? I have a premonition that I might die inexplicably like Yizhou. In fact, it doesn't matter to me whether I live or not. I have hidden it very well over the years. In fact, my disease has long been incurable. There are scars everywhere on my body left by myself. I couldn't live anymore. I have been trapping myself in the past. I have been sinking deeper and deeper into the vortex of the capital. The darkness keeps swallowing me, and I can't get out anymore. Now all of this is telling me that I can't change. There is a pair of hands that are invisible and control everything, ready to kill people at any time. Now the only thing I can do is to exchange my life for Arlene's."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
