"Father, are you sure His Highness can discover the secret that we 'switched' the Guardian's portrait and my sister's portrait?" Lu Tianlin, who had just left the palace and gotten into his own carriage at the Western Qin Academy and sped away, finally couldn't help but ask after a long time, seeing that he was far away from the eyes and ears of the imperial city.
"Tianjiao practically grew up in the Qin Prince's mansion, Your Highness will definitely notice, don't worry." Lu Xian said confidently, stroking his beard as he closed his eyes to rest.
“But if my sister has been arrogant since childhood and has never truly caught Your Highness’s eye, how could Your Highness possibly have noticed anything amiss with her eyes?” Lu Tianlin said with great concern.
"Tianlin, you must know, Xuanyuan Han... he's no ordinary person, he's the Qin King, with an extremely meticulous mind. Besides, the eyes in the portrait of Tianjiao are exceptionally beautiful, so you can rest assured. However, this time, it's thanks to your seemingly innately flexible and stable wrists that you were able to patiently help your father meticulously fill in the colors according to the original structure of the scroll. Especially the broken brushstrokes in the key areas of the figures' eyes caused by the holes in the painting, you did a flawless job of joining them. Only then was the portrait of the guardian finally restored. Tianlin, my son, you've truly grown up!" Lu Xian said, putting a hand on Lu Tianlin's shoulder, smiling with great satisfaction as he praised him.
"I was simply following my father's teachings that 'painting medicine is about healing the heart, painting the heart.' Before taking up the brush, I carefully studied the brushwork of the artist who created the portrait of the guardian, and after a long period of in-depth study, I finally understood the origin and development of the brushstrokes. When I was making the repairs, it was as if I was creating the painting with the artist, putting my whole heart and soul into it, doing my best, and being meticulous in my work," Lu Tianlin said modestly.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian nodded repeatedly in great satisfaction.
Suddenly, Lu Tianlin changed his mind and sighed with a worried expression. He said, "Father, the Emperor's wariness of His Highness Prince Qin seems to be getting more and more obvious. Last night, I went through a lot of trouble to avoid being followed by the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian's smile gradually faded, and he quietly turned his head and sat up, instantly becoming serious and silent.
At this moment, Lu Tianlin's face seemed to darken even more, and he said in a low voice, "Last night, I was wandering around the market when I ran into my sister. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell her a few things without her noticing, but before I could say anything to her, she ran away in a huff."
"Oh? Is that really true? Why is that?" Lu Xian asked in surprise.
Lu Tianlin sighed again, looking bewildered and helpless. "'Medicine and painting can cure illness, but not her.' Father, actually, it seems my sister... hasn't given up on His Highness yet. Her feelings for him have clearly reached an uncontrollable, obsessive level. Now, she's spending all her time with that Princess Dongning. I don't know what she's trying to do. I'm afraid my sister will..."
Clearly, Lu Tianlin is now both worried and helpless about his stubborn younger sister.
The girl has grown up, and her thoughts have become more unfathomable and elusive. Even if Lu Xian has neglected his daughter in his daily life, he is still aware of Lu Tianjiao's feelings, which are common knowledge in Xiqin Academy.
However, as someone who has been through it all, he understands better than many others that many things in this world, especially matters between men and women, if forced, will only plunge both people into unspeakable suffering for the rest of their lives.
So he said in a deep voice, “Everything in this world is subject to the word ‘fate.’ What is hers will eventually be hers, and what is not hers will ultimately be in vain. It’s a pity that she was so intelligent, yet she never saw through this. Your mother passed away early, and she didn’t speak of many of her daughter’s thoughts, so it was inappropriate for me to ask. Besides, His Highness Prince Qin, how could he be the kind of person who is attached to romantic love? He is not necessarily a good match for a good woman.”
In Lu Xian's heart, he had always hoped that Lu Tianjiao would be a happy and ordinary woman, but things never went as planned. His daughter's heart was clearly always with someone she shouldn't have been thinking about.
"Father, when His Highness got married, my sister said... that His Highness has a woman in his heart?" Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin pondered for a moment and then suddenly murmured.
"What? Really?" Lu Xian was indeed surprised when he heard this, but he didn't ask any further questions.
"Father, don't you want to know who that person is?" Lu Tianlin then looked over at his face, seemingly asking deliberately.
"Judging from your tone, it seems that the woman is someone I know well?" Lu Xian slowly opened his eyes and looked into Lu Tianlin's eyes.
Lu Tianlin pursed his lips, then said to him in a solemn manner, "This woman who can capture the heart of the Qin King, who considers the well-being of all people as his sole purpose and who has been cold and aloof for millennia, is... the young lady from the Yi family of the Yi family in the west of the city."
"It's Xue'er, that child. She is indeed quite lively and lovely, and could complement Your Highness's temperament. It's been many years since I last saw her; she must have grown into a young lady by now! However, I never expected that this Pharmacist Yi, a man who follows the middle way, would dare to get so close to the Prince of Qin. I am truly more surprised by this!" Lu Xian said, a slightly strange look appearing on his wise face, before turning his head away and closing his eyes again.
"It's not Xue'er, it's...it's that useless, ugly girl from the Yi family." For some reason, Lu Tianlin suddenly became somewhat timid as he finished speaking, then lowered his head heavily.
"What? How could it be her?" This time, Lu Xian was finally taken aback. He immediately opened his eyes and suddenly looked at Lu Tianlin's profile, staring at him in astonishment.
After a long pause, Lu Tianlin finally seemed to have mustered his courage and looked earnestly into his father's eyes, saying, "This is what my sister said, and it seems to be true. After thinking about it carefully, Your Highness's feelings for that woman seem somewhat unusual. However, after leaving the palace last night, as soon as I got rid of the palace's spies, I went to the Yi family mansion in the west of the city, intending to visit Pharmacist Yi and apologize to the eldest daughter of the Yi family in person. But when I arrived at the gate of the Yi family mansion, the gatekeeper told me that the eldest daughter of the Yi family had gone to the south of the city and had not returned for many days, and that she was probably in grave danger. Pharmacist Yi had already sent the young master of the Yi family to the south of the city to search for her, but he has not returned yet."
"How could this be?" Lu Xian frowned immediately, looking puzzled.
Lu Tianlin shook his head somewhat sadly, also unaware of the reason, and continued, "There is another matter. After hearing about this matter in front of the Yi residence, I was on my way to the imperial market to see the excitement when I passed by a teahouse in front of the Yi residence and heard a very strange story."
"Oh? What is it?" Lu Xian was lost in thought when he heard the voice and quickly asked.
Lu Tianlin looked into his father's eyes and said seriously, "There were many people gathered in the teahouse discussing that after the eldest daughter of the Yi family was in a coma for a year, on the night she woke up, a dazzling light, resembling the phantom of a seven-colored phoenix, descended from the sky in the backyard of the Yi mansion and landed right on the eldest daughter's pavilion. They say... that the real eldest daughter of the Yi family is dead, and the current eldest daughter is possessed by the soul of a monster."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian was so shocked by Lu Tianlin's words that his eyes widened, and he seemed unable to speak.
"Father, Father," Lu Tianlin called out to his father, who was stunned and speechless, over and over again.
“The phoenix phantom… could it be…” After a long while, Lu Xian still looked stunned and stammered.
"What is it?" Lu Tianlin asked anxiously.
Lu Xian hurriedly calculated with his fingers as he said, "Could she be the orphan of the guardian who has been missing for many years? But... how could that be? She is clearly the only child born to Yi Shangkun's legal wife, so how could she be... Yi Shangkun's child? It is said that because of the striking birthmark on her face since birth, she has always been veiled, and therefore, no one has ever seen her true appearance. I never thought that all these years, we would overlook her who is right beside us..."
"What? How is this possible?" Lu Tianlin exclaimed in shock.
"Legend has it that each generation of guardians has a phoenix mark on their shoulder, a symbol of being protected by the phoenix, which allows them to thrive generation after generation. The place where the phoenix's phantom appears in the world is the time when it recognizes its master."
"This...this...this can't be a mistake, right? But the woman in the Guardian's portrait is as beautiful as an angel, so how could her face be..." Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin seemed completely stunned.
"A birthmark? Perhaps only Pharmacist Yi himself knows the truth. That old man has hidden it so well all these years. The only thing to do now is to confirm whether the eldest daughter of the Yi family has this phoenix mark. Once we confirm this, we will have fulfilled His Highness's greatest wish for his father in this life." After so many years, Lu Xian's heart, which had been heavy with worry, seemed to be finally about to be relieved.
With this thought in mind, he hurriedly instructed Lu Tianlin, "There's no time to lose. Once we reach the south of the city, you must get out of the carriage immediately and search for the missing Miss Yi. Try to verify her identity. After that, I'll find a way to contact His Highness... There's another matter. Don't alert the spy in the academy yet. I want to see what he's up to. Have you investigated how he got into the academy in the first place?"
“It was…it was the year the Dowager Princess passed away. My sister brought him back to the academy, saying he was a poor, homeless vagrant she met on the way. Later, she arranged for him to do some rough work like pruning flowers and plants at the academy,” Lu Tianlin said timidly in a low voice.
"It's been so many years since the Dowager Consort passed away! No wonder the Emperor is becoming increasingly wary of His Highness. The thing Tianjiao brought back..." Lu Xian said softly, his deep eyes fixed on the distance, becoming increasingly unfathomable...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com