Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Lanterns.
As night fell, Ji Sui and his group had left the Dali Temple.
Shi Zhu was driving the carriage in front, and Ji Sui was leaning against the wall of the carriage, flipping through the file in his hand, which contained the record of today's interrogation of the assassin.
The carriage shook, and the glass lamp on the low table slid to the corner of the table, in front of Lin Zhen's knees.
Ji Sui raised his eyes and glanced, then saw Lin Zhen looking down at the veil on his knees, so he looked away.
After a moment, the carriage jolted again. Seeing that the glass lamp was about to fall on Lin Zhen, she remained indifferent. Ji Sui frowned, pulled Lin Zhen to him, and said in a deep voice: "What are you doing!"
The glass lamp rolled to the ground, the lampshade fell off, and the wick was extinguished by Ji Sui's foot, and the carriage suddenly became pitch black.
Ji Wei couldn't see the expression on her face, but he felt the hand he was holding was cold.
"Lin Zhen." He called in a calm voice.
Lin Zhen stared blankly at the person in front of him. In the darkness, the thick armor attached to her body quietly fell off, and there was undisguised panic on her face.
As soon as she opened the file, Kong Jinghe returned with Ji Sui, and she didn't get to see anything.
The truth she wanted to know three years ago was now within her reach, but a sense of fear welled up in her heart for no reason.
It was not just that she was afraid that the clarity and uprightness her father had shown her over the years was all an illusion.
This also means...
Lin Zhen's fingertips trembled suddenly, she pulled her hand out of Ji Sui's palm, distanced herself from him again, and sat aside.
The cool night wind blew through the car window, and the silver moonlight poured in, shining on Lin Zhen's profile, giving her face a layer of cold light, making her look even more lonely and alienated.
Ji Rui curled up his empty hands and stared at Lin Zhen intently.
At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Shi Zhu's voice came through the curtains: "General, there seems to be a lantern display on the river bank ahead. There are too many people on the road, I'm afraid it will be difficult to pass."
Shi Zhu originally wanted to ask Ji Sui to turn around, but he heard him say, "The general and his wife will go down to take a look. You go and turn the carriage around."
After Ji Sui finished speaking, he took Lin Zhen's hand again and pulled her down from the carriage.
The street was crowded with people. Ji Bai was tall and handsome. He was wearing a brocade robe with a black background and silver cloud patterns, which made him stand out in the crowd.
Although there was a layer of gauze between them, Lin Zhen seemed to still feel the burning gazes of the crowd. The hand that was tightly held by Ji Bai became uncomfortable, and she tried hard to break free from his broad palm.
Ji Sui's expression remained unchanged as he walked leisurely and slowly among the crowd, but he secretly exerted force in his hands, holding her tighter.
The Moon Festival is just two days away, and today the streets are already decked out in dazzling displays of fireworks and lights.
Lin Zhen was wearing a snow-white long dress that trailed on the ground. She followed Ji Sui less than half a step away. One in black and one in white, they seemed to have walked out of a painting. Passersby unconsciously made way for them.
Many people were releasing lanterns on the riverbank. After a while, an old woman came towards them and said with a smile, "Would you like to buy a lotus lantern for blessing?"
During the Zhou Dynasty, there has always been a custom of placing lanterns in the river during the Moon Festival to pray for peace and prosperity, to commemorate deceased relatives, or to pray for a happy marriage.
The strong do not believe in the laws of nature. To Ji Sui, these lotus lanterns did not have any special meaning. He only accompanied one person to release the lotus lanterns.
Just because he was in the mood, Ji Sui took off a jade token from his waist and handed it to the old woman. He picked up a lantern from the bamboo basket in her arms and said with a smile, "No need to look for it."
The old woman didn't expect that she would meet a noble person when she went out today. She thanked him repeatedly and left happily.
Ji Sui nonchalantly played with the lotus lantern in his hand and said lightly, "This lantern is really not very well made."
Lin Zhen glanced at the lantern in his hand and knew that he was not deliberately belittling her. Ji Sui had also made such lanterns for her.
Every year during the Moon Festival, many servants in the mansion would take advantage of the opportunity to make lanterns in secret. It was said that lanterns made by hand were more effective.
The girl had a beautiful face that made it difficult for people to be afraid of her. In order to control the servants in the mansion, she had to be stricter than the women in charge of the household.
Therefore, the maids avoided her when they saw her.
The girl stood solemnly in the corridor, with her hands behind her back and a few petal papers in her palms. While she was hesitating and hadn't opened her mouth yet, the maids hastily put away the tools on their knees and disappeared in a flash.
She just wanted to make a lotus lantern for her mother...
In the end, it was Lin Chu who came to teach her.
By the time she had finished making the lotus lantern, there was no one left by the river. He stood with his arms folded under a big tree not far away, watching her squat down and put the lotus lantern into the water.
It was almost midnight when the two of them rode back to the Lin Mansion.
Her father stood guard at the vermilion gate of the Lin Mansion, his face looking very grim. But when he saw Lin Chu behind her, the irritation on his face noticeably lessened. He simply said solemnly, "It's late. Go back and get some rest quickly, Chu'er too."
Lin Zhen stood at the steps in a daze. It was Lin Chu who answered for her, and then her father turned around and went into the house with a light cough.
In her memory, her father was always particularly good to Ji Sui. Although she was such a cautious and strict man, she could allow her to keep a young man of unknown origin picked up from the street in her house and was very kind to him.
If it was out of pity for his life experience, there were clearly many other ways to do it, but his father chose to keep him by his side, and even in his dying moments, he was determined to make sure he was properly settled...
At that time, her father had already suffered from a headache, but he would still call her over from time to time to ask about Lin Chu's homework.
Looking back now, it seems that my father's headache started after the case of Prince Chen's treason was resolved...
Lin Zhen felt a dull pain in his forehead and didn't dare to think any further. Suddenly, a lotus lantern appeared in front of him.
Ji Sui stood upright beside Lin Zhen, holding the lotus lantern close to her eyes. He looked into the distance seemingly nonchalantly, and said lightly, "Do you want to release it?"
He had the impression that she seemed to like this little thing.
Lin Zhen subconsciously took the lotus lantern and looked up at Ji Sui. He happened to turn his gaze back. The moment their eyes met, she suddenly felt that the lotus lantern in her hand was very scorching. She almost stuffed the lotus lantern back into Ji Sui's arms and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "The carriage should be here soon."
After saying that, Lin Zhen left first, and her figure quickly disappeared in the crowd.
A girl who was releasing lanterns on the shore saw the handsome young man not far away. She bravely stepped forward and bowed to Ji Sui, saying, "Sir, you are also here to release lanterns? I wonder what you wish for?"
Ji Sui withdrew his gloomy gaze from Lin Zhen, and in front of the woman, threw the lotus lantern in his hand into the water, as if he was abandoning a useless piece of waste.
*
When Lin Zhen returned to the room, Hongye was already there.
"girl!"
Hongye paused and approached, her eyes red and her voice choking with sobs. That day, the girl had suddenly ridden away on horseback, and there had been no news since. She guessed she had come to the General's Mansion, but this only made her even more uneasy.
"Hongye..." Lin Zhen responded lightly and held her arm.
Lin Zhen is not someone who would easily show weakness in front of others. Even Hongye, who grew up with her, rarely felt any dependence from her. But tonight, she immediately realized that something was wrong with Lin Zhen's subtle movements.
Hongye carefully supported Lin Zhen and looked up. She saw that Lin Zhen looked not well. She helped Lin Zhen to the couch, took off his shoes and socks, and covered him with a quilt.
Seeing Lin Zhen frown slightly and close his eyes, she quietly stayed beside the couch.
It wasn't until Lin Zhen slowly opened her eyes again that she stood up and poured her a cup of tea. "Miss."
Lin Zhen took the teacup, held it in his hand, raised his eyelids and glanced out the window, and asked in a low voice: "Did you carry all those things with you?"
Hongye knew what she was talking about, and hurriedly lowered her voice and said, "Such an important thing, Hongye would naturally hide it close to her body."
Lin Zhen took a deep breath, picked up the teacup in her hand and took a sip. Then, she raised her eyes and looked at Hongye steadily, and suddenly asked, "Do you have the courage to escape from here?"
Hongye thought the girl wanted her to send a message, so she replied without thinking, "I dare, I dare."
"Hongye, leave here and take Lin Yue with you."
Hongye frowned, and then she heard Lin Zhen continue, "Tomorrow I will send you to Lin Yue. The two maids guarding her will follow me whenever I go out. Five days later, after the Autumn Festival ends, there will be another ceremony before returning to the palace at noon. All the guards will go to the Temple of Heaven to protect it. Then, you will take her away."
After all, the palace deep in the mountains wasn't any more heavily guarded than the General's Mansion. It wouldn't be difficult for her to escape in disguise with Lin Yue. Hongye was worried about Lin Zhen. If she left too, the girl would truly be left alone...
But Hongye also knew that although the second young lady had reached adulthood, she still had the heart of a child. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been protected by others. Compared to the young lady, she had indeed suffered very little. It was obviously impossible for her to escape from the palace alone.
This is the task assigned to her by the girl, and she must complete it.
Although he had thought it through clearly in his mind, his eyes still couldn't help but redden, "I will definitely take the second young lady out of the palace safely."
*
The next morning, Ji Sui took the waist belt from Shi Zhu, fastened the jade buckle, and tied it around his narrow waist. He raised his hand to adjust his cuffs and asked, "Is he still there?"
Shizhu lowered his eyes and replied, "I've been guarding outside the courtyard all night, and I'm still here."
Ji Sui put down his hand and said calmly: "Let them go, don't pay any attention to them." He knew that Meng Liangyu would not easily dispel his suspicion of him.
Yesterday's assassin confessed too quickly, and during the interrogation he was intent on provoking him to achieve a quick death.
That person had been in the Taichang Temple for three years. In that year alone, Meng Liangyu participated in no less than five ceremonies of varying sizes as the chief minister. However, he chose to take action during the most heavily guarded Autumn Sacrifice.
Moreover, the assassination weapon was a discarded chisel taken from the stable.
This was not a long-planned plot as he claimed, but rather an assassination that was carried out on the spur of the moment.
The guards lining the aisle said that the assassin fled to the south, but his men finally caught him in front of Chunlin Palace in the north. That was the most heavily guarded place in the palace, and he almost walked into a trap.
There are many suspicious points in this assassination.
However, he was not interested in knowing who really wanted to kill Meng Liangyu. In order to reduce the old man's suspicion, he had to go to the Dali Temple to continue pretending to try the case.
"General, the carriage is ready."
Ji Sui nodded slightly and walked out the door.
Outside the gate, withered yellow leaves were scattered on the ground. A woman in a sky-blue dress stood upright in the yard with a veil on her head.
Seeing Ji Sui coming out, the two maids behind her knelt down and saluted, as if to ask for credit: "Madam said that the room was stuffy and wanted to go out for a walk, so the servants brought Madam here."
Lin Zhen stood there without moving or saying anything, which was considered as his agreement.
After the two of them parted on bad terms yesterday, they didn't say a word to each other when they got in the car again.
If Lin Yue wasn't used as a threat, no one could bring Lin Zhen here if she didn't want to come today.
Ji Sui knew that she was trying to show her goodwill to him.
Although the anger in his heart had subsided a little, he still had a cold face. He glanced at Lin Zhen lightly and walked straight past her.
Lin Zhen pursed her red lips, unable to utter a word as she saw him about to leave. In desperation, she reached out and grabbed the man's delicate cloud-patterned cuffs.
Ji Sui paused, frowned, and slowly turned his head, his eyes falling on her hand that was grasping his sleeve.
Looking at Lin Zhen's finger bones that had turned white due to tension, he finally let her go and said lightly: "I'm going to the Dali Temple now, will you come with me?"
Lin Zhen did not respond, but immediately withdrew her hand and walked away. Ji Sui looked at her figure, chuckled, and followed her.
When the carriage arrived in front of the Dali Temple, when Ji Bai was about to get up and get off the carriage, someone grabbed his sleeve again.
“…Remember to wait for me.”
It was still early in the morning and the carriage was dim. Lin Zhen's face was hidden in the darkness and his voice was very low.
Before Ji Sui could pay attention to these words, he heard Kong Jinghe's voice coming towards him. Without thinking any more, he bent down and got off the carriage.
*
The sun was setting in the west. There was only a very narrow mullioned window in the duty room. It was dim. Lin Zhen curled up in the corner, hugging her arms tightly. The snow-white hem of her skirt fell on the blue bricks, like a night-blooming cereus.
She tried her best to restrain herself, but she couldn't stop shaking. The chill from the blue bricks seemed to penetrate her clothes and reach her heart.
The contents of the file she had read today kept replaying in her mind. Her heart seemed to be tightly grasped by someone, and she could hardly breathe.
Was Prince Chen really framed by his father?
How could that be.
How could it be possible...
Lin Zhen shook her head unconsciously. Almost every inch of her skin was resisting this fact. She struggled to support herself against the wall and slowly stood up. Before she took a step, her legs went weak.
Just as she was about to hit the sharp corner of the table, a strong arm grabbed her by the waist. The cloud pattern on the man's cuffs flowed and shone in the clear light.
"Lin Zhen." A man's deep voice came from my ears.
Lin Zhen's behavior has been really strange these two days, and what she said when he was about to get off the carriage made Ji Sui even more suspicious. He ended the interrogation early and rushed over, and saw this scene.
He helped Lin Zhen sit down, lowered his eyes to glance at the file left on the ground, frowned, picked it up and looked at it intently. It was the record of Lin Yunfeng's handling of the Prince Chen's treason case. He raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "Are you admiring Lin Yunfeng's great achievements?"
Ji Sui was not aware of the details of Prince Chen's rebellion case. He said this casually, but in Lin Zhen's eyes, it became a kind of sarcasm.
She raised her eyes and looked at Ji Sui coldly, clenching her fists: "Shut up."
In the dim inner room, although Ji Sui could not see Lin Zhen's eyes clearly, he could feel her indifference from her cold tone. He hurried here not to be subjected to such cold words from her.
Ji Sui knelt on one knee in front of her and lifted her chin with the file. "Why, Master Lin's name is not worthy of being spoken by someone like me? What a filial daughter! It's a pity that he will never see it again."
"However, if he were still alive, it would be more interesting for him to witness his proud daughter committing herself to this general than to kill him directly."
Lin Zhen suddenly let go of his hand, and a heavy slap sounded in the silent inner room.
Ji Sui tilted his head after being hit, lowered his eyes and sneered, his lips and tongue nudged his cheek. He threw away the file in his hand and grabbed Lin Zhen's hand, "I think this general has been too indulgent with you recently."
"Shizhu, there's no need to go to the palace tonight. Take her back to the general's residence."
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