Chapter 78 The real her is no less than any man…
The movements of the inner court, instructed by Lin Yansen, flew out of the palace and spread outwards from the capital.
February has arrived, and it's the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
Just as Ji and Jing were about to head to the treasure's location, they received a secret report from the capital.
After reading it, Ji and Jing sat silently in the council hall for a long time.
He wasn't particularly close to Lord Lin; they'd only met once. But he was certain he was an extremely kind and loving elder. He was also Dai Dai's father, the father she loved so dearly. If Dai Dai knew…
Song Yunmian, another item has been added to the hatred between us.
Ji and Jing also knew that they could not delay any longer.
That afternoon, two senior generals of the Ningdong Army, Xu Xian and Chen Sinian, led their respective teams out of Lingdong and rushed to the border between the east and south as quickly as possible.
As agreed beforehand, one in the light and one in the dark.
The night after they left, Ji Yujing, along with Yu Yong and others, left Jingning City in plain clothes without anyone noticing.
On the same day, the Lin family received a letter from the capital.
After reading it, Lin Zhenwei was furious.
After the Lin family repeatedly sacrificed half of their wealth for the Song family's imperial power, the descendants of the Song family still treated the descendants of the Lin family in this way.
Lin Yansen is still a first-rank nobleman and the head of the Lin family.
"The Song family, good, good."
At the end of rage is heartbreak and heartache.
In a quiet, secluded place, Lin Zhenwei's eyes were filled with tears.
After a long while, he called out, "Old Xiao."
Xiao Ming walked in from outside. "What are your orders, sir?"
Xiao Ming noticed Lin Zhenwei's reddened eyes, but he didn't ask why. Nowadays, there aren't many things that can make Lin Zhenwei cry.
It must be a big deal, a very difficult one.
Lin Zhenwei: "Go and call Dai Dai and Qing Yu here."
"promise."
Nearly fifteen minutes later, the brother and sister entered Lin Zhenwei's study. Lin Zhenwei appeared very calm, as usual. However, his eyes were still red, clearly indicating that he had just been crying.
Lin Qingdai walked to his side and placed her slender white hand on Lin Zhenwei's arm. "Grandpa, don't be sad."
"If anything happens, we'll face it together as a family."
Her hands were still icy cold, having just recovered from the chill.
This scene reminded Lin Zhenwei of what had happened to his family more than half a year ago, when Dai Dai was just as calm and gentle.
She was the youngest in the family.
But at some point, she became the family's pillar of support.
The name "Jiaojiao" was just a nickname given to her by her family to express their affection. In reality, she was no less capable than any man and had the ability to support a prosperous family.
With a flutter in his heart, Lin Zhenwei patted Lin Qingdai's hand and said, "Go sit down."
After Lin Qingdai was seated, he handed her the secret letter from the capital.
Lin Qingyu was furious after reading it.
"How dare Song Yunmian?"
Lin Zhenwei: "He did it whether he dared or not. Nowadays, no one can see His Majesty, and he is the Crown Prince."
This means that, in the vast country of Xun, his word is law on the surface.
"But the Lin family absolutely cannot let this go."
Lin Qingyu was so angry he wanted to rush to the capital to assassinate Song Yunmian. His eyes and face were red with rage: "What does Master want? We'll do as you say."
Lin Zhenwei: "Grandpa's getting old, and his head starts to ache when something happens. How about you and Dai Dai discuss how to handle this?"
“One principle: Song Yunmian must pay the price. Your father may not be very capable, but few can rival his stubbornness. After this incident, His Majesty's fate is still unknown, so he certainly won't come to the south. You need to send people to secretly protect him.”
"The faster the better."
Lin Qingdai: "Then my brother and I will take care of it right away. Grandfather, you should rest well and take care of yourself. When Father comes back, you'll have the energy to scold and beat him."
Lin Zhenwei was amused by this remark, and his sorrow lessened somewhat.
“Dai Dai is right.”
The brother and sister left the study and retraced their steps. The corridor was exquisite and serene, a cool breeze brushed their faces, yet their anger remained undiminished.
"Dai Dai, what do you think we should do? I'll listen to whatever you say."
Lin Qingyu never felt that listening to his sister was anything shameful. His sister was more capable than countless geniuses, and even Ji Yujing had to respectfully call her the Second Miss of the Lin Family when he bumped into her.
Lin Qingdai stopped and faced him, asking instead of answering, "Brother, what kind of king do you dream of?"
Lin Qingyu was stunned on the spot, and after a moment, she came to her senses.
He understood what his sister was asking. He walked closer to her and placed his large hand on her slender shoulder. "Dai Dai, I can't answer your question because I've never thought about it in detail. I'm different from you; I never think too deeply about things."
Who becomes emperor and what emperors should do is never something ordinary people should consider.
"But no matter what the future holds, your brother will always be on your side."
"Do you understand?"
Lin Qingdai felt a lump in her throat.
"Do whatever you want. Although I'm not as smart as you, I'm good at running errands."
"I am Lin Er-guniang's soldier, and I can order you around as I please."
Lin Qingdai was amused by this, "Don't talk nonsense, your mother will scold you again if she hears you."
Lin Qingyu: "It's such a good thing to be able to hear my mother scold me. Look at our father, it's hard to even hear him scold us now."
Lin Qingdai gently comforted her brother, "Brother, don't worry. My sister and brother-in-law are still in the capital; they will definitely take care of Father."
"Let's act quickly and strive to reunite the family as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingyu's dark eyes lit up slightly; he knew that his sister already had a plan.
Lin Qingdai's lips twitched slightly. "An eye for an eye."
As time went by, news of Song Yunmian becoming the crown prince spread widely. Along with this came news of his insidious and cruel methods.
It is suspected that the emperor was imprisoned. Lord Lin, who was as close as a brother to the emperor, could not even pay his respects to him for the New Year. In the end, two of his fingers were forcibly broken off.
The ten fingers are connected to the heart; how painful that must be!
The Lin family has helped the Song family so much over the past century, giving away half of their fortune time and time again, only to end up like this.
What about the others?
Hundreds of unarmed civilians in the capital were brutally murdered simply because they were from Lingdong. Killing them wasn't enough; their bodies were hung in the streets and alleys to be exposed to frost and mist. It was Lord Lin who buried the villagers that time.
Then there was Wu Tingshan, the guardian deity of Tianyun City, an unparalleled genius who willingly devoted himself to the barren lands of the west. Decades passed quickly; the barbarian tribes failed to kill him, but he was ultimately killed by the Crown Prince's cunning schemes.
He did purchase warhorses, but that was to prepare supplies for the invasion of Azure. Only when Azure was destroyed or a fierce battle was fought would the West truly be at peace. But he didn't live to see that battle; he died.
With the Crown Prince acting this way, what future does the Kingdom of Xun have?
Public anger is never easy to ignite. Accustomed to forbearance and a mundane life, anger is a rare emotion.
But this time, on the coldest day of the year, public anger burned like a raging fire, unquenchable.
When the rumor that Wu Tingshan was wronged spread to the vast western lands, Tianyun City, which had been suffering from drought for more than half a month, suddenly experienced rain.
The rain was light, a gentle drizzle, as if the guardian deity of the West had returned, whispering softly in the ears of the people he had once protected.
"See, a fake can never become real."
On the towering city wall, Huang Zhenquan, the highest-ranking general of the Zhenxi Army, stood without an umbrella, letting the cold rain soak his hair and clothes.
The city walls stand cold and desolate, the rain falls in a chilling downpour.
No matter how you look at it, the scene is sad.
But Huang Zhenquan was smiling, his dark eyes gleaming. "General, I'll be waiting for your return."
It'll be here soon!
...
After several days of travel, Xu Xian led his two thousand soldiers to the designated location. They arrived just past mid-morning, yet the sky was already dark with the approach of dusk.
It was gloomy everywhere.
Xu Xian and his group did not delay. After a short rest, they spread out a map to study the terrain, showing that they were ready to make a big splash.
However, as soon as a deep pit was dug, strange movements began to occur in the surrounding area.
Xu Xian turned around, his cold eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Who?"
The man who came from afar was Zhang Songyan, a close confidant of Zhang Qiyuan. Behind him, the black-armored army stretched as far as the eye could see. The Zhang family, which had been silent in the midst of the political situation, had finally made its move.
"General Xu, is that right?"
When the two armies were facing off, Zhang Songyan spoke first, his eyes beaming with a smile.
But that smile didn't reach his eyes at all.
"Treasure hunting is too tiring, why don't I help you?"
"Who are you? You look unfamiliar. But judging from your excellent equipment, your family head must be Zhang Qiyuan, right?"
Zhang Songyan said, "General Xu has a good eye."
Since they've started openly robbing people, there's no need to hide their identities anymore.
"I am Zhang Songyan, one of the four generals of the Zhang family."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xian smiled, his expression frivolous and dissolute.
"Is your Zhang family incapable of walking independently?"
"Ning Dongjun has four generals, and you also have four generals; you covet this amazing treasure, yet you don't contribute anything, just waiting for others to finish everything so you can come and rob it."
"Zhang Songyan, right? Let me tell you, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
At this point, the Ningdong Army, which had just been digging enthusiastically, retreated at top speed, without Xu Xian even giving the order.
Xu Xian didn't stop him. He smiled at Zhang Songyan and said, "You want to dig? Here, you can dig. We can't dig anymore, so we're leaving now."
Without waiting for Zhang Song's reply, he pushed his speed to the limit. In a short while, he had disappeared far away.
Zhang Songyan was not provoked at all.
As the patriarch had guessed, Ji and Jing had used tricks to mislead them.
If not here, then it must be somewhere else.
"withdraw."
The same scene also occurred in the area where Chen Ssu-nien stayed.
Unlike Xu Xian, Chen Sinian put on an act for a while and even clashed head-on with Zhang's army.
After testing their strength, Chen Sinian clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Hui, the general of Zhang Family Army, and said, "General Zhang, your skills are superb. I have lost."
"There will be opportunities to fight again in the future."
Having said that, he led his troops in retreat.
If you really want to calculate the speed, it's even faster than Xu Xian's team.
Zhang Hui was taken aback for a moment. "It was a feint; the treasure isn't here."
His companion behind him said, "General, shall we capture a few and bring them back for questioning?"
Zhang Hui shook his head.
Regardless of the outcome of a real battle, even if they won, Ningdong Army is known for its toughness, so capturing them wouldn't be very effective.
Both sides failed to find the treasure, and each side believed that the treasure was on the other's side, so they did not confront Ningdong Army head-on.
When they met, they learned that there was a third group of people. But no one knew when this third group had left Jingning City.
Lingdong Kang Le City
This city, true to its name, has always been prosperous and peaceful. Moreover, it is considered the most prosperous city in the entire Lingdong region.
Because it is located in the south.
It was spared from the ravages of war and had abundant resources.
Ji and his entourage arrived discreetly and entered the city, whereupon Kang Le City was sealed off. All the city's officials and soldiers were mobilized to assist Ji and Jing in digging for the treasure.
With Yu Yong around, treasure hunting becomes easy.
The firebombs and digging equipment were specially made, and with their own territory, they had a large number of people and a lot of equipment. It took ten days for Ji and Jing to penetrate deep into the underground palace. To everyone's surprise, the underground palace resembled a small city.
The scene of small bridges, flowing water, and houses is vividly depicted.
On the surface, there is absolutely no sign of treasure.
"I'll go inside and take a look. You all wait here."
Everything that happened in Lonely Cloud City was still vivid in his mind. He was alone, so it was easier for him to advance or retreat.
Yu-Naga: "Be careful."
Ji Yujing nodded, then accelerated and sped into the depths of the underground palace.
Deep within stood a grand hall, chilling to the bone.
Standing outside, just watching, even Ji Yujing, who was a staunch skeptic, couldn't help but shiver.
When he realized something was wrong with himself, he chuckled softly.
Luckily, Dai Dai wasn't there, otherwise his pride would have been completely shattered.
After pausing outside the hall, Ji Yujing entered the cold and gloomy hall. His intuition told him that the mystery of the treasure that guarded the mountains and rivers was right here.
Whether there is treasure or not will be revealed today.
Ji Yujing remained relatively calm. Of course, it would be good to have a treasure, but if not, it would just mean a more arduous and slower journey, and it wouldn't change his path.
He also has Daisy...
Deeper into the main hall, there was still no trace of treasure. The most valuable items inside were probably the luminous pearls hanging in various places.
By the dim light of the luminous pearl, Ji Yujing could see the interior of the palace. It resembled an emperor's leisure area, filled with various recreational facilities. However, for some reason, these facilities were all askew, some even broken, as if they had been violently impacted. Outside the underground palace, however, everything was peaceful.
Ji Yujing approached the long, layered display shelf closest to him, which was filled with all sorts of wood carvings, jade carvings, and gold and silver sculptures.
The statues are varied. Some depict commoners in grey cloth, others the supreme emperor, still others scions of noble families in brocade robes adorned with white jade, and still others burly nouveau riche...
The wood used by ordinary people was the cheapest, and the carving was the roughest.
Even the faint light of the luminous pearl revealed their rough texture. If they were here to steal treasure, these wooden carvings would be the least valuable things, no different from a pile of garbage. But these things were familiar to Ji Yujing; he remembered that his father had made many wooden toys for him when he was still alive.
Driven by instinct, Ji and Jing picked up the crooked wooden carvings of commoners and placed them in the lattice.
One, two, three... Ji and Jing continued counting up to one hundred.
They counted another hundred, but they were still far from being able to help everyone.
This was practically a waste of time, but Ji Yujing didn't care; he even found it amusing.
There are a total of 1680 commoner dolls.
He had no idea how much time it took, being underground. But he knew that the lowest shelf in the display case was full, and he had righted all the fallen wooden sculptures of commoners.
He finally remembered to take a closer look at them. They were men and women, working in different industries and using different tools. The only thing they had in common was that they all had smiles on their faces.
It was as if the world was at peace, and they lived and worked in contentment. Although they each had their own hardships, they were still happy in their hearts.
Ji Yujing's lips twitched, but before the curve could be clearly defined, a strange sound came from behind.
The display shelves sank downwards at an astonishing speed. Yet, even so, the civilian figurines remained perfectly still, and not one of them fell over.
A violent tremor occurred, revealing that there was still space underground.
Without hesitation, Ji Yujing took a luminous pearl and jumped down.
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