I am the innocent one in your eyes!
After taking two steps, Lin Huaiyin turned back.
Xiao Zhian, still savoring the moment, lay on the ground, rubbing the glistening tears on his lips.
Lin Huaiyin walked back and squatted down in front of him.
Their faces met, their eyes locked, and Xiao Zhian's eyes lit up. He thought Lin Huaiyin was reluctant to part with him, and he reached out to stroke her face.
Lin Huaiyin wiped his mouth with her sleeve and asked softly, "Zhi'an, can I handle those traitors?"
"Okay." Xiao Zhian handed over the power of life and death without hesitation.
Lin Huaiyin was flattered and a little reserved as she pressed on, "I mean all of them, all of the more than a thousand traitors. Aren't you going to ask me what my plans are?"
"As long as you're happy." Xiao Zhian sat up and pinched the tender flesh on her face. His fingertips felt like they were sinking into water. She was really too tender. She was still so young. What bad thoughts could she possibly have? Even if she did, it would be someone else's fault.
Xiao Zhian witnessed firsthand that Lin Huaiyin acted violently and was prone to violence and killing. Especially now that Yu Li was involved, who was a White Lotus Sect traitor who had kidnapped her and brought her extreme humiliation, Xiao Zhian had a general idea of how she would deal with the traitor.
The situation is unlikely to be good, and there is a risk of criticism from court officials in the future. However, Xiao Zhian is willing to let go and give her even the slightest chance to vent her anger.
This was the first time Lin Huaiyin had sought Xiao Zhian's opinion before taking action. Xiao Zhian took it seriously, helped Lin Huaiyin up, found the clothes that had been torn off earlier, and took the goldfish pouch from the belt adorned with jade pendants, goldfish pouches, gold thread purses, and carved sachets, placing it in Lin Huaiyin's palm.
"This contains the Crown Prince's Jade Talisman. Seeing the talisman is like seeing me in person. It will make things much easier for you if you carry it with you. If your two brothers have anything to say, tell them to come find me."
Xiao Zhian solemnly handed it over.
Lin Huaiyin gently pinched it; it felt hard and smooth to the touch, its texture was jade, and its shape was a fish.
She gazed at Xiao Zhian, seeing the white shadow of the imperial prison from her past life reflected in his face, and thought of "a wild deer carrying flowers."
In this life and the next, the secret code of the imperial prison and the jade talisman in her palm overlapped at this moment. In both her lives, she met him and received a precious entrustment.
His Highness the Crown Prince is the head of Zenghua Bookstore, and Xiao Zhian is the Crown Prince's Jade Talisman.
Her past life was filled with bloodshed and turmoil, and she was powerless to change her fate. His Highness guided her on her final path to survival.
Despite the storms and darkness of her life, she and Xiao Zhian are working together to achieve their grand plan, and everything remains under control.
It was during his time in prison that she met the man she is today.
Lin Huaiyin's eyes flickered. White clothes and purple robes, hair tied up and jade hairpins, two men's faces slowly overlapped, two pairs of phoenix eyes fused into one, and merged into the living Xiao Zhian in front of her.
Lin Huaiyin was distracted again in front of Xiao Zhian.
Her gaze made him vaguely uneasy. This was not uncommon for her; she often stared at his face like this, her focus blank, her pupils unfocused, as if she were thinking about something profound and distant, something he could not touch.
Xiao Zhian didn't like this feeling. He didn't like her looking at him and thinking about other things. She should only have him in her eyes and heart.
"Yinyin," Xiao Zhian called to her, "What are you looking at?"
"nothing."
Lin Huaiyin subconsciously shook her head, then looked up and met Xiao Zhian's all-seeing phoenix eyes. She felt inexplicably guilty, but then suddenly felt overjoyed—since a miracle could happen to her and Xiao Zhian, then Yu Li would definitely be able to come back alive!
Clutching the goldfish bag, Lin Huaiyin jumped up, kissed him, and ran away.
A bathtub was placed in the outer room, with less than half a tub of bathwater remaining. The puddles on the floor reflected her pale yellow figure. Lin Huaiyin was filled with joy and had no mind to think about what had just happened. She pushed open the door with her head down, ran along the veranda through the pouring rain, and ran out of the courtyard, pushing open the main gate.
It was extremely dark outside.
As usual, the palace guards bowed their heads to see them off, but one person stepped forward, seemingly having something to say.
When Lin Huaiyin saw them, she suddenly thought of Xuan Ge. Xuan Ge often went to see Yu Li, and he might have noticed something.
"Where is Xuan Ge now?" she asked first.
"The general is out on business and has not yet returned." The guard clasped his hands and told Lin Huaiyin, "Third Miss Lin, we are truly sorry. Just now, Miss Xie'ao came to see you, and we tried to stop her verbally but to no avail. She has offended you. She is currently in the side room next door. Shall we bring her to you?"
The guard pointed to the side, and Lin Huaiyin indicated that she would go there herself.
The two went to the side room, where they saw Crab Claw sitting in a chair with a cloth stuffed in its mouth. There were also two guards with bruised and swollen faces in the same room.
Upon seeing Lin Huaiyin arrive, the two guards hurriedly untied her. Xie Ao jumped up, and after confirming that Lin Huaiyin was unharmed, he angrily wanted to continue the fight.
Lin Huaiyin coughed lightly and said, "Let's go, something happened to Yu Li."
"What? What happened?"
The crab claws turned their heads.
Lin Huaiyin had already left.
There were guards' straw hats and raincoats leaning against the door. Lin Huaiyin picked them up, put one on her head and draped one over her shoulders. The weight made her small body sway.
Lin Huaiyin steadied herself by stepping apart. She didn't know if Princess Pingyang had sent anyone to monitor her, but she figured they wouldn't be able to get close. Although the straw hat and raincoat were heavy, they were good for concealment. She changed her clothes, and since Xie Ao was new, she might be able to evade Princess Pingyang's spies.
While pondering, Crab Ao also followed her example and put on the same clothes.
The two remained silent, only asking the guards for ox horn lanterns. Each carrying a lantern, they walked into the wind and rain.
The guards watched them disappear into the rain curtain before returning to report to Xiao Zhi'an.
Xiao Zhian was already dressed and summoned Yuan Jie'e and his son Yuan Butian to an audience.
——
The rain curtain transformed into a canopy of darkness, and time itself seemed to stand still.
Lin Huaiyin kept the deadline in mind and hurried along the previous route, wading through the water.
Before long, two cages of ox-horn lanterns arrived at the place where the White Lotus Rebels were being held.
The Imperial Guards had already spread out tung oil cloths and set up many temporary tents, sheltering the rebels as well, so that they wouldn't rot in the wind and rain.
Seeing this, Lin Huaiyin breathed a sigh of relief and went forward to greet them, much to the surprise of the Imperial Guards.
"The Grand General is interrogating someone inside." The Imperial Guards pulled open the tent flap.
Lin Huaiyin spotted Lin Shifeng and the man with the tumor at a glance, and quickly took off her straw hat and raincoat and crawled into the tent.
The crab claws followed closely behind.
"Second brother," Lin Huaiyin called to Lin Shifeng.
Lin Shifeng had fought on the battlefield for many years. He had a face with sharp features and strong lines. His eagle eyes turned around and his gaze was intense. Lin Huaiyin stopped in her tracks and didn't dare to move.
Lin Shifeng didn't respond to her; his gaze fell on Lin Huaiyin's swallow-head shoes that were soaking in water.
He was very curious about why Lin Huaiyin had come all this way at this time, braving the wind and rain. In addition, Lin Cuiyue had told him many things last night, so Lin Shifeng had many more doubts about Lin Huaiyin.
Since his elder brother said that his third sister had become very strange, Lin Shifeng gladly got up, ready to see for himself.
"Third sister, come here."
"Hmm." Lin Huaiyin walked up to Lin Shifeng, leaving wet footprints with each step, and asked, "Second Brother, what did you find out?"
Lin Shifeng shook his head: "No, we've exhausted all available means. It's just a lump of iron; there's nothing we can do now."
Upon hearing this, Lin Huaiyin felt a chill run down her spine. There were many cruel methods used in the army to interrogate enemy prisoners. Had her second brother used them all?
She couldn't help but glance at the man with the fleshy tumor. He had bamboo skewers stuck between his fingers, his chest was bare, and his left breast was a bloody mess. In front of him, a rope stretched out, with pieces of flesh as thin as cicada wings hanging from it.
This was the most ruthless and cruel interrogation method Lin Huaiyin knew: using a sharp blade to slice off pieces of flesh, slowly cutting until the bone was exposed, and then moving to another place to continue.
Lin Huaiyin had only heard about it before, but seeing it with her own eyes today, she groped for a chair and slowly sat down, unsure of where to look.
Seeing that she was frightened, the imperial guards brought her a bowl of ginger tea.
The pungent aroma of ginger made Lin Huaiyin feel better, and she was finally able to look up and look directly at the sky.
The man with the tumor closed his eyes, silent and unresponsive, left to be killed or tortured at will.
Lin Huaiyin looked at him, and the scenes of the Shangsi Festival were playing out again and again.
She and Su Jinggui were playing a game on the mudflats at the foot of Jiufeng Mountain, searching for crabs among the pebbles, when suddenly White Lotus Rebels surrounded them. Su Jinggui was so frightened that she fainted. Without a bow and arrow for defense, she was quickly captured and then imprisoned for a long time until Shen Congyun appeared...
After that, she completely fell into Shen Congyun's hands, was used as a stepping stone, exploited to the bone, and then discarded like trash, her bones crushed and ashes scattered...
The culprit who kidnapped her and handed her over to Shen Congyun is right in front of us. He was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. He got his comeuppance. He deserved to suffer and died.
On the way here, Lin Huaiyin had thought about subjecting all possible tortures to her. She was willing to do anything to find out who was working around Princess Pingyang and to find out where Yu Li was.
Now that she had witnessed him endure all of Lin Shifeng's tortures without uttering a single word, Lin Huaiyin couldn't quite describe her feelings. She then tried another method.
"Second brother," she called to Lin Shifeng, "Second brother, bring in the other eleven people and kill them to show him."
"Alright." Lin Shifeng's face was cold and stern. He glanced at the guards and ordered them to go out and fetch the person.
Through the fleshy curtain, Lin Huaiyin told the tumor-ridden man, "You know who I am, and I know who you are. I remember you all speak with the same accent, so you must be from the same hometown. That's why no matter how much we searched before, no one gave you away. Since you two are so close, you should die together."
Upon hearing this, the man with the sarcoma opened his eyes with a pair of resentful and venomous eyes.
Lin Huaiyin stared straight into his eyes and said nothing more.
The Imperial Guards moved with lightning speed, dragging the people over in the rain. The string of people, like a string of grasshoppers or dead dogs, was dragged into the camp.
Seeing his fellow villager suffering, the man with the tumor bulged the veins on his forehead, and blood gushed from the scraped flesh on his chest. He was clearly agitated and out of control. Lin Huaiyin knew she had his weakness and thought he would beg for mercy and admit defeat. Unexpectedly, he opened his mouth and shouted, "The white lotus has descended to earth, and all people have been liberated!"
The rebels on the ground were stunned for a moment, then immediately echoed, "The white lotus has descended to earth, and the people have been liberated!"
"A white lotus descends to earth, bringing liberation to all people!!!"
"A white lotus descends to earth, bringing liberation to all people!!!"
"A white lotus descends to earth, bringing liberation to all people!!!"
The rebels' voices grew increasingly uniform, repeating themselves endlessly, creating an eerie atmosphere within the tent.
An unsettling frenzy enveloped everyone, and each person instinctively clenched their jaw to resist the unknown madness.
The imperial guards immediately shouted to stop him, but the traitor ignored them and continued chanting.
The Imperial Guards switched to fists and kicks, while the traitor glared at them angrily, still chanting.
The repeated cries of "White Lotus Descending to Earth" sent chills down Lin Huaiyin's spine. This kind of desperate, reckless, and suicidal desperation was all too familiar to her; it was practically herself.
She was driven to a dead end by Princess Pingyang and Shen Congyun, leaving her with no choice but to go down a dark path.
These people were once ordinary fathers, sons, and husbands. They were Xiao Zhian's subjects, and should have lived ordinary, peaceful lives, dealing with the mundane realities of life, birth, aging, sickness, and death.
They were innocent and without fault, yet Princess Pingyang forced them into exile, turning them into refugees and turning them into traitors. They were then brainwashed and bewitched into becoming her followers, willing to descend to earth for her illusory image of a pure white lotus, and to risk their lives to rebuild the peaceful life that Princess Pingyang had shattered.
Lin Huaiyin looked at them as if she were seeing hundreds or thousands of versions of herself. They had all been harmed by Princess Pingyang and had their peaceful lives ruined by her. Now they were standing on opposite sides, competing to see who was more ruthless and fierce, fighting to the death.
How ironic and pitiful this scene is.
If Princess Pingyang could see this scene, how pleased and delighted she would be.
She creates disasters, then sings her own praises, portraying herself as a holy white lotus that purifies everything.
But what kind of innocent girl is she? She's a scourge to the country, a viper in the heart, utterly despicable, and evil to the extreme.
Lin Huaiyin silently shook her head and ordered the Imperial Guards, "Dislocate their jaws."
"yes!"
The Imperial Guards' voices strained through the chanting wall and reached Lin Huaiyin's ears.
They acted swiftly, and with twelve soft cracks—the jaw dislocated—the camp finally returned to silence.
"call."
Lin Huaiyin took a deep breath.
Lin Shifeng looked at her quietly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"Do you know about the Imperial Prison?" Lin Huaiyin looked at the fresh blood dripping in front of the tumor-covered man and thought of her own blood, which had also been dried up, drop by drop, by Shen Congyun.
Suddenly, she became talkative and began to speak to herself: "The Imperial Prison is not a place for humans. Even rats won't eat the spoiled food there. The rats are fat with big ears and blood-red eyes. They eat people."
You can't sleep there. No matter how tired you are, you can't relax. You have to keep your shoes in your hand at all times. There's no light, you can't see, and you have to be very sharp-eared. You have to kill the rats before they bite you, otherwise, if you get bitten, your flesh will slowly rot and stink, and you won't survive. I don't want to stay in the imperial prison, and I think you don't want to die either. I don't have time to tell you about the complicated things, but you've trusted the wrong White Lotus.
Lin Huaiyin stood up. Without thinking or planning, she loudly proclaimed her sudden thoughts—"I am the one who is innocent and pure!"
These words came out of nowhere, and the traitor, the Imperial Guard, the tumor-ridden man, Lin Shifeng, and even the crab claw were all dumbfounded on the spot.
"As long as you believe in me, I guarantee you'll live, and I'll make sure you live well!" A surge of fervent emotion welled up within Lin Huaiyin. Her head was buzzing, and her mouth slurred—
"A shrine will soon be built on the top of Crane Cry Mountain. I can send more than a thousand of you brothers up the mountain to build the temple. I will provide you with food, clothes, and housing, and I will also pay you wages. As long as you work hard, in a year or two, when all the corrupt officials in the world are eliminated, you can take the wages you have saved and return to your hometown to reunite with your families!"
Lin Huaiyin was immersed in a strange, dreamlike, floating illusion. She didn't think before she spoke. She was hearing it for the first time, and she was happy to hear it. She became more and more excited as she spoke, her voice rising higher and higher.
She was so excited about her plan and the stable life that was within her grasp that she was practically bursting with joy. With her arms outstretched and her face flushed, she shouted, "So? Do you trust me?!"
This question, stern and resounding, sent shivers down the spines of Xie Ao and the imperial guards.
Lin Huaiyin's depiction of life was too realistic—clothing, food, shelter, returning home for family reunion. Every aspect touched the hearts of the man with the sarcoma and his eleven fellow villagers. Every aspect was the ultimate goal they had dreamed of. The twelve men's eyes met, and their gazes gradually shifted from suspicion to clarity, finally bursting with a sharp light, as if they had reached some kind of silent consensus. They all looked at Lin Huaiyin.
“But Third Sister,” Lin Shifeng interrupted the lively atmosphere at the right moment. His gaze was cold, and his mind was filled with the thought that Lin Cuiyue had said that Third Sister had something going on with His Highness the Crown Prince. He deliberately asked Lin Huaiyin, “Can you make such a big decision?”
"Is that so? This is a very important matter. How could the Third Miss possibly make the decision?" The Imperial Guards all shook their heads, expressing their regret.
The twelve traitors' expressions dimmed instantly—this little girl is just spouting nonsense.
When Crab Claw saw their change of attitude, she immediately wanted to slap them across the face and tell them that her young lady was omnipotent.
Lin Huaiyin looked around, completely unaware of Lin Shifeng's probing, took out the goldfish pouch from her purse, looked at him, and laughed heartily—"Little sister, I can really do it!"
The moment the goldfish bag appeared, Lin Shifeng's face darkened instantly.
Lin Huaiyin poured out the jade talisman with her backhand, held it high, and the white jade shone with light. The imperial guards' expressions changed drastically, and they knelt down abruptly—"Greetings, Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"
Even Lin Shifeng knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
Crab claws ran up behind Lin Huaiyin, indicating that she was with her mistress and that she was also on His Highness's side, so she didn't need to kneel.
The twelve traitors were immediately dumbfounded—that infamous, incompetent crown prince was actually giving them a way out?!
But besides that crown prince, who else can offer them a way out?
"See? My words carry weight." Lin Huaiyin surveyed the traitors, proudly wagging her tail.
She hadn't expected Xiao Zhian's jade talisman to be so useful, and she quickly boasted to the traitors, "I, Bai Lian, have made this for you. You just need to tell me who is harming me, and I will continue to try to reform them so we can all live a good life together. Give me a straight answer, okay?"
"Hmm!"
The twelve people couldn't speak, but nodded frantically.
"make a deal!"
Lin Huaiyin gripped the Crown Prince's jade talisman tightly, calling out in her heart—Yu Li, hold on, wait for me!
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