Complete secret letter
Since returning from Ci'en Temple, Xiao Lin's Darkness Level has been declining like the tide, from the initial shocking 99% to the current 60%. Su Manyan looked at the hostility gradually fading from the brows of the people beside him, and couldn't help but feel a little complacent in his heart:
This must be the result of my companionship day and night and my careful guidance.
I still remember the anomalies that 625 reminded me of some time ago, and they have indeed come true one by one recently.
Su Manyan discovered that Xiao Lin always got up before dawn these days and returned late at night under the moonlight. There were also spies in black who visited at night. The two of them closed the doors and windows as soon as they entered the study, and their secret talks often ended at three o'clock in the morning. Occasionally, the sound of quarrels leaked out from the crack of the door. Although he could not hear it clearly, he could still feel that the atmosphere was solemn.
Although she didn't ask directly, she guessed it was related to the situation in the Hu Kingdom. Looking at the darkening dark circles under Xiao Lin's eyes, her fingertips traced the wrinkles between his brows, and she could clearly feel the weariness that penetrated deep into his bones.
Su Manyan was anxious and wanted to share some of the pressure with him, but she was imprisoned in the deep palace. Although she had a lot of feelings for him, she had to be cautious even when stepping out of the courtyard. She could only watch him bear everything alone, unable to do anything.
As if sensing her worried gaze on him, Xiao Lin stopped the file in his hand, curled the corners of his lips helplessly, reached out to pull Su Manyan into his arms, and gently rested his chin on the top of her head.
He never understood why Su Manyan was always so cautious. She should have been a bright and flamboyant princess like the crabapple blossoms in the spring in the south in her previous life, but now she always concealed all her radiance in the anxiety of gains and losses.
"Ayan, don't let your imagination run wild." A warm breath brushed past his ears, bringing a reassuring power. "Trust me, everything will be resolved soon. When the time comes, I'll take you home."
When he spoke of "returning home," he had never meant returning to the oppressive Southern Palace. Instead, he meant bringing Su Manyan back to the Hu Kingdom with honor and authority, making her his sole consort, free from any grievances. As for what he owed them—his father's partiality, Xiao Ye's calculations, the Southern Emperor's indifference.
He will definitely take revenge for all the hatreds that are engraved in her blood and protect her for the rest of her life.
His gaze fell on Su Manyan's slightly oversized eunuch attire, and Xiao Lin suddenly remembered the old eunuch who had been so loyal to them both in their past life. If he could have found him earlier in this life, he would have saved him from his previous life's tragic end and ensured him a life of wealth and glory, thus fulfilling the bond between the ruler and his subject.
However, the trajectory of this life was somewhat different from what he had imagined with the memories of his previous life:
A Yan is no longer the princess of the Southern Kingdom, but stays by her side as a eunuch. Those whose fates were once intertwined with theirs also develop different ties because of this subtle change.
Just like the ruthless prince in the previous life, although he was cold and ruthless to others, he was extremely loving to his half-sister Su Manyan. If he knew the truth of his past and present lives, I wonder how he would react?
But Xiao Lin quickly suppressed the thought - there would never be such a day.
In this life, he will keep Su Manyan firmly under his wings and not let anyone or anything hurt her again. Those past events that may disturb her will be buried forever in time.
Su Manyan raised her hand to smooth the wrinkles between his brows. The coolness of her fingertips penetrated the fabric of his clothes. She looked into Xiao Lin's serious eyes and asked softly, "Go home? Which home?"
Xiao Lin held her hand and raised it to his lips, gently pecking at the tip of her finger. His tone was more serious than ever before: "Of course, I will send you back to Hu Kingdom in a sedan chair with eight bearers, and marry you in a formal ceremony. When things here are settled, you will come back with me, okay?"
The word "go back" was like a stone that suddenly fell into Su Manyan's heart, making her uneasy and even her breathing stopped for a moment.
She suddenly remembered her identity as a time traveler. When she first came to this world, her only goal was to heal Xiao Lin. Once his blackening value dropped to 0, she could return to her original world.
But now... looking at Xiao Lin, whose heart and eyes were filled with her, and feeling his sincere affection, she suddenly felt confused: If she could really go back, what choice should she make?
Her thoughts were like a tangled mess, unable to be sorted out for a long time. Seeing her silence, Xiao Lin thought that he was too abrupt and had upset her, so he quickly explained: "A Yan, I don't mean to force you. We can discuss these things slowly later. Don't worry, all the troubles will be resolved."
Su Manyan knew that he had misunderstood, and opened her mouth to explain, but when the words came to her lips, she didn't know where to start. In the end, she closed her mouth gently and buried her head in his arms again.
"It's getting late. You should go and rest first. I still have some things to take care of." Xiao Lin said gently, his tone full of care.
He personally helped Su Manyan change out of her eunuch attire, tucked in the corners of her quilt, and sat by the bed, watching her quietly until her breathing gradually became smooth and even, then he slowly stood up.
Before leaving, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Su Manyan's smooth forehead. He gently twisted the corner of the quilt with his fingertips to make sure she would not catch a cold before leaving.
But as soon as the door closed, Su Manyan quietly opened her eyes. Her eyes were clear, not even a hint of sleepiness. She sat up, her fingers tightly gripping the quilt beneath her. After a moment's hesitation, she lowered her voice and called out, "625, are you there?"
In fact, she had heard the movements of 625 this evening, but Xiao Lin had been with her the whole time, sometimes teaching her to write the Hu language, and sometimes pestering her to tell interesting stories from his "previous life", leaving her no chance to talk to 625 alone.
This time, 625 deliberately dimmed its own blue light, fearing that it would disturb others, and answered quietly in a whisper: "I'm here~ Host~" Its round body swayed in the air, and its tone was full of joy - it seemed that the host was still thinking about it.
"625, you said...when Xiao Lin's blackening value drops to 0, can I go back?" Su Manyan's voice trembled slightly, and she didn't even realize that when she asked this question, there was some resistance in her heart.
625 was silent for a rare moment, and his cheerful tone became solemn. He asked softly, "Host, you... don't want to go back?"
This time it was Su Manyan's turn to remain silent. She lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously scratching the lines of the quilt. After a long moment, she whispered, "I don't know."
When she first crossed over to this strange world, her mind was full of thoughts of returning home, but now that she calmed down and thought about it, she was actually alone in the real world. She had no parents, and grew up in an orphanage. When she grew up, she finally found a decent job, but she was just trying to make a living in the city. She had no worries, no warmth, and no one like Xiao Lin who was devoted to her.
But here, she had a lover, someone she wanted to protect, and even a true friendship. Perhaps soon, they would have a stable and bright future. Such a life was something she had never dared to hope for in the real world.
625 seemed to understand her dilemma, its tone softened, and it comforted her softly: "Host, don't think too much, just follow your heart. Maybe... you belong to this world?" It flickered with a faint blue light, and the last sentence was spoken very lightly, like a gust of wind, and it disappeared as soon as it reached Su Manyan's ears.
Su Manyan lowered his head and said nothing, his fingers twitching unconsciously. It seemed that he had listened to 625's words, but in fact, he was even more conflicted in his heart.
"Oh, right," she suddenly raised her head, as if remembering something important, and said tentatively, "My secret has been discovered by Xiao Lin. Whether I was disguised as a man or the original owner was a spy planted by the crown prince, what exactly is the punishment you mentioned earlier?"
In fact, she had wanted to ask it a long time ago, but had been deliberately avoiding it. Now that she brought it up, it seemed like she had found an excuse to divert attention.
625 suddenly became hesitant, saying "Host, your headband looks really nice today", and then saying "It seems to be windy outside", obviously avoiding the question.
"Speak!" Su Manyan's tone became heavy, with an unquestionable firmness.
625 was so frightened that he trembled on the spot. After hesitating for a long time, he said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "It's just... maybe after a while, you may not be able to see it anymore..."
It was being extremely euphemistic. Actually, according to the system logs, the punishment wouldn't take effect "after a while," but within the next few days. But it couldn't bring itself to tell the truth, fearing it might hurt Su Manyan's feelings. It had pondered this matter countless times in its mind, and even with the deadline looming, it still didn't know how to bring it up.
Su Manyan was stunned for a moment, his fingertips stopped moving, and then he asked calmly, "Forever?"
"Of course not!" 625 quickly shook his head, his voice rising a few degrees. "It will take at least a few days, or even several months. It's definitely not permanent blindness. Once the punishment is over, your eyes will naturally heal!"
Hearing "not forever", Su Manyan breathed a sigh of relief and his tense shoulders relaxed.
"What else?" She raised her eyelids, her gaze falling on 625's round body with a bit of scrutiny. "Don't try to hide it from me. I don't believe the punishment is just that simple."
625 felt guilty when she looked at him, and he flew to the beam with a "whoosh", shrinking into a small ball, daring to reveal only a little bit of blue light, for fear of being caught by Su Manyan. Su Manyan looked up, but could only see a vague black shadow on the beam, even its outline was not clear.
"No... nothing else..." 625's voice floated down from the rafters, a little unsure, "Host, there's just one more thing... You might... not be able to return to the real world."
The pitch-black room instantly fell into a dead silence. Even the moonlight that streamed in through the window lattice seemed to have lost its color and become dim. The room grew even darker, so quiet that one could hear each other's breathing and the sound of Su Manyan's heart beating, heavy and slow.
"Is that so..." After a long while, Su Manyan's voice could be heard from the darkness, with a hint of relief and a bit of melancholy, "Perhaps, this is God's will."
"Host... Ah Yan, don't be sad." 625 cautiously changed the address, trying to close the distance between her and her. It always felt that Su Manyan's reaction was too calm, a little abnormal, like the calm before the storm, which made it feel uneasy.
Then, Su Manyan saw the small ball with a faint blue light floating down from the beam slowly, moving little by little in front of her eyes, and its round body swayed slightly, as if expressing its concern.
Seeing its cautious appearance, Su Manyan suddenly burst out laughing, reached out and gently touched its body, and said in a relaxed tone: "Don't worry, I'm not sad. Now, for me, whether I can go back or not is actually not that important."
She paused, looked at the moonlight outside the window, and said softly, "It's fine. Everything is fine now."
Seeing that she had really let it go, 625 heaved a sigh of relief and happily turned around twice in front of her - it should have been like this a long time ago. This world has Xiao Lin and warmth, which is much better than the host's original world.
What it didn't say was that, according to the secret records in the system database, Su Manyan originally belonged to this world...
Early the next morning, Xiao Lin walked into the room with a piece of letter paper covered with handwriting. He gently placed the letter paper on the table in front of Su Manyan and motioned her to open it and take a look.
Su Manyan picked up the letter in confusion, unfolded it, and her pupils suddenly contracted - the content on the paper was exactly the secret letter she had copied from the prince's study that day, but it was much more complete than the content she copied. Those words that had been deliberately erased were now clearly presented on the paper.
"I sent people to investigate for a long time and integrated the information from spies from all sides. This should be the complete version of the secret letter." Xiao Lin sat beside her and explained calmly, but there was a barely perceptible coldness hidden deep in his eyes.
Su Manyan read the secret letter word by word. The more he read, the heavier his heart became. In the end, all the blood in his body seemed to be frozen, and his fingertips turned slightly white due to the force.
The secret letter read: "In the past, on the battlefield, I wanted to kill Xiao Lin, but he was so tough that I only suffered serious injuries. I was unable to kill him. It is a pity. Now that the Hu Kingdom has been defeated as promised, Xiao Lin has become a hostage and lost all his power. This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate him. The assassination plan must continue as planned."
"However, Xiao Lin has been active recently, and seems to have sensed something was wrong, becoming wary of his surroundings. We need to find another opportunity. Place 'Crane's Beak Red' in the inkstone he often uses. When he reviews the hostage's letter, the poison in the ink will seep into his skin, quietly taking effect, unnoticed. Once he dies, you can spread the rumor that he surrendered to the Southern Kingdom long ago and is a Southern Kingdom spy, who committed suicide out of fear of punishment after his scheme failed. This way, we can eliminate the threat once and for all."
"After this is accomplished, you and I will work together to help the Second Prince of Hu ascend the throne. Then, all your requests will be granted. Eliminate Xiao Lin, and any child born with a similar fate will be killed without mercy. This will prevent the disaster of a hundred years ago from happening again."
The letter concluded, "It's ridiculous that the Hu Kingdom's emperor is so incompetent and ruthless. Twenty years ago, in order to protect himself, he sacrificed his wife's younger sister to the enemy. Now, to protect his kingdom, he's sending his own son as a hostage. As the saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. In his eyes, power is less important than anything else. Such a monarch's downfall is inevitable."
——This is a secret letter written by the prince to the prime minister of the Hu Kingdom.
The secret letter she had copied earlier was missing most of its contents. Although she could guess the general intent, it was far less shocking than this complete version. In just over a hundred words, every word was piercing, vividly showcasing the sinister nature of the human heart and the coldness of power.
Su Manyan's hand trembled slightly as she gripped the letter. The "man and woman as sacrifices" mentioned in the secret letter—the man was naturally Xiao Lin, the man she deeply loved, but who was the woman? She had never heard of this past, but as she read this, her heart felt as if it were being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and a convulsive pain came over her, making her almost breathless.
"Who is the woman mentioned in this letter?" Su Manyan raised his head and looked at Xiao Lin with a somewhat confused look in his eyes. His voice trembled a little. "Do I know her? If not, why do I feel so sad?"
Xiao Lin looked at her pale face, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes. He slowly said, "Regarding this matter, I once went to look for Master Faxian. Ever since I regained my memory under the Bodhi tree that day, Master Faxian left Ci'en Temple. I sent people to search everywhere, and finally found him in a remote village on the border between the two countries of Nanhu. I asked him all my doubts, including the answer you wanted to know."
He paused, his eyes falling on Su Manyan's face, as if hesitating whether to distinguish between the entanglements of his past life and this life. This hesitation also determined how he should explain the answer to Su Manyan.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Lin finally took a deep breath, opened his lips and slowly told the truth.
But every word he uttered was like a thunderclap, hitting Su Manyan's heart hard, making her pale in an instant and her body shaking uncontrollably. If Xiao Lin had not supported her in time, she would have fallen to the ground.
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