Chapter 345 Extra 5: Queen Lin
My name is Lin Wanbai.
She is the legitimate daughter of the Shengjing Lin family.
Although the Lin family is not the most prestigious family, it is also a famous family. I was chosen by the emperor to be the crown princess since I was a child.
My family is training me to be the future queen, and I abide by these rules, not daring to slack off in the slightest. I am always cautious and polite in my dealings with people and things, and I cannot be a delicate and weak person.
My father also values me more than my eldest brother and third brother.
Every day after court, he would personally check my homework, teach me how to play chess and make strategic plans, and even tell me about political affairs that women were not allowed to hear. He also asked me to learn and apply them, saying that I was no worse than any man.
I really like it, I like it a thousand times more than playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, managing the rear house, and checking the accounts.
But because I am a woman, I cannot show these in front of others, which makes me very depressed.
If only I were a man, I wouldn't have to hide myself, I could travel, speak passionately at poetry gatherings, and command power in official circles.
Until, when he was ten years old, he met the prince for the first time while hunting.
He was full of youthful vigor and heroic spirit, and even his goose-yellow robe with four-clawed golden dragon could not outshine the brilliant light in his eyes.
He looked at me too.
He dismounted and said to me with a smile, "I've long heard that my Crown Princess is unparalleled in beauty and wisdom, the most distinguished of the noble ladies. Now that I've seen her, I can see that the rumors are not to be believed."
My face suddenly froze.
The prince dislikes himself and feels that he does not live up to the title?
I was in a state of confusion. It was my first time meeting him and I didn't know how to explain it. But then he shamelessly approached me and said, "Those rumors can't compare to you in the slightest. You are the moon in the sky, holy and unattainable."
I never thought that the prince, who is praised by everyone for his wisdom, could be so reckless and would say such disrespectful words to me.
But before I could get angry, he asked without thinking, "Crown Princess, do you dare to ride a horse?"
I don't understand why he is so careless, but I don't want to be looked down upon by him. Not to mention that we are not married now, even the relationship between husband and wife is a game, and the loser is destined to be passive.
"dare."
He smiled, revealing his fangs, like a tiger cub, brilliant and bright, completely different from the prince he had imagined from the portrait.
He climbed onto the horse, held out his hand to me and said, "Get on!"
Riding on the same horse?
I paused for a moment, then reached out, grabbed his hand, and followed his force to jump onto the horse.
He leaned close to my ear and smiled, "I knew my Crown Princess wasn't one of those cowardly people."
"The prince knows my daughter well?"
"You are the Crown Princess I personally chose, so naturally I have to understand you."
personally?
I always thought that it was the emperor who chose me.
But on second thought, if the Crown Prince didn't insist on having me, there would actually be many people to choose from as the Crown Princess.
I don’t know whether he values the Lin family or myself, it doesn’t matter, they are just using each other.
After hunting, the prince and I often interacted with each other, and it seemed that he really liked me.
But for people like us, engagement is destined to be complicated. I don't hide my affection for him, but I also remain calm.
Not long after I came of age, I married the prince and became the crown princess in name only.
The prince was still very kind to me, even doting on me. He did not restrict me, discussed state affairs with me, and even listened to my opinions. He did not look down on me just because I was a woman.
We get along very well and our relationship is getting better and better. Even if we occasionally quarrel over political views, he will immediately come to comfort me without any airs of a prince.
That's fine too.
But we never had children.
It’s not anyone’s fault, but I’ve been secretly taking contraceptive pills all the time.
My father said that the situation was unstable and the prince might not be able to ascend to a high position. If he had a child, he would be too deeply involved and he had to leave a way out.
I agree too.
Love is love, and politics is politics.
I am the eldest daughter of the Lin family, so I am the bridge of marriage. All the strategic planning I learned over the years was for the Lin family. I also know that since I was designated as the Crown Princess, the Lin family has been playing a big game.
But I am also the Crown Princess, tied to the Crown Prince, so naturally I have to help him.
I instigated my mother to ask the emperor to send the now-popular Zhao Yinqin to the Fahua Temple before her death so that the crown prince and the youngest son would not kill each other.
Fortunately, Zhao Yinqin was still too young, and the emperor was worried about having a son in his old age, so he finally agreed, and the position of crown prince was secured.
Everything was going smoothly. I thought I could stop taking the contraceptive pills, take care of myself, and have a child with the prince.
But when I recovered, my father came.
Only then did he reveal the second half of his decades-long plan.
What he wanted was not only for the Lin family to become the number one family in Da Zhao, but also... for the Da Zhao dynasty to be ruled by the Lin family.
I understand my father, and I know that when he wants to rule the country, he wants the Lin family to be his ancestor. He doesn't just want the person who ascends the throne to have half Lin family blood, he wants all of it.
This is totally against human ethics and I don't agree, but everything I learned since childhood forces me to compromise for the Lin family.
I also know that my father has valued me for many years and has been playing one chess piece after another. Even he himself is a chess piece.
The Lin family, everyone is like that.
I am the prince of love, but love is illusory, while family is inseparable.
I compromised, but I felt disgusted inside, so I would block out all the light when my brother came.
Soon, I became pregnant.
The prince was very happy and even put aside a lot of state affairs. He accompanied me for walks, meals, and garden tours. He would do anything I wanted.
I felt more and more guilty, but I couldn't show it, which made me depressed. I even hoped that the prince would find out that the child was not his after it was born.
However, the opposite happened.
The child didn't look like his older brother when he was born, but like me.
My eyebrows and eyes are actually somewhat similar to the prince's, and this child was also blessed, so he got away with it.
The father even suspected that the child might be the prince's.
He was worried, so he asked his third brother to visit him often.
I hate him. He is not as polite and shameless as my elder brother. His eyes always wander over me restlessly and refuse to leave even after he is done.
After I became pregnant, I killed him and gouged out his eyes.
But that child is not like me, but like him, especially his eyes, which are exactly the same. Looking at him, I recall that humiliating and disgusting moment.
So, I threw him out of the capital. My father wanted to refute me, but I am no longer the Crown Princess, but the current Queen. He had no choice but to obey, saying that this bastard did not look like the Emperor and would easily arouse suspicion.
Afterwards, I forced myself to forget these unbearable things, and told myself over and over again that the eldest brother was the son of the emperor and me, and his eyebrows and eyes were like the emperor's.
But his character shattered my fantasy.
He was bloodthirsty, cruel, and slaughtered palace maids, as if he was carrying the blood of his damned third brother.
But if I abandon him, I can only use the second one, which is even more unacceptable to me. So I suppress the eldest brother. Even if it is just pretense, I want him to pretend to be gentle and elegant and accumulate a good reputation.
After that, everything went smoothly.
The emperor still favored me alone. I took advantage of the emperor's favor and forced the daughter of Old Master Wang to commit suicide. Old Master Wang had a big quarrel with the emperor and retired to his hometown.
I also secretly drugged other concubines in the palace, and none of them could get pregnant. However, because I had no children despite being favored, they all suspected that it was the emperor.
The eldest son was outstanding, and the emperor did not care how many children he had. He was devoted to training the eldest son and said that only he and his children should inherit the throne.
He was a wise ruler and a decisive person, but he was so good to himself that he neglected too much.
His kindness to me is like a stone weighing on my heart, making it impossible for me to face him most of the time.
If he wasn't so nice to me, I would be much better.
So, I even looked forward to his death.
After the eldest daughter came of age, I started to give medicine to the emperor. He trusted me and had no doubts.
After taking it for two years, his health began to deteriorate.
In the fourth year, it began to collapse.
Because the dosage of the medicine is not large each time, taking it for a long time will break down the body bit by bit. No matter how skilled the doctor is, he cannot find the source of the medicine and can only think that it is caused by overwork.
Just wait for the emperor to die, and this chess game that has lasted for decades will be settled. And I will finally be able to untie the shackles in my heart and become the new person in power.
But I don’t know what happened to the emperor. He suddenly said that he dreamed of the late emperor crying and saying that he was sorry for Yunji who was about to become a monk, and that he owed him something. He wanted him to get married and have children, and not become a monk.
It even became an obsession, causing people to seduce Yun Ji.
If it fails once, try again and again.
I realized that something was wrong, but I couldn't stop the emperor. I was also afraid that it was a test from the emperor, so I could only wait and see.
Yun Ji was devoted to Buddhism, but he did not make any breakthroughs in a year. Instead, the emperor's health became worse.
But at this time, there were rumors that when Yun Ji was traveling and preaching, he stayed in the same room with a female military slave and spent a night there.
The rumor was not credible and did not even last long, but the emperor issued an order to restore the military slave's status and summon him back to serve Yun Ji.
I then realized that the emperor knew about it and wanted to bring his younger brother back to inherit the throne.
Even if it's not what I wanted after decades of planning, I have put in so much effort. Now that power is within reach, how can I fail?
But this military slave was really smart, beautiful and capable. She got close to Yun Ji the first time, and after a few times, Yun Ji treated her differently.
I have watched Yun Ji grow up since he was a child, and I have some understanding of him. What makes him different from others is that he has his own thoughts.
I tried to stop them secretly, but it seemed as if the heavens were on their side, and the crisis actually made them successful.
Yun Ji broke his vow and returned to the secular world.
Unfortunately, the eldest brother couldn't control himself and died, so the only option was to recall the second brother.
But when I see him, I feel annoyed, but I have to use him, like swallowing a fly every day.
In the end, he was also a fool, and his father became confused as well.
When I wrote the imperial edict with my own hands, I actually felt a little relieved and happy. I even hoped that they would lose.
And that is indeed the case.
After decades, it’s all in vain.
It’s good to be liberated.
But the emperor did not execute me, nor did he expose my disgusting deeds. He retained my position as queen and even gave me Fengming Garden to live in.
He still loves me.
Yes, how could he, such a smart man, see things so late? It’s only because of me that he deceives himself.
If she had chosen him, just as he had firmly chosen her, perhaps...
In this short life, there is no such thing as maybe.
(End of the book)
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