Chapter 289 Same trump card, same weakness
In the blink of an eye, March arrived, and an imperial edict was issued to the world.
One reason is that Crown Prince Li Jing and his mother, Consort Shu, have been deposed.
Secondly, the deposed Crown Prince Li Jing and the deposed Consort Xu formed a clique, framed loyal officials, and, in order to secure the position of heir apparent, did not hesitate to join forces with a group of important officials to falsely accuse the former Crown Prince Li Mu of treason, and secretly exterminated the Cen family and the Crown Prince's entire family. This act had already shaken the foundation of the country and challenged imperial power; their crimes were unforgivable and they deserved to be executed.
Thirdly, it is to completely exonerate the Cen family, who were once innocent and wrongfully killed and branded as traitors, the former Crown Prince Li Mu, who died on his way to exile, and the Crown Princess, who died after giving birth to the heir during their escape.
After six years of separation, the remains of Li Mu and Cen Shi were finally reburied together in the royal cemetery.
The poor Cen family was tricked into going to the wilderness back then. Even though Song Zhen has searched for so many years and collected so many remains, he can no longer tell who is who.
He found an auspicious burial site and buried all the remains he had collected, along with the remaining half of the jade pendant bearing the character "Cen," as he considered them all as descendants of the Cen family.
Although it is already March, the wind is still chilly.
After the yellow paper burned out and wine was poured in front of the stele, Song Zhen stared at the character "Cen" carved on the stele for a long time before leaving with a faint smile, as if he had been relieved.
The boy in his heart who loved playing chess was swept away by this monstrous wave and left forever.
There is no more Cen Zhen in the world.
On the way back, Song Zhen held He Lin's hand, her usually sharp gaze softening considerably.
He never imagined he would have such an opportunity to stand openly and honestly in the sunlight.
Perhaps knowing that she would not have an afterlife, Song Zhen cherished the people who were by her side even more.
The land is beautiful and the world is at peace. This is not only the picture of the world that Song Zhen wants to build for Li Jin, but also the beautiful life she wants to create for He Lin.
Only in this way will the woman who always puts him first not need to once again wield two swords, stand in front of him, and be willing to pay the price of her life for him alone.
The midday sun shines through the new leaves in the forest, casting dappled shadows.
Fan Di, who had already joined the Six Doors, suddenly squatted on a thick tree branch, frowned, and called out to him, "Prime Minister!"
Song Zhen looked up and heard him click his tongue and say, "Prince Jing has arrived."
He paused for a moment, then looked in the direction Vandi was pointing with some surprise.
Li Jin, who used to wear a light gold dress and always had a smile on her face, always exuded an aura of disharmony with Song Zhen.
Since the New Year's Eve palace banquet, it has become Song Zhen's strongest support.
He looked at Li Jin, who was dressed in court attire and whose black clothes were embroidered with cranes, and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.
Before he could even speak, Li Jin bowed, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and unexpectedly said, "Please, Prime Minister, teach me!"
This completely baffled Song Zhen.
He quickly reached out to help her up, saying, "Even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I, Song, will certainly offer advice to Your Highness. Your Highness must not lower yourself to such a grand gesture!"
"Prime Minister, please promise me first!" Song Zhen supported him, but he did not move an inch.
He could only nod in agreement, his face showing utter confusion.
What major event could leave this man, who faces life and death with unwavering caution, helpless and begging for his advice?
Li Jin took a deep breath, frowned, and pursed his lips. After a long while, he whispered, "Please, Prime Minister, help me set up a scheme..."
He hesitated for a moment, and after what seemed like an immense amount of courage, he stammered out, "Help me marry Jin Shu."
In the valley, a gentle breeze blew, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter.
Song Zhen stared blankly at Li Jin's melancholy and haggard appearance. After a long while, she finally managed to utter a single word: "Huh?"
On the return journey in the carriage, Song Zhen practically stared wide-eyed as she listened to Li Jin's story.
From his various hints to Zhang Xin's direct approach, he even recounted exactly how the Prince of Pingyang had tricked him out of fifty taels of silver.
“This woman is heartless and refuses to eat or drink. To keep her occupied, I didn’t dare to enter the Prince’s mansion for two whole months.” Li Jin lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose repeatedly with his fingers. “She had already written her resignation, but Yunfei didn’t dare to agree. So she waited for me to return to the mansion in the Prince’s bedroom every day, forcing me to make do in the side room of the Pingyang Prince’s mansion for so long.”
He was full of complaints, like pouring out bitter water, and dumped the whole basin on Song Zhen's head.
"That's incredible!" He slapped his thigh and looked at Song Zhen. "Am I that ugly? So ugly that even seduction can leave her completely unmoved?"
"Pfft." Song Zhen raised her hand to cover her mouth, shook her head, and struggled to suppress her laughter. "Your Highness is handsome and dashing, unparalleled in the world."
Li Jin frowned, looking at his suppressed laughter, her nostrils twitching slightly, and agreed without hesitation: "I think so too."
At those words, Song Zhen almost broke into a fit of laughter, which she had been barely managing to suppress.
Then Li Jin began to complain incessantly: "I'm really impressed! I've seen at least eighty or a hundred girls, and I can at least firmly grasp seven or eight out of ten of their thoughts, if not ten out of ten."
“But only Jin Shu is unique and unconventional. She’s impervious to both soft and hard tactics. I’m not as attractive to her as money!” Li Jin said, smirking and letting out a breath. “Looks like we won’t need to sell those marriage lanterns at Xiangji Temple this year.”
The biggest and most expensive lamp, however, doesn't seem to be putting up its strongest effort.
Looking at the dark circles under Li Jin's eyes and his extremely annoyed expression, Song Zhen frowned: "There are less than two months left until mid-May."
Song Zhen raised her hand and pinched her chin, her fingertips twitching slightly: "With the newly established crown prince, all the procedures at the ancestral temple will be indispensable. All things considered, Your Highness's opportunities and time are actually not much."
The process of establishing a new crown prince was lengthy and complicated; from beginning to end, Li Jin could not leave the palace even once.
After bathing and purifying oneself, performing sacrificial rites, and then announcing the ceremony to the world, there are gifts of thanks and gifts to receive, and finally, one must pay respects at the ancestral temple.
The whole process will take at least a month.
He pondered for a while, then raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Li Jin's expectant expression, and shook his head decisively: "I can't help."
Li Jin paused, stunned.
How should I put it? It felt like being hit over the head with a bang.
It's one thing that he couldn't come up with a solution himself, but it's another that this man who plans to rule the world couldn't come up with a solution either.
Does that mean I'm really going to passively and irresistibly lose Jin Shu?
Seeing that he was stunned for a long time, Song Zhen raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed.
He glanced at Li Jin's bewildered and defeated expression, pointed to another carriage following behind them, and said meaningfully, "Your Highness, recall this. If Your Highness had said that day, 'A life for a life, if He Lin dies, Song Zhen can live,' what do you think He Lin would have done?"
Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly: "...Get rid of me, and commit suicide in front of me."
Song Zhen smiled gently, crossed her arms in agreement, and nodded, saying, "Mr. Jin agrees."
"Mr. Jin probably feels that there should be someone standing beside the prince who can help the prince rule the country."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin fell silent.
He knew exactly what Jin Shu was thinking, which is why he created a completely new identity for her.
“However, the new identity given to her by the prince can deceive the eyes of the world and silence the mouths of the officials in the court, but Ms. Jin alone cannot deceive herself.” He said, “A poor orphan girl who only knows the art of corpse speech and deals with corpses every day, she no longer has the ability to become the prince’s assistant the moment the prince successfully overturns the case.”
At this point, Song Zhen suddenly changed the subject: "But..."
"Why doesn't the prince just use the same trick as when he brought her from Dingzhou? Why not just detain her again?"
With just a few words, Li Jin immediately understood the meaning behind his words.
Then Song Zhen smiled and added calmly, "They all have the same trump cards, the same weaknesses, and the same crime of deceiving the emperor."
He crossed his arms and said with a smile, "It's the kind that involves the extermination of nine generations of one's family."
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