Chapter 290 The Grand Finale (Part 1)
Time is like a wave.
In the turbulent world, Jin Shu, who witnessed a new round of power shifts, stood under the eaves of the coroner's office, smiling gently.
She looked across at the several apprentices she had personally trained, who now possessed the skill to wield their own weapons.
After a long, harsh winter, the heavens of the Great Wei Dynasty welcomed the spring sun, a symbol of life emerging from the brink of death.
Glancing at their serious profiles, Jin Shu suddenly recalled a year ago.
Perhaps at that time, as she was focused and gripping the sharp knife tightly in her hand, Yan Zhao was also silently guarding outside, watching her, personally feeling the "promising future".
Just as she had predicted, Li Jin ascended to the position of crown prince with unstoppable momentum.
He will eventually become the king of this world.
During Jin Shu's long wait, the plaque of Prince Jing's Mansion was replaced with the name of Li Rong's Heir Apparent's Mansion.
She glanced at her resignation letter, sat on the stone steps in front of her bedchamber, watched the stars shift, the leaves fall and the flowers bloom, watched time pass by, and finally stepped into May.
"Sister, I'm begging you." Li Rong frowned as she looked at her. The seven-year-old boy looked helpless and kept complaining, "Don't you know what kind of person your brother is?"
He piled all the books he had brought back from the Imperial Academy in front of Jin Shu with a bang.
"Look at this, is this something a child should be learning?" He stood up, picked up a book at random, and showed it to Jin Shu, "The 'Vertical Alliance' and the 'Horizontal Alliance'!"
"Sister, I'm only seven years old!" Li Rong cried, looking like she had been wronged. "What heinous thing did I do to deserve so much suffering at such a young age!"
Inside the Crown Prince's residence, Jin Shu looked at Li Rong with surprise and asked, pursing her lips, "Weren't you doing well before? Always at the top of your class, how come you've become the last one these past two times?"
Upon hearing this, Li Rong looked at her with teary eyes, put her hands on her chest, buried her head in her arms, and cried.
Song Wenbo, the adopted son of Song Zhen, who was the same age as Li Rong and was a companion to the heir apparent, scratched the back of his head, sighed, and bowed respectfully: "Reporting to the Chief Coroner, originally we only considered him as 'Jin Rong' for the assessment..."
He paused for a moment: "But now, the assessment is based on the criteria for 'Crown Prince'."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Rong cried even louder.
That day, Jin Shu comforted him for a long time. Until that night, when he was lying in bed, he brought up the old story again: "Sister, I know you want to leave. Please take me with you."
Troubled by his studies and confused about his past, Li Rong has approached Jin Shu more than once in the past two months, hoping that she would take him away with her.
"Shall we go back to Dingzhou?" The boy's eyes were full of longing. Seeing that Jin Shu did not speak, he turned over and said in a deep voice, "Never mind."
In May, the night breeze already carried a hint of warmth.
She gently closed the door to her bedchamber and stood alone at the entrance, lost in thought.
Even if the child in the house is of royal blood, even if he is the crown prince of the current dynasty, she personally delivered him in the snowy night and raised him little by little.
Seeing him in such pain, it would be a lie to say that Jin Shu didn't feel sorry for him.
Can……
She gently traced the carved wooden door with her fingertips, and after a long while, she quietly turned and left.
She could travel the world alone, changing her name and identity so she could be free of all ties, but what if she had a child with her...?
She cannot take him with her.
But no one expected that Li Rong would fall ill with heart disease the very next day.
He neither ate nor drank, locked himself in his bedchamber, and wouldn't let anyone near him.
The fruit and food brought in would eventually be thrown into the yard. Jin Shu picked them up one by one, but she could always faintly hear Li Rong crying.
The child who was always happy and smiling at her suddenly disappeared.
The imperial physician examined Jin Shu again and again, pulling her close and rambling on about her condition, but he always hesitated to speak, sighed, and shook his head.
"A mental illness requires a mental cure; the chief coroner should think of another way."
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, I saw him lying there, exhausted, having not eaten or drunk anything for three days, staring blankly at the bed curtains.
Jin Shu finally grasped his hand and wiped away the tears from her eyes: "I'll take you away." She forced a smile, "Let's go together, travel around, and live like ordinary people."
Upon hearing this, Li Rongcai slowly turned his face to the side, revealing a weak smile.
After that, his health gradually improved. He went to class at the Imperial Academy during the day as usual, and at night he and Jin Shu planned their departure route.
“Let’s head west and see the lone smoke rising straight from the desert and the setting sun over the long river!” Li Rong laughed and placed the pastries beside Jin Shu. “I went to the palace today and brought back some pastries from the imperial kitchen for my sister.”
Upon hearing that he had entered the palace, Jin Shu raised an eyebrow: "Did you see the Crown Prince?"
Li Rong curled his lip in disdain: "He's so busy he's flying around. I waited outside the Imperial Study for an hour, and all I saw was Lord Song."
He pouted, pulled an invitation from his pocket, and pushed it in front of Jin Shu: "Lord Song is getting married, but he is too busy with state affairs to deliver the invitation in person, so he asked me to give it to my sister."
The bright red invitation shone brightly in the candlelight.
"Finally!" Jin Shu smiled, opened the wedding invitation, and paused for a moment when she saw the date on it.
The 19th.
Jin Shu's birthday also happens to be the 19th.
“The Prime Minister is very capable. Half of the court officials in the capital will definitely go.” Li Rong sighed, glanced at Jin Shu, and suddenly asked, “Sister, what is it about His Highness the Crown Prince that you don’t like? I’ve been searching in the palace for so long, and I really haven’t found anyone more outstanding than the current Crown Prince.”
He clicked his tongue: "A golden bachelor!"
Jin Shu paused, then gave an awkward laugh: "No wonder your studies are in such a mess, you're always thinking about all sorts of nonsense."
She glanced at the invitation in her hand, her smile fading, and said solemnly, "Didn't you ask me before when would be the most appropriate time to leave?"
She waved the invitation in her hand: "We'll leave at noon on the 19th of this month."
When Song Zhen got married, not only would officials from both the court and the public come to offer their congratulations, but Li Jin, who had become the crown prince, would also personally attend the wedding no matter what.
She chose to leave the capital around an auspicious time. Even if Li Jin had three heads and six arms, by the time he chased after her, she would already be far away.
This is a golden opportunity!
To everyone's surprise, Li Rong frowned, and after a long while, asked again, "Sister, do you really not want to be the Crown Princess?"
Jin Shu looked at him with a smile: "If I become the Crown Princess, you will have to continue being the Prince and carry all those things that make you cry."
"Ah..." Li Rong was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no! I'll never go again!"
Seeing his reaction, Jin Shu picked up the small bag of pastries, got up and walked towards the side room: "In that case, get some rest and take care of your health so you won't be too tired on the way."
Only after Jin Shu disappeared from Li Rong's sight did he click his tongue, raise his hand to support his chin, and sigh with emotion.
My older sister is no match for Li Jin!
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