Chapter 51 So-called Justice
She never thought about it; she never expected it, never even dared to hope for it.
Her years of living in anonymity and enduring hardship have made her distrustful. She would rather carry the heavy burden alone than place her hopes on anyone else.
No one could help her; she had to rely on herself entirely. Six years of this had made her forget how to ask for help.
"Human nature is multifaceted, and no one can impose sanctions on anyone else."
Seeing her stunned, Li Jin softened his tone considerably: "Even if she is vicious, the moment you took the plunge, you were no different from her."
"Mingming, you can wait for me to come back, and then live freely."
He spoke calmly, yet it was like a hammer striking a bell, making her mind buzz.
The contradictory beliefs that Fan Yin had been so persistent, so stubborn, and so desperately trying to uphold were shattered by his two simple sentences.
Yes, she could have simply waited for him to come back and chosen to believe him.
Just like the Crown Princess back then, I believe that as long as Prince Jing returns, everything will be able to turn around.
Instead of being like this now, with blood on my hands and covered in wounds.
Outside the window, the wind chimes jingled, as if the heavens had ears, responding to the unbearable past six years of chanting.
“…The sky of the Great Wei is ever-changing, with rain, snow, wind, and frost.” Li Jin picked up his wine cup, his words carrying a deeper meaning. “Six years ago, it was one thing, but six years later it is something else entirely.”
"Although the laws are not perfect and are even full of errors, there are still many people like me who have been working hard to provide a better legal environment for the Great Wei over time."
Li Jin paused, about to speak again, when he saw Fan Yin chuckle, cover her face with her hand, and then say with a smile in her eyes, "So similar."
Li Jin looked up.
"Over the years, there has been someone who has repeatedly used similar words to persuade me to persevere and wait a little longer, saying that you will be coming back soon."
But at this point, Fan Yin refused to speak any further.
She smiled, tears streaming down her face, gazing at the brilliant sunlight outside the window, weeping silently.
She poured all her strength into conveying her words, which had spanned six years, to Li Jin's ears.
Finally, she repaid the kindness of the late Crown Prince Li Mu and the sisterly affection of Crown Princess Cen.
Without Li Mu, she would forever remain a slave living in the shadows, someone who could be sold back and forth for ten taels of silver, someone who could not be called a human being.
Without Cen Shi, she wouldn't have gotten such a beautiful name, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn to play the zither so well, and she wouldn't have had the joy of a life filled with plenty of food and clothes.
They are such gentle people, so why is that?
They are such wonderful beings, how could this happen?
Having said all this, the mirage-like obsession in Fan Yin's heart finally collapsed and shattered into dust.
And all the strength she had used to persevere until now, filled with the deep gratitude she felt for her debt of gratitude, drifted out of the small, elegant room along with the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner.
The daylight was just right, and suddenly birds chirped. When Zhou Zheng escorted her out, she turned her head to look at Jin Shu in front of her, nodded and smiled.
As she walked down the stairs, she saw Jin Shu come out to call for a carriage. When there was no one else around, Fan Yin turned around and looked at Li Jin on the stairs.
"Your Highness asked me if it was worth it..." She smiled. "It is worth it. The Brahma chant is not for upholding justice, but for being true to oneself."
A slight smile graced her face, subtle and beautiful, overlapping with the Sanskrit chant in Li Jin's memory, spanning six years.
“Your Highness, there is one more thing. The late Crown Princess once said that the child in her womb would be named Rong’er after birth. The boy’s name would be Rong, meaning prosperity, and the girl’s name would be Rong, meaning grace.”
After saying that, she smiled slightly, turned around, and walked into the bright sunshine.
Li Jin stood alone on the stairs, staring blankly at her retreating figure.
He remembered that Shen Wen's secret letter clearly stated: "In the deep winter of 203, in Dingzhou, Jiangnan, a family surnamed Jin had a son named Jin Rong."
Regardless of the time, the surname, or even the child's every move, all of these things stirred up doubts in Li Jin's heart.
He looked at Jin Shu as she returned from outside, staring intently at her face.
Jin Shu felt uneasy under that scrutinizing gaze.
"Jin Shu," Li Jin called out after a long silence, "Is there anything else you're hiding from me?"
Jin Shu was stunned.
She looked around in surprise for a long time. The restaurant was empty and deserted, with only Li Jin facing her.
Could it be that my true identity as a woman has been exposed?
Jin Shu's mind raced, but after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out how she had managed to expose herself while out arresting people.
Seeing her bewildered expression and the fact that she couldn't utter a word for a long time, Li Jin took two steps forward and patted her shoulder: "You'd better not be hiding anything from me."
As he finished speaking, he glanced at her pale face out of the corner of his eye and released his hand from her shoulder.
Judging from her reaction, Jin Rong's background is indeed worth digging deeper into.
Seeing Li Jin leave, Jin Shu raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Judging from his tone, if his true gender were exposed, his entire family would be executed!
Afterwards, Fan Yin was imprisoned in the women's jail of the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Lin Ruxue's maid, who was knocked unconscious by her, ultimately did not survive the night before death and became one of the wronged souls under her command.
Jin Shu frowned slightly as she looked at the case notes that had already been compiled.
"So, Fan Yin is actually exercising her own sense of justice and trying to reclaim what is rightfully hers."
Li Jin, sitting behind the rosewood table, raised an eyebrow, looked at Jin Shu in front of him, and put down the book in his hand.
“What she did was absolutely unjust.” Li Jin took a deep breath. “While venting her anger, she also took away an innocent life.”
"If Lin Ruxue deserves to die, then what about the maid who was with Lin Ruxue?" He moved the box next to him to his face. It was the brocade box that Fanyin had given him, containing the white bracelet.
Li Jin carefully opened it and looked at the bracelet: "If doing whatever you want, involving others, just to be righteous is called justice, then it would be better if there were no justice in this world."
As he spoke, a dark light shone in his eyes. After a long while, he looked at Jin Shu and said, "If one day I were to do anything for power, wouldn't that be just like the justice she speaks of?"
After saying that, he chuckled and slammed the box shut in front of him.
The moment the box was closed, a small hidden compartment at the bottom popped out.
Jin Shu and Li Jin were both taken aback.
He picked up the box in surprise, lifted the lid of the hidden compartment, and stared in astonishment at the letter lying inside, folded into small squares.
He glanced at Jin Shu, then took out the letter and carefully unfolded it.
A line of small print reads: Someone is guiding you.
Below this sentence is a picture of a small bird.
The letter printed on the envelopes that Li Jin obtained in the secret room of the Fang family in Yizhou was exactly the same as the one drawn on the half-piece of paper that Fang Qing, who died in the fire at his own home, was holding.
The words "Xu Weiyou" are written on the edge of the bird pattern.
Li Jin's face turned pale instantly.
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