Although Lin Yan and Xie Muqing were still living in Xiaolin Village these days, they kept a close eye on the developments in the capital.
Fortunately, the gyrfalcons delivered the messages, and even though the capital was thousands of miles away in the northwest, they were able to receive the secret messages from the capital that same evening.
The Fifth Prince's attempt to seize power was also secretly fueled by these two, so they knew the contents of the imperial edict better than anyone else.
As soon as the messenger carrying the imperial decree entered the Prince's residence, Lin Yan used the excuse of seeking out the Princess Consort to discuss medical skills to meet with Xiao Jue and Shangguan Yun in the study.
When they heard that Xiao Yu had imprisoned his brothers and father, they were all shocked, especially Xiao Jue, whose eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Miss Lin, is this true? Is Father really imprisoned?!"
"It's absolutely true. Quite a few princes have already lost their lives. Your Highness's trip to the palace this time is likely to be fraught with danger. Perhaps..."
Lin Yan didn't finish her sentence, but the other two people present understood that it boiled down to one word: rebellion!
The thought flashed through Shangguan Yun's mind, and she couldn't help but feel nervous, involuntarily looking to her side.
Xiao Jue took her hands and patted them gently to comfort her, but he was already making plans in his mind.
Since returning from the capital, he had already made plans, knowing that whoever succeeds to the throne will be wary of him.
Even today.
He couldn't figure out his father's attitude towards him. It seemed like his father didn't like him, and after he came of age, his father sent him far away to live.
But precisely because of this, he was the only prince who could command 30,000 private soldiers...
Just to put his father at ease, he left no troops in the capital, only a few spies, and their movements were indeed a bit slow.
The thought that he had to rely on a young girl to inform him of such an important matter made Xiao Jue feel somewhat disheartened, but he still bowed to Lin Yan to express his gratitude.
"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Lin. I will think it over carefully."
"Your Highness is too kind. The Princess once saved my life, and it would be only right for me to repay her with my own. Now that I have delivered the message, I shall take my leave!"
Although Lin Yan visited Shangguan Yun with gifts the day after they returned home, in her heart, those gifts were not enough to express her gratitude to Shangguan Yun.
As she was leaving, Shangguan Yun held Lin Yan's hand reluctantly, her heart filled with worry that this parting might be the last time they would ever see each other.
Seeing her tearful eyes, Lin Yan naturally guessed what she was thinking, but she couldn't reveal the answer, so she could only sigh and urge her to go back inside.
"It's so hot outside, Sister Yun, you should go back now. Don't worry, we'll meet again someday!"
Will we really meet again?
Ever since Lin Yan saved her from harm and preserved her innocence, Shangguan Yun has considered her one of her own.
Even though she didn't have any contact with the imperial court, she knew that rebellion was no small matter.
Success or failure depends entirely on fate.
If she's lucky, she might succeed; if she's unlucky, she'll only face death. Since she's Xiao Jue's wife, she naturally has to stay by his side through thick and thin.
In fact, she was already prepared to die. Now, her only worry and concern was the person in front of her.
Shangguan Yun was already extremely beautiful, and now, with tears in her eyes, her pitiful appearance made Lin Yan, who was also a woman, feel sorry for her.
She instinctively stepped forward and gently hugged her, patting her back reassuringly, and comforted her:
"Really, I swear we will meet again someday!"
With Lin Yan's comforting words, Shangguan Yun finally felt much more at ease, although she knew those words were probably just meant to comfort her...
After returning from the Prince's mansion, Lin Yan also began to make preparations.
To date, over 300 jin (approximately 150 catties) of gold has been extracted from the gold mine behind Xiaolin Village.
After collecting all the gold, she temporarily covered up the mountain range and began to recall all the more than 10,000 Xie family soldiers who had been "scattered outside".
Several months ago.
The Xie family army under Xie Muqing's command had already arrived from various places and gathered on the nearby hilltop together with the army under Lin Yan's command.
Both armies now belong to Lin Yan's private army, and their daily expenses are naturally under her control.
With the silver, these people no longer needed to go out and run escort missions to earn money. In order to enter the battlefield in the best condition, they intensified their training every day.
We've been waiting for this day to come.
A few days after Prince Su launched his rebellion, Lin Yan and Xie Muqing also prepared to leave Xiaolin Village and join the main force.
Although the villagers of Xiaolin Village were illiterate and did not understand what Lin Yan was planning to do, they had long regarded her as the lucky star of Xiaolin Village.
So when they saw Lin Yan packing her things and gathering her people to leave, they all surrounded the entrance to the Lin family compound, crying and shouting that they didn't want her to leave.
Seeing the crowd of people crying at the door, Lin Yan felt both angry and amused. She cleared her throat and said loudly:
"Fellow villagers, to tell you the truth, I am not going out for leisure this time, but to do something very dangerous. As you all know, the court is in turmoil, the new emperor is tyrannical, and even a good man like Prince Su is being hunted down by the new emperor. Now Prince Su has been forced to rebel. Princess Su once saved my life, and my husband and I are going to lend Prince Su a hand. However, this matter is extremely dangerous, which is why we have not told you all clearly."
“Yan’er, why don’t you take us with you? We’ve wanted to rebel against that damned court for ages! Lately, people from the neighboring prefecture have been coming to our town to sell their children. A peck of rice can buy a person! Although we’re not in such dire straits under Prince Su’s rule, not many people can even get enough to eat every day. Unlike our village, where we have meat and rice every day! We’re not heartless people. If it weren’t for you, countless people in our village would have starved to death! We may not know martial arts, but we’re strong enough to help you!”
"Yes! There's strength in numbers! Take us with you! We're not afraid to die!"
"That's right! Yan girl, don't underestimate us just because we're women. We're strong enough to beat those bastards until they scream in pain!"
For the past six months, the people of Xiaolin Village have had more meat than they could eat every day. The villagers, who used to be skinny, are now much stronger, both men and women, and they speak with a lot of strength.
Everyone thought that after Lin Yan finished speaking, they would all go home, but to their surprise, they didn't go home. Instead, they shouted that they wanted to follow her.
This action not only shocked her, but even Xie Muqing, who was standing next to her, was taken aback.
Considering the restless Northern Rong tribes in the surrounding area, she thought that staying in the village might ensure her safety when traveling to the capital, so she agreed to their request.
"Alright! Since we're all of one mind, let's take a big gamble and let those lackeys of the imperial court open their dog eyes and see that even farmers, whom they've always looked down on, can make a name for themselves!"
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