Lin Daowei gasped upon seeing Cheng Shi's gruesome death, wondering to himself, "Who did my second sister-in-law offend?"
He turned to look at Lin Daoqing standing to the side and asked in a low voice, "Second Brother, who did Second Sister-in-law offend? How could she have suffered such a terrible fate?"
Lin Daoqing hesitated for a moment, as if he had something difficult to say.
He swallowed hard and finally said, "I'm sorry..." However, the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back down.
Seeing this, Lin Daowei became even more curious and pressed, "Who did you offend? Second brother, just tell me!"
Lin Daoqing waved his hand helplessly and said, "Brother, don't ask anymore. Just leave this matter alone."
Lin Daowei frowned, feeling that something was amiss. His second sister-in-law had been murdered, yet his second brother was concealing the truth.
He looked at Lin Daoqing and said seriously, "Second Brother, if you don't provide any clues, I'm afraid we won't be able to find the real culprit in this case."
Lin Daoqing nodded in agreement, thinking to himself, "What's the use of saying anything? If the real culprit isn't found, even more people will probably die."
For the sake of his two sons and his own life, Lin Daoqing decided to stop Lin Daowei from investigating further.
He thought for a moment and said, "I'll ask for leave in a bit to go home and take care of my mother after arranging your sister-in-law's funeral. You just continue to do your job well; your nephew will need your help in the future."
Lin Daowei looked at Lin Daoqing gratefully, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Second Brother."
He also promised, "Leave my nephew's matter to me. I will do my best to find him a good job in the future."
"Alright, third brother." Lin Daoqing reached out and patted Lin Daowei on the shoulder.
Lin Daoqing is now in dire straits. His wife has just passed away, and his mother is seriously ill and urgently needs his care.
Left with no other choice, he had to take leave, partly to handle his wife's funeral and partly to seek medical treatment for his mother.
In the morning, Lin Daoqing, with a heavy heart and a worried expression, arrived at the Princess's residence.
He clutched the leave slip tightly in his hand, preparing to hand it to the officials of the princess's residence, and after receiving approval, to forward it to the Ministry of War.
Just as he entered the princess's residence, an eunuch came out and said to him, "General Lin, Her Highness the princess has ordered that she summon you."
Upon hearing this, Lin Daoqing's heart tightened. He quickly straightened his armor, tried to calm the worry on his face, and then followed the eunuch towards the main hall.
Upon entering the main hall, Lin Daoqing immediately saw the princess seated at the head of the table. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, this subordinate greets you."
Her Highness's face was as round as a full moon, and her expression was kind and approachable. She smiled slightly and asked softly, "I've heard that General Lin's family has suffered a misfortune. May I ask what exactly happened?"
Faced with the princess's question, Lin Daoqing dared not conceal anything and answered truthfully: "Ever since my brother was demoted to guard the city gate, my wife has been dissatisfied. She said that my brother is now just a lowly soldier, and my niece is naturally not worthy to marry the eldest son of the general's mansion. She suggested that it would be more appropriate to exchange our daughter for her. I was firmly against it, but my mother insisted on the exchange even at the cost of her life. Therefore, out of filial piety, I had no choice but to discuss the matter of exchanging the daughter with the Ren family."
...
Lin Daoqing stood before the princess with trepidation and reported everything that had happened after the marriage exchange to her.
He became increasingly remorseful as he spoke, his voice growing lower and lower: "I shouldn't have let my wife steal my niece's marriage! Now, not only have the brothers broken off all ties, but my wife and daughter have also suffered misfortune, and my mother is seriously injured. Therefore, I have come to ask the princess for leave, and I hope the princess will grant me permission."
After listening to Lin Daoqing's account, the princess frowned deeply. Her face showed displeasure as she rebuked him, "As the head guard of the princess's residence, you should know my attitude. How could you make things difficult for your brother like this? This is clearly your fault!" She was referring to the fact that she had always been friendly to her nephew, Zhao Canchen.
Lin Daoqing lowered his head, his face full of guilt, and replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I know I was wrong."
Seeing that he was remorseful and his attitude was good, the princess's expression softened, and she opened her mouth to say words of forgiveness.
Just then, a palace servant hurried in and reported to the princess: "Your Highness, the Prince Consort has come to pay his respects."
Upon hearing this, the princess's gloom instantly vanished, replaced by a joyful smile. She quickly ordered, "Please invite the prince consort in."
Before he could finish speaking, the imperial son-in-law Liu Shen strode in.
He was tall and imposing, and upon seeing the princess, he bowed and said in a loud voice, "Your subject greets Your Highness."
Seeing this, the princess's smile grew even brighter. She said gently, "Please rise, my lord." Then she asked warmly, "Why have you returned to the manor so early today?"
The prince consort smiled slightly and replied, "Your Highness, today's affairs went quite smoothly, which is why I was able to return early."
Upon hearing this, the princess was delighted and quickly said, "That's wonderful, please sit down."
After paying his respects, Prince Consort Liu plopped down in a chair, his sharp eyes fixed on Lin Daoqing, his face full of anger. "Your Highness," he said, "I have reached my limit with your chief guard! He dared to so audaciously switch the marriage of my guard, Ren Chuanhu! Now look what's happened, my guard is even without a wife! As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. This Lin fellow clearly doesn't respect me at all!"
The princess and her husband had always been deeply in love, but seeing him so angry, her face darkened. She turned to Lin Daoqing and said sternly, "You really went too far in this matter! How could you just casually arrange a marriage? It's against all propriety."
Lin Daoqing then realized, as if waking from a dream, that he had committed a grave offense.
He used to look down on the guards around the prince consort, relying on his position as the princess's chief bodyguard. He thought this marriage exchange would allow him to climb the social ladder and join the general's family, but he never expected that it would offend even more people instead.
Lin Daoqing was filled with remorse; he had offended the prince consort by arranging his daughter's marriage.
He hurriedly walked up to Prince Consort Liu, bowed deeply, and said with trepidation, "Your Highness, it was all my fault. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me!"
The Imperial Son-in-Law looked at the person in front of him with arrogance, a slight smirk playing on his lips. His voice was icy cold, filled with undisguised disgust: "If apologies were enough, what would be the point of laws? I don't want to see your hateful face in the Princess's residence again. Get out of here now and never set foot in the Princess's residence again!"
His stunningly beautiful face was now distorted with extreme disgust, and his originally sculpted features were shrouded in a murderous aura.
Seeing this, the princess quickly and gently comforted him, "My lord, please don't be angry. He has already asked for leave, and I will not let him return to the princess's residence as a guard in the future."
Upon hearing the princess's words, Prince Consort Liu's expression softened slightly, but he still gave a cold "hmm" to indicate that he understood.
Standing to the side, Lin Daoqing felt a pang of bitterness. He had originally planned to take leave and return to the princess's residence in three to five years. But seeing the prince consort's appalling attitude, his hopes were instantly shattered, and he almost burst into tears.
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