Chapter 34 Kill him, and I will give you the very best…
Lin Yu, holding a book in her hand, strode into the room. Upon seeing Xiao Xun, she nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Talking is fine, but where did you hear the laughter?" He Ji muttered.
"Why do I hear someone joking that they can't even lift a teapot?"
Lin Yu smiled and gently patted his shoulder with the scroll of her book. "Did you sleep too long and your hand cramped up?"
"Well, it's a long story—more or less," He Ji said sullenly. Although this explanation shattered his image, it was at least more respectable than the real reason. He changed the subject, "By the way, where did you go so early in the morning?"
Lin Yu put down her book: "Giving a lecture, huh? Have you forgotten why we're here as guests?"
"I heard that since the young master started studying under Master Lin, he has suddenly become enlightened. I never expected him to become so diligent. It's only been a short time since the New Year, and he's already busy with his studies," Xiao Xun said jokingly.
“I was quite surprised as well,” Lin Yu said with a smile. “However, the young master said that diligence can make up for lack of talent. He witnessed it with his own eyes yesterday and was deeply inspired. So he made up his mind to work hard.”
Yesterday? Xiao Xun chuckled. Xiao Jin was probably referring to the game of pitch-pot he had played yesterday morning.
Still in Siqi Garden, the six- or seven-year-old boy missed several times in a row when he was throwing arrows into the pot. The more anxious he became, the less likely he was to throw his arrow into the pot.
Xiao Jin laughed so hard he bent over backwards, and even clapped his hands and recited a poem: "Little Ah Xun, looking for the feathered arrow, can't see it in the copper pot."
After Xiao Yu solemnly said, "You must not be disrespectful to your uncle," the poem was politely changed to "My little uncle is good at throwing arrows, and every arrow misses the pot."
Xiao Xun still suspects that Xiao Jin used up all his talent in making up nicknames for people, which is why he is now neither good at literature nor martial arts.
He glanced at the book in Lin Yu's hand; it was the first volume of the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals. He then said wistfully, "It's a pity that this clumsiness can't be made up for."
Lin Yuan disagreed: "With Ayu here, any clumsiness can be made up for."
Upon hearing the name "Ayu," Xiao Xun's eyes suddenly darkened.
"Let's go play pitch-pot." He lifted his robe and stood up. "Want to come along?"
"I won't go." He Ji shook his head. "My hand is better, but my leg won't heal in a short time. It's a serious injury, and you can't be careless on the first day." He was thinking that once Xiao Xun and Lin Yu left, he could continue to recite poetry to Lin Yuan.
Just before he fell asleep, he vaguely remembered talking about something. It seemed to be something like, "Knowing that you like it, I will repay you with a variety of jade pendants?" He read this sentence with infinite tenderness, and it was probably too gentle that it made him feel as if he were in a dream, and he actually came to it in his dream.
"Oh, Master He, please take good care of yourself." Xiao Xun glanced at him casually, then said with his hands behind his back, "I was asking about A Yuan."
"Pitch-pot? I can't do it." Lin Yuan was surprised and waved her hand in refusal.
Xiao Xun chuckled lightly: "Didn't you say that with Master Lin around, any clumsiness can be made up for?"
He Ji watched helplessly as the three of them walked out of the courtyard and headed towards Yaoyuan.
He felt parched and his blood rushed to his head. He drank two mouthfuls of water to calm himself down, but unexpectedly, his mouth was filled with the smell of ink.
The only consolation was that, as he fell asleep, he realized he was still covered with books. He could even hear his father praising him: "Ah Ji uses books as his pillow and his quilt, even in his dreams he is diligently studying poetry and books! No wonder he was raised on ink!" Thinking this, he couldn't help but straighten his back.
He did indeed dream of poetry.
The poem is concrete and vivid, leaping off the page. The duck and the goose. Adding to the poem—the bamboo slips before my eyes grow thinner and thinner, gradually transforming into skewers on roasted meat.
The slender bamboo arrow was held in Lin Yuan's hand.
She pondered for a long time but didn't throw it.
"Shall I teach you?" Xiao Xun stood behind her and stepped forward.
Just as he reached out his hand, before he could even touch the arrow, it hurriedly flew out of his hand and landed silently on the snow, three or four inches away from the bronze pot.
Lin Yuan covered her face and sighed.
"It's alright, it's already pretty good for your first shot," Xiao Xun comforted him.
Lin Yuan glared at him.
She hadn't played the game of pitch-pot since entering the palace. In retrospect, it was because of Xiao Xun that she had become so rusty at it.
"It's alright. Just practice a bit." Lin Yu handed her the second arrow. "Four arrows per person, you can practice a couple more times. By the fourth time, you should at least be able to lean against a pole."
As he spoke, he patted Lin Yuan's arm and laughed, "I taught you step by step. You just flattered me. Don't disgrace your sect."
Lin Yuan gave an awkward smile.
Lin Yu did indeed teach her personally when she was young.
She liked it very much at first, until she threw a bamboo chopstick and broke a ceramic pot in Qin's kitchen.
"Oh, these games are for men! You're a woman, you should be virtuous! Virtuous, don't you understand?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Qin Shi, who was standing with her hands on her hips and throwing a tantrum, and felt that she clearly didn't understand either.
However, the next time Lin Yu wanted to play pitch-pot with her, she said listlessly, "I don't want to play anymore, this is a game for men."
"Why is it a game for men?" Lin Yu said seriously. "Among the Six Arts of a Gentleman, archery is one. Pitch-pot is an archery game."
"The Six Arts of a Gentleman." Lin Yuan pouted. "But I am a woman, not a gentleman."
Lin Yu countered, "Why can't a woman be a gentleman?"
Lin Yuan was speechless.
“Men precede women, which is the principle of strength and gentleness. What you said is incorrect. Therefore, the statement that only men are gentlemen is also incorrect,” Lin Yu said patiently.
Lin Yuan seemed to understand, but not quite.
The village where she lives is both very large and very small.
So much so that she thought of almost everyone in every household, but couldn't find a single woman who resembled a gentleman.
Her mother was certainly not.
Although, when Mother and Father argued, Mother's voice was louder than Father's.
But the sage said, "A gentleman does not seek to be full when he eats." Behind the mother's loud voice, rosy complexion, and strong back was the fact that she would eat every last grain of rice, not even a single drop of soup, that fell on the plate or rim of the bowl.
Ajin has no father. The villagers all say that her mother is as capable as a man.
She rolled up her sleeves, sharpened her knife, and could slaughter a pig in a quarter of an hour.
But the sage said that a true gentleman is one who is not angered when others do not understand him.
When Ajin's mother slaughtered the pig, she wished the whole village would come and cheer her on. Then she happily told everyone, "This pork is so fresh! Look, it was just slaughtered, the meat is still trembling! Twenty coins a pound! That's the lowest price I can offer! It sells for twenty-two coins at the market! We're all neighbors, so I'm selling it cheap!"
By the way, the sage also said, "A gentleman takes righteousness as his essence." If Lin Yuan hadn't just heard her mother happily say the day before that she had bought pork for eighteen coins and also received a large bone, she probably would have thought, like everyone else, that the meat in the market really sold for twenty-two coins per catty.
From this perspective, when Ajin's mother spoke of "fellow villagers," she gritted her teeth and almost shed tears.
Those weren't tears; they were clearly reflections of the light from the butcher's knife.
There's also Ade's mother, whose husband is the village head. She is also warm-hearted and hospitable.
Even newcomers, after just a few words, would mistakenly believe that they had known her for many years, if not in this life, then surely in a past life.
However, a virtuous person "does not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits."
She called her friends and acquaintances to gather together to weave cloth and reel silk. What they talked about every day was the new bride of the Li family. Despite her neat appearance and respectable demeanor, she revealed her true colors at night and turned into a prostitute!
Furthermore, Ah Jin's mother, the pork she sold at the exorbitant price of twenty coins per pound wasn't pork at all; it was clearly her own meat scraps.
Young women are naturally even less likely to be gentlemen.
Ah Jin's mother had no time to take care of her, and she was always dirty. Isn't this a case of "a petty person longing for the land"?
Ah Yin cries easily. She cried when Lin Yu didn't notice she was wearing a new dress. Later, she cried again when her cousin wouldn't play with her. This is what they mean by "a child is always worried."
After Lin Yuan had considered all the women in her neighborhood, young and old, she finally couldn't help but touch the arrows carved from mulberry wood the next day and ask Lin Yu, "Brother, what exactly makes a gentleman? Can I really become a gentleman?"
She longed to be a gentleman.
It wasn't because she had been educated in poetry, books, etiquette, and music for three or four years and had developed any moral pursuits, but because the book said that a gentleman is like jade.
The villagers all say that Lin Yu is a person like jade, and she also wants to be a person like jade.
The jade shone brilliantly in the sunlight; it was so beautiful!
Lin Yu shines in the sunlight, and she wants to shine like that too, to be seen and radiant.
“Of course you can become a gentleman.” Lin Yu nodded solemnly.
Lin Yuan was overjoyed and greatly encouraged.
But then, Lin Yu lowered his voice and casually looked at the rows of houses and the distant mountains to the south: "Actually, I think most people can become gentlemen. Regardless of gender, poverty, education, or temperament."
Lin Yuan's joyful heart sank.
This seemed quite different from what she had pondered all night, and from what the sage had said.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was different.
According to my brother's logic, wouldn't most people be able to become jade?
She thought about it carefully and realized that perhaps that wasn't wrong.
There are many kinds of jade. In jade shops, jade that is pure white or lustrous and shines is jade. Jade with a dull color and that looks like it is half impurities is also called jade. Some pieces that are clearly just rocks are also called jade by the shopkeepers, who will say with their eyes closed that they are also good jade inside.
"A gentleman is one who values loyalty and trusts others without suspicion," Lin Yu said slowly.
"What does it mean to be loyal and trustworthy?" Lin Yuan pressed, unconsciously clenching her clothes.
When buying cabbage at the market, I casually picked a small handful of green chives. And while Lin Yu was asleep on the table, I drew a kite on his face with a pen. It should be harmless and not violate the principles of a gentleman, right?
She and the old woman who sold vegetables were merely nodding acquaintances, with no real affection between them.
Qin praised her for her competence, and the fact that the dishes were completely emptied that day proved that the chives she brought were far more delicious than those she bought.
Lin Yu, on the other hand, laughed in exasperation. He looked at the bronze mirror and sighed regretfully. What he was supposed to paint wasn't just a silly goose, but a "kite," so he decided to leave it unwashed.
When Lin Yuan finally understood, Lin Yu not only mocked her masterpiece, mistaking a lively, singing bird for a silly goose, but also concluded that she would never be able to paint a real kite, which made Lin Yuan very angry.
She practiced diligently for many days, and the next time Lin Yu fell asleep, she secretly sneaked into his room and painted the masterpiece of her life.
The next morning, Lin Yu got up sleepily, tied her hair, and brushed aside her bangs to reveal the real kite.
—A single ink character, "鸢" (yuān), measuring only one inch in size.
A side glance revealed Lin Yuan, her face and hands smeared with ink, looking like a clown, leaning contentedly against the door, happily admiring her masterpiece.
Lin Yu, who was almost fifteen years old, was already nearly eight feet tall, half a head taller than his father. The painting on his forehead was the tallest peak that Lin Yuan could reach on flat ground.
Lin Yu, who is usually eloquent, was speechless for the first time.
The character remained on his forehead for a day and a night until it was washed away by a sudden "mountain rain" when he went to Master Cheng the next morning.
Lin Yuan was already satisfied, after all, Lin Yu had originally said "no washing".
However, "There's a lot of fog and rain on the mountain, and you never know when it will drench you. There's no way to avoid it, cough cough cough." Lin Yu said weakly, drinking the ginger soup that Qin had cooked, while holding her forehead.
The rain came so strangely that anyone who didn't know better would think he was studying on some magical mountain. Lin Yuan thought to herself for a long time.
However, given the current state of affairs, we should consider other options.
If the argument continued, Madam Qin would say, "I noticed the weather was bad a while ago, and I told you yesterday to prepare an umbrella for your brother. Where have you been wandering around again?!"
That's true; she did indeed wander around outside all day.
He would tell everyone he met, "Look, look! My brother has his name written on his forehead. He's mine!"
“He was born my elder brother; this mark is probably something I was born with.”
"Look, this character, with its powerful strokes and majestic style, perfectly matches Lin Yu's features."
Lin Yu obediently agreed, smiling and nodding.
Except at times, his gaze and that smile really made it seem like he was watching a fool perform a grand opera.
But Lin Yuan didn't concern herself with such trivial matters.
She felt incredibly relieved, as if she had gotten revenge—but what was the cause of that revenge again?
Never mind, I can't remember, and it doesn't matter.
Even siblings, being blood relatives, are bound to have some degree of enmity or resentment.
As the saying goes, even if brothers quarrel within the walls, they will still unite to defend against external threats.
A female brother is also a brother.
Sure enough, she saw the pained looks in Ah Jin and Ah Yin's eyes, as if they hated Lin Yuan for destroying a golden statue, and she felt even more pleased.
—This can't be considered a lack of loyalty, nor can it be considered suspicion, right?
"Being loyal and trusting is..."
That day, before Lin Yu could finish speaking, Lin Yuan's arrow was about to leave her hand.
He quickly stepped forward, stood behind her, steadied her arm, and gently deflected the arrow in her hand higher. He then instructed, "Keep your eyes focused forward, and your heart set on one goal. Have unwavering faith—"
"—Unwavering commitment."
The last word collided with the clang of an arrow falling into a jar.
Years later, Lin Yuan sat alone in the west side hall of Xuan Shi. When she recalled that brief conversation about the gentleman, she felt as if the meaning of "gentleman" was "to look ahead, to have one heart, to believe without doubt, and to be steadfast in one's will."
She couldn't remember if Lin Yu had explained to her again what "valuing loyalty" and "not doubting each other" meant.
That day, the arrow in her hand fell steadily into the bronze pot for the first time. She cheered and was overjoyed, and tried it several times on her own.
On three or five occasions, she succeeded and won Lin Yu's applause.
She felt she no longer needed to know what a gentleman was.
Pitch-pot is a ritual of archery. Of the six arts of a gentleman, rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics, she also learned the last one, archery.
Although he only scratched the surface of most of it, having read only about ten volumes, and his handwriting was barely acceptable, Lin Yu commented that it was "light and airy, lacking substance."
If she were to ride a donkey, she could use a whip to tame it; but if she were to ride a horse, Lin Yu would need to hold her around.
Lin Yu never said anything about this, but sometimes when he got on the horse, he would deliberately jostle her.
She screamed and gripped his arm even tighter, while he laughed even harder. Until one time, as he was laughing, he suddenly felt a chill on his chest—Lin Yuan had torn his sleeve and ripped open his shirt.
As for playing the piano—his father covered his ears through the wall and cursed, "Who the hell is sawing wood at night?"
The mother yawned sleepily and said, "You must be Ah Jin's mother. She's a widow with so much work to do. She slaughters pigs and sells meat during the day, and then she has to chop firewood at night. Poor thing! Poor thing!"
But she was confident that she was a gentleman.
Moreover, he is what the sages call a gentleman.
As for the meaning of the words Lin Yu used, she vaguely remembered asking Lin Yu again later, but Lin Yu just smiled and said, "You'll find out later."
She thought Lin Yu would tell her later.
However, before Lin Yu could tell her, she seemed to have figured it out herself.
"Eunuch Wang, why is the medicine that has been delivered these past two days different from the first few doses I took?"
In the west side hall of the Xuan Room, Lin Yuan, while drinking the medicine for a cold that Wang Fu had brought over, casually asked a question.
“The Imperial Physician must have improved the prescription,” Wang Fu said with a warm smile. “The new medicine must be more effective.”
“I think the original prescription was quite effective. The day before yesterday, I only took it once and the fever subsided.” Lin Yuan’s face was still pale. She covered her lower abdomen and said to him apologetically, “The current medicine feels a bit…cool when I drink it.”
Wang Fu sighed: "The Imperial Physician's medical skills are beyond doubt, and he enjoys His Majesty's deep trust. A-Yuan, you must take your medicine properly. Even the coldest medicine has its reasons; in short, it is a life-saving medicine."
"Help?" Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback, then revealed a mischievous smile. "Eunuch Wang, what I meant was that this medicine has been sitting out for too long and has cooled down. It's not warm anymore."
"Huh?" Wang Fu was taken aback. "Oh, yes. Yes. This old servant was confused. It was hot, so I left it out a little longer before bringing it in."
The forced smile made her wrinkles twitch together.
Lin Yuan understood half of it.
Why was she moved to Xuan Shi Palace during her illness? Why did the imperial physician Hua Ren, whom she saw the next day, look ten years older? Why did Xiao Xun have Wang Fu, the Imperial Attendant, personally take care of her?
She stirred the cold medicine with a lacquered dagger and said slowly, "Eunuch Wang, I'm really causing you trouble by staying here."
Wang Fu shook his head: "What's the trouble?"
“Wang, the eunuch, has to take care of His Majesty. When His Majesty is not in the Xuan Room, he also has to look after me.”
"What's the big deal? The west wing hall and the main hall are separated by only a passageway. His Majesty has gone to court, and this old servant has nothing to do, so it's just a few steps to walk over. Seeing that you are doing well makes this old servant happy."
Lin Yuan didn't reply, but instead gazed at the shadowy figures outside the window:
"Then, what about those extra Imperial Guards outside the palace? Are they also just a few steps away?"
After Wang Fu left, Lin Yuan sat in the darkness of night, listening to the sound of the evening breeze rustling through the trees.
Lin Yu told her the beginning of the story again and again, day after day, until she finally heard the ending.
His tone remained flat and even, but Lin Yuan's voice trembled.
She asked repeatedly, "If Emperor Hui hadn't gotten up so early, wouldn't he have been able to protect King Zhao? Wouldn't the Empress Dowager have been able to harm King Zhao? Would King Zhao have been able to survive?" Lin Yu replied calmly, "Even without that early morning hunt, there would have been other times, such as the morning court session, banquets, political discussions, or sacrifices to Heaven."
"Then, can King Zhao refuse the wine sent by the Empress Dowager?" Lin Yuan bit her lip and asked unwillingly, "He is the king, he can kick out all the people who sent the wine."
"Someone else will bring the wine. Maybe it won't be wine anymore, maybe it will be tea, maybe it will be water, maybe it will be porridge, maybe it will be soup."
Lin Yuan said urgently, "He can pour out the wine, and smash all the cups and bowls."
"If you spill it, there will be a second cup; if you break it, there will be a second bowl."
"He gritted his teeth and resolutely refused to eat or drink."
"Someone will pry open his teeth and force-feed him the contents."
"He, he can take that person down."
Lin Yu looked at her strangely: "Then the next person who comes won't be able to be defeated."
"Is there really no other way?" Lin Yuan's voice trembled with tears.
“It’s a dead end.” When Lin Yu said these words, his voice was filled with sorrow. “If the ruler wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die.”
“But King Zhao, he is the emperor’s brother, the son of the previous emperor. He is a king.”
“As long as he is not the emperor, he is a subject. Even the crown prince or the grandson of the emperor are subjects before the emperor and the empress dowager.”
Lin Yu sighed, "I've thought about it many times, over and over again, and there's only one way to break this deadlock."
"What road?" Lin Yuan grabbed Lin Yu's collar and looked up to ask.
What he saw was Lin Yu's dark pupils: "Rebel."
...
On a summer night in Xuan Shi Hall, Lin Yuan couldn't help but feel a chill similar to that night.
Looking ahead.
The night was dark, and she couldn't see clearly.
Ahead lies the worry about Xiao Xun's hunting today, the morning court tomorrow, and the banquet the day after.
Worried about the medicine delivered today, the tea delivered tomorrow, and the wine delivered the day after?
Then, like the King of Zhao, will he face a certain death?
She already knew that the cold dream was not a dream at all.
Wang Fu told her that His Majesty used his own body to cool her down, just like when her brother told her a story. He mentioned it briefly, without any ups or downs.
Xiao Xun forbade the eunuch Wang from telling her these things—he knew his actions were somewhat foolish. The moment Wang Fu was moved and speechless with heartache, he was once again convinced that what he was doing was indeed foolish.
As a ruler, he naturally did not want to be criticized, so that night he made Wang Fu shut his mouth, closed the door, and quickly left.
If a dream is not a dream, then what she heard in her half-awake state was not a figment of her imagination.
She heard someone say, "Qu Yan, Qu Yang, I will definitely kill them."
She knew his voice all too well.
When she was hovering at the gates of hell, unable to see the way forward, it was his voice that showed her where she should go and where the future lay.
Our hearts are set on one goal.
Lin Yu told her that King Zhao had rebelled.
"If the King of Zhao rebels, will he be spared? Won't that result in even more deaths?"
"He will most likely still die. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions will die."
"So this is not a way out at all."
"It's not a way out, it's a dead end."
After so many years, Lin Yuan wondered if there was a second way.
She really wanted to ask Lin Yu, what if the emperor and the King of Zhao rebelled together?
The King of Zhao wanted his life, and the Emperor wanted his power. Even the Emperor, wanting to protect one of his brothers, was subject to the Empress Dowager's influence. Why didn't he rebel against her?
She closed her eyes, as if she could see Lin Yu shaking his head helplessly at her naive questions, and then explaining one by one: "The emperor is a puppet, without real power." "The empress dowager rules the court and controls the country." "The emperor has no military tally and cannot mobilize troops." "The emperor's foundation is too shallow, and his nature is too weak."
Xiao Xun was not Emperor Hui.
He tore the scroll to shreds and altered the ending.
What remains are paths forward, except for dead ends.
It is a way out, a way to survive.
Yes.
Believe without doubt.
Lin Yuan sat in the west side hall of Xuan Shi until the sun rose over the long night.
Wang Fu brought in the medicine for the day. She drank it all in one gulp.
“Eunuch Wang, after this matter, regardless of the outcome, His Majesty will definitely be angry with you. What should we do? At best, it will be seen as a failure to fulfill your duties; at worst, it will be seen as an attempt to curry favor with the Qu family.”
Wang Fu straightened his back, which had been hunched over all his life, and laughed, "I have been a slave all my life, and I have been lowly all my life. If I can use this life to bring down the Grand Marshal's wife and the entire Grand Marshal's family, then I will not be considered lowly or despicable. Even on the road to the Yellow Springs, the Grand Marshal's family will still clear the way for me."
"But……"
“This old servant has watched His Majesty grow up since childhood. His Majesty treats me differently; there is some affection between us. Even if he is angry with me, he probably won't take my life. Ah Yuan, you should be worried about yourself.” He frowned and sighed, “Grand Marshal's wife, Qu Yan, is a ruthless and heartless person. The medicine you have taken now, although it has an antidote effect, no one has tested how much poison it can counteract. What would happen if the amount of poison was exceeded…”
He couldn't bear to continue.
Lin Yuan slammed her hand on the table and said boldly, "Then I'll drink more of this cooling medicine these next two days. These are all medicinal herbs worth a thousand gold pieces, so drinking a few more bowls won't be a loss. Besides, if Eunuch Wang isn't afraid, then I shouldn't be afraid either. If I really do lose my life this time, the Grand Historian will probably still write my name down."
She chuckled, "Don't laugh at me, but when I was selected to enter the palace, I hoped that one day my name would be written in a book. Although, I never expected it to be in this way."
“Ah Yuan…”
“But what difference does it make how it’s written?” Before Wang Fu could speak, Lin Yuan propped her head up, tilted her head, and sighed at the tattered and incomplete Sima Qian’s book. “I only hope that if the historian is going to write it, he will write my full name, not just ‘Lin’. There are too many people with the name Lin in the world, and there are quite a few in our village. What if the King of the Underworld makes a mistake and records this Lin as me in the Book of Life and Death? Wouldn’t I have died in vain?”
She pouted and pondered for a while, "No, no, according to the history books I've read, the historians would probably only write, 'Lady Qu poisoned the palace maid Lin,' or even just 'Lady Qu poisoned the palace maid,' without even mentioning the name 'Lin.'"
She slammed her hand on the table in frustration.
"..." Wang Fu covered his face with his hand and turned his head away.
"Therefore, Eunuch Wang, I will not die easily until I have the ability to tell the historian that my full name must be written."
Lin Yuan looked at Wang Fu intently, her eyes shining brightly in the morning sun. "Don't worry, I'll just put on a show with the person who delivered the medicine, making them think I drank it."
She waved her hand and said with a sigh, “It’s not difficult at all. I hate coriander. Once, His Majesty put a lot of coriander on my plate. I only ate a little bit and hid the rest in my sleeve. His Majesty stared at me as I ate, but he didn’t notice that I ate those two bites of coriander over and over again for a full quarter of an hour.”
Lin Yuan smiled at this point, then feigned surprise and chuckled, "Oops, I let it slip! Don't you dare accuse me of deceiving the emperor in front of His Majesty, or else, once this matter is over, believe me, I won't plead for you before His Majesty?"
"Then we'll have to wait for you to plead for this old servant," Wang Fu said, putting on airs. "If you don't do it, this old servant might accidentally let slip that I've deceived the emperor. Ah, who knows, this old servant might even accidentally suggest to His Majesty that you replace all your food rations with coriander!"
A single tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled.
"Your Majesty is usually so mischievous, which must be due to the influence of those around you. I used to find it unbelievable, but now I believe it without a doubt."
As Lin Yuan spoke, she also laughed until tears streamed down her face.
"Oh, you flatter me by saying that. I am merely a servant by His Majesty's side. As for what His Majesty eats and uses, it is none of my business. But as for other matters, His Majesty has always been more resolute and determined than ordinary people. How could I possibly influence him?"
Wang Fu tucked his hands behind his back and asked, "Doesn't A-Yuan believe His Majesty?"
Lin Yuan smiled and nodded: "I believe you, of course I believe you."
She believed it.
In that chilly dream, the second sentence she vaguely heard was, "Once I kill the Qu family, I can give you the best of everything."
Unwavering commitment.
Inside the Prince of Huaiyang's residence, Lin Yuan's second arrow struck the bronze kettle with a clanging sound.
It sounded just like the sound of the medicine bowl hitting the ground that day.
The dark, black medicine was spilled on the food table and on the seats—this was physical evidence.
The third arrow struck the mouth of the pot, but bounced back onto the snow with a soft groan.
At that time, Qu Yan's men had her hands tied behind her back, forced her head down, and forced her to drink medicine, her teeth clenched tightly. Just like before, when Xiao Xun fed her bitter medicine, the medicine flowed from between her teeth, down her lips, and down her neck.
She pulled a small black iron knife from her sleeve, cut the handkerchief binding her hands, and stabbed the maid who was feeding her medicine. The maid cried out in pain, and the medicine bowl trembled, spilling the medicine all over herself—this was the witness.
With the fourth arrow, she heard the sound of the arrow piercing the air and the approaching footsteps, then closed her eyes.
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Author's Note: Lin Yuan: A woman can also be a gentleman.
The awakening of simple egalitarian ideals – let's give a shout-out to Mei Bao!
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