Chapter 37 His Majesty needs women to relieve his pain
Xiao Cheng quickly bent down and pulled the kneeling singer up: "Change the instrument, hurry up, keep playing and singing!"
Xiao Xun's feet trembled, and he heard the singer sing loudly, the music deafening, singing a deer's cry with the momentum of a wartime battle song.
No, I have guests, playing music and reed pipes.
Clearly, it is an enemy army; they are beating drums and sounding gongs.
The expressions of everyone standing in the hall were unnatural.
He nodded almost imperceptibly to the crowd, and smiled, "What are you all talking about so enthusiastically? Why did you stop talking as soon as I arrived? Let's continue."
Xiao Jin stepped forward and laughed heartily, breaking the awkward silence: "Hehe, we were all so happy to see Uncle. In our excitement, we even forgot what we were talking about earlier."
Xiao Xun raised an eyebrow at him, asking suspiciously, "Why are you so happy? Did I say I wasn't coming?"
"I thought Uncle had something important to do tonight," Xiao Jin said, her eyes crinkling as she leaned close to Xiao Xun's ear.
Unexpectedly, when Xiao Xun saw him approaching, he instinctively turned to the side. The singing was so loud that it almost lifted the roof off. Seeing that he couldn't hear clearly, Xiao Jin cleared his throat and raised his voice, "I heard that yesterday Uncle went to Plum Garden. When he returned, he was only wearing his undergarments and avoided people all the way. Only a maid from the manor carried his robes and belt, and followed him all the way to Uncle's room. I thought Uncle must have something important to do these two days."
Cui Heng, listening from the side, blushed and turned his gaze to the waterside pavilion, exclaiming loudly, "Ah ha, the songs and dances in the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion, and the women in the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion, are truly captivating and enchanting!"
Xiao Xun retorted, "Since you say I avoided people all the way, how do you know so much about it?"
“Uncle avoided everyone the whole way.” Xiao Jin blinked and smiled. “But when that maid came out of Uncle’s room a quarter of an hour later, she didn’t avoid anyone at all. Her face and neck were flushed, and anyone would have to ask her a few questions. That’s how I found out.”
"What?" Xiao Xun frowned. For a moment, he felt a lump in his throat, unsure whether to defend the maid or the "quarter of an hour."
Ling Feng and Gongsun Zhao continued to talk about other things, one discussing Cangwu wine and the other mentioning the vermilion lacquer on the beams and pillars.
Cui Heng appeared to be humming along with the singer, but the words he uttered kept lingering on "yo-yo," "yo-yo."
Even though he hadn't been drinking, his face already showed signs of alcohol.
"It was my oversight."
When the princess saw Xiao Xun arrive, she went up to him and said with a gentle smile, "Young man, you are young and have come from afar. You have been on the road for quite some time and have been in Huaiyang for some time now. It is inevitable that you will be a little hot-tempered. In addition, the servants and guards you brought are not as good as women in comforting people."
She emphasized the word "relieve," blinked, and said, "I'll arrange for a maid..."
Xiao Xun's gaze passed over the princess's shoulder and landed on Lin Yuan standing behind her. He interrupted, "The princess has already made very thorough and appropriate arrangements. There is no need for her to worry about it further."
Lin Yuan didn't give him a second glance, but instead listened to the conversation of the others.
Gongsun Zhao, who was standing to the side, talked at length about vermilion lacquer, and Lin Yu nodded frequently as he recounted how he had seen lacquer farmers harvesting lacquer in Jizhou, Yan, and Dai, east of the Taihang Mountains.
Cui Heng couldn't help but praise the people for their diligence and intelligence, each fulfilling their duties. He then praised Ling Feng and Gongsun Zhao's group, saying that this was thanks to the monarch's "unwavering concern for the people" and the ministers' "virtuous reputation."
Xiao Xun felt a buzzing in his ears; he was indeed a little feverish.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to Xiao Jin, "Jin'er, on the other hand, is focused on the maids in the manor, and her memory for other things is not very good."
"Ah, Uncle, I..." Xiao Jin saw the princess give him an angry look and turned his face away awkwardly.
Xiao Xun said coldly, "Jin'er said she forgot what she was talking about, but I overheard a bit at the door. They were talking about Qu Qingchuan."
Xiao Jin slapped his forehead: "Oh, oh—I was just talking to the two teachers about studying in Chengming Hall back then. Now that Qu Qingchuan isn't coming anymore, there's no one to take the beating for me."
Xiao Xun raised the corners of his lips: "Really? You miss Qu Qingchuan so much that you want to go find him?"
"What do I want Qu Qingchuan to do?" Xiao Jin felt a chill run down her spine. "Besides, he's gone to more than one place now."
Qu Qingchuan was eventually decapitated.
Xiao Xun sneered.
Upon hearing the line "I have fine wine" in the song, Xiao Jin picked up a cup of wine from the table and gulped it down. Only then did she catch her breath and change the subject from Qu Qingchuan: "Thinking about it again, I guess I'm pretty much going to get that beating. Shu Dan is clearly taking revenge. I pulled Su Chan's hair, drew ugly pictures on her, scribbled on her books, and ridiculed and laughed at her all the time. Shu Dan actually thought that I liked Su Chan."
"Uncle, don't you think this is ridiculous?"
Xiao Xun glanced at him but did not laugh.
Xiao Jin was startled, thinking, "Oh no, judging from his expression, Xiao Xun probably thinks the same thing."
He didn't know for a moment whether the crime of missing Qu Qingchuan was more serious, or the crime of coveting the emperor's woman was more serious. It seemed to be... the latter?
He gasped and turned around to see Lin Yuan.
"Ah Yuan!" He grasped at this lifeline, not noticing that Xiao Xun frowned when he heard this address. "Ah Yuan, you are a woman. Tell me, how can you be bullied and ridiculed by a man every day, yet be told it's out of affection? Isn't that ridiculous?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Xiao Xun, curled her lips into a smile, and hummed in agreement: "Yes, it's ridiculous."
“Exactly, who likes someone like that?” Seeing Xiao Xun’s eyes darken even more, Xiao Jin laughed even harder and explained even more earnestly. “What’s even funnier is that my father thinks so too. Even though I told him that I bicker and argue with this cousin of mine and that I’m bullied by her all the time, guess what my father said?”
Upon hearing this, the princess coughed heavily.
Xiao Jin didn't take it to heart, answering her own question: "I don't know what my father was thinking, actually asking me if I like it? Ha, I'm not out of my mind..."
A sharp raptor fell from the sky.
Xiao Jin's head almost exploded.
Xiao Cheng stood behind him, hands tucked behind his back, a smile playing on his lips: "The banquet is about to begin, Jin'er, why don't you quickly invite the guests to their seats?"
The princess looked at the father and son and couldn't help but chuckle. She turned and pulled Lin Yuan's hand, leading her to a seat next to her: "You were just talking about the fourth step, taking things by surprise. That was quite interesting."
She sighed, "The other party thought they were extremely clever, planning every step to lure people into a trap, only to find out in the end that they were just a bird caught in a net, and yet they were still gloating over it."
Lin Yuan pursed her lips, and then saw maids file in, serving the meal.
The princess personally prepared the meals, which showed great care, with each person's table having a different set of dishes.
Ling Feng came from the Chu region, where people traditionally eat rice soup and fish. Therefore, there was sashimi and glutinous rice from the Yunmeng Marsh on the table in front of him.
Gongsun Zhao came from Shuofang County, so the maidservants specially served him roasted lamb and horse wine.
At Cui Guoxiang's table, there was a whole tray of soft, sticky glutinous rice cakes. "This..." Before Cui Guoxiang could even take a bite, his throat was choked with phlegm.
The seat facing east, which Xiao Cheng personally led Xiao Xun to, had a rich, spicy aroma wafting from afar.
"I think the dishes on this table are just to my liking."
Xiao Xun did not follow Xiao Cheng, but turned and walked towards Lin Yuan, sitting down next to her.
Lin Yuan was about to get up and make way when he stopped her.
“Since Young Master Xiao is so pleased with the food, A-Yuan, please step aside and sit here with me,” Lin Yu said, trying to help Lin Yuan out of the awkward situation.
Xiao Xun was sitting between the two of them. Hearing this, he turned his face and said with a smile, "I'm fine. This place is very spacious. We can just have someone bring over a small table to put in the middle. Just then, I saw the roasted meat on Master Lin's table—uh, it looks very appetizing."
Before Lin Yu could answer, he turned to Xiao Cheng and said, “Brother, although I am a relative, I have no official rank or title. It was a family banquet before, so we didn’t have to stand on ceremony. But now that Prime Minister Cui and a group of guests are here, it is not appropriate for me to sit with the Prince of Huaiyang. Please invite the Princess Consort to take the seat.”
Xiao Cheng was startled and stammered, "How can this be?" The princess immediately understood that Xiao Xun did not want to reveal his identity in front of Prime Minister Cui and the guests of Tingquan Courtyard, and obediently agreed.
As soon as she sat down, the spicy aroma of the whole table of Sichuan pepper soup wafted over her face, making her cheeks slightly flushed.
The Prince of Huaiyang's face was even redder than hers.
His gaze passed over Lin Yu and Xiao Xun's shoulders, and then he slightly lifted his eyelids to see the singing girl in the waterside pavilion singing at the top of her lungs, "Mandarin ducks fly together, caught in nets. May the gentleman live ten thousand years, and may he enjoy good fortune and prosperity."
Lin Yuan was feeling uneasy being squeezed by Xiao Xun. She turned her head and absentmindedly enjoyed the music and singing when she suddenly heard a chuckle in her ear and the words "drink together in harmony".
"……What?"
Lin Yuan was inwardly criticizing his grandiloquent use of the word "etiquette" when she suddenly heard this, and almost knocked over the Cangwu wine in his hand.
When he handed her the wine glass, Lin Yuan turned her head away.
As the wine cup landed on the table, she heard Xiao Xun chuckle and say, "Look, the Prince of Huaiyang and his consort, don't they look like they're drinking nuptial wine?"
Only then did she shift her gaze upwards.
One person was seen wearing a black brocade robe, and the other was wearing a crimson silk robe. The princess was presenting a bowl and cup to the Prince of Huaiyang. The Prince of Huaiyang picked up a wine cup from the table, clinked it with the cup without turning his head, and then drank it all in one gulp.
The princess raised her eyebrows and angrily placed the bowl in her hand on the Prince of Huaiyang's table, then tugged at his sleeve.
Then, a slender figure in crimson robes and a handkerchief fully embroidered together reached out.
She looked away and muttered, "The princess is clearly serving food to the Prince of Huaiyang."
“It’s precisely because of the shape of those bowls that they look like a nuptial cup. And—” Xiao Xun laughed, “these two are blushing as they kiss…and so affectionately.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Yuan saw the princess wipe away the wine stains from the corner of the Prince of Huaiyang's lips.
She nodded: "The Prince of Huaiyang and his wife have such a big child, yet their relationship is still very close."
“The Crown Prince is not the Princess Consort’s son; he is the late Princess Consort’s child.” Xiao Xun glanced sideways. “Don’t you think the Princess Consort is quite young? A child of Xiao Jin’s age is a little too old for her?”
"Huh?" Lin Yuan was surprised and embarrassed. "When the princess talked to me about the crown prince, and the way she looked at him, it was the same as when my mother talked about my brother... talking about me, and how she looked at me. It was all the same. So he's not her biological son?"
“Even if they’re not your biological children, you can still treat them as your own,” Xiao Xun said.
His eyes looked towards the head of the table, but his gaze fell on Lin Yu.
These words were spoken quite loudly, and every word reached Lin Yu's ears: "As Master Lin said, people have a sense of righteousness."
Amidst the cacophony of music, Lin Yu seemed oblivious to Xiao Xun's mention of him, his expression remaining unchanged as he poured himself a glass of wine.
Xiao Xun took a sip of wine and continued, "In the case of the late Crown Prince's rebellion, everyone close to him was convicted, and most of them died. The Prince of Huaiyang was implicated quite a bit, not only because he was extremely close to the late Crown Prince, but also because Xiao Jin spent a lot of time at the Crown Prince's villa when she was a child. Moreover, the late Princess Consort and the late Crown Princess Consort were distant relatives and close friends. However, the late Princess Consort was short-lived. When Xiao Jin was four or five years old, she died in childbirth while giving birth to her second son."
Lin Yuan listened, speechless.
Xiao Xun rarely talked to her about such old stories, and the case of the deposed crown prince's rebellion was too far-reaching, a secret taboo in the palace, and he had never mentioned it before.
"The King of Huaiyang and his late queen were deeply in love, and the position of queen remained vacant for several years. Until the third year of the Tian Shou era, the King of Huaiyang acted first and reported later, and with three letters and six rites, married a singing girl as his queen, which caused a sensation in Huaiyang and Chang'an. At that time, many people said that he had been bewitched by a sorceress."
Lin Yuan frowned: "How can you say that? The princess is of lowly status, while the Prince of Huaiyang is a member of the royal family. If the Prince of Huaiyang hadn't taken a liking to the princess, how could she have bewitched his heart?"
Xiao Xun looked at her with deep eyes and a slight smile, "You're right."
He continued, "That was after the treasonous incident in the third year of the Tian Shou reign. The former crown prince died, the Prince of Yan fell ill and never recovered, the Prince of Guangling tried to seize the throne, but his plot was exposed, he was reprimanded by the late emperor, and died in despair. The Prince of Huaiyang claimed to be ill and fled to his fiefdom, actually using this absurd incident to avoid the late emperor's suspicions about the succession struggle. At that time, how many high-ranking officials and nobles wanted to marry into the Prince of Huaiyang? The late emperor saw that he was irresponsible and scolded him, saying he was hopeless, and fined him 1,500 households of his fiefdom, and then let him go."
"Moreover, the Prince of Huaiyang has a keen eye for people, or rather, he's quite shrewd. The singer he chose, now his princess consort, is a simple-minded person who manages the palace very well—"
At this point, he frowned slightly, glanced at the two people at the head of the table, and said, "Take good care of this father and son. They have no children yet, and they probably won't have any in the future either." Lin Yuan suddenly remembered what the princess had just said about "birds" and "a net in the sky," and her heart tightened.
A destitute singer, after going through the proper formalities of marriage, was welcomed by the Prince of Huaiyang as his principal wife. When she drank that cup of nuptial wine, she must have been overjoyed.
However, the aftertaste of the wine, whether bitter or astringent, remains unknown.
Xiao Xun sighed, "Xiao Jin is mischievous. As his stepmother, disciplining him must have been difficult for her. It's already quite remarkable that she has managed to do so well. However, the young master is so stubborn and disobedient, indulging in sensual pleasures and entertainment. I wonder what the late Princess Consort would think in heaven?"
Xiao Jin's laughter came from the other side.
Hearing that Gongsun Zhao was still unmarried, he suggested that he take him to the music bureau for a romantic getaway another day.
Xiao Xun glared at him, and he stopped himself from uttering those frivolous words about inviting his uncle to go with him.
"Then, what kind of person was the late Princess Consort, the Crown Prince's mother?" Lin Yuan couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "The late Princess Consort passed away early. Although I didn't know her, she was a close friend of the late Crown Princess Consort, so she must have been a similar person."
"As for the former Crown Princess—" He paused, then picked up his wine cup again.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Yu slightly turn towards Xiao Jin, a smile on her lips, paying attention to the laughter and chatter over there, nodding occasionally, but she was pouring herself a drink a little faster.
"I was fortunate enough to meet her a few times when I was a child. Although I can't remember what she looked like now, I vaguely remember that she was a lady from a high-class family, dignified and gentle, and proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Oh, and I also tasted the almond cake she made by hand once, which was unforgettable."
He pointed to the pile of almond cakes on the table, which looked like snowflakes.
"Is it particularly delicious?" Lin Yuan's eyes lit up as she asked curiously.
Xiao Xun smiled: "Quite the opposite. That's why it's so unforgettable."
Lin Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.
There are so many delicious foods in the world that they become commonplace. And when commonplace foods are all made in the same mold, they become hard to remember.
He picked up a piece of almond cake, only to find the wine cup empty.
Lin Yuan wanted to continue listening, so she cleverly filled his glass with wine.
He gestured to Lin Yuan to fill her own cup as well, and then gently tapped it against hers.
Lin Yuan took a sip and was about to put down her cup when she heard him chuckle and remind her relentlessly, "Once you've clinked glasses, you should drink it all."
After Lin Yuan reluctantly drank it down in one gulp, he suddenly changed his tune: "The nuptial wine isn't necessarily served in a gourd, which is just a ladle. In the palace, for example, they use a pair of jade cups. Like this one." He examined the jade cup in his hand, which was carved with a dragon and a phoenix, "The point is to drink together and to drink it all."
Lin Yuan almost choked on her drink.
But he chuckled softly and continued:
"Actually, if you follow the recipe exactly, how bad can almond cake be? But she didn't. It seems she substituted hazelnuts for almonds. Those hazelnuts were even fried in oil and dried, supposedly to give them an almond flavor. And there was indeed a hint of almond flavor—a slightly astringent almond taste." He chuckled to himself, then shook his head helplessly. "I later heard that this former Crown Princess just liked to try new and unusual things."
His smile gradually faded. "For a lifetime."
He finished another glass of wine and crushed the almond cake: "Her last attempt was to draw her sword and bow, to don armor and wield weapons."
Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
Those words came down with a "thump" like drumbeats.
"Be careful."
Xiao Xun cried out.
Looking again, he saw that he had grabbed Lin Yu's arm, and his sleeve was dripping with Cangwu wine.
Lin Yu's ear cup had rolled off the table.
His eyes were a little red, and he slightly curled the corners of his lips, saying, "I'm sorry, I can't hold my liquor. The wine is quite strong, and I drank a few cups too much, so I'm a little drunk."
"It's alright. Your sleeves are a little wet, just wipe them off."
As Xiao Xun spoke, he took out a plain handkerchief.
The haunting mark, as his wide sleeves rolled up, gradually appeared before his eyes.
The hand that was wiping with the handkerchief gradually slowed down.
"This is……"
"It's from when I was a child." Lin Yu quickly withdrew her hand.
“It’s a burn,” Lin Yuan interjected.
She explained apologetically, "To be honest, it was my fault. My mother started cooking and asked me to watch the fire. But I was lazy and pulled Lin Yu over. Who would have thought that he would get so engrossed in reading that he added damp firewood to the firebox, and the firewood exploded in the firebox and flew onto my hand."
Lin Yu didn't cry then.
Lin Yuan cried openly.
He forced a joke, pointing to the burnt flesh and saying, "Look, doesn't this look like roasted meat?"
As a result, Lin Yuan did not eat roasted meat for two whole years.
I ate my fill of my mother's stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork.
"It's a burn," Xiao Xun murmured.
The mark on that arm was a scar that had long since faded to pink.
"Did I frighten Young Master Xiao?" Lin Yu flicked down her sleeve, turned her head, and saw that Xiao Jin's face was pale, he was nervous and absent-minded, his mouth was half open, he was gasping for breath and couldn't speak, so she said in a calm voice, "The scar is ugly, it must have frightened the young master too."
Xiao Jin then came to his senses: "Oh, yes, yes." He turned his head away and poured a glass of spicy pepper wine down his throat.
Lin Yu stood up, cupped his hands to everyone present, and said, "My clothes are dirty, I am truly sorry. Prince Huaiyang, and everyone else, please forgive me for taking my leave now."
The Prince of Huaiyang's stunned expression softened: "Alright, alright."
"Master Lin, why don't you go to the side hall to change your clothes? There are some clothes for Jin'er there." The princess turned to explain to the Prince of Huaiyang, "Jin'er once got drunk at a banquet and soiled his clothes, so I always keep a few sets of clothes for him in the side hall, just in case."
She then said to Lin Yu, "I think Master Lin is about the same size as Jin'er, and his clothes are new. If you don't mind, let Chang Gui take you there."
She knew that Master Lin was the Crown Prince's mentor and thus a distinguished guest of the Prince of Huaiyang. Now, he was even favored by His Majesty, visiting Tingquan Academy repeatedly. With the presence of Ling Feng, the Minister of the Imperial Household, Gongsun Zhao, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud, and the other nine newly appointed officials, there were outstanding figures like Lin Yu. His Majesty did not discriminate based on background or social status when appointing people. Lin Yu was exceptionally talented, excelling in both literary and martial arts, and was destined to be a high-ranking official. He could not be neglected.
For this banquet, she also specially sent someone to Tingquan Garden to inquire about Master Lin's dietary preferences.
Wang suddenly remembered that early yesterday morning, when Master He repeatedly told her to make roasted chicken, he said that Master Lin liked roasted meat the most. He had never mentioned it when they were at Huaiyang Academy because he was shy and his salary was limited, so he didn't want to trouble the two old ladies.
Before Lin Yu could answer, the princess said with affection, "Go and come back quickly, this roasted meat won't taste good if it gets cold."
Lin Yu thanked the princess, but said, "It's funny to say, but I was burned when I was young, so I don't eat roasted meat."
He looked at Xiao Xun, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Young Master Xiao just said he liked this roasted meat, so please feel free to use it."
Upon hearing that Xiao Xun liked it, the princess immediately forgot about Lin Yu and quickly gave a wink to the maid behind him, who then diligently began to serve the dishes.
Xiao Xun was somewhat lost in thought, staring at Lin Yu's figure blending into the heavy night and mist outside Yuhua Hall.
...
That day, just as dusk was falling, Ling Feng brought an urgent report delivered by carrier pigeon from the Prefect of the Capital.
"Your Majesty is wise. Indeed, there are suspicious points about Lin Yu, the teacher of the county school."
Ling Fengxing bowed and said, "The Prefect of the Capital has been investigating this person day and night, but after searching through the registers of various townships and counties, he could not find anyone of similar age with this name."
Xiao Xun frowned and slowly said, "Lin Yu is a teacher hired by the Imperial Academy of Huaiyang Kingdom, and is paid by the state. There is no record of his hometown?"
Ling Feng nodded in agreement, “When I was in the government office of Huaiyang Kingdom, I noticed this Master Lin when the officials were checking the identities of the disaster victims. He said he was from Yongping Township in the western suburbs of Chang’an.”
"Inquiries were made in Yongping Township, and the father's name was Lin Wu, and his mother's surname was Qin. They had a younger sister. They were not from this township, but moved there in the first year of the Jingyuan era. The Prefect of Jingzhao also found that this family had previously lived in Changde Township in the southern suburbs of Chang'an until the third year of the Tianshou era, when they lost their land and became refugees. However, among this family, only this Lin Yu's name was not on the registers of either Yongping Township or Changde Township."
"The Prefect of the Capital even sent people to search for the poll tax and tax collected by the government over the years. During the reign of the late emperor, the poll tax had to be paid by anyone who was three years old. However, the Lin family had only paid the poll tax for their one son since the first year of the Tian Shou era."
“Throughout history, it has been common for people to evade the tax. In addition, they were once refugees. Could they have been left behind?” Xiao Xun’s expression was complicated, and his heart tightened for some reason.
“Your Majesty, in principle, if something is lost, the government should be notified immediately so that it can be replaced. In the first year of Jingyuan, after the calamity of the third year of Tianshou, tens of thousands of acres of land became unclaimed in the suburbs of Chang'an. Therefore, land was allocated to displaced people, distributed according to the number of males. Adult males received fifty acres, and minors received thirty acres. So, there is no reason not to replace it. Lin Wu’s family did receive land at that time, but it was only allocated according to the number of adult males, which was fifty acres of dry land. If it was to avoid the poll tax, twenty coins a year, compared to thirty acres of land, it was a loss no matter how you looked at it.”
"So you're saying Lin Yu's background is questionable, and he might not be her biological son?" Xiao Xun clenched his fist upon hearing this.
Ling Feng's expression suddenly became somewhat bewildered: "The Prefect of Jingzhao sent people to Yongping Township to secretly investigate. But not only one neighbor, but even people from neighboring villages who knew this family all said that Lin Yu was indeed the biological son of Lin Wu and his wife. They said that he looked extremely similar to his father and mother when they were young. They also said that not only him, but also his younger sister, was chosen from among the best. They said that the Lin family was like a 'golden phoenix that came out of a chicken coop'."
Xiao Xun looked up and asked, "What's his younger sister's name?"
Ling Feng handed over the bamboo slips sent by the Prefect of the Capital.
...
"Please, young master."
With delicate, orchid-like fingers, the maidservant presented a pair of translucent white jade chopsticks to Xiao Xun.
It was the same maid who had helped him carry his coat.
Xiao Xun withdrew his gaze from the darkness and took it.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan sneered: "Young Master said before that he disliked roasted meat. It seems that it's not the roasted meat that's unpleasant, but the person who is unpleasant."
On her first day serving at Zichen Pavilion, she understood that Xiao Xun had sent her here to deal with her for a long time to come.
For example, as soon as she entered the hall, he stood two zhang away and coldly observed her: "Did you eat roasted meat? You're covered in smoke and your clothes smell. Wang Fu, take her downstairs to change her clothes, then come and serve her."
She was so astonished that she had no chance to explain that a lowly maid could only eat meat a few times a month, let alone roasted meat.
If it really involved the smell of fire, it was probably because the tea-serving maid in the same room set up a stove in the room early in the morning to brew tea.
Lin Yuan rubbed her nose, but couldn't smell anything.
It wasn't until Wang Fu handed her the silk clothes, and the faint fragrance of the new clothes wafted over, that she was certain her nose wasn't malfunctioning.
Yes, it's people's hearts that are bad.
Fortunately, she turned misfortune into blessing. All her old clothes were replaced with new ones that were "not tainted by the slightest trace of smoke or fire," and they were silk garments that were "not easily tainted by the smell of smoke or charcoal." Because she was a clean person, she had six sets of clothes a season, and she also had her own room to live in.
"Oh, are you jealous?" Xiao Xun snapped out of her daze and chuckled softly, still as sarcastic as ever.
Lin Yuan wanted to ask, "Is the roasted meat on Lin Yu's plate really that delicious?" His gaze towards Lin Yu always lingered.
Hiss, now even the handkerchief that had been used to wipe Lin Yu's arm was being held in his hand and rubbed repeatedly.
She couldn't stand it anymore, so she looked away and couldn't bring herself to say anything.
However, immediately afterward, a plate filled with roasted meat was pushed in front of him.
The meat was cleverly arranged, along with orchids and fragrant herbs, to resemble a cluster of overlapping flowers.
Xiao Xun's laughter reached her ears, "Please enjoy your meal, young lady."
Lin Yuan was caught off guard: "Lin Yu left this for Young Master Xiao. You can use it yourself."
He likes Sichuan peppercorns, and roasted meat with salt and pepper is absolutely delicious.
Yes, she didn't believe at all that Xiao Xun really didn't eat roasted meat; those words were just meant to torment her.
—She later changed into new clothes and didn't even dare to go near the stove for warmth, afraid of getting smoke in it, and Xiao Xun didn't seem to be any gentler.
One day, he complained that her hands had chilblains, which were an eyesore when she was grinding ink.
One day, he complained that her hands were trembling when she served tea. "If you feel cold, there's a hand warmer over there. You can warm yourself up." He kept his eyes down, looking at his book, "so you don't spill tea on the book. You can't afford to get hurt."
Lin Yuan was startled and accidentally splashed the tea that should have been on the book onto the back of his hand.
A chill ran down her neck, and her heart leaped into her throat. Thankfully, he only gave a cold laugh, telling her to wipe it clean with a handkerchief. "Did I leave out a word? If it gets on your hands, are you going to take the blame?"
Lin Yuan repeatedly said "no," thinking to herself that if she said one more word, the two drops of water on his hands would probably dry completely.
The next day, Xiao Xun complained that the floral pattern on her dress was too dazzling. He looked at it intently and said, "It would be better to change it to plum blossoms." She was puzzled: "Isn't red plum blossom more eye-catching than peach blossom?" But he was already engrossed in his book and didn't care.
Fortunately, Lin Yuan was good at comforting himself; he must simply like plum blossoms.
She felt she had deciphered the emperor's intentions, and early in the morning she excitedly brought back a bunch of bright red plum blossoms and placed them on the imperial desk in the Zichen Pavilion.
Xiao Xun stepped into the hall, but found the fragrance of the flowers too strong. He smiled and told her to move the vase away, saying that there was already a pleasant fragrance on the table.
Lin Yuan was completely dumbfounded. Looking at the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, he felt like he had seen a ghost, or perhaps he had seen a ghost.
Xiao Xun coughed lightly again and changed his words, "The fragrance brought by the gentle breeze is just right."
Lin Yuan glanced at the tightly closed doors and windows in the snowy weather, feeling even colder than the icy landscape itself, and nodded hesitantly.
At his suggestion, the vase was moved behind the screen, away from the couch where the breeze could reach.
...
But then, Xiao Xun shook his head.
“Your brother was burned by fire, so you didn’t eat roasted meat for two whole years.”
"My brother is too."
He sighed softly, "He was burned even more badly by the fire, so I probably won't be able to eat it for the rest of my life."
In the winter of the third year of the Tian Shou era, the bloodshed in Chang'an increased.
People are dying inside Siqi Garden, and people are dying outside Siqi Garden as well.
All the court officials who were on good terms with Crown Prince Xiao Heng, and all the Confucian scholars who had been guests at Siqi Garden, had their residences and mansions surrounded by the Imperial Guards.
The Imperial Guards were bloodthirsty.
Before those people could figure out the cause and effect or cry out for justice, they died by their swords.
One civil official was cut in two at the waist by the sword of the Imperial Guards. One half of him lay on the ground, crying out, "I'm innocent!"
He wasn't protesting his own innocence, but rather saying, "The Crown Prince is wronged!"
The "injustice" that Xiao Heng heard was about their own grievances.
He arrived before General Qu Yang, who was leading the Changshui Xuanqu Hu troops to confront him, and surrendered. Then he went to Weiyang Palace, handed over the Crown Prince's seal and ribbon, and was escorted by the palace guards to see the emperor, his sovereign father, whom he had not seen for half a year, for the last time.
He begged the emperor to stop, confessed his crimes, and committed suicide to bear all the blame.
The emperor bestowed upon him a white silk ribbon and promised to cease the search and killing in Chang'an—thirty thousand lives had been lost under his blade, comparable to any battle he had personally led in his youth to conquer the Xiongnu, and he had no choice but to stop.
“But,” he said finally, tapping his gnarled knuckles on the large imperial desk.
There, he once held the prince and played with the puppet dove, taught him to recognize characters and read books, and later had him sit beside him, teaching him to review memorials and the art of being an emperor.
"Not a single person from Siqi Garden can be spared."
They were Xiao Heng's bloodline, his retainers and servants. They were so loyal that the emperor dared not keep them.
Xiao Heng committed suicide in the North Palace, where he had lived when he was the crown prince.
That day, the emperor had a surreal vision of countless soldiers dressed in black flying out of the North Palace, their faces contorted in a ferocious display, covering the entire Weiyang Palace.
He cried out in a panic, "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"
The Imperial Guards, rushing towards them, did not see the flying warriors described by the emperor, but only a flock of black crows in the twilight.
"No, these are his men, his men are here to kill me! I heard them, they're saying he's innocent! They're crying out for justice! They're all crying out for justice!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is dead! He has committed suicide!" the eunuch shouted in the old emperor's ear. "His body is still in the North Palace!"
The emperor stumbled and fell onto the jade dragon with its tail stalk carved in the center of the imperial steps.
He shook off the eunuch's hand that came to support him, pointed to the sky and shouted, "Burn! Burn them all! He, and all those who are crying out for his innocence and seeking revenge for him, whether they are flying in the sky or hiding in the ground, burn them all! Burn them all to ashes!"
The entire world was filled with this desperate, hoarse voice:
"He is not my son, he is not! He is a traitor! I will proclaim to the world that he is a criminal who plots rebellion! What injustice has he suffered? He murdered his father, he deserves to die!"
-----------------------
Author's note: Xiao Xun: Your brother was burned in a fire, so you didn't eat roasted meat for two whole years.
Lin Yuan: Hmm... Hmm? What? My brother??
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