"Isn't it a good thing to help those whose sons were stolen to reunite with their families?" Zhou Silin murmured to herself in confusion.
"Of course it's a good thing." Shen Qingwu nodded affirmatively, "But I'm a sudden gift from heaven. I haven't laid a solid foundation, unlike those who have to learn from a master and start from scratch. If I accidentally reveal the secret, I will attract thunder from heaven."
Zhou Silin nodded, not quite understanding, "So that's how it is."
Soon, she asked with concern, "Are you going to learn from a master? I'll ask my father for you when I get home to see if he knows any powerful Taoist priests."
Shen Qingwu raised his eyes to look at her, smiled and shook his head, "No, I can handle it myself. Thank you, Linlin."
"Hey, why are we being so polite?" Zhou Silin waved her hand nonchalantly. "If anything, I should thank you. I kindly invited you to escape the summer heat, but accidents happened one after another, nearly killing you. You didn't blame me and were willing to be friends with me. I should be the one thanking you."
"I've actually known all these years that even though they wanted to play with me, it was all because of my father's face. They secretly still despised me because I was a concubine's daughter." Zhou Silin shrugged and smiled, "You're the only one who has never despised my background. Because of you, Yingying, Qingqing, and I have become much more familiar with each other."
Shen Qingwu turned his head to look at the person who was pretending to be relaxed. She was still smiling.
"You don't know, Yingying didn't like playing with us before. She thought we were too childish, but she loved playing with you."
"There are quite a few people hanging out with Qingqing, but they're all just trying to get more money from her. They spend her money while looking down on her merchant background. No one really wants to get close to her. Only she foolishly thinks everyone is her friend, and every time they go out to eat, she's the one who pays."
Zhou Silin laughed softly, "You all think I'm stupid, but actually I understand everything. I just don't dare to care about many things. If I do care about them and expose them, no one will play with me anymore, and my father and the others will be disappointed in me."
"Before my eldest sister got married, she was a famous talented woman in Kyoto, admired by many men. However, because of the promise my father had made her, she married a scholar from my hometown who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations."
Shen Qingwu had seen this happen in her past, and had also seen her hugging and crying with her stepmother Wei Yue.
"Your Excellency the Censor is a man of his word." Shen Qingwu said with emotion.
Despite the huge disparity in family background, the censor still resolutely married his eldest daughter to a scholar with almost no future.
After this incident, the Censor gained a good reputation among the people, but some people also felt sorry for the eldest daughter of the Zhou family who married out of her family and left home.
The Lord Censor never promoted his son-in-law and allowed him to be a teacher in the countryside, which showed his integrity and honesty.
Zhou Silin smiled and nodded, "Yes, I honor my promise."
…
"Has this fox formed an inner elixir?"
In Concubine Liu's Changqing Palace, she looked at the listless fox in the cage and asked the Taoist priest Chang Fengshun beside her.
Chang Fengshun stepped forward, and the fox looked at him warily, baring its teeth at him.
Chang Fengshun sneered and stuck the talisman in his hand on the cage.
The little fox didn't react and continued to look at him fiercely.
Taoist Chang Fengshun raised an eyebrow in surprise and shook his head, "He hasn't formed a pill yet, but he has indeed awakened his spiritual wisdom and understood human nature."
Concubine Liu withdrew her gaze in disappointment, "I thought it was useful."
"It has already understood human nature. With a little guidance, it should be able to release the inner elixir soon." Chang Fengshun stared at the red fox in the cage. He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what the problem was.
As he took a step back, the vigilant fox buried its head in its abdomen again, half-dead and listless.
"I'll leave this matter to you. Don't let me down again." Concubine Liu said calmly, with a hint of worry on her face. "The Emperor won't let the Second Prince come back."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly stood up and walked to the Taoist priest Chang Fengshun, narrowing her eyes dangerously, "You won't betray me, will you?"
"I will never forget your life-saving grace, and I have sworn in front of my master that I am willing to be loyal to you." Taoist Chang Fengshun took a step back and knelt respectfully in front of Concubine Liu.
Concubine Liu's eyes flickered, and she seemed satisfied. She sat back down and said, "It's good enough as long as you know who you should be loyal to."
Chang Fengshun lowered his head and responded.
"Get up," Concubine Liu said calmly, "You go to the south yourself and bring the second son back to me. I don't want anything to happen to him."
"I understand." Chang Fengshun nodded and looked at the fox in the cage with its head lowered. "Then it—"
"There's no need to rush. The second child is more important." Concubine Liu said.
"Yes." Chang Fengshun retreated.
…
"Your humble servant pays his respects to Her Majesty the Queen." Lin Qin knelt down towards the woman in coarse cloth who had her back to him.
The Queen asked him to meet her at the back hill of the Big Buddha Temple. It happened that he was helping the Lieutenant's Mansion to investigate a missing woman's case recently, so it didn't make him noticeable when he came here.
Even in her coarse linen clothes, the queen's face was still dignified and graceful. She raised her hand calmly towards Lin Qin and said, "No need to be so polite."
Lin Qin looked at the Queen in confusion, "What are your instructions, Her Majesty?"
So what if the queen saved his mother?
Everything was just a shift from one threat to the next, adding another shackle of the queen to his body.
"Your mother will stay in the small hill of the Big Buddha Temple to practice in seclusion from now on. No one will disturb her. You can visit her at any time and just clean up the mess." The queen said calmly.
Lin Qin's eyes widened in surprise.
The Queen gave him such conditions. What kind of treasonous act did she want him to do?
"Go see your mother first. I think you and your mother have a lot to talk about." The queen still did not rush to state her conditions.
Lin Qin became more and more worried.
"I will do my best to help you with the Red Fox matter," the Queen added.
Lin Qin was even more surprised, "My Lady..."
The Queen raised her hand to stop him from talking nonsense. "I have already put my sincerity here. Naturally, this is not a charity hall. I will not keep you in suspense. When you return to the Court of Justice, place these items in the four corners of the dungeon."
As soon as she finished speaking, the queen took out an inconspicuous small cloth bag from her sleeve, the size of two fists.
Lin Qin stepped forward cautiously and took it with both hands. The object was not very heavy. He glanced at the Queen and said, "Your Majesty, this is..."
The Queen raised her hand to signal him to open it and take a look.
Lin Qin swallowed his saliva, his hands tensed up, and he secretly guessed the Queen's purpose.
He also secretly wondered whether the mother given to him by the queen was actually his own mother.
Is it so easy to snatch someone from the emperor?
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