IDWBE -Chapter 110 When the Sage Appears

The once peerless swordsman of Liang—undefeated across the land—had actually fallen to the point of being beaten and scolded at will!

The more Ye Qiu thought about it, the angrier he became.

But there was nothing he could do.

Who told him his skills were inferior?

Sun Yi said, “She’s a Grandmaster. Beating you is like child’s play. The fact that she only gave you a beating means she showed mercy. Be grateful.”

Ye Qiu protested, “That’s because I wasn’t prepared.”

Sun Yi chuckled. “Then why not go back in and try again?”

Ye Qiu lifted his chin proudly. “Below the level of Grandmaster, I have no equal!”

Sun Yi replied flatly, “So what?”

“Hmph!”

Ye Qiu turned his head away and ignored him.

He was deeply wounded in spirit.

A single Prince He’s residence actually housed two Grandmasters!

Terrifying.

He was suddenly very glad that during his travels in the martial world he had never rashly broken into the imperial palace. If even this residence was like this, how frightening must the palace be?

Consort Wen had emerged from seclusion.

Lin Yi specially instructed the kitchen to prepare a lavish feast.

“Sister Wen, congratulations on coming out of seclusion. A toast to you.”

Lin Yi raised his cup.

Consort Wen took a sip and said calmly, “What’s there to congratulate? Isn’t it the same every year?”

Lin Yi smiled. “During your seclusion, you probably didn’t eat or drink well. You look much thinner.”

He had imagined “seclusion” meant fasting entirely, like living on air. But that wasn’t the case. Though she shut herself indoors, she still ate—ate even more than usual, with fish and meat every day.

Strangely, she hadn’t gained weight.

She was even slimmer than before!

Lin Yi glanced at his own belly, half-suspecting she had secretly taken some miracle slimming medicine.

Consort Wen smiled faintly. “Yet you never came to visit me even once?”

“I was afraid of disturbing your cultivation,” Lin Yi replied.

She snorted and ignored him.

Instead, she looked toward Ye Qiu, who was trimming flower branches by the doorway.

Ye Qiu shuddered and slowly turned around, not daring to meet her gaze.

“Where did you pick this one up from?” she asked.

This woman was even scarier than that dead eunuch!

Lin Yi grinned. “He chopped down my beloved lychee tree. Can’t afford to compensate me, so he’s working it off here. Oh right—Xiao Ying, remember to have him put his thumbprint on a contract later. Ten years should do.”

Hong Ying smiled and acknowledged the order.

Ye Qiu’s face turned ashen with despair.

Faced with two Grandmasters, he simply had no courage to say “no.”

He wasn’t stupid.

After eating, Lin Yi was about to head out to fish.

For a fishing enthusiast, once the craving hits, who cares about the heat?

Suddenly Sun Yi rushed in to report that Shan Yin had returned.

Shan Yin, bruised and battered, entered—followed by the enchanting yet aloof Ye Jinyu.

Lin Yi looked at them in surprise.

“You two managed to run into each other on the road? Quite the fate.”

Holding his teacup, he teased them.

Shan Yin forced a bitter smile. “Your Highness… it’s a long story.”

He had gone to Chuanzhou to find his cousin Shan Jin, knowing only that Chuanzhou was the stronghold of Jizhao Nunnery. He never expected such rotten luck—to run straight into Ye Jinyu!

This woman was like a lingering ghost—wherever he went, there she was!

Lin Yi turned to Ye Jinyu.

She wore a bamboo hat and a green round-collared robe covering her from neck to toe. But as she stepped up over the threshold, Lin Yi noticed something he’d never paid attention to before—

She was barefoot.

“Miss Ye, why walk barefoot instead of wearing shoes? It’s so hot—doesn’t it burn? Or hurt on the stones? Don’t have money for shoes? I’ll gift you a pair.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. It’s unnecessary.”

Ye Jinyu gritted her teeth.

As if oblivious, Lin Yi continued, “How are your feet still so fair if you walk barefoot? Any good whitening methods to recommend?”

As a believer in science, whenever he encountered something unscientific, he sincerely wanted to learn.

“Your Highness, please show some respect!”

Ye Jinyu’s face flushed red.

Shan Yin inwardly rejoiced. Finally, this woman had met her match!

He looked at Lin Yi with admiration. As expected of a prince—even his way of teasing women was different from ordinary men!

Lin Yi blinked. “Are you saying I lack self-respect? You may insult my taste, but not my character!”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Ye Jinyu said, noticing Mingyue’s chilling gaze and tempering her tone. “I come on behalf of my master to consult Your Highness on a matter.”

“Your master is a Grandmaster. What could she possibly need to ask me?”

“Should the Huang River burst its banks, Yuezhou suffer drought, the realm descend into chaos, and the people starve—what then?”

She enunciated each word carefully.

“Why don’t they eat meat porridge?”

Lin Yi answered instantly.

A free point question!

Ye Jinyu froze.

No matter what, she hadn’t expected the supposedly “ignorant and useless” prince to respond like this.

This wasn’t just ignorance—it was absurdity!

“Your Highness truly thinks so?”

“How I think is none of your business,” Lin Yi replied coldly. “Someone, see the guest out.”

Mingyue gestured. “Miss Ye, this way.”

“Farewell.”

At the gate, Ye Jinyu snatched her sword back from Bao Kui’s hand.

She and her master had entered the imperial palace without ever surrendering their swords!

Watching her retreating figure, Lin Yi muttered irritably, “Acting like she’s second only to heaven itself—making a fuss over nothing.”

Consort Wen, who had been silent all along, smiled faintly. “If you chase after her now, it’s not too late.”

“Why would I chase her?”

“Because you dare speak like that only because you don’t understand Jizhao Nunnery.”

“It’s just a Grandmaster. What’s the big deal?”

Consort Wen sighed. “Don’t you have even the slightest thought about the throne?”

Mingyue and Zixia exchanged glances, quietly leaving the room and closing the door.

“What’s so great about being emperor?” Lin Yi asked.

“You alone decide the fate of the realm. Isn’t that enough?”

Lin Yi pursed his lips. “No interest. Every morning you wake up worrying about money.”

A perfect description of his father, Emperor Delong.

Since ascending the throne, the imperial treasury had never been flush. The emperor might appear glorious, but whenever officials opened their mouths asking for funds, his scalp would go numb.

Consort Wen said slowly, “Do you know how Prince Yong or the Crown Prince would treat Ye Jinyu if she went to them?”

“How?”

“They would welcome her barefoot, treat her as an honored guest.”

“I don’t see what’s so great about Jizhao Nunnery.”

“To those with ambition, Jizhao Nunnery is a powerful ally,” she sighed. “Judging by your expression, you’ve probably never heard the saying—”

“When the realm is well governed, the sage hides. When the realm is in chaos, the sage emerges.”

Lin Yi tilted his head. “Hearing something so mystical come out of your mouth feels… strange.”