IDWBE -Chapter 157 Seclusion

He knew, and Shan Qi also needed to know that he knew.

“Prince.”

Qi Peng hesitated, unsure how to start.

“Say whatever you want,” Lin Yi teased the little yellow dog at his feet. “You know I hate it when you stammer and split your sentences into pieces.”

“Prince, then I’ll speak directly,” Qi Peng lifted his head. “Does Lord Shan Qi need someone to assist him?”

Lin Yi shook his head. “Why bother? You guard me, I guard you—it’s too exhausting.”

Qi Peng praised, “As expected of the Prince, trusting those you employ and doubting those you don’t.”

“Trust those you employ, doubt those you don’t—that’s just empty words to fool ghosts,”

Lin Yi snorted coldly. “There’s a previous line about knowing people and employing them wisely, but I can’t do that. Only by knowing someone well and employing them wisely can you truly trust or doubt appropriately.”

Qi Peng lowered his head, embarrassed.

This person really knows himself!

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

“There are only two people I trust in this world: one is me, the other is… me. I don’t have great skills, but my realm is higher than others. Use people cautiously, doubt carefully,” Lin Yi said proudly. “Take you, for example—I use you well, don’t I?”

In reality, there was no one else he could trust.

If Shan Qi, Qi Peng, and others refused to act, he would be completely lost.

Qi Peng twitched his mouth but still said dutifully, “Prince is wise.”

“Between people, interest is the foundation. Only relationships maintained by mutual benefit last,” Lin Yi said calmly. “You help me, I give you what you want. But I still don’t understand—what do you really want? Until we reach consensus, my heart isn’t at ease.”

This applied to love, friendship, or marriage—the essence was likely the same.

Qi Peng smiled. “I told you before, Prince, I’m waiting for you to grow into a towering tree so I can lean on it.”

“And what if I never grow?”

Lin Yi asked.

“Then I have nothing to lose.”

Qi Peng said frankly, without hesitation.

“You all expect too much from me,” Lin Yi understood the thoughts of people like them.

A little luck, a little talent, and half-baked ambitions can make one feel awkward and create desires that don’t really belong to them.

The position of Grand Chancellor? I could take it myself!

But most of the time, he just wanted to tell everyone: I’ll lie here like mud, no need for your help.

Qi Peng said, “Prince is being modest.”

“I can do everything, except be modest,”

Lin Yi continued. “Focus on the primary contradictions first. The main issue now is the conflict between me and Jingzhao Hermitage.”

“Yes.”

Qi Peng nodded and left.

The sun set, painting the sky red.

Lin Yi checked on Hong Ying again before leaving the mansion.

“Slow down,” Lin Yi rode the donkey, holding its rope, scolding, “If you get stubborn again, I’ll beat you when we return.”

Four-wheel drive, voice-controlled, leather heated seats, 360-degree view, a bundle of hay per hundred kilometers.

The advantages were endless.

But the downsides were many too.

Stinky, lazy, stubborn.

He reached the river, tried fishing, got bored, and returned to the mansion.

Hong Ying remained lying there, motionless.

After nightfall, Lin Yi continued telling him stories.

“Have I told the story of Ying Ning?”

“Prince, not yet,”

Mingyue, after replacing Lin Yi’s tea, refused to leave and stood close. She also loved hearing Lin Yi’s stories.

“Then I’ll tell that one,”

Lin Yi had mostly forgotten this story. After a pause, he said, “It is said in Yuezhou there was a man named Wang Zifu. His father died early. He was very intelligent and talented. At fourteen, he passed the civil service examination.”

At the start, the guards and servants of the prince’s mansion gathered around the room.

In Ankang City, this was usual.

When listening to the Prince’s stories, everyone loved to gather. The more people, the happier it made the Prince.

“From then on, Wang Sheng gradually regained his appetite, his body recovered day by day. Looking under the pillow, the flowers, though dry, hadn’t fallen. Holding them carefully felt as if seeing that person.”

Lin Yi paused and said, “Spread out a bit. Don’t crowd together; the air can’t circulate.”

There was a patient lying in the room.

“Yes.”

To avoid disturbing Hong Ying, everyone spoke softly and found corners to squat or sit.

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. As he spoke, he sometimes forgot details and improvised to fill them in.

No one had read the original text anyway!

Before he knew it, he had finished the story of Ying Ning.

Seeing the audience reluctant to leave, he sipped his tea and combined elements from the TV adaptation and the original Liaozhai text, using a dramatic style to vividly tell the story of Nie Xiaoqian.

“What kind of technique is the Lengyan Sutra? Explain it,”

The only person bold enough to ask was Consort Wen. “It seems very powerful. Ning Caichen must have recited it for the spirits to fear him. Otherwise, how could a scholar escape?”

“Remember I mentioned the spirit of Haoran?”

Reciting the Lengyan Sutra grants the spirit of Haoran!

It was nonsense, but Lin Yi spoke earnestly.

With Consort Wen, he couldn’t scold her or overpower her, but he could openly trick her!

“The spirit of Haoran?”

Fang Pi’s eyes lit up, smiling. “The Chief is cultivating it.”

Consort Wen looked at Hong An, who nodded. “Master is practicing this. He said heaven and earth have righteous energy, flowing naturally. Everything else is minor paths; this is the great path.”

“No wonder,”

Consort Wen muttered to herself, “I noticed his practice is different from before. Heaven and earth have righteous energy, flowing naturally. The great path.”

She repeated it several times, entranced.

Seeing her so absorbed, Lin Yi felt a bit of pity.

Better not become a bookworm like Hong Ying!

But he didn’t dare ruin her fantasy, afraid of a beating.

He coughed lightly, gestured for everyone to leave, and said, “The great path is formless, hard to explain. People don’t understand its root. It’s not easy to cultivate. If it were as simple as reading a book, the world would be filled with immortals in the Jade Emperor’s court.”

It was abstract nonsense; don’t overthink it.

Focus on your so-called “Red Sleeve Technique”!

“Whether I follow the path or not, I don’t care,”

Consort Wen said calmly. “I am connected to the Buddha. Tell me, where is the Lengyan Sutra now?”

“It’s just a story,”

Lin Yi smiled. “You said it yourself, street tales and hearsay. It’s not real. The Lengyan Sutra might be fabricated. I just listened casually and organized it myself—you know that.”

“No,”

Consort Wen shook her head firmly. “Documents often cause disputes, but history proves them. Do you remember any lines from the Lengyan Sutra?”

“Observe external things. Even if you cannot see the heart, liver, spleen, or stomach. Nails grow. Tendons twist, pulse shakes. Resides in the body. Nowhere is correct.”

Lin Yi frowned. “I can only remember this much. That’s all they told me at the time.”

Just a few lines, deliberately excerpted for writing online fiction!

Consort Wen listened in shock, sighing, “What a pity.”

A shadow flickered before Lin Yi, and he lost sight of her.

Mingyue said, “Prince, shall we rest? Tonight, Zixia and I will take turns guarding. Nothing should happen.”

Xiao Xizi said, “No need. I can handle it alone.”

Lin Yi said, “Then the three of you take turns watching overnight.”

After a night of talking until dry-throated and dizzy-headed, he had no energy to continue and went to lie down in his own room.

The next morning brought good news: Hong Ying had awakened.

He didn’t wash up and ran straight to Hong Ying’s room.

“Prince.”

Hong Ying looked pale, supporting himself with one hand, wobbling to rise.

“Lie down. Don’t overdo it,”

Lin Yi gritted his teeth. “Almost lost half your life. Know your limits.”

“Thank you for your concern, Prince.”

Hong Ying smiled brightly.

“Xiao Xizi, make some porridge for your master. No heavy meals these days,”

Lin Yi laughed. “Also, bring the gourd for a pulse check.”

He laughed heartily and left.

Breakfast tasted especially sweet.

Holding a bun, he looked around. “Where’s Consort Wen?”

Mingyue said, “Prince, Consort Wen has gone into seclusion.”

“Oh.”

Lin Yi was already used to it.

After breakfast, he refused Xiao Xizi’s request to go fishing, letting him stay home to care for Hong Ying, taking only Wang Xu with him.

They returned fully loaded at noon.

Seeing Hong Ying at the door, Lin Yi was startled. “Who let you out? Would a few more days in bed kill you?”

“You’re right, Prince. I should have stayed in bed a few more days,”

Hong Ying smiled, “I lack skill and embarrassed you, Prince.”

“Embarrassment is nothing,”

Lin Yi snorted. “I was worried for your life.”

“I deserve it.”

Hong Ying still smiled happily.

“Then go lie down properly,”

Hong Ying, helped by Xiao Xizi, went back inside.

He finally lay in bed completely, refusing to leave and not allowing anyone in.

“Prince, Master has gone into seclusion.”

Xiao Xizi said happily.

“Seclusion, everyone’s getting skilled,”

Just as Lin Yi finished speaking, Cui Gengren ran in: Shan Qi had arrived.

“Tell him, I’m in seclusion too.”

Lin Yi realized this was the best excuse to avoid visitors asking for money.

“Prince.”

Shan Qi had already entered the courtyard, grinning.

“I told you to wait!”

Cui Gengren stomped angrily—still inexperienced.

“No money!”

Lin Yi didn’t wait for Shan Qi and declared the result.

“Prince, I’m not here for money.”

“Coming at this hour, what else could you be here for?”

Lin Yi still didn’t believe it.