IDWBE -Chapter 410 Investigation

He knew very well that when talking with Prince He and Princess Huaiyang, they hated having people standing nearby.

All they needed to do was: stay quiet.

After bowing to Princess Huaiyang, he stood under the eaves of a corridor and didn’t approach any closer.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Lin Ning came before Lin Yi and bowed slightly.

Lin Yi looked at the frail Lin Ning and felt a pang of worry. “What happened these past few days? You’ve suddenly become so thin.”

He realized that ever since the army approached Ankang City, he had somewhat neglected his younger sister.

Thinking of this, his guilt only deepened.

He only had one younger sister. How could he treat her this way?

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty,” Lin Ning said softly. “I’m fine.”

“Why are you so distant now?”

Lin Yi pretended to be angry. “You used to call me brother, but now, with Mother absent, you don’t even say ‘Your Majesty’ to me.”

“But…”

Lin Ning hesitated for a moment. “You never addressed her as Mother either.”

“Are you blaming me?”

Lin Yi unconsciously furrowed his brows. “You know it’s difficult for me. If I let her act like this unchecked, our mother-son relationship will be ruined.”

He could understand poverty—they might not find a partner and die out, that was normal.

But wealth over generations? He never understood. Rich people only got richer, locking in their social status. Like the royal family: children had children, grandchildren had children, generation after generation endlessly.

But after learning of his mother’s actions, he recalled some matters in the Liang Kingdom.

In the two hundred years since the founding of the Liang Kingdom, Lin Yi’s father was the fifteenth emperor.

Of the fifteen emperors, six had no heirs.

Most died young.

Even the line of Emperor Yongguang came from the Prince of Poyang in Hongzhou.

The one thing that never changed? Every emperor still bore the surname Lin.

“The virtue of a gentleman lasts five generations”—it wasn’t an empty saying.

The richer you were, the higher the risk to your heirs.

Royal heirs not only fought among themselves but also faced treacherous ministers.

Why should he, who spent decades studying, lose to someone who simply inherited everything?

Even in so-called civilized society, trusts and funds wouldn’t make one safe.

Probably wishful thinking.

In just a short while, Lin Yi’s view of his father, Emperor Delong, shifted.

His survival until now wasn’t because he was discreet or because his maternal family was capable, or even because his mother protected him.

It was because, like the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Yong, and the Prince of Xin, he had Delong Emperor’s protection.

Without the emperor’s skillful hand, how could his naïve mother alone keep him alive?

“Your Majesty, don’t blame Mother; she only wants what’s best for you,” Lin Ning lowered her head, speaking earnestly. “Cousin Zijun is stunningly beautiful and talented—she is truly a match made in heaven for Your Majesty.”

“Huh?”

Lin Yi was surprised. “Did Mother have you say that?”

“Yes.”

Lin Ning nodded honestly.

Lin Yi smiled. “Alright, you don’t need to get involved in this.”

He turned to leave, but suddenly heard Lin Ning call him again.

“Your Majesty…”

Lin Ning hesitated.

“What now?”

Lin Yi asked curiously.

After a pause, Lin Ning said, “Throughout history, scholars are treated well. They could be the pillars of the state in the future. Your Majesty, this approach might dampen their spirits.”

Lin Yi smiled. “Who told you to say that?”

He regretted giving her so many poems. Unwittingly, Lin Ning had turned into a literary young lady.

Becoming a literary youth wasn’t a big deal, but she had grown almost ethereal.

When he brought her from Ankang City to Jinling City, she began holding poetry gatherings with the scholars of Jiangnan.

Now, back in Ankang City, as his own younger sister with free access to the palace, her interactions with the intellectuals had only increased.

He only wanted her to be happy and never constrained her.

Hearing her speak like this, he initially thought she was influenced by someone.

“You misunderstand, Your Majesty,” Lin Ning bowed slightly again. “These are my own thoughts, unrelated to anyone else. I’ve heard Your Majesty plans to hold the imperial examinations again. I think recruiting talent from across the nation should be done with kindness to benefit the scholars, for the sake of reform.”

“I’ve always taught you to view things dialectically,” Lin Yi said to Lin Ning calmly. “I won’t be overly kind to them to the point of chaos, nor too harsh to the point of no return. So, rest assured, I won’t kill anyone lightly.”

He waved to her and said no more.

Watching Lin Yi walk farther away, Lin Ning broke into tears.

“She’s crying?”

Lin Yi sighed as he walked.

Xiao Xizi cautiously said, “Your Majesty, the princess seems troubled.”

“What could possibly trouble her?”

“Well…”

Xiao Xizi hesitated. “I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

“Useless!”

Lin Yi scolded. “I’ve been too lenient with you. You know nothing. Then what exactly do you know?”

This time, he was genuinely angry.

His pride—the palace intelligence system—was leaking like a sieve. It was laughable.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty!”

Xiao Xizi had followed him for years and knew him too well.

Right now, he was truly angry. And when he was angry, it was serious—millions could die, blood flowing like rivers.

Kneeling on the ground, Xiao Xizi trembled.

“If you keep being this useless, don’t blame me for being harsh,” Lin Yi gritted his teeth. “Then you’ll just go home and plant sweet potatoes, contributing to the Liang Kingdom’s food security.”

Xiao Xizi was about to swear loyalty, but Lin Yi continued, “I’ve heard some have been stealing treasures from the palace and selling them. They have the audacity to do this openly while I’m still here. Not punishing them would enrage the common people!”

He could tolerate many things, but theft from the palace—touching his property—he could not.

When he ascended the throne, all palace treasures would belong to him.

“Your Majesty…”

Xiao Xizi had just started speaking when he realized Lin Yi had already disappeared.

He collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat.

This was the true touch of the king’s wrath.

The summer sun blazed.

Even at noon, Ankang City’s northwest gate bustled with people.

The army was marching to Jinzhou, and supply lines couldn’t be interrupted even for a day.

Zhou Xun, wearing a constable’s jacket, stood at the gate, watching the comings and goings, and said calmly, “We’ve been here ten days, still no clue. Could the information be wrong?”

He wiped sweat from his forehead.

Fang Pi frowned. “I don’t know either. This is from Manager Qi. Whatever he says, we follow.”

Zhou Xun said, “By rights, Liu Chaoyuan should have left Ankang City. Why would he risk staying here?”

Fang Pi shook his head. “He’s a grand master. Even if we met him, we couldn’t stop him. We rely on Ye Qiu and the blind man hidden nearby. We just need to investigate carefully. If anything seems wrong, we whistle, and Ye Qiu will arrive to handle it.”

Zhou Xun sighed. “Since we’re useless, Lord He didn’t assign anyone else?”

Fang Pi said, “Lord He said, ‘One alone cannot watch the well, two cannot lift the tree, three are too many.’”

Zhou Xun laughed. “What does that mean?”

Fang Pi grinned. “One is lonely, two—if one falls in, the other is suspicious. Three lifting a tree—one may not contribute.”

Zhou Xun said dryly, “We’re two.”

Fang Pi chuckled. “If you die, no one would believe I did it.”

He didn’t have the ability.

Once, he and the monk were of the same rank. Now the monk was a ‘Innate’ level, and he still hadn’t reached fifth rank.

Against Zhou Xun, nearly an eighth-rank peak, even if he claimed to have killed her, no one would believe it.

Fifth versus eighth rank—like an ant versus an elephant.

“Speak less if you can’t, why isn’t it you who dies?”

Zhou Xun rolled her eyes.

Fang Pi smiled. “Even if I die, no one would suspect you. Because I’m a palace guard.”

Manager Qi said it himself—the palace guards were Prince He’s men.

Anyone killing them would be committing treason.

Zhou Xun, a native of Sanhe, would never betray Prince He.

“Hmph, stop bragging,” Zhou Xun shifted. “Any news from the princess?”

Fang Pi chuckled. “Manager Qi sent the monk. The blind man said few could escape his grasp—probably no more than three.”

“Three?”

Zhou Xun asked. “Including the steward?”

“The blind man didn’t say,” Fang Pi evaded. “The monk is powerful. Don’t provoke him.”

“I understand,” Zhou Xun was shocked. She knew the monk well, but hadn’t realized his abilities were so terrifying. “If we find the princess, she can’t escape.”

Fang Pi shrugged. “That’s not our business.”

He was a palace guard. No one dared speak like this in court.

He might not have been so patient if Zhou Xun weren’t his classmate.

Lin Yi lay in the garden, tossed aside the note Qi Peng handed him, and sipped tea. “The princess went to the Western Wasteland. Why?”

Qi Peng said, “If I’m right, it’s for that so-called method of immortality.”

Lin Yi asked, “Immortality methods exist?”

He was a scientific materialist. Rebirth and transmigration had happened; what was impossible?

He had seen many techniques that defied Newton’s laws.

Nothing is absurd—only more absurd.

So immortality? Not surprising.

Qi Peng said, “In the Western Wasteland’s Star-Sinking Sea, there is the Yin-Yang Eight Desolation technique, similar to the Xixing method you taught.”

“Absorbing inner energy?”

He knew his own method well.

Qi Peng bowed respectfully. “Yes.”

Lin Yi said, “But Xixing can’t grant immortality, only enhance power.”

Qi Peng said, “Your wisdom, Your Majesty. Yin-Yang Eight Desolation differs—it uses demonic energy entering the Dao, said to revive and possess souls.”

“Planting demons in the Dao heart.”

Lin Yi blurted out.

Qi Peng said, “Exactly. That’s what I suspect. Yin-Yang Eight Desolation is likely a technique like Xixing combined with Dao heart demon planting.”

He was familiar with all the stories Lin Yi had shared.

The Dao heart demon planting left the deepest impression.

“Investigate! Thoroughly!”

Lin Yi’s heart pounded.

If someone like Xiang Yutian really existed, he wouldn’t survive.

“Understood.”

Qi Peng bowed and left.

Pregnant Hu Miaoyi’s belly grew larger each day.

At night, Lin Yi saw her meal being served and ordered it removed.

There were pastries with sugar!

Occasional treats were fine, but daily would risk gestational diabetes.

And with such indulgence, overweight could lead to a difficult birth.

“Your Majesty, please instruct.”

Hu Shilu knelt, unsure what to do.

Lin Yi said, “The nursery you built hasn’t produced results. What does that mean?”

These days, maternal and infant mortality was terrifying. He wanted to do something.

Unfortunately, his ability was limited, and his subordinates maintained but did not innovate.

“Your servant is guilty!”

Hu Shilu’s head hung low.

He had to admit: all his medical knowledge came from Prince He.

From blind doubt to blind admiration—all in seven or eight years.

Lin Yi waved. “The nursery’s purpose is simple: ensure pregnant women have proper nutrition. Focus on that.”

Ultrasounds, NT tests, trisomy screening—these were not considerations in this feudal era.

As long as they live—that’s fortune enough.

“Your Majesty,” Hu Shilu said aggrievedly, “I’ve been following your orders.”

Lin Yi sighed. “If you truly listened, you’d understand what real science is: finding patterns in general phenomena, not fumbling blindly.”

Hu Shilu paused, then said, “I understand, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost.”