IDWBE -Chapter 549 Weakness

Just as Chen Jingzhi’s carriage arrived at the entrance of the relay station, he received news that Ma Ke, the deputy envoy of the natives, had been arrested by the Imperial Guards.

Chen Jingzhi widened his eyes and asked the constable in front of him, “What is this about?”

He had known nothing about it beforehand.

The constable shook his head. “I don’t know the details either. I only heard it’s something about leaking secrets.”

Chen Jingzhi frowned. “What about that old fellow Dag?”

The constable replied, “He’s inside the relay station, running around anxiously, looking everywhere for you, my lord.”

Chen Jingzhi said decisively, “Don’t see him. Stop him for me.”

The constable said awkwardly, “My lord, those natives aren’t so easy to fool. What if they insist on finding you? I can’t just block them by force, can I?”

Chen Jingzhi said irritably, “No matter what he asks, just tell him I’ve gone out on official business and am not in Ankang City.”

“….”

The constable asked in confusion, “My lord, are we really going to ignore this?”

Chen Jingzhi snorted. “The Imperial Guards made the arrest. What can I do about it? If I meddle carelessly, I might end up dragging trouble onto myself.”

The constable gave an awkward laugh. “But what if—”

Chen Jingzhi cut him off.

“What ‘what if’? I’ve already explained things to them patiently again and again, but they still refuse to behave. Now even Prince He dislikes them. Even if they’re foreign envoys, let them complain all they want. What can they possibly do to me?”

The constable suddenly understood. “My lord is wise.”

Chen Jingzhi stroked his beard disdainfully.

“They’re just dumplings already kneaded and cooked. They won’t be able to stir up any waves.”

He lowered the carriage curtain and told the coachman to turn around.

The relay station was no place for him to go anymore.

He was resting with his eyes closed in the carriage when it suddenly stopped abruptly.

The inertia almost threw him out of the carriage.

Just as he was about to curse, he heard a very familiar voice.

Adjusting his official hat, he leaned his head out of the carriage and saw Fang Pi of the Imperial Guards, riding a tall horse with two subordinates blocking the road.

“Lord Chen, have you forgotten me already?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare,” Chen Jingzhi stood up in the carriage and bowed respectfully.

“So it is the Commander. May I ask what instructions you have for me?”

In terms of rank, Chen Jingzhi, as Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Reception, held the same Third Rank status as officials such as the Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainment, the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, the Salt Transport Commissioner, and others.

But Fang Pi, as a Zhenfu Envoy, was only Fourth Rank.

Technically Fang Pi shouldn’t even be his equal unless he became a Deputy Commander.

But there was no helping it.

Fang Pi belonged to the Imperial Guards—an organization that nobody in the court dared to provoke.

Even a Third-Rank official like Chen Jingzhi still had to treat him politely.

Besides, in this era everything depended on connections.

Fang Pi’s backing was stronger than his own.

There was simply no comparison.

Fang Pi smiled. “I wouldn’t dare give instructions. I just wanted to inform you that these natives have been acting lawlessly in the Liang Kingdom. You’d better keep a closer eye on them.”

Chen Jingzhi hesitated before saying, “Could you perhaps reveal a little more, so I can at least understand the situation?”

“I’ve said what I needed to say. Farewell.”

Fang Pi tugged his reins and rode past the carriage.

“Damn dog.”

Chen Jingzhi couldn’t help muttering angrily.

---

The sun was blazing.

Cicadas screamed nonstop from the treetops.

Lin Yi lay in a chair, feeling no wind at all in the air.

It was as if he were trapped inside a massive steamer, heat radiating everywhere.

He kicked the big yellow dog sleeping on his feet, then glanced at the Grand Princess, who was holding his daughter and refusing to let go.

The Grand Princess teased the child and said with a smile, “She does look quite a bit like you.”

Lin Yi said to Zixia, “The little princess is sleepy. Take her for a nap.”

“You don’t trust me?” the Grand Princess said.

Although she sounded dissatisfied, she still handed the child over to Zixia.

“I truly don’t trust you,” Lin Yi replied honestly.

After all, the woman in front of him had once sworn to wipe out the entire Lin family.

The Grand Princess said smugly, “So does that mean I’ve found your weakness?”

“They are my weakness, and I am their armor,” Lin Yi said with a yawn.

“Aunt, the way you behave really makes me uneasy. Why don’t you move into the palace instead?”

“Hm?”

The Grand Princess looked surprised.

“You’re not even going to try harder? If you continue spending day and night with me, perhaps I might grow fond of you and tell you where the treasury is.”

Lin Yi pursed his lips. “It’s broad daylight. I wouldn’t dare dream like that. Aunt, don’t treat me like a fool. When I truly want to know, that will be the moment you open your mouth.”

The Grand Princess said, “What if I refuse? Are you planning to use force?”

“Aunt, I’m not that kind of person,” Lin Yi shook his head.

“I wouldn’t dare use force on you. But I can’t guarantee I won’t use force on someone you care about.”

The Grand Princess said coldly, “I am alone in this world. I have no attachments. Who could possibly matter to me?”

Lin Yi smiled. “Aunt, tell me honestly. During this trip, did you really only go to the Western Wilderness? Did you not meet anyone else?”

Her eyes instantly changed as she stared at him.

“What are you implying?”

Lin Yi stood up, stretched lazily, and continued calmly despite her increasingly sharp gaze.

“When the Princess Residence met disaster years ago, both you and Tang Que had already reached Ninth Rank martial cultivation, though you weren’t yet grandmasters. I know Ninth Rank is already very formidable. Back then Nie Youdao, who had just entered Ninth Rank, fought his way out of Ankang City with just a sword. You and Tang Que were both Ninth Rank. Are you telling me you couldn’t protect a single child? I don’t believe it.”

“Nonsense!”

The Grand Princess’s face changed drastically.

Lin Yi continued, “Aunt, I’m very curious. You clearly didn’t need to return. You could have spent the rest of your life peacefully with my cousin. So why did you come back?”

Her son—Lin Yi’s cousin—was actually alive.

When Lin Yi heard this from Pan Duo, he had been so shocked he couldn’t close his mouth.

The Grand Princess’s immense hatred toward Emperor Delong and the Lin family had once felt completely genuine.

Was life really just a stage performance?

“All acting?”

The Grand Princess gritted her teeth.

“I truly underestimated you. What do you want?”

Lin Yi slowly walked toward her and smiled.

“Aunt, let’s make a deal. Tell me where the treasury is. Tell me your wish. I will help you fulfill it.”

She said coldly, “As long as your father lives, my child will never be able to live openly in this world.”

Lin Yi frowned.

Was she asking him to kill his own father?

“Now that I control the court, can’t you trust your nephew?” he asked.

“Hmph.”

The Grand Princess said coldly,

“If anything happens to my child, I will make you pay with your life.”

Lin Yi sighed. “You misunderstand. He is my cousin. Why would I harm him? He is still living peacefully in Daizhou. No one has disturbed him.”

She lifted her chin.

“As long as your father lives, I will never tell you where the treasury is. Send me into the palace.”

With that, she turned and left without looking back.

Lin Yi stared at her departing figure, his face dark.

Did she truly not care about her son’s life?

Or was she certain Lin Yi wouldn’t dare kill him?

When the Grand Princess returned to the palace, the entire court was shaken.

“She’s back… she really came back…”

Emperor Delong sat inside Qilin Palace, crushing the porcelain bowl in his hand.

“I want to see her.”

Although he had lost power, the aura he released still made He Lian tremble with fear.

After a long moment he replied shakily, “Yes.”

Prince He had already given orders that the Emperor must not be stopped if he wished to see the Grand Princess.

---

“Every dynasty is the same,” Lin Yi said while standing on the steps of Qilin Palace.

“No matter how many people die during a change of power, the system remains almost identical afterward. Only the person sitting on the throne changes, and then the benefits are redistributed. I didn’t want to follow that old path. I wanted to create something different. But now it seems I overestimated myself. Alone, I cannot dig the grave of an entire system.”

Xiao Xizi listened in confusion.

He had no idea what Prince He was talking about.

Still, since the prince had spoken so much, he had to respond somehow.

He nervously offered tea.

“Your Highness, please have some tea.”

Lin Yi didn’t even look at it.

He only asked, “After the two of them met, they really didn’t say anything?”

Xiao Xizi replied, “I was standing right beside them. After the Grand Princess met His Majesty, they truly didn’t exchange a single word. The Grand Princess only laughed loudly a few times and left.”

Lin Yi sighed.

“I really don’t know what they’re trying to do.”

Why couldn’t people just speak plainly?

Why did everything have to be a riddle?

When Lin Yi entered the palace hall, Liu Chaoyuan blocked his path.

“You intend to stop me?” Lin Yi asked unhappily.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Liu Chaoyuan said with a bow. “His Majesty is tired and will not see anyone.”

“Fine. I’ll leave then. After all, I’m a filial son.”

Lin Yi understood his father.

Once he decided not to see someone, forcing a meeting would be useless.

In the palace square, Lin Yi’s little daughter ran after butterflies.

Four maids followed her nervously, afraid she might fall.

“Alright, stop running,” Lin Yi caught her and lifted her into his arms.

He wiped the sweat from her face with a towel.

Looking at the freckles dancing across her cheeks in the sunset, he sighed.

He could only hope they didn’t grow any more.

Otherwise the dignified princess might grow up with a pockmarked face.

That would be embarrassing.

Unfortunately, this era didn’t have laser treatment.

What could he do?

Still, most childhood freckles were just pigmentation.

With more fruit and sunlight, they might improve.

---

When they returned to the residence, Sun Cheng again brought a gift list from the natives.

Lin Yi glanced at it and threw it away.

“Someone like this can be a High Priest?”

He scoffed.

“His brain doesn’t work.”

At that moment Zixia came forward and said softly, “Congratulations, Your Highness.”

“For what?” Lin Yi asked.

“Miss Du is pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Lin Yi asked in surprise.

“Yes.”

Zixia secretly felt jealous.

From Mingyue to Du Yinniang, everyone had conceived.

Yet her own belly remained flat.

“What a surprise…”

Lin Yi’s first reaction was not joy—but disappointment.

From now on, he wouldn’t be able to spend nights in Du Yinniang’s room anymore.

“Your Highness…” Jin Xiang pouted.

“I want to have a baby too.”

“Fine, fine. Everyone have babies.”

Lin Yi’s scalp tingled with fear.

This was the woman he feared the most.

He waved his hands quickly.

“Why are you all standing there? Let’s eat! If you’re not enthusiastic about eating, something’s wrong with your brain.”

Later that night, Lin Yi sat in the garden under the moonlight.

Pan Duo stood opposite him. “As long as Your Highness gives the order, I can bring Young Master Tang back to the capital at any time.”

“No need for now. Just keep watching him,” Lin Yi said.

“That’s my aunt’s most precious treasure. If anything happens to him, she’ll fight me to the death.”

Pan Duo continued, “This Young Master Tang is now Fifth Rank in martial cultivation. He’s well-read, polite, generous, and somewhat respected in the countryside.”

“My aunt probably never lets him lack money,” Lin Yi said thoughtfully.

“But I’m still curious. Back then, how did she manage to send him out of Ankang City?”

Pan Duo hesitated. “If my guess is correct… it was probably thanks to Liu Chaoyuan, the imperial attendant.”

“Liu Chaoyuan?”

Lin Yi murmured.

“He helped the Grand Princess?”

But after thinking carefully—It didn’t seem impossible.