mtlumby2d Chapter 58 Can't I accuse the villain first?
Chapter 58 Can't I accuse the villain first?
"A letter to you?" Lin Shiming's curiosity was piqued. He moved his chair closer to Lu Yuxi, took Lu Yuxi's hand, and waited for him to continue.
"My father said that when our ancestor Lin You presented this book, he made an agreement with our ancestor Emperor Tai Shi that every emperor, as well as the chosen crown prince, should read this book thoroughly and try their best to understand it. At that time, I had just been appointed crown prince, so my father, following custom, had me study this book."
"This book contains many profound and interesting stories and principles, including how to analyze human psychology and human nature, and how to become an excellent monarch. These contents have been of great help to me and are difficult to express in words."
"Besides that, there are a few pages of strange text in this book that I can't understand. My ancestor Lin You meant that only those with a special affinity can understand it."
Lin Shiming was so surprised he almost jumped up.
Strange scripts; the Changping Dynasty's ideas, customs, and even rules and laws that were completely at odds with previous dynasties and traditional feudal ethics; the unique military structure of the Tingyun Army; the more than one hundred years of trust and loyalty between the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion and the Lu imperial family; and the wise rulers of the Lu imperial family generation after generation...
Since his birth in this world, Lin Shiming has discovered many strange things about it, which are very different from ordinary feudal societies. He had always explained it by saying that this was another time and space, but he never expected it to be like this.
He seemed to have completely forgotten that Lin You was a Taoist priest with ingenious ideas.
Suddenly, Lin Shiming remembered how he came into this world.
That day, he was on leave and, feeling bored, decided to stroll around a Taoist temple on the outskirts of the city. There, in a quiet courtyard, he met a young Taoist priest. Just as they were about to exchange a few words, everything went black, and he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in this world.
…
No, why?
That Taoist priest was clearly several years younger than him, so why was he considered his ancestor?!
He also kneels and worships his ancestors every year at the end of the Qingming Festival.
On what grounds?
No, I can't accept this!
"Shi Ming? Shi Ming?"
Lu Yuxi interrupted Lin Shiming's indignant thoughts.
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly unhappy?"
Lin Shiming then came to his senses. He tried his best to suppress his anger and responded to Lu Yuxi's voice.
"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of something else."
Seeing that Lin Shiming seemed unwilling to say more, Lu Yuxi considerately gave him some private space.
"Do you still want to listen?"
"Listen!" Lin Shiming perked up again. "But I'd like to ask, may I take a look at your copy of 'A Letter to You'?"
“Of course you can.” Lu Yuxi nodded. “I was just about to tell you this. It says in the book that if any descendants of the Lin and Lu families want to read it, then no matter if they are emperors or crown princes, they can read it.”
"Fine!" Lin Shiming gritted his teeth. This Taoist priest was indeed quite capable, managing to predict the existence of someone like him. So, the fact that he was several generations removed from Lin Shiming's grandson was intentional?
Just wait, if he has the chance to go back after he dies, he will definitely fight that Taoist priest!
"However, the Lin family generally does not marry into the royal family, except for... your great-uncle. But the prospective crown prince who is with your great-uncle and is also a descendant of the Lu and Lin families does not want to read that book, so until now, no one other than the emperors and crown princes of the royal family has read this book."
Lin Shiming nodded. "So I'm the first one?"
"Hmm. Because we just got married, neither my father nor I thought about this matter. Now that it's been brought up today, I'll go back to my father tomorrow and ask him for the book for you to read. But we might have to wait until we return from the spring hunt, because the book is stored quite securely and we won't be able to get it out for a while."
"Okay." Lin Shiming took a bite of food. "There's no rush. You can go when you have time."
It's been eighteen years, and he's almost forgotten all his English. He has to spend some time recalling it. Besides, almost twenty years have passed, so he won't be short of ten or fifteen days.
Lu Yuxi lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, raising her hand to pour Lin Shiming another cup of tea.
*
After the festival ended, preparations began for the spring hunt seven days later.
Lin Shiming, the Crown Princess who was in charge of the Phoenix Seal and palace affairs, naturally bore the brunt of the attention, busy with all sorts of trivial matters every day. If Bai Qiongzhu hadn't sent people to help, and Ji Tiao hadn't been helping to handle some matters concerning the women of noble families outside the palace, Lin Shiming would have rushed to Buddha Mountain to kill someone on the spot.
Lin Shiming was extremely busy every day, so Lu Yuxi naturally kept him company. The two of them would stay together in the study, one handling palace affairs and the other finishing up the grading of the imperial examination papers. Occasionally, they would look up and catch a glimpse of each other, which was quite pleasant.
Sometimes when Lin Shiming got annoyed by those people from the Imperial Household Department, Lu Yuxi would put down what she was doing and go out for a walk with them.
Just like this morning.
Lu Yuxi then accompanied Lin Shiming, who was furious, to walk the wolves in the Imperial Garden.
Then, in that short half hour, they encountered a total of six of Emperor Longyun's concubines.
Looking at the seventh concubine in front of him, who was clearly terrified of wolves but still forced herself to bow gracefully to them, Lin Shiming finally couldn't hold back any longer.
He enjoyed looking at beautiful women, but he didn't want to look at Emperor Longyun's concubines! Especially with Lu Yuxi watching him covetously from the side.
"Whom Father takes is his business; it's no use coming to me!"
Hurry up and leave, you living ancestor! Tell your sisters not to come. It hasn't been that long since the last New Year's banquet, if a few more of you come, I'm afraid I'll get beaten up by Lu Yuxi again when I get back... well, you know.
"Your Highness, why do you refuse? Whether we can go or not is entirely up to you."
I thank you for your trust and praise.
But there's no need for that!
Lin Shiming sighed helplessly, then put on an angry expression and dismissed the obsequious and flattering concubine, and ordered his men to clear the road ahead.
"Finally, it's quiet." Lin Shiming finally breathed a sigh of relief, pinching the bridge of his nose. "These people are really persistent!"
Seeing how agitated he was, Lu Yuxi snorted softly, but still raised her hand to massage his temples.
"Whose fault is it? If you had forcefully pushed the first person away when they appeared, would any of this have happened?"
This is because General Lin's respect for women is ingrained in his bones. He always felt that women in ancient times were somewhat powerless, so he subconsciously didn't want to be too harsh on them.
But we forget that sometimes your good temper can become a tool for others to take advantage of you.
Lin Shiming realized this too, and feeling extremely guilty, he simply buried his head in Lu Yuxi's arms and refused to look up.
This somewhat childish yet adorable gesture left Lu Yuxi, who was still feeling a bit annoyed, both amused and exasperated. He reached out to steady Lin Shiming, who had buried his head in his chest, and smiled wryly.
"I'm the one who should be angry, why are you throwing a tantrum?"
Lin Shiming's muffled voice came from Lu Yuxi's chest.
"Can't I accuse the guilty party first?"
"Alright." Lu Yuxi smiled. "You've successfully complained, aren't you going to get up? There are quite a few guards and eunuchs here, and two wolves too. Doesn't the dignified young general have any dignity?"
"Shut up! I'm so annoyed."
Lin Shiming had indeed been quite irritable lately. Although he had been in charge of palace affairs for a month, this was the first time he had handled such an important matter on his own. Although Bai Qiongzhu was willing to help, Lin Shiming could sense that Bai Qiongzhu's vitality seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, so he dared not let her overwork herself in the slightest.
This was the first time in his eighteen years of life that he had faced the loss of a loved one. This feeling of helplessness seemed to bring back the pain of his past life when he faced the sacrifice of his comrades, making it impossible for him to calm down.
And what about the book left behind by that little Taoist priest Lin You? Did Lin You write anything when he came into this world?
Several factors combined are the real culprits behind Lin Shiming's recent unease.
The usually flamboyant and straightforward young general was finally feeling a bit suffocated and just wanted to hide away from Lu Yuxi to relax a little.