Volume 6, Chapter 5: Withered Flowers by the River (1/2)

Volume 6, Chapter 5: Withered Flowers by the River

<blockquote class="Quote">

After the Princess joined Yong, she stood guard over Yanmen for twenty years and repeatedly sallied forth to harass the barbarians in the steppe Whenever the barbarians met her, they felt their souls detach from them and called her a Blood Rakshaka

Cereinally fro destitute in Jianye Afterwards, he becaht elites On Jiang Zhe’s orders, he entered the barbarian lands to scout for ence and became renowned on the frontier as “Divine Doctor Bo Le” By chance, he met the Princess in Daizhou and fell in love in the Eastern Sea Unfortunately, because they served different masters, they were torn apart When Ji later learned that the Princess was ely requested permission from Zhe to join his beloved in death in Daizhou Zhe had no choice but to agree Ji abandoned his future and traveled to Yanmen to help the Princess defend the pass Just as Yan was moved by Ji’s love and wed the Princess to Ji on the battlefield After the Princess surrendered to Yong, Ji remained at Yan as the Princess’s deputy

—raphy of the Crimson Clouds Princess</blockquote>

All of the passersby were heartbroken by the sight of the leaves of thebeing bloay like sh the officials who had come to see off the travelers had already departed, Lin Bi continued to hold her younger sister’s hands in the pavilion while entrusting so, there was no telling when they would next be able to reunite Lin Bi ell aware that she would never have the opportunity to return to her ho scenery of Yanmen As a result, she was even er sister who had inherited herwith the Prince of Qi They tacitly understood the need to leave sooodbyes As for Li Lin and the other boys, they stood solemnly to the side This occasion left them no room to speak

Lu Yun stood behind Li Lin, cautiously considering the faures he had often heard stories of Lu Yun hadthe Prince of Qi’s open-nity, Lu Yun involuntarily felt great ad that seven years ago, the Prince of Qi was a radiant, glinting sharp sword that was unable to sheathe his killing intent, har both others and himself As for today, the treasured sword had been hidden away Although its keen edge had not been reduced in the slightest, it had beco’er, you have to be careful These last several years, you have repeatedly penetrated deep into barbarian lands That is unavoidably too dangerous You are Daizhou’s commander If some mishap occurs, the effect will be enorsters the opportunity to take command I hear that you frequently quarrel with brother-in-law That isn’t good Although he is your deputy, he is also your husband and a trusted lieutenant of Marquis Jiang You cannot have any anih you have been married for many years to brother-in-law, you have yet to produce an heir Even the Empress has inquired about thisto do about this? If you would listen to my advice, it is best if you help hilance towards Chiji and softly replied, “Elder sister, it’s only a habit that husband and I quarrel If we don’t quarrel after a few days, my entire body would feel unco shrewish Rather, he’s used variousto the capital this time, husband asked for the Marquis to check our health The Marquis said that neither of us have any problems It may be providence that we have yet to have a child In fact, I also asked husband’s opinion However, husband explained that he has long had no relatives and is unworried about being unfilial by having no heir I, ed and allow him to take a concubine I’ve even prepared to help him take a concubine However, he steadfastly refused and even ignoredthis, Lin Bi could not help but laugh Glancing at Chiji from the corners of her eyes, she said, “Brother-in-law is a passionate individual It is no wonder that he illing to meet death with you back then Fine, I will notas your relationshi+p is har so’an this ti with fear in your presence Have you beenis husband’s patron ThatHusband only spent a few years at his side and is already quite hard to deal with Do you still harbor a grudge against hi the plan that har?”

Lin Bi sentle She softly whispered, “The two countries were at war, there aren’t that h Li Xian personally forced Tingfei’s death, I’ve no longer held a grudge, let alone one against Marquis Jiang If you are saying that he’s afraid ofthe Fengyi Sect Master and the Devil Sect Sovereign, what is so frightening about a defeated general likeand teasing those closest to him You’ve seen him constantly tease Roulan, Lin’er, and the other children Could it be that Marquis Jiang seriously dislikes them? In my presence, since he can’t tease me, he naturally can only fearhow to interact with those he values le and De his truest face”

Hearing this, Lin Tong’s eyes brightened as she re Ji speak of hoould always suffer in Jiang Zhe’s care She could not help chuckling softly Her sister truly had an eye for detail With one glance, Lin Bi had been able to judge that unpredictablehis true emotions

As the two sistershands, san to be kicked up in the distance, and the thundering of hoofbeats resounded A dozen or so fine horses galloped over Everyone turned their attention and saw that, of the two individuals at the head of the group, one wore azure, while the second wore yellow It was Huo Cong and Roulan with their bodyguards coht smile Like everyone else, she was extre about this girl’s lack of regard for failing to co walked out of the pavilion Waving, she yelled, “Roulan, did you finally re her horse to a halt, Roulan dis’s neck, she declared, “Auntie Tong, you’re truly heartless I was summoned by the Empress to acco today and asked Her Imperial Majesty to allow me to leave the palace to see you off, I would still be watching a perfor Happiness”¹

Reaching out with two fingers to pinch Roulan’s snohite, tender cheek, Lin Tong giggled, “You can always justify yourself Do you think that I don’t know that yourthe Eer in the palace these last several days? How coly wasn’t able to see your daddy when he went to say his goodbyes Why did he disappear after His Iled free froue out a little, she answered, “I don’t know anything about that Tobrother Huo, surely you must know Daddy treats you better than both Shen’er and h this youth looked nor did not knohy but always felt that she did not dare to be presuentle and serene te, she asked, “Young inally wanted to bid farewell personally Leaving today, no one can knoe will be able to return to Chang’an”

“After Sir returned the day before yesterday from a banquet in the palace, he went to the“Apparently, there are sos he needs to handle He asked me to see off the Princess and Senior Apprentice Brother Chiji”

Lin Tong heaved a disappointed sigh and did not question further Hidden a at Roulan, felt his one to Nanshan Manor This meant that he was not within the I Zhe’s side be reduced? If so, is there an opportunity for me to perform the assassination? But where is Nanshan Manor? In addition, will I have the free time to search? Besides, that uards and have the Demonic Shadow Li Shun by his side It’s likely to be difficult to succeed</e’s side and softly said, “Junior apprentice brother, there is a matter I ask you inforuard the Prince of Jia sheltered, and he looks soh, Master must still be infor his expression, Huo Cong smiled as he listened attentively, al some trivial matter However, he replied, “Sir is already aware of this matter Senior apprentice brother, there is no need for you to be troubled Sir has said that before senior apprentice brother departs, you can inform Princess Bi about General Duan The Princess presuain”

Hearing this, Chiji’s heart raced He did not find it strange that Jiang Zhe already knew about the Southern Chu teen The young man’s appearance was some forty to fifty percent similar to that of Lu Can; he possessed expert archery skills and extraordinary strength² in his two ar Zhe would undoubtedly suspect so Lin Bi about Duan Wudi’s return, Chiji orried that Jiang Zhe was once again setting a trap If it were someone else, Chiji would have si’s elder sister Because of this, Chiji was a bit worried about the consequences

Seeing this, Huo Cong laughed softly and stated, “Senior apprentice brother, do not worry Sir has good intentions and only hopes that the Princess can convince General Duan to serve the court”

Chiji found hi and replied, “I understand Junior apprentice brother, coreatly,me with quite envious Since you have the fortune to rely on behalf of all us unworthy disciples”

Huo Cong nodded his head and voiced his agreement However, a sliver of h Master treated hireat kindness, he had no choice but to conceal so from his master If this secret were to be revealed one day, what could he do? Unless his blood were splattered about the Cold Courtyard, what joy would be there in continuing to live?

Even though they were reluctant to separate, Lin Bi and Chiji ultiures, Li Xian walked to the side of his tearing, beloved wife He said, “Bi’er, let’s go back Within two years, they can return to the capital to report in”

Lin Bi sadly replied, “It’s nothing There is no need for you to worry The two of us separating is so that will happen sooner rather than later I ao back to take a look”

Li Xian fell silent There was nothing he could do to help with thisin which no alternatives existed Just like how he had exchanged hisLin Bi If Lin Bi wanted the Liu and Lin families to be safe, she had no choice but to abandon all hope of returning to Daizhou

Seeing him like this, Lin Bi actually s’an is also very good Besides, with you and the children, anywhere can be home In comparison, you have sacrificedher ease up, Li Xian smiled back and returned, “This Prince would rather have a beautiful wo with that?”

Lin Bi’s face flushed scarlet Just as she was about to turn and leave, Li Xian eo A sweet feeling blossoer felt any reainst thisthe news that Chiji had furtively told her, Lin Bi seriously considered going to see Duan Wudi The past was best left in the past and should no longer trouble one’s ain, it orth it to ensure that a loyal and righteous individual who harbored the common people and the country was not reduced to a life in the ed affectionate gestures, the Prince of Qi’s sons found themselves in an aard situation All of them dropped their heads and did not speak Aside from Li Lin, none of the other princes had personalities sinored them, they only felt dread towards their father It was only when Lin Bi entered the Prince of Qi’s household and faulations were reestablished that these children born of concubines were taken care of As a result, these youths were all naturally extremely respectful of Lin Bi and so didn’t watch Li Xian flirt with her As for Li Lin, he was hing several times

Startled, Lin Bi promptly pushed Li Xian aside Li Xian was forced to release her Gazing at his sons, he declared, “You should return on your own” Afterwards, he ferociously glared at Li Lin before pulling Lin Bi into their carriage and departing

Li Lin scowled ood intentions, he had ultimately offended his father After his father returned, he would probably be dragged to the drill grounds on so of how his entire body would be sore later that evening and how he’d be unable to sleep, Li Lin’s ave hi their horses and departing respectively

At this hness, Sir and the Princess won’t be at the residence these next few days How about co this, Li Lin celebrated at this unexpected good news as he proreat! Many thanks, elder brother Huo”

Joy flitted across Lu Yun’s eyes Who would have thought that he would be able to enter Jiang Zhe’s residence so quickly? Although Jiang Zhe wasn’t present, there would yet be a harvest He co’s eyes had briefly paused on hiatory docu handed over to the Intelligence Management Section to be handed to Li Lin Otherwise, such a coincidence, a second son na in this world, would be i, when Lu Yun opened his eyes, the sky had already brightened He was greatly baffled Yesterday, when he had acco Zhe’s residence, he could only follow and live with Li Lin at the Phoenix Perch Pavilion as Li Lin’s bodyguard It was said that Jiang Zhe’s residence was for’s residence However, in Lu Yun’s eyes, although the residence was rich, beautiful, and secluded, it was much smaller than the Prince of Qi’s residence and did not have as azebos In the hoht that he would find it difficult to sleep Instead, he was actually able to sleep untroubled through the night, leaving hi out of his roo with a sword in the courtyard accouards Lu Yun blushed as he stepped to the side Once Li Lin had finished, he advanced to apologize, “This subordinate accidentally overslept Your I, Li Lin replied, “This is the first tie that you would be unaccustomed This Prince occasionally lives here for short periods In the future, you will grow accusto brother Huo has invited us to breakfast there”

Lu Yun’s brows ju, “This subordinate has heard in Southern Chu that the Cold Courtyard is where the Marquis of Chu planned his strategies Who would have thought that young master Huo would reside there?”

Li Lin suddenly s To this day, the Cold Courtyard is Uncle’s dwelling Although Uncle now lives in the inner residence, Uncle still stays a dozen or more days in the Cold Courtyard In addition, Uncle’s study is located there Who kno ies were drawn up there? Even when Uncle Emperor wishes to ask for advice from Uncle, he comes to the Cold Courtyard”

Lu Yun was rather puzzled It was obvious that Huo Cong lived at the Cold Courtyard He had already learned that the azure-robed youth was Jiang Zhe’s disciple and thus had the status as one of the youngnot have his own residence? With these serious doubts, Lu Yun followed Li Lin and walked towards the Cold Courtyard He paid careful attention the entire journey As expected, the bodyguards within Jiang Zhe’s residence were all far frohter than at the Prince of Qi’s residence assassinating Jiang Zhe here would be extre at the entrance to the Cold Courtyard, Li Lin had all of the other bodyguards go and rest, while he tugged Lu Yun aside and said, “You are different from the rest of them This Prince considers you a friend Come inside with me”

Lu Yun felt his heart warm He naturally understood that Li Lin treated him differently— as he was about to enter the place where Jiang Zhe frequently stayed, Lu Yun could not help feeling extremely tense and had no opportunity to reflect upon Li Lin’s kindly intentions

Upon entering the Cold Courtyard, Lu Yun was stupefied The quiet, secluded isolation made him remember that his father’s study was also that cold and lonely Even the bright and beautiful spring radiance was seely soht security and the interior’s bleak desolation was quite stark However, what greatly baffled Lu Yun was that under the rising sun, Huo Cong was dressed in co the plants as if conscientiously and seriously perfor their arrival

Stepping forward, Li Lin called out, “Big brother Huo, have you not yet finished? Has breakfast not yet been prepared? This is Yun Lu, does big brother Huo re this time so that Roulan can also see hi Li Lin speak, Huo Cong lifted his head and showed a faint s off the soil upon it, he addressed Lu Yun, “I’ve heard frohness that you’ve already taken up service by his side Although His Ihness probably forced you, you should not blaood intentions”

Lu Yun prohness did not force me This uni’an Unable to findable to serve at His Ihness’s side is a not bad solution”