Lin Feilu's chess skills combined Emperor Lin's domineering arrogance and Xiao Lan's flexibility like water as she bested Si Miaoran, who had been well-versed in chess since she was a child, without leaving a speck of dust behind.
As the saying goes, 'the quality of a game of chess could show you the quality of the owner'. However, even though Si Miaoran lost the chess round quite badly, there was no trace of annoyance in her eyes. Instead, they were gentle and full of admiration, "The Fifth Princess has superb chess skills, Miao Ran is rather ashamed."
Lin Feilu jumped down and pulled her hand, "Sister-in-law, let me take you out for a walk. The chrysanthemum flowers have been blooming beautifully lately."
Naturally, Si Miaoran, who had never visited the palace, nodded in anticipation.
Over the years, Lin Feilu had ventured even to the corners of the palace and found particular areas where specific aspects shone the best. She knew where the flowers bloomed the best, the clearest lakes and the trees that bore the sweetest of fruits.
Although the Si Residence was also gorgeous, it was still inferior to the beauty of the royal palace. Si Miaoran walked all the way and silently noted specific spots of the palace and remembered the paths that Lin Feilu brought her to.
When they reached an intersection, she suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. It was different from anything that she had smelled before, so she looked over curiously. Pointing towards the front, she asked, "What is that?"
Lin Feilu glanced at it and said casually, "The Cold Palace."
Si Miaoran's fingers trembled as she quickly retracted them. Then, she urged Lin Feilu, "We should go, quickly."
Lin Feilu still introduced her sister-in-law to the unfamiliar building enthusiastically, "Although it is the Cold Palace, there is a kind of flower called the Iris which is not found anywhere else. Does my sister-in-law smell the fragrance of the flowers? That's the smell."
Si Miaoran was a little curious, but she was even more worried about the taboo of the Cold Palace, so Lin Feilu volunteered, "I'll go pick one for my sister-in-law!"
Si Miaoran hurriedly said, "There's no need! That place is…"
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Lin Feilu take a vertical leap and rose into the sky, flying up the treetops.
Songyu was beside her as she requested the chance to explain, "Please excuse her, Your Highness Crown Princess. Our Princess doesn't have many other hobbies besides flying…"
Si Miaoran was amused and she laughed while standing in wait for the Little Fifth Princess to return. She watched Lin Feilu jump up the wall of the Cold Palace two or three times before the girl flew in.
The cold palace was not big, but it was chilly and there was a sense of gloominess to it everywhere. There were no servants in the palace as servants would deliver meals regularly every day without entering. They would just put them on the platform by the door while the concubines who were punished to stay in the Cold Palace would fend for themselves here.
Now, the only person living in the Cold Palace was Imperial Concubine Mei.
When Lin Feilu jumped off the wall, she saw that there were already two food boxes on the stone platform which were today's breakfast and lunch.
She glanced at the door of the room where the Imperial Concubine resided in, but it was tightly shut. She couldn't hear anything from outside either.
The concubines who were sent to the Cold Palace would generally become insane or lifeless, so no one really bothered to come and check on them.
The scent of cold Irises wafted to her nose and Lin Feilu remembered the hug last night. She pulled out the dagger from her waist and held it in her hand, walking towards the room step by step.
With a slight push, the door opened with a creak.
All she could see was a pair of feet hanging in the air.
At that moment, Lin Feilu's heart seemed to stop.
Lin Feilu rushed out the door and scrambled to the courtyard before she took two deep breaths and looked back at the horrific scene.
It was the Imperial Concubine.
She hanged herself from the cantilever.
No, that's not it… she was strangled, but made to look as if she committed suicide.
It was quite evident to know who the murderer was.
Lin Feilu held back her trembling hands as she picked two Irises and hurriedly jumped out of the Cold Palace.
Si Miaoran was talking to Songyu. When she saw her coming back, Si Miaoran looked at the purple flowers in her hand and smiled, "They are beautiful, but it's a pity that it's been planted in a place like that."
Lin Feilu exerted her Oscar-winning acting skills to the extreme, hiding her shock and surprise before they could even catch on, "Sister-in-law, let me take you to see the other flowers."
The two strolled around for half an hour before Lin Feilu excused herself under the excuse that she had to go to the Empress Dowager's Palace.
She hurried back to the Mingyue Palace. Only when she collapsed on her bed did she have the strength to think about everything that had transpired.
After both the Imperial Concubines ratted each other out, Imperial Concubine Mei was sentenced to the Cold Palace whereas Imperial Concubine Hui moved to the Hall of Repentance. Though there were some small disturbances between the two of them, they were later all resolved by Lin Feilu. Later on, Lin Nianzhi got married and had a long talk with Imperial Concubine Hui all night before she left the palace. After that, the tension between Lin Feilu's side and the Imperial Concubine Hui had become much more peaceful.
She had been stable and calm over the years, so she probably didn't see a reason to fight anymore.
Things on Imperial Concubine Mei's side were even hushed however. It seemed like she was content just to stay alive.
But before Song Jinglan left, he made a special trip to kill Imperial Concubine Mei.
This could only mean that Imperial Concubine Mei was secretly still planning to do something. However, it was a pity that before she could initiate her plan, it had become known to Song Jinglan, who had eyes and ears all around the palace back then.
In the end, he took matters into his own hands to help her resolve this issue.
Last night, Song Jinglan returned after killing someone, hugging Lin Feilu with the same hands that silently strangled someone to death. However, she didn't see the slightest abnormality in him back then as he was still so calm and composed.
Lin Feilu suddenly discovered that her understanding of Pretty Boy might have been wrong in recent years.
The last thing he did for her before he left was to help her kill…
Lin Feilu's mental state collapsed a little.
I shouldn't have gone… I shouldn't have gone over to the Cold Palace out of curiosity to find out. Great, now I'm terrified by the gift that he left me…
Lin Feilu ran to take Xiao Lan's Buddha beads and put them in her arms. Then, she recited the scriptures in front of the Bodhisattva statue for half an hour before finally dispelling the fear in her heart. It was not until evening that the news of Imperial Concubine Mei's suicide spread throughout the palace.
No one suspected that anyone killed her. She had been in the Cold Palace for so many years, and everyone assumed that she had already gone crazy, so it was not surprising to them that she committed suicide.
After dinner, someone came from the East Palace and gave Lin Feilu a stack of handwritten Buddhist scriptures.
After hearing about this, Si Miaoran remembered that she had been to the Cold Palace this afternoon, so she quickly copied some scriptures down and sent it to her to bring Lin Feilu some peace of mind.
Lin Feilu was indeed a little scared. She didn't dare to sleep alone that night, so she ran to sleep with Xiao Lan.
Only to realise that Emperor Lin had decided to flip Xiao Lan's plate(1) that night.
(T/N: It was explained before, but flipping the nameplate of a concubine means that the Emperor plans to sleep with that said concubine that night)
Lin Feilu, "…"
She was so pissed!
In the end, it was Songyu and Qingyan who accompanied her before Lin Feilu was able to fall asleep. Before going to bed, Songyu heard her Princess muttering something in a low voice, so she leaned over to try and listen. Although she had heard every word, she didn't know what it meant.
Lin Feilu fell asleep with the core values of the Buddha scriptures embedded in her mind.
Maybe it was really effective as she didn't dream of the dead person at all. Instead, she dreamt that she had transmigrated back again to her former world and was sent to the high school examination room, where she was taking a political exam.
Since so many years had passed, she had already forgotten what she had memorised before, so she couldn't answer a single question on the paper. She was so anxious that she almost cried.
Lin Feilu, who woke up the next day, hitting the bed with her fist. This is more terrifying than a nightmare, isn't it?
Half a month later, it was discovered that the Song Empire's captive Prince had escaped.
Based on the length of time that it took for his disappearance to be known, it could be seen that Song Jinglan really had no sense of existence in the Great Lin Empire's Palace. That was mainly because he often closed his door and stayed in that small courtyard for a long time in the past. He had no friends in the palace, so no one truly cared whether he was well or not either.
There were still servants who delivered meals to the Cold Palace three times a day, but the Cuizhu Villa turned out to be the place that was truly forgotten and neglected.
The escape was only noticed, when people discovered that the building was empty because a Concubine's cat ran in. The little eunuch had to knock on the door to ask for the cat, but no one answered the door despite knocking for a long time. He thought it was a deliberate trick done by the people living inside, so he brought in some palace servants to break down the door. Upon entering, he found that there was no one inside, and the room had already started accumulating a layer of dust and ash.
The little eunuch reported the matter to the Concubine, and when the Concubine greeted the Empress, she relayed the news. From then on, the Empress reported the matter to Emperor Lin.
Perhaps no one would have found out that the Song Empire's captive Prince had escaped if it weren't for this incident.
Emperor Lin was furious when he learned of this as he immediately sent an order to hunt down the Prince by organising a search throughout the whole country. He didn't care about this royal prisoner, but he cared about his Imperial power. It was already presumptuous for the Prince of the Song Empire to dare to sneak away, but he actually even succeeded in sneaking away! It was simply contempt towards the Imperial power of the Great Lin Empire as it showed that they were not taking the Emperor seriously!
But after half a month of time between them, along with Song Jinglan's meticulous arrangements and outstanding feats of work, perhaps the Prince was already in the Song Empire at this time.
Emperor Lin searched for him for a while without any news before he handed the Song Empire an incriminating letter. He reminded them of the status of the Royal Prince that was meant to be a prisoner, demanding that the Song Empire send him back. He was going to be extremely strict with the demand as he needed to uphold his reputation!
As a result, the Song Empire, who had always been trembling when faced with the Great Lin Empire, straightened their backs this time and replied that the ruling monarch was seriously ill. He requested the 7th Prince to serve by his side for the remaining time. The 7th Prince was full of filial piety, so he returned to the country to serve his Father Emperor, claiming that filial piety was their first priority. They also stated that His Majesty Emperor Lin was someone who upheld his own filial morals as well, so they hoped that he would be empathetic and not instigate the cruel act of separating father and son.
And in the end, Emperor Lin truly couldn't do it…
In the eyes of the world, he was the standardly dutiful son and benevolent Emperor. It was deemed true that the Song Emperor was seriously ill, so Song Jinglan's concern for his father that prompted him to return to the country to serve was also worthy of praise. As long as Emperor Lin still wanted to be remembered in history for benevolence, he couldn't summon the captive Prince back.
The Song Empire not only replied to the letter, but they also supplemented the documents requesting the return of the royal prisoner and a hoard of apology gifts to the Great Lin Empire— this matter was over.
After Lin Feilu heard it, she was secretly surprised.
Little Pretty Boy had been in the Great Lin Empire for many years, so she thought that the Song Empire should have given up on him long ago. Unexpectedly, when he returned, the Song Empire was willing to dismiss Emperor Lin's incrimination towards him and also found so many highly valid reasons. It could be seen that Little Pretty Boy's status had not decreased but actually increased after he went back home, though she was unaware of how he could pull it off.
However, she was relieved to know that he was safe.
After the Crown Prince's wedding, two incidents of Concubines hanging themselves and the royal prisoner's escape occurred one after another. No one knew where rumours suddenly spread from, but it was said that the Crown Prince's marriage was unlucky and collided with the royal luck. Many speculated that there were going to be a lot of bad incidents happening in the future.
It seemed like the world was trying to confirm this rumour as the miscarriage of a Concubine occured. Not long after, a eunuch was heard to have gone crazy all of a sudden without any solid reason.
The Concubine was only three months pregnant and she just went to visit the Imperial garden during the day, but when she came back at night, she felt an unbearable surge of abdominal pain, instantly knowing the inevitable after seeing red.
And the case with the eunuch was even weirder. He was serving others in the palace before, but suddenly, he screamed wildly and his eyes seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit. He rushed towards the palace maid next to him and opened his mouth, biting her neck. A piece of flesh was practically torn off from the palace maid and the eunuch was also beaten to death by the guards.
For a time, everyone in the palace was in danger.
Although the Empress had strictly ordered the harem not to discuss this matter, the rumours spread even more fiercely and finally reached the ears of Emperor Lin. Although he didn't say anything, he summoned the eminent monk from the Huguo Temple to the palace to perform a great ritual. He also announced that the people in the Royal Astronomy Supervisors had made a mistake in calculating the auspicious day for the Crown Prince's wedding.
As soon as Lin Feilu heard this rumour, she knew that Noble Consort Ruan was most likely the person behind the act. Although the first two incidents were coincidences, she thought that the latter two were definitely artificial. However, the ancient times were full of superstitious people who believed in good fortune. Deliberately spread by those who had a heart to scheme, anything fake had the potential to become real.
In the struggle between the two factions over the years, the Ruan family did not gain any practical benefits. Instead, they allowed the Prime Minister's faction to take the opportunity to grow, and it now achieved a tied standing with the Crown Prince. Starting from this marriage and shaking the people's hearts was indeed a good way to achieve equilibrium.
Seeing that the Empress was very haggard towards this matter, and Noble Consort Ruan finally felt relief with the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess reducing their appearances. She explained to the Ruan family's in-law, who came to the palace to bring a letter for greeting purposes, "Go back and tell father that the Jiangnan Water Conservancy must be obtained for Ting Er. If we do this, our achievements and our popularity will be greatly increased."
Lin Ting started to go into court last year to discuss politics, but he had not achieved much. The Jiangnan Water Conservancy had been planned for a long time by Emperor Lin, so all the factions wanted to control it.
The Ruan family's in-law responded and added, "In the past, Liu Yinping was responsible for the water conservancy in Jiangnan. I wanted to use his momentum and experience this time, but who would have expected such a thing to happen,"
Noble Consort Ruan sneered, "Mei is really a useless thing. She can't do anything at all, so it might be a good thing that she had died. At any rate, don't worry about her father."
The two chatted for a while and when the Ruan family's in-law was going to leave, he said, "After spring, the marriage of His Highness King Qi(2) should also be settled. The Prime Minister means that the conditions of the Marquis of Wu'an can be agreed to first."
(T/N: Also explained, but when the Princes establish their own residence, they will be given a new name. The concept is that since they're moving, they shouldn't be only known as the 'son of the Emperor' and should have their own identity. The name given, King Qi is the new form of addressing Prince Lin Ting)
Noble Consort Ruan nodded, "I have a good idea."
The Marquis of Wu'an, Wei Honglang, was named a Marquis for his military merit and loyalty. He was in charge of the capital patrol and the sixteen guards. However, the Xi family's guards were stationed on the frontier all year round and rarely returned to the capital. Hence, the Marquis of Wu'an had more authority regarding the garrison in the capital.
He had a daughter named Wei Luochun, who was regarded as the jewel in his palm. Noble Consort Ruan fancied this woman to be Lin Ting's wife. However, the Marquis of Wu'an was not a fool. He knew what the Ruan family desired and made two requests. First, until the Crown Prince was completely overthrown, he would not use any military forces to help them. Second, after getting married, Lin Ting must first write a letter of reconciliation. If something happens to the Ruan family, Wei Luochun must pack up immediately and not be implicated.
These two requests made Noble Consort Ruan very angry, so she did not agree to their marriage. But now, the whole court couldn't find a more suitable force to win over than the Marquis of Wu'an. Since Prime Minister Ruan said so, Noble Consort Ruan couldn't drag it any longer and planned to mention this to Emperor Lin after a while.
However, to avoid Emperor Lin's suspicion, this matter could not be mentioned directly but should be based on the love of the two children.
Therefore, Noble Consort Ruan had already sent a letter to Lin Ting, asking him to attend the Snow Poetry Banquet to be held next month. The Marquis of Wu'an would arrange for Wei Luochun to meet him by chance.
Although Lin Ting was named King Qi, he was known as the 'Jade King' in the capital. It could be seen that he resembled a jade, remaining as cool and noble as one. Because of his gentle temperament and his talents, he was always admired by noble girls in the capital. As long as he was willing to, it would not be difficult for him to impress Wei Luochun.
The Snow Poetry Banquet was an elegant poetry gathering organised by the high-level nobles in the capital for the past years. When snow fell every winter, they enjoyed the snow, cooked some wine, and wrote some poetry. Almost all the Young Masters and Young Ladies in the central capital would participate as the event became a status symbol gradually throughout the years. If the organisers did not invite someone, the general masses could take that they were in decline.
And every year, there were excellent works produced. Hence, it became a way for the talented and eloquent to become famous in the capital. So every year, people try to get into the poetry club.
Lin Feilu went there once a few years ago. She didn't know how to write poetry, so she just watched the lively event, ate something, and admired the appearances of a dozen handsome guys and elegant beauties. After that, she wasn't really interested in attending anymore.
When she went out of the palace to visit Lin Ting in the Royal Qi Residence today, she happened to meet someone from Noble Consort Ruan's palace walking out of the palace. The palace servant was not surprised to see her and left after greeting her. She walked all the way into the mansion and saw Lin Ting wearing a white fur-collared outfit while standing under the plum tree, seemingly distracted.
Lin Feilu called out to him happily, "Eldest Imperial Brother! I have arrived!"
He turned his head slowly. Half of his face was hidden under the white fur collar, and when his eyes fell on her, he slowly focused his gaze. His pale and thin lips also rolled up in a gentle arc before he said softly, "Little Lu, you're here."
Lin Feilu ran to his side and looked at him a few times, "Eldest Imperial Brother, why are you getting thin again? Your chin is so sharp!" She rubbed her face, "It's smaller than my face!"
Lin Ting laughed and handed her the hand stove in his hand, "Is it cold? Warm your hands."
Since Lin Feilu has practised martial arts, her physical fitness improved greatly, and she was no longer afraid of the cold. Even in winter, her hands and feet were warm, and she stretched out her red palms to show him, "It's not cold. It's still pretty warm."
She turned her head and pointed at the mansion's gate, asking casually, "Brother, did that person come from the palace just now? What is he doing here?"
Lin Ting did not hide it from her, "My Mother Consort sent him to remind me to attend the Snow Poetry Banquet."
Lin Feilu felt that it was odd, "With Eldest Brother's status, there is no need to go to that kind of poetry banquet, right?"
Lin Ting smiled and said nothing, but he saw the small basket hanging on her arm and asked warmly, "What is this?"
Lin Feilu's expression suddenly became vivid. She held the basket in front of him as if offering a treasure and said with a smile, "Open it and take a look!"
The basket was covered with a layer of black cloth. Lin Ting glanced at her before he stretched out his hand and slowly lifted the black cloth.
In the basket were three snow-white little bunnies, which were only the size of the palm of a hand, and they were very cute.
She said happily while looking at Lin Ting's stunned expression, "My little rabbit has given birth to some babies! I'm giving them to the Eldest Brother!"
Lin Ting looked at the three little white bunnies without moving for a long time like he was fascinated as even his expression was stunned. Lin Feilu stretched out her hand and shook it in front of him, "Eldest Brother?"
He reacted immediately as he pursed his lips and smiled. Then, he slowly raised his palm to touch the bunnies. Although the three little bunnies were afraid of any other living beings, they were not scared of him at all as they rushed to rub themselves against his palm.
Lin Ting's eyes, which were somewhat sad before, finally had some soft brilliance glowing in them.
It's a pity that he merely touched them for a while before he then said to Lin Feilu, "Take them back, I can't take care of them well."
Lin Feilu was not having it, "No one is better at raising rabbits than you! There are still three of them in my palace. There are too many of them and they won't be taken care of well, so the Eldest Imperial Brother should help me raise them, okay?"
Lin Ting moved his lips and wanted to say something but Lin Feilu pouted and said, "I used to help the Eldest Imperial Brother raise rabbits back then, but when it's your turn to help, how can you refuse? Hmph!"
Lin Ting shook his head and smiled helplessly as if he had no choice but to give in. He finally took the basket, "Okay, I'll keep them."
Lin Feilu was satisfied as she immediately pulled him to start making a nest for the rabbit. After a busy afternoon, the two made a super-large and extra comfortable nest for the three little bunnies in Lin Ting's courtyard.
Lin Feilu rolled her sleeves happily, "Brother, Chang Er will soon become a father. I'll send you two more puppies at that time."
Lin Ting looked at the little white bunnies moving slowly in the nest and nodded with a chuckle, "Okay."
As evening approached, Lin Feilu returned to the palace. She kept smiling happily in the Royal Qi Residence. It was only until she got out of the mansion and sat on the carriage that her face finally showed a dull and worried expression.
Lin Ting's state didn't seem to be very good.
After so many years, she could not guess what he was thinking, but she could feel that he was getting increasingly tired from his dimmed eyes.
He lived alone in that huge mansion outside the palace. Apart from the servants who served him, he had no one else to speak to. Before, the Ruan family wanted to grant him a Concubine, but the idea was also rejected by him. It seemed that he didn't have any hobbies or likings as he even rejected taking care of little pets.
Lin Feilu was really worried and sad.
After returning to the palace, Songyu reported back to her, saying that the Crown Princess had sent someone over. The servant relayed that if there wasn't much to do on her part, Lin Feilu was invited over to the Eastern Palace to converse with the Crown Princess.
Due to the rumours, Si Miaoran was cautious in both her spoken words and deeds in the palace. Except for the routine greetings, she usually locked herself in the Eastern Palace so as to avoid any sort of incident. Such a situation occurred just after she entered the palace, which was why she must feel rather uncomfortable to be put on the spot, especially when the opposing faction kept making a fuss about it.
Lin Feilu sighed again.
When would this battle between the two factions of the direct descendants come to an end?
Noble Consort Ruan made the Crown Prince suffer a big loss this time, which caused the Crown Prince's reputation to be affected. However, his faction was not one to sit back and let others attack brazenly without caring.
As expected, the Crown Prince's faction's counterattack was swift, furious and ruthless.
When she woke up one morning, Lin Feilu heard about the collapse of the Imperial Ancestral Hall.
The Imperial Ancestral Hall was built on the Foguang Mountain outside the palace. Most of the ancestors and Confucians of the Great Lin Empire were worshipped inside. Last year, the official who served as the guardian of the Imperial Ancestral Hall reported that the roof of the hall was leaking. He also mentioned that the statues of the Confucians were also mottled.
The Imperial Ancestral Hall was already quite an old building as it was repaired every year. After thinking about it, Emperor Lin directly allocated a large sum of money from the National Treasury to the Imperial Engineering Sector to have them rebuild the ancestral hall on the Foguang Mountain. With that, the previous ancestral hall would no longer be needed.
The Imperial Engineering Sector started the construction immediately and built the current ancestral hall a few years ago. At that time, Emperor Lin brought the royal family to worship his ancestors and light some incense.
Who would have guessed that it wouldn't take long for the newly-built Imperial Ancestral Hall to collapse.
Lin Feilu was stunned when she heard it, let alone Emperor Lin. The seriousness of this incident was no less than hearing about an enemy's pressuring counterattack.
The ancestral hall collapsed abruptly at night, killing all five officials who were guarding the hall and more than a dozen palace servants. When Emperor Lin received the news late at night, he was so shocked that his drowsiness practically dissipated. At first, he thought it was caused by the royal ancestors' anger, so he summoned the important officials of the court, along with the Royal Astronomy Supervisors and the people of the Yangxin Palace for an overnight discussion.
As a result, after a thorough investigation, it was found that the Minister of the Imperial Engineering Sector, who was in charge of repairing the ancestral hall, had embezzled the money and used inferior wood, which caused the new ancestral hall to collapse.
Emperor Lin was furious and immediately ordered the Minister's house to be raided. The Minister of the Imperial Engineering Sector and his family, which consisted of more than 30 people, were all imprisoned. All of the officials involved in the incident were all dismissed and sent to prison. The mastermind was beheaded, his sons were all killed or exiled, whereas his wives and daughters were reduced to slaves.
As the Minister of the Imperial Engineering Sector was a firm supporter of the Ruan family faction and was also Prime Minister Ruan's favourite protégé, the two families had marriage connections between them. Therefore, there were also children of the Ruan family who were involved in this incident.
This disaster, together with those who were killed by the collapse of the Imperial Ancestral Hall, caused a total of more than 20 people to give up their lives.
Lin Feilu didn't know whether the ancestral hall had really used inferior materials which caused the structure of the building to become overwhelmed and collapse, or whether there were people from the Crown Prince's faction who secretly did something. By now, the truth no longer mattered.
Prime Minister Ruan's faction was hit hard because of this. He was even angrily scolded by Emperor Lin in the morning for having bad intentions and ruining the tranquillity of the Palace.
Noble Consort Ruan asked to see him several times, but she would always be rejected by Emperor Lin.
The situation in the country would gradually be determined by the two rival Princes' factions and their actions.
The Empress finally got some form of satisfaction from the incident. When Lin Feilu followed Xiao Lan to greet her, the Empress was clearly in a good mood, evident from her ruddy complexion.
Lin Feilu couldn't determine if she was happy or sad. Instead, she just felt that the people who served at the Imperial Ancestral Hall were innocent as they became the unfortunate victims caught up in this battle for succession.
When Lin Feilu was in the Empress's Palace, she met Si Miaoran, who came to greet the Empress as well. The Crown Princess now loved the Fifth Princess very much. After she came out of Changchun Palace, she took her to the Eastern Palace. She said that she had the Imperial Kitchen make her favourite meat-filled snacks and wanted Lin Feilu to try the new recipes with her.
It was almost evening when Lin Feilu left the Eastern Palace. When she returned to the Mingyue Palace with a bloated stomach, she saw a bunch of little rabbits running around in the courtyard at a glance.
There were six in total.
Lin Feilu was stunned for a moment before she asked Qingyan, "Why are there three more?"
Qingyan smiled and said, "In the afternoon, His Highness King Qi returned the three little rabbits that the Princess had sent him."
Lin Feilu felt that her mind actually exploded for a brief moment.
For no reason at all, she felt a deep surge of unease in her heart.
She asked anxiously, "When the Eldest Imperial Brother came in the afternoon, was there anything odd? Did he leave any words behind?"
Qingyan thought for a while, "His Highness King Qi still behaved as usual. He was very gentle and didn't say anything. He just sat by the flower field with Chang Er for a long time before leaving."
Lin Feilu turned her head and ran.
Qingyan chased her and asked anxiously, "Princess, what is going on? What happened?"
Lin Feilu couldn't bother to answer.
She felt that all the Qinggong she had learned over the years were finally used to the extreme as she dashed all the way to the Imperial Hospital. At this time, the imperial doctors who did not live in the palace were about to get off work. As soon as she ran to the door, she met Meng Fuji who was chatting and laughing with his colleagues.
Lin Feilu rushed in and demanded without waiting for him to speak, "Take your men and follow me! Hurry!"
Meng Fuji was stunned for a moment but he didn't ask any more questions and hurriedly walked out with her.
When Lin Feilu and Meng Fuji arrived at the Royal Qi Residence, the cool afterglow of the setting sun was shrouding the mansion.
Lin Feilu hurriedly said, "You knock on the door and I'll climb over the wall". Then, she went in directly from the towering courtyard wall. On the way here, the Fifth Princess had briefly spoken that His Highness King Qi might have planned to commit suicide. Upon hearing such a statement, Meng Fuji didn't waste any more time and banged his fist onto the gates.
Soon, a servant came to open the gates and looked at the young man outside the door with a puzzled expression, "Who are you?"
Meng Fuji pushed him away and walked inside, "I am the imperial doctor in the palace and I heard that something happened to His Highness King Qi. Where is he? Take me there!"
The little servant was stunned as he trailed along and said strangely, "Is something wrong with His Highness? But… but His Highness just came back from the Palace just now. After eating, he said that he was a little sleepy and just went to rest."
That being said, upon seeing Meng Fuji's fiery appearance while he was carrying the medicine box on his back, the servant still hurriedly took him to Lin Ting's courtyard.
After Lin Feilu climbed over the wall and entered, she had already gone straight to Lin Ting's room. Lin Ting used the excuse of rest and sent back all the servants who were supposed to be at his beck and call. At this time, the entire courtyard was very quiet. Lin Feilu rushed to the door and pushed the door, only to find that the door was locked from the inside.
As she tried to break the door, she shouted, "Eldest Imperial Brother! Are you there?! Eldest Imperial Brother, don't mess around and open the door!"
No one answered her.
Lin Feilu was so anxious that tears were about to spill, but she took a few steps back and suddenly exerted her strength. Her body slammed forward quickly and ruthlessly against the door. A collision like this seemed to be able to break the bones of someone without martial training, but the door was successfully knocked down by her. Lin Feilu didn't care about the pulsing pain as she rushed into the house.
Lin Ting was lying on the bed, wearing a blue outfit as he laid down on the bed. His face was pale, but there was a smile on his lips.
A white porcelain vase rolled down beside the bed.
It was as if Lin Feilu was being strangled by the throat as she was unable to utter a word. She rushed to the bed to hold Lin Ting's hand, finding that there was still a bit of body heat emanating from his hands as they were not completely cold. She endured her trembles and laid down on his chest to listen to her brother's heartbeat.
It was weak. His heartbeat was so weak that it felt like it was going to stop at any given moment.
Lin Feilu burst into tears, "Meng Fuji! Meng Fuji—"
Meng Fuji finally ran into the courtyard at this time. Hearing the cries coming from inside, he knew that something was wrong. As he ran, he told the now bewildered servant, "Go! Prepare hot water and salt water!"
The servant quickly went.
Meng Fuji rushed into the house and saw that Lin Feilu had helped Lin Ting sit up from the bed. She sobbed as she spoke, "He's taken poison! The medicine bottle is by the bed, hurry and look at what poison it is and think of a way to help him. Meng Fuji, think of a way…"
Meng Fuji picked up the small porcelain vase by the bed and smelled it. He immediately said, "It's Fengli grass."
He hurriedly checked Lin Ting's pulse again, "His body still has some heat, which means it hasn't been long since he took the poison. Princess, please hold onto him!"
Lin Feilu immediately followed his orders as Meng Fuji pulled out several medicine bottles from the medicine box. The imperial doctor prepared the medicine as quickly as possible before he squeezed Lin Ting's chin and poured the whole bottle of medicine down his throat.
Lin Ting had lost consciousness at this time and couldn't swallow anything normally. Meng Fuji went through a lot of effort to get him to drink it.
Lin Feilu asked while crying, "Is it the antidote?"
Meng Fuji shook his head, "It's just a medicine to induce vomiting. I'm going to let him spit out what he took first."
After that, he took out a row of silver needles from the medicine box and stuck them on each of Lin Ting's acupuncture points. While slowing the spread of poison, he stimulated the acupoints to induce vomiting.
Under the stimulation of drugs and acupuncture, the unconscious Lin Ting twitched and vomited.
Lin Feilu knelt down beside him. She didn't complain about the filth even though his vomit was practically all over her. She hurriedly asked Meng Fuji, "Is he fine now? Is everything okay?"