Chapter 868 03-25 - 868: Finding Out the Child, Ugly, Yin, and Mao
Chapter 868: Chapter 868: Finding Out the Child, Ugly, Yin, and Mao
“Sisi, are you alright?”
Di Yelei looked at Liu Sisi with concern, his brow deeply furrowed.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
Liu Sisi managed a forced smile, no abnormality on her face, yet her slender frame remained rigid! Turning her head, she looked at Old Tang, “Old Tang, is everything you’ve just said true?”
“The old man also stumbled upon this matter unintentionally. In order to confirm that Lin Zhaorong was indeed one of the two children brought by the people of Xixia Country, the old man conducted a special investigation. However, the incident from that year was too secretive; although I tried hard to investigate, I never found any solid evidence to prove it. Therefore…”
Old Tang didn’t finish his sentence definitively, but Liu Sisi understood what he meant by the look in his eyes.
…
If one thinks about it, Zhao Yuanlang’s fondness for Lin Xiner—if she were a commoner’s daughter, he could have simply had the court ministers take her in as an adopted daughter and then bring her into the palace. Why would he let Lin Xiner suffer like that?
Also, initially, when I told Empress Yang about ‘the hen that crows at dawn’, she replied, ‘Those not of our race must have a different heart!’ At the time, I thought Empress Yang was just arguing for argument’s sake, but if Lin Xiner really was from Xixia Country, then Empress Yang’s words become clear!
It would also explain why Empress Yang would allow Princess Consort Virtue and Princess Consort De to give birth to their sons yet could not accept the birth of the child in Lin Xiner’s womb! Even though I am a woman, I’ve become a thorn in Empress Yang’s side!
The many inconsistencies that once seemed unreasonable now made sense when I followed this thread; the previously tangled matters were quickly unraveled to reveal the sequence of events, and everything became clear.
Di Yelei watched Old Tang with tightly knitted brows.
“Old Tang, this matter must not leak out in the slightest! I beg you to keep this secret on my behalf,” he said, giving Old Tang a deep fist greeting.
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Old Tang waved his hand nonchalantly and, helping Di Yelei to his feet, he spoke with gravity.
“Although you and I have no official master-disciple relationship, we share a bond as if we did. Over the years, this old man has followed by the Old Master Marquis’ side, and although we haven’t gone through life and death together, we have certainly risked our lives for each other. Those who needed to be dealt with outside, this old man has taken care of all of them. You can rest easy, my lord.”
“Then, Yelei here thanks you in advance, Old Tang!”
Di Yelei hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
He felt his face burning, embarrassed to say such things in front of others, knowing full well how impolite his words were!
“My lord, your concerns are unnecessary. Think about it, even you would hardly believe that His Majesty is unaware of Lin Zhaorong’s identity, right?”
His Majesty must have done many things, perhaps all in order to conceal Lin Xiner’s true heritage, right?
Liu Sisi, who had been silent until now, suddenly remembered something.
“Could it be,” she wondered, “the flood at the Marquis Mansion a few days ago, could it have been done by His Majesty’s orders?”
Because he wanted to keep Lin Xiner’s identity hidden, so when His Majesty saw that we had found some leads and feared the truth would be exposed, he simply set fire to the Di Residence’s study room. Then he immediately ordered the imperial physician to treat anyone who might have been hurt out of concern…
Di Yelei and Old Tang exchanged a glance, seeing solemnity in each other’s eyes: “Regardless of who was responsible, now that things have come to this, let’s follow His Majesty’s wishes and let this matter end here!”
His Majesty did not want Liu Sisi to continue the investigation, fearing that if they kept digging, they would encounter more interference from His Majesty’s men, which would only result in loss with no gains.
Who exactly were the people from Xixia Country that stayed at Mingyue Inn initially? How did my own mother escape a dire fate, and how was she replaced by someone else? And for what reason did she approach the princes, Zhao Dun and Zhao Wu, at that time?
A mystery after mystery still haunted her, yet, at the moment, they had to stop the investigation, which indeed left Liu Sisi feeling helpless and at a loss.
“Are we truly not going to continue the investigation?”
“No, we won’t continue. Let’s just follow His Majesty’s will. Even if we figured everything out, what history could we change? Can it bring back the dead?”
Di Yelei gripped her hands tightly, holding her soft fingers firmly. The sorrow in his eyes was so intense that it made Liu Sisi’s eyes well up.
Indeed, as he said, continuing the investigation would only lead to a dilemma for Liu Sisi, given her position.
Sometimes, people’s eyes are easily deceived by the appearance of things.
Only when the truth emerges does one realize that the outcome is not what one initially desired.
Liu Sisi fell deep into her thoughts, unable to extricate herself, so much so that she didn’t even notice when Tang Ji left.
That night, Liu Sisi suffered from insomnia.
She tossed and turned in the bed all night, only managing to doze off slightly as daybreak approached.
Since she had promised Gan Miaoruo to offer incense and worship the Buddha, Liu Sisi awoke at the usual time, hurriedly getting up to dress and wash.
As they were going to offer incense, naturally, Xiao Feng would also join, along with Niuniu and Di Qiu.
Although Chou Chou was young, under the guidance of his imperial nanny, he still performed the proper rituals with perfect imitation. After breakfast, he was already frolicking and playing with the pageboys. However, today he still needed to continue his studies at Assistant Minister Di’s Residence, persistence was key to learning and achievement.
Actually, today was not a good day for going out, not only was the weather gloomy, but chilling winds were piercing to the bone, funneling down their necks. It was bearable within the imperial court, but as soon as their carriage raced towards the outskirts of the city, they felt considerably colder.
Miao Cuihua also came along today, endlessly chattering with Liu Sisi.
“…It’s all thanks to Old Master Marquis for taking extra care of Little Chubby, allowing him to be admitted into Yi Character Camp. Although he’s still young now, training in the military for a couple more years, once he comes out, I won’t have to worry about his future…”
Miao Cuihua’s Little Chubby was a year older than Di Xuan, already fifteen this year, and Di Yelei made an exception to recruit him into the Yi Character personal guard camp. It was safe to say that with Little Chubby in this guard camp, as long as the Di Residence was still around, his days ahead would be worry-free in terms of basic necessities.
In the midst of Miao Cuihua’s lively conversations, they quickly arrived at Water Cloud Nunnery.
EThough the weather was not great today, the front of Water Cloud Nunnery was filled with countless carriages. Inside the nunnery, incense burned continuously, and the mist swirled about. The ceaseless flow of people instilled a sense of reverence in Liu Sisi.
It was only after stepping into Water Cloud Nunnery did Liu Sisi realize how spacious the nunnery was, with a majority of the comings and goings being female devotees.
Following the crowd, and surrounded by a throng of guards on both sides, she slowly made her way into Water Cloud Nunnery.