《The Female Supporting Role Shows Out》


 CH 1

    Amidst thousands of roaring and chaotic purple flashes, a long-haired female cultivator pierced into the abdomen of a man with a sword. The male cultivator had blood in his mouth and his eyes were wide open. He was in disbelief at what had happened. But she lowered her eyes and looked at him indifferently before slowly pulling out the sword.


    Flashes of lightning illuminated the night sky like daytime and made the man¡¯s face look even paler. He said, ¡°Lin Dan, it¡¯s me¡­¡±


    The female cultivator¡¯s unwavering eyes quivered. She whispered softly, ¡°Are you¡­ not an illusion of mine?¡±


    Indeed, the female cultivator was undergoing a heavenly tribulation. She had thought that the man was just an illusion born from her inner demon, but he was real. Lin Dan, the female cultivator, finally raised her head and gazed at the thunderous sky. She looked at the other cultivators who were either hovering in the air or wielding a sword somewhere not too far away. It was only then she remembered that it was the day of her wedding ceremony. The man before her was the companion she had pursued for and had been with her for thousands of years.


    But did it matter? The endless wait, the fervent chasing, and the prolonged companionship could turn into nothing when a lady demon unintentionally glanced at the man. Even if a covenant was about to be made, as soon as the demon appeared and uttered a syllable from her thin red lips that sounded like a sob and a chuckle at the same time, it could immediately make the man lose his mind.


    Two hours ago:


    She understood completely when she saw that her companion was reluctant to make a cut on his fingertips and make the covenant. At that moment, when Lin Dan looked deeply into his eyes which was filled with hesitation and regret, she suddenly came to accept the harsh reality. She tore off her red gown, removed her gorgeous and heavy headdress, and left immediately.


    There was no time for the attending guests or the families of both parties to react, as the starry sky was suddenly engulfed by the billowing clouds and flashes of lightning. With the wrath of heaven, the strong wind howled which made all cultivators shiver as though sharp knives were slashing their skins. This was the tribulation cloud and thunder. Is someone going through a heavenly tribulation at this moment, on this special occasion?


    It was none other than Lin Dan who was undergoing the heavenly tribulation. She was cultivating the Infinite Tao of the Celestial Way. As the saying goes, there is mystery in all the three thousand ways of attaining Tao. The Infinite Tao was one of the most difficult ways of cultivation that focused on ¡°the infinite ways of Taoism, the unsullied heart of Taoism, and the desireless body of Taoism.¡± Cultivators could only attain true Tao when they achieved these three aspects.


    But for Lin Dan who always had someone whom she could not let go and forget, how was it possible for her to achieve the desireless state? Even though she was known as the prodigy of the cultivation world because she possessed the Body of Nine Yin and single-line celestial touch, she had been stuck in this tribulation for more than six hundred years.


    Nevertheless, she was not in a hurry. The ladder of ascension in this world had somehow been destroyed. Even if she could overcome the tribulation, her soul would eventually dissipate in the realm between the heavens and the earth. Ascension would mean death for her. She was not afraid of death but was worried that she could no longer be with him.


    She clearly knew that someone else was deeply etched in his heart, but it did not matter. She would never leave him whenever he was in trouble. She was always there for him whenever he was down. If his heart was the thousand-year frozen ice, she would be that fiery fire of the nine suns, vowing to melt his heart one day.


    She had always believed that she would eventually win his heart and love, until this moment¡­


    Everything had changed and nothing mattered anymore.


    She realized that when something that was once impossible to let go of was surrendered, she had only lost the obsessions and inner demons, but gained freedom and liberation. Lin Dan returned her companion to the demon lady who hurried over. Step by step, she walked out of the hall and into the dark tribulation clouds. The romance that she could not get over for hundreds of years was shattered in an instant and she would overcome the tribulation and ascend.


    Her inner demon was still struggling. Many sweet memories came to Lin Dan¡¯s mind wrapped in poison and tried to hinder her footsteps, but they were all cut off by her sword. Since the ladder of ascension had been destroyed, death was the only outcome regardless of whether she had overcome the tribulation or not. But nothing mattered and she did not want to be involved with these people anymore. The world was filled with evil and the heavenly Tao was limitless. She must glide through the skies even if it meant that she would turn into a gust of air.


    But she did not understand what her companion was thinking. Why did he rush into tribulation thunder and sent himself to the tip of her sword after entering her illusion? He was also a great cultivator who was undergoing a tribulation and the top swordsman of the Southern land, after all, there was no reason he could not avoid her attack.


    ¡°Lin Dan,¡± the male cultivator could not care much about his bloody abdomen. He clasped Lin Dan¡¯s sword tightly and begged, ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t¡­¡± Lin Dan slowly pulled out the sword from his palms and replied in a quavering voice, ¡°¡­where else can I go?¡± Indeed, where else could she go if she had stayed? Continue to follow and chase after him persistently? She had been with him for thousands of years but finally realized that they had to take our own paths.


    At the thought of this, Lin Dan did not even want her sword anymore. She tossed it aside and it flew towards the broken ascension ladder. The man chased after it hurriedly but was one step too late because of his serious injuries. The sword cut open a big hole in the sky which swallowed Lin Dan and the tribulation thunder. When he arrived at the horizon, there was nothing left. The tribulation clouds, tribulation thunder, lightning, and his loved one had all disappeared like a bubble.


    ¡°Lin Dan!¡± He shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed for a long time in the dark and vast night¡­


    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Lin Dan opened her eyes and heard a lifeless voice. ¡°You have entered the S-class world and successfully obtained the special item [Infinite Heart of Tao]. Do you want to redeem the points?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and open my personal space.¡± Lin Dan said slowly.


    In the blink of an eye, she entered a white space surrounded by smooth metal walls. There was only a bed placed in the center and nothing else.


    ¡°You have earned a total of 9,990,000 points for this mission. I am pleased to inform you that your points have reached the maximum limit. You have two options: Unbind and return to the original world, or unbind and immigrate to a higher realm. What is your choice?¡± The cold mechanical sound rang in Lin Dan¡¯s mind.


    After her death, Lin Dan was bound to this auxiliary system for some reason and was forced to travel between countless small worlds to complete missions. She could only unbind herself after obtaining a certain number of points before she could freely choose her next destination. Lin Dan had a plan earlier, but she hesitated. She frowned and thought for a moment before muttering, ¡°If I immigrate¡­¡±


    ¡°My apologies,¡± the system interrupted. ¡°Your referee revoked the recommendation in the previous world. If you want to immigrate, please select another referee as soon as possible.¡±


    I was right¡­ Lin Dan shook her head and gave herself a self-deprecatory smile.


    The approval of the system was insufficient and she would need a referrer from a higher realm to immigrate there. Lin Dan¡¯s referee was none other than the man whom she thrust the sword into his abdomen. Lin Dan did not know his surname, name, or background, but she knew that he came from the higher realm and had more authority than the system, and even the main system.


    It might be a great blessing for those who constantly travel between the various small worlds to be immortal, but Lin Dan knew how painful and miserable this journey was. The experiences and countless memories were like a pair of large hands that lived in her brain, dragging her deeper into the abyss. There was too much love, hate, and separation, too much helplessness, anger, pain, and despair¡­ It filled her heart and she gradually lost herself.


    For a long time, she had no idea who she was and where she came from. When she was on the verge of breaking down, she met that man in one of the mission worlds. He rescued her from the prison of complete darkness and taught her how to get out of trouble, how to defeat the enemy, and how to earn points. With his help, Lin Dan gradually found herself and willingly became his vassal, chasing after his footsteps in the various small worlds.


    Lin Dan originally thought that meeting him would be her salvation, but she eventually realized that it was a futile pursuit. Fortunately, what he taught her was not all useless. She learned to be strong and independent, she gained self-esteem and self-love, and she also learned to let go.


    It is said that if you fall in love with an outstanding person, you would become a better person even if you cannot win his heart. This is true for Lin Dan and she did not regret her dedication and patience. Without the thousands of years of pursuit, she would never learn about letting go and blossom into someone like herself today.


    [Infinite Heart of Tao] Although the points were redeemed, the feelings had remained in her heart. She smiled relievedly and shook her head, ¡°I guess he wants to be a referee for that woman instead?¡±


    That woman was a charismatic lady who did not have to complete missions. He met her in one of the mission worlds and lost his mind, following her to multiple worlds just as Lin Dan did. The lady demon in the cultivation realm was one of the reincarnations of that woman. This is why he could never forget her and was so mesmerized with her that he would willingly become an enemy of the entire cultivation world.


    No matter which world the woman reincarnated in, he would always find her using his great magical powers and protect her from any danger. After all, he was merely a lowly follower like Lin Dan. Even if that woman did not remember anything from her previous lives, he was willing to give her everything and bring her to the world where he lived.


    Lin Dan very much envied the woman and was even a little jealous, but she did not feel much anymore.


    The system spoke in a slightly deeper voice which somehow sounded melancholic. ¡°I can check that for you if you¡¯re curious, but the other party has a higher authority than me and I may not be able to find what you want. My apologies, I¡¯m just an auxiliary system that is programmed to issue auxiliary missions. I¡¯m sorry you have to suffer all these years.¡±


    The auxiliary system is only responsible for facilitating the development of the small worlds and fixing bugs. The hosts that were chosen by the system were merely a tool that can be sacrificed at crucial moments. To give a crude analogy, it was the same as filling the hole of a pot using a piece of scrap metal. Lin Dan was that piece of scrap metal that had no use other than throwing herself into the fire.


    Many of the missions she received were to help others at her own expense and some missions were even unreasonable, but did it matter? If she failed the mission, she would be obliterated by the system. This is why most of the hosts that were bound to the auxiliary system could not make it to the end. They either committed suicide halfway into the mission or fell into madness. Lin Dan was a rare host who could successfully complete every mission and earn a large number of points. This was all thanks to the man¡¯s help, but it was also due to Lin Dan¡¯s strong and tenacious character.


    Everything did not matter to Lin Dan anymore. She had no wants and desires and she did not care where she would be in her next destination. She opened the task panel and said decisively, ¡°Never mind, cancel the immigration application and send me back to the original world.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I also have good news. Since you are the first auxiliary host to earn the highest points, the main system has decided to reward you with 100 million points which can be exchanged into your original world currency at a rate of 1:1. Do you want to exchange them?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Dan nodded without hesitation, before giving herself another self-deprecatory smile. Was she an ¡°auxiliary host¡± or just a dispensable supporting role? Anyhow, she had decided to be herself and live a wonderful life from now on.


    ¡°Sure, the system will exchange it for you. Please wait for a moment.¡±


    It took about a minute to process all her points and deposits. After she was unbound to the system, the portal was activated and ready to send Lin Dan back to the original world. Lin Dan thought that she could retire in peace this time around, but a huge wave of energy unexpectedly hit the portal and disrupted the flow of time¡­

 CH 2

    Lin Dan was now in a daze. She instinctively called the system in her head before being surprised by her own action ¨C what is the system? She was holding a spoon in her hand which had a thin layer of milky white soup on it. While it smelled delicious, there also was a slight aftertaste in her mouth. Apparently, she had already taken a sip of the soup just now. But the bigger question was that Lin Dan had no idea who she was, what she was doing, and why did she appear here.


    She stared at her thin, calloused hands. She felt that this pair of hands belonged to her, but it did not seem to be hers at the same time. She stood there but clearly did not belong to the place. She felt like a stranger who appeared suddenly and stuck out like a sore thumb. She could not even figure out what was the current situation.


    Nevertheless, the people around her did not seem to notice that Lin Dan was different from before. One of them pointed to the dish placed in front of her and said, ¡°It is still lacking in flavor.¡± Although he could not explain what exactly was missing since he was not a professional chef, his sense of taste was better than average.


    Lin Dan came back to reality after hearing what he said. She looked up and saw a man who dressed exquisitely. He was thin, fair-skinned, and handsome, but also looked like a young lady when he was not speaking. Like Lin Dan, he was tasting the dishes with a spoon in his hand, his brows were slightly frowned, and he wore a serious expression.


    ¡°Indeed, the heat control could have been better.¡± Another person said slowly.


    Lin Dan turned around and saw that the person who spoke was an old man with a gray beard. He was smacking his lips, seemingly trying to savor the aftertaste of the soup.


    Lin Dan quickly looked away and glanced around. Even though she could not make sense of anything, she did not show any signs of panic on her face. She seemed to adapt well when it came to dealing with unexpected events.


    ¡°What do you mean by better heat control? I think they¡¯re almost the same, there is not much difference.¡± The person who spoke this time around was a stoic middle-aged man who was wearing a robe embroidered with auspicious clouds and blue qilins. He seemed to be someone of higher status because people nodded in agreement with fawning smiles as soon as he had finished his piece.


    Lin Dan paid no attention to him and looked to her side. She saw a young girl who stood seven or eight meters away from her and seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. She also had a square table placed in front of her with a plate of food on it. If one were to judge based on the appearance, color, aroma, and taste of the dish, it seemed to have no difference from the dish placed in front of Lin Dan.


    Based on the circumstances, characters, and dialogues, Lin Dan quickly understood that she was in the middle of a cooking competition.


    The young girl smiled a little after hearing what the young man and the old man with a gray beard said. But she frowned knowing that the middle-aged man did not like what she made. She persisted, ¡°Please give it another try, my lord.¡±


    Lord? Lin Dan, who was trying her best to gather information, gave the middle-aged man a quick glance.


    As the middle-aged man was about to speak, the handsome young man interrupted impatiently, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell whether the food is good or bad? Are you even qualified to be a chef?¡± This was obviously addressed to Lin Dan, as his clear eyes were staring straight at her. The young girl was happy to hear that, she lowered her head with her lips pursed and smiled shyly.


    Since Lin Dan had already tasted the dish she made, she refused to concede defeat. But ¡°refusal to concede defeat¡± did not sound right either because she did not find her dish bad or lacking in any way. She thought the young man was dissatisfied with her finding her dish faultless and considered her a worse chef.


    As Lin Dan had figured out the situation, she had learned to adapt to the circumstances. She planned to put up an act according to how an ordinary person would and tasted the soup in her spoon without saying a word. Then, she walked to the displeased young girl and scooped a spoonful of soup from her plate.


    Both of them whipped up the same dish, it was crab roe and minced chicken with choy sum. Although it looked as though the chef only needed to cook a few stalks of vegetables, it was actually a difficult dish to master. This was a true test of a chef¡¯s culinary skills, as the simplest dish is always the hardest to master.


    Initially, Lin Dan only wanted to take a few sips and surrender, so that she could get away from this difficult situation and find a place to quietly digest what was going on as soon as possible. But when she tried both dishes, her taste buds and brain were quick to make a judgment. She was surprised that her sense of taste seemed to be more sensitive than average, and even the slightest difference in taste could be magnified several times on the tip of her tongue. This was exactly what Lin Dan had lacked the most in the past.


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡± She put down the spoon and said sincerely, ¡°My choy sum had a bit of a bitter taste.¡± Most people could not taste this slight bitterness, but it would never pass the test of a true food lover.


    The gray-bearded old man stared at her and remarked, ¡°That¡¯s right, you didn¡¯t wait for the choy sum to be fully cooked before thickening the sauce. This has prolonged the heating time of the starch and made the vegetables burn and turn bitter, resulting in the loss of its crunchiness and moisture. There are two aspects that form the essence of this dish ¨C freshness and sweetness; smoothness and crunchiness. Your dish looks decent, but it¡¯s lacking in flavor.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and repeated, ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Seeing that Lin Dan seemed to have accepted the outcome with no resentment after being defeated, the gray-bearded old man nodded slightly. The middle-aged man sighed with a look of disappointment. A woman who was standing at the back of the crowd suddenly collapsed while holding her chest, astonishing everyone.


    ¡°Oh no, Lady Qi fainted! Lin Dan, come and take a look at your mother!¡± Two women immediately held up the collapsed woman and gestured to Lin Dan to come over.


    Lin Dan, who quickly gathered information about her identity from their words, rushed over without hesitation and shouted, ¡°Please get her a physician, I will send my mother home first!¡± She took over one of the women to hold the lady who collapsed and the woman who suddenly had her hands free did not notice anything unusual. She hurriedly led the way and soon brought Lin Dan back to her own home.


    The physician finally came after all the hustle and said that the lady was not seriously ill. She fainted due to anxiety and would be fine after taking some medicine to calm her nerves.


    Lin Dan took the prescription and paid the consultation fee with the silver hairpin on her hair. She had no idea where the lady had kept her money and even if she knew, the money drawer would definitely be locked. As the woman was still unconscious, she would not be able to ask her for the key and that was all she could come up with.


    The physician gave her a pitying look and said kindly, ¡°The Marquis has paid for the consultation fee and you can keep the hairpin. I¡¯ll take this prescription and have the servant of the Marquis Residence to fill the prescription. Your mother is still unconscious and you must stay by her side. Sigh¡­¡±


    Lin Dan looked at the doctor as he slowly walked away while sighing and shaking his head. She realized that the cooking competition seemed to be a very important event for her. Otherwise, people around her would not have shown so much sympathy for her, and her mother would not collapse after she conceded defeat. But the outcome of the competition was an undeniable fact and Lin Dan has no remorse for what she had done.


    The woman¡¯s face covered in cold sweat. Lin Dan picked up the copper basin and wanted to fetch some water outside, but a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth entered and whispered, ¡°Lin Dan, I have already filled the prescription for you. There¡¯s one pack of medicine and three bowls of water which can make one bowl of medicine. Boil it before simmering it under a low fire and don¡¯t throw the residue away. The residue can be used to make two more bowls of medicine and that makes three doses a day. She will recover after taking the medicine for seven days.¡±


    Lin Dan thanked him and saw him off before going to the kitchen to prepare the medicine. She realized that her body could effortlessly finish the tasks, whether it was chopping wood to burn it in the stove or carrying a bucket to fetch water. The medicine was boiled and bubbling. Lin Dan removed some of the dry wood and simmered it over a low fire. She then took a small stool and sat beside the stove while sorting out her thoughts and memories.


    She seemed to be used to doing this and quickly understood her situation. Her father was Lin Baotian, the head chef in the Marquis Residence of Yongding. The Marquis was very particular about food as he was a food lover. This is why Lin Baotian, the chef who possessed extraordinary cooking skills, was highly valued by the Marquis and had even followed him to battles. Lin Dan and Lady Qi lived a life of comfort in the Marquis Residence thanks to Lin Baotian¡¯s skills. They were given a private house to live in and were served by servants and maids.


    However, Lin Baotian suddenly died of illness two months ago. While he was still alive, he passed on his cooking skills and kitchen knives to Lin Dan, his only daughter. Lin Dan had taken a liking to the young Marquis since she was a child, and like old Marquis, he was also a food lover. Therefore, she practiced cooking every day so that the young Marquis could give her some attention.


    After the death of her father, she took over the role as a chef in the Marquis¡¯ residence. Despite being only twelve or thirteen years old then, she was already very skilled in cooking. There was once she made black ginseng with green onions, a signature dish that she prepared for a long time, but the young Marquis commented that it was far inferior to what his maid can prepare.


    Lin Dan had always been prideful and arrogant. She immediately asked to have a competition with that maid but didn¡¯t expect her to reveal a shocking secret. It turned out that Lin Baotian¡¯s cooking skills and kitchen knives were all stolen from the maid¡¯s grandfather. Lin Baotian was never a descendant of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef, but someone who had deceived his master and brought shame to his ancestors.


    The young maid¡¯s name was Yan Langqing. Her grandfather was the former Golden Knife Imperial Chef, Yan Bo, who was a notable figure of the culinary scene. After leaving the palace, he accepted a few disciples including Lin Dan¡¯s father, Lin Baotian. When Yan Bo was seriously ill and was about to die, Yan Langqing¡¯s father happened to be out of town and was unable to return in time to see his father for the last time. Lin Baotian buried Yan Bo and seized the opportunity to steal the Imperial Golden Knife and all the secret recipes of the Yan family. He disappeared since and nobody could find him.


    Yan Langqing¡¯s father was upset about what had happened and brought his family to find Lin Baotian in the Marquis Residence of Yongding. To his surprise, Lin Baotian was already dead. He made his daughter sneak into the residence to learn more about the enemy¡¯s descendants and created an opportunity to challenge Lin Dan with a competition. The winning prize was the Golden Knife and the Yan family¡¯s secret recipes.


    Lin Dan was very competitive and eager to win. She accepted the challenge because she did not want to embarrass herself in front of the Marquis and wanted to protect her father¡¯s reputation¡­ But she had lost and became the current ¡°Lin Dan¡±. The handsome young man who served as the judge was the young Marquis, and the middle-aged man who defended her despite knowing that Lin Dan had lost was the Old Marquis.


    Although they carry the same name, Lin Dan could clearly feel that her present self was completely different from before. The old Lin Dan fell head over heels with the Young Marquis. He was the reason behind her happiness, anxiety, and sadness. But the new Lin Dan felt nothing towards the Young Marquis anymore as he was just like any other stranger to her.


    What she urgently needed to think about was not her identity and memory loss anymore, but her next step. After losing the competition and having a sickly mother who needs to be taken care of, what should she do next?

 CH 3

    It was already night time when Lady Qi woke up. She began to sob silently the moment she saw Lin Dan. She seemed a little unwilling to accept what had happened and started ranting, ¡°You¡¯ve learned cooking from your father at the age of seven. It¡¯s been five or six years since and it¡¯s right to say that you¡¯re a seasoned chef. How could you lose to that girl from the Yan family? I don¡¯t know how those people will see your father now. We failed to protect his reputation. How can I explain to him when I see him again? Baotian, I¡¯ve failed you¡­¡±


    Looking at the sobbing Lady Qi, Lin Dan could imagine that if the old Lin Dan was still here, she would probably blame herself for the defeat. But since she had taken over the identity, she would support this family for her.


    The old Lin Dan was only twelve or thirteen years old. She was thin and delicate and looked two or three years younger than her actual age. It was not easy for her to take on such a heavy responsibility at a young age. If Lin Dan did not take over her identity, she wondered what would happen to her.


    Lady Qi was probably worried about the future of the family. She gradually stopped crying, but the sighs came one after another. It was at this moment when the two maids came in. They relayed the Marquis¡¯ message and said that he granted Lady Qi and Lin Dan to continue living in the residence, as the residence would have no problems providing for another two ladies. Lin Baotian and the Old Marquis had a close relationship. He had served the Marquis for more than a decade and even followed him on the battlefield. Now that Lin had died, the Marquis would never want to put his descendants in a difficult situation.


    The Marquis of Yongding was a connoisseur and even had a sense of taste that was better than most cooks. Surely, he could tell the difference between the two dishes that were prepared. But he insisted that the two dishes tasted similar because he favored Lin Dan and wanted to preserve Lin Baotian¡¯s reputation. However, his son was also a food lover and had a sense of taste that was even better than his. With his forthright character, he made Lin Dan had no choice but to concede defeat.


    On the day of the competition, more than half of the connoisseurs in Beijing were there and there were also many onlookers. The reputation that Lin Baotian had built for many years was tarnished. News had spread and everyone was calling him an ungrateful villain who deceived his master and brought shame to his ancestors. If Lady Qi and Lin Dan were to leave the Marquis Residence, he reckoned they would be bullied to death.


    On the other hand, Lady Qi was also afraid of facing the rumors. She was relieved to hear that the family could continue to stay in the residence.


    Lin Dan was calm and rational and good at judging the situation. She knew that staying with Lady Qi in the Marquis¡¯ residence was the best arrangement. Neither she nor the old Lin Dan knew the outside world. If she had left the residence, she might not even be able to support herself, not to mention nursing the sick and weak Lady Qi. But she had a strong feeling that many bad things would happen if she continued to stay in the residence. She might not remember her true identity and past experiences, but she trusted her intuition.


    After the maids left, she said firmly, ¡°Mother, it¡¯s better that we leave. I know you¡¯re afraid of the rumors that are spreading outside, but it is the rumors that are circulated within this residence that is truly terrifying. After all, everyone has been jealous of our family for a long time. Now that we are in trouble, we will naturally be bullied and oppressed by them. In the past, father was valued by the Marquis and we were naturally respected in the house. Now that we¡¯re nothing but dirty mud, it¡¯s easy for anyone to step on us. It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve lost to Yan Langqing and I¡¯m not qualified to be a chef of the Marquis Residence. I¡¯d have to be a slave if we were to stay and this is the same for you. Even if the Marquis doesn¡¯t mind having us here, do you think we can shamelessly live here as guests?¡±


    The head chef of the Marquis Residence was different from the other servants. Chefs usually sign a work contract with the Marquis and not the slave deed. They could even enjoy a higher status than the chief steward of the residence. This was the reason why Lady Qi and Lin Dan could stay in the Marquis Residence as guests, as they were family members of the head chef. But things have changed. Without Lin Baotian, Lady Qi and Lin Dan would not be able to live in the residence as guests and be served by servants. They would have to take up some jobs in order to continue staying in the residence.


    Lady Qi was an egotistical lady. She would begin packing her luggage if she knew that staying in the residence meant that she would have to be a maid. She would never want to stoop to the same level as those who had served her.


    ¡°Your father had bought a house outside and opened a restaurant with your second and third uncles. I heard that business has been good. We can venture out and support ourselves. Let¡¯s not stay in this place anymore.¡± Lady Qi opened the chests and started packing. The sorrowful look on her face and in her eyes had faded. She reckoned there was no meaning in blaming her daughter since it was an undeniable fact that she had lost. She thought her daughter must have felt worse than she did.


    Lin Dan heaved a sigh of relief. She dragged out a red sandalwood chest that was hidden under the bed and said, ¡°I will return the Golden Knife and the recipes to Yan Langqing now, as well as drop by the old marquis¡¯ to bid farewell.¡±


    Lady Qi stared at the chest for a long time before finally accepting their fate. ¡°Go now,¡± she said.


    Lin Dan did not open the box to admire the magnificent Golden Knife and the recipes written by the legendary chef. She sent it directly to the young marquis¡¯ manor. Yan Langqing was still a personal maid of the young marquis and was in charge of his small kitchen.


    When Lin Dan arrived, Yan Langqing was begging the young marquis to retrieve the Golden Knife and the recipes for her. She was worried that Lin Dan would destroy the knife and the recipes out of spite. The Golden Knife cannot be repaired once it is destroyed, and if the recipes are gone too, all her efforts of getting into the Marquis¡¯ residence would turn to ashes. If Lady Qi had not collapsed and Lin Dan had not left in the blink of an eye, she would definitely ask them to hand over those things on the spot.


    The young marquis knew a little about Lin Dan and agreed to help her. He thought Lin Dan was the kind of girl who could do something like this for revenge. The two were about to send someone when they saw a servant walking in with a chest and said that it was sent by Miss Lin. They opened it and saw the Golden Knife and the recipes. The items were carefully wrapped in red silk cloth and were very well preserved.


    The young marquis glanced at Yan Langqing immediately and her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. The things she said to prepare for the worst had now sounded as though she was judging a noble person with her own despicable mind.


    When the two walked out of the door, they saw a thin figure slowly and unhurriedly walking away.


    Although Lin Baotian was highly valued by the Marquis and had received many gifts from him, he had sent it to support his two brothers or used to buy precious ingredients. Therefore, he did not leave his family with many assets. Lady Qi looked high and low in the house and was dumbfounded to only find one hundred and twenty taels of silver. It was fortunate that they owned a property and a restaurant, so they did not have to worry about their sustenance.


    However, Lin Dan was not as optimistic as Lady Qi. In Lin Dan¡¯s memory, Lin Baotian¡¯s two younger brothers were not simple. They only depended on Lin Baotian whenever they were in trouble but were selfish enough to keep all the good things for themselves. They said they were running the restaurant for Lin Baotian, but he had never received any income from them. They would only appear and ask for help when the restaurant¡¯s business declined and needed new recipe ideas. Since Lin Baotian was no longer the ¡°successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef¡±, this would also affect the restaurant¡¯s business. It would be a surprise if they would be willing to offer help.


    It was just as Lin Dan thought. When Lady Qi found the house that was purchased by her husband and wanted to settle down, she found that the house had been occupied by the families of the second and third brothers. They refused to let them in and took out the property deed which only had the name of Lin¡¯s second and third brother as proof. The mother and daughter were then chased out by the two women.


    Lady Qi wanted to reason with them but the two women let her be, saying that she could bring even more shame to Lin Baotian¡¯s already bad reputation by making a scene. Lady Qi did not want to embarrass herself further in the public and stomped towards the restaurant with tears in her eyes. She knew that the restaurant would most probably be taken away by Lin¡¯s two younger brothers, but she had to see it with her own eyes.


    Lin Dan held her without saying a word. It was Lin Baotian¡¯s fault for trusting his two younger brothers so much. He had never asked for any details or deeds when he purchased the property or opened the restaurant. This was why there was no chance they would win the case even if they brought the matter up to the officials. Besides, Lin Baotian¡¯s reputation after death was bad enough for everyone to deny everything about him. Nobody would stand up for his widow and orphan.


    As Lin Dan walked along the streets, she had to accept the public¡¯s contempt and had already prepared for the worst. When they arrived at the restaurant, it was no surprise that they were stopped by the receptionist and were not allowed to enter. They threatened to report them to the officials if they were unable to produce any property deed or share certificate.


    Lady Qi¡¯s eyes were red with anger, but there was nothing she could say in retaliation. Lin Dan comforted her by caressing her shaking body. She looked up and realized that the restaurant¡¯s sign had changed from ¡°Lin¡¯s Restaurant¡± to ¡°Yan¡¯s Restaurant¡±. The signboard looked exquisite with the golden words engraved on the red background.


    The second son of the Lin family appeared. He pointed to the signboard and said, ¡°Sister-in-law, my brother has done ugly things and utterly embarrassed us! To atone for his sins, third brother and I have decided to give 50% of big brother¡¯s shares to the Yan family. It¡¯s useless for you to make a scene here because this is rightfully theirs. If we help big brother to atone for his sins, we could at least do some good deeds in his name and ensure that he could reincarnate to a good family in the next life. For the sake of Lin¡¯s family¡¯s reputation, please just stop.¡± He heaved a sigh after finishing his piece.


    The onlookers applauded and praised the second and third-son of the Lin family for being righteous and benevolent, unlike their eldest brother. They found their qualities admirable and promised to patronize the restaurant frequently in the future.


    Lady Qi turned pale and was on the verge of collapsing. Yet, Lin Dan lowered her head and smiled to herself scornfully. The two brothers of the Lin family had got it all planned out. They made use of the widow and orphan of their eldest brother to get ahead in life. By doing so, not only did they manage to detach themselves from being implicated by their brother¡¯s bad reputation, but they were also able to save the restaurant. If only Lin Baotian was half as shrewd as them, his wife and child would not have to reduce to this.


    Lin Baotian was dead nevertheless. There was nothing they could do but find a way to survive. Lin Dan wanted to take Lady Qi away, but Yan Langqing and her father arrived in a carriage with the young marquis following them on the horse. It seemed like a rather grand arrival.


    The second and third son of the Lin family hurriedly greeted them, bowing their heads with fawning faces.


    The young marquis kept a poker face as he got down from the horse and lifted the curtain of Yan Langqing¡¯s carriage. Yan Langqing was blushing and she was smiling shyly. She caught a glimpse of Lin Dan who was standing nearby and couldn¡¯t help being taken aback.


    Lin Dan wanted to take her mother away without even looking at the two of them. But Lin Dan¡¯s ignorance might have provoked Yan Langqing, as she got angry in an instant and yelled, ¡°Lin Dan, since you have lost, you have no right to address yourself as the successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef nor make dishes of the Yan family anymore.¡±


    Lin Dan was usually a calm lady, but it did not mean that she would not stand up for herself. She chose to stay quiet the last time because she knew that the situation was very unfavorable to her. Since it would not help the situation no matter how hard she fought for herself, she would rather save some energy and think about the next step. However, she would not stay quiet this time around since Yan Langqing had crossed the line.

 CH 4

    Lin Dan helped Lady Qi to the entrance and sat her down. She turned around and looked at Yan Langqing fiercely. ¡°Miss Yan, have you ever looked at the book of recipes that I¡¯ve returned to you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have.¡± Yan Langqing stood on the stairs leading to the second floor and stared at Lin Dan condescendingly with a puzzled yet arrogant look.


    ¡°If so, you should have realized that the first 60 pages of that book are yellow and the writings have faded, while the next 388 pages are as good as new and the writings remain clean and clear. Why do you think this is so?¡±


    Yan Langqing knew that things were starting to go south, but she was unable to stop Lin Dan from going on. Lin Dan stepped forward and proclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s because the 388 pages are all new dishes developed by my father to make up for the inadequacies in Yan¡¯s recipes. My father has been in the culinary scene for decades. He has created hundreds of new dishes and dozens of innovative techniques which are all recorded in the Yan family¡¯s recipe book. The most popular signature dishes in the restaurant today are all invented by my father. Young Marquis, I¡¯m sure you would never forget the roasted deer tendon that was invented by the old marquis and my father. It took several months for them to come up with this dish and they even had to kill dozens of wild deer for that.¡±


    The young marquis replied in a serious tone, ¡°That is true.¡±


    Many connoisseurs were present at the time as the second son of the Lin family had invited them to come and celebrate the revamp of the restaurant¡¯s signboard. One of them had a close relationship with Lin Baotian and blurted, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that braised shark¡¯s fin too! I was the one who invented that dish with your father. It took us more than half a year to come up with that dish. We even burned a few carts of shark¡¯s fin before we were able to get this famous dish included as part of the imperial cuisine. We can disregard Lin Baotian¡¯s character for the time being, but his culinary skills are truly outstanding. It¡¯s a superb skill that can¡¯t be stolen or taken and can only be mastered in the kitchen!¡±


    Lin Dan bowed to the man respectfully and said gratefully, ¡°Thank you, Uncle Liu, for speaking up for my father. As for my father¡¯s character, I¡¯m sure everyone should have a fairly good idea based on what he has done over the years.¡± Lin Dan then turned to Yan Langqing and continued, ¡°Your father is the son of the grandmaster. Yet, your father failed to see him for the last time when the grandmaster fell gravely ill for several months, despite sending letters to your father multiple times. Let¡¯s not speculate the reasons behind that, but I just want to point out that my father was the one who held the funeral for the grandmaster, completed the rites by breaking the pot, and even erected a gravestone for him instead of his son. I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t deny that, do you?¡±


    Yan Langqing looked at her father. Before he could refute, Lin Dan added, ¡°Many people attended the funeral and I am sure it won¡¯t be difficult to find witnesses to attest to that.¡±


    Yan¡¯s father dare not utter a word. The funeral was held respectfully indeed, and many people could still remember it.


    Lin Dan glanced at him. ¡°My father took care of him until his death and even held a funeral for him. He did what a son should do and how could you say that he has deceived his master and brought shame to his ancestors? Back then, the grandmaster had imparted his culinary skills to your father and mine. But your father has not made his name, while my father traveled around before coming back to the capital and laid a foundation for Yan¡¯s dishes. Tell me, was my father being despicable by stealing your family¡¯s Golden Knife and recipes, or was your father not competent enough to master the true essence of Yan¡¯s dishes? Just like we¡¯re unsure of the true reason behind the son who didn¡¯t arrive in time to hold a funeral for his father, how can we be so sure that your one-sided story is the only truth?¡±


    Yan¡¯s father broke out in cold sweat. He wanted to raise his hand to wipe it away but hurriedly put his hand down, looking rather guilty and embarrassed. Even if he wanted to explain himself, it is indeed unfilial of him to not hold a funeral for his father. It was something serious enough for everyone to spit on him.


    Lin Dan turned around to look at Yan Langqing again. ¡°You wanted to hold a food competition with the Golden Knife and the recipes as the winning prize. I accepted it because I thought it was a reasonable condition. Now that you¡¯ve won and I¡¯ve already returned you the knife and the recipes, does that mean you agree that only the best chef is qualified to inherit the title of the ¡®Successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef¡¯? If so, shouldn¡¯t your father and my father have a competition back then?¡±


    This seemed to have rubbed Yan¡¯s father the wrong way. He yelled, ¡°What¡¯s there to compete? I am my father¡¯s own son. My father¡¯s belongings are rightfully mine. What has this got to do with your father?¡±


    An onlooker was unable to hold himself back anymore and retorted, ¡°The culinary art is unlike other forms of art. The only way to find out whether a chef is genuinely good is through competing in the kitchen because there¡¯s no way anyone can cheat in a cooking competition! The title of being the successor of a legendary chef is not something you can pass on to anyone, you must be good enough to earn the title! All chefs value their own signature dishes and reputation and not even his own son can tarnish it! ¡°


    People nodded in agreement. Even chefs who were fairly prestigious have few dozens of disciples, but only one or two are carefully selected among them to inherit their title. This was because true craftsmanship could only be passed on to those who were truly talented.


    Some things were better left unsaid. But suspicions would be raised once everything was made clear and plain. All of a sudden, everyone¡¯s eyes changed when they looked at the father and daughter of the Yan family.


    Lin Dan said steadily, ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯re the grandmaster¡¯s own son and maybe telling the truth. But since my father is dead, there¡¯s no way he can defend himself. Now, according to Yan Langqing¡¯s line of reasoning, shall we hold a competition between you and my father? I will compete in my father¡¯s place and finish that competition that was never held back then. We will prepare three dishes each using the kitchen of this restaurant and everyone here shall be our witness. The winner will inherit the Golden Knife and the book of recipes. How does that sound?¡±


    His lips began to tremble in fear. Yan¡¯s father did not learn how to cook because he found cooking a chore that was too tough for him. This was why he begged his mother to send him away to his grandfather¡¯s town to study when he was a child. He did not have the culinary talent, but Yan Langqing had inherited it instead. Otherwise, he would not be confident enough to push his daughter to compete against Lin Dan.


    Little did he expect Lin Dan to be so cunning by posing a challenge to him instead. He was unsure whether he should accept it. He would be embarrassing himself if he did and lost the competition, but it would make him look even more guilty if he rejected it.


    Yan Langqing was only one or two years older than Lin Dan and was a little more shrewd than she was. She immediately stood up and yelled, ¡°Lin Dan, compete against me if you want. You have no right to compete against my father!¡±


    ¡°Our competition has concluded and this is a match between our fathers. Although my culinary skills were taught by my father, I have only mastered slightly more than half of his skills. I¡¯ll accept it gracefully if I lose, but if I win, you¡¯ll have to retract all the words of malice and slander against my father. Are you up for the test or not?¡±


    Yan¡¯s father did not even know how to toss food in the wok and wondered whether he stood any chance competing against Lin Dan. Cold sweat started trickling down his forehead.


    The onlookers knew that he was not as good at cooking when they saw the reaction and started murmuring, ¡°He can¡¯t even win a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl and is trying to compare himself with Lin Baotian? If I were Imperial Chef Yan, I would surely choose Lin Baotian as my successor instead of this incompetent son.¡± The public opinion, which was originally unfavorable to Lin Baotian, had completely changed. Some people were even urging Yan¡¯s father to accept the challenge so that they could watch him embarrass himself.


    Although Lin Dan had lost to Yan Langqing, she was doing this for her deceased father and protecting his reputation. In this way, nobody would fault her and would even praise her for being a filial and perfect daughter.


    The grey-bearded man who was the judge of the cooking competition a few days ago looked at Lin Dan and nodded his head with admiration.


    Yan¡¯s father panicked and took a few steps backward as he wiped his sweat away. Yan Langqing turned around and looked at the young marquis pitifully, seemingly asking for his help. Lin Dan¡¯s family had served the young marquis and she would definitely stop putting Yan¡¯s father in a spot as long as he commanded her to. But at this moment, the young marquis who had always been on her side kept a solemn face without saying a word.


    Lin Dan glanced at the young marquis and said as if she had no choice, ¡°Fine, for the sake of the grandmaster in heaven, I shall not make things difficult for you. But there¡¯s only one thing I have to clarify ¨C my father is by no means an ungrateful man who deceived his master. Everything he had was achieved based on his true capabilities. There were at least dozens or hundreds of imperial chefs who retired from the palace, but how many of them were able to make their name after leaving the palace? I could even just with one hand ¨C there¡¯s only five of them. If not for my father, would anyone know the Golden Knife Imperial Chef? Would people know Yan¡¯s dishes? The recipe book of the Yan family only had sixty pages, but now has more than four hundred pages because of my father, and those were the fruits of his hard work.¡±


    Lin Dan looked straight at Yan Langqing. ¡°I have already given you the Golden Knife, including the new recipes my father wrote to repay the grandmaster¡¯s kindness for raising him for many years. I hope you will stop pushing us into a corner. You can stop me from making the dishes that were written in that recipe book, but please do not deny my father¡¯s culinary skills and character, let alone his dedication to Yan¡¯s dishes. Without him, there would be no such high praises for Yan¡¯s dishes from the public. He did not let the grandmaster down, nor did he let the Yan family down. He had done nothing shameless until the day of this death.¡± Lin Dan helped Lady Qi up after saying her piece and walked away unhurriedly.


    As soon as the two of them left, a commotion was made in the restaurant. Some said that it was indeed to Lin Baotian¡¯s credit that Yan¡¯s dishes had gained such a high reputation. Lin Baotian had always claimed himself to be a successor of Yan¡¯s dishes. He was actually being grateful by doing so on the contrary to what people had said. Some others said that the father and daughter of the Yan family were being too nasty to the Lin family. Without Lin Baotian, Yan¡¯s dishes would not gain today¡¯s achievements. It was the Yan family¡¯s fortune to have Lin Baotian add more recipes to Yan¡¯s recipe book. Yet, they disregarded what Lin Baotian had done and even disallowed Lin Dan to make those dishes!


    The people initially sympathized with Yan Langqing and her father, but they soon realized that they were vicious and despicable villains who told lies to ruin someone¡¯s reputation and drove two ladies into a corner. This made Lin Dan and her father seemed generous and magnanimous in contrast.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Without Chef Lin, I reckon this restaurant will not produce any more delicious dishes.¡± The patrons got up immediately and the lively hall suddenly became empty.


    Lin Dan helped Lady Qi to get on the hired carriage and went to the suburbs of Beijing to find cheap accommodation. One hundred and twenty taels of silver may sound substantial, but it was easy to spend all of it within a short time. Without an income, they must live frugally to ensure their survival.


    ¡°Dan¡¯er, why didn¡¯t you insist on competing with Yan Shouye? Back then, he couldn¡¯t even toss the food in the wok, he¡¯s no match for you.¡± Qi Shi wondered.


    ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t you notice that the young marquis is very protective of Yan Langqing? With him around, it¡¯s better that we don¡¯t make things too difficult for the Yan family.¡± Lin Dan straightened the thin bedding and put Lady Qi down to take a rest. Not wanting to provoke Yan Langqing was just one of the reasons. The truth was, she only had Lin Dan¡¯s memory, but not master her culinary skills. She said those things only to intimidate Yan¡¯s father and had no intention to hold a real competition with him. If they really competed, she would embarrass herself too. Otherwise, it would humiliate Yan¡¯s father further if his level of capability was left up to people¡¯s imagination. This was what she wanted to achieve.


    ¡°Did you mean that the young marquis and Yan Langqing are¡­¡± Lady Qi suddenly sighed when she thought of Yan Langqing¡¯s beautiful and radiant face, and remembered how the young marquis had been protecting her. Since they had nobody to depend on, Lin Dan was right that it was best to leave the Yan family some leeway and not upset the young marquis.


    Little did they know that after Lin Dan and Lady Qi had left, the young marquis also left without saying a word, leaving Yan Langqing there to suffer in embarrassment.

 CH 5

    As soon as Lin Dan had settled Lady Qi down, a group of people came to the inn and yelled to see her. The shopkeeper stopped them from entering as he was afraid that these people would destroy the inn if he let them in. Those people started crying at the entrance and attracted passers-by to stop and watch.


    Lin Dan pushed the window slightly and peeked at what was happening. She saw that the person who was leading the group was an old woman who looked desolate. She wore a set of garments that had turned pale from overwashing and she was not wearing any ornaments on her head. Yan Shouye kept yelling ¡°mother¡± as he held her and looked extremely sad.


    She seemed to be the wife of Lin Baotian¡¯s master, Yan Bo. This meant that Lin Dan should address her as Madam Grandmaster. But Lin Dan was likely unable to address her in that respectful manner because what this old woman did was enough to overturn all her previous efforts of cleaning up Lin Baotian¡¯s reputation.


    The old woman beat her chest and cried, ¡°Damn you, Lin Baotian! I don¡¯t care if you bullied me and my child, how can you make your daughter do the same thing to us too?! Your daughter said that you are a filial man who took care of the old man¡¯s funeral? That¡¯s nonsense! How could you lie without batting an eye! The old man was lying on the bed for several months, and Lin Baotian didn¡¯t even pour a glass of water for him, not to mention taking care of him! I was the one who arranged everything. I asked Lin Baotian to send a letter to my son, he agreed to do so on the surface, but he burned the letter as he was afraid that my son would appear and fight for the old man¡¯s inheritance! This was why my son could not make it back in time to see his father for the last time. Isn¡¯t he a vicious man? My son should be the one to inherit the family business, what gave him the right to stop my son from doing so? When the old man died and didn¡¯t have a son to complete the rites for him, Lin Baotian took the chance to threaten me into giving him all the family¡¯s assets, or he would not let the old man rest in peace. I had no one to turn to and there¡¯s nothing I could do! The old man¡¯s coffin was still at home, I only wanted him to rest in peace¡­¡±


    The heartbroken look of the old woman drew the passers-by to tears. If this continued, Lin Dan reckoned that what she did to clear up Lin Baotian¡¯s reputation would have gone to waste.


    Lady Qi, who finally could rest, woke up and said angrily, ¡°She is talking nonsense! That was all lies! When your grandmaster was ill, your father had wanted to inform Yan Shouye immediately. It was her who stopped your father as she didn¡¯t want to distract Yan Shouye who was about to take the imperial examinations. Little did she know that your grandmaster¡¯s health deteriorated quickly and went into a coma just in two weeks. When your father wanted to contact Yan Shouye, he had already gone out to study and nobody knew where he went. Your father took care of all your grandmaster¡¯s needs, cleaning his piss and poop, prepared medicine for him, and even had to support the family. Your father was the one who did all the hard work, while your madam avoided taking care of him because she didn¡¯t want to dirty her hands and tire herself. When your grandmaster died, she said all the money was used to fund her son¡¯s studies, and she couldn¡¯t fork out any extra money for the funeral of your grandmaster. She cried and begged your father to find a way, and eventually, your father used all his savings to pay 50 taels of interest so that your grandmaster could be buried in peace. In order to repay the debt, your father had no rest and went out to work immediately one day after the burial. He came to the capital in the end and had been sending money back. It¡¯s unfortunate that there was no proof of what he did. We can¡¯t even prove our innocence!¡±


    Lady Qi opened her bag and took out two memorial tablets. She cried, ¡°Your father was a good person, but why is he not rewarded for being a good person!¡±


    She also wanted to run out and argue with the old woman, but the old woman was the wife of Lin Baotian¡¯s master who had raised him since he was a child. It would be difficult for Lady Qi to argue with the old woman due to her seniority and the kindness they had shown Lin Baotian. If she had argued, it would make her seem as though she was unkind and disrespectful to the elders. This was how the world worked ¨C it was acceptable for seniors to beat up and reprimand the juniors, but the juniors could never disobey the seniors. The word ¡°filial piety¡± was enough to crush people alive. Besides, she was not an eloquent speaker, she could easily be deceived by others, let alone speaking up for her wronged, deceased husband.


    Lin Dan naturally believed Lady Qi rather than the group of people outside. Besides, in her memory, Lim Baotian was indeed a good person and had never done anything wrong in his life. Since Lin Dan had taken up the identity of his daughter, she must find a way to protect his reputation. However, she knew that arguing and rebutting was obviously a bad idea. No matter how eloquent she was, she had already lost in terms of seniority. It was not honorable at all to win a quarrel against a senior.


    ¡°Mother, pack up your bags, let¡¯s leave the capital.¡± Lin Dan made up her mind and said, ¡°Give me the tablet. I will return it to them.¡±


    Lady Qi handed it over without hesitation. Before she knew it, her daughter had become the decision-maker for the family.


    Lin Dan wrapped the tablet in a piece of white silk cloth. She carefully held it in her arms and walked downstairs.


    ¡°She¡¯s out, she¡¯s out! The mother and daughter of the Lin family are out!¡± Someone who recognized Lin Dan and Lady Qi screamed. Passers-by who were already very interested in this matter gathered closer to see what happened.


    ¡°Wow, you are finally willing to show yourselves!¡± The old woman wiped her tears and rushed forward. She wanted to grab the two ladies and argue with them, so as to tarnish their reputation. Since she was the wife of Lin Baotian¡¯s master and the madam of Lin Dan, she would always be in the right no matter what she said. She was not afraid that the mother and daughter would revolt against her.


    Lin Dan raised the tablet to block the old woman¡¯s approach. When the old woman spread her five fingers and wanted to grab her collar, she took the chance to put the tablet into her hand. She then knelt down and kowtowed three times, before saying steadily, ¡°Madam, my mother and I will leave the capital. Please take care of yourself. This is the grandmaster¡¯s tablet and you may have it back. My mother and I do not deserve to pay respects to him.¡±


    The old woman hated the Lin family to the bone and would not care to listen to Lin Dan carefully. She smashed the thing in her hands on the ground without thinking.


    Lady Qi cried out in shock and quickly tried to save it, but she was one step too late. The memorial tablet fell to the ground and the loosely wrapped white silk cloth spread out, revealing the words carved on it. Everyone craned their necks and looked carefully. They realized that it was indeed Yan Bo¡¯s tablet. Although the base of the tablet was mostly blackened due to smoke, it did not seem dirty at all. In fact, it was radiating with a soft luster, which was produced when people often worshipped and cleaned the tablet with a silk cloth regularly.


    The memorial tablet that was so well maintained had cracked under the hands of the old woman. ¡°What a grave sin had she committed!¡± They thought.


    Someone nearby immediately chided, ¡°How dare you ruin a memorial tablet? Aren¡¯t you afraid of being punished by the heavens?!¡±


    The old woman was dumbfounded when she saw the tablet and Yan Shouye was unable to react in time. It was Lady Qi who took the tablet and wiped it with the silk cloth. Her fingers trembled whenever she touched the crack on the tablet, she was badly shaken by what had happened.


    Lin Dan, who had always worn an expressionless face, finally shed tears. She took the tablet lightly and wiped it with her sleeves cautiously before placing it respectfully on the platform. She pulled her mother and did three loud kowtows before hobbling away.


    Both of them had kowtowed so hard that there was blood on their foreheads. It had left two bright red marks on the stairway which created a ghastly sight. Although the mother and daughter did not utter a word, their actions had meant more than what the old woman had said. The passers-by who were outraged before had turned silent. They stopped saying that they wanted to help the old woman teach Lin Dan and her mother a good lesson. They thought looking at what happened to the tablet, it was obvious who was right and who was wrong, who was good and who was bad.


    ¡°O-Old man!¡± The old woman slowly regained her senses and slumped on the ground after her legs turned jelly. Yan Shouye did not know whether he should keep standing or get down on his knees. It was unsure whether his face was red with embarrassment or pale in shock.


    At that moment, no one had noticed that the old steward of the Marquis of Yongding was standing outside the crowd, while the young marquis was sitting in a teahouse nearby, observing what had happened. He stared at the direction where Lin Dan and her mother were walking towards before heaving a long sigh. He took out some silver notes and ordered his servant to catch up with them.


    Lin Dan naturally declined the young marquis¡¯ help. Her instinct was telling her that she could only enjoy a peaceful life only if she kept a distance from the young marquis and Yan Langqing.


    Seeing that his servant brought the silver notes back, the young marquis was having mixed feelings. He thought that he knew Lin Dan well, but he suddenly realized that she was more stubborn and resilient than he thought. The mother and daughter insisted on leaving while bringing nothing with them, even though they knew that it would be very challenging ahead.


    When the young marquis returned home unhappily, the old steward was reporting the situation to the old marquis in detail. ¡°When I arrived, Lady Zhou was making a scene at that place and had attracted many passers-by. Lady Zhou was spouting words of slander about Head Chef Lin and it has made Lin Dan and Lady Qi so scared that they dared not show up. But as Lady Zhou was speaking even more outrageously, before I was able to stop her, Lin Dan and Lady Qi appeared out of no choice. They did not say a word, except returning Imperial Chef Yan¡¯s memorial tablet to Lady Zhou before giving her and the tablet three loud kowtows. Lady Zhou knew that it was Imperial Chef Yan¡¯s memorial tablet, but she still smashed the tablet hard onto the ground, creating a big crack on the tablet¡­¡±


    In fact, Lady Zhou had no idea that it was Yan Bo¡¯s tablet. She was so furious at that moment that she did not care what Lin Dan said, especially when Lin Dan had deliberately slowed down her speech and was speaking softly. It was unfortunate that the passers-by were paying special attention to Lin Dan¡¯s words. This was how they all knew that it was Yan Bo¡¯s tablet that was wrapped in the white silk cloth and they naturally thought Lady Zhou knew about it too.


    Upon hearing this, the old marquis sighed, ¡°She smashed her deceased husband¡¯s tablet?! This goes to show that what she said was all nonsense! Since she had no real affection for Imperial Chef Yan, how could she take care of him when he was gravely ill? I also expect nothing more from that unfilial son. Without Baotian, the Yan family would not enjoy what they are having today. In other words, money is the source of all these troubles. These people are filled with greed that they are willing to sell off their conscience.¡±


    The old steward agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right! They wouldn¡¯t be able to take back the Golden Knife, the recipes, and the restaurant in a rightful manner without tarnishing Chef Lin¡¯s reputation. Chef Lin went through so much to make Yan¡¯s dishes popular, and now they just want to ride on his successes. Do they really think people are fools and don¡¯t know what is up their sleeves? They can accuse Chef Lin of being ungrateful, unfaithful, and unfilial for all they want, but the tablet that was worshipped and maintained regularly is enough to keep their mouths shut. If Chef Lin really deceived his master and brought shame to his ancestors, would he dare to pay respects to his master¡¯s tablet at home regularly? On the contrary, it was Lady Zhou and Yan Shouye whose legs turned jelly the moment they saw the tablet, it¡¯s obvious that they were guilty of their wrongdoings.¡±


    ¡°I know Baotian¡¯s character the best. He is definitely not someone who is capable of doing bad things. Inheriting his master title is different from inheriting the family¡¯s wealth. It is not something you can spend freely when it¡¯s given to you, but a title that one must prove to be worthy of. It¡¯s not easy to be the successor of the imperial chef, as people would judge whether you¡¯re worthy of that title once you whip up a dish. Unless Imperial Chef Yan was old and muddleheaded, he would be tarnishing his own title if he had passed his title to Yan Shouye who knows nothing about cooking!¡± The old marquis got more furious as he spoke.


    ¡°Exactly! The Yan family seized the chance knowing that Chef Lin is dead so that he can¡¯t stand up and defend himself. Poor Lin Dan and Lady Qi had no choice but to leave.¡± The old steward shook his head and sighed repeatedly.


    ¡°Send someone to get them back. It¡¯ll be tough for an orphan and widow to survive out there.¡± The old marquis could not let things pass and shook his hand.


    As the old steward went hurriedly, the old marquis found his son standing at the door. He frowned and said, ¡°Send Yan Langqing away. We do not keep such evil people in the Marquis Residence. We can always hire good chefs and we don¡¯t lose anything by firing her.¡±


    The young marquis nodded. He took a bow and left without saying a word.


    Yan Langqing, who intended to show off her culinary skills in the Marquis Residence, had never dreamed that the scene her grandmother and father created had not only failed to restore the Yan family¡¯s reputation, it had also ruined her plans.

 CH 6

    After leaving the capital, Lin Dan and Lady Qi settled themselves temporarily in a nearby small town. While they were there, the old marquis had sent several groups of people to look for them, but Lin Dan had politely declined their help.


    It was another day where she sent away another group of people. Lady Qi finally couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and said pitifully, ¡°Dan¡¯er, it¡¯s actually okay to go back to the Marquis¡¯ residence. We have nobody to depend on, it¡¯s better to have someone taking care of us. We also cannot afford to leave your dad¡¯s house and the restaurant behind. With the support of the old marquis, we can bring the case to the officials and make your second and third uncles return everything.¡±


    Lin Dan waved her hand and said firmly, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re making things seem too simple. What do we have besides 120 taels of silver? We have no property deed, how are we able to bring this to the officials? The old marquis is a kind man and said that we are the guests of the Marquis Residence, but do you understand what¡¯s our current identity? We¡¯re just slightly better off than the slave who has signed a deed. Now that the marquis¡¯ daughter is at the crucial moment of being chosen as the concubine, you know how strict the marquis¡¯ residence will be. The marquis¡¯ brother-in-law is still in jail for injuring others while riding a horse and no matter how badly his wife begs, the old marquis has never given in to her request. Do you think he would care about our losing lawsuit? He is trying to bring us back because he is kind-hearted and sentimental. But we should not take it for granted and squander his feelings for us away.¡±


    Lin Dan sighed and added, ¡°Besides, as long as the Yan family and our family are living in the same place, they will definitely find all ways to tarnish father¡¯s reputation in order to restore theirs. The second uncle and the third uncle will also stop us from taking back our properties by secretly plotting against us. Apart from having some money, what else do we have? The old marquis can protect us for now, but can he protect us forever? Staying in the capital means that we will be facing never-ending troubles, I thought it is better for us to leave and start our lives anew. Don¡¯t you think so, mother?¡±


    Although Lady Qi was unwilling, she was successfully persuaded by her daughter and could only nod in tears.


    Lin Dan rented a small courtyard to live in temporarily and went out to explore the area. Her child-like face was wearing a solemn expression. On this day, she walked further than she always did and unknowingly took the official road to the relay station. There were loud sounds of clamor and the neighing of horses at the station, which made the place seemed very lively. There was also a straw shed outside the station, and an old woman was busy serving food.


    She was unsure what food was served, but she could smell the nice aroma from afar. Lin Dan was attracted by the smell and walked quickly over. The merchants in the inn also came outside to take a look.


    ¡°Auntie, your tofu balls smell good, how much does a bowl of it cost?¡± A trader asked loudly.


    ¡°Two copper coins for one bowl.¡± The old woman replied with a smile.


    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll have one please.¡± The trader immediately sat down in the straw shed, staring straight at the oil pan.


    When Lin Dan came, the tofu balls were done deep-frying and were being scooped up by the old woman to drain the oil. She then poured the tofu balls into another pot, and boiled them in the bone broth, causing the sweetness of the soup to be blended with the aroma of deep-fried balls. After boiling, the tofu balls were done after sprinkling it with a handful of chopped green onion. The golden and crispy tofu balls were tumbling in the milky and rich soup, beautifully decorated with the green onion. The fragrance of the tofu, broth, green onion, and some pepper was mixed together to create a mouth-watering flavor.


    Lin Dan hurried into the straw shed and saw that the trader could wait no more. He picked up one piping hot tofu ball and put it into his mouth. He puffed as he chewed before giving the old woman a thumbs up. He said, ¡°You¡¯re such a great cook! I¡¯ve traveled the world and have never eaten tofu balls as good as this.¡±


    Lin Dan immediately ordered a bowl for herself. She took a bite after blowing it and her face was filled with awe. After biting through the crispy deep-fried skin on the outer layer, she was surprised to find the extremely soft and tender tofu on the inside that was made with minced meat and mashed yam. The tofu balls melted in her mouth and were extremely delicious. What made the tofu balls even better was the thick broth that was wrapped in the innermost layer of the ball. It seemed to be produced by bone broth seeping into the ball, but also seemed to be made from the juice produced by meat and yam after being heated. She tasted it with the tip of her tongue and found that the broth had the freshness of bone marrow, saltiness of minced meat, as well as the sweetness of the yam. All the flavors were blended perfectly, which made people wanting for more.


    Lin Dan paid special attention as she ate it before finishing all the soup and sighed with contentment. The trader had already eaten three bowls and was already on his fourth. His companions were all attracted by the aroma, and the small shed was soon filled up with patrons.


    Lin Dan did not leave after finishing the tofu balls. Seeing that there was an increasing number of patrons, she offered to help the old woman to burn firewood, fetch water, serve, and wash the dishes. The old woman initially refused her help but relented eventually. When work was over at night, she took out twenty copper coins and wanted to pay her.


    ¡°Auntie, money is not what I want,¡± Lin Dan turned down the coins. She continued sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m willing to help you every day, but I only ask that you teach me how to make these tofu balls.¡±


    ¡°You want me to teach you how to cook? What¡¯s so¡­¡± Before the old woman could finish speaking, a young woman walked into the shed and said angrily, ¡°Where did this brat come from? How dare you try to take advantage of my family? If my mother teaches you, do you think she can still enjoy such a good business? Get out of here, or I¡¯ll chase you out with a broom!¡± As she was speaking, she opened the drawer and poured all the hard-earned money of the old woman into her purse. Her eyes were filled with greed.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to learn how to cook as well? I can teach you.¡± The old woman frowned.


    ¡°I¡¯m your daughter-in-law, we are one family. But who the hell is she?¡± The woman pointed at Lin Dan with the other hand on her waist.


    Lin Dan quickly explained, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry, I can work for you every day for free and will go somewhere far away after learning how to make this dish. I will never open a stall near you. I have a mother to feed and we are just two defenseless ladies. If you see me opening a stall near you someday, you can always beat me up or smash my stall.¡±


    The woman could tell that Lin Dan came from another region from her accent. She thought that having free labor was not a bad idea after all. Since the family was big enough, she was also not afraid of being fooled by a young girl who came elsewhere. She eventually agreed to Lin Dan¡¯s request, but she remained nasty and acted as if she was doing charity.


    The old woman pulled Lin Dan aside and walked her out of the straw shed. She quietly gave her a pouch and whispered, ¡°Good girl, this is your pay today. Take this and don¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡±


    Lin Dan was about to return the pouch, but the old woman had already walked back into the shed. She could soon hear that the old woman was scolded for earning lesser coins than yesterday. She did not seem to be here to learn cooking but seemed to be here to boss around.


    Lin Dan shook her head, feeling a little upset.


    ¡ª


    That night, Lin Dan hid in the backyard to practice her cutting skills. When her scarred fingertips touched the food or the blade, it made her frown because of the pain. After cutting a gourd, she picked up the pieces of gourd that were cut unevenly and sighed helplessly.


    ¡°Dan¡¯er,¡± Lady Qi, who had been observing Lin Dan in the corner for a long time, appeared. She said softly, ¡°Cooking should be a happy affair, you should not push yourself too hard. Let¡¯s stop here for the day and take a rest, alright? It¡¯s not your fault for losing to Yan Langqing, it¡¯s normal to perform badly at times.¡±


    Lin Dan was stupefied for a moment before realizing that Lady Qi had misunderstood. Lady Qi thought that her defeat against Yan Langqing had caused a psychological trauma which made her unable to use a kitchen knife normally. But Lin Dan knew that it was not the case. She could pick up the skill again, but it would take time.


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lin Dan didn¡¯t explain, but she said firmly, ¡°One day I will earn back everything we¡¯ve lost. If we can¡¯t make Yan¡¯s dishes, I will learn new ones. The world is so big, we will definitely find a way out. ¡°


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Fine, as long as you are able to figure everything out. Now, stop what you¡¯re doing and go to bed.¡± Lady Qi caressed her daughter¡¯s head with a look of relief. Her daughter had become more taciturn recently, but she had also become stronger and more courageous, as though she was unafraid of the challenges ahead.


    ¡°Okay, you should rest early too.¡± Lin Dan sent Lady Qi back to the room and stood in the corridor for a long time without moving an inch. On this dreary night, she unknowingly saw a memory that did not belong to her. It was from the other ¡°Lin Dan¡± who was nowhere to be found.


    The other Lin Dan left a deep feeling of regret and reluctance but also left an emotion deep in her heart. She was a charming young girl, who loved having fun and never loved cooking. Lin Baotian asked her to learn cooking several times, but she cried and refused. One day, she accidentally upset the marquis¡¯ daughter and was almost beaten up. It was the young marquis who happened to pass by and saved her. The young marquis¡¯s gentle smile had since become her life¡¯s obsession.


    There was once she asked the young marquis what he liked and he replied jokingly: ¡°I love eating.¡± The next day she took off her beautiful clothes, put on a dirty apron, and walked into the kitchen. It had been seven years since. She never liked cooking, but only wanted to gain the young marquis¡¯ attention.


    Lin Dan did not agree that she should depend her life on another person. It is a sad life, if that person leaves or dislikes her, all that is left ahead is the abyss.


    What Lin Dan had to do was to find her own way. It did not matter whether she had fallen or injured, she must do everything to reach her goal. Since the old Lin Dan was a chef, she would continue to be a chef. There was an infinite variety of delicious food in the world, and she did not have to worry about not having a place or a teacher to learn from.


    ¡ª


    From that day onwards, Lin Dan started learning how to make tofu balls from the old woman. The old woman had three sons, the eldest son had always idled around, the second son fell ill and died when he was young, and the third son was only seven years old and was still waiting to be fed. In order to feed her two sons, the old woman got up early and sold tofu balls until late at night, she had lived a tough life. Fortunately, she had excellent culinary skills and did not have to worry about making a living.


    Her eldest daughter-in-law had always said that she wanted to learn cooking from the old woman, but she was lazy and cunning. She made Lin Dan do all the dirty work in the stall. Lin Dan had to get up early to cook the beans, peel the tofu, and take orders. She even had to carry more than a hundred catties of water back and forth, which almost injured her waist. But Lin Dan never complained, as long as she can learn something, she was not afraid of hardships, no matter how difficult it was.

 CH 7

    Lin Dan was a woman of few words, but she had always been serious in whatever she did. Regardless of how dirty or tiring the chores that were assigned by the old woman¡¯s daughter-in-law, she could complete them silently without cutting corners. As time passed, the daughter-in-law was relieved and stopped watching her all the time. When the daughter-in-law was idling and lazing around, the old woman seized the chance to teach Lin Dan how to make the most tender and refreshing tofu, and how to make the most delicious and fragrant tofu balls.


    Lin Dan had mastered this dish after March and bade farewell to the old woman who was unwilling to part with her. Lin Dan left the town with Lady Qi. From then on, she went to various places to learn cooking from different chefs. If they were unwilling to impart their skills, she would work in their shop or home and persuade them with her sincerity. If the chef was still unwilling, she would not complain and leave silently.


    She had tasted all the delicacies across the great country of Chu, met all sorts of people, and had different life experiences. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.


    It was early spring, a line of a carriage came along the mountain trail, with muscular-looking guards keeping an eye at the front and back of the fleet. It was probably a prestigious family who was on the move. When the fleet slowly came to stop at a junction, a middle-aged man with a big belly hopped out of the most luxurious carriage of the fleet. He ran to the last carriage with small steps and whispered, ¡°Manager Lin, are you feeling better now?¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± A hoarse voice came from the carriage, ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better. It¡¯s all thanks to you who took care of me along the way. I look forward to seeing each other in the future.¡±


    ¡°Happy to hear that. I still have some medicine to speed up your recovery, you can have it.¡± Boss Shen quickly asked a servant to present the gift box that he had prepared for a long time. He said, ¡°Of course we will meet again. If you open a shop in the capital, I will definitely patronize no matter how far I am. Since you¡¯ve fallen ill, everything I eat has since become tasteless.¡±


    The Manager Lin in the carriage sounded like a woman, and Boss Shen¡¯s last remark seemed as though he was making romantic advances. However, the people inside and outside the carriage did not notice his intention and even laughed in unison.


    Upon seeing that, a brawny man guarding the fleet scorned and nudged his companion¡¯s waist with his elbow. He whispered, ¡°Look, she can even hook up with someone on the way. Women really shouldn¡¯t show themselves in public.¡±


    His companion nodded with a scoffing face without saying a word. He looked at his leader again, only to find that he was still sitting on the horse and watching each junction with his long eyes with extreme vigilance. The two of them were astounded before deciding to knock it off.


    Manager Lin was worried that she would spread the illness to others and only pulled open a small gap in the curtain. She stretched out her hands to pick up the gift and instructed, ¡°Xiao-Zhu, present the gift I¡¯ve prepared to Boss Shen. It¡¯s all thanks to Boss Shen¡¯s kindness that we are able to get to the capital.¡±


    A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy immediately leaped down from a carriage in front, carrying a jar of wine in his arms. Seeing the wine jar, Boss Shen¡¯s ruddy face beamed. Although he spoke words of politeness, he stretched out his hands eagerly, smiling so much that his narrow eyes were disappearing. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re being too polite. It was nothing!¡± He gave the wine jar a deep sniff as he spoke and enjoyed what he smelled.


    ¡°It may be nothing to you, but it¡¯s great kindness for us. It¡¯s getting late, Boss Shen. Let¡¯s bid our farewells here. I¡¯ll definitely invite you to dinner if we meet again in the capital.¡± Manager Lin said sincerely.


    A bigger smile appeared on Boss Shen¡¯s face. He added, ¡°To prevent a busy woman like you from forgetting your promise, this meal will be noted in my account book. I will definitely visit Beijing to collect the ¡®debt¡¯ from you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget this. Goodbye.¡± Manager Lin chuckled.


    After the two said their goodbyes, the long line of the carriage was also separated into two. The ten carriages in the front made a turn at the junction and left for Jiaozhou, while the five carriages at the back went straight ahead to the capital. The escorts protecting the fleets were also divided into two groups. One group followed Boss Shen while three other strong men followed Manager Lin¡¯s fleet on horses.


    Manager Lin seemed to have noticed the three men through the carriage curtain and sent a servant to greet them.


    The young servant was timid, but he plucked up the courage and asked, ¡°Brothers, are you going to the capital too?¡±


    One of them smiled nonchalantly, ¡°Why does it matter?¡±


    ¡°If you are, our manager wants to hire the three of you as escorts and ensure our safety as we enter the capital. We will pay you ten taels of silver each, food and drinks will also be provided along the way. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°Bad.¡± The strong man laughed, but his speech was sharper than knives. His companion snorted softly and seemed to be uninterested in the ten taels.


    The young servant blushed with anger, but he still insisted patiently, ¡°Please reconsider our offer. We will be providing food and drinks, you won¡¯t lose anything.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even care for the ten taels of silver, do you think I care about your food? Get lost and stop delaying our journey!¡± The strong man became a little impatient and acted as if he wanted to pull out a whip around his waist.


    The leading man was the tallest among them and had the most frightening aura. He had dark skin and a handsome appearance, with a scar that stretched across a corner of his forehead to his temple, which made him even more hostile. He seemed to be unhappy that his subordinates were drawing too much attention. He glanced coldly at the two brawny men and their faces immediately turned solemn. One of them said, ¡°We are in a hurry. We will be taking a shortcut to the capital and won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡±


    As the shortcut stretched into the mountain and the mountain road was rugged and narrow, it can only be traveled by horses and not carriages. Upon hearing this, the servant bade farewell to them. He took a quick glance at the leading man before leaving and was astonished again. The man that was riding on a big horse had a pair of narrow and cold eyes and had a well-built figure that was covered in a dark suit. He was obviously a fighter.


    ¡°Could this hostile man be a bandit?¡± The servant thought and quickly ran away.


    Manager Lin¡¯s carriage was not far from the group. She knew she should not persist after hearing their response. The group continued their journey quietly and rested by a lake when it was midday. Two young maids carried clay jugs to fetch water in the river, while three servants took out the stone stove and started cooking.


    Both sides of the mountain road were full of pink wild roses, and the pleasant aroma of flowers filled up the place after being nourished by the rain. Manager Lin lifted the carriage curtain to admire the beautiful scenery. She drank another bowl of ginger water with orange peel before slowly getting out of the carriage. She said, ¡°I feel restless after sitting in the carriage for a long time. Take out my kitchenware, I¡¯ll make lunch today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Can¡¯t wait to have your cooking today!¡± The two young maids cheered happily, while other servants were also overjoyed.


    Although the three brawny men had been taking the same route as them, it was the first time they saw Manager Lin as she was ill throughout the whole journey. They could not help but take a good look at her. They saw a tall and beautiful lady in her early twenties, who was wearing a lady¡¯s bun. Different from the beauty standards of the time, her skin was lightly tanned. She also carried a fearless aura which made her look pleasant.


    The two brawny men were disappointed to see Manager Lin, the woman who Boss Shen tried so hard to flatter yet was not a stunner or beauty of their dreams. However, unlike them, their leader stared at her for a long time.


    Manager Lin, who was Lin Dan, immediately noticed the man¡¯s gaze and turned her head to look at him. When their eyes met, one of them was stunned while the other was puzzled.


    ¡°Excuse me, have we met before?¡± Lin Dan joined her hands together and greeted, looking natural, and at ease.


    The man hesitated for a moment before replying in a deep voice, ¡°Never.¡±


    Lin Dan looked at him carefully and made sure that she had never seen him, and stopped paying attention to him. He was a very good-looking man with a terrifying aura, she reckoned that she would definitely not forget this face if she had seen it once.


    When Lin Dan walked away, one of the strong men whispered, ¡°Boss, do you know her?¡±


    The man did not answer but silently took out the ration and water sacs before swallowing down the food with difficulty. Another brawny man tore off a hard bun and stuffed it into his companion¡¯s mouth. He chided, ¡°Eat up, and don¡¯t ask unnecessary questions.¡±


    The brawny man spit out the hard bun and yelled, ¡°Darn it! How many days has this bun been left out for? It¡¯s even harder than a rock! My mouth is gonna turn into a beak by eating these foods every day!¡±


    ¡°Just put up with it for a while more. We will hurry to the capital after taking the shortcut at the next junction. When we are there, we can enjoy a big feast before going home and enjoying a good sleep.¡± The companion gave a longing look.


    ¡°How far are we from the next junction?¡±


    ¡°Not far, we will probably reach there tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow morning? Darn, that¡¯s far! I wish I could fly instead!¡±


    The two men chatted while gnawing on the buns, but the leader never said a word. He raised his eyes to look at Manager Lin from time to time, seemingly interested in her.


    Lin Dan was busy preparing lunch, unaware of the man¡¯s attention. She took out a few pieces of evenly cured meat and roasted it on the fire. When oil seeped out of the meat, the pig hair that had not been cleanly removed was eliminated under the flame and completely removed after being washed in the lake. She then scraped off the burnt parts with a knife.


    The two maids received her instructions and ran into the woods to dig a few handfuls of wild onions and bamboo shoots for use later, while several other servants helped to set up the fire.


    Lin Dan cut the cleaned meat into slices and stir-fried them in the wok. When enough fat was produced, she threw several pink dumplings that were made of unknown ingredients and gently stirred them with a spatula. An indescribable sourness mixed with the aroma of cured meat filled the air, attracting the three men to crane their necks and take a look at it.


    ¡°Dammit, what¡¯s this smell? It¡¯s sour and pungent.¡± Although the brawny man was wearing a disgusted expression, his mouth was already watering.


    ¡°No idea, I¡¯ve never seen it.¡± His companion tiptoed and stared right at the large wok that Lin Dan was constantly stirring in.


    The pink dumplings had been completely crushed by Lin Dan and turned into a fine powder before being mixed with the slices of meat. Although the color of the dish was not the most appetizing and it was giving out a strong and pungent aroma, it somehow made people¡¯s mouth water. This was probably the true combination of exotic fragrance and pungency.


    The handsome man, who had not said a word, finally spoke, ¡°This is pickled tofu dregs, a specialty of Anqing Fu. It is made by crushing the tofu dregs in good weather and storing them in a jar after adding some salt, pepper, and other ingredients. If the taste is not strong enough, thick bone soup can be sealed in lotus leaves and added to the bean dregs before letting it ferment slowly. After the fermentation is complete, it can be kneaded into a dough and dried so that it¡¯s easy to carry around. The pickled tofu dregs are sour, spicy, salty, and rich in flavor. The aroma of the meat is mixed with the aroma of beans, creating an incredibly unique taste.¡±

 CH 8

    Pickled tofu dregs is a specialty of Zongzi. The Zongzi State was an ancient state established by the remnants of the Xia and Shang dynasties. It was contented governing their small sovereign state and wanted to restore it. However, it was later annihilated by the former famous general Zi Kong. Although it was still known as the Zongzi State, it had merely become a county of Da Chu.


    Lin Dan did not expect anyone to know such a remote place and who could even describe the cooking process of the local specialties in detail. She could not help looking at the handsome man. The man glanced back at her before continuing to eat the dry food in his hand.


    The meat slices in the wok had all been covered with a layer of pickled tofu dregs. The rich animal fat sizzled and gave out a crisp sound, exuding a strong aroma. Lin Dan retracted her gaze and said to the maid who was sitting next to her, ¡°You may pour the water now.¡±


    The maid hurriedly poured the water from the clay jug into the wok. As water flowed into the wok, the dish that did not look attractive appeared even more turbid, but the pungency that stung the nose had greatly reduced. This had intensified the fragrance of the beans and the aroma of the meat, creating the original flavor of the dish.


    The change in smell was immediately carried away by the spring breeze and spread the entire place. The three men who were sitting nearby could not help but took a whiff. Their mouths that were originally dry suddenly secreted a lot of salivae. They could already swallow the hard buns smoothly without drinking water. But when they looked at the hard buns in their hands, they seemed to have lost any appetite to consume it.


    Lin Dan did not care about the feelings of those people at all. She seemed to feel that the food in the wok was not flavorful enough and added several kinds of seasonings before stirring it slowly with a spatula. The broth was already boiling and bubbling. The white water vapor carried the overbearing scent and spread the area, stimulating everyone¡¯s sense of smell and taste.


    The maid asked while swallowing her saliva, ¡°Master, why did you add the peppercorns after the broth has been boiling for a long time? Wouldn¡¯t it make the flavor difficult to absorb into the dish?¡±


    Lin Dan replied slowly, ¡°This is rattan pepper, not peppercorn. Peppercorns numb your tongue while the rattan pepper has an astringent flavor. I added it at the end because cooking it for an extended period of time will make the food bitter. The numbing sensation of the rattan pepper is actually better than peppercorns and tastes more authentic. There¡¯s no need to stir-fry it with oil, and it will give out a spicy flavor just by boiling in water for fifteen minutes.¡±


    The maid nodded as she had learned something new. Lin Dan added the cut bamboo shoots and boiled for a while before adding a couple of washed wild onions into the wok as well.


    The little girl hurriedly pulled up her sleeves and wondered, ¡°Master, you once said that it is of great importance to avoid turbidity in this dish. But why is your dish showing the opposite? This dish already has a strong taste, but you still added the wild onions that have a stinging smell. I¡¯m afraid that it will ruin the dish! I think it already tastes very good, and no other condiments are needed.¡±


    Lin Dan smiled at her and explained tenderly, ¡°Do you remember the seasoning technique I taught you? Dishes with strong taste need to be enhanced to highlight the richness of the flavor, while dishes with lighter taste need to have its flavor reduced to bring out its freshness. Besides these techniques, I¡¯ve also taught you the mixing method, flavor changing method, and so on. For this dish, I have chosen to enhance its flavor with a strong taste by adding the sourness and spiciness of pickled tofu dregs to the smoked and salty cured meat, before adding rattan pepper which gives the numbing sensation. Since the sourness, spiciness, and numbness can make the dish turbid, I¡¯ve added wild onions to give it a slightly sweet, astringent, and bitter taste to it. Adding the unique fragrance of wild onions to the unique pungency of the pickled tofu dregs, it creates a dish that contains different layers of flavors and creates an excellent dish. We avoid turbidity not by reducing the number of condiments, but by ensuring that each flavor is distinct. Turbidity is referring to the taste of the dish and not its appearance. Also, different tastes can affect each other differently, such as sourness can reduce saltiness while saltiness can increase sweetness and so on. This makes cooking very interesting. This is also why I did not boil the cured meat in water because the sourness of the pickled tofu dregs will reduce the saltiness of the meat. If it is blanched in water, it will make the meat bland and reduce its flavor. You should pay attention to this in the future.¡±


    As Lin Dan was speaking, she added the wild onions into the wok and stirred gently. The tofu dregs soup that was originally all mixed up suddenly appeared white, red, and green. The distinct colors were beautiful and an indescribable aroma filled the air.


    As the maid¡¯s mouth watered, she exclaimed, ¡°Master, you are really amazing! After adding the wild onions, the taste of this soup has changed indeed! A dish that has changed its flavors three times ¨C I wouldn¡¯t even know how to make this if you¡¯ve never taught me!¡±


    Lin Dan chuckled, ¡°Let me test you then. Why do you think I added the bamboo shoots?¡±


    ¡°When the bamboo shoots are added to the cured meat, it makes the dish taste better.¡± The maid was an amateur in cooking and was still learning the ropes.


    Lin Dan explained patiently, ¡°Pickled tofu dregs and cured meat are both preserved food. Although they taste good, one of their biggest weaknesses is the lack of savoriness. These bamboo shoots are used to enhance the freshness of the dish and make up for the lack of savoriness. Try the dish, don¡¯t you think there a taste of freshness on the tip of your tongue after adding the bamboo shoots?¡±


    Lin Dan scooped some soup and brought it near to the maid¡¯s mouth.


    She took a sip and immediately gave a thumbs up. ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Master! You¡¯ve turned this dish alive!¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and shook her head. She then called the other servants who were already drooling, ¡°Everyone, lunch is ready!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s lunchtime! Get the bowls and chopsticks ready!¡± The people who had already surrounded them got their rice ready as quickly as possible. They took the food and started feasting. With the clanging sound of chopsticks hitting the bowls, as well as the sound of the mouth chewing and swallowing the food, everyone had eaten quickly as if they had gone hungry for several days.


    As the maid feasted, her cheeks were flushed and she was all sweaty. She could not help but remark, ¡°Master, as you¡¯ve been ill, we have not eaten well for a long time. We¡¯re so used to your cooking that other foods taste bland in comparison.¡±


    Lin Dan patted her head with tender-loving eyes. She took a few mouthfuls and got back into the carriage to take a rest. She was still ill after all and all the smoke she inhaled was making her throat hurt again.


    When Lin Dan was cooking, the two strong men who were sitting nearby could not swallow the buns anymore. They craned their necks and looked into the wok. Even the cool leader could not help and look at it several times. His speed of eating the buns was getting slower and slower. When Lin Dan started to talk about the seasoning method of this dish, he could no longer eat the bun. He threw the water bag aside and listened to what Lin Dan was saying attentively.


    Lin Dan spoke in a steady and soft manner and she was very vivid in her language. One can easily imagine the taste of the pot of pickled tofu dreg and stewed meat only by listening to her narration without looking at how tasty the food in the pot was. When the servants began rushing for food, the three men¡¯s imagination of the food turned real. Their stomachs were growling and they were experiencing hunger pangs.


    ¡°Darn it, I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± The sloppy and brawny man wiped off saliva with his sleeve.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a big pot of food, do you think they can finish it?¡± Another brawny man asked with anticipation.


    The handsome man did not answer, but his a pair of narrows eyes were staring at food in the wok. His throat shook slightly, seemingly swallowing the saliva that was forming in his mouth as well.


    The three of them remained silent as they watched people on the other side pick up the cured meat, bamboo shoot, and wild onions in the wok using chopsticks. After the people were done, they even scooped out the tofu dreg soup and mixed it with their rice. Somehow, the three men could sit still no more.


    ¡°Old Zhao, can you go and ask if they have any leftovers? We will pay them for the food.¡± The sloppy and brawny man nudged his companion.


    Zhao Liu cursed in a low voice, ¡°What the hell? Why don¡¯t you go instead?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just scold the young servant? I¡¯m not that thick-skinned!¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m not?¡± As soon as he said that, a gust of wind carried the rich aroma of the dish to their noses. They could smell the numbing flavor, spiciness, and sourness that were mixed with the salty cured meat. They could already imagine the heartiness of the dish even though they have not tried it. ¡°It was truly alluring!¡± They thought.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m gonna disregard my embarrassment and approach them!¡± Zhao Liu got up immediately and ran over with a couple of silver taels.


    The young man, who had been mercilessly rejected and mocked by the two before, took much energy to lift his face from the bowl. He rolled his eyes and said, ¡°It¡¯s not much food for the six of us. How can we not finish it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we pay for it?¡± Zhao Liu took out two taels of silver and gave him a fawning smile. The soup kept boiling as the firewood burned and the fragrance of the food was driving him crazy. As soon as he approached the wok, he could move no more and his mouth watered uncontrollably.


    ¡°Nope.¡± The servant walked around him to the work and took a few more slices of meat, some bamboo shoots, and wild onions. He shoved them into his mouth at once and did not bother to speak anymore.


    Zhao Liu stared at his greasy mouth with a pitiful expression.


    Seeing that his subordinate was an embarrassment, the handsome man ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Come back.¡±


    Zhao Liu took another look at the servant¡¯s bowl of soup mixed with rice and at the boiling wok before returning reluctantly. The three men took the water sac unanimously and filled their stomachs with water, slowly losing their appetite. After resting for a while, they pissed, and the water they had immediately left their bodies. They became hungrier and stared at the food in the wok with eyes green with envy.


    Chills ran down the servant¡¯s spine as the three men were glaring intently towards him. He thought to himself, ¡°Although we will part ways tomorrow, we may still meet later in the afternoon and in the evening. Perhaps I should share some food with them.¡± He started to scoop out the leftovers using the spatula and filled it up in a large bowl. He yelled, ¡°There is still some food left, do you still want it?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, yes! Thank you so much, young man!¡± Zhao Liu ran over as fast as he could. Although the other two tried their best to control themselves, their Adam¡¯s apples moved as they swallowed their saliva.


    The leftovers always tasted the best as it had been stewed for a long time. The cured meat was soft and tender, and the tofu dregs were half-melted. The appearance of the dish may not be best, but the taste was excellent. The men tore the dried buns and soaked it in the bowl of soup before giving it a bite. With only one mouthful, the dryness of the bun was immediately replaced by a chewy texture that was combined with the sour, salty, spicy flavor. It made people wanting for more.


    The three big men huddled together, each holding a piece of bun and dipped it in the soup. They also sandwiched the cured meat in between two pieces of buns and chomped down the food heartily. When there was only some soup left, the two men dare not move when the handsome man stared at them with his narrow eyes. With teary eyes, they watched their leader tore the steamed bun into pieces and threw them into the bowl before finishing all the food completely.


    When Zhao Liu returned the bowl, his face was flushed with embarrassment. There was all because the bowl looked so clean that it seemed to have been cleaned with water.

 CH 9

    As everyone ate, drank, and took a short nap, they felt particularly energetic to continue their journey in the afternoon. The three brawny men had originally planned to overtake the five carriages ahead and return to the capital first. However, since they ¡°were treated with kindness¡± and enjoyed a good meal, they did not mind protecting them all the way until the next junction and continued the following behind their fleet.


    Manager Lin seemed to have not recovered from the illness yet and coughed occasionally. Whenever she coughed, the handsome man frequently took a look at the carriage but could see nothing because of the bamboo curtain. After walking for about two hours, his subordinate Luo Tietou hiccupped and leaned closer towards the man. He whispered, ¡°Boss, when are we stopping? I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    The man glanced at him but did not answer his question. Another subordinate Zhao Liu asked, ¡°We just had lunch not too long ago and you¡¯re hungry again?¡±


    ¡°The hiccups I had smelled so good that it¡¯s making me hungry again. I feel like having more food.¡± Luo Tietou had another hiccup as soon as he finished speaking, and his mouth was suddenly filled with the smell of cured meat. It was said that food that entered the stomach would stink within a quarter of an hour, which made hiccups smell bad, but the dish made by Manager Lin was completely opposite. It had been four hours but the rich aroma of that dish remained in his mouth and stomach. Things were made worse when his hair and clothes were also covered with the smell of that dish.


    In fact, Zhao Liu was also hungry and couldn¡¯t help looking at the handsome man.


    ¡°Keep on going, and stop talking nonsense.¡± The man said with an expressionless face.


    The two looked at each other and sighed in unison. After another two hours, seeing that the sun was about to set, they ran to the front of the fleet and suggested loudly, ¡°There is an empty mountain cove ahead that is good for camping and resting. Shall we settle there? There is a huge and dense forest if we continue any further, many wild animals may appear and it can be dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest here for a night then.¡± Xiao-zhu was a discerning servant after all and quickly asked the driver to stop.


    ¡°What are you eating tonight?¡± Luo Tietou hurriedly asked, even before the carriage had come to a full halt.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Xiao-zhu puffed his cheeks.


    ¡°No,¡± Zhao Liu appeared from behind and jokingly said: ¡°We could have left on our horses, but we have protected you all the way here. It¡¯s not too much to ask for dinner together, right?¡±


    Xiao-zhu was about to take his revenge and mock them, but he heard a hoarse but gentle voice coming from the carriage, ¡°Thank you for protecting us. Of course, we should treat you to a meal. That¡¯s not too much to ask at all. ¡± When Manager Lin finished speaking, she jumped out of the carriage and carefully tied her hair with the headscarf to keep it from flying everywhere.


    ¡°Thank you so much, Manager Lin.¡± Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou laughed heartily. Manager Lin was extremely polite and made people feel comfortable.


    The hand man also cupped his hands and said earnestly, ¡°Thank you, Manager Lin.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Lin Dan smiled, ¡°It¡¯s not good to have a heavy dinner or it may cause gut discomfort. Shall we have some wraps?¡±


    ¡°Of course, if that¡¯s not too much of a trouble for you.¡± The handsome man had no objection, but his two subordinates were a little disappointed. They had been eating steamed buns for many days and had long been tired of eating it. As wraps and steamed buns were similar foods made of flour, they would rather eat more cured meat for dinner. They knew their guts were strong and would have no problems having another heavy meal. But seeing that their leader had accepted the menu, they naturally did not dare to raise any objection.


    Lin Dan nodded at several people and took two maids with her to pick wild vegetables in the forest. The spring rain fell a few days ago, the soil was still wet, and various wild plants sprouted across the green fields, covering the mountains and plains. Three servants left to fetch water, chop wood, set up stoves, and start a fire. The two brawny men initially wanted to lie down and take a rest. But their leader stared at them and made them get up to give them a hand.


    Sometime after, Lin Dan and the two maids came back with a basket on their backs. The basket was full of wild vegetables, including bamboo shoot tips, Chinese mustard, mushrooms, Chinese mahogany, and so on.


    The three servants set up two stoves with two large woks on it. The water in the woks was already boiling and bubbling. Lin Dan asked the maids to wash the vegetables while she took out a bag of brown squares from the carriage.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Luo Tietou leaned over to take a look, his face full of curiosity.


    ¡°This is smoked bean curd, a specialty of Bashu. This is made by the same method of curing meat. It is salty and fragrant.¡± Lin Dan explained slowly.


    Luo Tietou picked up a small box and gave it a whiff. Indeed, it had a unique smell that was similar to cured meat but also had the smell of beans.


    ¡°Have you ever been to Bashu?¡± The handsome man who had always been taciturn took the initiative to speak, ¡°The journey there is tough.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s said that ¡®the road to Shu is harder than ascending the sky¡¯.¡± Lin Dan chuckled lightly, ¡°But after the daunting road, you will find that Bashu is a wonderful place. It has wonderful mountains, lakes, people, and its food is even more wonderful.¡± For Lin Dan, heaven was where good food was found, and Bashu was indeed a food haven.


    The handsome man nodded, and a smile seemed to have appeared in his cold eyes. ¡°Food in Bashu is indeed delicious.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you are a food connoisseur too.¡± Lin Dan rolled up her sleeves to handle the ingredients. She diced the cooked bamboo shoot tips that were squeezed dry, blanched the Chinese mustard, mushrooms, and smoked bean curd, and set them aside for use later. The two maids were in charge of making the batter and asked Lin Dan whether it was wet enough.


    ¡°Add a little more water. If the batter is too thick, the wraps will not be thin enough and will affect the taste later.¡± Lin Dan gave the two maids instructions to perfect the batter before taking out the lard that had been stored for winter. The lard was then used to stir fry the diced vegetables. The lard sizzled as it melted in the wok, producing a crisp sound. A rich and strong fragrance was given out and made everyone¡¯s mouth water.


    ¡°What the hell? Why does this lard so smell so good?¡± Luo Tietou sniffed as he asked.


    Lin Dan stirred the melted lard slowly with a spatula and explained, ¡°The lard will definitely smell good if it is made with the right technique. Water is added whenever I make lard to prevent the fat from getting burnt and tasting bitter and makes the lard whiter and thicker. When stored in a jar, adding a spoonful of sugar and a few peppercorns for every catty of oil can effectively prevent it from becoming rancid. This can safely be stored for four or five months.¡±


    As she explained, the oil had been heated up. Lin Dan added the bamboo shoots, diced smoked bean curd, diced mushrooms, diced mustard, and other ingredients one after another, stirring them with a spatula, and sprinkled some sesame seeds and salt.


    ¡°Since we had heavy lunch this afternoon, it¡¯s good to have something lighter for dinner.¡± She continued, ¡°The three treasures usually refer to the ¡®three treasures from the earth¡¯, ¡®three treasures from the sea¡¯, and ¡®three treasures from the plants¡¯. This dish is the ¡®three treasures of Spring¡¯. The bamboo shoot tips, Chinese mustard, and mushrooms are all excellent fresh food ingredients. You only need to briefly stir fry them with lard and some salt and it will already taste amazing. Do you know what is the best food to eat in the spring?¡± She turned around and looked at her two maids named Shaoyao and Dujuan.


    They scratched their heads and smiled awkwardly. Their mouths had been watering that their minds were not present anymore.


    Lin Dan stirred the diced vegetables and answered, ¡°¡¯Fresh¡¯ food is the best to eat in spring. This is the season when all living things come alive and everything is new and fresh. Smell this air that is filled with the fragrance of flowers, isn¡¯t it fresh?¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± The two maids nodded and beamed. One of them asked, ¡°So, what is the best food to eat in summer?¡±


    ¡°¡®Invigorating¡¯ food is the best in summer. We must eat more refreshing food as the weather becomes warmer, so as to avoid gut discomfort. Having a bowl of sweet mung bean porridge with a few pieces of peppermint cake in the morning; a bowl of refreshing cold noodles made with chili oil and topped with shredded cucumber and green onion in the afternoon; a pot of rice wine with a few cold dishes in the evening; and a bowl of sour plum soup before ending the day, isn¡¯t life peaceful and invigorating that way?¡±


    The two maids smacked their lips and asked, ¡°Then, what¡¯s the best in autumn?¡±


    Lin Dan put the fried three fresh diced vegetables into an earthen pot, and continued, ¡°We eat ¡¯Nourishing¡¯ food in autumn. Having a bowl of peanut and barley porridge In the morning to nourish our blood and qi; a pot of stewed old hen with dried chestnuts in the afternoon, where the sweetness of chestnuts seeps into the salty and fresh chicken, creating an aroma that stays for a long time; a bowl of cut old pumpkin steamed with fermented beans at night, it is a sweet dish that lingers in your dream. We eat sweet and nourishing food in autumn so that we can recover from all the energy we have lost from the work we have done in summer and enjoy a good winter.¡±


    ¡°I guess this is what ¡®fleshing out in autumn¡¯ means, huh?¡± The maids had a sudden realization before asking again, ¡°What about winter?¡±


    ¡°¡¯Warm¡¯ food is the best in winter.¡± Lin Dan put five palm-sized pans over the fire and spread the cut lard on the pan. She slowly poured the batter on the pan and swirled the pan lightly. Soon after, a piece of wrap was done. She turned the pan around on a clean earthen plate and the wrap fell on the plate. One after another, the tender and white wraps were made and stacked on top of each other.


    Lin Dan continued swirling the pans, spreading lard on all five pans and continued adding the batter. Within just several minutes, dozens of wraps were made, all with an even size and thickness. While she was making the wraps, she continued talking, ¡°Since it¡¯s freezing in winter, and the food we eat must be warm and comfortable for the stomach. During New Year, families huddle together, talking and laughing, while making dumplings. When the cooked dumplings are removed from the boiling water, take a bite while it is hot, and you can feel that not only your stomach is warm, your heart is warm too. Imagine having steamed and fragrant fried meatballs braised trotters, and steamed shads at the same time, aah¡­¡­


    Lin Dan could not help but smile when she imagined the scene.


    The two maids had already run away with their mouths covered, as they did not want their drool to drip into the pans.


    Somehow, the three brawny men had already gathered nearby, listening to Lin Dan while watching her cook. They realized that she was not only good at cooking but also very eloquent. She could talk about food literature all day and make the listeners feel as though they have enjoyed a feast, keeping their hearts satisfied but stomachs even hungrier.


    The handsome man stared at Lin Dan for a long time with a pair of mysterious yet gleaming eyes. When Lin Dan looked at him, he lowered his head nonchalantly.


    It was not long after when the ¡°wrap stall¡± was ready. Lin Dan washed the wild onions and cut them into sections before taking out the sweet and spicy sauce, garlic sauce, and spicy sauce she had made, and put them on small plates. She called out to the rest, ¡°Alright, dinner is ready.¡±


    Everyone cheered and gathered near the earthenware to get some food. The palm-sized wraps looked soft, but when it was wrapped in diced vegetables and eaten, it filled their mouth with a rich and strong aroma. The diced bamboo shoots were crisp and refreshing; the diced smoked bean curds were soft and chewy, and the juice of Chinese mustard and mushrooms was fused in the sweet wrap to create a rich texture. If one finds the flavor too light for their liking, they can also add some wild onion and sauce, and create a wrap that tasted salty, fresh, sweet, and spicy, before it all melted on the tip of their tongue, as though spring had come.


    The three brawny men froze after only one bite before quickly stuffing the rest of the wrap into their mouths. They made one wrap after another¡­ The spoon used to scoop the diced vegetables was always busy and the food was finished in a flash.

 CH 10

    Although Lin Dan deliberately made extra for dinner, nobody seemed to be full. It was mainly because the three brawny men had a big appetite and finished the wraps too quickly. They had annoyed the others by finishing three wraps when they had only finished one.


    Lin Dan still ate very little and her cough would worsen as soon as night fell. She retreated in the carriage after taking medicine. Everyone consciously made light movements, for fear of disturbing her rest.


    The three brawny men found a place with a good view to sit down and watch the night for the fleet. They seem to have long been accustomed to this kind of lifestyle, as they were still very energetic while the others were getting extremely sleepy.


    ¡°This explains why that Old Shen was so reluctant to part with Manager Lin, and even said that everything tastes bland when Manager Lin fell ill.¡± Luo Tietou lay flat on the ground and patted his tummy. ¡°That three treasure spring rolls were too damn good, but unfortunately it was not enough to fill me up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re hungry again?¡± Zhao Liu fiddled with the bonfire with a wooden stick.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hungry,¡± Luo Tie turned over and murmured, ¡°I wonder what we are having for breakfast tomorrow. I¡¯m still craving for the wraps.¡±


    Zhao Liu quietly swallowed his saliva as he recalled the taste of the wraps. He also wanted to eat the wraps that tasted so fresh, he knew he will not get tired of it even if he was given the same dish every day for three months.


    ¡°Stop talking and sleep soon. I will watch the night.¡± The handsome man said in a deep voice.


    As their leader always stood by his word, Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou did not object to it and soon fell asleep. After a while, someone¡¯s stomach growled in the dark night, but fortunately, everyone was asleep, and no one heard that.


    The next day, Lin Dan was already feeling better than yesterday and got up before dawn to make breakfast for everyone. Since the manager was up, nobody dared to continue sleeping and got up one after another to fetch water and start a fire.


    ¡°You stayed up all night?¡± Lin Dan was slightly surprised when he saw the handsome man sitting by the fire.


    The man nodded and opened his mouth, but said nothing.


    Lin Dan saw his hesitation and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± The man hesitated for a moment, and finally could not help asking, ¡°What are we having for breakfast?¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and replied, ¡°I made a pot of white rice porridge, noodles, and a few side dishes. Feel free to eat porridge or noodles, whichever you like.¡±


    The man nodded and stopped talking. The two brawny men who were lying beside him woke up and muttered, ¡°Manager Lin, why didn¡¯t you make wraps? Would white rice porridge taste better than wraps?¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and shook her head. ¡°No matter how delicious it is, you can¡¯t possibly eat the same food every day. We have to change up the menu for every meal.¡±


    Shaoyao came over and said with a grin, ¡°Master, the noodles and the porridge are ready, you may stir fry the vegetables now.¡± After finishing her speech, she looked at Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou and sneered, ¡°You really don¡¯t know how fortunate you are! My master can cook without repeating her menu for hundreds of days. We can¡¯t even get enough of trying all of her dishes, and yet you¡¯re complaining?¡±


    ¡°Nonono, we¡¯re not complaining at all. We will eat whatever she makes.¡± With a glare from their leader, the two brawny men dared not continue, but they were starting to miss the wraps they had last night even more. They thought, ¡°How good can white rice porridge and noodles taste? It¡¯s impossible that it will beat that three treasure spring rolls!¡±


    But soon, Manager Lin had proven herself with her superb culinary skills that simple dishes such as porridge and noodles could also become delicacies. She took out some lard that was sealed in the jar and chopped it up before putting it in the wok and stir-fried them. She then diced the blanched Chinese mahogany added them into the wok as well. When the juice of the Chinese mahogany and the grease of the lard combined, it produced a thick broth and filling the air with a unique fragrance with every boiling bubble. After the lard had turned soft and smooth and the aroma of the Chinese mahogany was stirred up, Lin Dan quickly added soy sauce, salt, pepper, and other seasonings, before frying it several times and removed it from the flame.


    ¡°It smells delicious!¡± Shaoyao and Dujuan took the earthenware that was filled with the dish and sniffed while holding it.


    Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou, who initially did not have any intention to have noodles, were already having difficulties keeping their mouths from watering.


    Lin Dan felt that the food was insufficient and went on to steam a large bowl of salted fish before making some cold kalimeris indica. She also took out some pickled vegetables from the jar and plate them one by one, before moving on to making the hand-made noodles. When the noodles were cooked, and the porridge was almost ready as well. Everyone got their utensils ready and was eagerly waiting for the meal.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat soon and be on our way.¡± Lin Dan washed her hands and rolled down her sleeves slowly.


    The three brawny men were fighters indeed. In the blink of an eye, they picked up three bowls of hot noodles and stirred it evenly in the stir-fried Chinese mahogany before slurping it clean. The Chinese mahogany and lard were food ingredients with a rich flavor, which could create an even strong aroma after combining the two ingredients. When the freshness and tenderness of the Chinese mahogany were combined with the burnt and chewy lard, an exquisite taste was created. The noodles are also made with a springy texture with the broth of the stir-fried Chinese mahogany fully absorbed into each strand of noodle. With only one bite, the soft, springy, and salty taste of the noodles had instantly won over the hearts of the three men.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, so delicious!¡± The eyes of the three men brightened, and their speed of eating noodles kept increasing. Since they were eating fast, the others naturally could not afford to take their own sweet time and sped up as well. Soon, what was left was the sound of burping ringing in the air.


    As Lin Dan was still ill and had a poor appetite, she stopped eating only after having a bowl of porridge.


    The handsome man lifted his head to look at her and asked with a look of concern, ¡°Are you still feeling unwell?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better, but I¡¯m just a little tired. I¡¯m going to take a rest in the carriage, don¡¯t mind me, go ahead and help yourselves with the food.¡±


    The man looked at her carefully and noticed that her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were clear. He was relieved to know that her illness did not seem to have deteriorated. Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou who were sitting next to him gobbled three bowls of noodles in a row before slowing down. Although they were more than half-full, they decided to scoop another bowl of porridge to clear their palate.


    Sure enough, the white rice porridge was just a plain porridge that did not taste anything special. The two men took some pickled vegetables and mixed them into the porridge water, before eating it slowly. But they were shocked ¨C this pickled vegetable that was made with chopped water celery was mixed with some bitters, sesame, and fennel and created a crispy, sour and salty taste that was subtly rich in flavor. However, when it is paired with the lightly sweetened white rice porridge, its strong taste was immediately reduced and replaced with a sweet fragrance. With just one sip of the porridge, they felt as though the pores all over their bodies had loosened up, and their guts felt extremely comfortable.


    Another dish that was made to go with the porridge was the steamed salted fish with fermented soybean. They wondered what secret recipe Manager Lin had followed, but the salted fish that originally came with a slightly hard texture became soft and tender. A rich flavor broth slowly seeped from the fish and was mixed with the fragrance of the fermented soybean, which made their mouth water. The fish meat also had a springy texture which made it more delicious as they chew it in their mouths.


    As the salted fish had a strong flavor, the bland white rice porridge was a perfect match. If one were to have some white porridge with a piece of salted fish, they would be able to taste the sweetness of rice as well as the fragrance of the salty fish.


    Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou could not stop eating and finally wiped their mouths after having two bowls of white rice porridge. Seeing that his subordinates were frantically going for seconds, the handsome man seized the chance as well. He seemed to be an elegant man, but he quickly scooped up a bowl of porridge and added a great number of various pickles before finishing the remaining salted fish. Feeling unsatisfied, he poured the salted fish soup and the fermented soybean into a bowl of noodles and finished it all at once.


    Xiao-zhu was dumbfounded at the three men¡¯s actions, as he did not expect the three men to have such a gigantic appetite. He was relieved that they did not agree to protect them all the way to the capital, or they would finish all their food.


    ¡°Darn it, it feels really good to enjoy life like this!¡± When they had finished their breakfast, Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou lay on a large rock and rubbed their stomachs, looking very satisfied.


    ¡°We will set off after a short break and try to arrive at the capital in two days¡¯ time.¡± The handsome man still was standing tall and his abdomen looked thin and flat, as though he had not eaten anything earlier.


    ¡°Okay!¡± As the two brawny men agreed, they saw one of Manager Lin¡¯s servants running out of the forest holding two hares and a hazel hen. She said happily, ¡°Manager, we caught some animals from the traps we set last night, looks like we have some meat for lunch.¡±


    ¡°What did we get?¡± Lin Dan pulled open the curtain and chuckled, ¡°Great, let¡¯s have braised rabbit and stir-fried hazel hen for lunch later. The hazel hen meat is very tender, it is known as the ¡®Dragon Meat in Heaven¡¯ and tastes delicious regardless of the cooking method. We only need to chop up the chicken, ginger, pickled pepper, and pickled vegetables and stir fry them in the wok before simmering it in half a bowl of water to produce a dish. This method of stir-frying the chicken makes the meat taste fresh and tender. The chopped bones also produce a thick and creamy bone marrow and can blend completely with the hot and sour soup. Its already gives a rich flavor without having to thicken it, and is very delicious when eaten with white rice.¡±


    Those who had just eaten their meals were starting to drool as they heard what she said, wishing that time could pass quickly and that lunch would come in the next moment.


    ¡°Lock up the animals and let¡¯s continue with our journey.¡± Lin Dan looked at the three brawny men and said tenderly, ¡°We shall part here. Thank you for taking care of us along the way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Zhao Liu quickly swallowed his mouthful of saliva and smiled.


    ¡°Farewell.¡± The handsome man rode on his horse and cupped his hands.


    Luo Tietou took off his boots and looked at it, it seemed as though some pebbles went into his boots. But he was staring at the hares and hazel hen suspiciously from the corner of his eye, it was unknown what he was thinking at that moment.


    Lin Dan gave them a bow before saying goodbye and left slowly.


    Luo Tietou slowly put on his boots and rode on his steed. He put on a worried look and said, ¡°Boss, shall we escort Manager Lin a little further? There are dense forests ahead, bandits may appear, and it can be dangerous for them. Her servants are all southerners who are short and thin, how are they able to protect the five big carriages?¡±


    ¡°Tietou is right, Manager Lin is a kind and vulnerable woman. Since we have completed our mission, it won¡¯t hurt to escort them further.¡± Zhao Liu quickly agreed.


    The handsome man turned his horse¡¯s around and looked at the fleet. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°Let¡¯s follow up.¡±


    The three of them whipped their horses and quickly caught up to them. They told Manager Lin about their intentions through the curtain. Manager Lin was very grateful, but Xiao-zhu was glaring hard at the three of them. He thought, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that these three free-loaders are here to have free lunch seeing that we¡¯ve caught the hares and hazel hen?¡±

 CH 11

    At noon, everyone did have a chance to enjoy the stir-fried hazel hen and braised rabbit. As there were nine people in total, the animals were initially insufficient to feed everyone, but Manager Lin managed to solve the problem with her superb culinary skill. She made the two dishes extremely flavorful so that one spoonful of the dish was completely enough to go with just one bowl of rice. After the meal, as there was still a layer of bright red broth remaining in the earthenware, Luo Tietou and Zhao Liu quickly took out their buns and dipped it in the broth before finishing them up bit by bit.


    ¡°It feels great! It really feels great!¡± Luo Tietou lay on the grass while rubbing his stomach. If Manager Lin could be there with them each time they were sent out for missions, he would go out to do missions willingly all year round. That would not be work anymore, it would be happiness, he thought.


    ¡°Looks like the hazel hen was too small to fill us up. Shall we go out and hunt a few more soon and ask Manager Lin to make that dish again at night?¡± Zhao Liu whispered.


    ¡°Sounds good, if we brought the animals, I¡¯m sure she will have to make those flavorful dishes again even if she doesn¡¯t like it! The game has to be killed and cooked immediately to make delicious dishes.¡± Luo Tietou kept smacking his mouth, as he reminded of the aftertaste of the lunch they had just now.


    The handsome man glanced at them without saying a word, seemingly agreeing to their idea.


    After resting for an hour, the fleet set off and entered a dense forest. Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou heard the sound of small animals running across the grass field, and immediately chase after them after taking out their bows and arrows. They were determined to hunt more animals and have a good meal at night.


    The handsome man only looked at them but did not follow along. After moving forward for a while, he gradually felt that something was wrong and was about to ask the driver to slow down. But an arrow hit one of the horses that were pulling the carriage, which alarmed the rest of the horses. Several horses raised their hooves and neighed, and everything turned into a mess out of a sudden. Fortunately, the driver grabbed the reins in time to soothe the frightened horses, or Manager Lin would suffer a greater loss.


    However, no damage to the goods does not mean that the situation would turn for the better. He saw a dozen sturdy men emerging from the dense jungle with machetes and bows in their hands. It was obvious that these people were seasoned bandits.


    The handsome man approached Manager Lin¡¯s carriage for the first time and said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s not resist and follow them first. Zhao Liu and Tietou are still behind, and they will find a way to save us.¡± Although he was an expert in martial arts and would not have any problems finishing up the dozens of bandits, he was not confident that he could protect everyone in the fleet at the same time.


    Lin Dan knocked on the window lightly with her knuckles to signal that she understood his instructions.


    Everyone and their carriages were all pulled up to the mountain by the bandits. There was a small village in the mountain, where five or six basic mud houses were surrounded by wooden fences. These were obviously built hastily by the bandits who fled everywhere and had not yet built into an organizational scale, but they would definitely pose as a major issue to the locals in three to five years¡¯ time if no one had stopped them.


    Lin Dan¡¯s hands were tied with a rope, and she staggered forward while counting the number of bandits as she walked. Since not many people could live in five or six mud houses, together with the number of bandits she saw along the way, she assumed there were about twenty or thirty bandits here in their hideout. There were some abducted women who were working, and they looked numb and expressionless. After being locked into the largest mud house, a fierce-looking man immediately walked up and asked, ¡°Did we get any good stuff this time around?¡±


    ¡°Darn it, they only have pickles and dried vegetables. It¡¯s not worth a penny!¡± A bandit tsked before continuing, ¡°Fortunately, we have three girls, our brothers will be blessed tonight.¡±


    The bandit leader was a little disappointed, but when he saw Lin Dan and the two other girls, he started smiling lecherously. ¡°Good! Although they don¡¯t have pretty faces, at least they have a good figure!¡±


    Lin Dan traveled often all year round and had a healthy and lean figure. Her slender waist was being wrapped tightly in a sash, which made her bosom look more voluptuous and her rear end rounder. She looked completely different from the popular type of morbid beauty but was particularly charming. She was used to facing difficulties and was still calm at that point in time, but her servants shouted angrily, and soon they were being stepped on the ground after having their mouths stuffed.


    The handsome man lifted his head to look at the bandit leader, and a dark aura flashed across his eyes quickly.


    Lin Dan gave everyone a comforting look and said slowly, ¡°Leader, my ancestor was an imperial chef and my father also imparted some culinary skills to me. If you let go of my servants, I¡¯m willing to cook for your brothers.¡±


    Naturally, she would not expect these vicious thugs to let people go. The reason she said so was just to divert the attention of these people. For ordinary people, the imperial chef was someone they would never meet in a lifetime. But if they were to meet by chance, she bet they would be curious. As long as they are curious about meeting the descendant of an imperial chef, Lin Dan would be able to buy more time for everyone. She thought that they would have a chance to escape if she was able to stall some time.


    ¡°Are you an imperial cook?¡± The bandit leader stopped smiling lewdly and looked at her in surprise.


    ¡°My grandmaster is an imperial chef, and my father used to be a head chef in the Duke of Yongding¡¯s residence.¡± Lin Dan explained.


    ¡°Her family served both the emperor and the Duke of Yongding, they are figures who we can only meet in our dreams!¡± He thought. The bandit leader gradually changed the way he looked at Lin Dan and said after thinking for a while, ¡°How do I know whether you¡¯re telling the truth? Since we just got two cows, you will kill them and make us dinner. As long as you can satisfy everyone, I will consider letting your people go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Dan cupped her hands and said, ¡°As it takes a lot of effort to kill the cow, may I ask that you release my two girls so that they can give me some help?¡± Lin Dan was worried that some bandits might not be able to control themselves and would take advantage of Shaoyao and Dujuan if she left them here.


    Killing the cattle was a dirty and tiring job, and the bandits were naturally unwilling to do it. Besides, Shaoyao and Dujuan were only twelve or thirteen years old and were merely young girls who were petite and vulnerable, they did not hesitate and were quick to release them. The others were tied up and thrown into the woodshed.


    When the bandits left, Xiao-zhu wiggled over to the handsome man and whispered, ¡°Brother, do you think Zhao Liu and Tietou can find us? When will they arrive?¡±


    The man lay quietly on the ground with his eyes slightly shut. He said in a low voice, ¡°They will find us. Let¡¯s till nightfall.¡±


    Xiao-zhu was still a little anxious and lifted his head to look outside the window. He muttered to himself, ¡°I wonder how Manager Lin is doing now.¡±


    Lin Dan was doing fine, she was squatting on the ground carefully sharpening a knife while using her fingertips to test the sharpness of the blade from time to time with a serious expression. The two bandits initially stared at her sternly but started to relax and walk away to chatter among themselves when they saw that she was only focused on starting a fire, boiling water, and sharpening their knives. She did not even say a word to the two little girls and did not even survey the surroundings sneakily.


    The two cows were huge and their furs were also well-treated. They are obviously farming cattle that were robbed from the bottom of the mountain.


    Lin Dan sharpened her knife and walked around the two cows a few times, observing it as if she was choosing a target. Seeing that she was finally ready to kill the cow, the two bandits quickly gathered around to watch with excitement. ¡°It takes skill to kill a cow. Three or five strong-bodied men might not be able to deal with a cow confidently, would a lady like her be able to do it?¡± They wondered.


    However, the two bandits did not offer any help. They stood aside and sneered, their eyes full of malice.


    But soon, they felt chill down their spines after seeing what Lin Dan did. She picked one of the cows and asked the two little girls to take the other one away before blindfolding it with a strip of cloth to prevent it from getting agitated. She then stabbed the knife into the cow¡¯s neck and cut off its carotid artery before walking away. She took a scoop of water and slowly washed the blood-stained blade.


    The strong cattle, which was five meters away from her, had slowly collapsed. It did not even have time to scream before blood started spurting out from its neck and quickly stained the ground red.


    The two bandits were dumbfounded, but Lin Dan did not stop there. After the blood was drained, she cooked the cowhide with boiling water and shaved its hair. As there were some patches of hair that were not removed, the two little girls burned those parts using red iron rods. The smell of burnt flesh and sizzling noise could easily give someone goosebumps.


    After cleaning the cow¡¯s hide thoroughly, Lin Dan cut through the cow¡¯s belly with the knife in a neat manner. Its internal organs instantly flowed all over the ground, and she placed them into the earthenware according to categories before cutting up the cow at its joints. It took less than two hours for her to deal with a farming cow weighing more than 300 catties, and she did it quickly and precisely.


    The two bandits did not dare to question her skill anymore and stood outside the pool of blood timidly. They thought in unison, ¡°We should just let her be a cook and don¡¯t take her to bed. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t even know when she cuts our neck.¡±


    ¡°Sirs, may I know how many people are there in your camp?¡± Lin Dan threw the last piece of beef into the pot and asked casually.


    ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± The two bandits got anxious at her question and naturally became warier of her.


    ¡°I need to know so that I can estimate how much I need to cook, in case it is not enough to feed everyone here.¡± Lin Dan wiped the bloodstains on her face with a handkerchief calmly.


    The bandits found her answer reasonable and did a headcount in their mind. ¡°There are about twenty or thirty of us, you need to cook quite a big portion of food.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and stopped asking further. The three ladies carried the beef into the kitchen and cut them into two-inch cubes before marinating them with soy sauce, cooking wine, salt, and other seasonings. They then deal with the hooves, rump, ribs, and bones and set them aside.


    ¡°Master, how can we escape?¡± The two little girls could not hold back anymore and whispered in her ears.


    ¡°We will make this meal first.¡± Lin Dan peeled garlic with a serious and calm expression.


    The two girls reckoned that there was no use to get flustered and got themselves up to wash the food ingredients.


    After two hours, when the beef was well-marinated, Lin Dan poured half a jar of vegetable oil into a large pot and heated it close to the boiling point before pouring the beef in. She stir-fried it with a spatula until the meat was half-cooked and set aside for later use. Next, she disposed of the oil, washed the wok, added fresh oil, sliced ??ginger, green onion, and stir-fried it before adding the half-cooked beef, soy sauce, star anise, and other ingredients. She continued to stir fry all the ingredients for a quarter of an hour before adding water to boil. Then, she removed the excess firewood and cooked the beef on a low simmer.


    When the beef stew was almost done, she washed the beef tendons, cut them into strips, and stir-fried them to make another braised beef tendon dish. The two little girls have been completely taken aback, as they had never expected that their master would keep cooking even after entering the bandit¡¯s hideout. They could not help but wondered if she saw cooking as more important than her own life.

 CH 12

    The smell of the food was already exuding as the beef simmered in the pot. The two bandits were itching to have a taste of it and loitered around the stove from time to time, asking anxiously, ¡°This has been boiling for a quarter of an hour, shouldn¡¯t it be ready?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still early, this will take at least an hour before the meat turns soft.¡± Lin Dan picked up a piece of cloth and wiped her hands. ¡°Sirs, can you follow me to my carriage? I need to get some spices.¡±


    The two bandits immediately became vigilant and pointed to the bottles on the stovetop before saying angrily, ¡°You don¡¯t get to be fussy here! We have so many different seasonings, aren¡¯t they enough for you?¡±


    Lin Dan did not panic and explained calmly, ¡°I need one more type of seasoning to make the flavor of this beef stew stronger. I¡¯m just a weak lady, if both of you escort me back and forth, there¡¯s no way I can escape. With that seasoning, this pot of beef stew will taste several times better than it is now.¡±


    The two bandits took a whiff of the strong aroma in the air and wondered how much better it would taste after that that seasoning was added. The culinary skill of this imperial chef is extraordinary indeed, they thought. But then, they were reminded of how Lin Dan slaughtered the cattle and got a little worried.


    Lin Dan took out a piece of rope and wrapped it around her wrist. The two bandits finally nodded reluctantly and locked the kitchen door before leaving to prevent Shaoyao and Dujuan from escaping. The three of them walked to the deepest part of the village and went around to find a cave. The cave was covered with vines and one would never have noticed it if they had passed by here.


    The two bandits pushed the vines open and yelled at her, ¡°Go and get what you need, do it quickly!¡±


    Lin Dan looked inside the cave through the fire torches held by the bandits and saw all her five carriages parked in the cave. There were also dozens of large boxes that were locked, and she believed that those were all the stolen goods. She took a quick glance and climbed into one of the carriages. She opened the mud seal of a big urn and scooped a few spoonfuls of wine with a long ladle before putting it into a small empty jar. She then quickly covered the urn with brown paper and tied it tightly with a rope.


    Although she moved extremely fast and only took a short moment to seal the wine urn, the two bandits could still smell the exceptional smell of wine and felt a little tipsy.


    ¡°What kind of wine is this? Why does it smell so good?¡± The two bandits could feel their mouths watering.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary wine that I brewed for fun. It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Lin Dan stiffened and avoided eye contact with them.


    The two bandits took a long look at her before taking her away. After returning to the kitchen, Lin Dan poured the wine into the beef stew and stirred slowly with a ladle. The flavorful soup became thicker as she stirred, and each piece of beef was covered in a layer of bright and slimy broth with a unique aroma filling up the air. This scent was nothing short of a sharp weapon, as it pierced through the windows of the kitchen and roamed around the village, fascinating those who caught it.


    ¡°Hurry up and give us some beef to try.¡± The bandit who was in charge of guarding Lin Dan knocked on the empty bowl in his hand and urged.


    ¡°The meat has not softened enough yet, please wait a while more.¡± Lin Dan explained kindly.


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s cooked, I don¡¯t care whether it¡¯s soft or not. Cut the crap and do it now!¡± The two bandits were so anxious that their eyes were red, and their sense of smell was stimulated by the aroma so much that they wanted to shove their heads into the pot and have a great meal. The other bandits who also smelled the food came along and wanted to have a taste of the meat in the pot. Fortunately, the bandit leader stopped them in time, or the kitchen would have been ransacked by them.


    ¡°What kind of wine did the woman put in the pot that produces such an aroma?¡± After the bandit leader left the kitchen, he immediately grabbed his subordinates for interrogation. His nose twitched from time to time, as he sniffed the smell in the air.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll take you there to have a look.¡± The two bandits said as if they had discovered a treasure. ¡°Since it will take a while before food is served, how about we have a drink with our brothers first?¡±


    ¡°Okay, go get the wine.¡± Several people carried the big urn to the main hall and tore away the brown paper. They looked inside and suddenly felt a little light-headed. The reason was simple ¨C the wine smelled exceptionally good. If one were to smell it directly from the urn, it could smell as though it is sharper than a burning knife but more aged than fine wine. Before they were even able to give it a sip, their drool was already dripping all over the floor.


    ¡°Quick, fill it up!¡± The bandit leader yelled with a big bowl in his hand. He finished the wine in a gulp and froze before laughing and praising the wine. The others could not hold back anymore and scooped themselves a bowl of wine each. The strong aroma of wine filled the air and drew more and more people over¡­


    Xiao-zhu and the others were discussing how to escape and rescue the manager. Suddenly, they caught the smell of delicious meat. They calmed down and said with confidence, ¡°The manager is making beef stew with rice wine!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡± A servant murmured while smacking his lips.


    The rest of them exchanged looks with each other and their stomachs were starting to growl. Whenever the manager cooked, her food would make those who were not hungry feel the hunger immediately. Even the man who was resting with his eyes closed had opened his eyes and looked towards the kitchen. The bulge in his neck was moving up and down.


    Everyone remained silent for a while before starting the discussion again, but they did not expect a strong smell of wine to enter from all directions, making their eyes red in anger. Xiao-zhu, who did not lose control of himself even when he was captured, beaten, and locked up, suddenly burst in anger, ¡°Damn those bastards! How dare they drink our wine?!¡±


    The handsome man who had been silent suddenly asked, ¡°What kind of wine is this?¡±


    Xiao-zhu said while gritting his teeth, ¡°There is a legend in Zhongshan County, I wonder if you have heard of it ¨C Liu Xuanshi of the past bought wine from the Zhongshan Restaurant¡­¡±


    The knowledgeable man immediately said, ¡°Is that the Xuanshi Drunken Wine, also known as the Thousand-Day Wine?¡±


    Xiao-zhu looked at him in surprise and nodded, ¡°Yes, that is the legendary Thousand-Day Wine. Manager Lin traveled in Zhongshan County for three years and went to many places. She has finally restored the recipe of the wine and recreated the wine successfully. This wine was only recently dugout after being buried in the ground for seven years and was ready to be sold in the capital for a good price. When the wine urn was opened, a ¡®wine spirit¡¯ had grown in the urn. It is a mellow yet strong wine that won¡¯t make one drunk for a thousand days, but can knock someone out for three days and three nights.¡±


    The ¡°Xuanshi Drunken Wine¡± was a legend that has been passed down for centuries. It was said that a man named Di Xi who came from Zhongshan County had the best winemaking skills, and a wine drinker named Liu Xuanshi came to buy wine. Di Xi sold him a jar of wine but forgot to tell him that the wine was very strong and could make one drunk for thousands of days. Liu Xuanshi returned home extremely drunk after drinking the wine and his family buried him because they thought he was dead. After a thousand days, Di Xi suddenly remembered this incident and quickly went to find Liu. When the Liu family dug out the buried Liu Xuanshi, he happened to wake up just in time. There was a strong smell of wine in his body which made everyone who smelled it get drunk for three months.


    The legend was passed down to later generations and this wine was named the ¡°Thousand-Day Wine¡±, which was known as the ¡°god¡± of wine.


    As his nose was filled with the aroma of wine and his ears were full of clamor made by the bandits, the handsome man licked his dry lips and said while gritting his teeth, ¡°They are indeed a bunch of bastards!¡± He broke the rope as soon as he finished the sentence and stood up with a stern expression. He wanted to wait until late at night to finish them up, but he could wait no more.


    ¡°You¡­ how did you untie the rope?¡± Xiao-zhu and the others stared at him with gaping mouths.


    ¡°You guys stay here first while I go and save Manager Lin. Come out and join us when you hear the whistle.¡± He was afraid that having a few more people moving around would startle the bandits, the handsome man specifically reminded them to stay put after untying them before breaking the metal chains at the door. He put the metal chains back on the door and rushed towards the direction where the food smelled the strongest.


    Lin Dan was stir-frying some beef tendons, while Shaoyao and Dujuan were kneading the softened beef into balls and putting them in the soup made with beef bones. All three of them were taken aback when they saw the man pushing the door and entering the kitchen. Lin Dan reacted fast, she pulled him in immediately and closed the door behind her back.


    ¡°Why are you here? Where are Xiao-zhu and the others?¡± She whispered.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to save you.¡± As the man¡¯s weapon had been confiscated by the bandits, he came to the kitchen to pick a knife. He said calmly, ¡°I will bring you out of the village first. Don¡¯t run around in the forest, you need to follow the river and wait for me in the open area at the foot of the mountain. I will bring Xiaozhu and the rest over afterward.¡± He imagined the scene later to be bloody and inappropriate for women to witness it. He thought Xiao-zhu and the rest could be saved later since they can also help him with cleaning up the scene.


    After coming up with a plan, the man grabbed and pulled Lin Dan¡¯s wrist, but was gently pushed away by her. ¡°There are more than 30 thugs here and there¡¯s only one of you. How can you handle all of them? Here, sit down and eat something. We will be able to leave the mountain soon.¡± She served him a plate of stir-fried beef with scallions and shoved a pair of chopsticks into his hands.


    The man took the chopsticks without thinking and gobbled down the food in a few mouthfuls. His eyes were filled with contentment and enjoyment before pausing for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed. ¡°This is not time to eat. Come, follow me!¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to go. Now, just sit and eat!¡± Lin Dan gently patted the man¡¯s hand and said with a smile.


    The man looked at the back of his hand which was feeling numb from her touch and looked at Lin Dan¡¯s smile. He fell silent and his eyelids drooped.


    Shaoyao and Dujuan looked at the beef stew that had been half-emptied in the pot and complained, ¡°We told them that the meat was not ready yet and it had to be stewed for a while more, but they insisted on eating it first! What a waste of good food!¡±


    ¡°We should count our blessings that they are ruining good food and not people.¡± Lin Dan listened to the surroundings and put on a wider smile. ¡°There is no more noise, let¡¯s go out and take a look.¡±


    The man immediately put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands and stood up, but Lin Dan pressed his shoulders back. ¡°Sit down, it¡¯s fine.¡± The two little girls and Lin Dan each carried a plate of hot dishes and walked out unhurriedly. They were unafraid at all because even if they had encountered any bandit, they could explain that they were trying to serve food as a cover-up.


    The man touched his shoulder with a weird expression and followed after them. They arrived in the hall without any problems and saw that the bandits were lying everywhere on the ground. There were a few were lying on the table, and their snores were as loud as thunder. There was a strong scent of alcohol that lingered in the air, which could make anyone who opened the door feel tipsy immediately. As snoring was also heard from several other houses, it was apparent that these bandits could not resist the temptation of the Thousand-Days Wine and were all dead drunk.


    Shaoyao and Dujuan tiptoed and looked at the wine urn placed in the middle of the hall. They said while gritting their teeth, ¡°What a waste of a jar of fine wine!¡±


    Lin Dan ruffled the heads of the two little girls and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as no one is harmed. Let¡¯s pack our things up and go.¡±


    The man looked at the drunk men that were lying everywhere on the ground looking all surprised. He did not expect Manager Lin to save themselves without hurting anyone, and she did not even need anyone¡¯s help.


    Lin Dan walked past the man and said, ¡°With me around, there is nothing that can¡¯t be solved by whipping up a good meal.¡± As soon as she said her piece, there were sounds of horses galloping towards the village. It felt as though there were a group of people approaching with fire torches in their hands and one could not help but wonder what would happen next.

 CH 13

    Hearing the noise, the man immediately calmed down and said, ¡°Find a place to hide, and I will go out and have a look. As the sound of the horses is constant and uniform, I suppose they should be well-trained soldiers. This place is only one hour away from the Cangshan Camp and I think Zhao Liu and Tietou should have called for reinforcements as they couldn¡¯t find us.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and watched him as he went out. To prepare for any surprises, she found a place and hid with her two maids. After a while, the door of the village slowly opened, and the man walked in with a tall leading man with a knotted beard, followed by Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou.


    ¡°Fuck! You got me here on this barren mountain in the middle of the night for a rescue mission, but looks like I came in vain! I¡¯ve even brought some of my best soldiers here who are close to my heart and they were ready to sacrifice themselves. Although we won¡¯t be fighting, you better remember our kindness!¡± The bearded leader complained in frustration.


    ¡°General, we rescued these people from the woodshed, and they are not injured.¡± Some soldiers ran over to report the situation, who were followed by a thankful group of people including Xiao-zhu and the others.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the manager? Didn¡¯t you say that there is a Manager Lin whom we must rescue?¡± The bearded man looked around impatiently.


    ¡°I am here. Please accept my gratitude for coming to the rescue!¡± Lin Dan immediately walked out of the dark and presented a low bow, while Shaoyao and Dujuan cupped their hands in fear.


    The bearded man looked at Lin Dan carefully. He was a little disappointed to see that she only had a nice figure but was not a charming beauty. He had thought that the Manager Lin who Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou asked to rescue no matter what was an exceptional beauty, but she turned out to be someone who was nothing out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Never mind, rise.¡± The beard became even more impatient. ¡°My brothers have worked hard during the day and rushed here in the middle of the night. I wonder how many of them will collapse tomorrow. I won¡¯t be here if I have known it¡¯s just such a small bandit hideout!¡±


    Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou were embarrassed. If they had known that this group of bandits was easy to deal with, they would not rush to the mountain to rescue everyone too. They knew that their leader was strong in martial arts and could certainly protect himself, but they were unsure whether Manager Lin and the two maids would go unscathed. Bandits were well-known to be inhumane, they would rape women and cut men¡¯s tongues for sale at the Xishan coal mine. This was why they could wait no more and immediately got reinforcements here as soon as possible.


    ¡°Where are the bandits? Have you finished them up?¡± The bearded man looked at the handsome man and had no doubt that he was able to do so.


    ¡°It was Manager Lin who dealt with them.¡± The man pointed to the hall. A group of people hurriedly rushed in to have a look and was shocked by the scene.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± The beard walked back and forth around the drunken bandits before giving a hard sniff at the empty wine urn. His face turned somber, ¡°What kind of wine is this? It smells damn good!¡±


    Xiao-zhu proudly replied, ¡°This is the Thousand-Days Wine that is brewed by the manager herself.¡±


    ¡°Thousand-Days Wine? The one that Liu Xuanshi drank?¡± The bearded man raised his voice with a shocked expression. He did not mind the mess and grabbed a wine cup that was used by one of the bandits before pouring the last bit of wine into his mouth. He could not help but smacked his lip in an exaggerated manner.


    ¡°This is a fine wine and an extremely rare one. It has a nice aroma, it¡¯s mellow and strong but smooth as it enters the throat. It burns as it enters the stomach and has a bittersweet aftertaste that lingers for a long time¡­ This is the best wine I have ever drunk. The legendary Thousand-Day Wine, indeed!¡± As the bearded man commended the wine, he picked up all the wine cups on the table one by one and finished them without wasting a single drop.


    Most of the soldiers that came with him loved wine as much as him, and they started checking all the wine pots, hoping to find some wine. But they would probably find nothing since these bandits were so greedy that they had finished all the good things.


    ¡°Darn, there¡¯s none left. Would it kill you to drink less?!¡± As the bearded man could not find any wine, he could only vent his anger on the bandits who were already dead drunk. Suddenly, he turned his head quickly at Manager Lin as he remembered that this wine was made by her. He looked at her with a pair of eyes that looked brighter than a torch.


    Lin Dan cupped her hands and said regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, general. This wine is extremely difficult to brew. It took me three years to make only one urn and I don¡¯t have any more left.¡±


    The bearded man¡¯s bright eyes went out instantly. He then lifted the urn with his hands and shook it vigorously before yelling in surprise, ¡°There is still a thin layer of wine left! Hurry, bring me an empty jar!¡±


    The handsome man shrugged but quickly brought him an empty jar. The bearded man slapped the bottom of the urn and could only gather just a little bit of wine. It was a really pitiful scene as the amount of wine left could not even fill up the palm-sized jar.


    The bearded man looked at the small jar in his palm and at the big urn that was initially filled with wine. He then looked at the bandits who were unconscious and lost his cool. He grabbed one of them and kicked him violently while cursing him, ¡°You motherfucker! How dare you rob on my territory?! I¡¯m gonna screw you up when you¡¯re awake!¡±


    The bandit was so badly beaten up that he was puking blood, yet he was still unconscious. This showed how strong the wine was.


    Lin Dan cupped her hands and tried to appease him, ¡°I¡¯m thankful for everyone who is here to save us in the middle of the night. Since there is some food left in the kitchen, shall I whip up some food to fill everyone up? I¡¯m sure all of you must be tired from traveling here, it will be a good time to take a break and replenish your energy. ¡°


    Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou were already drooling at the table full of leftovers. When they heard this, their eyes lit up, and even the handsome man had swallowed his saliva quietly. As the bearded man had never tasted the Manager Lin¡¯s cooking, he was indifferent to her suggestion. The other soldiers who came nodded half-heartedly and took out a rope to tie the bandits up.


    Lin Dan smiled and took the two maids to the kitchen. Since the bandits only drank but did not get to eat much, the food was still warm on the stove.


    The dishes were soon served. There was a large pot of beef stew with rice wine, a large pot of beef meatballs boiled in beef soup, a plate of braised beef tendon, a plate of stir-fried beef with green onion, and a bucket of white rice. The portions were more than enough to feed more than twenty to thirty people. The dishes were all piping hot and white steam was coming out from the dishes. A delicious aroma of meat that was mixed with the mellow wine aroma slowly filled up the hall.


    ¡°Gulp,¡± The bearded man swallowed hard.


    ¡°Gulp, gulp¡­¡± The soldiers stood up one after another, swallowing saliva and rubbing their bellies. They felt as though there was a gluttonous worm wiggling in their bellies and eager to feast on a meal.


    ¡°Thank you all of you for coming here to save us. I have no other talent besides having decent culinary skills, and this meal is my way of expressing my gratitude. I hope you will like it.¡± Lin Dan thanked everyone again sincerely. Her servants had already cleaned up the messy dining table and were serving the soldiers one by one.


    The bearded man stretched his neck and swallowed his saliva. He waved his hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it at all, I¡¯m sure we will enjoy this.¡± He smiled and there was no hint of impatience anymore. His soldiers also gathered around, ready to begin.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± As soon as the handsome man spoke, everyone hurriedly picked up their utensils.


    ¡°This beef was actually stewed with the Thousand-Days Wine?¡± The bearded man ate a piece of beef stew and his eyes widened. He started eating faster and quickly grabbed as much food as he could into his bowl. Everyone picked up their speed as well and enjoyed the food with their mouths full of grease, and their faces full of amazement.


    The stew was made of cow brisket where it had a mixture of lean meat and fat. It was cooked so soft that it could melt in the mouth. The beef meatballs were made of beef clods, which were beaten repeatedly and kneaded with a wooden stick. It would produce a chewy and smooth texture when cooked and a gap will naturally be created within the beef ball filled with fat and bone broth. The fragrant and thick broth would ooze into the mouth with only a bite, creating an amazing experience. The beef tendon was deep-fried, steamed for another quarter of an hour, before finally stir-fried in the wok, where each and every tendon would be covered in the bright and reddish gravy. Each bite would give a soft and chewy texture at first but would turn sticky and springy at the end, creating an interesting meat texture.


    Manager Lin had displayed her exceptional culinary skills through these dishes. They were incredibly delicious, some of them were aromatic, some chewy, while others were flavorful and fresh. Everyone was only half full when the food was finished, but all of their unhappiness for doing a rescue mission in the middle of the night was all gone, and they seemed to want more of it. ¡°This trip was totally worth it!¡± They thought.


    Knowing that they were unsatisfied, Lin Dan broke the beef bone that had been boiled for two hours and made another pot of bone marrow soup. The stewed beef marrow that was hidden in the bone would be delicious when it was slid into the mouth with a gentle suck. One would feel refreshed drinking the soup, and would even feel as though their pores were cleansed.


    The bearded man sucked a cow bone with both his hands happily and commended, ¡°Manager Lin, how did you possess such good culinary skills? We heard from Zhao Liu saying that you intend to open a restaurant in the capital? You¡¯ve got to inform me when your restaurant is open, my brothers and I will show you some support!¡±


    Lin Dan scooped a spoonful of soup for the handsome man and put a piece of beef bone in it. She said humbly, ¡°My skills are not as good as you said, General. But as long as you¡¯re in the capital and are visiting my restaurant, I¡¯ll¡­ ¡°


    Before Lin Dan could finish speaking, the man said solemnly, ¡°Showing support doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re having a free meal, since it¡¯s not easy to open a restaurant in the capital.¡± The man gave the bearded man a cold stare that sent shivers down his spine. The bearded man said that he would definitely pay for his meals and not a single cent less.


    Lin Dan saw the two men¡¯s interaction and knew that the handsome man¡¯s identity was not simple, but she kept the question in mind. She knew that travelers should know when to speak, look, or act, lest they get into trouble. She thought they would not see each other anymore after entering the capital and there was no need for her to know too much.


    After everyone had finished eating, they followed Lin Dan to where her carriages were parked and seized the bandits¡¯ loot. The handsome man did not know how she got to know about the hiding place of the stolen goods, but he had a better understanding of how shrewd she was.


    The bearded man helped Lin Dan organize the goods and carefully checked that she really did not have any extra wine left, before returning to the camp reluctantly. That night, he brought that jar of Thousand-Days wine into the capital to find his boss, Duke of Weiyuan. If the bearded man was a wine lover, the Duke of Weiyuan was an even bigger wine lover than he was. The Duke of Weiyuan governed the south-eastern region, while the Duke of Yongding governed the northwest. They were both two of the most powerful figures in the kingdom of Great Chu, where one could expect himself to easily rise up in ranks with only a word from them.

 CH 14

    Speaking of the Duke of Weiyuan¡¯s love for alcohol, it was a well-known fact in the entire Great Chu. He could not eat without having wine on the table, and even almost died in the wild as he was drunk on a snowy night. Yet, wine was the first thing he asked for when he woke up. He would probably not realize his folly until the worst has happened. He had won great battles and saved the life of the first emperor three times. Although he was recuperating in the capital and had not been able to return to his post in the southeast station, he was a respectable figure that nobody dared to provoke. He had a golden whip that was given by the last emperor on his deathbed, which had an immense power to punish incapable rulers or bring down treacherous officials.


    In order to gain his favor, people had always brought a jar of fine wine whenever they visited. He would speak candidly when he had some good wine but would chase them out immediately if the wine was not to his liking. It seemed easy to curry favor with him, but that was not true. He went on expeditions with his father at the age of eight; murdered for the first time at the age of nine; drank the strongest wine and became dead drunk at night, but had become addicted to alcohol since then. He had been drinking wine for thirty years and had tried a good variety of wines.


    He could no longer tolerate wines that were less than average. Since he had tried all sorts of wine, it was difficult to satisfy his appetite for good wines.


    In order to please the Duke of Weiyuan, the bearded man had spent lots of money to get some good wine, but his efforts were futile. But he was exhilarated when he met Manager Lin who possessed exceptional culinary skills and got the legendary Thousand-Days Wine by accident. He hurriedly traveled to the capital and arrived in three days. He did not even bother to find an inn to clean himself up and headed straight to the Duke of Weiyuan¡¯s residence.


    There were at least dozens or hundreds of people who delivered drinks to the Duke¡¯s residence daily, but the steward would never let them in. He received the wine from the bearded man and sent him away, but the bearded man emphasized that he had brought the Thousand-Days Wine which was an extremely rare wine that must be delivered to the Duke. Although the steward agreed to do so, he merely shoved the wine into the storehouse that was especially used to store wines.


    The jar was only as big as one¡¯s palm and was not even fully filled. The steward held the light jar of wine and thought the bearded man to be rude to present something like this. After leaving the storehouse, the steward criticized the bearded man in his mind and forgot about the incident. That jar of wine was quietly placed on the shelf and had remained unknown to people.


    On the other hand, Lin Dan¡¯s fleet continued to move along the main road, and the three brawny men guarded on the left and right of the fleet to prevent any surprises from happening. After having breakfast, they only thought about lunch, and after having lunch, they waited eagerly for dinner. After dinner, they would ask Manager Lin if there was any supper. They had enjoyed a life of comfort during this period of time. As they had lost more than seven or eight catties of weight in the past few months while completing a dangerous mission, with Manager Lin¡¯s great cooking skills, a healthy pink had gradually regained on their faces.


    Four days later, the fleet had arrived at the outskirts of the capital, and it would take half a day to arrive at the West Gate. Lin Dan stopped in a small town and said goodbye to three men. However, they did not bear to part with her and insisted to ensure her safety until she arrived at her destination. The truth was, they were reluctant to part with her good craftsmanship and were finding excuses to stay.


    Lin Dan did not know whether to laugh or cry. She let them stay since she was unable to refuse their request.


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m back!¡± She took the group of people to a small farmhouse. The farmhouse had some vegetable plantations, as well as some chickens and ducks. It was also full of red and white roses, which made the place look warm and welcoming.


    ¡°Dan¡¯er, you¡¯re finally back!¡± The older Lady Qi dashed out of the house with tears in her eyes. She was still able to follow her daughter while she traveled around to learn the art of cooking, but she fell ill afterward and was being sent back to the capital to recuperate. Although the capital was a huge place, it was not difficult to meet people whom she wanted to avoid the most. There was a time where she met the family of her husband¡¯s second brother on the streets. The second brother informed Lady Zhou and Yan Shouye that she was still in the capital, and they hired ruffians to create trouble for her every day. She had almost wanted to take her life by jumping into the well.


    She could not understand why these people wanted to push her and her daughter into a dead end when they had already taken away their husband¡¯s belongings. However, she knew that the evilness within the hearts of people was unfathomable and that she could only give in and settle here to lead a peaceful life.


    ¡°Mother, pack your things up. We will stay here for a few days before returning to the capital.¡± Lin Dan picked up the scoop and served water for everyone.


    ¡°Return to the capital again?¡± Lady Qi was fearful of the idea. She was scared witless by Lady Zhou and Yan Shouye, and she no longer had the courage she did when she was asking them to return the property.


    ¡°Of course, we must.¡± Lin Dan said casually, but she was firm. She once swore that she would help the owner of this body to restore the reputation of the Lin family and Lin Baotian, and she would honor her promise. After traveling for ten years, this place had become her home country; the life of the owner of this body was also hers, and her responsibility had also naturally become hers.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pack up now. The chickens and ducks outside have been raised for more than two months. Go catch them if you want to eat it.¡± Lady Qi retreated to her room. Lin Dan rolled up her sleeves and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have Dong¡¯an chicken and Yongzhou pressed duck for lunch today.¡±


    Everyone responded enthusiastically before getting busy with the chores.


    Lin Dan put the slaughtered chickens and ducks in a bucket and cooked them with boiling water so that it would be easier to remove their feathers. The handsome man stood beside her, lowered his eyes, and asked, ¡°Have you and your mother been traveling around for many years?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Dan put the chicken and duck feathers into a bamboo basket for storage. Chicken feathers can be made into feather dusters, while the fine velvety duck feathers can be made into clothes to keep themselves warm. These were good materials to have.


    The man stared at her lady¡¯s bun for a long time, and finally could not help but ask, ¡°What about your husband? Why haven¡¯t we seen him with you?¡±


    Lin Dan raised her head in surprise, seemingly unexpected that the man would be curious about her. He seemed to be the kind of person who was extremely reserved and indifferent and did not seem that he would be interested in the private affairs of others. But since she had nothing to hide, she said frankly, ¡°I am not married and have no husband. I wear the hairstyle of a married woman just for convenience since I am out and about most of the time. I only have my mother as my kin, who can she depend on if I get married? Besides, I have been mastering my craft all these years, and have not stayed at the same place for long. No man would have any intention of marrying me even if I want to.¡±


    She chuckled and seemed to see the issue with an open mind. ¡°Life is pretty good now. We¡¯ve already gone through the toughest time, what else will I be afraid of in the future? I only need to get a few good apprentices, have them support me when I retire, and I won¡¯t have to be afraid of having nobody to hold a funeral for me.¡± After saying that, Lin Dan seemed to have been reminded of a bad memory, the light in her eyes gradually faded, and she sighed.


    The man frowned hard, he seemed to have a lot to say but did not know where to begin. He took over the chickens and ducks and carefully plucked their feathers. He saw that Lin Dan had nothing to do and wanted to start a fire, he said immediately in a deep voice, ¡°Go inside and take a rest, have a good conversation with your mother and leave the rest to us.¡±


    Lin Dan looked into the house and noticed that Lady Qi was looking at her eagerly. She smiled and agreed with the man. She realized that despite having a cool appearance, the man was actually a kind and soft-hearted man.


    After lunch, Lin Dan sent Lady Qi back to the house to take a rest before carrying a small gift box for the visitation. The handsome man was afraid that she would encounter danger and followed immediately.


    Lin Dan turned around when she heard the footsteps and could not help but smile.


    The man stared at her bright smile, his eyes flickering.


    The two did not speak along the way, but they felt relaxed and at ease without feeling bored or awkward. After taking a few turns, they took the main road and saw that there was a post station beside the road. Outside the station was a straw shed where a busy middle-aged woman was busy walking about. The chattering and clamoring were audible from afar.


    Lin Dan approached and said while cupping her hands, ¡°Sister Wang, it¡¯s been a long time. How have you been? Why isn¡¯t Aunt Wang here in the store?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The middle-aged woman thought for a while and said, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re that little girl who offered us free work! It¡¯s been ten years, you¡¯ve grown up!¡± She remembered Lin Dan to be a petite and short girl who was very capable of enduring hardships. She could carry beans that were more than a hundred catties on one shoulder, which had left a deep impression on the middle-aged woman.


    Lin Dan acknowledged that she was the girl and patiently asked about the old woman. The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes, seemingly very disdainful of her mother-in-law. But she refused to answer no matter what Lin Dan had asked. Lin Dan had no choice but to buy two bowls of tofu balls from her and gave five more coins. She finally found out that the old woman was selling food somewhere about thirty minutes away by foot.


    The tofu meatballs tasted the same. She assumed the middle-aged woman had spent ten years to finally master her mother-in-law¡¯s cooking skills, but for some reason, she ran a different shop from her mother-in-law.


    Lin Dan felt sad for the old woman while she inquired more about her current situation on her way there. She knew that Aunt Wang treated her son and daughter-in-law sincerely, but her daughter-in-law refused to accept her and asked to run a different shop after mastering the dish. Not only did she chase the old woman and her young son away to live alone, but she also took away the store that the family was depending on for a living.


    Aunt Wang¡¯s old stall was popular as it was already well-known. Since it was set up next to the post station it was also able to attract a good number of patrons. Even if she opened a new store that serves the same food at the same price, the location was so remote that patrons would naturally choose the stall that they were familiar with. Over time, her daughter-in-law had completely overtaken her stall.


    She was already earning a meager income when life took a turn for worse. Her youngest son was disabled after breaking his leg a few years ago without having the money for treatment. When Lin Dan arrived, she saw that Aunt Wang was carrying water, while her son limped forward and wanted to share the heavy load on his shoulder but was stopped by his mother. The two of them quarreled and their eyes were getting red, but it was all an expression of love and cherishing for each other.


    Lin Dan could not help but feel sad for them. She walked towards them without saying a word, took the carrying pole, picked up the bucket, and strode into the stall. The handsome man was surprised for a while before stepping forward quickly and helped to lift the heavy bucket. He poured the water into the tank and took the carrying pole again. He said with a low voice, ¡°Where is the water source? You take a rest and leave the rest to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s right at the foot of that mountain, just go straight along this path.¡± Lin Dan stayed here for three months where she had to carry a hundred catties of water every day. She naturally knew where the water source was.


    The man nodded and left without saying a word. Aunt Wang who was in shock finally came to her senses. She said in surprise, ¡°Are you, Xiao Dan? My good girl, where have you been all these years? I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere!¡±

 CH 15

    Meeting an old friend was a happy occasion. Aunt Wang took Lin Dan¡¯s hand and chatted with her for a while. Lin Dan came back and acted as though she had come home. She tied a headscarf on her head and rolled up her sleeves before starting to do some chores. When the handsome man came back with two buckets of water, he saw that she was already sitting in the kitchen and was grinding soybeans. Aunt Wang was adding firewood to the stove while talking about what she had been through all these years. ¡°It¡¯s true that the master starves when his apprentice has mastered his skill. if I had known that the couple were such unscrupulous people, I would never have imparted my skills to them.¡±


    ¡°Not everyone is like this. Isn¡¯t there another saying that goes, ¡®when the master teaches well, the apprentice returns to repay the kindness¡¯. My skills in making tofu were taught by you. Look, I¡¯m here to repay your kindness.¡± Lin Dan said with a chuckle.


    Aunt Wang hurriedly waved her hand and said, ¡°That¡¯s not true. I¡¯ve only taught you for three months, and you did so much work for me. It was me who benefited from your kindness, how could you say that you¡¯re here to repay mine? You don¡¯t have to worry too much about my son and I, we can still manage to get by.¡± Her eyes turned red as she spoke. Her biological son did not care about her while the girl who had only learned a dish from her treated her like family. She felt so embarrassed at the thought of it.


    Aunt Wang¡¯s young son walked in with teary eyes and said, ¡°Lin Dan, thank you for your kindness. I recently found a permanent job at Landlord Zhou¡¯s house where I¡¯m hired to feed the animals every day. I¡¯ll be able to support my mother and it¡¯s also not a very tough job, you can rest assured.¡±


    Lin Dan waved his hand and said, ¡°I believe you have misunderstood what I meant. Aunt Wang, since you taught me one dish in the past, I can now teach you three dishes. I¡¯m sure your business will improve once you learn how to make them. Let¡¯s bring back those prosperous days, shall we?¡± As she was speaking, she repeatedly filtered the ground soymilk with a cloth and poured it into a large pot to boil.


    The handsome man did not say a word, but he had already taken over the job of grinding the soybean. As he worked, his eyes did not leave Lin Dan who was having a conversation casually.


    Lin Dan diced the coriander, shallots, mustard greens, and other side dishes before stir-frying the sesame seeds and peanuts with oil and putting them in a bowl for use later. She asked, ¡°Since you only sell a single dish throughout the year, I believe customers would get bored of it after a while and will naturally affect your business. Your tofu is very delicious, why don¡¯t you come up with more tofu dishes? What I am teaching you now is a dish I learned in Fushun County. It is called bean curd, which is a semi-finished product of tofu, but the taste is as good as tofu. It can be made into two flavors, sweet or savory. Since your shop is set up next to the main road, I¡¯m sure there will be customers from all over the world. If you have customers that come from the north, you can serve the savory bean curd; if the customer came from the south, you can serve them the sweet one instead. The bean curd is best served warm in spring, autumn and winter, and while the chilled bean curd is best served in summer. Since bean curd is tasteless in itself, it all depends on the sauce to achieve the taste. There are also different types of sauces. For savory sauces, it includes hot and spicy sauce, sour and hot sauce, and so on, while sweet sauces include cane sugar, brown sugar, malt syrup, and so on. You can create a wide variety of flavors with just two spoonfuls of sauce and a bowl of bean curd, which can easily satisfy the needs of any customer. Isn¡¯t this better than simply selling tofu balls? Besides, the bean curd is simple and easy to make. If it¡¯s sold out, you can make another bucket of bean curd in less than forty-five minutes. In this way, you¡¯ll be able to serve the customers with the freshest food. Wouldn¡¯t they come back for more?¡±


    When it comes to cooking, Lin Dan could talk endlessly. As she spoke, she had already made two bowls of bean curd ¨C one bowl with the spicy flavor and the other bowl with the wolfberry brown sugar flavor. The colors were all bright and attractive, and it looked very delicious.


    The handsome man quietly took the savory bean curd and took a bite. The fresh and tender bean curd immediately satisfied his taste buds. The strong aroma of the beans tumbled in his mouth with the spicy gravy and slipped into his throat. It was an amazing ride. His eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately took another bite of the sweet flavored bean curd. The sweet and tender bean curd slowly melted on the tip of his tongue, but after biting through the wolfberry a tinge of astringency emerged. He thought that was ingenious. The bean curds were so flavorful that he could not stop after taking the first bite.


    Aunt Wang and her son took a bite skeptically but were taken aback by the taste.


    Lin Dan made another plate of Zhenxiang tofu which was also served with a sweet and savory sauce. It was a dish where the customer could adjust the taste to their liking. Finally, she modified Aunt Wang¡¯s specialty dish tofu balls into deep-fried tofu balls, which were solid when they entered the wok, but hollow when they were taken out. If one were to gently break the crispy shell of the balls, they would see a layer of sweet and tender soymilk on the inside which created an amazing crispy yet tender texture, with a dry yet juicy taste. With a dipping sauce made of pepper, garlic, and minced wild onions, it could be added into the hollow inner layer of the tofu ball to enjoy the crispy yet tender texture on the inside, fresh and spicy taste on the inside. If it was eaten by one who could not take spicy food, the dipping sauce could be replaced with bean paste, sesame, or peanuts and the taste would also be superb.


    These dishes were extremely flexible and were able to provide a good variety of tastes, and they could be made into any flavor that would suit the customers¡¯ liking. Aunt Wang and her son were not dull-witted. After trying the dishes and listening to her, they were both happy yet embarrassed and hesitated whether they should accept the ¡°gift¡±.


    Lin Dan had always kept her promises. After giving them the instructions to make the dishes, she also gave some business advice. ¡°You can provide free hot tea for your customers in spring, autumn, and winter. In summer, make some chilled jelly but hang a sign that says ¡®free tea provided¡¯. There will naturally be tired customers stopping by for a drink. You can then ask if they want to have some food and your business will pick up naturally. Since there are not many people who are literate, your son can sit along the roadside and bring people in whenever there are carriages passing by. You¡¯re a good cook, Aunt Wang. I¡¯m sure the customers will be satisfied with the food you make. If the customers are satisfied, it will build the reputation of this stall and your stall will soon by popular, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Wang Auntie and her son nodded, their eyes were teary. They could tell that Lin Dan really wanted to help them, or she would not have shared so much of her knowledge. They did not expect to receive kindness from someone whom they had shown kindness to. They believed there were still many good people in this world.


    She was busy the whole day and it was soon nightfall. Lin Dan walked carefreely on the main road with the starlight above her head, feeling a sense of happiness in her heart. She would definitely get back what belonged to her and would return what she owed to others. She believed that one should live in fairness.


    The handsome man silently followed behind and looked at her with mixed emotions.


    As the three dishes could not be mastered overnight, Lin Dan had no choice but to stay in the town for a few more days and went to Aunt Wang¡¯s stall daily. The boy made hot tea and sat on the roadside, attracting customers and inviting them in. Sure enough, many carriage fleets and passers-by stopped by. They had planned to leave after drinking the free tea, but they were attracted by the aroma that came from the kitchen and decided to order a few bowls of bean curd to try. Little did they expect that they were unable to stop after trying the first bowl. Some of them who had had a huge appetite could even finish four or five bowls of bean curd. Customers who came from both the north and south also enjoyed their food.


    It took only three days for Aunt Wang¡¯s stall to be popular and filled with patrons. Three days later, when Lin Dan left, Aunt Wang continued to come up with new flavors which had also received a good response. Over time, the dilapidated straw shed turned into a sturdy earthen house, which was then upgraded into a wooden house in a few years¡¯ time before finally developing into a restaurant that specializes in bean curd dishes. Her daughter-in-law¡¯s business was badly affected and eventually ran out of business. She came before Aunt Wang and kowtowed to apologize for what she did, but she was chased out of the house and became the joke of the town.


    Of course, Lin Dan was not aware of what happened after she left. She took her mother back to the capital and settled it in a small courtyard that she had bought earlier. Before she could take a rest, she immediately went to the West District to check out her shop. She had already planned to return to the capital and open a store for the past two years, but everything was now ready except for one thing.


    The capital was known for having ¡°the rich in the east, and the powerful in the west; the poor in the north, and the shabby in the south¡±. The West District was mostly filled with the rich and powerful; the East District was mostly wealthy; the North District was inhabited by the poor; while the South District was filled with migrants who worked as coolies and were considered to be low in status.


    Lin Baotian was good at Shandong cuisine. Lin Dan had studied Shandong cuisine a lot in the past few years and naturally wanted to continue making Shandong cuisine when she returned to open a shop. In the culinary world, it was well-known that the Shandong cuisine was made for the officials, the Cantonese cuisine was made for businessmen, the Sichuan cuisine was for civilians, while the Huaiyang cuisine was for the literates. Since she wanted to serve the officials, her restaurant would have to be set up in the West District to attract more customers.


    Lin Dan had previously sent a few servants back to the capital to search for a suitable shop. After waiting for two to three months, they finally found a grocery store in Qingyun Alley of the West District that was winding up and was ready to sell the shop. The Yan¡¯s restaurant was set up right opposite that grocery store.


    The handsome man should have left since Lin Dan had arrived in the capital safely, but he refused to go and did not explain why. Instead, he followed Lin Dan silently like a guardian. Knowing that he harbored no ill intentions, Lin Dan let him be and went on to negotiate the price of the store with the owner of the grocery store.


    The handsome man stood at the door waiting while looking at Yan¡¯s restaurant with an unexplainable expression.


    ¡°Did you say that you want to set up a restaurant here and serve the Shandong cuisine as well?¡± The grocery store owner looked around and changed his tone. He said, ¡°Manager Lin, I don¡¯t mean to put you in a spot, but something happened in my family and I need the money. Although the price you offered is reasonable, it¡¯s not good enough. Several groups of people have come here these days and have offered a higher price than you did. The one who offered the highest price will win the bid. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d understand this business rule?¡±


    Lin Dan frowned and said, ¡°Perhaps you could tell me your preferred price and I¡¯ll see if it¡¯s reasonable. I¡¯ll take it if it is reasonable, or we can forget about this deal.¡±


    The grocery store owner quoted a price, which was way beyond Lin Dan¡¯s current capability. She calculated in her mind and said decisively, ¡°Give me one day and I will bring the silver taels here tomorrow. Meanwhile, you will get all the documents ready for the transfer.¡±


    After the negotiation, she asked the servants to go back to pick up the goods, while she wandered around Qingyun Alley to observe the situation.


    ¡°Three hundred and sixty taels of silver. This is enough to buy two of the same shop. Looks like you¡¯ve made a loss.¡± The handsome man followed behind her and said in a deep voice.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. I only want this shop.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand firmly.


    The handsome man turned his head around and looked at Yan¡¯s restaurant where the business was booming, and looked at the grocery store opposite. He could not help but exclaim in his mind, ¡°Looks like Lin Dan is planning to fight against Yan¡¯s restaurant head-on?¡±

 CH 16

    Lin Dan was indeed planning to fight against Yan¡¯s restaurant head on this time around when she returned to the capital. She was not bothered at all to lose to Yan Langqing, but the predecessor of this Yan¡¯s restaurant was Lin¡¯s restaurant that was founded by Lin Baotian. Each of the signature dishes in this restaurant was painstakingly created by her own father. Lin Dan did not want to see the Yan family as well as her father¡¯s two brothers taking away all his years of effort.


    The Yan family did not even feel bad about taking over the restaurant, but Lin Dan, who had inherited the will of the owner of this body could not accept what had happened. Just as she said, she believed that she must take back what she deserves, and return what she owes.


    As the saying goes, ¡°Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.¡± To challenge Yan¡¯s restaurant, Lin Dan had to try their dishes first. But her facial features had not changed much over the years and she was certain that her second and third uncles would put her in a spot if they had recognized her. She had no choice but to ask the handsome man to pick a few of their signature dishes and take them out for her to try.


    After trying Yan¡¯s dishes, the two started discussing in a private room of a tea house. The handsome man asked, ¡°How does it taste?¡±


    ¡°They are all very well done. As expected from the family of the imperial chef.¡± Lin Dan gave a frank and honest judgment.


    ¡°When compared to your dishes?¡± The handsome man had not tried Lin Dan¡¯s Shandong cuisine and was having a strong desire to try it.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when my store is opened.¡± Lin Dan chuckled and pushed the door to leave. Although she did not answer his question directly, her composure was a sign of confidence.


    The handsome man stared at her straight back, shook his head, and smiled.


    The two continued to wander around the Qingyun Alley until they had reached a corner and saw another Shandong restaurant. Lin Dan waved at him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat here.¡± Since she was opening a store, it was natural for her to check out the restaurants nearby. It was not really to undermine their business but to learn their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.


    It was called the Qiaoyuan Restaurant. The size was twice of Yan¡¯s restaurant and the interior was very luxuriously decorated. There were pavilions and small ponds and bridges built within the restaurant which created a very elegant environment. High-ranking officials tend to show off their status when they eat out, and the service of this restaurant was far more luxurious than Yan¡¯s restaurant. She thought their business would be fairly good, but the two of them sat in the dining hall for a long time and only observed that they had only served with five or six groups of patrons. The number of patrons they had was far lesser than Yan¡¯s restaurant.


    But Lin Dan understood why after trying their dishes. It was simply because the chef of this restaurant was not skillful enough, and the Shandong dishes did not taste authentic.


    ¡°You can tell that the taste of this restaurant is worse than Yan¡¯s restaurant. No wonder they were unable to keep attracting customers.¡± Lin Dan put down her chopsticks and concluded.


    The handsome man did not express his opinions and only waved for the waiter to get the check. As soon as Lin Dan took out her purse, he pressed her hand down, and placed half a tael of silver in the waiter¡¯s hand, paying the bill as fast as he could. His action was so fast that the waiter did not even catch how the money appeared on his palm. The waiter scratched his head for a while, looking all puzzled.


    Lin Dan was amused and smiled slightly before starting a conversation with the waiter. ¡°Is this restaurant interested in getting dry goods? I have some top-quality goods that I imported from Nanyang, including abalone, bird¡¯s nest, sea cucumber, scallops, and so on. I also have a wide variety of food that was harvested from the mountains and can provide a stable supply of goods for a long time.¡±


    In order to support her family, Lin Dan had to do some small business while learning how to cook. Over time, she had managed to set up a business fleet that specialized in distributing dry goods, such as importing seafood to the inland, and inland mountain food to the coastal areas. She was able to earn some decent money from these transactions.


    Since this restaurant was targeted at patrons of status, they would have to buy top-quality food ingredients. The waiter did not dare to call the shots and quickly called for the manager to handle her offer. The manager was naturally happy to accept the additional source of goods, and Lin Dan asked her servant to bring the goods to the restaurant for inspection.


    As the manager was not very familiar with the quality of the ingredients, he had to ask the chef for opinions. The chef seemed to be a young lad who had just turned twenty and was fair-skinned and good-looking. Although his culinary skills still had room for improvement, he had a good eye for food ingredients. He said firmly, ¡°The abalones are all double abalones, bird¡¯s nests are premium imperial bird¡¯s nest harvested during the rainy season, and the types of shark¡¯s fins include sea tiger shark¡¯s fins, whole-piece fins, and Tian Jiu fins, all of which are excellent products¡­ The fungi are non-ordinary fungi, they are black fungi that are picked from the cliffs and are top-quality ingredients from the mountains. These are all authentic and high-quality food ingredients.¡±


    He let out a long sigh of relief after he finished speaking, seemingly being relieved of a big burden. With these top-quality dry goods, he would not have to worry about not being able to make delicious Shandong dishes. He originally had two more years to officially become a chef, but his father suddenly fell ill and passed away. This restaurant was the fruit of his father¡¯s efforts and he wanted to perform well, but as his skills were still lacking and the restaurant¡¯s business had been declining. The restaurant was even having issues sustaining ever since he took over as the head chef. If he had not been the chef and the owner of this restaurant, the manager would have fired him long ago.


    ¡°We want all these goods. Name me a price, Manager Lin.¡± The chef said decisively.


    Lin Dan gave him a reasonable price that was not too high nor too low. Seeing that he readily took out the money, she began speaking to him in a more casual manner. ¡°Are there any other restaurants nearby? Please give me some directions to save me from making detours. Don¡¯t worry, I only have the second-tier ingredients left and will not affect your business by selling these ingredients to the other restaurants.¡± After selling all the goods in her inventory, she was able to cover the costs she needed to buy her own shop.


    The young chef shook his head and replied with hostility, ¡°There are no other restaurants nearby except Qiaoyuan Restaurant and Yan¡¯s Restaurant. You outsiders may not know that the head of this Yan¡¯s Restaurant is an imperial chef, and they are so powerful that nobody else is allowed to open a Shandong restaurant nearby and compete with them.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you doing well here?¡± Lin Dan frowned slightly, while the handsome man put on a stern look.


    ¡°My family is not completely without backing. My grandfather served the Emperor, and my father served the Empress Dowager. They were all imperial chefs from the palace. The calligraphy that is hung in the dining hall was authentically written by the Emperor himself. This is why even though the Yan family is powerful, they wouldn¡¯t be able to lay a finger on me.¡± The young chef looked proud of his ancestor¡¯s achievements, but he also worried. Although his predecessors had done well, his skills were not good enough and business had been in decline. However, for Yan Langqing, she had become the head chef of the imperial kitchen at a young age. The Emperor was kind enough to spread her good reputation from within the palace to outside the palace.


    This was why, even if those food connoisseurs in West Town did not like her food, they would not show it in order not to embarrass the Emperor. Eventually, Yan¡¯s restaurant became more and more popular.


    Lin Dan often sent her people back to the capital to understand more about the current affairs, and also knew about Yan Langqing¡¯s success. After Yan Langqing left the Duke¡¯s residence, she worked as a head chef in Yan¡¯s restaurant. One day, the Emperor made a private visit to the capital and happened to have a meal in her restaurant. He took a liking to the dishes she made and had a good chat with her. He eventually decided to recruit her as a chef in the imperial kitchen where she gradually gained the Emperor¡¯s favor.


    However, Lin Dan did not follow what happened to Yan Langqing afterward and naturally did not know that she had gained so much power.


    The chef then continued, ¡°The head of the Yan family is Yan Langqing. Her signature dish is Wanfu meat. When the Emperor tried it for the first time, he liked it so much that he immediately hired her as an imperial chef. I heard that he could not stand not eating her dishes even for one day. Don¡¯t you think she has truly gained the favor of the Emperor?¡±


    Lin Dan was not interested in whether Yan Langqing was favored by the Emperor or not, but she was interested in that Wanfu meat. She asked, ¡°How is this Wanfu meat made? Is it really that delicious?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. I heard that Imperial Chef Yan would ask everyone to retreat whenever she makes the Wanfu meat so that only she would know the recipe.¡± The young chef shook his head regretfully.


    Lin Dan put on her usual facial expression, but her eyes were cold and stiff. She left her address and bid the chef goodbye. When she left Qiaoyuan Restaurant, she immediately went back to the owner of the grocery store and said that she had brought the money and would be able to buy the shop immediately. However, the grocery store owner refused in every possible way and said that someone had paid a high price for the shop after she left.


    Lin Dan observed at him carefully and saw that his eyes were full of pain from refusing a good deal. She understood immediately and knew that having many other interested buyers was just a ruse. The Yan family probably had warned all the nearby owners not to sell the shop to anyone who wants to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant.


    Lin Dan said goodbye to the boss and had no interest in wandering around. She walked back without saying a word.


    The handsome man stared at her from behind and spoke in a voice deeper than usual, ¡°I used to work in the West and the North a few years ago, and only recently returned to the capital. But I didn¡¯t know that the Yan family is already acting so arrogantly.¡±


    ¡°Arrogance?¡± Lin Dan looked back at him and smiled, with no telling what was the meaning behind her smile.


    Soon, the handsome man knew why she smiled in that manner. He learned that Yan Shouye had found out from the grocery store owner that someone was going to open a Shandong restaurant right opposite his restaurant to challenge him head-on. Since Lin Dan had no power, it was easy for Yan Shouye to find out about Lin Dan¡¯s intention. This was why there was no way Lin Dan could open a restaurant in the capital as the Yan family would find all ways to stop her. No one in the West Town dared to strike a deal with her, this was the same for owners in the East Town. And as soon as a shop owner in the North Town agreed to sell the shop, he would back out in the next moment and even took away the deposit that Lin Dan had paid. After looking around for a long time, Lin Dan finally found a shop in South Town that was located near a pier. However, the demographics were extremely complicated, and security was poor. Robbery and even murder often occurred there. It would not be easy to set up a business there, not to mention making money without incurring losses.


    The Yan family was finally satisfied and felt that they had beaten Lin Dan down so hard that she would not stand a chance surviving there.


    The handsome man had been traveling around with Lin Dan every day and watched her as she faced difficulties and was oppressed in every way. It was then he realized that the Yan family was not ¡°arrogant¡± but ¡°despicable¡±. No matter how disciplined and calm he was, he could not help but feel anger boiling within. However, Lin Dan had always maintained a positive and optimistic attitude. Although she would frown whenever she encountered difficulties, she would quickly recover, as if no one and nothing could break her.


    On this day, Lin Dan brought her servants to South Town to tidy up the shop, while the handsome man stood by the door, scrutinizing passers-by with his eagle eyes and giving out his powerful aura. He would leave in the evening every day, and show up early the next morning to have breakfast at Lin Dan¡¯s house before traveling with her to places. Fortunately, with his protection, Lin Dan could travel freely in the chaotic South Town. She thought that she would have to hire strong and reliable bodyguards in the future if he was no longer around.


    Lin Dan sighed at the thought of that and said, ¡°Now that I have gotten everything settled down, you don¡¯t have to follow me around anymore.¡±


    The man refused and made another proposal, ¡°The location of this stop is bad. I¡¯ll change one for you. It¡¯s in West Town.


    ¡°We met by coincidence and are not related to each other in any way. How can I accept the shop? I will remember your kindness and charge you at half price whenever you come by and have a meal at my restaurant.¡± Lin Dan refused his offer as expected. She was a reasonable person who would never take people for granted.


    The man pressed his lips slightly, not knowing how to persuade her. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he turned around and left. When he reached the entrance of the alley, he looked back and was filled with worry. He felt that this was really not a good place to open a restaurant. It was not only hidden in a winding alleyway, there were also vice activities such as gambling, cockfighting, and prostitution happening nearby. He wondered how she would be able to set up a business here.


    But Lin Dan was so stubborn that he did not know how to help her even if he wanted to.

 CH 17

    The new shop was bought at a very low price. It was less than twenty taels of silver which was a vast difference from the grocery shop. But there were reasons behind the difference in prices. The shop was cheap due to its location.


    It was simply impossible for people who were unfamiliar with the place to take seven or eight turns in the alley to find her shop. Lady Qi, who almost passed out while finding her way through the alley, was now too worried to eat, as she was afraid that her daughter would make losses by setting up her business here.


    Lin Dan comforted her as she cleaned up the tables and chairs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother. There¡¯s a reason why I decided to set up my restaurant here. Look at the shops around here.¡±


    ¡°What about it? I only saw places filled with vice activities ¨C casinos, fighting arenas, the pier, and brothels. And the people who come in and out of these places are people who are involved in these things. I really don¡¯t understand why you want to set up a restaurant here. If the Yan family doesn¡¯t want us here, we can always leave the capital and lead a peaceful life elsewhere. I don¡¯t want you to try and get back anything, and I don¡¯t need you to prove yourself. I only wish for your safety.¡± Lady Qi said while holding Lin Dan¡¯s hands.


    Lin Dan gave her a pat and explained, ¡°Although most of the residents of South Town are migrants and have complicated backgrounds, they are also better than those from the North Town. You shouldn¡¯t consider the people of the South Town as inferior to others, you will find many hidden talents here too. There are all sorts of people here and it would be much easier to do business here than in North Town. Look at the casinos, arenas, the pier, and brothels ¨C aren¡¯t they popular? Whether a restaurant is able to succeed, it all depends on the food standard, followed by popularity. Since I can make good food, I can make my business even better by riding on the popularity of the shops around. I¡¯ll be able to make money, and you will see when my restaurant is opened.¡±


    ¡°The popularity of the surrounding shops is indeed fairly good, but you have to see whether you¡¯re able to ride on their popularity. Do you think your customers would mind making seven or eight turns to arrive at your shop? It¡¯s better to set up a shop along the road. I¡¯ve never seen anyone who opens a store at the end of an alley.¡± Lady Qi was still worried.


    ¡°It¡¯s said that ¡®a fragrant wine is unafraid of the deep alley¡¯. This won¡¯t be a problem.¡± Lin Dan smiled lightly and waved her hand. She did not seem to be overly concerned with this problem.


    The servants she brought had cleaned up the shop swiftly and hung a small flag at the entrance. The restaurant was ready to be opened.


    The handsome man had something on in the morning and arrived at the shop at noon which was later than usual. He visited the local mafia boss and constables nearby and asked them to take care of Lin Dan before heading to the shop. Of course, these things were done behind Lin Dan¡¯s back, lest she felt uncomfortable with him doing so.


    ¡°Why are you here again? Don¡¯t you have work to do?¡± Lin Dan looked surprised when he saw the man.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve never asked for my name?¡± The man asked instead.


    Lin Dan stunned for a moment and chuckled, ¡°Sure, what is your first and last name? And how old are you, sir?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-six this year, my name is Tang Jiu. You may call me Tang Jiu, or just Jiu.¡± The man gave Lady Qi a polite bow before taking an axe and began chopping wood.


    ¡°Tang, as in soup? This is a good surname.¡± Lin Dan laughed brightly. She was a chef and had a natural affection for soups and the like.


    The man knew what she was laughing at, and his dark eyes softened. Indeed, Lin Dan never stopped thinking about her job, she could even associate names with food.


    Lin Dan had arranged a carpenter to make a signboard for the restaurant and it could only be delivered in the afternoon. Lin Dan did not plan to open her restaurant on this day and only asked her servants to bring in three large pots for making broths ¨C one for making clear broth, one for milky pork broth, and one for making braised broth. As the price of the shop was low, she still had a lot of silver taels left to spend and made the broths without considering the cost price. She stuffed whole chickens and ducks into the pot and added pork knuckles and pork bones before bringing it to boil.


    ¡°I learned how to make broths from a master in the north. Although he is not an imperial cook, his cooking skills are superb. After learning from him for three years, I only managed to learn just a little from him. We need to simmer the clear broth in low fire, but cook the pork broth on high, so we have to be careful when adding the firewood.¡± Lin Dan spoke very modestly, but the method of cooking the broth was actually very complicated, but she was very familiar with all the steps and did it in a smooth manner.


    Tang Jiu stared at the large pots and asked with a slightly worried tone, ¡°You added so many ingredients, will you be able to earn your cost back?¡±


    Lin Dan chuckled, ¡°It may seem as though I have spent a lot while making these broths, but you must know that these pots of broth are enough for me to cook hundreds of dishes and hundreds of bowls of noodles. I won¡¯t be overspending on these broths if they are able to attract customers into my shop which is located deep in the alley. It¡¯s said that ¡®fragrant wine is unafraid of the deep alley¡¯, it also applies to my thick broths which are also ¡°unafraid of the deep alley¡±. When the broths are done, I¡¯m sure there will be people looking for our shop by following the smell.¡±


    When the clear and pork broth were boiling, Lin Dan added a bag of spice into the pot making the braised broth and boiled it over a high fire. After boiling for a quarter of an hour, she added pork knuckles, pork bones, pork belly, pigskin, and other ingredients into the pot. She covered the pot with a lid and surrounded the rim of the pot with a wet cloth to prevent steam from escaping.


    ¡°This braised broth will be ready after heating over a low fire until tomorrow morning. Let¡¯s take a rest, only one person is needed to watch the fire.¡± When everything was ready, Lin Dan clapped her hands and dismissed everyone. As the business fleet still had to deliver the dry goods, several servants packed up their things and left the capital immediately.


    Lin Dan was about to make lunch for her mother and Tang Jiu when someone suddenly ran in. It was the waiter from Qiaoyuan Restaurant, he said with slight anger in his tone, ¡°I finally found you, liar! Tell me, what kind of ingredients did you sell to our restaurant? How can you give us shoddy goods!¡±


    ¡°Relax, sir. I¡¯ll follow you back to the restaurant and talk about this further. ¡± Lin Dan was not annoyed at all and generously poured a cup of hot tea for the waiter.


    As the waiter came here to get her, he tried to pull her out, but Tang Jiu gave him a cold stare which made him speak to Lin Dan in a friendlier tone. The fair-skinned and handsome young chef had already been waiting in the shop. Although he felt like a victim, he acted humbly and spoke to her nicely. ¡°The ingredients you sold to me maybe shoddy. I wasn¡¯t able to make dishes that taste exquisite. Here, try it. This was made with the shark¡¯s tripe you sold me, while this was bought from Yan¡¯s restaurant. Since they were all made with the same ingredient, why do ours taste so different from theirs?¡±


    Lin Dan smiled after tasting the dishes. She had been worrying about how to fight against the Yan family, now this young chef had given her a chance to do so. She did not mind having someone else fight for her if she could not fight against the Yan family herself.


    As she thought about this, she waved her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the kitchen and show me how you made this dish. My dried goods were selected and accumulated from hundreds and thousands of sources, and they are all premium-grade ingredients. I don¡¯t think the ingredients are the problem. Since the ingredients are fine, something must be wrong with your cooking technique. Let¡¯s try finding the root cause of the issue.¡±


    The little cook nodded in agreement without hesitation. He followed Lin Dan to the kitchen and was incredibly well-behaved. The old manager glared at Lin Dan and wanted to yell at her for being rude, but he dared not speak up because of Tang Jiu¡¯s powerful presence. The group arrived at the kitchen and started cooking.


    Lin Dan stared at the young chef for a long time and said after shaking her head, ¡°You have good cooking basics, but you lack experience. When you cook using dry goods, most of your success comes from the way you soak the ingredients. If you lack the right technique to soak the dried ingredients, you naturally won¡¯t be able to make delicious dishes.¡±


    ¡°For example, you can¡¯t merely soak this black ginseng in water. It is fine if you cut them into sections and stir-fry it. But if you add the entire black ginseng into the dish, it will make the texture of the meat uneven, with some areas soft, and others being hard. The dish won¡¯t taste good. I¡¯ll teach you a secret method ¨C it¡¯s best to bake the black ginseng on a hot iron plate before soaking it in water. Then, burn the outer skin black with a low fire and use a knife to scrape off the black skin before boiling in water. The reason for doing this is to completely remove the moisture that was still present in the dried black ginseng. The meat texture will be even once all the moisture is removed. You can boil it and let it cool, do this step three times and the moisture will be completely gone. It will become so tender that it will leave a mark when you press it lightly with your finger.¡±


    She handled the black ginseng while explaining the steps, and amazed everyone with her pair of skillful hands. The young chef realized that Manager Lin was not merely a dry goods seller, but also a very experienced chef. She would not have come up with such a unique way of soaking black ginseng without three to five years of study and research. Also, not only did she come up with her own method, but she was also selfless in sharing her knowledge with others. He thought of her as someone who was kind and morally upright.


    In order to learn more, the young chef quickly took over the work of soaking the black ginseng.


    Lin Dan wiped her hands with a handkerchief and continued to handle the fish maw. She began explaining while heating the oil, ¡°You also did not soak the shark¡¯s tripe properly. You need to soak it in oil to create a smooth and chewy texture. First, you need to soak the fish in medium hot oil before cooling it. Fry it on low fire on the stove before soaking it in clean water, ensuring that water has been fully absorbed. Add some of the used water and pat it with your hands to completely rinse off the astringency of the water. It can then be used to make delicious dishes. The tripes that are soaked in oil will taste soft and chewy, its freshness will also be retained no matter how it is cooked. With this method, even the poorest quality shark¡¯s tripe can be made into a delicacy.¡±


    Lin Dan was eloquent whenever she talked about cooking, and she did not stop moving as she spoke. She quickly heated a pot of oil and added the fish tripe into it. One would be able to tell whether a chef was truly skillful based on how she worked on the stove. The young chef¡¯s eyes were beaming when he looked at Lin Dan as if he had discovered a treasure.


    While waiting for the oil to cool down, Lin Dan said again, ¡°Look, you did not soak this bowl of black fungi correctly too. It¡¯s not enough to just soak it with boiling water, you have to add some coarse salt to soften it, and remove away the hair at the back¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are right! Manager Lin, I was wrong to misunderstand you. Please forgive me for my ignorance! Please teach me how to cook, I am really not skillful enough at cooking! Some time ago, Yan¡¯s restaurant introduced a new dish called the Squirrel Mandarin Fish. The presentation and taste of that dish are superb. It has already attracted the remaining customers that would usually come to my restaurant. If I don¡¯t improve, the reputation of my imperial chef family will be tarnished in my hands!¡± The young chef clasped his hands and bow to Lin Dan repeatedly. In fact, Lin Dan was as good as her father and grandfather when it came to the technique of soaking dry goods, and she was more than qualified to be his master.

 CH 18

    Lin Dan soaked another bowl of black fungi with coarse salt and asked the kitchen assistant to continue soaking the remaining dry goods according to her instructions. She then turned around to look at the young chef and said slowly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve apologized sincerely, I will teach you one signature dish.¡±


    ¡°Huh, what did you just say?¡± The young chef looked at Lin Dan in astonishment and thought he must have heard it wrongly. He already felt very privileged when Manager Lin was willing to impart some secret techniques of handling food ingredients and wondered why she would teach him a signature dish. He thought a signature dish was the ¡°secret weapon¡± of every chef which would not be easily revealed to others.


    ¡°You heard me right. I will teach you a signature dish. You¡¯ll have to look at what I¡¯m doing carefully.¡± Lin Dan fished out a big carp from the bucket as she spoke and placed it on the chopping board before stunning the fish.


    Tang Jiu glanced at her and at the silly young chef with a flash of interest appearing in his eyes.


    ¡°Manager Lin, wait! I¡¯ll get a paper and pen!¡± Seeing that Lin Dan did not seem to be joking, the young chef hurried to the front hall to get a stack of paper and a wolf hairbrush and scribbled: ¡°Use one Yellow River big carp weighing three to four catties¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you done writing?¡± Lin Dan held a kitchen knife in one hand and a big carp in the other while waiting for the young chef with a smile. She enjoyed seeing people who were hardworking and studious and did not mind even if they were a little dense.


    ¡°Yes, yes. Please continue, Manager Lin!¡± The young chef nodded and bowed respectfully. The old manager was already looking at Lin Dan with admiration and was standing right beside Tang Jiu while looking at the cutting board eagerly.


    Lin Dan continued, ¡°I have tried the new Squirrel Mandarin Fish from Yan¡¯s restaurant before. It is a delicious dish with a sweet and sour taste with a soft and tender texture. But what I¡¯m going to teach you now is better than theirs. It¡¯s a dish that also tastes sweet and sour which is called the Golden Lion Fish.¡±


    The ¡°squirrel¡± versus the ¡°golden lion¡± ¨C the young chef thought that the dish was obviously a challenge posed to Yan¡¯s restaurant. He was still deep in thoughts when Lin Dan¡¯s extraordinary cutting technique soon made him forget everything. She removed the fish scales swiftly before slicing ??the fish on both sides into thin slices, cutting from the tail to the head of the fish. She started making shallow cuts before ending with deep cuts on each side ??eighteen times. With her smooth and consistent cuts, the big carp soon looked like a lotus bud. As she lifted the fishtail and shook, the pink ¡°petals¡± bloomed and were aesthetically beautiful.


    The young chef originally thought that her cutting technique was impressive enough, but he did not expect Lin Dan to use the scissors and cut the petal-like fish meat into six to seven strips before stacking on top of each other. The fishbone was covered with stripes of fish meat from head to tail, and this had already created a unique look. However, the young chef wondered how the fish could be cooked since it was cut into fine stripes and was worried that the meat would disintegrate once it came into contact with a spoon.


    The young chef kept the questions in his mind as he scribbled away, but Lin Dan began to make a batter using six eggs, half a catty of water-based starch with a quarter catty of flour, before adding an appropriate amount of water to create a thick and golden paste. It was thick enough to hold the paste in one¡¯s hands and stringy when pulled apart.


    ¡°When making the egg batter, only use egg yolk instead of egg white, so that it produces a nice color. As for the starch, you must use only water-based starch instead of dry starch, or there will be rough edges on the fish meat. Water-based starch will create a smoother texture.¡± Lin Dan explained simply before holding the fish head with one hand and the tail with the other. She then put the flower-like fish into the egg batter and spread the batter on it evenly. When it was removed from the batter, all the strips were stuck together and dripping with egg liquid. The fish did not look aesthetically good for now, but it would look like a golden lion after being deep-fried in the wok, where all the strips would spread out nicely one by one.


    As the young chef and the old manager marveled at Lin Dan¡¯s culinary skill, she explained slowly, ¡°When the fish strips are all immersed in the oil, you need to shake it hard thrice so that the strips will spread out one by one. Push the fish head down after the shaking and slightly lift up the tail, so that the strips would gather near its head to create the shape of a golden lion. This is key to the aesthetics of the dish. Oil temperature will naturally be lower after the fish is added to the wok, this is why you must fry it quickly when the fish is more than half cooked so that it can set the fish in shape. At this time, you can release the fish to fry its tail before flipping it using a colander. Continue frying it for a while before removing it from the wok to add the sauce on it.¡±


    Although Lin Dan made everything sound easy, it was actually very difficult to make the dish. It was already a test of cutting skills by cutting the fish meat into strips, not to mention the making of batter and deep-frying, which made seasoning the easiest step. When frying the fish, the chef¡¯s hands had to hold the fish head and tail firmly while keeping the fish close to the surface of the boiling oil, so that all the tender fish meat was soaked in the hot oil. The high temperature of the oil may even burn a layer of skin if the chef was not careful, but the dish would be ruined if the whole fish was immersed in the boiling oil before the strips were well-fried.


    The young chef took a close look at Manager Lin¡¯s hand and saw a thick layer of calluses on her fingertips. He knew this was the proof of hardship she had to endure while frying food on high-temperature countless times. She gently shook the fish strips with patience and full concentration, without showing any pain on her face.


    After adding the entire fish into the wok, she took out a clean pot before pouring some vegetable oil. She instructed the young chef, ¡°Remove the fish from the wok when it is fried to a golden brown. Put the fish on the plate with its belly down. I¡¯ll make the sauce next.¡± As she spoke, the oil in the pot was already heated up. She crushed lime and persimmon with her hands and pressed it with a large spoon. Next, she added sugar, white vinegar, and water to create a thick sweet, and sour sauce. After thickening, she poured the sauce evenly on the fluffy and crispy fish strips. Finally, the Golden Lion Fish was ready.


    The fragrant sweet and sour sauce filled everyone¡¯s nose instantly and caused their mouths to water. This dish did not only have a strong aroma but also had a strong appearance. It looked like a lion with a messy mane, as though it was baring its teeth and showing its claws.


    ¡°Wow, it smells good!¡± The young chef swallowed his saliva.


    ¡°Can I try it?¡± Tang Jiu stared at Lin Dan eagerly. He had always been a reserved man but would show his desire and greed when it came to food.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lin Dan wiped away her sweat with a piece of cloth.


    The young chef and Tang Jiu picked up the chopsticks immediately and were about to try the dish. At this moment, the old manager, who went out without anyone noticing, rushed into the kitchen and said and hurriedly, ¡°No, you can¡¯t eat that! Prince Cheng is here, and he wants to eat the dish you just made! Hurry up, Xiaodouzi! Serve the dish now and don¡¯t keep the prince waiting!¡±


    The waiter got under Tang Jiu¡¯s arm and ran away after taking the dish.


    Lin Dan was so immersed in cooking that she did not know that the sauce she made had been sent out from the window to the street. Similar to the Duke of Yongding, this prince was a well-known food connoisseur in the capital. Food tasting was his greatest hobby and he was originally a frequent visitor to the Qiaoyuan Restaurant. However, he visited less when the young chef¡¯s father passed away.


    On this day, he wanted to go to Yan¡¯s Restaurant for lunch. But when he passed by Qiaoyuan Restaurant, his long-term servant who accepted some rewards from the old manager casually said that Qiaoyuan Restaurant had imported a new batch of premium seafood and suggested the prince try it.


    Prince Cheng had a close relationship with the young chef¡¯s father and thought he should give the restaurant a shot. However, there was another carriage that stopped right next to him. It was Prince Gong who appeared from the window and said while chuckling, ¡°Brother, do not be fooled. I fell for it yesterday, but that young Qiu¡¯s skills are still bad and I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t be able to make dishes with top-quality seafood. The food he made is far worse than Yan¡¯s restaurant!¡±


    Prince Cheng glanced at his servant and wanted to leave, but suddenly he smelled a unique sweet and sour aroma before the smell of the freshness of fish and the mellowness of fat came. It smelled delicious, he thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s that smell? Smell it, can you smell it?!¡± Prince Cheng got up immediately and stretched his neck out of the car window, sniffing around like a puppy.


    Prince Gong who was giggling suddenly became speechless, he quickly closed his mouth and swallowed the saliva that was watering in his mouth.


    The long-term servant who was disheartened and fearful quickly said, ¡°Master, the smell came from Qiaoyuan Restaurant. I believe Chef Qiu is cooking.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in and take a look!¡± Prince Cheng could not hold himself back anymore. He immediately got out of the carriage and ran to the restaurant quickly. As he did not see the manager welcoming him, he shouted loudly, ¡°Where are they? What kind of dishes are you making in the kitchen? Serve it to me right now!¡±


    The waiter quickly seated the prince and ran to the kitchen to report the situation to the old manager. The old manager then saved the dish from the mouths of the young chef and Tang Jiu and hurriedly brought it to the front hall.


    Prince Gong had already lost confidence in Qiu¡¯s dishes. Originally, he had only planned to sit in the carriage and watch how things would unfold, but he could not hold himself back anymore once the dish was served. He quickly retracted his head from the window and left the carriage before running to the restaurant. He even hit his head on the roof of the car because he was in such a rush and was feeling dizzy. He held his head and finally rushed to the table, where he took a deep breath when he looked at the dish. Prince Cheng also stared in amazement with a look of astonishment.


    They thought that the Squirrel Mandarin Fish at Yan¡¯s restaurant was already a masterpiece in terms of the cutting techniques, aesthetics, color, and seasoning, but when this dish came out, it had immediately shattered the legend of Yan¡¯s cuisine.


    The dish had a beautiful and unique appearance with firm strips of the fish meat gathering towards the head of the fish. When the crispy skin of the fish was pierced by chopsticks, the pink and white meat underneath was revealed. By combining with the viscous soup, the fresh, tender, and crisp texture as well as the sour and sweet taste had exploded on the tip of the tongue. What a marvelous experience, they thought.


    Prince Cheng carefully picked up a piece of ¡°lion hair¡± and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes narrowed immediately, and the layers of wrinkles on his face unfolded at a speed visible to the naked eye as if he was several years younger.


    ¡°Does it taste good?¡± Prince Gong eagerly pulled up his sleeve.


    Prince Cheng ignored him again and took another ¡°lion hair¡± to taste it carefully. He kept shaking his head and smacking his lips with an annoying look on his face.


    ¡°Hey, speak up! I¡¯m getting annoyed!¡± Prince Gong rolled up his sleeves and yelled, ¡°Hey waiter, you are blind? Don¡¯t you see me here? Go and get me another set of utensils! Hurry up!¡± Otherwise, he was going to eat with his hands and ignore any table manners a royalty should have.


    The waiter clambered to get another pair of chopsticks but saw that the two noble princes were almost fighting on the table. They were trying to push each other¡¯s chopsticks back and none of them were willing to back down. Prince Cheng yelled, ¡°Get the hell out of here! I was the one who ordered this, it¡¯s not for you!¡±


    ¡°We are brothers after all! What¡¯s wrong with sharing food?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you order one for yourself if you want to try it?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to wait for it to be made, I can¡¯t hold myself back anymore just with this smell!¡±


    Seeing this situation, the waiter had to rush back to the kitchen and ask Manager Lin to make another golden lionfish, otherwise, the two princes would really break into a fight.


    Lin Dan did not feel flattered or uneasy. She rolled up her sleeves slowly and said, ¡°In that case, I shall offer you more help by making another dish.¡±

 CH 19

    v


    As the two princes were already enjoying the golden lionfish together, it was obviously unnecessary to prepare the same dish. Lin Dan ignored the waiter who kept hurrying her and picked up some fresh pig¡¯s kidneys before slicing each piece of kidney beautifully in the shape of a wheat flower. She then quickly boiled the kidneys before adding the sesame sauce, peanut sauce, chili oil, vinegar, sugar, and other seasonings to make a thick sesame sauce before pouring it on the kidneys. She slowly explained, ¡°You need to stir hard when making the sauce with water, oil, sesame, and peanut sauce so that the sauce will coat the kidneys well.¡±


    She picked up a piece of kidney and motioned everyone to observe carefully. The kidney was coated in a very thick sauce with high viscosity, and the observers could already imagine its deliciousness just by looking at the appearance of the sauce. Although it was a thick sauce, it was able to coat the kidneys well without having a single drop of sauce dripping down, which could greatly retain the taste and texture of the kidneys.


    Chef Qiu looked at it carefully and quickly scribbled the technique of making this dish.


    ¡°You may serve this now.¡± Lin Dan rinsed the pot and continued to make the next dish. As the two princes were distinguished guests and were already eating, she did not want them to wait for too long before serving the next dish. As such, she had decided to select a few simple and quick dishes to lay the whole dining table with food as soon as possible. In that way, it would look good at the restaurant and guests would also eat with satisfaction.


    As many of the dry goods were not ready for use, Lin Dan decided to check the tank and found a few live sea cucumbers and abalone inside. She quickly took them out and cleaned it.


    ¡°Next, I¡¯m going to make some sea cucumber salad. Does your restaurant have ice? Please get me some if you do.¡± Lin Dan quickly handled the sea cucumber as she spoke.


    ¡°Yes, we do. Zhou Fu, go to the cellar and bring some ice cubes over!¡± Young Chef Qiu turned around and instructed the kitchen assistant. Since Lin Dan had started soaking black ginseng, these kitchen assistants had stopped working and stared at her eagerly. For them, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn some secrets from the top chef.


    Zhou Fu ran to the cellar, fearing that Manager Lin had taught everyone else something while he was away, and he would miss a learning chance.


    Lin Dan cut the live sea cucumbers open and removed the internal organs. She then cleaned them up before cutting them into strips and slowly explained, ¡°Handling live sea cucumbers can also be troublesome because it¡¯s difficult to control the heat while cooking. The meat texture becomes hard if the sea cucumber and may have a fishy smell if it is undercooked. But I have a trick to this right ¨C test the water temperature with your finger when the water is about to boil. If your finger can only stay in the water for a while, and the skin burns and hurts when you remove the finger from the water, this means that the water is hot enough. The cooked sea cucumber strips will soften when placed in cold water which will affect the taste. At this time, boil the sea cucumber again and pour it into ice water to freeze it. The meat will constrict quickly, forming a unique taste that is soft on the outside and chewy on the inside, which is very suitable for creating a cold dish.¡±


    She put the boiled sea cucumbers in ice water for use later and prepared a pot to make the salad sauce. She added finely chopped fresh chili, shallots, garlic, light soy sauce, and vinegar into the sesame oil to make a light brown sauce. The sea cucumber salad was ready once the sauce was drizzled onto the sea cucumber strips.


    Chef Qiu quickly picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. Tang Jiu also gave the dish a try under the cold stare of the old manager and his long and narrow eyes suddenly lit up. It was all because he found the taste of the sea cucumber salad to be absolutely perfect. The fishy and astringent taste of the sea cucumber was gone, and the freshness of the sea cucumbers filled his mouth. The sea cucumbers were also crunchy yet soft and chewy at the same time and it had a unique taste when the hot and sour cold sauce was drizzled on it.


    Chef Qiu had regretted picking up that pair of chopsticks. If he had not tried this dish, he wouldn¡¯t know how delicious this dish was and would not be heartbroken to see that dish being taken away by the waiter.


    Tang Jiu¡¯s pair of eagle eyes stared at the waiter and made him so scared that he almost walked away while clinging onto the wall.


    Lin Dan took the abalone and continued, ¡°Live abalones do not taste good as dried abalones as they are less chewy. But there¡¯s a way to make live abalones taste like dried abalone, which is by soaking it with sugar water. First, soak the live abalones in ice cubes and keep it in shape before soaking it in sugar water. It¡¯s also easy to remove the black layer on the soaked abalones.¡±


    She took the abalone that was soaked in sugar water in her hand and brushed it lightly. The black layer that was usually difficult to remove had started to fall off. The white and tender abalone meat was exposed in the air and looked surprisingly good.


    ¡°Cook the clean abalones with their shells before removing it and it is ready to be served. Live abalones that are cooked with this method are soft and springy, and almost comparable to dried abalones. The dish I¡¯m making now is called braised live abalone. It will be ready after adding an appropriate amount of salt, sugar, cooking wine, and broth before simmering for a while on low heat and thickening the sauce over high heat. Now, I will take up for you to try.¡±


    Lin Dan fished out an abalone and put it in a small dish by itself before letting the waiter serve the remaining abalones. Everyone swarmed up to have a taste, but they were all pushed away by Tang Jiu. He finished most of the abalone just with his brute strength and his face was full of contentment.


    After making a few other meat dishes, Lin Dan boiled a clean lion¡¯s mane mushroom into the milky soymilk before removing it when it was half-cooked. She then poured it into the bone broth to continue cooking while adding different seasonings at times and the white soymilk gradually turned red. When the mushroom had softened, its surface would create irregular grooves that were similar to brain folding before it was carefully removed with a colander. The water that it produced was then thickened with cornstarch.


    When the waiter came in to serve the next dish, he was surprised by what he saw and asked, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we have gotten monkey¡¯s brains in the restaurant. Where did these monkey¡¯s brains come from?¡±


    ¡°This dish is called the Braised Monkey¡¯s Brain but is made with the lion¡¯s mane mushroom. It is made by removing the strong smell with soymilk before stewing it in bone broth to add in the bone marrow taste and finally adding the meat broth to add a meaty flavor to it. When it has been boiled in all three soups, it can not only retain the freshness of the mushroom but also add a unique bone marrow and meaty taste to the monkey brain, which can make people mistake it for the real thing.¡±


    What Lin Dan said may sound simple, but it was actually difficult to make the dish. It all depended on the chef¡¯s experience to know the kinds of ingredients to be added at the specific heat level, the time to change the soup, and the time to remove the mushroom from the soon. If one of the steps was done wrongly, the flavor may turn out differently; or if the chef had used too much force while cooking, the mushroom would be broken into pieces. This showed that every detail in making this dish was a test of the chef¡¯s knowledge and skills.


    Even if everyone at the scene had watched Lin Dan create the dish with their own eyes, they would not be able to recreate it. This was a common problem when learning from a top chef, as long as the chef did not make things clear, nobody would be able to master anything just by observing the steps. This was why there was a saying that goes, ¡°there¡¯s a universe within the kitchen spatula and real gold on the stove¡±.


    As always, Tang Jiu picked up the chopsticks and wanted to poke the mushroom, but Lin Dan stopped him immediately. She said helplessly, ¡°Take it easy, sir. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to make this into the shape of a monkey brain. How can the guests enjoy this if you make a hole in it?¡±


    Tang Jiu put down his chopsticks with a grim expression, but the scent of the lion¡¯s mane mushroom was still lingering on the tip of his nose. He could not help but sneak to the front hall and thought it would be better watching others enjoying the food if he could not have it. But soon, he realized that it was more excruciating to watch others eat.


    However, he noticed that the empty front hall was already filled with diners, who were all attracted by the smell of delicacies that were served on the table of the two princes. When the waiter asked for their orders, they all pointed to the princes¡¯ tables and urged, ¡°Just get me the same dishes as Prince Cheng. I want it exactly the same and have it served to me as soon as possible!¡±


    Different kinds of aroma filled the air and were making people¡¯s mouth water.


    That was not all, as Prince Cheng ate, he commented with an extremely loud voice, ¡°Aw, this cold sea cucumber is extremely fresh! It is crunchy and smooth and tastes amazing! It¡¯s not easy to create this dish with such texture, it becomes too hard if it¡¯s overcooked, but would not be able to remove the unpleasant taste if it¡¯s undercooked. This is just right, it¡¯s perfectly done!¡± He raised his thumb as he spoke.


    Prince Gong hurriedly took more food as Prince Cheng was speaking.


    ¡°Hey, is this dried abalone or live abalone? It tastes so fresh that I believe it is live abalone, yet it has a sticky and springy texture that makes me think it¡¯s dried abalone! Darn, I really have no idea!¡± Prince Cheng smacks his lips as he ate.


    The waiter bowed and replied, ¡°Your highness, live abalone was used for this dish. We have created a slightly unique taste by cooking with a special technique.¡±


    Prince Cheng waved his hand time and again, ¡°This is not just ¡®slightly unique¡¯, it¡¯s very unique! I have eaten so many kinds of abalone dishes and this one tastes the best! It has perfectly combined the strengths of cooking with dried abalone and live abalone!¡±


    Prince Gong remained silent and continued eating.


    ¡°Braised monkey brain?¡± After eating the last dish, Prince Cheng said satisfyingly: ¡°Since disaster has occurred in the south, I¡¯ve not eaten braised monkey brains for more than half a year. This is truly delicious and flavorful! All the red and greasy soup has entered the brain and the juice is oozing out just with one bite. It has a faint fishiness combined with a tinge of freshness and is absolutely amazing!¡±


    He slapped the spoon that Prince Gong had stretched out away and took the whole dish into his arms.


    The waiter explained carefully, ¡°Your highness, this is not monkey brain but lion¡¯s mane mushroom. Do you want to give it another try?¡±


    ¡°Huh? It was made with lion¡¯s mane mushroom?¡± Prince Cheng was dumbfounded and tried it again and again, but he was unable to tell the difference. ¡°Darn it! I¡¯ve tried at least dozens or even hundreds of monkey brains, how is it possible that I can¡¯t tell the difference between the two? This is definitely made with the freshest monkey brains that have just been removed from live monkeys! You better not lie to me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth, your highness. This was indeed made with the lion¡¯s mane mushroom.¡± The waiter did not know whether to laugh or cry.


    Prince Cheng stopped talking and slapped away his younger brother¡¯s hand who wanted to steal some food from him again. He rushed to pick up the mushrooms and finished them up in a couple of mouthfuls before wiping his mouth and exclaimed, ¡°I don¡¯t care whether it was monkey brains or lion¡¯s mane mushrooms, this is the taste that I love! To be able to make a vegetarian dish taste like a meat dish that has an extremely meaty and unique taste, the chef¡¯s skills are really¡­¡±


    Prince Cheng raised the thumb of his left hand, followed by the thumb of his right hand, and then brought the two thumbs together to express the meaning of ¡°reaching the peak of perfection¡±.


    ¡°This is even comparable with the chefs of the imperial kitchen!¡± Prince Gong praised sincerely.


    As more diners were attracted by his table of food, the restaurant was starting to get lively with the increasing number of people, as if it had gone back to its most glorious time. The old manager was on the verge of tears as he saw the scene and thought that he must keep Manager Lin in this restaurant no matter what. He knew she would be the gem of the restaurant!

 CH 20

    The old manager would not be able to keep Lin Dan as she had her own restaurant to run. After serving dishes for ten tables of diners, seeing that the peak hour was almost over, she got ready to leave after washing her hands and face. The dried goods that were soaked with the techniques she imparted were ready for use. Although young chef Qiu had only learned less than half of her skills, he was able to create delicious dishes perfectly and had received praise from the diners.


    When Lin Dan left, he gave her two recipes and said gratefully, ¡°Manager Lin, these are the secret recipes of the Qiu family. I¡¯m giving them to you.¡± He wanted to pay for Manager Lin¡¯s signature dishes, but he thought she may not want to accept monetary payment and decided to do a ¡°barter trade¡± as a sign of his sincerity.


    Lin Dan thought he was handing her money notes and was about to refuse it, but she heard what he said and accepted his offer. She looked around hurriedly and spoke to him in a friendlier tone, ¡°Thank you very much. I will come here every day to teach you how to make the golden lionfish late in the afternoon and leave early in the evening until you¡¯ve mastered this dish. If Yan¡¯s restaurant introduces another new signature dish, I will teach you another dish until you¡¯ve mastered it. I¡¯ll teach you any dish that can compete with theirs until you¡¯ve mastered them all.¡±


    Chef Qiu was in disbelief and questioned, ¡°Manager Lin, could there be some animosity between you and the Yan¡¯s restaurant?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to open my own Shandong cuisine opposite their restaurant, but they thwarted my plans. Do you think I can still be friendly with them?¡±


    ¡°Sigh, it counts as my blessing that they have thwarted your plans, or you will definitely be the most popular restaurant on the street!¡± The young chef was a straightforward man and immediately regretted what he said. He looked at her with a ¡°please forgive me¡± written all over his face.


    Lin Dan pointed at him and said with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment! If anyone asks you, just tell them that you¡¯ve gotten yourself a mentor. Do not reveal my name and identity.¡± She left through the backdoor after she finished her speech.


    Young chef Qiu quickly agreed to her request. He knew that the Yan family was unscrupulous enough to use dirty tricks on their competitors. But food quality was something nobody could lie about. As long as the diners were able to tell whether the dishes they served were delicious or not, he did not care whether he was being honest with who he learned the dishes from. He hid behind the screen while observing the dining hall and noticed the two princes leaving. They had even asked for takeaways for the food they did not manage to finish. As it was common for the royalties to waste food, it was rare to see that they did not even bear to waste any food today.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do. I must meet this new chef and ask him how the lion mane¡¯s mushroom was made. I¡¯m sure that young Qiu is unable to create this flavor.¡± The prince walked to the entrance and turned around, calling for the old manager to introduce their new head chef.


    Young Qiu had no choice but to apologize and said that his mentor had left but would be back tomorrow afternoon. He also said that his mentor would make dishes occasionally in Qiaoyuan Restaurant and it all depended on their luck whether they were able to try her food.


    ¡°So, when will she come?¡± Prince Cheng asked.


    ¡°She¡¯ll come in the late afternoon and leave early in the evening.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she miss the meal times, then?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s only here to teach me how to cook. She¡¯s not the chef of this restaurant.¡± Chef Qiu answered carefully.


    ¡°Never mind, I don¡¯t mind pushing back my lunchtime. Did you say late afternoon? I¡¯ll be here again tomorrow!¡± Prince Cheng walked away with his bulging belly while holding a food box in his hand. Other diners who were eavesdropping on their conversation had planned to visit the restaurant again the next day as well. They did not mind waiting for good food.


    Chef Qiu respectfully saw the two princes off and noticed the manager of Yan¡¯s restaurant sneakily peeking into their restaurant at a corner. The Yan¡¯s restaurant was empty and there were few patrons.


    Chef Qiu lifted his chin and gave him a ¡°hmph¡±. He finally felt assured ever since his father had passed away.


    ¡ª-


    It was already evening when Lin Dan and Tang Jiu returned to South District. As the red and orange sunset filled the skies, it also made their faces flushed with warmth and peacefulness. Both of them remained silent and walked behind each other. When they walked deep into the alley and arrived at the restaurant, they saw a middle-aged woman who was dressing scantily speaking to Xiao-zhu. She was making advances to Xiao-zhu and was acting promiscuously.


    When Xiao-zhu saw Lin Dan, he heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, ¡°Our manager is here, why don¡¯t you speak to her instead?¡± Xiao-zhu escaped immediately after finishing his sentence as if he saw a ghost.


    The middle-aged woman chuckled as she watched him making his escape. She then turned around and said to Lin Dan, ¡°Sell this shop to me for ten silver taels.¡± Without waiting for Lin Dan¡¯s reply, she continued, ¡°I heard that you have spent twenty silver taels for this place and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re unwilling to sell it for ten taels. But think about it, since this shop is hidden deep in the alley, nobody would find it! If you sell it to me now, you¡¯d be able to minimize your losses, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of suffering losses, too?¡± Lin Dan walked over to her at a steady pace.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re selling bodies here, do you think you can compare your business to mine? As long as my girls open their legs, my customers will know where to enter. But this is not the same for you, do you think your customers will find you here?¡± The middle-aged woman spoke crudely and even the mild-tempered Lin Dan was frowning at her speech.


    Tang Jiu wanted to take a step forward and throw the woman out of the shop, but Lin Dan pulled his sleeve lightly to stop him. She said gently, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we¡¯re not selling this shop. You may have to look for other shops.¡± It was important to keep calm when doing business and this was why Lin Dan never got angry no matter how nasty the other party was. Her emotions were seldom affected by external factors as if she was born with lesser emotions or desires than others.


    The middle-aged woman seemed to be intimidated by Tang Jiu¡¯s eagle eyes and left the shop hurriedly. But as she went out, she turned around and said, ¡°I have a brothel at that corner of the street, it¡¯s called the Crimson House. If you have changed your mind, you may find me there, my name is Qin Er¡¯niang. But I¡¯ll tell you this first, I may not offer to buy this shop at such a high price the next time!¡± She had just gotten two new beautiful girls from Jiangnan and intended to keep them deep in the alley. In this way, they could be put up for long-term rental and bring in more profits. Lin Dan¡¯s shop was located at one of the quietest places and Qin Er¡¯niang took a liking to her shop at once. It was a pity that Lin Dan had refused to sell the shop.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d suffer huge losses by opening a restaurant deep in the alley!¡± Qin Er¡¯niang cursed in her mind. She felt better after cursing and eagerly waited for Lin Dan to approach her in the future.


    Lin Dan did not take what she said to heart and carried on with what she was doing after a chuckle. But Tan Jiu said worriedly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you open a restaurant in the West District instead? I own a few shops there and can sell or even rent them to you. I¡¯m sure the Yan family would not dare to create trouble for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kind gesture.¡± Lin Dan turned around and looked at him. She asked in a tender voice, ¡°Tang Jiu, what do you think is the best dish in the world?¡±


    This was a difficult question for the food connoisseur. He had tried all sorts of food around the world and fell in love with various types of flavors, but he was unable to compare each of them and select the best one among them. Each type of cuisine had its own characteristics and strengths, as well as the people who appreciated it. Even dishes that were made in the palace may not appeal to everyone, as there were some who liked it and others who did not. This was why it was difficult to satisfy everyone¡¯s palate.


    Lin Dan saw that he was unable to come up with an answer, she pointed to the signboard on the door and said, ¡°If I¡¯m able to make the most delicious cuisine in the world, why should I worry?¡±


    Tang Jiu raised his head and had a sudden realization. He saw that the signboard was written with two words ¨C Hometown Kitchen. There was no doubt that hometown cuisine was the most delicious food in the world. No matter where one went or whether they had tried any kinds of delicacies, in the middle of a cold and lonely night, they would be missing the most memorable taste of childhood or hometown. This is especially so in the South District where most of them were wanderers who came from elsewhere, the more they got used to the capital food, the more they would yearn for their hometown food.


    Lin Dan spent ten years traveling all over the country of Great Chu and learned most local dishes. She doubted she would suffer from losses if she were to open a restaurant here.


    Seeing that Tang Jiu had figured it out, Lin Dan chuckled, ¡°If we¡¯re in West District, I will open a Shandong restaurant; if we¡¯re in East District, I will open a Huaiyang restaurant; and if we¡¯re in North District, I will open a noodle restaurant. No matter where my restaurant is located, I¡¯m not worried that my business would fail.¡± As she had faith in her culinary skills, she was more confident and cool-headed than others in everything she did.


    As there were more officials and nobles in the South District, she would open a Shandong restaurant which was well-liked by the officials. Most of the people in the East District were rich and knowledgeable and enjoyed having extravagant food. This was why serving Huaiyang cuisine was a good choice because the cuisine paid more attention to aesthetics and elegance and almost every famous Huaiyang dish had a story behind it, which would appeal to the liking of the rich. As most poor people resided in the North District, it would make sense to simply open a shop that serves Yangchun noodles or Zhajiang noodles. As for the South District, it also made perfect sense to open a restaurant that served local hometown dishes¡­ The dirty tricks of the Yan family would never be able to worry Lin Dan at all.


    Tang Jiu had thought about these business strategies on his way home and realized he had got to know Lin Dan a little bit better.


    ¡°Looks like I have been worrying for nothing.¡± He sighed with mixed emotion.


    ¡°But I must still thank you for your kindness.¡± Lin Dan walked back into the kitchen and moved the three pots of soup into a large pot before continuing to cook them over a low fire. She took up a kitchen knife and started cutting the cabbage. She cut the cabbage using different knife techniques and carved it into different shapes, such as the centipede, peony, wheat flower, and so on. The cuts slowly spread out beautifully after being soaked in water.


    Tang Jiu stared at her superb cutting skills for a long time before pointing to the wok filled with sand and asked, ¡°Are you going to make sugar roasted chestnuts?¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head and said, ¡°After practicing my knife techniques, I need to practice stirring food in the wok with a spatula. How can I improve the strength of my wrist without having any weight in the wok? I would become less familiar with cutting if I don¡¯t practice daily, and this is the same for stirring food in the wok. If my wrist is not strong enough, I won¡¯t be able to create the original taste or the dish.¡±


    Tang Jiu could not help but sighed, ¡°Practicing cooking doesn¡¯t seem to be much easier than practicing martial arts.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not surprising at all, since each craft is mastered by practicing.¡± Lin Dan put down the kitchen knife and walked into the kitchen. She lifted the lid of the large earthen pot that was boiling the braised sauce and slowly stirred the sauce with a long spatula. She then removed the softened whole chicken, duck, pig¡¯s trotters, pork belly, and other food ingredients, before adding fresh whole chicken, duck, pig¡¯s trotters, pork belly, pork skin, and other ingredients. She kept cooking the sauce before covering the lid and wrapping a wet towel around the rim of the pot. A slate was also placed on the lid to prevent the flavor from escaping.


    But Tan Jiu almost fainted the moment when the lid was lifted. It was not because it smelled bad, but it was because it smelled too good that his soul was almost taken away by it!

 CH 21

    Tang Jiu craned his neck to look into the earthen jar, but Lin Dan pushed him away and said jokingly, ¡°You better not fall into it, or you may turn into a piece of braised meat!¡±


    Tang Jiu was amused and looked at her eagerly, ¡°The broth you make is completely different from the others.¡±


    Lin Dan explained slowly, ¡°In ¡®Master L¨¹¡¯s Spring and Autumn Annals ¨C The Root of Tastes¡¯, it says that the root of all flavors is where water is the foundation, and it is boiled nine times with five flavors and three food ingredients to create the most flavorful broth. In my three pots of broths, I used clear and soothing mountain spring water and added several homemade spices and Nanshan pine wood. I¡¯ll bring it to boil whenever I add new spices and repeat this step nine times. The flavors will enhance each time before finally becoming a pot of good broth. This technique is naturally different from the others as the broth tastes salty and sweet at the same time, and its aroma is rich and light. It is made by my unique ¡®Flavor Enhancing Method¡¯, which creates a broth that is richer than any other ordinary broths.¡±


    Lin Dan fished out the chicken, duck, and pork knuckles and put them into a food box before cutting large chunks of pork belly into slices. She then made a dipping sauce that matched the taste of the meat and continued, ¡°Braised broth that is cooked for a long time tastes better. This is why we must keep adding fresh ingredients. You may take this cooked food back and savor them. This is to thank you for taking care of me in the past few days.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Tang Jiu said politely but stretched out his hand to take the food box and said, ¡°I remember you added pigskin into the pot, why don¡¯t I see it?¡± Braised pig skin was one of his favorite foods and he had to ask about it.


    Lin Dan pointed to the pork knuckles and pork belly and chuckled, ¡°Did you see that? As I have deep-fried the knuckles and pork belly, it will not disintegrate after cooking for so long because it has a burnt outer layer that protects the tender meat underneath. But as I¡¯ve added in fresh pig skin that has not been fried before, it liquefies after boiling for a few hours and blends into the broth. A good pot of braised broth must be both fragrant and viscous, but how can we create its viscosity? It¡¯s all about making use of rich animal fat and collagen. Freshly made broth wouldn¡¯t taste like broth that has been cooked for a long time without dissolving the pigskin. But if you like pigskin, I will deep-fry it the next time, add it into the pot, and let it cool before it is ready for you to collect it.¡±


    Lin Dan frequently talked about food literature. At times, she would make casual comments that were actually secret cooking techniques that others would not be able to learn for a lifetime. This had always fascinated Tang Jiu. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and reiterated, ¡°Please add more pigskin. I¡¯ll come back and collect the next time. If you have met with any trouble, you may find me at the Ministry of War, I will be there on duty.¡±


    Lin Dan did not inquire more about Tang Jiu¡¯s identity at all, nor did she feel intimidated by the thought of being acquainted with an official. She nodded and smiled before seeing him off.


    Tang Jiu was actually disappointed that Lin Dan did not ask more about his identity. He kept looking back as he walked out with mixed emotions. When he turned into the entrance of the alley, he saw a few people rushing out of the gambling den and shouted: ¡°Why is that delicious smell gone? Is someone cooking at home? That smelled too damn good! I¡¯mma stop gambling and go home for dinner right now!¡±


    After some time, everyone in the alley opened their doors to check on each other¡¯s kitchen and were drooling. They could smell an extraordinary aroma of braised broth.


    Tang Jiu then slowly walked away with the food box in hand, shaking his head and chuckling. He could hear whispers from passers-by as he walked on, ¡°Who was making braised food just now? Did you smell that? It smelled heavenly!¡±


    As soon as he walked into the yamen, Tang Jiu saw Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou having dinner together, with a tinge of alluring food smell that lingered in the air. Zhao Liu raised his chopsticks and said, ¡°Hey, boss, you are finally back. We¡¯ve already started having dinner.¡±


    ¡°Did you accept Yan Langqing¡¯s food box again? I told you many times to not let her in no matter what, let alone take her things, did you even take my words seriously?!¡± Tang Jiu looked cheerful, but he was now filled with frustration.


    He saw an exquisite food box lying on his table with the lid opened. The box was made with a thin jade white porcelain bowl filled with four kinds of dishes, including meat and vegetables that had a unique appearance. Zhao Liu and the others also had a food box in their hands with more dishes in it, but its presentation was not as exquisite as the one on his table. He knew that these food boxes were given to them for bribery purposes.


    There was a saying that went, ¡°When you receive favors from someone, it¡¯s hard to speak against them.¡± Since Zhao Liu had often eaten the delicacies delivered by Yan Langqing, he had to put on a few good words for her. ¡°Boss, why don¡¯t you accept Imperial Chef Yan? Since you love food so much and the noble consort has agreed to the marriage, shouldn¡¯t you marry her? We would love to marry her if we could but it¡¯s a pity that our statuses are not high enough. Having a wife with such good culinary skills is rare to come by. Why are you acting shy at this moment? Hurry up and make a marriage proposal!¡±


    Tang Jiu stared at the exquisite food box for a long time and sneered, ¡°This food box is yours. You may also take whatever she sends in the future, it¡¯s none of my business.¡±


    As soon as the crowd showed overjoyed expressions, their leader continued, ¡°But that also means that you will never get to try the food I bring back in the future.¡±


    The food box brought back by the leader must have been prepared by the chef of the Duke¡¯s Residence. They reckoned that it would not be comparable to the food made by the imperial chef and hurriedly nodded in agreement. ¡°Sure! From now on, we will all be responsible for the food boxes sent by Imperial Chef Yan!¡± After saying that, they quickly came over and took away the exquisite food box that was placed on Tang Jiu¡¯s table.


    ¡°It¡¯s a promise.¡± Tang Jiu bent over and took out a jar of fine wine from under the table and poured himself a glass of wine after removing the mud seal. He then opened the food box that Lin Dan gave him and placed the steaming braised chicken on a plate. He revealed the next layer and put the braised duck on the plate, before placing the braised pork knuckles that was kept underneath. Finally, he put the thinly sliced ??braised pork belly that was placed on the last layer on the plate before sprinkling some ??sesame and chopped green onions and added some red garlic chili sauce. An indescribable scent filled the air and spread all over the place.


    Tang Jiu pulled the chicken feet lightly and the whole chicken leg came off easily. The soft yet chewy chicken meat and the tender chicken skin was oozing with a rich and oily juice and was extremely delicious with its saltiness and fragrance. The pork knuckles were so soft after being cooked for a long time and the skin broke away as soon as he sucked it. The tender meat melted in his mouth, but the tendons were still springy. The meat was chewy but was also soft enough to bite it with a light roll with his tongue. The pork belly had an evenly distributed fatty and meaty parts and was filled with the aroma of spices. The meaty parts were springy while the fatty parts were soft and chewy. With just one bite, the juice of the fat meat and the tenderness of the lean meat blended together perfectly. It had created a wonderful taste with the hot and spicy garlic sauce on the side!


    Tang Jiu gobbled a few mouthfuls and was seemingly choked on the food. He hurriedly picked up the glass and finished a big cup of sprites before sighing contentedly. As the room got unusually quiet, he looked up and found that Zhao Liu and others had been completely blown away by the food he was having and were staring at his food box.


    ¡°Scram!¡± he sneered.


    ¡°Boss, where did you get this braised food from? It smells heavenly! Can you let us try it?¡± Zhao Liu begged.


    As Yan Langqing made food in the imperial kitchen, the food that she sent were all packed in delicate small dishes. The dishes tasted sweet and light and the portions were so small that they could almost finish one whole box with one mouthful. Yan¡¯s food boxes were delicious, but not satisfying enough for them. It was unlike the food that Tang Jiu was having. He was enjoying plates of braised meat that were oily and greasy, and the meaty smell was overwhelming. Tang Jiu¡¯s men could imagine themselves pulling out a chicken leg with just one hand and shoving it in their mouths before finishing it with a throat-burning wine. That would taste so heavenly that one may feel that they were on cloud nine! The braised meat was something that would definitely satisfy rowdy men like themselves!


    ¡°Boss, Boss, please just give us one bite. Just one bite! We promise not to accept Yan Langqing¡¯s food ever again!¡± Zhao Liu and others gathered around and their mouths watered as they stared at Tang Jiu¡¯s food. When they got closer, the aroma of the braised meat became even more enchanting that they almost bit their own tongues.


    ¡°Go away!¡± Tang Jiu repeated himself and threw away the bones after eating. He saved some pork knuckles and pork belly and asked his servant to send them home so that he could warm it up and enjoy it as a supper when he gets home later in the evening.


    Zhao Liu and some others felt huge remorse and wailed, they swore to the heavens that they would never talk to Imperial Chef Yan again in the future and would never accept anything she sent. They begged Tang Jiu to let them try some braised meat again. The smell was so irresistible that it had almost taken away their souls.


    Tang Jiu shook off a few men and went straight back to the barracks. ¡°Why should I share it with them when I can keep it for myself and savor it later?¡± He thought.


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan had a dreamless night and got up early. She made some dough and covered it with a damp cloth before starting to make some porridge and side dishes to welcome the diners. Most of the servants who returned to Beijing with her have left, leaving only Xiao-zhu and two literate waiters. Shaoyao and Dujian were in charge of assisting Lin Dan in the kitchen.


    ¡°Are we only selling noodles and porridge today?¡± Shaoyao wondered seeing that her master had not prepared any other food ingredients.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to have lighter meals in the morning. A bowl of porridge or a bowl of noodles is enough. Besides, those who get up at dawn are hard-working people who have to rush to work. They probably don¡¯t have a lot of money on hand and will order a bowl of porridge or Yangchun noodles at most, which are some of the cheapest food. We will only sell noodles and porridge in the morning and will let our customers order rice, noodles, and dishes in the afternoon. We close early in the afternoon as there are brothels and gambling dens nearby that will make a mess of this area in the late afternoon and evening.¡± Lin Dan explained patiently.


    There was a pier nearby where merchant ships docked and undocked daily. In order to facilitate the transportation of goods, there were also several escort companies nearby. When more merchants from the north and south gather, places like brothels, gambling dens, and inns would flourish and gradually form a unique business cluster. This was why people who got up early in the morning were either porters, boatmen, or escorts, and none of these people were rich. But at noon, people of all sorts would get moving, including the poor, the rich, the mafias, the constables, the officials, and rich businessmen, and one would expect a good mixture of the good and bad company.


    Lin Dan was very satisfied to be able to open a restaurant in such a popular place. She did not understand why the Yan family thought she would suffer big losses by setting up a business here.


    Lin Dan smiled and shook her head. Seeing that dawn was coming, and footsteps were heard on the streets, she made Xiao-zhu and the two waiters bring out the big pot of braised broth and place it at the entrance. They placed several mini stoves underneath the pot and simmered it slowly over low heat.


    ¡°Remove the cloth and the lid. Stir the broth with a long spatula.¡± Lin Dan instructed.


    Xiao-zhu did as she said. But as soon as he opened the lid, he suddenly felt light-headed before almost drooling into the pot. He hurriedly covered his mouth, turned around, and handed the long spatula to one of the waiters. He swallowed his saliva and said, ¡°Hurry up and stir it now. I haven¡¯t had my breakfast yet!¡±


    ¡°Me neither!¡± The waiter quickly swallowed his saliva before starting to stir the broth. As he stirred, the overwhelming aroma of the braised broth filled the air and spread to the alleys, the docks, and the whole city in an instant, making everyone nearby restless and fidgety.

 CH 22

    Lin Dan did not stay in the kitchen, she asked the waiter to set up a simple shed at the entrance of the shop with stoves, pots and bowls, chopping boards, and kitchen knives. Meanwhile, she cleaned her hands and face and used a piece of cloth to cover her long hair to prevent her hair from falling into the pot and contaminating the food.


    After Xiao-zhu had stirred the braised broth, he pleaded pitifully: ¡°Sister Lin, can you make us a bowl of noodles? We can only work hard when our stomachs are full!¡±


    Lin Dan looked at him and smiled. She cut a piece from the ready-made dough and quickly pulled it into thin and shiny noodles before putting it into the boiling spring water. Then, she lined up five large bowls and scooped a spoonful of the milky bone broth into each bowl. When the noodles were ready, she cut the braised pork into thin slices and placed them neatly on the noodle soup. Next, she added some boiled green cabbage leaves and half of the braised egg before sprinkling some chopped green onion and coriander.


    ¡°Here, please get started as soon as you¡¯re done eating.¡± After Lin Dan finished her speech, Xiao-zhu, Shaoyao, and the rest cheered. They each took one bowl of soup noodles and started to enjoy their breakfast.


    ¡°Master, the noodles are very chewy. The sauce of the braised pork also complemented well with the fresh and aromatic bone broth and created a flavor that is neither too salty nor bland. May I have another bowl?¡± Shaoyao exclaimed while eating.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make another bowl and you¡¯ll share it with Dujuan.¡± Lin Dan understood that growing teenagers would naturally want to eat more, and she could afford to provide another bowl of noodles for them. When she turned around to continue making the noodles, Xiaozhu asked, ¡°Manager, why did you bring the kitchen out? Wouldn¡¯t it be inconvenient since people are walking in and out of the shop?¡±


    ¡°It is precisely for convenience that I moved out. Customers can tell me what kind and how big a portion of noodles they want when they enter the shop. I can make it right away and serve it to them immediately. The noodles that are freshly removed from the pot taste the best. They are smooth and chewy, and each strand is nicely separated. If we serve the noodles too slowly, the noodles will stick together and affect the texture. But we will return back into the kitchen in the afternoon, as stir-frying the dishes will produce fumes that may choke the customers.¡± Lin Dan had always paid attention to the details when it came to cooking, but she had always placed the feelings of her customers as the top priority. This was why she would make arrangements for the convenience of the customers.


    Xiao-zhu and the others nodded repeatedly to express that they had learned something new. At this time, a low voice was heard from the outside, ¡°Lin Dan, being your customer is probably the happiest thing in the world.¡±


    ¡°Welcome.¡± Lin Dan smiled and shook her head, ¡°You flatter me. What kind of noodles would you like to have today?¡±


    ¡°I have no preference. You can make whatever you have here.¡± Tang Jiu stepped into the shop. Xiaozhu quickly greeted him and prepared the tables and chairs for him.


    Lin Dan knew that Tang Jiu was a true food connoisseur that could accept any taste and served him a bowl of braised sauce noodles. After serving her first customer, she began to stir-fry some minced meat. First, she took out a piece of overcooked pork belly from the pot of braised broth and minced it with a kitchen knife. She then put it in a wok and stir-fried the meat with fire on high before gradually adding the diced bean curd, bamboo shoots, wild rice, and other ingredients. Finally, she added some water and cooked the food ingredients into a pot of thick sauce.


    ¡°It smells so good. Can I have some of the minced meat?¡± Tang Jiu looked at Lin Dan eagerly.


    ¡°Of course, but one spoon of minced meat will cost an extra ten cents.¡± Lin Dan joked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even mind paying fifty cents for that.¡± Tang Jiu looked at her intently before adding the freshly made minced meat into the noodles. His eyes immediately lit up when he took a big mouthful of noodles. Lin Dan¡¯s culinary skill was so good that she could easily turn a large pot of diced vegetables into a dish with a strong meat flavor with only a half-pound of braised pork.


    Lin Dan noticed the look of surprise on his face and explained, ¡°Most of the people who get up before dawn to work are not as wealthy and can only afford a bit of meat during the holidays. I¡¯m charging about forty cents for a bowl of braised pork noodles and I believe some of them are unable to afford it. This is why I thought I could sell this flavorful minced meat that is half-filled with vegetables and let everyone share it at a low price. Since the diced tofu, bamboo shoots, and wild rice are all food ingredients that absorb oil and gravy well, it is easy to create a meat taste when it is slightly cooked in the gravy. This is what the ¡®taste changing technique¡¯ is about in the theory of food seasoning.¡±


    Tang Jiu had already put down the bowl unknowingly as he was mesmerized by her explanation.


    As Lin Dan talked about food literature, many people nearby had already followed the smell and come for the food. With such a strong smell of braised meat, they were sure that it was made by a restaurant ready to serve their customers. Although most people could not afford to have meat, they thought it would be fine to get a bowl of Yangchun noodles. Since the chef of this restaurant could make braised pork smell so good, they were certain that the chef would be good at making other dishes too.


    At the thought of this, many people had already made several turns into the deep alley and found the ¡°Homecooked Kitchen¡± without having a guide. Even if people had lost their way, they could manage to find their way back because the smell of the food was the best signboard.


    Within a short period of time, the entrance of the shop was already filled with customers. Seeing the steaming pot of braised broth, people could not help but feel their mouths water and their stomachs churning due to hunger. They felt even hungrier when they saw Tang Jiu eating happily with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and wearing a face of contentment.


    ¡°Hi, how much does a bowl of noodles cost?¡± A brawny man asked while swallowing his saliva.


    ¡°Ten cents for a bowl of Yangchun noodles, twenty cents for a bowl of minced meat noodles, thirty cents for extra minced meat, and forty cents for braised pork noodles. I also sell plain porridge for twenty cents a bowl.¡± Lin Dan said slowly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Xiao-zhu rushed out and greeted the customers warmly: ¡°Please take a seat inside if you would like to order some food.¡±


    ¡°Minced meat noodles for just twenty cents? This kind of minced meat?¡± The brawny man pointed to the big pot, his eyes sparkling. The braised pork had been completely softened in the pot, while the diced bamboo shoots, bean curds, and wild rice were completely covered and was full of meat flavor. Although it looked exactly like braised pork from the appearance, it had a tinge of freshness and sweetness that braised meat does not typically have.


    The brawny man had a look of surprise. He did not know the truth behind the dish that was made with lots of vegetarian ingredients and thought the pot was made of only minced meat. Most of the minced meat noodles were sold at fifty cents on the streets.


    ¡°Yes, it only costs twenty cents. This minced meat gravy was made with vegetables which is why it is sold at a lower cost.¡± Lin Dan explained patiently.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a bowl, then!¡± The brawn man stopped hesitating and immediately walked into the shop. He thought to himself happily, ¡°As long as I can taste meat, I don¡¯t care whether there¡¯s any meat inside!¡±


    He seemed to be the leader of a group as a group of people followed as he walked in. All of them had ordered a bowl of minced meat noodles, they had the same accent and seemed to come from the same place.


    Lin Dan said politely, ¡°From your accent, I could tell that you are from northern Shaanxi. Shall I add a taste of your hometown into the noodles?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re allowed to adjust the taste of the noodles? Sure! That¡¯ll be great!¡± The group nodded quickly.


    Lin Dan placed a wok on the empty stove, poured some oil, and waited for the oil to heat up before frying the chili flakes into chili oil for use later. Since there were a total of nine diners, she scooped nine spoons of minced meat and combined it with the chili oil before stir-frying it for a while. She then added starch to thicken the sauce and when the gravy was boiling, she added some finely chopped pickled vegetables to the minced meat. In this way, Lin Dan had turned the braised minced meat into a pot of hot and spicy, yet sour and salty minced meat with a taste of northern Shaanxi cuisine.


    When the minced meat was cooked and the noodles were ready, Lin Dan quickly scooped them up and put them into the nine bowls. Finally, she sprinkled some chopped ginger, green onions, and coriander on the noodles before asking Xiao-zhu and the rest to serve them.


    The brawny men had originally come without having any expectations, but when they saw the bowl of noodles that reminded them of their hometown, they were moved. They could not wait to pick up their chopsticks and start eating. As soon as they took a mouthful of noodles, they started getting teary-eyed. The noodles were thin and chewy, and the minced meat was sour and spicy, and very flavorful. They felt warm when the noodles entered their stomachs ¨C the nostalgic hometown, the childhood memories that they could not bear to reminisce in the middle of the quiet night were flashing in their minds. The noodles had made them miss their hometown more, but it had also relieved them of their homesickness.


    ¡°This is delicious! It tastes the same as the one I had when I was a kid!¡± The brawny man took a few more mouthfuls of noodles and his voice started to turn hoarse as he spoke. His fellow townsmen nodded frequently with a satisfied expression. After eating a bowl of hometown noodles, they felt rejuvenated and energetic. They would certainly be able to move more goods and make more money later.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, I¡¯ll be here tomorrow.¡± Before the noodles were even finished, the brawny man had already begun to miss the food. He felt that he had finally found something to look forward to in his miserable life.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, too.¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. Hometown food was the only thing they would never be sick of having.


    After a while, a few more people came to the shop. They were a little shorter and had a strong accent that was difficult for ordinary people to understand what they were saying. However, for Lin Dan who was extremely well-traveled and had extensive knowledge, she did not have any problems communicating with them. She was able to explain the prices of the noodles and porridge to them in detail.


    Several people came and stared at the pot of braised broth for a while before caving into the temptation and walked in.


    ¡°From your accent, I suppose you¡¯re from Baiyue? Shall I add a taste of your hometown into the noodles?¡± Lin Dan asked politely.


    They nodded but, were skeptical about her ability. Lin Dan scooped out a few spoonfuls of minced meat and added water to dilute the flavor before adding some sugar to taste. Subsequently, she took a small pot from the counter and scooped out a few spoons of dark sauce before pouring it into the seasoned minced meat. An indescribable fishy smell started to spread in the air, but it quickly turned particularly fragrant after blending with the minced meat gravy and even had a subtle smell of seawater.


    The skeptical men immediately had a look of surprise on their faces. They spoke quickly in an incomprehensible language and gave her a thumbs up.


    Lin Dan nodded and said: ¡°Yes, this sand crab sauce was specially made by me. Do try it and let it know if it tastes authentic.¡±


    The Baiyue people from the west had a great fondness for the sand crab sauce. Regardless of meat or vegetable dishes, they would always add the sand crab sauce to taste. They also like to use sand crab sauce when making noodles and make minced meat with sweet noodle sauce, bean paste, and some other ingredients. Lin Dan spent a few months in the West Yue and had learned how to make the authentic West Yue fried sauce noodles. It was a very unique flavor that was fishy yet fresh at the same time.


    Once the minced meat was well seasoned, Lin Dan added a spoonful of thick milky soup on the noodles that were in the bowl and sprinkled it with pink shrimp skin and fresh green onions.


    The men did not need Xiaozhu¡¯s service at all and did not enter the shop to find a seat. They stood at the entrance and watched Lin Dan as she cooked the noodles. After the noodles were ready, they took them away by themselves and started eating quickly. Indeed, the taste of the hometown was the best.


    The smell was still spreading around, and the diners arrived in groups. Lin Dan would adjust the taste of the noodles according to the requirements of each diner, such as adding pepper, bean paste, and other ingredients to make spicy minced meat noodles for the Shuzhou people or creating a fragrant and spicy flavor for the Hunanese people. She also offered all kinds of flavors including the hot and sour flavor and the green onion flavor. Customers could also choose to have soup noodles, dry noodles, or oily noodles.


    It was said that satisfying every customer¡¯s palate was a difficult task, but it did not seem to be difficult for Lin Dan at all.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]

 CH 23

    Tang Jiu did not leave after finishing his bowl of noodles. He walked to Lin Dan while holding his bowl and whispered, ¡°There are many clan associations here in the South District as most of the people here are migrants and loves to gather with their townsmen. There are six associations with the most number of members, including the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Clan Association, Shuzhou Clan Association, Baiyue Clan Association, Jiangnan Clan Association, Hubei and Hunan Clan Association, and Yunnan and Guizhou Clan Association. In the future, it will be sufficient to just prepare the six different types of minced meat for these six groups of people. You don¡¯t have to worry about the other flavors as it will be too much of a trouble to prepare all of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. In that way, if a customer requests for a special flavor, I will make it on the spot instead. Thank you for your advice, Tang Jiu.¡± Lin Dan smiled gratefully. Although she knows how to save herself from too much trouble, she was not really aware of the demographics of the South District.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Can I have another bowl of noodles with the sour and spicy flavor?¡± Tang Jiu pointed to his empty bowl.


    Lin Dan shook her head and chuckled, but quickly made another bowl of noodles for him.


    As Qin Er¡¯niang slept late every day to serve her customers, she naturally got up late in the day, and would not get up before noon. But it was different today. She could smell an indescribable scent in the middle of her sleep. It was so strong and overbearing that it had not only made her mouth water but also made her toss and turn in bed. She struggled in bed for a long time before finally deciding to get up, put on her clothes, and went outside to check it out.


    ¡°Where does the braised meat smell come from? Go and find it for me, and buy me half a catty of the braised meat!¡± She instructed several pimps.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The pimps were just getting prepared to go outside with their sleepy faces, it was no doubt that they were also attracted by the food smell. After a while, the girls who were sleeping upstairs all got up and beckoned on the railing, ¡°We want some braised meat too, please get more food back.¡±


    The pimps agreed, but they did not come back. The scent of the braised meat became stronger before it turned into a hot and sour, green scallion scent, and then, various flavors were mixing together. The flavors were making their mouths water. Qin Er¡¯niang first sat in the hall and waited, but she ran to the door to take a look before deciding that she could wait no more. She waved her handkerchief at the girls and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go out and have a look by myself. You girls will go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°But how can we get back to sleep with this smell?!¡± The girls complained while rubbing their stomachs.


    Qin Er¡¯niang could not hold herself back anymore and quickly ran to the fork junction. She went round and round following the scent and arrived at the small restaurant that she was sure would suffer losses. She was dumbfounded and thought she went to the wrong place. She craned her neck to take a look but saw some of her pimps gobbling a bowl of noodles in the restaurant.


    The big earthen jar at the shop entrance was giving out steaming hot vapor and the scent was tingling her scalp. Qin Er¡¯niang who was struggling gave in completely, she walked into the restaurant sneakily while covering half of her face.


    ¡°Welcome, please have a seat.¡± Xiao-zhu greeted her with a smile before showing a look of surprise, ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you the lady from yesterday¡­?¡±


    ¡°Shush, give me half a catty of braised meat right now and a bowl of minced meat noodles.¡± Qin Er¡¯niang¡¯s aged face had turned red.


    Lin Dan raised her head in the middle of her busy work. Although she recognized Qin Er¡¯niang, she spoke to her while giving her gentle smiles, ¡°Sure. From your accent, I suppose you¡¯re from Qianzhou? Shall I mix chili, litsea oil, and garlic water into your braised meat?¡± After traveling for many years, she understood better than anyone the principle of making money by maintaining harmony.


    Qin Er¡¯niang was initially extremely embarrassed and was afraid that Lin Dan would make use of yesterday¡¯s matter to ridicule her, but she instantly felt relaxed and smiled like a flower with her aged face. ¡°Sure, please do so. That¡¯s how we enjoy braised meat in our hometown, or it would taste too bland for me! I haven¡¯t had this taste in more than ten years!¡± She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and was afraid that she would drool right on the spot.


    ¡°Besides braised meat, people of your hometown also mix these condiments with raw meat, pork liver, pig blood, and chicken blood. It is especially delicious when mixing finely chopping cold raw pork and liver with rice wine, litsea, chili, garlic, and vinegar, and it tastes very refreshing.¡± Qin Er¡¯niang got surprisingly excited after hearing Lin Dan¡¯s casual comment.


    She stared directly at Lin Dan and agreed, ¡°Yes yes, that¡¯s how we¡¯d do. Lady boss, you know a lot, but can you make it?¡±


    ¡°Eating such heavy foods in the morning is not very good for your stomach. Maybe you can come at noon and I will make it for you. I¡¯ve been in Qianzhou for several months and can make some local specialties.¡± Lin Dan nodded.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Qin Er¡¯niang nodded quickly and agreed before apologizing, ¡°Lady boss, I was wrong yesterday. With your culinary skills, you definitely will not suffer losses even if you start a business at the smallest corner of the town!¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and shook her head with a soft look on her face. Hearing the conversation between the two, one of the diners walked over and asked, ¡°Boss, do you know how to make rice noodles? We used to eat rice noodles in the morning and rarely noodles back in my hometown.¡±


    Lin Dan was stunned by his request before immediately answering, ¡°Ah, me and my bad memory! Yes, of course, I do, just that the recipe slipped my mind for a bit. You¡¯ll be able to have some rice noodles for breakfast if you¡¯re back again tomorrow. By the way, we will also be serving some rice tofu with hot and sour garlic. I¡¯m sure it would be quite a good eating experience.¡±


    The people who made the request were so happy that they guaranteed their attendance not only tomorrow but every day in the future. Never had they seen anyone who was better at cooking than this lady chef, and it seemed as though she could make all the dishes in the world.


    Seeing that Qin Er¡¯niang and the others could request to have their hometown food, the other diners could not resist anymore and started making their requests one after another with eyes full of hope. Fortunately, Lin Dan was very knowledgeable and could make most of the dishes. For the dishes that she had never made before, she listened intently to the diners describing the recipe in detail and thought about how to recreate the dish.


    The atmosphere in the store was very lively. When it comes to hometown food, everyone seemed to have opened up their minds and became talkative. Lin Dan listened to them happily with a smile.


    Tang Jiu already had his breakfast earlier on, but he remained seated and did not bear to leave. He enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant, which felt warm like his home, similar to the feeling Lin Dan had given him.


    At this moment, a group of people walked in and they looked hostile with scars on their faces. They pushed away Xiao-zhu and the two waiters and shouted: ¡°Where is your boss? Get him out! Anyone who opens a shop in this area must pay a visit to the Big Circle Gang first! Don¡¯t you even know the rules of this place?!¡± Without a doubt, they were here to collect protection fees.


    Tang Jiu knew most of the powerful organizations in the South District and was about to handle them, but he had never heard of the Big Circle Gang. There was a saying that goes, ¡°It¡¯s easy to talk to the king, but it¡¯s difficult to reason with the hooligans.¡± These people were probably hooligans who did not manage to make their names in the area and could only bully the ordinary people who did not have any background.


    When Tang Jiu was about to step forward, Qin Er¡¯niang slammed her bowl with a bang and cursed: ¡°You scums, how dare you create trouble in my territory? Scram or I¡¯ll cut your tongues!¡±


    These people did not know Qin Erniang and only thought that she was only an unruly woman. When they were about to launch their fists at her, a few pimps threw their chopsticks and were ready to break into a fight. Just as a fierce battle was about to unfold, a group of people came in through the door. The man who was leading the group was a very tall and thin man with extremely handsome features and luxurious clothes. He was obviously no ordinary person. His lips were very pale, but his cheeks had an unnatural flush and his eyes were clear and moist. He seemed to be drunk and had a charming and suave demeanor.


    ¡°Where did these little flies come from? Scram, how dare you buzz around the duke?¡± When he waved his hand casually, a few guards with swords appeared and threw the hooligans aside.


    The noisy front hall became quiet for an instant, and everyone looked at each other. They all knew that this man was probably someone wealthy and powerful. He who even brought guards along and must at least have the rank of a general.


    ¡°Sit down and continue your meal, everyone. You don¡¯t have to care about me.¡± The handsome man smiled pleasantly before turning around to look at Lin Dan. He said hesitantly, ¡°Are you Manager Lin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± Lin Dan cupped her hands politely.


    ¡°Do you still have the Thousand-Days Wine? I¡¯d like to buy a few jars. No, not just a few jars, I will buy as many as you have here.¡± Lin Dan knew his identity right away when he spoke. He claimed to be the duke, he looked drunk and even brought a bunch of guards out to buy wine before dawn. This man was probably the Duke of Weiyuan who was an alcoholic.


    But why did the Duke of Weiyuan come to her suddenly? It all started two days ago when the bearded general sent a jar of Thousand-Days Wine to the duke, but was left on the shelf by his steward. One day, the Duke of Weiyuan brought his guests to visit his wine cellar. He ordered his servant to serve the best jar of wine on the wine rack and share it with the guests. However, the servant accidentally shook the rack when he got down the ladder and made the lightest jar that contained the Thousand-Day Wine topple and shatter into pieces.


    It was a jar of wine that was not labeled and did not have a luxurious packaging. The Duke of Weiyuan did not notice anything and was about to leave when the strong aroma of wine started spreading and filled the entire cellar. The guest who had the lowest alcohol tolerance started blushing even before tasting the wine and was having problems walking straight. Meanwhile, the Duke of Weiyuan who had an extremely high alcohol tolerance was already feeling tipsy and fuzzy from the smell of the alcohol.


    ¡°What kind of wine is this?¡± He did not care about the dirt on the ground and tasted the wine by dipping it with his finger. His eyes suddenly lit up and said, ¡°This is a very fine wine! It¡¯s the best wine I have ever drunk!¡± He suddenly realized what had happened and quickly used a cotton cloth to absorb the wine. However, it was a pity that the cellar was paved with wooden and earthen flooring instead of marble for the purpose of heat preservation. The wine quickly leaked through the cracks of the floor and was completely gone.


    He did not know that a jar of supreme wine was placed right in front of him. Now that it was broken, he did not even get to have a taste of it. The Duke of Weiyuan was unable to accept the harsh reality. He did not bother entertaining the guests anymore and ordered that careless servant to receive twenty heavy sticks as punishment. Then, he asked his steward to quickly find the person who sent the wine and finally found Lin Dan after searching for two days. He could not wait anymore and arrived before dawn.


    Lin Dan did not know the twists and turns of the story, but she could tell that the Duke of Wei Yuan was anxious. She looked at him carefully before shaking her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have the Thousand-Days Wine here. And even if I do, I¡¯m not selling it to you.

 CH 24

    The Marquis of Weiyuan was nearly forty years old, but due to the exceptional martial arts skill and good maintenance of his body, he had looked only in his early thirties. He was thin and charismatic and had the charm of a literati instead of the crudeness of a warrior.


    However, when he raised his eyebrows and gazed with a pair of cold eyes, he let out a powerful aura that gave people goosebumps and nobody dared to defy him. Qin Er¡¯niang was shaking in horror. She hurriedly pulled Lin Dan¡¯s sleeves and whispered, ¡°Lady boss, you better not go against him! He is the Marquis of Weiyuan, he kills people without batting an eye!¡±


    Lin Dan knew who he was, but she raised her chin slightly to look at him while keeping the faint smile on her face.


    Tang Jiu stepped forward and stood in between the two of them. He cupped his hands and said to the Marquis of Weiyuan, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s true that there is no Thousand-Days Wine here.¡±


    ¡°Young Marquis Tang, did you just come back from the north?¡± Marquis Wei glanced at him casually with a hint of firmness hidden in his gentle voice. ¡°Hu Feng told me that she¡¯s the one who made the wine. I can wait if the wine is unavailable for now, but she said she would not sell it to me even if she has it. What¡¯s this supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Young Marquis Tang?¡± Lin Dan ignored Marquis Weiyuan¡¯s question and stepped forward to examine Tang Jiu¡¯s face carefully. As realization dawned, she said, ¡°Are you the Young Marquis?¡± His surname was Tang and he named himself ¡°Jiu¡± which meant he was the ninth child. She should have realized that he was Tang Cheng, the youngest son of Marquis Yongding. She wondered what he had gone through over the years to transform from a pretty and youthful teen to a burly and muscular man. Although he still had the handsome features, he was full of masculinity. The scar on his brow had made him seem brutish and the tight-fitting clothes were unable to cover his strong muscles at all. He was entirely different from the pretty and carefree boy she knew back then.


    Even if the owner of this body who was deeply in love with him would not recognize him, not to mention Lin Dan who was usually unemotional.


    Tang Jiu stiffened and quickly explained, ¡°Listen, I had planned to tell you¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his words, Lin Dan chuckled. She did not laugh because she was trying to put on a front or mock herself from being deceived. It was genuine laughter produced from the happiness of meeting an old friend. She said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, young marquis. I hope you¡¯ve been doing well. How is the old marquis doing? Has he been in good health?¡±


    Tang Jiu was dumbfounded for a moment before making his reply, ¡°We are both well and fine.¡± He should have heaved a sigh of relief since Lin Dan did not seem angry at all, but why was he filled with disappointment?


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to listen to both of you reminiscing about the past. Manager Lin, are you going to sell me the Thousand-Days Wine or not?¡± Marquis Weiyuan sounded cold and no longer gentle. Several of his guards pressed their hands on the sword handle as if a fight would break out in the next instant.


    The group of people blocked the entranceway and the diners in the shop were so afraid that they were unsure if they should leave or stay.


    Lin Dan remained calm and composed. She said, ¡°Please do not get upset, Marquis. Have you ever heard of Peng Ya?¡±


    ¡°In ¡®Master Shi¡¯, it was said that the Chixian Prefecture is the ruins of Kunlun, where Peng Ya was grown. If someone consumes the red plants that are grown on Peng Ya, they could get drunk for three years.¡± The marquis had a look of surprise and thought this was merely a legend.


    ¡°As I heard that those who drank the Thousand-Days Wine got drunk for three years, I wondered what was the ingredient that produced such a strong wine? I followed the clue and recovered the recipe for making this wine after finding Peng Ya. But Sir, do you know that Peng Ya is only produced once a year? It bears a hundred fruits each time they are produced, and a thousand fruits are needed to brew one jar of wine. It took me three years to produce one jar of wine, but it has been taken away by the bandits and it would be impossible for me to produce one now. That was one of the reasons why I can¡¯t sell the wine to you. Secondly, I know that you have returned to the capital this time to treat your illness, but do you know what disease you are suffering from? Your lips are pale, your eyes are bloodshot, and you are easily irritable. These are signs of liver damage and wine is like poison for our internal organs. It is extremely heavy and can cause serious damage to the liver. If I were to sell you a jar of strong liquor, may I know who will be responsible if your condition worsens?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan said slowly, ¡°For the sake of your health, I¡¯m not selling this wine to you. I hope you understand, Sir.¡±


    ¡°She made it sound like it¡¯s my fault!¡± The marquis thought to himself. He touched his ring on the finger and his cold expression had slowly softened. The head guard came forward hurriedly and whispered, ¡°Marquis, the imperial physician insists that you should stop drinking so much. Shall we listen to his advice and not buy this thousand-day wine? It is too damaging for your health.¡±


    The hostile guards who acted as if they were ready to smash the shop if they did not come to an agreement had all calmed down. They felt it was right not to sell the wine, as they were hoping that the marquis could recover soon and return to the Southeast region as soon as possible.


    ¡°Fine.¡± The Marquis of Weiyuan knew that his subordinates were doing it for his own good but was still unhappy to return empty-handed. He sneered, ¡°But I want to have a meal here. Your waiter said that you can cook any dishes and satisfy your customers? If so, I will order several dishes made with wine. Can you do it? If you can¡¯t satisfy me, I¡¯ll destroy this shop.¡±


    As he spoke, the suave Marquis of Weiyuan finally let out an air of dominance and aggressiveness of a warrior.


    ¡°Whether he is satisfied or not is totally subjective!¡± Tang Jiu thought. He frowned and wanted to argue with him. Everyone else was fearful of the marquis but not him.


    Lin Dan pulled him back and nodded, ¡°Sure, I can make it.¡±


    ¡°Young lady, you don¡¯t have much experience yet you¡¯re confident enough to agree even before listening to what I¡¯m going to order?¡± The marquis continued, ¡°You better not think that just pouring some cooking wine into the dish counts as dishes made with wine! What I meant by making dishes only using wine was filling my mouth with liquor without damaging my liver. Are you able to do that?¡±


    As soon as he made his request known, the diners were all causing an uproar. Wine had always been used as a type of seasoning in cooking and nobody had heard of using wine as a food ingredient. Wine is almost equivalent to water, which was at most warmed in a pot before keeping in a jar. None of them had ever heard of any chef who could create a dish using wine as the ingredient. They could imagine the biggest challenge to be adding the various flavors into the wine and make it satisfying at the same time.


    ¡°It was obvious that the marquis intended to destroy the shop!¡± The diners thought.


    Tang Jiu glared at him and said, ¡°Marquis, you¡¯re making things difficult for her. Why don¡¯t you go home, take some medicine, and nurse your health if you have nothing better to do?¡±


    ¡°Little rascal, you better not poke your nose into my business.¡± Marquis Weiyuan sneered again.


    Lin Dan tied her headscarf calmly and said, ¡°Use wine to create dishes? Sure, please give me a moment, Sir.¡± Then, she instructed the nervous and fidgety Xiao-zhu to take out a well-kept jar.


    Upon seeing the well-sealed jar, the marquis smiled triumphantly, ¡°You said there is no wine, but didn¡¯t you just take one out? Let me tell you this, if this jar of wine is not as good as the Thousand-Days Wine, I am still going to destroy your shop. It will be useless to beg for mercy.¡± He thought Lin Dan was conceding defeat by bringing out a jar of wine as she was unable to fulfill his request.


    However, Lin Dan smiled while scooping something out carefully from the newly opened jar with a colander. Everyone looked intently and had a look of surprise. They saw something that was half an arm long, it was in long strips and had a crystal-like appearance. It was in emerald green, similar to jade, but was soft and tender when placed on the cutting board. It looked like a kind of food with its great appearance and strong aroma. As soon as it was taken out, the smell was so overwhelming that it had already masked the smell of the braised meat.


    Even for Marquis Weiyuan, who had drunk countless wines, he was unable to tell the origin of the ingredient Lin Dan had taken out. He could not help but ask, ¡°What is that?¡± He swallowed his saliva without others noticing and took another whiff. ¡°Darn it, this smells great and comparable to the Thousand-Day Wine!¡± He thought.


    ¡°I learned the brewing method of this wine in Yanglin County. It is fermented with dozens of medicinal ingredients including codonopsis, jujube, tangerine peel, and cloves. This wine is rich and mellow and is nourishing for the body. One would not get drunk even from drinking hundreds of jars of this wine undiluted. It has the opposite effect from the Thousand-Days Wine. This wine is called the Fatty Yanglin Wine. Why ¡®fat¡¯? Because the wine also contains an ingredient ¨C the fatty meat.¡±


    Everyone who was present could not help but be making a lot of commotion, because nobody had heard of brewing wine using fatty meat. However, they had come to believe it when they saw the emerald object placed on the cutting board.


    Marquis Weiyuan¡¯s eyes widened. His unhappiness was now replaced with curiosity. As he was a wine lover, he enjoyed listening to wine-making stories. Lin Dan¡¯s knowledge of making all sorts of strange wines had made him even more interested in the topic. He suddenly realized that he had misunderstood this young lady. She was confident not because she was inexperienced but because she had seen a lot and knew how to handle the situation.


    Lin Dan cut the crystal clear and green meat into thin slices and said, ¡°This jar of wine has only been sealed for three months and is not fully ready yet, but the meat has already turned crystal clear like an ice jade after absorbing the wine. This is nothing fancy. In fact, there also has a similar wine-making method in the Baiyue region called Ice Jade Brew, which was where it got its name.¡±


    She put the cut meat into a bowl and poured two spoons of marinade before tossing it slightly using her hands. Next, she took out the glutinous rice that had not been fermented but had been soaked for a day and crushed it before mixing it with soy sauce, pepper, five-spice powder, and other seasonings.


    When everything was ready, she poured the marinated Ice Jade slices into the glutinous rice and stirred evenly before steaming it for forty-five minutes. When it was done, she calmly sprinkled some ginger and chopped green onion and a dish was ready. Then, she instructed Xiao-zhu to take out her jar of pickled vegetables and took out some bean sprouts. She scattered each bean sprout on a small dish and added a drop of sesame oil for decoration.


    ¡°I hope you enjoy it, sir.¡± Lin Dan gently put the food on the table. There were two ¡°thuds¡± as she placed the plate on the table and the marquis finally snapped out of his thoughts. He stared at Lin Dan intently with a look of surprise on his face.


    Lin Dan said politely, ¡°The name of this dish is Wine Steamed Pork. Although it is made with wine, it does not cause damage to the liver. On the contrary, it can nourish your spleen, lungs, and heart, and is very healthy food. This is Rice Wine Bean Sprouts. It can also nourish your liver and spleen, improve your sleep, and eliminate alcohol from your system. Please give it a try, if it does not satisfy you, you may destroy this shop for all you want. There¡¯s nothing else I will say to stop you.¡±


    Marquis Weiyuan, who had no appetite for a long time because of his liver damage, had picked up the chopsticks unconsciously.

 CH 25

    The dish in front of him was placed in a semicircular shape in the bowl. It was steaming hot and was giving a subtle yet sweet aroma of rice wine that was not at all overpowering. The fermented glutinous rice flour that formed the outer and was viscous enough to keep the delightful aroma within.


    Marquis Weiyuan removed the layer of glutinous rice flour with his chopsticks. He could immediately smell a unique aroma which had not only surprised him but also the onlookers who were starting to make a commotion. Combined with the aroma of wine, vegetables, marinade, meat, and light soy sauce, the smell of the dish was extremely strong but was neatly layered on top of each other that made people desire for the food even more.


    Dishes that were delicious in appearance, smell, and flavor were known to be delicacies. The dish that Lin Dan made may look and smell nothing extraordinary, but when the outer layer of glutinous rice flour was removed, the aroma that was kept underneath immediately revealed itself. The dish had somehow seemed to have a soul of its own.


    As the emerald ice jade pork slices were soaked in the marinade, the thinner parts had been slightly stained red, looking like delicate petals. The fat of the meat was slowly eliminated by the heat and was absorbed by the bright and brown glutinous rice flour. This had made the two ingredients stuck tightly together. There was meat in the flour and flour in the meat, which created a flavorful dish.


    Marquis Weiyuan picked up a piece of ice jade meat that was wrapped in the glutinous rice flour. He had only taken a bite and his eyes widened in astonishment. The meat was just as Lin Dan described ¨C it had fully absorbed the wine and felt as though he had drunk a glass of wine just with one bite. Similar to wine, it had a strong yet mellow taste. This piece of meat was actually unlike a food ingredient but more like a container of wine. It did not only have the freshness and tenderness of meat, but it also had the flavor of the marinate and soy sauce, which produces a rich flavor. The glutinous rice flour that was used to make the outer layer also had a unique taste. It was originally used to make rice wine, but as it was only semi-fermented, it was sweeter and softer than the ordinary glutinous rice flour.


    When all kinds of flavors including the sweet and salty, the sauce, and the fermented ingredient were combined, it did not cover the aroma of the wine, which got stronger as he chewed. However, there was no burning sensation of the wine when the meat entered the throat, but it made the stomach warm. Lin Dan actually fulfilled his unusual request. With a pair of skillful hands, she managed to create a dish with wine, and it tasted wonderful. Marquis Weiyuan could not help but glance at her before finally trying the cold bean sprouts.


    The bean sprouts were also made with fermented rice and were mixed with some pepper and sesame oil. When the marquis chewed the stems, the aroma of the wine-filled up his mouth with the freshness of plants and created a refreshing taste.


    As the marquis wanted to have wine for every meal, he often only had two mouthfuls of food before his stomach was filled with alcohol. Then, he would fall soundly asleep. Although the Emperor had sent him back to the capital to treat his illness, it was due to that reason that he had become thinner instead. Now, his subordinates were overjoyed to see that he was willing to sit down and eat a proper meal and even had a good appetite.


    He picked up the food with his chopsticks one after another. His actions were elegant but were carried out in haste. Within a short moment, he had already finished half a plate of Wine Steamed Pork, and only some sauce was left on the plate that contained the bean sprouts. The rest of the diners stared at him eagerly and were swallowing their saliva. ¡°Darn, Manager Lin¡¯s culinary skills are impressive. I thought her braised pork was the best, but the steamed pork was even better.¡± The onlookers thought. It was simply torturous for them to be able to smell it but not taste it.


    ¡°Gulp, gulp.¡± The sound of saliva swallowing started to get audible in the dining hall. Most people would not be able to catch the sound, but the marquis was skillful in martial arts and had a great sense of hearing. He lifted his head and saw the guards that came along with him were trying their best to maintain a serious look. He instructed Lin Dan, ¡°Give my men a plate of that Wine Steamed Pork each.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir. I have only made one jar of Fatty Yanglin and you have finished that one piece of meat I have.¡± Lin Dan waved his hand helplessly.


    ¡°Wine should be brewed in batches, why are you being such a miser by brewing only one jar at a time?¡± Marquis Weiyuan looked stern, but he was speaking in a much gentler tone.


    ¡°Sir, I am a cook, not a winemaker. I make wine as a hobby and these were not meant for sale.¡± Lin Dan replied composedly.


    The marquis squinted his eyes and looked at her. Seeing that she did not look fearful at all, he suddenly felt a little helpless with the situation. This meal was too delicious and was right up his alley. He wanted to eat these foods for the second or third time¡­ or many more times in the future and dared not upset her.


    ¡°Never mind. How about giving them a catty of braised pork each? I¡¯m sure you have it, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have braised pork knuckles, pork ears, pork belly, chicken, and braised duck. As for vegetarian food, I have braised tofu, lotus root slices, and edamame. I can also make them into different flavors, such as five spices, hot and spicy, or sweet and sour. Just let me know what you like.¡± Lin Dan patiently served the group of guards. Those people were fierce and hostile a while ago, but they were now all smiles and swarming to look inside the earthen jar, ready to have a feast.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    At this moment, Tang Jiu left Lin Dan and sat down in front of Marquis Weiyuan. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and wanted to try the food on the table.


    Marquis Weiyuan quickly stopped him with his chopsticks and sneered: ¡°Go order it yourself if you want it.¡±


    Tang Jiu ignored him and continued to pick up the food from another direction. Marquis Weiyuan continued to stop him. The two started a fight wielding the chopsticks like swords and went on for several rounds. Subsequently, the fight got serious and they almost broke into a physical fight after rolling up their sleeves.


    Lin Dan took time out of her busy chores and shouted, ¡°The glutinous rice is sticky and difficult to digest. It¡¯s not good to eat so much of that in the morning. Just half a plate is enough for you, marquis, or you may get stomach issues later.¡±


    The marquis¡¯ stomach had already been badly damaged by alcohol since a long time ago. Everything was normal when it did not hurt, but when it did, he felt as though someone was cutting his stomach with a knife. He would break out in cold sweat and endure the terrible pain. He was stunned for a moment after hearing what she said, and when he snapped out of his thoughts, Tang Jiu had already picked up the remaining steamed pork.


    ¡°You rascal¡­¡± He slapped the chopsticks on the table and slowly rolled up his sleeves. But at this moment, Lin Dan walked over with a bowl of porridge and a small dish with small red and white squares. She said warmly, ¡°Do have some porridge if you¡¯re still not full. It is best to have some porridge in the morning.¡±


    The porridge she served was not an ordinary porridge, but a porridge boiled in a milky broth that was simmered all night. It contains tender stewed chicken and pork knuckles meat and was mixed with the finely chopped shepherd¡¯s purse leaves. The white porridge that was decorated with green vegetables looked appetizing and had a particularly rich aroma.


    Tang Jiu¡¯s victorious moment was ruined in an instant and he said in a deep voice, ¡°Hurry up and eat it. This is made with the pheasant soup that was said to be created by Peng Zu. It is known as the best soup in the world and is very nourishing.¡±


    Marquis Weiyuan¡¯s gloomy face eased slightly. His eyes lit up and he took a sip of the warm porridge. He had to admit that getting up in the morning to drink a bowl of hot porridge was a great cleansing ritual for an ill body.


    ¡°What is this? It has a very strong taste of wine.¡± He pointed to the small dish next to the porridge with his chopsticks. As the family of Marquis Yongding were all food connoisseurs, they were extremely well-versed in food.


    Tang Jiu knew what it was and replied, ¡°This is fermented bean curd, which is also soaked in wine.¡±


    Marquis Weiyuan took a small piece and was immediately blown away by this unique taste. With the fermented bean curd, he quickly finished the bowl of porridge and had a satisfying look on his face. His guards also finished their food with grease on their mouths. They kept giving Lin Dan a thumbs up and praised her for her great culinary skills.


    About forty-five minutes later, Marquis Weiyuan placed a gold ingot on the table and led a group of guards away contentedly. But as he walked away, he turned back as if he had forgotten something and grabbed the hooligans who tried to sneak away. They were pinned down at the entrance of the restaurant and were beaten into a pulp.


    ¡°Manager Lin, look, I¡¯ve already dealt with these scums for you. As for that jar of Fatty Yanglin¡­¡±


    Before Marquis Weiyuan could finish his words, Lin Dan shrugged, ¡°It will take at least half a year to make one jar of that. Since I took it out when it was only brewed for three months, that wine is ruined. Please wait for another six months if you want to have some of it.¡±


    The Marquis¡¯s gentle and kind expression stiffened slightly. He stared at Lin Dan and gritted his teeth. In the end, he could not hold back anymore and shouted at the guards, ¡°Let¡¯s go deal with the bandits!¡± Without those bandits that ruined all the good stuff, he would not have to deal with a lady¡¯s rejection.


    Lin Dan chuckled and shook her head. She walked into the shop and continued cooking noodles, turning a blind eye to the hooligans who were lying on the floor. She may seem to have a mild temperament, but she also seemed to lack certain emotions and desires and would not sympathize with those people. Tang Jiu instructed a few people to carry the hooligans away so that they would not affect the shop¡¯s business.


    ¡°Lin Dan, this is your father¡¯s belongings.¡± He took out a yellowed book and explained, ¡°Even if Marquis Weiyuan was not here today, I already have plans to tell you the truth today. I recognized you the first time we met.¡± It was Lin Dan who taught him that a person¡¯s character was far more important than his ability, which also made him fall into a deeper sense of regret and guilt. This was why, even after a decade, he had never forgotten this stubborn young girl. He had always wanted to know if she was doing well and wondered whether she could survive after refusing everyone¡¯s help.


    It turned out that Lin Dan was able to survive well and even better than he thought.


    ¡°Thank you, young marquis.¡± Lin Dan took the book and flipped through it. She realized that it was a book of recipes, which was the second half of the Yan family recipes that her father had added back then.


    Tang Jiu explained, ¡°Yan Langqing asked me to pass it on to you. She took away the first 60 pages of the Yan family¡¯s recipes and has never used your father¡¯s recipes all these years. This is your father¡¯s belongings, you should take it.¡±


    ¡°She has never used my father¡¯s recipes?¡± Lin Dan repeated with a cold smile.


    Tang Jiu felt that her smile was a little weird and wanted to ask her more about it. But he saw Qin Er¡¯niang approaching Lin Dan and said hesitantly, ¡°Manager Lin, are you still gonna make me some braised pork with Qianzhou flavor?¡± Everyone else was scared away by Marquis Weiyuan, but she was the only one who stayed just to have a taste of her food.


    ¡°Of course, please give me a moment.¡± Facing her customer, Lin Dan immediately put away her smirk and returned to the gentle and patient Manager Lin.


    Qin Er¡¯niang glanced at Tang Jiu secretly and was a little fearful of him. She knew that he was the son of the Marquis Yongding and had just won a victory on the battlefield. He was recently transferred back to the Ministry of War by the Emperor. His sister was also the most favored noble concubine in the palace and held an immense amount of power because there was no queen.


    This restaurant was impressive enough to attract prominent figures and she felt lucky that she did not offend Manager Lin too badly yesterday. As she was lost in her thoughts, she saw a man and a woman entering the restaurant followed by several servants. Both of their facial features were very similar, and she thought they could be siblings. It was also a coincidence that Qin Er¡¯niang knew the man and she shuddered the moment she saw him.


    Manager Lin was really something, another respectable man had arrived at her restaurant!

 CH 26

    The man and woman who walked into the store were speaking to each other softly. The man said with concern, ¡°I thought there was no decent restaurant in the South District, but looks like I¡¯ve underestimated this place. Sis, since you haven¡¯t been eating much for the past two days, you have to eat some food today.¡±


    The woman held her chest and nodded reluctantly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll eat some then.¡±


    The man approached the shop and saw Lin Dan stirring a pot of braised pork. He could not contain the look of surprise on his face and said, ¡°Oh? Are you able to make Qianzhou-flavored braised pork? It¡¯s a coincidence that we are from Qianzhou, can we have a bowl of that, too?¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. The braised pork is sold out. Do you want to order something else? We also serve noodles and porridge here.¡±


    The man frowned, seemingly displeased. ¡°But I only want braised pork and nothing else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. If you want some braised pork, you can come early tomorrow.¡± Lin Dan smiled.


    She did not know who the man was, but Qin Er¡¯niang knew. She quickly waved her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, he can have my plate of meat.¡± She wiped the cold sweat away from her forehead as she spoke, looking all flustered. If she was right, the two siblings were the children of Lord Dianqian, who was the only regional ruler with a different surname from the Emperor in the kingdom of Great Chu. He governed the Dianqian highland all year round and managed an army of 800,000. He was a man whom even the Emperor respected.


    In order to display his loyalty, Lord Dianqian sent his son to receive education in the capital when he was very young, and his son was treated as well as the other princes. One year ago, he also sent his daughter to the capital when she was fifteen years old, and it seemed that she was preparing herself to enter the palace as a concubine. In short, the two siblings were extremely respectable people who could not be offended.


    The man relaxed his brows, seemingly satisfied with Qin Er¡¯niang¡¯s actions. But Lin Dan replied, ¡°No matter what, we must observe the ¡®first come, first serve¡¯ rule. Er¡¯niang has been waiting all morning, and this plate of braised pork should be hers.¡±


    Before the man could show his anger, Lin Dan had raised her head and took a close look at the pale lady before continuing, ¡°Besides, I noticed that this lady has been holding her chest and seems to be a little dizzy. I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s feeling nauseated from seasickness? In that case, she shouldn¡¯t eat greasy food. Shall I make some light food for the lady?¡±


    The woman did not want to eat meat in the first place and nodded her head. ¡°Sounds good, please make me some light side dishes. I don¡¯t really want to eat meat.¡± She said that before giving her brother a fearful look.


    The man thought about his sister¡¯s future and could not bear to see her suffer. He did not go against her wishes and nodded in agreement. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Tang Jiu. ¡°You¡¯re here too, Young Marquis Tang? What a coincidence.¡±


    Tang Jiu nodded and said, ¡°This shop was opened by my friend. Thank you for stopping by, my lord.¡± What Tang Jiu meant was asking the man not to put the owner of this restaurant in a difficult spot.


    The man was bestowed the title of a feudal lord in his early years by the Emperor. Although his status was higher than a marquis, he still had to respect Tang Jiu who was working closely with the Emperor. He immediately replaced his arrogant look with an approachable smile.


    Seeing that he had a change of attitude, Tang Jiu handed ten copper coins to Lin Dan, and repeatedly reminded her to send him a message at the Ministry of War if anything happens to her.


    Although Lin Dan promised to do so, she had no intention of troubling Tang Jiu again. She thought they were people of different worlds and that it was better not to mingle around too much. She was a cook and he was a diner, and their relationship was as simple as that. After passing the braised pork to Qin Er¡¯niang, who accepted her food with a pair of shaking hands, Lin Dan filled a casserole full of white porridge and heated it on the stove. She then took out a handful of green peppers and threw them into the fire.


    The green peppers started sizzling when added to the charcoal fire and a pungent smell quickly filled the air. Xiao-zhu and the rest started sneezing, but the handsome man and the petite woman had a half surprised and half nostalgic look on their faces.


    ¡°Are you making fire-roasted peppers?¡± The woman walked to the stove and said while staring at the soft green peppers in the fire with tears in her eyes. ¡°When I was in my hometown, my mother always made this dish for me and my brother. You probably don¡¯t know that my mum brought us to live in the countryside when we lost contact with our dad. We couldn¡¯t afford any fish and meat as she had no money, but the most delicious dish in my memory is this fire-roasted peppers. It had a very strong taste but was appetizing enough and could keep us full.¡±


    The man could not maintain his stern face anymore and got slightly teary-eyed.


    Lin Dan raised her head and smiled at the woman with a comforting look. Next, she smashed the roasted peppers and a few garlic in a bowl before topping it with soy sauce, vinegar, litsea oil, and other seasonings.


    ¡°Please give it a try and let me know if it tastes like your hometown food.¡± Lin Dan handed the cold dish to the woman when it was ready, and the woman immediately picked it up to have a taste. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she blinked. ¡°Yes, this is the right taste.¡± She quickly wiped away her tears and smiled, ¡°Brother, come and have a try.¡±


    Since they were being taken back to the palace by their father, she had never eaten this dish again. Her mother was no longer around and they were nobodies in the palace. She and her brother were merely ¡°objects¡± that could be sacrificed at will.


    The man took a bite of the dish and his voice sounded a little hoarse, ¡°I believe you¡¯ve lived in Qianzhou? This roasted pepper tastes very authentic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve lived there for a few months.¡± Lin Dan served the porridge on a small stove and said warmly, ¡°As the appetizers are slightly spicy, please don¡¯t eat too much. I will cut some raw meat and pork liver for you. You may add it directly into the porridge with some leafy vegetables. It tastes fresher if you eat it once it¡¯s cooked.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, manager.¡± The woman¡¯s mood improved after tearing up. She picked up the peppers using a pair of chopsticks and slowly ate it little by little. She had never expected that she was able to eat such authentic hometown food in a remote place of the capital.


    With teary eyes, the siblings sat across each other as they ate and did not speak for a long time. To avoid the awkward situation, Lin Dan retreated to the kitchen with Xiao-zhu. Qin Er¡¯niang did not dare to dine with the nobles and followed Lin Dan with her plate of braised pork, rambling about various gossips in the capital. She was now particularly fond of Manager Lin, not only because of her good culinary skills but also because of her kindness. She could feel a harmonious and peaceful aura around her, and this made her feel very comfortable being around her.


    After half an hour, the siblings were gone but they placed a shiny golden leaf on the table. Qin Er¡¯niang swallowed hard and exclaimed, ¡°My dear, it¡¯s really good to have such good culinary skill! I believe this restaurant is gonna make tons of money!¡±


    From that day onwards, Tang Jiu, Marquis Weiyuan, the children of Lord Dianqian had become loyal diners of the Hometown Kitchen. They came not only for themselves but also packed food for their relatives and friends. With the recommendation of these respectable people, Lin Dan¡¯s business got better and better. Besides people in the South District, many people of status from the West and East District would visit the restaurant secretly in ordinary clothes to enjoy some good food in peace. No matter how many delicacies they had eaten, the one they love and miss most was still a hometown specialty.


    ¡ª-


    Two months later, Lin Dan had successfully made her name in the capital. She was busy with her restaurant business in the morning and taught Chef Qiu cooking in the afternoon. As Chef Qiu only learned the culinary skills from his father for three years, he did not even get to master cutting techniques well, let alone cooking. But he was gifted, and he was willing to learn. Subsequently, Lin Dan accepted him formally as her apprentice as she got more interested in teaching him.


    One day, Tang Jiu invited a few princes from Mongolia to eat in the restaurant. Lin Dan used almond milk to boil a large pot of hand-grasped mutton before serving it with a sauce made with salty alfalfa and chive flowers. Xiao-zhu wanted to prepare chopsticks and bowls for them, but she shook her head and stopped them from doing so.


    ¡°But how can the guests enjoy the food without the utensils?¡± He thought. The official who came with Tang Jiu immediately got upset. Another young man who had a similar look with Tang Jiu yelled, ¡°Are you blind? How dare you serve food in a big bowl without utensils?! Where are the bowls? Are you expecting us to eat with our hands?! Jiu, this restaurant is ridiculous. Let¡¯s go to the Yan¡¯s restaurant instead. Sister Yan is not in the palace today and should be in the restaurant. I¡¯m sure the guests will be satisfied with her good culinary skills.¡±


    The name of the man who was speaking was Tang Peng, Tang Jiu¡¯s cousin who was also serving in the Ministry of War. He was fond of Yan Langqing and naturally strongly recommended going to Yan¡¯s restaurant, but he was rejected by his cousin. Now that he saw Lin Dan making a huge mistake, he seized the opportunity to express his unhappiness.


    ¡°Shut up if you don¡¯t know anything and don¡¯t embarrass us.¡± Tang Jiu¡¯s tone was cold and unhappy.


    ¡°Brother, I am also trying to make sure that our distinguished guests are satisfied. It¡¯s not easy for them to visit us in the Great Chu and you¡¯re bringing them here to eat something like this? Look at the faces of the princes¡­¡± He turned around and looked at them. He had wanted to explain the situation to them nicely before politely asking them to move to another restaurant, but he saw them reaching into the big bowl and grabbing a piece of lamb with bones. They gobbled it up and were speaking in an unintelligible language, their faces full of admiration.


    A staff member who knew Mongolian translated, ¡°The princes are very satisfied with the meal. This dish is called hand-grasped mutton, which should be eaten by hand.¡±


    Another prince beside him raised his voice and said something which made the staff showed an even more relieved expression. He continued: ¡°They are saying that the smell of the mutton they tried in the Central Plains was too strong and they are not used to eating them. They have lost a few catties of weight from hunger in the past two months after arriving in the capital. They are glad that they will finally satisfy their hunger today. They said that the mutton made by this chef is very fresh and tender and does not have that strong smell. They think it tastes exactly the same as the mutton they have back in the grassland. The Hometown Kitchen is worthy of the name and reputation!¡±


    Tang Jiu replied with a few polite words before grabbing the lamb and started eating. Several officials who were almost dying of embarrassment were relieved that the princes did not understand Mandarin. Tang Peng¡¯s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and was speechless for a long time. He yelled and chided Manager Lin for being ignorant, but it turned out that she made a local specialty of Mongolia. It was due to his ignorance that he did not know that the dish should be eaten using hands, which had made him seem even more uneducated than a chef.


    Xiaozhu and the others were a little nervous at first, but they could hardly contain their laughter when they saw this scene. ¡°What an ignorant official!¡± They thought.


    Lin Dan did not care about the embarrassing situation happening in the dining hall. She washed her hands and took a carriage to the West District. In order to fight against the sudden rise of Qiaoyuan Restaurant, Yan¡¯s Restaurant had recently launched two signature dishes in a row in the past two months. Hearing that they would be introducing a third signature dish today, she had to hurry there and check it out

 CH 27

    When Lin Dan arrived, Chef Qiu was standing at the back door looking out. When he saw the carriage, he immediately came forward and said, ¡°Master, be careful when you get out of the car. No, don¡¯t jump, I¡¯ll help you down.¡±


    But before he could finish speaking, Lin Dan had already lifted the curtain of the car and leaped out of the carriage quickly before striding into the door. ¡°I heard that Yan¡¯s Restaurant has launched another signature dish called Braised Fish Head?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a dish made with the silver carp head without bones. It was well-received by diners as soon as it was launched. I wanted to ask a friend to get takeout of that dish, but Yan¡¯s restaurant refused to sell any takeouts and only allowed dine-ins. I suppose this is their tactic to guard against us. Master, I heard that the fish head has no bones at all, it is soft and tender after stewing for a long time and is very delicious. How do you think they do it? What kind of cutting technique can be used to remove all the bones from the fish head? It must be really a delicate technique.¡± Chef Qiu exclaimed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing delicate.¡± Lin Dan explained briefly, ¡°There are two ways to remove fish bones, one is removing it raw and the other is removing after the meat is cooked. As the fish head has less meat and more bones, it may seem impossible to be removed, but the flesh can actually be easily removed after boiling in water for a long time.¡±


    The question that had been boggling Chef Qiu for the whole night had been solved after Lin Dan had explained to him. In terms of cooking skills, he had never met anyone more knowledgeable and wiser than Lin Dan. Yan¡¯s Restaurant had introduced three new dishes ¨C Squirrel Mandarin Fish, Grilled Black Ginseng with Scallion, and Crab Stuffed Lionhead. Initially, the Squirrel Mandarin Fish was selling very well and took away all the regular diners of the Qiaoyuan Restaurant, which almost made Chef Qiu shut the restaurant down. But since Lin Dan introduced the Golden Lion Fish, the regular diners had returned in the afternoon. They were looking forward to Lin Dan¡¯s visit to the store to teach her apprentice, so they could seize the chance to try some of her cooking.


    In order to help Qiaoyuan Restaurant, Lin Dan would prepare dishes for five tables of diners each time. But these dishes had managed to attract some of the pickiest food connoisseurs in the capital. These people were refusing to patronize other restaurants even if they were dying of hunger and would rather wait in the restaurant.


    Seeing that the squirrel mandarin fish could not impress their diners, Imperial Chef Yan developed another new dish called Grilled Black Ginseng with Scallions. The dish was made by simmering the entire black ginseng in a thick sauce to create a unique taste with a soft but chewy texture.


    But it had seemed as though Lin Dan was determined to get into their way. The next day, she also came up with a dish called Sauce-stuffed Black Ginseng. This dish was a display of her superb culinary skills with its exquisite seasoning and was even better than Yan¡¯s Braised Black Ginseng on multiple levels. ¡°Stuffing¡± is a unique cooking method. It is done by sandwiching, stuffing, or pouring a food ingredient into another ingredient to make a dish. Some of the common stuffed dishes include stuffed bean curd, stuffed eggplant, stuffed bitter gourd, and so on. But this was the first time Chef Qiu had seen stuffed black ginseng.


    The ¡°sauce¡± did not refer to any other sauce, but shrimp paste. It was made with shrimp roe, which was stir-fried in soy sauce, cooking wine, fine salt, and other seasonings before sealing it in a jar for fermentation. After the fermentation was completed, it was kneaded into a strip and stuffed into the black ginseng. Then, it was simmered in the milky pork broth, before being added to the braised soup. It was simmered on high heat to reduce the soup before simmering slowly in low heat to ensure that the saltiness and freshness of the shrimp paste were completely fused into the black ginseng. When serving the dish on the table for the guests, the server had to cut the black ginseng with a knife into inch-long pieces so that the guests could share their food.


    The simmered black ginseng that was covered with the shrimp roe sauce was tender and rich in flavor. It tasted sweet yet salty, and there was also a lingering aftertaste. The filling of the sauce could also be adjusted according to the customer¡¯s preference. It could be replaced with the chewy mullet roe or made with fresh roe directly. Slight adjustments in cooking methods and fillings could be made to one dish and three or more flavors could be produced. Would diners have more to ask? This was why the Grilled Black Ginseng did not manage to gain a lot of traction, but the Sauce-stuffed Black Ginseng from Qiaoyuan Restaurant completely took the limelight on the next day.


    Yan Langqing was an imperial chef after all and would never give up easily. In half a month¡¯s time, she introduced another new dish called Crab Stuffed Lion Head. It was a dish made with minced pork and crab powder to create a tender and juicy taste. Seeing that Yan¡¯s restaurant had been revived with the dish, Lin Dan launched a new dish called Fortune Balls. The name of the dish may sound mysterious, but it was also made with minced pork that tasted fresher, soft, and juicer than the Crab Stuffed Lion Head.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Firstly, she soaked the minced pork in green onion and ginger water. This green onion and ginger water must be squeezed from fresh yellow ginger and green onions that came with the roots, or the smell would not be strong enough to conceal the smell of pork. In order to make the meatballs taste fresher and softer, she added the minced fish paste to increase the viscosity and keep it in shape. Finally, the pork bones were crushed and the bone marrow within was completed mixed into the minced meat before being kneaded in shape. After finishing the three steps, the meatballs would be full of flavor and taste delicious and juicy. The meatballs could be deep-fried, braised, or boiled in clear soup. With one bite, the thick juice within the meatball would burst and fill one¡¯s mouth.


    As a result, the diners who had finally returned to Yan¡¯s restaurant had once again flocked to the Qiaoyuan Restaurant. The business of Yan¡¯s restaurant was bleak and full of ups and downs.


    After two rounds of ¡°fight¡± between the two restaurants, it was easy for diners to catch a pattern. Seeing that Imperial Chef Yan had introduced another new dish called Braised Fish Head, the diners had all arrived at Qiaoyuan Restaurant after tasting the dish at Yan¡¯s Restaurant, and the reason was obvious. The diners got bored while waiting, and the old manager decided to invite some storytellers in the hall and offer melon seeds and fresh fruits to keep the diners entertained.


    Lin Dan only cooked dishes for five tables of diners at Qiaoyuan Restaurant each time. If the diners did not arrive early enough to take a table, they would not know how long it would take for them to try her cooking again. For a picky food connoisseur, waiting was worse than torture. Seeing that the hour was approaching, Prince Cheng took the lead in urging, ¡°Manager, is that head chef here yet? Look at Yan¡¯s restaurant, the fish head has already been out for the whole day, shouldn¡¯t the chef be here to show her hands?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, I¡¯ve waited since last night, and I¡¯m famished.¡± Everyone laughed at Prince Gong patting his stomach in an unashamed manner.


    Although the new dishes of Yan¡¯s Restaurant were delicious, they had become the ¡°signpost¡± for Qiaoyuan Restaurant. The diners swarmed to Qiaoyuan Restaurant each time after they had received a ¡°sign¡± from Yan¡¯s restaurant. The diners were all conditioned to behave in this way after the two consecutive months of fighting between the two restaurants.


    Although Yan Langqing was an imperial chef and was also favored by the Emperor, she was merely a chef, and her status was much lower than the princes, marquises, and the first-rank officials. This was why the diners had no reason to please her, they visited her restaurant just because they enjoyed her food. This was the same for everyone else ¨C diners could tell apart good and bad quality food and should be taken seriously.


    As soon as Lin Dan entered the kitchen to teach Chef Qiu how to make the Braised Fish Head, the old manager hurried in and asked respectfully, ¡°Chef Lin, will you be making a new dish today? The patrons can¡¯t wait to have a taste of it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, a new dish of course.¡± Lin Dan rolled up her sleeves slowly and continued, ¡°From the beginning, I have agreed to teach Chef Qiu a new dish each time Yan¡¯s restaurant introduces one. This promise will apply unless Yan¡¯s restaurant is no longer in business. ¡°


    ¡°Is she thinking of taking down Yan¡¯s Restaurant?!¡± Chef Qiu thought and lowered his head to say a prayer for the Yan family. But in the next moment, he raised his head and looked at his master with sparkling eyes.


    The old manager was completely relieved and hurried out to tell the long-awaited diners the good news.


    Lin Dan washed her hands and picked a four-catty bass. She shocked the fish before placing it on the cutting board and said, ¡°As I said, there are two ways to remove fish bones, one is the cooked meat removal and the other is the raw meat removal. The dish I¡¯ll be teaching you today is called the Immortal Boneless Fish which also has no bones. The bones are removed by combining both the raw and cooked meat removal methods. Watch me carefully.¡± Once she finished speaking, she made a cut from the fish spine to separate the spine and ribs completely while ensuring that the flesh of the belly was still intact. After the ribs and spine were separated, the fish could spread into the shape of a pair of beautiful butterfly wings. Then, holding onto the fishtail, she removed the entire fish spine along the direction of the fish head, before making two shallow cuts to separate the ribs.


    The bass had few bones, to begin with, it only came with a spine and two rows of rib bones. The bones were all removed with just four cuts, while the meat below the head and above the tail were all intact.


    ¡°This is the raw meat bone removal method. This requires your cutting skills to be clean and shallow.¡± Lin Dan combined the two pieces of fish meat and tied them together with green onion leaves so that it looked like a whole fish again. This could also prevent the fish from breaking into pieces when it was stewing in the soup.


    ¡°This cooking method was inspired by the Huaiyang cuisine which stewed all kinds of food to create all kinds of flavors.¡± Lin Dan put the boneless fish into the pot and continued: ¡°It can be stewed in the milky pork broth to create the three-treasure flavor, stewed in the braised soup, or stewed in hot and sour flavors in the spicy soup. It can all be adjusted depending on the customer¡¯s request. A variety of rich flavors can be created with this dish to satisfy a variety of preferences ¨C this is the biggest characteristic of the Immortal Boneless Fish.¡±


    Chef Qiu listened intently, he watched Lin Dan displaying her superb culinary techniques, and listened to her vivid explanations on the different cooking methods. He was so fascinated that he could not help but wonder, ¡°Master, how do you know so much? Dad and my grandfather were old imperial chefs in the palace, but they didn¡¯t seem to know as much as you.¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and replied, ¡°If you follow the standard, foods are usually divided into the imperial dishes, official dishes, and folk dishes. But did you know that there are in fact no imperial dishes and official dishes in the world because they are developed from folk dishes? True delicacies come from the folks. You will naturally learn a lot by eating, watching, cooking these dishes. In order to hone my cooking skills, I volunteered to be a kitchen assistant whenever I arrived at a new place and helped out at places where banquets were held. There are many varieties of food in a folk banquet, including the big eight bowl style, big nine bowl style, thirteen specialties, and even a table of fifty-two dishes, which was less exquisite than a palace banquet. Think about it, how much effort does it take to make fifty-two unique dishes without repeating it? And as banquets are held at weddings and ceremonies, which are grand and solemn events, it was important not to ruin the appetite of the guests. So, just how much knowledge is needed to prepare for a banquet? I have thoroughly studied these skills and knowledge and learning how to cook will come naturally.¡±


    Chef Qiu did not say anything for a long time. When the fairy boneless fish was taken out of the pot, he said sincerely, ¡°Master, Yan Langqing is definitely way behind as compared to you!¡±


    Lin Dan did not reply to his comment but only shook her head and chuckled. She called the waiter to serve the dish before taking another fish and started removing its bones.

 CH 28

    Since the arrival of a new chef at Qiaoyuan Restaurant, the business of Yan¡¯s Restaurant had worsened each day. Although Yan Langqing quickly developed new dishes, she was no match for that chef¡¯s culinary skill. Whenever they introduced a new dish and had not even made its name yet, they would introduce another new dish. The new dish was usually made using similar food ingredients, but with extremely sophisticated cooking techniques that soon stole the limelight.


    Lin Dan¡¯s second uncle was as anxious as ants on a hot pan these days, and there were blisters at the corner of his mouth. Since Yan Langqing had entered the palace as an imperial chef, the Yan family had become more arrogant and used various means to seize the other 30% of shares from him. Now that he only was only holding 20% of the shares in the restaurant, he still had to be the manager and purchaser of the restaurant. He worked like a dog handling all the big and small chores of the restaurant, but the amount of money he earned was not even one-tenth of what he had received.


    Besides, he still had to support his family. In the past, he was spoiled by Lin Baotian and provided the best things for his family. They lived in a mansion, enjoyed all sorts of delicacies, and wore silk. The family¡¯s living expenses were so high that it could even feed an ordinary family for an entire year. At that time, he was still the owner of the Yan¡¯s restaurant and pocketed all the income of the restaurant. Lin Baotian did not even ask about the money, and even occasionally offered him some help. Life then was really comfortable for him, but now he only earned as much as a shop manager, yet he had to support his family who were living like royalties.


    In the past decade, he had already used up all his savings and he had to rely on pawning possessions to survive. If Yan¡¯s restaurant was making money, he would have extra cash on hand, but if the restaurant was not doing well, he would suffer too. This was why he was more anxious than anyone else when Qiaoyuan Restaurant had started to do well. Sometimes when he reminisced about the past, he would regret welcoming the ¡°wolves¡± into the restaurant, and he reckoned there was no way he would be able to drive them out anymore.


    Seeing that it was going to be another quiet day of business, the second uncle said to a waiter with a stern face, ¡°Go and take a look at the Qiaoyuan Restaurant to see if they have introduced a new dish to fight us.¡±


    The waiter acknowledged his command and quickly hurried to the restaurant. When he returned after some time, he said with a look of surprise, ¡°Indeed, they came up with a new dish called the Immortal Boneless Fish. There are no bones in the entire fish, and it is braised in the milky and thick pork bone soup. It tastes fresh and sweet and melts in the mouth. I saw the old lady of Marquis Yongding dining there with her eldest grandson. Her eldest grandson never eats fish because he didn¡¯t like having bones in the fish, but today he enjoyed the dish and asked for a second serving. The business in the store was booming, diners sitting inside were reluctant to leave while diners outside waited in long queues. The old manager of that restaurant even asked his servants to place many benches at the door for the guests to sit while waiting and even hired a storyteller to entertain the guests. People were eating and laughing, and the atmosphere was lively. I managed to squeeze in but lost one of my shoes.¡±


    Speaking of this, the waiter raised his foot to show Lin¡¯s second uncle his bare left foot, and asked hesitantly, ¡°Would you pay me for a pair of new shoes?¡±


    ¡°Pay your ass, get out!¡± Lin¡¯s second uncle yelled, and his face turned red. He felt as though his lungs were about to explode. He thought to himself, ¡°We made black ginseng, and they followed suit; we made meatballs, and they followed as well; now that we made boneless fish, they made boneless fish too. And each time they introduced a new dish it tastes even better than ours, isn¡¯t it obvious that they are trying to tarnish our reputation?! Yan Langqing is such a useless chef, she¡¯s an imperial cook but she couldn¡¯t even win a folk chef! She must have not been doing her job all this while!¡±


    Lin¡¯s second uncle was so anxious that he wanted to take a knife and kill the new chef of Qiaoyuan Restaurant right away.


    At this moment, Yan Shouye walked in leisurely carrying a birdcage in one hand and a smoking pipe in the other. But seeing that there were no diners in the hall, his face turned solemn and gloomy. Lin¡¯s second uncle quickly told him about the fight between Qiaoyuan Restaurant and Yan¡¯s restaurant, but he sneered and said, ¡°How dare they try to fight against the Yan family? They want to fight us head-on? Sure! Let¡¯s see what they can do without having any signature dishes!¡± After saying his piece, he took out a token and ten silver notes from his waist and asked a servant to find someone at the gate of the palace.


    ¡ª


    On the other hand, as the Immortal Boneless Fish received high praise from the diners, Lin Dan made an exception and served ten tables of dishes. As it was getting late, she washed her hands and face before preparing to go home. But the old manager led a pale-looking young man in, looking as though he was mourning.


    As soon as he saw the young man, the smile on Chef Qiu¡¯s face quickly disappeared, and anger appeared in his eyes.


    The young man said with a high-pitched voice, ¡°Congratulations Chef Qiu, your Golden Lion Fish, Grilled Black Ginseng, Fortune Balls, and Immortal Boneless Fish have all been selected by the imperial kitchen. They would be presented to the Emperor and included as part of the imperial cuisine. Come forth and receive the reward from his majesty.¡± He presented a piece of jade scepter after finishing his speech.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    That piece of jade was only the size of a palm, it was not transparent enough and the color was not at all gorgeous. If it were not for the engraving of the words ¡°Made in the Imperial Palace¡±, nobody would want it even if it was thrown on the street. But just for these words alone, Chef Qiu had to kneel down and kowtow. He could not refuse this ¡°reward¡± no matter how humiliated he felt.


    Lin Dan also knelt down, but with a sarcastic smile on her face. Since Yan Langqing became an imperial chef, she had often sought out folk delicacies for the Emperor. If she came across any delicious dishes made by a restaurant with a good reputation, she would recommend them to the Emperor to be included as part of the imperial cuisine.


    Initially, the chefs whose dishes were chosen were surprised and grateful, but they later realized that once the dish was selected to be made for the Emperor, they could no longer sell it, or it would be a sign of disrespect to the Emperor. Chefs often took months or even years of painstaking research to develop new dishes. But with just a word from her, she had robbed away all their efforts and fortune, just like what bandits would do.


    Lin Dan knew what the Yan family was capable of, and was neither surprised nor angry. She stood up and said slowly, ¡°Could you relay a message for Imperial Chef Yan? Tell her that Lin Dan is back and wants to settle the old scores. She will understand what I¡¯m saying.¡± After giving the instruction, she gave him a big note.


    The young man seemed to be in a close relationship with Yan Langqing and actually refused to accept the note. He sneered and said, ¡°She has personally told me the story between both of you. Back then, you were not as good as her, and looks like both of you are now a world of difference. Yet, you¡¯re thinking of competing with her again?¡±


    ¡°Then tell her that these four dishes are all my creation and have nothing to do with Qiaoyuan Restaurant. If she wants the recipes, she can come and find me in the South District. We will let the matter rest if she¡¯s afraid to face me, of course.¡± Lin Dan took back the silver note with a calm look and spoke in a composed manner.


    ¡°You were the one who made the four dishes?¡± The young man served at the imperial kitchen and had decent culinary skills and a sense of taste. He had already tasted the four dishes that were served in the dining hall and naturally knew the level of Lin Dan¡¯s culinary skills. Her cutting, cooking, and seasoning techniques were all at top-notch levels, and not worse than the chefs in the imperial kitchen. He said that Yan Langqing and Lin Dan were ¡°a world of difference¡±, but he was now dumbfounded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lin Dan nodded, ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble to relay the message for me.¡±


    The young man took a long look at her before flicking his sleeves and left. Chef Qiu finally snapped out of his thoughts and exclaimed, ¡°Master, I didn¡¯t know you were enemies with Imperial Chef Yan! Did you go all out to help Qiaoyuan Restaurant develop new dishes just to call her out?¡±


    Lin Dan took off her headscarf that was covered with grease and smoke, and chuckled, ¡°It is true that we are enemies, but I did not go all out. I merely responded to her moves, that¡¯s all. There are thousands of delicacies in the world, four dishes are nothing.¡±


    Chef Qiu saw her out and into the carriage before saying sincerely, ¡°Master, I think you are better than Imperial Chef Yan. You are willing to impart your unique skills to others, while she only robs others of their efforts. Be it culinary skills or being human, she is not as good as you.¡±


    Lin Dan tapped Chef Qiu¡¯s forehead with her knuckles, before leaving with a smile. When she arrived at South District, she saw that the fork junction was full of people. There was a faint cry of crying from the inside, and the onlookers whispered, ¡°I never expected that the owner of this restaurant was the one who deceived the master and brought shame to the ancestors. Hell, they even had the cheek to take away their late master¡¯s money!¡±


    ¡°Never judge a book by its cover. You see how that lady boss is smiling all day, but you¡¯ll never know it is a vicious heart that lies within! It must be karma that the mother and daughter have lost their husbands young, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! I wonder what filthy means the young widow had used to be able to set up a business like this. It¡¯s disgusting!¡±


    Hearing their whispers, Lin Dan knew immediately that the Yan family must have repeated their old tricks and appeared at her restaurant to pick up a fight. She quickly pushed through the crowd and saw Lady Qi sitting on the ground with disheveled hair and scratches on her cheeks and neck. Looks like she had had a fight and was injured. The earthen pot placed at the entrance was smashed, the braised marinade spilled all over the floor and the braised pork was taken away by the onlookers. All tables and chairs in the shop were also missing a leg or two. Xiao-zhu, Shaoyao, and the rest were cleaning the shop and were all injured.


    It had been a decade and the Yan family were still so oppressive and enjoyed driving people into a corner. But Lin Dan was no longer the same girl who was unable to fight back ten years ago. She disregarded the accusations and contemptuous gazes of the people and helped Lady Qi up before closing the door.


    ¡°From today on, our stop will be closed.¡± She said steadily, ¡°You can take this time to travel around and have fun. When this matter is put to rest, we will head to Jiangnan.¡±


    ¡°When are we leaving the capital?¡± Lady Qi did not want to stay in the capital for another second. She had enough of the Yan family.


    ¡°We will go soon. Let¡¯s pack up first, mother.¡± Lin Dan did not intend to make money by setting up a shop in the capital in the first place, as she returned to settle old scores. Even if the shop was destroyed, she had suffered no loss, and smearing her reputation could not cause any harm to her as well.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go and pack my things right away. Since the beginning, I told you not to come back, but you didn¡¯t listen. Let¡¯s never come back again after leaving this place, okay?¡± Lady Qi asked, seemingly had a trauma of what had happened.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to live in.¡± Lin Dan calmed Lady Qi down gently. She did not intend to tell Lady Qi about the cooking competition, lest it affected her sleep and appetite. In the eyes of nobles, imperial chefs were merely servants, but in the eyes of ordinary people, they were people that they could not afford to offend.


    Everyone helped to tidy up the shop and went to sleep, but unexpectedly, the kitchen caught fire in the middle of the night. If Lin Dan had not learned to be alert after traveling to many places and woke up in time, everyone would probably be burnt to death. After putting out the fire, Lin Dan found a pile of burnt dry wood and noticed a strong smell of kerosene at the corner of the wall. She immediately understood that this was an intentional arson, and the identity of the perpetrator was obvious.

 CH 29

    The kitchen in the small restaurant was charred from burning. Fortunately, no one was injured. After the incident, Lady Qi suffered from the trauma caused by the Yan family and immediately developed a high fever. Lin Dan had not only needed to find a doctor for her, she also had to make a report at the Yamen and did not manage to get a bit of shut-eye the entire night.


    But the person who set the fire had long escaped. As Lin Dan was merely a powerless ordinary citizen, the Yamen would naturally not pay too much attention to her case.


    After scurrying all night, Lin Dan was exhausted. In order to calm Lady Qi down, she did not dare to live in that fork alley anymore. Before dawn, they left by the city gate and moved to a suburban house. She was not afraid of the Yan family, but she had to consider the feelings of her mother and the others.


    The next day, the people of the South District were dumbfounded to discover that their hometown kitchen was closed down. Just the day before, when the Yan family came to create trouble for them, the shop was doing extremely well. But when things happened, everyone took advantage of the chaos and ran away with the restaurant¡¯s food. They talked unscrupulously about Manager Lin¡¯s personal affairs and speculated her character in the most damaging way, without a care of whether she would be angry. They clearly knew that Manager Lin would not offend the diners as she needed to earn the money to support her family.


    But nobody expected that she would actually close the restaurant down. Manager Lin did not want to make any more money and closed the business nonchalantly. These migrants of the South District started to wonder where else can they enjoy a good meal. Now that they were used to the authentic hometown food, nobody wanted to go back to the life of having bland food.


    ¡°Manager Lin, are you here? It¡¯s time to get up and open the shop!¡± Someone who did not know what happened slapped the shop door vigorously to no avail, suddenly getting a little anxious. He was a worker who did the most tedious and tiring work. It had become a habit to get up early in the morning to have a bowl of noodles cooked by Manager Lin before getting some takeaway braised pork to enjoy at night. He had looked forward to having the bowl of noodles and meat every morning, which had also given him the greatest comfort. Now that the noodles and the braised meat are gone, he started to panic and wondered what would happen if he was unable to enjoy Manager Lin¡¯s cooking anymore.


    The more he thought, the more flustered he became, and he started slapping the door harder.


    Those who gathered in the alley to watch what happened and even took the food away also carried an anxious look at this moment. From now on, they could only enjoy the most authentic hometown food in their dreams and not in reality anymore. It was not merely food, it had a huge impact on people¡¯s mental and physical health.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Tang Jiu squeezed through the crowd and asked with a frown. Just like everyone else, he would visit the shop rain or shine, or he would not be energetic all day.


    Qin Er¡¯niang stood in the corner and said sarcastically with her hand on her waist: ¡°Stop knocking, there is no one inside. Someone came to create trouble for Manager Lin last afternoon and even destroyed the shop. These people took advantage of the chaos and robbed her of the food. At night, another thug came to set the fire and burned the kitchen. Manager Lin dare not live here anymore and moved away overnight. I am afraid she will not come back here to set up a business anymore in the future. She approached me last night and sold the shop to me for ten taels of silver. Just keep wreaking havoc, all of you! It¡¯ll be wonderful to make her so frustrated that she leaves the capital so that I will never get to eat the local dishes made by Manager Lin anymore, isn¡¯t it? What the hell can I eat now? Manager Lin usually treats all of you well, have you all forgotten it? Look around in this South District, who is as willing to give you some soup for free as her? Who gave you some pickles for free? Who is the one who added braised pork into the vegetarian braised gravy so that you can enjoy some meat? It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t appreciate her kindness, but you¡¯re scums for robbing her in the midst of chaos!¡±


    ¡°Someone came to smash the shop and set a fire?¡± Tang Jiu asked with a stern face, ¡°Is Lin Dan hurt? Do you know where is she now?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Qin Er¡¯niang dare not act recklessly in front of Tang Jiu, but she was still unhappy and snorted before leaving. As she walked away and glanced at those people whom she berated, they lowered their heads in embarrassment and felt regretful in their hearts.


    Manager Lin¡¯s culinary skills were so good that it raised everyone¡¯s need for good food. Now that she had closed down the shop, nobody would be able to eat that delicious hometown food, and the sadness and nostalgia of leaving home had become stronger. Manager Lin¡¯s dishes were not only delicious, but it also contained a trace of nostalgia, which was enough to comfort the migrants¡¯ hearts. But they did not offer her any help at the crucial moment even after receiving her kindness.


    ¡°If I had known that Manager Lin would be too angry to open a shop, I would do everything I could to drive those people away!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use for you to say this now? She¡¯s already gone! If I was in the shop yesterday, I would have chased them out with a stick!¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°I have to unload two cargoes today and will be very tired. I wanted to come and enjoy a bowl of noodles in the morning before working hard in the day. Now that the hometown kitchen is closed, I wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy noodles from my hometown anymore. I really don¡¯t have any mood to work! Does anyone know where Manager Lin is? Let¡¯s bring her back and beg her not to close down the restaurant. I believe everyone is relying on her culinary skills to live by!¡±


    What he said was not an exaggeration. Many of these hardworking people of the South District would get up early to enjoy a bowl of noodles at Lin Dan¡¯s shop before heading to work. The noodles she made were not only delicious and cheap, one could even taste a rich meaty taste in the vegetable braised gravy. Not to mention the bowl of milky pork soup she provided for everyone for free. Those who enjoy a warm and delicious breakfast at her shop in the morning would be filled with energy at work.


    When she opened the shop, everyone thought it was nothing but another restaurant. They reckoned it would not kill them not to patronize Lin Dan¡¯s restaurant. But when she closed down the restaurant, everyone seemed to have lost something important, and their hearts were empty.


    Tang Jiu left the alley with a gloomy face, feeling more miserable than anyone else. It was obvious to him that the smashing and burning of the shop were doings of the Yan family. He was utterly disgusted by their tricks, but at the same time, he was extremely upset by Lin Dan¡¯s departure and was even a little angry at her.


    Despite telling her countless times that she could always look for him if she encountered any trouble, she had still decided to shoulder all the grievances just as she did ten years ago. She did not seem to need anyone and lived alone and stubbornly in the world.


    Tang Jiu suppressed the pain and heartache and strode towards Yamen of the South District. He had decided to take the matter into his hands if the officials were not going to handle it. He would cut off the hands of whoever that smashed or burned the shop!


    After Tang Jiu left, Marquis Weiyuan also came by and asked about the situation. A menacing smile appeared on his now fuller face and he said, ¡°Someone burned the Manager Lin¡¯s shop and forced her to close down the restaurant? Very well, very well!¡± He flicked his sleeves and walked away after finishing his speech. In the next moment, the son of Lord Dianqian came and sighed helplessly: ¡°I even told her that I¡¯m coming to get some Dianqian exclusive snacks for my sister today, looks like I can¡¯t fulfill my promise to my sister this time around. Would Manager Lin not open her shop ever again? Now, this is bad!¡±


    Several luxurious carriages came and left quietly. These people of status had all sent people to search for Manager Lin, as well as investigating what had happened to her in the past. The investigations had led them to the Yan family.


    Yan Shouye thought Lin Dan was still that helpless and pitiful girl back then and was very pleased that he was able to beat her in one move. He thought, ¡°So what if she could help Qiaoyuan Restaurant and affect my business? So what if your culinary skills are now better than it was in the past? I would take away your signature dishes and eliminate you so that you can go and be with Lin Baotian in the netherworld!¡±


    Although the fire did not burn Lin Dan to death and ruined Yan Shouye¡¯s mood for a day, he rewarded the thugs handsomely for their hard work when he learned that Lin Dan and her mother were so terrified that they had left the capital overnight.


    ¡°Go back and guard that alley. If that family returns, you will continue to burn them. I will take responsibility if they are burned to death. Don¡¯t worry about the Yamen, they have been taken care of and will not interfere with this matter.¡± Yan Shouye handed over a silver tael and the thugs quickly accepted it and left gratefully.


    ¡°How is today¡¯s business?¡± He turned around and asked Lin¡¯s second uncle.


    ¡°Marquis Weiyuan brought dozens of soldiers to the shop for a drink and occupied all the seats on the first floor. The second floor was also almost full, and the business is doing extremely well.¡± Lin¡¯s second uncle said triumphantly.


    ¡°Marquis Weiyuan is here? Quick, you must serve him the best wine we have!¡± Yan Shouye thought for a moment and had a change of mind, ¡°No, I should personally go and greet the distinguished guests instead. Give me the wine.¡± He took a jar of wine and walked towards the dining hall, before greeting Marquis Weiyuan fawnly and in the most respectful manner: ¡°Marquis, this is the pear blossom wine that is brewed by my daughter. It is the most refreshing to drink this in spring. Do you want to have a try?¡±


    He was very confident in Yan Langqing¡¯s culinary skills and was sure that Marquis Weiyuan would be satisfied with what he offered. In the past, he had also tried to send him some drinks, but he could not even enter the gates of his residence, not to mention trying to curry favor with him. He thought their restaurant would gain a strong backing after he had a taste of this jar of wine.


    ¡°Is your daughter Yan Langqing?¡± Marquis Weiyuan asked in confirmation.


    ¡°Yes, Yan Langqing is my daughter who is now working as an imperial chef in the palace.¡± Yan Shouye said proudly.


    Wei Yuanhou pointed to his empty wine glass and said with a smile: ¡°Then, fill it up.¡±


    Yan Shouye quickly poured him some wine and waited eagerly for his feedback. But Marquis Weiyuan suddenly raised his wine bowl and smashed it hard on his head. He yelled, ¡°Motherfucker, how dare you serve me diluted wine?! Men, smash this restaurant that scams their diners!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The soldiers who were already ready to make a move immediately drew out the swords from their waists and smashed all the tables, chairs, doors, windows, and counters on the first floor. Although the guests on the second floor were anxious, they did not dare to go down and could only stand by the fence and look down at what was happening. After about half an hour, the originally luxurious storefront was in a mess. Yan Shouye was moaning and laying on the ground covered in blood, but no one dared to offer him any help.


    Marquis Weiyuan still felt that it was not enough to relieve his anger. He grabbed him and kicked him a few more times before sneering and said, ¡°I detest those who sell diluted liquor the most in my life. Count yourself lucky that I didn¡¯t take your life today!¡± As soon as he left, the diners upstairs also left one after another, but there were still many people around the door who were craning their necks to watch what happened.


    Lin¡¯s second uncle only appeared now to help Yan Shouye up. He felt as though someone had stabbed a knife into his heart when he saw the mess on the ground and thought of the losses the restaurant suffered today.


    However, this was not over yet. Before the physician could arrive at the shop to help Yan Shouye dress up the wound, the steward of the Lord Dianqian came in with a dead dog in his hands. He said that the dog had died after eating the mushroom soup packaged and delivered by Yan¡¯s restaurant and urged to settle this in court. If one were to think about it, they would realize that the mushroom soup was originally meant for the daughter of Lord Dianqian, who fed the soup to the dog because she did not have any appetite. If the lady had eaten the soup instead, the one who would die now would not be the dog. The young lady of Dianqian was preparing to be a concubine in the palace and it would be a serious matter to report to the officials.


    The steward did not even care that the front hall was in ruins and instructed several strong men to take Yan Shouye away before sounding the drum of the Yamen. It was first diluted wine and then poisonous soup in just one morning, and the reputation of Yan¡¯s restaurant was doomed. Even if Yan Langqing was greatly favored by the Emperor, he would not reprimand Marquis Weiyuan or offend Lord Dianqian just for an imperial chef, it would even be impossible for the Emperor to clear up the rumors for her in front of the people of the capital!


    Lin¡¯s second uncle sat at the door of the store with his head in his arms, feeling miserable and helpless.

 CH 30

    Although Lin Dan left in a hurry, she took care of everything before she left. Not only did she sell the shop to Qin Er¡¯niang, but she also sent a letter to Chef Qiu and explained the situation. After reading the letter, Chef Qiu was so angry that his hands were shaking. He had no idea that the Yan family could be so unscrupulous that they would even bully the vulnerable ladies and even set the shop on fire. ¡°There is no justice!¡± He thought.


    Seeing Chef Qiu¡¯s angry face, the old manager asked him what happened. He shook his head and did not want to let him know the details. This was Lin Dan¡¯s personal affair after all and he thought it was best not to spread the news. He suddenly thought of something and frowned. ¡°Are there any guests in the dining hall? Go out and have a look.¡± He instructed the manager.


    After a short while, the old manager came back and reported, ¡°There are guests who filled up five or six tables and are waiting for Manager Lin.¡± There was an unspoken rule in Qiaoyuan Restaurant ¨C whoever comes first would take a number and display it on the table. The tables with the first five numbers would be able to try the dishes made by the mysterious chef, while those with the next five numbers would be able to enjoy the mysterious chef¡¯s cooking if they were in luck. Even so, diners who failed to take the first ten numbers would be reluctant to leave. They would rather order some food and sit in the shop to smell and look at the food served to the other tables.


    For this reason, a large group of people would arrive at the restaurant early to grab a seat and never move their butts from the stool. Nobody could persuade them to leave.


    Chef Qiu asked softly, ¡°Is Prince Cheng here too?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he was already sitting in the shop early in the morning. I¡¯ve hired a few singers to entertain him at the hall.¡± In fact, it would be unusual if Prince Cheng was not here. Ever since he had a taste of Lin Dan¡¯s cooking, he had come to Qiaoyuan Restaurant on time every day. Later, he realized that Qiaoyuan Restaurant was getting more and more popular and got afraid that he would not be able to enjoy Lin Dan¡¯s cooking, he sent a servant to stay in the inn opposite the restaurant. As soon as the restaurant was opened, the servant would rush in and take a number to secure a table before waiting for the prince to arrive.


    These food connoisseurs in the capital had their own unique personalities, and it was not easy to please them. But if someone¡¯s culinary skills were able to satisfy their taste buds, they would protect them like a treasure. For example, it was said that Marquis Yongding used to have a favorite chef and took him along wherever he went. But when the chef passed away, he had lost his appetite for several months and also lost a ton of weight. He no longer stayed in the capital which reminded him of the sad memories and went to fight at the borders.


    Chef Qiu used to find this story ridiculous, but after learning that the chef was Lin Dan¡¯s father, he suddenly could understand Marquis Yongding¡¯s actions. If Lin Dan¡¯s cooking skills were already extraordinary, he could not imagine how astounding would Lin Baotian¡¯s cooking skills be.


    However, since Lin Baotian was no longer alive, his great cooking skills did not matter anymore. It was more important to seek justice for Lin Dan at the moment. Thinking of this, Chef Qiu whispered, ¡°Go and tell the diners that the mysterious chef has already left. As she won¡¯t be cooking at Qiaoyuan Restaurant anymore, you may ask them to leave.¡±


    The old manager was shell-shocked. ¡°Without Lin Dan, how can the business of Qiaoyuan Restaurant continue?¡± He thought.


    Chef Qiu shoved the old manager and sighed, ¡°Go now and tell everyone to wait no more.¡±


    The old manager went out muddle-headed, and everyone complained before he could finish his words. As expected, Prince Cheng had the biggest reaction. Not only did his hands and beard tremble, but his aged face also turned even more wrinkly as if he had taken arsenic. Ignoring the old manager and waiter, he strode into the kitchen that he would never set foot in and grabbed Chef Qiu, ¡°Is that chef really not coming anymore? Where does she live? Tell me and I¡¯ll hire her personally!¡±


    In the past, he had the idea of ??hiring Lin Dan to work as his private chef, and even asked his servant to try and persuade her, but they did not even get to see Lin Dan herself. As he had the utmost respect for people who cook well, he did not want to force her and decided to visit wherever she cooked. Now that she had left without a word and enjoying her food become impossible, he regretted not taking her away by force.


    Prince Cheng was filled with regrets and insisted Chef Qiu tell him about the chef¡¯s whereabouts. Chef Qiu pretended he was unwilling to reveal before explaining the history between Lin Dan and the Yan family.


    But to his surprise, Prince Cheng¡¯s eyes widened, and his mouth was wide open like a man who was grieving for his dead parents. He asked in a shaking voice, ¡°Do you mean that the chef who cooked here was Manager Lin from the restaurant in the South District? A-Are they the same person?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Chef Qiu could feel that Prince Cheng was reacting in an unusual manner, but he nodded.


    ¡°Since they are the same person, does that mean that the Hometown Kitchen would be closed as well?¡± Prince Cheng gradually showed a pained expression. It was actually a coincidence that the prince got to try Lin Dan¡¯s cooking. Nobles like Prince Cheng did not usually visit the South District, but his servants would often head to the pier in South District to pick up some goods. At times, they would bring back some braised meat that Lin Dan made. There was once Prince Cheng saw the servants eating near the door and the overbearing fragrance of the meat captured Prince Cheng on the spot. After trying the food, he got even crazier about it that he sent his servants to buy some meat back for supper every night. He was totally addicted to the meat and could not sleep without having it as supper.


    Hearing that the chef from Qiaoyuan Restaurant would not be here anymore, he originally thought that he could still enjoy some braised meat from the South District. He thought that Lin Dan¡¯s culinary skills were comparable to the chef from Qiaoyuan Restaurant. But little did he expect that they were the same person! This meant that the chef who could satisfy Prince Cheng¡¯s picky taste buds had left, and he would never be able to enjoy her cooking anymore!


    He was a true food connoisseur who would rather starve to death than having mediocre food, and one could imagine the surprise and shock Prince Cheng was experiencing.


    He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Looks like Imperial Chef Yan is a powerful figure, eh? I didn¡¯t know that nobody else could enjoy the dishes that were offered to the Emperor. If that¡¯s the case, am I not being disrespectful of the Emperor every day? Why didn¡¯t anyone drag me out and annihilate my family? Deceiving the master and shaming her ancestors? Rubbish! I watched how the disputes unfold from the beginning to the end back then, and it was obvious that the Yan family was the one who lied about the matter! I knew they were shady people!¡± He left angrily after finishing his piece.


    Prince Cheng had not gotten enough of that Immortal Boneless Fish yet and had been waiting expectantly all morning. But he did not expect that his wait had delivered him the bad news instead. He got frustrated and thought, ¡°How can I live without Manager Lin¡¯s cooking?¡± Then, he got even angrier and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Yan¡¯s restaurant.¡±


    The accompanying guard initially thought they were going to dine at Yan¡¯s restaurant instead. But he saw that the prince ignored Lin¡¯s second uncle who was sitting at the entrance and pointed at the signboard while walking towards the door. He yelled, ¡°Take it down and smash it!¡±


    Several guards snapped out of the shock and took down the signboard with bamboo poles before crushing it with their feet. Lin¡¯s second uncle did not comprehend what had happened, but he dared not step forward to stop him. He could only cry pitifully, ¡°Your highness, why are you smashing our signboard? We¡¯ve not done anything to upset you. Please accept my kowtow and have mercy on us!¡±


    First came Marquis Weiyuan, the son of Lord Dianqian, and now it was Prince Cheng. The status of these people who came just got higher and higher and Lin¡¯s second uncle started to wonder just who did the Yan family offended. He was puzzled for a while and started to panic like ants on a hot pan.


    ¡°Hmph, this signboard can never be put up for as long as Manager Lin is gone. Just try me if you disobey my order!¡± Prince Cheng pointed at the signboard that was broken in seven to eight and said furiously. He was not only the late Emperor¡¯s biological brother who helped him in seizing the throne but also the uncle who helped the current Emperor ascend to the throne. He held immense power and status by being put in charge of the Court of Colonial Affairs and the Imperial Civil Court. He was not somebody a mere imperial chef could afford to offend. Now that he had personally brought justice for Lin Dan, even if the Emperor was here, he would not dare to disobey him and let the Yan family hang the signboard back. Yan¡¯s restaurant was doomed for sure.


    People living in the West District were the most sensitive to power. Seeing that several powerful figures had ruined Yan¡¯s restaurant and even created the fake wine and poisonous soup scandals, they had already completely denied the reputation of Yan¡¯s restaurant. They stood on the side of the street and watched how things unfolded for a while before leaving the scene. They whispered as they walked away, ¡°I don¡¯t know what Yan Shouye has done to make these nobles personally come and punish him. Let¡¯s not visit this restaurant anymore in the future, or we would upset those three nobles if we do! It¡¯s not worth it!¡±


    The heart of Lin¡¯s second uncle sank even deeper when he heard those words. He did not expect that those nobles would actually come to seek justice for Lin Dan. He wondered how she was able to have such good connections when she had only returned to the capital for two or three months.


    Meanwhile, Yan Shouye was dragged into the Yamen by the steward of Lord Dianqian to undergo a trial. Although only a dog had died, the dog died for the princess of Dianqian, who will enter the palace as a concubine in two months. Since the imperial decree was given, the Yamen officials did not dare to disregard it and had beaten Yan Shouye to a pulp, ignoring his yelling that he was wronged.


    Yan Shouye had acted like a reputable man, but as compared to the nobles like the son of Lord Dianqian, he was as good as a piece of trash. He was beaten up badly and begged for mercy as he was close to losing his life. In the end, he paid the son of Lord Dianqian a hundred thousand silver taels before being dragged before the princess to kowtow and apologize before the matter was put to rest.


    When he returned home half-dead, he finally spat a mouthful of blood when he learned that Prince Cheng had smashed the signboard of Yan¡¯s restaurant and warned them that they would never be able to open the restaurant for business if Lin Dan did not return.


    Lady Zhou was even proud of what she did after she created trouble at the Hometown Kitchen the day before, but she was now as anxious as a hen with one chick, ¡°What should we do? Can this restaurant continue its business after we¡¯ve done so many things?¡± She was more afraid of living the old life than anyone else after knowing that the glamorous and glorious days have passed.


    ¡°Yes, why not? Langqing is still working as an imperial chef in the palace. We can ask her to beg the Emperor for mercy. If the Emperor has a bit of interest in her, not to mention being an imperial chef, she could even be his concubine.¡± He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Servant! Go and pass a message to Langqing, tell her that her family is in trouble, and ask her to come back soon.¡±


    The servant did not dare to hold up for another second and immediately went to the palace gates after taking some silver notes. Unfortunately, the Yan family had underestimated Lin Dan¡¯s connections. Although she did not want to fight for anything in the world, it did not mean that those who care about her would not fight it for her.

 CH 31

    Yan Langqing had been feeling uneasy recently. The root cause of all her worries came from Lin Dan, a person who had long been forgotten by her but suddenly entered into the picture again. Yan Langqing had gotten people to pack Lin Dan¡¯s four signature dishes into the palace, and she found that they were all really delicious.


    She tried to remake those dishes but found that even with the same ingredients and condiments, she was unable to recreate the same taste as Lin Dan. Yan Langqing was sure that Lin Dan had developed unique cooking techniques that were difficult to follow or master without Lin Dan¡¯s guidance. It would be useless even if she had gotten hold of the recipe.


    It was an extraordinary skill that only the old chefs who had been in the industry for decades or even a lifetime possessed. As for Lin Dan, she was merely two years younger than Yan Langqing and was only twenty-two years old, but she had already far surpassed her. She had to admit that she felt uneasy, but as an imperial chef, she would never concede defeat to an ordinary chef.


    She was definitely going to have a competition with Lin Dan, but she had to wait till her day off. However, troubles came even before she could wait. Several guards rushed into the imperial kitchen with big swords and asked aggressively, ¡°Who was the one who made this Eight-Treasure Tofu today? Come forward!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Yan Langqing stepped forward calmly. In the palace, she was protected by the Emperor and naturally was not afraid of anything.


    ¡°Apart from you, who else has handled that dish?¡± the guard asked again.


    Several maids and eunuchs stepped forward one after another, and they were all Yan Langqing¡¯s close aides. Among them was the young man who often left the palace to help her find delicacies outside the palace.


    ¡°Tie them up and send them to the Department of Justice!¡± Several guards tied them up without making any explanations and dragged them away for interrogation.


    Yan Langqing started to panic when she heard that her aides were going to be put into the dark and hellish jail. She asked urgently while struggling, ¡°Sirs, what have we done wrong?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know what you¡¯re guilty of?¡± The guards gagged their mouths and dragged them away rudely.


    What actually happened was nothing serious yet not to be taken lightly at the same time. The Emperor had hosted a few princes from Mongolia in the palace and was discussing purchasing war horses from them. One of the princes had already informed a servant from the imperial kitchen that he was allergic to peanuts, but the Eight-Treasure Tofu was served instead which contained peanut sauce. The prince had an allergic reaction as soon as he ate it and developed a red rash all over his body with an unbearable itch. As a result, the banquet was ruined, and discussion on the purchase of the warhorses was unsuccessful. Everything had to hold until the prince had recovered.


    In order to give the prince an explanation, the Emperor ordered the guards to thoroughly investigate the matter and found Yan Langqing responsible for it. Although Yan Langqing was not told about the prince¡¯s allergy, she was the chef who made the dish after all. She had to be interrogated to appease the guests even if the Emperor was reluctant to do so.


    After discovering that the incident was merely a mistake and did not involve any spies or conspiracies from the other countries, the Department of Justice had released them. But Prince Gong, who was the head of the Department, suddenly arrived. Without a word, he threw two bamboo sticks and punished Yan Langqing and her apprentice, which was the young eunuch, each with fifty heavy sticks.


    As Yan Langqing had won the favor of the Emperor, the executioner held back and did not dare to beat her hard. However, her apprentice did not enjoy such privileges. At the end of the interrogation, his clothes were torn and bloody and he was completely in ruins. After being taken out of the jail, Yan Langqing¡¯s legs were jelly, and tears started to roll uncontrollably. People had said that the palace was a place full of schemes, but she had never felt it under the Emperor¡¯s protection until today. She realized that the dark cell was indeed like a big mouth, waiting to tear people apart and devour lives.


    When she was pressed on the bloody floor for interrogation, she vaguely heard Prince Gong said, ¡°My brother asked me to punish her harshly¡­ offended his beloved lady¡­ Sigh, it¡¯s not his concubine, but a cook with excellent culinary skills¡­¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Yan Langqing was smart and quickly understood that she was punished because she had offended someone she should not have in the first place. She wondered who it was, and the first group of people she could think of was the chefs in the imperial kitchen. They might have wanted to take her down so that the head chef position could be taken over by them.


    Everyone seemed like a bad person to her right now and she only wanted to go home immediately without returning to the imperial kitchen. As she had expected, an order came and she was stripped away of the position as the imperial chef before being sent home. She was dumbfounded at what had happened. She felt humiliated and was unwilling to accept the reality.


    She did not know what exactly happened and no one told her that the prince was allergic to peanuts. She was certain that she was framed, but she had no evidence and could not defend herself. She was being carried into a carriage before she could even change out of her bloody clothes before being sent out of the palace.


    The young eunuch who often left the palace to find delicacies for her suffered from serious injuries and was thrown into the side quarters. It was unknown if he would be able to survive the predicament, but even if he did he would not be able to return to the imperial kitchen anymore. He could only serve the concubines who were living in the cold palace and had turned mad, or clean the toilets at the Laundry Bureau. The worst was yet to come.


    ¡ª


    Lady Zhou was shell-shocked to see her son covered in blood after being beaten up by the officials and kept asking what they should do in the future. Since the restaurant was wrecked, the signboard was smashed into pieces, and the nobles even said that they were not allowed to open the business, she wondered if it meant that they had to go and beg Lin Dan, that wretched girl, to return. Lady Zhou did not want to concede defeat, but she knew that the situation of the family would not improve if Lin Dan did not return. They had already lost most of their savings by paying that one hundred thousand tael of silver. This had a great impact on the family¡¯s finances and she thought it would be impossible to recover in the next eight to ten years.


    Yan Shouye gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Beg? If she has a backer, so do we, and our backer is the Emperor. When Langqing returns, I will ask her to speak to the Emperor and everything will be fine. Our Langqing is bound to be the Emperor¡¯s concubine in the future.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that she was going to be the wife of a marquis?¡± Lady Zhou finally felt a sense of relief.


    ¡°Being the wife of a marquis is nothing compared to being a concubine of the Emperor. I have stopped Langqing from getting married all these years and you thought I was delaying her? Look what¡¯s happening now. If I hadn¡¯t held her back, do you think she could enjoy such good fortune? This hardship will be over once Langqing is back, and I will ask her to make the Emperor punish Marquis Weiyuan and the others to avenge me!¡± Yan Shouye got more excited and straightened his torso before yelling, ¡°Servants! Go to the door and see if the missy is back!¡±


    Immediately, a maid rushed in and screamed in a hoarse voice, ¡°Bad news, bad news! M-Missy came back covered in blood and was removed as the imperial chef!¡±


    The palace guard who sent Yan Langqing back received an order from Prince Gong to embarrass the Yan family by proclaiming the mistake she had committed in the palace and the removal of her position clearly at the entrance. As the passersby were all neighbors who lived nearby and were often bullied by Lady Zhou and Yan Shouye, they could not help but gloat over their misfortune. They thought it was the family¡¯s bad karma for ill-treating others merely because their daughter was an imperial chef.


    Yan Langqing was so embarrassed that she covered her head with a thin blanket before getting the servants to lift herself out of the carriage and returned home. She was shocked when she saw her father who was also lying on the bed.


    Yan Shouye was completely in panic and started to tell her about what he did to Lin Dan and her mother, as well as how he set her hometown kitchen on fire. He exclaimed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know she had connections with so many respectable people when she had only returned to the capital for only two or three months, and they were all willing to stand up for her! If only I knew that, I wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± He wouldn¡¯t have provoked her, he thought.


    But Yan Shouye did not bring himself to finish that sentence. He thought for a moment and groaned, ¡°Looks like we can¡¯t rely on the Emperor anymore. Langqing, send a letter to Tang Peng and ask for his help. You may not know this, but Lin Dan utterly embarrassed Tang Peng the last time he brought a few Mongolian princes to Lin Dan¡¯s hometown kitchen and he hated Lin Dan. When I told him that I wanted to set the restaurant on fire, he agreed to help me bribe the South District office immediately. Or maybe, he has been treating me well because of you. I suppose he won¡¯t reject your request if you have spoken to him instead. How can we survive if we keep this restaurant closed? But we need a backer if we want to reopen the restaurant, isn¡¯t it? He is the Deputy Minister of War and the son of Marquis Yongding. I¡¯m sure Prince Cheng will not come and smash our signboard again if he backs us up.¡±


    Yan Shouya rattled on, but Yan Langqing had only heard the word ¡°Mongolia¡± and she immediately asked, ¡°The princes of Mongolia have dined at Lin Dan¡¯s restaurant? Does she have connections with the princes of this country?¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have any connections with them if not for the young marquis who took those people there. In the past few years, he has worked with Mongolia to fight against the Xiongnu. They were allies on the battlefield and had good relations.¡± Yan Shouye had intended to buy a title and naturally understood the affairs of the court.


    ¡°The young marquis? So, it was him!¡± Yan Langqing was completely stunned, and tears started rolling at once. She thought it was the people from the imperial kitchen who framed her, but it was actually the young marquis¡¯ doings. Besides him, there was no one else who was able to get the Mongolian prince¡¯s help to create trouble for her in the palace.


    Prince Cheng and Prince Gong had also stepped forward to seek justice for Lin Dan. She wondered what was the reason that all the hard work she had put in to survive in the palace and to uphold the reputation of her family was destroyed overnight.


    Yan Langqing suddenly felt extremely miserable and yelled, ¡°Father, didn¡¯t I tell you to live in peace and don¡¯t cause any trouble?! Why didn¡¯t you take my words seriously? Back then, it was all because of you that I was being driven out by the marquis and was hated by the young marquis. Now you are making trouble again, and I was driven out of the palace by the Emperor and my reputation is smeared. Are you satisfied now? How many times do you have to drag me down?¡±


    Looking at the daughter who was half lying on the chair mourning and crying, Yan Shouye was ashamed and regretful, but there was nothing he could do. He murmured, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lin Dan to be such a prickly hedgehog that cannot be provoked. Why don¡¯t you send a letter to Tang Peng? He might be able to help you.

 CH 32

    Lin Dan returned after only staying in the suburbs of the capital for two nights. Since the store had been sold to Qin Er¡¯niang, she wanted to move her things out to make room for her.


    ¡°Can you not sell this store and continue the hometown kitchen business?¡± Qin Er¡¯niang felt that she might be the stupidest woman in the world, as she was yearning to return the shop she had bought over. But she knew that life would be tougher without having to enjoy Manager Lin¡¯s dishes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not continuing the business. I¡¯m almost done with the matters of the capital and am thinking of traveling to other places.¡± Lin Dan was used to traveling around and would not stay in the same place for too long.


    While they were talking, there were people knocking on the door from time to time and shouting, ¡°Is Manager Lin back yet? When will she open for business? Manager Lin, Manager Lin¡­¡± They shouted for a long time before walking away with a sigh as they received no response.


    This happened frequently during days while Lin Dan was away. There were diners who would knock on the door and ask questions at every other moment. Since the hometown kitchen was closed, people in the South District could only enjoy authentic hometown food in their dreams. These days, most of the people who left their hometown to make money in the capital were strong men who did not know how to cook. Even if they could, they would not be able to recreate the flavor Lin Dan made, and could only eat plain buns.


    Nobody would want to live a hard life if they could make their lives better. They would not want to eat buns if there were cheap and delicious food. They felt life had become tougher without Manager Lin around.


    Lin Dan did not seem to pay any attention to the noise outside and continued packing. But Qin Er¡¯niang tsked and sneered, ¡°Yeah, just keep the door closed and let them die of anxiety! They enjoyed so much good food here but when trouble came, nobody actually offered any help! They¡¯re just a bunch of ungrateful bastards!¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and said nothing. She thought it was an overstatement to call them bastards. They acted this way because the world was hard and cold. Nevertheless, she was still thankful for Qin Er¡¯niang. If she had not brought her girls over to chase Lady Zhou away, Lady Zhou may still come and create more trouble for her. She believed that it was out of kindness that others were willing to help, but it was also understandable if they did not want to. No one should be blamed.


    That was why she sold the store to Qin Er¡¯niang at a low price of ten taels of silver, and also gave her a recipe for making wine and a few recipes for making snacks. The brothel was not a place to sell food, but food and drinks were important aspects of her business. She believed it should be enough to repay her kindness.


    They talked as they packed, but suddenly they heard loud screaming outside the door, and there were vague sounds of someone begging for mercy and giving kowtows. The noise outside was annoying people around.


    ¡°Who is fighting outside? You stay here while I go and take a look.¡± Qin Er¡¯niang put down the broom and walked out.


    Lin Dan could not let her take the risk and pulled her behind, before walking out with a kitchen knife. She peeked out from the door and saw Tang Jiu standing upright in front of the steps. The guards were stepping on several punks under their feet and were breaking the bones of their hands one by one with the back of the sword.


    The screams were made by the gangsters, and there was a young man who was kneeling next to them. It was Tang Peng. His back was tied up with thorns and he yelled angrily, ¡°Brother Jiu, you actually humiliated me for an outsider! I¡¯m going to report this to uncle!¡±


    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re in the right for misusing your power for personal gains and oppressing the people?¡± Tang Jiu said indifferently.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you misusing your power right now as well?¡± Tang Peng was still struggling, but Zhao Liu pressed his shoulders hard and made him kneel on the ground.


    Tang Jiu ignored him and turned around as he heard some sounds. His eyes lit up immediately and said, ¡°Lin Dan, you are back.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lin Dan wanted to raise her hand and point at Tang Peng and the few gangsters, but she soon realized that she was holding a knife and put her hand down.


    Tang Jiu cupped his hands and said, ¡°The government received Tang Peng¡¯s instructions to disregard the arson, and I have brought him here to face his wrongdoings. These rogues are the arsonists.¡± He obviously has received news that Lin Dan was back and was sure that he would not come in vain.


    Lin Dan showed a look of sudden realization and glanced at Tang Peng who was still yelling and cursing. She replied gratefully, ¡°Thank you, young marquis, for standing up for me. I accept his apology.¡± She wanted to close the door after saying these words.


    Tang Jiu hurriedly put his hand in between the doors and asked, ¡°Can you please stay, then?¡± He failed to keep Lin Dan ten years ago, and he hoped that things could change ten years later. No one knew how many times Lin Dan¡¯s figure and her stubbornness had appeared in his dreams. She always went farther and farther, and then gradually disappeared into the dense fog, making him awake with lingering fear and guilt.


    Back then, if he had not believed in the rumors and forced Lin Dan to have a competition with Yan Langqing, Uncle Lin would not have to suffer such injustice even after his death. He grew up eating dishes made by Uncle Lin, and he should know Uncle Lin¡¯s character. But at that time, he felt as if he had been bewitched and believed in everything Yan Langqing said. In the end, the competition had tarnished Uncle Lin¡¯s reputation, while Lin Dan and Lady Qi clan had to leave their hometown and travel from place to place for many years.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    He believed that he had never done anything wrong in his life, except the fact that he was sorry for the deceased Uncle Lin, as well as Lin Dan and Lady Qi. Seeing that Lin Dan had finally returned to the capital and tried to re-establish Lin¡¯s family¡¯s recipes, he was happier than anyone else. He knew how talented Lin Dan was, and as long as she was given enough time, she could definitely surpass Uncle Lin¡¯s achievements.


    However, there were people who wanted to make her suffer. They used one trick after another on her, which forced her to leave again. But Tang Jiu¡¯s disgust for Yan¡¯s family was already bone-deep, or he would not use his own means to strip Yan Langqing¡¯s position as an imperial chef.


    He said in a more serious tone and repeated, ¡°Can¡¯t you stay this time around? I promise that no one will dare to humiliate you in the future.¡±


    Lin Dan smiled but shook her head firmly.


    Tang Jiu was utterly disappointed and wanted to say something more. But a man squeezed through the crowd and said in a trembling voice, ¡°I am the servant of the Yan family, I came here to deliver a letter for my missy.¡±


    ¡°You may hand it to me.¡± Lin Dan stretched out her hand to receive the letter before letting out a heavy sigh. The person she was waiting for had finally come¡­


    Tang Jiu glanced at the letter and saw a line written in beautiful handwriting that said: ¡°June 6th, Fragrant Garden.¡± The Fragrant Garden was an imperial residence and was usually out of bounds for the ordinary people, as that was one of the Emperor¡¯s favorite gardens and should be guarded all year round. Tang Jiu wondered how Yan Langqing could use that place with her current identity and suspected she had gotten the Emperor¡¯s permission.


    Tang Jiu suddenly remembered the message sent to him by his sister, saying that the Emperor had been very generous to Yan Langqing in recent years, and asked Tang Jiu to find a way to stop her as the Emperor seemed to have the intention of making her a concubine. It was also because of this message that there were rumors that the imperial concubine wanted Yan Langqing to marry Tang Jiu and become part of the marquis¡¯ family.


    If it was true that Lang Yanqing had the backing of the Emperor, he worried that the competition would not be a fair one. He whispered to Lin Dan, ¡°The Fragrant Garden is an imperial garden, and no one could use it without a decree from the Emperor. The last person who ate at the Fragrant Garden was the Royal Princess.¡±


    Lin Dan frowned slightly and nodded after a moment. ¡°I see. Thank you for telling me.¡± She spoke calmly and sounded relaxed.


    Tang Jiu could not tell what she was thinking and continued: ¡°I can think of a way to cancel this competition.¡± He thought there was no point in participating in an unfair competition and that they should make Yan Langqing lose the Emperor¡¯s favor before having the competition. There was already little justice in the world, but he wanted to seek justice for Lin Dan, a justice that was ten years late.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I have my own way to deal with it.¡± Lin Dan smiled and shook her head. She had waited for ten years for this moment and did not want to wait any longer.


    ¡°Please reconsider it carefully. Yan Langqing has the Emperor¡¯s backing, and the judges who will be invited would not dare to make her the loser.¡± Since he could not persuade her, Tang Jiu decided to make things clearer.


    Lin Dan waved her hand and said the same thing, ¡°I can deal with it, not to worry.¡±


    Tang Jiu looked at her and gritted his teeth, feeling helpless yet moved at the same time. Lin Dan was still the same stubborn girl, but it was precisely because of this stubbornness that she had achieved what she had today.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll come up with something for you anyway!¡± After saying this, Tang Jiu took Tang Peng and strode away.


    Qin Er¡¯niang tiptoed and looked at the content of the letter. She sighed, ¡°Fragrant Garden, that¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s favorite place and it¡¯s out of bounds for most people. Manager Lin, it¡¯s better that you do not ignore what Young Marquis Tang said. Sometimes, giving in doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ve lost. We know how good you are, so why bother fighting a losing battle?¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head with a determined look on her face.


    ¡ª


    June 6th soon arrived, and Lin Dan was invited to the location. She passed through numerous checkpoints and inspections before she was allowed to enter the Fragrant Garden. In the garden, there was one guard post for every five steps and one booth every ten and the place was heavily guarded by solemn-looking imperial guards.


    Most ordinary people would be terrified of such a scene and would not dare to appear for the competition. It was obvious that Yan Langqing tried to instill fear in Lin Dan even before meeting her. Lin Dan did not know who she was, but she knew that she would be facing something peculiar or even spectacular. It was because she did not panic at all at the sight of this scene, and her heart was as calm and quiet as still water, without any ripples at all.


    She walked into the inner courtyard with composure and entered the main hall. She immediately knelt down when she saw a handsome man sitting on the main seat. The man was wearing a pair of bright yellow boots and was undoubtedly the Emperor.


    ¡°You may rise. I heard that you are going to have a cooking competition with Langqing, so I specially left the palace to be a witness to her.¡± The Emperor gave a seemingly kind smile, ¡°This time around, you will only have to display your true capabilities without worrying anything. You may ask for any food ingredients, and the servants will prepare them for you.¡±


    Yan Langqing lowered her head and covered her mouth, seemingly bashful. The Emperor glanced at her and smiled tenderly. He may seem fair on the surface, but with just a few words, he had clearly spelled out his close relationship with Yan Langqing. ¡°Who would dare to disobey him?¡± She thought.


    The people who came to be the judge looked at each other and each had their own thoughts. These judges included old imperial chefs who have left the palace, well-known food connoisseurs, and head chefs of large restaurants. All of them were knowledgeable in cooking.


    Lin Dan took a quick glance at the judges and immediately understood what was happening. Most of these judges were also there in the previous competition, it felt as though time had gone back and the same thing was happening again. In addition, old acquaintances such as Young Marquis Tang, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, Marquis Weiyuan, and the son of Lord Dianqian were also present in the audience. Yan Shouye, who had been badly beaten up and was supposed to remain bedridden, was there too. He looked at her with a bitter but proud face.


    Lin Dan bowed down and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, would you ensure the fairness of this competition?¡± The Emperor claimed to be a benevolent ruler. When he first took over the throne, he welcomed all suggestions and feedback and recruited talented officials. On the royal court, he was exceptionally forgiving toward officials who gave direct and honest opinions. Since Lin Dan tried to make things clear, he had to nod if he did not want to.

 CH 33

    Lin Dan¡¯s bold speech had surprised the Emperor. He originally looked down on this plain-looking woman, but there was already a hint of interest in his eyes. He replied, ¡°Of course, I must ensure the fairness of this competition. I will only watch and not comment. Your cooking skills will be judged by these old food connoisseurs and chefs. They will have the final say.¡±


    Lin Dan faced the judges and gave them a bow one by one. She said, ¡°Even so, this competition is still unfair to me. Imperial Chef Yan is very much favored by you, Your Majesty. You have provided her with the Fragrant Garden to hold the competition and even came here personally. It is obvious that you¡¯re showing favoritism towards her. Being the ruler of the country, I¡¯m sure your people would also not dare to defy your will. Today, as soon as I stepped into the Fragrant Garden, I know I¡¯ve lost. If this was plain to me, I¡¯m sure the wise and all-knowing Emperor would understand this too.¡±


    Everyone was horrified to hear this, as they had never expected Lin Dan to be so candid with her opinions.


    But the Emperor gave a hearty laugh, his eyes filled with interest. ¡°In that case, what do you think I should do? Do you want to continue this competition?¡±


    Yan Langqing showed a mixed expression. If possible, she would naturally want to compete with Lin Dan fair and square, but she was unable to refuse the Emperor¡¯s kindness. But Yan Shouye felt that there was no need to continue the competition at all and thought Lin Dan had come to be humiliated. ¡°Once my daughter becomes a concubine, I will kill her!¡± He thought.


    However, Lin Dan nodded without hesitation and said, ¡°I will continue, of course. But to ensure fairness, would you allow me to set the rules, Your Majesty? Back then, when I competed with Imperial Chef Yan for the first time, Imperial Chef Yan was also the one who set the rules as I was the head chef of the marquis residence and was favored by the marquis. She had decided the content, rules, and judges of the competition. Now that the situation is reversed, I¡¯m making the same request. I reckon this is not too much to ask for?¡±


    The Emperor glanced at Yan Langqing and nodded, ¡°Indeed, it sounds fair to me. Tell me, how would you like to hold the competition?¡±


    Lin Dan may seem to have the upper hand, but the Emperor still had the final say. Even if she made the most delicious dish, a word from the judges could easily push her down into the abyss. The so-called fairness had never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan was bold, but not brilliant. The Emperor shook his head thinking of this and had lost all interest in her.


    Lin Dan steadily replied, ¡°In this competition, we will use the same ingredients to make the same dish, and just one dish.¡±


    Yan Langqing asked, ¡°What do you want to make?¡±


    ¡°Since the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, shall we make rice dumplings?¡± Lin Dan tilted her head and smiled at her.


    Yan Langqing was stunned. She took a while to snap out of her thoughts and nodded slowly. From Lin Dan¡¯s four signature dishes, Yan Langqing had some understanding of her current level and thought she would want to compete on an extremely difficult dish. Little did she expect that Lin Dan would propose to compete making rice dumplings. However, Yan Langqing was not taken aback at all. The concubines in the palace loved dumplings too and the various kinds of dumplings she made were well received. This was why she was not afraid of competing on this dish. The concubines were extremely picky when it came to food, and she was sure that the judges would be satisfied with her cooking if she was able to even satisfy the concubines.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make fifty catties of rice dumplings, and only meat dumplings, is that alright?¡± Lin Dan continued.


    ¡°Fifty catties?¡± Yan Langqing finally showed a surprised expression.


    ¡°Are you up for it?¡± Lin Dan looked straight at her.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Great, in that case, may I request for one hundred catties of glutinous rice and fifty catties of pork belly. The glutinous rice and pork belly do not need to be separated and can be placed in one bucket, and we will distribute it among ourselves in the kitchen later on. If there are any other condiments that we need, we will make a request to the servants individually so that we will not disrupt one another. Is this arrangement okay?¡± Lin Dan cupped her hands and displayed a humble yet unwavering attitude.


    The Emperor nodded and said, ¡°Permission granted. Let¡¯s make the preparations.¡±


    ¡°Is Lin Dan trying to stuff everyone with the hundred catties of meat dumplings?¡± The Emperor thought to himself.


    Not only the Emperor was surprised, but the other guests were also puzzled too. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen and there was no time to ask for the reason. Besides, Lin Dan probably would not give an answer even if she was asked, so they thought it was better to wait until the meat dumplings were completed. The Emperor thought that it would be a competition where the outcome had been decided even before it even started, but he did not expect Lin Dan to create suspense in the competition. Lin Dan was interesting indeed, he thought.


    Regardless of the audience¡¯s speculations, Lin Dan, who entered the kitchen, was extremely composed. One hundred catties of glutinous rice were packed in a huge wooden barrel and was carried in by the servants who were out of breath, followed by a bucket with fifty catties of pork belly.


    Lin Dan pressed the glutinous rice with her hands and nodded in satisfaction.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Yan Langqing said warmly, ¡°Your worries are redundant. I will not stoop so low to make them prepare the good ingredients for me and the inferior ingredients for you. You can take your share of glutinous rice and pork first, and I will use the rest.¡±


    Lin Dan turned her head and looked at her with a smile on her face. ¡°Thank you then, Imperial Chef Yan.¡±


    Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves and said, ¡°Then, shall we begin?¡±


    ¡°Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the dumplings. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have any objections?¡± Lin Dan took out three dumpling leaves and rolled them into a cone. She then added some glutinous rice and tied them with rope before motioning it to her, ¡°Can you make dumplings with the same shape and the same size as this?¡±


    This was a really strange rule, but Yan Langqing did not think much about it. She nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± She immediately wrapped a triangular rice dumpling exactly the same and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.


    Lin Dan untied the two rice dumplings, put the glutinous rice back in the bucket, and said with a smile: ¡°Then, we can begin.¡±


    The two chefs each occupied a stove and got busy. Yan Langqing first soaked the glutinous rice, sliced ??the pork belly into thin slices, and marinated them with soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, peanut oil, and other seasonings. When she lifted her head, she realized that Lin Dan was setting fire in the stove and had not touched the glutinous rice and pork belly.


    ¡°Why is she trying to set up fire when the dumplings are not even done yet?¡± She thought. She felt that Lin Dan¡¯s steps were strange and could not help but take another glance. She soon realized that Lin Dan was not burning firewood, but sesame candy sticks she had specially requested from the palace servants. The sesame sticks contained many ripe sesame seeds and made popping sounds when it was burned on the stone. A unique burnt fragrance was slowly given out and it smelled extremely rich.


    Yan Langqing involuntarily took a deep breath and felt even more curious.


    But Lin Dan did not even look at her. She only set aside the sesame sticks that were burned into ashes and wrapped them in a thin silk cloth. She then put them in cool water and rubbed them until the crystal-clear water had turned muddy. After sieving it several times with a fine silk cloth, she made sure that there was no residue left before soaking the glutinous rice.


    After the white glutinous rice was added into the water and was stained with the muddy color, Yan Langqing instantly thought she was ruining the food! She thought these rice dumplings would be too dirty for the judges to consume. She was full of questions, but she thought it was inappropriate to ask her and neither was she interested to know anyway. This competition could affect her reputation and she naturally would not stop Lin Dan from jeopardizing her own victory.


    Lin Dan soaked the glutinous rice and began to process the pork belly. The seasoning she chose was similar to Yan Langqing, with only a slight difference in amount. After everything was ready, she started making the dumplings. It was obvious that her method of wrapping the dumplings was very sophisticated. She rolled up the leaf with a twist of her wrist and added some glutinous rice underneath before stuffing a piece of meat in the middle. After covering it with more glutinous rice and pressing it with hands, she wrapped the dumpling and tied it with a rope. Finally, she tied a small knot at the end of the rope.


    Yan Langqing also started to wrap the rice dumplings into the exact same size and shape as Lin Dan¡¯s dumplings. After wrapping one dumpling, she threw it into the pot and waited for it to be cooked.


    From morning to afternoon, the two of them finally wrapped fifty catties of rice dumplings and placed them into two buckets of the same size and shape. The dumplings were already cooked and steaming hot. Before it was served to the judges, Lin Dan counted the total of rice dumplings, before walking to Yan Langqing¡¯s wooden barrel. Then, she slowly said, ¡°Let¡¯s swap positions.¡±


    Although Yan Langqing was full of doubts, she did not feel there was anything wrong and stood behind Lin Dan¡¯s wooden barrel. She thought that she could easily recognize her own barrel and Lin Dan should not have the guts to steal her food.


    Lin Dan then invited all the guests and said, ¡°May I ask the guests to take two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two barrels placed on the left and right. You may exchange as many times as you like, or you may leave it untouched. After one guest has finished the exchange, another guest will enter and follow suit. After five rounds, no one is allowed to reveal how many exchanges he has made.¡±


    ¡°What exactly are you trying to do?¡± The Emperor could not tell what Lin Dan was planning. Logically speaking, since the dumplings were done, the judges could try them and decide the winner immediately. But now, Lin Dan seemed to be playing a game, and seemingly wanting to fool with everyone else. Such audacity, he thought.


    ¡°Your Majesty, you have already agreed to let me decide how the competition would be conducted. Is your permission still valid?¡± Lin Dan asked instead of answering his question.


    The Emperor frowned and waved his hand, ¡°Get five of them out and exchange the positions of the two barrels.¡±


    Five people, including Tang Jiu, son of Lord Dianqian, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Marquis Weiyuan immediately stood up.


    Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment but did not raise any objections. Although these people were loyal fans of Lin Dan, they were not the judges and would have no say to the outcome of the competition. Yan Langqing thought Lin Dan merely wanted to exchange the two buckets of dumplings so that the judges would not be able to tell who made the dumplings. She agreed that this was a brilliant tactic, but perhaps Lin Dan had forgotten that old imperial chefs who had left the palace were very familiar with Yan Langqing¡¯s craftsmanship. Several of them were even specially invited by the Emperor to teach her cooking and could be considered to be her master.


    She was certain that they would be able to tell the two kinds of dumplings apart. Besides, Lin Dan had used that ¡°dirty method¡± to treat the glutinous rice, and Yan Langqing wondered if the dumplings could even be eaten. She was very skeptical about her cooking method, and already believed that she could win. Lin Dan was not as good as her ten years ago, and it will be the same ten years later.


    The Emperor could also tell Lin Dan¡¯s intention and could not help but shook his head. This Manager Lin had been playing clever tricks but turned out that her tricks were not good enough.


    After Tang Jiu and the rest had exchanged the wooden barrels, they walked out with a gloomy expression. To them, Lin Dan was fighting a losing battle and everything she did was merely a desperate struggle. She had already lost the competition the moment she accepted the challenge. Justice was absent in the face of power and she should understand this.


    Yet, Lin Dan looked very relaxed and said, ¡°Since the competition is over, I will now set the rules for judging the winner. Everyone in this room is biased and it is inevitable that this will be an unfair competition. In my opinion, the judges who are present here are not the best candidates to ensure a fair competition. Therefore, I¡¯d like to take these two buckets of dumplings to the city gate. We will peel the dumplings apart and cut them into pieces, before letting the people who enter the city taste them and take the dumpling they prefer away. The one who has all the dumplings taken away by the people first wins. Wouldn¡¯t it be fair this way? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve marked the dumplings to tell two buckets apart. I¡¯ve also counted dumplings in advance. The two buckets each contain 400 dumplings, and extras were set aside in order to ensure that the outcome can easily be judged.

 CH 34

    As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, everyone present was dumbfounded, and even the Emperor who was confident that Lin Dan would lose had shown a surprised expression.


    According to Lin Dan, the people would definitely choose the dumpling that suited their taste buds if they were to be the judge. They wouldn¡¯t know who made the two barrels of dumplings, let alone knowing that it would decide the outcome of a competition. Conducting the competition in this manner would indeed result in the fairest outcome.


    No one could refute what Lin Dan said, not even the Emperor because he had promised Lin Dan that this would be a fair competition and that she could decide the rules. The Emperor¡¯s words were considered to be of weighty significance that no one could deny it.


    The Emperor soon realized Lin Dan¡¯s true intention. The decision of this competition was no longer in the hands of the Emperor or the judges anymore, but in the hands of the people. In order to prevent him from interfering with his ruling power, she even stated that only those who entered the city would be given the dumplings and not those who are leaving the city. The Emperor could arrange for people to leave the city and pick up the dumplings, but he could not control those who were entering the city. Only God knows who would be entering the capital and when.


    Since the order of the two buckets of dumplings had been disrupted, even if the Emperor was resourceful enough to get people disguised as ordinary people and enter the city, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell which bucket of dumplings was made by Yan Langqing. In the end, it still depended on their preference. Besides, the Emperor would not stoop so low to find out who was the one that made the bucket of rice dumpling respectively.


    ¡°Is this fair?¡± The Emperor shook his head and laughed loudly, ¡°It¡¯s fair, perfectly fair! Guards, move these two buckets of rice dumplings to the west city gate, and the guards will distribute them to those who enter the city. Everyone who enters the city is allowed to pick the one they prefer after tasting and should never take more than one.¡± In that way, they would only take the one they liked the most.


    The Emperor had originally intended to support Yan Langqing. After all, this was the woman he was fond of, who had just been wronged, and he thought it would not hurt to show some favoritism. But now, he thought Lin Dan was an interesting woman, and she had also made this competition interesting. This was why he did not mind making the competition a fair one to spice things up even more. He would do nothing next, nor allow others to break the rules, and left the outcome of the competition to the people.


    Seeing the Emperor¡¯s cheerful expression, Tang Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at Lin Dan, who seemed relaxed, with a pair of passionate eyes before breaking into a smile. He knew that he got all worried again for nothing, since Lin Dan could always face any difficulty calmly, and relied on her persistence and cleverness to figure a way out.


    Marquis Weiyuan¡¯s lazy and casual expression finally faded and he stared directly at Lin Dan. Prince Cheng and Prince Gong were whispering and giggling together, looking to be in good spirits. The son of Lord Dianqian only rubbed the teacup in his hand, occasionally raised his eyes to look at Lin Dan with a pair of deep eyes.


    The only one who was carrying a solemn expression was Yan Langqing. She never thought that Lin Dan would propose to judge the competition in this manner, but after analyzing carefully, she had to admit that Lin Dan¡¯s intelligence was admirable. The Emperor especially liked women with quick thinking and even more so for things that were interesting. He probably admired Lin Dan very much now and would not take sides anymore.


    Yan Langqing felt a little uneasy but not flustered because she believed in her own skills.


    The group came to the west gate and picked a high platform on the gates to watch how things unfold. Two buckets of dumplings were placed side by side by the guards, and one of them was peeled and broken for those who entered the city to have a taste. As the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, many rich people would typically give out dumplings to the poor as a way to earn good karma. Therefore, the passers-by were not at all surprised to have a dumpling. Since the guards were also around, they did not dare to snatch the dumplings. The people followed the instructions given by the guards and only had those who entered the city take one dumpling and nothing more.


    The people had a taste of the samples on both sides, and those who were entering the city soon took their preferred rice dumplings and left. The Emperor stood on the platform and looked down. His boredom had long been replaced by excitement and anticipation. He enjoyed conducting the competition in such a manner and believed that it was more fun when things were unpredictable.


    Since it took time to process glutinous rice and pork belly, it was already afternoon when the dumplings were ready. It was only an hour before the gate was closed, excluding the delay that was caused on the way, which was why there were still dumplings left in the two buckets. But this would not affect the outcome ¨C whoever had fewer rice dumplings left will win. There was no doubt about this.


    Everyone moved to a nearby restaurant and booked the most luxurious room. As soon as the Emperor entered the door, he hurriedly shouted: ¡°Guards, count the number of dumplings left in the bucket.¡±


    Immediately two guards stepped forward and counted the rice dumplings in the two buckets. After the results were out, they wrote them on the paper and asked two other guards to count them again. They repeated this three times and stopped when they obtained the same number. One of the guards stepped forward and said, ¡°Your Majesty, there are 288 rice dumplings remaining in the bucket on the left, and 63 rice dumplings in the bucket on the right. The right side wins.¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°The gap between the two is really big!¡± The Emperor thought. He looked at Lin Dan, raised his eyebrows, and said, ¡°Can you recognize which bucket is yours?¡±


    Lin Dan walked to the right and said confidently: ¡°I can recognize it, of course.¡±


    Yan Langqing stared at the two buckets and her face turned pale.


    ¡°How do you know this bucket belongs to you?¡± The Emperor looked at Lin Dan with a smile.


    ¡°I tied a knot at the end of each rope when wrapping rice dumplings. You may check it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Lin Dan took out a dumpling and showed the rope to everyone. There was indeed a small knot at the end, and it was unnoticeable without having someone holding it in their hand.


    In order to ensure fairness, several guards immediately took out all the rice dumplings and checked them one by one. They nodded and said, ¡°Your Majesty, all the rice dumplings on the right are knotted, but none are knotted on the left.¡±


    Lin Dan said, ¡°Besides the knots, you can also open up the dumplings. I¡¯m sure Imperial Chef Yan would be able to recognize her own work, right?¡± She picked up two dumplings and unhurriedly removed the leaves and opened them up.


    Without opening the dumplings, the two dumplings may look exactly the same in terms of size and shape, as if they were made by the same person. But when the dumpling was completely disassembled, the difference within was night and day. As everyone was standing on a high platform overlooking the city gate, it was natural that they were unable to see what happened exactly, but now that the two rice dumplings were lying on a jade white plate, everything seemed apparent.


    The dumpling on the right was golden in color, with a clear surface, and looked very delicate and small. On the other hand, the two ends of the dumpling on the left were slightly yellowish, and the middle section was sauce-colored as if it had been dipped in a large dyeing vat and looked very messy. One could judge whether the food was good from three aspects ¨C color, aroma, and taste. When the difference between the two dumplings became noticeable, everyone has to admit that Lin Dan has already emerged top based on the food appearance.


    All the meat dumplings that Yan Langqing wrapped appeared to have a mixture of colors. As the glutinous rice was white and the marinated pork belly was braised, when the two ingredients were steamed together, the colors would naturally stain and become unsightly. She had never expected that the glutinous rice that was soaked in the muddy water by Lin Dan would turn out into a brilliant golden color, looking very tender and lovely. She wondered what the reason was.


    She was shocked and complained, ¡°Something is wrong! Lin Dan¡¯s glutinous rice has been soaked in the muddy water and it should have been dirty. How can it look better than mine?¡±


    Before everyone showed their surprised expressions, Lin Dan slowly explained, ¡°You judged based on what you saw, but you do not know what the reason behind that was. Do you not know that the ashes formed by burning wood are cleaner than spring water? Due to the burning flame, the dirt has all been incinerated. The ash water also contains a magical medium, which can be used to clean your hands and can also be used to make dry goods. If you soak the hard and dry goods in the ash water, it can soften the ingredients several times faster than the clear water. My dumplings were soaked in this ash water and is called the ash water dumpling, which is a specialty of Baiyue region. After being soaked in the ash water, the glutinous rice was not only clean but also stained with a golden yellow color. It is unique, soft, and smooth, more delicious than ordinary white rice dumplings.¡±


    She stretched out her hand and gestured, ¡°Now that we have finished judging the appearance, it¡¯s time for everyone to judge the aroma and taste of the two dumplings.¡±


    The Emperor picked up the plate and sniffed the two rice dumplings carefully. He raised his eyebrows, before handing the plate to the old imperial chef standing beside him. The old imperial chef¡¯s eyes lit up after smelling it before handing it to the next judge. Everyone took turns to smell it and finally handed it to Yan Langqing.


    Yan Langqing was unconvinced at first, but she fell into despair after smelling it. This ash water dumpling was indeed like what Lin Dan said, it had a faint fragrance of plants and trees, a fresh astringency smell and aroma of the braised sauce. She thought Lin Dan¡¯s dumpling smelled unique, while her white dumplings only had the aroma of rice and meat. Her dumplings smelled good but were not rich in layers. Compared with Lin Dan¡¯s rice dumplings, her dumplings seemed ordinary.


    ¡°Everyone, please have a taste.¡± Lin Dan took up her chopsticks calmly and broke the two dumplings apart.


    Everyone tasted the two kinds of rice dumplings, and the amazement on their faces became even more apparent. There was no doubt that this ash water dumpling did not only have a bright color and unique scent but also very soft and tender in terms of its taste. Although it was no longer warm, the taste was still there, and it was slightly chewy on the first bite. It was first the slight sweetness of the glutinous rice and there was some astringency before tasting the thick and meaty flavor in the end. The rich and aromatic meat juice filled the mouth and brought about an endless aftertaste.


    After tasting Lin Dan¡¯s dumpling, Yan Langqing¡¯s dumpling seemed to be obviously inferior in texture and taste by several levels. The white glutinous rice dumplings were put in the cold and were not as soft as they were just taken out of the pot. They were slightly sticky at the first bite and were not easy to chew and swallow.  The meat filling was even lumpy and looking very dry.


    Seeing everyone¡¯s frowning brows, Lin Dan slowly said, ¡°Greywater rice dumplings taste better after being eaten cold. The soft glutinous rice dumpling has a little elasticity and is very easy to swallow. Not to mention the meat filling, it is also very delicious even if it is only eaten with sugar only. Meanwhile, the ordinary white glutinous rice dumplings will turn dry and hard after losing its warmth, it has to be heated up again so that it can be swallowed easily. This is the difference between the two. In case you think this is unfair, feel free to reheat the two dumplings and have a taste test again.¡±


    Yan Langqing¡¯s hand that was holding the chopsticks trembled slightly. She said nothing but looked at the Emperor hopefully.


    The Emperor smiled and waved his hand, ¡°Servants, heat up the rice dumplings!¡±


    Two palace servants took the rice dumplings to the kitchen immediately, and after a short while, they returned with a food box. True enough, the heated white rice dumpling was soft and tender, and the taste was much better than before. But Lin Dan¡¯s ash water rice dumpling was still golden, with delicate and rich oil flowing out of the gaps in the glutinous rice, giving it a luster and shiny appearance. It looked many times better than Yan Langqing¡¯s white rice dumplings.


    The Emperor immediately saw the ash water dumplings. He picked it up with his chopsticks and took a bite, before sighing with satisfaction. The glutinous rice soaked in ash water was sweeter, softer, and smoother. It was completely saturated with the juice secreted by the meat. Every bite was rich and delicious, making people want to smack their lips. After tasting the ash water dumplings made by Lin Dan¡¯s secret technique, one word two words came to the Emperor¡¯s mind after tasting Yan Langqing¡¯s white rice dumplings ¨C ordinary and plain.


    After the two kinds of rice dumplings were disassembled, it was apparent that the ash water rice dumplings were beautiful and delicious, but the white rice dumplings were stiff and hard to swallow. It was no wonder that Lin Dan¡¯s bucket was almost empty, while Yan Langqing¡¯s bucket was half full. This time around, her defeat was fair and square

 CH 35

    As the Emperor had special feelings for Yan Langqing, she naturally looked more pleasing to his eye than the others. But even so, there was no way he could bring himself to say that the dumplings made by Yan Langqing were better than those made by Lin Dan. The result of the competition was decided, and he knew that there was nothing he could do but to honor his taste buds.


    Thinking of this, he put down his chopsticks and said slowly, ¡°Lin Dan, you won.¡±


    As soon as the Emperor announced, a crisp sound rang in the private room. It was Yan Langqing who threw her chopsticks on the ground. Everyone looked at her and saw that her eyes were red, her face was pale and her limbs were shaking as if she had suffered a great shock. Her father, Yan Shouye, glared at Lin Dan. He was unable to accept the outcome and was filled with resentment.


    Lin Dan bowed and remained humble. She said, ¡°In that case, I ask that Imperial Chef Yan fulfill the agreement of this competition and return the golden knife and the recipes.¡±


    Yan Langqing seemed to have difficulty opening her mouth to speak, but Yan Shouye exclaimed angrily, ¡°No, those things belong to my father and the Yan family. Who gives you the right to own it?¡±


    ¡°Your father gave it to my father before he passed on, and those things belong to my father now. Back then, you got it from me with your own culinary skills, what¡¯s wrong with getting it back with my own skills now?¡±


    Yan Shouye still wanted to keep arguing, but the Emperor frowned and showed his displeasure. Yan Langqing immediately pressed her father¡¯s shoulders and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡®ve brought everything and will be giving them to you.¡± Initially, she brought it just to show her generosity but did not expect to lose to Lin Dan. Since the people entering the city had already decided her loss and the Emperor had also announced it officially, she reckoned that there was nothing she could do even if she did not want to concede defeat.


    Lin Dan put the golden knife aside and raised her eyebrows when she flipped through the Yan family¡¯s recipes. The recipe book was split into two parts by Yan Langqing, the second half of the book that was written by Lin Baotian was returned to Lin Dan. The first part should only have 60 pages, but it seemed to be thicker than before. It was apparent that Yan Langqing had been putting lots of effort over the years and had developed many new dishes, adding new vitality to Yan¡¯s recipes.


    However, Lin Dan started to frown as she took a closer look at the recipe book before sneering at what she discovered. She tore off one of the pages and handed it to a chef who came to watch the competition and said, ¡± I remember this braised deer tendon was developed by you, Chef Liu. Here, I¡¯m returning this to you. This stewed soft-shelled turtle is yours, Chef Fang, I¡¯m giving it back to you¡­¡± She tore off one after another, recipes and returned them to the original creators one by one.


    These chefs looked at Yan Langqing and at the Emperor, unsure whether it was appropriate for them to accept the recipes.


    The Emperor was puzzled and wondered what tricks Lin Dan was trying to pull, but Prince Cheng sneered, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know. Your imperial chef is pretty obnoxious, she knew that she was unable to create dishes to please you and took away recipes of other chefs. She did not allow people to sell those dishes again, as she claimed that it would be a sign of disrespect to share the same food as the Emperor. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d suggest that you make a list of foods for all the subjects to avoid, so that we wouldn¡¯t be committing a grave mistake!¡±


    Prince Gong spread his hands and pretended to panic, ¡°If so, wouldn¡¯t we starve to death? We can¡¯t eat meat if the Emperor does, can we not even drink water if the Emperor does, too?¡±


    Prince Cheng hurriedly consoled him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can always eat at the Yan¡¯s restaurant. Although food that is enjoyed by his majesty is not allowed to be sold elsewhere, it¡¯s available in their restaurant. People respect the power of the Emperor, but I¡¯m afraid the Emperor has no power over this family since they all have the support of Imperial Chef Yan!¡±


    The two princes echoed one another and exposed all the methods used by the Yan family to strike at their competitions, and even made them seem to be disrespectful of the Emperor. Yan Shouye started trembling and his face was as white as a sheet. Yan Langqing looked at her father in disbelief, and shouted sternly, ¡°Father, what is going on?¡± She kneeled down immediately and apologized to the Emperor, ¡°Your majesty, I have never said anything like this and I¡¯m also not aware of what happened. Please, I seek your forgiveness!¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The Emperor looked down at her with a pair of cold eyes that were once warm and tender. Yan Langqing looked at him and her heart was racing. She stayed in the palace for a long time and did not return home very often. But she had never expected that her family would be so obnoxious in her absence. She merely wanted to learn more dishes, and sincerely wanted to support the chefs that were working outside the palace, but it seemed like it had done more harm than good instead. It was no wonder the chefs who came today looked at her with a stiff expression. They seemed as though they were afraid to speak but were also showing looks of disdain.


    But at this moment, she could not care how the others see her anymore, she was only worried that the Emperor would be unhappy with her. Young Marquis Tang started to hate her ten years ago. Now, she had lost the golden knife, the recipes, the reputation, and the hearts of the people, and she could no longer afford to lose the Emperor¡¯s favor. Without the Emperor, Yan Langqing would be nobody after what had happened.


    Yan Shouye was so scared that he did not dare to utter another word. He could only kowtow like his daughter did. He had never thought the day would come when he showed off his daughter¡¯s achievements and oppressed his competitors.


    Lin Dan removed all the dishes that were taken away by the Yan family and placed them aside so that they could be returned to the original owner.


    The Emperor glanced at her and said with a frown, ¡°Rise, all of you. Let¡¯s not pursue this matter anymore since their restaurant has already been closed anyway. Owners of these recipes may claim them and may do anything they want with them in the future. I am the Emperor and the ruler of my people; anyone can enjoy the food I eat.¡±


    The Emperor actually let the Yan family off and made a speech that made the doings of the Yan family seem insignificant. Prince Cheng and Prince Gong were dissatisfied, but they did not continue speaking.


    Lin Dan was still tearing out the recipes when her calm expression changed after looking at one of the recipes. She said, ¡°If I remember correctly, this Fortune Meat is Imperial Chef Yan¡¯s signature dish? It¡¯s because of this dish that his majesty fancied your cooking skills and summoned you into the palace, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Yan Langqing who had just displayed a relieved expression suddenly began to tense up again.


    Lin Dan glanced at her and said with a hint of mockery, ¡°But did you know that this is not the authentic way to make the Fortune Meat? Imperial Chef Yan, you once said that you would never use my father¡¯s recipes, but why did you use my father¡¯s recipe to secure your future? You¡¯re really two-faced and deceitful¡­¡±


    Yan Langqing¡¯s lips had been trembling all this while. She seemed as though she wanted to refute, but could not utter any word because she was too nervous. Yan Shouye shouted confidently, ¡°Lin Dan, that¡¯s nonsense! This dish was obviously created by my daughter, Langqing, and I was the one who witnessed the process with my own eyes!¡±


    Lin Dan closed the recipe book and said steadily, ¡°Is that so? Did you develop it yourself, or did you hear it from my father¡¯s apprentice? If I remember correctly, my father¡¯s two apprentices are now working as chefs in the Yan¡¯s restaurant.¡±


    ¡°Y-You have no proof and you¡¯re wronging the innocent!¡± Yan Shouye was so angry that he was about to vomit blood, but the person in question, Yan Langqing, remained silent with a pale face.


    Lin Dan opened the door and said, ¡°You shall decide whether I¡¯ve wronged the innocent after I¡¯ve made the real Fortune Meat.¡± She walked straight to the kitchen.


    The Emperor took a long hard look at Yan Langqing before following up unhurriedly. The others would not want to miss the fun and joined in as well. The competition was full of twists and turns that it was exciting for everyone. No one had thought that Manager Lin, who was bound to lose, would win even when the Emperor was biased. No one had also expected that the seemingly kind and gentle Imperial Chef Yan was actually a scheming woman who would resort to extreme measures to achieve what she wanted.


    As Lin Dan was a distinguished guest that the Emperor had invited, the restaurant did not dare to disobey when she wanted to use the kitchen. They immediately vacated the most spacious stove and prepared ingredients for her. She took a piece of tofu, cut it into two-inch cubes, and carved the beautiful word of ¡°Fortune¡± on one side of the tofu. Then, she put it in the fragrant and milky broth and simmered it before taking it out about half an hour later. She took a wok, added some marinade, and constantly added seasonings to make the marinade thicker before forming a thin layer of sauce. She continued to cook the tofu after adding it into the sauce, but the sauce was only absorbed into the top layer of the skin.


    Prince Cheng reminded her, ¡°I think your sauce is not enough and the tofu cubes have not been completely marinated in the sauce. It wouldn¡¯t be tasty enough.¡±


    Lin Dan replied with a smile, ¡°This is the taste I¡¯m going for, your highness.¡± Thirty minutes later, she picked out the tofu pieces one by one and placed them neatly in a bowl. Everyone took a closer look and saw that the tofu cubes had absorbed some sauce but were mostly in a milky white color. It had a very strange appearance.


    Lin Dan added the tofu cubes in a hot oil pan again and fried the side that was absorbed with the sauce. The fragrance filled the air as a fried layer formed on one side of the tofu, while the other side was still white and tender as it was kept away from the oil. After finishing this process, Lin Dan put the tofu cubes into the bone broth and simmered it, before simmering it again in the braised soup broth. Finally, it was placed in the steamer before making a thick sauce by frying some minced fish, chicken, and pork. She poured the sauce on the steamed tofu cubes before sprinkling it with some ginger and chives to enhance the flavor.


    The tofu cubes that had been repeatedly boiled in the pork broth and braised soup broth had fully absorbed the essence of various soups, turning it into a dish that contained a rich flavor. As the surface layer was soaked in sauce before being deep-fried, it had the appearance of the pigskin. Without taking a closer look, one would have thought it was a braised pork instead of tofu.


    The Emperor was the one who took the first piece and tasted it. His eyes lit up immediately. The tofu did not only have the appearance of braised pork but also tasted like one. It did not taste oily at all and had the richness, softness, and mellowness of the meat.


    Lin Dan explained slowly, ¡°My mother loves to eat meat, but she is afraid of putting on weight. This was why my father came up with a dish for her so that she could enjoy the taste of meat without worrying about her weight. This was how the Fortune Meat came about. It has absorbed the strengths and removed the weaknesses of meat dishes. It is neither fat nor greasy, but soft and glutinous, and melts in the mouth. My father taught me and two of his apprentices how to make this dish, but it was never recorded in the Yan family¡¯s recipes. Besides, it was not named as ¡®Fortune Meat¡¯ back then but ¡®Word of Fortune¡¯, as it was complicated to create the wording. But only when the word ¡®Fortune¡¯ is created can the tofu be made into a delicious dish. Imperial Chef Yan, I suppose you got the recipe from my father¡¯s two apprentices, but as you are unable to produce the meat flavor, you have been using pork instead, am I right? This is merely an ordinary vegetarian dish that is made in a meaty flavor, yet you¡¯ve claimed that the ¡®Fortune Meat¡¯ that was specially made for the Emperor to celebrate his birthday? Imperial Chef Yan, you¡¯re pretty ingenious when it comes to winning the Emperor¡¯s favor, you wouldn¡¯t have lost to me today if you had used it in your culinary skills instead.¡±


    ¡°Without a rich experience and assiduous research, ordinary people would find it difficult to recreate the dish even if they have the recipe. But for you, you did not even seem to know how to handle food ingredients properly, how to control the heat, how to adjust the right amount of condiments. If the food ingredients are not well-prepared and the heat is not controlled well, it would completely change the taste of this dish.¡± Lin Dan added.


    It was just as Lin Dan said, Yan Langqing was unable to recreate the meaty flavor in the tofu when she got the recipe, which was why she used meat to make the dish instead. It was not that she did not want to invent her own dishes, but she was at the most helpless moment in her life when she was driven out by the Marquis that year. She took the easier way out as she yearned to make her name and gain a foothold in the capital, and she was hungry to gain that recognition.


    Seeing the Emperor¡¯s scrutinizing and questioning eyes, Yan Langqing could barely hold her head up high anymore. She knew that she had a complete defeat and had lost all her reputation

 CH 36

    It was precisely because Yan Langqing served the ¡°Fortune Meat¡± that she stood out at the Longevity Banquet and was hired by the Emperor to be an imperial chef. However, it turned out that this so-called signature dish of hers was actually stolen from someone else. Although Lin Dan had no proof, she could recreate the appearance and fragrance of the dish with only a few pieces of tofu. She could make it even better than Yan Langqing¡¯s dish, which was enough to prove the authenticity of her words.


    Besides, both of her father¡¯s apprentices were working as chefs at Yan¡¯s restaurant, and they earned a hefty sum each month. It would not be difficult to find out the truth if they were brought in for an interrogation.


    However, the Emperor did not care less about the situation. He was the ruler of the nation and nobody could lay a finger on the person he wanted to protect. Hence, Yan Langqing was taken away without even questioning about the lies she told him and the competition was ended in an unceremonious manner. Fortunately, Lin Dan did not mind these things and left the Fragrant Garden after wrapping the golden knife and the recipe book in a piece of red silk.


    Tang Jiu whispered behind her, ¡°No wonder you told me not to worry about it. Have you already thought of a strategy when you came?¡±


    Before Lin Dan could answer, Marquis Weiyuan strode over and jokingly said, ¡°Manager Lin, I am thirty-nine this year and had a wife who has passed away. I have no children nor concubines, but I have status and power. If you don¡¯t mind, how about tying the knot with me?¡±


    Lin Dan looked at him in surprise, unable to respond for a long time.


    Tang Jiu frowned and yelled, ¡°Marquis, please do not pull a joke on Manager Lin like this and tarnish her chastity!¡±


    ¡°Did I say it¡¯s a joke? I¡¯m serious! If I can marry such an intelligent and virtuous woman like Manager Lin, it¡¯d be a great blessing of mine. Young marquis, you seem pretty anxious. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re also interested in Manager Lin?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense!¡± Tang Jiu hurriedly turned around and looked at Lin Dan, but she was already been pulled away by Prince Cheng and Prince Gong to have a conversation. Not before long, she boarded the carriage and left without any intention of staying. For ordinary people, marrying into a family of status seemed to be a stroke of luck, but for her, it spelled trouble.


    Besides cooking, she seemed to have little interest in the things of the world. Her contradicting character of being desireless yet extremely serious in all she does had attracted people towards her. Tang Jiu started at the carriage that was moving away and had a defeated look on his face. Meanwhile, Marquis Weiyuan fiddled the ring on his finger and had a pair of determined eyes.


    At the same time, Yan Langqing was kneeling down beside the Emperor in fear, while he slowly opened an Ash Water Dumpling and relished it satisfyingly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the rice dumplings soaked in ash water would be so delicious. Get the chefs in the imperial kitchen to study how to recreate this and make them as they are.¡± Yan Langqing was by his side, but he never mentioned that she would be the one to take up the job. It was obvious that he had a worse impression of Yan Langqing after that competition and the disputes that were uncovered earlier.


    Yan Langqing¡¯s face turned pale immediately.


    When the carriage passed through Qingyun Lane, the Emperor said, ¡°Stop. Send a few people to seal the Yan¡¯s restaurant.¡±


    Yan Langqing suddenly lifted her head in horror.


    The Emperor glanced at her and smiled casually, ¡°Why? You issued an imperial decree on my behalf and monopolized the market. Do you think I would let this off so easily?¡± As he spoke, the desperate and anxious Yan Shouye shouted from a carriage behind. He repeatedly asked the guards what gave them the right to close his restaurant. The guard pointed to the carriage in front, saying that it was the Emperor¡¯s instruction. He kept silent immediately, as though his tongue had been cut away.


    The Emperor snorted coldly, and Yan Langqing trembled with fright. She thought that he had completely lost the Emperor¡¯s favor, but she did not expect the Emperor to take her hand. He said, ¡°You have been in the palace for seven or eight years. I¡¯ve given you the freedom to make all the delicacies of the world and gave you the power to command all the famous chefs from all over the world to impart their skills to you. Logically speaking, your skills should have been as good as Lin Dan¡¯s, who was born in the countryside. But look, you still lost to her today. Even your signature dishes were stolen or copied from others, you don¡¯t have a style of your own and you seem to lack a knack for cooking.¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Yan Langqing¡¯s pale face started flushing. She was too embarrassed and ashamed to lift her head after hearing what the Emperor had said.


    The Emperor turned around and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re not talented enough to be a chef, you will enter the palace and be my concubine. I won¡¯t treat you badly.¡±


    Yan Langqing suddenly raised her head and looked at the Emperor in surprise. She struggled for a long time, before finally nodding to his proposal. She had nothing left. She made enemies in the culinary world and even her restaurant was now sealed. She wondered if she would be able to survive after leaving the palace. However, things would be different when she had become a concubine. She was a servant, but she would instead be served, she thought there was nothing bad in accepting the proposal.


    The Emperor caressed the delicate skin on her face and appeared to be gentle, but what he said next was filled with coldness, ¡°Since you will be entering the palace, you better make sure that your family behaves well. If you cause me any trouble, I will not be merciful anymore.¡±


    Yan Langqing was shaken by what he said and quickly nodded in fear. She did not seem to realize that the Emperor, who had fulfilled all her requests and cared for her in the past, had completely changed. He thought Yan Langqing was a simple and kind girl, and that her pureness and innocence was a rarity in the imperial palace that was full of schemes and deceit. However, he realized that she was no different from the others. She was also capable of scheming, oppressing others, and bullying the weak, and her family was crude, ignorant, and obnoxious, which made him detest her even more.


    The Emperor had never believed anyone could ¡°be unsullied even when born in the mud.¡± He believed that those who lived in a depraved world would turn even more unscrupulous because they would have to do all means to survive, just as he did. This was why, in an instant, he no longer had any longing and favor for Yan Langqing, and treated her like just any other woman in his harem. He would give her the carrots and sticks and tame her like an animal. Once he got tired of her, she would not be any different from those concubines who had lost his favor.


    But Yan Langqing did not know what the Emperor was thinking. She thought that she was still the special one in his heart and requested after mustering her courage, ¡°Your Majesty, could I stay home for a while more? My father is still not recovered from his injuries and I hope to return to the palace after he gets better.¡±


    The Emperor took a long hard look at her and nodded casually after a long while.


    ¡ª


    Meanwhile, Lin Dan had already returned to the Three-Fork Alley. When she got off the carriage, he saw a few young and middle-aged men happily greeting her, ¡°Manager Lin, you are finally back! When are you going to open the shop?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving the capital and not going to open the shop anymore.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand.


    The men were devastated to hear that and wanted to persuade her to stay, but they saw a eunuch leading a group of guards approaching her. He shouted, ¡°Is this Chef Lin Dan? Since you won the competition today, the Emperor has bestowed a plaque on you. Please accept it.¡±


    Lin Dan noticed that the two guards standing behind him were carrying a square plaque wrapped in silk and satin. After opening the silk and satin, she saw several beautiful words written in gold lacquer ¨C ¡°Successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef¡±, as well as the Emperor seal.


    These words had no longer meant anything for Lin Dan, but she accepted the plaque and sent away the eunuchs and guards with a red packet. Then, she closed the shop door and quietly packed up. The men standing outside the door were completely dumbfounded before they snapped out of their thoughts and said, ¡°Oh my! Manager Lin is actually the successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef! Amazing! We will be eating imperial meals every day!¡±


    ¡°Stop dreaming! Didn¡¯t you hear her? Manager Lin is not planning to open the shop here anymore! She is the successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef and will be opening a restaurant in the West District if she wants to. What makes you think that she would rather sell us a bowl of noodles that only earns her a few copper coins?¡± Some other men were full of regret. If they had known that Manager Lin was the successor of the imperial chef, they would have cherished her cooking so much more. Now that they thought about it, Manager Lin¡¯s culinary skills and character were excellent. It was the blessing of the people in the South District that she had opened a store here, but it was a pity that they did not cherish her time here.


    Lin Dan packed her luggage and left the capital immediately. But before she arrived home, she saw Lady Qi standing at the junction and looking out with a worried look. Lady Qi had never thought that her daughter would win and only hoped that Lin Dan would return safely. But when Lin Dan pulled away the silk cloth and showed her the recipe book and the golden knife, Lady Qi¡¯s eyes were wide open. She was dumbfounded, and could not react for a long time.


    ¡°W-What is this?¡± She asked incredulously.


    Lin Dan handed the two things over and said with a chuckle, ¡°Mother, I won the things that belonged to father. Here, please keep them well.¡±


    ¡°Y-You won? Did you really win?¡± Lady Qi kept stroking the golden knife and the recipe book. She eventually laughed, before starting to weep again. Over the years, Lady Qi had always felt heartbroken for her daughter as she had been traveling from place to place and suffered a lot.


    Lin Dan hugged Lady Qi and patted her gently. She said calmly, ¡°Mother, let¡¯s travel somewhere since this matter has concluded. The world is vast, and there is lots of food waiting for us.¡±


    Lady Qi nodded as she sobbed, her eyes filled with joy.


    ¡ª


    However, it was not easy to prepare for a trip. There were many materials to prepare, there were routes to plan and there was also a need to arrange for guides. It was not something that could be done immediately. Lin Dan stayed in the outskirts of the capital for more than a month, but bad news came when everything was prepared, and she was ready to go. The residence of Marquis Yongding was confiscated for colluding with foreign enemies. Concubine Tang was also banished into the Cold Palace and the entire family was facing a possible annihilation.


    Lin Dan stayed in the capital although the situation had changed drastically and may implicate her if she did not leave in time. She had only sent Lady Qi away, before sending a servant to the city to gather more information about the news. The situation developed very rapidly, and within three days, the charges had been passed. The female family members of the Marquis Yongding would be exiled to somewhere three thousand miles away, while all men would be beheaded.


    Things got worse in a few days¡¯ time. All sixty-eight female members of Marquis Yongding did not want to be humiliated and had all hung themselves to death, including Concubine Tang in the Cold Palace. The Emperor was furious to hear this and ordered to execute Tang Jiu and a few others before autumn as if it had become a very urgent matter. On the day of beheading, Lin Dan hurried to the execution ground to see Tang Jiu once more with a huge food box

 CH 37

    Tang Jiu lost a lot of weight after many days of interrogation and torture. His eyes that were originally as bright as the stars had become dull and lifeless. His neck and hands were in shackles and he was unable to move an inch. He remained silent all the time, but Tang Peng, who was kneeling behind him, yelled, ¡°We are wrong, everything is my fault! Kill me if you want but not my family! Jiu, my brother, it¡¯s all my fault! I¡¯m sorry for not listening to you when you asked me not to get myself involved with Yan Langqing, all of these are caused by me! I didn¡¯t expect Yan Langqing to borrow the token from me to release the King of Xiongnu! I really didn¡¯t expect it at all!¡±


    The execution officer heard him spouting nonsense about a concubine in the palace, and quickly asked another guard to stop him from talking.


    Lin Dan stood in the crowd and listened for a moment. She seemed to have understood what had happened. No wonder the entire capital was under the martial law several times last month. It was to hunt for the King of Xiongnu who made an escape with the token of the Marquis Yongding¡¯s family. ¡°So what if Yan Langqing is involved?¡± Lin Dan thought. The Emperor was not interested to find the truth, but an excuse to bring the family of Marquis Yongding down. He transferred Tang Jiu, who was known as the god of war, back to the capital, he kept the son of Lord Dianqian under house arrest and wanted to marry the princess of Dianqian. He also called back Marquis Weiyuan and made him stay in the capital using his health as an excuse. The Emperor made all these measures to consolidate his power and eliminate all rebels.


    He probably had the idea of ??destroying these people a long time ago but did not find a chance to take action. Since Yan Langqing created an opportunity for him, he was more than happy to take it.


    Lin Dan roughly understood what was going on after thinking it through briefly, but she did not have any ability to save Tang Jiu and others. Seeing that the execution officer was preparing to issue a signature, she hurried to the platform and shouted, ¡°Please give me some time, sir. I¡¯m here to see them off.¡± She said, raising the food container in her hand.


    Prisoners would typically be given a chance to enjoy a full meal before execution so that they would not turn into hungry ghosts after death. The execution officer was especially superstitious in such things as he took many lives on the execution ground and granted the request. He immediately waved his hand and said, ¡°Time is almost up, just do it quickly.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and quickly laid out the food from the box. As the prisoners were all in shackles and unable to eat the food themselves, she instructed Xiaozhu, Shaoyao, and Dujuan to feed them one by one, while she knelt in front of Tang Jiu with a bowl in her hands.


    Tang Jiu had remained composed even when people were hurling nasty words at him or when Tang Peng was yelling to seek justice. He had been keeping his eyes half-closed and kneeling on the same spot without displaying any joy or sorrow on his face. But the moment when Lin Dan appeared, he lifted his head suddenly. He could not believe she came and looked at her with passionate eyes. His dark pupils glistened in an instant.


    ¡°Others are busy cutting ties with me, but you¡¯re the only one who came.¡± He muttered, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to convince myself not to come.¡± Lin Dan tore the chicken thigh into strips and added some rice and pickles, before feeding it to Tang Jiu mouth by mouth. She slowly said, ¡°Is it delicious? I raised this chicken myself and killed it when it¡¯s only two months old. My mother felt so bad that she yelled at me.¡±


    Tang Jiu chuckled even on the verge of his death. He asked, ¡°Do you still remember what I said?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you said that you would never get tired of eating young chickens and can even eat it every day.¡± Lin Dan wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and whispered, ¡°I killed all my young chickens so that you can eat to your heart¡¯s content today.¡±


    Tang Jiu fixed his gaze at her and started chomping down a big mouthful after a long time. His eyes started to water. Time flew and the sun was already above their heads. It was almost noon. Tang Jiu swallowed the last bite of his meal and said in a low voice, ¡°If you can¡¯t get out of the capital later, wait at your hometown kitchen. I have bought the store and you can settle down there temporarily. Someone will come and pick you out of the capital later. Lin Dan, please take care in the future.¡±


    Lin Dan was shocked, but she did not show it on her face. She put away the food box and bowed to the other people from the Marquis Yongding residence. She then left and disappeared into the crowd. Tang Peng¡¯s shout came intermittently behind her, ¡°Manager Lin, I¡¯m sorry, please forgive me!¡± It¡¯s a pity that he understood it too late because he had already ruined himself and the whole family just because of his greed.


    After leaving the execution ground, Lin Dan thought about what Tang Jiu said as she felt that he had hinted at something. ¡°What did he mean when he said if I can¡¯t get out of the capital? Why can¡¯t I get out of here? Unless the whole city is under martial law again to search for the important criminals of the court, just like when the King of Xiongnu¡­ Wait, does this mean that someone would be coming to stop the execution and save them?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°That¡¯s right, all the female members of Marquis Yongding¡¯s residence have committed suicide, including Concubine Tang. Without them as hostages, Marquis Yongding would have no other concerns and would definitely send someone to rescue his only son. But he would only rebel against the Emperor if he had been driven into a corner.¡± Lin Dan thought.


    ¡°But will Marquis Yongding rebel?¡± Lin Dan knew that she had gotten the answer from what Tang Jiu had said earlier, so she immediately made a turn and went to the Three-Fork Alley. She was afraid that it would already be too late to leave through the city gates. There would be people appearing to save the Young Marquis before the execution, and things must be chaotic over there at this point.


    Lin Dan hit the nail on the head. As soon as she left, Tang Jiu broke the shackles, rescued his family, and rushed towards the city gates after meeting with several men in black who came to help. They kept charging forward and were unstoppable. Soon, they managed to escape from the capital. In just another half a day, people discovered that the son of Lord Dianqian and his sister were gone, and the capital was soon in a mess.


    The eight city gates were all closed, and the streets were full of guards searching back and forth, creating a terrifying atmosphere within the capital. Since Lin Dan and Tang Jiu were old acquaintances, she would be taken away for interrogation to find out the whereabouts of Tang Jiu if she had stayed in the capital. She was about to dismiss her servants and bear the consequences alone when someone knocked on the door of the store. A strong man took out a letter and asked Lin Dan to leave the capital with him.


    The letter was written by Tang Jiu, who also wrote about the interesting childhood stories that both of them shared. Lin Dan confirmed the authenticity of the letter and left with the man. They boarded a luxury carriage and left the capital without being inspected. Just when they were leaving, Lin Dan realized that the man who was escorting her was actually the prince of Mongolia. He was entrusted by Tang Jiu to escort her.


    ¡°Before he was about to go to jail, he told me that things would likely take a turn for the worse. If you were to come and see him for the last time at the execution ground, he asked me to protect you and take you away. Otherwise, he wanted me to give you this box.¡± The man took out a heavy box before cupping his hands and left on his horse.


    Lin Dan was moved when she opened the lid of the box and found that it was covered with gold and jewelry. Ten years ago, it was also at the Ten Mile Pavilion outside the capital that Tang Jiu sent a servant to give her a small box full of money, but she refused to accept it. Ten years later, facing the same circumstances, she actually wanted to accept it this time around. It made her feel that she did not come and leave this world alone after all, since there would always be someone who would remember her.


    After this day, Lin Dan left the capital and went from place to place. The once prosperous and thriving Kingdom of Chu was in war. First, the Lord of Dianqian started a movement to remove subjects that were close to the Emperor. Then, the King of the Xiongnu led an army to invade the Kingdom of Chu. Since the military supplies and wages of the Marquis Yongding were all cut off by the government, the Kingdom of Chu stood no chance against the Xiongnu and was forced to start a rebellion.


    The war lasted for several months. The Lord of Dianqian was suddenly found dead in his tent and his son took over his place. He joined forces with Young Marquis Yongding to fight against the Xiongnu¡¯s. Now, the Kingdom of Chu which was in a precarious position finally had a chance to take a breather. Unexpectedly, at this crucial moment, the Emperor issued an imperial decree, ordering Marquis Weiyuan to lead an army to carry out a pincer attack on the two forces from the back and eliminate the rebels.


    This order was an undoubtedly ridiculous one. Once these two forces were defeated, the Xiongnu army would be able to march straight ahead and threaten the hinterland of the Central Plains. The Great Chu had successively lost its northwest and southwest army, and the remaining army could no longer fight against the Xiongnu¡¯s cavalry. Once the situation got out of control, the Great Chu would cease to exist.


    However, the Emperor seemed confident and sent three imperial decrees to order Marquis Weiyuan to begin the attack. The great war could happen at any moment which could bring unimaginable consequences.


    At this moment, Lin Dan, who was hiding in the mountains, had a dream. She dreamed that the young Lin Dan felt so ashamed and angry to have lost the competition that she threw the golden knife, recipe book, and the grandmaster¡¯s tablet into the fire. Tang Jiu and Yan Langqing who came in a hurry saw what happened and were disgusted with her actions. Although Marquis Yongding tried to protect her and kept her in his residence, nobody acknowledged her presence and even walked away once they saw her. The more Tang Jiu hated her, the more she clung on to him, and she even thought of all sorts of vicious tactics to frame Yan Langqing. Originally, the Yan family slandered her father, but because of Lin Dan¡¯s recklessness, Lin Baotian was eventually convicted of deceiving his master and brought shame to his ancestors, and his reputation was absolutely tarnished.


    Gradually, Lin Dan became more extreme. She pushed Tang Jiu farther away from her, and Marquis Weiyuan eventually did not want to protect her any further. On the contrary, Yan Langqing gradually gained recognition from the old marquis and developed a deep affection with Tang Jiu in times of adversity before finally getting married to each other. The happier they were, the more pain Lin Dan felt.


    As time went by, Yan Langqing gradually became a qualified wife of the marquis and was often praised by the others. Even the Emperor had developed a special affection for her, and often summoned her into the palace under the pretext of accompanying Concubine Tang. As she often entered the palace, Yan Langqing was soon being made used to frame Concubine Tang, who had a miscarriage after drinking a poisoned soup.


    The Emperor investigated the matter and found Yan Langqing responsible for it. However, he did not bear to punish her and decided to let Lin Dan, who always competed with her, become the scapegoat, and ordered to beat her to death in public. Lin Dan¡¯s short life ended in this manner, but Yan Langqing¡¯s story continued.


    As the Emperor¡¯s desire for Yan Langqing grew, he transferred Tang Jiu to the battlefield and assassinated him before disposing of Concubine Tang with the help of the other concubines. He summoned Yan Langqing into the palace where she became his favorite lady. A few years later, the King of Xiongnu, who was unintentionally rescued by Yan Langqing, launched an attack at Great Chu and repeatedly threatened to take Yan Langqing away to be his queen. The two countries had fought for many years and both had suffered from significant losses, but Tang Jiu miraculously came back at this moment and joined the war. The Lord of Dianqian took advantage of the chaos and started a rebellion before seizing the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor. The Great Chu enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity but had become a hell on earth. As for the son and daughter of Lord Dianqian, they took poison during the escape in their earlier years and committed suicide after being found by Tang Jiu.


    The fate of everyone seemed absurd yet miserable at the same time, but all of these happened just for one woman.


    After waking up, Lin Dan was amused at her dream. She believed that if she had not come to this world, that was probably the fate of the original owner of this body and the destiny of this world. Just for one woman, families, countries, and the lives of the people were all ruined. If this was God¡¯s will, it would be absolutely ridiculous, Lin Dan thought.

 CH 38

    Reminiscing the peaceful and prosperous times while watching the flames set ablaze on the ruined mountains and rivers, Lin Dan found that she could no longer keep herself out of the matter. She dug out a wine jar buried in the cave and made a few trips before she arrived at the front lines, hoping to meet Marquis Weiyuan.


    ¡°Who did you say is here to see me?¡± Marquis Weiyuan thought he had heard it wrong.


    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s Manager Lin Dan who came to see you. She has been waiting for you for more than 20 days outside the barracks. If I hadn¡¯t seen her today when I was out of the camp, I won¡¯t even know how long more she will have to wait.¡± The chief guard of Marquis Weiyuan used to follow his master to dine at the Hometown Kitchen every day, and it was no surprise that he could recognize Manager Lin. He remembered that the marquis¡¯ health deteriorated badly and got very thin, but that it was all thanks to Manager Lin¡¯s superb culinary skills that had helped the marquis to recover.


    ¡°She¡¯s a vulnerable lady, why is she even here alone and not staying at home?!¡± Marquis Weiyuan frowned, seemingly displeased, but still hurriedly stood up and went to see her in person.


    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s been a long time since. How have you been?¡± Lin Dan smiled and bowed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not stand here and talk. Come with me into the tent.¡± Marquis Weiyuan muttered as they walked, ¡°Why are you here? Were you in danger on your way here? This is not a pretty place to visit. Soon, there will be rivers of blood and this place will be strewn with dead bodies. You better leave soon, I will send someone to escort you.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m here to present you with a gift.¡± Lin Dan placed a jar on the table.


    ¡°What wine is this?¡± Marquis Weiyuan finally showed his first smile in recent days. Since he got used to eating at the Hometown Kitchen, he had seldom drunk anymore because Manager Lin did not allow him to. He did not know why he was being so obedient, but he was right to listen to Manager Lin. His deteriorating and weakening body actually got better under Lin Dan¡¯s meticulous care in his diet. Otherwise, he would have died long ago.


    ¡°This is the Thousand-Days Wine you have always wanted.¡± Lin Dan poured the clear wine into the empty bowl.


    ¡°But we have not seen each other only for less than three years? Good one, Lin Dan. Didn¡¯t you say that it takes at least three years to brew the Thousand-Days Wine? Where did you get this jar of wine? Have you been lying?¡± Marquis Weiyuan stared at her.


    ¡°This is the wine that I stored elsewhere. It has already been kept for five years.¡± Lin Dan said with a smile, ¡°But I came today, not to deliver this jar of wine but the contents of the wine. Look, Sir.¡±


    When Marquis Weiyuan looked at it closely, he saw a slender worm with pink flesh wiggling out of the clear drink. As soon as the worm crawled out, the mellow and aromatic liquor actually exuded a more overpowering smell, which filled the air of the entire camp. Not to mention how much he was salivating when smelling it, even the soldiers guarding outside the tent could not help but take a whiff. Their heads shook and felt as if they were already drunk.


    ¡°Is this the wine worm?¡± Marquis Weiyuan could not believe his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This worm can only be born from the best wine. If you put this worm in clear water, it can even turn the water into a bowl of fine wine after a while.¡± Lin Dan took the wine worm out and put it into a bowl of water. After a short while, the surface of the bowl started to exude a strong smell of alcohol.


    Marquis Weiyuan took a deep breath and suddenly laughed, ¡°Lin Dan, I like your gift!¡±


    Lin Dan narrowed her eyebrows and slowly said, ¡°But sir, do you know that the wine worm can live in fine wine or in clear water, but it will die immediately if put into a turbid liquid?¡± As she spoke, she put the wine worm into an empty bowl and poured some brown tea. The worm started squirming and instantly became stiff before slowly turning into a stream of blood.


    Marquis Weiyuan could feel his happiness dissipated instantly and glared at Lin Dan with his pair of eagle eyes. He seemed angry, but he could not bring himself to reprimand her. No matter how precious the wine worm was, she was still an extremely important figure in his life.


    Lin Dan looked back at him fearlessly and continued, ¡°Sir, let me just say this with confidence ¨C there is magic in my pair of hands. No matter how unusual the ingredients are, I can always create delicious food with it. But there¡¯s just one thing that can¡¯t be made into a dish no matter how hard I try. Do you know what it is?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Marquis Weiyuan asked patiently.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Guanyin soil. When I was on my way here, I saw rivers of blood and people dying of starvation, losing their homes, and eating anything they see. They were so hungry that they grabbed a lot of Guanyin soil and stuffed it in their mouths. Those people soon died after their guts ruptured. Have you had a taste of the Guanyin soil? Do you know how it feels to be homeless and being unable to control your fate? The people of the Great Chu are like this wine worm struggling in the turbid liquid and will sooner or later turn into a stream of blood. Sir, just what exactly are you fighting for at the front lines?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Marquis Weiyuan wanted to answer but Lin Dan interrupted him, ¡°You are fighting for the imperial power, the Emperor, and his absolute dominance over the Great Chu. You pride yourself on being a loyal subject, but you fail to see how people are struggling under the ruling power of the Emperor. If you really launch a pincer attack against the coalition of Tang Jiu and the county lord from the back, Xiongnu¡¯s cavalry will march straight into the Central Plains and crush our mountains and rivers. When that time comes, the Emperor will be able to keep his throne by letting go of a few cities. But did he even consider the people who are struggling to survive in these cities? I¡¯m sure you know how the Xiongnus are, they are known for being violent and have no sense of governance. They will definitely take the lives of the people in the city and destroy everything. They will burn down the houses, and not even the chickens and dogs can be left unscathed. They will become more powerful after occupying these cities, but the Great Chu would be torn apart after losing the cities and weaken. In just five years, another war will break out between the two countries. When that happens, can anyone save the people and the nation? Can you?¡±


    Lin Dan looked directly at Marquis Weiyuan and pressed, ¡°Are you doing everything you can to defend the Great Chu and save the people, or are you playing a part in abusing the people and making the people suffer? Our nation has enjoyed peace in the past few years, but what is happening now?¡±


    She poured the turbid water out of the bowl, and spoke in a calm tone again, ¡°People who live in a troubled world are just like ants who can never escape the fate of being crushed to death. But if people live in a prosperous world where there are good wine and food, even if a wine worm is dead, we can still create thousands of new wine worms. Sir, you are someone of high status, even if the country is in ruins and the people are struggling to survive, I¡¯m sure there is still a way for you to enjoy good food and fine wine. But do you know that when you enjoy the wine and the food, there are people eating soil or even their own kind? Please, sir, retreat and let the world enjoy some peace. Without this wine worm, I can raise more wine worms for you in the future, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Marquis Weiyuan was looking gloomy but he was now in deep thoughts. After a long time, when Lin Dan was about to give up persuading him, he fiddled the ring in his finger and slowly said, ¡°Lin Dan, it¡¯s a promise. Do not forget about what you said, alright? You can¡¯t stop how much I want to drink from now on.¡±


    Lin Dan smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a promise.¡±


    ¡ª


    On the same night, Tang Jiu sat by the bonfire and was having a drink with the son of Lord Dianqian, or rather, the current Lord Dianqian. Since the Xiongnu will be launching an attack against them, he was sure that Marquis Weiyuan would take advantage of the chaos and perform a pincer attack. If they were flanked on both sides, there was a high chance they would lose in the war. However, retreat was not an option. If they were to take one step back, the Xiongnus would take one step forward, and the people of the Great Chu may lose their heads.


    ¡°It would be nice to persuade Marquis Weiyuan that old man.¡± Lord Dianqian said in a deep voice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, he won¡¯t see anyone before the war.¡± Tang Jiu shook his head.


    Lord Dianqian sneered, gritted his teeth, and said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s fight to our deaths.¡±


    Just at this moment, Zhao Liu ran over in a hurry and handed a letter. He whispered, ¡°General, this is sent by Marquis Weiyuan, please take a look.¡±


    Tang Jiu opened the letter and skimmed through with a look of surprise on his face which had been solemn for the past few days. Lord Dianqian leaned over and took a look, and he, too, had a surprised look. In the letter, Marquis Weiyuan had not only promised to withdraw but was also willing to work with them by putting up an act to lure the King of Xiongnu into a trap and assassinate him.


    ¡°Do you think this is a trap?¡± Lord Dianqian got suspicious immediately.


    ¡°Find out whether Marquis Weiyuan has seen anyone recently. It¡¯s impossible for him to take a drastic turn in his attitude for no reason. Regardless of whether it is a trap or not, this is probably our only hope.¡± Tang Jiu calmly analyzed.


    The scout soon found out the news and said that a graceful and beautiful woman met Marquis Weiyuan with a jar of wine in her hands. The wine was so amazing that the aroma of the wine-filled the entire camp once the jar was opened. Both of them talked privately for a while, and Marquis Weiyuan had changed his mind after the woman left.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably Manager Lin?¡± King Dianqian laughed, ¡°Only Manager Lin can make that kind of wine. I¡¯m sure she has managed to convince that old fart. Back when she told him not to drink, he didn¡¯t even dare to touch the wine cup. When she instructed him to have breakfast, he would appear at her Hometown Kitchen before dawn and wait. I didn¡¯t expect Manager Lin to be so understanding and righteous to go to the front lines alone and persuade the old man to withdraw his troops. We owed her our lives¡­¡±


    Tang Jiu¡¯s eyes glistened, seeming filled with joy and sadness at the same time. It took him a long time before he could respond and said, ¡°It¡¯s not just our lives but everyone¡¯s. We all owe her a word of thanks. If that¡¯s the case, I will meet Marquis Weiyuan in person tonight. Zhao Liu, send someone to escort Lin Dan back. It¡¯s too dangerous here at the borders and I¡¯m worried for her safety.¡±


    However, Lin Dan disappeared after that night. The war ended with Xiongnu¡¯s defeat. Although the king¡¯s right arm was being cut away, he had made another narrow escape but was fearful of the Central Plains since. The secret correspondence between the Emperor and the Xiongnus to sell the cities was found by Tang Jiu which had forced him to abdicate as the Emperor. Tang Peng was the first general to invade the capital. He charged into the imperial harem and strangled Yan Langqing, who had lost the Emperor¡¯s favor, alive. Her body was hung from the beams of the Cold Palace. He waited for her body to decay and reduced to bones before granting permission to let her down. She was hung on the same spot where Concubine Tang hanged herself.


    The Yan¡¯s Restaurant, which once flourished, had long since been turned into ruins. The second and third uncle of Lin Dan had nowhere to make a living and lived a pathetic life. One day, when they passed by the Three-Fork Alley, they saw that the Hometown Kitchen was still open, and business was very good. Tang Jiu, who had ascended the throne, was sitting in the shop in his casual attire, carefully looking through a stack of books. His face was filled with happiness and longing.


    He was reading the travel journal written by Lin Dan, which was being sent to Chef Qiu in the capital as a learning material. This Hometown Kitchen was run by Chef Qiu. She recorded the wine and food she encountered by writing stories and her language was very vivid. While reading her writings, Tang Jiu could imagine how free and unrestrained she was. She would send a jar of fine wine to Marquis Weiyuan every once in a while, but Tang Jiu could always manage to intercept the delivery. He also tried to find her, but he was always one step too late. She was like a wisp of wind ¨C just when he thought he could hold her, she would slip away through his fingers.


    Someone once asked Tang Jiu what was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten. Tang Jiu closed his eyes and thought for a while before smiling and said, ¡°Believe it or not, the most delicious meal I have ever eaten was on the execution ground¡­

 CH 39

    Lin Dan was awakened by a burst of immense chest pains. As soon as she opened her eyes, she realized that she was standing in a very dark place. Ten steps away were two iron doors where a man and a woman were each locked behind the doors. The woman was dressed in red and had a beautiful face. She was staring at Lin Dan with rage and wariness.


    The man looked even more elegant than the woman. He was wearing a thin white robe that spread out like a flower in the dark and his long ebony hair scattered all over the ground. When the wind blew, she could even smell a faint fragrance coming from him. His refined and beautiful face shone like white jade as he sat quietly behind the iron door with his narrow eyes half-closed. His thin lips were pursed and he seemed neither happy nor sad. If it were not for his moving chest, Lin Dan would really think he was just a life-sized Buddha statue with holy light radiating from all over his body.


    However, Lin Dan did not have the time to care about them. She glanced at them before looking at the surrounding environment and left without saying a word. It was obvious that she was in a heavily guarded dungeon and it would not be a good place to sort out her memories.


    Once Lin Dan left, the woman in red relaxed and said angrily, ¡°Master, she wanted to kill me!¡±


    The man replied without opening his eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t need to care about a dying woman.¡±


    The woman in red went closer to the cell door and whispered, ¡°Master, how do you know she is dying?¡±


    The heart and soul of the man became one. He gradually stopped breathing and had entered the state of meditation. The woman knew her master would not be able to hear whatever she said at this moment and stopped speaking to him. Through the prison door, she marveled at her master¡¯s gorgeous face, and her eyes flashed with feelings of love, struggle, and awe¡­


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan lost her memories again. Besides her name, she had no recollection of anything else. Yes, again. She seemed to be very familiar with this situation and was extremely good at adapting to it. She was able to adjust herself almost immediately without others noticing it, before finding a secluded place to sort out her memories.


    The original owner of this body was also called Lin Dan, who was the left guardian of the Eastern Holy Sect. This was the main altar of the sect which was located in the hinterland of Hidden Dragon Mountain. The Eastern Holy Sect was not a follower of the orthodox traditions and expanded rapidly. It was even denounced by the orthodox sects as a heretic sect in recent years and many wanted to eliminate the sect as soon as possible. As the guardian of the sect, Lin Dan was naturally regarded as a demonic woman.


    From the past memories of this body, she saw that she did a lot of bad things. Yet, nobody would have known that she was forced. The original owner of this body was an orphan who was adopted by the old leader of the Eastern Holy Sect who had taught her martial arts when she was young. In order to repay the old leader for his kindness, she vowed to protect the young leader, He Chongling, who was his son. When she was twelve or thirteen years old and achieved some success in martial arts, the old master asked if she wanted to become even better. She said yes without any hesitation. Therefore, the old leader made her consume a type of poison which allowed the young leader to have control over her life before imparting one of the top martial techniques to her.


    The original owner was loyal to the old leader and had developed a deep affection for the young leader. This was why she was willing to risk her life for both of them. A few years later, the old leader died, and the young leader succeeded the position. The original owner gradually grew up and started taking things into her own hands. She realized that what she had consumed back then was not a type of poison, but a kind of spell worm. When consumed, the worm would live in the host¡¯s heart and cannot be eliminated. If she was disloyal to He Chongling, she would suffer from the pain of being slashed by a thousand knives. If she had any intention of killing He Chongling, her heart would rupture instantly even before she could act on it.


    When Lin Dan arrived, the original owner was already dying from pain, but fortunately, Lin Dan was able to calm the violent effects of spell worm in time, or there would be nothing she could do to stay alive. Lin Dan¡¯s heart was still in pain, she thought her ventricles were probably badly bitten by the spell worms, and she would not have many days left to live.


    However, Lin Dan did not have any strong recollections of the past except for her strong desire to stay alive. Since it was not easy for her to enter this body, she knew she did not come to this world just to die. As she desperately searched for any useful clues in her mind, she started smiling wryly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    There was only one word to describe the life of the original owner of this body ¨C miserable. When she was young, she was being trained like a beast by the old leader. She never had a good life and even fell in love with a heartless man. He Chongling took advantage of her feelings and the spell worm within her to exert complete control over her and did not treat her like a human being. There had been countless times when she was slashed over and over again by the enemies to protect He Chongling and was even on the verge of death many times, but He Chongling tossed her away like a piece of trash, without even giving her a second look.


    For He Chongling, she was like a sword. He did not feel bad for discarding a sword that had turned rusty and blunt.


    Fortunately, her desire to stay alive was so strong that she had always managed to regain consciousness in time just before she died. She would get up and push away all the bodies laying on her, wipe off the blood on her face before staggering back to the Eastern Holy Sect by herself. She was being abandoned like a pair of dirty shoes time and again, but she had always returned to He Chongling. She did not feel helpless or weary, just a tinge of sorrow in the middle of the silent night.


    She passed by the Qingjiang River one day and met a man with a gorgeous face and unworldly presence drifting down the river on a bamboo raft. He inadvertently exchanged glances with her lifeless eyes and gave her a faint smile. This subtle yet ordinary expression had planted a seed called ¡°happiness¡± in her heart since and had bloomed into a beautiful flower.


    She could not control her urge and followed the man all the way to the south while protecting him. She silently watched him as he played the zither, drank wine, and enjoyed the view of the flowers. If he smiled, she would smile with him, and if he frowned, she would feel an ache in her heart. It was only then did she realize that her feelings for He Chongling was not love, but obedience and awe. If this man had not shown up, she would be trapped in the illusion that He Chongling had created for the rest of her life to the point of her death.


    The moment she figured it out, she abducted the man without any hesitation and brought him back to the Eastern Holy Sect. She instructed the people in the sect to take good care of him. She did not dare to defile the man and only watched him from afar. But gradually, she found that the man and her maid were getting closer and closer. They would often get together for a chit-chat with cheerful smiles on their faces as if there were endless topics to talk about. Apart from that, He Chongling, who had always been a heartless and ruthless man, was also treating the maid differently. He even promoted her as a saintess, and her status immediately overshadowed the original owner of the body.


    The original owner had been holding back the jealousy and resentment within her because she knew that once He Chongling fell for the maid, he would definitely get her by all means. This meant that the man would be separated from the maid without having her to do anything. And she was right, He Chongling quickly forced the maid to marry him and quickly prepared for the wedding. The maid resisted violently by going on a hunger strike, she even tried to kill herself by hitting her head on the pillar. As the saying goes, ¡°Spare the rats to save the dishes.¡± He Chongling was worried that the maid would injure herself and decided to imprison her while threatening to kill the man. It turned out that he also discovered the special relationship between them and exploited it so that the maid would give in to his demands.


    The two most important people in her life were taken away by the maid one after another. The original owner finally could not hold back anymore and ran to the dungeon to kill the maid. However, she did not expect He Chongling to restrict her through the spell worm and made the worm attack her if she had any intention to kill the maid. He Chongling had already regarded the maid as part of himself and protected her well.


    The original owner risked her lifetime and again for He Chongling, but he did not even care about her. Yet, the maid could get everything she wanted effortlessly. Before her death, the original owner who was suffering from immense pain in her heart had only one desire in her heart ¨C if she could, she wanted to get herself out of this life, be a good person, and never be trampled by anyone.


    ¡°Be a good person and not be trampled on? Easier said than done.¡± Lin Dan shook her head and smiled bitterly. ¡°You can¡¯t even stay alive and you want to be a good person?¡± She muttered. However, in a flash, she noticed a vague clue in her memories. She hurriedly went to find the book of top martial technique that was given by the old master and looked through it carefully.


    It was called the ¡°Asura Sword Technique.¡± The first sentence of the book was, ¡°Those who are heartless and ruthless can become the Asura. Life or death, it can never be broken or destroyed.¡± Then, it was the profound incantations and sword movements. The original owner practiced according to the incantation and sword movements in the book and could not make any more progress after becoming a first-class master. Over the years, she had been trying to achieve a breakthrough, but she was unable to do so and eventually gave up.


    But Lin Dan believed that the most important part of this technique was hidden in the first sentence of the book. ¡°What does ¡®Those who are heartless and ruthless can become Asura¡¯ mean? What does ¡®Life or death, it can never be broken or destroyed¡¯ mean?¡± Lin Dan thought that the original owner had laid in a pool of blood and was on the verge of death countless times, but she had miraculously survived each predicament ¨C the original owner was a monster for having such a strong tenacity.


    Lin Dan did not believe anyone was unkillable, but the original owner seems to be one. She wondered if this was related to her physical constitution or the techniques she practiced. Lin Dan flipped through the book quickly and was determined to practice the Asura Sword Technique to perfection. She knew that the answer would naturally be clear once she had succeeded.


    ¡°Life or death, it can never be broken or destroyed¡± ¨C this was the only chance Lin Dan had. As for being heartless and ruthless, it may be impossible for others to achieve this, but it was an easy task for Lin Dan. She seemed to be born with a lack of emotions and desires, and now that she was completely isolated from the original owner¡¯s emotions, her soul was already on an entirely different level. At this moment, a sharp qi suddenly emerged from her core energy. It traveled through her meridians to the limbs and destroyed her blood vessels, bones, flesh, and blood one by one. The overwhelming pain swept her like a tsunami wave.


    Lin Dan spat blood in that instance but maintained the meditation stance and did not dare to move an inch. The pain she was enduring at this moment was many times stronger than the immense chest pains she had experienced. This qi was moving in her body like a steel knife, wanting to mince her into a ball of flesh and blood. In addition to that, she could also feel her core energy producing a vigorous qi that was quickly repairing her battered body. Her bones became stronger, her flesh and blood became tougher, and her meridians became wider¡­


    She seemed to have died a thousand times, but she had also become more indestructible after overcoming it. Having experienced the torment that ordinary people cannot imagine, she had never lost her consciousness. She realized that only by discarding the unnecessary emotions can she be truly powerful, and only the truly powerful would never be trampled on. ¡°Just what kind of pain and difficult choice one had to go through to achieve this kind of enlightenment?¡± She marveled.

 CH 40

    The qi that moved violently within her had also brought immense pain. Lin Dan felt as though she had been lying on the execution platform, suffering from the pain of being slashed by a knife for a thousand times at every moment. Her skin and flesh were open, blood was flowing, her ebony hair fell, but quickly, new flesh, blood, and hair grew, as if she had undergone a rebirth.


    But Lin Dan knew this was not a rebirth. She was experiencing death. Her body had become a battlefield between the life qi and the death qi. These two qis circulated in her body and went back and forth. As long as she was alive, the immense pain that felt as though she was being slashed would always be there.


    Lin Dan clenched the book of martial technique tightly and sneered. She understood why the old leader was willing to give the top martial technique of the Eastern Holy Sect to an orphan, and why He Chongling allowed a lowly puppet to develop feelings for him. This ¡°Asura Sword Technique¡± was simply a self-harming technique. If she was unable to stop herself from loving someone, there was no way the original owner could make a breakthrough. Not forgetting that she was tenacious, which made the old master and He Chongling take full advantage of her. Even if she could endure the pain of being slashed for a thousand times, she would be leading a life that was worse than death.


    It hurt to walk, to sleep, and even breathe¡­ She wondered if anyone could survive this endless pain. Even if there was, they would probably kill themselves within the next two or three years. She understood why no one in the sect was practicing this technique, even though it seemed so powerful that the original owner could become a first-rate master by practicing it for only five years. The old leader and He Chongling were probably just experimenting on her like a puppet. Regardless of whether she could succeed in learning this technique or not, the original owner would always be under their control and unable to escape.


    ¡°What a good tactic!¡± Lin Dan¡¯s eyes narrowed before putting the book in the sandalwood box and storing it properly. Her almost broken veins were being protected by a steady stream of life qi, but she could not remove the spell worm yet. If it were hidden elsewhere, it would have been destroyed by the qi, but it happened to be hidden in her heart, which was well protected by the life qi and giving it a chance to survive.


    In other words, Lin Dan was still He Chongling¡¯s puppet. She would live if he let her, but she must die if he wanted her dead. However, this level of control could no longer threaten Lin Dan. If she could not crush the spell worm in her heart, she could crush the parent worm that resides in He Chongling¡¯s heart. Once the parent worm was killed, the spell worm in her heart would naturally die too.


    As she became ruthless and heartless, she felt nothing when she thought about killing He Chongling, let alone having any killing intent. This was why the spell worm had no reaction. Besides, He Chongling¡¯s parent worm had almost never sensed her spell worm actively, and he would not find out what she was thinking. It was apparent that He Chongling did not treat the original owner as a human being and would not let the spell worm within her to affect him. It would not matter to him if the original owner had died. For him, her death was as good as getting rid of a pest.


    Lin Dan avoided the guards and arrived at the spring at the back of the mountain to clean up her bloodied body. She was suffering from the immense pain in her body, but her expression remained calm as if nothing was happening. Although she had lost her memory, she had endured pain for thousands of years and this pain she was suffering felt nothing in comparison.


    ¡ª


    The next day was the wedding day of the sect leader and the saintess, and the sect was filled with lights and a festive atmosphere. In order to prevent someone from harming the handsome man after she left, the saintess asked to have the man appear at the wedding hall, and He Chongling actually granted her request. He did it so that the handsome man could witness him and the saintess tie the knot with his own eyes and stop having any desire to want to be with her. He Chongling thought it would not be late to find a chance to kill him after he had slept with the saintess.


    A maid walked into a remote courtyard and said cautiously, ¡°Left guardian, it¡¯s about time that you head to the wedding hall.¡±


    Lin Dan ended her meditation and slowly said, ¡°Find me a black dress.¡±


    ¡°Today is a happy occasion for the leader. It¡¯s better that you wear red instead.¡± The maid lowered her head and dared not look at her.


    ¡°Black dresses won¡¯t get dirty easily.¡± Lin Dan said indifferently. She was going there to take lies, not congratulate them.


    The maid did not dare to defy her and found a black dress to put it on for her. She said comfortingly, ¡°Left guardian, please do not blame Mister Bai, He Yufei was the one who implicated him. It¡¯s best that you bring him back after you have attended the wedding banquet, lest the leader lashes out at him.¡± Mister Bai, whose full name was Bai Yan, was the man that was brought back by the original owner, and He Yufei was the new saintess. She originally had no name, but a serial number. She was given this name after winning the favor of He Chongling. In the Eastern Holy Sect, having the surname ¡°He¡± was an extremely sacred thing, and it was proof that the person had gained the recognition of the leader.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The original owner risked her life for He Chongling for many years but could not even receive that surname from him. Yet, He Yufei gained everyone¡¯s favor just by smiling at them or saying a few witty comments. He Yufei was shining like a bright sun, while the original owner was living like a pest in the dark. Both of them led completely different lives.


    But from this day, everything would be different. Lin Dan would break through the shackles for the original owner, cut off the all entanglement, and reach the peak of martial arts. She knew that only the strongest would not be trampled on.


    When Lin Dan arrived, all the sect members were there. They looked at the black dress she was wearing and displayed expressions of contempt, understanding, or sympathy. Everyone knew that she had a deep affection for the sect leader. Even if she later found a new boy toy, Bai Yan, people only thought she did it purposely to make the leader jealous. They felt that Lin Dan did not know her place, she did not have an attractive appearance and was unapproachable and quiet. They could understand why the sect leader had no interest in her, and even the boy toy she brought back was taken away by a maid.


    ¡°Left guardian, please head back and change another dress. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to bear the leader¡¯s punishment. Today is a happy occasion for him after all, and you¡¯re dressing as though you¡¯re attending a funeral. Aren¡¯t you trying to jinx him?¡± The right guardian whispered.


    Lin Dan glanced at him and sat down before drinking some liquor. She was extremely pale, but her lips were as red as blood and her black eyes were covered with frost. She looked horrifying. The right guardian glanced at her and started shuddering for some reason. He did not dare to utter another word.


    Lin Dan put down the wine glass and waited. Bai Yan was sitting right across from her. If it were the usual, she would have looked straight at him, but today she did not even give him a second look and treated him like a total stranger. Bai Yan only glanced at her and looked at the door, looking peaceful and at ease.


    Since he was being taken into captivity in the Eastern Holy Sect, he had never stopped playing the zither, viewing the flowers, doing ink painting, and practicing calligraphy ¨C he did not seem to be flustered at all. To him, being kidnapped was merely a change of living environment and it was no big deal. He held a small wine cup in his hand, but he did not drink it. He only twisted his wrist casually and tapped the cup with his slender fingertips, looking all relaxed and casual.


    He had always seemed to be calm and unhurried, which made him more mysterious and charming. People in the hall, men and women, could not take their eyes off him. It seemed as though people would be willing to risk their lives for him if he had displayed that light and gentle smile to them.


    There were people who could not hold back anymore and walked towards him. They wanted to pour him a glass of wine, but they retreated after receiving a faint glance from him and were afraid to behave inappropriately. Even though he did not learn martial arts and his body was weak, his natural air of elegance was not something ordinary people could taint.


    In between the chatter and laughter, the sound of drums rang, and came the bride and groom. Those who lived in the martial world were not elaborate people, and the newlywed naturally did not tie the red string, the bride did not arrive on a carriage and was not covered in a veil. Instead, they walked straight into the wedding hall side by side. As soon as He Yufei entered the door, she looked at Bai Yan and heaved a sigh of relief to see that he was present.


    But He Chongling looked directly at Lin Dan with a pair of infuriated eyes. The wedding hall was decorated with festive lights and decorations, and everyone came dressing for a happy occasion. Lin Dan was the only exception who came in a black dress and expressionless face. ¡°Why is she doing this? Is she trying to ruin this wedding?¡± He thought.


    He Yufei also noticed Lin Dan and her eyes instantly flashed with joy. She planned to take her master away if Lin Dan were to wreak havoc later.


    As the festive atmosphere was gradually ruined by Lin Dan, a sect member rushed in at this moment and reported loudly, ¡°Bad news, leader! Qingcheng Clan, Heavenly Sword Sect, Nine Mountains and Yinyang Faction, and other sects have gathered! They are coming up the mountain, saying that they are going to annihilate us!¡±


    ¡°These sects had been showing no signs of action lately. Why are they coming here out of a sudden?¡± He Chongling spoke firmly and calmly as if he was not at all bothered by these sects.


    ¡°I have no idea too, leader!¡± The believer bowed his hands in shame.


    ¡°Hmph, they can come for all they want. I¡¯m not afraid at all.¡± He Chongling took off his wedding robe and strode towards the mountain gate. Another panicking sect member came rushing in and said, ¡°This is bad, leader! There are thousands of people who have surrounded us this time around, the half-step grandmaster from Lianyun City and hundreds of first-class masters are here too. I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t hold them back!¡±


    The sect members, who were confident and ready to fight, stiffened as soon as they heard what the member said, and fear grew in their hearts. These so-called ¡°orthodox sects¡± had often sent people to fight them from time to time and they have never been afraid, but this enormous number of people was unprecedented.


    There are five martial arts levels: third-rate, first-rate, superior-rate, half-step grandmaster, and grandmaster. For each advancement in level, the combat power of the martial artist would increase a thousand-fold. A first-rate martial artist could kill tens of thousands of third-rate martial artists, and a half-step grandmaster could resist the attack of a hundred superior-rates. As for the grandmaster, it was a legendary level that was said to be a killing weapon that could crush the mountains and shatter the earth.


    There had been only five grandmasters in the Eastern Tang Continent, and the strongest of them all was the Lord of Lianyun City. He was the last martial artist to enter the grandmaster level, but he was able to defeat all the other four grandmasters and became the top martial artist in the world. Therefore, he was named King Yun, and the city under his jurisdiction was named the Lianyun City.


    The strongest martial artist of the Eastern Holy Sect was He Chongling, but he was merely a superior-rate, a far cry from a half-step grandmaster. He would be able to resist them if it was only an attack by a few major sects without Lianyun City¡¯s intervention, but now that a half-step grandmaster was sent, with the support of a behemoth like the Lianyun City, there was no way the Eastern Holy Sect had a chance of winning the fight.


    If everyone tried to fight back, the sect members would probably not be able to escape death!

 CH 41

    In the land of the Eastern Tang, a Grandmaster was formidable enough to build an empire. Even though a Half-step Grandmaster was slightly inferior, they were also powerful enough to build a faction and establish their own power. There were only five Grandmasters ¨C they were few and rare to come by. But there were not many Half-step Grandmasters as well, one can only find a dozen of them across the entire continent. Lianyun City sent four elders who were Half-step Grandmasters and they had a total of six. This was how powerful the Lianyun City was in the Eastern Tang.


    It was said that, ¡°In the heavens sits the Lianyun City; but on earth, it is the Forbidden City.¡± The royal family with monstrous power seemed less noble in comparison with the Lianyun City. It was no surprise that the children of royalty had to compete for a seat to cultivate in the Lianyun City and even had to fight to their deaths behind closed doors.


    He Chongling heard that the Lianyun City had sent a Half-step Grandmaster to destroy them, but he was not the slightest bit panicked. He waved his sleeves and said coldly, ¡°Come with me to take a look!¡±


    When they went outside the hall, they saw that the foot of the mountain was packed with people, who were ready to launch an attack.


    ¡°My lord, they have sent so many people here and have even gotten the help of the top masters. What should we do?¡± The Right Guardian tried to stay calm, but he was shaking slightly as he spoke. Since there was no way they could win this fight, making an escape would be the next best alternative. Fortunately, many underground paths were built to allow most of the sect members to make their escape.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Get into the formation, we will fight!¡± He Chongling shouted while gnashing his teeth.


    The sect members drew their swords with a look of resolution on their faces. At this moment, a deep voice rang in the air, ¡°Listen up, members of the Eastern Holy Sect, I will spare your lives if you offer the head of He Chongling. Otherwise, face your death! ¡±


    This distant voice came from the foot of the mountain, but it echoed in their ears and seemed to contain a powerful inner force. Those who heard the voice could feel the pain in their ears, their blood was rushing, and it was extremely uncomfortable. Some of those who were at a lower level of cultivation even had blood flowing out of their orifices and were killed instantly. Even He Chongling and the Right Guardian who were Superior-rate Masters could not help but show a painful look.


    He Yufei suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. She did not use her inner force to resist the power of the voice but quickly rushed to Bai Yan and covered his ears. Bai Yan who had always remained expressionless surprisingly had a smile on his face. Without anyone noticing, he swung his fingers, and the rushing blood within He Yufei had suddenly calmed down. She had a look of surprise on her face but did not give any further thought to what had happened. She thought it was the Half-step Grandmaster who had removed that power and made her feel better.


    As everyone was busily taking care of themselves, they did not notice that Lin Dan was standing in the corner with a giant sword in her hands. She was watching everyone with a pair of cold eyes, without showing any pain on her face. The pressure the Half-step Grandmaster exerted on the sect members was fatal, but for her it was nothing more than listening to an ordinary voice.


    She had to fight against the raging qi within her body all the time, enduring an immense pain unimaginable to an ordinary person. Such oppression from the outside world naturally became insignificant to her.


    The power of a Half-step Grandmaster was unthinkable for the members of the Eastern Holy Sect, but they finally had a glimpse of what they were capable of. With just a few words, he did not have to do anything to kill so many martial artists instantly. They wondered what would really happen if he made a move. It was no exaggeration to say that he alone was enough to crush the entire Eastern Holy Sect.


    The sect members were terrified and fearful. They turned to look at He Chongling. Some of them were looking at him with glistening eyes, harboring an evil thought. When someone shouted ¡°run,¡± the attacking formation was broken. The members fled the scene and everything was in chaos.


    The Half-step Grandmaster leaped to the top of the gate and released a palm wave from afar. After a loud bang, the fleeing members instantly turned into wisps of blood mist. There was also a palm print of dozens of feet wide imprinted on the ground and even granite, an extremely sturdy rock, was crushed into pieces and deeply pushed into the ground.


    It only took him a few words to kill hundreds of people and a palm wave to take dozens of lives before destroying half of the sect hall. The power of the Half-step Grandmaster terrified everyone. The sect members who had intended to flee stood stiffly, as cold sweat slowly soaked their clothes.


    ¡°Kill the leader and we don¡¯t have to die!¡± He Yufei screamed in a different voice while herself hiding in the crowd. This immediately aroused the members¡¯ desire to survive. They looked at He Chongling with bloodshot eyes filled with killing intent.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, cut off his head and we can save the Eastern Holy Sect!¡± The sect members who were already dissatisfied with He Chongling¡¯s tyranny shouted and charged at him. They started attacking each other without even having an enemy.


    He Yufei pulled Bai Yan behind the pillar and snickered. Bai Yan looked at her with a gentle expression.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    He Chongling was only a Superior-rate, so were his Right Guardian and the others. Their strength were comparable. He could cope fighting against five of them at a time, but not beyond that. His body was soon covered with blood. He did not panic at all and even had a crazed look on his face. He threw away his weapons and laughed, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ve been keeping you with me for so long, it¡¯s time for payback!¡± Once his words fell, he clenched his five fingers in the air and absorbed the blood of the Right Guardian into his palms, turning him into a mummy.


    The Right Guardian¡¯s blackened body fell to the ground and disintegrated into a heap of dust before disappearing into the wind. It was a horrifying death. They looked at the ground and could not help but shudder, while He Chongling was laughing like a lunatic. Since it was too late to stop, they swarmed up and continued the attack. He Chongling who usually seemed to be inferior to his peers had somehow received help from the Gods. With just a palm wave, he slapped everyone away and grabbed the neck of one of the elders. The elder struggled as his flesh quickly sank and his body soon mummified.


    He Chongling threw away the blackened body and charged at the next person. The place was filled with heaps of dust, everyone was no match for him. His peculiar palm wave stunned the people, they slowly retreated and did not dare to come forward. Each time He Chongling mummified someone, his power would soar, and the rapid increase of the inner force would puff his clothes up.


    He was no longer surrounded by the people. It was his eyes that were filled with killing intent at this moment, eager to kill everyone.


    He Yufei said in horror, ¡°Master, what¡¯s going on now?¡± ¡±


    Bai Yan said slowly, ¡°This should be the Absorption Practice. As the name suggests, this is a practice that absorbs the inner force of others for their own use. If he continues, he will soon be promoted from a Superior-rate to a Half-step Grandmaster. ¡±


    He Yufei got so anxious that her eyes had turned red. She grabbed Bai Yan¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Master, let¡¯s run! He Chongling practiced such an evil technique, I¡¯m afraid even that Half-step Grandmaster is no match for him! ¡±


    ¡°Why should we run?¡± Bai Yan bent down and picked up a sword. He chuckled, ¡°Before he enters the next level, you can fight with him as a practice. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sharpen your rusty skills. ¡±


    He Yufei¡¯s face turned white with fear but she did not dare to disobey Bai Yan. She held the sword and said, ¡°Master, hide yourself so that you won¡¯t get hurt. If I lose, escape this place from the secret path I told you the other time. ¡±


    Although Bai Yan did not know how to fight, he was well-versed in various powerful techniques. Under his guidance, He Yufei saw great improvement in her skills. She addressed him as ¡°Master¡± and refused to leave him since. Bai Yan saw that she was a simple and adorable girl who had a good potential and did not refuse establishing such a relationship with her.


    She knew that her martial arts skills were not weak, but she lacked practical combat experience. She could not help but flustered the first time she stepped up to fight. But she soon found that as compared with the rest of the sect members who were no matched against him, she was able to display her sword techniques against He Chongling with ease and even almost stabbed his vital point.


    ¡°Yufei, even you have betrayed me!¡± He Chongling¡¯s eyes were red from killing. He chipped off He Yufei¡¯s sword with two fingers and pushed her away with a palm wave before absorbing the power of the people around him. After all, he could not bear to hurt the person he loved the most.


    He Yufei picked up another sword and charged at him decisively before exchanging another round of swordplay with He Chongling. Her techniques were awkward at first, but they slowly came together and the sword turned into a shadow of mist. With the vicious sword aura, she drew line after line on the ground with light rays so bright that could hurt one¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the saintess is so powerful!¡± The sect members exclaimed as they retreated at the mercy of her sword. Before becoming a saintess, He Yufei was just servant. Although she knew martial arts, she was not even as good as the lowest rated martial artist. But at this moment, she was already on par with the sect leader and was obviously at the superior-rate level.


    Bai Yan stood with his hands behind his back and looked at her with delight. Unlike Bai Yan, He Chongling was not in a good mood. He did not want to hurt He Yufei and held back some of his powers, but under her constant pressure, he was starting to lose patience. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Yufei, I gave you my true love but you showed no mercy.¡±


    ¡°There was no love, only hatred!¡± He Yufei pierced the sword into He Chongling¡¯s right palm.


    ¡°There was no love? Very well!¡± He Chongling pulled out his palm that was dripping with blood and backed away in an instant. He instantly absorbed the skill of several sect members and saw someone at the corner of his eye. He shouted suddenly, ¡°Lin Dan, come over right now! ¡±


    In the past, Lin Dan would silently protect him by his side and would never let him suffer even if it meant she had to risk her life. This was why he treated her like a dog and would never remember such an insignificant existence like her. But at this moment, not only he had to deal with He Yufei, a more powerful enemy was waiting for him. Lin Dan was a first-rate master which was only one level below the Superior-rate level. If he could absorb her force, he would immediately be promoted to a Half-step Grandmaster.


    Lin Dan, who had almost no sense of existence, finally took a step forward.


    While controlling the sword aura, He Yufei shouted: ¡°Lin Dan, do not listen to him! He wants your life! ¡±


    Lin Dan ignored her and walked calmly towards He Chongling.


    Bai Yan sighed gently. He released his hands behind his back and finally lifted his fingertips before tapping somewhere in the air¡­

 CH 42

    Holding the giant sword, Lin Dan slowly walked towards He Chongling. He laughed arrogantly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been training you for this day! Lin Dan, I will never forget you after your death.¡±


    ¡°Never forget¡± may sound like a sweet melody to the previous owner of this body, but Lin Dan looked at him coldly, unwavered by what he said. Feeling an intense aura coming from the sides, she could not see who the attacker was. With a tap of the toes, she flew forward so quickly that she avoided the aura, leaving only a deep hole that was as wide as a finger on the granite.


    Seeing that Lin Dan was flying towards him, He Chongling quickly spread open his fingers to welcome her. He thought that she would obediently let him absorb her powers, but did not expect her to suddenly draw her giant sword and launch an attack.


    He Chongling¡¯s strategy had failed. He did not avoid her attack, but gripped the blade with his fingers and wanted to crush the weapon. In the nick of time, he had no time to find out why Lin Dan was able to break free from the control of the spell worm and attacked him. He only wanted to shred this betrayer into a thousand pieces.


    Lin Dan looked at He Chongling with an expressionless face. The vicious and raging qi within her had been converted into sword aura and instantly crushed He Chongling¡¯s fingers. The sword did not stop there and went straight into his arm before piercing his heart, instantly killing the host of the spell worm.


    He Chongling¡¯s look of arrogance stiffened. He slowly lowered his head and looked at the steel blade that was inserted in his chest, before slowly looking up at the woman whom he had never cared about and treated her like an ant.


    ¡°How dare you¡­¡± before he could finish, the qi within the blade exploded in his body with a thundershock. Wisps of blood mist sprinkled on Lin Dan¡¯s pale face, but she did not even blink.


    The sect members stood around and did not dare to go forward. Nobody had thought that the sect leader would practice a forbidden technique that would turn everyone into a source of his inner force as if they were livestock kept to feed his powers. However, what surprised them, even more, was that the Left Guardian could kill him just when he was reaching the peak of his martial art abilities.


    The sect leader of the Eastern Holy Sect was already a superior-rate master. After absorbing the power of a dozen of first-rate masters, he should have already been promoted to a Half-step Grandmaster. But when Lin Dan appeared, it only took her one move to send him to hell ¨C just how powerful was Lin Dan?


    Everyone looked at each other before backing away. They could feel shivers down their spines.


    Lin Dan drew out the blood-stained blade and stared at He Chongling¡¯s body with her dark eyes while carrying an inexplicable expression. It was then she realized how far she had gone down in this path of eternal doom. Those who practice the Asura Sword Technique would have to bear the pain of being cut a thousand times, but when they fight and kill, the raging qi would fill their palms and weapons. As they crush their enemies, what remained in their bodies would be a steady stream of vitality. In that instant, the excruciating pain would be gone¡­


    Killing had turned into a satisfying and enjoyable affair for Lin Dan. She could not wait to see a dozens of He Chongling appearing before her so that she could begin an endless massacre!


    She enjoyed momentary peace when she took lives. This was the most horrifying thing about practicing the Asura Sword Technique. To relieve the pain within the body, the practitioner of the technique must immerse themselves in killing all the time. They would lose the ability to love, lose their humanity and turn into a killing machine over time. When they had completely lost their minds, they would also lose control of the qi of life and death. Once the balance was broken, the qi of death would take over, thus destroying their lives.


    This meant that the practitioners of the Asura Sword Technique were doomed to die from the obsession.


    Lin Dan closed her eyes and was feeling helpless. No wonder the old leader was willing to give this powerful technique to the original owner of this body. No wonder He Chongling who was power-hungry was not interested in practicing this technique. From the beginning, she was only given a path of no return. In their eyes, she was probably as good as dead.


    But Lin Dan did not want to admit defeat. She clenched the steel blade in her hand and set a boundary in her heart ¨C she would rather endure the immense pain than becoming an inhuman killing machine. Inability to love and being vicious were completely different concepts to her.


    After straightening out her thoughts, she cut He Chongling¡¯s head and walked towards the mountain gate. All the other sect members did not dare to utter a single word. They did not stop her and followed her from behind while keeping a distance.


    ¡°M-Master, what just happened?¡± He Yufei, who was displaying a remarkable performance but had already been forgotten by the others, asked with a pale face. She had never expected that Lin Dan could behead He Chongling who had a huge increase in power. And while killing him, Lin Dan did not even frown or batted an eye. She was like the devil who came from hell and instilled fear in others.


    Bai Yan frown slightly and muttered so softly that none could hear, ¡°Asura¡­ has descended¡­¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan came to the gate and threw out He Chongling¡¯s sect members. She said, ¡°This is what you asked for. I will draw a line here, keep your promise and leave now, or I will kill anyone that crosses this line! ¡±


    Using the raging qi within her, she drew a line at her feet with her sword and created a deep ditch on the hard ground. The ferocious qi scattered near the ditch and would crush anyone who came near into dust.


    One of the direct disciples who was standing in front hurriedly stepped back. He could only look at the ground after the sword aura had weakened but was horrified to see that his clothes and shoes were cut by the remnants of the qi. As blood oozed through the fabric, he realized that he was already suffering from minor injuries even without noticing.


    Such silent dominance immediately instilled fear in all of the other major sects.


    ¡°A Half-step Grandmaster?¡± The four elders of Lianyun City asked in disbelief.


    Lin Dan lowered her head after giving him a glance. With one hand behind and the other holding the steel blade, she said, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to leave.¡± Her feet had never crossed the line she had drawn as well. For her, it was also the boundary she had set for herself. If these people retreat immediately, she would not attack them. Otherwise, she would have no choice but to kill them.


    Although the old leader and He Chongling treated the original owner of the body like a dog, the old grandmother living at the mountain gate raised her, several maids had been serving her since childhood and were loyal to her, and there were also many adopted children who were training in the back mountain. They had not accomplished anything, neither have they done anything wrong and did not deserve to die.


    Not having the ability to love did not mean that Lin Dan had lost all human values. She knew the importance of repaying kindness as well as the need to take revenge. She could disregard some of the Eastern Holy Sect members but there were people whom she could not leave alone.


    He Chongling was dead, but a stronger and more vicious leader had emerged from the Demonic Sect. This was why the four elders had no intention of letting Lin Dan off, as they believe a bloodshed was inevitable once she recovered her strength. The words that were said were just lies to delude others. They were not afraid of the Demonic Sect, but if they could create internal strife within the sect, it would reduce casualties and trouble for the orthodox sects. They believed it was worth doing so.


    ¡°Kill her!¡± The four elders raised their hands and commanded indifferently. But in the next moment, their eyes widened, as if they had seen a strange creature.


    Bai Yan who was hiding in the crowd nodded his head without anyone noticing. The four elders who were hesitating immediately ordered firmly, ¡°Kill her and no mercy! ¡±


    The Eastern Holy Sect members who thought they could escape from death suddenly gasped. Some of them chided the members of the orthodox sects and called them hypocrites, some fled in panic, while others drew their swords and put up a tough fight. Lin Dan had not stepped out of the line and had also been guarding the boundary she had set for herself. She was not mad at these people who did not keep their promise, neither was she afraid of being surrounded by the hundreds of martial experts.


    She longed to kill but she was also suppressing that killing desire. She never took the initiative to fight but as long as someone had crossed the line, she would raise the sword and slash them into half. Her moves were simple and nothing fancy. She would either cut or chop them up but her sword aura was filled with immense energy. A small cut could explode and create a bloody wound on the body.


    Countless Superior-rate Masters attacked her but they were all turned into bloodied bodies by her raging qi. However, if they had retreated and stayed behind the line, she would let them off. She guarded that line and had never crossed it.


    Gradually, these masters from the orthodox sects were getting fearful. They stayed away from the line that was drawn across the mountain gate and dared not cross the boundary.


    Lin Dan could finally shake off the blood on the blade and released a foul aura. She stood firmly against the line and had never moved an inch even after a fierce battle. What did this say? It meant that she still had energy to spare while dealing with these top masters, and her level may be far beyond everyone¡¯s imagination.


    Lin Dan had a satisfying killing spree. The excruciating pain in her heart and bones had already gone, there was pure madness and joy that was filling her mind. Even so, she had never wavered. Anyone who had crossed the line would die and anyone who did not would live. She knew what she was doing. She was already deep in the abyss but she would escape using her bare hands to see light at the end of the tunnel.


    During the killing spree, she discovered yet another terrible secret ¨C the more her blade drew blood, the more powerful she got. She only needed to kill a few people to achieve a level that would take decades for the others to achieve. This Asura Sword Technique was undoubtedly a powerful technique, but it was also a dark technique that could harm others and the practitioners themselves. Lin Dan had no other way ¨C not learning the technique or destroying her skills would kill her either way. She had no choice but to continue on this path

 CH 43

    Hundreds of superior-rate masters fought against Lin Dan. They attacked one by one at first, but when she slashed each of them one after another, they decided to disregard all ethics of an orthodox sect and swarmed up on her.


    Lin Dan was finding for a chance to release the death aura within her and these masters came just in time. When they attacked one by one, she slashed them one after another; when they attacked in a group, she would strike using a sword shadow from the raging qi. The sword aura charged at the attackers like thunderstorm before leaving a burnt wound on their flesh.  For the others, one slash could only cause a bone-deep wound, but her slashes could mince the flesh of those who were less powerful. Even those who had a strong inner force could not resist the attack of her death aura.


    When she put down her sword, many martial artist experts had already retreated behind the line and were badly injured. Some of them had mini-explosions within their bodies and collapsed to the ground before they could even stand up. But nobody had noticed that the sword Lin Dan was carrying was turning from silver to red as it devoured the blood it had collected.


    The sword, named Asura Sword, came together with the book of Asura Sword Technique and was also given to Lin Dan by the old sect leader. Since it was a demonic technique, the sword was a demonic weapon, too. The original owner of this body did not notice the ability of this sword as she had never managed to achieve a breakthrough.


    Lin Dan held the hilt tightly, but the eyes on her blood-stained face were missing that bloodshot and crazed look after a massacre. She took a step forward but had never gone beyond the line.


    The four elders of Lianyun City suddenly jumped down from above and shouted sternly, ¡°How dare you learn such a brutal and vicious technique! If we let you off today, you will definitely create endless trouble for the world in the future! In the name of orthodoxy, we will remove a dangerous person like you from this world!¡± Before his voice fell, he had already cast a palm wave at her.


    Lin Dan blocked the wave and said solemnly, ¡°I have never initiated to take any life. Why do you say that I would create trouble? I¡¯ve already made myself clear. Nothing will happen if you keep your promise and leave now. Otherwise, you better not blame me for being ruthless.¡±


    The four elders of the Lianyun City did not want to waste time talking to her. They scoffed and launched an attack by casting a series of palm waves at her. One of the elders had advanced to the Half-step Grandmaster for many years. He had a more stable and was more experienced than Lin Dan in battles. Soon, he was able to diffuse Lin Dan¡¯s aggressive sword aura and landed a series of palm waves on her.


    Lin Dan took a few steps backward after being hit and spit out mouthfuls of blood. There was no fear in her eyes as she yelled ¡°very well¡± and sent them a series of slashes. Although the four elders managed to dodge the attacks, she was relentless.


    Facing strong enemies, she would have to spend all her energy fighting against them, but this meant that the death aura had to be doubled. Meanwhile, the life aura within her was circulating in her bones and limbs, taking away all her pain and making her feel comfortable. The internal injuries caused by being hit by the palm waves were nothing compared to the pain of being slashed by a thousand times.


    To her surprise, when she used the death aura during fights, her body was filled with life aura at the same time. The sword injuries that were caused previously were quickly healed, leaving no scars on her body. Even if her internal organs were crushed, she realized that she could quickly recover. The more vicious she fought, the faster her injuries recovered.


    This meant that if she had completely mastered the Asura Sword Technique, she would become an undying monster.


    Lin Dan was not wavered by the shocking discovery and it only made her braver and more fearless. For several times, she was hit by the elders¡¯ palm waves and crashed into the ground, creating a deep pit, but she was able to get up immediately to launch another attack. Within a short while, several large pits were created in the ground by her body, but the sword aura she had released got more ferocious and stronger each time.


    Initially, the four elders could still fight head-on against her with ease, but they soon realized that they needed to dodge her attacks. Before long, they were getting slashed by her sword and were covered in blood. Ever since they were promoted to Half-step Grandmasters, it had been long since they had suffered from any injury or had been pushed into a corner by anyone. They realized that Lin Dan was a berserker whose powers would be multiplied by many times during battles.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    This meant that they were merely being Lin Dan¡¯s whetstone. If the fight continued, they would gain nothing but help Lin Dan achieve another breakthrough. Even though the four elders were top martial artists in the land of the Eastern Tang and had seen martial experts of all sorts, they believed that the young and nameless demoness was the toughest opponent they had encountered so far. They were showing signs of defeat. Their inner force was depleting, and they probably could not last for another hour. As for Lin Dan, she got stronger as she fought, and her pale face was now flushed with healthy pink. Her dark eyes were glistening, and she could probably continue for another three days and three nights.


    Her inner force was obviously much stronger than the four elders as if the battle they had before was just a warm-up. At first sight, her breath was still unstable as she had just advanced to a new level. But now, her breath was in harmony and her attacks were so powerful that even the four elders, who were peerless martial experts, were forced to back down.


    Seeing that Lin Dan was about to cast a vicious sword shadow to finish them off, the four elders quickly sent a palm wave to reduce the impact before retreating with the help of the wind. Coincidentally, they retreated behind the line. Lin Dan was ready to cast a deadly strike, but looking at the situation, she prepared an even more brutal strike that was faster and stronger. The attack landed on the boulders beside the elders and split the high rock wall into half before creating a large cave.


    The scattered rocks would not cause any damage to the martial experts, but the others had to quickly dodge the falling rocks. The four elders had to take a few feet back with shocking and surprised faces. They knew that Lin Dan was perfectly capable of killing them. Her initial sword attack was aiming at their necks and it was impossible for them to dodge it since they were having difficulty standing up straight. If Lin Dan had not changed her attack, they probably would lose their heads and lives in an instant.


    ¡°Why did you let us off?¡± A defeat was a defeat. Upon reaching such a high level, there was no way the elders could advance further if they could not even concede defeat, which was common in the martial arts world. But the elder wanted to know why Lin Dan would let themselves off at the crucial moment. He was one of the few Half-step Grandmasters in the land of the Eastern Tang and also one of the four elders of the prestigious Lianyun City. If Lin Dan had killed him, she could make her name in an instant and become a world-famous martial artist. Since the Eastern Holy Sect had been expanding their power rapidly in recent years, was this not what they wanted? It was natural for sects to want to dominate a region and for martial artists to gain recognition in the world.


    Lin Dan did not understand what the elders were thinking at all. She slowly walked to the line and brandished her sword. ¡°Anyone who crosses this line will be killed with no mercy,¡± she repeated. ¡°No mercy,¡± she said but she had been sparing people¡¯s lives, this made the four elders unable to comprehend her true intentions.


    Lin Dan¡¯s intention was simple ¨C the same rules did not only apply to the others but herself as well. If she had crossed that boundary, she would kill herself even before these so-called people of orthodoxy did so. She would rather be a living dead or live in loneliness than living a life of senselessness or madness. Was there any purpose of living if she could not even decide for her own life?


    The four elders glanced at the line she had earlier drawn and understood why they had escaped from death. Lin Dan stayed true to her words. She would spare the lives of those who retreated behind the line and was even more trustworthy than the members of the orthodox sects.


    The four elders felt extremely embarrassed at the thought. They looked up and glanced towards the crowd. Seeing that Bai Yan who was hiding in the crowd nodded his head lightly, the elder cupped his hands and said, ¡°Thank you for sparing our lives, please forgive us for what happened today.¡± He waved his sleeves and walked away.


    Since Lin Dan was able to defeat the four elders and even injured them to the point of spitting blood, she was naturally as powerful as a Half-step Grandmaster. The remaining members of the orthodox sect quickly left the scene as they knew they had no chance against her even with all of their powers combined.


    The Eastern Holy Sect used to sit proudly on top of the highest mountain. But now, half of its gate was destroyed and there were body parts lying everywhere on the ground. Blood covered the entire ground that there was no clean space for one to walk. Lin Dan inserted her sword into the pool of blood and let it devour, while she sat cross-legged and began her cultivation.


    As the death aura returned and was having a fierce struggle with her life aura, that familiar pain began to wreak havoc in Lin Dan¡¯s body, tearing her flesh and meridians but also healing it bit by bit. The process was excruciating but she did not even frown. The pink flush on her face slowly went away and it was as pale as snow again.


    The members of the Eastern Holy Sect dared not disturb her and quietly cleaned up the mess.


    He Yufei was standing somewhere far away with a mixed expression. She was hesitating whether she should step forward or not. She betrayed Lin Dan and even took the life of her loved one. She wondered how Lin Dan would take revenge on her.


    Before this, He Yufei had never thought Lin Dan would become this powerful. Now that she was a Half-step Grandmaster and was only a level below the Grandmaster, with just a wave of her hand, she could easily re-establish the Eastern Holy Sect and gain the world¡¯s recognition like the Qingcheng Clan or Heavenly Sword Sect. If Lin Dan would not let this pass, He Yufei probably could only lead a life of a fugitive to escape from her pursuit.


    ¡°Master, let¡¯s go before she recovers.¡± As compared to her own safety, He Yufei was more worried that Lin Dan would lock Bai Yan up again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while more.¡± Bai Yan walked slowly towards Lin Dan who was sitting in a pool of blood. Before he could get close to her, she opened her eyes and said emotionlessly, ¡°You wanted to kill me.¡± She did not forget that before killing He Chongling, someone wanted to assassinate her with a hidden yet powerful aura. And Bai Yan who was standing right in that direction was the greatest suspect

 CH 44

    Lin Dan was not the original owner of this body and was not blinded by love. If Bai Yan was merely a weak scholar, he would not be able to live comfortably in the Eastern Holy Sect, neither would he be able to train He Yufei into a first-rate master within a short time.  Since he was keeping his true abilities, he must have an ulterior motive for entering the sect.


    Bai Yan did not panic at all. He slowly nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Lin Dan stood up immediately. She drew out the vigorous Asura Sword that had been devouring blood. She asked solemnly, ¡°Why?¡±  She could not sense Bai Yan¡¯s breath. He was completely like an ordinary person but this showed how scary his true identity could be.  With Lin Dan¡¯s current skill, she could see through a person¡¯s identity at one glance but she could not see through him. This meant that Bai Yan¡¯s level was beyond one level above her.


    Just what level was above a Half-step Grandmaster¡­? It was the Grandmaster!


    Lin Dan held the hilt of the sword tightly and took a step forward. Her stance seemed like she was facing a powerful enemy, but she remained calm.


    Bai Yan stood with his hands behind his back and slowly said: ¡°The Asura Sword Technique is originally a forbidden technique from my sect but it was stolen by the Eastern Holy Sect. My master¡¯s dying words were ¨C if Asura has descended into this world, we must gather the power of the entire sect and kill him.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded slightly to show that she understood what he was saying. She was not interested in Bai Yan¡¯s sect and its origin, but she understood why his master left such dying words. Anyone who mastered the Asura Sword Technique could easily lose their mind. In addition to that, the cultivator¡¯s life aura would circulate in their heart so vigorously that it would be difficult for anyone to kill them.


    A killing machine that could never be killed. Who knew what kind of impact would it make in the outside world? Lin Dan closed her eyes. She could already foresee the tragedy ¨C rivers of blood and bodies lying everywhere. She did not defend herself and said calmly after raising her sword, ¡°Fight me.¡±


    Bai Yan did not make any move but scrutinized her face before looking at the line at her feet.


    He Yufei was completely confused at the situation. She looked at both of them and asked in surprise, ¡°Master, y-you knew how to fight?¡± He Chongling checked Bai Yan¡¯s pulse before and said that he was only an ordinary person with no inner force.


    Bai Yan and Lin Dan ignored her and stood without moving an inch, eyes focused on each other.


    After a while, Bai Yan actually took a step back and said, ¡°I won¡¯t kill you today. You may leave.¡±


    Lin Dan quickly understood what he meant. He was only letting her off today and may come after her in the future. But he sounded certain when he said, ¡°kill you,¡± as if killing a Half-step Grandmaster was an easy task for him. It was obvious that he was one of the five Grandmasters whose skills were far beyond Lin Dan¡¯s current level.


    ¡°Why should I seek death when I could live on?¡± Lin Dan thought. She was no fool and flew away after keeping her sword. Bai Yan tapped his toes lightly and followed after.


    Looking at the two who seemed to be flying away slowly but were traveling a thousand miles in the blink of an eye, He Yufei was stunned. She thought Lin Dan was a poor and pathetic woman but did not expect her to take He Chongling¡¯s head in an instant, acting more decisive than anyone; she thought Bai Yan was a weak scholar but did not expect him to be fearless facing Lin Dan who was a Half-step Grandmaster.


    Was this not obvious that Bai Yan was, in fact, a Grandmaster? After understanding the situation, He Yufei¡¯s eyes lit up, and immediately chased after them. She shouted, ¡°Master, wait for me!¡± She casually found a master and did not expect him to be one of the five Grandmasters. ¡°I¡¯m in luck!¡± She thought.


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan flew quickly, trying to get rid of Bai Yan but he was able to keep a short distance from her no matter how fast she went. Like a cat chasing a mouse, he stayed behind her no matter how fast or slow she went. If it were someone else, they would have been irritated or flustered, but Lin Dan was not at all annoyed. She decided to stop and walked towards the nearest city. Since the owner of this body had no feelings for the Eastern Holy Sect, she had no intention of returning.


    The people of the Eastern Tang were fond of martial arts and establishing their own sects. These sects were bigger and more powerful than the imperial power. Many of the cities were run by the sects and were not governed by the royal family. Lin Dan went to the city gate and looked up at the plaque hanging on the beam. She saw a few cursive characters written on it that said, ¡°Timeless City.¡±


    What an interesting name, Lin Dan thought. She looked at it closely and entered the city after paying an entrance fee. She found an inn and was ready to settle down. ¡°Waiter, serve me a few of your signature dishes and a pot of wine. If a suite is available, I¡¯ll take it.¡± Lin Dan placed a piece of silver on the counter.


    ¡°Sure, please take a seat. Our signature dishes are Stewed Frog and Sichuan Poached Beef. I¡¯ll get the chef to prepare these for you right now. Here is the key to the suite, please keep it well. Your room is the first room on the left on the second floor. It will cost fifteen grams of silver, let me weigh this.¡± The waiter put her piece of silver on the scale.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan replied, ¡°Keep the change. Prepare some hot water for me, I want to take a bath.¡± Her black robe was heavy after being soaked in blood.


    The waiter suddenly realized that her sword and robe were dripping blood and had stained the floor. There was also a strong and pungent smell filling in the air. There was no doubt that she was killing people and it was many lives that she took!


    ¡°Sure, thank you for the kind gesture. I¡¯ll prepare it right away.¡± The waiter stopped looking at her and continued to weigh the silver. He removed the extra silver and kept it for himself before happily preparing the hot water in the kitchen. He was not at all afraid of what he had seen.


    The patrons of the inn turned a blind eye to Lin Dan, as though the blood on the floor and the bloody footprints did not exist.


    The strange reaction of the people made Lin Dan wary. She slowly walked towards the window and sat down. She thought to herself, ¡°These people are reacting so strangely. They are either used to such scenes or are not in their right minds. Since it¡¯s impossible that all of them are abnormal, there is only one possible explanation ¨C being stained in blood in a common affair here.¡± Regardless, she thought it had nothing to do with her and did not intend to delve further into it.


    Lin Dan took out a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo holder and wanted to wipe it using her handkerchief. However, she realized that her handkerchief was stained with dark red blood and was even dirtier than the chopsticks. She frowned and was lost in her thoughts as she stared at the chopsticks and handkerchief.


    Bai Yan stood at the door and looked at her. Seeing that she was in a daze and did not care about his arrival, he slowly walked towards her. He leaned over and looked at Lin Dan with mixed emotions, as though he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle while observing a beast at the same time.


    ¡°Are you going to have a meal?¡± He asked.


    Lin Dan suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at him. She had already ordered food and was holding a pair of chopsticks, what else would she be doing?


    This was the first time Bai Yan was scorned for asking the obvious. Lin Dan did not say anything, but her eyes were telling him that he had just asked a stupid question. He merely did not expect that Lin Dan rushed to this city thousands of miles away just to sit down and have a good meal.


    The Asura Sword Technique was a forbidden technique of his sect and he knew better than anyone the consequences of mastering this technique. It would have been difficult enough to lose the ability to love and that excruciating pain within could easily destroy even those who were strong-willed. In order to ease that pain, the cultivators of this technique could never stop killing before dying from their killing obsession. The horrifying pools of blood and countless dead bodies were recorded in their sect¡¯s classics.


    Yet, Lin Dan who had clearly mastered the technique showed no pain on her face, neither was there a crazed look in her eyes. Besides looking paler than most people, she seemed to behave like any other ordinary person. She came all the way here, paid the entrance fee, ordered a few dishes, booked a room, and even asked for some hot water. There was nothing unusual in her behavior and she was acting like a traveler who came from afar. If he had not seen it for himself, Bai Yan would never believe that she had mastered the Asura Sword Technique. He would also not believe that she was suffering from the immense pain in her body.


    ¡°Where do you intend to go afterward?¡± Bai Yan who had always been indifferent to everything could not help but ask another question. He intended to kill Lin Dan, but hesitated to do so seeing that she had stayed true to her boundaries and refrained from killing the innocent. This was the first time he had shown compassion towards the great enemy of the sect and he knew this was not right.


    ¡°I¡¯ll decide as I go.¡± Lin Dan folded the handkerchief neatly before tucking it back into her garment.


    Bai Yan gave her his handkerchief and declared, ¡°I will come with you. ¡±


    Lin Dan took his handkerchief and wiped two pairs of chopsticks. She handed a pair to him while holding the other pair for herself. She lifted her head and said, ¡°Sure.¡± She knew Bai Yan did so to prevent her from killing the innocent. If she had lost control, he would kill her in an instant. By letting him follow her, it was as good as hanging a knife above her head where she would face death at any time. But Lin Dan was not afraid at all and even felt safe with this arrangement. If she had really lost her mind to the point where she could not even kill herself, she would prefer to have someone around who was strong enough to take her life.


    Bai Yan raised his brow and did not expect her to agree so readily. He could not help but stare at her closely.


    Lin Dan did not mind his glare and started eating once the dishes were served. The original owner of this body had not been eating since Bai Yan and He Yufei tried to elope and were locked in the dungeon. She could sacrifice her health for them but Lin Dan was not going to endure the hunger. Lin Dan frown deeply after taking the first bite. The food was badly done ¨C the frog meat was not marinated well and still had a strong smell while the beef was too hard to chew and needed to stew for another hour.


    With just one bite, she immediately knew the correct way to make these dishes. She came to this world with no experience of using the kitchen knife or kitchen stove, but she was confident with her ability to create delicious dishes.


    ¡°Was I a cook in my past life?¡± She put down her chopsticks and had a complex look on her face.


    Bai Yan stared at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± To him, Lin Dan was a beast that was on the verge of madness and could go on a rampage any time.

 CH 45

    Lin Dan felt like a death row prisoner while Bai Yan was the prison warden responsible for watching her. But she had always shown a good attitude, waving her hand, she said that she was fine. Once Bai Yan saw that she was indeed fine, he poured himself a cup of wine and started sipping it.


    They returned to their rooms after the meal. Bai Yan asked for the room next to Lin Dan¡¯s so that he could watch her and detect any suspicious movement from her. Lin Dan did not mind it at all and began her meditation after taking a bath. As she was always suffering from the immense pain in her body, she could only meditate as there was no way she could sleep at all. Fortunately, for someone who was already at this level, sleeping was not necessary anymore. She would be able to regain her energy only by meditating two hours a day.


    After she entered the meditation stance, Bai Yan walked to the window, seemingly looking into the distance but was actually concentrating on sensing the movement next door. Hearing that her breathing was becoming shallower and slower before completely disappearing, he knew that she had entered the Turtle¡¯s Breath, which was the highest state of meditation. This could only be achieved by an enlightened monk or someone with a particularly clear mind.


    Since Lin Dan was suffering from the excruciating pain all the time, how was she able to completely ignore the pain and enter the realm of non-self? Bai Yan frowned his brows tightly and seemingly confused at Lin Dan¡¯s behavior. But in an instant, a solemn expression crept on his face as he jumped out of the window and stood outside Lin Dan¡¯s window while standing on a piece of leaf, looking all stunned.


    Yet, contrary to what he had imagined, Lin Dan did not feign her meditation stance and leave the inn to kill. She was still sitting on the couch with both hands in a mundra, hovering above her knees. Her eyes were tightly shut, her expression was peaceful, and she had completely entered the non-self state. The Asura Sword was also placed on her lap and was faintly glowing in red.


    There was only one knife and one woman in the room and nothing was happening.


    Bai Yan stiffened for a moment before feeling slightly embarrassed. This was the first time he made a wrong move and misunderstood someone, this was¡­ He shooked his head and laughed at himself. He sat down on the tree trunk and started to meditate together with Lin Dan just a distance apart.


    But what happened earlier kept flashing in his mind that he was unable to enter a meditative state as quickly as he would have been usually. Lin Dan crushing He Chongling¡¯s heart with her sword, fighting against hundreds of enemies, and keeping to her boundaries religiously¡­ Her resolute expression and unyielding but clear eyes were lingering in Bai Yan¡¯s mind.


    He could not believe that this was the legendary Asura Sword successor. She did not lose her mind, neither did she go on a killing spree. She behaved similarly to any ordinary person. If it were Bai Yan himself, he was uncertain whether he could control himself like she did. The endless pain of a thousand slashes ¨C the thought of it could send chills down one¡¯s spine. But killing could make himself feel better, Bai Yan thought he probably would not only kill the enemies, he probably would kill everyone on the land of the Eastern Tang.


    He had already attained one of the highest levels, but even with such immense power, he could not tell for sure that he could do better than Lin Dan. Lin Dan¡¯s heart was probably firmer and tougher than he thought, but he wondered how long could she restrain herself.


    At the thought of this, Bai Yan opened his eyes and looked at Lin Dan. Seeing her peaceful-looking face, he found himself giving her a look of admiration.


    ¡ª


    The next day, Lin Dan casually ate some breakfast before leaving the inn with her sword. Since she was alone and homeless, she had nowhere to go but wander around. Did it matter if she was suffering from the tormenting pain? She refused to lose her humanity and kill just to relieve herself from the pain. Would she still be the same if she had lost her humanity?


    Bai Yan followed her while keeping a distance. He saw that she was merely walking and exploring around. At times, she would even pick up some interesting items and study them. She was like a little girl who had rarely left home and was unfamiliar with the world. He could not help but chuckled. Lin Dan was only 17 years old and was only one year younger than his disciple He Yufei, but she had already experienced the harsh reality of the world.


    If one had not gone through the darkest despair and deepest sorrow, would they become a heartless and vicious person? Yet, Lin Dan did. She had to become that person¡­ At the thought of this, the smile on his face slowly faded and his indifferent heart was aching slightly.


    At this moment, there was a commotion at the pharmacy along the street where a young man was thrown out by two strong men. He turned around and struggled to climb up the steps before shouting mournfully, ¡°Please, just give me one! I really could not find that guiding herb and people have moved away. The Timeless City is secluded and surrounded by wilderness¡­¡±


    Lin Dan put down the tiger doll in her hand and walked towards the young man, with a solemn look on her face. If the man did not mention it, she would not notice that the Timeless City was indeed a secluded place. She did not even see any small village while she was on her way here. Typically, small towns were built around big cities because humans were social animals who tend to live close by. Even though the Timeless City covered a vast area and was a bustling city, it was like an island that had no inhabitants within a radius of thousands of miles. It was strange, indeed.


    Besides, what¡¯s a ¡°guiding herb¡±? As she wondered, she was stunned to find that the young man¡¯s black hair was quickly turning grey. In the blink of an eye, it was completely snow-white and he took his last breath while lying on the ground. With a closer look at his exposed skin, she noticed that it was full of wrinkles and spots, like an old man in his seventies or eighties.


    When Lin Dan wanted to go closer and find out more, a line of officers came up and carried the man¡¯s body away. The onlookers were not at all horrified but were gloating over his death, ¡°Look, that¡¯s the consequence for not finding the guiding herb! Let¡¯s work harder and go somewhere further to look for it. If we can¡¯t fulfill the Lord¡¯s task, we won¡¯t be able to get the medicine. ¡±


    Lin Dan silently took note of what they said and walked away. When she returned to the inn, the friendly waiter had already prepared lunch for her and recommended her to explore the East side. He said it was the most prosperous area of the Timeless City, where taverns and restaurants were common and were a crowded and lively place to visit.


    Lin Dan nodded indifferently. She rested a while after finishing her lunch and left for the East City. When she was about to step out of the inn, she saw He Yufei running towards her and shouted while panting, ¡°Master, I finally found you!¡±


    Lin Dan stepped aside so that she could run towards Bai Yan. The two people that the original owner of this body loved and hated the most were now beside her, but they did not matter to her. However, she noticed that people were throwing weird looks at He Yufei, as though she was something they desired. It was the same when they looked at her, but they restrained themselves because of the huge sword she carried.


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes dimmed but she hid her expression before walking towards the East City.


    Since that day, He Yufei did her best to catch up with both of them she was still too slow for them. When she had finally arrived in the Timeless City, she was so exhausted that she could even hardly stand. She clung to Bai Yan and grumbled in a sweet and lovely voice, ¡°Master, why did you leave me alone! This is so upsetting!¡± She whined in an adorable manner.


    Bai Yan lowered his eyes to look at her and said sternly, ¡°This is a dangerous place, you better leave now. ¡±


    ¡°What danger? Where is it?¡± He Yufei cheekily looked around with her pair of lively eyes.


    ¡°Fine, do what you want.¡± Seeing that Lin Dan was going farther, Bai Yan had no choice but to leave He Yufei behind.


    The East City was indeed a bustling place. The streets were so crowded that people were rubbing shoulders as they walked. There were also sounds of yelling, singing, and noise which created a scene of prosperity. Lin Dan walked into the crowd with a pair of cold eyes and an indifferent look. She observed the surrounding people and scene before noticing something strange. There were no elderly or children. Although there were a handful of women, most were young men walking on the streets. Most of them looked curious and were obviously non-local which looked strange to her.


    Bai Yan slightly frowned as he walked slowly.


    He Yufei, in comparison, was oblivious to the surroundings. She found everything around her interesting and kept pulling Bai Yan from stalls to stalls and begged him to buy her some exquisite and small items. Bai Yan had no choice but to make the purchase but his eyes had never left Lin Dan. He knew this city was strange, but it was more important to watch Lin Dan and everything else had to be put aside for now.


    He caught a glimpse that Lin Dan was walking into a fabric shop and quickly pushed He Yufei into the shop as well. ¡°Go and pick yourself some clothes,¡± he said.


    He Yufei thought he wanted to buy her some clothes and was even more delighted. She quickly agreed and entered the shop. He Yufei was afraid when she saw Lin Dan who was also picking some clothes in the shop. But she knew that there must be a reason why her master was following her and did not think too much into it.


    ¡°Lin Dan, do you need my help?¡± She mustered up the courage and asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Lin Dan took a black dress and entered the fitting room.


    The shopkeeper gave Bai Yan a cup of tea and picked a few beautiful dresses for He Yufei before getting her into another fitting room. They were in the largest fabric shop in the East City that only sold fancy ladieswear and were not interested in selling menswear.


    Lin Dan stared at the nice-smelling black dress and raised her brow. Meanwhile, He Yufei was happily spreading out her dress and was ready to get changed, but she fainted in the next moment. Hearing that He Yufei had collapsed, Lin Dan also began her act by passing out as well. In thirty minutes, Lin Dan sensed that He Yufei came round and opened her eyes as well. They found themselves being locked in a dungeon that was filled with a horrible stench. There were also intermittent sounds of crying that made the place feel even more terrifying.


    ¡°Where is this? Where¡¯s my master?¡± He Yufei rubbed her temples that were hurting badly before crying in shock, ¡°M-My fighting skills are gone! What did you do to me? ¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Since you¡¯re already in Timeless City, you don¡¯t need to fight anymore, you only need to have babies with us, hahaha¡­¡± Two fighters in black attire walked to the prison gate with a torch in their hand. By the light of the torch, He Yufei finally saw the scene in the dungeon.


    There were many rows of prison cells like hers and each cell was holding three or four women. Their eyes were lifeless and their limbs were soft. Some of them were weeping softly while others were groaning in pain. One of them was also pregnant and no one knew for sure whether she was dead or alive.

 CH 46

    Lin Dan did not need the torch to see in the dark and had already understood the situation. This was not a dungeon, but an ¡°animal farm.¡± The pregnant ladies were the ¡°animals¡± that were kept in this farm. They were all given the Tendon Softening Powder which made them lose all physical energy and could only cry or scream to vent their pain. They were so weak that they could not even take their own lives.


    They obviously suffered a lot ¨C their clothes were tattered and most of the ladies were pregnant. As the men in black patrolled the dungeon, they labeled the pregnant ladies by indicating the month as though they were merely goods.


    As compared to the hustle and bustle outside, such a pathetic scene was tantamount to hell on earth.


    Lin Dan looked at her empty arms and realized that her Asura Sword was gone. She reckoned it was taken away by the martial artists. As the sword was like her own half, Lin Dan could clearly sense the existence of her sword ¨C it was right here, somewhere not far away.


    ¡°Who exactly are you? What do you want to do? Where¡¯s my master? Where did you take him to?¡± He Yufei rushed to the prison door and asked.


    The man in black chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re lucky your master has a fair skin and a pretty face, he¡¯s been taken away by the Lord. I¡¯m sure he will live a life of luxury and comfort. As for you, just stay here and make babies for us. Here, take this Pregnancy Pill, and let¡¯s enjoy some time together. ¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± He Yufei wanted to slap away the pill but she found her limbs getting weaker before having no energy at all. She realized that the candle on the wall was giving out a strange smell that covered the pungent smell of blood. That should be a kind of drug that could soften their tendons.


    Seeing that He Yufei finally had no energy to resist while Lin Dan had been sitting in the corner looking helpless, a few of the men in black opened the prison door and walked in. They pointed at He Yufei and said, ¡°Such beautiful livestock. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen someone as beautiful as her, I shall give her a try first. ¡±


    ¡°That one¡¯s not bad too.¡± The other man pointed at Lin Dan.


    Although Lin Dan¡¯s was not as good-looking as He Yufei, she was elegant and eye-catching. Now that her face was pale and her lips were as red as blood, it actually gave her a demonic charm. She was originally sitting in the dark and made herself inconspicuous as she wore black. Now that her face was illuminated by the light, the men found her irresistible, like a firefly in the night.


    The leader of the group of men looked at her and looked at He Yufei. He said in hesitation, ¡°Zhou Er told me that when this girl entered the city, she was soaked in blood and was holding a sword. She¡¯s probably a pretty powerful one.¡±


    ¡°So what if she¡¯s powerful? She took our Skill Stripping Powder and smelled our Tendon Softening Powder. Not even a Half-step Grandmaster could withstand it. I love having fun with someone powerful like her, it¡¯s gonna be awesome! ¡±


    ¡°Fine, give her the Pregnancy Pill, and let¡¯s get it done.¡± Before the leader¡¯s voice fell, a mournful howling came from the next cell. All the women got agitated, some of them were crying while others were screaming. It was like the underworld.


    ¡°One of the livestock is giving birth, bring her out right now!¡± The group of men immediately ran out of the dungeon and even forgot to close the prison door.


    He Yufei looked around with a pair of widened eyes. She realized there was no way she could escape as she could not even move an inch. She turned her head with difficulty and stared at the opened prison door. Her mind filled with helplessness and anger. But soon, she forgot all her anger when she saw what happened. What remained was a deep sense of fear.


    The men tied a woman with a huge belly to the rack and kept rolling her abdomen with a stick. When blood gushed out, a small baby fell out and was caught with a basin at the bottom of her body. Its limbs moved slightly but it could not make any noise as the amniotic fluid blocked its mouth and nose. These people did not care whether the baby was dead or alive and continued to roll the stick on the woman¡¯s belly. After a few soft moans, three or four babies fell into the basin that was now filled with blood, with long umbilical cords on their stomachs still connected to the woman.


    ¡°Any more?¡± The leader asked.


    ¡°I think so.¡± One of the men replied.


    They continued rolling the stick on the women¡¯s stomach as the woman howled and was dripping blood. Thirty minutes later, she passed out. There was a stream of blood flowing underneath her and her breath gradually weakened. The men in black did not care about whether she was dead or alive. They groped her belly to determined that there was no fetus inside. They used a hook to remove the placenta and took away the bloody basin that contained the babies.


    He Yufei was terror-stricken. She felt her eyes stinging with pain when she witnessed what happened. She finally understood why they called the women ¡°livestock.¡± They were locked up in the dungeon just to make babies. There was no difference between them and the hens who were made to lay eggs. Who knows if those babies would be treated like eggs and eaten by those men in black!


    He Yufei was horrified by her own imagination. She turned around and started retching before crying quietly. Poor women! They were poisoned, tortured, and raped. When they took their last breath, they would be disposed of like garbage. This was not a dungeon, it was clearly hell and those men were devils![Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    As she cried, she saw that woman¡¯s body was being dragged away and discarded. She could hear a conversation vaguely. ¡°How many times has she given birth? ¡±


    ¡°Twice. ¡±


    ¡°Only two times and she¡¯s dead? She¡¯s so useless. We need to find livestock that are stronger, it¡¯s best if they are martial artists. ¡±


    ¡°Yeah, two of them came today. Go and mate with them later so that we can get babies in seven months¡¯ time¡­¡±


    The voices faded but the horrifying exchange had frightened He Yufei. She cried so hard that she had gone out of breath and her face was full of tears. She knew that she would soon suffer the same fate as that woman, but she could not escape. She was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.


    ¡°Where are you, master? Save me!¡± Bai Yan was her only hope in times of desperation.


    But Bai Yan never came, it was the men in black who returned instead after discarding the body. They grinned as they walked into the prison cell and stuffed a Pregnancy Pill into He Yufei¡¯s mouth before taking their pants off. Two other martial artists walked towards Lin Dan. Just when they were about to pinch Lin Dan¡¯s jaw and force her to take the pill, they suddenly felt an immense pain in their chest. It was then when they realized that a pale hand had pierced into their hearts. As the hand pulled out, blood spurted everywhere on the ground.


    ¡°You¡­ How did you¡­¡± Before he could finish, Lin Dan gently pushed away their cold dead bodies. He walked towards He Yufei and was about to kill the man who was about to start the assault. As her palm wave was filled with the raging qi, it instantly crushed the internal organs of the man. He seemed to drop dead without a reason, but his bones and flesh had already dissolved. His skin slowly sank, and he turned into a deflated balloon.


    He Yufei looked at her in disbelief. She asked, ¡°A-Aren¡¯t you drugged too? ¡±


    Lin Dan did not answer and walked out of the dungeon. Her body was filled with both the death and life aura that not even the deadliest poison in the world could do anything to her.


    ¡°Lin Dan, Left Guardian, please save me and my master!¡± He Yufei shouted anxiously.


    Lin Dan ignored her and kept on walking. She sent a series of palm waves to put out the countless candles in the dungeon and crushed the countless prison locks. As she walked towards an airhole, gathered all her energy and gave a hard push to reveal a cave that was five feet wide. Light and fresh air entered the cave, but the loud noise also gained the attention of the nearby martial artists.


    Lin Dan kept walking forward as He Yufei cried angrily and desperately. She knew Lin Dan was ruthless but she did not expect her to be so heartless. There were so many poor women here and she left without even taking a look at them? Was she not a woman, too? Does she not have any compassion in her heart?


    Lin Dan followed her instinct and walked into a hidden room. She crushed the stone door with just a palm wave and walked in with ease. She entered the armory that was filled with knives, swords, and spears. Her Asura Sword was quietly lying in a corner. Sensing that its owner was here, the Asura Sword vibrated in an unnoticeable manner. There was a flash of red glowing on the blade before disappearing quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lin Dan opened her palms slightly and drew the sword into her hand. When she turned around, she saw Bai Yan standing at the other end of the dungeon, staring at herself.


    His white robe was flowing and his face was elegant and beautiful. In this dark dungeon, he was like a bright moon that was shining with radiance. Lin Dan threw him a look and started moving toward the ground level. She finished off all the martial artists she met along the way with ease. These martial artists could not even make a single move and took their last breath the moment they saw her. Therefore, Lin Dan was able to leave without facing any hindrance, leaving only pools of blood on the ground.


    This was a terrible scene that Bai Yan hated the most. But he did not show any look of contempt and kept up with her pace. Even if Lin Dan did not kill them, these people were so evil that he would have finished them off himself. But he arrived too late. When Bai Yan arrived on the ground, there was no living creature. Bodies of men in black were lying everywhere on the ground and they were cut in half by a sword. Lin Dan¡¯s moves were always simple. She would never waste her energy if she could finish it off with one move. Within just less than fifteen minutes, all the martial artists of this underground palace were all killed by her. She did not even alarm anyone from the other underground palaces.


    Her posture was delicate and swift. She quietly entered the largest underground palace before walking into another hidden room with a strong bloody aura. She leaped up and landed on the stone beam, quietly observing the situation. Bai Yan¡¯s martial art skills were better than hers. He also sneaked in and stood on the beam opposite hers.


    Lin Dan watched closely at what was happening while Bai Yan stared at her. There was no doubt that she was particularly satisfied with the massacre. This was why her usually pale face was now flushed and her cold eyes were beaming. This side of her was unfamiliar to Bai Yan and it made him worry.


    For someone like her who had had a taste of a satisfying massacre, she would be walking down a path of no return. He did not want to see Lin Dan take that path but he was also curious to see how long she was able to keep the sanity.

 CH 47

    Standing on the beam, Lin Dan looked down with furrowed brows. This was not merely a hidden room but a room with a pool of blood. The heated and bubbling red blood in the pool was giving out a revolting and strong pungent smell. A huge stone mill was placed next to the pool of blood, where several martial artists in red attire were grinding and stirring the content using a shovel. After a short while, bones and hair were removed from the mill.


    After cleaning the mill, one of the martial artists asked, ¡°Is the guiding herb here? The lord can¡¯t wait any longer!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s here. I¡¯ll go and get it now.¡±  The two martial artists left the room quickly and returned after a while carrying a wooden tub. Lin Dan looked closely and there was a flash in her eyes. She saw that there were many babies in the tub. They were all squeezed together and looked like wriggling maggots.


    The leader of the martial artists walked to the side of the tub and frowned, ¡°Is that all? These are not enough. Who will take the blame if the lord asks about it? ¡±


    ¡°The livestock are old, and the production is getting worse. We don¡¯t really have a choice. Why don¡¯t we get some of the black-attired servants to catch more livestock? We can also make the civilians turn in more guiding herbs from one to three a year. How does that sound? ¡±


    ¡°Three in a year is insufficient. The lord is about to achieve a breakthrough and needs more guiding herbs. Pick out the dead ones so that they don¡¯t contaminate the pool. Once they¡¯ve cleaned this up, you will add the herbs in.¡± The martial artist in red said while pointing at the huge stone mill.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll take care of here, feel free to leave if you have something else to attend to.¡±


    Their dialogue contained a huge amount of information. Even the ruthless and heartless Lin Dan was raging with anger after understanding what they were talking about. It turned out that the babies that were born of those women in the dungeon were sent here. They would be added into the stone mill to make the bloody fluid before flowing into the blood pool. This would then be used by the lord to practice her forbidden technique. Just how insane and perverse this was?


    She held her Asura Sword tightly and slowly leaned forward, like a beast that was ready to devour. Bai Yan stared at her with a pair of solemn eyes and frowned. But those martial artists in red did not notice their presence. There were about to pick out the dead babies from the tub and discard them.


    The remaining babies were just born and still breathing. Their purplish limbs were shaking and they were crying weakly. Lin Dan kept her body so low that she would be able to fly down with a tap of her toes and began the massacre of these insane devils. But at this moment, the door of the other side of the room suddenly opened. Two maids lifted the curtain and helped a beautiful woman walk in slowly.


    ¡°My lord.¡± The martial artists kneeled down.


    ¡°You may rise. Are the guiding herbs ready?¡± The woman took off her clothes and walked into the blood pool.


    ¡°Lord, we are still in need of more herbs and are preparing it right now.¡± The martial artists said in fear.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late! What are you waiting for?!¡± The woman was enjoying herself before instantly switching into an angry face. She stretched out her fingers slightly and drew a baby from the tub. Placing near her lips, she seemed ready to devour its flesh and drink its blood.


    Lin Dan could not hold herself back anymore after watching what had happened. With the Asura Sword in her hand that was glowing, she thrust herself towards the woman.


    Even though Bai Yan could not bear to watch the baby being taken, he did not take any action as he wanted to find out the woman¡¯s identity and fighting abilities first. But he had never expected Lin Dan to launch an attack in just a blink of an eye.


    The woman was powerful. Sensing the attack, she quickly jumped out of the blood pool and sent a powerful palm wave towards the boiling blood, trying to stop Lin Dan¡¯s attack with a huge splash. Lin Dan slapped the splash away and went straight forward. She did a fake move and forced the woman to let go of the baby, before leaping forward to catch the baby in her arms and wrapping it with a piece of the curtain.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman sent a series of palm waves but Lin Dan managed to dodge all of them. She realized that her opponent was also a Half-step Grandmaster and was on par with her martial art level. The woman quickly get dressed and took a pill from a hidden pouch. Her powers suddenly skyrocketed and her palms were glowing with a dark aura.


    ¡°Watch out for her poison attacks.¡± Bai Yan, who was watching the fight on the beam, reminded her.


    Only then did the woman realize that there was a man in the room. Her attacks got faster and stronger as she was shocked and terrified by the discovery. The woman was a skilled poison user. The martial artists in red that were swept by her palm waves had all turned into a pool of black blood. In an instant, even their bones had disappeared. Lin Dan was not afraid of poison as her life aura could make her injuries recover faster and dispel the poison from her body. But if she were to lose a limb from the poison attack, there was no way she could grow back the limb. Besides, she was also holding a weak newborn in her arm. This made it difficult to wield her sword, she could only jump around in the room to avoid the palm waves.


    Bai Yan remained on the beam and did not get himself involved in the fight.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan avoided another palm wave. She pulled the baby in closer and split the ceiling open. With a loud bang, a large hole was created in the granite-built chamber. White beams of light entered the room and dispelled the strong and pungent smell of blood. The woman who had not seen sunlight for a long time, could not help but cover her eyes with her arm. Lin Dan seized the chance and jumped on the ground. She said coldly, ¡°Fight me!¡±


    The woman gritted her teeth and flew up on the ground to continue the fight. It was difficult to perform close combat on a poison user, but for someone who uses a powerful sword technique, Lin Dan could handle both close and ranged combat with ease. For some time, none of them were able to conclude the fight. No ordinary person could step into the battle between two Half-step Grandmasters. The martial artists in red wanted to come and provide reinforcements for their city lord, but they were either poisoned and crushed by the palm waves or sliced into half by the sword. Soon, there was none who dared to go closer to the fight.


    Bai Yan found another higher ground closer to the fight and kept his eyes on the fight.


    The woman¡¯s ability was still growing and Lin Dan was showing her weakness as she was trying to protect the baby. It was fortunate that she practiced a unique technique that it would not matter even if she had received a poisonous palm wave. For a moment, there was nothing the woman could do to Lin Dan. Seeing that she could not finish Lin Dan off, the woman took another pill and immediately vanished into thin air.


    Lin Dan did not fluster when her sword missed. She turned around and blocked the next attack. Indeed, the woman appeared behind her. Seeing that her sneak attack had failed, she gave a cold smile before slapping the Asura Sword and disappeared again. Nobody knew where would she reappear in the next moment. The woman¡¯s poison attacks were already difficult to deal with, but she had become even more powerful with such unpredictable moves.


    Lin Dan missed a few slashes. She was attacked several times and even spewed black blood. It was obvious that she was suffering from serious injuries, but there was no sign of fear or panic on her face. She stared at the woman¡¯s feet and calmed herself down to follow her pace. When the woman stepped toward the Kun position, she followed suit. When she stepped towards the Li position, Lin Dan followed as well. Gradually, a Bagua Diagram emerged in her mind and she found the pattern of the woman¡¯s movement.


    Her movement was, in fact, simple. She merely used the changes in Bagua and illusions to cover herself. Once Lin Dan found the pattern of her movement, she was able to predict where the woman would appear next.


    Once the woman disappeared again, Lin Dan suddenly turned sideways and dealt the most vicious slash in the air. But the powerful movement had no target and was about to hit a wall.


    Bai Yan raised an eyebrow when he saw the scene.


    The slash that took all of Lin Dan¡¯s energy was not futile, as the woman suddenly appeared in front of the wall. When the woman saw the incoming sword aura, the smirk on her face had instantly turned into a look of despair. As it was too late to dodge, after she made a short yell, her head flew up in the air before slamming down. A line of blood splashed on the wall before giving out a white fume that eventually made a large hole in the wall. Even the woman¡¯s blood was filled with lethal poison, this was how difficult an opponent she was. Unfortunately, her opponent was Lin Dan who was immune to poison.


    Lin Dan was not interested to look at her disintegrated body and jumped into the underground palace immediately.


    Bai Yan followed behind her.


    Lin Dan jumped into the blood pool and stood there firmly. With a swing of his sleeve, Bai Yan leaped onto the beam and looked at the woman who was soaking herself in the blood pool.


    Lin Dan placed her Asura Sword into the bottom of the pool and let it enjoy a satisfying blood devouring chance. Meanwhile, she sat down and cultivated in the pool. Her eyes were shut tightly and her face looked peaceful with the newborn still in her arms. Before entering the meditation stance, she did not forget to inject some life aura into the baby and kept the baby alive. Meanwhile, due to the reduced life aura in her body, she had to suffer an excruciating pain from the death aura.


    Bai Yan looked at her while keeping his hands behind his back. Although he seemed composed, his eyes were beaming. Lin Dan had killed at least thousands of people today. Was she able to restrain herself and keep her sanity while being soaked in the pool of thick blood? Or, would another Asura appear after today?


    While he was deep in thoughts, He Yufei came carrying a blood-stained sword. When she saw Lin Dan sitting in the blood pool, she was shocked at first, but she started getting furious and launched an attack at her.


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Bai Yan leaped down the beam and stopped her sword with two fingers.


    ¡°Master, do you not see that she is practicing a forbidden technique? She did nothing but let people die and even killed many people. Go outside and have a look! There are rivers of blood everywhere!¡± He Yufei shouted angrily.


    ¡°She has only killed all those who deserved to die. Besides, if she had done nothing, how are you able to stand before me right now?¡± Bai Yan would not leave his disciple alone but while looking for Lin Dan, he went to the dungeon and saw that Lin Dan had put out the toxic candles and destroyed the cell lock. She even created a cave to let the air in so that those women could slowly recover.


    While Lin Dan attracted attention outside, the women in the dungeon could easily escape once they had recovered their energy. Even if they could not escape, it was safe staying in the dungeon for the time being. When Lin Dan had finished killing those people, those women could also walk out of the dungeon safely.


    He Yufei could not refute what Bai Yan said. There was no doubt that Lin Dan saved her, or she would have been assaulted by the two men. But for some reason, He Yufei did not like Lin Dan and was extremely wary of he

 CH 48

    He Yufei let go of her and took a step back unwillingly, looking extremely upset.  Bai Yan did not have the time to care about her and only stared intently at Lin Dan who was in the blood pool. He was waiting for an outcome. If Lin Dan could fight it back, he would let her go again. Otherwise, he will send her straight to hell.


    It was an extremely long wait and the day had passed. The sunlight that entered from the hole in the ceiling had turned into moonlight, gently illuminating Lin Dan¡¯s pale face. She did not move or breathe and the baby in her arms was quiet. The Asura Sword was devouring the blood in the pool bit by bit and the silver blade was turning crimson. From time to time, there were flashes of red on the sharp blade, giving it a demonic charm.


    Bai Yan stood quietly not far away and had never taken his eyes off Lin Dan. He had rarely shown such great patience with something or someone, or even willing to spend so much time waiting for an unknown result.


    He Yufei was tired after standing for a long time and was already sitting on the ground. She complained, ¡°Look, it¡¯s clear that Lin Dan is practicing a forbidden technique! She is still devouring blood!¡±


    ¡°Do not disturb her,¡± Bai Yan instructed.


    He Yufei stared at her master¡¯s back and got teary eyed. She was hoping that he could turn around and look at how upset she was. But Bai Yan had never turned around and look at her, he was still looking intently at Lin Dan. He knew that he would be getting an answer before dawn. He puffed up his white robe and was ready to take action.


    Under the bright moonlight, Lin Dan slowly opened her eyes. She did not hurry to take a look at the Asura Sword that was glowing in red but lifted the curtain to examine the baby in her arms, before putting on a slight smile. The baby who was breathing weakly and had purplish skin was now looking tender and cute. It remained quiet and behaved obediently as it was soaked in the life aura. Although its eyes could not see yet, it could vaguely sense Lin Dan¡¯s presence and grabbed one of her fingers with its tiny hand.


    The baby¡¯s grip was weak but this little action had touched Lin Dan¡¯s heart and made her gaze warmer.


    It was not until this moment that Bai Yan noticed the baby¡¯s abnormality. As the baby was born prematurely and suffered from the big movements the day before, it should have been dead. But since it was kicking and alive, he knew Lin Dan had been giving it her life aura to keep it alive during the battle and meditation.


    Bai Yan was shocked as he knew what would happen to Lin Dan if the life and death aura were in a state of imbalance. But He Yufei who was standing behind Bai Yan gasped and she was terrified by Lin Dan¡¯s blood-stained appearance.


    Bai Yan snapped out of his thoughts at this moment. He got out of his fighting stance and slowly released a foul aura. Although Lin Dan looked like the blood-stained Asura, he also found her looking like a Buddha who was picking and smiling at a flower. He had to admit that when Lin Dan looked down at the baby and gave it a shallow smile, his emotionless heart wavered.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the Lord of the Timeless City is Lonely Scarlet who disappeared a decade ago. She was known as the Poison Lady who kidnapped babies to practice forbidden techniques.¡± Seeing that Lin Dan ignored him after taking her sword and was ready to go, Bai Yan provided her the answer to the questions in her mind.


    Lin Dan walked to the stone mill. She stared at the rest of the babies that had turned into a pool of blood by Lonely Scarlet and her eyes grew dimmer.


    Bai Yan slowly walked to her side and sighed, ¡°You can¡¯t save everyone even if you have exceptional martial arts skills. It¡¯s best that you don¡¯t get too bothered with this. ¡±


    Lin Dan glanced at him and looked at the baby in her arms that was sucking its tiny hand. All the martial artists of the several underground palaces had fled. With the help of He Yufei, the women who had never been pregnant also left the city. The other pregnant women were placed in a secret room by her and were waiting for the news in fear.


    Lin Dan did not bother and left the place immediately.


    He Yufei pulled Bai Yan¡¯s sleeve and begged him to stay with her to help these women, but he refused. His priority was to watch Lin Dan and he was not interested to get himself involved in anything else. As He Yufei was eager to display acts of kindness, she had to stay behind and suppress her desire to leave these women to follow her master. In the end, Bai Yan sent a letter to his clan to clean things up in the Timeless City.


    After Lin Dan had left the Timeless City, as the people in the city were not given the Timeless Pill, they soon showed their aged appearance and died one after another. It turned out that they had long been under the control of Lonely Scarlet¡¯s pills. In order to remain youthful, these people actually went around kidnapping young women and newborn babies for her. People living near the Timeless City noticed that women and babies had disappeared for no reason and slowly moved away.


    Three days later, Lin Dan and Bai Yan arrived at a quiet and peaceful town and stayed in an inn. Lin Tan took a bath, as usual, changed into another set of black attire, and wandered around in the streets. She had a charming appearance and a tall figure. Holding the baby in one hand while carrying a sword in the other made her the center of attention. With Bai Yan who had a beautiful face walking behind them, it made Lin Dan even more eye-catching in the crowd.


    When they were passing a shop, a woman standing behind the counter stared at the baby in Lin Dan¡¯s arms with sad teary eyes that it caught her attention. The woman seemed frightened and quickly covered her face with her sleeves and pretended to use the abacus.


    Lin Dan continued walking as if she did not mind her action. At night, Lin Dan sneaked into her shop and listened to the dialogue between the woman and her husband on the roof.


    ¡°If our child had not been taken, he should probably be five years old now?¡± The woman said sadly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. We shouldn¡¯t have moved near the Timeless City. The doctor said my health has suffered badly and I¡¯m no longer fertile. Cui¡¯E, why don¡¯t I¡¯ll write up a divorce agreement so that you can remarry? You still have a chance to have your own baby. I¡¯ll leave this shop and the family asset to you. It was all my fault after all.¡± The husband choked as he spoke.


    The woman responded angrily, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?! If it weren¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t have to suffer this way! That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s spend the rest of our lives together and never talk about having children in the future! As long as we do more good deeds in this life, we can still be husband and wife in our next life and have many children together. Stop letting your imagination run wild. ¡±


    The husband did not speak for a long time, before bawling his eyes out. After a while, the woman also started crying and was full of sadness.


    Lin Dan stood on the roof for a while and flew away. Bai Yan who had been hidden in the dark walked out and looked at her back looking perplexed.


    Lin Dan stayed in the town for seven to eight days, and gradually found out more about the couple. They moved here five years ago and were a kind and decent couple. They were always generous if they had extra money and were willing to lend a hand to anyone in need. They soon gained the recognition of the locals and were highly respected in town. Unfortunately, the couple was nearly forty years old and was lonely as they had no children.


    Lin Dan inquired and observed them in secret to ensure that the couple was truly kind. At night, she placed the baby in front of the shop and smashed their windows with a stone. As the couple had been persecuted before, they were particularly alert and ran out of the house with a stick in their hand. But what they saw was a small bamboo basket placed at the door and a soft and cute baby was lying inside. It was quiet and was looking at them with a pair of large and animated eyes.


    ¡°H-Honey, look!¡± The man¡¯s voice was shaking.


    The woman looked at the baby intently and pushed the man away. She held the baby with a pair of trembling hands and carefully checked it again and again, making sure that it was not hurt or missing a limb. She was relieved to see a note placed at the bottom of the basket that said, ¡°This child has no parents. Please take care of him for me, thank you.¡±


    The woman looked around, her skeptical look had been replaced by ecstasy. With the baby in her arms, she quickly kneeled down and cried, ¡°Thank you, savior. We will definitely take good care of this child! Thank you so much!¡± Not a million thanks could express her happiness at this moment.


    When her husband snapped out of his thoughts, he also fell on his knees and kowtowed, his tears fell on the steps.


    They agreed not to talk about having a child anymore, but they had always dreamed of having one. They even dreamed of picking up a baby on the streets and feeling happy about it! Now that the dream had come true, the couple started crying after experiencing the excitement. But when they saw the baby frowning and seemingly frightened, they quickly dried their tears. Rushing back to the house, they started getting busy cooking porridge for the baby. They promised to take good care of the child and treat him as their own.


    Meanwhile, Lin Dan left the town and went thousands of miles away. As Bai Yan followed along, his gaze on Lin Dan deepened and became more intense. They arrived in a bustling city and asked for two suites in an inn. When Lin Dan was about to pay for the room, her face stiffened the moment she touched her purse.


    ¡°It¡¯s 20 grams of silver. Thank you.¡± The shopkeeper grinned and spread his palm open.


    Lin Dan stared straight at him with a stern face.


    The two looked at each other and none of them moved.


    Bai Yan chuckled and asked, ¡°Why? Not enough silver?¡± This was his first time seeing a Half-step Grandmaster who was so poor that she could not afford to pay for a room.


    Lin Dan glanced at him and walked out of the inn without saying a word. Without money, she could always sleep on the tree.


    Bai Yan pulled her back quickly and chuckled, ¡°Wait, I can lend you some money first and you can pay me back later.¡± ¡±


    As they were talking, there was an uproar in the inn. Someone shouted, ¡°This Half-step Grandmaster of the Eastern Holy Sect is impressive. Not only did she injured the four elders of Lianyun City but also killed Lonely Scarlet with a single slash! You probably don¡¯t know that Lonely Scarlet is one of the top wanted fugitives. Her head costs twenty-five thousand grams of gold. She was hated by many royal families and big clans as she took their children, but they could do nothing to her as she was a Half-step Grandmaster that was full of poison. It has been a decade since someone could subdue her.¡±


    ¡°Good lord, twenty-five thousand grams of gold? I would have been rich if the head was in my hands!¡± One of the listeners exclaimed.


    ¡°Look how crude you are! Is money all that you could think of? This Half-step Grandmaster left after killing her and did not care about the Lonely Scarlet¡¯s head. It was the Saintess of the Eastern Holy Sect who took the head to the World Alliance and withdrew the case without asking for a single penny. Having said that, the Half-step Grandmaster of the Eastern Holy Sect has just promoted but she is already capable of causing serious injuries to the four elders and even killed the Lonely Scarlet. You must know that these people are experienced and powerful martial artists!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! The younger generation is to be feared of!¡± As the people exclaimed, Lin Dan frowned and look at Bai Yan. She complained, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me that her head was valuable.¡±


    Bai Yan wanted to burst out laughing but he held it back. He said, ¡°My bad, I¡¯ll make sure to remind you next time. To make up for my mistake, I¡¯ll pay for your expenses for the time being.

 CH 49

    Lin Dan was not used to spending people¡¯s money. However, she did not refuse his offer as she was suffering from the immense pain all the time. She followed Bai Yan back to the inn and took out a small book to record her expenses. When Bai Yan received a bill from Lin Dan, it was the first time he felt amused yet awkward at the same time. But for some reason, he did not return the bill and kept it in his sleeve after folding it nicely.


    ¡°Why is there a list of wanted fugitives?¡± Lin Dan pretended to ask casually when they were having a meal.


    ¡°The list of wanted fugitives is issued by the Jianghu Alliance which records all the evildoings of these fugitives. Anyone who is able to kill these fugitives will be able to receive a bounty.¡±


    ¡°Where can I see the list?¡±


    ¡°In the Jianghu Alliance. They have a branch in each city, and they have it here too. Shall we go and take a look?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go after the meal.¡± Lin Dan quickly finished her food. She finally understood how a penny can stump a hero. As she had to write a bill for all her expenses, including food and accommodation, it was making her very uncomfortable.


    Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Jianghu Alliance branch. Although it was only a branch, the building covered a huge area. At the entrance, characters of ¡°Jianghu Alliance¡± were written in gold on a signboard. There were two halls ¨C the Learning Hall and Martial Arts Hall ¨C and they looked magnificent.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Learning Hall.¡± Bai Yan seemed to be familiar with the place and walked in without hesitation. This time around, it was Lin Dan who followed behind him.


    They entered the Learning Hall and saw two lists hung on the wall side by side. One was the list of wanted fugitives while the other was the list of martial arts experts. The experts list was updated periodically where old names were erased, and the names of rising martial artists would be featured.


    When Lin Dan stepped into the hall, she was surprised to see that she was on the list. Her rank was not low at all, she had already taken over the four elders of Lianyun City and was placed fourth among the Half-step Grandmasters. There were five other Half-step Grandmasters on the list as well, including Xiaoyaozi of Carefree Sect, Master Fazhao of Bore Temple, Emperor Yan of Yanhuang City and Emperor Yun of Lianyun City.


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes stayed on the words ¡°Emperor Yun¡± for a moment before looking at the list of wanted fugitives at the side. Many martial artists stood in front of the list and were deciding which ¡°assignment¡± they should accept. The wanted list was arranged according to the fugitives¡¯ martial arts level. The higher they were ranked, the more powerful they were. However, there were several Half-step Grandmasters who appeared on the list. There were records of their evildoings in detail, the date they were listed and the bounty amount¡­


    Lin Dan looked through the list carefully and found a fugitive who was wanted for twenty years but had never been caught. But he was not satisfied with his current state and committed more evildoings. More people were contributing to the bounty and he had actually accumulated half a million grams of gold. The bounty for the next fugitives on the list were not low either, they were thirty-hundred thousand, twenty-hundred thousand, a hundred thousand¡­ and the unit was in grams of gold.


    Lin Dan scanned from the top of the list to the bottom and thought to herself, ¡°If I can kill all of them, I will become rich instantly and enjoy a luxurious life. I can live in suites, eat happily and life a comfortable life.¡±


    As she was deep in thought, her slim and dark eyes narrowed and beamed with joy. Bai Yan did not even look at the list and gazed at Lin Dan silently.


    With their eye-catching appearances and overpowering charisma, they soon attracted the attention of others. Someone whispered, ¡°Female, seventeen or eighteen years old, wears a black dress, holds a huge sword, and stands about five feet five. Could she be Lin Dan of the Eastern Holy Sect?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be. Someone as powerful as her won¡¯t be here looking at the wanted list, it¡¯d be too embarrassing.¡± Someone shook his head and denied immediately.


    Once a martial artist joined the ranks of the Half-step Grandmaster, they would become an extremely powerful existence in the world. Many of these powerful martial artists created themselves a mysterious image by isolating themselves from the ordinary people and letting their servants ran errands for them. Meanwhile, they focused on cultivation in order to achieve a higher realm. Improve or be left behind ¨C this was the way of the martial arts.


    Those who came to check the wanted list in the Learning Hall were people who were desperately in need money or bounty hunters who were professionals in this field. If they were Half-step Grandmasters, they would have dominated an area and not earn money the hard way.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not.¡± More people shook their heads and turned around to look at the list again.


    Bai Yan was amused at what he heard, as he was the only one who knew the truth. Nobody expected Lin Dan to be so unconventional. After becoming a Half-step Grandmaster, not only did she refuse to take over the Eastern Holy Sect, she even wandered around the world and became so poor that she could not even afford a bowl of water.


    He pressed his fist against his lips and chuckled while glancing at Lin Dan with a pair of particularly tender eyes. ¡°Have you decided? Which one do you want to work on?¡± He walked to Lin Dan¡¯s side and asked softly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Dan walked to the counter and said, ¡°Give me the warrant order for numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The martial artist who was in charge of issuing the warrant order dug his ear with a finger and seriously thought he was hearing things.


    ¡°Give me the warrant order for number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.¡± Lin Dan repeated patiently.


    ¡°Are you crazy? Whose kid is this running around making trouble?¡± The surrounding people gasped, but they were also happily gossiping as if they were watching a good show.


    The martial artist had seen many people while he issued wanted orders and had a good eye for things. He scrutinized Lin Dan before noticing her glowing red Asura Sword and said respectfully, ¡°Please wait a moment. These orders are not here with me right now, I need to take it from the back hall.¡±


    Soon, seven golden and feather-shaped warrant orders were given to Lin Dan. She casually stuffed them in her clothes and strode away. In a few moments, another martial artist jumped on the stone wall and drew a line on the seven names with red ink, indicating that someone had accepting the task of killing them.


    The people looked at the list and realized that the seven fugitives were all Half-step Grandmasters. Disregarding the character and prestige of the martial artists on the expert list, the three elders of Lianyun City may not even be able to stand against them. These fugitives were wanted for decades and lived carefreely even if they were despised by the world. They were not bothered at all to be listed on the wanted list and the increasing bounty was of no threat to them. These fugitives were even proud of their ranking and long list of evildoings.


    Now that someone had claimed their warrant orders at once, it was no wonder the onlookers were surprised.


    ¡°Could that woman really be Lin Dan of the Eastern Holy Sect?¡± Someone finally remembered.


    ¡°We will soon know the answer.¡±


    ¡°Even if she¡¯s Lin Dan, she¡¯s only ranked the fourth, how is it possible for her to kill all those fugitives! She¡¯s still too young and too naive!¡±


    No matter what they said, Lin Dan had already embarked on the road to make more money. She borrowed some silver from Bai Yan and bought a map. She drew out the location of all seven fugitives and planned her route before setting off after borrowing ten more grams of silver to buy a horse.


    Bai Yan carefully kept the bills and followed closely behind. He enjoyed observing Lin Dan and was getting addicted to martial arts training, even though he had long past the age of undergoing such training.


    ¡ª


    Three months later, Lin Dan carried a huge bag and arrived at the Jianghu Alliance. Her Asura Sword was now glowing in deep crimson and it was obvious that it had devoured lots of blood. Bai Yan followed behind her and looked at her with mixed emotions.


    He knew that Lin Dan was talented, or she would not have overcome the love barrier and understood the true meaning of the Asura Sword Technique. But after getting to know Lin Dan, he realized that he had no idea where her limit was. As she was brilliant and intelligent, she had transformed after fighting non-stop for the past three months.


    When fighting the Lonely Scarlet, she learned her Bagua Shadow Steps; when fighting Nie Cheng the Great Swordsman, she learned his Great Swordsman Technique; when fighting Zhou Tao the Blood Demon, she learned his Evil Blood-Refining Technique¡­ She kept absorbing techniques that was useful to her and overcame the weaknesses of the Asura Sword, bringing the technique to a greater height.


    Bai Yan had no doubt that she could eventually overcome herself over time and create an even more powerful Asura Sword Technique that would be even better than his Cloud Technique. She was a born talent but was unfortunately raised by He Chongling and his father, and had to take on a path of no return.


    The more he knew Lin Dan, the more he was unable to keep his mind at peace. He felt sorry for her and even broken-hearted at her plight. ¡°If only we could meet earlier!¡± This thought often occurred in his mind frequently and was making him confused.


    Lin Dan did not care about Bai Yan¡¯s change of attitude. She focused on killing the fugitives on the wanted list and only had eyes for the bounty. As her debt increased, the small book was not enough to record her expenses anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯ve completed the mission. Please calculate the bounty for me.¡± She threw the huge bag on the floor and passed the seven shiny feather-shaped tokens to the martial artist of the Jianghu Alliance.


    As the Jianghu Alliance had set up branches in all the cities on the land of Eastern Tang, Lin Dan arrived at the nearest one after killing the last fugitive. The martial artist who was in charge of collecting the tokens did not know Lin Dan. He accepted the tokens nonchalantly and said, ¡°Please wait while I make the calculations¡­¡± Before he could continue, he was shocked and struck dumb. He looked at the numbers one, two, three on the tokens and knew that these meant that top fugitives one, two and three were¡­


    The martial artist looked up immediately and stared at the wanted list, horrified at the sudden realization. Fugitives number one to seven were all Half-step Grandmasters, there was no mistake. This meant that this lady had killed seven Half-step Grandmasters at once in three months¡¯ time. This was a terrifying achievement!

 CH 50

    The martial artist gasped and said, barely keeping his voice steady, ¡°Have you¡­ Have you brought their heads? We need to verify them.¡±


    Lin Dan lifted the bag that she threw casually aside. One could even vaguely see human features underneath the bulging bag and sniff the strong pungent smell of blood. The martial artist who was responsible for receiving her dared not act recklessly. He respectfully received the package and went through all seven severed heads carefully. He was even afraid to make mistakes and asked the branch manager out to verify them.


    Other martial artists who were selecting an assignment started crowding around. They were wearing all sorts of expressions ¨C some were skeptical, some were solemn while others were nonchalant.


    ¡°This must be a fraud to get the bounty. Someone has done it before. ¡±


    ¡°Huh, commit fraud in the World Alliance? She must be asking for death! ¡±


    ¡°I think she¡¯s the real deal. This woman must be Lin Dan of the Eastern Holy Sect. No one else is capable enough to kill all seven Half-step Grandmasters!¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s really her, this is just incredible, I don¡¯t believe it. You must know that she has just been promoted to the Half-step Grandmaster. She is still in an unstable state and relatively inexperienced in battles. How is she able to match herself against those veterans?¡±


    While the people were engrossed in the discussion, the branch manager had already finished going through each severed head. He looked at Lin Dan in awe before taking a piece of cloth that was dabbed in a special liquid. He leaped up to the fugitive list and wiped away the names of the first seven fugitives all at once.


    ¡°May I know who you are?¡± Although the branch manager had an idea, he wanted to hear it for himself.


    ¡°When can I have the bounty?¡± Lin Dan asked instead of answering his question.


    The branch manager¡¯s expression stiffened for a moment.


    Bai Yan tried his best not to laugh and said, ¡°Yes, she is Lin Dan. You better give her the bounty soon. ¡±


    ¡°Exactly, I still have lots of debt to clear.¡± Lin Dan told him directly.


    The branch manager was now baffled. It was the first time he had seen a Half-step Grandmaster that was as poor as her.


    Bai Yan could not hold his laughter back anymore and started giggling after turning around.


    Lin Dan did not look at him. She walked to the wanted list and thought about her subsequent assignments. The other martial artists who knew her true identity no longer underestimated her. When she took a step forward, the others took a step back and kept three feet away from her. It created a space between them as they looked at her in awe.


    Another martial artist leaped to the experts¡¯ list and exchanged Lin Dan¡¯s tag with the First Elder of Lianyun City. He wrote beside her name, ¡°Possibly promoted to the Grandmaster.¡±


    Once he had done writing, the onlookers gasped. Initially, they were only three feet apart, but they backed off even more, for fear of upsetting Lin Dan. A Grandmaster! And still alive! It was someone they had never had a chance to see in this life! Who would have thought that there was a Grandmaster who did not stay in her own sect or city but came out to eliminate the wicked? She was right here with the ordinary people!


    For some reason, the onlookers who were still in awe felt that Lin Dan was more approachable than they thought. Grandmasters were the most powerful beings in the land of the East Tang. They controlled an entire city or even a country but none of them were willing to understand the suffering of the people, not to mention personally eliminate the wicked. They were figures that were unreachable and who despised ordinary people. Yet, this expressionless lady was looking at the wanted list with a pair of curious and child-like eyes.


    Nobody knew Grandmaster can behave this way too! This was why, although many of them were still in awe, they had started to come closer to Lin Dan. Lin Dan continued to stare at the list without any care about the changes surrounding her. No matter how powerful she was, she was still human and no different from the others.


    Seeing that the crowd was starting to surround Lin Dan, Bai Yan¡¯s cold eyes softened and smiled with joy.


    Within a short time, a martial artist cleaned the other side of the wall and put up a new list called the List of World Powers. At the top of the link was Lianyun City, followed by Yan Huang city, and so on¡­ The Eastern Holy Sect where Lin Dan came from had turned evil and fell in the ranks. It had become second only to the Carefree Sect and was trying to recruit new members and rebuild the sect. As the remnants of the sect were unable to find Lin Dan who isolated herself, they had no choice but to get He Yufei back to take over the role as the leader.


    The current Eastern Holy Sect had everything He Chongling and his father wanted, but they could no longer see its achievements.


    Lin Dan retracted her gaze and wore a calm expression. A bounty hunter who was standing beside her asked boldly, ¡°Grandmaster Lin, which assignment do you intend to take up next? ¡±


    They listened intently when they heard the bounty hunter asking the question. Spies that were sent by the unorthodox parties also listened in fear. In the past three months when Lin Dan was hunting for the fugitives, the unorthodox sects suffered a devastating blow. They sent numerous people to assassinate Lin Dan but they had also become dead souls under her sword. They were now completely afraid of her and could only send spies to gather information in the World Alliance.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking anymore so that you¡¯ve got business to do.¡± Lin Dan shook her head.


    The bounty hunter breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Lin Dan, there was no more fear but respect. There was no Grandmaster who was as righteous and approachable like Lin Dan! The spies also heaved a breath of relief and left the World Alliance. Since then, they did not dare to act recklessly, for fear of upsetting Lin Dan and being killed by her sword.


    Having said that, as the payment was too large, the World Alliance spent an hour counting money and another hour to raise money. However, they were still unable to give her the full payment. As Lin Dan was alone and could not carry so much gold, she got them to prepare a bag of golden leaves and write a bill for her, so that she could withdraw money at any World Alliance branch in the future. This would make things easier for both parties.


    After leaving the World Alliance Lin Dan gave two pieces of golden leaves to Bai Yan and said with pride, ¡°Here you go. We¡¯ll call it quits now! ¡±


    Bai Yan chuckled: ¡°Keep it for yourself, you will cover my future expenses until you pay off the debt.¡± Somehow, he did not like to hear the words ¡°call it quits.¡±


    Lin Dan thought it for a moment and nodded, ¡°Sure.¡± They went on to the next city without a plan or purpose. They went where ever they wanted to and felt carefree doing so.


    Walking on the road, Lin Dan found that the women in the city were all dressed in black. They were carrying a large sword that looked exactly the same as hers that it was confusing for them at times. Bai Yan did not seem surprised at all but was carrying a mysterious smile. They entered an inn and heard a martial artist said, ¡°Sigh, times have really changed! People in the past thought wielding the sword would make them look more powerful, but people are now using machetes instead! The machetes in the weapon shops have all sold out!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, who would have thought that there will be a rise in Grandmaster Lin¡¯s army! She¡¯s the only female among the six Grandmasters and the youngest one. Even Emperor Yun was over twenty when he promoted to the Grandmaster, but she was not even eighteen this year. Give her a few more years and she will be able to compete head-to-head with Emperor Yun! ¡±


    ¡°The younger generation will surpass the old! ¡±


    ¡°What a terrifying presence!¡±


    No matter how they spoke about her, Lin Dan had always kept an expressionless face. But Bai Yan who was always calm frowned and seemed troubled. They envied Lin Dan¡¯s powers, but they had no idea what kind of pain she had to endure to possess such powers. She had to suffer and face death every moment of her life while keeping sanity with sheer willpower. If it were someone else, not to mention walking, sitting, and sleeping, they could probably not even breathe.


    At the thought of this, Bai Yan whispered, ¡°I would rank you at the top. ¡±


    Lin Dan glanced at him and pulled a joke for the very first time, ¡°Even better than Emperor Yun?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Yan looked at her intently with beaming eyes.


    Lin Dan nodded solemnly, ¡°I hope to fight with him in the future.¡± Then, she took out a map and pointed at a location, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Plague City next. ¡±


    Bai Yan¡¯s face immediately changed, he waved his hands and said, ¡°We can¡¯t go there.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Lin Dan questioned.


    ¡°Like the name suggested, this is the city of plague. ¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it got its name.¡± Lin Dan frowned.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. ¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s the city of plague, why does it still exist? Are there no doctors to cure it? Even if there are no doctors, by isolating the patients, the plague would have disappeared itself and so will the city.¡± Lin Dan did not understand why.


    Bai Yan did not want to go further into detail. He kept the map and said slowly, ¡°There is a reason why it exists and it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t probe further into it. The plague is incurable. Even the immortals of the Physicians Valley who went there personally had no way to cure it. In order to prevent from getting infected, we better take a detour and explore the nearby Spring City where it¡¯s spring all year round. It¡¯s so beautiful that I¡¯m sure you will love it. ¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head and said bluntly, ¡°The more you¡¯re stopping me, the more I¡¯m bent on going there.¡±


    Bai Yan felt his head throbbing and rubbed his temple. If it were someone else who went against him, he would have sent a palm wave at him and pinned him onto the wall. But since he was facing Lin Dan, he had no choice but to compromise.


    Bai Yan, ¡°¡­fine. Let¡¯s set off tomorrow morning. ¡±


    ¡ª


    They arrived in the Plague City the next day. However, they saw people walking about and shops were lined along the streets. The city turned out to be a prosperous one and was completely different from the smelly and dead city Lin Dan had imagined.


    ¡°Look, the Plague City is no different from the other cities we visited. Let¡¯s go now.¡± Bai Yan tried to persuade her.


    Lin Dan glanced at him and exposed him, ¡°Don¡¯t try to deceive me. The people walking along the streets are all cowering and shuddering in fear, even the innocent children are hiding in the arms of their parents and are afraid to come out and play. Only those who are wearing the martial artist¡¯s attire dare to make a ruckus, they are taking the things in the shops as they want without paying any silver. Despite this, the shop managers have to bow down and serve them politely. Does a city like this look ordinary to you? I must find out whether this plague is a natural or man-made disaster.¡±


    Bai Yan bemoaned as he lost to Lin Dan¡¯s shrewdness once again. He should have known, if Lin Dan could tell that the Timeless City was suspicious, she should also be able to see through the facade of the Plague City too. Her abhorrence towards evil would soon get her into big trouble

 CH 51

    Lin Dan wanted to explore around and find out more information about the city, but the people seemed afraid of martial artists and would shun away from her when she approached them. As she did not fancy bullying the weak, she had no intention of holding anyone captive for an interrogation. However, the martial artists in black attire were nothing like her and took pleasure in capturing the people. She noticed that there were fire patterns embroidered on their collars and sleeves as they broke into the house, taking away all members of the household.


    ¡°What crime did they commit?¡± Lin Dan approached them and ask.


    The leader of the martial artists pushed her away impatiently and yelled, ¡°Get lost and mind your own business, or I¡¯m going to take you as well and put you with the infected scums!¡±


    Lin Dan took a step back and watched as they took the people away.


    Bai Yan sighed, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s go. ¡±


    Lin Dan glanced at him. With a tap of her toes, she disappeared. Bai Yan knew this would happen and chased after her. They quietly followed the group of martial artists and arrived at a towering city wall. There was a canopy made of peacock feathers at one end of the wall where a pale and thin man idly sat underneath, surrounded by many beautiful ladies. Several monks were standing next to him, muttering something while putting their hands together.


    The man spat out a fruit seed, spewed an explicit, and looked very impatient.


    Lin Dan and Bai Yan took down two martial artists and put on the flame-patterned black attire. Slowly walking along the wall, they heard one of the monks said, ¡°Amitabha, your actions will disrupt world peace. It¡¯s not too late to repent now. ¡±


    The thin man grinned, ¡°And what if I don¡¯t? You, the revered Master Fazhao, can do nothing to me, why should I be afraid of entering the Avici Hell and take the consequences of my action? If there really is karma in this world, why am I still living so comfortably here? This proves that your words are all lies! They are only used to trick the innocent fools!¡±


    Master Fazhao? Lin Dan¡¯s eyes dimmed. She did not expect that the youngest monk was actually Master Fazhao, who ranked third in the Experts List. He had a high nose and broad eyebrows and his eyes were as cold as the stars. He had a cinnabar mole on his forehead which added a sense of holiness to his charming appearance. He lowered his eyes to read the scriptures and he seemed helpless at the situation.


    Seeing his reaction, the thin man behaved even more arrogantly. He continued, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of coming here every year? Never mind, I shall be kind today. You can sit on one end of the wall and read the Sutra of the Dead for these infected scums.¡±


    Master Fazhao had no choice but to sit down near the wall and began reciting the scriptures. The monks that came with him also began to get into the position for the ritual.


    Harboring an evil intent, the thin man said, ¡°I was only away for a few days and many of these infected scums actually died! Guards, add more people to the inner city and liven it up!¡±


    Several martial arts quickly dragged the people who were caught to the wall. Lin Dan reacted very quickly. She immediately picked up a little boy¡¯s collar and assimilated herself into the group. Bai Yan sighed helplessly and followed after her.


    The people almost fainted by the rancid smell when they walked near the wall. Upon taking a closer look, there were people who were infected with the plague wandering along the dilapidated street with rotten skin and mutilated limbs, looking dead and lost. After being infected with the plague, they were isolated and could only watch themselves slowly turn into a piece of rotten carcass.


    Once they were dead, their bodies were burned, and houses were destroyed. Although a new town could be built in a few years¡¯ time, the thin man took pleasure in people¡¯s suffering. He isolated the city and built a city within a city. Once he saw that the infected were dying, he caught healthy people and put them with the infected ones for fun.


    He did not clothe them or give them food. Once they cast the living people behind the wall, he would watch as the infected tear them apart like evil spirits, devouring their flesh and blood. Gradually, he found that it was more entertaining to watch the infected kill each other and become cannibalistic. He would catch some people and pushed them down the wall, before watching them being torn to pieces by the infected.


    He could have shown kindness to his people and completely eradicate the plague, but he created himself a city of plague for his own entertainment. He could easily be the most inhumane person in the world!


    Lin Dan grabbed the little boy¡¯s collar, her eyes turning cold. The little boy turned pale and kept shouting for his parents because he was scared.


    Master Fazhao visited the city of plague every year in hopes of persuading the city lord, but it was his first time witnessing his act of throwing people down from the wall. He could no longer read the scriptures. He slowly stood up and said, ¡°Lord Yan, that¡¯s enough! ¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The thin man ignored him and reached out to Lin Dan, ¡°Give me the young boy. These infected scums love soft and tender flesh like his.¡±


    Lin Dan held the boy¡¯s collar tightly and did not step forward. She heard Bai Yan¡¯s inner voice that said, ¡°Don¡¯t act recklessly. We are now in the territory of Emperor Yan and this man is Yan Zhaotian, the only heir of Emperor Yan. If you kill him, Emperor Yan will never let you off!¡±


    It is customary for Grandmasters to not interfere with each other¡¯s territory and area of influence. If two Grandmasters fight, it would inevitably start a war between two sects and even multiple countries. If that had happened, how many more casualties would it cause? This was why, although Master Fazhao did not approve of what Yan Zhaotian was doing, there was nothing he could do besides trying to persuade him.


    Seeing that Lin Dan was not moving an inch, Bai Yan continued, ¡°Emperor Yan has mastered a special technique which made him impossible to have children. This means that Yan Zhaotian is his only and last child. He is as important as his own eyes. You¡¯d better think about it before you act. Don¡¯t forget that the entire Eastern Holy Sect is connected to you.


    Lin Dan finally looked at him and communicated back, ¡°I no longer have any relations with the Eastern Holy Sect. If they act in my name, they should bear their own consequences. That¡¯s their choice and it¡¯s none of my business. This monk is here to persuade Yan Zhaotian, right? Besides reciting ¡®Amitabha,¡¯ what else can he do?


    As both of them communicated through their inner voices, Yan Zhaotian was getting impatient and yelled, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to bring that boy, do you hear me?! Never mind, you shall go down with him! ¡±


    However, even before he could finish, Lin Dan had already picked up the boy and flew forward, kicking Yan Zhaotian down the city wall. His guards were all Superior-rate Masters and there was also one Half-step Grandmaster, but none of them saw where Lin Dan went. When they wanted to save Yan Zhaotian, Lin Dan had appeared from her sword shadow and immediately took the heads of a dozen people. Before that Half-step Grandmaster could even take a step forward, his head had already been severed.


    Lin Dan threw the little boy to Bai Yan while she stayed on the wall, killing whoever tried to save Yan Zhaotian. In only a short moment, all of the thin man¡¯s guards were all dead.


    As the thin man was incapable of fighting due to his physical condition, he had long developed a twisted mind and took pleasure in seeing people struggle in despair. But now, the man himself was struggling instead and was not feeling the slightest pleasure. Seeing the infected that had turned into horrible-looking humans charging towards him, he ran away and shouted, ¡°Do you know who I am? You better save me or my father is going to skin you alive!¡±


    Lin Dan stood on the wall and looked at him emotionlessly. Fazhao took a step forward, seemingly wanted to save him, but she stopped him by pointed the tip of the sword at his chest. The raging qi was gushing at the tip of the sword that it had ripped his cassock even before there was any contact. Fazhao was stunned by the energy of Lin Dan¡¯s sword. He looked at Lin Dan and at Bai Yan who showed himself. He said solemnly, ¡°All shall kill Asura that has descended into this world!¡± He very well knew the horrible history of Asura and, like Bai Yan, he had also received an order from the sect.


    But Lin Dan remained calm. She only glanced at Fazhao and lowered her head. At this moment, the infected had caught up with the thin man and he was torn to pieces. Yan Zhaotian had never expected karma to come so soon.


    Looking at the infected who had been tortured and dehumanized, Lin Dan closed her eyes and jumped off the wall before killing all of them. More blood splattered and stained the dilapidated street, making it look even closer to hell.


    Fazhao frowned and wanted to stop the uncontrollable killer but was stopped by Bai Yan.


    ¡°Fazhao, you come to the Plague City every year, but have you ever appeased any of these vengeful souls? Have you ever stopped this demon? You recite ¡®Amitabha, Amitabha¡¯ all day but does it do any good to the ethics, morality, the good and the bad of this world? Do you know that she has killed the top seven fugitives on the wanted list just a few days ago and restored a moment of peace in this world? You and I are people who took on a high position and should have been responsible for making the world better. But what we have done was not even half as good as what she has done. If we have followed your way, when will this Plague City be gone? When can the vengeful souls of this city be appeased? As there are good and bad humans, the Buddha can be wrathful as well.¡±


    Bai Yan turned around and pointed at Lin Dan¡¯s blood-stained back, ¡°In your eyes, she is the bloodthirsty Asura, but in mine, she is a Buddha who is appeasing the vengeful souls. These patients have been kept here by Lin Zhaotian for more than a decade, waiting for the day where the plague could be cured. But the plague has now developed so badly that not even the immortals of the Physicians Valley Medical could save them. Was there anything we could have done? Is keeping them here and making them endure more pain and despair your so-called ¡®compassion?¡¯ Or, if one day Yan Zhaotian had gotten tired of such entertainment and decided to amuse himself by opening the gates of Plague City, what do you think will happen to the outer city? What will this country or the entire land of East Tang become?¡±


    Fazhao lowered his eyes and looked at Lin Dan¡¯s face where he saw no joy but deep sorrow. Although she was killing the infected people, she had the intention of appeasing their souls. The infected who were scrambling around gradually stopped and knelt on the ground. They kowtowed to her before raising their heads, ready to be killed.


    They could not wait to die since they had been living in despair for so long! Anyone who could end their misery was their savior.


    Before Lin Dan slashed, she paused for a slight moment each time and closed her eyes. Their blood was warm but her heart was cold. Her body felt comfortable but her mind was filled with raging anger. If there was so much injustice in this world, if she was destined to become a killing machine, she could kill the wicked and eliminate evil! She was alone in this world and neither fears Emperor Yan nor death.


    Fazhao stared at Lin Dan¡¯s bloodied back and withdrew his internal force after a long moment. He put his hands together and said, ¡°Amitabha, I¡¯m ashamed!¡±

 CH 52

    Lin Dan spent almost two hours to kill those who were infected by the plague. Wherever she went, there were people who tried to run away from her or kneeled down and thanked her in tears. They were terminally ill and were suffering from an incurable disease. They had consumed so much human flesh that it was better for them to die.


    After ensuring that everyone in the inner city was dead, Lin Dan, having practiced a unique technique and not afraid of the disease, gathered the bodies of these people in one place and burned them.


    In fact, even before she came, there were infected taking their own lives daily, but Yan Zhaotian would always throw more healthy people over the wall so that he could maintain a certain number of people in the inner city. He prohibited his civilians from leaving the city and turned this place into a hunting ground, taking pleasure in toying with human lives. If the day came when all of this people were dead, he would move to another city and continue the same game. His father ruled two great empires after all and would not care about losing an insignificant city.


    Those at the top never saw the suffering of the people at the bottom. Unfortunately, this was the Law of the Jungle and the reality of Eastern Tang.


    As the smoke rose, Lin Dan stood in front of the heap of burned bodies with a solemn expression and nobody could tell what she was thinking. Her Asura Sword had turned black which resulted from devouring too much blood. Master Fazhao and the others quickly sat down and recite the Sutra of the Dead. Coming to this city for eleven years in a row, his wish was finally fulfilled.


    Bai Yan let go of the little boy who was no longer crying and untied his family. After seeing them leave, he looked at Lin Dan¡¯s unyielding back with beaming eyes.


    Seeing that the bodies had been burned to ashes, Lin Dan jumped on the wall and left immediately. When she passed by Bai Yan, she stressed word by word, ¡°One day, if I have also become a hideous monster like them, you must kill me!¡±


    For a long time, Bai Yan did not respond. Seeing that she was staring at him with a determined look, he said softly, ¡°Understood.¡± But at the same time, he felt a faint heartache, as if something was missing.


    When Master Fazhao heard their conversation, he opened his eyes and lamented, ¡°Amitabha. This is good, indeed! ¡±


    Lin Dan continued moving forward. The city guards pointed at her with swords and spears, but no one dared to take another step forward. As she was soaked in blood, she looked like a devil, leaving a bloody footprint with every step she took. After walking for a few feet, she suddenly stopped and proclaimed, ¡°I am Lin Dan. You may tell Emperor Yan that I¡¯m the one who killed his son. If he wants revenge, find me at the top of Mount Kunlun where we will fight to our deaths!¡±


    In the end, she initiated a duel with Emperor Yan so that no one else would be implicated by her action. It was an unspoken rule that any one who was involved in a duel could not begin the revenge before the outcome of the duel was decided. If she won, everyone would be safe. Otherwise, the Holy Eastern Sect could only hope for the best.


    ¡°She is the new Grandmaster, Lin Dan!¡± One of the guards cried.


    ¡°Hurry, inform Emperor Yan!¡± As the people scrambled, Lin Dan had already left in the wind. Beneath her feet were civilians running out of their closed doors, pointing at the thick smoke, and exclaimed that someone had killed the city lord and burned the Plague City. As tears rolled down their cheeks, they kneeled down and kowtowed to the nameless benefactor. If the benefactor had not come, they would sooner or later be thrown into the Plague City and turned into monsters that had no control over their own lives! Emperor Yan was no human, he was clearly Hades from hell!


    ¡ª


    Three days later, Lin Dan stood at the top of Mount Kunlun, holding a dark Shura Sword in her hand.


    Bai Yan and Fazhao stood behind her. Bai Yan was frowning and looking worried while Fazhao recited the scriptures with his eyes closed. The outcome of this duel was almost certain. Emperor Yan was second only to Emperor Yun and had mastered the Flameburst Fist. This technique could flatten a hill and was not something that Lin Dan, a new Grandmaster, could handle.


    ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± Bai Yan said suddenly.


    Master Fazhao opened his eyes immediately.


    But Lin Dan was a split second slower to notice his arrival ¨C an evidence that there was a disparity in skills even between Grandmasters.


    In the next moment, a middle-aged man in a red robe arrived riding on the wind. He landed on the hard rock and created two deep footprints. He looked at Lin Dan and said coldly, ¡°Did you kill my son? ¡±


    Lin Dan held her sword and took a step forward, ¡°Yes, it was me. ¡±


    ¡°Good to know that!¡± Emperor Yan sent a punch without saying another word. Lin Dan raised her sword to block the attack, but the force was so huge that she was pushed a few feet away before spewing thick blood. But she was not flustered at all, her eyes were full of raging battle intent. She was facing a strong enemy and knew that she may not stand a chance of winning him even if she had drawn all the death aura within her body. Even so, that did not concern her as she enjoyed having a satisfying battle. If she was destined to die, dying in the hands of a strong opponent would be glorious.


    She swung the Asura Sword and propelled herself forward using the raging qi on the tip of the sword towards Emperor Yan. After a series of moves, she was horrified to find that Emperor Yan¡¯s technique actually made his body hard as iron and was impenetrable. His Flameburst Fist was a great counter to her Asura Sword.


    ¡°I will take your head today and avenge my son¡¯s death! I¡¯ll also teach you a lesson ¨C do not think you can do whatever you want just because you are extremely talented. Remember, there is always someone more powerful than you in this world.¡± Emperor Yan punched Lin Dan down and swooped down with her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan hit hard on the ground and spat a mouthful of blood. She raised the Asura Sword to block another more powerful punch from her opponent. The rock beneath her started cracking before a deep pit was made. Things were looking desperate for Lin Dan. Emperor Yan did not want to give her any chance of recovery and landed one punch after another. The raging qi rubbed the air and let out sharp shrieking each time.


    The pit was getting deeper and soon buried Lin Dan.


    Fazhao could not bear to look at her but Bai Yan stared at Emperor Yan coldly.


    As Lin Dan suffered from more injuries, the life aura in Lin Dan¡¯s body got more active and her rate of recovery increased. The death aura within her was also growing rapidly and turning into the raging qi. Seeing Emperor Yan raised his fist and intended to land a powerful strike on her head, she clenched her teeth and pushed the Asura Sword forward. The sword that was giving out a dark glow came into contact with his fist and actually made a cut on his skin.


    Emperor Yan had a shock and could not react in time. He immediately retreated seeing that the blade was coming at his neck.


    Without his punches, Lin Dan was able to leap out of the pit and began slashing her opponent while aiming at his vital points. Emperor Yan dodged a few of her slashes at first, but once he noticed that her slashes could only make small cuts on his skin, he relaxed and continued to attack.


    Their aggressive fighting styles were ravaging and brutal, and there was hardly any defense. Both techniques were protected by a unique aura and the users had vitality so strong that the battle went on for three days and three nights.


    Lin Dan grew at an alarming rate. Although she was wounded all over, she had a fanatical look in her eyes which shone like the sun in the sky. Meanwhile, Emperor Yan had strong inner force and showed no signs of fatigue, but his clothes were tattered from Lin Dan¡¯s slashes which made him seem a little beat-up.


    ¡°No wonder you dared to issue a challenge with me openly. You¡¯re a practitioner of the Asura Sword Technique!¡± Emperor Yan gradually recognized Lin Dan¡¯s technique and was starting to fear her power. He no longer had the patience to slowly deal with her. He gathered all the energy he had in his right fist and struck with lightning speed that could not be seen by the naked eye.


    Lin Dan could tell the trajectory of the fist but had no way to dodge it. She could only focus all her power on her sword and was prepared to die with him.


    Fazhao lowered his head and called upon the buddha. Bai Yan immediately took a step forward, his emotionless eyes were already red.


    Emperor Yan¡¯s fist and Lin Dan¡¯s blade hit each other¡¯s bodies almost at the same time. There were a few sounds of clanking before Lin Dan¡¯s bones were crushed by Emperor Yan. He smiled, confident of his victory. As his skin was as hard as iron, Lin Dan could not even leave a scar on his body after attacking him for three days and three nights. He thought there was no way she could hit his vital points.


    But with a slash, a stream of blood spurted in the air and stained Emperor Yan¡¯s eyes red. He could not believe what happened and lowered his head to look at his chest. The Shura Sword had already pierced through his chest and straight to his heart. Blood was gushing out from on both sides of the sword before gradually being devoured clean by the blade.


    ¡°H-How can it be?¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Why not? Haven¡¯t you noticed? In the past three days, although my attacks may seem random, all of them are aimed at your vital points and at the exact same spots. I¡¯ve already broken through your defense, just that I haven¡¯t dealt a fatal blow until now. I¡¯ll also teach you a lesson ¨C do not think you can do whatever you want just because you are extremely talented. Remember, there is always someone more powerful than you in this world.¡± Lin Dan retracted her Asura Sword and gave him back the same words he told her.


    Without any blockage, more blood spewed out of Emperor Yan¡¯s chest. He glared at Lin Dan and slowly collapsed before taking his last breath. Lin Dan released foul gas before collapsing as well.


    Bai Yan immediately flew towards her and caught her firmly. He was horrified to find that all her bones were crushed and her whole body had turned jelly. Moving carefully, he got Fa Zhao to take off his cassock and spread it on the ground before gently putting Lin Dan down.


    Lin Dan spat out a lot of blood, but she looked at the sun above and smiled ¨C It¡¯s so good to be alive!


    ¡°Stop smiling and take a rest!¡± Bai Yan cherished Lin Dan¡¯s smile, but her half-dead appearance was even more dazzling.


    As they spoke, two air slashes were heard and two tall men appeared on the dilapidated Mount Kunlun. One of them was wearing a blue and white Taoist robe while the other was wearing a black attire and solemn face.


    ¡°Emperor Yun, she is the successor of the Asura Sword and you should know what to do!¡± They demanded to kill Lin Dan the moment they spoke.


    Lin Dan looked at Bai Yan and muttered, ¡°You¡¯re Emperor Yun? ¡±


    Bai Yan gently held her fingertips and instructed Fazhao to take good care of her before turning around and said, ¡°I will protect her as long as she remains sane. Fight me if you have any objections.¡± When his voice fell, his white robe was already puffed up from his strong inner force which also distorted the surrounding air. He carefully avoided Lin Dan and perfectly protected her behind him.


    The two men were none other than Xiaoyaozi, who ranked fifth, and, Wei Qu, who ranked fourth on the list of martial experts. Emperor Yan¡¯s territory should rightfully belong to Lin Dan now that she had killed him, but it could also go to anyone who killed Lin Dan. The purpose of their appearance was not to uphold justice but to seize resources.


    However, they had never expected that Emperor Yun, who was never interested in getting himself involved in anything, would openly defend Lin Dan

 CH 53

    Although the five Grandmasters each ruled their own territories and rarely had any exchanges, as martial artists of the same level, they inevitably knew each other personally. Just as Bai Yan and Fazhao were close friends, Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu were also friends of Emperor Yan. They had long been hiding in secrecy to watch the battle and recognized Lin Dan¡¯s martial art technique.


    All Asura Sword practitioners had eventually caused bloodshed in the world. They may have died for hundreds or thousands of years, but the terrible memories they left were never forgotten. Not only did Bai Yan¡¯s sect instructed its members to kill the Asura Sword successor, but other martial arts sects had also received a similar command.


    As the lord of Lianyun City and the top Grandmaster of Eastern Tang, Bai Yan should have come forward and eliminated the world¡¯s threat. Instead, he stood in front of Lin Dan and said, ¡°Come at me, both of you.¡±


    Bai Yan had challenged and won all four Grandmasters in a one-versus-one duel, but he had never fought against two Grandmasters at once. Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu were apprehensive at first but seeing that he was behaving so arrogantly, no longer hesitated. They had no confidence of winning him in a single-man duel, but it would be different in a two-versus-one duel.


    ¡°We shall not hold ourselves back then! Emperor Yun, this devil will one day pose a huge threat to this world. We have been instructed by our sects to personally remove this threat for the world. This is not a fair fight but a reasonable one and we seek your understanding. We hope that you will stop helping the evil and protecting the wicked!¡± Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu were still concerned with their dignity and made their actions sounded reasonable before starting the attack.


    Bai Yan snorted and readied himself to face the enemies.


    The fight broke out in an instance. Lin Dan wanted to witness the impressive fighting style of the top martial artist and turned her head with difficulty.


    Meanwhile, Fazhao recited scriptures while creating an impenetrable barrier to protect Lin Dan. He chose to stand on the side of Lin Dan, not due to a friend¡¯s request but the calling of his heart. He knew that Lin Dan was not a devil.


    Bai Yan looked back at Lin Dan, seemingly a little worried. But there was no room for any distraction in the battle against two Grandmasters. Wei Qu immediately took the chance and sent a palm wave towards him. However, he missed the attack as Bai Yan¡¯s body immediately dispersed like a cloud. In the next moment, Bai Yan appeared behind Wei Qu and attacked with a light palm wave, which was enough to hit him down to the ground. He spewed blood and was unable to get up for a long time.


    Meanwhile, Xiaoyaozi took his sword and began thrusting at Bai Yan¡¯s formless and cloud-like body. It seemed as though Bai Yan was standing before his eyes but immediately dispersed like mist.


    Xiaoyaozi¡¯s eyes widened and was horrified. He wanted to thrust his sword again but could not find where Bai Yan was. Like a madman, he slashed frantically in the air. Each time he drew his sword, Bai Yan¡¯s misty figure would appear at his point of attack. Over time, he was drenched in cold sweat. His facial expression was distorted and he had lost his mind. The outcome of the battle was concluded even before Bai Yan had revealed his true fighting abilities.


    Bai Yan seemed uninterested in continuing the fight. He instantly appeared behind Xiaoyaozi and struck him to the ground as well. He had been using a mysterious technique against the two Grandmasters, but when it came to making real attacking moves, it only took him two palm waves to end the battle. Within less than half an hour, the two Grandmasters were defeated.


    Lin Dan saw through Lonely Scarlet¡¯s Bagua Shadow Steps but could not see through Bai Yan¡¯s form technique. If Bai Yan was serious in fighting, she had no doubt that all five Grandmasters with all their powers combined had no chance against him. This man was so powerful that it was beyond anyone¡¯s imagination!


    Bai Yan landed lightly on the ground. His white robe was still clean and neat and hair smooth as silk, as though there had been no fight at all. He said slowly, ¡°According to the rules, your territories will belong to me if I kill you now. You should also know that nobody in this world would dare to stop me even if I turn into a cruel and ruthless, evil and unscrupulous man ¨C because they can¡¯t.¡±


    Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu spat two mouthfuls of blood in a row, wearing an angry yet fearful expression on their faces.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do unto others what you don¡¯t want to be done unto you. Stay away from me if you don¡¯t want anything bad to happen.¡± Bai Yan actually gave them a chance to live.


    Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu quickly got up and thanked him before helping each other down to the middle of the mountain and waited for their sect members to pick them up. Since then, they had remained dormant and were afraid to stand up against Bai Yan, not to mention speaking of killing Lin Dan. After the fight, not only were they defeated, they had also learned a terrible fact ¨C Bai Yan¡¯s skill had reached far beyond the Grandmaster level.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Bai Yan went to Lin Dan¡¯s side and wanted to stroke her cheek but quickly dispelled the idea. Lin Dan¡¯s bones were crushed and he did not dare to touch her at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. You should know that my technique will repair my body.¡± Lin Dan said lightheartedly. It was already good enough to be alive and the serious injuries were nothing to her. She paused and said, ¡°Thank you all.¡± Without Bai Yan and Fazhao, she would have been killed by Xiaoyaozi and Wei Qu as she could not move at all after that big fight.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the two Grandmasters to be so despicable and insidious, it was eye-opening.¡± She joked.


    Bai Yan was relieved to hear that and chuckled, ¡°Grandmasters are humans too, they can get greedy and are not as noble as you think. After you became a Grandmaster, weren¡¯t you too poor to afford your own meals as well?¡±


    Lin Dan was amused, she gave a faint smile and her eyes glistened.


    Bai Yan stared at her, his eyes were full of fear and joy at the same time. He had already decided to kill Emperor Yan and save her if her life was in danger, even if it meant he had to break the rules of this world. However, she gave him a pleasant surprise. With perseverance and skillful technique, she won the fight. It seemed as though she had unlimited potential and never failed to surprise him.


    ¡°This is the Rejuvenation Pill, a great healing medicine of Lianyun City. Take this, and it will help you recover faster.¡± Bai Yan took out the medicine he had prepared beforehand and gave it to Lin Dan, before carefully feeding her with water.


    ¡°Amitabha. My Nirvana Technique may useful for you as well. Please relax while I transfer some life aura to you.¡± Master Fazhao said gently.


    But Lin Dan refused his offer and said resolutely, ¡°Master, having some life aura can indeed ease my pain, but I think suffering in pain is also part of my cultivation. If I allow myself to feel better by receiving some life aura from you, would this make me kill the innocent just to feel more comfortable in the future? I have to get used to this pain. It keeps me awake and serves as a reminder that, I am Lin Dan, not some Asura.¡±


    Fazhao who was still a little skeptical had now completely trusted her. He put his hands together and said in admiration, ¡°Amitabha. You are the wise one who is favored by the Buddha. It was me who was blind! Since the incident has ended and Emperor Yun is here to protect you, I shall take my leave until we meet again.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Master.¡± The moment when Lin Dan¡¯s voice fell, a group of people arrived at the top of the mountain, including He Yufei who was following right behind them.


    ¡°Greetings!¡± The people bowed and pointed at Lin Dan, ¡°Emperor Yun, this demoness is a practitioner of the Asura Sword Technique, if you still consider yourself a member of this sect, you must kill her!¡± These people were none other than the elders of Lianyun City. They had also been hiding nearby to watch the fight and knew what happened.


    The two Grandmasters were unable to change Emperor Yun¡¯s mind, but these elders were his fellow seniors and should be able to persuade him, or so they thought.


    Bai Yun took off his outer robe and covered gently on Lin Dan. He said without turning his head around, ¡°Sure, you may kill Lin Dan. But you have to defeat me first.¡± This was not consent but a way to stop everyone from killing her. Was there anyone in the entire Eastern Tang who stood a chance of winning Emperor Yun and kill Lin Dan? Not to mention that even Master Fazhao had taken a step forward and protected the seriously injured Lin Dan.


    ¡°Emperor Yun, she will lose her mind one day and become a bloodthirsty mad woman!¡± The first elder said anxiously.


    Bai Yan held Lin Dan¡¯s fingertips and said tenderly, ¡°I will always be with her. If she loses her mind¡­¡± He paused before continuing, ¡°I will take her life myself.¡±


    Hearing what he said, Lin Dan was not afraid at all but smiled faintly.


    Bai Yan could not bear to see her smile. He turned around slightly and said with glistened eyes, ¡°Besides, what gives you the right to kill her? She defeated the world¡¯s top seven fugitives and destroyed the Plague City. She eliminated great evil from the world and saved no less than hundreds and thousands of people. But have you who, have been in this world for decades, done anything for the people? As you rise higher in status, you take lesser responsibilities of the world. Yet, you are acting all noble and superior right now? In comparison to her actions, shouldn¡¯t you feel ashamed?¡±


    Bai Yan finally turned around and said word by word, ¡°You don¡¯t feel ashamed, but I do! Before you said she¡¯s a mad woman, you must know that she lives a more sober life than any of you!¡±


    Fazhao lowered his head and put his hands together, ¡°Amitabha, indeed!¡±


    The elders and others were unable to lift their heads up high after hearing what Bai Yan said. They thought of the current situation of Eastern Tang which had been more peaceful than ever and looked at the dying Lin Dan who was seriously injured. They bowed and left in shame. Bai Yan asked several female sect members to stay and take care of Lin Dan. He Yufei hurriedly followed and refused to leave.


    He Yufei had been feeling uneasy these days. Lin Dan had been promoted to Half-step Grandmaster and now the Grandmaster. Not only did she defeated the four elders, Lonely Scarlet, and the seven fugitives, she was gaining reputation in the world that was almost comparable with the old Grandmasters. She was also lucky that even the Eastern Holy Sect had turned from an unorthodox sect to an orthodox one. He Yufei should have thanked Lin Dan, but looking at how much Bai Yan cared for her, she only wanted Lin Dan to disappear forever.


    Since Lin Dan escaped from death and broke away from He Chongling¡¯s control, she had become He Yufei¡¯s largest thorn in the flesh

 CH 54

    It started to drizzle after the elders and others had left. As Lin Dan¡¯s bones were shattered, she could only stay still in the rain. Even so, she was protected from the cold wind and drizzling rain as Bai Yan created a barrier using his vigorous inner force.


    ¡°If your skill is far beyond the Grandmaster, what level is it exactly?¡± Lin Dan stared at the cloud-like barrier and asked curiously.


    ¡°Probably at the Martial Saint.¡± Bai Yan had never let go of her soft hands.


    ¡°Martial Saint?¡± Lin Dan¡¯s eyes lit up.


    Bai Yan nodded and said, ¡°Yes, there is also Martial God after the Martial Saint level but I have no idea what¡¯s beyond.¡±


    ¡°We can find it out, as long as we keep moving forward.¡± Lin Dan was full of confidence in the future and her eyes were brighter than usual.


    Bai Yan seemed to be pleased with the word ¡°we¡± and chuckled, ¡°Yes, we will find out one day. Have you ever regretted mastering the Asura Sword Technique?¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head without hesitation and said, ¡°How can I regret if I didn¡¯t have a choice in the first place? If not mastering it will bring me death, I rather live in pain. You probably don¡¯t know that I¡¯m an orphan who was adopted by He Chongling¡¯s father and was trained to be his suicide squad. He threw me into the forest to fight with the beasts so that we would have to kill in order to survive. After escaping from the beasts, he made me kill my comrades. He did this so that we could turn into cold-blooded humans and eliminate our weaknesses. We were not given food or clothes and we had to face death every day. There was no one we could rely on, no one we could trust. We were treated worse than ants and were even more insignificant than dust.¡±


    Lin Dan took a sigh of relief and continued, ¡°This is why, I must get stronger so that I won¡¯t be trampled on again. I have no other choice and won¡¯t regret walking on this path. I¡¯m unlike you who came from a prestigious orthodox sect and have an extremely good background. Countless resources will be delivered to you even without you asking. I¡¯m just like the mud in the ground, who will be crushed into dust if I don¡¯t learn to fight.¡±


    As Lin Dan spoke about her past, instead of looking resentful or upset, she looked peaceful. She was suffering from an immense pain all the time, but she lived with her head held high and that was good enough.


    Bai Yan was heartbroken upon hearing her story and said, ¡°But I have my regrets. I wish I could know you earlier. If I weren¡¯t blinded by my own prejudices, you wouldn¡¯t become who you are now.¡±


    Lin Dan smiled lightly and shook her head, ¡°I chose this path myself and it is of no one¡¯s fault.¡±


    Bai Yan kept silent for a moment before closing his eyes with a pained look. After a short while, he took out a porcelain bottle that contained a liquid and gave it to Lin Dan. He said tenderly, ¡°This is Lianyun City¡¯s special nectar that can dispel hunger and thirst with just one bottle. Since you can¡¯t eat or drink now, you will have one bottle of this each day so that your wounds can heal faster. I will get them to clean your body up later and help you change a set of clothes so that you feel more comfortable.¡±


    He wiped away the remaining nectar on the corners of Lin Dan¡¯s mouth and looked at her in silence for a long while before turning around to look at his female sect members.


    They were all wet standing in the rain as they came in a hurry and did not bring an umbrella. Facing their city lord who was the only Martial Saint on the entire Eastern Tang, they did not even dare to breathe or look at him in the eye.


    Having gone through many events with Bai Yan, He Yufei stepped forward and said, ¡°Master, I have something to tell you. Could you come over here?¡±


    Bai Yan glared at her before walking towards her and asked, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Master, Lin Dan is a practitioner of a forbidden technique. You will be going against the world by protecting her. I thought it¡¯s best if you¡­¡±


    Before she finished speaking, Bai Yan responded coldly, ¡°He Yufei, who are you to say this to me? You are now a saintess of the Eastern Holy Sect. Because of Lin Dan¡¯s reputation, you are well respected by the people. When you were serving as her maid, you were well-protected and was never mistreated in the Eastern Holy Sect. Besides, she also saved your life from the evildoers. Your identity, status, and even life are all given to you by her. Others have the right to want her dead but not you!¡±


    His words made He Yufei unable to continue. She hesitated before uttering with difficulty, ¡°But Master, I said all these for your own good! You are the leader of the orthodox, you are pure and powerful. Why must you be associate yourself with Lin Dan and tarnish your good reputation? ¡°


    ¡°Why did you become the saintess and leader of the Eastern Holy Sect, then?¡± Bai Yan said coldly without even looking at her, ¡°Looks like my judgment was wrong. I thought you had a pure and kind heart and wanted to groom you. Since we have never gone through the rites of mentorship, you may go now. In the future, you better not act in the name of the Eastern Holy Sect, let alone Lianyun City. It is not wicked evildoers but the ingrates whom I despise.¡±


    Before He Yufei could continue, she was sent down the mountain by Bai Yan¡¯s palm wave. In a short while, Lianyun City and Eastern Holy Sect received a handwritten letter from Emperor Yun to deny He Yufei¡¯s identity. She could neither return to Lianyun City nor the Eastern Holy Sect anymore. In an instant, she fell out of heaven and into hell.


    Lin Dan was unaware of what had happened. Under Bai Yan¡¯s meticulous care, she recovered quickly and wanted to leave Mount Kunlun the next day.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Bai Yan followed her and asked with a smile, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±


    Lin Dan pointed to the beautiful rivers and mountains under the clouds and said, ¡°Let¡¯s travel all over the Eastern Tang and kill all evildoers before crossing the sea and exploring other lands.¡±


    Bai Yan asked, ¡°Do you mind if I come with you?¡±


    ¡°Can you leave Lianyun City?¡±


    ¡°Of course, why not?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then!¡±


    Lin Dan waved and Bai Yan came after her, smiling. He knew that Lin Dan had lost the ability to love, but he was willing to spend the rest of his life with her. The first time when he saw Lin Dan along the Qing River, he knew the technique she was practicing and thought he would bring calamity to Lin Dan¡¯s life. Little did he know that, it was Lin Dan who brought calamity to his life instead.


    But he did not resist it and was more than willing to face it.


    In the heavens on earth, she was the only one¡­


    ¡ª


    Aftermath:


    Under Bai Yan¡¯s guidance, Lin Dan quickly broke through and became the second Martial Saint of Eastern Tang. But unlike other great martial experts, she was approachable and loved fighting against injustices. Over time, she became famous and respected in the entire continent. In order to be associated with her, the Eastern Holy Sect did not dare to commit any evildoings but often do good deeds and turned into an orthodox sect.


    However, the Asura Sword Technique that Lin Dan hid in the sect was stolen and had gone missing for the past ten years.


    In a remote mountain forest of the Eastern Tang, He Yufei who was filled with hatred and sorrow finally lost her ability to love and mastered the Asura Sword Technique. In those days, she often had the same dream ¨C she got along with Bai Yan, who was hiding his identity, and became his disciple. Over time, they fell for each other and even married to each other. As Bai Yan taught her all the best techniques he knew, she was able to rise up and become a legend in the Eastern Tang. On the other hand, Lin Dan was mummified after being devoured by He Chongling, and not even a single bone was left.


    But once she woke up, she had to face the harsh reality ¨C she was only a lonely and poor woman while Lin Dan was someone people respected and looked up to.


    She thought she could challenge Lin Dan to a duel after mastering the technique and wanted Bai Yan to regret his decision. Little did she expect that mastering the Asura Sword Technique meant that she would have to endure the constant and endless pain. She could not withstand the pain even though she was promoted to a Half-step Grandmaster.


    She lifted the knife and slashed frantically, realizing that her pain would lessen from the movement. She hurried out, wanting to fight against someone. But there was no one in sight as she was practicing the forbidden technique in a secluded forest.


    Quickly, she used her inner force and ran wildly in the jungle, but this only made her feel slightly better. The pain of being slashed a thousand times was still present and tormented her. She could not imagine how Lin Dan had been enduring it. Back then, she saw that Lin Dan could still eat and sleep, and was no different from ordinary people. Yet, she was certain that they had mastered the same skill, the Asura Sword Technique! Only then did He Yufei understand why the first elder said that Lin Dan would go crazy someday. She realized that her willpower was nothing compared to Lin Dan¡¯s.


    After only two days of running in the jungle, He Yufei was already tiring of living. She slashed furiously with her sword and howled to the sky with bloodshot eyes. After struggling for two more days, she could not resist the attack of the death aura and died after her heart ruptured. She did not even have the chance to leave the jungle and show her mastered technique to the world.


    Many years later, someone strayed into the deep forest and found bones lying beside a book that clearly wrote, ¡°Asura Sword Technique.¡±


    ¡ª


    Although Ding Mujie was the senior grand secretary who held political power, on his deathbed, he held a tablet tightly and was full of regret. Before he died, he muttered, ¡°If I could start anew, he would definitely not fall into Lin Dan¡¯s trap and be forced to marry her, let alone watch Lin Wan marry the brutal King Kang and squander her life away.


    When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was no longer in the netherworld, but was walking on a path full of flowers. A servant was leading the way, turning his head and apologizing from time to time, ¡°Master Ding, please forgive me for taking too much time. Linshui Pavilion is right ahead, it is a specially designed rest stop for men. A new set of clothes will be prepared and you may change your dirty clothes there so that you won¡¯t catch a cold. I still have something else to attend to, do you mind heading there by yourself?¡±


    Ding Mujie immediately recalled that this was the scene where he could change his fate. Although the servant worked under Marquis Jiang, he had already been bought over by Lin Dan. He deliberately spilled a drink on his clothes and led him to the Linshui Pavilion, where he would be locked up by Lin Dan, who was already waiting for him. When Madam Lin realized that her daughter did not return, she would beg Madam Jiang to find her daughter before discovering that they were locked in the same room together.


    As he could not prove his innocence, he had to call off his engagement with Lin Wan and instead marry Lin Dan. This made others think that he was a greedy and opportunistic man who gave up the second daughter of the family to marry the first. But none of them would have thought that this was all Lin Dan¡¯s scheme. She had fallen for him for a long time and would often send letters to him. She did not give him up even though she knew that he was engaged to her own sister.


    Whether it was a dream or an illusion, Ding Mujie did not want to associate himself with Lin Dan anymore

 CH 55

    Ding Mujie originally planned to leave as soon as possible, but after he thought, it would be better to give the young man a warning, or indirectly let Lin Dan stop, so he stopped and said: ¡°Here is more and more deviant, it¡¯s clearly the inner courtyard. How could it be a resting place for male guests. Don¡¯t lead me indiscriminately.¡±


    The young man resisted the panic and argued: ¡°Childe Ding, how dare I fool you. If you offend a female guest, I would not live anymore.¡±


    Yes, if you offend a female guest, this little servant would indeed get into big trouble. However, in the previous life, Ding Mujie was caught by Jiang¡¯s guests. He was already incontrovertible, and he was kidnapped by the Lin family before he could find the young man to reason. Lin Dan got what he wanted and was overjoyed. Thanks to this little servant, it was too late, so where would he get at him? What¡¯s more, this is Jiang¡¯s Mansion. They themselves have committed such a scandal, and they want to pour dirty water on Duke Jiang¡¯s head. The offending person is not one or two. Even the Lin family didn¡¯t dare to provoke Jiang¡¯s Mansion too much, let alone a proverbial man without power and influence?


    In the previous life, the boy was so safely escaped in the past, and also did the housekeeper in Jiang¡¯s Mansion, but now, Ding Mujie cannot do anything to him. He could grab the little servant, bring him to Childe Jiang to reason, pierce the lies, and make the young man pay the price, but what then? If the young man¡¯s mouth is not tight, what should I do if he confesses to Lin Dan? You know, Lin Dan is still waiting in the Linshui Pavilion, and being blocked is another big trouble.


    Although he didn¡¯t like Lin Dan¡¯s entanglement, he didn¡¯t hate her either. After all, he owed Lin Dan a little more in his last life. He married Lin Dan unwillingly, but he was a stranger to her, and he had never taken the initiative to care about her. Later, the Lin family was in a disaster. In order to prevent Lin Dan to do some stupid things, he locked her at home for five years. He watched her withering like a flower and leaving silently just after her twenty-fifth birthday. He was a thousand miles away at the time, and he didn¡¯t have time to come back to see her for the last time.


    In the same way, he also failed Yu Lin. She could only marry King Kang as a concubine and finally was poisoned to death by King Kang¡¯s favorite concubine. He silently guarded Wan Lin for half of his life, but only guarded her tablet. He always remembered the skinny, haggard-shaped Yu Lin tightly holding his hand, and intermittently said: ¡°Jie Mu, if there is no sister, if I can marry you, then it would be great¡­¡±, She left away from him first, making him cry so much.


    Now he finally returned to his dream, back to the time when everything had never happened, the only thing he wanted to do was to change everyone¡¯s ending, to rewrite those tragedies, not to avenge anyone.


    He took a deep look at the little servant and pointed out: ¡°It¡¯s too remote here, I always think it¡¯s wrong. Anyway, it¡¯s a sunny day, and the drinks on your clothes will soon dry up, and you don¡¯t need to change your clothes anymore. Why did you bring me here? I don¡¯t want to ask about it. Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s not easy to be a servant at the moment, so behave yourself and don¡¯t offend anyone indiscriminately.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a joking voice behind him: ¡°What do you want to behave yourself? But this servant neglected Master Ding?¡±


    They looked back, only to see Childe Jiang standing among the flowers and looking over with a smile. Ding Mujie didn¡¯t change his complexion, and he talked with him about this thing in a few words, but the little servant was out of his mind, his face was like golden paper as if he was terribly scared. Childe Jiang didn¡¯t go into details and accompanied Ding Mujie back to the front yard. After a short while, he found another reason to leave temporarily.


    He came to the study, looked at the little servant detained by the two guards, and asked in a deep voice: ¡°Let¡¯s talk, what happened just now? What did you do with Ding Mujie in the backyard?¡±


    The little servant was still quibbling at first, but after being broken a few fingers by the guards, he confessed bitterly: ¡°Childe, it was the eldest daughter of the Lin family who bought the minion and asked the minion to take Master Ding to the Linshui Pavilion. I don¡¯t know exactly what to do!¡±


    ¡°Eldest daughter of Lin Family, Lin Dan?¡± Childe Jiang pondered for a moment, his eyes flashing brightly.


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan was awakened by a burst of embarrassment. She was weak, her hands and feet were soft, and there was a fire in her abdomen, which made her very uncomfortable. She wanted to jump into the ice water to calm down, and she wanted to moan and roar, and she was on the verge of losing control.


    ¡°Get out of here!¡± A hoarse voice rang in her ears, and she realized that she was lying on the couch next to a man, and seeing his red-faced and dilated eyes, she should have also been drugged.


    No, I was tricked! Lin Dan didn¡¯t have time to think about who she was and where she came from, this thought came to mind first. She wanted to get up but found that she was bound tightly by a rope and couldn¡¯t move. The man was not tied up, but the level of drugs was obviously very deep. Just controlling it took all her mind, so how could he loosen the tie for her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    If Lin Dan asks him for help, he will rush over in the process of loosening the restraint, showing off his beastly desires.


    Lin Dan took a deep breath and calmed down as soon as possible. Although there was a sense of confusion of not knowing where she was, she had subconsciously adjusted her breathing and entered a state of cultivation. This body has Kungfu, and its aptitude is excellent, but she hasn¡¯t developed internal strength. Lin Dan doesn¡¯t know who she is, but when it is difficult to get out of danger, her brain will automatically extract some useful information so that she can escape as soon as possible.


    Relying on her instinct, she started to operate her dantian, but after a while, there was already a mass of heat in her belly, which catalyzed her lust, but also allowed her to regain some strength. She didn¡¯t have time to practice, and she didn¡¯t dare to continue. There was a voice telling her that if she cultivated to a certain level, bad things would happen.


    When she closed her eyes and settled, the man gritted his teeth in her ear and said: ¡°Who are you, why are you here?¡± His tone was full of doubts, and he clearly regarded Lin Dan as the culprit.


    Lin Dan ignored him, feeling that there was enough power in her body, and then opened her eyes and struggled slightly. Hearing a muffled sound, the rope that bound her was broken into several pieces. She got up, first dizzy and wobbly by the violent lust, and then barely stabilized her figure.


    The man looked at her dumbfounded, obviously surprised by her infinite strength.


    In order to stay awake, Lin Dan took off a golden hairpin and opened the skirt again, revealing her legs in white trousers.


    The man thought she was completely controlled by the drug and wanted to take off her clothes. He hurriedly scolded: ¡°I am King Zhuang Xian Li. Before you act, it is best to think clearly whether you can afford the consequences of provoking the royal family.¡±


    The drug of Xian Li is a soulless drug in the palace. At first, it will make people feel weak and unable to move. When the lust accumulates to the extreme, it will become crazy. But now he is in a situation where his hands and feet are weak, and he can¡¯t even leave here, so he takes it for granted that Lin Dan has reached the point of madness.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t even give him a corner of his eye and slammed the golden hairpin into his thigh fiercely. However, she seemed to have been accustomed to suffering, and this little injury only made her frown, and it didn¡¯t help to clear her head at all. As a last resort, she had to stab many times in a row until the thigh was dripping with blood before giving up.


    To prevent others from seeing the abnormality, she tore off a section of the curtain, wrapped the bleeding wound layer by layer, firmly fastened it, and then lowered the skirt to cover it. Every time she took a step, there was a sharp pain in her legs, but instead of causing her to fall, the sharp pain made her more awake.


    While doing all this, the memories belonging to the original owner also poured into her mind, but they failed to help Lin Dan figure out the current situation. She only knew that her name was Lin Dan. She was the granddaughter of Dingguo General Ji Lin and the prostitute of Yangwei General Tie Lin. She drank two more glasses of wine at the banquet hosted by Jiang¡¯s family. She was a little dizzy and came here to have a rest. When she opened her eyes again, she was drugged and tied up, standing side by side with a young man.


    After learning the identity of the man, she almost immediately realized that this round was not for herself, but for the Lin Family and King Zhuang, so she said in a deep voice: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am more afraid to provoke the prince than anyone else. I¡¯m Lin Dan, the eldest daughter of the Lin family.¡±


    Xian Li was already frightened by the fierce stabbing of her thigh, and it took a while to react. She was explaining to herself. She said no more words, and just reporting her identity is enough to make Xian Li understand that she cannot frame the prince.


    The Lin family is loyal, and generations of men have died to defend the frontier. Only the king and the country are in their hearts, and they have no selfishness. Therefore, the monarchs of the past dynasties were very relieved of the Lin family and entrusted them with important tasks. In order to maintain the integrity of the family, the Lin family is only loyal to the monarch, never close to any prince, and will not be contaminated with the seizure of a concubine.


    If Lin Dan really had happened something with King Zhuang, even if she was caught on the spot, the Lin family would not let her marry into the palace, but would put her in robes and send her to the temple as a nun. She designed to frame he, and she really couldn¡¯t get the slightest benefit.


    Thinking of this, the gaze that Xian Li saw her was no longer as guarded as before.


    Lin Dan couldn¡¯t trust him at all. She picked up the rope on the ground, tied his hands and feet tightly to the bedpost, and explained: ¡°To prevent you from losing control, I can only do this. Since you are King Zhuang, then you should understand the end that provokes me.¡±


    Xian Li was initially a little angry, but he calmed down immediately after hearing this. Indeed, like Lin Dan, he could not provoke the Lin family. He didn¡¯t like to fight in front of his father and the emperor, so he was trusted by the other party. Seeing that the prince and King Kang were fighting secretly, in order to prevent himself from being affected, he had submitted a memorial and was ready to go to the border to fight. In order to accumulate military merits and contacts, he also needs the power of Ji Lin and Tie Ji.


    If he touched Lin Dan today, not only would Ji Lin and Tie Lin hate him, but also his father¡¯s impression of him would fall to the bottom. The uncontested image that he has worked hard to create over the years will be shattered in an instant, leaving the emperor with the impression of quick success and unscrupulous means. Not only will he be unable to join the army in the future, but he will also be detained in the imperial city, making things more inconvenient. At that time, both the prince and King Kang will regard him as the number one enemy and try their best to eradicate him, because his mother concubine was once the Concubine Shu of the monarch, and even if she died for more than ten years, she can still be remembered by his fathe

 CH 56

    With Xian Li¡¯s cooperation, Dan Lin quickly tied him.


    ¡°You lie down here, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Feeling the blood on her legs shed some more, she tore off a section of the curtain and tied it thickly and roundly. Seeing her face dripping with cold sweat, the lust in Xian Li¡¯s heart has been completely replaced by shock.


    Everyone in the world says that the Lin family does not have a coward and that men and women are of characters. He used to think that he was exaggerating, but today he clearly realizes that this is true. If he and Dan Li were exchanged, he would definitely not dare to do such a cruel thing to himself.


    ¡°Be careful.¡± Looking at Dan Lin¡¯s thin back, he couldn¡¯t help but exhort.


    ¡°Relax, I will never implicate you. When I go outside, I will quietly call your servants over and let them send you away.¡±


    Xian Li shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to call my servant over. It¡¯s fine for me to lie down like this.¡± No matter who framed him today, he must pay the price. A prince was drugged and tied up in the room. In order to protect the face of the royal family, the father would definitely investigate carefully, and would also feel guilty towards him, and thus doubt the other princes. In this way, he could persuade his father to let him leave the capital and go to the border to practice.


    Dan Lin immediately realized that he wanted to use a bitter trick, so she didn¡¯t insist on it anymore and opened the door to go out. She has a keen perception, even if she is tens of feet away, she can detect whether there is anyone nearby, so the way back is all going well without being seen by others. She did not show up at the banquet but asked the maid of the Jiang Mansion to tell Miss Lin secretly that she had a period. She was embarrassed to go out and meet people and asked Miss Lin to bring clean clothes and pants to the east chamber to meet in the room.


    The maid ran away with a generous reward. Finally, she found Mrs. Lin in the crowd and quietly handed her a message. This is a private matter of a girl, and it is very shameful. The maid will not think about it at all, let alone mention it to others.


    Mrs. Lin was afraid of her daughter being shy and afraid that her daughter would not dare to come out to meet people, so she personally delivered clean clothes. As soon as she entered the door, she was pulled into the room by Dan Lin, Dan Lin explained the previous things in detail, and said: ¡°Mom, I was helped by a few of my maidservants to the Linshui Pavilion, and then I fainted inexplicably. You have to help me.¡±


    These maidservants were all selected by the original owner, and they usually looked fine, but now that this kind of thing happened, Lin Dan didn¡¯t dare to use them anymore, and simply handled them all. The Lin family was so powerful and it was coveted by people in the dynasty. Several princes dreamed of pulling the Lin family into their camp. As the daughter of this family, Dan LIn would naturally not cause them trouble.


    No matter what was happening around her, she would not deliberately conceal it. Instead, she told Madam Lin to let her and her elders deal with it. She is very disdainful of these underhand methods and is even more impatient to deal with them.


    Mrs. Lin lifted her daughter¡¯s skirt and looked at her bloody wound. Her teeth were trembling with anger: ¡°Well, these monsters have actually schemed against my Lin family. I will definitely not let them go!¡± The voice just fell, there was a commotion outside. It was King Zhuang who had been found, and he was rushing to the hospital for treatment.


    Madam Lin took the opportunity to say goodbye, and after returning home, she arrested all the maids and old women in Lin Dan¡¯s yard and questioned them one by one.


    But Dan Lin didn¡¯t care about these things. After returning to the room, she carefully cleaned up the memory of the original owner and found that she had a secret crush on Ding Mujie, the fianc¨¦ of her concubine Yu Lin, and stole many of Ding Mujie¡¯s personal belongings, taking them out from time to time to take a look and touch them. These items are a large number of bits and pieces, including letters, paintings, jade pendants, purses¡­ and each of them is stamped with Ding Mujie¡¯s private seal. If it is revealed by people, it will be a problem.


    Dan Lin acted decisively and immediately burned everything that could be burned, and the ones that could not be burned were crushed into powder and sprinkled in the flower beds in the backyard. As soon as all this was done, someone came to the front yard, saying that it was the old general who requested it.


    Lin Dan came to the front hall and found that the maid, whom the original owner relied on the most, was lying on the ground with a very scared expression. Seeing her coming, the maid rushed to hug her feet and cried bitterly: ¡°Miss, please save me!¡±


    Seeing that General Lin¡¯s expression was very bad, Lin Dan kicked the maid away and said bluntly, ¡°What did she just say?¡±


    Father Lin looked at the old man, then looked at the innocent daughter, and replied: ¡°She said that Linshui Pavilion is the place that you decided to go by yourself, and the people are also sent away by yourself. The purpose is to meet Ding Mujie privately. You have had an affair with him a long time ago, but I don¡¯t know why, the person in the room will become King Zhuang.


    There is no private meeting with Ding Mujie in the memory of the original owner, and it can be seen that the maid is lying. Dan Lin pondered for a moment, then slowly said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Ding Mujie before, let alone talk about personal affairs? If I took the initiative to ask him, why would I pass out inexplicably? Why would I be drugged? This is not a normal procedure for a private meeting between men and women.¡±


    Seeing her straightforward words and open expression, Father Lin couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved. He knows his daughter best, and there is no concealed thing.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    General Lin also calmed down and said: ¡°I believe you, you were taught by me, so how can you do such shameless things.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded without blushes. Anyway, the person who did those things was the original owner, not her. What¡¯s more, the original owner was indeed framed. Although she loved Ding Mujie, she also knew that he was the husband of the concubine. The grandfather and father would never agree that their sisters could marry easily, so they just thought about it in their hearts, or took the concubine sister to come to the yard to inquire about Ding Mujie¡¯s situation, and didn¡¯t dare to do anything more.


    As the old general Lin said, she also knew shame.


    The maid hurriedly shouted, ¡°The young lady really ordered this matter. If you don¡¯t believe it, you can go to her room and look it up. She has already accepted some things privately from Ding Mujie!¡±


    Dan Lin sat in the same position calmly, waved her hand and said, ¡°Go and check, I¡¯ll wait here.¡± She didn¡¯t even say a word to defend herself.


    Seeing this scene, Old General Lin and Father Lin couldn¡¯t help but feel more at ease with her. After a while, the old lady who had searched the courtyard came back, and she didn¡¯t find anything suspicious but found a lot of valuables in the maid¡¯s house, which was definitely not something people like her could afford.


    The maid never expected that those treasures had been dealt with by Lin Dan, and she panicked. No matter how much she has to defend, she can¡¯t say it now. Old General Lin and Father Lin have obviously determined that she is a betrayer and framed Lin Dan, and today¡¯s matter involves King Zhuang, even if the Lin family wants to suppress it. The emperor won¡¯t let it be dealt with easily.


    The maid knew that she could not escape, and in order not to be accused of murdering the royal family, she had to confess the culprit.


    Father Lin couldn¡¯t believe it and said: ¡°You said that Hui Lin asked you to do this today?¡± Hui Lin is no one else, but Father Lin¡¯s daughter. She is often invited to Jiang¡¯s Mansion to participate in poetry meetings. Although Wan Lin¡¯s talent is not comparable to that of the sixth sister, she still has a bit of aura, so she has been there a few times.


    Dan Lin was the weapon-brandishing since she was a child and had not been to Jiang Mansion. Thinking about it this way, she didn¡¯t do it today, because she is very unfamiliar with Jiang Mansion. On the contrary, Hui Lin can set up this trap by her knowledge of Jiang Mansion.


    The more he thought about it, the more angry Father Lin became, his face showing a bit hideous, and he heard the maid¡¯s sorrow and grievingly: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do this, but sixth young lady was holding my sister, and I could not help but listen. She is jealous that the eldest young lady and seventh young lady are more favored than her, so she designed to frame their fiance¡¯s, and wanted to teach them a lesson. When eldest young lady married an ordinary people, the seventh young lady got a divorce, and she was the best of all the young ladies, so she will naturally be valued by the general.¡±


    ¡°Just to fight for favor, she trapped her sisters in injustice and the Lin family in danger. She is really my Tie Lin¡¯s good daughter!¡± Father Lin was very angry and immediately asked Hui Lin to confront her.


    The thing was not done, but in the end, it involved King Zhuang and the imperial family, and it was such a big noise. The charge of ¡°assassinating the prince¡± was suppressed, enough for Hui Lin to die hundreds of times. After Hui Lin returned home, the more she thought about it, the more disturbed she became. Without waiting for her grandfather and father to interrogate, she knelt down as soon as she started and confessed. She said that she was a ghost and had lost her mind, and begged her grandfather to save her, and not send her to the yamen.


    At this point, General Lin realized that it was true that Hui Lin wanted to harm her sister, but he did not expect that someone would take advantage of it and set up a plan to involve King Zhuang. Had it not been for Lin Dan for this girl to pierce her thigh to keep herself awake, and leave there in time, the Lin Family and King Zhuang would have been taken in this time. With Lin Hui¡¯s little tricks, how could it be possible to take King Zhuang into captivity?


    Had it not been for Lin Dan to pierce his thigh to keep himself awake and leave there in time, both the Lin Family and King Zhuang would be involved this time. With Lin Hui¡¯s little tricks, how could Wang Zhuang be involved?


    It¡¯s a small thing to cause a scandal, but it¡¯s a big deal to lose your mind. The prince and King Kang had already fought fiercely. At this time, the Lin family got involved again, and it was uncertain what the emperor would think. Once involved in the controversy of seizure of the protagonist, making the king suspicious of the Lin family, then the Lin family¡¯s merits will be turned into evidence of crime in an instant.


    Since ancient times, how many generals have died because of meritorious deeds? General Lin counted, but he couldn¡¯t count them. He considered it for a long time and finally got Lin Hui tied up and sent directly to King Zhuang¡¯s Mansion.


    Fortunately, the emperor still trusts the Lin family very much. Knowing that this trap is absolutely impossible with the Hui Lin, he asked the guard to blame fifty club and sent her home, and ordered King Zhuang to suppress the news so that he would not destroy Dan Lin¡¯s reputation. When King Zhuang checked, he could only find Hui Lin, so he gave up. But because of this, the emperor even more suspicious of his sons. Seeing that King Zhuang was lost since childhood, unattended, and really pitiful, he approved his memorial and asked him to go to the border to practice.


    Hui Lin didn¡¯t dare to get out of the carriage when she returned home and asked someone to bring a hooded cloak and cover herself from beginning to end so that she could be carried down. Father Lin refused to see her, so he only asked the servant to bring her a word, saying that he would marry her far away when she got healthy. Don¡¯t think about the big family, she can have enough food and clothing even if the Lin family is worthy of her.

 CH 57

    Dan Lin¡¯s poisoning drug is the secret medicine in the palace that has been lost for a long time. As the name suggests, after taking the medicine, people are as if they have lost their souls. They only know that they want to be a beast, and they don¡¯t care about the consequences. If one can¡¯t control it, It is very likely to die in bed.


    Fortunately, King Zhuang was discovered in time and sent to the hospital, otherwise, the person would be abandoned. But what surprised the emperor even more was that Dan Lin, who was also drugged, was able to stay awake with her own willpower, and didn¡¯t let herself and King Zhuang fall into a disaster. Sure enough, the Lin family are all hard-hearted generations, and even women don¡¯t let them down.


    Because of this incident, the emperor left a very deep impression on Dan Lin, not only did not blame her but also quietly sent the imperial physician to the Lin family to treat her and rewarded many treasures.


    The sober King Zhuang may not let go for a long time. As soon as he closes his eyes, Dan Lin will appear in his mind. She clenched her teeth and pierced her thighs time and time again; she tore off the curtains and wrapped the bloody wound with force; she pushed open the door and walked out without looking back. The obvious wound was so painful, but her steps were very large, and her back was straight. She was like a beam of light, disappearing into a blurred background¡­


    Thinking of this, King Zhuang couldn¡¯t help covering his warm eyes, and laughed at himself: ¡°Xian Li, you are really useless, you can¡¯t even compare to a woman.¡± He has not stepped onto the battlefield but has already taken Dan Lin from his body. Realize what cruelty is. Although she is not a soldier, under the influence of her ears and eyes, she has a kind of cruelty that is deep in her bones and only military personnel have. Be cruel to others, even more cruel to yourself.


    It was also from this day that he completely abandoned the idea of ??going to the battlefield and make military exploits easily, and was ready to start with a small soldier. He can¡¯t even compare to a woman, so how can he be responsible? If he relied on his father¡¯s favor to instigate and do whatever he wanted in the army, but on the battlefield, he was so scared that he would throw his helmet and abandon his armor. Wouldn¡¯t it be a joke in the world?


    Dan Lin didn¡¯t know what kind of mental journey King Zhuang had gone through, let alone caring about his body. She was lying on the couch now, letting the two maids bandage her wounds.


    ¡°Miss, is it painful for you, do you want to be lighter?¡± The two new maids kept asking, for fear of hurting the master.


    ¡°Just dress the wound, don¡¯t ask.¡± Dan Lin was looking at it with gusto, holding a scroll of military books in her hand.


    ¡°Sister, I came to see you. Does your wound still hurt?¡± A petite woman walked into the inner room, holding a brocade box in her hand.


    Dan Lin looked up and found that the person here was the original owner¡¯s favorite and most ashamed sister Yu Lin, so he pulled the corners of her lips and said hello. As the name suggests, Wan Lin is very gentle and moving, with a fresh and elegant taste in every face and smile, which is very attractive. Unlike Dan Lin, the beauty is too gorgeous, too eye-catching, and a little inaccessible distance.


    Although Wan Lin is the daughter of a concubine, her mother is a saint brought back by Tie Lin from Miaojiang. Her blood is noble. She has also saved Tie Lin¡¯s life. She is regarded as the great benefactor of the Lin family. After marrying to the Central Plains, she stayed behind closed doors. Keep her duty safe, but also sensible. Tie Lin is very fond of the mother and daughter, and Mrs. Lin never feels sorry for them, so the relationship between Dan Lin and Wan Lin is closer than the other sisters.


    ¡°Ah, sister, you have been hurt so badly, don¡¯t you have to go out for months?¡± Wan Lin couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed when she saw the wound.


    ¡°The injury is not serious, it will heal soon.¡± Dan Lin waved her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not serious to say that the injury is like this, I blame Hui Lin, I never expected that she was that kind of person¡­¡± Wan Lin said that her eyes were red, and she turned away quickly for fear of causing her sister to be sad. To wipe the tears. In order to make her sister happy, she opened the box and smiled: ¡°Sister, I brought all the collections of poems you asked me last time. You hurt your leg and can¡¯t walk. Just stay in the room and read more books.¡±


    Dan Lin was not interested in the collection of poems, just glanced at it lightly, and then fixed her eyes. She saw that the handwriting of one of the poems was obviously different from the others. At this time, the Great Wei State had invented engraving and printing. The books on the market were basically flat lowercase, but this one was completely different. Not only was the handwriting chic and elegant, but the cover was also painted with an elegant ink. Lan, looks very extraordinary.


    With all the memories of the original owner, Dan Lin immediately recognized that this book was copied by Ding Mujie, and his cover was also painted by him.


    She stared at the book for too long, so that Wan Lin noticed it, hugged the book in her arms, and emphasized: ¡°Sister, this collection of poems was copied for me by Mujie himself, and I haven¡¯t finished reading it myself. If it wasn¡¯t for your broken leg, I would really hate to take it out. Good sister, you must return it to me after you read it, don¡¯t lose it again!¡±


    In fact, the books are not lost, it is clear that they were taken by the original owner to see things and think about people. Dan Lin looked away expressionlessly, waved her hand and said, ¡°Take these books back. I feel pain in my head as soon as I see them.¡± The original owner always only loves spears and sticks. If it were not to cater to Ding Mujie¡¯s aesthetics, she would not force herself to study, and Dan Lin was even more uninterested in these groaning things.


    Wan Lin was still grinning and poked her head with her finger, groaningly said: ¡°I know you won¡¯t last a few days. Forget it, you can take it back if you don¡¯t like it, I can¡¯t bear it!¡± Wrap a few books carefully with silk cloth and put them back in the brocade box.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Dan Lin spoke with Wan Lin patiently for a while, and then left her for dinner, only when the sun was about to go down did he euphemistically rush people. She is not a person who loves to chat, and she is actually not interested in many topics mentioned by Wan Lin. I don¡¯t know why, she seems to have a lot of knowledge in her mind. As long as the outside world gives her a trigger point, this knowledge will automatically spontaneously pop out for her use.


    Wan Lin is proficient in poems and songs, Dan Lin pretends to be ignorant on the surface, but in fact, can catch all of them. Wan Lin occasionally mentioned partial knowledge such as mathematics, Wu Xing, and Ba Gua, and she also knew very well. She thought, she must have been an extremely knowledgeable person before her amnesia.


    After being patient for more than an hour, Wan Lin said goodbye. Dan Lin breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing her walking to the door with her hands empty, Dan Lin couldn¡¯t help but reminded: ¡°Don¡¯t forget your collection of poems.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I was so happy talking to my sister, I almost forgot!¡± Wan Lin hurried back to get the brocade box.


    At this moment, a maid said through the curtain: ¡°Seventh young lady, madam wants you to go to the front yard as soon as possible. Ding¡¯s family has come to propose marriage!¡±


    Lin Dan arched her hands and said, ¡°Congratulations to my sister.¡±


    Wan Lin gave Dan Lin a look of anger and joy, then ran out, covering her face. The maid she brought jokingly said: ¡°Look at the urgency of our young lady. With a real person, even the most precious collection of poems is no longer needed. Miss, the servants, and maids took these things away, so you can rest well.


    Dan Lin nodded unnecessarily and waited until everyone in the room was clean before he came to the backyard, and looked around the rows of weapon racks. This is the place that the original owner loves most. She will come here to practice martial arts diligently whenever she has time, and she does not relax a little because she is a woman. But since that day, after seeing Ding Mujie secretly with Wan Lin in Mingjue Temple, and hearing about his talents, she became stunned, and gradually gave up martial arts and switched to learning poetry and singing. She was not a person for reading at all, she had a headache when she saw poetry, but she persisted.


    Dan Lin doesn¡¯t know whether the original owner¡¯s persistence is meaningful, she only knows that she will never change for anyone. As long as she thinks that she will become a vassal of a certain man because of the so-called ¡°love¡±, and then lose herself, she will feel an extremely strong sense of rejection in her heart.


    In order to dispel this dull feeling, she picked a large knife and danced vigorously.


    At the other end, Ding Mujie was standing in the hall, saluting General Lin and Madam Lin respectfully.


    Mrs. Lin seemed to inadvertently said: ¡°In the future, you will take care of this girl Wan Lin. You have seen a few of their sisters. Wan Lin has the softest temperament and is stronger than Dan Lin. You must not bully her. ¡°


    Ding Mujie quickly promised: ¡°I will take good care of Wan Lin, please don¡¯t worry, Madam. I have only met Wan Lin with a few of their sisters, and I don¡¯t know the temperaments of the others. It¡¯s not bad to think about it. Weak temper has the advantage of being weak. Being strong has the advantage of being strong. A hundred kinds of rice can support a hundred kinds of people. It just depends on whether you can meet the right one.¡±


    Ding Mujie¡¯s words made Mrs. Lin completely relieved. Dan Lin said that she had never met Ding Mujie, and Ding Mujie also said that he had never met Dan Lin. How could the two of them have an affair? The maid really was talking nonsense.


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t show up on his face, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He never expected that King Zhuang would be carried out of the Linshui Pavilion. He thought that Dan Lin had caused a catastrophe her time and offended the royal family. Later, he asked more and knew that Dan Lin was not involved. He was relieved.


    In order to prevent long nights and dreams, he immediately urged his mother to come to Lin¡¯s family to propose marriage, so as not to miss Wan Lin again in this life. Yes, he can already be sure that he is not dreaming, but rebirth, rebirth when no tragedy happened. He had enough time to treat Wan Lin kindly, and Dan Lin had a good ending.


    When Wan Lin and his mother Shi walked into the hall, they saw Ding Mujie standing side by side, with a thoughtful expression. He praised his clothes and his face was deep and three-dimensional, like a sculpture. Hearing the noise, he turned his head slightly and found that the person who came was his fianc¨¦e, and his beautiful thin lips immediately opened up with a gentle and extremely faint smile. The eyes that were already brilliant as stars radiated dazzling light, and she was so beautiful that he couldn¡¯t breathe.


    Wan Lin immediately lowered her head to avoid his scorching gaze.


    Shi first saluted Tie Lin and Madam Lin and then met the two relatives by marriage before sitting down to listen. In her daughter¡¯s marriage, she could not be the master as she is a concubine, but she had a special status and was kind to the Lin family, so Mrs. Lin was especially gracious to her. She didn¡¯t say a word during the whole process, but nodded frequently as if she was obeying her madam¡¯s arrangements, so the two parties quickly booked the wedding date

 CH 58

    The wedding date was set, and the wedding invitation card was changed. Ding Mujie thought he could marry Lin Wan and spend the rest of his life with her. But three days later, his mother suddenly came and looked for him and said with a gloomy face, ¡°Dear son, I just asked someone to check on the marriage astrology between you and Lin Wan. You are the fire in the sword, and she is the water in the sky. You two are incompatible as fire and water, and your lives are incompatible. If you insist on being together, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make a scene in the future. ¡°


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Ding Mujie denied subconsciously.


    His sister, Ding Xiang, immediately agreed, ¡°Mom, who is that fortune teller who said so? How could he get such an outrageous conclusion? Brother and Lin Wan sis are a perfect match! ¡°


    Ding¡¯s mom knocked her forehead and scolded, ¡°What fortune teller? Don¡¯t talk nonsense! I consulted a grand preceptor about their marriage astrology. How can that be inaccurate?¡± The grand preceptor is a well-known virtuous woman in the Wei dynasty. She was very proficient in metaphysics. All the rich families in Beijing liked to consult her for fortune-telling, and they were almost accurate. If it weren¡¯t for the help of the Lin family, she wouldn¡¯t have the right to meet the grand preceptor.


    When Ding Xiang heard that the grand preceptor calculated the Ba-Zi, she immediately went quiet. She glanced carefully at her brother with full of sympathy.


    For some reason, Ding Mujie suddenly remembered that the grand preceptor had taken Lin Wan as her apprentice in his previous life and helped her gain a firm foothold in the backyard of King Kang. Otherwise, after the Lin family was destroyed, Lin Wan would not be able to live well. Ding Mujie didn¡¯t know how and when she got the favor of the grand preceptor. He only knew that the grand preceptor treated her as her own daughter.


    Now that something was wrong with the Ba-Zi, advised by the grand preceptor, Ding Mujie couldn¡¯t help overthink. Still, he blamed himself for being too suspicious.


    He said gently, ¡°Mom, please consult more people to check on our marriage astrology. What if the grand preceptor miscalculated?¡±


    However, Ding¡¯s mom shook her head and said, ¡°The grand preceptor said, if I don¡¯t believe in what she said, I can place your wedding invitation card in front of the Stove Lord Statue to trail the God¡¯s will. If within three days, there are people or animals who were restless and broken bowls or lanterns in the house, there is no need to calculate anymore. Both of you are certainly incompatible with each other.¡±


    It is a tradition to place the wedding invitation card under the statue, and Ding Mujie had no reason to stop it. He nodded and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s test God¡¯s will.¡± After saying goodbye to his mother, he immediately called in the servants at home. He repeatedly urged them to be careful and not to be careless. He believed that as long as everything went fine, his mother would not stop his marriage with Lin Wan.


    At present, he was only a civilian. He could only enter the imperial palace after the imperial examination. At the same time, Lin Wan was the daughter of the general¡¯s house. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Ding family engaged the daughter of the Lin Family in their heyday, he might not have been able to marry Lin Wan. To put it bluntly, even if there was really something wrong with the marriage astrology between the two of them, for the sake of the power and influence of the Lin family, her mother would at most feel uncomfortable, but she would not cancel the marriage.


    Ding Mujie believed that everything was under his control, so he didn¡¯t worry at all. But what bothered him was that many strange things had happened in the Ding family in the past three days. First, the cats and dogs had become eccentric and irritable, often bark and bite, and then the fish in the pond had turned over overnight and died.


    Ding¡¯s mother was scared out of her wits, so she was even more convinced of what the grand preceptor said. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Wan was the daughter of the general¡¯s house and she couldn¡¯t afford to offend her, Ding¡¯s mother would call off the engagement immediately. But after careful consideration that her son¡¯s future was more important. She gritted her teeth and concealed the fact that the Ba-Zi between the two of them conflict.


    The Lin family also sent people to combine their Ba-Zi, but General Lin tried to save face. He did it with a former officer of the imperial astronomer and didn¡¯t take it to the temple outside. The result was definitely good, and he even said they were a perfect match.


    ¡ª


    Ding Mujie was shocked by the conflict Ba-Zi crisis, and Ding¡¯s mother also felt terrible. She had been delayed for a long time and hadn¡¯t presented the bride price to the Lin mansion.


    One day, it was said that Princess Ming Zhu would hold a flower party in the countryside village. She invited all the ladies and young talents from the well-known families in Beijing to attend the party. Finally, Ding Mujie could leave his books aside and participate in the party. He knew that Lin Wan must be invited. If he participated in the party, he might have the chance to meet her. The two of them had wasted their lives with hatred. They must be together for the rest of their lives.


    Lin Dan also got the invitation, but she didn¡¯t want to go, but her wound had already healed. Mrs. Lin was afraid that she would be bored at home, so she would force her to attend.


    Princess Ming Zhu had always been at odds with Lin Dan. She disliked her for her rudeness and ignorance, but because of the power of the Lin family, she had no choice but to date with her. When the two of them get together, they would be like a diamond cut diamond. However, this time, Lin Dan was quiet. She just sat aside and ate cakes, ignoring the spies of Princess Ming Zhu.


    Princess Ming Zhu took out a whip and flaunted, ¡°This is a whip given to me by His Majesty. He used it when he was young. It¡¯s terrific.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God! This is what His Majesty used!¡± The young ladies who were still touching the whip quickly withdrew their hands from it and praised, ¡°No wonder the handle is inlaid with many rubies, and the tassels at the top are so smooth. Normal craftsmen can¡¯t make such a wonderful thing.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Wan said bluntly, ¡°My sister also got a royal whip. It¡¯s better than this.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Princess Ming Zhu was so angry and said aggressively, ¡°My whip is the one and only in the world. How can it be better than mine! I don¡¯t believe it. Why don¡¯t y¡¯all show it to me?¡±


    Lin Dan said slowly, ¡°Does my whip have anything to do with you? Why should I show it to you?¡± It took more than an hour to walk back and forth from the Lin mansion to this countryside village. Who had the patience to get it for her?


    Princess Ming Zhu waved her whip and stepped forward. ¡°Are you going to bring it? If you don¡¯t get it, that means you are lying! ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan took a few steps back to avoid being hit by the tail of the whip. Unexpectedly, Lin Wan suddenly pounced over and said anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t hit my sister. The wound on her leg has just healed¡­¡±


    ¡°When did I hit her?¡± Princess Ming Zhu unintentionally pushed Lin Wan away. It was unexpected that Lin Wan took a few steps back and fell into the lake. She couldn¡¯t swim and just raised her hands and shouted for help. The more she struggled, the more she moves to the center of the lake.


    To increase the fun of the banquet, Princess Ming Zhu arranged the male guests and female guests on both sides of the lake. It was fascinating to see each other across the sparkling lake. As a result, the male guests on the other side of the lake immediately noticed the movement at this side and looked over.


    She quickly took off her heavy robe and was about to jump into the lake to save her sister, but she suddenly stopped. She squinted at Lin Wan with an unpredictable expression. After a while, she put on her coat again.


    A man ran out from the other side of the lake, jumped into the lake without taking off his clothes, and swam towards Lin Wan. Then another man appeared and swam even faster. The first man had already held Lin Wan in his arms and was about to drag her to the shore, but the later man grabbed her over and said in a deep voice, ¡°Thank you, King Kang, but she is my fianc¨¦e. I¡¯d better carry her, or it will ruin her reputation.¡±


    His reason was so convincing that King Kang couldn¡¯t refuse. He had to let go of the woman and swam ashore alone.


    Ding Mujie looked at his back and then at Lin Wan, who was pale in his arms and swam towards the female guests. After the two of them reached the shore, Lin Dan handed over her coat and said, ¡°Her clothes are stuck to her body, prevent her from being exposed, you cover her with this. I¡¯ll inform my mother that you take her and wait at the carriage outside. We¡¯ll be out soon. ¡°


    Ding Mujie quickly took her coat and covered Lin Wan tightly. When he left the lake, he heard Princess Ming Zhu questioned, ¡°Lin Dan, why didn¡¯t you jump into the lake and save your sister just now? She defended you, but you stood on the shore and watched the fun! ¡°


    Lin Dan said in a calm tone, ¡°How do you know she needs me to save her?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Ding Mujie paused for a while and then continued to walk forward. Lin Wan seemed to be frightened and embarrassed. She only covered her face in his arms and refused to say a word. Ding Mujie carefully put her into the carriage and stood outside comforted her softly. Not long after that, Lin Dan and Mrs. Lin came in a hurry to prevent Lin Wan from catching a cold. The two didn¡¯t say much to Ding Mujie. They thanked him and left.


    Ding Mujie stood by the road and gazed at their carriage. His eyes darkened. After a long time, he rolled up his sleeves to check the bleeding wounds on his arm caused by Lin Wan. In her previous life, Lin Wan was saved by King Kang after falling into the water. To maintain her reputation, she had to marry King Kang as a concubine. In this life, although it was not the right time, he would not let her end up in the same way. But he didn¡¯t expect that when he swam to her side and tried to grab her over, she would resist him.


    At that time, her eyes were opened, and she could recognize clearly who the person was, but why¡­ as soon as Ding Mujie had the thought of it, it was quickly suppressed by him. After returning home, he urged his mother to go to the Lin mansion to propose marriage and set the wedding date. Ding¡¯s mother was delayed for more than a month until it couldn¡¯t be delay further. She then only brought the gifts to the Lin mansion.


    The wedding date was finally set in the early spring of the following year, and there were still eight to nine months left, which was enough for Ding Mujie to prepare. But even so, he still felt insecure, so he instructed his sister to go to the Lin mansion more often and help him take care of Lin Wan.


    Ding Xiang liked Lin Wan very much, so she agreed without hesitation. But she didn¡¯t expect that one day she would come back crying as if she had suffered a great grievance. Ding¡¯s mother had lost her husband in her early years. She had worked hard to raise her son and daughter, so she couldn¡¯t bear to see them being bullied. She immediately held her daughter and asked, ¡°Tell me, did Lin Dan bully you again?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not Lin Dan,¡± Ding Xiang burped and blamed herself. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! I have made a big mistake!¡±


    ¡°What? What mistake did you make? Ding¡¯s mother¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    Ding Mujie, who had just entered the door and said with a long face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Tell us slowly. I¡¯ll help you solve the problem.¡±


    ¡°Brother, I really didn¡¯t mean to do that. Today I wanted to see the headpiece that was placed at Aunt Shi¡¯s by the great emperor. But I didn¡¯t expect that my hand exerted too much force to it and broke the Phoenix¡¯s wing. That¡¯s the dowry of the great empress, which is very precious. When the great empress knew about it, she was furious. No matter how I apologized to her, she ignored me. Brother, I didn¡¯t mean it. I didn¡¯t expect it either!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Ding¡¯s mother was so angry that she beat her daughter repeatedly. It was her fault for being careless. However, Ding Mujie¡¯s eyes darkened, and it reminded him of a past that was ages ago.


    In her previous life, Lin Wan was seriously ill and abandoned by King Kang in the countryside village. He went and visit her secretly and listened to her recalling the past. She held his hand and sighed, ¡°If back then, I didn¡¯t act tough and took the blame for my sister. Now I wouldn¡¯t have been detected by my ancestors. I was so sick, but I couldn¡¯t even go back home. If I am given another chance, I would have told my ancestor bravely that my sister broke the headpiece, not me. I miss my ancestors. I miss my parents. I want to go home¡­ ¡°


    She was so pitiful, weak, and eager to miss her family and their loves, which deepened Ding Mujie¡¯s disgust on Lin Dan. But now, why did his sister break it?

 CH 59

    These days, Ding Mujie repeatedly told himself not to overthink. After marrying Lin Wan, everything would go well. But now, he can¡¯t help but to think about it, so he said earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiang. Tell me what happened today in detail, and don¡¯t miss any of the details.


    Ding Xiang wiped her tears and recalled, ¡°Today, Miss Lin Dan and I had arranged to visit at her place. After entering the courtyard, I found that she was picking jewelry. Those gold hairpins and silver hairpins were nicely placed in the brocade box. They were stunning. I couldn¡¯t help but take a few more glances at them, then Miss Lin Dan said she would pick one for me. ¡°


    Speaking of this, she was a little afraid. Seeing that her brother was not angry, she continued, ¡°I¡­ I like those pieces of jewelry very much. I thought that since Miss Lin Dan would be my sister-in-law, it wouldn¡¯t be a matter, so I picked a silver hairpin. Miss Lin Din¡¯s servant said that I have good taste, where the item I choose is very exquisite. For some reason, she said that the great empress had placed a gold headpiece of hundred flowers and Phoenix in Aunt Shi¡¯s place. The gold headpiece was indeed an ingenious and amazing piece of craftwork. It was rare even in the palace, let alone in the market. As you know, Aunt Shi came from the Hmong community. She was good at making silver ornaments and making a kind of potion to wash the old gold and silver jewelry as shine as new. The great empress gave the gold headpiece to Aunt Shi and asked her to clean it, and she will return it tomorrow. ¡°


    Ding Xiang began to cry again and sobbed, ¡°I was curious, so I begged Miss Lin Dan to take out the gold headpiece and let me have a look. Brother, you have to trust me. I just want to have a look at it, and I don¡¯t mean to do it. But when the gold headpiece was taken out, a servant suddenly told me that the Phoenix on the headpiece looks realistic. When it was worn on the head, its wings and tail would move as if it would fly into the sky. I felt a little tempted upon hearing this, so I picked up the headpiece and shook it. I wanted to see how the wings and tail moved, but just after shaken twice, the wings were broken! ¡°


    Ding Xiang seemed to be frightened and cried even harder. ¡°I¡­ I was very anxious at that time, but I didn¡¯t worry much about it. I just thought that I could compensate the great empress with the money. However, several servants of Miss Lin Dan told me that the gold headpiece was a treasure that the great empress brought from her natal family. It is very spiritual and could protect the family¡¯s marriage and brings good luck. It had been passed down for nine generations. When the great empress turns a hundred years old, she would send it back to her natal family and be passed down, which signifies a special meaning. ¡°


    ¡°I was so terrified by their words that I don¡¯t know what to do. Brother, you have to trust me. If I had known that the gold pace is so precious, I would never have touched it no matter how curious I was.¡± Speaking of this, her tone calmed a little. ¡°It was fortunate I have Miss Lin Dan to help me. She immediately put the box back and asked me to go home as soon as possible and pretend that nothing had happened. She went to the great empress¡¯ place to apologize and take the blame for me. The two servants didn¡¯t look good and sighed all the way while sneaked me to the corner of the door. I felt guilty in my heart, so I asked them what would happen to Miss Lin Dan. They said that Miss Lin Dan was not favored by the great empress, and now it would be even worse. She would be punished. Fortunately, Miss Lin Wan is getting married soon, and it would only take more than half a year for her to be despised by the great empress. She can endure it.¡±


    Lily rubbed her eyes and continued, ¡°My heart doesn¡¯t feel good. Miss Lin Dan is my sister-in-law. How can I let her suffer for me? After all, the great empress was her family. Even if she is married, she still has to filial piety the great empress. If they didn¡¯t get along well with each other, it would be embarrassing for Miss Lin Dan to be with her natal family. But I¡¯m different. I¡¯m just an outsider. Even if the great empress despises me, it won¡¯t affect me much. So, I went back and apologized to her personally. ¡°


    ¡°The great empress was furious. She scolded me that I am from a poor family and envious of other people¡¯s good things. She also blamed the general for choosing the in-laws like our family. How embarrassing was that? I¡¯m so ashamed of myself that I wish I could dig a hole in the ground and hide. Miss Lin Dan didn¡¯t dare to say a word. Later on, Miss Lin Wan came and took a look at the headpiece. She said that it had reached the extent. After passing down for nine generations, the spirit in the headpiece had exhausted, and it was destined to not be passed on. The reason I broke the headpiece is that God borrowed my hand to get rid of the attachment. It has nothing to do with me.


    Speaking of this, Ding Xiang finally stopped crying and said gratefully, ¡°The great empress has always favored Miss Lin Wan the most. She believes in Buddhism and fate. After hearing this, she immediately stopped being angry and did not punish us. She only sighed and sent me away from the Lin mansion. But I still felt sorry. After this matter, the great empress will definitely look down upon our family and you. After all, I¡¯m still at fault. ¡°


    Ding¡¯s mother held her daughter in her arms and comforted her. After a while, she sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Miss Lin Wan to be that good. If she hadn¡¯t stood up for you today, you wouldn¡¯t have escaped so easily! You can¡¯t scold Miss Lin Wan anymore, and you have to personally thank her. Lin Wan is undoubtedly a good girl. She knows how to protect you at critical moments. When she marries our family in the future, you have to respect and listen to her. ¡°


    ¡°Mom, I know Miss Lin Wan is a good person. I was wronged about her before. Sister Wan is even better, just like my own sister!¡± After this incident, Ding Xiang¡¯s perception of Lin Dan is much better than before, and she paid even more respect to Lin Wan.


    Ding Mujie patted his sister¡¯s head and comforted her. After returning to his study room, he sat by the window and was lost in thought. All kinds of complicated and indescribable emotions flashed through his eyes from time to time. He sat from day until late night and finally walked out. He looked drained from his back.


    The next day, he spent a lot of money to buy a hundred years old ginseng and went to the Lin mansion to apologize. Although he was very grateful to Lin Dan, he didn¡¯t dare to meet her. He only asked his sister to go to the backyard to express her gratitude in person. When they left the Lin mansion, Ding¡¯s mother secretly asked him if he wanted to meet Lin Wan, but for some reason, he refused for the first time.


    After returning home, he studied many poems to prepare for the upcoming imperial exam and carefully planned for the wedding. However, he had just calmed down for two months and was caught off guard by another incident. Lin Wan was kidnapped on the way to the temple. Fortunately, King Kang saved her. However, the two fell off the cliff while escaping, and the guards only found them after a day.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    It was not pleasant to hear that a man and a woman spent a night in the wilderness alone. After being saved, King Kang proposed to take her as a concubine to protect Lin Wan¡¯s stature. If he didn¡¯t have a legal wife, he might have escort Lin Wan with a palanquin with eight carriers.


    The Lin family would certainly not agree, and Lin Wan refused to be a concubine. She fell ill after returning home. On the contrary, after hearing about the news, Ding¡¯s mother felt like a thorn in her heart that couldn¡¯t pull it out anyway. Lin Wan¡¯s stature had been ruined. Having her in the family would destroy her son¡¯s career and made him a laughingstock in the city. Moreover, King Kang had a crush on Lin Wan, and marrying her was equivalent to set oneself against King Kang, which was more disadvantageous to her son¡¯s future¡­


    After giving a long thought, Ding¡¯s mother thought that the best solution was that her family took the initiative to call off the engagement, so she went to discuss with her son. She knew her son had been fond of Lin Wan since childhood and had already regarded her as his wife. If possible, she also wanted to see them marry and live happily ever after? But now, the situation didn¡¯t allow the Ding family to hold on.


    If the Ding family didn¡¯t want to give up their marriage, others would say that her son would rather be scum for the sake of the power of the Lin family. If he called off the engagement, others would scold him for being ruthless. No matter what his son does, he would be wrong in either way. It would better to be called a cruel man than a scum. Men can be ruthless, but they couldn¡¯t be spineless cowards. They would be looked down upon.


    Thinking of this, Mrs. Ding¡¯s expression became more determined. But before she could say anything, the exhausted Ding Mujie said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going to the Lin mansion to visit Lin Wan. We¡¯ll talk about the dissolution of engagement when I return. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    In just two days, her son had been so haggard, which made Ding¡¯s mother feel heartache. She didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for her son anymore, so she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t urge you. You can do whatever you want.¡±


    Ding Mujie smiled, but his eyes were particularly dull.


    ¡ª


    In the afternoon, Ding MuJie, who had prepared a gift, came to pay a visit. General Lin felt sorry for him. Seeing that he proposed to visit Lin Wan alone, he agreed without hesitation. However, he knew it was inappropriate for him to visit her alone.


    This was the first time Ding Mujie visited Lin Wan¡¯s room, but he didn¡¯t have any expectation or joy. He was in his thought while walking and looked very depressed. The servant leading the way didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. For some reason, Mr. Ding used to be gentle and easy-going, but now he was dignified and unapproachable.


    ¡°Sir, Lady Lin is inside. Welcome in.¡± Two servants opened the bamboo curtain and said in a cautious tone.


    Ding Mujie walked in without saying a word. When he saw Lin Wan lying like a withered figure on the bed, he felt that space and time were in a mess. She looked exactly like this when she was abandoned by King Kang in her previous life. He habitually held her fingertips but was avoided by her.


    ¡°Are you here to call off the engagement?¡± Lin Wan turned her head as if in despair.


    Ding Mujie stared at her and didn¡¯t want to miss the slightest change in her expression. ¡°No, I¡¯m here to tell you that as long as you insist on marrying me, no matter how outsides talk about it and no matter how King Kang forces you, I will still marry you. Don¡¯t worry. As long as I agree, the general and the lady won¡¯t let you marry anyone else, even the prince. ¡°


    Lin Wan turned around, looking pitiful. ¡°But but my stature has been ruined. Don¡¯t you mind it at all?¡±


    Ding Mujie shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind. No matter what happens, I will marry you, cherish you and take care of you unless you refuse to marry me. What do you think, Wan¡¯er? Are you willing to marry me?¡±


    Speaking of this, Ding Mujie couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®Are you willing¡¯, he should have asked this in his previous life.


    Lin Wan was crying and sobbed, ¡°I would like to, but now that I¡¯m in such a situation, I feel ashamed to marry you! If you marry me, what would others say about you?


    All she thought of was for the sake of her fianc¨¦, but she didn¡¯t think of herself at all. Ding Mujie should have been happy. If it were in his previous life, he would have been moved to tears now. But the current Ding Mujie was no longer the young self. He was the chief assistant and was a man of few words who had been in the officialdom for dozens of years.


    He stared at Lin Wan and said slowly, ¡°No matter what others say, I will marry you as long as you are willing to.¡± Wan¡¯er, since you have agreed, I¡¯ll discuss with General Lin about the advance of our wedding date.¡± Three days later, wait for me to marry you by escorting you with the palanquins with eight carriers.¡± Then he stood up and left.

 CH 60

    Ding Mujie had been in the officialdom for dozens of years and had always stood firm, which was sure that he relied on his own ability. He was too good at reading people¡¯s minds and using all kinds of methods to achieve his goal. Now, Lin Wan was no match for him. He wanted to get himself married and wanted to advance the wedding date to three days ahead. Lin Wan was anxious and quickly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t go, I don¡¯t want to marry! I don¡¯t want to marry you! ¡°


    Finally, Ding Mujie forced Lin Wan to tell the truth. After that, Ding Mujie only felt a deep sense of sorrow welled up in his heart, making him wanted to cry.


    ¡°The Ba-Zi, is your doing, right? Your mother is the saint of the Hmong community. It¡¯s not difficult to poison a pool of fish, let alone caused madness to my cats and dogs.¡± He stood with his back facing Lin Wan, and his eyes were tightly closed because he was afraid that tears would fall as soon as he opened his eyes. He had been through so much hardship in his previous life, but he had only cried once when Lin Wan died. It seemed that he cried for her in the two lives, but it ended up like this¡­


    ¡°What Ba-Zi? I don¡¯t understand. What are you talking about?¡± Lin Wan denied, ¡°I just don¡¯t like you, and I don¡¯t want to marry you.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier that you don¡¯t like me? You don¡¯t like me. Why did you blush and eyes flicker when you see me and pretend to love me as well? You don¡¯t like my lowly family or me? Ding Mujie continued, ¡°The other day in the lake, I wanted to grab you over. When you turned around and saw me, you were shocked and resisted and subconsciously pushed me. In a critical situation, a person¡¯s actions often reflected her true thoughts. I know you don¡¯t want to be saved by me, but I dare not continue to have a deeper thought about it. ¡°


    He suppressed his sorrow and said, ¡°You broke the gold headpiece, didn¡¯t you? But turned-out framing Ding Xiang. You invited her to the Lin mansion and brought up the topic with the jewelry, step by step aroused Ding Xiang¡¯s curiosity. Letting her take the initiative and offer her to see the great empress¡¯ headpiece without telling her how precious it was. After getting hold of her, you lured her to shake the headpiece with the golden wing that was already broken to fall. You pretended to be kind and wanted to take the blame for her, but in fact, you had already known that she was honest and kind-hearted and wouldn¡¯t bear you to do so. You are a kind and responsible sister-in-law in front of Ding Xiang, and you are also a good granddaughter in front of the great empress. You are liked by everyone, but you let Ding Xiang, who was the most innocent to be your scapegoat. She treated you sincerely. How did you repay her? ¡°


    Speaking of this, Ding Mujie¡¯s breathing pace became a little irregular. If he was a rookie, he might have been blinded by it. But now, he had already been in the officialdom and experienced many things. So how could he be deceived by these tricks? The tricks were played one after another, each of them was speculated based on Ding Xiang¡¯s weakness and lured her into falling deeper and deeper. While Lin Wan not only stayed out of the affair but also gained a good reputation. She was really good at speculating on people.


    It was not that Ding MuJie failed to recognize her true face when he was reborn, but he still couldn¡¯t believe it. He had been obsessed with Lin Wan for two lifetimes. How could he give up on her so easily?


    But now, there was no excuse for him not to give up. So not only did Lin Wan pushed him to a dead end, but he also pushed himself to a dead end. To achieve her goal, she was ruthless to others and even more ruthless to herself. Thinking of this, Ding Mujie suddenly turned around and stared at her with his red eyes. ¡°That day in the Jiang mansion, I almost get myself scandalled with Lin Dan. Was that also your doings?¡±


    Lin Wan flustered and dodged his eyes but still denied, ¡°I broke the golden headpiece. I admit it, but I know nothing about the others. Don¡¯t frame me! You know that the great empress has never liked my mother and me. If she found out that I broke her treasure, my mother and I would be in trouble and would never like us. It doesn¡¯t matter to me, since I would be getting married, but what about my mother? She had to serve the great empress! After all, Ding Xiang is just an outsider. It won¡¯t affect her even if you take the blame for me. That¡¯s why I asked her to come here. I¡¯m just a little coward and have a little intention. How can you think ill of me!¡± Then she began to cry.


    But her tears could no longer touch Ding Mujie. In a trance, he remembered that in his previous life, with this pitiful look, Lin Wan got a lot of information from him. His plot was always seen through by King Kang, and he was almost defeated by the opponent. Fortunately, he went far away from Beijing and avoided King Kang¡¯s spies, and overturned the situation to better. At that time, he thought that King Kang had a capable person to help him, who was smart enough to guess every plot he made. He had thought of finding this capable person, either to take him back for his own use or to eradicate him. But he had never thought that the competent person was Lin Wan, and she had lived a prosperous life in the house of King Kang by betraying him.


    In the end, he and the nine prices won the battle. Since King Kang was banished, Lin Wan was definitely fell out of his favor. After that, she was poisoned and sent out of the capital city by King


    Kang for recuperation. Come to think of it that must be the last hidden plot of King Kang to catch him. But before he fell into the trap, King Kang couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and died, and his plot was utterly ruined¡­


    Ding Mujie had understood many things that he failed to realize in his previous life, and he couldn¡¯t bear with it anymore. His red eyes closed slightly, and two drops of tear fell out. In his earlier life, at this very moment, he had been forced to marry Lin Wan and living a peaceful life, and he wouldn¡¯t be so anxious. As for Lin Wan, she got rid of her useless fianc¨¦ as she wished. She wouldn¡¯t have made many troubles and expose her true self.


    She had been lying to him for a lifetime. Instead, she had used his love and power to fight for all kinds of benefits for herself. She made him couldn¡¯t forget her until the end of his life, and he even buried himself together with her memorial tablet¡­[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The more Ding Mujie thought about it, the more he felt that he was a complete joke and laughed at himself while crying. His blood gradually turned cold.


    ¡°It¡¯s your family who is responsible for calling off the engagement. I don¡¯t want to be called ruthless.¡± After saying that, he pushed the door open and walked out. He had done enough for her both in his previous life and this life. From now on, he wouldn¡¯t care about her anymore. She made her own choice. Let her walk by herself.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for my father to call off the engagement voluntarily. Mujie, please help me for the last time. I beg you!¡± Lin Wan jumped off the bed and grabbed hold of Ding Mujie¡¯s sleeve.


    When she got closer, Ding Mujie found that her pale face was done with makeup. She was not sick. It could be seen that she had been used to cheat to make herself live a better life. She was mean in betraying anyone, including herself.


    This time, not only Ding Mujie¡¯s blood was cold, but his heart was also cold. He stared at her for a while and left without looking back.


    Lin Wan chased after him and shouted, ¡°Mujie, do you want to call off the engagement or not? Tell me the truth!¡± When she caught up to the door, she didn¡¯t dare to run further. She could only panicky look at his receding figure.


    Ding Mujie¡¯s mind was in a mess. He rode on his horse and unconsciously came to the temple that he loved to visit the most in his previous life. After standing at the temple gate for a long time, he finally couldn¡¯t resist the suffering in his heart and slowly walked in. He saw a familiar figure standing in front of a wall as if she halted and looked at something.


    ¡°Why are you here, Lin Dan?¡± He said in a hoarse voice, with an expression as if it had been a lifetime.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± Of course, Lin Dan knew that the man was Ding Mujie. He was so handsome that she couldn¡¯t forget him as he was deeply engraved in her memory. But in theory, the real owner had secretly seen Ding Mujie several times, but the other party had never seen the real owner. So, they might not know each other at this time.


    Ding Mujie was stunned for a while and said, ¡°I¡¯m Lin Wan¡¯s fianc¨¦, Ding Mujie. I¡¯ve seen you from outside of the mansion, and you¡¯ve written me a letter. Have you forgotten?¡±


    The real owner had indeed secretly sent several letters to Ding Mujie in the name of consulting poems and deliberately imitated the handwriting of Lin Wan. But Lin Dan wouldn¡¯t admit to such embarrassing matters. She didn¡¯t do that in the first place, so why would she admit it? Ding Mujie and Lin Wan were two big troubles, and she didn¡¯t want to provoke them at all.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you, nor I haven¡¯t written to you.¡± Speaking of this, she looked at the young monk, who was beside her, and said, ¡°Give me the writing brush and ink. I would want to inscribe on the wall.¡± It turned out that this wall was used for pilgrims to inscribe, and it was densely packed with poems, which looked very interesting.


    Lin Dan initially just appreciated it and didn¡¯t intend to participate in it. But after meeting Ding Mujie, she changed her mind.


    The young monk quickly brought a writing brush and a bottle of ink. Lin Dan picked up the biggest weasel hair writing brush and dipped it with dark ink. Then, as she moved her wrist, she wrote down a line of words ¨C The prosperity of the great world, in a flash, a hundred years later, it would only end up like a handful of sand. After writing, she threw the brush to the young monk, turned around, and left.


    Ding Mujie looked at the words in disbelief. After a long time, he laughed bitterly, and the laughter was full of shock, depression, and pain. The vigorous and fine strokes and the swift movement of the handwriting could be called the owner piece among the scribbles. It was not at all similar to the letters he had received. On the other hand, although the words looked ugly and unskillful, they were in the style of Lin Wan. He guessed that Lin Wan wrote to him in the name of Lin Dan to create a misconception that he and Lin Dan have been secretly in love with each other.


    The ¡°adultery¡± that had changed everyone¡¯s fate in their previous life must have been carefully plotted by Lin Wan. At the same time, Lin Dan was like him, unable to defend herself and could only marry into the Ding family. But because of that, he hated her, blamed her, mistreated her, and he would rather die than see her. After all, Lin Dan was also the most innocent and pitiful person. So, it was ridiculous that he was reborn and pretended to give her a good ending.


    The both of them were not together was the best ending for Lin Dan¡­


    The more Ding Mujie thought about it, the more embarrassed he became. He felt even more sorry for Lin Dan. He covered his eyes and cried quietly. The person he was in debt the most was not Lin Wan, but Lin Dan. However, even if there is another chance, he could not find any way to make up for her.


    In a trance, he thought of the tragedy of the Lin family. He wiped his tears and left in a hurry. When he walked to the gate, he turned his head and looked back, silently judge the line of words ¨C The prosperity of the great world, in a flash, a hundred years later, it would only end up like a handful of sand. But it turned out that Lin Dan was the one who knew everything, and they were all foolish

 CH 61

    Lin Wan and Lin Dan live very near to each other. Since Lin Wan had an accident, she had been crying all day long in her yard, which made people restless. Lin Dan had no choice but to wander outside in the daytime and meditate in the room at night. She had a comfortable life. In the memory of the real owner, Lin Wan was a very obedient and considerate sister, but in the eyes of Lin Dan, she was a cunning person who liked to play some dirty tricks and not a person who can be with. She had tried to frame Lin Dan several times, but how could Lin Dan not notice?


    For the lake incident, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Dan was far away from her and can¡¯t have touched her, she would have pulled her into it. Princess Ming Zhu was involved in the incident, so she was forced to apologize to Lin Wan by her family. However, instead of comforting her, Lin Wan apologized to her. On the contrary, they became good friends.


    In Lin Dan¡¯s eyes, Lin Wan was a peculiar person. She fooled the people around her and show no mercy when she made use of them. But in the end, they still cared about her and were deceived by her. Her fianc¨¦ was the most blinded one. No matter what Lin Wan did, he would accept it all, which didn¡¯t fit his name as ¡°the most talented man in the capital¡±.


    Without a second thought, Lin Dan knew that it would take a long time for the news of Lin Wan¡¯s reputation had been destroyed, so she hid. As she expected, Ding Mujie would never mention the dissolution of engagement after visiting the Lin mansion once. Someone asked him, and he said that he thoroughly believed in King Kang¡¯s morality and his fianc¨¦e¡¯s integrity. The two were innocent, and he would not abandon this relationship just because of those rumors.


    The others were speechless and didn¡¯t dare to speak ill of King Kang¡¯s morality, nor did they say that Lin Wan lack of integrity. They could only retreat bitterly. Some people even talked about etiquette and said that opposite-sexed shouldn¡¯t be too close to each other. It was already out of politeness for them to spend a night in the wild. Ding Mujie satirized these people with the story of ¡°an old monk carried the woman across the river¡± that they were not open-minded enough.


    He praised King Kang for his courage to save people and trust his fianc¨¦e, Lin Wan. He even told others that it was improper to talk about it. He even felt ashamed of himself.


    Upon hearing this, General Lin became more satisfied with his son-in-law. Without the need for Ding Mujie to mention, he asked Mrs. Lin to speed up the preparation and try to get Lin Wan married as soon as possible. Lin Wan thought that Ding Mujie would fulfill her wish as usual and take the initiative to call off the engagement, but she didn¡¯t expect that she would put on an infatuated look after he returned home, unable to hide.


    These days, he not only earned a good reputation but also proved Lin Wan and King Kang¡¯s innocence. Gradually, everyone stopped talking about it, yet envied Lin Wan for having such a good man. Seeing that the crisis was coming to an end, and she has yet to get anything done. Lin Wan couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. She asked her mother to make a fuss in front of General Lin. On the other hand, she pulled a rope, pretending to commit suicide.


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t mind that her stature had been ruined and was still willing to marry her. On the day she was saved back to the mansion, to retreat for the sake of advancing and proof her innocence, she cried and said that she refused to be King Kang¡¯s concubine. If she continued to make a fuss at such time, it would be of no cause. General Lin was not a fool. He was very observant; the old man would soon understand what tricks the two played. They looked down on the Ding family and wanted to marry someone better!


    The masks that the mother and daughter had disguised for more than ten years were torn off overnight, revealing their true colors of eagerness for quick success and instant benefit, ignorance, and selfishness. General Lin was very annoyed. He even felt bothered to take another look at them, but he was sad and disappointed. After all, these two were his concubine and daughter, whom he pampered with for many years and saved his life. He didn¡¯t afford to be cruel to them.


    Hearing the farce of the Lin family, Ding Mujie remained calm. He knew that Lin Wan couldn¡¯t get rid of him all her life. As long as he didn¡¯t let her go, she had to do whatever to make a scene to marry King Kang as soon as possible. The more she made a scene, the less patience the Lin family had for her. In the end, she would lose all the care they had for her and lose everything.


    Until now, she still didn¡¯t realize that she was nothing if she leaves the Lin family and those who were willing to support and help her.


    After Lin Wan fell into the water in her previous life, she was saved by King Kang, but the charge of pushing her into the water was blamed on Lin Dan. Lin Dan was utterly disgusted by General Lin because she seized her sister¡¯s marriage and caused harm to her. To make up for Lin Wan, General Lin didn¡¯t stop her from being a concubine in King Kang¡¯s mansion. In his opinion, it was the best choice for a woman who been called off the engagement to be a concubine to a prince. As long as he had a fatherly heart, he should not block his daughter¡¯s way of life. To make amends for Lin Dan, Mrs. Lin took out half of her dowry and let Lin Wan bring them to King Kang¡¯s mansion.


    With the help of her family and the love of King Kang, Lin Wan was really proud.


    At that time, Ding Mujie once hated Lin Dan. He blamed her for not being grateful for her marriage but also hurting Lin Wan. No matter how hard Lin Dan tried to explain, he refused to listen to her. After that, he seldom came back home and slowly left her behind. Recalling the past, Ding Mujie only felt guilty and self-mockery.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    He felt that he was simply the most pathetic and ridiculous idiot in the world in his previous life. Until he died, he never figured out who was faithful to him and who was faking him. He abandoned the person who treated him sincerely but helped defend the hypocritical one as a treasure. If he could return to his previous life, he really wanted to dig his own grave and throw the memorial tablets that belonged to Lin Wan, which he was holding in his arms into the fire together with his bones.


    It was said that husband and wife shared the same life and death at the same grave, and Lin Dan¡¯s tomb was set beside his tomb. If she had known it in her previous life, she would have felt a great insult to lie side by side with an idiot like him.


    The more Ding Mujie thought about it, the more he felt ashamed of himself. But he did everything he should do. He had missed Lin Dan in this life, and there was no way to make up for her. He had to try his best to help the Lin family avoid the impending disaster.


    When he was plotting secretly, Lin Wan didn¡¯t idle away. She threatened General Lin with her death, and on the other hand, she asked her mother to force General Lin to agree to her marriage with King Kang by saying that she had saved his life. Lin Dan had never been set up by Lin Wan and framed for these crimes for this life. Therefore, General Lin and Mrs. Lin didn¡¯t feel guilty for Lin Wan, so they were unwilling to let loose of her. Ding Mujie had made it clear. He didn¡¯t care about the gossips and was willing to believe in his fianc¨¦e and would marry her as scheduled. In this case, if the Lin family proposed to call off the engagement first, then sent Lin Wan to King Kang¡¯s mansion as a concubine. What was their intention? To diplomat with King Kang?


    It didn¡¯t matter how others would laugh at the Lin family, but what the emperor would think? Would he doubt the loyalty of the Lin family and take some measures¡­ It was about the family¡¯s centennial offense. No matter what, the emperor would not agree to the marriage, and General Lin would definitely obey.


    Lin Wan had made trouble many times, and once, she was almost hung on the door beam. Fortunately, she was saved by a servant, her throat was broken, and she couldn¡¯t speak for several days. Aunt Shi knelt at the entrance of General Lin¡¯s study for three days. During this period, she didn¡¯t eat nor drink, and almost caused a miscarriage. Only then did General Lin know that Aunt Shi was pregnant again. He quickly took her back to his room. No one knew what the two of them had said in the room. When they were out again, General Lin softened his attitude and comforted Lin Wan gently.


    The mansion was full of noise all day long, making his granddaughter dare not go back home and dare not enter. She lost a lot of weight. The great empress was very distressed. She forcefully suppressed the emperor and said, ¡°since she is willing to be other¡¯s mistress, then let her be. Our Lin family will not stop her. Guards, pack up the luggage for the Shi and Lin Wan, send them to the village in the suburb of the capital, and give them the deed of the village so that they can have a single pass. From now on, there would be no Aunt Shi or lady Lin Wan in our mansion. If anyone calls the wrong person, she would be beaten twenty times and kick out of here!¡± The great empress looked at Mrs. Lin and remained gently, ¡°You¡¯d better prepare a great gift to the Ding family and tell Mujie that Lin Wan has died of illness. Our two families end up not destined to be in-laws and tell him not to be sad. If there is a chance in the future, I will personally find him a good wife. ¡°


    Mrs. Lin glanced at General Lin and asked, ¡°But Your Highness, what should we do with the baby?¡±


    The great empress snorted, ¡°Let her raise herself. She has a great plan for it.¡±


    The great empress didn¡¯t care about anything in the family. However, once she spoke, even the emperor had to obey her, let alone General Lin. This time, Aunt Shi and Lin Wan were dumbfounded. They cried and begged that they didn¡¯t want to leave the Lin mansion. They even walked on their knees and wanted to hug the great empress¡¯ thighs but were kicked away by Lin Dan.


    The great empress touched his eldest granddaughter¡¯s head lovingly but felt annoyed when she looked at Lin Wan. She quickly ordered the servants to tie the two of them and put them into a carriage. In the afternoon, Mrs. Lin paid a visit to the Ding family with a lot of gifts. The next day, a white flag was hung at the gate of the Lin family. It was said that Lin Wan was too depressed and died of severe illness. Aunt Shi couldn¡¯t bear the loss of her daughter, and she committed suicide.


    From then on, the two had nothing to do with the Lin family. They could do whatever they wanted and could be concubines as they wished.


    The actions of the Lin family were not secret and could even be said to be a little-publicized. When Lin Wan and Aunt Shi were driven out of the mansion, they cried and yelled, many people were looking at them. But because of this, everyone could clearly know the attitude of the Lin family. To not have any relation with King Kang, they would instead give up a favored lady and a well-educated daughter, raised for more than ten years. It was challenging to win them over.


    King Kang was framed by the Lin family. Even though he was so angry that he wanted to kill someone, he still pretended to smile as if he didn¡¯t care at all. Lin Wan was no longer the seventh lady of the Lin family, and even Lady Shi was kicked out of the house. She couldn¡¯t use her husband anymore. The two were no longer of use to King Kang, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t care about them. Thus, the matter of being his concubine was no longer being said

 CH 62

    Lin Wan had died silently in his previous life, without even a tomb; In this life, she had not died, but the graves and the inscriptions had been nicely done. It had to be said that this was a great irony. Ding Mujie stood in front of the tombstone, lost in thought with an indescribable expression.


    Ding Xiang pulled his sleeve and whispered, ¡°Brother, let me tell you something. In fact, Lin Wan sis is not dead, and her stature has been destroyed. The great empress can¡¯t tolerate her, so she claimed that she was dead. Yesterday, her servant came to me and asked me to give you a letter. Brother, Lin Wan sis is pitiful to have such a harsh great-grandmother. Please help her. She lives in a village in the suburb of the capital and has no one to serve her. ¡°


    When she failed to hook up with King Kang, Lin Wan thought of Ding Mujie again. It was also because Ding Mujie was too infatuated with her in the past. He obeyed her, so until now, she still thought that as long as she goes back to Ding Mujie, he would change his mind. It was a pity that Ding Mujie was deceived by her for a lifetime, his heart had been hurt, and he could never go back to the past.


    ¡°Xiang¡¯er, it¡¯s time for you to be more cautious.¡± Ding Mujie took a last look at the tombstone and said slowly, ¡°Last time, it was Lin Wan who broke the gold headpiece. She couldn¡¯t explain to the great empress, so she deceived you and deliberately lured you to shake it so that she could put the blame on you. She and King Kang were consensual, not forced by circumstances. When I went to her mansion to visit her, she asked me to voluntarily call off the engagement to fulfill her wish. It was because I didn¡¯t want to bear the ruthless charge, and I refused. Some people looked indifferent, but in fact, they were warm-hearted; Some people looked gentle and kind, but in reality, they were full of evil tricks, just like Lin Wan. If you don¡¯t wish to be accused, you¡¯d better stay away from her in the future. ¡°


    Ding Xiang was stunned upon hearing this. After a long time, she stuttered, ¡°Bro¡­ brother, are you telling the truth?¡±


    Who do you believe in, Lin Wan or me? Ding Mujie asked in reply.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s my brother!¡± Ding Xiang replied at once and sighed, ¡°Oh my God! Did Lin Wan set me up last time? How could she be so bad? She even asked you to voluntarily call off the engagement and asked you to bear the crime of being ruthless and reneging on your promise! Brother, you grew up with her, and you have such a deep relationship with her. She doesn¡¯t care about you at all. She is so terrible!


    ¡°Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover, and be careful in the future.¡± Ding Mujie helped Ding Xiang into the carriage while he rode on a horse and down the mountain. When he passed by a high hill, he saw a cloud of dust in front of him. The army of westward had set out today, ready to go to the frontier to fight against the Huns.


    The senior General Lin and Lin Tie walked at the forefront of the army, looking very serious, followed by King Zhuang and several vice generals. The Lin family¡¯s women stood in a ten-mile pavilion not far away and watched them leave. The young men of the Lin family spent most of their life on the frontier. Even if they came back to the capital, they wouldn¡¯t stay for long. As for the women of the Lin family, they remained in the capital safely. Even though they endured the fear of losing their loved ones every day, they did not make a fuss out of it.


    Lin Dan as the eldest daughter of the Lin family, was strong. When she married into the Ding family, she didn¡¯t complain. She only quietly took care of the family. Whenever her mother-in-law and sister-in-law encountered difficulties, she would try her best to help. She was so kind, but he failed to notice at all¡­ Ding Mujie recalled the past, and he felt his heart ached. At this moment, Lin Dan sensed that someone was looking at her. She turned around and looked over. She glanced coldly at him and looked away.


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t dare to move for a long time, as if he had been cursed by someone. He waited until Lin Dan was out of sight, then only he dared let out a sigh of relief.


    He was ashamed to meet Lin Dan, but he wanted to see how she was doing recently. If he couldn¡¯t make her happy, his rebirth would be meaningless, so he would try his best to change the tragedy of the Lin family.


    But fate was fate. Even if he had foreseen the opportunity, even if he had been prepared, the bad news came as scheduled. The westward army was defeated by the Huns in the river trap, which led to the Huns army extending from the south to the north, the northern Shaanxi region. General Lin died on the spot, and the rest of his sons also died in battle to save him. General Lin was captured, and his whereabouts were unknown now. Left only the youngest son of the Lin family stayed in the back guard and narrowly escaped from the disaster. The Lin family was on the verge of collapse in an instant.


    The emperor didn¡¯t blame the Lin clan for the defeat. Instead, he gave many rewards to comfort the old, the weak, women and children of the Lin clan. However, the Lin clan¡¯s reputation was heavily being damaged, and there were many doubts inside and outside the court. The Lin family was in a mess. The great empress and Mrs. Lin fell ill one after another, and the other concubines only knew to cry. Some concubines secretly hid their property and ran away at night.


    Only Lin Dan was the calmest person in the family. She hadn¡¯t been here for a long time and had no deep feelings for the Lin family, but since she had become the real owner, she should shoulder the responsibility of the real owner. She knew that Lin Tie was definitely alive. He was the deputy commander in chief of the Western army and the soul of the Lin army. He was of great value, and the Huns would not easily kill him. If she set out now, and travel day and night to the frontier, perhaps she could find a way to save Lin Tie.


    Lin Dan was a woman of action. At the thought of this, she simply packed up her stuff, picked the best horse from the stable, and left with a letter. She stole the Lin family¡¯s badge, but the guards didn¡¯t dare to stop her. They immediately opened the door and let her go. Not far after she ran, she saw a man holding a horse standing on the only way to the frontier, as if waiting for someone.


    ¡°Lin Dan, you really did run away from home!¡± Hearing the sound of the horse¡¯s hooves, the man looked up and showed a handsome face. It was Ding Mujie.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Are you waiting for me?¡± Lin Dan pulled the reins and stopped slowly.


    ¡°Can I go to the frontier with you? Ding Mujie asked in reply.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the frontier to save my father. Why do you want to go?¡± Lin Dan frowned and looked unhappy.


    Ding Mujie smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m worried about you. You¡¯re going alone and a woman some more. The Lin family has helped me a lot. I can¡¯t watch you risk your life. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± After hearing the tragic news in her previous life, Lin Dan also secretly ran away from home, but he found her in time and took her back. Then she was locked in the backyard for five years. His actual intention was to protect her from doing stupid things, but in the end, he became the one who forced her to death. Her family was dead, and she had no husband and children to rely on. She was so worried that she gradually gave up hope of life.


    Now that it happened again, he would not stop her. Whatever she wanted to do, he would help her secretly. Wherever she wanted to go, he would accompany her and protect her. He would never leave her alone again.


    Lin Dan waved her whip and said, ¡°If you want to follow me, just follow me. I have to go on with my journey. I don¡¯t have time to waste with you.¡± Then she left immediately.


    Ding Mujie hurried to catch up with her.


    ¡ª


    The two of them traveled at once; they didn¡¯t stop for a moment. Three days later, they had already finished half of the journey. Ding Mujie thought he was a man and could take good care of Lin Dan, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would be a drag on her. The inner side of his thigh was scoured by the saddle, and his crotch was almost broken. As soon as he got off the horse, he collapsed and could not get up at all.


    Lin Dan fetched some water for him to wash his face and rinsed his mouth. Then she went to the nearest town and bought two soft padding pieces to tie to his upper thigh.


    ¡°In this way, it wouldn¡¯t scour the skin. We can reach the frontier in two more days.¡± She spoke.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ding Mujie ran to the back of a big tree to tidy up his clothes and asked with concern, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing horsemanship since I was a child, so I¡¯m already used to it.¡± As Lin Dan spoke, she dealt with her prey.


    Looking at her calm side face and her skilled action, Ding Mujie was full of frustration and shame.


    However, Lin Dan didn¡¯t spare him time to feel sad. She urged him to eat quickly. After dinner, she trampled out the bonfire and climbed on the back of the horse. Ding Mujie tried several times before he managed to climb up. As soon as he sat properly, he felt an intense pain in his crotch and wanted to fall down in that instant. But in order not to be looked down on by Lin Dan, he held back his pain. He waved his whip and seemed to be in good spirit. Not long after he rode, he began to feel dizzy. Although he tried his best to grasp the rein, he still stumbled down.


    Lin Dan was as attentive as she was. She had already noticed his abnormality. She galloped over at full speed and pulled him into her arms before he fell to the ground and placed him horizontally on the back of her horse. Ding Mujie was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He tilted his head with difficulty and thanked Lin Dan embarrassedly. But Lin Dan didn¡¯t look at him. She whistled with her fingers in her mouth to call the horse return.


    The two horses galloped at the same pace and didn¡¯t slow down, causing a trail of yellow dust on the road.


    Ding Mujie lay on the back of the horse, listening to the wind, and beside him was the warmth of Lin Dan, but his heart was in a mess. In his previous life, he had never bothered to know more about her. He only knew that she was a vulgar and shallow woman who didn¡¯t know much about writing and music. Only now did he know what the actual Lin Dan looked like. She was not rude. On the contrary, Lin Dan was natural and unrestrained; She was not shallow yet brave. It was not because she was bad, but because she was too good that no one knew how to appreciate her¡­


    In his previous life, if he had stopped and tried to understand Lin Dan with all his heart, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up with that miserable and ridiculous ending.


    Tears streamed down Ding Mujie¡¯s face when he thought of it. Suddenly, he heard Lin Dan say indifferently, ¡°When we arrive at the next town, I¡¯ll find a place to settle you down. You can stay there for a while. I¡¯ll pick you up when I return, or you can hire some bodyguards to return to the capital city. You are a spoiled nobleman. Why do you have to suffer this with me?¡±


    Ding Mujie couldn¡¯t feel sad anymore upon hearing this. He felt a sense of absurdity that they both were wrong. He felt that he was a delicate woman and that Lin Dan was the fearless man.


    ¡°I want to go to the frontier with you, and perhaps I can help you. Although I¡¯m physically weak, I¡¯m smart. Trust me.¡± Ding Mujie tried his best to show his strengths.


    Lin Dan said casually, ¡°You¡¯re smart enough to fall for Lin Wan? I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t notice it.¡±


    Ding Mujie was speechless¡­

 CH 63

    After seven days and nights of getting along with each other, Ding Mujie was finally sure that Lin Dan didn¡¯t like him. She behaved free and easy, looked broad-minded and knowledgeable. It was a delightful thing to chat with her. She was definitely a little unsociable. If you wanted to attract her to have a conversation, you had to find a topic that she was interested in. If you annoyed her, you would be fortunate to experience what it meant.


    The more Ding Mujie got along with her, the more attracted he was to her. Thinking of his previous life, he felt humiliated. How shameless was he to believe that such a fine woman would be crazy about him and even use such a dirty trick to marry him? If it weren¡¯t for the situation, she should have had a better partner. It was all Lin Wan¡¯s fault and also his fault.


    Most of the time, Ding Mujie didn¡¯t dare to look at Lin Dan¡¯s eyes because they were so bright and clear, like a mirror, reflecting his awful side. But most of the time, he couldn¡¯t resist but to look into her eyes because they were deep and dark, like the night sky, containing countless secrets.


    Seven days were very short for Ding Mujie as if they would pass in the blink of an eye, but for Lin Dan, it was as long as seven years. Seeing the military camp of the Western army was close, she couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh and galloped towards it.


    ¡°Military camp is a restricted area. No trespassing!¡± The soldier raised his spear warily.


    ¡°I am the eldest daughter of General Lin, Lin Dan. This is my badge.¡± She untied the badge which was tied around her waist and threw it to them.


    The soldier took the badge and looked at it carefully, only to find that it was real. He quickly ran to the military camp to find someone. After a short while, a young, good-looking general in silver armor hastily rushed out. He asked in an ill-tempered tone, ¡°Sister, why are you here? This is insane! ¡°


    ¡°Lin Qing, please let us in first¡± Ding Mujie was afraid that the two would quarrel, so he quickly reminded them. It was indeed risky for a lady to go to the frontier alone. It was understandable that Lin Qing was furious.


    ¡°Mr. Ding, why are you here?¡± Only then did Lin Qing found out about Ding Mujie, and he looked even more surprised. Although he was angry, he didn¡¯t want his sister to be watched like a nuisance, so he immediately escorted them into his tent and ordered someone to bring water for them to wash up.


    ¡°How is father now?¡± Lin Dan began to inquire about the situation as soon as she entered the tent.


    Lin Qing shook his head with red eyes, ¡°There is no news about him. I don¡¯t know whether he is alive or dead. But Mo Li has declared war and invited us to war tomorrow. I know you are worried about your father, but the battlefield is not a place for women to come. I¡¯ll ask someone to prepare food for y¡¯all and shall leave as soon as y¡¯all finish eating. I have no idea how many more people will die at the frontier after tomorrow.


    Mo Li was the commander in chief of the Huns troops. Now, he had got hold of Lin Tie.


    When Lin Dan heard that there would be a war tomorrow, she not only insist on staying but said decisively, ¡°I want to stay. If I can capture Mo Li alive, I think I can exchange him for my father.¡±


    How could Lin Qing not think of this idea? However, Mo Li was very good at martial arts and was known as the wolf of the grassland. How could he be captured so easily? His father and the general had fought with him countless times, and they just barely made a tie.


    ¡°Sister, please don¡¯t be stubborn. Quickly go home! I know that capturing Mo Li could save father, but it¡¯s not easy to do so!¡± Leave this matter alone. I¡¯ll have someone to send you back to the capital after the meal. Lin Qing stood up and said, ¡°the Western army has lost their chief commander and has no leader. I have to go to the main tent to have a meeting and elect a new chief commander. Mr. Ding, please take care of my sister.¡±


    Ding Mujie nodded in reply, but his face was slightly red. In fact, Lin Dan didn¡¯t need his care at all. Instead, she had to take care of him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Lin Dan followed him closely.


    ¡°Sister, stop making trouble¡± Lin Qing turned around and said in a choked tone, ¡°Don¡¯t you know what¡¯s going on with the Lin family now? Grandfather, elder brother, second elder brother, third elder brother, and two uncles died in the battle. And father¡¯s life is uncertain, and I am the only son of the Lin family. I have to protect our family and defend our country. I have to save father and rebuild the Lin family. Do you know the weight of the burden on my shoulders? I don¡¯t have the extra effort to take care of you. Please go home, okay? ¡°


    After all, he was only a sixteen-year-old teenager. Before he really grew up, he had seen the cruelty of war. How could he treat it with peace of mind? It was his limit to be able to calm Lin Dan down. He was trembling all over, and his eyes were blood red. It was apparent that he hadn¡¯t fallen asleep for a long time.


    Lin Dan was not moved by his haggard appearance. She lifted the tent flap and went out directly.


    Lin Qing was stunned and hurried to chase after her. His handsome face was distorted by his sister¡¯s willfulness.


    The main tent was located in the center of the camp. It was more robust, more spacious, and easy to recognize. After making a few turns, Lin Dan came to the front of the base. She heard someone saying, ¡°The senior commander Lin had died in the battle, and General Lin was captured. I¡¯m the main general of the central army, and I¡¯ve been working at the frontier for dozens of years and have made great contributions in the battle. Logically, I should be the commander in chief. Now the war is coming, and His Majesty has no time to issue an imperial edict. Let¡¯s settle the matter first and stop arguing. It¡¯s going to be dark if we keep arguing. We don¡¯t have any strategic strategies. How can we fight tomorrow?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Another hoarse voice refuted, ¡°How dare you say that? A few days ago, the senior commander Lin received a secret letter, saying that Mo Li had secretly contacted Yang He tribe in the East and would attack my army from the rear, ordered me to be prepared in advance. Although the letter¡¯s origin was unknown, the senior commander had made arrangements and called you to guard the rear line of defense, lest my army is attacked. But you were tempted to take the credits, you left the back defense without permission, which caused the Yang He tribe to succeed in the surprise attack, and my army was defeated. It¡¯s all because of you. What qualifications do you have to be the chief commander? If you can return to the capital alive, I will indeed praise you in front of His Majesty! ¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where the letter came from. How could I know if it was sent by the Huns on purpose so that they could distract my army? If the letter was fake, the left and the right army would lose even more miserably without the support of the center army! I know I¡¯m at fault; that¡¯s why I want to be the chief commander to make amends. Besides, who else in this military camp has better combat skills, more seniority, and better martial arts than me? If you can find one, I will abdicate at once!


    The senior commander Lin and his men all died in the battle. There was no better general in the army than that man, causing those who refuted him had nothing to say. The room fell into silence.


    Lin Dan stood outside the tent and listened for a while. Lin Qing asked in a low voice, ¡°what¡¯s the secret letter they¡¯re talking about?¡±


    Lin Qing showed a look of grief and indignation and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Before the battle, grandfather received a secret letter, saying that the Huns army had colluded with Yang He tribe to attack my army. Yang He tribe is located at the back of my army. They have always provided provisions, war horses, water, salt, and iron for my army. They are regarded as the vassals of the great Wei kingdom. Grandfather sent a guard to Yang He tribe to inquire about the situation. Although they didn¡¯t find any doubts, they still made some deployments. The man inside is Xue Zhao, the general of the central army. He was ordered by his grandfather to guard the East if the Yang He tribe really came and attacked. But he was bold enough to go against the arrangement and went to the front without permission when the battle began. He tempted to compete with the left army and the right army to take credit, causing Yang He tribe to succeed in the surprise attack, and my army was defeated. To win the battle, all the men of the Lin family died on the battlefield, yet he became the most qualified person in the army. This is the best chance for him to grab the position to be the chief commander. I just hate myself for being young, and I don¡¯t have much experience in battle. I can¡¯t convince everyone. Otherwise, I would have provoked him with a gun and fought for the chief commander position. ¡°


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to fight, I will.¡± Lin Dan bashed in the tent and said sternly, ¡°General Xue, are you telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°Who are you? How did you get into the military camp?¡± Everyone was annoyed and questioned.


    ¡°I am Lin Dan, the eldest daughter of Lin Tie.¡± Lin Dan looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the host seat and repeated, ¡°General Xue, do you still keep your words?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xue Zhao was eager to tie her up and drive her out with fifty batons. But she was a member of the Lin family. She rushed here when almost all the members of the Lin clan were killed in the battle. Although it was inappropriate for her to be here, it was excusable. He not only could not drive her out but treat her kindly to avoid being thought ill by the other generals.


    The army guarding this place was undoubtedly the Western army, but they all secretly called themselves the Lin clan. It could be seen how authoritative the Lin family was in the military. If he wanted to take over the army smoothly, he must be kind to the descendants of the Lin family.


    ¡°What makes you be in such a high position?¡± Lin Dan asked again.


    Before Xue Zhao could open his mouth, his confidant said, ¡°Of course, it depends on his capability. Our general is a kung fu master with unparalleled toughness. There is no one in the army more suitable to be the chief commander than him.¡±


    ¡°But he caused the death of the senior commander Lin! King Zhuang gritted his teeth and said. He had become the lieutenant-general of the left army from a standing army. He wouldn¡¯t have come back alive if it weren¡¯t for the senior commander Lin to save him.


    ¡°I admit it¡¯s my fault. But isn¡¯t it because of you that senior commander Lin was killed? So many generals have died in the army, and we have no leader. Now I¡¯m the only general who can take the lead. If I was to be disposed of, how can y¡¯all fight this battle? Who can command the troops? Now that y¡¯all are trying to fight against me, y¡¯all are simply putting the cart before the horse!¡± Xue Zhao had nothing to fear.


    Lin Qing looked at Xue Zhao and then at King Zhuang with hatred in her eyes. These two people were the murderers of his grandfather. He would not forgive either of them.


    The other generals were split into two groups. One was on Xue Zhao¡¯s side, and the other was hesitant. Before the battle began, their spirit had defeated, and they had no idea if they could win tomorrow. The troops outside were more dejected than they were, and the entire camp was shrouded in a strong sense of depression.


    Ding Mujie was reborn, so he knew the end of it. In the end, the battle ended with a disastrous defeat. All the troops, including the emperor¡¯s favorite King Zhuang, were killed except for Xue Zhao and his troops, who escaped from the battlefield. After the battle, the great Wei Kingdom¡¯s vital spirit was greatly devasted, and it was unable to revive for many years. However, after Xue Zhao fled back, he was not punished. Instead, he made up some random rumors and blamed the defeat on the Lin family. After all, everyone was dead, and the truth had been buried, so he can say it casually as he wished?


    The emperor was kind and didn¡¯t blame the citizens of the Lin family, but the reputation of the Lin clan had been thoroughly ruined, which was probably more devastating than killing them. Xue Zhao joined the crown prince and went back to battle. He became the commander in chief of the imperial army and lived in wealth. Several years later, to frustrate the crown prince, the nine princes ordered people to uncover the past case of the Lin family and made him pay the price he deserved.


    He didn¡¯t deserve to be the commander in chief. He was really a despicable man who took the opportunity to overthrow the Lin family!

 CH 64

    In the previous life, the person who uncovered the Lin family¡¯s case was Ding Mujie, so he knew best about Xue Zhao. But now he had no authority to speak, and no one would believe him even if he spoke out? The easiest way was to get rid of Xue Zhao and replace him as the chief commander. But who was more qualified than him?


    A country couldn¡¯t live without a king, and an army couldn¡¯t live without a commander. That was precisely what was happening now. Without the command of a commander in chief, the Lin clan¡¯s army, which was full of courage, had been dejected. If they still can¡¯t pull themselves together, tomorrow¡¯s battle would be defeated with no doubt! Thinking of this, Ding Mujie began to think quickly, trying to find an effective way. However, when he saw Lin Dan took a few steps forward, he said calmly, ¡°General Xue, since you have a foothold in the army with on your capability, if I attempt to replace you, isn¡¯t that I have to rely on my capability?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? You want to replace our general? Hahaha¡­¡± Before Xue Zhao could say anything, his confidant burst into laughter.


    However, Lin Dan was not annoyed at all. She continued, ¡°You just said that if we can find a person in the military who is more powerful than you, you will abdicate at once, right?¡±


    Xue Zhao was born in a poor family and had no authority nor influence. It was true indeed that he relied on his capability to become the general of the central army. Therefore, he said firmly, ¡°Yes, I have always been a man of my word. As long as there is such a person, I will immediately give up the position as the chief commander.¡±


    King Zhuang squinted at him and sneered, ¡°It seems that the chief commander is already yours! If it weren¡¯t for the help of the senior commander Lin, how could a poor boy from a poor family like you be qualified to be promoted to general? You¡¯re responsible for the death of the chief commander and those good men of the Lin clan, and you didn¡¯t take the blame for all that. Instead, you coveted the chief commander position. You are a wicked and ungrateful beast. I don¡¯t want to be with you! ¡°


    ¡°You¡­¡± Xue Zhao thumped the table with a ferocious face as if he would eat someone in the next moment. He hated those who mentioned his past. If King Zhuang were not a prince, he would have shot him with a few arrows on the battlefield and assassinated him!


    When the two were in a tit-for-tat, the generals in the camp were automatically split into two parties. One stood behind Xue Zhao, and the other stood behind King Zhuang, making it clear. Left Lin Qing stood in the center and didn¡¯t know where to go.


    Lin Dan lifted up the tent flap and raised her tone. ¡°Shut up! Whether General Xue deserves to be the chief commander or not, we will only know after he competes with me.¡±


    ¡°What? Compete with you?¡± Everyone was shocked.


    Lin Dan sneered and said, ¡°Are you afraid?¡±


    ¡°You are just a woman. What are you doing here?¡± Xue Zhao sounded helpless, but there was a hint of contempt in his eyes.


    ¡°I was brought up by my father. I¡¯m considered as one of his new disciples. Is it an insult to you for me to challenge you in the name of the same sect? Or are you afraid of women? If you are afraid of women, what¡¯s more, to lead the troops?¡± Lin Dan continued to goad him. Through her observation and inquiry, she basically knew what kind of person Xue Zhao was. He was ambitious and stubborn. He most valued his stature and reputation, which was easy to provoke him.


    As expected, Xue Zhao couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore. He thumped the table and snarled, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll challenge you. But don¡¯t cry if you lose!¡±


    ¡°Sis, what are you doing? Come with me!¡± Lin Qing was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He knew that her sister had been practicing martial arts since she was a child and was very talented. But when she was eight years old, her grandfather didn¡¯t allow her to practice martial arts with boys of the Lin family anymore. It was said that everyone was topless, which would be a bad influence on her. After that, she began to practice martial arts in her own small courtyard, and to what extent, Lin Qing, who seldom set foot in the courtyard, didn¡¯t know. He only heard his grandfather often praised her for being outstanding and also said that it was a pity that she was not a man, or else she would be a valiant general of the Lin family.


    Lin Qing didn¡¯t take these words seriously and didn¡¯t believe that his sister would win over Xue Zhao. After all, Grandfather was their family member, which was inevitable for him to show a little favor to the younger generation of the family, and what he said would be a little exaggerated. After all, her sister was a woman. No matter how good she was, she could only deal with ordinary people. How could she be a match for Xue Zhao, who had experienced in so many battles? Not to mention Xue Zhao, any soldier in the camp could easily defeat her!


    The more Lin Qing thought about it, the more anxious he became. He took a few steps forward to stop Lin Dan but was separated by King Zhuang. Others have no idea how good Lin Dan was, but King Zhuang seemed to know something about her. Lin Dan was a calm and steady person when she encountered problems. Lin Dan was not the kind of person who would talk wildly. Most importantly, she had an icy aura within her, where that despicable man, Xue Zhao, was no match for her.


    Ding Mujie was also worried about Lin Dan, but he didn¡¯t dare to stop her. He added, ¡°As long as anyone of you touched, the other person would be considered as the winner. Don¡¯t kill anyone.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t hurt your granddaughter of the senior commander Lin, Xue Zhao said with a fake smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the training ground.¡± As soon as Lin Dan walked out of the room, all the generals followed her. They didn¡¯t realize that the situation was entirely under her control.


    As they entered the training ground, Lin Dan raised her voice, ¡°Hey everyone, I¡¯m Lin Dan, the granddaughter of the senior commander Lin. Today, I¡¯m here to challenge General Xue Zhao. If I lose, I¡¯ll leave the frontier. If I win, he has to give me his seat. Please witness for us!¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    A woman dared to challenge General Xue and even took his position as a bet. This was something out of the blue that they had never heard and seen before, which immediately attracted the soldiers around to join in. They pointed at Lin Dan and discussed among themselves. Some were worried, and some were shocked, but most of them were disdainful. How could a woman take the position of a general in the military? Did she have hysteria? If she hadn¡¯t introduced herself as the granddaughter of the senior commander Lin, the soldiers would have run to the training ground and taken her away.


    Ding Mujie broke out in a cold sweat for Lin Dan. He was afraid that she would fear others¡¯ words and couldn¡¯t deal with them calmly. However, to his surprise, Lin Dan walked around the weapon rack and slowly selecting weapons without a sense of fear.


    King Zhuang had already known how calm and composed she was. His long-tensed face eased and showed a faint smile.


    Lin Dan picked up a broadsword. She stretched out her hand and said, ¡°General Xue, please.¡±


    To show his grace, Xue Zhao waved his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you begin with the first three moves.¡±


    Lin Dan couldn¡¯t help chuckling and said calmly, ¡°If you let me have the first three moves, you would be defeated.¡±


    ¡°You are so arrogant!¡± Xue Zhao was surely irritated by her. He drew his sword and launched an attack.


    Lin Dan raised her sword to defense. She waited for him to stagger by his great force and, causing him to step backward, she cut him on his arm, broke his favorite sword into two pieces, and kicked him off the battle arena. She didn¡¯t intend to use her internal force to deal with an ordinary warrior like Xue Zhao, but she had to teach him a lesson after he caused the death of the Lin family¡¯s men and coveted the chief commander position. Thus, her every move was accompanied by violent, forceful energy.


    Defend, slash and kick, with just three moves, Xue Zhao had been lying awkwardly under the battle arena. It took him a great effort to get up, and he seemed to be furious.


    The soldiers looked at each other in disbelief. General Xue was a disciple of the Shaolin Temple, and his kung fu was better than General Lin Tie. How could he lose to a woman? They must be mistaken!


    ¡°I¡¯m honored to take your seat.¡± Lin Dan walked to the training ground and said proudly.


    ¡°What trick did you play? How could General Xue lose to you?¡± Xue Zhao¡¯s confidant shouted.


    ¡°If you are not convinced, just come up and challenge me. You can either challenge me, one-on-one or in a group.¡± Lin Dan held the sword in one hand, the other hand behind her back. She looked very calm.


    Xue Zhao¡¯s confidant launched an attack towards her without a word, but in a flash, he was being kicked down from the battle arena. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to touch her, let alone to teach her a lesson. Six of them went up in a row, and the six of them were then lying under the arena, with broken pieces of weapons scattered all over the ground. No one dared to say Lin Dan had played trick? She didn¡¯t even need to move her legs when dealing with them. She slaughtered whatever came her way as if one man could defeat ten thousand men at the same time.


    After that, the generals who supported Xue Zhao pounced towards her, making her take a few steps symbolically. The shadow of the snow-white blade flashed in front of them, and the crying sound echoed through the air. Those people fell down from the arena like dumping dumplings in the boiling water. They groaned after lying on the ground, looking awful.


    Lin Dan¡¯s hair didn¡¯t even mess up. She waved the tip of the sword and soothed the corner of her clothes. She said calmly, ¡°Who dares to challenge me?¡±


    There was a dead silence under the arena. Everyone looked at Lin Dan in astonishment, and no one dared to challenge her. The most amazed people were Lin Qing and Ding Mujie. One of them was the younger brother of Lin Dan, and the other was her previous life¡¯s husband. They didn¡¯t know that she had such a valiant side. She stood on the battle arena, her dark eyes glancing at you, but she didn¡¯t take you seriously at all. Her arrogance made people feel fear from the bottom of their hearts. Now she was no longer a being, more like a sword that had been unsheathed and could no longer hide its sharp edge.


    Seeing that no one responded for a long time, Lin Dan added, ¡°Xue Zhao, your position belongs to me.¡±


    Xue Zhao gritted his teeth and said nothing. His confidant braced himself and shouted, ¡°You as a woman, how can you be the chief commander?¡±


    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m just a woman, and I don¡¯t deserve to be the chief commander. For those who lost to me, don¡¯t y¡¯all feel embarrassed to be in the military?¡± Lin Dan asked calmly in reply.


    Xue Zhao and his confidant were all speechless and could not find any words to refute for a long time. They had been humiliated to defeat by a woman, and now they were tempted to renege their promise, which was really disgustful. The soldiers¡¯ side glanced at them as if they had known them again, and there was a faint contempt in their eyes.


    The army was like a jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, and the strong will rule. If you are stronger than others, you can succeed; If you are weaker than others, you deserve to be oppressed. ¡°Physical strength is the truth.¡± This was always a true saying in the military.


    Lin Dan gave a glance to King Zhuang and said calmly, ¡°Although I¡¯m good in kung fu, I don¡¯t have any experience in battle. I¡¯m okay to accept the position as the general of the central army, but I don¡¯t dare to seize the chief commander position. King Zhuang is a prince and has high status. He has achieved consecutive victories in battles and has an outstanding capability. He would be the most suitable candidate to be the chief commander. What do y¡¯all think? ¡°


    After the fight, she had speedily established her prestige in the military. The loyal left army and the right army of the Lin clan immediately nodded in agreement. King Zhuang did not dare to refuse, so he quickly cupped his hands and apologized.


    The chaotic situation was instantly controlled by Lin Dan, which made Lin Qing and Ding Mujie stunned

 CH 65

    That night, not only was Lin Dan not sent away, she had her own tent. Although she was a woman, no one in the military camp dared to offend her. It was not because of her stature but because of her kung fu. Lin Qing came over with a suit of armor and said embarrassedly, ¡°Sis, I have never known that you are so skilled in fighting. If I could be as great as you, I wouldn¡¯t have watched grandfather and others killed. It¡¯s all my fault¡­ ¡°


    Lin Dan frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you crying? Tears are the most useless thing on the battlefield. Even if you ran out of blood, never shed a tear.


    Lin Qing quickly wiped his tears away and stammered, ¡°Okay. This will be the very last time I show my weakness. Sis, I will definitely avenge grandfather and others! You have won Xue Zhao and can be the chief commander, but why did you give up the position to Li Xian? Did you know that if it weren¡¯t for saving him, grandfather wouldn¡¯t have been trapped in the enemy lines and died tragically?


    Lin Dan put on her armor one by one and said in a very calm tone, ¡°Isn¡¯t the reason that you¡¯re standing here alive were traded by the lives of many of soldiers? So as their family members, should they hate you? ¡°


    To protect the last son of the Lin family, many soldiers and generals risked their lives to save Lin Dan and finally get him back from the enemy lines. Thinking of those who had sacrificed their lives and those family members who were left behind alone. At that moment, Lin Qing was speechless.


    ¡°Everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves to save you, which is the same kind of love and righteousness that grandfather is willing to sacrifice himself to save Li Xian. They were similar kinds of willingness. In the military, comrade-in-arms are our family members. It¡¯s natural for them to support and help each other, so why should we hate each other?¡± Lin Dan looked at Lin Qing with a straight face and pointed out, ¡°You don¡¯t hate them, but yourself. You¡¯re incapable and can¡¯t save anyone, am I right? If you¡¯re still chasing a dead end, you will be distracted on the battlefield. In the end, there will be more soldiers¡¯ lives being sacrificed to save you. Lin Qing, your family name is Lin. Is that mean your life is more precious than others? If you keep thinking about this, tomorrow you would rather just stay in the military camp and don¡¯t go anywhere.


    Lin Qing couldn¡¯t raise his head after being lectured by his sister. His heart was filled with grief and resentment. Gradually, he calmed himself and became relieved and firm.


    ¡°Sis, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have vented my anger on anyone.¡± He sobbed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal if you can correct your mistakes. Battlefield is cruel, so you have to take care of yourself and don¡¯t get yourself distracted. I will take you and father back to the capital.¡± Lin Dan said thoughtfully, ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to compete with Li Xian for the throne. I¡¯m a woman, and I don¡¯t have any experience in battle. Even if I build up some prestige, the soldiers will still hesitate to fully trust me. If I were to be the commander in chief, they would feel indefinite, and it would be difficult to boost their spirit. Li Xian is their comrade-in-arms, he fought side by side with them, risking his life, and his capability has already been acknowledged by them, so he is more suitable for that position than me. Do you understand?


    ¡°I understand. I will listen to you.¡± Lin Qing repeatedly nodded with respect. He didn¡¯t realize that his once alienated and disdained sister had now become his backbone.


    Li Xian was standing outside the tent with a complicated expression on his face. A moment later, he quietly left and did not enter. He actually planned to have a good talk with Lin Dan to resolve their conflict, but now he felt unnecessary. He found that Lin Dan was a broad-minded person. She could understand everything and didn¡¯t need others to give her advice. Her appearance was like a piece of floating wood. Li Xian, who was on the verge of death, obtained support and felt exceptionally safe.


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t sleep well that night. He kept dreaming about Lin Qian¡¯s face. Sometimes it was her in the previous life, and sometimes it was her in this life. After a short while, the blurry scene suddenly became clear. The two of them looked at each other through a door. Outside the door was the vast sky, and inside the door was the cramped darkness. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m protecting you. Why don¡¯t you understand? What can you do at the frontier?¡±


    Lin Dan, who was inside the door, said firmly, ¡°What can I do? I would rather fight to the death on and die on the battlefield, which is better than dying in your backyard.¡±


    Her stern face was broken into pieces in the darkness. Ding Mujie was shocked and hurriedly reached out to ask her to stay. He woke up from his dream. He felt his head was in severe pain. On the other hand, he felt his heart was as painful as being stabbed by a knife. It was the last time he had seen Lin Dan in his previous life. He always thought that Lin Dan¡¯s words were just spoken out in anger and couldn¡¯t be taken seriously. Until now, he found that she had never lied. She could fight on the battlefield and had the determination to die on the battlefield. On the contrary, he looked at her with paranoia and judged her with narrow thoughts, which was ridiculous and despicable!


    Ding Mujie sat on the bed and lost in thought for a long time. He suddenly heard the army¡¯s horns, which reminded him that Lin Dan was going to the battlefield today. He ran out in a hurry, only to find that the military was already out. Lin Dan rode her horse and galloped to the front line. Not to mention informing him, she didn¡¯t even look back.


    But he stood there and stared at her back. He only came to sense when his warm tears flowed down from his eyes.


    ¡ª


    The two armies were confronting each other on a plain. Without hearing the sound of the drum, they all stayed still.


    Mo Li stood among the troops and shouted loudly, ¡°Lin Qing is here? Come out and have a look. I¡¯ve brought your father with me!¡± With a wave of his hand, a frame was erected next to him. A few soldiers shook the wheels and slowly hoisted a man who was covered in blood.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    After recognizing the man¡¯s face clearly, Lin Dan called his father sadly. He was about to bash up with his horse but was stopped by Lin Dan in time. She stepped out of the crowd and called upon Mo Li, trying to goad him to fight with her alone so that she could capture him alive in exchange for Lin Tie.


    However, Mo Li was not fooled. He glanced at Xue Zhao and sneered, ¡°My lady, don¡¯t play such a trick in front of me. I never underestimate women, especially women who can stand out in the army of the Wei Kingdom. The Wei Kingdom was unlike us, who never restrict women. Hu¡¯s women could be a shepherd or fight in a battle. They were all skilled. But the women of Wei can only stay at home to take care of their husbands and educate their children. They are weak and incompetent. In such a situation, a woman would appear in your army and took the position of general. How could I not be vigilant? If you¡¯re unskilled, a valiant man like Xue Zhao won¡¯t be willing to be under you. I didn¡¯t accept the challenge not because I was timid but because I¡¯m cautious. If you want to capture me alive, I advise you not to waste your time.¡±


    After saying that, he stroked his beard and burst into laughter. His soldiers also praised him for his thoughtfulness, and he was not fooled by Lin Dan.


    Although Lin Dan didn¡¯t show on her face, she secretly tightened the rein. The other generals of the Wei Kingdom also gritted their teeth and warned themselves not to show any abnormality. They had no choice. Mo Li was such a brave and resourceful man, and it was not easy to deceive him.


    After laughing, Mo Li ordered someone to pour a bucket of ice water on the head of Lin Tie. When he awoke, he pointed at Lin Qing and Lin Dan and said, ¡°My old friend, Lin Tie, look. Your son and daughter are all here. Today I will let your family reunion.¡± As soon as he finished talking, several soldiers turned the wheels and hoisted the dead bodies of the Lin family one after another on the rack.


    In the war the other day, the dead bodies of the Lin family¡¯s men were trapped in the enemy line and could not be saved back. Lin Qing thought that no matter how vicious Mo Li was, he would burn the corpse and scatter the ashes. He didn¡¯t expect that he would bring them to the front of the battlefield and hoist them on the rack to humiliate the Lin clan, which was more devastating to everyone¡¯s morale. Although the senior commander Lin had been dead for many days, his eyes were wide open, as if he died with regret. The other men of the Lin clan were also covered in blood and were miserable to look at.


    The soldiers of the Wei Kingdom looked up at these corpses, their eyes red and their minds in a mess. Some shouted for the chief commander; some called out for their comrade-in-arms; some choked with sobs.


    That was precisely Mo Li¡¯s intention. He jumped onto the rack and gave a punch on Lin Tie¡¯s face. He smashed all his teeth and laughed, ¡°I¡¯ve told you before that all the soldiers of the Wei clan are toothless tigers, which not a threat!¡±


    Lin Tie was fully awake and shouted hysterically, ¡°What are you doing, Lin Qing? Just shoot me to death!


    He had already been tortured to an inhuman state. Every bone in his body had been broken, and the tendons on his limbs had been torn. He was already a useless person. Even if he was saved, his life would be more miserable than death. He knew what Mo Li was doing. He wanted to humiliate the Lin clan with the corpses of the Lin family, tempted to break their backbone, deject their fighting spirit, and forge his reputation with hundreds of thousands of blood of the comrade-in-arms.


    This tactic was made up by Mo Li alone, but it was very effective. Lin Tie known it as psychological warfare. If he and other dead bodies of Lin clan¡¯s men hoisted on the rack today, the Lin clam¡¯s army would not have the fighting spirit. Those corpses were like the calling of death, making them terrified and absent-minded. Unless they could burn the bodies with their own hands and vent their anger and cruelty that had been suppressed within them, or else they would definitely lose the war.


    At the thought of this, Lin Tie shouted even more pitifully, ¡°Do you hear me, Lin Qing? Quickly kill me! I would rather die than be humiliated by the Huns!¡± If his death could arouse the fighting spirit of millions of troops, then why should he be afraid?


    Lin Qing shook his head, and his eyes turned red. How could he kill his father? He couldn¡¯t do it at all!


    Lin Tie couldn¡¯t help but call Li Xian. Li Xian aimed his arrow and then put them down. After a short while, he aimed at him again, and he put down again. After repeating it a few times, he was on the verge of a breakdown and was about to fall from the horse. Lin Tie was not someone else but his mentor. How could he kill him?


    Lin Tie¡¯s intention was to arouse the cruelty and anger of the Lin clan¡¯s army and use his own death to unleash the weight they were shouldering, but he did not expect that his shout would make them fall deeper into despair. The already dispirited soldiers felt even more despair, and the battle had been defeated before it began. Some of the central army led by Xue Zhao was in a panic. The unit was scattered, and the soldiers retreated, which seemed to want to escape.


    Lin Tie was so angry that he vomited blood, while Mo Li laughed and said, ¡°Hahaha, I know you Wei people are just a group of cowards! Men, today we will kill the Lin clan and use their blood to forge for Da Hu¡¯s greatness!¡±


    ¡°Da Hu will definitely win, and the Wei Kingdom will be destroyed!¡± Da Hu will definitely win, and the Wei Kingdom will be destroyed!¡±  Hundreds of thousands of Huns¡¯ men shouted at the same time. Their voice was so thunderous, which forced the Wei * * clan to retreat for several dozen feet.


    Ding Mujie, who was standing on the high hill and watching the battle, his face paled. He knew that this time, he was still unable to change the outcome. However, the woman who should have died from depression was now on the battlefield. He wanted to stop her, and he wanted her to live on. But, if her wish was to fight and die on the battlefield, he would not go against her will even if he felt heartbroken

 CH 66

    Mo Li laughed more and more wildly. He whipped Lin Tie with a whip several times; it seemed he was beating the backbone of the Lin clan, which made them lowered their heads in despair. Lin Tie felt even more hopeless than them. These were his comrade-in-arms and also his family members. He ate and lived with them and cared for each other. He had even said that he would bring them all back. But now, because he was controlled by the enemy, these comrade-in-arms had restrained themselves. They were ready to be killed and fell into the abyss of helplessness. He could almost foresee that the Lin clan army would no longer exist in the world after this battle, and all the familiar faces in front of him would be burnt in the fire of war.


    How could he ask so many of his troops to die with him? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that his teeth were smashed by Mo Li, he would have killed himself immediately by biting his tongue. He gazed across the faces of his fellow comrade-in-arms; two streams of blood tears gradually flowed from his dry eyes. Finally, he saw Lin Dan and his eyes lit up.


    The others retreated dozens of feet by the bawled of the Huns army, but she was still at the front line and did not retreat even a step. She didn¡¯t avoid his gaze and looked straight into his eyes as if to assure his intention.


    Lin Tie immediately shouted, ¡°Lin Dan, just kill me!¡±


    Lin Dan moved forward, but she didn¡¯t raise her bow. Instead, she calculated the distance between the two places to see if she had time to save Lin Tie when she bashed into the enemy lines. But unfortunately, he was too far away from her, and there were thousands of troops in front of him. So even if she was skilled in kung fu, she couldn¡¯t go to him in an instant and save him. No, she could have done it, but she failed to train herself to the extreme because of her subconscious.


    It was definitely too late to get herself trained now. Lin Dan was reluctant to admit it, but she had to admit that her current self couldn¡¯t save Lin Tie at all.


    Somehow, a voice told Lin Tie that this daughter might be the only hope of the Lin clan army, so he relentlessly shouted, ¡°If you are still my obedient daughter, please do me a favor! Do you remember the poem father taught you when you were a child? Do you remember what grandfather often said?¡±


    Lin Dan touched the bows and arrows on her back and said, ¡°I remember, Military song should be sung with a broadsword, swearing to kill and enslave the Hu and leave the jade gate pass. If being defeated on the battlefield was the end of the kingdom, there was no need to return the corpses. We would rather die in the war than being their slaves! Father, I remember everything y¡¯all had told me!¡± As soon as she finished her speech, she raised the bow and shot him.


    As soon as the arrow soared, it landed. Lin Tie looked down at his bloody chest, looked up, and laughed. In his last breath, he stumbled and said, ¡°As a father, I¡¯ve fought countless battles, but I¡¯ve never been happier than today! Lin Dan, you are the backbone of our family, and I am proud of you! If being defeated on the battlefield was the end of the kingdom, there was no need to return the corpses! As a father, I died with honor. Never blame yourself¡­ ¡± his head dropped and died after saying his last words.


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes turned red; Mo Li and his troops were still in a daze. Didn¡¯t they say that the people in the central plain were all cowards? Didn¡¯t they say that the people in the central plain were filial and would never dare to kill their father? How could she do that?


    However, before they came into their sense, Lin Dan charged into the enemy line with her sword and attacked Mo Li. Li Xian immediately shouted, ¡°Charge! Avenge General Lin!¡± Looking at Lin Dan, who was being surrounded, his heart was full of terror. If General Lin was hoisted on the rack throughout and borne the humiliation of the Huns, the backbone of the Lin clan army would also fall apart and lost the war psychologically without fighting.


    However, Lin Dan¡¯s determination awakened everyone¡¯s fighting spirit, and the sacrifice of General Lin aroused their anger and fighting will. Finally, this war had a chance to turn defeat into victory. Li Xian drew out his sword and rushed into the enemy, trying to catch up with Lin Dan, but she gets farther and farther away from him.


    She had superb sword skills and kung fu. Anyone who gets close to her would be beheaded and killed by her in a split second. She didn¡¯t even look at others. She just stared at Mo Li with her red eyes. Blood spurted everywhere, wherever she passed.


    For the first time, there was a sense of fear in Mo Li¡¯s heart, but he did not hide from it. He was the commander in chief of the army, so he couldn¡¯t retreat from the battle. Instead, he charged straight towards her. If he couldn¡¯t defeat her, there would be soldiers coming to rescue him. Was it possible for his troops to be afraid of a little girl?


    It was a pity that he underestimated Lin Dan¡¯s fighting skills. He was almost beheaded by her in just the first round. Fortunately, he leaned back and narrowly avoided the fatal strike, but his skin was numb because of the force of the vicious sword. But his horse was not as lucky as him. The hooves of the horse rushed a few steps forward and suddenly lay down. A splash of blood shoot up into the sky, the horse¡¯s head was chopped off in the blink of an eye.


    Mo Li fell to the ground. Before he could get up, he was knocked unconscious by Lin Dan with a slap. She grabbed and put him onto her horseback.


    Lin Dan rushed out of the crowd with Mo Li on her horseback. Those who charged up and tried to save their commander in chief were all killed by her. She turned into a bloody person. She was covered with a thick layer of blood and was dripping all over. Her appearance was terrifying. Gradually, all the people who besieged her retreated with fear in their eyes.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    But she was reluctant to let them go. She chased them with her broadsword. Wherever she went, the troops were in a mess. In the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with a thick layer of corpses, like harvesting wheat with a sickle in autumn. It was also like the God of death strangled the souls. The means were ruthless.


    There were still many Wei soldiers who were as red-eyed as Lin Dan. Their hearts were full of hatred. They only knew that they needed to take the heads of these Huns to mourn their comrades and console their heroic souls, but they did not have the slightest intention of retreating. The battle lasted from sunrise to sunset. When the Lin clan army came to their senses, the Huns army had already fled in panic, leaving only debris on the ground.


    Everyone looked at each other with tears shed from their eyes.


    Ding Mujie, who stood on the high hill, was shocked. He was too far away to see clearly what was going on on the battlefield, but he could see a small dot took the lead to rush towards the Huns army. After her, was the army of the Wei Kingdom began to attack. It broke through siege of the Hun¡¯s cavalry alone and charged towards the crowd. The left army and the right army were divided into two wings to disperse the Hun¡¯s troopers, then they divided and encircled them, made them scattered all-around.


    Wherever the small dot went, the soldiers of the Huns would fell to the ground, invincible. Ding Mujie was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t say anything. He stared at the tiny dot and didn¡¯t dare to take his eyes off it. It was not until the Huns army was defeated, leaving only smoke signals all-round, and the tiny dot gradually returned to the unit of the Wei clan, he then only let out a deep breath. We won. This was actually bound to be defeated but ended with a victory of the great Wei Kingdom! He couldn¡¯t change the ending, but it was amended by someone. Who was she? Was that Lin Dan?


    Ding Mujie mounted his horse and rushed back to the camp. Before he could get close to Lin Dan¡¯s tent, he heard people around describe the battle in an astonished tone. The invincible person was indeed Lin Dan! He gradually slowed down, shook his head, and laughed at himself. His laughter was full of despair and humiliation. In the previous life, when he locked Lin Dan in the backyard and causing her to fail to set foot on the battlefield to avenge her family, what was in her mind? She was fully capable of leading the battle but was detained by a selfish man. He insulted her personality, ignored her ability, and even deprived her of freedom in the end. He was unforgivable! If he could let go of her and let her go, perhaps they would have lived a different life in their previous life and didn¡¯t need to wait until now.


    The more he thought about it, the more ashamed Ding Mujie felt. He already walked to the tent but dared not take a step closer. He was afraid to face Lin Dan, but the noise in the tent made him immediately forget all the distracting thoughts, and he quickly rushed in.


    He only saw Lin Qing furiously grabbing Lin Dan¡¯s collar and questioned harshly, ¡°How could you kill father! How could you do that! You are so skillful that you can charge into the siege to save him. Why did you shoot him with an arrow? You are so cruel! Are you still a human being?¡±


    All the generals gathered around him and persuaded him. Their eyes were red. It was apparent that they had cried.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t say a word and gradually prised from Lin Qing¡¯s fingers and walked out of the tent to the training ground, which was filled with corpses and coffins. The soldiers who were guarding the bodies quickly retreated to both sides, letting her pass unimpeded. She walked to the front, quietly looking at rows of black coffins, and knelt down silently. These coffins were all containing with Lin clan¡¯s men and dead soldiers.


    Lin Qing caught up and berate her with tears, ¡°You are the murderer of father. You have no right to kneel here! Get out of here!¡±


    Li Xian couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He punched on Lin Qing¡¯s face and scolded, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s easy to charge up into the siege and save General Lin? Lin Dan is a being, not a God. She has no wings! Why did General Lin request to be killed? Because he wanted to sacrifice himself to protect the kingdom. If he doesn¡¯t die, we won¡¯t have the will to fight. If we don¡¯t have the fighting spirit, the people here will all die, and the border we protect and the kingdom we fought for will also be trampled to pieces by the Huns¡¯ cavalry. Just as General Lin said, he died with honor, and he didn¡¯t regret it! If it weren¡¯t for General Austin¡¯s sacrifice and your sister¡¯s determination, could you still be standing here and scold her? You have owed your sister a life, and I also owed her a life. All of us who are alive owed her a life!¡±


    Li Xian sobbed, ¡°This is arrow should have been shot by either you or me, but we both can¡¯t take the responsibility. We had disappointed General Lin! Only Lin Dan stood up and helped us complete our mission. General Lin was right. We are all cowards! Your father, grandfather, brother, and uncles¡¯ bodies are all here, and their heroic souls are watching at us from the sky. You can ask them if they have blamed Lin Dan for what she did! ¡°


    Lin Qing remembered what his father had said before he died. He said he was happier than he won a battle because the Lin family had a new backbone. There was no doubt that the backbone was not referring to Lin Qing but to Lin Dan. He didn¡¯t blame Lin Dan at all. On the contrary, he was proud of her. And this crime of killing father should have been borne by the youngest son. It was Lin Qing¡¯s cowardice that made him put the blame on Lin Dan.


    What was his stand to blame Lin Dan, his incompetence? When Lin Qing calmed down, he began to regret his behavior.


    However, at this time, Lin Dan took out a dagger from her boots and stabbed it into her abdomen without hesitation, said weakly, ¡°I will use my blood to cleanse the crime of killing father, is that alright? If I don¡¯t die today, I will defeat the Huns in the future. All the soldiers and the heroic souls in the sky, please be my witness.¡± After saying that, she again brutally stabbed herself twice

 CH 67

    Lin Qing was frightened by the sudden self-injury of Lin Dan; he was stunned on the spot. Li Xian was the first to react and wanted to carry her, but she knelt firmly on the ground and did not move at all, as if she weighed a thousand pounds.


    Ding Mujie also ran over to help, and shouted with red eyes, ¡°What are you doing, Lin Dan? Why did you do that? The chief commander and the generals are watching you in the sky. They won¡¯t blame you! Quickly get up! Guards, send her to the military doctor. Hurry up!¡± In his two lives, he had never been so flustered. There was an indescribable fear deep in his heart. He was afraid that Lin Dan would die, just like the senior commander Lin, General Lin, and the other men of the Lin clan. It turned out, it was heroic to say that fighting to the death on the battlefield and the return of the corpses, but in fact, it was so brutal to endure it.


    Lin Dan slowly and firmly pushed Ding Mujie and Li Xian away and glanced at the military doctor who came in a hurry. The military doctor was frightened by her fierce eyes and quickly stepped back, didn¡¯t dare to near her. She looked towards Lin Qing and said word by word, ¡°If I die tomorrow, I will atone for the crime of killing father; If I don¡¯t die tomorrow, I will kill the Huns, avenge Lin clan¡¯s men and all the soldiers who died in battle. Is that okay?¡±


    Lin Qing then only came back to his senses. He knelt down and cried with tears all over his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sis! I was really wrong! I shouldn¡¯t have lost my temper at you just now. I was angry at my incompetence! Quickly get up and let the military doctor bandage your wound. I beg you! ¡°


    However, Lin Dan ignored him. She knelt down silently in front of the coffins, letting her blood flow out. At the same time, she was also constantly practicing her inner force, but she found that as if she had reached a solid barrier. With her existing state, it was impossible to break through it. In other words, even if she didn¡¯t have any concern and continued to practice her kung fu, she still couldn¡¯t save Lin Tie. Anyhow, she did kill Lin Tie, and she should bear the responsibility.


    Human beings were sometimes weak. Although all kinds of the method were used and had tried our best, it was just the matter of fate. Thinking of this, Lin Dan finally let go of the last trace of guilt and immersed herself in meditation.


    Lin Qing tried to persuade her. Every time he shook her, he saw more blood gushing out of her belly. He didn¡¯t dare to touch her anymore. He cried so hard that he couldn¡¯t catch his breath. His face was covered with tears, like a helpless and lost child. It was because he was timid and escaped from it, then only his sister stood out. The person he should hate most was not his sister but himself, the incompetent coward! He should have shoulder the responsibility for what his sister was suffering now.


    Li Xian cried with tears welled up in his eyes, ¡°Guards, carry General Lin back!¡±


    Ding Mujie suddenly stepped forward and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Don¡¯t touch her anymore. If we stopped her from kneeling here to atone for her sin, she couldn¡¯t get over the barrier in her heart, which is worse than killing her. Do y¡¯all understand?¡± He ignored Lin Dan¡¯s feelings too much in the past, but now, he was willing to stand in her shoes and consider her carefully in every way. If she wanted to atone for what she had done, then just let her be, and he would be with her.


    After thinking for a while, he lifted up his clothes and slowly knelt down beside Lin Dan.


    Li Xian closed his eyes for a while, and he trembled. At last, he waved his arm to back off the surrounding soldiers. He couldn¡¯t imagine how momentous was the crime of killing a father. He only knew that if he was Lin Dan, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have come back alive, let alone to kneel here, because he would have collapsed on the battlefield and killed by the Huns.


    He stared at Lin Dan¡¯s back; his eyes were full of understanding, admiration, and pity. He knew that General Lin died happily, and his heart was full of relief when he died. Because of Lin Dan, the Lin family would never collapse. She could do something challenging for an ordinary person, and she could also bear the responsibility that was tough for an ordinary person. Her backbone was even more potent than iron steel. She was the new soul of the Lin clan army.


    As long as she got over this barrier, nothing in the world could defeat her, and she would become indestructible!


    The other generals also thought so. They gradually walked behind Lin Dan and knelt down with her. Their eyes were full of respect and admiration. She had no regret to herself, the death of the loyal Lin clan, and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who had survived from death!


    If it weren¡¯t for General Lin¡¯s self-sacrifice and for Lin Dan¡¯s quick decision, there would have been no Western army anymore.


    Seeing the generals kneeling down, the soldiers also gathered around and knelt down together. They looked firmly at the thin figure kneeling in the forefront. Although General Lin was dead, they had a new General Lin.


    Lin Qing gradually stopped crying. He looked around at his comrades and turned around, and looked at the black mass of soldiers. An unspeakable sense of shame surged in his heart.


    On the other side, Xue Zhao was lying in the tent waiting for the military doctor to remove the arrows for him. In fact, he had been badly injured by Lin Dan in yesterday¡¯s fight, but he hid it from others to save his dignity. When he went to the battlefield, he was certainly not fit to fight. Soon he was shot and fell from his horse. Fortunately, his soldiers had already received his orders. They immediately lifted him to the rear, which saved his life.


    After returning to the camp, he couldn¡¯t swallow his anger. He ordered his people to spread the rumor that Lin Dan was cruel and merciless and even killed his own father. He even instigated Lin Qing to make trouble with Lin Dan. Judging from the noise, there should be a big quarrel happening over there.


    As soon as he thought of this, his confidant opened the flap and came in. He said in a low voice, ¡°General, the military doctor guarded the mourning hall and refused to come over. He said that he needs to keep an eye on Lin Dan at all times in case of anything happen to her.¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Lin Dan?¡± Xue Zhao was overjoyed.


    Her confidant sighed, ¡°In order to atone for her sin, she stabbed herself thrice into her abdomen. If she can¡¯t pass tonight, I¡¯m afraid there will be another coffin in the mourning hall. I have never seen such a tough and resolute woman in my life. Not to mention that Lin Qing quarrels with her; he didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound. He knelt behind her and kowtowed. His forehead was bleeding. He felt very regretful. Li Xian, Li Zhong, and Fang Zhou all knelt behind her and were completely subdued by her. The soldiers looked at her as if she is a god and might have been convinced by her. If she doesn¡¯t die, the Western army will still be under the Lin family, Lin Dan¡¯s Lin. ¡°


    Xue Zhao was stunned. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°How could such a person suddenly appear in the Lin clan! It would be great if only they were all like Lin Qing, that coward! Y¡¯all go and figure out whether we can use the old trick to get rid of her.¡±


    His confidant stopped him at once, ¡°General, just forget about it. Lin Dan killed the Huns as if chopping melons and vegetables. It¡¯s hard for us to get close to her, let alone plot against her. Please be a little more patience. What if she loses too much blood and dies tomorrow? ¡°


    ¡°Well, then we just wait for another day.¡± Xue Zhao took a deep breath and said in pain, ¡°Go and get the military doctor. I can¡¯t stand the pain anymore.¡±


    That night, the military doctor removed the arrow from him, but it was unexpected that the delay had caused the wound to be infected. Moreover, the wound injured the heart and caused a high fever. He continuously drank several bowls of remedy, but he died. What his confidant said was true. There was indeed another coffin in the mourning hall.


    ¡ª


    The long night finally passed. Li Xian and Ding Mujie reached out their hands simultaneously, trying to touch Lin Dan, but they both stopped and looked at each other carefully. It seemed that they had just discovered each other¡¯s existence. Their judgemental eyes showed slight hostility.


    A loud rumble came from afar, breaking the morning silence. It was the drumbeats of the Huns. Since they were all defeated and the chief commander was captured. They couldn¡¯t wait any longer and wanted to fight again.


    Lin Dan opened her eyes all of a sudden, she ignored the people at her both sides. She pulled off the mourning cloth on her head and wrapped it tightly around her waist. She took her sword and leave. ¡°Let¡¯s continue the fight!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight again! Revenge for the dead soldiers!¡± The soldiers, who had been wearing sad faces, kneeling behind her, were instantly in high spirits when they saw that she was fine. They quickly stood up and put the armor that the blood had not been dried out back on. They returned to the unit in an orderly manner and lined up in formation. They were still the same army, but it was completely different from yesterday. It seemed that they had rebuilt their soul and backbone.


    ¡°Chief Commander, it¡¯s time to go.¡± Lin Dan held Mo Li in her hand, whose bones were broken, and his limbs¡¯ tendons were torn apart.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Li Xian glanced at Mo Li, who didn¡¯t know whether he was alive or dead, and didn¡¯t ask further.


    Ding Mujie felt frustrated when watching Lin Dan receded again. He didn¡¯t want to take the imperial examination anymore; he also didn¡¯t want to help the nine princes anymore; he didn¡¯t want to fight for the throne anymore. He only wanted to stay by the side of Lin Dan and see her live a peaceful life. If possible, he wanted to walk side by side with her and fight together with her in the battle.


    ¡ª


    When they arrived at the battlefield, Lin Dan also did the same doings as Mo Li did. She smashed his teeth and hung him high on the flag pole. She said contemptuously, ¡°All of you are toothless tigers, which is not a threat. Sooner or later, I will pull out your claws and teeth, kill your tribes, and let y¡¯all disappear on this grassland forever! ¡°


    The troops, who had always been arrogant, dared not to say anything this time. They looked up at Mo Li, who had already been tortured to an inhuman state; Their hearts were in fear. Yesterday, Lin Dan was like a god of death, wantonly killed the Huns. The way she slaughtered still remains in their memories, forming an indelible terror. If others were to say that they wanted to kill the Huns, they would definitely laugh at their whimsical ideas. However, these words were told by Lin Dan as if it was an omen, which made them feel chill from the bottom of their hearts.


    They didn¡¯t know that with just a battle, they had already scared of Lin Dan.


    One of the Huns¡¯ men whispered something in the ear of one of the generals, and his eyes occasionally glanced at Lin Dan¡¯s bloody belly. The general nodded and replied in Hu language. Then he raised his voice and spoke in Han language, and said that he wanted to fight one-on-one with Lin San. They had found that Lin Dan was seriously injured. If they could provoke her to fight and capture her alive, they might exchange her for the chief commander. This tactic was not new, but it worked.


    The more Lin Qing thought about it, the more ashamed he felt for himself. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was on the battlefield, he would have dug a hole in the ground and dived into it. If he was not a coward and vented his anger on others, his sister wouldn¡¯t have been so seriously injured. It was cruel on the battlefield. She had been bleeding all night and was weak. If she was distracted today, she was very likely to be killed. What did he do! If grandfather and father knew it, they would definitely be very disappointed in him

 CH 68

    Lin Qing grabbed on Lin Dan¡¯s rein tightly and pleaded, ¡°Sis, please don¡¯t fight with him. He was Mo Li¡¯s son, Mo Sang. His kung fu was skillful and possessed innate superhuman strength, which was tough to challenge him, and you are still injured. If something happens to you, and what should I do when I am left alone?¡± It was not until now that he realized how important this sister was to him. Without his sister, he didn¡¯t dare to imagine what would happen in the future. He couldn¡¯t support the Lin family by himself, let alone win the war.


    His sister was not only his backbone but also the backbone of the soldiers.


    Li Xian also stopped her, ¡°Lin Dan, you stay in the line and don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll fight with him!¡±


    Lin Dan pushed Lin Qing¡¯s hand away and ignored Li Xian¡¯s words. She asked, ¡°Are you the son of Mo Li?¡±


    Mo Sang stood out and said with a hoarse voice, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Do you dare to fight with me?¡±


    Lin Dan sneered and said, ¡°Good. Yesterday, your father had reunited my family, and today I will also let your family be in peace.¡± As soon as she finished talking, she rushed out of the crowd and raised her sword began to slaughter.


    Mo Sang didn¡¯t expect her to be so clear-cut. He was stunned for a moment before he charged up to her. The two rode back and forth, and their swords collided with each other. Every strike clashed with each other, producing sparks. Despite Mo Sang¡¯s great strength, Lin Dan was not inferior to him at all. In an instant, she had fought with him for more than ten rounds. If Lin Dan was not injured, Mo Sang would be no match for her, even if ten or eight more of him. But she had lost too much blood last night and was very weak. Her vision was blurry as she was fighting as if she couldn¡¯t hold any longer.


    Seeing that Mo Sang was about to chop her in half, she swore to cut herself in half. To end the battle as soon as possible, she charged forward without dodging.


    Mo Sang gritted his teeth and grinned, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±


    The best defense was to attack. Lin Dan suddenly turned sideways and used her shoulder blade to withstand the attack so that she could take the chance to get close to Mo Sang. Then she turned her wrist and directly chopped off his head. Even if she lost her memory, the remaining fighting consciousness within her could still instruct her what to do.


    The armor on her shoulder diverted some of the forces for her, but Mo Sang¡¯s blade still causes severe injury. It almost chopped her entire arm off. She tore off a piece of the armor and quickly wrapped up the wound. Then she tightened the rein, let her horse raised upright on its hind legs, and then trampled Mo Sang¡¯s head into pieces.


    ¡°Are there still any Mo family members who are still in the line? Come and fight with me!¡± She was covered in blood, which indicated that she was seriously injured, but no one dared to look down upon her on the battlefield.


    Mo Li, who was hung in the air, let out a painful cry. He always liked to use psychological warfare, but when others used the same trick, he found that this was a brutal and powerless scene. He shouted in Hu language, but nobody knew what he was shouting.


    The Huns army was in turmoil. After a long time, a muscular man walked out and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m Mo Gu. Today I will chop your head to avenge my father and brother!¡± Like the Lin clan army situation, this Huns army was also Mo Li¡¯s troops, and most of the generals in the military were his confidants or nephews.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t say a word and charged upon.


    Mo Gu still had a certain fluke mentality. He thought it would be easier to deal with Lin Dan since she was severely injured and exhausted. But he was utterly wrong. There was a kind of fighting spirit within Lin Dan that the more challenging it was, the more she felt on the verge of death, the more valiant she would be. The pain was nothing to her. Apart from stimulating her fighting spirit, it didn¡¯t affect her at all.


    She had never been to the battlefield, but it seemed that she had experienced a hundred battles. She chopped off Mo Gu¡¯s **, held the tip of the spear, and tossed it towards his heart. The breastplate protected him from the fatal strike, but it also made him stunned for a moment. At this moment, a cold light flashed across his blue eyes. It was Lin Dan¡¯s blade charging towards him. Before he could react, she had cut off his neck.


    Another head fell to the ground, with the same expression of disbelief and appalling on his face. The second member of the Mo clan died.


    Lin Dan raised the bloody sword and said sternly, ¡°Who else?¡±


    Mo Gu¡¯s nephew quickly stepped back. When they stepped back, the Huns army also stepped back. Apparently, they were in a panic. Lin Dan immediately charged up to the enemy line and ordered, ¡°Kill!¡±


    She first distinguished the flame of the Huns army to wear down their fighting spirit. When they showed their fear, she bashed into the enemy line. She had planned every move. It would be just in vain for Mo Li to keep reminding her. His psychological warfare was backfired entirely on him.


    The Lin clan army, who was actually in imminent danger, finally stand a chance to win. In this battle, they had breached the Huns army the Northern Shaanxi and messed up their plan of entering the central region. After dusk, there were only debris and smoke left on the battlefield. The large number and well-equipped Huns army were now left less than fifty thousand people, which could be said to be a disastrous defeat.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Li Xian brought the military doctor to the tent and wanted to bandage the wound for Lin Dan, but she stopped him outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m a woman. It¡¯s inconvenient. I can bandage the wound myself. You can just leave the medicine.¡± Lin Dan¡¯s tone was very calm as if she was not injured.


    ¡°No, you are badly injured, and it¡¯s inconvenient for you to move. What if the wound reopens? Wait a minute. I¡¯ll find a female doctor for you.¡± All of a sudden, Li Xian thought of their last meeting. Apart from feeling helpless, he began to feel the joy of seeing her again. Lin Dan was like a lone wolf; she always hid and cure her wounds alone, as if she didn¡¯t need the care of others at all.


    But he couldn¡¯t help caring about her. Her impression in his mind had turned from a blurry shadow to an eye-catching entity. In case of anything happen to Lin Dan, he didn¡¯t dare to leave the tent. He just sent someone to the nearby town to look for a woman who has medical skills. Lin Qing also didn¡¯t dare to go in. He squatted at the entrance dejectedly and kept apologizing to Lin Dan.


    Ding Mujie walked to the door, cupped his hands, and said, ¡°Your Royal Highness King Zhuang, it¡¯s late autumn now. The winter is coming, and the food and fodders are running out. Shouldn¡¯t you think of another way? Moreover, Mo Li was the younger brother of Mo Xiao, the chief of the Huns, and Mo Qi, Mo Tai, and the others who had been killed by Lin Dan were also the biological sons of Mo Xiao. After knowing the death of these people, Mo Xiao would certainly lead an army to attack. He has a unit of elite cavalries under his command, which has high lethality, high flexibility, and superb endurance. They haven¡¯t been defeated in a single war since the unit was established. Have you thought about how to deal with it? Although the unit has less than seventy thousand elite cavalries, they besieged and killed five hundred thousand troops and horses of the Wei Kingdom. In just three days, they conquered Bianliang City lightly and settled in Taiyuan. With our current army force, we are no match for them.¡±


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t seem intent to pour cold water on King Zhuang at this time, but he had to do so. Although we had won this battle, there were more powerful enemies waiting to attack us, and it was far from the time to celebrate.


    ¡°I know all your concerns. I will report to my father about the army provisions and ask him to dispatch them. As for the elite cavalries of Mo Xiao, I¡¯m still thinking of another way.¡±


    As soon as Li Xian finished his words, Lin Dan said in the tent, ¡°What are you still thinking? If we wait for the order from the capital, it¡¯s already winter here. The soldiers would starve to death and won¡¯t have the strength to fight. The provisions and fodders of the Huns were all obtained from the people of the Wei Kingdom. We will just form a troop to plunder them as well. There are still a few remnant Huns troops nearby, and many vagrants have robbed the land of the people of the Wei Kingdom and settled down. We just have to fight and flee. Today, since we have killed hundreds of thousands of Mo Li¡¯s soldiers and horses, we just have sent people to gather the armors and horses that were left behind on the battlefield and also establish a unit of elite cavalries. I¡¯ll be responsible for training. We don¡¯t have much time left. Let¡¯s get ready quickly. It¡¯s better to take the initiative than wait for death.¡±


    Lin Dan¡¯s enterprising spirit immediately dispelled Li Xian¡¯s concerns. He smiled happily and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll order someone to prepare it now. You have a good rest. Let¡¯s fight side by side next time. ¡°


    Ding Mujie hurriedly cupped his hands and said, ¡°Your Royal Highness King Zhuang, I¡¯m not talented, but I¡¯m willing to help the army. Although the Huns¡¯ elite troops were terrifying, we can try to force them to dismount from their horses. We can also improve our weapons to restrain their heavy armors. If you are willing to believe me, please excuse me.¡±


    Li Xian looked at him and nodded, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the main tent and discuss it.¡±


    Ding Mujie didn¡¯t show any joy on his face. Instead, he walked to the entrance and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lin Dan. You should have a good rest first.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡± An emotionless voice came from the tent. Ding Mujie felt a little miserable, but he didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer. He left hastily with King Zhuang. However, Lin Qing guarded the tent and didn¡¯t dare to move a step. Sometimes, he asked her sister whether she was okay or not; sometimes, he would berate himself; sometimes, he would urge the soldiers to find a woman doctor. He was in a mess.


    ¡ª


    It only took half a month for Lin Dan to heal from her injury. Not only the military doctor was startled, but she was surprised too. After she recovered, she elected five thousand elite soldiers to learn swords with her. When they were almost well-trained, she took them to the grassland to raid.


    Her sword skill was very unique and had great lethal force; it was easy to do it. Her moves were not fancy, only chopping and stabbing. They waved their swords tens of thousands of times every day. After thirty or forty days in a row, the spirit of the whole unit was totally different.


    Lin Dan led the army to wander on the grassland. When the sun rose, they galloped to the tribe in the East and raided their horses; Before sunset, they went to the tribe in the West and raided their food and fodder; At night, they would suddenly go to the South and raided their salt and iron. It was hard to predict their whereabouts. The manors conquered by the Huns and originally belonged to the Central Plains had been plundered by them.


    Gradually, the Huns nearby were afraid of her and began to move deep into the grassland. Apart from that, when they heard Lin Dan¡¯s name from afar, they would flee at once. Seeing this, the people of the Wei Kingdom gradually moved back to their homeland and felt grateful to Lin Dan. They volunteered to donate fodders, hoping that the troop leader would stay for a long time to protect their safety.


    In just two months, the fodders that had been raided by Lin Dan had been piled up the storehouse and all over the valley, as well as countless horses, salt, and iron, which made Li Xian had the resources to transform weapons and armors. He recruited as many craftsmen as possible and start smelting.


    The preparations for the battle were in full swing. At the same time, Mo Xiao¡¯s army had slowly stepped into the river trap and confronted the Lin clan army.


    A great war was about to begin.

 CH 69

    The cavalries were known as the king of field operations, and the heavy cavalries were different from the ordinary cavalries. They were wearing heavy armors with bullet and sword proof, but the horses were also equipped with heavy armors, which made them have astonishing attacking power. One cavalry could deal with six to seven-foot soldiers, while it¡¯s not a problem for a heavy cavalry to deal with ten to twenty of them.


    The heavy cavalries played a more critical role, especially in urban warfare. As long as there were more than fifty thousand heavy cavalries, they could easily conquer a city. Most of the soldiers guarding the city were foot soldiers. Each time they went out of the city to fight, the number of foot soldiers running out was minimal. They were often killed by the calvaries before they could line up in formation. They don¡¯t even have the chance to counterattack. As a result, Mo Xiao¡¯s troops galloped across the grassland. They were undefeatable after they entered the central region.


    Right now, the Lin clan army would be facing such a dreadful army. Fortunately, they won a remarkable victory, which significantly boosted the fighting spirit of the soldiers. There were five thousand trained heavy cavalries and led them to plunder on the grassland, have them stained with blood, and stimulated their evil aura so that this battle would have a chance of winning. They also raided many war horses and armors, which made them well equipped.


    In the distance, the drum was rumbling. When the army approached, Lin Dan had put on her heavy armor and steadily walked towards her horse. She walked through a group of hefty men like iron towers. She looked small, but her aura was not suppressed at all. The soldiers on both sides took off their helmets, and half knelt to salute her. They admired her from the bottom of their hearts and had already wholly subdued by her. Without her, there wouldn¡¯t have the existing Lin clan army, nor would the existence of this deadly army denounced as the devils.


    Lin Dan, who was wearing a fifty to sixty pounds armor suit, seemed to be weightless. She jumped on the horseback agilely and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Lin Dan!¡± A hoarse voice was suddenly heard, making her stop and look back.


    Ding Mujie walked up gradually and forced a smile, ¡°I wish you a triumphant victory, Lin Dan. Be careful on the battlefield! ¡°


    Before Lin Dan could express her gratitude, Li Xian said confidently, ¡°With the help of a valiant general like General Lin and a military adviser like Ming De, we will definitely win this battle. Let¡¯s go. Just wait for our victory. ¡°


    Ming De was the name of Ding Mujie. These days, he tried his best to give advice to Li Xian, and the two of them had become friends from strangers.


    After they finished their farewell, the warhorses set out together, causing a tide of yellow dust. The sand and dust blurred Lin Dan¡¯s back and Ding Mujie¡¯s vision. He tried his best to suppress his fear and bitterness. When the army was out of sight from afar, he waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s find a high place to watch the battle.¡±


    A line of soldiers escorted him to a nearby high hill. He was now King Zhuang¡¯s military counselor, and he often came up with winning tricks, so he had a high position in the army.


    The two armies met in plain, and both deployed their formation. Strictly speaking, the Lin clan army had more than a hundred thousand soldiers than Mo Xiao¡¯s army. Still, these hundred thousand soldiers were foot soldiers, which were nothing for the heavy cavalries. But Mo Xiao didn¡¯t look down upon the Lin army. He had constantly been learning from the scouts about Lin Dan¡¯s performance and reputation, which made him unwittingly had a grasp of her.


    Seeing that gorgeous yet cold face of Lin Dan, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Okay, this is the opponent I imagined!¡±


    Lin Dan stood still.


    Mo Xiao just raised his hand and ordered, ¡°Attack!¡±


    The armored Huns¡¯ cavalries were like a wall. A cavalry standing in front of the Lin army suddenly raised the flag in his hand and waved a few times. Then the army in the rear immediately began to change the formation. The foot soldiers ran up to the front in an orderly manner, ten people in a line and five people in a row. They formed a square formation in a staggered manner and protected the cavalries at the back instead.


    The best battle formation was to position cavalries against each other; Positioning the foot soldiers against the cavalries was like surrendering their soldiers to the enemy. Mo Xiao had no idea what the Lin army was doing, and he hesitated. But this little hesitation didn¡¯t make him fear the army of the Wei Kingdom.


    As the clatter of the horse¡¯s hooves approached, the Lin army¡¯s foot soldiers still stood firmly in the front and had no means to retreat. Whereas the cavalries were comfortably protected by the foot soldiers and had no means to attack.


    Two hundred feet, one hundred and fifty feet, one hundred feet¡­ The enemy was getting closer and closer, but the Lin army did not move, as if they were waiting for death. This was obviously illogical. There must be a trap! As soon as Mo Xiao thought of this, the cavalries who charged in the forefront suddenly sank. The cavalries behind them didn¡¯t hold back in time; they trampled over their bodies, causing more casualties.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Mo Xiao took a careful look, and only then did he found that the Lin army had somehow dug several trenches on the plain grassland. They were covered with bamboo nets and a layer of grass, which could not detect anything unusual from a distance. These trenches were like big mouths, devouring all the Huns¡¯ cavalries that were rushing over. The cavalries from the back can cross only when the pits were filled with the front cavalries.


    It was already inconvenient for the soldiers and war horses to move in heavy armors. After falling, they had no time to get up and were trampled to pieces by their comrades¡¯ iron hooves. Fortunately, in order to hold the line, Mo Xiao didn¡¯t run in the forefront, or else he would have been killed. It was too late to retreat now, so the Huns soldier had to abandon their comrades-in-arms under their feet and continued to charge forward.


    The soldiers of the Lin army still stood still. They waited until the Huns got close enough, then only they draw out a pole from behind their back and hold it in front of them. The initially neat formation suddenly turned into hedgehogs that could not get close at all. It was too late for the horses to stop; the Huns¡¯ cavalries crashed into the poles and caused many casualties.


    A soldier of the Wei Kingdom waved the small flag in his hand as he ran backward. The Lin. army immediately changed their formation when they saw the situation. The foot soldiers guarding at the front threw away their broken poles and ran to the back. Only then did the light cavalries who had been hiding behind them run forward. The weapon in their hands was not an ordinary weapon but a six-foot-long war scythe. Instead of cutting the enemy¡¯s heads with these scythes, they bent down and attacked the horse¡¯s hooves with sharp blades.


    The Huns¡¯ heavy cavalries were all wearing armors from top to bottom, which could be said they were invulnerable to swords and spears. Even their warhorses were hidden in thick iron armors, except for their eyes and the hooves. There was almost no place for them to attack. The Lin army attacked at that weakness. Once the horse¡¯s hooves were hurt, the horses with a weight of over a hundred pounds would immediately fall to the ground and could never get up. The heavy armors gave them layers of protection, but at the same time, they also restricted their movements.


    The light cavalries of the Wei Kingdom cut off the hooves of the horses and walked nimbly among the Huns¡¯ heavy cavalries, causing them many injuries. Usually, when a horse fell, a group of horses would fall behind it, and heavy causalities would occur. Such a weapon, and tactic, was really something that the Huns¡¯ cavalries had never heard or seen before, and they were stunned at once.


    Seeing that another group of Huns¡¯ cavalries fell to the ground, they didn¡¯t seem to have many advantages in numbers and combat effectiveness. Only then the five thousand heavy cavalries led by Lin Dan rush out from behind and wantonly kill them. This time, the Lin army had no strategic tactics to use anymore, so they were like the Huns, began to slaughter. They had been wandering on the grassland for months and were already used to killing. Wherever they went were like broken bamboos, causing the Huns¡¯ cavalries to abandon their helmet and armor, which was challenging to fight against them. After a series of tricks, Mo Xiao¡¯s mind was in a mess. Seeing that Lin Dan was running towards him with a sword, he turned around and fled unexpectedly.


    He had never expected that the Wei squad would improve so much in just a few months. The wolves on the grassland were far from being his match! They were ruthless, cruel, and brave, far more spirited than the Huns¡¯ cavalries. This sick toothless tiger, which was raised by its family, had now become a lion.


    ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡± Mo Xiao yelled. More than half of his seventy thousand heavy armored horses had been killed in less than an hour. If he didn¡¯t flee now, all his men would be buried here. Although he was the chief of the Huns, many tribes just pretended to obey him, but there were hidden intentions within them. If he didn¡¯t have enough force to intimidate these people, he would definitely be devoured by them in the future.


    He had planned to take control of the central region to distract these people¡¯s attention. But currently, the place was like a doom; he would definitely don¡¯t want it.


    Lin Dan definitely wouldn¡¯t let him run away so easily. She carried her sword and chased after him for hundreds of miles until she reached the depth of the grassland. When she led her horseback to the battlefield, the battle was already over. The Lin clan almost annihilated the army at the lowest cost and won the final victory.


    Without the command of Mo Xiao, the rest of the Huns¡¯ army were no longer a threat. Lin Dan gradually gained her fame by leading her heavy cavalries to encircle these remnants of the grassland. As long as they heard that General Lin was here, the men would immediately run and hide in the tent. They didn¡¯t even dare to let out a cry. If they saw her cavalry galloping over from a distance, they would abandon their sheep and tents and flee as fast as they could. In the past, they were the ones who plundered the settlers of the central region and never the other way.


    The Lin clan had guarded the border for generations and had dealt with the Huns countless times. The Huns hated them to the core, thinking that they could exterminate the Lin clan this time, but they didn¡¯t expect that such a ruthless person like Lin Dan would appear in their clan and almost kill the Huns in turn! Was it true that the Lin clan the bane of the Huns?


    Mo Xiao didn¡¯t mention how much he hated Lin Dan, but he couldn¡¯t do anything to her even so. In terms of kung fu, Lin Dan was undefeatable on the grassland; As for her brutality, she only knows how to attack but not how to defend. Every drop of blood on her body revealed an unstoppable force. Anyone who was her enemy had to prepare to be smashed to pieces by her.


    Mo Xiao had re-established his troops twice but was defeated by Lin Dan. He was afraid of her and gradually returned to his hometown. He couldn¡¯t afford to offend her, so the only way was to hide. He sent a letter of pleading for peace and made peace with the emperor of the Wei Kingdom. He didn¡¯t want to be killed by Lin Dan. He had no idea when she would come to his hometown and kill him.


    However, he had heard that Lin Dan had made up her mind to exterminate the Huns to avenge her whole family. It¡¯s all because of Mo Li¡¯s cruel means and had driven her to a desperate situation. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been in such a difficult situation

 CH 70

    Ding Mujie, who was watching the battle on the high hill, was very excited. The traps, the poles, the long war scythes, the flag semaphore, and the strategic tactics were planned by him. He should have been confident. However, he was far more excited to see Lin Dan attacked the enemy line than the effectiveness of his tactics.


    He looked at her invincible figure without a blink. His heart beat so fast that even his blood could not help boiling. Anyone who had never experienced the previous life would never be able to understand his current feeling. Today¡¯s battle caused the Wei Kingdom to be entirely defeated by the Huns, and since then, it had fallen into turmoil and disintegration.


    Later, he assisted the nine princes in ascending the throne. Although he was in a high position and had power in the court, he could not amend the situation of the Wei Kingdom, which was getting worse. Every year, the Wei Kingdom had to pay a considerable amount of money to the Huns and send their princesses to the marriage alliance. The people in the border area were often slaughtered by the Huns, and they didn¡¯t dare to resist.


    The Wei Kingdom, which used to be a kingdom of thousands of kingdoms, had become a sleepy beast that lingered on for a long time. One day, it would be exterminated by the Huns. When Ding Mujie died, the Wei Kingdom was still struggling and was not wholly destroy. He had foreseen that and made him couldn¡¯t feel relieved. When he was reborn, other than marrying Lin Wan and rescuing the Lin family, he had a more prominent and more challenging desire to revive the kingdom¡¯s glory and save the people from disaster.


    However, he was sensible enough to know that even if he had lived for two lives and foreseen many opportunities, this wish might last his entire life. It would only be a wish. In his previous life, he had devoted his energy and thought, but in return, the peace of the Wei Kingdom only lasted for more than a decade. Perhaps he had to work even harder in his life to save the disaster. However, he had never expected that this battle, and this person, the dawn which he had never dreamed before, would gradually bloom in this boundless frontier.


    Looking at the Huns¡¯ cavalries, who were defeated and fled, and the rapid progress of Wei¡¯s troop, Ding Mujie¡¯s eyes were filled with tears and his unpacified mood. He mounted his horse, revealing the young man¡¯s high spirit for the first time. He shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to welcome our triumphant comrades!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The soldiers who accompanied him to watch the battle also showed an ecstatic expression.


    When they hurried back to the camp, and just in time to meet the heroes who returned on their horses. The blood on their bodies had not yet dried out, and their faces looked exhausted, but their eyes were brighter than before.


    ¡°Thank you, Lin Dan!¡± Ding Mujie couldn¡¯t restrain his excitement. He rushed to her as soon as he got off the horse. He held her tightly in his arms, patting her back hard. His eyes were red. He wanted to let out a cry, but he held it back. The victory had utterly reversed the fate of the Wei Kingdom. Not only did he wanted to express his gratitude to Lin Dan, but everyone in the world had to express their gratitude to her.


    At this moment, she had no idea what kind of miracle she had created and how she had rescued the people out of the abyss of despair. If¡­ If he hadn¡¯t stopped her in her previous life, everything would have changed, wouldn¡¯t it?


    Every time Ding Mujie thought about this question, his heart ached, and the sadness in his eyes became more intense.


    Before he could fully express his emotions, a pair of hands pulled him away. Li Xian joked, ¡°Sir, can you give me a victory hug? Without your plan, we wouldn¡¯t have won so easily today. The military counselor has made significant contributions. I will report to His Royal Highness after return and ask him to reward you. ¡°


    Ding Mujie hugged him and patted him on the shoulder as if they were good friends.


    Most people in the army were bold, so it was normal for them to hold each other¡¯s shoulders and carry each other. Moreover, Lin Dan was a great fighter; no one treated her as a woman. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t think it was strange for her to hug a man. Everyone was immersed in the joy of victory and needed to have a big celebration.


    After the battle, the arrogance of the Huns had been extinguished, and they certainly did not dare to provoke the Wei kingdom in a short time. Through this battle, the Lin army had figured out a way to deal with the Huns. In the future, they would strengthen their training and gradually modify their equipment. With General Lin in charge of this region, they would sooner or later establish an army stronger than the Huns¡¯ cavalries. They would not win by tricks at that time, but they would utterly defeat the Huns with their strength!


    Victory, especially the overwhelming victory, encouraged these soldiers to build strong fighting spirit and self-confidence. In the past, as long as Wei¡¯s squad heard the horns of the Huns¡¯ calvaries, they would feel nervous and dare not fight against them. But now, they loved to fight and were eager to fight.


    Of course, this situation only occurred to the Western army where Lin Dan was. It was still difficult for the other troops to get rid of the Hun¡¯s cavalry. Ding Mujie believed that it would definitely become more assertive as long as he spared more time to the Wei Kingdom. With the Western army guarding at the frontier, the people of the Wei Kingdom would definitely live a peaceful life.


    But he had underestimated the selfishness and stupidity of the politicians of the Wei Kingdom. The crown prince, King Kang, and the nine princes in the capital were already greed for power before the West army could consolidate the victory and defeat all the remaining of the Huns clan.


    Two months after the celebration fest, Lin Dan was still busy attacking the remnant of the Huns on the grassland and plundering more property. An imperial edict had been sent to the military camp, claiming that she, as a woman, shouldn¡¯t have joined the army at all. She was ordered to step down from her position as a general at once. She was asked to return to the capital and apologize, emphasizing the need for her to explain the act of killing her father.


    She had made significant contributions, but she didn¡¯t get a word of commendation. There was only rebuke in the edict with a little comfort, in the end, claiming that for the sake of the loyalty of the Lin family, they wouldn¡¯t be too harsh on her and would let her return at ease. As for the emperor¡¯s son, King Zhuang was greatly praised, but he could not continue to be the chief in command. Instead, he was dispatched to be a palace guard. They especially sent people to pick him to return to the capital. He was ordered to switch defense with King Kang, who issued the imperial edict.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The victorious of the great battle was wiped out in such a way. Instead, letting the idlers who were hiding in the capital earn the credits.


    Before Li Xian finished listening to the imperial edict, he was full of anger. Just as he was about to stand up and argue with King Kang, Lin Dan stretched out her hand and pressed hard on his shoulder, and she said in silence, ¡°Calm down.¡±


    Li Xian immediately calmed down and reluctantly took the imperial edict. Ding Mujie and the other soldiers also tried their best to restrain themselves and not conflict with King Kang.


    This time, King Kang brought his own battle confidants to switch defense with King Zhuang. Due to Lin Dan¡¯s significant contribution and high prestige, she had completely recruited the Western army in just five or six months and was known as the Great Wei Warrior. Her personality and charm were unparalleled. She was really plentiful heroin in the people¡¯s hearts, a legendary that only existed in the book. The people only knew about Lin Dan in the frontier, but not the emperor. When they heard that Lin Dan was at the border, they would bow to her from a distance of dozens of miles; In the army, the soldiers only knew about Lin Dan, not the emperor. The emperor¡¯s imperial edict was far less useful than Lin Dan¡¯s order¡­ Such words of condemnation had been spread to the capital one after another, which hurt the emperor. Naturally, he would not allow Lin Dan to continue to guard the border.


    In brief, in order to grab the credit, King Kang and the others went all out to slander Lin Dan so that they could pull her down and replace her with their own people. In addition to taking over the Western army, King Kang¡¯s other mission was to negotiate with the Huns and sign a peace treaty as soon as possible to end the decades of war. This was another political achievement that could be recorded in history¡¯s annals and the capital to compete for the throne. King Kang was in a hurry to achieve what he wanted, and he was afraid that King Zhuang would compete with him for the credit, so he urged them to return on that night.


    That night, Li Xian and Ding Mujie secretly talked for an hour in the camp before they decided to set out.


    Lin Dan had already sat on the horse and waited for them quietly. Behind her were the red-eyed Lin Qing and the black coffins. This time, they were going to bring all the Lin family¡¯s men who had sacrificed their lives for the kingdom return and be laid to rest.


    ¡°Are you not at all unwilling?¡± Li Xian approached Lin Dan and asked in a low voice.


    ¡°Compared with unwillingness and resentment, it¡¯s more important for me to bring my dead family members back to hometown and bury them as soon as possible.¡± Lin Dan galloped and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lin Qing waved at the soldiers who sent him off and followed closely behind his sister.


    Watching them receding unrestrainedly, Li Xian was still in a daze for a long time. Ding Mujie sighed, ¡°Of course, Lin Dan was clear about what was more important in her heart, love, and sanity, power and family.¡±


    Li Xian suddenly chuckled and said in a gentle voice, ¡°How can an ordinary person like me can compare with her! Hurry up and keep up with her. Otherwise, the fairy will abandon us! ¡°


    Li Xian seemed to be joking, but his speed of catching up was not slow at all. Ding Mujie quickly followed. Looking at Lin Dan¡¯s lean and straight back, his eyes darkened. He knew that Li Xian was not joking at all. In his heart, even in Ding Mujie¡¯s heart, she was an extraordinary existence. She was brave and fearless, but she also valued loyalty and friendship. Perhaps only God and they knew how much they wanted to get close to her and how much they wanted to gain her favor.


    However, Lin Dan didn¡¯t notice that the two were trying to approach and ingratiate her. She had always been clear about the priority and urgency. Since the battle was over, and the great empress was still hoping that she could bring her family back to reunite, she definitely wouldn¡¯t delay. As for those intrigues, power, and interests, what did they have to do with her?


    Lin Dan was eager to return home; she didn¡¯t expect to meet a group of daredevils blocking her way. Their primary goal was King Zhuang, Li Xian, and the second was herself. As the comrade-in-arms, Lin Dan could not let King Zhuang being killed, so she naturally would protect him.


    Compared to killing enemies on the battlefield, she seemed to be more proficient in fighting. As long as she raised her sword, she would be controlled by a killing aura, and it would be difficult to hold back. For her to kill more joyfully, she pointed at the suspension bridge behind her and said, ¡°Y¡¯all go first, and I¡¯ll catch up later!¡±


    Li Xian and the others knew her strength very well. In order not to drag her back, they rushed over the suspension bridge. On the other hand, Lin Dan guarded at one end of the bridge all the time, not allowing the daredevils to get any closer. Her eyes turned red with anger, which made these daredevils feel terrified. To complete the mission, they attacked the coffin protected by Lin Qing. Seeing the rope of a coffin was cut off by a daredevil and was about to fall into the mountain stream, Lin Dan hurriedly reached out to catch it. Although the coffin was saved by her, she fell off the mountain stream.


    At that critical moment, she shouted, ¡°Leave me alone. Cut off the bridge rope after crossing the suspension bridge and rush back to the capital!¡± As soon as her words faded away, she was nowhere to be found.


    Lin Qing didn¡¯t dare to disobey her sister. Even though he regretted it so much, he carried the coffin away with red eyes, cut off the rope, and left with gritted teeth. Those daredevils walked around the mountain stream, which was dozens of feet deep. When they were sure that they couldn¡¯t get across, they had no choice but to give up. However, they couldn¡¯t kill Li Xian, but they unexpectedly killed Lin Dan. It could be considered that they had successfully accomplished the mission and could return to report to their superio

 CH 71

    After Lin Dan went to the frontier secretly, the Lin family was in a mess for quite a while. The great empress didn¡¯t even dare to get sick. She quickly got up and get some food and sent someone to find her granddaughter along the way, fearing that she would encounter any danger. A complete family had now become a mess.


    On the contrary, Aunt Shi and Lin Wan, who were driven out by the great empress, lived a comfortable life. The Lin family had many heirs, and all of them were skilled in literary and martial arts, quite promising. The child in Aunt Shi¡¯s belly was not so precious at all. When the baby was born, the Lin family would provide him the necessities, but nothing more. But now, the situation was completely different. All the good sons of the Lin family had died on the battlefield; only Lin Qing survived by luck. However, he was positioned to fight at the frontier, which was very dangerous. Therefore, the child in Aunt Shi¡¯s belly became an indispensable existence in the Lin family and must be well protected and raised up.


    The night when the great empress received the devastating news, she sent someone to invite Aunt Shi back to the mansion. Aunt Shi said she was too weak to move, so she was unwilling to get on the carriage. The great empress understood her intention, so she went to pick her up in person the next day and apologized to her. For the sake of the child and the future of the Lin family, the great empress could bear anything.


    Aunt Shi quitted the acting when the great empress came in person. She took Lin Wan and return to the mansion. After a few days, Lin Wan was found out to be pregnant, which made the great empress very angry. Only then did the people know that when Lin Wan and King Kang fell into the wilderness on the night, they spend the night together and got pregnant with a bastard child. What Ding Mujie had said to praise them before was just humiliating now. One of two was contemptible, and the other was frivolous. What a shameless couple.


    The great empress was so furious that she felt dizzy and wanted to vomit blood, but she had to dispatch someone to send a message to King Kang. King Kang hadn¡¯t had a son since he got married for five years, so he was a little anxious. Although Lin Wan was of no use to him and the Lin family had been defeated, the child was the key to seize the throne. He couldn¡¯t refuse it, so he ordered someone to pick up Lin Wan with a sedan chair.


    Lin Wan was more or less unwilling to accept that she couldn¡¯t have a grand wedding and might not become the imperial concubine in the future. But she felt relieved when she thought that as long as she was pregnant with King Kang¡¯s only child, she could depend on her son. Seeing that the Lin family was getting worse, she was delighted that she would have endless wealth in the future while she moved to the king¡¯s mansion. Apart from that, she was still imagining the miserable situation Lin Dan was enduring at the moment.


    From her point of view, Lin Dan was extremely stupid to go to the frontier alone. Perhaps she had been raped and killed by some bandits. She wanted to tell the great empress, ¡°It¡¯s better to find her bones instead of looking for her everywhere; that will be more efficient.¡±.


    Unfortunately, not long after she was complacent, a war report came from the frontier, saying that General Xue Zhao had died in the battle. At the critical moment, Lin Dan took the position of Xue Zhao and became the leading general of the central army. She would lead the Western army to defeat the Huns and regain the conquered Hetao area.


    In the battlefield report, King Zhuang frequently requests to reward Lin Dan. He said that it was inappropriate to have a female general, but it turned out that he had the right judgment. Lin Dan was highly valued. Father, please give forgiveness. Then, he complimented the only female general again and wrote them clearly on the report.


    King Zhuang¡¯s words reassured the emperor, but more importantly, Lin Dan¡¯s outstanding achievements by defeating the Huns¡¯ remnant and regaining back many villages and even cities made the emperor speechless. As long as she could fight, it¡¯s her freedom to do what she desires.


    Since the emperor didn¡¯t oppose, the ministers didn¡¯t dare to say anything. The matter that Lin Dan became the leading general just passed quietly. As time went by, Lin Dan¡¯s battle achievements and prestige got higher and higher. She was known as the god of war. The Lin family, which was on the verge of collapse, gradually stood up again.


    The great empress found out that her granddaughter was still alive, she felt relief. When she saw that the Lin family, which was about to be doomed, gradually returned to its former glory, the smile on her face appeared more frequent. Mrs. Lin, who had been sick for a long time, was slowly recovering. These days, she could help the great empress manage domestic affairs and no longer be immersed in the pain of losing her husband and son. All the servants who had thought of leaving the mansion were all at ease to serve their master.


    Aunt Shi was probably the only one who was unhappy in the mansion. These days, she had been complacent of herself because of the baby in her belly. She often went to Mrs. Lin¡¯s room to ¡°pay her a visit¡±. In fact, she swaggered around and was planning to persuade the great empress to help her become the legal wife. They should be aware that Lin Qing was still fighting on the battlefield, and it was uncertain that he could be back alive. The baby in her belly was the most precious treasure of the Lin family. As the mother of the child, how could she be a concubine?


    The great empress felt annoyed at the sight of her selfish face. With these few words, she was sent back, and she was told that there would never have this kind of people to be the legal wife in the Lin family. The legal wife would always be the legal wife, and the concubine would always be the concubine. How could she mess up the sense of superiority and inferiority?


    Aunt Shi was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She hated the great empress and the people of the Lin mansion even more. She swore in her heart that she would revenge back one day. But she never thought that the chance of revenge would come so soon. One day, a servant she bribed gave her a message that General Lin was not killed in the battle but was shot by Lin Dan. In order to protect the reputation of Lin Dan, the whole Western army had sealed their mouth. They were not allowed to talk about this. They only say that General Lin was dead in battle, just like the other generals.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    But Lin Dan couldn¡¯t get over it, so she wrote a letter to the great empress and admitted her crime. She also said that she would give an explanation to the entire family when she returned. After reading the letter, the great empress couldn¡¯t help crying and fainted on the bed unconsciously. Several servants hurried over to help her up, and they all saw the words on the letter. When the great empress regained consciousness, she ordered them not to spread the news, but they couldn¡¯t resist the greed of human nature. In the end, they still made a slip of the tongue.


    Aunt Shi rubbed her hands excitedly and gave a large amount of silver to the servant. Then she wrote a letter to Lin Wan, asking her to find a way to deal with Lin Dan, in case that Mrs. Lin was too delighted that it covered her fame. Just as Lin Wan was worrying that she didn¡¯t have the chance to compete for King Kang¡¯s favor, she revealed the news to King Kang that night. The next day, the impeachment against Lin Dan for killing her father was spread all over the emperor¡¯s table. Many rumors were constantly told to his ears, which made him think ill of Lin Dan. Then he issued an imperial edict to summon Lin Dan and King Zhuang back to the imperial city.


    Fortunately, King Zhuang was well prepared. He ordered his men to submit the joint letter from the officers and soldiers that recorded the truth of the matter. He also begged a wise person to help defend Lin Dan in front of the imperial palace.


    The truth that she had planned to hide until her death spread like wildfire over a night. The great empress felt as if her heart was cut by a knife when she heard outsiders framing her granddaughter for being cruel and merciless. She didn¡¯t have time to punish the insider; she immediately put on the first-grade imperial dress and the imperial dragon head stick and went to the palace.


    The great empress had saved the former emperor, and the empress insisted on breaking into the emperor¡¯s audience hall. The guard of the Imperial Army didn¡¯t dare to stop her, so they immediately sent someone to ask for his Majesty¡¯s permission. In the audience hall, the courtiers were divided into two factions, and they were quarreling fiercely. One faction scolded Lin Dan for killing her father; the crime was unpardonable. She must be called back to the capital and accused of her crime immediately; The other faction stood out to defend her, saying that she was forced to do so and excusable, so it was better to dismiss her charge.


    The emperor¡¯s mind was in a mess. When he heard that the great empress was here, he let her in without hesitation. Whether Lin Dan was guilty or innocent, and forgivable or not. All he needed to do was to let the great empress, his closest relative, judge for him. If the courtiers wanted to argue, he would just allow them to argue with the great empress.


    When the great empress walked into the hall with her imperial dragon head stick, the people from the two factions went quiet and looked at her with their gleaming eyes.


    The great empress bowed to the emperor respectfully and said, ¡°I heard all of your argument just now when I waited outside the palace. Why did Lin Dan kill her father? I think y¡¯all have seen the specific situation described in the joint letter of King Zhuang and the other generals. It doesn¡¯t matter whether she is incompetent to be the daughter of her father or excusable. I¡¯m not here to quarrel with y¡¯all. I just want to tell you my opinion. ¡°


    The great empress cupped her hands to the courtiers and continued, ¡°There is a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety. It has been said since ancient times. You are all courtiers, so you must have known what that means. However, in our family, this has been an everlasting dilemma. The choice between loyalty and filial piety is a personal choice, and I dare not interfere with it. But in our Lin family, if we put the devotion to our country and filial piety on the same scale, we will definitely choose to be loyal to the emperor and patriotism instead of filial piety. The Lin family¡¯s sons will leave their mother and go to the frontier to fight when they grew up. They will devote their life to the country and the emperor. They have never been filial for a day. Between their family and the country, they would choose to guard the country and give up their family. But it was also because of their choice; There are thousands of safe and peaceful small families. Can you say that their intention is wrong? Have you ever thought about how much they have sacrificed while you are living a peaceful life? For the victory of the Wei Kingdom and to prevent the Huns¡¯ cavalries from trampling our mountains and rivers, my son chose to die with emotions, and my granddaughter decided to kill her father. One of them died with a smile, and the other lived with pain and forever being haunted by that day. When I received the news, my heart was also broken, but I have never thought my granddaughter did the wrong thing. ¡°


    The great empress looked around at the courtiers and said firmly, ¡°I believe that she has never regretted. Even if she was given another chance, she would still shoot the arrow because, in her heart, loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and defending the country is more important than filial piety. If it weren¡¯t for her that arrow, the army¡¯s morale wouldn¡¯t have been as firm as a rock, and their fighting spirit wouldn¡¯t have been high. Even Wei couldn¡¯t have won the recent victory. When everyone impeached her, y¡¯all must have thought that she had done something wrong. Y¡¯all must assume that she should choose her parents and family among the emperor, country, parents, and family. Filial piety is the most important thing for y¡¯all. Meanwhile, y¡¯all desire to have a peaceful country. I don¡¯t dare to interfere with your viewpoint, but I can¡¯t agree with y¡¯all. Our family¡¯s rule has been passed down for hundreds of years, and there is only a phase ¡ª Be loyal to the emperor when living; die for the country. We only know we have a country to protect, but not a family. Is that wrong? ¡°


    The great empress slowly knelt down, and kowtowed with tears flowing all over her face, and said, ¡°Our Lin family has been loyal to His Majesty for generations and have sacrificed their lives. All of us can be the witness for this. Your Majesty, please uphold justice!¡± Her sonorous and powerful voice echoed in the hall, making all the courtiers were embarrassed and didn¡¯t dare to look at the emperor¡¯s face.


    In the court, who dared to mention their parents and family were far more important than the emperor and the state of the Wei Kingdom? The great empress¡¯ words certainly slapped the faces of all the officials who impeached Lin Dan, and the emperor was moved by her words

 CH 72

    When the courtiers impeached Lin Dan for being cruel and merciless to kill her father, she should be punished severely, as she had lost the primary moral bottom line and should not serve in an important position. The emperor thought what they said was reasonable. She even dared to kill his father. But after hearing the great empress¡¯ words and considering the actual situation at that time, the emperor suddenly realized that the two had made such a decision just because they placed too much importance on the emperor and the country.


    In order to serve the emperor and the country, their life and death had long been left out of consideration. If such a devoted person is not fit to be in an important position, who else is qualified? Couldn¡¯t it be these people who hid behind the frontier and enjoyed luxurious life and claiming that filial piety was more important than loyalty to the emperor?  If they were put on the battlefield, they would probably flee before the drum rumble? They even had an excuse that there were still parents at home who needed to be filial. They couldn¡¯t die!


    If all the people in the Wei Kingdom were like them, who else would guard the frontier, defend the enemy, and protect the country? He could sit here peacefully and listen to them arguing. Wasn¡¯t it all because Lin¡¯s men exchanged their lives for it? The more the emperor thought about it, the more he was moved by the loyalty of the Lin clan. When he looked at the courtiers who impeached Lin Dan, he felt ulterior motives and ugly! Those courtiers who were glanced by him quickly lowered their heads didn¡¯t even dare to breathe.


    ¡°The great empress, please quickly stand up! How can I not understand the Lin clan¡¯s loyalty to me! What you said really makes me feel ashamed!¡± The emperor walked down the throne and held the great empress¡¯s arm, tears in his eyes. At this moment, he regretted deeply and blamed himself for issuing the imperial edict to reprimand and summon Lin Dan back. If the commander in chief at the frontier was replaced, would he still be as loyal as she was?


    The more the emperor thought about it, the angrier he became. After he personally sent the great empress away, he lost his temper in the court and found an excuse to reprimand several courtiers who impeached Lin Dan. What was the most important to be an official in the court? Loyalty was the most important, especially when the princes had grown up and the fight for the throne was getting more and more intense.


    The emperor was getting old and weak, so he seemed to be weak in everything. In such a situation, his sons were just staring at the throne and secretly plotting. Wouldn¡¯t he feel uneasy and have trouble sleeping? Wouldn¡¯t he feel anxious every day and being vigilant at all times?


    As a result, his standard of hiring had changed thoroughly, from competency to loyalty. If these courtiers hadn¡¯t slandered him, he shouldn¡¯t have retreated Lin Dan from the frontier. The Western army was the largest and most powerful army in the Wei Kingdom. The emperor had the confidence to do anything with the existence of this unit. But now, the Western army without the member of the Lin family, would the army still be the one who was loyal to the emperor? Would it be stealthily infiltrated and controlled by the princes?


    It was not until then that the emperor realized that he had been fooled by his sons, which made him played the most advantageous trump card at random. He regretted it so much!


    The great empress didn¡¯t know how regretful the emperor was. She only knew that she had to protect her granddaughter and let her come back in peace. Fortunately, her performance in the court soon worked. No civil official dared to impeach Lin Dan again, fearing that their career would be ruined entirely and being charged with being disloyal to the emperor and country. The citizens began to change their opinions and praised Lin Dan¡¯s courage and loyalty.


    The Lin family finally regained some peace, but not long after, there was another devastating news ¨C Lin Dan fell off the ravine by the assassins while saving King Zhuang, and she was nowhere to be found. The ravine was several hundred feet deep, and the water was flowing very fast. Lin Dan might be in grave danger this time! Even the fishes might not float, let alone humans.


    This time, the great empress finally fell ill. She laid on the bed, refuse to eat or drink anything, and cried all day. Before Mrs. Lin could figure out how to face her daughter, she couldn¡¯t have the chance to see her anymore. She burst into tears. Mrs. Lin was really regretful! She regretted that when the great empress replied to Lin Dan, she refused to write a few words to comfort her. Now she was tempted to comfort her but couldn¡¯t be heard by her daughter. Her daughter had done so much for the Lin family and the Wei Kingdom. In the end, she couldn¡¯t even find her body. She shouldn¡¯t have ended up like this!


    The Lin clan was shrouded in gloom, and the emperor was also confused. He sat on the dragon throne for a long time, unable to come to his senses. He had made up his mind that after Lin Dan returned to the capital, he would symbolically compliment and reward her handsomely and send her back to the frontier to continue to protect the country for himself. Lin Dan was the only general he could trust; how could he lose her in just a few days?


    How could the emperor not see through the undercurrent and plot hidden behind it? His anger, disappointment, and even hatred towards his sons increased a little more. He was getting more and more irritable. He reprimanded many officials one after another, causing chaos inside and outside of the kingdom.


    At the same time, Aunt Shi sneaked into King Kang¡¯s mansion and complained, ¡°Lin Dan is dead. The glory of the Lin clan is not as good as before. Many of the noblemen have cut off their relations with us. As you know, Lin Qing is incompetent. He can¡¯t take over the Western army at all. Without the Western army, the Lin family is nothing. What¡¯s the use of me giving birth to the baby? In the end, I still have to suffer. ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Wan chuckled, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re wrong. The Lin family has been fighting for generations, and the spoils they seized are unknown. There are a lot of gold and silver treasures in the family. After you give birth to the child, you can at least inherit the money. With the support of money, I will have a better life in King Kang¡¯s mansion. When King Kang ascends to the throne, my baby will be the prince, and I can at least be a concubine. If I am lucky in the future, I may live a wealthy life. You shouldn¡¯t only focus on the Lin family¡¯s property; you should take a long-term view.


    Aunt Shi¡¯s dejected expression was immediately replaced with joy. She nodded and said, ¡°What you said is true. You must take good care of yourself! I¡¯ve already known mine, it¡¯s a boy. Yours is still young to find out for the time being. I¡¯ll come and take a look for you in another month. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a prince.¡± After saying that, she put a few packets of remedy on the table and said, ¡°You must remember to take this medicine. I got it for you myself.¡±


    ¡°I believe in your medical skills.¡± Lin Wan kept the medicine in a box and began to imagine the future with her mother. However, they never expected that their dream would shatter so soon. A servant ran into the room panicky and said in a low voice,¡± Mistress, there¡¯s bad news. The frontier sent a message that saying that His Royal Highness was killed by Mo Xiao!¡±


    ¡°What did you say? His Royal Highness went to negotiate with Mo Xiao. How could he be killed?¡± Lin Wan asked in disbelief.


    The servant knelt on the ground and hurriedly replied, ¡°His Royal Highness and Mo Xiao were about to reach an agreement, but later, the Huns somehow heard the news of General Lin Dan¡¯s death. Mo Xiao immediately halted the negotiation and went back to the grassland to rest for half a month. Then he secretly allied with the four tribes, Xianbei, Jie, Di, and Qiang, and quickly formed an army. He launched a surprise attack in the military camp of the Wei kingdom. After killing several officials and His Royal Highness, who was in charge of the negotiation, they began to attack the river trap area again. He declared that he surrender because of General Lin Dan. Now that General Lin Dan is dead, he has no scruples. He will take the river trap, settle in Northern Shanxi, and trample the Central Plains. ¡°


    The servant was frightened that she almost burst into tears. She tried her best to hold back her fear and said, ¡°Without the deterrence of General Lin Dan, King Zhuang was transferred back to the capital, and the absence of Master Ding. The Western army had no leader; It was impossible for them to deal with the five Hu joint army. Now they were successively defeated. Outside the palace was in chaos. His Majesty was not sympathetic about His Highness¡¯s death for the country but rebuked him in the court for accusing others and causing chaos to the country, which he deserved to die. Her Royal Highness went to the palace to inquire about the news and was immediately driven out by His Majesty. His Majesty claimed that His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness were among the officials who impeached General Lin Dan the most. They suffered from their own actions and didn¡¯t deserve mercy. ¡°


    The servant was so frightened and asked, ¡°Mistress, what should we do? Do you want to visit Her Royal Highness? ¡°


    Lin Wan held her belly and collapsed on the bed, not knowing where to go. Without King Kang, her dreams about the prince, empress, empress dowager would all be ruined. There is no future. If she had known it earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have told King Kang the news that Lin Dan killed her father. In this way, King Kang wouldn¡¯t have instigated his officials to impeach her and order the emperor to call her back. If she stayed in the frontier and deter the Huns, the peace negotiations wouldn¡¯t be ruined, and King Kang wouldn¡¯t have died. She could also give birth to the baby in peace, waiting to be the imperial concubine or even empress.


    But now she had nothing, King Kang was dead, and the emperor was disgusted with her, and the baby in her belly became a hot potato. In order to take over the position of King Kang, Her Royal Highness would definitely take the child and raise it under her. In order not to cause any trouble in the future, with Her Royal Highness ruthlessness, Lin Wan would definitely suffer!


    ¡°Mother, mother, what should I do?¡± Lin Wan was filled with remorse and fear; she had no idea what to do. She didn¡¯t expect that she would cause such big trouble after she killed Lin Dan.


    Aunt Shi was also very regretful. She managed to calm herself down and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. You should keep the baby first. At least you can live a few more months. You can think about it later. Believe it or not, if you miscarry, Her Royal Highness can eliminate you immediately! ¡°


    Lin Wan was clear about the consequences she will face. Before she entered the mansion, Her Royal Highness wanted to kill her, let alone now?


    The two hugged each other and cried bitterly. For the first time, they made a wish, hoping that Lin Dan was still alive and could come back in the future. As long as she was there, the Huns would be afraid, and the Wei Kingdom would be in peace; With her presence, the Lin family wouldn¡¯t collapse. Considering the power of the Lin family, it was difficult for Her Royal Highness to take action against them. All in all, as long as Lin Dan was alive, everyone could have a way to live.


    The emperor was furious. He had never been so profoundly aware of how important it was to have a competent general in his hand that was enough to intimidate the world. If Lin Dan could come back to life, he would assign her to an important position no matter she was a man or a woman, loyal or treacherous. It was a pity that the life and death of Lin Dan were not up to him as an emperor to decide. Even the survival of the Wei Kingdom was utterly beyond his control.

 CH 73

    No matter how the chaos was in the capital and the frontier, Lin Dan would never be there to help anymore. After she fell into the mountain ravine and was caught in the torrent stream, she was consecutively hit by the huge rocks in the riverbed. She had bone fractures all over her body, and she had lost the ability to move. Fortunately, she was lucky enough to be washed to shoal by the current and rescued by several kind-hearted people, which saved her life.


    These people were the villagers at the border. They found that although Lin Dan was a woman, she was wearing a military uniform. Her sleeves and collar were embroidered with the totem of the Western army. They definitely didn¡¯t dare to refuse to help her. If it weren¡¯t for the Western army, they would have died and could even return to their homeland.


    They immediately carried her back to their village. Since she was a woman and it was inconvenient to take care of her, they settled her in a widow¡¯s house. Each household sent a few bowls of corn to the widow as the cost of curing her. The widow had a son. He had just turned eight years old and was able to guard in front of the bed.


    ¡°Sister, you recovered so fast! The doctor said that if an ordinary person injured like you, he can¡¯t get out of bed within ten to fifteen days.¡± A three-foot-tall kid ran into the room with a bowl of remedy. He looked cute.


    After Lin Dan took the bowl and drank it up, she said in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Don¡¯t need to decoct the medicine anymore, so as not to waste the money.¡±


    The kid shook her head and said, ¡°These herbs were picked by Doctor Meng himself. Just need to boil them with water after drying. It doesn¡¯t cost much. Sister, are you leaving? ¡°


    Lin Dan rubbed his head and said gently, ¡°I will leave once I recover. I can¡¯t be a freeloader.¡±


    The kid¡¯s face turned red, and he waved his hand, ¡°You¡¯re not a freeloader. Mom said, you are a soldier. It¡¯s our duty to help you so that you can protect us. Sister, can we go with you? ¡°


    ¡°Y¡¯all live well here. Why want to leave?¡± These days, Lin Dan often wandered around the village and found that the winter wheat was sown in the field. It was the earing season. By looking at the green piece of land, the scene was breathtaking. One or two months later, the villagers would have a good harvest. If they left at this time, this season¡¯s food would be gone, and they would starve to death.


    The kid frowned and said bitterly, ¡°General Lin Dan is gone. The Huns, driven away by General Lin Dan, allied with the other four Hu tribes and attacked Hetao. They came back to plunder us. If we don¡¯t leave now, we won¡¯t be able to leave when it¡¯s the harvest season.¡±


    The Huns had no production, and their rations were all dependent on looting. After all the trouble they had been through, the village was finally rebuilt. They thought that they could live a peaceful life under the protection of General Lin Dan, but they didn¡¯t expect that she would be assassinated by the assassins, and her body was nowhere to be found. Now the emperor was investigating the origin of those assassins. Some said that they were the daredevils of the several princes in the court; some said that they were the spies of the Huns. But no matter who they were, they were far away from the people at the border, where they only knew that their God of War was dead. Their good days were destroyed, and they had no home to return.


    ¡°Sister, you better leave as soon as possible. You are from the Western army. If the Huns know that, they will definitely come to kill you. Yesterday, the village head warned us not to reveal the news that you were recuperating in the village. When nightfall, you should leave quietly, and no one would know. My mother and I won¡¯t follow you. We don¡¯t want to be a burden to you.¡± The kid climbed onto the bed and took out Lin Dan¡¯s belongings.


    Looking at the clean black military uniform, a dark light flashed across Lin Dan¡¯s eyes. She rubbed the kid¡¯s head and said firmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let the Huns cause trouble to y¡¯all again.¡±


    The kid¡¯s eyes turned red; he was reluctant to let her leave. When Lin Dan was lying on the bed and unable to move, she told him the war story at the frontier every day. It was delightful to hear!


    While they were talking, the horse¡¯s hooves and villagers¡¯ screams came from outside, ¡°Oh no! The Huns are here. Everyone, quickly hide!¡±


    Before the kid could react, his mother had already rushed in and carried him. Then she went to help Lin Dan up and said hurriedly, ¡°Hurry up, hurry up, quickly hide in the cellar. The Huns are here!¡±


    ¡°Why hide when the Huns are here? Lin Dan quickly put on her military uniform and strode out. When she passed the yard¡¯s gate, she picked up a stick as thick as an arm. All the villagers hid; only a few young men were left standing on a tower. They were holding the self-made bows and arrows in their hands and staring at the dozen black dots that were approaching.


    The Huns were skilled at riding horses. They rode over in a group. It was difficult for ordinary people to fight against them as they were like evil spirits in the border area. They didn¡¯t even dismount from their horses. They would just chop and shoot at anyone they saw. They could basically kill all the villagers by running back and forth in the village for a few rounds. Then, they would dismount from their horses and plunder the spoils. If they run into any women or children, they would just take them back as slaves or kill them. In their eyes, the people from the central region were like animals.


    How could the people at the border not hate being slaughtered in such a way? Today, even if they were to fight to the death, they had to drag a few Huns to die with them.


    ¡°Eh? Is she the soldier who stayed at the widow Zhao house? Why did she come out?¡± A strong man immediately ran to the window and called anxiously, ¡°Hey, the Huns is approaching. Come back quickly!¡±


    Lin Dan looked back at them and waved her hand calmly. Then, when she passed by one of the houses, she took a wooden pot lid and used it as a shield.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Seeing her holding a wooden stick in one hand and a wooden plank in the other, as if she was going to fight with the Huns, the villagers could not help but feel anxious. The Huns were riding on their horses and holding a double-edged machete, where was not something that an ordinary stick could deal with. This military woman was too reckless! Several men ran down from the tower and wanted to pull her back, but they saw a few arrows flying across the sky, right in front of them; They quickly hid behind the gate.


    Several arrows pierced at the side of Lin Dan¡¯s feet, but she didn¡¯t even frown. It seemed that these Huns had discovered that she was a woman, so they did not intend to kill her but was left her to be tortured later.


    With these thoughts in their mind, the Huns came close to her and said in broken Han language, ¡°Ah Da, you have good eyesight. This person is indeed a woman, and she is pretty. You can bring her back to your service. Let her shepherd the cattle and sheep in the day and ride her as a horse at night. How wonderful is it!¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha, she is mine. No one is allowed to snatch from me!¡± The most masculine man laughed wildly.


    Those men whipped their horses as they approached; the villagers were so terrified. They shouted through the gate, ¡°Hey, quickly run. Why are you still standing there?¡± If possible, they wanted to dissect the woman¡¯s brain to see what she was thinking. But, no matter how skillful you are, you are only a human and unarmed. Can you fight against this group of Huns who ride on horses with swords?


    In order to save that military woman, they kept shooting arrows at the Huns. But their bows were very shoddy, and their accuracy and range were minimal. They couldn¡¯t pierce through the armor suit of the Huns at all. Some of the arrows that fell to the ground couldn¡¯t even penetrate through the soil.


    All of a sudden, the villagers were a little desperate. Seeing that the Huns bent down and were about to get the military woman on horseback. They had no time to care about anything; They quickly opened the door and barged out, trying to save her. At this moment, the military woman, who was standing there, raised the stick in her hand. She hit hard on the man¡¯s arm, who was trying to catch her.


    The faint sound of bone cracks was masked by the screams of the man. He tumbled down from the horse with a wail, and the military woman jumped on the back of the horse at speed and replaced him. Before the other men could react, she hit their heads with the stick one after another and fell to the ground.


    The light wooden sticks used to be used as firewood seemed to weigh a thousand pounds in her hand. She smashed the brains of these men into pieces, and blood spurted out. Then, after falling off the horse, their legs twitched and died.


    It was not until then that the several Huns who were far away realized that they had encountered a formidable opponent. They quickly gather together. The military woman threw away the stick and wooden plank, took a machete from one of the corpses, and charged forward. She bent down, leaned over, moved, and jumped on the horseback as nimbly as on the flat ground.


    Those Huns waved their swords violently, but they couldn¡¯t even hit her once. On the contrary, she chopped off a head as soon as she made a move. After half an hour, the ground was scattered with heads everywhere; A few headless corpses were still on the back of the moving horses. The blood spurted out from the broken part of their necks. The woman was sitting in the center of several bloody pillars. Her face was as cold as ice, and her eyes were as dark as pools. The machete in her hand had already been soaked in blood, emitting a strange red glow.


    To be honest, the scene was really terrifying. The villagers hiding in the tower ran down after a long time and looked at her in awe.


    ¡°Who, who are you?¡± The leading villager gulped secretly. They wandered on the edge of life and death all year round and used to the cruel means of the Huns. How could they fail to see Lin Dan¡¯s strength? In the blink of an eye, she had killed more than a dozen Huns¡¯ men without a sweat, and her hair was still tidy. In addition, her delicate features and cold and compelling aura made it clear that she was that legendary General Lin Dan!


    No, she was far more heroic and braver than in the legend, making the villagers tremble with excitement.


    ¡°Pile up the corpses and put them at the entrance of the village. Is there any iron wire? Give me a roll.¡± Lin Dan said calmly, ¡°Each time the Huns come out to plunder, they will be divided into several groups. These people are in the lead, and the army is still behind.¡±


    Seeing the fear on the villagers¡¯ faces, she added, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid. The Huns are not good enough. I will just kill them once they¡¯re here. So there¡¯s nothing to be worried about.¡±


    Seeing her speak so lightly, everyone calmed down. They moved the corpses and found iron wire. Half an hour later, there were piles of corpses in front of Lin Dan¡¯s horse. The iron wire was tied between the two big trees at the village entrance by her, and she adjusted the height of it several times.


    After that, she sat on the horse and waited for the Huns. The rest of the villagers hid in nearby houses.


    The hooves¡¯ sound of the Huns was getting closer. Soon, they galloped over the slope and reached the entrance of the village. Seeing piles of corpses on the ground, they raised their broadswords and charged up to Lin Dan, who was waiting calmly. They looked ferocious. However, in the next moment, the iron wire hanging in mid-air had cut through their necks and bodies, splitting them in half. The blood burst out like a waterfall; the scene was spectacular. Even if the last few Huns found something strange, it was too late to dodge.


    They could only watch helplessly as they hit the iron wire and were beheaded

 CH 74

    Under the continuous impact, the iron wire was finally torn apart. Only then did Lin Dan whipped the horse and galloped forward and chopped off the heads of the remaining people. She shook off the blood on the tip of the sword, turned around, and looked back at the villagers who were shocked. She gradually said, ¡°See? As long as you resist, the Huns are not terrifying. Y¡¯all have to practice shooting arrows thousands of times a day and wield swords tens of thousands of times a day. As time goes by, your horsemanship will be more exquisite and powerful than the Huns. When facing them, you can also be as fearless as I am. Y¡¯all can build an archer tower at the village entrance, and dig pits on the grassland outside the village, and set a trap for every household, which can be attacked and guarded. ¡°


    She picked up an arrow and a quiver, carefully tied it on the saddle, and said, ¡°These seem to be difficult, but as long as you make up your mind and work on it, it will be easy. By sparing yourself another ten, twenty years. Can y¡¯all build this village into a fortress?¡±


    The leading villager endured the excitement and said, ¡°We can!¡±


    Lin Dan chuckled and said, ¡°Then what are you afraid of? There is the Western army guarding ahead. You can stay here with peace and work hard to build your homeland. Ten years, twenty years later, even if the Huns return, they can¡¯t trample your fortress and defeat your descendants. All the Huns were soldiers; we can be the same, right?


    The prediction was all depending on the stability of the frontier. If it was another person who said these words, the villagers would spit on that person¡¯s face and scold, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel tired of talking.¡±. What else could they do if they didn¡¯t flee? Fodder and money were all plundered by the Huns. How could they build their homeland? The villagers were all killed by the Huns. How could they have descendants? They couldn¡¯t even stay alive; how could they be soldiers?  If she couldn¡¯t live, why did she say that all the people were soldiers?


    But now, the person who said these words was Lin Dan. It seemed to bring endless hope and courage to the villagers.


    ¡°Are you General Lin Dan?¡± Someone finally plucked up the courage to ask.


    The kid, who had sneaked out and overheard it, he was dumbfounded. The rest of the villagers were in an uproar. They had thought that she was a female soldier under the command of General Lin Dan, but they didn¡¯t expect her to be General Lin Dan. However, other than General Lin, who else could be so skillful, killing the Huns like cutting vegetables.


    Lin Dan took off the dagger which was tied around her waist, and threw it to the kid, and waved, ¡°Thank you for saving me. I hope we can meet again in the future. Don¡¯t spread the news that I¡¯m here to heal my wounds. I¡¯m afraid it might cause trouble to y¡¯all.¡± Her identity was particular that if the news got out, it might lead to the revenge of the Huns.


    Although they didn¡¯t get a definite answer, the villagers were convinced that this valiant and unparalleled military woman must be General Lin Dan.


    ¡°Mom, mom, pinch me! I have taken care of General Lin for more than ten days, and I listen to her telling stories to me every day! Am I dreaming? The kid¡¯s face turned red with excitement, holding the dagger tightly.


    His mother pinched him hard. Seeing him cry in pain, she covered her mouth and cried. She thought the villagers would die this time, but she didn¡¯t expect that only Lin Dan alone could protect all of them. She was fearless and invincible, far more powerful than it was said! As long as she was there, the Huns would be beaten away, and the people would live a good life sooner or later!


    Knowing that the Huns troopers wouldn¡¯t come again, Lin Dan rode away. When the villagers came to their senses, they exclaimed, ¡°General Lin Dan is not dead! We had saved her! ¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me for having the pride that I have saved the world!¡±


    ¡°You are right. We saved General Lin, which means we have saved ourselves! In the view of General Lin, the Huns were nothing more than ants. They will die with a light crush!¡±


    ¡°General Lin is here. Shall we stop fleeing? The Huns would be scared to death when they heard her name.


    ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t flee anymore. We¡¯ll repair the archer tower, build a fortress, and dig pits. We¡¯ll defend our homeland!¡±


    The villagers, who had been in despair, were not afraid of the Huns¡¯ broken bodies at all. They squatted down to pick up their belongings. They kept the useful ones and burnt the useless ones. Machetes, bows, arrows, daggers, horses, and other things were distributed among the young men as preparations for battle. The women and the children stood aside and watched, not willing to run away even if they were trembling with fear.


    After witnessing this kind of scene, they would no longer be scared and even have the courage to fight back in the future. Just as General Lin Dan said, some things seemed difficult, but as long as one made up his mind, it was not difficult at all.


    ¡ª


    Ding Mujie and Li Xian squinted their eyes on high land and looked into the distance with a solemn expression. Under the high ground were all densely packed tents. Looking from afar, there were at least tens of thousands of tents.


    ¡°The number of people increased again.¡± Li Xian sighed a mouthful of stale air.


    Ding Mujie closed his eyes and gradually said, ¡°It should be the last group of soldiers of the Chang tribe who have allied. My plan of alienation won¡¯t work in a short time. If you want to stabilize the situation, you must win tomorrow¡¯s battle and can¡¯t afford to lose. If we won, the troops of five Hu would receive a devastating strike; only then there¡¯s a chance to inflict chaos within themselves; If we lost, they would gain benefits and try to conquer the center plain in the future. We have been exhausted of dealing with only the Huns, let alone the five Hu joint army. The Wei Kingdom is on the verge of life and death.¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Ding Mujie lowered his head to cover his ironic and cold eyes. He had thought that the Wei Kingdom would be defeated by an outsider, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be destroyed by its own people. If Lin Dan was still alive, how the five Hu would dare to invade? He was so angry that he wanted to give up. But in the end, he couldn¡¯t resist his conscience and guilt.


    This was the land that Lin Dan had risked her life to defend. He had no choice but to come and save it!


    Li Xian looked into the vast and boundless plain and said in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ming De. I¡¯ve been sending people to look for Lin Dan along the river. God will bless her. She¡¯ll be fine. Before she returns, we must guard the frontier and the Western army well for her. We can¡¯t let her efforts be ruined in an instant.¡±


    However, it was not that easy to defend the frontier and the Western army. These days, they had been fighting with the five Hu joint forces several times. Although they were testing the waters, they gradually figured out each other¡¯s backgrounds. Although the five Hu allied forces had their own plans and were not united enough, the problem of the Western army was even more significant.


    Several generals who came with King Kang to exchange for defense were shot to death by Mo Xiao as soon as they met. They were so weak that even the spirit of the Western army was extensively damaged. Li Xian was in charge of the five thousand heavy cavalries, which was personally trained by Lin Dan, but to him, this responsibility was like a child playing a broadsword; they had no strength at all. He couldn¡¯t always run in the front like Lin Dan, let alone break into the enemy array as if he had entered an empty space. Without Lin Dan¡¯s leadership, the five thousand heavy cavalries were like a blunt knife, like an empty shell.


    Lin Dan was like the backbone of the soldiers. When she was alive, the soul of the Western army would stay forever; When she died, the Western army would be dispirited. This kind of situation could not be solved in a short time by Li Xian.


    ¡°What is the chance of winning tomorrow¡¯s battle?¡± Li Xian asked in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°30%.¡± Ding Mujie said calmly, ¡°Go back and have a good sleep tonight.¡±


    Li Xian didn¡¯t say a thing for a long time. He just stared at the river not far away, lost in thought. Ding Mujie knew who he was thinking about without the need to ask. He was also thinking about that person all the time, and his heart ached.


    The next day, the two armies were fighting in a valley. With the help of the four clans, Mo Xiao was more arrogant than before. He laughed and said, ¡°I really admire the people from the Central Plains. Y¡¯all are willing to kill Lin Dan, who was such a powerful and competent general. Y¡¯all deserve to die for your sins! I planned to hide on the grassland and take a rest, but y¡¯all gave me a chance. If I don¡¯t act when there¡¯s a chance, I would be punished by God. If I can¡¯t unify the Central Plains today, even God can¡¯t tolerate it!¡± After saying that, he raised his broadsword and ordered, ¡°Attack!¡±


    The five Hu joint forces blew the horns and launched an all-out attack.


    The Western army¡¯s morale was skyrocketing, but there was nothing they could do. It was true that the Wei Kingdom caused the death of Lin Dan, and it was very likely that their people did it. Their objective was to fight for the throne. Could that position be more important than the citizens? The resentment and hatred in their hearts had caused their fighting spirit to reduce a little. They were dejected as soon as they faced their enemy.


    They had been battling from dawn to midday. The Western army was continuously being defeated, with heavy casualties. However, the five Hu allied forces were getting more and more valiant, and the sound of killing was heard everywhere. If they won today, the gate of the central region would be opened entirely, and the people of the Wei Kingdom and even the emperor who sat high in the palace would suffer from this disastrous defeat.


    Li Xian was shot by several arrows, but he refused to retreat from the frontline. Tears welled up in his eyes. The motto of Lin Dan had become his motto ¡ª A warrior only knows how to fight on the battlefield and die for the country; there is no need to return the corpse. Since Lin Dan had died here, he would also want to die here. Regardless of the glory and wealth or the throne, whoever loves it takes it. Without these soldiers, let¡¯s see how long they could live in peace.


    Ding Mujie, who was waiting for the news in the military camp, pretended to take a nap with a sharp dagger in his hand. After a long time, he slowly lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing a gentle smile. He thought without feeling unsatisfied, ¡°It seems to be a good ending to be buried in the same land as Lin Dan.¡¯


    Amid the war, everything was on the way to destruction. At this moment, a group of strong and aggressive wild horses came out from the rear of the five Hu joint army. They rushed into the five Hu army at full speed, completely disrupting their formation. Many of the horses fell over in the collision, and the five Hu soldiers were killed under their horses.


    ¡°Where did these wild horses come from? Be calm, must be calm!¡± Roared Mo Xiao hysterically.


    ¡°Find out the lead horse and kill it!¡± A general from the Qiang tribe looked around the horses. If they couldn¡¯t find a lead horse, these horses wouldn¡¯t leave. If the troops were dispersed entirely by them, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    They had never heard or seen such a large number of wild horses before. It should be a combination of three to four or even five to six herds of wild horses. But every herd of wild horses would have a leading horse. They were obstinate and rebellious, unwilling to join the other horses. Then where did these horses come from? Who could tame five to six herds of horses in a row and ultimately control their directions?


    ¡°Damn it! Retreat!¡± An ominous premonition rose in Mo Xiao¡¯s heart. As soon as he finished his words, he saw a familiar figure crawling out from the belly of a wild horse, killing a soldier from the Huns clan. The figure grabbed over his machete, stepped on the horse¡¯s back, and charged towards him. Who else could it be if it wasn¡¯t Lin Dan?

 CH 75

    Seeing that his old enemy was still alive, Mo Xiao¡¯s eyes widened. He whipped his horseback and shouted hoarsely, ¡°Lin Dan is not dead! Kill her! Quickly!¡±


    A group of cavalries hurried to surround and protect the king, but they saw that Lin Dan, who was stepping on the back of the horse, suddenly assimilate into the group of horses and disappeared in an instant.


    ¡°Where is she? Where is she? Where is Lin Dan? Go and find her!¡± Mo Xiao was so anxious. When Lin Dan appeared, he was scared, but he was even more terrified when she disappeared. The Huns army, which was in tidy formation, was now in a mess because of her.


    The two armies confronted each other in a long and narrow valley. The herd of wild horses rushed from the rear of the Huns. If they continued to move forward, they would run into the Western army and disturb their formation. As the horses approached the Western army, a loud whistle came from nowhere, causing the wild horses to turn around and run towards the five Hu joint army, completely messing them up.


    Mo Xiao yelled, ¡°Where the whistle sound is, Lin Dan will be there? Go and find her! And kill her! I must kill her today!¡±


    It was challenging to find a person among the herd of galloping horses? The Huns¡¯ cavalries kept circling around and don¡¯t know where to go. They were eager to see where Lin Dan was. She had become the nightmare of all the Huns. As long as the Huns didn¡¯t get rid of her, they would not dare to step into the central region.


    The other four Hu¡¯s tribes had only heard of Lin Dan¡¯s name, but they had never seen how skillful she was. They disdained the Huns army, which was in chaos. Why were they so desperate to kill a woman? Wasn¡¯t their biggest enemy the herd of horses that appeared inexplicably and the Western army that was right in front of them?


    ¡°Mo Xiao, you break out the encirclement from the right-wing. We help you to pin down the horses!¡± A general from the Qiang tribe shouted.


    Mo Xiao turned to look at him, his expression turned from anxious to shock. He saw Lin Dan emerged from behind the Qiang general like a ghost; she quickly climbed on the back of the horse, and cut off his head, then she disappeared under cover of the blood spurting all over the sky.


    This man was the leader of the Qiang army. If he died, all the troops of the Qiang army would fall into chaos.


    Mo Xiao held the rein tightly to make the horse turn around to see his surroundings clearly. His was in panic and fear, like a dying trapped beast.


    Suddenly, not far from him, another blood soared into the sky, followed by the scream of the men in panic. Their leader was also killed by Lin Dan. With the help of the horses, she wandered unimpededly in the five Hu joint army, like a ghost. She left without leaving any trace after killing.


    One of the Chinese stratagems stated, ¡°Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief; Hit where it hurts.¡± in the situation of the disparity in fighting power between the two sides, the decapitation tactic was indeed the best choice.


    Finally, he figured out what Lin Dan was doing. Mo Xiao¡¯s face turned deathly pale with fear. Before he could call his own soldiers back to protect him, the Di leader was cut in half by Lin Dan. Blood poured down on the man¡¯s pale body like heavy rain, making the horse let out a shrill neigh.


    ¡°Come back, all of you, come back! Quickly surround me!¡± Mo Xiao howled madly; he stretched out his hand and pulled the nearest rider to his front to shield him. If he had only been scared of her before, now he was utterly terrified of her. He was almost frightened to death by her.


    The Western army thought that the herd of wild horses would continue to gallop and scatter their camp. But, to their astonishment, they found that these horses seemed to be sent by God to help them. They only circled around and trampled back and forth in the five Hu joint army, not moving forward at all, which didn¡¯t make sense. Li Xian was suspicious. When he was about to rush into the enemy line, he saw a familiar figure appear in the herd of horses. The figure swiftly cut off the head of one of Hu¡¯s general¡¯s heads and disappeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s Lin Dan. She¡¯s still alive!¡± Li Xian looked in the direction in disbelief. It was a cruel scene of blood soaring into the sky, but in his eyes, it was like a firework exploding.


    ¡°It¡¯s the general! It¡¯s her!¡± The five thousand heavy cavalries around him also showed ecstatic expressions. Their dispirited state was instantly vanished and turned into a high fighting spirit.


    ¡°The general is in the depths of the array. Let¡¯s go and join her!¡± The five thousand heavy cavalries lifted their broadswords and attacked the enemy and formed a bloody path, directly ripping the five Hu joint army in half. The light cavalries who followed closely behind them shouted excitedly while killing the enemy.


    ¡°The general is not dead! The general is still alive!¡±


    ¡°The General had killed the leaders of Xianbei, Qiang, and Di army. The general is so brave!¡±


    ¡°Attack! Let¡¯s go and welcome the general!¡±


    The excited shouts were spread one layer after another on the battlefield. First was the five thousand heavy cavalries at the forefront, followed by the tens of thousands of light cavalries, and lastly, the hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers. Their depressed faces were instantly filled with a strong murderous will, and excitement glowed from their dark eyes. However, with the presence of Lin Dan, their backbone was there, and their passion and fighting spirit would not be extinguished. Moreover, Lin Dan had killed three leaders of the Hu clan alone, which caused complete chaos in the five Hu army. Such a glorious battle performance was enough for everyone to quickly establish their belief in victory.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    If observed from a high area, the Western army, whose attack was not blatant; suddenly, raised their swords and attack. The three groups of troops ripped the five Hu allied forces apart from three directions, devoured them entirely. The five thousand heavy cavalries in the front were like a sickle. Wherever they passed, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and their heads rolled. Their combat effectiveness was astonishing.


    This change was only caused by the arrival of a person.


    Mo Xiao had to deal with the vicious Western army while searching for Lin Dan, which made him a little flustered. Moreover, three leaders of the four tribes died instantly, and the remaining one was already scared out of his wits and wanted to retreat. So he also started to plan to flee.


    As soon as he uttered the word ¡°retreat¡±, he caught a glimpse of a ghost-like figure that emerged from the corner of his eyes. He quickly raised his shield to block it.


    With a loud bang, the blade hit the shield, causing sparks. As soon as Lin Dan missed the strike, she hid and did not attack again. Before Mo Xiao could see her face clearly, he could only see a trace of coldness in her deep eyes.


    Mo Xiao took a while to come back to his senses. He waited until his soldiers approached him; only then did he throw away his shield that had been cut into two. He shook his numb left arm, and his whole body was as cold as falling into an ice cave. He finally realized that Lin Dan, who rushed on the battlefield, was not the most terrifying. What was more startling was that she fought alone. If you provoked her, she could crush you with thousands of troops and horses and even take your life like a shadow. It requires a lot of courage to be her enemy.


    While Mo Xiao was trying to suppress his fear, the head of the Jie leader disappeared. Before the blood-drenched Jie cavalries had the time to scream, they had been chopped into meat paste by the five thousand heavy cavalries. These dispirited soldiers of the Wei Kingdom were now as ferocious as tigers and wolves because their general had returned, and this general was ever-victorious and invincible!


    Mo Xiao could no longer hold back his fear and shouted, ¡°Retreat! Retreat right away!¡±


    The five Hu allied forces began to retreat in panic, but it was too late. Lin Dan came out of nowhere and grabbed the horse of one of the Hun¡¯s heavy cavalries and joined the five thousand heavy cavalries that came to welcome her. The high-spirited Western army seemed to have come back to life and burned into a flame again.


    Mo Xiao looked back and ran even faster. After being chased for hundreds of miles by the herd of wild horses and the Western army. He finally got rid of the siege and ran into the innermost part of the grassland. The other four clans¡¯ troops were severely beaten up; They dropped their helmets and armors, kneeling down to surrender, and were no longer arrogant as before.


    The war, which was supposed to be without suspense, ended with the great victory of the Wei kingdom. Not to mention the garrison around the world who received the news of the war; even the Western army couldn¡¯t believe it. They raised the blood-stained swords in their hands, they sat on the horses in a daze. Finally, they glanced at the grassland complete with broken limbs and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Where is General Lin?¡±


    ¡°Where is General Lin? I saw her just now!¡±


    ¡°Is it true that General Lin has come back?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been following the general to kill the enemy just now!¡±


    For them, victory was far less important than General Lin¡¯s life. So when they heard the news of General Lin¡¯s return during the battle, most of them didn¡¯t see her in person. They didn¡¯t dare to think deeply about it, so they accepted it naturally. They hoped that she could live, even if they were being lied to.


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Lin Dan raised the blood-stained broadsword in her hand and rode over. The setting sun shone on her as if coated her with a layer of golden light.


    The soldiers were stunned for a while before they got off the horse and knelt down. ¡°General!¡± Before they finished speaking, many people cried out with excitement.


    ¡°The general is still alive! The general is really alive!¡± They stood up and shouted; they took off their helmets and threw them into the sky, as excited as children. Several more people wanted to rush over and lift Lin Dan up but were beaten away by Li Xian.


    ¡°Lin Dan?¡± Li Xian looked straight at her.


    Lin Dan wiped off the blood on her face and replied with a smile.


    Only then did Li Xian confirm that she was alive. He rushed up desperately and held her tightly in his arms.


    Lin Dan hugged him back and patted his stiff back. Then she mounted her horse and said in a high spirit, ¡°The right army stays to clean the battlefield, and the rest of the army follow me back to the camp!¡±


    ¡°Yes, general!¡± All the armies agreed in an imposing manner. The kettle of vultures hovering in the sky and waiting to peck the corpses were all scared away, leaving a few feathers falling from the sky.


    In the military camp, a soldier rushed into the tent and shouted out of breath, ¡°Sir, General Lin Dan is back. Our army wins!¡±


    Ding Mujie, who had already had the will to die, suddenly opened his eyes with an unbelievable expression, and his face was replaced with ecstasy. Compared with the victory of the Western army, he definitely cared more about Lin Dan. He had been disheartened twice by this country. So why should he care about it? As long as Lin Dan was alive, everything would have hope.

 CH 76

    As soon as Lin Dan returned to the military camp, she was hugged by Ding Mujie, who was rushing over.  He kept patting her back and then distanced himself from her. Then, he carefully looked at her blood-stained face and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°You have lost weight.¡±


    Lin Dan pushed him away and said awkwardly, ¡°Apart from being thin, don¡¯t you see anything else?¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Ding Mujie immediately showed an anxious expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s not right anywhere¡±, Lin Dan tugged her clothes which had been lumped together, and said in a serious tone, ¡°I haven¡¯t taken a shower for more than a month, and I slept with the horses every day. Don¡¯t you smell it? I felt like I¡¯m rotten.¡±


    Ding Mujie¡¯s worried expression froze for a moment, and then he smiled helplessly. ¡°Guards,¡± he shouted, ¡°Go and boil a bucket of hot water for General Lin!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Lin Dan raised her hand and emphasized, ¡°I¡¯m afraid one bucket isn¡¯t enough; boil me a few buckets of water!¡±


    The ordered soldier ran away excitedly as if he had received an important task. Ding Mujie and Li Xian laughed uncontrollably. She was still as straightforward and lovely as before. She had left for more than a month, but to them, it seemed as long as ten years had passed.


    ¡°Come to my tent after taking a shower. Let¡¯s sit down and have a talk.¡± Li Xian said in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°I want to come along too.¡± Ding Mujie gave him a meaningful look.


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯ll bring along some good wine and dishes.¡± The other generals responded before they went far. It was not easy for them to get general Lin back, so they must have a big celebration.


    Li Xian was downhearted. Seeing that Lin Dan agreed, so he naturally couldn¡¯t drive them out. He cursed in his heart, ¡°So inconsiderate.¡±.


    After freshening up, Lin Dan went into the big tent and began to tell what she had been through for more than a month. ¡°¡­ leaving that village, I wanted to go back to the military camp, but then I thought about it. Even if I came back, what could I do? After all, the three hundred thousand soldiers of the Western army are no match for the eight hundred thousand five Hu cavalries. What can I change by myself? If I had thousands of troops and horses, I would definitely kill the five Hu joint forces. ¡°


    Speaking of this, Lin Dan raised the wine flask and gulped down a mouthful of wine. Her face had already turned red as if it was dyed with two red clouds, which made her particularly charming. Her eyes were like the stars in the sky, shining brightly. The soldiers looked at her with burning eyes, cautiously hiding their admiration. This was their leader and also the one they respect the most. How could they be ill-mannered towards her?


    Li Xian took a glance at her and then lowered his head and drank up.


    Ding Mujie seemed fine; he just leaned on the bench and looked at Lin Dan with a smile. He didn¡¯t dare to blaspheme her, nor did he dare to approach her, nor let her out of his sight.


    After drinking a flask of wine, Lin Dan casually wiped her red lips and continued, ¡°Thinking of this, I seize a glimmer of inspiration. It¡¯s rare to have a thousand soldiers, but there are diverse wild horses on this vast grassland. So, I wandered around the grassland, gathered five to six herds of wild horses in a row. I picked out the strongest one from the five to six horses to tame and killed the rest of the horses. In this way, this herd of wild horses that are pieced together listened to me. As long as I control the leading horses, it was equivalent to control all the horses. I commanded them to go east, and they won¡¯t dare to go west. On my way back, I met several groups of Huns, but I hid under the horse, and they didn¡¯t notice me at all¡­ ¡°


    Lin Dan seldom talked much. But today was very different. She won the battle and drank a lot, causing her to have a sense of pride that needs to be expressed, which made her talked more. It was heart-warming to see her unrestrained appearance, with blushing face, glistening eyes, and talked freely.


    Everyone looked at her intently. When she laughed, they also laughed. When she drank, they also raised their glasses to drink. As long as they could be with her, it was the happiest and luckiest thing in the world. In the end, everyone was drunk, but Lin Dan was only slightly tipsy. She put down her glass and asked in a low voice, ¡°Why is Lin Qing not here?¡±


    Ding Mujie avoided the toasts deliberately, so he was still sober and gradually said, ¡°He was forced by the great empress to stay in the capital to get married. And claimed that he wouldn¡¯t be at the frontier until his wife gets pregnant. Almost all the sons of the Lin family died, leaving him alone. He had to carry on the Lin family line. Speaking of which, you have also reached the age to get married. ¡°


    If the day he was reborn, he hadn¡¯t avoided Lin Wan¡¯s intention, Lin Dan would have become his wife, wouldn¡¯t she? This thought stuck in Ding Mujie¡¯s mind like a maggot attached to his bone, which made him unable to get rid of it. But he also profoundly realized that even if Lin Dan became his wife, he would end their relationship because of that misunderstanding.


    It was better to be as peaceful as it was now. At least they could be friends. Thinking of this, Ding Mujie couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and smile bitterly. He had planned not to drink and accompanied Lin Dan soberly without drinking, but at this moment, he felt an urge to get himself drunk.


    Lin Dan leaned against the chair and said, ¡°The soldiers who guarded the border had been through hundreds of battles. Their armor had been worn through. They were brave and indomitable; I will never return if the Huns had not been defeated. As long as the Huns are still alive, I will not get married. The blood of the Lin family was passed down by Lin Qing. Let¡¯s not talk about this. Drink.¡± She filled a glass of wine for Ding Mujie while she picked up the flask and drank up. She acted so free and easy.


    When she closed her eyes, Ding Mujie stared at her for a while. Then he drank up the wine in a gulp and smiled, ¡°You take care of the war, while Lin Qing will be responsible for the succession of the family, which can be regarded as each exhibiting their strengths.¡± [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Seeing that him teasing Lin Qing, Lin Dan couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    Ding Mujie was fascinated by her beauty in that instance. Li Xian, lying on the bed, opened one of his eyes secretly and looked at her rare smile without a blink. Countless tenderness surged in his chest, but he didn¡¯t dare to vent it. This person was like a towering mountain. It was also like the flowing water. The cool breeze was her, the icy snow was her, the sun was her, and the morning dew was her¡­ All the beautiful things in the world seemed to be condensed on her. But it was because she was too good that no one dared to approach her.


    Not getting married? Li Xian closed his eyes, feeling a little regretful but also a little relaxed in thought: This is also good¡­


    Ding Mujie swirled the wine glass in his hand, and his eyebrows slowly relaxed as if he was relieved.


    ¡ª


    In the capital, the haggard emperor was waiting for the news of the war at the border. The crown prince and a group of courtiers stood outside the palace, not daring to breathe.


    Until now, no news had been heard from the frontier, but everyone knew that it was impossible to stop the five Hu joint army with the strength of the Wei Kingdom. At that time, the land would be divided among the five Hu, and the citizens would be enslaved by them. The consequences were almost predictable. If the nobles wanted to survive, the best way was to cross the Yangtze River south and abandon the north.


    ¡°Father, this is the constitution for crossing to the south. Please have a look.¡± The crown prince took out a thick memorial.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for a while.¡± The emperor waved his hand and rejected. His tone sounded a little tired. He refused to leave his people behind and fled unless he had no choice.


    The crown prince sighed helplessly. The officials standing behind him all looked anxious. They wanted to urge the emperor to make a decision as soon as possible, but they didn¡¯t dare to speak rashly. The officials led by the nine princes were determined as if they were ready to die for their country.


    No one thought the Wei kingdom would win, so when the news came, they were all stunned.


    ¡°What¡­ What did you just say?¡± The emperor held the report tightly in his hand, but he didn¡¯t dare to open it.


    The envoy repeated, ¡°Your Majesty, our army has defeated the five Hu, and currently, we have successively retaken the Northern Shanxi, Hetao, and other places; They went even deeper into the desert and defeated the Huns!¡±


    Only then did the emperor opened the envelope with his hands trembling. He began to read eagerly. At last, he laughed loudly with overwhelming joy on his face. ¡°Well, well, well, What a Lin Dan! It¡¯s my great honor to have such a powerful general! ¡°


    All the princes and courtiers finally realized what happened, but their faces still showed a disbelief expression. The emperor¡¯s pale, haggard face turned red in that instance. After reading the report, he handed it to the eunuch and said happily, ¡°Read it for them!¡±


    The eunuch cleared his throat and read word by word loudly. Then everyone understood what had happened at the frontier. However, it turned out that Lin Dan was not dead. When the battle was at its worst, she suddenly led a herd of wild horses to appear behind the five Hu joint army, disrupting their formation; their foot soldiers were trampled to death. She beheaded the leaders of the four clans alone, completely breaking the five Hu joint army apart. Mo Xiao scared out of his wits and immediately turned around and fled back to the grassland. His arm was almost chopped off by her while he was escaping. His shoulder was injured and shed a lot of blood. It was uncertain if he could be saved after he fled back.


    After the victory, she besieged the remnant of the five Hu in the grassland and retook the lost land one by one. Up until now, the border had been completely stabilized. This time, Mo Xiao didn¡¯t dare to request to sign a peace treaty but wrote a letter of surrender. He ordered his special envoy to bring to the capital and bow to the Wei Kingdom.


    After reading the news, there was silence in the hall. It took a long time before someone cried out in surprise. Only a few princes looked a little unnatural, but no one paid attention to them under such worth celebrating moment. Since the Wei Kingdom was saved, all the officials were definitely happier than anything else that they didn¡¯t have to give up their property to travel south.


    The emperor pounded the table hard and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°She successively beheaded the leaders of the four clans and saved our country from danger. How will General Lin Dan be rewarded this time?¡±


    At this time, no one dared to impeach her for stealing the general position as a woman, let alone the crime of killing her father. They hurriedly responded, ¡°She deserves to be rewarded. She deserves a big reward!¡± General Lin was disappointed again. From now on, she would leave the border and return to the capital to marry. Then who could scare away the barbarians outside of the border? They need to be aware that there were still the Mongolians and Jin in the vast desert beside the five Hu. They were ambitious and eager to take action; They were just waiting for the opportunity to strike an attack on the Wei Kingdom. The seemingly boundless grassland was far from being as calm as it looked.


    The emperor took up his writing brush and wrote down a scroll of the imperial edict. He directly promoted Lin Dan to be the senior general for the peace of the kingdom, substituted the position of the late senior commander in chief. She was also given a knighthood, and a thousand households, which was rare in the history of the Wei Kingdom. In order to win over Lin Dan, the emperor had spent a lot of money

 CH 77

    It was not Lin Qing¡¯s intention to stay in the capital to get married. If the great empress hadn¡¯t threatened him with her life, he would have fled back to the frontier at night. But he didn¡¯t expect that the bride he married would be more unhappy than him. She refused to perform the wedding rituals nor to drink cross-cupped wine. Instead, she just sat on the edge of the bed and cried. Her makeup was ruined, and her eyes were swollen. She refused to listen to any advice.


    His sister was attacked by an assassin and fell into a ravine, and her whereabouts were unknown. Lin Qing felt depressed. How could he have the mood to get married? He didn¡¯t want to sleep with the bride, so he took a few quilts to the study room. The two were official husband and wife, but in fact, they were like strangers living in the same house.


    It has been like this for half a month; the great empress couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, so she made it clear that she wanted the both of them to consummate. As long as the bride was pregnant, Lin Qing was allowed to go to the frontier to fight, and they would never force him to do anything else. Furthermore, no matter the baby was a boy or a girl, they would help Lin Qing raise the baby, which could also be considered carrying on the Lin family line.


    Lin Qing was tempted by the condition. That night, he went back to the bridal chamber with his quilt. Unexpectedly, the bride, who had been quiet for a few days, began to cry again. This time, she cried even more sadly than last time. Her servants were all around her. They seemed to be persuading her, but in fact, they blocked Lin Qing from getting close.


    No matter how stupid Lin Qing was, he could see something wrong. ¡°Are you unwilling to marry me? He asked in a low voice.


    The bride stopped crying for a moment.


    Lin Qing sighed, ¡°Although your family has been destroyed, you still have the noble title. You also can be regarded as the earl¡¯s daughter. It¡¯s really unfair for you to marry into the Lin family. I understand the situation of my family. All the men of my family had died on the battlefield, and now I am the only one alive. Although my sister is talented, her life and death were uncertain. Whereas I¡¯m incompetent to handle the affairs, nor to support the Lin family. If you marry me, you not only can¡¯t enjoy the glory and wealth but also have to suffer with me. If I ask you to bear a child, what will you and the baby do when I leave?


    Tears welled up in Lin Qing¡¯s eyes as he thought of his mother¡¯s hard work to raise him and the current situation of the Lin family.


    The bride gradually stopped crying, but she didn¡¯t look at him. Instead, she tightly grabbed the hem of her clothes.


    Lin Qing saw her reluctant behavior; he waved his hand and said, ¡°Forget about it. I won¡¯t hurt you. If you really don¡¯t want to marry me, I will send you back. Now the border is in an emergency state, and the Wei Kingdom is in danger. All the nobles in the capital are determined to go south. At this time, no one will care about your marriage and divorce. You can find another good man in the south. ¡°


    After going through so many ups and downs, Lin Qing became permissive. He took out a writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and slowly wrote a divorce letter.


    Seeing his reaction, the bride couldn¡¯t help but say a few sincere words, ¡°I refuse to marry you. If the great empress hadn¡¯t given my father twenty-two thousand gold as the dowry, and my mother was a stepmother, who didn¡¯t care about me, I wouldn¡¯t have married to you.¡±


    Lin Qing shook his head and said, ¡°I know. There are rumors spread that whoever married into the Lin family would be a widow.  It¡¯s said that she should be a widow as soon as she entered the Lin mansion. How could a family with quite a fine background cheat her daughter in such a way? It took the great empress more than half a month to find someone like your situation. She finds that you had a greedy father and a cruel-hearted mother. You are also pity. I will give you some more silver coins, and you secretly take them to the south. Don¡¯t let others know. I will die on the battlefield sooner or later. I can¡¯t let you suffer. ¡°


    The bride waved her hand and said, ¡°No, no, no. I can¡¯t take the money. You just send me home.¡± She still had a brother with her stepmother. It was a long way to the south. She didn¡¯t know if her stepmother would take the opportunity to hurt her brother. Besides, she had someone she likes. No one knew her background when she went to the south. She could persuade her father to get her married again.


    In the end, Lin Qing still gave her a bag of money to signify the end of this relationship. The great empress disagreed with their decision, but there was nothing she could do. If his grandson refused to sleep with her, she couldn¡¯t force his grandson by drugging him.


    When the bride was sent home, the five Hu allied army and the Western army were engaged in a fierce battle in the frontier. Although the battle news hadn¡¯t been reported, all the nobles in the capital were ready to flee. It was known to all that once the border¡¯s gate was breached, with the speed of the Huns¡¯ cavalries, it would only take seven days to enter the capital city. They didn¡¯t dare to imagine how many people would die in the seven days.


    The great empress couldn¡¯t swallow her anger and insisted that the family return the dowry.


    Twenty-two thousand gold was not a small amount. If they went to the southern land, they could use it to set up a family business. How could the family be willing to return it? So, they quarreled with the great empress on the spot. They scolded them for being lonely and widowed with no descendants. They also rebuked them for the bad karma they deserved. They chastised them for whatever it was unpleasant.


    The great empress was so furious that she almost fainted. She swung her dragon head stick and was about to hit them. Lin Qing gritted his teeth secretly and regretted that he shouldn¡¯t have given the bride a bag of money. If he had known that her family could be so impudent, he would have never been such a kind person!


    The bride didn¡¯t help either side but knelt on the ground and kowtowed. For the sake of her younger brother, she would never go back to the Lin family. If the Lin family was still as prosperous as before, it didn¡¯t matter for her to be a widow. After all, the Lin family was powerful and could protect her brother until he grew up. But now, the Lin family had nothing but a useless Lin Qing. So when the Huns came and attacked, Lin Qing would definitely be left to guard the capital by the emperor and left to die.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    She knew the nature of the Lin family very well. Even if everyone in the capital went to the southern land, they would not flee. It would be better to divorce than stay and wait for death. The more she thought about it, the sadder she cried. Her desperate expression made many passers-by feel pity for her. They couldn¡¯t help but speak for her, ¡°Forget it, old lady. Don¡¯t you know what¡¯s going on in your family? Why do you have to drag her into this? ¡°


    ¡°Yes, you shouldn¡¯t have come to propose marriage. You¡¯ve made up your mind to widow her. Shouldn¡¯t that reasonable to give her that much dowry?


    ¡°Y¡¯all had gotten married, and you¡¯ve taken all the advantages, then suddenly divorce and ask for the return of dowry? That¡¯s too rude of you! Do you think the Lin family is still as good as before? You can pick any fine girls in the capital? It¡¯s good enough that she is willing to marry you. Don¡¯t push your luck.


    Seeing that everyone was on the side of her family, the bride¡¯s stepmother became more arrogant. She pointed at the great empress and said, ¡°Today, I¡¯ll tell you the definite answer. We won¡¯t return the dowry, and we¡¯ll take her away. You can do whatever you want. We¡¯re not afraid of being reported to the emperor!¡± After today, even the emperor would escape to the south. Who cared about these petty things?


    As the saying goes, one will be bullied when one is out of power. Sooner or later, the Lin family will all die. What benefits can one get by helping them? It was better to add insult to injury. More and more people spoke for the bride with such a sinister intention, which made the great empress almost faint. Lin Qing was so regretful that he wanted to draw out his sword and kill them.


    He just didn¡¯t want to drag her, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would hurt his own family. He was indeed good-for-nothing. If only he could trade his life for his sister¡¯s life, how great would that be? With the presence of her sister, the Lin family would not be humiliated to such an extent.


    The more Lin Qing thought about it, the angrier he became. He put his hand on the hilt of the sword and was about to kill, but a fast horse passed through the street like an arrow and shouted all the way, ¡°Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. The battle report from eight hundred miles! A great victory at the frontier! A great victory at the frontier! ¡°


    The crowd burst into an uproar and made way for the envoy to pass unimpeded.


    Lin Qing couldn¡¯t care about anything else; he rushed to the roadside and asked loudly, ¡°Is it true that there is a great victory at the border?¡±


    The envoy refused to talk to him, but he couldn¡¯t help but pull the reins and slow down when he saw the great empress. He said excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s true! General Lin Dan led a herd of wild horses at that critical moment and suddenly appeared from the rear of the five Hu allied army. She not only barged through the enemy array but also beheaded the leaders of the four clans. She also caused Mo Xiao injured severely and defeated the Huns! General Lin Dan is currently leading the Western army to encircle and suppress the remnants of five Hu joint armies on the grassland. In short, the Wei Kingdom is saved! The great empress, General Lin Dan, ordered me to send you a letter. You quickly go back. After I will go to your mansion after I visit His Majesty¡­ ¡°As he spoke, he had galloped away, leaving only a burst of laughter.


    Upon hearing the envoy¡¯s words, the great empress immediately put out her anger and said anxiously, ¡°Hurry up, let¡¯s go home! I want to wait for my dear granddaughter¡¯s letter! ¡°


    Lin Qing¡¯s depressed face disappeared in a split second, and he shouted at the street, ¡°My sister is still alive, and she won! Did y¡¯all hear that? My sister has won?¡± After that, he laughed out loud as if he was crazy. The passers-by didn¡¯t dare to say a thing anymore. Instead, they looked at the Lin family with awe and gratitude.


    Lin Qing roared a few more times, feeling very happy. At last, he didn¡¯t even look at the bride¡¯s family and hurried back with the great empress. The lady of the Lin family immediately felt relief and stopped worrying. Although they tried their best to hold back, they still laughed all the way back. They were so happy that tears shed from their eye.


    The passers-by made way for them. After they walked far away, they only shouted in joy, ¡°The Wei Kingdom has won. We don¡¯t have to flee! Go home and tell everyone! ¡°


    In the blink of an eye, the street full of people became empty. The bride was still kneeling on the ground, with tears on her cheeks. There was no sadness on her face, but as if she had seen a ghost. Her father and mother had been proud and arrogant a moment ago, but now they were trembling.


    Now that Lin Dan was back alive and had made outstanding merit, how would the emperor reward her? As soon as they thought of this, they collapsed to the ground, and it took them a long time to get up. They quickly ordered someone to send back the twenty-two thousand gold along with the bride.


    This time, the bride no longer cried but was very cooperative. But unexpectedly, the door of the Lin family was closed, and she was not allowed to step in again. For her brother¡¯s future, she kneeled at the entrance to apologize. Several servants knelt with her and whispered, ¡°Miss, after all, Lin Dan is a woman. Even if she has made military merit, her future is limited. Are you sure you want to be back?¡±


    ¡°She can¡¯t be conferred the title, but Lin Qing can substitute her.¡± The bride explained in a low voice. Lin Dan was a woman, the emperor wouldn¡¯t give her a hefty reward, but His Majesty will not treat the Lin family shabbily due to the rules. The merit of the battle would naturally fall on Lin Qing. Lin Dan is in charge of the battle, while Lin Qing enjoys the military merits. The bride would, of course, be a noblewoman and not a widow. So, why not? If she had known that marrying Lin Qing would have such benefits, she would have never divorce!


    Just as the bride was regretting, she saw several eunuchs rushing into the mansion with the imperial edict. A short while later, a few more palace guards ran over, put on ladders, took down the plaque with written ¡°Lin¡¯s Mansion¡±, and replaced it with the black gilded plaque written ¡°General of Peacekeeping¡¯s Mansion¡±.


    There was a flash of ecstasy in the bride¡¯s eyes. Then, she quickly asked, ¡°Sir, is it that Lin Qing has been conferred the title of General of Peacekeeping?¡±


    ¡°Who is Lin Qing?¡± Several guards said thoughtfully, ¡°Now General Lin Dan has been conferred the title of General of Peacekeeping and knighthood by the emperor. Don¡¯t kneel here and block the way. There will be someone from the palace delivering the rewards later. They would step on you, so be careful.¡±


    The bride was stunned. After being driven far away by the imperial guards, she muttered in a trance, ¡°In the Wei Kingdom, can a woman also be a general and a knighthood? What kind of era is this?

 CH 78

    Five years later, a line of majestic cavalries entered the capital city from the west gate. The one in the forefront wore silver armor and wrapped with tabard, and the eyes were filled with murderous auras, which made one people dare not look at. The guard of the city half knelt on the ground and watched them off.  When they stood up and said with lingering fear, ¡°It¡¯s a great honor to see General Lin with my own eyes!¡±


    ¡°With just a glance at her eyes, and I¡¯m already scared out of my wits. Isn¡¯t it life worthy?¡± Another guard patted his chest with fear.


    ¡°We are all scared to death when we see her. What do you think the Hu clan will react when they see her?¡± Another guard asked curiously.


    The people who were about to enter the city suddenly smiled proudly. ¡°We are from the border. We can solve this sir¡¯s doubts. The Hu people were scared out of their wits and fled when they heard General Lin¡¯s name. Under the general¡¯s guidance, we build a fortress and train the army of villagers. If Hu people dared to come, we immediately put down our hoes, picked up our swords, and immediately chopped them off as they cried for their parents. Wherever the general¡¯s horses go, we can settle there. Wherever she goes, it will belong to Wei¡¯s land. The general¡¯s reputation on the border is enough to intimidate all demons and monsters. ¡°


    The people around him listened with interest and begged him to tell them more about General Lin¡¯s deeds. The man was in high spirit. He didn¡¯t enter the city, nor did he want to sell the fur goods. He immediately squatted down and began to tell stories. The people who came passed by the city gate all stopped to listen. There were smiles in their eyes. Some passionate men waved their fists and applauded, saying they would join the army at the border.


    The news that Lin Dan had returned to the capital was instantly spread all over the city. But, before she could get close, the great empress and Mrs. Lin had already been waiting at the door, which surprised her a lot.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t send y¡¯all letter. So how do y¡¯all know I¡¯m back?¡± She got off the horse, full of confusion.


    ¡°As soon as you entered the city, someone came to deliver a letter to us, claiming that he saw you.¡± The great empress smiled and held her granddaughter¡¯s hand. A five-year-old child ran out from behind her, staring at Lin Dan with a pair of big eyes.


    Mrs. Lin pulled the child to her side and said with a smile, ¡°Haven¡¯t you always wanted to see your sister? Well, she is back. Quickly greet her. ¡°


    Lin Dan immediately realized that he was Aunt Shi¡¯s son, but she didn¡¯t show any sign of disgust on her face. Instead, she walked over and rubbed the kid¡¯s head. The reserved look on the kid¡¯s face immediately disappeared. Instead, he rushed over and hugged Lin Dan¡¯s thigh, calling her ¡°sister¡±, and then he raised his arms to demand a hug. He grew up with stories about Lin Dan¡¯s battle, and he idolized Lin Dan very much.


    Lin Dan picked him up and praised, ¡°Not bad. He is strong.¡±


    The kid smiled happily like a flower.


    Back then, after Lin Dan won the battle, Princess Kang sent someone to send a gift to test Lin Dan¡¯s behavior towards Lin Wan. Lin Dan told Princess Kang that Lin Wan was dead, so Lady Lin of King Kang¡¯s mansion had nothing to do with her. Princess Kang knew what that means, so she wouldn¡¯t be soft on Lin Wan. Lady Shi was so frightened that she couldn¡¯t eat and sleep well during her pregnancy, and she died of dystocia. A few months later, Lin Wan faced the same condition as her mother. The fate of both mother and daughter was so similar. How pathetic was it?


    Mrs. Lin felt pity for the child, so she raised him as hers. The servants were free to say anything they want. However, anyone who said he was not Lin Dan¡¯s biological brother. He would immediately pounce on that person and bite like a wolf cub. But this wolf cub was as obedient as a pup when held in Lin Dan¡¯s arms.


    Lin Qing got married a few years ago and married the daughter of a guard at the frontier. The girl was tough and skilled at kung fu. Now she served under Lin Dan¡¯s command. The two were in love together and a congenial partner. They gave birth to a son and a daughter in succession, fulfilling the great empress¡¯s wish.


    After resting at home for half a day, Lin Dan was summoned to the palace to attend the state banquet that night. Several servants carefully led her to her seat and filled her glass.


    ¡°General, long time no see!¡±


    ¡°Lord of the country, you¡¯re back, too?¡±


    The officials on both sides stood up and greeted her. Three years ago, the old emperor passed away. Before he died, he abandoned the crown prince and gave the throne to King Zhuang, Li Xian. The first thing Li Xian did after he ascended the throne was to appoint Lin Dan as Lord of Peacekeeping and sent several decrees to call her back to attend the enthronement ceremony. Unfortunately, she had to stay at the border and couldn¡¯t participate. The two hadn¡¯t seen each other for five years.


    However, in the past five years, the relationship between them was not alienated but had become more profound. The emperor has always missed Lin Dan. He always mentioned General Lin, and when he saw any delicious food, he would quickly dispatch someone and send it to the border. Those who wanted to replace Lin Dan did not dare to act rashly.


    She could come back to attend the birthday banquet because the emperor had started to send the decree to urge her three months in advance.


    Lin Dan cupped her hands in return. As soon as she sat down, she already saw Ding Mujie, who was in the top seat, walking over and looking at her with a smile.


    ¡°How long are you staying in the capital this time?¡± Ding Mujie shamelessly took a futon and sat down next to Lin Dan, leaving the seat next to the throne, which belongs to the primary assistant emptied.


    As soon as Lin Dan was about to answer, the eunuch spoke loudly, ¡°His Majesty is here!¡±


    All the officials knelt down. Li Xian, who strode in, stared at Lin Dan. Then, after ordering everyone to stand up, he couldn¡¯t wait and called out, ¡°My beloved Lin Dan, you¡¯re finally back. Come here and have a good talk with me! ¡± He pointed at the empty seat that was emptied by Ding Mujie, with a hint of undisguised joy on his face.


    Then Ding Mujie followed her with a futon and took the seat of the secondary assistant.


    Li Xian frowned and glared at him, but he couldn¡¯t lose his temper in the hall, so he could only restrain himself. He had a lot to say, but after hesitating for a while, he only said the most important sentence, ¡°Can you stay longer in the capital this time? I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time.¡± After so many years, the feelings he had suppressed in his heart had not subsided at all. His heart was filled with helplessness, but he could only accept his fate.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Three months at most.¡± Lin Dan raised three fingers.


    ¡°It¡¯s too short. Stay for another three more months.¡± Li Xian poured a glass of wine for her in person.


    ¡°Okay. Then four months.¡±


    ¡°Six months is also too short. Stay for another seven, eight months. No, no, no, stay for another ten months. Let¡¯s round it up.¡± Li Xian bargained with Lin Dan like a child.


    Ding Mujie only focused on looking at Lin Dan and did not participate in the two conversations. Seeing that Lin Dan¡¯s glass was empty, he filled it for her immediately. While they were talking, exotic music played in the official¡¯s seat. A woman in a gauze dress stepped onto the stage, with many golden bells tied around her wrists and ankles. When she danced, the bell rang, which was very interesting. She was prettier than the bright moon in the sky. She twisted her waist and danced around with her bare feet. The hemline of her dress, which was embroidered with mysterious totems, bloomed like a flower.


    The officials were all stunned. Then, when they knew that she was the princess sent by the Jin Kingdom to make peace, they praised her even more.


    After the dance, the princess saw that the emperor didn¡¯t look at her but just lowered his head and chatted with Lin Dan. She couldn¡¯t help but provoke, ¡°I heard that General Lin is talented in both literature and martial arts. Today is His Majesty¡¯s birthday banquet. Why don¡¯t you present your talent?¡±


    What kind of performance do you think Lin Dan needs to present? Do you think she is also a dancer like you? Li Xian showed an angry face and was about to reprimand her. Then he heard Lin Dan gradually said, ¡°My only talent is to kill with a sword. I just beheaded your father a few days ago. You might not have forgotten, have you? This was quite a good talent, but it was too bloody to perform on the birthday. If your majesty doesn¡¯t mind, I will personally go to the Jin Kingdom to behead Tu Hui and congratulate you on your birthday in a few months. Is that okay? ¡°


    Tu Hui was the newly appointed ruler of the Jin Kingdom. He was also the princess¡¯s brother. If Lin Dan named the person she wanted to kill, that person might not be able to survive for three months.


    Before the princess could react, the envoys of the Jin Kingdom were scared of their wits. They hurriedly pulled the princess to kneel down and apologized to Li Xian and Lin Dan, fearing that they would dispatch troops to attack the Jin Kingdom in a few months. The hall, which had been filled with joy, had suddenly fallen into silence with Lin Dan¡¯s words.


    If it were five years ago, how could these barbarians treat the Wei kingdom so heedfully? But now, the situation was different. Wherever Li Xian pointed his sword, Lin Dan would trample it. Both of them were decisive and ambitious. It only took them five years to expand the territory of the Wei kingdom, which made the surroundings barbarians bow to them and didn¡¯t dare to attack. In ten or twenty years, the Wei Kingdom would probably take over the whole continent.


    The hall was so quiet that even the sound of needles dropping could be heard. The princess, who had been so arrogant just now, didn¡¯t dare to let out a cry now. She was trying her best to hold back her tears.


    Li Xian swirled the wine glass nonchalantly and said, ¡°You can leave now.¡±


    The envoys of the Jin Kingdom took the princess¡¯s hand and left in a hurry. They seemed to have a narrow escape from death.


    Upon hearing this, Li Xian looked at Lin Dan and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would stay in the capital for a longer time? Why did you want to go to the Jin Kingdom again? Let¡¯s not talk about war today. Let¡¯s just talk like old friends. What do you think? ¡°


    Lin Dan cupped her hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s up to Your Majesty.¡±


    Seeing that she was so obedient, Li Xian couldn¡¯t help laughing loudly. When the people heard the emperor¡¯s joyful laughter, the drumbeats sounded again in the hall. The courtiers, with a bit of dignity, stepped forward to propose a toast to the emperor. The emperor only took a symbolic sip, but he drank it in one gulp when it was Lin Dan¡¯s turn. He even turned his wrist to let her see the bottom of his cup. The biased treatment was apparent.


    Ding Mujie never drank, but if Lin Dan personally poured it for him, he would drink it in one gulp, with a rare unrestrained look on his face.


    Soon, a state banquet came to an end. Even if they were reluctant to let her leave, Lin Dan still went out of the palace. This year¡¯s number one scholar was an eighteen or nineteen years old young man. He followed behind her with a blushed face. He wanted to talk to her several times, but he didn¡¯t dare to go forward. He could only stand there and watch her leave.


    ¡°So, this is General Lin. She is even braver than it was said. It would be great if only I could marry her! Realizing what he had said, the number one scholar hurriedly covered his mouth and blushed.


    After he slipped away like a thief, Ding Mujie staggered out of the hall and smiled bitterly, ¡°I also want to marry, so how?¡±


    ¡°I appointed her as my wife, but she didn¡¯t want to marry. So, what are you still dreaming of? Why not wash up and go to bed?¡± Li Xian personally sent Ding Mujie out with a helpless expression.


    Ding Mujie laughed and left. That night he had a dream. In his dream, he was rebirth and returned to the worst day, and narrowly escaped from Lin Wan¡¯s plot. For some reason, Lin Dan slept with King Zhuang and was caught by the guests on the spot. In order to protect the family¡¯s reputation, Lin Dan decisively cut off her hair and entered the temple. As a result, King Zhuang was dragged into the fight for the throne and fell into a disadvantage.


    A few months later, Lin Dan, unfortunately, caught a cold and died of illness. Her death had utterly interrupted Lin Wan¡¯s plan to marry King Kang. When she began to plan again, the news about the Lin men died on the battlefield spread. King Kang immediately distanced himself from her. Her beautiful dream was shattered before she could do anything.


    At this moment, Ding Mujie, reborn, appeared like a Buddha to save the world. He married Lin Wan, who was about to fall into a desperate situation. At first, Lin Wan was not reconciled, but later, when Ding Mujie climbed higher and higher and had a promising future, so she took the opportunity to settle down. The two lived like this for a lifetime. They seemed to be harmonious and happy, but when Ding Mujie awoke, he was frightened to sweat.


    He pinched himself hard and found that it was very painful. Then he smiled with lingering fear. Fortunately, it was just a dream. Fortunately, Lin Dan was still alive, and he had never been with Lin Wan¡­ The sham happiness was far more terrible than poison¡­

 CH 79

    Lin Dan was awakened by a feather duster. When she opened her eyes, she found herself curling up in a corner. A thin woman was scolding while beating as if she was furious. Before Lin Dan figured out the relationship between the woman and herself, so she didn¡¯t dare to resist. She held her head and curl up herself even tighter and tried to sort out her memories.


    Although she didn¡¯t figure out who she was and what she had experienced, she was already used to this situation.


    The real owner was called Lin Dan. Her father, Lin Dafu, was a brigand who made a fortune by robbing merchant caravans. He had no son. He guessed that he had done too many evil deeds and lost his Yin Virtue, so he donated most of the robbed money to build Buddhist temple, Taoist temple, roads, bridges, and so on. The other half was used to do silk business and slowly embarked on the right track.


    Perhaps because he had done a lot of good deeds, Lin Dafu¡¯s wife gave birth to Lin Dan when she was fifty. Although she didn¡¯t bring her with her, she was also the root of the whole family. Naturally, she was as precious as a pearl as if she would melt when put in the mouth and as if she would fall when held in hands. She was too pampered. When she was sixteen-year-old, she was ready to find a husband to inherit the family business.


    However, good times didn¡¯t last long. When Lin Dan had just reached fifteen and was about to become a big girl, Lin Dafu was punished for his past evil deeds. The descendant of a family he robbed plotted to switch the Shu Brocade that he bought from Shuzhou with a lot of money into sackcloth, which made him lost a fortune.


    Lin Dafu felt sorry for his wife and daughter, so he fell ill and died in less than two months. The family who plotted him made a fortune with the Shu Brocade. Moreover, his family had excellent embroidering skills and was favored by the nobles. So he took the opportunity to settle down in the Lin¡¯an mansion, and from then on, he replaced the Lin family and became the largest embroidery shop in the place.


    The Lin family had no more reputation, no more shop, no more money, only left with an orphan and a few widows. Life was tough. The thin woman who was whipping Lin Dan with a feather duster was Lin Dan¡¯s mother, Zhang Hui. She had just recovered from a severe illness. Seeing that her daughter was still so unruly, she was so angry that it caused her to bet her.


    While she was beating, she scolded in disappointment, ¡°I asked you to learn embroidery and needlework from the third and fourth aunt. Yet, what did you do today? Do you still think the Lin family is still as wealthy as before and can do whatever you please? One hundred and twenty taels of silver for a pottery jar. How could you do such a stupid thing! Do you know how long does one hundred and twenty taels of silver can last for our family? You have spent the money that can last for the entire year. From today onwards, are you going to live with just breathing the air? If you learn the embroidery skill well, you can also make a lifelike and invaluable embroidery like Meng Si. Then why should we worry about not having back the glory and falling into straitened circumstances? When your father was alive, he always asked you to learn something to support the family business in the future. But look, he just died not long ago, and you have used up the last bit of money. Do you want to make him come back to life, or do you want to piss me off to death? Do you have a conscience? ¡°


    The real owner had a conscience; it was just that she was naive and was cheated. Someone told her that the pottery jar was an antique from the early Qin Dynasty and was worth tens of thousands of gold, so she bought it. Initially, she wanted to give it to her mother to make her happy, but she didn¡¯t expect that would cause her mother to almost died of anger.


    From now on, you will stay at home and learn embroidery and needlework. When your skills are compatible with Meng Si, then you are allowed to go out.¡± Lin¡¯s mother whipped her another two times before she stopped. A pitying look appeared on her face. As the saying goes, a mother¡¯s heart hurts while beating her children.


    Meng Si was referring to the younger sister of Meng Zhong, who had set Lin Dafu up. The two had a grudge against the Lin family could be traced back to the previous generation. In the past, Lin Dafu led a group of bandits to plunder Meng Zhong¡¯s father and Meng Si, which caused his father to lose all his property, and his wife and children left him. The two grew up amidst suffering, but they developed their own skills. The brother was good at business, and the sister was good at embroidering. The two worked together to rebuild the Meng family. When they found that Lin Dafu opened an embroidery shop in Lin¡¯an mansion, they quietly followed him and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.


    Meng Zhong was a resourceful man. He soon won the trust of Lin Dafu and introduced him to a big business. At that time, Lin Dafu was the only imperial merchant in the Lin¡¯an mansion. He provided cloth and embroidery for the imperial family, so he went all out to search for rare fabrics. Among all the valuable goods, the Shu Brocade produced in Shuzhou was the most delicate in the world, but it was difficult to buy it because of the small production.


    Meng Zhong arranged Shuzhou¡¯s cloth merchants for Lin Dafu, while he took a large amount of money and bribed Lin Dafu¡¯s subordinates to ask him to switch the goods. In the end, Lin Dafu lost everything he owned, whereas Meng Zhong took that opportunity to replace him and became the imperial merchant of Ling¡¯an mansion.


    His resourcefulness made him quickly gained a firm foothold in the Lin¡¯an mansion, but he couldn¡¯t do without Meng Si¡¯s help. Meng Si was beautiful and obedient. She had learned embroidery from her family since she was young. As soon as she came to Ling¡¯an mansion, she won the favor of the governor¡¯s daughter with her unique skills. Through the recommendation of the governor¡¯s daughter, she got to know many noble local ladies. Gradually, the Meng¡¯s Embroidery shop became well-known and won the imperial merchant qualification.


    In the market, one of her embroidered works could be sold at a high price of thousands of taels of silver, which was equivalent to the annual income of an embroidery shop. A few days ago, the ¡°Picture of Wind and Snow¡± that she meticulously embroidered was bought by the governor¡¯s son for five thousand and two hundred taels of silver. The price was shockingly high.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Seeing that the Lin family was getting worse, while the Meng family was getting better and better. How could Zhang Hui be reconciled? She looked at the famous Meng Si and then at her useless daughter. She was determined to force her daughter to learn embroidery. Fortunately, for the sake of the family¡¯s business, Lin Dafu did marry several skillful embroiderers as concubines. Otherwise, based on the current circumstances of the Lin family, they couldn¡¯t afford to hire a talented embroiderer to teach Lin Dan.


    It was a pity that the real owner was not up for it and was unwilling to learn seriously. Instead, she hoped to become wealthy overnight, and she wasted a lot of money. She deserved to be beaten, so Lin Dan didn¡¯t struggle. When Zhang Hui was tired, she said tentatively, ¡°Mom, learning embroidery is not a day¡¯s work. How about I go to the beach to fight against the Japanese pirates? As soon as I earn military merit, I will immediately be able to honor my ancestors.¡±


    Somehow, she thought she is better off being a soldier than be an embroiderer.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Zhang Hui stared at her, dumbfounded.


    ¡°I said I wanted to join the army to kill the Japanese pirates. Beheading a hundred Japanese pirates can be worthy of the first-level military merit. When I accumulate enough military merit of level twenty, I will make you an honorary noblewoman.¡± Lin Dan stood up slowly with a severe expression.


    Zhang Hui took a deep breath and jumped up abruptly. She hit her head and scolded, ¡°Did I told you to daydream all day long? You bought a useless pottery jar and said that it was an antique from the early Qin Dynasty. You took an embroidery needle, and now you told me that you wanted to be a general. Why didn¡¯t you go to heaven? If I don¡¯t beat you to death today, we will be over! ¡°


    Lin Dan, who just stood up, immediately held her head and curled back up. She felt distressed. She was telling the truth. Why didn¡¯t anyone believe her?


    But soon, she knew that it was impossible for her to join the army. The kung fu named ¡®Asura Sword¡¯ that appeared in her mind for no reason was not suitable for this body to train. She could only practice the most basic breathing skill and could not advance further, except for a slight improvement in her strength and physique; it had no significant effect.


    After breathing several times, she couldn¡¯t condense a cyclone in the lower part of her belly, so she gave up and said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t beat me. I will never go out to play anymore. I will stay at home and learn embroidery. Is that okay?¡± Now that she had replaced the real owner, she had to take responsibility for the real owner and rebuild the family.


    ¡°Alright, sis. Don¡¯t beat her anymore. The child has admitted her mistake. Please forgive her this time.¡± The two concubines rushed over to stop her. After Lin Dafu¡¯s death, more than a dozen concubines he had married hadn¡¯t given birth to children, and they were still in their youth. They felt it was a burden, so they left. Only these two old concubines stayed and lived with Zhang Hui and her daughter.


    ¡°If she sneaks out again in the future, y¡¯all will help to break her legs! Use this to beat her, and don¡¯t show mercy! Zhang Hui inserted the feather duster into the crack of the ground and warned sternly.


    The two ladies nodded and sent Zhang Hui, who was exhausted, back to her room.


    After they went far away, Lin Dan slowly stood up. She lifted up the messy hair on her forehead, revealing her face covered with red marks. She looked a mess and funny.


    ¡°Hah.¡± low and inaudible laughter came from nearby, making her ears move slightly. She walked along the yard wall and finally found a boy in the thick shade of the tree. The boy¡¯s eyes were bright, and his nose was sharp. His thin red lips curved into a breathtaking arc. He was debonair and unparalleled in the world.


    He poked his head out of the shade of the tree and said in a low and hoarse voice, ¡°Little girl, I didn¡¯t mean to peep here. It¡¯s because your house is so noisy that I can¡¯t sleep. So, I climbed up the tree to find out what happened.¡±


    It turned out that the man was her neighbor who had just moved in. There was only a yard wall between the two houses.


    The boy¡¯s appearance was even purer than the bright moon and more scorching than the blazing sun. However, Lin Dan just glanced at him indifferently, nodded, and left. The tree actually belonged to the boy, so he could climb it as he liked. There was nothing to do with her. Besides, it seemed that Lin Dan was used to being watched and didn¡¯t feel embarrassed or ashamed.


    The boy looked at her back in a daze. He didn¡¯t come to his senses until he heard his servant shouting from under the tree. Then he jumped off the tree. She didn¡¯t seem to be ashamed when she was seen in such a farce, nor was she disturbed by her appearance. This girl was quite interesting.


    ¡°Who is the opposite neighbor?¡± After moving in for a few days, he finally became a little curious about his neighbor.


    ¡°Opposite is a poor family. You don¡¯t have to care about it.¡± The servant waved his hand and said.


    ¡°A poor family?¡± The boy¡¯s eyes flashed, and his thin lips were slightly curved. He looked very gentle, but the servant was sweating profusely and almost scared to pee. He had forgotten that his young master had become poor now.


    On the other side, Lin Dan was holding a servant¡¯s hand and asked the same question, ¡°Who is that opposite neighbor? What¡¯s its background?¡± She could tell from the boy¡¯s face that he was not an ordinary person

 CH 80

    The boy¡¯s appearance was one in a million and unparalleled in the world. Yet, a few days after he moved in, the servants had already found out his background.


    ¡°Miss,¡± the servant looked around, got close to Lin Dan¡¯s ear, and whispered as if she was a thief, ¡°The neighbor next is the former Empress Du¡¯s nephew and niece, named Du Rusong and Du Ruyan. Their father is Xue Lie, who was a nobleman. When the Du was favored, the brother and sister were known as the double bullies in the capital. One was a playboy, and the other was arrogant and domineering. Almost no one dared to provoke them. After the Du was abolished, their mother was abandoned by the husband¡¯s family. The two of them changed their surnames and followed the Du to live in the Lin¡¯an mansion. This place is very close to the Taoist temple where the Du family prays, so it¡¯s convenient for them to take care of it. So, they moved here.¡±


    The current emperor ascended the throne when he was a child. He was pretty talented and governed the country very well. He and the empress were very loving with each other. Therefore, the empress¡¯s maternal family was highly valued and gradually controlled the military and political power. It could be regarded as an influencing family. It was a pity that the good times didn¡¯t last long. Empress Du had no son. She was so reckless that she was tempted to poison Concubine Min, who was in labor and take her child as her own. However, due to her lack of prudence, her intention was caught by the emperor.


    The emperor was furious. He immediately ordered to ground the empress, and many officials took the opportunity to impeach the descendants and expose their crimes. After the emperor¡¯s thorough investigation, His Majesty found that all the crimes were capital crimes. He couldn¡¯t help but feel more disappointed at the empress. Hearing that she was resentful, she tried to hit the pillar and commit suicide. He eventually detested her. He issued an imperial edict to abolish her empress and demote her to the Lin¡¯an mansion.


    Since then, she had been cultivating in the Taoist temple not far away. It was said that her face had been disfigured and could never be returned. In order to protect themself, her maternal family distanced themselves from her. Only her sister helped her throughout; she even broke up with her husband¡¯s family. Unfortunately, her sister had a bad life, and she soon died of illness. Her two children fled to the Lin¡¯an mansion with a considerable dowry and find the former empress.


    It was more like taking care of her instead of escaping. The former empress had nothing now and had to stay in the cold Taoist temple and endure hardship for the rest of her life. In order to make her feel better, the Du¡¯s brother and sister spent a large sum of money to repair the Taoist temple and moved to this not spacious mansion.


    Concubine Min, poisoned by the former empress, got a blessing in disguise and was promoted to the imperial concubine. The prince she gave birth to was now two years old. Apparently, the poison in the child¡¯s body had not been cleared. He was weaker than ordinary children. The emperor felt guilty for the mother and son, so he vigorously promoted the maternal family. Perhaps it was a coincidence that Li Ran, the Concubine Min¡¯s father, was transferred to the Lin¡¯an mansion as the governor.


    This caused the life of the former empress and the Du brother and sister to be even worse. They had been alienated and isolated by the noble families of the Ling¡¯an mansion. If it weren¡¯t for the great fortune, they might not be able to live a good life, where their situation was no better than the Lin family.


    After listening to the treacherous imperial strife, Lin Dan nodded and said, ¡°We just treat them as to how we normally treat others. There is no need to deliberately alienate them.¡± She was indeed incapable of icing on the cake for others, but she disdained to add insult to injury.


    ¡°Are you sure we don¡¯t need to deliberately alienate them?¡± The servant was uncertain. After all, the Du family was a family that even the emperor despised. So there would always be a risk to deal with them.


    ¡°Not necessary. It¡¯s better to have a good neighbor than a distant relative. Haven¡¯t you heard that?¡± Let¡¯s go downstairs. I want to sleep for a while.


    After the servant went out, she frowned and seemed a little worried. It was challenging to change the situation of the Lin family. After all, the Meng brother and sister were connected with the governor of Zhejiang province, Imperial Concubine Min¡¯s maternal family. If the emperor always favored Imperial Concubine Min, the Li family would never be defeated, and the Meng siblings would be better and better.


    Now that the Lin family had been trampled into the mud, could they still turn over? Could they defeat the powerful Meng family?


    One question after another appeared in Lin Dan¡¯s mind, but she suppressed all of them. No matter how vague her future was and how tough it would be, she would first learn up the embroidery, then only talk about other things. Then, finally, she could open the embroidery shop with her exquisite embroidery skills, and only then was she qualified to compete to be the imperial merchant. As the saying goes, progress can be made slowly, one step at a time.


    Thinking of this, Lin Dan closed her eyes and fell asleep in an instant.


    The next day, the two aunts came to teach her as usual and patiently explained, ¡°Embroidery is a painstaking skill. You have to be calm and learn it carefully. There is no trick or shortcut to learning embroidery. It¡¯s all embroidered stitch by stitch. So, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready.¡± Lin Dan took out a set of needle and thread and nodded cautiously.


    The two aunts were relieved and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re willing to learn. Embroidery requires a lot of eyesight. In order to see clearly, we need to choose a suitable place to work. This place can¡¯t be too dark, too noisy, and too messy. The best four words to describe are unoccupied, quiet, bright, and clean. You can sit wherever you like, and we will learn it slowly.¡±


    Lin Dan looked around; she pointed at the garden outside the window and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it in the yard.¡±


    The yard was full of shady trees, blooming flowers, and butterflies flying around. That was beautiful spring scenery. It was an excellent place to sit under a tree and embroider. The light was neither too bright nor too dark, and the surroundings were not noisy. The two aunts were satisfied and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the yard to embroider.¡±


    The group of people sat in the yard. They first explained the types of embroidery and then talked about the patterns and the flowers¡¯ color. Then they let Lin Dan start from the simplest running stitch and said directly, ¡°Running stitch comprised vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. There are four key points: straight, neat, uniform, and smooth; the space between the consecutive stitches cannot be unequal, cannot overlap, cannot intercept, and cannot expose the foundation fabric. After you¡¯re well-versed with the running stitch, you can only continue to practice other stitching techniques. Running stitch is the foundation of all kinds of stitching techniques. With this technique, you can embroider most of the patterns in the world. Do you understand? ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°I got it.¡± Lin Dan nodded obediently.


    ¡°We demonstrate it to you once, and you observe.¡± The two aunts took out their needle and thread and began to embroider. Soon, two lifelike spring flowers appeared on the white embroidered cloth. Although it was only made from running stitch and simple in style, the needlework was dense, pinkish in color. It looked lovely.


    Lin Dan almost learned at a glance; She quickly picked up the needle and threaded the needle.


    There were not many servants in the house, so the two concubines had to do other chores besides teaching. Seeing that Lin Dan was very serious and conscientious, so they left. Occasionally, they would spare some time to see her and let the servants look at her if she was lazy.


    Lin Dan held an embroidery needle in her hand and cautiously shuttled back and forth on the embroidery cloth. She looked very calm, but there was countless anger inside her. She thought it was a simple thing to work with an embroidery needle, but she only knew how difficult it was when she put it into practice! She initially intended to insert the needle here and out from another side, but her hand shook, and it was far from expected. A spring flower was embroidered into a tuft of bird droppings; yellow and white colors were all mixed up together.


    She stared at that tuft of ¡°bird droppings¡± for a long time, and the hands she was holding the embroidery needles were trembling. She thought that she shouldn¡¯t be holding a needle but a knife to destroy these messy things.


    ¡°Miss, miss, what do you want to do?¡± Seeing that she suddenly stood up and went to the woodshed, the servant quickly followed her.


    ¡°Miss, you can¡¯t take a knife. Be careful not to hurt your hand!¡± Seeing her coming out of the room with a woodcutter, the servant was so scared that her face turned pale.


    Lin Dan put a wooden block in the yard without saying a word; she raised the woodcutter and chopped it. When she felt unhappy, she always wanted to kill people. She didn¡¯t know when she got this habit.


    ¡°Miss, what are you doing? Quickly stop it!¡± The servant cried. She wanted to get close, but she was afraid of being hit by the wood chips. She could only stand there and persuade her.


    However, Lin Dan didn¡¯t care about it at all. Instead, she cut the wooden block into small pieces with just a few strikes, and slowly patted the hem of the dress covered with wood chips, and said gradually, ¡°Change me a new embroidery cloth. Let¡¯s continue to practice.¡±


    The servant looked at her calm face as if nothing had happened and then looked at the smashed wooden block on the ground. She couldn¡¯t help but shudder. She quickly changed a new embroidery cloth for Lin Dan and cleaned up the mess on the ground. Then she retreated far away, not daring to go near Lin Dan at all.


    Lin Dan hid the woodcutter under the table cloth, picked up the embroidery needle, and continued to practice the running stitch. After practicing for a while, the third aunt came. She picked up that tuft of ¡°bird droppings¡± and looked at it with an indescribable expression. Fortunately, Lin Dan didn¡¯t run away nor slacked off today, which was already remarkable progress. She didn¡¯t dare to be harsh on her. Instead, she said a lot of encouraging words.


    Lin Dan nodded obediently and continued to embroider. Then, 15 minutes later, a tuft of slightly better-looking ¡°bird droppings¡± appeared. She held the embroidered cloth and looked at it for a long time until her eyes were almost frozen. Only then did she let go of it, bent down, and took out the woodcutter under the table.


    The maid cried and quickly moved backward.


    However, Lin Dan refused to let her go. Instead, she said in a calm tone, ¡°Bring me another wooden block.¡±


    The servant hesitated. After she glanced at her, she rushed to the woodshed like a frightened bird. A moment later, she took back a half-person tall wooden post.


    Lin Dan slowly rolled up her sleeves and raised the woodcutter. With a few strikes, she chopped the half-person tall wooden post to only two feet long. Embroidery almost lost all her patience. Now, she only thinks of killing people. Why holding an embroidery needle was much more complex than holding a knife to kill people? Why?!


    Her eyes were as dark as water, and her face was as cold as ice. It looked a little scary. But, when she finished chopping the wooden post, her cold aura disappeared in an instant, and she turned into the unruly, which seemed to be a naive little girl again.


    ¡°Well, sweep it and change me another cloth again. Let¡¯s continue the practice.¡± As usual, she hid the woodcutter under the table cloth and said calmly.


    The servant was so frightened that she didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. She quickly cleaned the yard and took the poor little wood post back to the woodshed.


    As soon as Lin Dan sat down, the fourth aunt came. She picked up two embroidered cloths and looked at them. She praised, ¡°Well done, you¡¯ve made progress! Keep practicing. Don¡¯t stop.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Lin Dan nodded and suggested, ¡°Forth aunty, please help me to ask the servant to bring a few more bundles of firewood later. The woodshed is almost empty.¡±


    ¡°Okay, it seems that you¡¯re starting to be sensible.¡± The fourth aunt felt pleased and left, while Lin Dan held the embroidery needle in her hand and continued to practice. She looked as calm as she could.


    Not far away, Du Rusong quietly jumped off the treetop, shook his head, and laughed. How could this little girl be so valiant! That was interesting!

 CH 81

    Embroidery required a lot of patience, which was precisely what Lin Dan lacked the most. Every few quarters of an hour, she would become very anxious and cannot continue. However, the Lin family had fallen, so she had no choice but to learn embroidery and revive the family business. Therefore, she had to find an effective way to suppress the anxiety in her heart and smoothen her sharp edges.


    The wooden blocks and posts in the house were visibly decreasing. When the fourth aunt was cooking, she complained to the servant for being too diligent and chopping the wood into too small, making it difficult for her to control the fire. The servant felt distressed in his heart, but he didn¡¯t dare to express it. He was a little scared after seeing the young lady¡¯s fierceness while chopping the woods.


    Every day, Lin Dan practiced embroidery for a while and chopped wood for a while. When her waist and legs didn¡¯t feel hurt anymore, she felt better when taking the needle. Eventually, she felt that her vile was reducing, and she was more flexible and calmer.


    She had thought that violence was her nature, but it didn¡¯t seem like that. It was more like a sequela caused by some memorable experience than her nature, which just needed a little patience to shape it. Strictly speaking, her temperament was more like water, which could change with the situation. It could lubricant things silently and also surge like a raging tide.


    One day, she sat for two hours before she took out the woodcutter and was about to regulate her mood, but she saw the servant, Cui Lan, walking in with a strange expression.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lin Dan asked casually as she adjusted the wooden post properly.


    After looking around, Cui Lan lowered her voice and said, ¡°The Du¡¯s brother and sister have moved here for more than a month, but they have never talked to us. Today, for some reason, they sent someone to send a cart of gifts.¡±


    ¡°What is there to be strange about? More than a month ago, they had to tidy up their new home, so naturally, they were not in the mood to make friends with their neighbors.¡± Lin Dan split the wooden post evenly into two with a single strike. Then she placed them properly and chopped them into four pieces, followed by six, eight¡­


    Since the servant was scolded by the two aunts, she didn¡¯t simply vent her anger. Instead, she chopped the wooden piles into strips so that they could be carried to the kitchen to use.


    Cui Lan got even closer to her and asked, ¡°You have no idea, miss. It¡¯s not surprising that they gave us gifts after more than a month. What¡¯s strange is that his family sent us a cart of wood! The wood that was a few feet long can¡¯t be used as wood, nor it¡¯s good to make furniture. It¡¯s useless except for being used as burning woods. What do you think that means? It doesn¡¯t seem that they were so poor and can¡¯t afford a gift, right? Mrs. Lin is unhappy now. She thinks that they are bullying us.¡±


    However, Lin Dan grinned and said happily, ¡°Woodpile? That was great!¡± She didn¡¯t mind it at all. She could chop as much as they gave, which saved them from spending money to buy firewood.


    Cui Lan was speechless.


    She shouldn¡¯t have discussed this with the young lady!


    The two were like dialogue of the deaf. What they didn¡¯t know was that behind a wall, Du Rusong was leaning against a tree trunk, eavesdropping to their conversation, with a faint smirk at the corners of his lips.


    ¡°Brother, brother, I heard that today you sent a cart of wood to the next-door neighbor? Let me tell you, we are no longer the son and daughter of the imperial. We can¡¯t play tricks on others like this!¡± A girl in a butterfly dress rushed into the yard and shouted.


    The faint smile at the corners of Du Rusong¡¯s mouth immediately disappeared. When he tried to listen again, he found no sound from the next door anymore.


    ¡°Brother, what tricks are you playing? They didn¡¯t mess with us. Let¡¯s not mess with them!¡± The girl was still shouting, which made Du Rusong¡¯s face darkened. Then, when he was about to scold his sister, the chopping firewood crackling sounded again. It was not disturbed by their conversation at all.


    Du Rusong covered his mouth and chuckled.


    However, Du Ruyan seemed to have understood the warning message. She pointed at the other end of the wall and said, ¡°Did you hear that? No one would chop wood in the garden. You must have annoyed her. She deliberately chopped wood to protest!¡± The two houses used to be one. After that, the owner of the house divided the house into two and sold it. The big garden in the center was separated into two small gardens by a wall. The layout was identical.


    The more Du Ruyan thought about it, the more she felt like this. She lifted up her dress and climbed up the treetop, trying to see how angry was her neighbor being annoyed by her brother. But she didn¡¯t expect that it would be a little girl who was chopping the firewood. She had a round face, round eyes, and a round little nose. She looked very delicate and lovely.


    Du Ruyan immediately favored the little girl who looked like a doll. She waved her hand and said, ¡°Hey little sis, is it because my family has sent you a cart of wood, so you¡¯re angry?¡±


    Lin Dan picked up a new wooden post and chop it in half. She shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m practicing embroidery.¡±


    ¡°But you are chopping wood!¡± said rose with a smile


    Du Rusong also leaped up to the treetop and looked at the little girl with a smile. Seeing that she chopped a wooden post into even-sized wood strips with ease, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but darken. He knew at a glance that this little girl was not just simply chopping wood to vent her anger, but it had the consistency. It was impossible for her to achieve such a chopping skill without more than ten years of hard cultivation.


    As soon as he became vigilant, he suddenly realized that the family¡¯s background was indeed not clean. In the past, Lin Dafu and Zhang Hui were brigands, and they were skilled at killing people. So it was no surprise for them to teach their little girl such a thing.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Thinking of the little girl¡¯s background, looking at her lovely appearance, and thinking of her bold personality, Du Rusong somehow wanted to laugh.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t look at him; instead, she stared at Du Ruyan. She often heard from Lin Cui that the lady next door was beautiful. Today she saw her, and it was indeed as pretty as described. Compared with Du Rusong accentuate facial features, Du Ruyan looked gentler and more delicate. She climbed up the treetop in a dress full of the embroidered butterfly as if a fairy descended to the world, with a very attractive spirit.


    Lin Dan was very patient with her; she pointed at the embroidery rack behind her and explained, ¡°I feel uncomfortable after sitting for a long time. I always want to chop things. I will finish chopping these woods before continuing embroidery. ¡°


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Du Ruyan was suddenly enlightened. She looked at her brother thoughtfully and said, ¡°Can you show me the flowers you embroidered?¡±


    ¡°Here you are.¡± Lin Dan put down the woodcutter and picked up the embroidery frame.


    The expectant expression on Du Ruyan¡¯s face froze slightly and praised, ¡°It¡¯s quite lifelike. You did a great job.¡± She couldn¡¯t figure out what it was, so she didn¡¯t dare to say anything more.


    ¡°Thank you. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me to buy embroidery. Sooner or later, I will be better than Meng Si.¡± Lin Dan said earnestly.


    ¡°Yes, I will. If I need anything, I will come to you.¡± Du Ruyan gave an awkward smile but couldn¡¯t bear, to tell the truth. With the little girl¡¯s embroidery skill, she would never be able to catch up with Meng Si, let alone one day in the future. Meng Si began to learn embroidery at the age of three. How old is the little girl? It seemed that she was fourteen years old, right? It was a bit too late.


    Unexpectedly, Du Rusong, who always had a sharp tongue, nodded and said, ¡°I believe you can surpass Meng Si in a short time. If you are short of wood, you can come to me as you wish.¡± After saying that, he chuckled again. His handsome features shined in the bright spring day.


    Cui Lan¡¯s eyes were stunned, and her mouth was wide opened as if going to drool. However, Lin Dan remained unmoved. She nodded and said, ¡°Thank you. After I finish the embroidery, I will give one for free.¡± She said confidently.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, girl.¡± Du Rusong couldn¡¯t help laughing. Then, seeing that his sister still wanted to talk to her, he held the back of her neck and jumped off the tree. After moving in for more than a month, he had already figured out the little girl¡¯s daily routine. After chopping two wooden piles, she should practice embroidery now, and he couldn¡¯t waste her time.


    ¡°Brother, you were really good at talking just now. If you behave like this when you are at home, father will never deprive you of being the crown prince. Du Ruyan looked at her brother with an ambiguous smile. With such lovely gift and sweet words. Was her brother in love?


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying,¡± Du Rusong said firmly. ¡°Sooner or later, the little girl will be able to make it. You just wait and see.¡± Embroidery could also create such a ruthless force of killing, and she forced herself to sit day and night and practice hard all the time. With such perseverance, what couldn¡¯t the little girl do?


    Du Ruyan shook her head and snorted, completely ignoring her brother¡¯s words.


    On the other side, Lin Dan was already wholeheartedly immersed in embroidery. Every stitch of the embroidery was smooth, neat, and dense. Another three months had passed, she had mastered several basic embroidery techniques. She was also good at tailoring. She even made Zhang Hui and two aunts, each a dress, which fitted them very well.


    One day, the two aunts finally changed the teaching and said, ¡°You have learned all seven basic embroidery techniques. It¡¯s too bad that we are not well versed in the more advanced embroidery techniques, so we can¡¯t teach you.¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. In the first place, the person who invented embroidery also didn¡¯t know anything and relied on oneself to discover them bit by bit. Every embroidery technique was figured out day and night by the embroiderer. If they can do it, so am I.¡±


    The two concubines were relieved and said, ¡°It¡¯s the best for you to have such thinking. There are some exquisite embroidery works kept in our house. Your father has found them all over the country. We¡¯ll bring them to you later. Maybe you will get inspiration from those works. From today onwards, we will teach you how to draw. No matter how skilled an embroiderer is, she can¡¯t do anything without beautiful drawings. If you can draw well, you will be able to gain even higher achievements. It is heard that Meng Si is very good at drawing. She doesn¡¯t even need to sketch on the embroidery cloth when she embroiders; She could easily embroider at her fingertips. The finished product is quite spiritual. Many of her embroidery works are comparable with the top masters in the world. Wu Huasheng¡¯s one painting can be sold for thousands of taels of silver, while one of her embroideries can also be sold at the same price. It is said that her embroidery works are not inferior to those peerless paintings. It can be seen that being good at drawing is very important to embroidery. ¡°


    Lin Dan nodded in agreement and didn¡¯t dare to slack off.


    The two ladies took out another few more spools of thread and said, ¡°Before learning to draw, we will teach you to identify colors. If the drawing is the foundation of the embroidery, then the color is the soul of the embroidery. Only by combining the two perfectly then only will it produce the world¡¯s masterpiece. Look, there are four colors of silk threads in my hand, deep green, dark green, medium green, light green¡­ ¡°


    Lin Dan looked at the embroidery thread, shook her head, and said, ¡°Aunty, you¡¯re wrong. There are six colors here.¡±


    The two concubines looked at the silk thread and then at her serious face. They suddenly felt a little shocked.

 CH 82

    The two aunts checked the silk threads several times and shook their heads. ¡°There are four colors.¡±


    ¡°Nope, there are six colors.¡± Lin Dan took over the silk threads and arranged them in different types. One deep green, one dark green, one medium green, and one light green. She picked up the other two and said slowly, ¡°This color is between deep green and dark green, and this color is between medium green and light green. The difference is so obvious. Can¡¯t you see it?¡±


    Seeing that the two ladies shook their heads in a daze, she took out a white embroidery cloth and put the silk thread on it as a reference. Then, seeing that they still couldn¡¯t tell the difference, she placed the deep green silk thread at the bottom and put the silk thread between the deep green and the dark green color above. In this way, the two finally saw a slight difference between the two threads. But when they looked carefully, they felt that they saw wrong.


    ¡°There is really a slight difference, isn¡¯t there? The third aunt gave an uncertain looked to the fourth aunt.


    ¡°I think so?¡± The fourth answered reluctantly.


    Lin Dan held her forehead and wanted to sigh. They couldn¡¯t even recognize these colors; how could they teach her? Two concubines were too unreliable.


    However, soon, the two concubines laughed wildly and said proudly, ¡°We thought that our child was not talented, but now it seems that¡¯s not the case. As you know, in the field of embroidery, the embroidery skill is important, but the color is even more important. A simple design, as long as little more color is added to it, it would become completely different. Ordinary people can¡¯t tell the colors you showed us just now. It can be seen that you are born to be extremely sensitive to colors. You are more skillful in color matching than others. This kind of talent is one in a million. Even Meng Si is far inferior to you. Today, we will show you the use of colors in embroidery.¡±


    The two concubines drew two five petals flowers on the embroidery cloth, one with a silk thread of different shades but of the same color, another with a single colored silk thread, and Lin Dan compared the difference. Although the single-colored five petals flower was adorable, it was dull compared to the multi-colored five petals flower.


    The five petals flower was embroidered with silk threads of the same color. The tip of the petal was a little pinkish-white and gradually turned into water red. When it extended to the stamen, it had become a little purplish. The colors varied, layer by layer, and there was almost no trace of oddness.


    It was just a regular pattern and a simple embroidery work, but it would bring such astonishing feelings after adding some color transformations. Lin Dan stared at the two flowers for a long time, realized, and said, ¡°Auntie, I finally can understand. Color matching is the soul of embroidery. If you apply it well, no matter how common the pattern is, it will shine vividly. I will definitely learn up drawing and how to apply colors well.¡±


    ¡°Great! Here are some drawings. You can learn to copy first, then only you learn to draw by yourself. You can draw whatever you want, and gradually you will acquire the draw skills.¡± The two concubines gave a few drawing books to Lin Dan and went out to work.


    The book recorded several of Meng Si¡¯s works, all of which were ink paintings. A small bridge, a river, people, and a boat sailing down with the current; it looked very artistic. Lin Dan had planned to copy her painting, but she didn¡¯t move her brush for a long time. These paintings should be inspired by Meng Si¡¯s memory. She discovered the beauty of life and engraved them in her heart. After returning home, she sketched them out with a brush.


    But Lin Dan had no memory. What she could see in her mind was only the fragments of the original owner¡¯s memory. She couldn¡¯t find the beauty of life, nor could she sketch with her imagination. She had neither past nor future. She only had the existing.


    She couldn¡¯t draw, so she stayed in a daze for a long time before she closed the album. She sketched a picture of a blooming peony in the garden. She could only draw the scene she saw right before her eyes. The reflection of the sun, the gradual changed in the shadow, and the vibrance of the colors. She recorded them on paper as they were. She used a brush and three primary colors mixed into countless shades of colors. She colored them bit by bit and slowly piled them up. She had no idea how incredible her work was.


    Cui Lan, who was still a little careless, was now stunned. ¡°Lad¡­ lady, the peony you painted is the same as real!¡±


    Lin Dan stared at the painting for a while, shook her head, and said, ¡°If this painting was turned back to embroidery, I need at least more than a hundred colors. But, unfortunately, as far as I know, there are only thirty colors of embroidery threads on the market at most, so it still doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. You¡¯re wrong, lady. Many embroiderers only buy white embroidery thread and dye them themselves after buying. If you want to embroider this flower, we can dye the colors ourselves. Third and fourth aunt can do it.¡± Cui Lan waved her hands excitedly. She was astounded by her lady¡¯s painting skill. She had been in Lin¡¯s embroidery house for many years, so she naturally knew what qualities a top embroiderer should possess. Exquisite embroidery was just one of them. In addition, one also needed to possess excellent painting skills, stunning design, accurate and unique color matching, and a little ingenuity.


    The young lady¡¯s embroidery skill was just average, but she had remarkable painting skills, design, color matching, and ingeniousness. As long as she was given some more time to practice the embroidery, she would definitely surpass meng Si! At first, Cui Lan didn¡¯t have much hope for Lin Dann, but she had completely changed her mind as time went by.


    Lin Dan was confident in herself all the time. She took out a piece of white paper and wrote while talking, ¡°Well, in addition to embroidery, drawing, and color matching, I have another skill to learn now.¡± She wrote a word ¡ª dyeing.


    From this day on, the Lin family had another expense, which was to buy dye. The dye in the market was costly. Zhang Hui gritted her teeth and sold some of her dowries, and bought carts of dye. She didn¡¯t know if the cost was worth it, nor did she know if her daughter could become a talent, but it was always good to have a thought in her heart.


    In this way, Lin Dan led a busier life than before. When she came to her senses, more than half a year had passed. The woodpile in the woodshed was not wasted for three to four successive months. There was no need to vent her anger. She was calm for a whole day, and her embroidery skill had improved by leaps and bounds.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    One day, when she passed by the garden, she heard the familiar sound of chopping wood posts from the next door. She couldn¡¯t help but feel curious. She leaped up the wall without hesitation and looked down. She saw Du Rusong was holding a broadsword, chopping the wooden posts around him. From his steps and body movements could know that he was actually skilled at kung fu.


    Perhaps he was tired of chopping; he had taken off his shirt, revealing his muscular body. His body was covered with sweat. The sweat slid down along the muscle lines to the abdomen, merged into the mermaid line, and disappeared in the lower part of his robe. He usually liked to wear a smart and elegant robe, and his hair was neatly tied behind his head. He looked pretty noble. But today, his clothes were disheveled, with his hair dangling. There was indescribable wildness and temptation aura inside him.


    He looked thin, but in fact, he was stronger than anyone else, and his martial arts were remarkable. Lin Dan had never seen anyone else kung fu, but she was inexplicably convinced that she would praise someone else¡¯s kung fu, which meant he was undoubtedly a master.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Then, when she was in a daze, Du Rusong had turned around and wiped the sweat slowly.


    ¡°You are good!¡± Lin Dan said honestly.


    Seeing that there was no shyness on her face and no flirtatious in her eyes as if she was looking at a wooden post. Du Rusong was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh. The little girl was not only tough but also, she saw no difference between genders. So how did her parents teach her?


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t think there was anything inappropriate for the man to be topless. She seemed to have seen many of these scenes. She continued, ¡°You used to practice swordsmanship, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Du Rusong took a glimpse at his treasured swords placed on the weapon rack. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just practiced broadsword recently.¡± He was depressed and still couldn¡¯t solve it. However, seeing that the little girl was so energetic while chopping the wood, he couldn¡¯t help but try. The result was quite satisfying. Since he began to practice sword skills, he hadn¡¯t thought about the bad things in the past for a long time.


    ¡°Your sword skills are stunning and mastered well. It is also very lethal when it¡¯s used on the battlefield. It is indeed more practical than swordsmanship. Since you are so skillful, why don¡¯t you join the army? With your strength, you can be a general in a few years!¡± Lin Dan straddled the wall and said in a serious tone with a hint of grief.


    If she was as skillful as the boy, she would have already gone to the military. How could she stay at home to embroider?


    Du Rusong couldn¡¯t help smiling when he thought of Lin Dan¡¯s bold words. He wiped his sweat, put on an outer robe, and said, ¡°Do you think joining the military is realizable?¡± Not long after Li Rangang came to Zhejiang, he was only in charge of government affairs and didn¡¯t join the military. If he joined the army, he might have a way out. However, the relationship in the military was not as simple as in the imperial court. The battlefield was a cruel place to be at. He was not afraid of death. He was just scared that if he died, there was no one to take care of his sister and aunt.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t know his worries and said firmly, ¡°It¡¯s realizable. In the military camp, the strong one could stand out. You are so skillful. It¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t join the army.¡±


    Du Rusong pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, ¡°How¡¯s your embroidery skill?¡±


    Lin Dan stunned for a moment. Then she took out an embroidered cloth and said, ¡°This is my new artwork. Have a look at it.¡±


    Du Rusong¡¯s careless expression was immediately replaced by astonishment. A peony was blooming on the white embroidered cloth. The light-yellow fluffy stamen seemed to be stained with some fine pollen. The petals spread layer by layer, and the color was from deep to light and gradually dyed. The side facing the sun was vibrant, while the side against the light was slightly darker and dull. It gave more texture to it. Several dewdrops rolled on the clearly-veined leaves as if they would fall off with a slight shake.


    It didn¡¯t seem to be embroidery. It was a real blooming peony in the wind.


    Du Rusong subconsciously touched the petals to confirm if they were real.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Lin Dan asked expectantly.


    Du Rusong took a deep breath and smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll join the army tomorrow.¡±


    Lin Dan frowned and didn¡¯t understand why he could change the subject swiftly.


    Du Rusong gave the embroidered cloth back to her and explained, ¡°Since you can cultivate the embroidery skill to such superb, I can also join the army.¡± He had seen Lin Dan been through it step by step. At first, she couldn¡¯t even hold the needle steadily, but she never thought of giving up. Instead, she forced herself to sit in front of the embroidery rack and practice. Day by day, month by month¡­ In the end, she mastered the embroidery skill and temper herself. Such perseverance was the only thing he had seen in his life.


    He still remembered that Lin Dan¡¯s first work was a tuft of things that couldn¡¯t recognize the shape at all. However, it had only been more than five months, she could already embroider a flower onto her embroidery cloth.


    Her painting was so vivid, and her embroidering skill was so extraordinary that he was amazed. But, at the same time, she let him realized that where there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way. As a grown-up man, why couldn¡¯t he do what a little girl could do?

 CH 83

    Seeing that Du Rusong highly praised her work, a smile finally appeared on Lin Dan¡¯s serious face. She waved her hand. When she was about to jump off the wall and go home for dinner, she saw Du Ruyan rushed over, sweeping through the flowers and grasses on both sides along the way. Her beautiful face was tensed, and her eyes were full of anger.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Du Rusong frowned.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m almost got pissed off today!¡± At the sight of the closest person, Du Ruyan, who had endured for a long time, she finally shed two streams of tears and said aggrievedly, ¡°Half a month later, there will be a Buddha¡¯s meeting hold in the Faxing Temple. During the Buddha¡¯s meeting, all the young talents of the Lin¡¯an mansion will gather. As you know, I¡¯m old enough that I will become an old woman if I still don¡¯t get married. Shouldn¡¯t I be more sociable?¡±


    Initially, Du Ruyan was a lady of the imperial palace. So, she didn¡¯t have to worry about getting married, but she had a former empress aunt, and her mother was divorced. How could such a background deserve the sons of the rich and noble family? So naturally, her fianc¨¦ broke off the engagement with her and married another woman. Now, she was nineteen years old. Other girls might have given birth to a few children, but she was still wasting her time.


    Thinking of the past, Du Ruyan felt even more bitter. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°In order to attend the Buddha¡¯s meeting, I want to make a new dress. Today in Meng¡¯s embroidery shop, I saw a piece of simple and lovely embroidered silk. The cotton rose on the silk was mesmerizing and vibrant. It was embroidered by Meng Si herself. I immediately took out my money to buy it, but it was taken by Li Jiarong, who came later. I told her that I came first, and I paid for it first. The silk should be sold to me, but the shopkeeper ignored me. He returned the money to me, wrapped the embroidered cloth, and took it to Li Jiarong¡¯s carriage. When Li Jiarong left, she mocked me that I was an unfeathered phoenix. I clenched my palm so hard to tolerate her, and I didn¡¯t cause a scene. Brother, I¡¯ve changed my character. I didn¡¯t cause you any trouble this time. ¡°


    Du Ruyan stretched out her hand and showed it to Du Rusong. There were indeed many bloody crescent marks on it, which were quite frightful when looking at it.


    Du Rusong¡¯s eyes darkened and showed a pity looked.


    Du Ruyan wiped her tears and said, ¡°That piece of cloth was taken. I want to buy another one, so I ask the shopkeeper if there is any cloth embroidered by Meng Si. The shopkeeper told me that nowadays, Meng Si only does embroider on screen, not clothes. Then I asked him what Li Jiarong took away just now. The shopkeeper said that I couldn¡¯t wear the clothes embroidered by Meng Si unless I¡¯m also the governor¡¯s daughter. He also told me that Meng Si only embroidered clothes for the nobles. What am I?¡±


    Du Ruyan tilted her head; her eyes were full of unwillingness, ¡°Brother, do you foresee of this day would happen to us? Do you envision that we will be reprimanded and scolded by others on this day for not being something? ¡± Speaking of this, she slowly lowered her head and covered her face to prevent her brother from seeing her on the verge of emotional breakdown.


    Du Rusong held his sister, who had lost weight, into his arms and patted her. His face looked calm, but his heart was raging. After all, he was too incompetent, causing his mother, aunt, and sister to suffer from these humiliations. Nevertheless, he was willing to do anything as long as he could have the power to control and protect his most important person.


    After Lin Dan listened to the conversation, she tentatively asked, ¡°Miss Du, do you still need embroidered cloth?¡±


    Du Rusong¡¯s eyes lit up, and he said immediately, ¡°Of course, I need it.¡±


    Lin Dan rubbed her hands and felt a little excited, but she didn¡¯t show it on her face. She said with a serious look, ¡°Then can you give me five taels of silver as a deposit. I have to buy embroidery threads and cloth. I can tailor clothes for y¡¯all after embroidering, but the price will be slightly higher. ¡°


    ¡°Five taels of silver? No problem.¡± Du Rusong immediately took out a silver ingot from his wallet and handed it to the little girl sitting on the wall.


    ¡°Here is twelve.¡± Holding the silver ingot in her hand, she jumped off the wall without saying a word and leaped into the Du family¡¯s small garden. She picked up the broadsword thrown aside by Mr. Du and chopped the silver in half.


    Du Ruyan was frightened by her brother¡¯s compulsion and Lin Dan¡¯s aggressive behavior. She forgot all her grievances, and she didn¡¯t cry anymore. She stared at the little girl with a broadsword in her hand and silver in another hand in shock.


    ¡°No,¡± Du Ruyan grabbed her brother¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°I¡¯ll find the cloth myself. Don¡¯t have to trouble the little girl.¡± Up until now, she still remembered the girl¡¯s ¡°masterpiece¡±, so she didn¡¯t dare to wear it.


    However, Du Rusong ignored her pleading. Instead, he took over the cut half silver ingot and said with a smile, ¡°Miss Lin, please measure my sister¡¯s size and embroider whatever pattern you like. Then, we can negotiate the price.¡±


    Lin Dan waved her hand, ¡°When the clothes are ready, you can give me based on your satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with it, you can pay me a little lesser; If you are happy with it, you can pay me a little more. Anyway, it¡¯s my first business deal. I¡¯m not familiar with the market price, so I¡¯m okay with it as long as I¡¯m not losing money. But, of course, when I become famous in the future, the price will be higher.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Du Rusong had already been used to Lin Dan¡¯s boldness. The coldness on his face gradually receded and was replaced with ease. When he got along with the next door¡¯s little girl, he could have no burden. He didn¡¯t need to guess her motives for what she had said, nor he needed to deliberately distance himself from her in case of getting into trouble. It was good to settle here.


    However, Du Ruyan was shocked by her brother¡¯s decision. She wanted to shout, ¡°I don¡¯t want, please let me be.¡± But she didn¡¯t want to hurt the little girl¡¯s self-esteem. It was just a waste of a bit of silver. When the clothes were done, she would put them at the bottom of the suitcase. The little girl had already worked very hard to learn embroidery to support the Lin family¡¯s embroidery shop. She couldn¡¯t discourage her enthusiasm anymore.


    Thinking of this, Du Ruyan had no choice but to compromise. She put on a straight face and asked Lin Dan to do the measurement. With the help of her brother and Lin Dan, the resentment and unwillingness in her heart receded; she couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°I will bring you the clothes before the Buddha¡¯s meeting.¡± Lin Dan jotted down Du Ruyan¡¯s size, climbed up the wall, and leaped over. Her movement was nimble.


    Du Ruyan was stunned and reminded, ¡°Brother, you just let her simply climb over our wall? If things go on like this, our house will be her back garden. She can come in and out as she wants.¡±


    If someone else dared to do so, Du Rusong would have broken the person¡¯s leg. But now, he just smiled and waved his hand indifferently. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Miss Lin knows what she is doing.¡±


    Du Ruyan looked at her brother for a while, then shook her head and left.


    ¡ª


    This was the first deal that Lin Dan received. It was also the first move for her to reopen the embroidery shop. So naturally, she didn¡¯t dare to slack off. After getting the deposit, she sneaked out of her house with Cui Lan to buy embroidery threads and cloth. But the slightly better fabrics on the market were costly. Five taels silver could only buy some leftover bits and pieces.


    ¡°Miss, we still have some good cloth in the storehouse. Mrs. Lin left it to you as your dowry. You can use the cloth at home. Then ask Mr. Du to pay you when you¡¯re done making the clothes.¡± Cui Lan suggested.


    Okay, let¡¯s go. Lin Dan put a large bundle of white embroidered threads into the basket. She had been used to buying threads and dye them by herself. Since the color of the threads on the market was too few for her to work on.


    When the two were walking halfway, Lin Dan changed her mind. ¡°How about we go to the Buddhist temple to have a look?¡± One could wear whatever one liked at home, but when outside, one had to dress according to the occasion. She had to see what Faxing temple looked like with her own eyes to find inspiration for embroidering clothes.


    Cui Lan also wanted to go and have some fun, so she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, the temple is not far from here. We will arrive there in 45 minutes.¡±


    The two came to Faxing temple, and visited the whole place, and donated some incense money. They didn¡¯t go home until the sun was about to set. With the guidance of the young monk, Lin Dan knew that on the day of the Buddhist prayer, the young talents of the Lin¡¯an mansion would hold a poetry conference, which would be held in the garden behind the Daxiong Hall.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t remember how enormous the temple was, nor did she remember how graceful the Bodhisattvas were. All she remembered was that when she walked into the growing autumn garden, her soul was taken away by a huge ginkgo tree that had lived for a thousand years. According to the young monk, this ginkgo was planted a thousand years ago by the emperor of the Qin Kingdom. It endured countless winds and frost. Yet, after several dynasties, it was still lush and strong. Its trunk was as big as five people¡¯s arms. The huge treetop towered into the sky, covering the sky and the sun.


    The autumn breeze dyed it bright golden color; the unique-shape ginkgo leaves fell from the tree like raindrops. When she looked up, her eyes were full of dazzling colors, clear blue sky, and the bright sunlight shone between the branches like stars as if she was prying into another world through a kaleidoscope. That scene could only be described as breathtaking.


    At that time, Lin Dan was stunned. It took her 15 minutes to recover from the beauty of nature. After leaving the temple, her mind was filled with golden ginkgo leaves. Some dangling at the top of the tree, some flying in mid-air, and some lying on the ground. It was so dazzling and eye-catching.


    When she finally got rid of this kind of heart-shock and was about to reach the front door of her house, Zhang Hui was holding a feather duster in her hand and stared at her fiercely. ¡°Where have you been today? You had just been quiet for a few months, and now you¡¯re back to your real state, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll make you lazy and disobedient!¡±


    Zhang Hui chased behind her daughter and bet her, she felt disappointed and angry.


    Lin Dan subconsciously covered her head with her hands and explained while running, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be angry. I received an embroidery business today, and I went out to buy threads.¡±


    ¡°With your poor embroidery skills, what kind of embroidery business did you got? Who looks upon you? The third and fourth aunt just praised you in front of me today. They said that you were talented and only needed to work a little harder to be successful. But when I was about to see you, you disappeared, and even the embroidery rack was empty! You¡¯ve just learned a little and have started to slack off. How can you support this family in the future? Look at Meng Si; she has learned embroidery for more than ten years. Her skills are tip-top, but she still practices diligently every day! Who do you think you are to slack off?¡± Zhang Hui was so angry that her eyes turned red, but she couldn¡¯t do anything to her daughter. She neither wanted to beat her daughter too hard nor too soft that her daughter would take it lightly. If she had known that the Lin family would become like this, she shouldn¡¯t have spoiled her daughter so much, making her so willful and lazy.


    After running into the hall, Lin Dan hid behind the two ladies and explained, ¡°I¡¯m not slacking off. This is my embroidery. Mom and aunties, please have a look at it first. I thought I could have finished my apprenticeship, so I accept the embroidery job.

 CH 84

    Zhang Hui put down the feather duster skeptically and took the embroidered cloth. Then she was stunned. The two aunts saw her expression and quickly approached her. They were also stunned.


    ¡°Is, is this really your embroidery?¡± Zhang Hui said in a trembling voice.


    ¡°Yes, it is. It took me a whole month to finish it.¡± Lin Dan finally sat down and took a deep breath.


    The fourth aunt touched the stamen of the peony and the dewdrop on the leaf. Then she sighed, ¡°This stamen is embroidered using seed embroidery technique. It is done by twining the thread on the needle three times and made into a knot, which can imitate the real shape of the stamen; The petals were using elaborate embroidery techniques, the color is very natural. From light red to deep red, the colors are smudged with strand by strands of threads. It is almost impossible to find the joining ends between the colors; it is smooth; The stem is embroidered using the crewel embroidery technique, giving texture to it. The veins of the leaves were definite and lifelike. The most eye-catching ones were the dewdrops. They were embroidered with the Hardanger embroidery technique to form a protruding surface. It can see the reflection of the sunlight through the dewdrops. The color recedes, and the bending of lines, everything looked real. If I hadn¡¯t touched with my hand, I would have thought that few dewdrops were dripped by Dan¡¯er.¡±


    The third aunt nodded and clicked her tongue. ¡°Oh my God! Our Dan¡¯er is so amazing. She has used a total of more than 20 kinds of embroidery techniques in this embroidery. Many of them are extremely difficult. Even fourth sis and I can¡¯t master them well. Apart from that, her color-matching was the most outstanding. A good embroidery work emphasizes seven key points: neat, lighting, straight, even, thin, smooth, and dense. However, Dan¡¯er¡¯s work had completely breach these concepts. She didn¡¯t seek neat and even lighting, but instead, she combined the change in light and shadow and the shades of colors together. The side facing the light is bright and vibrant, while the side against the light is dark and dull. The overlapping connection between light and shadow was very natural as if it was real. These dewdrops were the best to reflect the characteristic. The needlework is still the same. But once the color scheme is changed, the light and shadow are added, the flower becomes lifelike. ¡°


    The third aunt took out a piece of Meng¡¯s work and said proudly, ¡°Sis, come and have a look. This is Meng¡¯s peony flower. What do you think?¡±


    Zhang Hui didn¡¯t know much about embroidery, but anyone with eyes could notice the difference between the two embroidery works. She stared at her daughter¡¯s embroidered cloth and said in a trembling voice, ¡°I think the peony flower embroidered by my daughter is thousands of times better than those embroidered by Meng Si.¡±


    The third aunt smiled in relief and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Although Dan¡¯er¡¯s embroidering skills may not be as good as Meng Si¡¯s, her color-matching and drawing skills were far better than Meng Si. It is impossible to find a second one like Dan¡¯er, even if you travel throughout the Great Zhou Kingdom, let alone Suzhou, who have such kind of embroidery work. But, of course, a top embroiderer must first have her own style so that others could call out her name at the sight of her work. Our Dan¡¯er has yet to complete her apprenticeship, but she did such amazing work. But in time, she would be the world¡¯s first-class embroiderer. So, Sis, you can¡¯t belittle your daughter with Meng Si anymore. Our Dan¡¯er is no worse than anyone else.¡±


    Lin Dan, who was gulping water, quickly put down the teacup and straightened her chest. Although she was very confident in herself, she still needs affirmation from others.


    Zhang Hui nodded happily, with tears welled up in her eyes.


    Lin Dan felt grieved. She walked over and patted her on the back, and called her mother in a low voice. Now that she was here, replacing the real owner, she would take care of the real owner¡¯s family and shoulder the responsibility. She would also restore the former glory of the Lin embroidery shop.


    The fourth aunt shook her head and said, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re wrong. What do you mean by Dan¡¯er¡¯s embroidery skills are not as good as Meng Si¡¯s? I think this embroidery has used at least twenty kinds of embroidery techniques, including the unique, elaborate embroidery technique and needlework created by Ye Jinxiu. Ye Jinxiu was the former imperial embroiderer of the previous dynasty, known as the God of Needles. Since Dan¡¯er can master her unique skills, how can she be worse than Meng Si? ¡°


    The third aunt stared at the embroidered cloth for a long time, hesitated, and said, ¡°How can you be sure that Dan¡¯er applies Ye Jinxiu¡¯s elaborate embroidery technique and needlework? I think it¡¯s just a little similar. You need to know that Ye¡¯s embroidery techniques of Ye Jinxiu have been lost for a long time, and no one knows how to use them. ¡°


    Fourth aunt said firmly, ¡°My father once gave me an embroidered work of Ye Jinxiu. I observed and studied it day and night, so how can I not recognize it? This is Ye Jinxiu¡¯s elaborate embroidery technique and needlework. How did you learn it, Dan¡¯er? Quickly tell me!¡±


    Lin Dan ran into the yard and took her own needle and thread box over and said plainly, ¡°I cut open the God of Needles¡¯ embroidery work. I looked for every needlepoint and marked the position, then only I learned how to mix and apply needles. Not only that, but I also cut open Embroiderer Shu¡¯s lion tiger artwork and Embroiderer Fang¡¯s little elephant of the former Prince Chuping. She learned their unique skills, fur embroidery technique, and face splitting embroidery technique, respectively. Here is the cut embroidery. The black dots on the cloth are the needlepoint I marked. Y¡¯all can just follow the needlepoints, and definitely, y¡¯all will master it. ¡°


    Embroiderer Shu and Embroiderer Fang were two other tip-tops embroider in the same era as Ye Jinxiu. One of the two was skilled at embroidering beasts, and the other was skilled at embroidering figures. They invented the fur embroidery technique and the face splitting embroidery technique, respectively, to show the fluffy and delicate fur of the animals and the textures of human skin. Their style of works was the same as that of Lin Dan, in which they only cared about the realness. How to make embroidery as lifelike as possible was the lifelong pursuit of the two.


    In the tireless pursuit and grinding, they finally became successful for a whole generation, shining in the river of history like Ye Jinxiu. Therefore, their works rarely appeared on the market. They were either kept in the palace or in the hands of the nobles. Any of them could be sold at a sky-high price.


    It could be said that Lin Dafu had spared his life to collect these three works. But now, they had turned into three pieces of rags and were simply placed in Lin Dan¡¯s needle and thread box.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Third and Fourth aunt collapsed on the chair with their hands clenched on their chests, while Zhang Hui picked up the feather duster. She tried to tell herself that she was her daughter and must hold back her anger!


    Lin Dan saw that the situation was not right. Lin Dan immediately explained, ¡°Mom, aunties, don¡¯t think it¡¯s a pity. Although these three works were precious, shouldn¡¯t the more valuable things be the techniques to embroider them? I¡¯ve mastered the needlework from the three embroiders, and I¡¯ll be able to embroider more flower and bird patterns, lion and tiger patterns, and figures and elephants in the future. Then, maybe a few centuries later, people will collect my embroidery and call me the God of Needles. Don¡¯t y¡¯all think so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that makes sense.¡± The two aunts broke free from the feeling of heartache and said with tears, ¡°Dan¡¯er, since you have cut opened the embroidery works, you must study them carefully!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, auntie. I¡¯ve almost finished studying them.¡± Lin Dan comforted her.


    Zhang Hui gritted her teeth, and, at last, she let go of the feather duster. She didn¡¯t know whether she should laugh or cry. ¡°Things are dead, and people are livings. As long as my daughter is promising, I will be happier than anything else. Sis, y¡¯all can also study the cut opened embroidery works. In the future, we will work together and reopen the embroidery shop. Since today, Lin Dan has finished her apprenticeship. Let¡¯s kill a chicken to celebrate. Oh, by the way, Dan¡¯er, you said that you have got an embroidery job. Who is that hirer? ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s Miss Du. She is going to attend the Buddha¡¯s meeting in half a month.¡± Lin Dan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She also knew that the embroidery works left by her father were very precious. So she shouldn¡¯t destroy it unless she had to. However, most of the tip-top embroiders came from aristocratic families, and they would never pass their family heirloom to outsiders. So the reason why Meng Si was famous in Suzhou and Hangzhou was because of her family history.


    In this case, Lin Dan couldn¡¯t find a top embroiderer as a master. If she was left to figure out herself, she might surpass Meng Si one day, but the time would be very long, three or five years, or even ten, twenty years.


    Lin Dan wanted to learn it quickly, so she had no other way but to destroy the precious embroidery works.


    What she could think of, Zhang Hui could definitely think of it. When she looked at her daughter, the anger she had just felt had dissipated entirely and turned into comfort and joy. ¡°Our daughter has grown up, and she has become more and more decisive, just like your father. So you must work hard this time, and don¡¯t let Miss Du disappointed.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve already decided what to embroider. If I can make Miss Du a spectacular appearance this time, I can spread my reputation, and the business will gradually improve. When I have enough money, I will rent a small storefront for business dealings. In the future, when I become famous, I will recruit a few more embroiders and open an embroidery shop. Mother, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Great, we take it slowly. Don¡¯t rush.¡± Zhang Hui turned her head to another side and wiped her tears. Her daughter had become more and more matured and courteous. If her father was still alive, he would be so happy.


    ¡ª


    Du Ruyan was busy searching for the cloth to make a dress, and she had totally forgotten the five taels of deposit. Du Rusong had joined the army and had to go to the military camp for training every day, so he didn¡¯t have time to ask Lin Dan. In the morning before the Buddha¡¯s meeting, Lin Dan finally walked out of her room that had been closed for half a month. She took a deerskin package in her hand.


    At the same time, Du Ruyan also got up early. She was taking out the clothes in the suitcase one by one and spreading them on the bed.


    ¡°This one is too plain, and this one is too eye-catching. This one is a little old-fashioned¡­ No, no, none of these is suitable!¡± She stomped her feet and pulled her hair as if she was on the verge of a breakdown.


    The servant was even more frustrated than her. She mumbled, ¡°But miss, these are all the new clothes you made. If you can¡¯t pick them out from here, you will only leave the option to wear the old clothes.¡±


    Since Du Ruyan saw the silk embroidered with cotton rose, she had no interest in other cloth. Her mind was now full of the cotton roses that Meng Si had embroidered. They were vivid and beautiful, and the colors were just lovely. Who else had better embroidery skills than her? Which cloth could be more beautiful than hers?


    ¡°I would rather stay at home than make a fool of myself in these clothes.¡± After repetitively choosing several times, Du Ruyan had changed from anxiety to despair. She used to be the daughter of the imperial palace, and even if she became a commoner, she didn¡¯t want to be inferior. So she would either don¡¯t go or amaze everyone.


    She rummaged through the box, refused to give up, but in the end, she sat down dejectedly. Without the identity of the daughter of the imperial palace, no matter how rich she was, she couldn¡¯t buy exclusive clothes because the local nobles always ordered the exclusive fabrics before the goods arrived. Others could only purchase the leftovers. She used to enjoy this privilege.


    She tried her very best to keep her pride, but reality reminded her repeatedly that she could never go back. The unfeathered phoenix is nothing better than a chicken; this sentence was like a knife pierced into her heart.


    She sniffed and tried hard to hold back her tears, but she saw her servant came in with a package and took out a dress, a blouse, a set of jewelry, and a pair of embroidered shoes. They were neatly placed on the bed.


    ¡°Miss, Miss Lin sent it here just now. I think you¡¯d better go to the Buddha¡¯s meeting as scheduled. If you don¡¯t go, the Lin¡¯an mansion can¡¯t see the most mesmerizing scenery.¡± The servant said with a smile.


    Du Ruyan¡¯s eyes were wide open. She covered her mouth with her hand, looking extremely shocked. Then, after a while, she shouted with joy, ¡°Yes, today I definitely must go!

 CH 85

    Today, the believers of the Faxing Temple were gathered, and it was very lively. The Buddhist hall outside was filled with ordinary people who came to pray, and the Great Buddha¡¯s Hall and the back garden were a place for important people to rest. Many young talents and famous ladies were gathered under the ginkgo tree to talk about poems and paintings.


    To stand out, the talents would talk to each other and display their literary talent; The ladies were all dressed up elegantly. Although they were sitting on both ends of the table, their eyes met from time to time. Some of them lowered their heads shyly, and some smiled brightly. Every move of them was full of affection.


    Among all the talented ladies, Li Ran¡¯s sons and daughters born from his wife were naturally the most outstanding and the focus of everyone¡¯s attention. As the governor of the imperial city and the brother of Concubine Min, Li Ran¡¯s official career was not limited to the whole Jiangzhe. Maybe a few years later, when the ninth prince grew up, he would be transferred to the capital city as an official and have a meteoric rise.


    With such a strong background, Li Jianrong and Li Xiudian were naturally the people who were flattered.


    At this moment, Li Jiarong was sitting under a ginkgo tree and drinking tea from time to time. Her beautiful eyes glanced at the young talents who were talking happily. She was beautiful and graceful, so she was naturally very popular. Eighty or ninety percent of talents could not help but glance at her, and then looked away, pretending to be fine.


    Catching another man who was peeping at her, Li Jiarong covered her mouth with her hand and smiled proudly.


    ¡°Sister Li, the dress you are wearing is so beautiful. I¡¯m attracted by it! These hibiscus flowers were elegant and enchanting, and each of them was unique in charm and beauty. It was really a masterpiece! If an ordinary woman wore this dress, she would be crushed by these beautiful hibiscus flowers. But you are different. You are so beautiful that no matter how beautiful the flowers are, they will be your foil. ¡°A noblewoman praised sincerely.


    Next to a few people quickly echoed, praised Li Jiarong as peerless


    Li Jiarong held her hand with a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t praise me. Sisi embroidered this dress for me. If I have seven beauty, then five of them must be from her hands.¡±(Note: Full mark is 10. She said she had seven beauty to be modest.)


    Sitting next to her, Meng Si smiled shyly and gently, without saying anything.


    To please Li Jiarong, all the ladies praised Meng Si too and said that they would never go to other embroidery shops to buy clothes in the future and would only go to the Meng¡¯s store.


    Someone cut in, ¡°Well, do you think Du Ruyan will come today?¡±


    Li Jiarong stopped smiling and looked at the woman coldly. Another person quickly added, ¡°How could she come? Did she dare to come? I¡¯ve heard that she has been looking for precious cloth and good embroiderers in the city these days. However, with her background, which good embroiderer would like to make clothes? It¡¯s pathetic that she still doesn¡¯t want to see the reality in such a situation. ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s right. No matter how much money she has, she can¡¯t buy the silk we wear. She will make a fool of herself even if she comes. So why did she come? I guess she is crying at home! ¡°As soon as the woman finished speaking, everyone covered their mouths and chuckled, with a look of schadenfreude in their eyes.


    Li Jiarong¡¯s face softened. She pretended to be magnanimous and said, ¡°Since she has come to this point, you¡¯d better keep your words. Don¡¯t laugh at her anymore.¡±


    At that time, as the most beautiful lady in the capital, Du Ruoyan was always better than Li Jiarong. Li Jiarong was narrow-minded and jealous. On the one hand, she cursed Du Ruoyan; on the other hand, she swore in her heart, when her family gets powerful one day, she will trample on them and crush them into ashes! Now that her wish had been realized, she was naturally happy, but she had to show her magnanimity in front of the many talents.


    Hearing her words, the ladies nodded in agreement and pretended to sympathize with Du Ruyan.


    While the ladies were chatting happily, the young talents all turned their heads to look at the entrance of the garden. First, they were amazed, then they were obsessed deeply. A woman was slowly walking in. She was wearing a long strapless dress, and the fabric of the dress was made into vertical folds with a hot copper pot. They had gathered together again, and a young yellow silk ribbon was inserted into a bowknot-like collar, tying it around the girl¡¯s slender neck. Every step she took, the hemline of her dress rose layers of waves, like petals blooming under her feet.


    She didn¡¯t wear a belt. The snow-white chiffon fabric naturally fell down along her beautiful body curve, but it was more graceful than wearing a belt. This wave-like dress was unique and attractive, but what was more beautiful was the robe she was wearing outside.


    The robe was made of transparent cicada wings gauze, which was not as smooth as the silk fabric, but more elegant and straight. Some embroiderers embroidered the cicada wings gauze with gold and silver threads, one by one, which was dotted with ginkgo leaves. From the round shoulder to the flying hem, the ginkgo leaves were embroidered more and more densely, until they were covered with a bright golden color. The girl stepped on the golden leaves all over the ground, and the end of her robe gently covered the leaves. The two merged together as if they were made by god.


    The girl stood there like a fairy born from the fallen leaves, flawless and beautiful.


    The girl walked slowly. A gust of autumn wind lifted up the hem of her dress and lifted up her blouse, making everyone look straight at her. The pleated skirt was not a single layer, but five or six layers of pure white chiffon were intertwined together, and no strange thing could be seen when walking. However, when the wind blew gently five or six layers of chiffon into a blooming white lotus, the beautiful and elegant scene could only be described as Soul Eater. Her robe was stirred by the wind and gently flew in the air. The ginkgo leaves embroidered on it also swayed in many ways as if countless leaves were circling around the girl. They were swept and pulled by the wind, unwilling to leave her side.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The girl stood under a tree, covered in golden leaves. She was like the goddess that had been transformed from the ancient tree for a thousand years.


    She walked to a corner with the least crowd, gently lifted up her robe, and sat down elegantly, with an indescribable charm in every move. When she completely turned around and revealed her beautiful face, the talents had completely lost the ability to think.


    It was a rare visual enjoyment to see beautiful scenery, clothes, and girl. What was more amazing was that the three of them were still so integrated into one place. It was hard to tell whether the beauty turned into beauty or was set off by a beauty.


    The lively poetry party became silent because of the arrival of the young girl. Many men held their breath, afraid of disturbing the goddess.


    ¡°It¡¯s Du Ruyan.¡±A noblewoman said in a trance.


    ¡°Her skirt full of wrinkles is so beautiful, and the blouse embroidered with ginkgo leaves is so beautiful!¡± Another noblewoman couldn¡¯t help telling the truth.


    Li Jiarong had no time to care about her manners. Her beautiful face twisted slightly, showing jealousy and hatred. She put down the teacup with a loud bang. When she was about to stand up to look for a fight, she was stopped by Meng Si, who pressed her shoulder.


    ¡°The design of the robe is ingenious, but what is not unusual,¡± Meng Si said, ¡°You can take a closer look and find that the ginkgo leaves are all embroidered with very simple flat needles. Any apprentice in Meng¡¯s embroidering house can make the same clothes. Even if I give you such a cheap thing for free, you won¡¯t wear it. Why do you care? ¡°


    ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s just a few leaves. Who can¡¯t embroider? Du Ruyan couldn¡¯t get the top embroiderers, so she had to make do with it. ¡°The noble girl sitting next to her immediately persuaded.


    Li Jiarong took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Unlike Du Ruyan, who was arrogant, domineering, and had a bad reputation, she was a first-class lady in Ling¡¯an Prefecture. Everyone knew her gentle temperament?


    ¡°Miss Meng, you are really an expert. You can tell good from bad at a glance. It was just a few leaves. Who cared? Maybe my embroidery is better than hers. ¡°Several ladies tried their best to please Li Jiarong.


    However, not all the noble girls wanted to cling to the Lis. Some of them ignored Li Jiarong¡¯s cold eyes and walked up to Du Ruyan to cotton up to her. They chatted with each other for a while and then asked her where the pleated skirt and robe came from.


    This time, Du Ruyan came to amazed the all, and also to make a name for Lin Dan. She said without reservation, ¡°This dress of mine is made by embroiderers Lin Dan. Do you know Lin¡¯s Embroidery house, which used to be the largest one in Ling¡¯an Prefecture? Now, Lin Dan is the leader of Lin¡¯s Embroidery house. Her embroidery skills are superb! ¡°


    ¡°Are you talking about Lin¡¯s embroidery house that has been destroyed by the Meng¡¯s?¡±Someone frowned.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±Hearing this, the noble girls who were still in high spirits walked away. Although they didn¡¯t like to flatter Li Jiarong, they thought the embroidery of the robe was just so so by the words of Meng Si. As soon as they heard that embroiderer came from the collapsed Lin¡¯s Embroidery house, they would not invite her in.


    Other noble girls invited the best embroiderers in the region, and even the imperial embroiderers, but they invited a broken down. Wasn¡¯t it shameful? Forget it. And when they came closer and found that the embroidery of the robe was just ordinary, but it was ingenious. They won¡¯t be tricked by this!


    When they were almost done, a beautiful woman sat beside her and said with a smile, ¡°Your earrings are also embroidered, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Du Ruyan touched her earlobe and nodded, ¡°Yes, it was embroidered. She first embroidered a double-sided ginkgo leaf on the cloth, and then nailed three pearls on the top of the leaf. Then she cut it off, put it on a hook, and made it into an earring. This pair of earrings and this pair of shoes are the suits. ¡°


    To publicize the news, Du Ruyan also spared no effort. She crossed her legs and showed a pair of elegant feet to the woman. The embroidered shoes on her feet were also embroidered with gold and silver silk, and each leaf was nailed with fine and cute pearls.


    The woman¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight. She was not a fool who would believe whatever Meng Si said. The pattern of the robe was simple, but the embroidery was not simple. The color of each leaf was different. Dark and Light golden color was very natural to be dyed together, and the veins of the leaf were embroidered with extremely thin grayish-white and dark yellow silk threads. It could be said that the leaves had different forms and were lifelike.


    The woman bet that she couldn¡¯t cut the silk thread so thin, not to mention that Meng Si couldn¡¯t cut the silk thread, even if the imperial embroiderers in the palace was kneaded together, they couldn¡¯t do like this. The silk thread was thinner and the color was better. No matter how simple the pattern was, the skill couldn¡¯t be simpler. As the saying goes, the simplest is the most beautiful, and the simplest is the most complicated. Only in the ordinary can one see the true skills. It¡¯s ridiculous that a top embroiderer like Meng Si doesn¡¯t understand this at all

 CH 86

    The woman¡¯s eyes slowly moved down along the round shoulder of Du Ruoyan. When she saw the tail of the robe, her eyes darkened again. The ginkgo leaves at the tail were embroidered the most densely. One was pressed on the other, and the other was laid on the other. The shape of each leaf could be seen clearly, and they would not be mixed up at all. The embroidery work at the end of the line was so real and dreamlike as if she had seen fallen leaves all over the ground.


    The woman had never seen such a marvelous embroiderer¡¯s technique. It incisively and vividly displayed the light and shadow change of the color, as if a real leaf had been restrained on the gauze on the spell. Fortunately, she came over and looked at it carefully. Only then did she find the mystery. If she glanced at embroidery from afar as Meng Si did, how could she comprehend the superb skills of embroiderers?


    Just because of her arrogance today, Meng Si would definitely lose miserably in the future!


    Thinking of this, the woman introduced herself, ¡°Miss Du, my father is the supervisor of Zhejiang Navy, and I am a daughter of the concubine in Xus, Xu Qian, the sixth child in the family. If we are free in the future, let¡¯s have tea together, okay? ¡°


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Xu.¡±Du Ruyan nodded with a smile. The supervisor of the Zhejiang Navy had been in charge of the military affairs of Zhejiang province and had been guarding there for six or seven years. He was known as the local emperor of the province and was not comparable to Li Ran, who had just arrived. It was good for her to keep in touch with his daughter.


    The two of them talked happily and harmoniously. Before leaving, Xu Qian said, ¡°Miss Du, if I want to make new clothes in the future, please introduce embroiderer to me. Her embroidery skill is very good. I like it very much. ¡°


    ¡°Of course. Our two families are neighbors. We live in the sackcloth alley in the western suburb. If you need anything, you can send a maid to look for me. ¡°Li Jiarong, she was able to compromise and cope with others easily. After all, Concubine Min came to the palace with the help of the connections of empress Du to win the favor of the empress. However, she didn¡¯t expect that the glory and wealth in the palace raised the ambition of this dog and let it bit its master. Even if her spine was broken, Du Ruyan would never bow down in front of Li Jiarong.


    After bearing the address in mind in silence, Xu Qian said goodbye and left. When she returned to Li Jiarong¡¯s table, she was taunted by her sister, the eldest daughter of the Xus. saying ¡°when you settle down, you love to stay with a broken-down house. You are always a bitch, and you can¡¯t change it.¡±


    Xu Qian never quarreled with her sister. She just stepped aside and hid in the crowd.


    However, no matter how ungrateful and silent Du Ruyan was, she couldn¡¯t hide it. Where she was sitting, the light was shining. It merged with the flying ginkgo leaves, like the goodness of the tree. The other ladies wore more luxurious clothes than her, and the best embroiderer embroidered the most beautiful pattern on their bodies. But for some reason, they were so gaudy compared with the simple ginkgo leaf of Du Ruyan.


    Even the hibiscus flower embroidered by Meng Si herself was too complicated, and it would make people feel bored after a few looks.


    Gradually, no one paid attention to Li Jiarong anymore, and all the talents looked at the lonely Du Ruyan. The wide blouse set off her thin figure. The more silent she was, the more distressed everyone was for her. Thinking of her bumpy life, Instead of belittling her as usual, people loved her dearly.


    Many talents were touched. They spread out pen, ink, paper, and inkstone praised the beauty with poems, and portrayed her with paintings. For a moment, inspiration flashed, and good works appeared frequently. However, in Buddhist prayer, the good name of Du Ruoyan had already spread throughout the Ling¡¯an Prefecture. Even if she was no longer the daughter of the Marquis, she had become the goodness that many young talents dreamed of.


    Li Jiarong was so angry that her face turned red. She didn¡¯t want to lose her temper in front of so many people. She had planned to make trouble for Du Ruyan after the Buddha meeting, but she found that she had already left. She really came on the fallen leaves and took away the infatuation of many talents by taking wind away. After she came to Ling¡¯an Prefecture and settled down, she could be still better than her former foe.


    Li Jiarong didn¡¯t mention how angry she was. On the other side, Du Ruoyan returned to the mansion in high spirits. She was about to jump off the carriage, but when she saw the beautiful clothes on her, she quickly stopped, picked up the hemline, and carefully walked down with the help of a maid.


    ¡°Are you at home, Lin Dan?¡±She knocked on the back door.


    ¡°Here you are. My lady is embroidering in the backyard.¡±With a smile, Cuilan opened the door and exclaimed, ¡°Wow, Miss Du, you are so beautiful today!¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Many people said so.¡±Du Ruyan ran into the backyard with picking up her hemline and said happily, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m in the limelight today. Those talents wrote poems and praised me as a goddess transformed from an ancient tree for thousands of years. Seeing their obsession, I felt ridiculous and bored. I came back in only two-quarters of an hour. If everyone only cares about appearance and family background like them, I really don¡¯t want to get married. ¡°


    ¡°Then don¡¯t marry with anyone. How about staying at home and being free? ¡°Lin Dan was embroidering a grass without raising her head and said.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be the master at home, and I¡¯ll be my daughter-in-law when I go out. I don¡¯t want to be a daughter-in-law. ¡°Du Ruyan giggled with a dull expression.


    ¡°Miss, this is the money you asked me to take.¡±While she was speaking, her maid hurried in with a heavy wooden box in her arms.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Hearing the two words ¡°money¡±, Lin Dan immediately raised his head and looked at them with burning eyes. Now the Lins were really poor. They had porridge for three meals a day, and Zhang Hui had to pawn the dowry every two or three days to make a living. If she couldn¡¯t make any money, the whole family would be in a mess. The servant who was responsible for chopping wood had been fired long ago, and the only servant in the family was Cuilan. The third concubine and the fourth concubine often helped others to sew clothes to exchange for a small amount of money.


    This house seemed to be fine on the surface, but everyone lived a hard life, but only Lin Dan didn¡¯t feel it at all. Because Zhang Hui left the best things to her daughter, and she must make her life the same as before her family was destroyed. Did she want the best stitches, the best dye, and the best cloth? Then buy it! As long as her daughter could grow up, Zhang Hui would never be stingy with money.


    ¡°How much are you going to pay me?¡± Putting down the needle and thread, Lin Dan rubbed her hands unconsciously.


    ¡°The robe is made of cicada wings gauze. It¡¯s very expensive. You can only buy one with fifteen taels. I cut it for you three feet and the cost is about 22. The dress is made of silk, and it is folded into hundreds of folds. There are five layers inside and outside. I used a piece of cloth, and the cost is about 10. Besides, the silk and pearls are the dowries my mother left to me. ¡°As she spoke, Lin Dan played with her abacus, afraid of losing money.


    Du Ruyan was amused by the way she was obsessed with money, but she also thought she was straightforward and lovely.


    ¡°Never mind. Although I am also a goner, I just don¡¯t have the identity of the daughter of the Marquis. The dowry my mother left for me is still there. Here, this is one hundred teals silver. Take it. ¡°Du Ruyan put the heavy wooden box on the table.


    Looking at her with an indescribable expression, Lin Dan said slowly, ¡°Last time I bought a jar with one hundred teals. Guess how many times my mother slapped me?¡±


    ¡°How many times?¡±Asked Du Ruyan smilingly.


    ¡°More than 180. If you spend one hundred taels of silver buying a dress, your brother may slap you over 250 times. ¡°Lin Dan said seriously.


    Du Ruyan was stunned for a while and asked tentatively, ¡°Are you satirizing me for 250?¡±(Note£º 250=fool in Chinese)


    Lin Dan answered her question in silence. Then she opened the wooden box and took out two silver ingots. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll charge you twenty, and your brother gave me a deposit of five. It¡¯s enough. Take the rest of the money back. Don¡¯t waste it. It¡¯s not easy for your brother to beat the bandits at the seaside. ¡°


    Somehow, she showed great respect to the soldiers and wouldn¡¯t let them suffer losses.


    Du Ruyan stared at her for a long time. Suddenly, she threw herself into her arms and said, ¡°You are so kind, Lin Dan! Dandan! Are you my friend? ¡°


    ¡°If you don¡¯t call me Dandan, we are still friends.¡±Lin Dan frowned.


    When Du Ruyan was about to act coquettishly, she heard hoarse laughter from the wall. The two of them looked up and found that Du Rusong, who they hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, was sitting there with a gentle smile in his eyes.


    ¡°Miss Lin, you are really good at embroidering. You have dressed my sister like a wild monkey into a goddess. In the future, I¡¯m afraid that the matchmaker of Ling¡¯an Prefecture will break through my door. You can take the one hundred silver. If you can help my sister marry, you must have made a great contribution. ¡°Du Rusong waved his hand lazily. Although he tried his best to cover it, he still looked a little tired.


    ¡°Well, Miss Du, if you come here to make clothes in the future, your cost will be deducted from these one hundred teals. Mr. Du, you¡¯d better go back to sleep now. Your eyes are almost unable to open. ¡°Without any hesitation, Lin Dan took the wooden box. She knew that if she refused to accept it, Du Rusong would persuade her again, which would delay his rest time.


    Du Rusong smiled gently. He was about to jump off the wall and go back to his room to rest, but suddenly stopped and asked tentatively, ¡°Miss Lin, can you sew leather armor?¡±


    ¡°The leather armor you are wearing on the battlefield?¡± Lin Dan looked up at him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°This is the military supplies. The officers should be distributed to every soldier, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I have offended some big shot. I have been in the army for more than half a month, but I don¡¯t have any leather armor. I have to find someone to do it myself.¡±Du Rusong shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    Du Ruyan¡¯s joyful expression was instantly replaced by worry.


    Lin Dan nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I can. But you have to pay for it yourself and find someone to cut it. Why don¡¯t you make leather armor? Why don¡¯t you just make iron armor?¡±


    ¡°In the army, only generals and officials with more than a hundred families can wear iron armors. As a new member of the army, how dare I stand out?¡± Du Rusong shook his head and explained.


    Patting her forehead, Lin Dan said, ¡°That¡¯s right. You should keep a good relationship with the new soldiers and take care of each other on the battlefield. It¡¯s my fault. Don¡¯t worry. I can make leather armors. Just get the leather ready. ¡°She needed to learn how to sew clothes from the beginning, but when it came to making leather armor, and even iron armor, she had inexplicable confidence that no one could do better than her.

 CH 87

    After returning home, Du Rusong asked the old butler to send the good leather in the warehouse and one hundred teals of silver to Lin Dan.


    The old butler was a loyal servant that Mrs. Du had left to her two children. He had taken care of them since they were young, so he had made a plan for them wholeheartedly. He couldn¡¯t help but dissuade, ¡°Master, making leather armors requires not only exquisite skills but also strength. The leather armors are so thick. It¡¯s a piece of strength to cut and sew them together. How old is the little girl from the Lins? Did she have the strength to do that? If you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll find another craftsman to make it for you. These are all good leather. Don¡¯t let the young lady of the Lins spoil them. ¡°


    Du Rusong thought of Lin Dan¡¯s strength of chopping wood and smiled, ¡°Uncle sun, don¡¯t worry. She is so strong that she can definitely cut and sew leather armor. Besides, where can you find the craftsmen for me? The craftsmen who were able to make leather armors were all in the army, and the control was very strict. The craftsmen outside did not dare to touch these things, and they would be in prison if are found. However, the Lins were different. As a member of the brigands, Lins naturally had a way to make leather armors and weapons, and even they could make iron armors. I¡¯ve thought about it for a while. I¡¯m afraid only Miss Lin could finish it. ¡°


    Uncle Sun thought for a while and nodded, ¡°You are so considerate, mister. I didn¡¯t expect that moving to this shabby small house has also a good thing.¡±


    Du Rusong thought of something and couldn¡¯t help smiling. What he didn¡¯t tell Uncle sun was that even if his leather armor was made, he didn¡¯t want to wear it during the training. Since his boss deliberately made things difficult for him, he would definitely wait to find out his fault. Seeing that he had found leather armor from nowhere and it was hard to blame him on the face, he would definitely send people to investigate secretly. If he traced the clues to the Lins and implicated the little girl, he would be guilty.


    Therefore, after the leather armor was ready, he put it in the camp. He wouldn¡¯t wear it to kill the enemy until the war broke out. On the battlefield, no one would care whether you wore leather armor or not, let alone ask where your leather armor came from. After the war, many soldiers would take off the equipment on the bodies of the bandits and take them for their own use. Then he would infer the origin of the leather armor as booty so that he would be fine.


    Thinking of this, Du Rusong felt mixed feelings, bitter and hurt. When he was young and powerful, he had never thought that he and his sister would end up like this. Not only were they homeless, they had no relatives to go to, but they even had to ask for clothes they wear.


    But he wouldn¡¯t always struggle at the bottom. Sooner or later, he would take back everything he had lost, and ask the people who had trampled on them to pay a hundred or even a thousand times the price. After thinking, he lowered his eyes and showed a ruthless smile.


    After getting the craft sent by uncle Sun, Lin Dan went to Zhang Hui for the tools. The leather armor was different from the fabric. The needle and thread were customized, and pincers, hammers, and other things were needed. When Lin Dafu was a thief, the leather armor he wore was all made by Zhang Hui, so she kept these tools.


    ¡°What did you say? How dare you agree to make leather armors for Du Rusong! Don¡¯t you know that only the craftsmen in the military camp can make leather armors, and no one outside can touch them? ¡°Zhang Hui was about to scold, but Lin Dan said slowly,¡± He gave me one hundred taels of silver. ¡°


    Zhang Hui¡¯s angry face immediately turned gentle and kind. She said softly, ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll get it for you.¡±


    ¡°By the way, can you give me fifteen pounds of iron pieces? Each iron piece is two inches square. I want to wrap it in leather. The defensive power of the leather alone is too weak. Since he can¡¯t wear iron armor, I¡¯ll disguise it as leather armor. Is that okay? ¡°Added Zhang Hui.


    Zhang Hui suddenly turned around and said with a ferocious expression, ¡°Do you know that the iron weapons are also controlled by the government? Even an iron hammer should be reported, let alone fifteen pounds of iron pieces? You want me dead! ¡°


    ¡°Mother, one hundred taels of silver,¡± said Lin Dan calmly.


    Zhang Hui raised her hand, slowly erased the ferocious expression on her face, and smiled, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll find someone to do it.¡± In the past, she was the second master of the brigands. She had hired people to make their leather armors, swords, and halberds, so she naturally had a way to do so.


    As soon as she stepped out of the threshold, she stopped and frowned. ¡°Oh, no, when did you learn how to make leather armor?¡±


    ¡°I saw you make it when I was a child. At that time, my father often went to other places to purchase goods, so you asked him to wear leather armor all the time. As you know, I can learn things at a glance. ¡°Lin Dan explained briefly.


    Without any doubt, Zhang Hui went out. When she walked to the door, she couldn¡¯t help but turn around and look at her daughter sitting in the corridor, with a smile in her eyes. Her daughter was so smart that she could see everything at a glance. The third concubine and the fourth concubine had told her about it, but what made her more proud was her daughter¡¯s perseverance. She was very decisive and had lots of mobility. She knew that she couldn¡¯t sit still and was impetuous, so she cut firewood to dispel this impetuousness. How could Zhang Hui not notice that the firewood in her house was consumed so fast? She just didn¡¯t want to expose it.


    Her daughter didn¡¯t need others to urge her, but she could find a way to improve herself. This kind of ruthlessness was similar to her father. If she continued to live like this, why did she worry about the Lins?


    After thinking for a while, Zhang Hui took another look at her daughter and then went out happily.


    The next day, when Zhang Hui was about to make leather armors, Du Ruyan came in with a beautiful and quiet girl, saying that she wanted to introduce a business to her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Knowing that the girl was the sixth daughter of the Commander of Zhejiang Navy, Lin Dan didn¡¯t show any fear on her face. Instead, she said in neither humble nor pushy tone, ¡°Miss Xu, what kind of style do you like? Can you draw it and let me have a look. I will try my best to make it in your favorite style. ¡°


    As for the unfamiliar customers, she had to ask more questions in case of getting into trouble in the future.


    ¡°I like wisteria flowers. Miss Lin, can you make a dress embroidered with wisteria flowers for me?¡±Although Xu Qian remained silent at home, she was actually a talented woman. She thought for a while and had a draft. Then she picked up a brush and drew it carefully.


    Staring at the painting for a while, Lin Dan nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll embroider the wisteria flower. When do you need new clothes, miss?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better hurry up before the Mid Autumn Festival.¡±Xu Qian put down her brush.


    There were still sixteen days left before the Mid Autumn Festival, and the construction period should be up, so she agreed. Xu Qian immediately paid 5 taels of silver as the deposit, and then said goodbye and left. She was very gentle and kind from beginning to end, completely different from the noble daughter of the governor.


    Lin Dan had a good impression of Xu Qian. After sending her away, Lin Dan said to Du Ruyan, ¡°You can introduce more clients like her to me in the future. Here, this is your push money.¡±


    Staring at the one piece of silver in her palm, Du Ruyan was totally confused.


    ¡°What? Do you think it¡¯s not enough? I¡¯ll give you half a tael of silver more. one and a half, I can¡¯t pay more, or I won¡¯t make any more money. Every time you bring a customer, I will draw half of the money for you. ¡°With the scissor in her hand, she cut a small piece of silver into two and put it into the hand of Du Ruyan.


    Du Ruyan was stunned for a while and then slowly closed her palm. She clenched the silver into her fist and said in a trance, ¡°Can I make money now?¡± This was the first money she earned of her own ability. Although it was one and a half teals, it was pitiful, but she felt better than ever!


    If she didn¡¯t fall to the bottom, she would never understand the happiness of earning money by herself.


    ¡°Brother, brother, I¡¯m making money! Lin Dan gave me push money! Brother, did you hear that? ¡°She ran into the yard and shouted across the wall. Her face was full of joy.


    Lin Dan looked at her in surprise. She didn¡¯t understand why she was so happy.


    Du Rusong quickly jumped onto the wall and listened to his sister with a smile. His eyes were full of love and tenderness. Seeing his sister being crushed by life and no longer being arrogant and sunny, his heart ached like a knife cutting into pieces.


    However, when she moved to this house, she heard about what had happened to Lin Dan and saw her fight hard for tomorrow. Her sister gradually found a better herself. She hid her pride in her heart, learned to compromise, to endure, and to be strong. Now she was happier than when she was in the Marquis mansion.


    Seeing that Lin Dan walked over unhurriedly, Du Rusong smiled gently and said in silence, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡ª


    When Xu Qian returned home, her mother, Mrs. Kou, had been waiting for her for a long time. She kept complaining, ¡°Where did you go just now? I couldn¡¯t find you. Do you know that to welcome the distinguished guests, Madam is going to make a new set of clothes for each of the ladies in the mansion? She also invited Meng Si to take the measurements for them in person. All the ladies had gone, but you were not there. All the beautiful cloth had been picked up, leaving only these outdated floral cloth. What are you going to wear to the Mid Autumn Festival? I¡¯m so worried about you. Why do you still drink tee? Come with me to Meng¡¯s embroidery house and ask her to make up for your size. ¡°


    The teacup was taken away, and the tea water was spilled on her clothes, which wet her clothes. However, Xu Qian was not annoyed at all. She said slowly, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t waste your time. Do you really think that madam would ask Meng Si to cut clothes for us by herself after she invited her to measure us? A single embroidery of Meng Si can be sold for thousands of taels of silver. Is she willing to spend money on the daughters of concubines like us? She was just playacting. Let¡¯s wait and see. When Meng Si gets the size back, she must have embroidered the clothes for the seventh sister herself. The other sisters are only qualified to wear clothes made with ordinary embroidery. ¡°


    (Note: In a traditional polygamous Chinese family, the husband had only one wife, and the other women marry him were concubines. The children of the concubines called the Wife¡¯s mother and their biological mother Aunt or Auntie.)


    ¡°It¡¯s better than you wearing old clothes to attend the Mid Autumn dinner party, isn¡¯t it? Do you know that I¡¯ve found out that the distinguished guest on the Mid Autumn Festival was not someone else, but the eldest prince who was ordered to inspect the coastal defense? If you can win his favor at the banquet, maybe you can marry into the royal family and live a happy life. You can¡¯t hide as before. I heard that Madam wants to marry you with Mr. Li as his second wife. If you miss this opportunity, you will have a hard time in the future! ¡°


    (Note: The second wife here means that the wife of Mr.Li was dead, and Xu Qian may become a new wife, not a concubine. )


    Mrs. Kou was so anxious that she kept turning around, but Xu Qian didn¡¯t panic at all. She comforted her, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already asked someone to make the clothes. This time, I will seize the opportunity.¡± The soldier¡¯s ex-wife was beaten to death by him. Madam and her father knew that, but in order to win over the military power, they pushed her out as a sacrifice. Since she had been so well behaved, and they still didn¡¯t let her live well, she could only fight for herself once.

 CH 88

    Hearing that her daughter went out to look for an embroiderer, Mrs.Kou was really relieved. And when she heard that the embroiderer she invited was from the collapsed Lins Embroidery house, she was so angry that they almost jumped. ¡°Why do you look for her? Did you found a goner? If Lin Dan¡¯s embroidering skills were better than Meng Si¡¯s, would the Lin embroidery house collapse? Where does she live? Tell me now. I¡¯ll get 5 taels of silver back. Let¡¯s go to Meng¡¯s embroidery house and find a better embroiderer than her! ¡°


    ¡°Auntie, it¡¯s none of your business.¡±Xu Qian seemed to be gentle, but in fact, she had a good idea. She said firmly, ¡°I just want Lin Dan to embroider clothes for me. Don¡¯t worry. Even if you have hired another embroiderer to make clothes for me, I won¡¯t wear them. Don¡¯t waste money. ¡°


    Although the two of them lived in the mansion, they didn¡¯t have much savings because they were not favored. A set of clothes worth ten or twenty taels of silver was ordinary for others of the family but extravagant for them.


    Xu Qian knew that in order to marry her own daughter into the royal family, Madam would definitely try her best to suppress the other daughters of concubines. When all the clothes were made, the seventh daughter¡¯s must be the most beautiful, and the rest would only be a foil.


    Xu Qian didn¡¯t want to be a foil, so she wouldn¡¯t want the clothes made by her mother.


    However, Mrs.Kou didn¡¯t understand her concern. They said anxiously, ¡°Who is Lin Dan? I¡¯ve never heard of her before. Can you wear the clothes she made? Although we can¡¯t invite Meng Si, we can invite her embroiderer. You should know that all the high-level embroiderers from the Meng¡¯s embroidery house are from the palace, and their workmanship is absolutely not bad! Tell me the address of the Lins as soon as possible. I¡¯ll get the deposit back! ¡°


    Xu Qian picked up a book and read it slowly, ignoring her angry mother.


    Mrs. Kou glared at her and gasped for a while before she lifted the curtain and went out.


    Without raising her head, Xu Qian said, ¡°If you go to inquire about the address of Lins secretly and return my order without permission, I won¡¯t attend the Mid Autumn Dinner Party. The embroiderer you are looking for is definitely not as good as Lin Dan. I believe in her. ¡°She believed in her own insight more than she believed in Lin Dan.


    After pausing for a moment, Mrs.Kou slammed the door and left angrily.


    Soon Mrs. Xu heard the quarrel between the mother and daughter.  She said with a faint smile, ¡°Lin, look, even your well-behaved sixth elder sisters have some ideas!¡±


    ¡°She is playing tricks on me. What am I afraid of? Who was the embroiderer she was looking for? Compared with Meng Si, who do you think you are? ¡°Xu Lin, the lineal daughter of the Xus, curled her lips in disdain.


    A maid replied in a hurry, ¡°My lady, that embroiderer is Lin Dafu¡¯s daughter. She has never learned embroidery before. She is a green hand. That day, she embroidered a blouse with ginkgo leaves for Du Ruyan, which made her quite popular. But Miss Meng has said that those ginkgo leaves are all embroidered with the simplest needle method. It¡¯s not surprising that the disciples of her embroidery house can make them easily. ¡°


    Mrs. Xu¡¯s eyelids closed slightly and said lazily, ¡°Du Ruyan is so beautiful that she looks good no matter what she wears. It¡¯s not the embroiderer¡¯s contribution. Since she is not good at embroidering, let her embroiderer for Qian. It¡¯s none of our business. ¡°


    Xu Lin grinned and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to see what kind of clothes she will make for my sixth sister. Last time, she embroidered leaves, but this time, she embroidered flowers? That¡¯s interesting! ¡°


    All the maids laughed with mockery in their eyes. The floral cloth was already out of date, and only the servants in the mansion would wear it. Did Xu Qian still want to compete with the maids? If she was obedient, her ladyship could still make her a good dress. But she had to act on her own. No wonder Madam made a fool of her.


    ¡ª


    In order to make Xu Qian¡¯s clothes and Du Rusong¡¯s leather armor, Lin Dan was so busy. Even two concubines and Cuilan were caught by her. She locked them in the room every day and asked them to cut the cloth for her. On the day before the Mid Autumn Festival, she failed to deliver the clothes on time, and Xu Qian sent someone to urge her again and again. She apologized again and again and stayed up all night before she finally got the clothes ready. Watching Cuilan leaving in a hurry, she finally exhaled a mouthful of stale air.


    The Xu¡¯s Mansion was located in the center of the city, a distance from the suburbs. It was not until Cuilan paid a cow cart that she arrived at the destination before sunset. At the same time, Xu Qian was greeting a group of sisters who had come to watch her gaffe one after another.


    ¡°Qian, your clothes are not ready yet?¡±


    ¡°Qian, why do you take things so unreasonable? Why did you leave the clothes to an unknown embroiderer?¡±


    ¡°Qian, if you really don¡¯t have clothes to wear, I still have a new one for you. How about I ask a maid to send it to you right away?¡±


    Xu Qian had already been used to the open strife and secret struggles between her sisters, so she patiently dealt with them one by one. Seeing that she was not in a hurry, the crowd felt bored and left soon.


    With a package in her hand, Mrs. Kou ran in in a hurry. ¡°Hurry up. This is the dress I asked the embroiderer from Meng¡¯s embroidery house to make for you. I¡¯ve already expected that the man named Lin Dan is unreliable. In addition, I spent some money to make a dress for you. Change it quickly. The distinguished guest will arrive soon! ¡°As she spoke, she opened the package and took out her clothes, shoes, and socks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just wait.¡± Xu Qian waved her hand firmly. Somehow, she didn¡¯t think that Lin Dan was the kind of person who was talking nonsense and irresponsible. She was willing to give her more time.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°What are you waiting for? From noon till now, Xu Lin has been dressing up in the room. Your other sisters have also put on the new clothes and are ready. Only you haven¡¯t wiped your face, put on makeup, or even worn a decent dress. Do you really want to marry that old bastard and be beaten to death? ¡°As she spoke, Mrs.Kou began to wipe her tears. Who was she doing this for? Why didn¡¯t her daughter appreciate it?


    Xu Qian was touched. She put down the book and went to see the newly made clothes. She wore a magenta slip skirt and a white blouse with several hibiscus flowers embroidered on the hemline. The style was conventional, not outstanding, but not ugly.


    ¡°Change your clothes quickly so that I can comb your hair.¡± Mrs. Kou urged again.


    Xu Qian stood up and was about to take off her clothes when her maid came in in a hurry and said, ¡°Miss, the embroiderer has brought the clothes here. Have a look.¡±


    ¡°What are you looking at? We don¡¯t want that one. Return it and wear mine! It took me more than half a month to finish the dress, and it almost delayed our important work. I must get back the 5 deposit¡­ ¡°As she spoke, she stopped talking. She stared at the dress in the maid¡¯s hand for a long time and then cried out in astonishment.


    Xu Qian held her breath and looked at it obsessively.


    ¡°Miss, please change your clothes quickly!¡± The maid reminded anxiously, and the two came to their senses from the amazement.


    Mrs. Kou threw the clothes on the ground and hurried to pick up the clothes made by Meng Si. She remembered that she didn¡¯t wash her hands and stood still, not daring to come forward. The dress was so delicate and beautiful that she didn¡¯t dare to touch it at all.


    Xu Qian immediately took off her clothes and carefully put on her new dress.


    Two-quarters of an hour later, the eldest prince and his group arrived at the Xu¡¯s mansion as scheduled and took their seats in the garden.  The stage had already been set up. The male guests and the female guests sat at both ends of the table, watching the play and having dinner. When the moon moved in the center of the sky, they could look up at the moon. Mr.Xu¡¯s mother, who had just recovered, also came and was talking to her granddaughters with a smile. Mrs. Xu and several sisters-in-law sat beside her and behaved elegantly.


    The eldest prince was handsome and cold. He didn¡¯t even look at the female guests. The ladies looked at him from time to time. Somehow, they blushed with shyness.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the sixth girl come?¡± The old lady Xu looked around and asked in a low voice.


    ¡°I will send someone to find her. Maybe she was delayed by something.¡±Said Mrs. Xu.


    ¡°Her new clothes are not ready. She is in a hurry now.¡± the eighth daughter said with a smile.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she get her clothes ready for the party?¡±The old lady Xu cast a glance at her daughter-in-law.


    Mrs. Xu explained in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve already asked embroiderers from the Meng¡¯s embroidery house to work overtime to make clothes for the girls in the mansion. But she refused and insisted on going out to make clothes for her. Her embroiderer was the daughter of the Lins. She just started to learn embroidery and was good at it, which delayed the construction period. I¡¯ve already made the clothes without telling her and asked Mrs.Kou to send them there. Mother, don¡¯t worry. She will be here soon. ¡°


    The old lady Xu¡¯s face softened and sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that she is also a troublemaker.¡± Then she looked at Xu Lin and couldn¡¯t help praising, ¡°Lin is so beautiful today. You almost dazzled me!¡±


    Xu Lin lowered her eyes to cover her mouth as if she was shy. Then she took a quick look at the eldest prince, only to find that he was also looking at her.


    The eldest prince didn¡¯t pay much attention to women all the time. The reason why he paid attention to Xu Lin was that her clothes were too dazzling. Today, she wore a Duijin-Banbi dress. The upper part of the dress was made of white gauze, and the sleeves were wide. It was very elegant and beautiful. A belt inlaid with jade outlined her slender waist. The lower part of the dress was crimson satin, and the surface of the satin was embroidered with large blooming peonies, and the stamens of each peony flower were made of small rice-like pearls. The petals were made of silver red silk wrapped in a ponytail, glittering in the setting sun and the leaves of peony flowers were made of jade of various sizes, glittering and translucent.


    (Note: If you want to know more about Chinese clothes, please search Hanfu on the website.)


    It was Guangdong¡¯s embroiderer¡¯s unique skill to embroider the jewelry on the silk thread. Later, it was brought into the province by Meng Si and spread. She seldom used this kind of embroidery technique. Firstly, it was too expensive for ordinary people to wear; second, she was too gorgeous to be unsuitable by ordinary people.


    But Xu Lin didn¡¯t need to worry about these two things at all. She was very beautiful, and now she wore the dress that was specially made for her by Meng Si. She was really very beautiful. Even the cold eldest prince was attracted.


    Mrs. Xu was very satisfied with this and thought that she had to give the embroiderer a big gift later.


    At this moment, Xu Qian slowly walked over. She was as quiet and unhurried as usual, but everyone could not help looking at her. The eldest prince just glanced at her casually, and then fixed his eyes on her. An indescribable heat poured out from his dark eyes

 CH 89

    When they saw Xu Ling, they all agreed that the dress embroidered with pearls, gems, and emeralds was the most beautiful and the best reflection of her embroidery skill. She was worthy of being called Master Meng. No one in the whole Zhejiang or in the whole country could find a second embroider as excellent as her.


    But now, looking at the radiant Xu Qian, they finally understood what it meant to be refined and elegant like immortals. The style of her new dress was very simple, but it was just a slip skirt with a cross collar. The inner part was dark purple satin, and the outer part was pure white gauze. The inner part was heavy, and the outer part was thin. The two kinds of cloth overlapped together, and the thick color of the inner layer was faintly reflected through the half-transparent texture of the outer layer, giving a hazy and fresh feeling.


    The match of two different materials and the faint color of each other was very ingenious, but the more wonderful thing was the embroidery of the outer shirt. The blooming Wisteria flowers extended from the shoulder to the waist and then dropped from the waist to the hemline of the dress. One by one, strings, thick or light, hung down, full of color. The colorful flowers were beautiful enough, but what was even more unbelievable was that the bunch of Wisteria flowers were not embroidered with silk but were cut into the shape of fingernail-sized petals with extremely thin silk fabric, and then sewed with needlework one by one.


    The mixed color of light white and light purple dropped, and when it spread to the tip of the flower, spat out a thick purple. The color was so beautiful and natural. It was more accurate to say that it was a real Wisteria flower blooming on a pure white cloth than an embroidery. They were blooming in full swing, but they didn¡¯t seem to be heavy burdens. On the contrary, because of their thin and transparent texture, they looked a little lighter.


    A belt made of Pure White Chiffon was tied to her slim waist without any embroidery or embellishment. It was just in the shape of a bowknot and then fell naturally, making it more elegant. With her head down, Xu Qian walked up to her grandmother and greeted her. A gust of autumn wind blew, lifting up her belt, and stirring up the thick or light Wisteria flowers. The tassels hairpin inserted at her temples shook slightly, flickering slightly, and looked somewhat naughty in elegance.


    The eldest prince stared at her with burning eyes, but Xu Qian didn¡¯t even dare to raise her head. She stood in front of the jealous sisters and poured a cup of tea for Mrs.Xu.


    Xu Lin, who was sitting next to Mrs.Xu, became her foil in an instant. Although peony was beautiful, it was just suitable for the rich. It was not as fresh and refined as the exotic fairy. The two of them stood at the same place. One of them was full of Pearl and the other was full of fairy aura. The others could easily figure out which one was more beautiful without hesitation.


    Xu Lin was so angry that her face was tilted. She could barely calm down after being pinched secretly by Mrs. Xu.


    Mrs.Xu looked back and forth at her granddaughter many times and sighed, ¡°Your dress is so beautiful and ingenious. Did embroider Miss Lin make it for you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±Xu Qian said softly, ¡°Last time when I went back to the temple, I saw the robe she made for Miss Du, so I booked this dress for her.¡±


    When the Buddha meeting was held in the Faxing temple, the news that the eldest prince was about to visit Xu Lin hadn¡¯t been spread yet. Xu Qian was telling Mrs.Xu in a disguised way that she had made this dress for a long time, not to steal the limelight of Xus on purpose. Moreover, everyone was the daughter of the Xus. The eldest prince fall in love with whoever would be ok. Strictly speaking, there was no difference between the daughter of the wife and the daughter of a concubine.


    Msr.Xu was really happy. She took her hand and sat down. Noticing the eldest prince frequently looking at her, she was happy and treated her granddaughter more kindly.


    Only then did the eldest prince realize that he had lost his composure. He quickly withdrew his gaze, but the unworldly figure that had slowly walked over kept lingering in his mind. During the rest of the banquet, his words and behaviors seemed normal, but in fact, he was chewing and absent-minded, and his eyes would involuntarily float towards the female guests.


    The ninth daughter of Xus, who was sitting on the left side of Msr.Xu was the simplest. She didn¡¯t notice the undercurrent between the sisters but stared at the dress wholeheartedly. ¡°Sixth sisters, I saw it when you just arrived. It must be made by Miss Lin.¡±She said with a smile.


    ¡°Oh? How did you know that? ¡°Asked Xu Qian softly.


    ¡°That¡¯s the style of Lin! Every dress she made was full of fairy aura. The one who wore it was the fairy lady. Miss Du looks like the goddess of a tree in that blouse last time. This time, this skirt makes you look like a goddess of flowers. Her clothes will double your beauty, not to mention you are already beautiful. ¡°The ninth daughter said enviously.


    ¡°Thank you, the ninth sister.¡± Xu Qian covered her mouth and smiled. Her deep eyes finally showed a little pure joy.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a crisp sound was heard from the other end of the male guest. All the ladies turned their heads to look, only to find that the eldest prince had somehow broken the wine glass and was sitting on the table with a cold face. Noticing that everyone was looking at him, he also turned his head and swept his cold and sharp eyes over, which scared all the ladies to be silent.


    This was the first time that Xu Qian observed the eldest prince carefully. He was extremely tall, with deep and handsome features, and his temperament was cold and indifferent. He was exactly the same as the legendary prince. Could he really help her out of the hell? Xu Qian was not sure, let alone guessing whether it was a bigger fire pit. There was a touch of sadness and confusion in her calm eyes. She lowered her head slightly in the cold gaze of the eldest prince.


    ¡°Your Highness, your robe is wet. May I take you to change it?¡± The voice of Admiral Xu came faintly. The eldest prince responded in a low voice. In a short while, the two of them left their seats and went downstairs to change their clothes.


    Without the distinguished guest and the master, Xu Ling, who had endured for a long time, sneered, ¡°What fairy? It¡¯s just a cheap dress made of rags. How dare you wear it to make a fool of yourself!¡±


    Xu Qian didn¡¯t respond, allowing Xu Lin to vent her anger. What was rag? Anyone with eyes could see how exquisite the dress was. Every petal was bound with a thread. The pale yellow pistils and the gradually changing color of the flowers were all embroidered by Lin Dan, and they were carefully sewed into the shape of Wisteria flowers. Not to mention using this piece of cloth as a dress, even if it was mounted into an embroidery screen, there were still many people willing to spend a high price to collect it.


    At the sight of the dress, Xu Qian had completely understood why Lin Dan sent it here before the deadline. In fact, it was beyond Xu Qian¡¯s expectation that she could finish the complicated handcraft in sixteen days. Although the dress was simple in style, it was definitely not easy to make. Cutting these tens of millions of petals was enough to consume a lot of energy, not to mention dye them and sew them. No matter how magnificent the peony dress that Meng Si embroidered was, it was difficult to compete with the fairy dress of Lin Dan. The dress she made was no longer an ordinary thing.


    Xu Lin¡¯s words were so insidious, but she was just jealous.


    The ninth daughter of Xus was quite favored, and she was not afraid of Xu Lin. She immediately said, ¡°Since seventh sister dislikes her so much, don¡¯t go to find Miss Lin to make dresses in the future, in case her cheap dress will degrade you. I don¡¯t mind. The sixth sister, if you introduce Miss Lin to me, I¡¯ll ask her to make all my dresses from now on! ¡°


    ¡°Of course you can. I¡¯ll take you to her embroidery shop next time.¡± Xu Qian nodded with a smile.


    Hearing what she said, all the girls gathered around her. They touched the wisteria on her dress while asking about the situation of Lin Dan. How could they not know such a skilled embroider?


    Several ladies had attended the meeting at Faxing temple. They had seen with their own eyes the ginkgo leaf robe of Du Ruoyan, which was very stunning at that time. But later, they were deceived by a few words of ridicule from Meng Si and stopped the idea of making clothes by Lin Dan. Xu Qian was the most observant. They immediately walked over to cotton up to Du Ruoyan and then got to know her. If it weren¡¯t for that, how could she make her amazing appearance today?


    The more the ladies thought about it, the more regretful they felt. Naturally, their impression of Lin Dan had changed greatly. Now in their eyes, Lin Dan¡¯s embroidery skill was as good as Meng Si¡¯s.


    Since Xu Lin had made up her mind, it was not a good idea to go to make clothes for her. She was angry and anxious, fearing that her sisters would compare her with her. If she had known that Lin Dan was so powerful, she wouldn¡¯t have asked Meng Si for help. The No.1 embroider in Zhejiang province? Bah!


    Mrs. Xu smiled amiably, but in her heart, she was blaming Meng Si for her incompetence, which made her daughter a foil to others. If it weren¡¯t for her daughter¡¯s vulgar peony dress, Xu Qian¡¯s Wisteria flower dress would never be so outstanding now! The No.1 embroider in the province? The only one who could surpass Ye Jinxiu? Humph, She was really flattering herself.


    As soon as the eldest prince left, the guests scattered one after another. When Xu Qian returned to her room and was about to change her clothes, she saw Mrs. Kou sneaking in. She asked expectantly, ¡°Qianqian, how¡¯s the family dinner? Did the eldest prince notice you? ¡°


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t dare to look at him all the time.¡± Xu Qian shook her head and smiled bitterly. Although she was independent, she was not good at playing tricks. Naturally, she did not know how to attract the attention of a man.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m sure the eldest prince will notice you. No one can be more beautiful than you at the family feast today. Thanks to embroidering. She is really good at embroidery. I don¡¯t believe that she almost ruined your work! ¡°Fortunately, her daughter was very tough and forced her to give up the ridiculous idea of pushing off the order and returning the deposit. Otherwise, how could her daughter be like today?


    Thinking of this, Mrs. Kou wiped the cold sweat on her forehead. Thinking of Xu Lin¡¯s vulgar dress, she couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Xu Qian took off her dress carefully and said with a smile, ¡°I will wear this dress tomorrow to walk on the street and make a name for Miss Lin. Thanks to her today.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go. You silly girl. Miss Lin is such a good girl. It¡¯s not too late for others to hide her. How can you push her out? Let¡¯s try our best to win her over and ask her to only embroider clothes for you! ¡°


    Xu Qian shook her head and smiled, ¡°Auntie, we don¡¯t have money or power. How can we win her over? With her skill, even if I don¡¯t spread it out for her, she will be famous in the country sooner or later. At that time, we want to see her, just like the rich women and ladies in the province want to see Meng Si. Without a hundred taels of silver, we can¡¯t get it. Now that we can build a good relationship with her, why not? Some people¡¯s talents can¡¯t be hidden at all. ¡°


    Finally, Mrs.Kou was convinced by his daughter. Shee looked around the fairy dress for a long time, and then carefully stroked it before she left. Every woman would love this dress to death, but unfortunately, she was too old to match it.

 CH 90

    The next day, Xu Lin rushed into the Meng¡¯s embroidering house with a group of servants. Seeing her angry face, the shopkeeper knew that she was coming to make trouble, so he hurried to stop her, but was kicked away.


    ¡°Meng Si, Meng Si, come out!¡± She rushed into the VIP room on the two-floor and shouted.


    ¡°Miss Xu, what can I do for you?¡± Meng Si and Li Jiarong walked out of the screen together, followed by Li Xiudian and Meng Zhong. The four of them frowned and looked unhappy, but they didn¡¯t dare to lose their temper because of Xu Lin¡¯s identity. Her father had been guarding the city for many years, killing countless bandits. The pamphlet recording his military achievements was piled up as high as a man, which could be said to be the real local emperor of the city. Li Ran is Conbubin Jing¡¯s brother. So what? He had to yield to Mr.Xu when he came to the province.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with me? Look at the tattered embroidery by yourself!¡± Xu Lin threw the valuable peony dress on the ground, and said angrily, ¡°I made a fool of myself yesterday with your dress. Are you the best embroider in the city? Do you think you are qualified?!¡±


    ¡°Is there anything wrong with this dress?¡±Meng Si picked up the dress, looking worried.


    Liu Xiudian looked at her sympathetically and reproached, ¡°Miss Xu, let¡¯s have a talk. Everyone can see how skillful Meng Si is. If there is something wrong with this dress, you can point it out and we can improve it. Don¡¯t hurt the harmony. ¡°


    ¡°This dress is fine. What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Li Jiarong grabbed the dress and looked at it again and again. She pointed at Xu Ling¡¯s nose and scolded, ¡°Xu Ling, are you here to make trouble on purpose? Sisi is my good friend. You can bully her! I, Li Jiarong, am not afraid of you! ¡°


    Xu Ling grabbed Li Jiarong¡¯s finger and pulled it down hard. She said in a ferocious tone, ¡°What are you going to do? Hit me? If you are not afraid of me, will I be afraid of you? Meng Si¡¯s skill was even inferior to that of the newly learned embroidery. The dress she made was luxurious and vulgar. How could she call herself the best embroider in the province? I think the title of the best embroider must be given by you! ¡°


    ¡°Who she can¡¯t compare with? Make it clear!¡± Li Jiarong withdrew her finger and grimaced in pain.


    ¡°She is not as good at embroidery as Lin Dan. Last time when she was in the Faxing Temple, she had the nerve to say that Lin Dan¡¯s embroidery skill was only good, and even the disciple of the Meng¡¯s embroidering house was not as good as that of him. Can a disciple of the Meng¡¯s embroidering house make the dress Xu Qian wore? ¡°Xu Ling gnashed her teeth in anger.


    ¡°Do you mean that Miss Xu was beaten by a dress made of Wisteria flowers which is more beautiful than my sister¡¯s?¡± Seeming to understand Xu Ling¡¯s intention, Meng Zhong said politely.


    ¡°Yes, you made me a fool at the family feast. I won¡¯t let you go!¡±Xu Ling snatched the peony dress and stepped hard on it. Then she knocked down several embroidered frames standing next to her. She behaved overbearingly.


    Meng Si¡¯s face turned pale with fear. She took a step back. Li Xiudian quickly protected her and glared at Xu Ling. Meng Zhong pulled Li Jiarong behind him and continued, ¡°May I know the style of Lin Dan¡¯s dress? How can you compare it with my sister¡¯s carefully made dress? You know, to make this dress, my sister used hundreds of pearls, gems, and emeralds, and also used the Cantonese embroidery technique. She also added a lot of newly developed embroidery lines. No matter in workmanship or material, they are absolutely first-class. ¡°


    As he spoke, he picked up the dress, patted it gently, and spread it on the embroidery rack.


    The customers who were attracted by the noise all craned their necks to see what was going on. This dress was so elegant and brilliant. If she could wear it and walk around, she would wake up with a smile in her dream, but Xu Ling was not satisfied. Then what kind of dress did she want to wear? Fairy¡¯s feather robe?


    Xu Ling couldn¡¯t find a word to describe the beauty of that dress for a long time. Just as she was secretly anxious, her wet nurse pulled her sleeve and reminded her, ¡°Miss, she is downstairs. Please let them see by themselves.¡±


    Standing on tiptoe, Xu Ling saw that Xu Qian and her ninth sister were walking along the street hand in hand. She quickly pulled Meng Si to the window and sneered, ¡°Have a good look! Let¡¯s see if I have wronged you! You are not as good as Lin Dan, and you don¡¯t want to admit it. I won¡¯t come to your shop to make clothes again! ¡°


    Meng Si and Li Jiarong lowered their heads and were both stunned. The customers who came to join the fun also squeezed to the window and then showed a surprised look.


    Xu Qian was beautiful and attractive, and her temperament was also very gentle and quiet. Set off by the colorful purple vine skirt, she looked more fresh and refined, but also added some intelligence and nifty. The passers-by were either stopped to look or turned around to look. Their faces were full of obsession.


    It was totally out of Xu Qian¡¯s expectation that this dress would have such an effect. Her face flushed with shyness, and she walked faster and faster. The hemline of the dress with petals was flying under her feet as if it was about to fly away. She was like a fairy who had fallen into the mortal world, so panic, pitiful and cute.


    The people on the second floor were all stunned. They didn¡¯t let out a series of exclamations until Xu Qian disappeared at the corner.


    ¡°Is the wisteria flower on her dress real? I seem to see petals swaying gently in the wind! ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I saw it too! There are so many Wisteria flowers on the ground, but they don¡¯t look bloated at all. Instead, they make your body more light and elegant. Only a fairy dress and a feather robe can indeed have such an effect! ¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s that look in your eyes? Those flowers couldn¡¯t be real, or they would have withered. I can see that it¡¯s real. It¡¯s cut into the shape of petals with gauze, dyed, embroidered with stamens, and sewed up one by one! ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°How many messy flowers made of chiffon and sewed on the dress? What the hell is embroider thinking? How can she be so skillful!¡±


    Everyone was amazed. They inquired about what had happened to Lin Dan, and then looked at the peony dress on the embroidery rack. Unexpectedly, they showed a look of disgust. Although the dress was beautiful and eye-catching, it was not enough to compare with the fairy dress and feather robe. If she could be a fairy daughter, who would be willing to be a mortal?


    Thinking of this, the ladies who had planned to order several clothes in the Meng¡¯s embroidering house all got their deposit and inquired about the address of Lin¡¯s embroidering house. Xu Ling glared at Meng Si, turned over the embroidery rack, and left.


    Meng Si still looked out of the window, looking a little confused Li Xiudian gently stroked her tense back and comforted her in silence.


    Li Jiarong took back her shock and said sincerely, Sisi, that Wisteria¡¯s dress is made of broken cloth. It¡¯s not as good as you. She only knows how to play with these strange, lewd, and skillful tricks. When she is exhausted, she will ask for help. Don¡¯t take her too seriously! ¡°


    If it weren¡¯t for Meng Zhong, she would have been in a hurry to inquire about the dress.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her work. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. It¡¯s also a kind of talent to have a strange mind. After all, she has some real ability. ¡± Meng Si said.


    Meng Zhong didn¡¯t take it seriously. ¡°She has just learned embroidery for a short time. How long have you learned it? How could she stand out if she didn¡¯t put her mind on these unorthodox ways? The Lins were defeated by me. If she gets into trouble with you after she gets famous, I won¡¯t let her go. ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. Our debt is already clear. Brother, please let go of her.¡±Meng Si shook her head, her eyes full of pity.


    Seeing her like this, Meng Zhong didn¡¯t say anything, but his eyes were somewhat vicious. Li Xiudian became more fond of such a gentle and kind girl, so he couldn¡¯t help but rub her head.


    ¡ª


    Three days later, the threshold of Lin¡¯s mansion was almost broken by the guests who came here. Lin Dan had used up all her primitive power. She didn¡¯t want to accept the second order in a short time. The two concubines¡¯ and Cuilan¡¯s fingers were also rubbed and swollen by scissors and stitches, and they hadn¡¯t recovered yet. Fortunately, Xu Qian sent someone to give her fifty taels, which eased her pain when she saw the money flowing away.


    At first, the customers who were refused by her made a big noise and didn¡¯t want to let her go. Then, after hearing the news, Du Ruoyan arrived and explained in detail how Lin Dan embroidered the purple vine flower dress. She said, ¡°It takes a lot of time and energy to make such a fairy dress. It¡¯s good that you can receive one order a month. If you want it in a hurry, it won¡¯t work at all.¡± The more exquisite the dress was, the more it needed to be designed and cut according to the appearance and temperament of the guest. The finished product must be unique in the world and would never clash with others. If you are in a hurry, you can go to another house. If you are not, you can wait in line.¡±


    After the explanation, Du Ruyan increased the price by two or three times. The guests didn¡¯t quarrel and left silently. Those who couldn¡¯t afford it lined up and paid the deposit. Although there were only three customers, they asked Lin Dan to get a deposit of 75 taels of silver in one breath. After getting the dress, they would pay another fifty taels of money.


    ¡°A dress costs 75. Do you think they are stupid?¡± Lin Dan looked at Du Ruyan in confusion.


    Sitting on the table with a smile, Du Ryan shook her head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be silly! Do you know how much it will cost if I take the purple vine flower dress you made before to the capital? ¡°


    ¡°How much should it be sold?¡±


    ¡°At least one hundred taels. A meal from a rich family in the capital was more than that. To eat a special duck tongue, they can kill dozens of ducks at the same time, leaving only their tongues. The rest of the meat will be given to the servants. It¡¯s not too much to spend money like water. ¡°Said Du Ruyan with a look of memory, but she didn¡¯t feel envious. In fact, it was not bad to have a simple meal.


    ¡°Then I have to drive the embroidery shop to the capital city sooner or later.¡±Lin Dan rubbed her hands unconsciously.


    Du Ruyan covered her mouth again and smiled happily.


    With a wave of her hand, she put the two silver bullies into Du Ruyan¡¯s arms and said generously, ¡°You brought the guests, and the price was set by you. In the future, I will give you five taels of silver for each extra order. But you have to continue to help me answer their questions and haggle like today. ¡°


    She didn¡¯t like to socialize with others. If only Du Ruyan could help her, that would be much better.


    Du Ruyan hurriedly held the silver ingot and said with a smile, ¡°Okay, let me help you. Let¡¯s open the embroidery shop together. But I have to warn you in advance that you can¡¯t accept any orders without my permission from now on. It¡¯s best if you accept one every one or two months. In this way, your dress will be more expensive and the price will be pushed higher and higher. Do you understand? ¡°


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s up to you!¡± Lin Dan reached out her left hand.


    Du Ruyan looked at her with an inexplicable expression.


    With a helpless look, she pulled her hand over and patted it gently. Then she said seriously, Let¡¯s clap our hands to swear that we will be partners in the future.¡±


    Hearing this, Du Ruoyan giggled and took Lin Dan¡¯s hand to slap her again.


    Hearing the silvery laughter from the next door, Du Rusong, who was practicing, couldn¡¯t help shaking his head and smiling. The two of them got together, but the days seemed to pass better.

 CH 91

    Since Xu Qian walked on the street in the wisteria skirt, Ling¡¯an Prefecture suddenly became popular to make silk into artificial flowers and sew them into the dress. However, no matter how others imitated, they couldn¡¯t surpass the skills of Lin Dan. Instead, they felt that they were picking up people¡¯s wisdom and making fun of others.


    On this day, after resting for a long time, Lin Dan finally picked up the needle and thread and was about to start working. Sitting opposite her, Du Ruyan told her in detail about the situation of the guest, ¡°This order was made by Miss Zhou, the daughter of administrative commissioner¡¯s office. She wanted you to make a flower dress like that of Xu Qian, but I refused. I said the dresses in our shop are unique. There is only one in the world, and we won¡¯t repeat it. We will make a dress for her as we do to serve her. Only she wears the most beautiful dress, and no one can imitate her. She was very happy to hear that and gave me a deposit. It¡¯s funny. Now embroiders are learning from you to sew the fake flowers on the dress, but they don¡¯t succeed. Instead, their dresses are very vulgar. Can you imagine what such a big artificial flower would look like on the hemline? It¡¯s even more exaggerated than the big red flower on the bridegroom¡¯s chest. The person who wears it is swollen several times! ¡°


    Du Ruyan laughed for a while, then picked up the order and said, ¡°I¡¯ll read Miss Zhou¡¯s requirements for you. She wanted to wear a new dress to go up to the Chung Yeung Festival, but she was thin and afraid of the cold. So she wanted you to make the dress thicker, but at the same time, she had to keep light and elegant. It¡¯s a little difficult to be thick and light! ¡°


    Lin Dan shook her head and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I have a constitution in my heart. To make a thick dress elegant, one had to work on the material. What does she look like? What color does she like? Does she have a favorite pattern? ¡°


    ¡°Although she is thin, her cheeks are plump, and her eyes are round and big. She is very cute. She likes pink and butterfly patterns. ¡°


    ¡°Then make a pink dress with hundreds of butterflies for her.¡± Lin Dan said seriously.


    ¡°No, no, No. you can¡¯t.¡± Du Ruyan hurriedly waved her hand and said, ¡°I just got the news that Li Jiarong has also ordered a dress with hundreds of butterflies from Meng Si, and she is going to wear it to go up on the Chung Yeung Festival. Both of them are the Ling¡¯an mansion¡¯s, noble ladies. They will definitely be together on the day of mountain climbing. Isn¡¯t it a coincidence? ¡°


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If I have the same idea as someone else, I will consider changing it. But Meng Si? I won¡¯t change it.¡±


    Thinking of the rumor released by the Meng¡¯s embroidery house recently that her embroidering skills were mediocre and could only be opportunistic, Lin Dan was a little unhappy. Although she had calmed down a little, she still had an unyielding spirit in her heart. If Meng Si didn¡¯t make things difficult for her, she wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to provoke her. But now, it was obvious that Meng Si was deliberately targeting her, so she would not escape.


    Du Ruyan thumped the table heavily and agreed, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t change it. Let¡¯s have a face-to-face battle with Meng Si! If you make a better dress than Meng Si, will Li Jiarong, who wore the same dress as Miss Zhou that day, cry on the spot? Hee hee¡­ ¡°


    If Meng Si was Lin Dan¡¯s sworn enemy, then Li Jiarong was her enemy. It would be great if the two of them could make a fool of themselves at the same time.


    Lin Dan took the order and read it. She remembered Miss Zhou¡¯s size secretly and then asked the two concubines of her father to take the silk cocoons stored in the warehouse to the kitchen to roast. Although the two women didn¡¯t know what she wanted to do, they went without asking. Since she started to make money, she had been the center of the family. No one else would object to what she wanted to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late for you to make cloth by yourself, isn¡¯t it?¡±Said Du Ruyan hesitantly.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to blister the silk cocoon and pull it into a silk bag. Then I¡¯ll sew a separate layer and put it into the cloth so that I can make a warm and light dress. When the dress was dirty, you can take out the inner layer and clean the outer suit. ¡°Lin Dan explained briefly.


    ¡°You mean you want to make a cotton coat with soaked silk?¡±It suddenly dawned on Du Ruyan that silk could be stuffed in her clothes to keep warm like cotton. Silk was more delicate and thin than cotton. After layers of silk pockets were pulled together, the same thickness and weight were only 1/10 or even 1/20 of cotton. It looked very fluffy, but with a gentle press, it was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wings. In this way, the dress would be thick, light, and warm. If it was in spring, summer, and autumn, they could also take out the inner layer and wear it as a thin dress, which was very convenient.


    ¡°Dan! People always say that you are not good at embroidery, but it¡¯s better than thinking. They are right! You are so clever! ¡°


    ¡°Thank you. My brain is really working.¡±Lin Dan nodded without shame. No matter who she had become or where she had fallen, the only weapon she could use to live in peace was this smart head.


    After thinking for a while, Du Ruyan said, ¡°If Miss Zhou feels comfortable in my clothes, we can make some silk cloth and sell it. This is also an income. By the way, isn¡¯t it troublesome to make silk cloth? ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s time and energy-consuming. There are six steps in total. If you want to make mass production, you have to ask more embroider for help. Let¡¯s talk about it after our embroidery shop opens. You can keep it in mind first. ¡°Lin Dan waved her hand calmly.


    Du Ruyan nodded and wrote down this profitable project on a small notebook, full of admiration for Lin Dan. Lin Dan was not only good at embroidering but also smart. When she encountered difficulties, she was not afraid of difficulties and would not admit defeat. Following her, Du Ruyan had learned a lot and was full of hope for the future. If it weren¡¯t for her, she would still complain about the beautiful and muddled along, and how could she understand the joy of fighting.


    ¡°It¡¯s so good to be indifferent to you! Why are you so capable? ¡°Du Ruyan¡¯s heart was touched. She walked to the embroidery rack and kissed Lin Dan with a smile.


    As usual, Lin Dan worked, unmoved. Du Rusong, who had just jumped up to the wall, coughed awkwardly. He had found out the little girl first, but now she became his sister¡¯s apple on the eye?[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Yaner, Auntie had a cold and felt unwell a few days ago. You go to the Taoist temple to see her. I¡¯m very busy recently and can¡¯t come back. I¡¯ll leave everything to you. ¡°He urged, ¡°I¡¯ve packed your luggage. Come back and change your clothes. Uncle Sun sets up a carriage and sends you up the mountain.¡±


    Hearing that her aunt was sick, Du Ruyan didn¡¯t dare to delay and hurried back. Lin Dan opened the back door and watched her carriage leave. When she saw Du Rusong come out on his horse, she said in a hurry, ¡°Mr. Du, the thing you want is ready. I¡¯ll go get it for you.¡±


    Du Rusong immediately tightened the reins and stopped at the roadside.


    After a short while, Lin Dan handed him a huge package and seriously said, ¡°Mr.Du, you must come back alive.¡±


    She had already known that the illness of the empress was fake, and it was true to send Du Ruoyan to the Taoist temple for proper treatment. The determination and cruelty in Du Rusong¡¯s eyes were undisguised, which only belonged to a soldier who was about to enter the battlefield.


    Du Rusong was slightly stunned, but soon he smiled and replied seriously, ¡°I will.¡± He took the package, but his arm was pressed down by the unexpected weight. He was surprised.


    ¡°Hurry up. No one is waiting for us in the battle.¡±Lin Dan said. Du Rusong suppressed his curiosity and left in a hurry.


    ¡ª


    At the same time, Li Jiarong was discussing with Meng Si about what to do with her new dress.


    ¡°A dress with hundreds of butterflies could be good, but it¡¯s a little monotonous. Why don¡¯t you cut the gauze into the shape of a butterfly and sew it to the dress? Isn¡¯t it more agile and outstanding? ¡°Li Jiarong suggested excitedly.


    ¡°There are both butterflies and flowers in the pattern. Why is it so monotonous?¡±Meng Si protested. Even one of Lin¡¯an mansion was imitating what Lin Dan did, she wouldn¡¯t follow. She could lose to anyone, but she couldn¡¯t lose to Lin Dan. Although there were reasons for the family¡¯s hatred, it was because she had an inexplicable fear and rejection of her.


    ¡°The flower pattern has been out of date for a long time,¡± Li Jiarong opened her suitcase and complained, ¡°Look, every dress I pick out is a flower pattern. It¡¯s either butterfly dancing or flowers blooming. Can¡¯t you be as creative as Lin Dan? I also want to wear clothes different from others, and I want to be the object of everyone¡¯s imitation. If they sew fake flowers, let¡¯s sew butterflies. That¡¯s beautiful? Meng Si, if you keep acting like this, you will lose to Dan Lin sooner or later. Lin Dan just started to learn embroidery, and, indeed, she¡¯s not as good as you, but the embroidery skill can be improved through hard work. Not everyone can learn novel ideas and ingenious workmanship. You are not as talented as her in this respect. You should work harder since you are less talented than her! ¡°


    The last sentence seemed to be a heavy blow to Meng Si. Her eyes darkened. She struggled for a long time and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do as you think.¡±


    Li Jiarong immediately became happy. She held Meng Si¡¯s hand and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! There is no limit to any skill or knowledge. We should always learn from others¡¯ strengths to improve ourselves. This is the way to advance. ¡°


    Although Meng Si seemed to agree with him, she still felt a little uncomfortable.


    ¡ª


    A few days later, Du Ruyan was still accompanying the empress on the mountain, but Du Rusong came at night and knocked on the back door of the Lin mansion.


    ¡°You¡¯re back alive!¡± Lin Dan greeted with a wave of his hand.


    What did he mean? Du Rusong shook his head and said in a gentle voice, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡±He took out a small bag from his pocket and handed it to her. ¡°This is my booty. I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    As soon as Lin Dan opened the bag, she saw a golden doll as thick as a thumb lying inside, with a round head and a round belly. It was very cute. She immediately returned the bag and waved her hand. ¡°This is too expensive. I can¡¯t take it. You can give it to Ruoyan. ¡°


    Du Rusong grabbed her hand and stuffed the bag into her palm. He said word by word, ¡°I have prepared another gift for her. This is yours. Look.¡±He pointed at his leather armor and said, ¡°You saved my life, but I just gave you a golden doll. I feel guilty in the end. If I can return to the capital city in the future, I will realize a wish for you. This is my promise. ¡°


    It was not until then that Lin Dan found that his leather armor was cut by the enemy from the shoulder to the waist. His cowhide had been cut and rolled over, revealing the pure black iron in it. Without the protection of this layer of leather armor, he was very likely to have turned into a broken corpse.


    Mr. Du¡¯s life was naturally more precious than a golden doll. Thinking of this, Lin Dan immediately closed his fingers and took the trophy with ease.


    ¡°Then you must work hard and come back to the capital city as soon as possible. I¡¯m waiting for you to protect me. ¡°Du Rusong was amused by her serious warning.


    ¡°Okay, I will remember what you said.¡±He couldn¡¯t help but rub the little girl¡¯s head before striding away. The night slowly spread over, completely swallowing his back full of blood

 CH 92

    On the day before the Chung Yeung Festival, Lin Dan had made the dress and asked her father¡¯s concubines to send it to the Zhou mansion for Miss Zhou to try it on. If there was anything wrong, the two of them could modify it on the spot, so as not to cause trouble. Since Lin Dan didn¡¯t like to deal with people, she wouldn¡¯t serve the guests in person.


    Miss Zhou didn¡¯t need to make any changes. After trying it on, she gave the money directly. Perhaps she was too satisfied, the concubines were given one or two taels of silver before they went out.


    Du Ruyan came back a few days ago and brought a lot of gifts to Lin Dan. She kept talking as soon as they met, looking carefree and happy. She had no idea that when she and her aunt lived leisurely in the mountain, Du Rusong was bathed in blood to kill the enemy on the battlefield.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t intend to tell her this. After she finished speaking, she took out a huge package and said, ¡°This is the leather armor I made for your brother. You can take it back.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Did my brother give you the money?¡±Asked Du Ruoyan out of habit. If she didn¡¯t give her money, she wouldn¡¯t allow her brother to do anything for her.


    ¡°Yes.¡±Lin Dan nobbed. He gave me a golden doll.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±Du Ruyan didn¡¯t feel that her brother had given her too much. She was about to lift the package but found that it was incredibly heavy. Her hands were almost broken, but it was still clinging to the table.


    ¡°Dan. How strong are you? I saw you carry it with one hand and put it on the table lightly. I thought it was not heavy at all! ¡°Du Ruyan struggled for a while but failed to lift the package. Her face turned red and she was out of breath.


    Then Cuilan happily walked over and helped her carry the parcel home. Du Rusong stopped practicing Kungfu and listened attentively with a gentle smile on his face.


    ¡ª


    The next day, before dawn, many people had already walked up the mountain in groups. No matter how delicate the ladies were, they couldn¡¯t take the bus today. They had to walk to the top of the mountain with their own feet. One was to build their bodies and pray for long life, and the other was to make a good omen.


    Since the three-dimensional flower cutting cloth invented by Austin began to be popular in the Lin¡¯an mansion, many women fell in love with this style. Therefore, today¡¯s woods path was full of noblewomen with flowers and brocade. They gathered, talking, laughing, or playing, looking very beautiful and touching. But no matter how beautiful it was, it was still not as light and elegant as the purple vine flower dress. It was not strange to see too much.


    Li Jiarong got off the carriage carefully with the help of a maid, followed by Meng Si. As soon as the two appeared, they attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a butterfly!¡±Someone shouted in surprise, which attracted more attention.


    Li Jiarong stood gracefully in the forest, wearing a strapless dress. Butterflies of different shapes and colors flew on the satin, and flowers bloomed in the satin one after another, looking lifelike. A translucent robe outside isolated these gorgeous colors, forming a hazy feeling, and neutralized the brilliance of the flower pattern.


    This strong and elegant style was something that Meng Si had never tried, but from the reaction of the crowd, it seemed to be very effective. However, this strapless dress was not the most eye-catching part of the entire dress. What was even more amazing was that the robe, with several butterflies on its shoulders, collar, waist, hem, and other places. A breeze blew, and the butterflies flapped their wings as if the next moment they would take advantage of the wind, but they would never stop.


    Everyone was amazed. When they approached, they found that the butterflies were made of silk cloth and thin iron threads, lifelike and alive.


    ¡°Miss Li, you are so beautiful today!¡±


    ¡°This butterfly robe is really amazing!¡±


    ¡°Our floral dresses are the foil to Miss Li.¡±


    Everyone hurried to flatter Li Jiarong and fell out of the room. But if they looked into it carefully, they wouldn¡¯t lie. Today, Li Jiarong indeed dressed much better than others.


    Li Jiarong listened with a smile. Then she took Meng Si¡¯s hand and pinched it gently. Meng Si relaxed immediately and stopped thinking about imitating the style of Lin Dan. At this moment, someone laughed and said, ¡°I heard that Zhou Xin also ordered a dress with butterflies for embroidering Miss Lin. She liked it very much when it was sent to the Zhou mansion yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Oh? She will also wear a dress with hundreds of butterflies today? ¡± Li Jiarong frowned and asked, ¡°Do you know the style?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it with my own eyes, but I heard from her sister that it was just an ordinary embroidery dress, far less outstanding than Miss Li¡¯s.¡±


    Li Jiarong breathed a sigh of relief. The three-dimensional flower cutting cloth was invented by Lin Dan. If she had a whim and made many fake butterflies embellishments on the cloth, Li Jiarong Meng Si was one of her best friends, she couldn¡¯t tell her the truth. But in her private heart, Li Jiarong admitted that Lin Dan¡¯s ability to appreciate beauty, design and use colors was far better than hers.


    When Meng Si was still trapped in the frame of the traditional pattern and couldn¡¯t make any progress, Lin Dan had broken through the shackles and found a new way out. Her cutting technique and aesthetic design were so strong that others could be sure that it was her work at a glance.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Thinking of this, Li Jiarong¡¯s heart was hanging high again. She immediately looked for Zhou Xin in the crowd.


    As the saying goes, ¡°If you talk about Cao Cao and he will arrive.¡± just as everyone finished speaking, they saw a carriage slowly coming over and stopping at the foot of the mountain. A tall girl jumped off the carriage without the help of a maid. She stretched herself and kicked her legs. She looked very lively. If it weren¡¯t the little monkey of the Zhou¡¯s, who was she?


    In terms of appearance, Zhou Xin could only be regarded as a middle rank. But today, for some reason, she looked so cute and charming. Her skin was delicate and white, like first-class porcelain, and she was wearing a pink white padded dress, which was more dazzling. The padded dress was made of some unknown material and looked very thick. It was wrapped with a pure white belt, but it seemed that it was not thick at all. Immediately, it outlined Zhou Xin¡¯s slender waist. The fluffy dress naturally spread around, and the way she walked was very light.


    From a distance, it seemed that Zhou Xin was wearing a pink cloud. She looked gentle and lovely, but at the same time, she looked lively and lively. Compared with the ladies who wore a thin veil covering the cold weather, she was simply strange but miraculously had the beauty, lightness, and thermal effect.


    When she approached, the clothes on her body became clearer, and the eyes of all the girls were almost unable to move. Her pink and white padded skirt was not pure but made of different white and gray, with a little bit of pink, embroidered into a dish of pink butterflies.


    They flapped their wings and flew around, or closed their wings to have a rest. Each of them had a different shape and color. Some had a little powder on the tip of the wings, and some had a little powder on the root of the wings. The little powder sprinkled on the pure white cloth-like scales, and then perfectly mixed together.


    The dark white, bright white or light white silk threads outlined the wings of the pink butterflies. The fur embroidered with the light gray silk threads was all over their small bodies, ankles, and tentacles. The shadow drawn by the deep gray outline distinguished each of them, but it was too perfect.


    From a distance, they would melt into white and pink silk. When they got closer, they made the cloth vivid in an instant. Zhou Xin stopped when she was tired. She patted her chest, and the lively little pink butterflies also trembled with her cloth, as if they would fly away in the next moment.


    If they hadn¡¯t seen this dress, no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn¡¯t have thought that each color would be divided into more colors, including dark and light. And if these colors were perfectly mixed together, they would be able to form such a colorful picture. Who said that the embroidery work of Lin Dan was not good? She combined the colors in a very contradictory and perfect way, appearing to be neither mixed nor messy.


    She casually sprinkled thick or light colors and freely played with the changeable light and shadow. Like a master with brilliant Taoist skills, she turned the illusion into reality with silver needles and embroidered threads. The vivid and powerful picture was enough to prove how skilled she was.


    The ladies looked at this fresh and refined dress, and then looked at Li Jiarong¡¯s colorful butterfly dress, and suddenly showed an indescribable expression. No matter how beautiful the dress was, it would immediately become vulgar and gorgeous when it was set up by the fairy dress of Lin Dan.


    ¡°This dress must be Miss Lin¡¯s masterpiece, right? I can see it at a glance! ¡°A girl said with a grievance, ¡°Miss Lin is good at making fairy dresses. I asked my mother to book it for me. She asked for 75 teals as a reward, but my mother didn¡¯t want to. Now she looked at it again. What was wrong with 75? 75 teals are really worth it! ¡°


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s clearly a padded dress. It looks thick and fluffy. Why is it so thin when you touch it? Ah! The lining is made of pink satin. It turns out to be more beautiful when walking! ¡°


    ¡°Each butterfly is different, but the color is very harmonious and almost integrated into one, but you can see clearly one by one. Miss Lin is really good at embroidery! I¡¯ve never seen this style of embroidery before. It¡¯s so realistic and spiritual! ¡°


    The girls walked around Zhou Xin, their eyes full of envy.


    Zhou Xin patted the fluffy hemline and said proudly, ¡°This is the dress specially made for me by Miss Lin. This is the only one in the world. If you want to make the same dress like me, she won¡¯t agree. She said that there was only one style of each dress she made, and it would never be repeated. And only the one who made it would be the most beautiful! ¡°


    Hearing this, the ladies became more and more eager to go down the mountain at once, asking Miss Lin to make a unique dress for them.


    Li Jiarong, who was completely overshadowed and gaudy, could do nothing to Zhou Xin even if she was so angry that her teeth trembled. Zhou Xin¡¯s father was the ruler of the Ling¡¯an Prefecture and had real power. The Lis was counting on the Zhou¡¯s to help them gain a firm foothold in the Ling¡¯an Prefecture.


    No matter how much she liked Meng Zhong, Li Jiarong couldn¡¯t help but glare at Meng Si and said coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s go climbing.¡±


    When they reached the top of the mountain, the cold wind in late autumn blew. The girls in tulle and slip dress began to sneeze and have snot, shivering with cold. However, Zhou Xin¡¯s ruddy face and perfect manner made everyone jealous. If only they could have such a beautiful and warm dress!

 CH 93

    After the Chung Yeung Festival, ? Lin Dan¡¯s business was getting better. Many people came to buy clothes, and all of them were ladies from Lin¡¯an Prefecture. However, only a few high-ranking people were selected to be ordered by Du Ruyan, and the rest were all canceled. It seemed that she was born to know how to communicate with others. The guests who were shut out by her were not annoyed at all, and they even admired the embroidery skill of Lin Dan more.


    Since Lin Dan didn¡¯t have time to accept the order, the guests came to her father¡¯s two concubines to make clothes. The most popular ones were the silk padded dress, which cost more than twenty taels of silver for one dress, but there were still a lot of people ordering. Winter was coming. Everyone wanted to wear warm and light clothes. This silk dress skirt was almost a necessity in winter. It was a good deal that it could be opened in spring and continued to wear.


    A month later, Lin Dan put the money box on the bed and called in Zhang Hui, two concubines, and Cuilan. She said, ¡°This is the money we earned last month. Since you have worked hard, let¡¯s split it up together.¡±


    ¡°How much did you make?¡±Zhang Hui sat on the bed and asked expectantly.


    ¡°Let me make a calculation.¡±Lin Dan opened the money box and poured it on the bed. With a crackling sound, a lot of silver rolled out and glittered in the candlelight. There were whole silver, pieces of silver, silver beads, silver peanut-like rewards, which were almost countless.


    ¡°Oh, my God!¡± Even before the Lins were destroyed, they hadn¡¯t seen so much money. They were stunned.


    Cuilan covered her mouth in disbelief.


    Zhang Hui was the calmest, but she couldn¡¯t help licking her dry lips and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°I guess there are at least three or four hundred.¡±Three or four hundred taels of silver were nothing at the peak of the Lins, but it was only a month¡¯s income for her daughter. In other words, she could earn at least one thousand taels a year, which was a huge amount!


    The Lins are hopeful. Mr.Lin, have you seen it under the dwelling place of the dead? At the thought of this, Zhang Hui¡¯s eyes turned red with tears. But she didn¡¯t want her daughter to find out, so she turned around and wiped her eyes. Two concubines sat beside her, one on the left and the other on the right, and gently patted her on the back. All the difficulties had passed, and they had endured it. Everything would be fine.


    Lin Dan was born to be less sentimental. She just handed Zhang Hui a handkerchief, and then took out a small notebook. She read carefully, ¡°last month, the third auntie made five silk padded dresses, and the fourth auntie made six. Every day, Cuilan would help to cut the cloth, receive the guests and modify the size of the clothes. My mother and I made a set of iron armor together, and we also contacted a blacksmith to make twenty pounds of iron pieces¡­ The profit of a silk padded dress is ten, and I will give each auntie 1/10 of the profit, which is 50 and 60 silver respectively; Cuilan¡¯s job is not a high-tech job, but it¡¯s hard for her. I¡¯ll give her 2 a month; Although my mother only made a set of iron armor, it took a lot of time and energy, and she also took the risk. I will give her a reward of 20. And the rest of the money will be used to rent a shop, and then buy embroidery lines, cloth, dye, and so on. The budget is within two hundred. This is our revenue and expenditure last month. ¡°


    Closing the notebook, she asked, ¡°Do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±The two ladies shook their heads. They were used to following eldest Miss¡¯s orders. They felt that if they followed the eldest Miss, they would have countless good days in the future. Even when Lin Dafu was alive, they only had 5 silver a month. However, things were different as long as they worked hard and didn¡¯t worry about losing money. Those concubines who stole the property of the Lins and escaped at night would regret if they knew that the Lins could get back to life.


    ¡°No problem, no problem. Thank you, miss!¡±Cuilan almost jumped up with joy. Before the Lin family was destroyed, she was just a rough girl who could get two hundred copper coins a month. Later, the Lin family was destroyed. She was afraid that her brother and sister-in-law would sell her to that kind of pickle place, so she stayed here in vain. She had never dreamed that she would be able to get 2 taels of silver a month! She was so generous!


    Glancing at her, Lin Dan reminded her, ¡°You can learn embroidery from two concubines when you are free. When you improve your skills, you can make clothes alone and get more money. The profit of simple clothes and dress are less, and the salary they got is also less. The profit of luxury clothes is more expensive, and the salary you would earn is more. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to practice hard. ¡°


    The three of them nodded as if they were following eldest Miss¡¯s lead.


    Cloris was very satisfied with the enthusiasm and faith in their eyes. Noticing that Edith was a little unhappy, she pushed the rest of the money to her feet and said, ¡°mother, I earned all of them. I¡¯ll give them to you. When I find a suitable shop, you can give me the rent. ¡°


    Lin Dan was very satisfied with the enthusiasm and faith in their eyes. Noticing that Zhang Hui was a little unhappy, she pushed the rest of the money to her feet and said, ¡°Mother, I earned all of them. I¡¯ll give them to you. When I find a suitable shop, you can give me the rent. ¡°


    Frowning, Zhang Hui was happy at once. She held her daughter in her arms and screamed. Others laughed at her for not having a son and not being able to stand up to the Lins. She had no one to rely on and would die sonless all her life. (Note: In ancient China, a daughter was not considered a child of her own family because she would one day marry someone ¡ª a backward and unequal idea) So what if she looked at it now? She had only one daughter, and she was more capable than the other ten sons!


    ¡ª


    On the second day, when Du Ruyan heard that Lin Dan was going to rent a shop, she came over with a stack of land deeds. She said generously, ¡°You can take whichever shop you like and count it as my cash gift. Although I¡¯m not powerful, I have a lot of money to spend. Don¡¯t worry! ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin¡¯an Prefecture was the hometown of the Dus. When Mrs. Du and the empress got married, they got many stores and fields of Lin¡¯an Prefecture. Although the sisters were divorced in the end, their dowry was not embezzled. The emperor couldn¡¯t do such a thing. Even if he detested the empress, he gave her enough compensation, which was enough for her to live a rich life for the rest of her life. The Emperor didn¡¯t kill them all, and he had arranged a backup plan for the empress Du. It could be seen that he still had a glimmer of mercy in his heart. The Anding Marquis didn¡¯t dare to bully the brother and sister. Instead, he not only returned Mrs. Du¡¯s dowry back as he had wished but also gave her a lot of money. This made the sons and daughters of the concubines who had settled down very angry, but they could do nothing.


    Knowing what was going on with her, Lin Dan didn¡¯t hesitate at all. She took the lands titles and looked through them one by one. Pointing at one of them, she said, ¡°Phoenix avenue? If my memory serves me right, Meng¡¯s embroidery house is also on Phoenix avenue, right? ¡°


    ¡°Yes, my shop is right across her shop, with the door facing the door.¡±


    ¡°Then I want this shop.¡±Lin Dan rubbed her hands unconsciously. She felt happy that he could open the shop in front of Meng¡¯s embroidery house.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask Uncle sun to clean the shop immediately.¡±Said Du Ruyan smilingly.


    ¡°By the way, make a board with the name of our shop on it. Our shop is called Danyan(light smoke) embroidery house. What do you think? ¡°Lin Dan said slowly.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±Du Ruyan was stunned.


    ¡°Our embroidery house is called Danyan embroidery house. Do you think this name is appropriate?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course!¡±It was not until then that she came back to her senses. She wanted to smile, but her eyes were red. It was not a big deal for her to help Lin Dan. She just liked her perseverance when facing difficulties. However, Leona held her hand hard and pulled her out of the mud. The Danyan embroidery house was their name and also their career. How wonderful it was!


    ¡°Dan. We must make the Danyan embroidery house the best one in Lin¡¯an Prefecture!¡±Du Ruyan made a hearty vow.


    Lin Dan shook her head and said calmly, ¡°No, our goal is to make the Danyan embroidery house the best one in the great Zhou .¡±She had no choice but to do the best.


    Du Ruyan was stunned and then laughed happily. She liked the character of Lin Dan very much. It seemed that she didn¡¯t fight against the world, but when it was time to be serious, she would immediately become ambitious and advance forward.


    ¡ª


    The two of them were action-oriented. It only took them half a month to decorate the shop and put the signboard on it.


    Frowning, Meng Si looked at the opposite side and murmured, ¡°Who owns the Danyan embroidery house?¡±As soon as she finished her words, the door of the store opposite opened. Then, Lin Dan and Du Ruyan walked out one after another, with two big flower baskets in their hands, and Zhang Hui lit a bunch of firecrackers in the deserted alley next to them.


    The crackling sound attracted a lot of passers-by, but because the shop was too delicate and luxurious, every floor tile was specially made by craftsmen and looked smooth like jade. Although there were not many clothes on the shelf, they were all rare precious varieties in the market, which made ordinary people dare not to visit them.


    Looking at the shop, Du Ruyan looked a little depressed.


    However, Lin Dan didn¡¯t worry at all. She just put the needle, thread, and embroidery rack in order one by one.


    At this moment, Du Rusong came in with a saber in his hand. He didn¡¯t take a day off today. He came in a hurry after changing the guard with his robe. He handed an exquisite small box to her and said softly, ¡°Miss Lin, wish you a good start.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±When Lin Dan opened the box, she found a folding fan lying inside. The fan was embroidered with a picture of flowers and birds. The use of colors and the change of needle techniques were completely different from the embroidery of the Great Zhou. It was a very gorgeous and simple style. The material of the embroidery was not limited to silk threads, but also added herbs, ribbons, bird feathers, cashmere, and so on.


    ¡°What a wonderful idea to use the real grass stem to embroider a futon!¡±Lin Dan said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the embroidery from the Great Zhou?¡±


    ¡°I captured them from the ship of the enemy. The Japanese embroidery skills were inherited from the heyday several hundred years ago. Many of the heyday needlework had been lost in the Great Zhou, but they were completely preserved. ¡± Du Rusong looked down at her and asked expectantly, ¡°Do you like this gift?¡±


    ¡°I like it very much!¡±Lin Dan nobbed, ¡°Can I cut it? I want to learn needlework from the people of Japan. ¡°


    Du Rusong¡¯s expression froze for a moment, and then he shook his head and chuckled. He said helplessly, ¡°Cut it as you like.¡±As a matter of fact, he was always practical. No wonder she could reopen Lin¡¯s Embroidery house in just more than half a year.


    No, now it was not Lin¡¯s embroidery house, but the Danyan embroidered house. Thinking of this, Du Rusong smiled more gently

 CH 94

    After Du Rusong finished his flattery, Du Ruyan walked over with a smile and teased, ¡°Brother, where is my gift? Why don¡¯t you just give me a ride? You are unfair! ¡°


    ¡°What do you want? I¡¯ll give you ten taels of silver and buy it yourself. ¡°Du Rusong took out a silver ingot and threw it to his sister.


    Ruyan caught it in a hurry and complained, ¡°Brother, look at our embroidery shop. Are you free? Look at the shelves next door. They are full of silk! We wanted to buy some cloth from a clothing store. But they refused to sell us the expensive clothes. All the clothes on the shelf are Dan¡¯s dowries. After we sell them out, her dowry will be gone. How can she get married in the future? Please find some goods for us. Otherwise, we can¡¯t do our business. ¡°


    Fortunately, Lin Dan was only engaged in the clothes business now. The rich women and ladies who came to see her would usually bring the cloth themselves and let them embroider it. Although it was convenient, it was not much more than selling cloth and making clothes in her shop. The Meng¡¯s Embroidery house was a one-stop service. It could make a lot of money and destroy it in one net.


    Du Rusong frowned and nodded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll figure it out.¡±Then he added cautiously, ¡°I won¡¯t let Miss Lin can not get married.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Finding the source of the goods can solve our temporary trouble, but we are controlled by others. If we can learn to make cloth by ourselves, or hire some women who are good at it to come back, we can guarantee the long-term supply of the cloth, and also greatly reduce the cost of transportation and sales. ¡°Lin Dan folded up her fan carefully.


    Hearing that, Du Rusong chuckled and said firmly, ¡°Miss Lin, just wait. I will find some women who are good at weaving for you in a few days.¡±He found that she always liked to solve problems from the root. His sister only wanted him to find the source of the goods, but Lin Dan was already thinking about how to grasp the technique of weaving. She was always independent. She was more willing to enrich herself than rely on others.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Du.¡±Lin Dan also returned the compliment.¡±I¡¯ll make some winter clothes for you some other day. By the way, if your leather armor is broken, I¡¯ll fix it for you. ¡°


    ¡°Okay, I have to change the defense later. I¡¯ll go first. If you need anything, you can go to the southern navy camp to find me. I have been a centurion now. ¡°Somehow, Du Rusong was eager to let Lin Dan know his achievements.


    ¡°A centurion? Mr. Du is so awesome! ¡°Lin Dan praised sincerely.


    Exhausted, Du Rusong became energetic in an instant. He couldn¡¯t help smiling, but he was afraid that he would laugh too silly. He could only gently cough with his fist against his lips, and then left gracefully.


    Looking at her brother¡¯s retreating figure, Du Ruyan slowly covered her stomach with her hands and almost burst into laughter. There were not a few hundred or dozens of women who had been entangled with him, but he didn¡¯t like any of them. He was cold and vicious when they talked. No one knew how many women had been hurt. However, at this moment, he clearly wanted to curry favor with Lin Dan, but he didn¡¯t know where to start. His clumsy manner was so obvious that Du Ruyan didn¡¯t notice it. This was probably the tofu with salted water?


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±Lin Dan looked at her in confusion.


    ¡°Nothing, nothing. The guest is here. I¡¯ll entertain him.¡±Ruyan found an excuse and slipped away.


    At the same time, Meng Si was standing by the window, looking at the Danyan embroidery house with an anxious expression on her face.


    ¡°Five firecrackers were set off, but none of the guests came. It¡¯s so cold. I have ordered all the merchants in the Lin¡¯an Prefecture not to do business with the Lins. There is no cloth for sale. I¡¯ll see how they open the embroidery shop. ¡°Meng Zhong teased.


    As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Mrs. Xu and several sisters-in-law from the governor¡¯s house walk into the Danyan embroidery house with a group of young girls happily. After a while, two servants of the Xus came out and took out a lot of cloth from the carriage one after another. There were soft smoke silk, green cicada wings silk, cloud fog silk, and so on, which were all rare and precious varieties in the market.


    The sneer on Meng Zhong¡¯s face froze in an instant. Before he could come back to his senses, the wife and daughter of Mr.Zhou and the wife and daughter of Mr.Fang, who was the vice surveillance commissioner of Lin¡¯an Prefecture, came one after another. The Danyan embroidery house, which used to be a sparrow, was now full of carriages, one after another luxurious.


    Only then did the passers-by notice the shop. When they pointed at it, they all showed an expression of admiration or envy. How powerful was it to capture so many powerful people? This shop was not simple!


    The owners of several shops nearby were also standing at the door and watching. They were all ordered by the Meng¡¯s embroidery house, so they didn¡¯t dare to sell the cloth to the Danyan embroidering house. But what was going on now? In addition to the family of the inspector, all the important people of Lin¡¯an Prefecture seemed to come to celebrate this new shop. Then why did they oppose Lin Dan? If they indirectly offended any noble person, the Meng¡¯s embroidery house would be able to protect itself. Could they? They didn¡¯t make much money but had to take such a big risk. Meng Zhong was taking them like idiots!


    Back then, as the number one imperial merchant of the Lin¡¯an Prefecture, Lin Dafu had always followed the principle of ¡°everyone makes money, and it¡¯s difficult for them to fight together¡±. But now, he had to listen to Meng Zhong. The Mengs was too domineering! Thinking of this, the bosses of the cloth store gave a fierce glance at the Meng¡¯s embroidery house before entering. In the future, when Lin Dan came back to purchase, they would only sell it, but not care whether the Mengs were happy or not!


    Gritting his teeth secretly, Meng Zhong said in a low voice, ¡°Manager Qian, hang the horse picture embroidered by Sisi the other day at the door and let everyone have a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±The manager immediately left.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Brother, didn¡¯t you say that you would give it to Mr.Li? Why are you hanging up now? ¡± Meng Si asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hang it out so that everyone can see it clearly. When it comes to the embroidery skill, she is not qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as you. How many butterflies do you know are called exquisite embroidery? How ridiculous! ¡°


    Meng Si¡¯s knitted brows loosened and she didn¡¯t say anything more. Recently, she had been mocked by some people. The name of the No.1 embroider in the province had also been doubted. Fewer people were coming to her for embroidery. Even Li Jiarong hadn¡¯t been here for a long time. It was said that Li Jiaronghad sent her maid to Lin¡¯s Embroidery house to make clothes. She had been there several times, but she had been shut out every time. Now she was sulking at home.


    But no matter how angry she was, she couldn¡¯t do anything to Lin Dan. Because in Lin Dan¡¯s hands, there were orders from the governor¡¯s office, the vice surveillance commissioner office, the monitoring office, and the government of the local rich clans. If she intervened, it would be equal to having a hard time with these families¡¯ women. Not to mention getting benefits, she would even cause a lot of trouble for Mr.Li.


    Even Li Jiarong had to endure Lin Dan, let alone MEng Si?


    ¡°Brother, what if someone bid for my horse picture?¡±She said after thinking for a while.


    ¡°When this picture is hung up, there will definitely be bidding. I will sell it to whoever offers the highest price. Let¡¯s hold an auction at the gate to kill Lin Dan. You can sell an embroidery for thousands of taels of silver. Can she? Compared with you, she didn¡¯t pee or look at herself. ¡°A scornful smile spread across his face.


    Meng Si covered her ears and complained, ¡°Brother, be careful when you speak. Be careful not to pollute my ears.¡±


    Meng Zhong smiled. He rubbed his sister¡¯s head and strode out. At the door of the shop, manager Qian had hung a huge embroidery of ten feet long on the face, carefully wiping the frame with a thin silk cloth.


    The passers-by immediately stopped and looked at them, amazed. Some sensible people praised, ¡°My god, this is the masterpiece of the legendary painter, Jing Chuan, of the state of Liang, called the¡± horse painting ¡°. It was engraved on the cliff of Taishan mountain by him. Many people risked their lives to copy it, but they couldn¡¯t. because the horse painting is too magnificent, there is no such a large piece of paper in the world to copy it. There are only one or two copies, half of the painting was sold at a sky-high price. Of course, many painters copied the whole picture with their naked eyes and memory, but they only took the shape without being able to master it. But look at this work. It seems that it has a soul. It shows the original work of the immortal redbud painting perfectly! What¡¯s more, it¡¯s drawn with needlework, not ink. If it¡¯s preserved properly, it won¡¯t fade even after hundreds of years. It¡¯s a treasure more worth collecting than a painting scroll! ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s said that Miss Meng¡¯s embroidery is both exquisite and style. It can be called an art treasure. Today I see it and it really deserves the reputation!¡±


    ¡°She is so talented at such a young age!¡±


    The scholars gathered here one after another, either giving fervent comments or expressing sincere admiration. They were really infatuated with each other. The customers in the Danyan embroidery house all went out to join in the fun. Even though they couldn¡¯t figure out where the painting was, they still felt that it was a marvelous work. It would be great if others agreed!


    ¡°Mr. Meng, do you want to sell this embroidery? I¡¯ll give you five hundred taels of silver! ¡°Someone shouted.


    ¡°Five hundred? You¡¯re just a beggar! I¡¯ll give you one thousand! ¡°


    ¡°I offer one thousand five hundred!¡±


    ¡°Two thousand!¡±


    ¡°Three thousand!¡±


    ¡°Stop arguing. I¡¯ll give you five thousand!¡±A wealthy businessman from the capital squeezed away from the crowd and said urgently.


    Meng Zhong shook the teacup in his hand with a smile, as if he was sitting on a fishing platform. Seeing that the price had reached eight thousand and no one followed up for a long time, he slowly stood up and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to sell this work. Since this guest likes it so much, I will persuade my sister to give it up.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Meng. I don¡¯t have enough cheques with me. I¡¯ll ask the servant to fetch them. Please wait a moment.¡±As soon as the rich finished speaking, he waved his hand, and several strong men like iron towers carried broadswords and squeezed out of the crowd. The hooligans who had planned to buy these cheques immediately gave up the idea.


    Seeing that her business had been messed up by Meng Zhong, Du Ruyan was furious.


    Staring at the horse painting for a while, Lin Dan said slowly, ¡°I happen to have embroidered a new one. When they finish the auction, we can hang it out so that we can have a good time.

 CH 95

    To show that he was really rich, the wealthy businessman from the capital stayed in Meng¡¯s embroidery house and waited for his servant to bring the cheques here. Meng Zhong poured him a cup of tea. While chatting with him, he inquired about his background secretly.


    Outside the shop, some people began to disperse. They seldom saw such huge embroidery, so they gathered around to have fun. But if you hold them and want to ask where this embroidery is good, they couldn¡¯t answer. What kind of art style and aesthetic will were too abstract for them to understand. In their eyes, this painting was just a picture of a horse. Several black silk embroidered horses were galloping on the road like ink paintings. At first glance, it was quite imposing, and then it was the same.


    Many scholars still stood in front of the door for a long time, chanting, ¡°¿¥¹Çǧ½ð²ú¡¢ÃûÍõÍòÀï¹é¡£·çÑÌ´Ç´óÄ®£¬ÔƵ縰»ÊçÜ¡­¡­ ¡°and so on. (Note:


    ºúÂíͼ


    Ã÷´ú£º×£ÔÊÃ÷


    ¿¥¹Çǧ½ð²ú£¬ÃûÍõÍòÀï¹é¡£·çÑÌ´Ç´óÄ®£¬ÔƵ縰»ÊçÜ¡£


    Á¢ÕÌÈÝÅãÎ裬´ÓÁú¸Ò¼ÙÍþ¡£´ËÀ´¿ÕµØÀ࣬ÜÙÞ£½ü½¼·Ê¡£


    If You want to know more, pls check the wiki about the poem. )


    ¡°Long time ago, I heard that Miss Meng¡¯s embroidery was completely comparable to that of Master Wu(Note: Wu DaoziÎâµÀ×Ó. ). At that time, I thought it was an exaggeration, but today I know that I am too ignorant. Miss Meng is the best embroiderer in the world. She is invincible. ¡°The wealthy businessmen in the capital city looked at the infatuated scholars and gave a thumbs up to Meng Zhong.


    Meng Zhong waved his hand with a smile. Just as he was about to apologize, a loud shout came from outside, as if something big had happened. The two of them immediately went out to check.


    Because her embroidery was sold at a high price of nearly ten thousand taels of silver, and it shocked so many scholars and won the first assessment in the world, Meng Si was in a good mood at the moment, so she opened the window with a smile, trying to see who was shocked by her embroidery again. However, in the next moment, the expression on her face froze. A deep sense of fear and powerlessness emerged from the bottom of her heart uncontrollably.


    A huge painting with a width of ten feet and a height of ten feet was hung in the Danyan embroidery house. On the black cloth, there was a beast with scales, which looked like a lion, or a horse, roaring and roaring. It spat out flames, four-legged lotus, and golden threads all over its body. Its appearance was so intimidating that no one dared to look at it. On top of the ferocious beast sat a Bodhisattva in white gauze, twirling willows in one hand, and holding a jade bottle in the other. Her eyelids were slightly closed, and the corners of her lips were slightly raised. She looked sad and happy as if she was crying.


    ¡°This is the Avalokitesvara and his golden-haired hou( ê)!¡±The passer-by looked up at the embroidered work in horror.


    They were all frightened by this lifelike beast. They saw flames burning in its black and red eyes as if it was going to choose a person to devour; The large bloody mouth was roaring, and the sharp teeth stood up one by one, making people chill; The mane on her neck was thick and thick, fluttering in the air as if she could touch it with her hand; The scales that covered his body gradually turned from pure black too strong red, and golden threads were mixed, faintly flashing with light; When the golden and red two colors extended to the tail, they had turned into real flames. The four claws, which were like steel blades, stepped on the four blooming lotus flowers and spurted a blazing flame from their mouths and noses.


    This beast was so ferocious as if it had the power to destroy heaven and earth. Just a glance at it would make people¡¯s legs and feet tremble, and their liver and gall were about to crack. However, on its back sat a peaceful and kind-looking Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva¡¯s robe fluttered in the air as if it had brought out a wisp of wind, extinguishing the flames all over the body of the fierce beast, making those shivering passers-by immediately feel safe. That was the so-called great mercy, taming the demon and subduing the demon?


    The embroidery was divided into two parts, the lower part was a beast and the upper part was a Bodhisattva; The lower part was ferocious, and the upper part was mercy; The lower part was flame, and the upper part was the wind. The two totally different images and styles, however, were strangely and perfectly mixed together, forming a masterpiece with strong color, distinct style, and skillful operation of needles.


    ¡°This, this is the Avalokitesvara and his golden-haired hou!¡±Someone called out in a trembling voice, and then several Buddhist believers knelt down devoutly, chanting, and their expressions were excited and impatient.


    Before that, their knowledge of the Avalokitesvara and the golden-haired hou was limited to the Buddhist statues in the temple, or the legends passed down from generation to generation. No one in the world knew exactly what the Avalokitesvara and the golden-haired hou looked like. But now, when they looked at the embroidery, they understood. It turned out that the Avalokitesvara was so kind and holy and the golden-haired hou, who was transformed from zombies, was so ferocious.


    Those figures and beasts that only existed in fairy tales seemed to break through the clouds and come to reality, bringing them an unusual shock.


    Another warrior asked in surprise, ¡°Are they alive? No matter where I stood, his eyes were always staring at me as if he could see me! ¡°


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s true!¡±Many people echoed. They had already discovered that there was a faint flow of spiritual light in the eyes of the Avalokitesvara. No matter from which angle, his gaze could meet the gaze of the onlookers. This was simply a god!


    There were more and more followers kneeling on the roadside, and even those scholars were standing quietly in the corner with solemn expressions on their faces. They didn¡¯t dare to comment on such a marvelous work at all, because the beasts and characters on the embroidered cloth were too real as if they would fly in the next moment and overlook the sky.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Phoenix avenue was a famous street for embroidery in Lin¡¯an Prefecture. On both sides of the avenue, there were many embroidery houses and cloth shops of various sizes. There were also80%-90% of the Lin¡¯an Prefecture¡¯s embroidery houses and cloth shops. As the saying goes, an outsider sees the fun, and an insider sees the way. They were all sensible people, so they naturally saw something different outside the lifelike embroidery.


    Avalokitesvara¡¯s face was lifelike. When his eyelids were slightly closed, there were some small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and when the corners of his mouth were upward, there were some dimples on his cheeks, all of which had the same texture as his skin. To be able to do this with silk threads, it was impossible to achieve it without embroiderer¡¯s face stitches; The golden mane was fluffy and soft, with distinct roots, as if it was a real thing. It was clearly the unique and lost hairy needle method that was created by Miss Su. There was a faint halo shining above the head of the Avalokitesvara, and the embroidered lines were neat and smooth as a mirror. The golden hair was covered with scales all over his body, and the texture was uneven and the color was natural. This was the galaxy needle and the metal frowning skill. In addition, the raging lotus flowers and the blazing flames had used some other techniques, such as mixing needles, applying needles, rotating needles, and so on.


    This embroidery work contained almost all the known techniques in the world. The colors were used boldly and warmly, and the figures were lifelike. The design was compact and there were white marks on the pattern. Among all the top embroiderers or painters in the world, no one¡¯s work could compare with it. Against its background, the horse painting in black and white looked so monotonous and ordinary. Meng Si¡¯s embroidery skill was nothing compared to that of Lin Dan¡¯s.


    ¡°I counted carefully and found three to forty kinds of needle methods! Tell me, did I make a mistake? ¡°one embroiderer asked her companions.


    ¡°I¡¯m also confused! I thought I was wrong! ¡°


    ¡°We didn¡¯t see it wrong. Is that true?¡±The two looked at each other in shock.


    ¡°Oh my God! Take it seriously! Lin Dafu had a good daughter! With such extraordinary skill, sooner or later, the Lins will be able to regain its former prosperity! ¡°The several bosses gathered together and whispered. They made up their mind that they could not make things difficult for Lin Dan in the future.


    After a long while, Meng Si staggered downstairs and looked up at the embroidery. Then she distinguished the needle techniques used by Lin Dan one by one. Her face turned paler and paler until she completely lost her color. The fear in her eyes had almost condensed into substance. Looking at the embroidery, she felt as if she were looking at a mountain, and her heart was filled with an insurmountable sense of powerlessness.


    Meng Zhong pulled his sister behind him and wanted to say something to comfort her or to belittle Lin Dan, but he couldn¡¯t find a word to say. Even blind people could see that her painting skills and embroidery skills had already surpassed Meng Si¡¯s. When Meng Si was copying other people¡¯s paintings, Lin Dan had been able to create by herself. When Meng Si was still thinking about the Meng family¡¯s family skills, Lin Dan had even figured out the lost embroidery technique.


    Two embroidered images were hung opposite each other. One was not cared about by anyone, while the other was surrounded by onlookers; Only scholars could understand one painting, but everyone praised it. It was hard to tell which one was better?


    Looking at his sister who was about to faint with red eyes, Meng Zhong hated himself for hanging her embroidery on the wall. If he didn¡¯t hang it up, his sister wouldn¡¯t have to suffer this kind of blow. What was the difference between the current situation and the public execution of her? Her painting and embroidery skills were compared with that of Lin Dan by passers-by one by one, and then they were belittled as useless. Could she take up the embroidery needle from now on? Did she still have the confidence to embroider in front of the embroidery rack? Without her, what should Meng¡¯s embroidery house do?


    For a moment, he had thought a lot. But before he could figure it out, the wealthy businessman from the capital who had taken a picture of Meng Si¡¯s embroidery smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Mr. Meng, I won¡¯t buy this embroidery. Keep it yourself.¡±As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed to the opposite and shouted, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll pay eight thousand silver to buy this picture!¡±


    Hearing his bidding, everyone finally came to their senses and then burst into an uproar. Who didn¡¯t want to take this work home for collection? It was said that the more realistic the portrait was, the more spiritual it was. This picture of a great sage was moving even its eyeballs, and the golden hair under the seat shook as if it was about to come back to life. If it was hung at home, it would definitely produce a spiritual Aura!


    The horse picture could only be kept in the house. If one bought this picture back, it would be the treasure of the mansion. However, it was passed down from generation to generation, and the more it was passed down, the more bizarre it became!


    The ladies who had just watched the fun before couldn¡¯t wait any longer. They ran out of the Danyan embroidery house and bid continuously. ¡°Eight thousand is nothing. I¡¯ll offer twelve thousand!¡±


    ¡°I offer eleven thousand!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay twelve thousand!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Du Ruyan was dumbfounded. Lin Dan couldn¡¯t help rubbing her hands to restrain her excitement.

 CH 96

    ¡°How dare you?¡± before Mrs. Xu could react, his mother couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. She pounded the table and stood up, shouting angrily, ¡°if you dare to have this idea of embroidery, I won¡¯t let you go!¡±


    When Mr.Xu was about to comfort his old mother, he suddenly saw the embroidery on the wall. He took a deep breath, reached his hand to his waist, and almost pulled out his knife to defend himself. It was all because the golden-haired Hou was so realistic and horrible, He glanced around in the dark Buddhist prayer room as if he was about to pounce on someone to eat him. When he looked again, he was comforted by the amiable Avalokitesvara and became calm.


    ¡°Is this¡­ Is this the embroidery?¡± Mr.Xu was stunned for a long time before he opened his mouth in disbelief. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that this embroidery was not like a painting, but more like a mirror. The mirror was a passageway to the divine world and inadvertently reflected the legendary figures.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Mrs. Xu didn¡¯t even look at him. She just held her two-and-a-half-year-old grandson in her arms, pointed at the embroidery, and coaxed, ¡°Good grandson, look, that¡¯s Avalokitesvara. He will bless you in the future.¡±


    When the cute child saw the lifelike golden hair Hou, he was frightened to cry and quickly stabbed his head into Mrs. Xu¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at the monsters, look at the Bodhisattva,¡± Mrs. Xu turned around and let her grandson continue to look at the embroidery. She pointed at the face of the Avalokitesvara and said, ¡°Look, the Avalokitesvara is smiling at you.¡±


    The little boy took a timid look at the embroidery and then was fascinated by the gentle and peaceful smile of the Avalokitesvara. After a short while, he reached out his hand and giggled, as if he wanted to be hugged by the Avalokitesvara. The child¡¯s perception was still in a state of ignorance, and it was impossible to tell that it was just an embroidery, not a real person. However, it was enough to prove how good the embroidery was.


    Looking at his grandson¡¯s reaction, Mr.Xu couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. When he looked at the Avalokitesvara, he unexpectedly took a few steps back and circled around the hall. He said in surprise, ¡°[¹ÛÒôÆÐÈø] and the golden-haired Hou have been looking at me all the time. What¡¯s going on? The top of his head is still shining. Mother, have you seen it?¡±He rubbed his eyes, again and again, afraid that he would have an illusion.


    When Lin Dan was embroidering the Buddha light on the back of the Avalokitesvara, she combined more than a dozen kinds of needle techniques, such as mixing needles, willow needles, applying needles, horizontal swimming needles, and spraying needles. She cut the silk thread very thin and rubbed it smoothly to express the scattering and softness of the Buddha light. The flat and dense embroidered face looked like a mirror, not only making the golden silk threads more dazzling but also reflecting the light of nature.


    Therefore, when others stared at him, they would have the illusion that Avalokitesvara was really shining. Without extremely exquisite techniques, they would never be able to do this.


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen it for a long time. Don¡¯t yell in the Buddhist prayer room. Be careful not to offend the Bodhisattva!¡± The old lady was very dissatisfied with his son.


    Mrs. Xu chuckled, ¡°Dear, I haven¡¯t given the embroider the twenty thousand taels of silver yet. I didn¡¯t bring enough money at that time. I brought the embroidery back on credit. If you think this embroidery is not good, I will ask the housekeeper to return it immediately.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Mr.Xu quickly waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t return! Send someone to give the money to her, in case she comes to ask for it.¡± He climbed and rolled up in the military camp and had more than once escaped from death. The most dangerous time was that he fell into the sea and was swept away by the waves. He faintly saw the Buddhist light and heard the Sanskrit words. Then he was carried ashore by a dolphin. He was carefully placed on the beach and was accidentally picked up by several subordinates, which saved his life.


    After he came back, he knew that his mother had a premonition and knelt down in the Temple to recite the Scriptures for three days and nights, hoping that the Buddha would bless him to come back safely. The mother and son sat together and thought that it was the bodhisattva that had awakened, and the Bodhisattva was protecting the Xus. From then on, he had changed from an atheist to a Buddhist believer, and his mother was more convinced of the Bodhisattva. Today, Mrs. Xu brought back such a shining Avalokitesvara statue with spiritual energy. How could they be willing to return it before worshiping it day and night?


    ¡°Really?¡± Mrs. Xu teased her husband.


    ¡°If anyone dares to touch this Avalokitesvara statue, he will be against me!¡± said the old lady, standing with her walking stick, making a deafening sound.


    Mrs. Xu smiled and said, ¡°mother, dear, shall I send the money to the Danyan Embroidery House now?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, in case they can¡¯t get the money and come to ask for a return,¡± said Mr.Xu, waving his hands anxiously. It was not easy for him to get such a good thing, and he couldn¡¯t lose it again.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡ª


    Since the sale of the Avalokitesvara picture, the name of Lin Dan had spread in Lin¡¯an prefecture. Now when it came to embroiders, the first person that came to their mind must be her, then Meng Si, Yao Huiyun, Fang Wenqi, etc. if there was a list of embroiderers written on paper and black, Lin Dan must be the first, and no one dared to compete with her.


    On an opening day, the  Danyan Embroidery House earned twenty-one thousand silver, which was a huge profit. Twenty thousand of them were earned from selling embroidery, and the rest one thousand were the deposit for the customized dresses of the ladies. After all, the end of the year was approaching, and all the families were eager to cut skills and cotton to make new clothes to celebrate the new year. Taking this opportunity, Du Ruyan contacted the cloth merchants again, and they bought many clothes one after another and solved another trouble.


    On the other hand, life was not so good in the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House. Eight out of ten customers were taken away by Lin Dan. Every day, Meng Zhong could only watch as many customers came from the opposite side, while his own embroidery house was very deserted. Fortunately, the Danyan embroidery house had just opened, and it was still small in scale, so she could not take too much work. Meng Zhong had picked up some leftovers from her. By the end of the year, the revenue had fallen by 70%. Well, it was not too much to say that the business was bad.


    In the past, there had been a constant stream of customers looking for Meng Si to customize embroidery screens. Now, they would rather spend several months waiting for Lin Dan. With the bead jade in front of them, who was willing to make do with the inferior products?


    Being relegated as ¡°inferior¡±, Meng Si felt terrible and locked herself in the room, unwilling to come out. At last, Meng Zhong kicked the door open and walked in, pouring cold water to her. The brother and sister cheered up and went to the street to buy new year¡¯s goods. By the way, they took a walk, and their faces darkened when they saw Lin Dan and Du Ruoyan walking towards them.


    As if she hadn¡¯t seen the two of them, Lin Dan walked over without looking sideways.


    With tears in her eyes, Meng Si shouted, ¡°Wait a minute, Lin Dan. Your father killed my family, and all my brother did was to avenge my father. Since your father¡¯s death, the grudge between our two families has been cleared up, and my brother has no longer done anything to you. Why are you so aggressive and take revenge on me? I have never done anything wrong to you.¡±


    Du Ruyan raised her eyebrows and wanted to retort, but was gently pressed on her shoulder by Lin Dan.


    ¡°First, you can avenge your father, and I can also avenge my father. It¡¯s not clear.¡±Lin Dan said, ¡°Second, I didn¡¯t take revenge on you. I¡¯m just reviving my family business, which is also in your way? Have I used the same method as your brother to steal your property? Have I used insidious methods to damage your reputation? Everything I obtained now is earned by my real strength, and my future is also embroidered by me step by step. I didn¡¯t do anything harmful to others or to yourself. Why did you accuse me? Did I do anything wrong when I was better than you? Look at the whole Lin¡¯an and even the whole Zhou kingdom. Some so many people are better than you. Are they wrong? ¡°


    Lin Dan turned around and waved her hand. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, Miss Meng, I advise you to go to see a doctor as soon as possible. Narcissism is a kind of disease, and I think you are seriously ill.¡±


    Du Ruyan tried hard to hold back her laughter. She didn¡¯t expect that Lin Dan¡¯s mouth was even more poisonous than her brother¡¯s. she turned around and rolled her eyes at Meng Si with a disdainful expression. What kind of person was she? She couldn¡¯t afford to lose when she came to scold others!


    Meng Si was embarrassed. Noticing that the passers-by were looking at her, she quickly hid behind her brother and secretly wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She really shouldn¡¯t have rushed to question Lin Dan on the spur of the moment. Now she thought that it was true that Lin Dan hadn¡¯t used any dirty means to deal with her. Instead, she had always been dignified. Even if she deliberately aimed at her, it was obvious that she only relied on her own strength. She lost to her because of her strength. She was not as capable as her.


    The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. Meng Si said: ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go back. I don¡¯t want to go shopping anymore. I always feel that everyone is laughing at me. It¡¯s been a long time since Jiarong came to see me. She might think that a person like me doesn¡¯t deserve to talk with her. If I didn¡¯t fail, the business of the embroidery shop wouldn¡¯t have declined greatly. After the Spring Festival, the imperial business competition will be held again. What if you lose the qualification of the imperial business? It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m the one to blame.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Meng Zhong¡¯s tone was gentle, but there was a hint of malice in his eyes, ¡°The new year is coming, and all the families are busy preparing for the new year¡¯s gifts. Of course, Jiarong doesn¡¯t have time to come to see you. You can send her an invitation another day and ask her out. Next year¡¯s imperial business will definitely be me. Don¡¯t worry. Lin Dan is just a new embroider. If I want to kill her, it will be as easy as killing an ant. Look, after the new year, I will let her business fail again. I have an embroidered manual here, which was especially found by Li Xiudian to give to you. It¡¯s an antique from the previous dynasty. You should study it carefully. If you learn this, then who is Lin Dan? ¡°


    Meng Si took the manual from her brother and read it carefully. Her depressed expression was immediately replaced by ecstasy.

 CH 97

    During the Preliminary Eve, Lin Dan and Du Ruyan bought a lot of things, so they hired a cow cart to pull them back. The two sat on the cart and chatted. Most of the time, it was Du Ruyan who was talking, and Lin Dan was listening, but the atmosphere was not stiff at all. Ruyan had too many things in her heart, and she needed a silent and serious listener.


    ¡°You were so powerful just now! I thought you were not good at talking, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be more vicious than my brother. Look at what you have done to Meng Si. She is crying on the street. Don¡¯t she feel ashamed?¡±


    ¡°I am not vicious. I just like to tell the truth.¡±Lin Dan said.


    Duyan seemed to think of something sad and sighed, ¡°You know what? Truth is the most terrible thing. My aunt was too serious that she ended up like this. If she was ruthless, don¡¯t take that person too seriously, and her heart won¡¯t be broken to this point¡­¡± speaking of this, she turned around and looked at the mountains in the distance, with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Get out of the car. We¡¯re home,¡± said Lin Dan, interrupting her thoughts.


    ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t forget to bring these gifts. I don¡¯t want to buy any gifts for your mom and the two aunts. I didn¡¯t buy anything for Cuilan. She has fallen into the money. I will give her a golden melon seed directly to see how she will be happy. I have earned a lot of money this year, hahaha¡­¡±Du Ruyan stopped laughing abruptly because there were many carriages parked at the gate of her house. Several guards in tight clothes were carrying things out of the carriage, and soon the gate of the mansion was blocked.


    Uncle Sun talked to several guards gratefully. When he saw Du Ruoyan, he immediately raised his hand and shouted, ¡°Miss, look, this is the annual gift from the eldest prince to us.¡±


    ¡°Where is my highness?¡± asked Du Ruyan in a daze. Since she changed her surname and left the bustling circle of the capital city, it was the first time she heard the news of an old friend, and also the first time she received a gift from an old friend.


    ¡°Your highness is still patrolling and defending at the coast. It¡¯s almost the end of the year. To prevent the enemy from attacking, the army should be more and more vigilant. If they work harder, we can only have a good year!¡± said Uncle Sun. His face was full of pity. He might think of Du Rusong, who was still on duty.


    ¡°Soldiers are the hardest and the greatest.¡± Lin Dan deeply agreed with Uncle Sun¡¯s words. After that, she took her belongings and went home. There were noble guests in the Dus, so she couldn¡¯t stand outside and watch the fun.


    However, as soon as she put down the things, Du Ruyan climbed up the wall on the tree trunk, tilted her head, and smiled: ¡°Dandan. There are not all bad people in the palace. I thought that after my aunt was dismissed, the people in the palace would forget her, but I didn¡¯t expect that your highness still remembered her. His mom passed away a long time ago and was raised by my aunt. He and my brother are good friends and take good care of me. He could have come to see us or secretly so that he could have come to see us avoid angering the emperor. But he didn¡¯t. Instead, he sent many years of gifts in this way, which is to tell everyone in Lin¡¯an that even if my brother and I are down and out, someone will take care of us. I don¡¯t know how his father will blame him after the news is spread back to the capital city, but this intention is rare. ¡°


    ¡°There are so many good people in the world.¡± Lin Dan took out a lively and jumping fish from the bucket, knocked it out with the back of the knife, and then neatly cut off the fish scales, removed the internal organs, and cut it into thin pieces.


    Du Ruyan said in surprise, ¡°Dandan, you are good at dealing with fish!¡±


    Without raising her head, Lin Dan asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    Zhang Hui walked out of the kitchen and invited with a smile, ¡°Lin Dan is good at cooking. The dishes she made are even better than those made by the chef of the Fish-Rice restaurant. Yan, since your brother, won¡¯t come back today, why don¡¯t you come to my house to celebrate new year¡¯s Eve? Let¡¯s have fun together.¡±If it weren¡¯t for her good at socializing and business, the Danyan Embroidery House wouldn¡¯t have opened so smoothly. Zhang Hui treated her like her nephew. If there was anything delicious or interesting, she wouldn¡¯t have left some for her next door.


    Du Ruyan immediately agreed and jumped off the wall with her hemline. She didn¡¯t look like a rich lady at all. She had thought that what Zhang Hui said was a little exaggerated, but two hours later, when she ate the soup cooked by Lin Dan, she was immediately conquered by the indescribable delicious taste.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious! It¡¯s so delicious!¡± she praised as she waved her chopsticks. ¡°You can embroider, cook, make money to support our family, and every skill is top. Why are you so good?¡±


    ¡°You know how to socialize, how to do business, and how to solve customer disputes. You are also very good at it.¡±Lin Dan said.


    Du Ruyan covered her mouth and snickered. She was very satisfied. In the past, she was often praised, but she didn¡¯t think it was a big deal. Now, just a few casual praises of her, she was very happy. After all, it was because that in her heart, Lin Dan was different from others. Lin Dan was one of the most excellent people she had ever seen and could be said to be mentally strong, so the praise of her was so obvious. It was rare.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Zhang Hui knocked on the edge of the bowl and reminded, ¡°Well, don¡¯t flatter each other. Just eat. It¡¯s cold. The dishes will be cold if you don¡¯t eat.¡±


    Du Ruyan took a few bites of rice in a hurry. Suddenly, she was in a low mood. ¡°Let¡¯s have hot food here. What is my brother doing? He¡¯s getting thinner and thinner recently. Can you leave some food for him? I¡¯ll send him to the military camp later.¡±


    ¡°The leftovers are not delicious,¡± said Lin Dan, putting down her chopsticks. ¡°I¡¯ll cook another meal for your brother.¡±


    What kind of life was a soldier¡¯s life? Even if Lin Dan didn¡¯t see it with her own eyes, she could imagine it. When they were in the front line, ordinary people enjoyed a family reunion at home. Without them, there was neither the prosperous great Zhou kingdom nor the prosperous Lin¡¯an.


    Thinking of this, Lin Dan added, ¡°I have made some winter clothes and leather armors for your brother. You can bring them with you later.¡±


    ¡°You can go back to your work after dinner,¡± said Du Ruyan, jumping off the chair in a hurry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s getting dark after dinner. It¡¯s not safe to go back and forth. Send your brother¡¯s food first. We can have hot food at any time when we get home, but your brother can¡¯t.¡± Lin Dan indifferently waved her hand. After entering the kitchen, she rolled up her sleeves to cook, without any impatience on her face.


    At first, Du Ruyan wanted to help her, but she found that the more she helped, the more she could do. So she had to squat down by the stove and burn the fire. Looking at the busy figure of Lin Dan, smelling the strong and attractive smell of food, Du Ruyan sighed: ¡°Lin Dan, why don¡¯t you marry my brother? If you marry him, you don¡¯t have to leave the Lins. Let¡¯s tear down the wall between our house into a family. Isn¡¯t that good?¡±


    ¡°My mother wants to find me a son-in-law, but your brother can¡¯t.¡± Lin Dan said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to have a son-in-law. My brother has changed his surname. It doesn¡¯t matter if he changes it again.¡± Du Ruyan immediately sold her brother, which made the passing Cuilan laugh.


    ¡ª


    Du Rusong, with a long halberd in his hand, led a line of soldiers and slowly walked past the river. The roaring sea wind lifted the hem of everyone¡¯s clothes, blowing the cold air into their bones. One of the soldiers¡¯ hands had already frozen, and he couldn¡¯t hold the heavy halberd at all. It fell several times, but he couldn¡¯t pick it up. His eyes were red on the spot. His fingers were all festered, not to mention taking weapons, and even couldn¡¯t hold chopsticks tightly.


    ¡°The weather is getting colder and colder every year, but our salary is getting lower and lower every year. This year¡¯s winter clothes are only stuffed with 2 talers cotton, and they are light and can¡¯t resist the cold at all. We are cold and hungry, and have to fight against the enemy, patrol all night, which is killing people to death!¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t complain. We can go back as soon as we finish patrolling the river region.¡±


    ¡°Why do we have to go back? There¡¯s no charcoal fire and no food to eat. There¡¯s only a bed as hard as a slate and a thin quilt with only a layer of cloth left. It¡¯s not much better to go back than here! We soldiers can¡¯t eat enough or wear warm, and we have to risk our lives. Those officers deduct our military salary, and we eat and drink in the back. Sometimes I don¡¯t want to go back, but I¡¯m not reconciled. If we don¡¯t fight against them, who will protect the people behind us? Among these people, there are our wives, children, father, and mother! ¡°


    The soldiers held the halberds and cried silently, but the hot tears were blown by the salty sea wind and turned into ice, frozen on their red and dry faces.


    Du Rusong licked his dry lips and waved his hand, ¡°Hold on. I¡¯ll buy you drinks when we get back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± everyone wiped off the ice beads on their faces and continued to do spirit patrol. With the strong alcohol to warm themselves up, tonight should be a little better. However, they did not expect that after returning to the military camp, what awaited them were dozens of jars of wine and hundreds of roast ducks. Under the protection of several guards, the two women were standing at the door of the camp, looking in this direction with eager expressions.


    ¡°Miss Lin, Yan, why are you here?¡± Du Rusong couldn¡¯t help but walk a few steps forward with a smile of surprise.


    ¡°Brother, let¡¯s celebrate the new year with you.¡± Du Ruoyan smiled and cupped her hands to the guards. ¡°Thank you, guys. I¡¯ve been waiting for my brother. You can go back and report to your highness.¡± then she gave a heavy bag to the guard.


    They didn¡¯t accept Du Ruyan¡¯s salute and paid a visit to Du Rusong, who used to be famous for his calmness. Then they left the military camp. Wherever they went, everyone looked at them, not daring to stop them. These people were the eldest prince¡¯s soldiers, and the martial clothes they wore were different from ordinary soldiers. Even if they were not at a high level, they could not afford to offend the generals outside the commander.

 CH 98

    Du Rusong was still in a daze after he was dragged into the camp by Du Ruoyan. He didn¡¯t expect that he could get what he wanted on the Preliminary Eve. He thought he was dreaming the moment he saw Lin Wan¡¯er.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked in a trance and stared at her.


    ¡°We miss you so much. We are afraid that you can¡¯t eat or wear well, so we bring something to see you,¡± said Du Ruyan, pointing at the boxes all over the ground, and then to the soldiers who were drinking and eating roast duck around the bonfire outside the window.¡±These are all prepared for you by Dan. Although I¡¯m a sociable person, I don¡¯t know anything about the military camp. I just planned to bring you a hot meal, but Lin Dan reminded me, so I bought so many things to reward those soldiers. I also asked me to borrow some guards from the eldest prince, so that we can come in smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Luckily, you have contacted the eldest prince first, or you will come here in vain. The military camp is heavily guarded and no outsider is allowed to come in and out freely. The eldest prince came to visit me a few days ago. My sect leader has been very kind to me recently. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. The eldest prince went to our house to send the new year¡¯s gift today, saying that he would go to the mountain with me to celebrate the new year with his aunt on the Preliminary Eve. The eldest prince is a good man.¡± Du Ruoyan opened the food box and smiled, ¡°Brother, come and have dinner. This is made by Lin Dan.¡±


    Du Rusong¡¯s eyes lit up. He immediately picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the stewed vegetables, sighing, ¡°It¡¯s even better than all the food I¡¯ve eaten!¡±


    When Lin Dan heard his words, she looked up at him and smiled.


    ¡°How did you make this dish?¡± Du Rusong seized the opportunity to talk to her.


    ¡°I just put the ingredients and condiments into the crock to stew them. After they are done, it¡¯s the taste. I¡¯m born to be a cook,¡± added Lin Dan seriously. She didn¡¯t know why, as soon as she saw the ingredients, countless kinds of ideas popped up in her mind, and her hands would naturally pick up the kitchen knife or spoon, fried and stewed.  She was born to be a cook. It was no exaggerating.


    ¡°Miss Lin is so smart. You can do anything.¡± Lin Dan smiled more gently. He didn¡¯t realize that he had blind love and trust for her as if everything she said was right and everything she did was good.


    A rare and lovely smile appeared on Lin Dan¡¯s face.


    Du Rusong was in a daze. He didn¡¯t lower his head until his sister pretended to cough. He drank some soup in a hurry, and his ears were red as if they were going to bleed.


    Lin Dan was still sorting out his belongings and didn¡¯t notice anything unusual.


    Du Ruyan took out several clothes and quilts and said ¡°Brother, these clothes are made for you. They look very thin, but in fact, they are very warm. There is a silk bag inside as the lining. Remember to remove the lining when you wash it. Don¡¯t get wet. It will be deformed if it is stained with water, and you can¡¯t keep warm. These quilts are also made lightly. You leave two quilts for yourself, and the rest is for your leader. I didn¡¯t expect to give it to your leader. It was Lin Dan who reminded me. Don¡¯t you think that you are very capable? ¡°


    Du Rusong nodded without hesitation, ¡°Miss Lin is the most capable girl I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    No matter how indifferent Lin Dan was, she was flattered by the two.


    Seeing her slightly narrowed eyes and slightly raised lips, Du Rusong lowered his head and smiled silently, with indescribable tenderness in his heart. After a short while, he raised his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try on the clothes first. If they don¡¯t fit me, Miss Lin can help me change them.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve brought some tools with me,¡± said Lin Dan, patting the bag on her waist. As a qualified embroider, she always kept stitching.


    Du Rusong put the clothes on the screen and tried them on. It fitted him very well, but when he came out, he asked Lin Dan to help him change the size. ¡°I will move easier when it¡¯s bigger,¡± he said.


    Lin Dan took out a small scissor and cut off the thread on his waist, shoulder, armpit, and arms. When she made the clothes, she had prepared them. she only needed to remove a few of the creases without making too many changes.


    Du Rusong raised his hands and turned his body to let Lin Wan¡¯er revolve around him. When he looked down at her, his eyes were indescribably deep. Her movements were very careful. Even the smallest thread would be pulled out with a needle, and the slightly larger part would be stitched again. Looking at her serious and attentive expression, Du Rusong only felt satisfied and calm in his heart.


    Du Ruyan winked at her brother and said in silence, ¡°Is my Dan a little virtuous?¡±


    Du Rusong smiled gently.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    After the clothes were changed, Du Rusong sent the two out of the military camp. It was getting darker and darker, and it was not safe if they didn¡¯t leave. When he returned to the camp, the soldiers who had received his kindness came over to him one after another to thank him, and several centurions and chiliarchs tried to be friendly to him. The military officer who had been sad for him turned around and left with a frightened expression on his face.


    This was the effect of the eldest prince¡¯s visit, and also the deterrence of power. Without identity, status, and power, people were as weak as ants. Du Rusong had never been so deeply aware of this, but when he returned to the camp, he saw the dishes on the table, which were still steaming, and his cold and hard heart instantly collapsed a corner. In this world, there were always some people who approached and warmed you and did that not for your power, identity, and status, but just because they wanted to do that.


    He ate the stew quickly, took a shower, and changed into a new coat that looked light but warm. He lay on the bed and covered himself with the soft and fluffy silk quilt. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief. His stomach was warm, his body was warm, and even his heart was warm. From next year, the year after next year, till the end of his life, he wanted to have such a warm night and such a warm person.


    ¡ª


    With a large amount of income, the Lins had a very lively new year. After the Lantern Festival, Du Ruyan also came down from the mountain and the Danyan Embroidery House began to open. However, half a month later, the business of the shop declined greatly, and few people came to order clothes and cloth. The luxury carriage that had been frequently paid attention to the Danyan Embroidery House was now stopped at the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House opposite.


    ¡°Dan. I don¡¯t know where Meng Zhong got a batch of new Shujin. It¡¯s shining in the sun, as colorful as neon. It¡¯s very beautiful. Although there¡¯s only one red color now, it¡¯s very popular. All the ladies in Lin¡¯an are like it.¡± said Du Ruoyan worriedly, ¡°I heard that Meng Zhong was urging his embroiders to develop other colors as soon as possible. After he made it, how can we do business? That kind of cloth is sold for two hundred silver. It¡¯s a high-end line and completely overlapped our line. If we don¡¯t have better cloth, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult to compete with him. Although your clothes are beautiful, you made them slowly. But they don¡¯t need to embroider any pattern to make a beautiful dress. As time goes by, they will all go to the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House. We will lose a lot of clients. ¡°


    Biting off a thread, Lin Dan raised her head and asked, ¡°Is the new Shujin you mentioned the kind of cloth called Phoenix Fire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I heard that Meng Zhong had poached a group of women from the state of Shu to make this kind of Shujin. After several months of research, she made it. He didn¡¯t sell the rest of the cloth shops if they wanted to buy it. People couldn¡¯t find any similar cloth in the state of Shu, and it was his exclusive production. With this kind of Shujin, he could control the supply channel of the cloth, as a hostage to other cloth shops, and then sell his own Shujin to the Imperial Palace. He will be only qualified to be an imperial businessman in a few years. If he goes on like this, he will monopolize the weaving market in the province sooner or later and become the local tyrant. ¡°Said Du Ruyan in a deep voice.¡± Our embroidery shop can live for at most two years in this situation. ¡°


    Embroidery was a technical work, and due to artificial labor, it was very difficult to achieve large-scale development. However, spinning was different. As long as the weaving machine worked, it would be able to continuously produce cloth, and then earn a large amount of money. Whoever invented a new and precious cloth could instantly make money. With the help of the gold and silver, how many embroiders could not invite?


    When the Danyan Embroidery House was still slowly developing, the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House had already taken big steps forward. When it was large enough, it would be able to trample the Danyan Embroidery House to death. The more Du Ruyan thought about it, the more anxious she became. She felt a dull pain in her head.


    However, Lin Dan didn¡¯t panic at all. She walked to the window and looked down. She happened to find that  Li Jiarong was walking out of the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House. She was wearing a red dress as red as fire. The flying dress was shining in the spring sun, which was very bright, but very gentle and beautiful.


    ¡°Is that the Phoenix Fire? It¡¯s really like the Phoenix bath fire!¡± Lin Dan praised generously.


    ¡°Yes, I would like to buy one if you don¡¯t have a grudge against her!¡± said Du Ruyan dejectedly. She had to admit that as long as she was a woman, she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of this kind of cloth. It was so beautiful!


    Li Jiarong seemed to feel something and raised her head to meet the eyes of the two people. A proud and conceited smile immediately appeared on her face. She pulled the sleeve of Meng Si and pointed to the opposite window. Only then did Meng Si find that there was no expression on the faces of Lin Wan¡¯er and Du Ruyan as if their hearts were as calm as water. After she thoroughly studied the embroidered manual, Lin Wan¡¯er would never show up again. She couldn¡¯t be trapped by her.


    ¡°Humph, what are you proud of? I don¡¯t believe that there is no better cloth in the state of Shu. I¡¯ll ask Uncle Sun to look for goods in the state of Shu right now.¡± Du Ruyan snorted coldly.


    Lin Dan stared at Li Jiarong¡¯s clothes for a long time, lost in thought. The two of them went home together after work, enjoying the beautiful scenery on the road. The sky gradually darkened, and the setting sun sank into the col. The sunset sprinkled the sky, dyed the layers of clouds into magnificent golden red.


    Du Ruyan sighed and said, ¡°Look, if you can absorb the clouds in the sky and make it into a cloud cloth, then the Phoenix Fire is nothing. The most beautiful thing in the world is about the moon except the sun, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes lit up, and then she smiled gently. ¡°Other can¡¯t make the cloud-cloth and the moon-cloth, but I can make them with my embroidery needle. They must be better than the Phoenix Fire.

 CH 99

    Having been with her for a long time, Du Ruyan knew that she was a very honest person. She would not say anything, not lie, nor promise anything she couldn¡¯t do. She said that she could embroider a cloth more beautiful than Phoenix Fire with embroidery needles, which was believed by Du Ruyan.


    ¡°How are you going to do it?¡± asked Du Ruyan excitedly after she got home. If Lin Dan could really make the cloud-cloth or the moon-cloth, no matter how good the brocade in the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House was, it would not be able to occupy the weaving market in the province, nor the quota of imperial business. The nobles in the palace always used the most beautiful and expensive cloth. There were light cloud-cloth and moonlight pearl jade in front of them, so they would not make do with the inferior cloth. In this way, even if the scale of the Danyan Embroidery House was not large and the yield was not high, it was not easy for Meng Zhong to touch it.


    (Note: This is the case with the original text. The translator believes that there is ambiguity, but still translates according to the original text.)


    ¡°I¡¯ll embroider it with silk directly,¡± said Lin Dan as he walked into the backyard. As soon as she walked into the backyard, Cui Lan, who was reeling, immediately stood up and happily called Miss. She was used to doing rough work, and her fingers were full of calluses. It was difficult to operate delicate embroidery work, so she came to learn how to make cloth. But up to now, she had only learned the first step of silk reeling, and she had to slowly think about the later steps.


    Lin Dan nodded at her and encouraged her. Then she picked up a bunch of silk and carefully picked out one of them. She said to Du Ruyan, ¡°Look,  silk is made of these silk threads one by one. No matter how thin the silk threads are, they are made of dozens or even hundreds of silk threads. When you hang a silk thread in the air, it is almost invisible to the naked eye, but when the sun shines over, it will reflect a crystal light, making you discover its existence. That¡¯s what I want In fact, there is a faint sense of light. ¡°


    She raised her hand and dropped the silk in the air. The silk was so thin that it was hard to find it if you didn¡¯t observe it carefully. However, when you changed the angle to look at the sun, you would find a faint beam of light in the air. It was this silk with light that made up mirror-like smooth silk.


    ¡°Dan, I know what you want to do. But how thin a needle is needed to go through this kind of silk? How much time and energy will it take to embroider the silk onto the cloth one by one to form a complicated pattern? Will it be too hard?¡± Du Ruyan asked. It was not until now that she realized why most embroiders were blind before she reached fifty. Embroidery was too meticulous and vast!


    ¡°I have good eyes. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand indifferently. Because of the secret practice of Kungfu, her eyes could see things in the dark night, so she had no trouble in this respect.


    After thinking for a while, she said firmly, ¡°No matter how much time and energy it will take, we have to make better cloth, so that we can live in peace. Once a shop has the best selling product, when others attack us, we can give a heavy punch and smash their plot.¡±


    An attack was the best defense. She always believed in it.


    ¡°Dan, you¡¯re right. We have to do something that no one else can¡¯t do to become an irreplaceable existence. Dan, why are you so excellent? When you meet difficulties, you never panic, but actively think of ways to solve them. No wonder my brother always let me learn from you.¡± Du Ruyan was moved.


    After staying in the palace for five years, Du Ruyan learned nothing but intrigue and deception. Those things made her view of life more and more negative, but after she was together with Lin Dan, she suddenly found that the things that made her feel disgusted and even scared before were nothing at all! The real strength did not lie on the surface, but on the heart.


    The cloud over her head immediately dissipated. She followed Lin Dan like a tail. She watched her dye the silk into various colors, watching her grind the thin embroidery needle with sand and stones more carefully. Her eyes were full of admiration.


    Lin Dan was the firmest person she had ever seen.


    ¡ª


    When Lin Dan was still embroidering the fabric, the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House began to introduce the same series of cloth as the Phoenix Fire, including green, blue, purple, and so on. Because the yield was not high, only five pieces could be produced in a month. Therefore, the ladies and debutantes of Lin¡¯an were almost crazy about it.


    There were fewer and fewer people going to the Danyan Embroidery House to make clothes, and until two months later, they didn¡¯t receive an order in a row. The Meng¡¯s Embroidery House would place a new Shujin on the shelf every six days, and the ladies and debutantes of Ling¡¯an would go to his house every six days. Even if they couldn¡¯t get the Shujin, they would also buy other cloth by the way. The new Shujin drove the sales of other cloth, and also let the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House take away the business of the nearby shops.


    More and more cloth shops were looking for cooperation with Meng Zhong. If they could pay a price that satisfied him, the business would naturally go well. Therefore, gradually, Lin Dan found that her own shop couldn¡¯t get cloth, and even the newly recruited embroiders had left one after another to find a new job. If it went on like this, the Danyan Embroidery House would collapse sooner or later.


    However, she was not in a hurry at all. She only cared about embroidery at home. Every day, Du Ruyan went to inspect the shop, either sitting in the empty hall to drink tea, or leaning against the window to watch the scenery, eating, drinking, and drinking. There was no panic as some people expected.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Standing on the second floor, Meng Zhong looked down with a malicious expression on his face.


    Li Xiudian poured him a cup of hot tea and said with a smile, ¡°After all, Du Ruyan was brought up by former empress. She has a very good temperament. I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t see her in a state of distraction.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of my business how she is down and out. My opponent has never been here.¡± he felt a little uneasy, but he restrained himself. This time, he wanted to see how Lin Dan would turn the tables.


    ¡ª


    Three months later, Lin Dan finally finished the embroidery of the cloud-cloth and the moon-cloth. When she was about to have a good rest for a few days, she heard a noise from the next door. When she was about to climb up the wall to have a look, she saw Uncle Sun rush into the backyard of her house with red eyes.


    ¡°Miss Lin, something happened to Mister. Please go to see him for the last time.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± before she could ask more, Zhang Hui, who followed him into the room, was shocked. She didn¡¯t expect that Uncle Sun insisted on seeing her daughter for such a thing. How could he die for no reason?


    ¡°Where is he? I¡¯m going to see him.¡± Lin Dan took off her sleeves and walked out. No matter why Uncle Sun made such a strange request, she was willing to do it.


    As soon as the two of them walked out of the door, they saw that Du Ruyan was already waiting for them in the carriage. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she had cried. Her hands were trembling as if she was about to collapse ¡°Let¡¯s go to see your brother first. Maybe the situation is not that bad. Crying is useless. The more dangerous the situation is, the calmer you have to be. Otherwise, how can you think of a way to save people?¡±


    Du Ruyan quickly wiped her tears and nodded vigorously. She was not afraid as long as Lin Dan was there.


    Uncle Sun explained while driving, ¡°To save the eldest prince, Mister was shot an arrow by the enemy, and the arrow pierced into his left chest, close to his heart. Now the eldest prince has taken Mister back for treatment. Mister said he wanted to see you and asked me to take you there.¡± At last, he choked with sobs and could not continue.


    Du Ruyan clenched her teeth to prevent herself from crying.


    However, Lin Dan was the calmest. She said slowly, ¡°It is very close to the heart, which means that it hasn¡¯t really hurt his heart. He is still alive. Don¡¯t worry. Go and see the situation first.¡±


    ¡°All right, all right. We¡¯re not in a hurry. Someone who can be saved must be saved.¡± said Du Ruyan, slowly regaining her composure. Looking at the calm side face of Lin Dan, she felt much relieved. Without her, she had no idea what to do now.


    At the same time, Du Rusong was pointing at the arrows on his chest and said with all his strength, ¡°Doctor, Miss Lin, and my sister are coming. Please cut off the arrows and put on a robe for me. I¡¯m afraid that they will be scared.¡±


    ¡°Cut off the arrow. How can I pull it out later? I think you don¡¯t want to live.¡± the doctor shook his head and refused, looking a little angry.


    The eldest prince said with red eyes, ¡°If you can pull out the arrowhead successfully, you can live. Don¡¯t think about those useless things now.¡±


    Du Rusong shook his head and smiled bitterly. He already knew what he was going to face. The arrow had a back hook, and when it was pulled out, it would cut a layer of flesh and blood, and his wound was only half an inch away from his heart. If he pulled it out, his heart would definitely break, and how could he live? Unless the doctor could not pull out the arrow, but directly inserted it into a deeper place, and then pierced the skin behind him, and pulled it out. However, this method of operation was more difficult than pulling it out. No one could guarantee that the strength and the stability of both hands could be maintained during the process of cutting the arrow. If the strength was strong or weak, the hands would shake left and right, and the arrow would also shake in the body, forming a bigger wound. As long as it was slightly wrong, if it touched the heart meridian or other blood vessels, it would also be a dead end.


    At the thought of this, Du Rusong looked at the eldest prince and said remorsefully, ¡°Am I too selfish? I shouldn¡¯t have let Ruyan and Miss Lin see me like this. Forget it. Send them back. If I die, please take good care of them.¡±


    The eldest prince gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If you are dead, I won¡¯t care about them, so you¡¯d better live! Since they are already here, why are you still sending them back? With them watching, are you willing to die? Cheer up!¡±


    The doctor shook his head with regret ¡°If this arrow can be a little more powerful and directly pierce through Mr. Du¡¯s body, the wound will be much more beneficial. I see that this arrow did not hurt the heart, but if we forcefully pull out the arrow, it will speed up the worsening of the injury. Alas, I have been working for decades, and I have never seen such a difficult situation. It is not difficult to pull out the arrow.¡±


    Du Rusong wanted to wave his hand, but he found that he had no strength. He closed his eyes and smiled bitterly. ¡°Then keep it. Let¡¯s talk about it when I meet Ruyan and Miss Lin.¡± he shouldn¡¯t have found Lin Dan, but before he died, he was so eager to see her again. He was so thirsty that his heart could continue to beat as long as he thought of her.


    He told himself in his heart, ¡®well, just be selfish this time. Anyway, this is the last time.

 CH 100

    As soon as Lin Dan and Du Ruyan arrived at the temporary residence of the eldest prince, they smelled a strong smell of blood. The eldest prince¡¯s arms and legs were wrapped in gauze. Obviously, he was also injured. Du Rusong was lying on the couch, only wearing a robe, and an arrow was stabbed into his open chest.


    Lin Dan stopped for a moment and dared not to go forward. She had never seen such a scene before, but an inexplicable sense of familiarity emerged from the bottom of her heart. It seemed that she had faced the same thing a long time ago, and the ending must be very tragic. That was why she was so resistant and timid now.


    Du Ruyan was one step slower than her, but she had already seen the situation in the room. She immediately rushed over, but only knelt down by the bed and cried hysterically, not daring to touch her brother at all.


    With red eyes, Du Rusong said word by word, ¡°Yan, you have to be strong. When your brother is gone, you must listen to my aunt and Miss Lin.¡±


    Hearing her brother¡¯s last words, Du Ruyan cried even harder and said out of breath ¡°Brother, you broke your promise! When you left the capital city, you swore to take good care of me. When you entered the military camp, you also swore that you would take me back one day and let me live a good life. You are lying! I don¡¯t want to go back to the Capital City and I don¡¯t want a good life either. I just want you to live! Brother, now life is very good. We don¡¯t worry about food and clothing. We are a family. Can¡¯t we just be together? Brother, don¡¯t leave me alone. I¡¯m afraid¡­ Waah¡­ Waah¡­ ¡°


    Du Rusong closed his eyes, his heart filled with helplessness. He had never wanted to die. He had always wanted to be with the one he loved, but God didn¡¯t allow him to do so. What could he do?


    The doctor saw that Du Rusong¡¯s body was shaking more and more violently, and it was obvious that his heart was unstable because of sadness. He quickly persuaded, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, your brother¡¯s wound is too close to the meridians, and he needs to maintain a stable mood. The arrow hasn¡¯t been pulled out, and he will be fine for the time being.¡±


    Du Ruyan immediately wiped her tears and promised, ¡°I won¡¯t cry. I won¡¯t cry anymore. Brother, don¡¯t cry!¡±


    Du Rusong couldn¡¯t bear to see this, so he closed his eyes and tried to adjust his breath.


    It was not until Lin Dan recovered from her trance that she stepped forward and called Mr. Du in a hoarse voice.


    Du Rusong immediately opened his eyes and looked at her greedily. Then he forced a weak smile and said, ¡°Miss Lin, don¡¯t call me Mr. Du in the future. Can you just call me Rusong?¡±


    Du Ruyan lowered her head and clenched her fists, trying not to cry. Who knew whether her brother would have a future? This might be his last wish in his life.


    ¡°Okay,¡± nodded Lin Dan. It seemed that this was not enough, so she added, ¡°You can call me Lin Dan.¡±


    Du Rusong smiled more happily and said word by word, ¡°but I want to call you, Dan is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, you can call me whatever you want. Even if you want to call me Dan, I won¡¯t object.¡± Lin Dan agreed without hesitation. At this moment, no matter what unreasonable request Du Rusong made, she would nod.


    Du Rusong put his hand on his chest and laughed happily. Although Miss Lin always looked serious and didn¡¯t have much sense of humor, every word she said could make him happy. At the first sight of her, he thought she was very cute, but after that, he was deeply obsessed with her day by day.


    However, he could never talk to her about this extreme desire, because he could not take care of her. What else could he say except for bringing her trouble?


    ¡°Dan, later, ask the eldest prince to hand over the several women from japan who were locked up in the woodshed to you. They are proficient in the techniques of imperial silk and can make more beautiful cloth than the Shujin. Take them back and study hard. In the future, you can develop the business of the embroidery shop. Sooner or later, you can open the embroidery shop to the capital city, and you can also support the Lins¡­¡±


    The eldest prince¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Only then did he understand why Du Rusong insisted on saving those women from japan and took them out of the prison at the risk of hiding the enemies. It turned out that he did it all for his beloved girl.


    Seeing that Du Rusong¡¯s voice became lower and lower and his expression became more and more difficult. Lin Dan hurriedly stopped him, ¡°Stop talking. Lie down and have a rest.¡± then she turned to the old doctor and asked, ¡°Doctor, how is his injury? Can it be cured?¡±


    ¡°It can be cured, but it¡¯s difficult. If we can penetrate the arrow from the side of his chest at a very fast speed and a very stable force without hurting his heart, we can cure it.¡±


    ¡°You want to stab the arrow into my brother¡¯s body again? Can¡¯t you pull it out?¡± asked Du Ruyan. She didn¡¯t understand the structure of the arrow at all, so she asked a silly question.


    The old doctor took out an arrow, pointed at the triangular arrowhead with a hook, and said ¡°Look, this is the structure of the arrowhead. If you pull it out, these barbs will pierce into Mr. Du¡¯s flesh. If you pull it out, it will also be equivalent to digging a blood hole in his body. I¡¯m afraid that there is no way to protect the heart within an inch. If you stab it inside, it won¡¯t cause more injuries. If you are lucky, you can avoid bones and blood vessels. Therefore, the most feasible treatment is to pierce the body I can cure the skin and flesh wound as well as the heart and meridian damage. Even if God comes, he can¡¯t cure it.¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Only then did Du Ruyan understand her brother¡¯s situation. The cold sweat on her back soaked through her spring clothes.


    ¡°Then pull out the arrow as soon as possible. It¡¯s not good to leave the arrow in the wound.¡±.Lin Dan said.


    The eldest prince had expected this, so he said immediately, ¡°I¡¯ve sent someone to look for the soldiers with great strength, steady hands, and good mentality in the army. Once we find them, we¡¯ll start to pull out the arrows.¡±


    He and Du Rusong were best friends, and he was saved by him. It was difficult for him to calm down and pull out an arrow for him. The old doctor was too old to do it, so he could only ask for help from an outsider.


    ¡°You can go out first. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Du Rusong looked at Lin Dan and pleaded, ¡°Dan, take Ruoyan out first. Don¡¯t be afraid. People will die sooner or later, which is inevitable. You are strong, but Ruoyan isn¡¯t. Can you take care of her for me?¡±


    With the help of Lin Dan, He didn¡¯t need to worry about his sister¡¯s collapse at all. She was strong, rational, warm, and reliable. She would definitely help his sister out of the haze of death.


    Ruyan was too weak to stand up. She wanted to cry but dared not. She could only hold her brother¡¯s hand tightly as if she could not bear it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pull out the arrows. Let¡¯s start now,¡± Lin Dan said firmly


    ¡°What did you say?¡±Du Rusong was stunned.


    ¡°I said I¡¯ll pull out the arrows for you. We¡¯re starting now.¡± Lin Dan slowly rolled up her sleeves.


    Du Rusong gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Dan, don¡¯t make fun of me. Get out now!¡± He would never let his beloved pull out the arrow. If he died, what kind of shadow would the person who killed him leave? Would he be trapped in the mud that killed him and would never be able to get out?


    He hoped that Lin Dan could live a peaceful and happy life for the rest of her life, even if she completely forgot him. Everyone could do it, except her. Thinking of this, he looked at the eldest prince and pleaded, ¡°Your Highness, please take them out.¡±


    Just as the eldest prince was about to say yes, Lin Dab had crushed a teacup and said slowly, ¡°Is that okay?¡± as long as she pulled out this arrow, she could save a person. There was a voice in her heart telling her to do so. What she wanted to pull out seemed not only this arrow but also a thorn. She didn¡¯t know where it came from, but it made her particularly sad.


    No matter what, she wanted to save the man in front of her and pull out the arrow in front of her, no one could stop her.


    Seeing the eldest prince staring at her blankly, she took out a silver ingot from her arms and kneaded it into various shapes. She asked calmly, ¡°How about this?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± before the eldest prince could speak, the old doctor had already clapped the board. ¡°Let this girl pull out the arrow. I think she can do it!¡±


    The eldest prince came to his senses and shouted, ¡°Guards, catch Mr. Du. Don¡¯t let him move.¡±


    Poor Du Rusong was caught by several tall and strong guards before he could react. After climbing to the bed, she pressed the arrow tail with one hand and fumbled carefully on the back of the injured with the other hand. She thought about where to pull the arrow out so that it wouldn¡¯t hit the bone. If the arrow was stuck in the bone crack, she would be doomed.


    Fortunately, she seemed to be very clear about the structure of the human body and knew more about how to deal with this kind of arrow injury. After exploring for a while, she had already had a constitution. She said slowly, ¡°Rusong, I will count three numbers later and pull out the arrow. Bear it.¡±


    Du Rusong gritted his teeth and shook his head, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get involved in this matter. It has nothing to do with you whether I¡¯m alive or dead.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t get involved in some things, but I have to get involved in some things.¡± she said decisively, ¡°I¡¯m counting, one¡­¡±


    As soon as she finished speaking, she pressed her palm hard. The arrow passed through Du Rusong¡¯s chest with a fast speed and came out from his back. It was firmly grasped in her hand and pulled out neatly. The whole process was completed in the blink of an eye, which shocked everyone present.


    The eldest prince was speechless.


    Even Du Rusong himself was a little stunned. He felt a sharp pain suddenly rise and then ended in an instant so that he didn¡¯t even have time to groan.


    The old doctor was the first to come to his senses. He craned his neck to look at the back of the injured person and said happily, ¡°Okay, okay, okay. This arrow was pulled out too quickly. There is only a small hole in the back, which did not cause a great loss of blood. Hurry up and bring the hemostatic and cloth. I¡¯ll bind up the wound for the patient. If Mr. Du doesn¡¯t have a fever tonight, this barrier will be gone.¡±


    Du Ruyan collapsed on the ground and struggled to get up after a while. She hugged Lin Dan, crying and laughing. She said she loved her so much.


    Du Rusong looked up at Lin Dan with a complicated expression. He didn¡¯t know whether he should cry or laugh. Lin Dan looked down at him with a brilliant smile. She pulled out this arrow and saved a person. The scar in her heart seemed to be slowly healing

 CH 101

    After the arrow was pulled out, the doctor not only bandaged the wound for Du Rusong but also wiped the bloodstains on his body to avoid infection. It would be inappropriate for the two girls to stand here, so they had to wait outside.


    ¡°Rusong, I¡¯m going to cook porridge for you. Have some porridge before you sleep, so that your wound will recover faster.¡± before leaving, Lin Dan specially said.


    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡±Du Rusong nodded with a smile. He was still weak, but his heart was full of joy. This time, he saw the different side of her. Lin Dan was strong and brave, and could calmly deal with it no matter how big the difficulty was. He felt relieved to have her around, and so did his sister.


    As Lin Dan wiped the blood off her hand with a handkerchief, she walked quickly out without even raising her head. Du Rusong¡¯s eyes were so deep and focused that she felt a little uncomfortable. Ruyan followed her closely like a little tail.


    After the two of them left, the eldest prince fetched a basin of hot water to wipe Du Rusong¡¯s body and sighed, ¡°Rusong, is this the girl you like? Cool!¡±


    Hearing that, Du Rusong smiled in a low voice, but his wound was also affected, so he took a deep breath in pain. However, this pain did not destroy his pleasure at all. He said slowly ¡°The first time I saw her, I thought the same as you. At that time, she just started to learn embroidery, so she couldn¡¯t sit still at all. When she was impatient, she ran to cut the wood and cut a big wooden block to only two feet long. After that, she sat down and continued embroidery. When she was impatient, she ran to cut it again and again. I saw her slowly polish herself like cutting the wooden block. No matter how upset and impatient she was, she never thought of giving up. She was determined to achieve her goal as if nothing could stop her in the world as long as she wanted. At that time, I thought that this little girl would definitely make it in the future. She was not afraid at all. As long as she set her goal, she would go forward without hesitation It only took her half a year to finish the work, and her skill had already caught up with the best in the city. With her, Ruyan finally got rid of that unbearable past and began to look forward to it. Meeting her is probably the best opportunity we have had since we left the capital city¡­ ¡°


    Speaking of this, Du Rusong sighed with satisfaction, joy, and deep attachment.


    ¡°In that case, why do you have to join the army?¡± the eldest prince said with fear, ¡°If something happens to you, how can I explain it to my mother?¡± even though the empress had been deposed, he was still used to calling her mother.


    ¡°The problem is that I want them to live a better life. I want them to have whatever they want. They don¡¯t have to be bullied or squabbled. At least in Lin¡¯an, they can be free and happy.¡± said Du Rusong, shaking his head. The softness in his eyes faded away and was replaced by firmness.


    The eldest prince threw the handkerchief stained with blood into the basin and said helplessly ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as Concubine Min is still alive, she won¡¯t let you and Ruoyan go, let alone mother. I don¡¯t know what the emperor is thinking. Mother and he had suffered all kinds of hardships for him in the past. Finally, when the state is stable and the imperial power is stable, he wants to kill his mother. He is really heartless.¡±


    Speaking of this, the eldest prince realized that something was wrong. He quickly said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop here. Have a good rest. I¡¯ll go to the military camp to have a look.¡± as soon as he opened the door, he saw that Lin Dan came in with a tray in his hand. Following her, Du Ruoyan said gallantly ¡°It¡¯s okay. The bowl is too hot. Let me serve it. You can sit down and have a rest. Thank you very much today. You have saved my brother¡¯s life, but I can¡¯t repay you. Let my brother marry you, right?¡±


    The eldest prince couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter.


    Du Rusong, who had always been vicious and heartless, blushed unexpectedly. He didn¡¯t scold his sister but looked at Lin indifferently with expectations.


    Lin Dan was in a good mood today. In fact, she had saved a person, which meant that she had saved herself. Therefore, she didn¡¯t care about Du Ruyan at all. She just smiled.


    The eldest prince thought these three people were very interesting. Just as he was about to tease them, he smelled a very strong and attractive fragrance, which floated out of the plate. He sniffed hard and said with saliva, ¡°Miss Lin, what did you cook?¡±


    ¡°This porridge is specially made for my brother. It¡¯s made of peanuts, red beans, purple rice, and red dates. It can nourish the blood, reduce swelling and promote the activation of the heart. It¡¯s good at everything. It may be magic!¡± Du Ruyan raised her chin and said proudly.


    The eldest prince¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. He thought that as long as the brother and sister mentioned Miss Lin, they would always act like this and boast about her. They were really poisoned by her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    As expected, Du Rusong showed a joyful smile. When he was about to support his upper body, he was first supported by Lin Dan, and then he was put on two pillows behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll feed you.¡± she said carefully, ¡°Have a good sleep after eating porridge. I¡¯ll stay next to Ruoyan at night. If you feel uncomfortable, shake this bell. We¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Du Rusong looked at the bell in his hand, dumbfounded.


    ¡°I went to the stable to find it.¡± sitting next to her brother, Ruyan began to flatter her, ¡°Dan was afraid that you will have a fever and can not call for help at night, so I found this bell for you. Later we¡¯ll hang the bell on the bedside and tie a rope. If you have something to do, we can hear you. What do you think? She is very considerate!¡±


    Du Rusong fixed his eyes on Lin Dan, his heart softened.


    ¡°Eat the porridge and sleep well,¡± said Lin Dan artificial.


    ¡°Okay, thank you, Dan.¡± Du Rusong leaned against the soft pillow and praised sincerely as soon as he took a sip, ¡°it tastes better than the food cooked by the imperial chef!¡±


    The corners of Lin Dan¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.


    The eldest prince couldn¡¯t stand the fragrance anymore. He asked expectantly, ¡°Miss Lin, is there any porridge left? I¡¯m a little hungry.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your highness, go to the kitchen and have a look. I¡¯ll heat it on the stove and it¡¯s ready to eat at any time.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you, Miss Lin.¡± the eldest prince rushed to the kitchen, smashed his tongue after eating the porridge, and sighed with admiration, ¡°Rusong find really a treasure!¡± Lin Dan could make money, manage the family, take care of people, and hold on at critical moments. How could he find such a good girl?


    After helping Du Rusong lie down, Lin Dan and Du Ruyan finally had a chance to breathe. The two sat in the pavilion outside the yard, looking at each other¡¯s discomfiture, and then shook their heads and laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s so good to have you around!¡± said Du Ruyan, shaking Lin Dan.


    Lin Dan just rubbed her head.


    At this moment, the eldest prince, who had eaten enough and changed his clothes, came over and said solemnly, ¡°Miss Lin, please come with me. Let¡¯s go to the woodshed to see the things prepared for you.¡±


    Thinking of the embroiders from japan, Lin Dan hurried to keep up with them. When she arrived at the woodshed, she saw four women in kimonos were tied up and thrown to the ground. One of them said with a strong accent ¡°Please don¡¯t kill us. We just work on the ship and didn¡¯t do anything bad. My mother is a Han. I¡¯m here for my grandfather and grandmother. They are in Lin¡¯an. My father is cruel and merciless. He sold me to these pirates. I just boarded the ship, and really didn¡¯t do anything bad. They are all poor people who are sold. Please let us go.¡± She struggled to get up and kowtowed.


    A look of pity gradually appeared on Ruyan¡¯s face. She subconsciously pulled the eldest prince, as if she wanted to plead for mercy. However, Lin Dan walked up, put her toes on the woman¡¯s bleeding forehead, and asked calmly, ¡°I heard that you can weave?¡±


    The eldest prince couldn¡¯t help but look at her with new eyes. Looking at her unmoved appearance, and her posture of putting her tiptoes on the head of others, how could she be described as ¡°cold¡±?


    Sure enough, the Japanese woman was shocked by the arrogant and cold attitude of Lin Dan. She nodded and said, ¡°I can! My grandmother is the imperial weaving woman and passed all the skills to me. The reason why those pirates bought us is that they value our skills.¡±


    ¡°Is there any finished product?¡± Lin Dan took back her tiptoes and continued to ask.


    ¡°Yes, but they were all taken away.¡± the woman looked at the eldest prince with fear.


    The eldest prince opened his mouth, ¡°The finished product is in my place. Rusong asked me to bring it back. Do you want to have a look?¡±


    ¡°Go.¡± leaving the woman behind, Lin Dan walked out of the woodshed and turned a deaf ear to the helpless and desperate cries behind her.


    However, Du Ruoyan turned her head back frequently, with an expression of pity on her face.


    They went to the storehouse and found a few pieces of cloth. After looking at them in her hand, Lin Dan walked out and looked at the sun with satisfaction in her eyes. Attracted by the gorgeous cloth, Ruyan praised ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful, even more, beautiful than Shujin! The pattern is full of exotic amorous feelings. The color can be bright and elegant, and it can also reflect the bright light like the Phoenix Fire. Eh? The pattern on both sides of the cloth is different. How did it be made? It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t pay much attention to other pieces of cloth, but only focused on the double-sided pattern. Generally speaking, the patterns on the front and back of the brocade cloth were the same, but the fabric in front of her broke the traditional shackles and made the technology innovations, which was what she valued the most. She couldn¡¯t help but think that if she could find inspiration from it and find this kind of cloth How would the double-sided abnormal picture work when it was used on embroidery? Of course, in the process of studying, she would definitely encounter a lot of difficulties, but this was what she enjoyed most

 CH 102

    After giving the cloth to Lin Dan, the eldest prince asked, ¡°What do you think, Miss Lin? Are you satisfied? If you think these women are useful, I will send them to your home tonight. But you have to watch them carefully and don¡¯t let others discover their identity, or you will be in big trouble if you are accused of hiding bandits.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you, your highness,¡± said Lin Dan, cupping her hands gratefully. She knew that Du Rusong and the eldest prince must have taken a risk to bring these women out.


    At first, Ruyan was a little worried, but she calmed down when she saw the calm look on Lin Dan¡¯s face. She patted the cloth in her hand and said with a smile, ¡°Dan, these clothes are more beautiful than Shujin. They must be able to suppress Meng Zhong¡¯s arrogance.¡±


    ¡°In Japan, this kind of technique is called western-array-technique, which was inherited from the great Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago. In fact, it is our own technique, but it was lost because of the war. Now that it has returned to our homeland, we must carry it on and inherit it for generations. We can¡¯t lose anything from our ancestors.¡± in front of the eldest prince, Lin Dan didn¡¯t mind saying something cheerfully.


    The eldest prince was really moved. He immediately promised, ¡°Miss Lin, you are right. How can the old ancestor¡¯s things be taken away by the Japanese bandits? You just take those women back and learn their weaving skills as soon as possible. I will be responsible for the accident.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your highness,¡± said Lin Dan, bowing respectfully.


    Ruyan said in a hurry, ¡°Let¡¯s take those women away now, in case a long delay may cause trouble.¡±


    ¡°No, we have to tie them up for a few more days. We will release them when they are desperate to the extreme. We can¡¯t be too hasty to help them, or they won¡¯t remember long and it will be difficult to teach them in the future. The best way to tame beasts is to whip and food.¡± after saying that, Lin Dan couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. She seemed to be very familiar with the affairs in the army and knew how to tame the capture. Was she a soldier in her previous life?


    When she was lost in thought, she didn¡¯t notice that the eldest prince and Du Ruyan were looking at her with complicated eyes. They had thought that Lin Dan was a plain dealer, but in the end, they found that her way of dealing with problems was really a little ferocious. She was not deliberately pretended or formed, but the kind of ferocity that penetrated into her bones, pure and innocent.


    The smile on Ruyan¡¯s face disappeared soon. She held her arm and said, ¡°You¡¯re so smart. You¡¯re so thoughtful. I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± If those women made trouble, she and Lin Dan would be the scapegoat. Perhaps her brother and the eldest prince would be implicated! Thinking of this, she had no sympathy at all.


    The eldest prince, who had been a little worried, now completely relaxed. It was true that she was kind to say that she was kind, but she would not be soft-hearted when it was time to be cruel. It was undoubtedly a relief to cooperate with such a person.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll lock them up for a few more days. You two are tired. Go back to your room and have a rest.¡± the eldest prince sent the two people back to their wing room, turned around, and went to the next room. He shook his head at the awake Du Rusongg and said, ¡°Rusong, you seem to have a crush on an extraordinary girl.¡±


    ¡°What did he do?¡± Du Rusong, who couldn¡¯t fall asleep because of the sharp pain, cheered up at once.


    The eldest prince told him what had happened before carefully and sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a calm, stubborn and decisive girl.¡±


    Du Rusong coughed while chuckling, ¡°Her father and mother are both brigands. Of course, she is different from other girls.¡±


    The eldest prince looked at him and sighed in his heart: Look at my friend¡¯s proud appearance, as if he is a descendant of brigands. It¡¯s not cured! It¡¯s really not cured!¡¯!


    ¡ª


    Since Lin Dan was busy taking care of Du Rusong, she hadn¡¯t visited her shop for half a month. But even if the two bosses were not here, there was nothing to worry about in the shop, because they did not receive any orders at all, and their business was taken away by the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House across the street.


    Zhang Hui had no choice but to come to the eldest prince¡¯s mansion to look for someone. She used to be brigand and naturally had a natural resistance to these officers and soldiers. Fortunately, Lin Dan came out with a package soon and said ¡°Mother, there are two pieces of clothes in this shop, which are the size of you and the third concubine. You don¡¯t need to do anything. Just put on your clothes and go to inspect the shop when there are a lot of people. If anyone comes to ask, tell them that the cloth on your body is customized by the embroidery shop and the production is very small at present. Don¡¯t sell it to others. Don¡¯t tell them anything else.¡±


    Zhang Hui opened the package and was stunned.


    Patting her on the shoulder, Lin Dan asked, ¡°Mother, did you hear that?¡±[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°Yes, I heard it, ¡°Zhang Hui nodded in a trance, and finally hesitated. ¡°Dan, is such a good dress really made for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m running out of time, so I only made two clothes. When I¡¯m free in the future, I¡¯ll make one for the fourth concubine. Please explain to me, lest she thinks too much. When Mr. Du recovers and can take the carriage, we¡¯ll go back. They have no parents. If I¡¯m not here, they really have no one to rely on. The empress can¡¯t go down the mountain casually. Besides, she has been depressed and can¡¯t bear any stimulation these years. She still doesn¡¯t know about Mr. Du¡¯s injury. Mother, please take care of the mansion for them. Don¡¯t let anyone in casually. ¡°


    ¡°Okay, okay, I know.¡± Zhang Hui kept nodding. She didn¡¯t realize that it was not appropriate for her daughter to take care of two people four or five years older than her. Now Lin¡¯s mansion and the Du¡¯s were supported by her alone.


    ¡ª


    The next day, Zhang Hui and her father¡¯s third concubine went to inspect the shop in new clothes. It was at noon, and the sun was shining all over the ground, bringing warmth. Everyone walked out of the door and enjoyed the rare sunny day. Today, a new Shujin was released from the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House. A group of noblewomen and debutantes rushed to the shop by horse chariots.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take it away. This brocade has been booked by the lady of the inspector!¡± the shopkeeper shouted.


    ¡°Why are you booked by her again? How did you do your business?¡±


    ¡°Ladies, if you want it, you can also book it in my shop. Once we finish it, we will immediately send it to you. We have no choice. Now the weaving workshop of our host has just been set up, and the number of women who can make this kind of brocade is too little to raise the yield. In the middle of the year, when the person who will pick and buy clothes for the noble people in the palace comes, I¡¯m afraid the brocade produced by our family all year round will be offered The shopkeeper pretended to sigh helplessly.


    It was said that this kind of cloth would become a tribute, and they couldn¡¯t buy it in the future. The ladies went crazy to buy it. They had booked all the cloth four or five months later, and the price had increased several times.


    The passers-by were stunned. They thought that the fabric in this shop must be the best in Lin¡¯an. Otherwise, how could there be so many noble people competing to buy it? Once this impression appeared, the effect would soon be revealed. When people needed to buy cloth, the first person to think of was undoubtedly the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House.


    The business of the stores nearby had been taken away, but they had to swallow their anger to get involved in the business of a new type of Shujin from Meng Zhong. Just as their eyes turned red, a carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of the light smoke embroidered house. Two tall middle-aged women came down from the inner side, stood there, slightly touched the hemline of their dress, and then stepped onto the stairs. The sun just shone on above their heads, their dresses reflected the faint light, and instantly took away the sight of passers-by.


    One of them was wearing a bright red Ruqun(ñàȹ), and the other was wearing a dark blue Quju£¨ÇúñÕ£©£¨Note: If you want to know more about them, please google the Chinese words.£©, which was the most popular style nowadays. The two kinds of cloth were very smooth and eye-catching, and after putting on them, they would naturally stick to the body curve. When walking, they were gently swaying with the wind, like waves rolling, or like clouds and smoke floating. They had a kind of ethereal beauty.


    If it was just the best quality, it was not surprising. But what was strange was that the red cloth faintly emitted a golden light under the sunlight. The light was neither fixed nor dazzling. It looked very gentle and bright, and then like flowing water, it slowly moved along the wrinkles formed by the clothes, following the movements of the clothes and the changes of the light It was in bright or dark colors, just like the rosy clouds that sprinkled in the sky when dusk approached.


    However, when you approached it, you would find that this cloth was mixed with some golden clouds. In the light, it was really a pure red cloth without any flaws.


    The dark blue dress was also made of the same fabric. It was pure without sunlight, but in the sunlight, it would emit soft blue and white light. There were also many shining dots indistinctly, like stars all over the night sky, and there were many mysteries and spirits in the quiet.


    After looking at these two clothes and then at the new Shujin produced by the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House, the difference between the two could be immediately sensed. The reason why the new Shujin glowed was that in the process of making up, the weaving woman mixed a kind of gold thread with the silk. It looked very beautiful from a distance, but at a closer look, man could find that this kind of gold thread was much harder and thicker than the silk, greatly affecting the texture and feel of the cloth It looked neither smooth nor drooping.


    Although it was bright, it was crude. The man-made marks were too obvious, completely different from the cloth on the two women¡¯s bodies. It felt delicate, and its texture was drooping. At a close look, it was pure and flawless, and from a distance, it was soft and bright. The reason why it could reflect light was not because of the rough gold threads, but because it was merged into a thin silk net that was hard to see with the naked eye. The net and the cloth were completely integrated, and the light that appeared was floating, thin and transparent. It was in harmony with the light of nature.


    The exquisite workmanship, natural color, and luster immediately set off the new style of Shujin. Even though Zhang Hui and the third concubine were middle-aged, they still looked radiant and charming.


    The ladies and debutantes, who were busy in purchasing Shujin, looked at them one by one and then froze.

 CH 103

    Pretending not to notice the gazes of the rich ladies, Zhang Hui, and the third concubine walked into their shop step by step. They raised their hands to pick up the expensive cloth, and inadvertently waved a ray of sunglow or moonlight. Then they walked to the hall and sat down. Their tiptoes curved up, making the hemline of their dress scattered on the ground, shining brightly.


    The sight from the opposite became more and more intense. Finally, someone couldn¡¯t help but walk quickly into the shop and asked, ¡°Two bosses, what kind of cloth do you use for these two clothes? Is there any available in the shop?¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is a new kind of cloth my daughter has just developed. It¡¯s called cloud-cloth and moon-cloth. We can only produce one cloth a month. Our family doesn¡¯t need it enough. How can we be willing to sell it to others?¡± Zhang Hui casually waved her hand.


    ¡°Only one piece of cloth a month?¡±


    ¡°This piece of cloth is as soft as a cloud and smooth as a mirror, and it feels very smooth. To make this kind of cloth, you need to pick out the thinnest and the best silk. The labor and time it takes are unimaginable to others. Just the step of selecting silk alone needs five or six weaving women to make it day and night. Do you think the yield can be high?¡± Zhang Hui said.


    Hearing this, the lady was more and more yearning for the cloud-cloth and the moon-cloth. The quality and touch were good. She found it as soon as she came in. There was no need for others to flatter her. The quality, touch, light, and color of the new brocade from the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House were several levels inferior to these two kinds of cloth. It was really a competition of good and bad!


    ¡°Can I order these two kinds of cloth? I¡¯m willing to pay a high price for it.¡± the lady asked expectantly.


    The ladies and debutantes who followed him all offered a high price, more than twice the highest price of the new Shujin. But in the blink of an eye, the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House was empty and the door was desolate.


    Zhang Hui almost agreed. But when she thought of her daughter¡¯s advice, she waved her hand, again and again, saying that they couldn¡¯t book the production, because the yield couldn¡¯t be increased. These two clothes used a total of half a piece of cloth, but it took Lin Dan more than three months. If she really received these orders in front of her, she would be exhausted? But what good would it do to the Danyan Embroidery House if she didn¡¯t take it? It could only be seen that the attraction of the clothes that could not be bought would slowly decline, and it might provoke these noble ladies, bringing trouble to the embroidery house.


    In a word, they couldn¡¯t make mass production. The cloth embroidered by women couldn¡¯t compete with the flow-line production. Thinking of this, Zhang Hui became more and more worried. She didn¡¯t dare to take the orders casually.


    Every time Xu Qian went shopping, she would go to the Danyan Embroidery House to have a seat. Occasionally, she would meet Du Ruyan and Lin Dan, and she could have a talk with them. A few days ago, the Shujin in the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House was very popular. Mrs. Xu quickly moved to the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House to buy clothes, but Xu Qian didn¡¯t change her original intention. If she wanted to make clothes, she would only go to the Danyan Embroidery House. It didn¡¯t matter if it was new or not, and it didn¡¯t matter if she was despised or laughed at. She didn¡¯t chase the tide and only chose what she thought was right.


    She had already become good friends with them, so she had to take care of their business.


    But today, the Danyan Embroidery House was very lively. Guests came from the opposite one after another, walking around Zhang Hui and the third concubine. Xu Qian was stunned when she saw the clothes on the two. It was so beautiful. The golden-red halo shrouded Zhang Hui¡¯s whole body, making her skin white, red, and pink. Set off by the dark blue cloth with starry light, the third concubine looked quiet and beautiful.


    The two of them were dressed in bright clothes, standing in the middle of a group of golden noblewomen and socialites. They were so eye-catching that they were attracted by them as soon as they called people in.


    After hesitating for a long time, Xu Qian was about to leave quietly, but she was seen by Zhang Hui. She quickly squeezed out of the crowd and greeted Xu Qian with a smile.


    ¡°Aunt Zhang Hui, you and the third concubine are so beautiful today. I don¡¯t dare to recognize you,¡± said Xu Qian with a soft smile. She didn¡¯t look down upon them because of their backgrounds.


    Pulling the hemline of her dress, Zhang Hui said, ¡°This is the cloth that Lin Dan just invention. It¡¯s called cloud-cloth and moon-cloth. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re beautiful. It¡¯s just that the fabric is good and can match people.¡±


    ¡°Cloud-cloth and moon-cloth? The two kinds of cloth are really the same as their names. I heard that they can¡¯t be booked, right?¡± said Xu Qian with a regretful expression.


    ¡°You can. I¡¯ll write you a prescription. When Lin Dan comes back, I¡¯ll ask her to make it for you,¡± said Zhang Hui cheerfully.


    ¡°Mrs. Zhang, it¡¯s not good of you to do that!¡± the other ladies were anxious when they heard this. ¡°You said that we didn¡¯t have any goods when we wanted to reserve. Why did Miss Xu have it?¡±


    ¡°Who is so unkind?¡± Zhang Hui said in a grateful tone, ¡°Whether my business is booming or not, Miss Xu has been only paying attention to the Danyan Embroidery House from beginning to end, and is one of my regular clients. Even if our family can¡¯t wear this kind of cloth, we have to find enough clothes to make a dress for Miss Xu. The man should be grateful, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Everyone was speechless, and their faces were full of embarrassment.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Xu Qian was touched by Zhang Hui¡¯s words. She pursed her lips and wanted to refuse, but she accepted her kindness generously. Feeling the envious gazes from all directions, she felt very uncomfortable. In the name of measurement, she pulled Zhang Hui into the inner room.


    After the two of them left, the ladies and debutantes still kept pestering the third concubine. They said that they wanted to buy more cloth in her shop. Even if they were not regular customers, they were also important customers. Could they also buy some cloud-cloth or moon-cloth? The third concubine didn¡¯t dare to nod or shake her head. She could only watch them sell out all the clothes on the shelf, feeling flustered and happy.


    Standing by the window, Meng Zhong looked at the third concubine, who was putting on moonlight. His face darkened and his eyes darkened. Hearing the footsteps behind him, he immediately turned serious and asked in a soft voice, ¡°Sisi, how is the manual?¡±


    ¡°There are still some things that I don¡¯t understand.¡± Meng Si shook her head in frustration.


    ¡°How can you not understand it? It¡¯s only one year since Lin Dan started to learn embroidery, but her skills have surpassed yours. I don¡¯t know where she has learned other skills. Why are you not as good as her, a beginner?¡±Meng Zhong frowned.


    Meng Si was too embarrassed to raise her head. Two lines of tears fell from her red eyes. No matter how reluctant she was, she had to admit that in terms of talent, Lin Dan was much better than her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m too anxious,¡± said Meng Zhong, trying to comfort her .¡±The book about new skills is very mysterious and difficult to understand. It¡¯s already very good that you can understand half of it in three months. I won¡¯t force you. Take your time. Don¡¯t forget to contact Li Jiarong and Li Xiudian more during the study of the manual. Without the Lis, we may not be able to get the qualification of imperial business this year.¡±


    After seeing clearly how the cloud-cloth and the moon-cloth shone brightly, Meng Zhong had lost confidence in the selection of the imperial businessmen a few months later.


    ¡°I know, brother. I will help you,¡± Meng Si nodded obediently. Her eyes darkened when she looked at the Danyan Embroidery House where many customers came.


    ¡ª


    After stabilizing the reputation of two pieces of cloth, for the time being, Lin Dan began to work hard to prepare the weaving workshop. Those Japanese women were well tamed by her. They not only studied Chinese seriously but also taught her Japanese. The two of them had smooth communication, and the efficiency of their work had been improved.


    The Japanese weaving skill was inherited from a kind of ¡°Zhuojin¡± in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. It was known for its exquisite design, bright color, and flowing brilliantly. It was no worse than the cloud-cloth and moon-cloth handmade by Lin Dab. However, even if Lin Dan couldn¡¯t recruit the girls from Japan, she would find a way to develop similar cloth by herself. It was just a matter of time. Embroidery, weaving, brocading were originally the same, as long as she could get through one step, then she could see through it step by step.


    A month later, the Japanese women, who had been tortured by hope and despair, was finally able to leave the eldest prince¡¯s mansion and move into Lin¡¯s house. They hugged each other and wept with joy. They swore to themselves that they would make the most beautiful cloth in the world for their benefactor. When Lin Dan said that she wanted to learn their weaving skills, they quickly nodded and agreed. They didn¡¯t dare to hide anything private. Without the protection of the Lins, they would definitely be killed!


    Du Rusong and Du Ruyan also moved back to Du¡¯s mansion. They begged Lin Dan to open a small door on the wall of the two families so that they could get in and out conveniently. The two families were getting closer and closer, and they were getting closer and closer to each other.


    Due to the most violent attack from the Japanese bandits to the great Zhou Kingdom, the coastal regions of Min and Yue were lost, the people were slaughtered, and even the eldest prince almost died for his country. When the news of the war spread back to the capital city, the emperor was so angry that he decided to come to the coast in person, and his first stop was the Lin¡¯an.


    As soon as the news spread, the whole Lin¡¯an was in an uproar, and all the noble families began to prepare for his arrival.


    At the same time, Du Rusong and Du Ruyan were sitting opposite Lin Dan, looking worried.


    ¡°Our Majesty is going to visit aunt Du in the Taoist temple? Is the news accurate?¡± Lin Dan frowned slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s written by him.¡± Du Rusong put a letter on the table. The imperial seal at the lower right corner of the letter hurt his eyes. He had thought that he would never be able to contact that person again in his life, but he didn¡¯t expect that the person would take the initiative to meet him so soon. What did he want to do this time?¡¯]


    ¡°Dan, I want to take you up the mountain and make two new clothes for my aunt. My aunt is anxious to outdo others. She won¡¯t let my uncle¡­¡­ no, no, it¡¯s our majesty. She certainly doesn¡¯t want our majesty to see her embarrassed. Dan, your skill is the best. I only believe in you.¡± Said Du Ruyan with red eyes. She hadn¡¯t thought about that terrible past for a long time, but today she was aroused by this letter again.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bring my toolbox with me.¡± Lin Dan didn¡¯t refuse at all. For others, being tainted with the former Empress was equal to being tainted with bad luck. Maybe one day she would provoke the Emperor and Concubine Min and bring revenge. But she was not afraid. She only did what she was willing to do

 CH 104

    At the first sight of Empress Du, Lin Dan was stunned. She finally understood who where the good looks of Du Rusong and Du Ruyan came from. Empress Du was tall and thin because of her cultivation. Her beautiful face was both heroic and charming. Her beautiful eyes were full of mist, making her melancholy and quiet.


    In this dim and cramped cottage, she was the only light, and also the only color. However, unfortunately, there were a few crisscross scars on the forehead of Empress Du, which instantly destroyed her exceedingly beautiful appearance.


    Lin Dan stared at the scars, which made Du Ruyan embarrassed. She quietly tugged at Lin Dan¡¯s sleeve and begged her not to poke her aunt¡¯s sore spot. What a perfect woman her aunt was before, but now she was like this. How could she bear it?


    However, Empress Du didn¡¯t show any complaint. Instead, she poured a cup of hot tea for Lin Dan and looked at her with a smile for a long time. She had already received the news that her nephew was shot in the chest, but she pretended not to know. Even if she knew, what could she do? She couldn¡¯t leave the Taoist temple, nor could she give them any help. She could only stand aside and watch helplessly.


    It was Miss Lin who saved her nephew in danger and took good care of him to make him recover as before. For the sake of saving her life, Empress Du not only didn¡¯t dislike her but also indulged her infinitely. She saved her nephew and taught her niece well. Lin Dan had done what she wanted to do but couldn¡¯t do. She couldn¡¯t be more grateful to her, so how could she be dissatisfied?


    ¡°This is the pea cake I made myself. Miss Lin, have a taste,¡± said Empress Du softly.


    ¡°Thank you, aunt Du.¡± Lin Dan came to herself. She grabbed a piece of pea cake and looked at the scar on Empress Du¡¯s forehead.


    Empress Du was amused by her words. She touched her forehead and explained, ¡°When we hit the pillar, there were some patterns carved on it. Later, when I was treated carelessly, it turned out to be like this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Lin Dan suddenly realized. ¡°No wonder these scars are so unique.¡±


    Empress Du couldn¡¯t help laughing, while Du Ruyan covered her face and groaned. What¡¯s wrong with Lin Dan today? If she doesn¡¯t know how to flatter Empress Du, then don¡¯t flatter her. Why make her embarrassed? Didn¡¯t she know that these scars were the pain that her aunt would never want to mention?


    Empress Du rubbed her head and said slowly, ¡°Yan, don¡¯t feel sorry for me. These scars are nothing to me now. Whether he comes or not, I feel as calm as water. In my eyes, you and Rusong are the most important.¡±


    Empress Duhad been in charge of the royal family for more than ten years and helped the young emperor to hold the throne. The ups and downs she had experienced were unimaginable to ordinary people. She might be defeated, but she would never fall. If others couldn¡¯t, she could mention it; If others couldn¡¯t let it go, she could.


    Du Ruyan immediately raised her head and called her aunt with red eyes.


    However, at this moment, Lin Dan said with a malicious smile, ¡°Aunt Du is elegant. You can¡¯t wear too bright and luxurious clothes. As for those Taoist robes, they are always in the same style and color. It¡¯s better not to make one.¡±


    Du Ruyan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and said in an aggrieved tone, ¡°Dan, did you take the wrong medicine today and say all these annoying words!¡±


    Before she could say anything, Empress Du waved her hand and smiled, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Miss Lin is telling the truth. I didn¡¯t want to make any new clothes.¡± she made a new dress and dressed up. Instead of appearing nobler in front of that person, she showed timidity and lowered her head, as if to please him. The emperor had already died in her heart, and it was enough for her to only wear this black robe to bury their past.


    Du Ruyan¡¯s eyes became redder and she turned around to wipe her tears.


    Lin Dan looked at her helplessly, put down the teacup, and said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t need to embroider the clothes. But I can embroider the scars on your forehead.¡±


    Empress Du was stunned for a while and asked hesitantly, ¡°What do you mean, Miss Lin?¡±


    ¡°People always say that the scars on your forehead are ugly, but in my eyes, they are very unique. As long as I polish them a little, they will be beautiful embroidery. Aunt Du, if you trust me, let me have a try. I promise that after you finish, you will be more beautiful than before!¡±


    Lin Dan had no past or future. The only thing she could grasp was the present. Therefore, her imagination was a little poor. She couldn¡¯t paint a picture without any reason, but at the same time, she was very good at discovering the beauty around her. In the eyes of others, it was incomplete, and in her eyes, it could have some highlights more or less. If she casually sprinkled some ink on the white paper, she would be able to create all sorts of beautiful things through these things that were similar to stains.


    The so-called cherishing the present and living in the present was nothing to others, but it was completely carried out by her.


    ¡°How?¡± the stunned expression on Empress Du¡¯s face gradually faded and became interested and expectation.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    ¡°How about turning these scars into beautiful flowers? Let bygones be bygones and live a more beautiful life. What do you think?¡± as she spoke, she copied the scars of Empress Du on the paper, and then stained the tip of the pen with some red sand, outlining the crisscross lines into manjusaka£¨ÂüÖéɳ»ªRed Spider Lily£©£¨ one by one. It was like a flame, as red as blood, and was very beautiful.


    Staring at the flowers on the paper, Du Ruoyan was speechless for a long time.


    Empress Du looked straight at her and then smiled slowly. She felt that her heart, which was like a pool of stagnant water, was stirred up by this magical little girl. It turned out that scars could bloom with flowers, and heartbreak could also be forged strong, just like a Phoenix Nirvana and rebirth in the fire.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said the Empress Du word by word. ¡°Thank you, Miss Lin.¡± Before she got married, she had been called the most beautiful woman in the great Zhou. Now she would like to see what she would look like if she was more beautiful than she was before.


    Lin Dan rubbed her hands and was a little excited. Since she learned embroidery, she always paid special attention to beautiful things. At the first sight of Empress Du, she was enchanted by the orderly scars between her eyebrows. Others said that [Empress Du had been disfigured, but she believed that with only a little embellishment, Empress Du could be more beautiful! And this beauty was born in her hands. Just thinking about it, she was a little tempted.


    She didn¡¯t notice that she was changing from an embroiderer who was supporting her family to an artist.


    After preparing the disinfected silver needle and dye, Lin Dan said solemnly, ¡°Aunt Du, I¡¯m going to start. It may hurt a little. Please bear with it.¡±


    Empress Du, who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, smiled indifferently. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not afraid of pain.¡± she had endured the pain of digging her heart, and what else could she not bear?


    In order not to disturb Lin Dan, Du Ruyan had already been driven out.


    Empress Du needed tailor-made clothes, so Du Rusong couldn¡¯t wait in the room. He sent his sister and loved one to the Taoist temple and went to the pavilion on the back mountain to enjoy the view. When the two met in the pavilion, they looked worried.


    ¡°Are Dan going to tattoo my aunt?¡± Du Rusong couldn¡¯t believe his ears. He had no idea that his sweetheart had such skills.


    ¡°Yes, make the scars on your forehead into a manjusaka.¡± said Du Ruyan, covering her chest, as if myocardial infarction was happening, ¡°Brother, you always say that she is a little bit tough. I don¡¯t think so. Today I finally found it out. How dare she inject an injection into my aunt? My aunt¡¯s skin is not embroidered cloth, and if it is broken, she can remove the stitches again. If she doesn¡¯t do it well, it will make my aunt¡¯s face even worse. Which one should I protect?¡±


    However, Du Rusong chuckled and said, ¡°If aunt dares to agree, she is ready to bear all the consequences. If yDan dares to speak, she is well prepared and confident. Don¡¯t worry about them.¡±


    ¡°Brother, how can you still smile? You are too confident in her, aren¡¯t you?¡± said Ruyan nervously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I just inexplicably believe her.¡± Du Rusong looked at the quiet room with indescribable tenderness in his eyes.


    Ruyan bent over the table and whined for a while before she calmed down. She had no way to deal with these people. They were all so independent and bold!


    After about an hour, the door of the quiet room finally opened. With no expression on her face, Lin Dan walked out slowly, as if she had just finished an ordinary embroidery. Du Rusong and Du Ruyan immediately walked over and looked at her with burning eyes.


    ¡°Aunt Du is inside. You can go in and have a look. The wound is bleeding. Wash it with warm water and dry it. Don¡¯t eat spicy food. It will be fine in two or three days.¡±


    Ruyan ran into the inner room in a hurry. She didn¡¯t go back these days and stayed in the Taoist temple to take care of her aunt.


    Du Rusong stood beside her and said softly, ¡°thank you, Dan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. You can go in and see Aunt Du,¡± said Lin Dan uneasily, touching her earlobe


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in after my aunt has dressed up.¡± Du Rusong stood at the door for a while. When he heard his aunt calling someone inside, he went in and was stunned as soon as he walked around the screen. His eyes were full of disbelief.


    Holding a bronze mirror, Empress Du asked in a relaxed and happy voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t you recognize your aunt?¡±


    ¡°Brother must be frightened! I almost screamed when I first came in. Oh, God, who is this peerless beauty? Is she the enchantress transformed from manjusaka?¡± Du Ruoyan put her arms around Empress Du¡¯s neck and acted coquettishly, her eyes full of amazement.


    Empress Du pinched her nose dotingly, looked at the bronze mirror, and whispered, ¡°Manjusaka is also called the equinox flower, only blooming on the netherworld road. The previous Empress Du is dead, and now I am the evil flower from hell.¡±


    After her face was destroyed, even if she wanted to revenge, she had no right to go back. But now the situation was different. If she used it properly, this face would be her most advantageous weapon. She and her two children would suffer a lot one day, and she would have to pay back a hundred times or a thousand times!


    Seeing the fire burning in his aunt¡¯s eyes, Du Rusong felt a little uneasy. He turned to look at Lin Dan, who was washing her hands carefully with a calm expression, and then smiled slowly. Well, no matter there were swords, halberds, or flowers in front of him, he had to try for this person.

 CH 105

    In the past year, the emperor¡¯s health was much worse than before. He had been sick for more than a month in a row. During the day, he coughed and felt dizzy. At night, his heart was palpitating and sweating, and it was difficult to fall asleep. After he finally fell asleep, he would have a lot of nightmares. Although he could not remember what happened in the dream after waking up, the empty and depressed feeling would stop in his heart for a long time.


    His hair was much grey, and his handsome face was wrinkled with age. Facing his children and concubines around him, he somehow felt a little impatient and even bored. He liked to be alone more and more. Only the letter from the eldest prince he raised could make him a little happier.


    That person was also in Lin¡¯an, but the eldest prince didn¡¯t mention a single word about her in the letter. The emperor looked through the thick pile of letters, again and again, searched word by word£¬ but he got nothing. He had thought that the eldest prince would come back at the end of the year and spend the Spring Festival with him, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would meet the enemy and almost die at the bottom of the sea.


    When the emperor received the report of the war, his mind was blank and he could not think of anything. When he came to his senses, all the people of the court had already knelt down, and he had unwittingly written down the imperial edict to go to Lin¡¯an. It was not until now that he let out a sigh of relief as if he could do nothing about it.


    Half a month later, accompanied by Du Rusong and his sister, he went to the Taoist temple and quietly looked at the person standing on the edge of the cliff with his back to him.


    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± the woman said three words indifferently. A whistling wind blew up from the bottom of the cliff, blowing her words into pieces. She didn¡¯t kneel down or greet him. She just looked at the dark clouds in the distance and didn¡¯t know what she was thinking.


    ¡°Here I am.¡± the emperor opened his mouth and found that his voice was so dry as if he had tried his best to squeeze out this sentence. Until now, he still remembered that the woman¡¯s tearful eyes and the bloody scars crisscrossed on her forehead before she left. Their love was just like those scars, painful and deep, but could never be restored.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to rain.¡± the emperor didn¡¯t know what to say to her, so he could only say casually.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s going to rain.¡± Empress Du finally turned around and looked at them.


    Even Du Rusong and Du Ruyan had been used to this rebirth after Nirvana these days, they couldn¡¯t help but be stunned, not to mention the emperor and his confidants who were unprepared.


    The guards were stunned and gasped. The emperor took a step back and seemed to be unable to bear it. Then he took a few steps forward and shouted hoarsely, ¡°Fan¡­¡­Fange?¡±


    A gust of strong wind with water vapor blew up from the bottom of the cliff, stirring the hem of Empress Du¡¯s pure black clothes. The hem of her clothes reflected the dark clouds behind her, like waves, or like some ominous sign. Empress Du glanced at the emperor indifferently, turned around, and looked into the distance. A burning manjusaka blossomed between her eyebrows. It was enchanting, but her eyes were like a bottomless pool, without any emotion. She lost a lot of weight. Her robe, which was too wide, gently flew over her body, as if it had integrated with the rolling and endless darkness behind her.


    In the past, she was so beautiful and flamboyant, but now she was more beautiful than before, but she had lost her burning temperature. Looking at her dark and cold eyes, the emperor felt a sudden and indescribable pain in his heart.


    ¡°Is that you, Fange?¡± he asked again, unable to take his eyes off her lonely figure.


    ¡°Come here. The cliff is dangerous.¡± seeing another gust of strong wind blowing the hem of Empress Du¡¯s clothes, the emperor¡¯s heart almost stopped beating. In a trance, he thought with cold sweat: If Fange takes a step forward, will she disappear in this boundless black cloud forever?


    Empress Du ignored him.


    The emperor wanted to step forward, but he was afraid of frightening her, so he changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask why you did that. We have been together for more than 20 years, why can¡¯t you trust me?¡±


    Empress Du finally turned around and said word by word, ¡°This is also what I want to ask you. Why can¡¯t you believe me?¡± she looked at the dark sky again and her voice was erratic: ¡°Do you know that twenty years ago, to save you from the pool of cold water, I was completely injured and could never get pregnant again. I was worried that you would feel guilty and self-reproach, so I asked the imperial physician to keep this secret. When the eldest prince lost his mother at an early age, I raised him myself. The fourth prince, the sixth prince, as long as your child lost his mother, all of them were raised by me? I knew I couldn¡¯t conceive, If I really want to raise a child of my own, why do I have to wait for twenty years to bring the Miss Li into the palace? For so many years, I have been in charge of the palaces and raising children for you, and I have been on the verge of life and almost died for you several times. For you, I can risk my life, but in return? Do you know, as long as you, believe me, I will tell you the secret? I hit the pillar, I went on a hunger strike, I stood in front of the gate of the cold palace and waited for you day and night, but I waited for a useless imperial edict, so I didn¡¯t want to say anything. Forget it, that¡¯s it¡­ ¡°[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    When telling all this, Empress Du¡¯s tone was very calm, as if she was telling someone else¡¯s story. She chuckled and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s raining. Your majesty should go back.¡±


    It was boring, really boring¡­ She shook her head and smiled quietly, as if she had buried the past, leaving only debris.


    It was the first time that the emperor had heard of this, and his heart seemed to be cut by a sharp blade, which was unbearable. He said in disbelief, ¡°Twenty years ago, you knew you were infertile? I¡­ I didn¡¯t know.¡± Twenty years ago, he was forced to jump into a cold pool to escape because of being assassinated, but he was unable to swim ashore because of cramps in his hands and feet. Empress Du rushed to save him with her guards and jumped into the cold water under the condition that everyone gave up on him, saving him from drowning in the pool. Since then, Empress Du was extremely afraid of cold and stayed by the furnace every winter, unwilling to move. When she got her period, it would be painful to death.


    He thought she had suffered for him, but he didn¡¯t expect her to lose her most precious thing. Looking at her beautiful but cold face, the emperor was at a loss.


    The raindrops fell, wetting everyone¡¯s clothes and Empress Du¡¯s face. The fiery red manjusaka made her as bright as the sun, but it made her eyes even colder. She took a last look at the emperor and left with mud. The emperor stood still, not knowing whether it was rain or tears on his face.


    Du Rusong and Du Ruyan bowed to each other silently and disappeared into the rain.


    After a long time, the emperor came to his senses and staggered towards the Taoist temple. He pounded the door of the quiet room hard, but there was no response. He called the name of Empress Du again and again, but only the cold wind was whistling in his ears.


    Winter had already passed, but the weather was so cold that it was bone-chilling.


    ¡ª


    After returning to the temporary residence, the emperor called the imperial physician who had served him for more than 20 years over and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t Empress Du have a baby?¡±


    The imperial physician knelt down in fear. ¡°Yes, to save the emperor, Empress Du was injured and could not get pregnant from now on. At that time, Your Majesty was in danger. You could not bear any stimulation, so Empress Du ordered me to hide it. I¡¯m sorry, your majesty. Please forgive me.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± The emperor wiped off the censer on the table and roared hysterically. No wonder Empress Du treated every child as her own and patiently taught them. It turned out that she had long known that she would never have a chance to be a mother in her life. She raised several princes herself and had a deep relationship with them. Why did she have to kill Miss Li? The one in Miss Li¡¯s belly was still unknown whether it was a prince or a princess What¡¯s the use of killing Miss Li? It had been twenty years. If she wanted to raise a child, why did she have to wait until now?


    The biggest crime of Empress Du being relegated was the murder of the emperor¡¯s son. The emperor once believed in it, and then was disheartened with Empress Du. But now, his heart seemed to be tightly wrapped in a fire, burning, painful, and unbearable.


    That night, the emperor fell ill, but on the second day, he forced himself to go to the Taoist temple and wanted to see Empress Du. Empress Du stayed at home and didn¡¯t want to see him.


    On the third day, he still went to the Taoist temple and couldn¡¯t see Empress Du; on the fourth day, the fifth day¡­ Seven days in a row, he was so sick that he couldn¡¯t even get out of bed. His originally thin face sank at a visible speed, mixed with much silver hair gradually stained with white.


    On the ninth day, he had a high fever and fell into a coma.


    The eldest prince was kneeling in the waiting room of Empress Du. It was not until midnight that the door, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened. The stunning but cold Empress Du looked down at him with unspeakable deep eyes.


    ¡ª


    The emperor had a nightmare again. He found himself soaked in a pool of cold water, surrounded by water weeds and bottomless darkness. The piercing cold made his hands and feet stiff and unable to escape. He soon could not breathe, but he saw a familiar figure quickly swimming towards him in despair. The one pushed away from the water weeds, revealing a beautiful face, and opened his mouth. The breath of life entered his mouth. He held her tightly, as if holding a beam of light in the darkness, or as if holding fire in the boundless cold.


    Despair and anxiety instantly went away from him


    ¡°Fange!¡± he suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that the man he had been dreaming of was really lying on the edge of his bed, holding his hand tightly with one hand, as if he had been taken care of every time he was sick before, and he had never left for a moment.


    ¡°Fange!¡± at this moment, the emperor, with tears all over his face, had to admit that he couldn¡¯t let go of this woman, nor could he watch her walk away and take her as a passer-by

 CH 106

    Chapter 106 - Embroiderer (28)


    The emperor recovered quickly. At the same time, he mentioned the case that Empress Du tried to murder his son again and sent a trusted minister to investigate it thoroughly. It had been more than three years, almost four years, and much evidence had been erased. However, the official in charge of the investigation still found some clues, and then chased after the fifth prince and his mother.


    The news went back to Lin¡¯an. The emperor was sick again and forced Empress Du to stay in the mansion. He apologized and apologized every day, playing a hard trick.


    Empress Du hadn¡¯t returned to the temple for half a month, and all the things she kept in the temple had been cleaned up by the emperor¡¯s trusted eunuchs and taken away. If nothing went wrong, she would go back with the emperor when he returned to the palace.


    The court of the Du mansion was still empty, and the large clans of the Lin¡¯an were all watching the emperor¡¯s attitude. If he really made up with Empress Du, they could make friends with the brother and sister of the Dus. But even so, compared with Concubine Min, who gave birth to a prince, Empress Du was still not enough. Her throne had been abolished. Even if the emperor brought her back, she would not be able to regain her former glory. Who could bear to see her scarred and horrible face all day long?


    All the undercurrents were buried under the appearance of the song and dance. All the people were watching or spying, but only Lin Dan and Du Ruyan were doing business as nothing happened.


    ¡°Dan, when will we sell the brocade we made? I don¡¯t care. You have to make a dress like Xu Qian¡¯s for me. I heard that my aunt might be able to go back to the palace with the emperor, and those cloth merchants came to me again, trying to sell the best cloth in their shop to me. Bah! When our brocade is produced, I will definitely kick them away, just like when they kicked them away from us! ¡°Said


    Ruyan angrily while tidying up the embroidery rack.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make a new dress for you when I¡¯m free. Is aunt Du really going back to the palace with the emperor?¡± Lin Dan was rarely curious about a person¡¯s fate.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what she is thinking, either,¡± sighed Ruyan. ¡°She has changed a lot. I can¡¯t figure out what she is thinking about.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t figure it out. Go and take out the account book to see how much money we have earned recently,¡± said Lin Dan, rubbing her hands.


    ¡°All right, all right. I¡¯ll bring them right now.¡± speaking of money, Ruyan¡¯s gloomy expression was immediately replaced by excitement. In this world, no pain could not be cured by money, especially the money they earned every minute and every minute.


    The two of them held an accounts book and slowly counted the accounts head to head. Their expressions were very serious, but their eyes were bright. Du Rusong stood at the door for a long time. Seeing that they hadn¡¯t noticed him, he smiled helplessly. ¡°You two really like money.¡±


    ¡°Oh, brother, you are here!¡± said Ruyan, waving her hand without raising her head.


    ¡°Du Rusong, what¡¯s up?¡± Lin Dan stood up and greeted him while staring at the account book with reluctance.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a suit for you.¡± Du Rusong walked to her and smiled warmly.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll write two orders for you. What style, color, and pattern do you like?¡± Lin Dan took out a small notebook and carefully recorded Du Rusong¡¯s requirements. After that, she wrote down his sizes in the lower-left corner.


    ¡°Make a dark robe, black, with auspicious cloud pattern.¡± Du Rusong coughed and said in a low voice, ¡°Recently, I have gained some weight, and my size may change a little Luther, can you measure me again?¡±


    Without any doubt, Lin Dan took Du Rusong to the inner room, took out a measuring tape, and carefully measured him. Then he nodded and said, ¡°you¡¯ve really become stronger, and your chest is half an inch larger.¡±


    Du Rusong looked down at her serious face and said slowly, ¡°Dan, you said you wanted to drive the embroidery house to the capital city. If I beg you, would you like to go with me? Don¡¯t worry about anything. I will help you find a shop and people.¡±


    Lin Dan was stunned for a long time before he said hesitantly, ¡°Du Rusong, I have a good time in Lin¡¯an. Why should I leave with you?¡±


    Du Rusong took a deep breath and said cautiously, ¡°I mean, are you willing to marry me?¡±


    Lin Dan raised her head with her eyes wide open. Obviously, she didn¡¯t expect him to make such a request. After a while, she shook her head and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to. My mother wants me to find a son-in-law by adoption for her. If I get married, who will inherit the family business I have earned hard?¡±


    Looking at her surprised but not happy face, Du Rusong felt both disappointed and resigned. If she could fall in love with him, why did she have to wait till today? But it didn¡¯t matter. As long as he could be with her, it was enough as long as he could look at her and protect her. He didn¡¯t have any more requirements.


    ¡°I see.¡± Du Rusong nodded slowly and then plucked up the courage to hold the petite girl in his arms.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Lin Dan bumped into Du Rusong¡¯s chest unexpectedly. Her forehead and nose were red, and her confused expression made Rusong laugh. He tightened his arms and let them go quickly. Then he walked out without saying a word.


    After a long time, Ruyan walked in quietly, poked her head, and asked, ¡°Are you, my sister-in-law?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get married. I only want to find a son-in-law by adoption for my mom.¡± It didn¡¯t matter to her whether she got married or not. But if she wanted to fulfill the wish of Lin Dafu and Zhang Hui, she must find a son-in-law and have a child, or the Lin family would be doomed.


    Ruyan pouted in disappointment, but she didn¡¯t say anything. The two of them went outside and checked the accounts absent-mindedly. They were happy to find that the revenue had increased a lot.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home!¡± said Ruyan happily, locking the account book in the closet.


    ¡°Take out a small piece of silver. Let¡¯s go shopping and buy some embroidered thread,¡± said Lin Dan, rubbing her hands.


    ¡°How can a piece of silver be enough? If you want to take it, just take a big one.¡± Du Ruyan picked it up from the money box and finally picked up a ten tael of silver. The two of them were like mice who had stolen oil. They hid the money boxes into the dark grid under the floor tiles and sneaked out from the back door. If people who didn¡¯t know them saw them, they would never think that they were the boss of this shop and thought they were thieves.


    The two of them walked along Phoenix avenue and played all the way. Suddenly, Du Ruyan stopped and quickly pulled Lin Dan into an empty alley. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise. My brother and his majesty are in the tavern in front of us. I don¡¯t want to see his majesty. Let¡¯s go on another road.¡±


    She still remembered how ruthless the emperor had been to her. She didn¡¯t want to see his hypocritical face at all.


    ¡°This is a dead-end. Let¡¯s change to another alley,¡± said Lin Dan, pointing at the opposite.


    When the two of them were about to sneak away, they saw Li Jiarong slowly walking over from the other end of the street with an arrogant expression on her face. When she passed by a passer-by, she would frown and fan her nose, as if she couldn¡¯t bear to be too close to these pariahs. Meng Si followed her step by step like a servant girl. Obviously, they didn¡¯t notice that the emperor was also in this street. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be acting like this.


    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving!¡± Du Ruyan immediately changed her mind, ¡°let¡¯s play a trick on Li Jiarong.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± as soon as she finished speaking, Lin Dan was pulled out by Ruyan. The two walked straight to Li Jiarong with their heads down and bumped into her.


    ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see the way?¡± Li Jiarong pushed the two women away. When she saw their faces, she immediately showed an expression of disgust.


    ¡°You bumped into us first, didn¡¯t you?¡± said Du Ruyan in a low voice. ¡°What are you proud of? My aunt will come back to the capital soon. You will still be trampled under my feet soon.¡±


    Li Jiarong was instantly enraged and screamed loudly: ¡°That bitch¡¯s face has been ruined. She still wants to go back to the capital city. She is dreaming! My aunt can destroy her once, and then she can be destroyed two times. You and Du Rusong can¡¯t escape either. As long as you stay in Lin¡¯an, I can trample on you as I want! If you want to fight with me, let¡¯s see if you are alive! That bitch is a hen that won¡¯t lay eggs, But my aunt has already given birth to the ninth prince. Can she compete with my aunt? In the future, my aunt will go further¡­ ¡°


    Before she could finish her words, a stern rebuke came from the stairs across the street, ¡°You evil woman, shut up!¡±


    She looked up and her face turned pale. The emperor was standing by the window, looking at her with malicious eyes. Behind him stood Li Ran, Li Xiudian, Du Rusong, the eldest prince, and the others. The scold was from Li Ran. He was looking at her with a livid face, and his lips were trembling with anger.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡± just as she uttered a word, her mouth was covered by Du Ruyan.


    ¡°Uncle, you are also here,¡± said Du Ruyan with a smile, as if she just saw a group of people.


    The sullen emperor was pleased by the word ¡°Uncle¡±, which he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. Seeing that she was so smart and knew to cover up his identity, his face was softer. ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner here. Are you hungry? Come and eat with me.¡±


    ¡°No, No. my little sister and I are going to watch the play. I won¡¯t have dinner with you. It¡¯s boring.¡± As soon as they left, Li Jiarong stood still with cold hands and feet. Du Ruyan grew up in the palace and had an unusual relationship with the emperor. She dared to make jokes and leave without saying goodbye to the emperor, but Li Jiarong didn¡¯t even dare to look at the emperor. This was the difference between a real lady and the faker.


    The emperor looked at the back of Du Ruyan, shook his head, and laughed, with a doting expression on his face. When he looked at Li Jiarong again, his eyes instantly froze into ice. ¡°The bitch of the Dus? Destroy her? Further?¡± he turned to Li Ran, word by word, ¡°It seems that there are many things that I haven¡¯t found out yet. Mr. Li, do you think so?¡±


    Li Ran and Li Xiudian immediately knelt down, sweating.


    The emperor stared at their dark heads, and his eyes darkened. The truth that Fange was framed must not be as simple as it seemed. And if Concubine Min wanted to go further, what kind of further method did she want to be Empress Du or more?


    As he was getting weaker and weaker, the emperor¡¯s attitude towards these princes and concubines had gradually changed from love to defense. It seemed that only Empress Du, who was lifelong infertility, the loss of the power of her own family, and wholeheartedly loved him, was the only person he could trust. However, he even lost such a person¡­[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]

 CH 107

    Chapter 107 - Embroiderer (29)


    The emperor finally took the eldest prince back, and the large clans of the Lin¡¯an were present to see him off. Li Ran, who had been treated coldly for many days, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself: fortunately, his majesty didn¡¯t take Empress Du back. Fortunately, Lis has done a good job in dealing with those things in the past. Otherwise, we will be in trouble now.


    But even so, the emperor might have already doubted Concubine Li and the Lis. The future of the ninth prince was still uncertain, which was the most worrying thing for Li Ran. As for Empress Du, who had restored her relationship with the emperor and cleared her name, he didn¡¯t take her seriously. A woman whose face had been ruined, even if she had been loved by the emperor, what could she do? Could she return to the capital city and ascend the throne again? There was no such thing as abolishing the late empress of the state of Zhou, let alone the tradition of being Empress Duwith disfigured.


    When the emperor came, he asked Empress Du to accompany him every day, just because he felt guilty. Otherwise, how could he not take her with him when he left? As the saying goes, the emperor¡¯s words cannot be changed. Empress Du will never be able to turn over in her life. Thinking of this, the official who went to see off immediately dispelled the idea of making friends with Du Ruyan and Du Rusong.


    Time was almost up. The emperor turned around and tried to search in the crowd, but he couldn¡¯t find the figure he had been looking forward to. The pain and reluctance in his heart were indescribable.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t Rusong and Ruyan come?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    The eldest prince knew who he really wanted to ask, so he hurried forward and replied, ¡°Father, Miss Du is sick. They are accompanying Miss Du in the Taoist temple now, so they can¡¯t come.¡±


    ¡°What Miss Du?¡± the emperor said in a cold tone, ¡°That¡¯s your mother! She has just left the Imperial City, but you have forgotten her? You were brought up by her herself. When you were a child, the cold air in your body caused a high fever, and it was always impossible to bring it down. She stayed by your bed all night to apply the cold compress for you. Don¡¯t you remember at all?¡±


    ¡°I remember everything, but she is not Empress Du after all. As the saying goes, the master and the servant are different, how can I call her mother?¡± the eldest prince bowed his head and cupped his hands. ¡°


    Father, it¡¯s almost time to go. Let¡¯s go. Qiwu Palace has a new master, and there is no position for Miss Du in the palace anymore. You can keep her here and let her live the rest of her life in peace. Haven¡¯t you heard what she said? The current life is what she wants most.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s against her will, not true!¡± the emperor lowered his voice and said angrily.


    The father and son quarreled immediately. The ministers were too far away to hear what they were talking about, but they had a lot of guesses about the relationship between the two of them.


    Li Ran stared at the emperor¡¯s seat with dark eyes. Although he was the governor of the Zhejiang Province, he couldn¡¯t even get close to the emperor. His position was arranged behind the officials like the Fantai and Nietai(·ªÌ¨¡¢ô«Ì¨). It could be seen that the emperor¡¯s trust in him had been greatly reduced. Before he could gain a firm foothold in the province, he was facing the danger of being sidelined. All this was attributed to the remaining people of the Dus, and also to Li Jiarong.


    Thinking of this, Li Ran lowered his head with a malicious look.


    The emperor¡¯s heart sank when he heard what the first prince said. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Wait a little longer. Postpone the trip for half an hour.¡± These days, Fange had been taking good care of him. He didn¡¯t believe that she had any feelings for him at all. When she heard that he was about to leave, she would come to see him if she was a little reluctant. As long as she came, he would never let her go!


    With such thoughts in his mind, the emperor stood at the dock for a long time, one hour, two hours, until the sunset and the night fell, and Empress Du did not appear. The emperor kept looking in the direction of the Taoist temple. His wide robe was rustling with the cold wind, which made people feel that they were about to fall.


    The eldest prince summoned up his courage and urged, ¡°Father, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t wait any longer. You should have known it when you gave the decree of abolishment that year that she would never go back. You should know her better than us what kind of person she is.¡±


    What kind of person was Empress Du? Even if she was slandered to such an extent, even if she crashed into the pillar, and went to the cold palace, she gritted her teeth and did not reveal her secret of infertility. She wanted to hear from him personally that he still loved her, and he absolutely trusted her. Only by getting this promise would she reverse the case for herself. Otherwise, she would rather leave with those fabricated charges and leave the magnificent palace.


    She didn¡¯t care about power and status. She only cared about whether their relationship was as pure as before. But he let her down, so she left dejectedly. She would rather die when life is a disgrace.


    Thinking of this, the emperor¡¯s eyes finally turned red, and he almost choked with sobs. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± he finally looked at the mountain where the Taoist temple was located, and his eyes were faintly filled with tears.


    The officials, who had been shivering with cold wind for a few hours, breathed a sigh of relief. They didn¡¯t know what his Majesty was waiting for. Maybe it was because the wind was too strong on the river, so he was waiting for the weather was getting better. His Majesty was standing alone at the edge of the dock and no one was allowed to approach him. Since they couldn¡¯t get any information, they could only say to themselves, ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s heart is unpredictable.¡±.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    At the same time, Empress Du was standing on the edge of the cliff and looking in the direction of the dock. Different from the emperor¡¯s despair and sadness, she actually had a pleasant smile on her face.


    Staring at her side face for a long time, Ruyan asked cautiously, ¡°Auntie, why didn¡¯t you go back with him when his majesty proposed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave as he says. Will I go back as he says?¡± Empress Du waved her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t pry into these things. I have my own considerations.¡±


    ¡°Well, then I won¡¯t ask anymore.¡± Empress Du chuckled as Du Ruyan covered her mouth obediently. She looked at her nephew and asked softly, ¡°Do you have any plans for the future? Do you want to leave or stay?¡±


    Without hesitation, Du Rusong said, ¡°Now that Lin Dan doesn¡¯t want to leave, I¡¯ll stay. After she makes the embroidery manor bigger in the future, I¡¯ll go to the capital city with her.¡±


    Empress Du said in a playful tone, ¡°That is to say, where is Miss Lin and where are you?¡±


    Du Rusong nodded with a red face, ¡°Yes, I will be wherever she is.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯ll be there as long as she is. I¡¯ll always feel a little uneasy if I leave her. Auntie, although she is four or five years younger than me, she is very powerful.¡±Du Ruyan said too.


    Empress Du smiled, ¡°I see. Miss Lin is the best woman in the world. Don¡¯t you feel tired of saying that every day? Well, since you don¡¯t want to go back, you can stay here. But you have to be careful of the Lis.¡± Then she left the cliff and walked towards the quiet room.


    Looking at her straight back, Ruyan asked in a low voice, ¡°brother, what does auntie think? Will she go back or not?¡±


    ¡°Of course we have to go back, but not now. If we want to go back, we have to ask that man to come in person. You don¡¯t have to worry about these things,¡± Du Rusong looked at the sky and sped up. ¡°Let¡¯s go down the mountain quickly. Before going out, Dan asked me to buy a few perch fish back. It¡¯s dark now, and the fishermen should go home. If we don¡¯t go, we won¡¯t be able to buy it.¡±


    ¡°Well, does Dan want to cook the perch herself?¡± said Ruyan. She immediately put her worries aside, quickly climbed into the carriage, and urged, ¡°Uncle sun, hurry up. Dan is cooking by herself today!¡±


    ¡°Okay, miss, sit tight. I¡¯ll leave now!¡± Uncle sun waved his whip and said in a loud voice.


    After the emperor left, the Dus and the Lins lived a common life, but the Lis was a little restless. First, Li Jiarong was punished by Li Ran and locked in the room. Then, Li Xiudian quarreled with his parents for his marriage with Meng Si.


    Empress Du was once again forgotten. She always wore a thick hat outside. Curious ladies and debutantes ran to see her, but they couldn¡¯t see her true face, so they gave up. On the day Empress Du came to Lin¡¯an, many people had seen the scar on her forehead. They didn¡¯t expect that she could recover as before, or even more beautiful.


    However, seven days later, on a stormy and windy day, the imperial carriage that was supposed to leave the city came back. The emperor got off the ship in a hurry and took a carriage to the Taoist temple.


    After receiving the news, the officials of the Lin¡¯an quickly followed them. The servants they brought with them held torches, illuminating the dark mountain forest as if it was daytime. Seven days were enough for them to drive half the way, and he would arrive at the capital city in seven days. However, the emperor turned back in the middle of the way, which had always been paid attention to safety. What did it mean?


    What was in the Lin¡¯an that the emperor couldn¡¯t let go of? What was it that he was worried about and couldn¡¯t give up? When he was about to turn around and look for it in a hurry?


    Empress Du, the answer appeared almost at the same time in everyone¡¯s mind but was immediately denied by them. Since Empress Du had been disfigured, how could she fight against those coquettish concubines? Wouldn¡¯t his majesty feel sick to see her ferocious face?


    Li Ran rode a fast horse to the Taoist temple. His face was as dark as ink. If one wanted to ask who didn¡¯t want Empress Du to be pampered the most in the world, Li Ran would be the only one who didn¡¯t want her to be pampered again, except for Concubine Min. Not only had a beautiful face, but Empress Du was also clever. If she wasn¡¯t brainwashed by the so-called love, she wouldn¡¯t have been plotted by them.


    Perhaps others couldn¡¯t see the truth in the mist, and even the emperor would be deceived, but she didn¡¯t. Empress Du always knew who caused her to this situation.


    Li Ran would never underestimate Empress Du because the spies that he sent to monitor Empress Du were finally pulled out mercilessly. That Taoist temple was now under the control of Empress Du, and no one else had the chance to interfere. Why has she entangled with the emperor again? How far had their relationship been repaired? What did the emperor return to do this time? Li Ran didn¡¯t know at all.


    He could only use the stupidest way to watch in person in the name of escort. Obviously, the officials of Lin¡¯an also arrived at the door one after another.

 CH 108

    Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse


    The emperor finally took the eldest prince back, and the large clans of the Lin¡¯an were present to see him off. Li Ran, who had been treated coldly for many days, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself: fortunately, his majesty didn¡¯t take Empress Du back. Fortunately, Lis has done a good job in dealing with those things in the past. Otherwise, we will be in trouble now.


    But even so, the emperor might have already doubted Concubine Li and the Lis. The future of the ninth prince was still uncertain, which was the most worrying thing for Li Ran. As for Empress Du, who had restored her relationship with the emperor and cleared her name, he didn¡¯t take her seriously. A woman whose face had been ruined, even if she had been loved by the emperor, what could she do? Could she return to the capital city and ascend the throne again? There was no such thing as abolishing the late empress of the state of Zhou, let alone the tradition of being Empress Duwith disfigured.


    When the emperor came, he asked Empress Du to accompany him every day, just because he felt guilty. Otherwise, how could he not take her with him when he left? As the saying goes, the emperor¡¯s words cannot be changed. Empress Du will never be able to turn over in her life. Thinking of this, the official who went to see off immediately dispelled the idea of making friends with Du Ruyan and Du Rusong.


    Time was almost up. The emperor turned around and tried to search in the crowd, but he couldn¡¯t find the figure he had been looking forward to. The pain and reluctance in his heart were indescribable.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t Rusong and Ruyan come?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    The eldest prince knew who he really wanted to ask, so he hurried forward and replied, ¡°Father, Miss Du is sick. They are accompanying Miss Du in the Taoist temple now, so they can¡¯t come.¡±


    ¡°What Miss Du?¡± the emperor said in a cold tone, ¡°That¡¯s your mother! She has just left the Imperial City, but you have forgotten her? You were brought up by her herself. When you were a child, the cold air in your body caused a high fever, and it was always impossible to bring it down. She stayed by your bed all night to apply the cold compress for you. Don¡¯t you remember at all?¡±


    ¡°I remember everything, but she is not Empress Du after all. As the saying goes, the master and the servant are different, how can I call her mother?¡± the eldest prince bowed his head and cupped his hands. ¡°


    Father, it¡¯s almost time to go. Let¡¯s go. Qiwu Palace has a new master, and there is no position for Miss Du in the palace anymore. You can keep her here and let her live the rest of her life in peace. Haven¡¯t you heard what she said? The current life is what she wants most.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s against her will, not true!¡± the emperor lowered his voice and said angrily.


    The father and son quarreled immediately. The ministers were too far away to hear what they were talking about, but they had a lot of guesses about the relationship between the two of them.


    Li Ran stared at the emperor¡¯s seat with dark eyes. Although he was the governor of the Zhejiang Province, he couldn¡¯t even get close to the emperor. His position was arranged behind the officials like the Fantai and Nietai(·ªÌ¨¡¢ô«Ì¨). It could be seen that the emperor¡¯s trust in him had been greatly reduced. Before he could gain a firm foothold in the province, he was facing the danger of being sidelined. All this was attributed to the remaining people of the Dus, and also to Li Jiarong.


    Thinking of this, Li Ran lowered his head with a malicious look.


    The emperor¡¯s heart sank when he heard what the first prince said. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Wait a little longer. Postpone the trip for half an hour.¡± These days, Fange had been taking good care of him. He didn¡¯t believe that she had any feelings for him at all. When she heard that he was about to leave, she would come to see him if she was a little reluctant. As long as she came, he would never let her go!


    With such thoughts in his mind, the emperor stood at the dock for a long time, one hour, two hours, until the sunset and the night fell, and Empress Du did not appear. The emperor kept looking in the direction of the Taoist temple. His wide robe was rustling with the cold wind, which made people feel that they were about to fall.


    The eldest prince summoned up his courage and urged, ¡°Father, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t wait any longer. You should have known it when you gave the decree of abolishment that year that she would never go back. You should know her better than us what kind of person she is.¡±


    What kind of person was Empress Du? Even if she was slandered to such an extent, even if she crashed into the pillar, and went to the cold palace, she gritted her teeth and did not reveal her secret of infertility. She wanted to hear from him personally that he still loved her, and he absolutely trusted her. Only by getting this promise would she reverse the case for herself. Otherwise, she would rather leave with those fabricated charges and leave the magnificent palace.


    She didn¡¯t care about power and status. She only cared about whether their relationship was as pure as before. But he let her down, so she left dejectedly. She would rather die when life is a disgrace.


    Thinking of this, the emperor¡¯s eyes finally turned red, and he almost choked with sobs. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± he finally looked at the mountain where the Taoist temple was located, and his eyes were faintly filled with tears.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The officials, who had been shivering with cold wind for a few hours, breathed a sigh of relief. They didn¡¯t know what his Majesty was waiting for. Maybe it was because the wind was too strong on the river, so he was waiting for the weather was getting better. His Majesty was standing alone at the edge of the dock and no one was allowed to approach him. Since they couldn¡¯t get any information, they could only say to themselves, ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s heart is unpredictable.¡±.


    At the same time, Empress Du was standing on the edge of the cliff and looking in the direction of the dock. Different from the emperor¡¯s despair and sadness, she actually had a pleasant smile on her face.


    Staring at her side face for a long time, Ruyan asked cautiously, ¡°Auntie, why didn¡¯t you go back with him when his majesty proposed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave as he says. Will I go back as he says?¡± Empress Du waved her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t pry into these things. I have my own considerations.¡±


    ¡°Well, then I won¡¯t ask anymore.¡± Empress Du chuckled as Du Ruyan covered her mouth obediently. She looked at her nephew and asked softly, ¡°Do you have any plans for the future? Do you want to leave or stay?¡±


    Without hesitation, Du Rusong said, ¡°Now that Lin Dan doesn¡¯t want to leave, I¡¯ll stay. After she makes the embroidery manor bigger in the future, I¡¯ll go to the capital city with her.¡±


    Empress Du said in a playful tone, ¡°That is to say, where is Miss Lin and where are you?¡±


    Du Rusong nodded with a red face, ¡°Yes, I will be wherever she is.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯ll be there as long as she is. I¡¯ll always feel a little uneasy if I leave her. Auntie, although she is four or five years younger than me, she is very powerful.¡±Du Ruyan said too.


    Empress Du smiled, ¡°I see. Miss Lin is the best woman in the world. Don¡¯t you feel tired of saying that every day? Well, since you don¡¯t want to go back, you can stay here. But you have to be careful of the Lis.¡± Then she left the cliff and walked towards the quiet room.


    Looking at her straight back, Ruyan asked in a low voice, ¡°brother, what does auntie think? Will she go back or not?¡±


    ¡°Of course we have to go back, but not now. If we want to go back, we have to ask that man to come in person. You don¡¯t have to worry about these things,¡± Du Rusong looked at the sky and sped up. ¡°Let¡¯s go down the mountain quickly. Before going out, Dan asked me to buy a few perch fish back. It¡¯s dark now, and the fishermen should go home. If we don¡¯t go, we won¡¯t be able to buy it.¡±


    ¡°Well, does Dan want to cook the perch herself?¡± said Ruyan. She immediately put her worries aside, quickly climbed into the carriage, and urged, ¡°Uncle sun, hurry up. Dan is cooking by herself today!¡±


    ¡°Okay, miss, sit tight. I¡¯ll leave now!¡± Uncle sun waved his whip and said in a loud voice.


    After the emperor left, the Dus and the Lins lived a common life, but the Lis was a little restless. First, Li Jiarong was punished by Li Ran and locked in the room. Then, Li Xiudian quarreled with his parents for his marriage with Meng Si.


    Empress Du was once again forgotten. She always wore a thick hat outside. Curious ladies and debutantes ran to see her, but they couldn¡¯t see her true face, so they gave up. On the day Empress Du came to Lin¡¯an, many people had seen the scar on her forehead. They didn¡¯t expect that she could recover as before, or even more beautiful.


    However, seven days later, on a stormy and windy day, the imperial carriage that was supposed to leave the city came back. The emperor got off the ship in a hurry and took a carriage to the Taoist temple.


    After receiving the news, the officials of the Lin¡¯an quickly followed them. The servants they brought with them held torches, illuminating the dark mountain forest as if it was daytime. Seven days were enough for them to drive half the way, and he would arrive at the capital city in seven days. However, the emperor turned back in the middle of the way, which had always been paid attention to safety. What did it mean?


    What was in the Lin¡¯an that the emperor couldn¡¯t let go of? What was it that he was worried about and couldn¡¯t give up? When he was about to turn around and look for it in a hurry?


    Empress Du, the answer appeared almost at the same time in everyone¡¯s mind but was immediately denied by them. Since Empress Du had been disfigured, how could she fight against those coquettish concubines? Wouldn¡¯t his majesty feel sick to see her ferocious face?


    Li Ran rode a fast horse to the Taoist temple. His face was as dark as ink. If one wanted to ask who didn¡¯t want Empress Du to be pampered the most in the world, Li Ran would be the only one who didn¡¯t want her to be pampered again, except for Concubine Min. Not only had a beautiful face, but Empress Du was also clever. If she wasn¡¯t brainwashed by the so-called love, she wouldn¡¯t have been plotted by them.


    Perhaps others couldn¡¯t see the truth in the mist, and even the emperor would be deceived, but she didn¡¯t. Empress Du always knew who caused her to this situation.


    Li Ran would never underestimate Empress Du because the spies that he sent to monitor Empress Du were finally pulled out mercilessly. That Taoist temple was now under the control of Empress Du, and no one else had the chance to interfere. Why has she entangled with the emperor again? How far had their relationship been repaired? What did the emperor return to do this time? Li Ran didn¡¯t know at all.


    He could only use the stupidest way to watch in person in the name of escort. Obviously, the officials of Lin¡¯an also arrived at the door one after another.

 CH 109

    It has been three months since Empress Du returned to the capital city, and Lin Dan¡¯s Zhuojin was selected as a tribute and sent to the palace, perhaps already worn on her. The man heard that the emperor loved her so much that she was presented with the best palaces, the best jewelry, and the best brocade clothes.


    But Empress Du remained unchanged and set up a Taoist temple in Qiwu Palace, which was praying every day without stepping out of the palace. Once in a while, she met Concubine Min, who was sent by the emperor. But Concubine Min in her face lifted up her unpleasant past, which had made her slightly warmed up and immediately frozen to the ice for three consecutive days without eating or sleeping, just to force the emperor to send her away from this place.


    The emperor was so angry that he almost lost his mind. He went to the palace of Concubine Min and scolded her severely, and then scolded her as a maid. If it weren¡¯t for the help of Empress Du in the past, how could she be today? She not only didn¡¯t know how to be grateful but also put Empress Du in an awkward situation all the time. What a bitch! She forgot her origin as soon as she gained power!


    The ninth prince, who was choked and crying by his maids, couldn¡¯t calm the emperor down. After he left, he immediately issued an imperial edict to demote Concubine Min as Fei, deprive her of her noble title, and grounded her in the palace from now on. What Li Jiarong said that day had planted a seed of suspicion in the emperor¡¯s heart. It would be fine if Concubine Min was hidden, but she couldn¡¯t control her temper and went to provoke Empress Du. This hit the emperor¡¯s sore spot, and his suspicion of  Concubine Min and the Lis reached its peak.


    Fei Li (once called Concubine Min ) was having a hard time, and so was Li Ran. Everyone in Lin¡¯an was laughing at him. No one executed the political order he issued, and no one echoed his proposal. He was completely a decoration.


    On the other hand, Du Rusong was vigorous and vigorous, from centurion to chiliarch, and then was promoted to the chief soldier. Presumably, not long after, even the commander Xu would have to bow in front of him. However, others couldn¡¯t find his flaws, because he was good at both Kungfu and literature. He also dared to fight. When they fought against the enemy, he was always the first one to rush. The merits he obtained were all up to his own ability. He was also good at winning over people¡¯s hearts. He had once worked with his soldiers, and he remembered their names. From time to time, he would go to the camp to drink with them and have a good chat, without putting on airs. He didn¡¯t neglect his performance at all. His way of doing things was impeccable.


    ¡°Is the golden scale not a thing in the pond? It will turn into a dragon as soon as it meets the wind and clouds.¡±(½ðÁÛÆñ·Ç³ØÖÐÎһÓö·çÔƱ㻯Áú) This sentence was suitable to describe Du Rusong. He was not a mortal. He could stand out when he was bullied by Lis maliciously in the past. Now with the care of Empress Du and the emperor, he was able to rise to fame.


    Under the leadership of Lin Dan, Du Ruyan made a successful silk business. After the news of Zhuojin spread, not only the ladies and debutantes of Lin¡¯an would come to the Danyan Embroidery House to buy cloth, but also people from several cities around would scramble for it. Zhuojin was a tribute that they couldn¡¯t afford, but it was not inferior to Zhuojin, which was enough to compare with the brocade produced by the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. More and more people are buying cloth recently. How about we find a few more weaving women to expand the production?¡± said Ruyan, standing beside the handrail on the second floor and looking down, with a sign on her face. There were a lot of people crowded downstairs. Some were buying cloth, some were buying embroidering, and some were coming to join the fun. On the contrary, the Meng¡¯s Embroidery House in front of them was not as full as the Danyan Embroidery House.


    ¡°If we hire a few more employees, can you guarantee that they won¡¯t spread the Zhuojin after learning the techniques?¡± said Lin Dan, waving her hand.¡±Now the cloth was enough for sale. There was no need to produce more. If there was more, it would be worthless. We just make the top quality article¡±


    To keep her skills secret, Lin Dan bought slaves from others to make cloth. Generally speaking, female slaves who had signed contracts wouldn¡¯t run away. Even if they ran away, they could report to the government and bring them back and also punish the people who hid them. Lin Dan knew Empress Du. So the cloth merchants in Lin¡¯an would only rob Lin Dan¡¯s slaves if they were fools.


    After thinking for a while, Ruyan gave a thumbs up and said, ¡°You said I could do business, but in fact, you are better than me. You are just impatient to deal with these trifles.¡±


    Lin Dan shook his head with a smile and continued to embroider. At this moment, Xu Qian took a maid to the second floor, followed by the attentive female shopkeeper. Miss Xu was a distinguished guest of the Danyan Embroidery House, which was known to all the people in Lin¡¯an. Now, Lin Dan seldom embroidered clothes for others, but as long as it was asked by Xu Qian, she would agree. After all, Xu Qian was a loyal customer of the Danyan Embroidery House, and she would never change her attitude towards her because of the ups and downs of Lin Dan. They were friends from the very beginning.


    ¡°Oh, Qian, you¡¯re here. Your clothes are ready. I¡¯ll go get them for you.¡± said Ruyan, dropping her abacus immediately.


    Putting down the embroidery needle, Lin Dan said gently, ¡°Go to the back of the screen and have a try. I¡¯ll change anything that doesn¡¯t fit you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness,¡± said Xu Qian with a bright smile on her face. Although she only had a common face, because of her unique temperament, she didn¡¯t look inferior when standing with a group of young ladies. Now she was wearing a fairy dress made of Lin Dan all day long, which was the most beautiful scenery in Lin¡¯an. Wherever she went, she was the focus of the crowd. Although the eldest prince didn¡¯t express his intention to accept her before he left, he warned commander Xu and General Li to temporarily solve her crisis, so she lived a comfortable life now.


    After being watched many times, Xu Qian¡¯s self-confidence also increased. Her temperament was still calm, but there was also a trace of disdain in it. She walked slowly to her side and stared at her unfinished embroidery, her eyes full of admiration.


    While Xu Qian was looking at the embroidery, the guests on the second floor all gathered around to see what kind of dress Lin Dan had made for her today. Now she was the trend of Lin¡¯an. What kind of clothes she wore today could be seen all over the street tomorrow.


    They wanted to pull her down and be Lin Dan¡¯s exclusive guest. But Lin Dan was silent and indifferent. She was by no means an uneasy target to please. If they had known that the Lins would end up like this, these guests would have reached out their hands to her and made her a friend when the Lins were down.


    Seeing that Xu Qian went upstairs to the two floors, more and more guests came to join in the fun. They needed to see the dress made by Lin Dan¡¯s new work clearly as soon as possible, and then ask others from the Danyan Embroidery House to copy it. Although what others did was far from being as immortal as what Lin Dan did, they were of the same style and wouldn¡¯t be ridiculed by others.


    As soon as Ruyan turned around to take something, the two floors were crowded with guests, which made her mouth twitch.


    ¡°Step aside, step aside.¡± she squeezed out of the passage with difficulty.


    ¡°What style and cloth is this dress today?¡± a guest asked excitedly.


    ¡°There are all kinds of cloth used in the shop. You can find them yourself later, but the pattern on the cloth is Dan embroidered by herself. I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t restore it.¡±Ruyan said.


    The guests sighed. Now everyone knew that Lin Dan¡¯s embroidery was the best in Lin¡¯an. It was impossible to restore her embroidery! Sure enough, when Xu Qian changed her clothes and walked out of the screen, the guests could not even sigh. They could only look at her in astonishment.


    It was a slip dress with a pink silk ribbon going through her armpit, forming the shape of a rose on her chest, outlining her full and soft chest, and making her legs particularly slender. The pure white dress was naturally and fluffy, and the way she walked was as ethereal as a cloud, which seemed to be normal. But when she walked to the window, the man suddenly found that the pure white cloth was embroidered with a pink rose with single silk. The silk was so thin that it could not be seen in the light, and it would flicker in the sun.


    With every step, Xu Qian took, the pink rose would change with the light and shadow. It felt so fantastic. The blouse was covered with pink cicada-wings-like gauze, and only a little exposed at the neckline, sleeves, and the end of the skirt, which made the finishing point.


    The crowd stared at the ethereal Xu Qian, held their breath, and thought, ¡°Miss Lin has never let me down. With the dress embroidered by her hands, I can¡¯t find the second one in the world.¡±


    However, Lin Dan was not satisfied. She walked around Xu Qian for two circles, and then took out a few feet of pink gauze, which was cut into a silk cappa, and made a fake rose with the same color and quality of gauze. She asked Xu Qian to put it on.


    After putting on the silk cappa and silk flowers, Xu Qian looked different from her previous elegant and plain appearance, as if she had added a touch of glamour and a little prettier.


    ¡°Wow, your skills are getting better and better!¡± said Xu Qian sincerely after looking at the hem of her dress for a while.


    Before Lin Dan could say anything, the ladies and debutantes surrounding the door shouted with hope, ¡°Miss Lin, are you free recently? Can you make a dress like this for me? The price is up to you!¡±


    ¡°My Dan is too busy to receive orders. Besides, she never makes the same dress,¡± said Ruyan, pushing them out. ¡°You can find someone else to do it. Don¡¯t block here. We still have a business to do.¡± Since her brother¡¯s promotion and her mother¡¯s return to the Imperial City, her arrogance and willfulness had returned. If anyone got in her way, she would fight back and show no respect. But the women in Lin¡¯an didn¡¯t dare to provoke her at all. They had to hold her carefully. Li Jiarong, her rival, hadn¡¯t shown up for a long time. It was said that one of her shins was broken by Li Ran and she was recuperating at home.


    The crowd dispersed reluctantly under the reproach of Du Ruyan. At this time, a line of officers and soldiers broke in and wanted to search the shop without saying anything. Du Ruyan and the shopkeeper tried to stop them but failed. They were so anxious that they sent people to look for Du Rusong.


    Lin Dan urged Xu Qian to leave as soon as possible and pulled Ruyan behind her, frowning.

 CH 110

    Chapter 110 - Embroiderer (32)


    Seeing the soldier break into the Danyan Embroidery House with a long halberd, Meng Zhong shook a cup of hot tea and smiled slowly. Empress Du just returned to the imperial city and hadn¡¯t got a seat yet. To put it bluntly, she was just an illegitimate and nameless concubine. How could she compete with Fei Li, who had a solid foundation and had a son?


    Fei Li was stunned by the emperor¡¯s attitude and didn¡¯t fight back in time. Now that she had recovered, she would naturally eliminate the remaining evils of the Dus. Meng Zhong was lucky enough to be connected with the Lis. While dealing with the Dus, he also wanted to step Lin Dan into the mud. This time, he would like to see how Lin Dan could turn the tables.


    In the storehouse of the Danyan Embroidery House, Lin Dan¡¯s hands were cut back by two soldiers, and she knelt on the ground with force. The leader pointed at a prying box and said coldly, ¡°Lin, how dare you!¡±


    ¡°This box is not ours! You framed us!¡± said Ruyan angrily, kicking the man who had kidnapped Lin Dan. What was hidden in the box was a piece of Darcy wood. It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal if it was found alone, but there was bright yellow silk beside it.


    The wood was also called the Sawyer wood. Leaves could nourish silkworms, tree trunks could make furniture, and more importantly, it could be used as a dye. Since the Tang Dynasty, the bright yellow cloth worn by the emperor was rendered with it, so it was a tribute. But now, the piece of wood and the bright yellow satin were hidden in a small folk embroidery house, which was closely related to Empress Du. What would the emperor think if the news spread back to the capital city? His trust in Empress Du, which he had just established, would probably be shattered again.


    Ruyan instantly understood that the farce today was not only to deal with Lin Dan but also to deal with her aunt. She had already said that her aunt shouldn¡¯t go back to that place where people ate each other and shouldn¡¯t be stained with these pickled things. Why did she have to be so stubborn?


    Her eyes turned red as if she was about to cry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Ruyan. To find your brother first,¡± said Lin Dan in a calm tone.


    The leader of the soldiers sneered, ¡°what are you looking for? You have hidden the yellow silk and the wood, and you have committed the crime of treason. No one can escape today. You have to be locked up in the prison! Someone will also catch Mr. Du. You can wait for him in the prison.¡±


    Hearing this, Du Ruyan suddenly collapsed, but Lin Dan slightly lowered her head to hide her ruthless expression. Now that things had come to this, she couldn¡¯t show any evidence to prove her innocence. She might as well kill all these people and run away with her mother, two concubines, and Cuilan. Those Japanese women were also brought with them. They wandered on the sea with the enemy and knew clearly where there was an island they could live on. When she went to those small islands and was far away from the rule of the Great Zhou, she could do whatever she liked. Even if she was a pirate, it was better than being killed.


    Thinking of this, Lin Dan¡¯s eyes were full of murderous will. When she was about to break free from the arms of the soldiers and launch an attack, she heard a rush of footsteps from outside.


    ¡°Mr. Xiao, you are so rude!¡± Du Rusong strode in and saw Lin Dan pressed on the ground. His eyes became cold.


    ¡°General Du, you¡¯re here. We¡¯re going to send someone to invite you to the military camp. Now that everyone is here, you don¡¯t have to bother us to come here again.¡± the officer named Xiao pointed at the box in the corner and said, ¡°Is this your stuff? Who is this cloth for? Please explain it to Lord. Li in person.¡±


    ¡°There is no need to go to the Yamen. I can tell you now that this cloth was dyed for my aunt.¡± Du Rusong wanted to draw a saber and cut the two people who held Lin Dan into meat paste, but he restrained himself. He gritted his teeth, held back his anger, and pulled his sister up.


    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± shouted Ruyan in horror.


    Mr. Xiao grinned hideously. When he was about to order to arrest these traitors, Du Rusong said slowly ¡°His majesty has issued an imperial edict to re-bestow the title of my aunt. The grand preceptor will be held at the end of the month. She asked Miss Lin to dye this cloth and is waiting to send it to the imperial city to make a robe for her. If you like it, please take it away. Later, I will write a letter to my aunt to explain the whole story to her.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible! I¡¯ve never heard that Empress Du can be conferred the title again! It¡¯s impossible!¡± Mr.Xiao¡¯s complacent expression was replaced by panic.


    ¡°Believe it or not,¡± Du Rusong kicked away the two soldiers and pulled Lin Dan into his arms. He patted her back with great care and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m here to get you into trouble. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    With the help of his broad chest, Lin Dan restrained the murderous look in her eyes and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid.¡±


    Du Rusong patted her on the back and said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± then he held his sweetheart with one hand and his sister with the other. Before he went out, he looked back carefully at the officers and soldiers coming today and engraved their faces in his heart. He would settle the score with them the next day.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    He didn¡¯t look at the living, but at the dead, which made them shiver. No one didn¡¯t dare to stop them and let them go. The soldiers who came with Du Rusong made a gesture of cutting their necks with a bloody smile.


    After they left, an officer said in a trembling voice, ¡°Mr.Xiao, is it true that Empress Du has been renamed?¡±


    ¡°This must be a delaying tactic used by Mr. Du!¡± Mr. Xiao said through gritted teeth, but he didn¡¯t dare to mention the arrest anymore. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back today. We¡¯ll talk about it after the news is confirmed.¡±


    ¡°What should we do if the news is true?¡±


    This question made Mr. Xiao¡¯s face turn pale and he felt like his liver and gall were splitting. His eyes kept changing, and finally, he laughed sinisterly. ¡°Then let¡¯s sell out the people above and die together!¡±


    Meng Zhong was a little disappointed to see Du Rusong come out with intact Lin Dab and Du Ruyan. Treason was a felony to kill all family, and even Empress Du couldn¡¯t escape, let alone these bastards.


    However, at this moment, Du Rusong and Lin Dan raised their heads at the same time and looked at Meng Zhong with the same cold eyes, which made them smile at the corners of his mouth stiff on his face. He accidentally knocked over the teacup and scalded his wrist. He immediately took a few steps back to avoid the sight of the two, and his heartbeat rapidly.


    Du Rusong had fought with all his might in the bloody storm. It was not strange that he had a strong aura, but it was no less than that of Lin Dan. The thick malicious aura was like that of a demon from the hell, suffocating. At the thought of this, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.


    After getting in the carriage, Du Ruyan asked in a low voice, ¡°Brother, has auntie really been conferred the title of Empress Du?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I just received a letter from her. The news will be spread to Lin¡¯an in a few days.¡± Du Rusong poured a cup of hot tea for Lin Dan and said in a soft voice, ¡°Dan, drink some water to calm down.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not afraid,¡± said Lin Dan, handing the cup to Ruyan.


    Ruyan quickly drank a cup of tea and said in admiration, ¡°Dan, aren¡¯t you afraid at all? If we are really caught, it will be a big crime to kill all of us!¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? At the worst, kill all those people. Let¡¯s go to the sea by ship and be pirates. My mother has a way to make weapons and armors, and your brother can get the warships through the military camp. I¡¯m a little bit powerful. You¡¯re good at doing business and can help us sell the spoils. When we go out of the sea, we can do whatever we want and grab as much money as we want. We¡¯re not living a hard life now.¡± As she spoke, a look of yearning appeared in her eyes, as if it was a pity that she hadn¡¯t become a wanted criminal.


    Hearing that, the teacup in Ruyan¡¯s hand fell on the cushion with a click.


    Du Rusong was stunned at first and then covered his face with his hand to stifle a smile. He should have thought of the way to survive in any case. But Lin Dan was one of the most valiant girls in the Great Zhou, and there was no way for her to survive.


    ¡°Dan, how can you be so cute?¡± seeing the serious look on Lin Dan¡¯s face, Du Rusong changed from a muffled smile to a loud one.


    Ruyan giggled too. The previous fear had completely dissipated. She should have thought that as long as there was Dan, she didn¡¯t need to worry about anything because Dan could always think of a solution. What was wrong with being a pirate? Being able to roam the whole world without scruple was much better than now!


    After they returned home, Du Rusong got off first, turned around, and without saying anything, he put his hands under Lin Dan¡¯s armpits and held her down. He was very tall, and these days he had gone through a lot of battles in all directions, so he became stronger. While Lin Dan inherited the short and stumpy figure of Lin Dafu, and she would never grow taller after fifteen years old.


    Now she was held in Du Rusong¡¯s arms, just like a doll. Her thin legs kicked a few times in the air before she could barely step on the ground. Seeing her funny appearance, Du Ruyan covered her mouth and snickered again. She had never expected that there would be such a time.


    Zhang Hui, who came out to welcome her daughter, was slightly stunned. She looked at Du Rusong with scrutinizing eyes. This man was so careful with his daughter. Did he fall in love with her? Oh, no! Her daughter was going to marry a son-in-law by adoption, and she couldn¡¯t be married to a powerful man!


    Thinking of this, she immediately found an excuse to drag her daughter into the room and slammed the door again.


    Du Rusong touched his nose and smiled helplessly, but he had no intention of giving up.


    Three days later, the news that Empress Du was renamed was finally spread to Lin¡¯an. The brother and sister of the Dus immediately became the local popular figures. All the officers and soldiers who went to search for the Danyan Embroidery House were arrested, interrogated by Du Rusong in person, and tortured. Some people failed to survive the torture and died in prison, while some people were involved in the chaos, dragging many colleagues in the prison too, making the situation more confused.


    No one knew what Empress Du had told the emperor. The emperor had even sent the most capable minister around him to investigate this matter, which led to a big shuffle in the official field of Lin¡¯an. Fortunately, Meng Zhong and the Lis were clever enough, and they had found several scapegoats who didn¡¯t reveal them. However, the emperor was not a fool. After receiving the letter, he gave the relevant people a hard lesson

 CH 111

    Since Empress Du ascended the throne again, Lin Dan¡¯s business has been expanding. She has recruited many woman embroiderers and weavers, who are the most talented people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. She also built a large weaving workshop, and gradually mastered the weaving skills of shu brocade, silk, and satins.


    Meng Zhong was in an extremely difficult situation under her fierce competition, his embroiderers and weavers were frequently poached away, and the business in the store was getting worse and worse.


    At the same time, the emperor¡¯s health was getting weaker and weaker, and he could not get up for two or three months once he fell sick. As a result, he becomes increasingly suspicious and rarely spends time with the concubines or the princes or princesses in the harem. Once he fell ill, he never lets anyone near him, even the eunuchs he trusted. Only Empress Du could accompany him by his bedside and take care of all the piled-up political affairs. At first, the courtiers thought it was inappropriate for them to do so, so they persuaded and even impeached Empress Du several times. However, when Empress Du really gave up on taking care of those affairs, the chaotic court forced them to accept such an arrangement.


    When the emperor was extremely ill, Empress Du accompanied him and took over the administration; when the emperor recovered, she immediately locked herself in the Taoist temple and did not ask about world affairs. As time went by, the emperor believed in her, and the courtiers were getting used to her sitting behind the pearl curtain listening to government affairs. After her enthronement, she did not promote the Du family, nor did she retaliate against those who had trampled on her, but silently, little by little, her power penetrated into the imperial power.


    Unlike Empress Du, who behaves firmly on her throne, the concubines who have sons and daughters feel that the emperor¡¯s end is near and start to fight among themselves. All the emperor¡¯s sons had their own followers and were competing in the court. Watching them fight back and front with each other like black-eyed chickens, the emperor was wearing away his fatherly heart to them.


    One day, the eldest prince was assassinated on the march and become blind in one eye, but the captured assassin confessed that the master behind these scenes was the third prince. The third prince denied and went to the imperial study to present his grievances. This revealed the scandal of the second prince, fourth prince, and other brothers, which they are selling their titles and forming parties for personal interests. Several princes immediately stood up to fight back, all kinds of intrigues and hidden conspiracies suddenly broke out in an instant.


    The court had become a total mess, the emperor was mentally exhausted and fell ill again for four or five months. The Empress Du had to leave the temple and go to the imperial study to help deal with court affairs. At first, she had worn a beaded hair wear to separate herself from the courtiers. Over time, the bead hair wear became more and more troublesome to her. She simply removed it and met her courtiers in an opened and dignified manner. The manjusaka symbol between her eyebrows was so pretty, enchanting, and sharp, which makes the courtiers feel so oppressed that they don¡¯t even dare to breathe out loud.


    Her majestic, indifferent, and wise image was gradually established in the hearts of many civil and military officials.


    A few months later, a massive typhoid epidemic broke out in the city center. Except for the prince who stayed behind closed doors, four of the adult princes contracted the disease. The Empress Du quarantined the patient immediately and dispatched an imperial physician to study overnight on the prescription for curing typhoid fever, so as to control the disaster to a minimum range.


    She did not intervene in the treatment process of the four princes but sent their mother and concubine out of the palace to take care of them. In order to protect the emperor, she also banned the Hall of Yang Xin. After all, the emperor¡¯s body was getting weaker and weaker. A small cold and flu could kill him, let alone typhoid fever?


    Unfortunately, the four emperor¡¯s sons fail to survive. The sad concubines ran to the Hall of Yang Xin to see the emperor but were stopped by the empress. They cried, making noises, and even stated that the empress stopped them because of her personal motives. However, the emperor didn¡¯t think the empress¡¯s move was inappropriate, but he felt very relieved. Without the protection of the empress, he would have been seriously ill, and these women not only did not understand him and cared for him, but also disturb his rest, which is terrible!


    Thinking of this, the emperor immediately dispatched the guards to keep away all these people. He only allowed the empress to enter and leave the Hall of Yang Xin, and also gave the command of the imperial army to the empress.


    A few months later, the epidemic was gradually under control, at the same time the emperor¡¯s health had gradually improved. The empress immediately handed back the political affairs to him and went back to the Taoist temple to practice. A few days later, the emperor had relaxed his vigilance and summoned the Seventh Prince, who had been kneeling outside the Hall of Yang Xin, to speak.  Soon after the father and son bid farewell, the emperor fell ill again. After the doctor took his pulse, he knelt down trembling, kowtowing, and not daring to speak.


    Half a month later, the emperor, who had contracted typhoid, was so thin that he had lost his shape, and no matter what medicine was used, it did not work. He took the empress¡¯s hand and shed tears silently, he felt regret and shame,  and more hatred for the seventh prince. Since then, the eldest prince was blind in one eye, the third and eighth prince were demoted to the common people, the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth prince all died of illness, the seventh prince was abandoned, and in the end, only the five-year-old ninth prince was left to inherit the throne.


    Seeing this messy and terrible situation in front of him, no matter how regretful the emperor was, it was too late, and he could only arrange his afterlife hastily. He called four cabinet ministers to his bedside and made an imperial edict. He ordered Empress Du to manage court affairs and promoted Concubine Li to the position of senior concubine.


    He didn¡¯t trust his subjects nor his women, but he believed in Empress Du, because she had no mother to rely on, nor her own heirs. She had no other way to survive except to assist the Ninth Prince.


    After arranging all this, the emperor closed his eyes in reluctance, and the ninth prince, who was only five years old at the time, was enthroned as the emperor. Empress Du was revered as the Queen Mother of the East which managed political affairs while Li Min was revered as the Queen Mother of the West, who was responsible for taking care of the little emperor¡¯s daily life, without any real power in her hands.


    Li Min is an extremely ambitious woman, of course she is greatly dissatisfied with this. She frequently encourages the supervisor to impeach Du Fange and orders the Li family to recruit courtiers for their own use. But unfortunately, Du Fange¡¯s prestige has long been established among the civil and military officials, and the emperor has already excluded the Li family from the center of power in order to prevent the monopoly of foreign relatives. It is useless and did nothing done but show the world their ugly ambitions and their jokes.


    After the emperor was buried in the imperial tomb, the enthronement ceremony was in preparation. In order to embroider the dresses of the little emperor and two queen mothers, officials from the Department of Internal Affairs began to select the best embroiders from all over the country and buy silk and satins.


    Since ancient times, Suzhou and Hangzhou have been known as the ¡°hometown of silkworms¡±, and they were the first stop for selection. Moreover, the Queen Mother¡¯s brother is the governor of Zhejiang Province. He pays tribute to the embroidered mother and fabrics and is also a handy gift from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On the day of the selection, the top embroiderers from all over Suzhou and Hangzhou gathered together and displayed their best works, which were judged by several officials.


    Meng Si, who hadn¡¯t appeared in front of people for a long time, also came. She carefully placed an embroidered screen on the table. Li Xiudian stood by and looked at her with eyes full of glory.


    ¡°The composition is exquisite, the stitches are exquisite, it¡¯s great.¡± An official looked at Li Xiudian and nodded in admiration.


    ¡°The stitches are indeed exquisite, but not the best. There are already several similar works on this table. If they can¡¯t be outstanding, are they qualified to embroider dragon and phoenix robes?¡± Another official looked in Du Ruyan¡¯s direction. The two queen mothers from east and west have not really fought, but their officials below are already standing in line.


    Meng Si smiled slightly, then generously stepped forward and turned the round embroidery screen around.


    Everyone in the venue suddenly gasped. On the front of this embroidered painting, there is a lady holding a mirror while dressing up. Even the roots of the hair are visible. The beautiful facial features are lifelike. Under the gauze, there are some flesh colors that seem to have body temperature. Is this really a painting? This is clearly a window through which people can spy on every move of the lady.


    The painting skills and exquisite stitching are already very amazing for most people. What¡¯s even better is that the back of this embroidered screen is actually the same scene and characters in a different perspective. The lady facing the crowd turned her back to the crowd, and her beautiful face could only be dimly seen through the mirror in her hand.


    An embroidery painting has two sides, and the patterns on both sides are different. This kind of stitching is almost unheard of in the State of Zhou.


    When everyone was shocked, an old embroidery woman exclaimed: ¡°I remember, this is the lost double-sided embroidery, and it is the most difficult double-sided, same-color, and different painting embroidery! I read about it in an ancient book. I thought it was just a legend, but I didn¡¯t know someone could do it! I studied all my life can not restore this kind of embroidery technology, Meng did it! How old is she? The future generation is unbelievable!¡±


    The old embroider woman walked back and forth around the table, looking excited.


    The official supporting the Queen Mother of West immediately said, ¡°Mr. Qian, this is the legendary double-sided embroidery. Talking about the embroidery technique, anyone here can beat Meng? If she can¡¯t be selected, I don¡¯t know who to choose.


    Lord Qian stroked his beard and was speechless. The rest of the officials had already understood the situation, and then they echoed: ¡°Yes, Meng¡¯s embroidery skills are really good. Who else can we choose? I think it¡¯s settled.¡±


    Other embroiders stared at each other but no one stands up against it. The embroidered woman who had submitted her work retreated silently, and the embroidered woman who had not yet presented her work hid the package in her arms as she was ashamed of herself.


    Seeing this scene, Meng Si bit her lip secretly, feeling agitated. After this incident, she will surely be able to regain the title of the No. 1 Embroiderer in Zhejiang Province. When she embroiders the dragon robe and phoenix robe in the coming day, even the title of the No. 1 Embroiderer in the Great Zhou Kingdom will belong to her. After entering the palace, she will take good care of the Queen Mother of West to establish a good relationship with her, and then try to get her to agree to her marriage with Li Gongzi. By then, everything will be better, and Meng¡¯s Embroidery Village will be able to dominate the weaving market in Zhejiang Province and even the entire Great Zhou Kingdom as before.


    Thinking of this, she raised her head and looked at Lin Dan, revealing a rare, proud smile.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t look at her at all, but ordered someone to carry a screen that was half a foot tall and covered with a black cloth behind her into the hall, and said slowly: ¡°Lin Dan from Danyan Embroidery Village is here to join in. Elect, I invite you all to have a look.

 CH 112

    Chapter 112 - Embroiderer (34)


    The outcome has long been decided, and those who want their dignity should keep their works silently and leave quietly. How can there be a reason to take the initiative to send them to slap people in the face? Is this Lin Xiu Niang too conceited or is she crazy? As we all know, double-sided embroidery is the most profound and unique stitching technique among all embroidery techniques. If you can master it, other embroidery techniques are simply not even worth mentioning. Meng Sineng applied double-sided embroidery to such a masterful degree that even Lin Dan, who was proficient in various needle techniques, was by no means her opponent.


    Xiu Niang who was present knew this, so she looked at Lin Dan with some pity. Some people want to persuade her into retreating in spite of difficulties, some people want to persuade her not to be brave, and some people want to persuade her to accept her failure calmly. But there were still many officials sitting in the hall, and even if they had a stomach full of things to say, they didn¡¯t dare to open their mouths at this time.


    Meng Zhong covered his lips with a low smile, his eyes showing contempt.


    Li Xiudian frowned and glanced at Lin Dan, and then looked at Du Rusong, who was standing not far away and watching him tenderly, feeling a little unhappy, ¡°In this case, Lin Xiuniang lifted the black cloth, let¡¯s open our eyes.¡± He said sarcastically.


    Lin Dan complied with the promise, and then lifted the black cloth.


    ¡°This, this is the legendary five-color peacock?!¡± Master Qian exclaimed.


    The rest of the adults even forgot to drink the hot tea in their hands, and they all showed jaw-dropping expressions.


    I saw a screen embroidered with a life-size five-colored peacock standing on a branch. Its gorgeous tail feathers spread out naturally, and its slender neck is slightly reflective, revealing dazzling eyes. The tail feathers looked green at first and then looked red again. From another angle, they actually rendered a touch of orange, a touch of purple, and a touch of blue. All colors change like a streamer, gorgeous to the extreme, and gorgeous to the extreme. The feathers on its body are stacked one on top of the other, one on top of the other, and it is not messy at all. What¡¯s even better is that its eyes are still shining like the stars, as if it can come alive in a blink of an eye, and then twist its neck, shake its tail and feathers, and fly into the sky.


    Everyone was stunned by this vivid and aura embroidered painting, and they were speechless for quite a while.


    ¡°Hmph, no matter how gorgeous it is, this is just an ordinary single-sided embroidery, and it is difficult to compare with Miss Meng¡¯s embroidery skills.¡± Li Xiudian put down the teacup heavily and said coldly.


    ¡°Yes, yes, we are looking for the embroidering lady with the best embroidery skills, not the embroidering lady with the best painting skills.¡± Several officials came back to their senses and quickly agreed.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t say a word and silently turned the embroidered screen around.


    Everyone stood up suddenly, gasping for breath in shock.


    The old embroidered lady exclaimed before, ¡°This is actually another double-sided embroidery, and it is still a double-sided embroidery of the same color and different colors! It¡¯s amazing, today is really amazing!¡±


    It turned out that on the back of this piece of fabric, there was actually a picture of a peacock embroidered, with the exact same posture and size, but the color of the feathers was pure white, like snow, but faintly shimmered with five-color shimmers. If the previous picture of the peacock is a gorgeous beauty and a bewitching beauty, then the latter picture is a silent and a holy beauty, both of which are so eye-catching and shocking.


    Against this extreme beauty, Meng Si¡¯s ¡°The Handmaid¡¯s Dressing in the Mirror¡± appears so ordinary and bleak.


    The officials went back and forth to check the two embroidery works and already had the answer in their hearts. Mr. Qian slowly spread his palms and said slowly: ¡°Okay, the number one embroidery lady in Zhejiang Province is indeed well-deserved! The place for this queen embroidery lady¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Meng Zhong slammed the teacup on the table and said sternly, ¡°This double-sided embroidery is a stunt of my Meng family¡¯s. How could it be learned by Miss Lin? As far as I know, could it be, that Miss Lin is the thief? Miss Lin, if you can¡¯t give me an explanation today, I will sue you for stealing and plagiarism!¡±


    In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, embroidery skills come from family inheritance and are highly valued by locals. Whose ancestors passed on embroidery skills, they usually only teach them to their daughter-in-law, not to their daughter. Because the daughter will get married sooner or later, it may lead to the failure of the family¡¯s stunts, and the daughter-in-law is her own family, and she can pass it on from generation to generation after learning it. Under the influence of this ethos, embroiderers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are very disgusted with those who steal embroidery skills from other people¡¯s homes. If they report to the government, they will definitely go to jail.


    The Meng family has always been a weaving family, and what Meng Zhong said is easy to win people¡¯s trust, and then looking at Meng Si¡¯s aggrieved expression, the credibility is much improved. On the other hand, Lin Dan, a little girl from a horse thief, where did she learn such stunts?


    An official immediately slapped the table and asked sternly, ¡°Lin Xiu Niang, are you not as good as the original? How did you learn the Meng family¡¯s embroidery skills?¡±


    Du Rusong took a step forward and sneered: ¡°This lord is so powerful, he even pinned the charge on Miss Lin¡¯s head without checking it. The ancient book has recorded the source of the double-sided embroidery, and it has clearly stated that it belongs to the Meng family. The stunt? If not, how can the Meng family prove that they are orthodox, not acquired by chance? If they have this stunt long ago, why has it been passed down from five or six generations and no one has used it? Such doubts remain to be investigated Ming, how can you arbitrarily decide the case!¡±


    As his voice fell, the soldiers guarding outside came in in unison and put their hands on the hilt of the knife, as if they were about to kill if they disagreed.


    Today¡¯s Du Rusong has already been promoted to the deputy admiral of the Navy, and he has no doubts in the army. Even Admiral Xu has to retreat three feet from him. How can he be a sesame petite from the Department of Internal Affairs to compete? Even if Li Ran came in person, Du Rusong didn¡¯t have to give him face at all.


    The official was so frightened that his face was pale, his eyes flickered, his lips trembled, and he did not dare to speak for a long time.


    Li Xiudian gave Meng Zhong a wink, and Meng Zhong immediately sent someone to his house to get the embroidery sheet, and opened it for everyone to read. I saw that this embroidery manual is old and yellow, the pages are loose, the title page is attached with the words of encouragement from the ancestors of the Meng family to the younger generation, and the last page is attached with the list of outstanding embroiderers of the Meng family. It can be seen that it was passed down hundreds of years ago.


    Meng Si wiped away his tears and said in a mournful voice, ¡°Although this embroidery manual has been passed down in my family for several generations because the needle technique is too intricate and the most crucial pages are missing, no one has learned it since. It was only when I was a child that I learned it thoroughly.¡± In fact, this embroidery manual was copied by Meng Zhong, and the most crucial pages were deliberately cut off so that no one could steal it. The original was secretly hidden by him somewhere, and even Meng Si didn¡¯t know the exact location.


    Everyone has seen the embroidery, and they have no doubts about the Meng brothers and sisters.


    ¡°Miss Lin, what else do you have to say?¡± Li Xiudian sneered.


    Du Rusong kept Lin Dan behind him and was about to fight, but saw her pick up the scissors and cut open his own embroidery painting and Meng Si¡¯s embroidery painting with a few clicks, and said slowly: ¡± I have nothing to say. The needles of the two are completely different, you will know after seeing them.¡±


    To find out whether the two stitches are of the same origin, cutting the embroidery thread to check the traces of the stitches is the fastest way. There are many senior embroidered girls on the field, and with their experience and eyesight, they will never admit their mistakes.


    Du Rusong immediately waved: ¡°I beg all embroidered mothers to come and check the traces of the stitches. Of course, if Miss Meng is worried, you can also see it in person.¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± Lin Dan stretched out his arm and made a gesture of begging.


    ¡°Go check it out!¡± Seeing the two of them so calm, Li Xiudian felt a little uneasy. But the matter has come to this point, he can¡¯t bear to back down, so he can only continue to investigate.


    The embroidered maidens couldn¡¯t wait any longer and hurriedly gathered around to check them eagerly. If they can figure out the regularity of stitching, they can understand some ways of double-sided embroidery, how can they not be excited?


    Meng Zhongwan didn¡¯t expect Lin Dan to make this move, his face turned blue with anger, but he couldn¡¯t say the word ¡°no¡±. Meng Si looked at his broken works, and at the embroidery girls who were trying to steal double-sided embroidery, with a bit of hatred in his eyes. Why does Lin Dan always fight against her? It was clearly the Lin family who was sorry for the Meng family first, didn¡¯t they?


    The embroiderers watched for half an hour before backing away under Li Xiudian¡¯s scolding, ¡°Have you seen enough? Are these two stitches the same?¡±


    The well-informed old embroidered lady took a step forward and said firmly, ¡°Qi, Young Master Li, these two needle techniques are completely different, and they are not the same.¡±


    Before Li Xiudian could speak, Meng Zhong gritted his teeth and said, ¡°How is that possible? Could it be that there are still two types of double-sided embroidery in the world?¡±


    Du Ruyan pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, scolding angrily: ¡°It¡¯s okay if you are ignorant, why do you treat others as fools? I don¡¯t know where Meng Si¡¯s double-sided embroidery was stolen from, I only know my family. The light double-sided embroidery is based on the double-sided Kesi technique of Nishijin Textile. She figured it out bit by bit with her clever mind and exquisite needlework! Light is smarter than Meng Si and does not need embroidery. Able to self-taught; Slight is better than Meng Si, and she can surpass her in embroidery skills without years of practice. What if you are not convinced? Meng Si is stupid and incompetent, and can¡¯t afford to lose. My family¡¯s light head is too damn shameless!¡±


    Meng Zhong didn¡¯t dare to offend the Du brothers and sisters, and couldn¡¯t find anything to refute, so he looked at Meng Si and asked, ¡°Sisi, did you see clearly? You two really have different acupuncture techniques?¡±


    Meng Si couldn¡¯t even lift her head, and said in a low voice, ¡°Brother, our needle techniques are indeed different.¡± And this was not the most unbearable point for her. As Du Ruyan said, she relied on the embroidery manual to restore the double-sided embroidery, while Lin Dan can gradually understand the double-sided embroidery with only the existing Kesi technology, and he can compare the needlework. Hers is denser and lighter. Thinking a little further, she learned embroidery when she was a child, while Lin Dan was a monk halfway through. It was clear at a glance who was smarter and who was more talented.


    Feeling the contemptuous glances from the embroidered mothers at him, Meng Si shrank his neck and finally shed two tears of humiliation.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t show the slightest expression, he covered his embroidery screen with a black cloth, and said slowly, ¡°Now that the truth is clear, we will leave first. Friends, if anyone wants to learn double-sided embroidery, come to Danyan Embroidery Village. Looking for me, the premise is that you must exchange with me a needle method handed down from your own family.¡±


    She bowed her hands, and her attitude was free and easy: ¡°I will not stay any more for your own consideration!¡± In this way, she can learn more embroidery skills, and can also integrate embroidery girls in Zhejiang Province to form an industry. This is a good thing for Danyan Embroidery Village and even the development of Su Embroidery. On the contrary, if Meng Zhong wanted to regain a foothold in the weaving market in Zhejiang Province with double-sided embroidery, his dream would have been shattered, and it would be impossible.


    Although Lin Dan has a light temper, he is not a lenient person. If Meng Zhong wants to frame her, then she will completely block his way.


    Seeing Lin Dan¡¯s retreating back, all the Xiu Niang¡¯s started discussing in an instant, with expressions of doubt and anticipation on their faces. At this time, who would care about the quota for the embroidered maid, who would pay attention to whether Meng Si was crying again. Anyway, when she met Miss Lin, she had never won once, so she should have gotten used to it.

 CH 113

    The selection of the Queen Embroidered Mother just ended abruptly. Because of some changes, the officials of the Internal Affairs Department did not announce the result on the spot, but everyone took it for granted that Lin Dan would win this round.


    Although Meng Si¡¯s double-sided embroidery is exquisite, the stitch sequence is a bit chaotic, and occasionally stitches are skipped, causing the pattern on the other side to appear chaotic. Although she later used plane embroidery stitches to modify and remedy and hide the messy threads, but as long as you cut the embroidery thread and look at it, you can find these rough spots. In the final analysis, her double-sided embroidery skills are just superior to KitKat, far less exquisite than they appear on the surface.


    However, Lin Dan¡¯s double-sided embroidery is based on the improvement of the double-sided Kesi technology. The needles must be embroidered in sequence, the needles must be carefully marked, the threads should not be messed up, and knots should not be tangled. The embroidery surface is even and smooth without appearing. Thick and clumsy, it is far superior to Meng Si¡¯s family embroidery skills.


    However, three days later, Du Ruyan walked into the embroidery village, full of righteous indignation: ¡°Smooth, I just received the news that Li Xiudian took Meng Si to Beijing. Meng Si was designated as the embroidery maid for the emperor and the emperor. The two empress dowagers embroidered dresses! Obviously you won the selection, why did they do this!¡±


    Lin Dan is holding the needle and thread and carefully repairing the double-faced peacock picture that she had cut off before, and said without looking up: ¡°You don¡¯t need to be angry, I don¡¯t care much about the number of Queen Embroiderers. I can choose the best, but I can¡¯t choose. It¡¯s okay to go up.¡±


    These days, there are many embroiderers who come to learn double-sided embroidery. Lin Dan has also learned dozens of new stitches. Just thinking about and mastering these stitches is enough for her to be busy, and she has no time to go. toss something else. In the final analysis, those false names are just shortcuts to success. If you want to reach the top, you still rely on real strength.


    ¡°How do you say this? If you lose, we don¡¯t have to go, but the problem is that you won! You won and they let Meng Si replace you. This is obviously bullying!¡± Du Ruyan was so angry He stomped his feet: ¡°Then Li Xiudian is so shameless, in order to prevent others from gossiping about Meng Si, he secretly took Meng Si to the capital at night, and didn¡¯t announce the news at all. Bah, sooner or later, this pair of sons and daughters will be killed. retribution!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so angry about this?¡± Du Rusong walked in with a small and cute bamboo basket and said with a smile: ¡°Dan¡¯er, this is the embroidery thread I bought for you. Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Brother Du.¡± Lin Dan and Du Rusong became more and more familiar with each other, so they changed their names. She focused on checking the embroidery thread, while Du Rusong stared at her intently and said with a smile: ¡°Dan¡¯er, tomorrow. Would you like to go to Beijing with me? I have sent a letter to my aunt, asking her to designate you as the queen embroiderer to embroider her phoenix robe. Let Meng Si embroider the dresses of Li Min and the little emperor, we don¡¯t care.¡±


    Before Lin Dan could speak, Du Ruyan clasped her palms happily: ¡°Okay, this proposal is great! My aunt is now the most honorable woman in the world, and her dress should be embroidered by the best embroiderer in the world! Well, when you embroider the most beautiful phoenix robe, at the enthronement ceremony, I want to see how proud Li Min is!¡±


    After hearing this, Lin Dan finally raised his head and smiled lightly: ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s go back and pack our luggage.¡±


    For some reason, Du Rusong felt that his sweetheart¡¯s smile was a little bit bad and a little cute, so he couldn¡¯t help shaking his head and smiling, then pointed at the peacock screen and said, ¡°Tan¡¯er, take this with you too, you can repair it slowly on the boat. , when I arrive in the capital, I will use it to be useful.¡±


    ¡°Okay, it will be finished in a few days.¡± Lin Dan nodded and agreed without asking the reason.


    A group of people arrived in the capital by sea boat, and they were called into the palace by Empress Dowager Du before they were properly settled.


    Compared with the last time, the appearance and temperament of Empress Dowager Du are different. When she had just stabbed her forehead, she was so beautiful and flamboyant, but now, she just sat down on the seat with her eyes down, she was like a mountain, insurmountable, and like a vast ocean, deeply invisible. end. All the palace servants knelt down at her feet, all expressions of awe on their faces.


    In fact, not only these palace servants but even the civil and military officials were cautious and fearful in front of her. A person who is too gorgeous and too majestic is naturally scary.


    But Lin Dan was not affected by her aura at all, saluted without being humble or arrogant, and then sat on the futon. Du Rusong and Du Ruyan sat next to her with solemn expressions.


    ¡°Long time no see, Miss Lin doesn¡¯t seem to grow taller at all?¡± Empress Dowager Du poured tea for the little girl herself.


    ¡°Cough cough cough!¡± Lin Dan choked on the tea, his cheeks flushed from coughing. Du Rusong and Du Ruyan hurriedly reached out their hands and patted her on the back lightly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Seeing her nephew and niece taking care of Lin Dan like a baby, Empress Dowager Du was not annoyed but laughed softly: ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s what a little girl looks like. You walked into the hall with a straight face, Ben. Gong also thinks this is the old lady of which house to invite An.¡±


    Lin Dan¡¯s cheeks turned even redder, and there was some rare shyness on his face. Du Rusong and Du Ruyan both put their heads aside and couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    The atmosphere in the hall instantly became active, causing the palace servants who were serving them to look sideways frequently. They had never seen Queen Dowager Du so kindly, let alone smiling so cheerfully. She is beautiful, but she is like the sun in the sky, but there is a danger of being burned from a distance. But now, she seems to have fallen from a high sky and has become an ordinary, flesh-and-blood person.


    It can be seen how much she values ??and dotes on the three people in front of her. Du Rusong and Du Ruyan are her relatives, which is understandable, but who is that girl Lin, who can make Empress Dowager Du treat her like a junior and take good care of her?


    When the palace servants were thinking wildly, Empress Dowager Du backed away and asked Lin Dan to measure the size for herself. Du Rusong went to the outer hall to wait, while Du Ruyan held a small notebook to record the data.


    ¡°The waist is one foot seven, the hip circumference is two feet four¡­¡± Lin Dan counted while measuring.


    ¡°Auntie, you are in such a good shape!¡± Du Ruyan sighed.


    Empress Dowager Du smiled without saying a word, turned around and asked Lin Dan to measure her shoulder width, and then said casually, ¡°Listen to Rusong, you were almost forced to become pirates?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Someone hid Zhemu and Minghuang silk and satin in our embroidery village, and framed us! Tan didn¡¯t panic at all at the time, but I was almost scared to death!¡± Du Ruyan slapped her chest in fear.


    Lin Dan¡¯s tone was very calm: ¡°People are being pushed in a hurry, what can¡¯t they do? In the end, survival is the most important thing. As long as you live, you are not afraid to start all over again.¡±


    Empress Du¡¯s eyes dimmed slightly, she nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, as long as people are alive, they¡¯re not afraid to come back. I always have one thing in my heart, but I don¡¯t know if I should do it or not, Dan¡¯er, you go out for me. How about coming up with an idea?¡± Inexplicably, she liked and trusted the little girl in front of her very much.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t lift his head and said, ¡°You know what you shouldn¡¯t do, but you keep pressing it in your heart, so it can be seen that you want to do it. Is there a sentence you haven¡¯t heard before?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Empress Dowager Du looked down at her with an unpredictable expression.


    ¡°Everything in the world can¡¯t be done, but how do you improve yourself?¡± Lin Dan raised his head and looked at her, saying word by word.


    This proverb comes from Zhu Xi, a Confucian master, ¡°Anthology of Zhu Zi: Answers to Xu Shunzhi¡±.


    Empress Dowager Du was stunned for a moment, and then slowly smiled again: ¡°Okay, there is nothing that can be done in the world.¡± She pondered for a moment, and then rubbed her palms again, she was actually relieved and worried.


    Du Ruyan quietly pulled on Lin Dan¡¯s sleeve and asked silently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my aunt?¡±


    Lin Dan shook his head and didn¡¯t speak. After measuring the size and leaving the Qiwu Palace, he whispered to Du Rusong, ¡°I see Aunt Du¡¯s appearance, as if I want to be a female emperor.¡±


    Du Rusong was about to help her into the car, when he heard this, his face changed suddenly. Du Ruyan, who had already climbed halfway, immediately fell off the hood, squatted on his butt, and cried out in pain.


    Du Rusong didn¡¯t care about his sister at all, just rubbed the top of his sweetheart¡¯s hair lightly, and explained carefully: ¡°I can¡¯t say this again in the future, just bury it in my heart. No matter what my aunt wants to do, it has nothing to do with you. After you embroider the dress, I will I¡¯ll take you back to Lin¡¯an Mansion, and try not to come back if you have nothing to do.¡±


    ¡°I want to stay in the capital,¡± Lin Dan said with a longing expression for the first time, and said in a low voice, ¡°I want to see how far Aunt Du can go.¡± This is the first time she has such a strong interest in a person¡¯s fate. interest of. It is undoubtedly a miracle to break through a world in a patriarchal society and even reach the top.


    ¡°Do you think you are watching a play?¡± Du Rusong¡¯s nervous mood instantly dissipated, and he tapped his sweetheart on the head angrily and funny.


    Du Ruyan, who was so frightened, had already climbed up from the ground, slapped the skirt, and whispered: ¡°Listening to what Tan said, I¡¯m not afraid at all, but very excited. Brother, what are you talking about? What¡¯s the matter?¡± If the aunt¡¯s success is failing, this time, she and her brother are not as simple as being assigned to the Lin¡¯an Mansion, and they are more likely to be executed by Ling Chi. However, if Auntie succeeds, the Great Zhou Kingdom will usher in the first female emperor in history, and the civil and military officials will crawl under her feet, shouting long live¡­ As long as you think about that magnificent scene, Du Ruyan¡¯s blood boils and his blood boils. mood swings.


    ¡°If you have something to say, go back. It¡¯s not as simple as you think.¡± Du Rusong held Lin Dan in one hand and his sister¡¯s collar in the other, stuffed them into the carriage, and then looked in the direction of the imperial city, very distressed. Rubbed his eyebrows.


    If what Dan¡¯er said is true, then he has to find a way to transfer back to the capital as soon as possible so that he can help his aunt. Even Dan¡¯er has never been afraid, let alone avoided the relationship, so what else is he worried about? It might sound like a fantasy for a woman to be the emperor, but he knew that his aunt had the courage and the ability.

 CH 114

    Since entering the palace, Meng Si has been concentrating on the embroidery in the room and rarely walks outside as he has nothing to do. On this day, Li Min called her as usual and asked about the progress of the dress production. She took out the embroidered part and said: ¡°The Empress Dowager, the dragon robe is ready, and the phoenix robe is almost the same. Take a look first. If there is anything you don¡¯t like, the people will change it immediately.¡±


    Li Min held the golden phoenix robe and sighed: ¡°It really is a masterpiece! Xiu Dian is right, when it comes to embroidery skills, you are much better than these embroiderers in the palace!¡±


    Her maid of honor echoed: ¡°Suhang area is the hometown of silkworms, gathering the best embroidery girls in the world. Although the embroidery girls in the palace are not bad, you have to go to the Suzhou-Hangzhou area and take a look at real professionals.¡±


    Meng Si waved his hands to show his humility: ¡°My mother and my aunt praised me. When it comes to embroidery skills, Su embroidery, Shu embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Cantonese embroidery all have their own strengths, and there is no distinction between high and low. It takes practice.¡±


    It¡¯s already like this, do you want to practice again? You really live to learn.¡± Li Min was very satisfied with the embroidery of the dragon and phoenix robes and naturally felt that Meng Si was pleasing to the eye. She pursed her lips and said softly, ¡°I heard that Du Fange¡¯s phoenix robe is not bright yellow, and she also found Xiu Niang from outside?¡±


    The maid of the palace nodded and said, ¡°Yes, madam, the palace servants of Qiwu Hall went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to pick up a few pieces of red cloth, saying that they were going to make phoenix robes. The embroidered maid on their side was Du Rusong, the nephew of the Empress Dowager East, from Lin¡¯an Mansion. The surname is Lin, and the family owns an embroidery shop, but he is a descendant of horse thieves. He started learning embroidery at the age of fifteen, and he has only learned it for more than two years, and he has no idea how embroidery skills are.¡±


    The news that the maid inquired about was naturally covered up by the Empress Dowager Du. When Li Min was still fighting with other concubines or princes for the crown prince¡¯s position, the Empress Dowager Du had already penetrated her power into every corner of the palace, and even the entire imperial city. Before she was abolished, she was the one who was in charge of the Sixth Palace and covered the sky with one hand, not to mention now? If she doesn¡¯t want people to know something, even if that person has good ears and clairvoyance, she doesn¡¯t want to find out.


    Li Min shook his head with a very contemptuous smile: ¡°Bengong wears bright yellow, so Du Fange will never be the same as Bengong; she will never use the embroidered lady invited by Bengong. She is the most aloof and the noblest person. Stupid.¡± When the words fell, his expression changed, and Sen said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know who it is, who actually stabbed the scar on her forehead into a flower, making her already damaged appearance more prosperous than before. If not, where would the late emperor be? I will bring her back. When Ben Gong finds that person, he will be smashed to pieces!¡±


    ¡°My lord, calm down, everything will be checked after the enthronement ceremony.¡± The palace maid hurriedly advised. Up to now, they have not realized that as long as they stay in the palace, they are like birds in a cage and turtles in an urn, only to be rounded and flattened by Empress Dowager Du.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, the most important thing now is my son¡¯s enthronement ceremony, and everything else will come later. My son should be out of school, you should go outside and have a look.¡± Li Min waved.


    After the big palace maid went out, she carried the five-year-old little emperor in and put it into Li Min¡¯s arms. The mother and son have a very deep relationship, hugging each other and talking affectionately, completely ignoring Meng Si¡¯s frightened and frightened expression and slightly trembling hands. She never expected that Lin Dan would be able to enter the palace. Yes, Lin Dan and Du Ruyan are close friends, and with Du Ruyan pulling the strings, it is very likely that Empress Dowager Du will choose her to embroider the phoenix robe.


    Thinking of Lin Dan¡¯s amazing embroidery skills and vivid painting skills, Meng Si felt an unspeakable fear in his heart. She folded her two dresses with shaking hands, and then silently backed away.


    Li Min didn¡¯t even look at her, just waved her hand and let her go. She walked out of the palace, and when the sun shone outside, she had the idea that ¡°it¡¯s good to turn into blue smoke and dissipate¡±. After many fights, she was completely afraid of Lin Dan. If the dress she embroidered couldn¡¯t beat Lin Dan, and Li Min and the little emperor couldn¡¯t overshadow Empress Dowager Du¡¯s limelight, she didn¡¯t know what was waiting for her.


    Originally thought it was a good job with both fame and fortune, but because of Lin Dan¡¯s interjection, it turned into an unpredictable trap. Now Meng Si is very flustered and helpless, staggered a few times when going down the stairs, and almost fell. Several palace maids who followed her hurriedly went to retrieve the package in her hand, but they didn¡¯t care about her life or death at all. It could be seen that the dress was the most important thing, and she was just a tool.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    Gong Ren¡¯s attitude has already foreshadowed her fate of losing to Lin Dan again.


    After Meng Si returned to the embroidery workshop, he hurriedly sent a message to his brother and Li Xiudian, asking them to think of a solution. Li Xiudian bribed the palace staff to destroy Lin Dan¡¯s hands, but the Queen Mother Du renovated the Qiwu Palace like an iron barrel, so that not even a fly could fly in, let alone the nails sent by the other palace? Li Xiudian could never find a chance to start, and time passed day by day.


    A month later, the enthronement ceremony was held as scheduled, and a red carpet extended from the Temple of Heaven to the Golden Palace. After the little emperor and the two empress dowagers finished offering sacrifices to heaven, they would slowly walk along this red carpet, pass the civil and military officials, climb the high steps, and step into the pinnacle of power.


    Civil and military officials stood on both sides of the steps and waited patiently. Li Min took the little emperor¡¯s hand and slowly walked out of the Fengzao Palace, while the Queen Mother Du had to set out from the Qiwu Palace and walked alone.


    This is the difference between the biological mother and the first mother. Although the first mother is noble, it is always inferior to the biological mother¡¯s blood ties. In the heart of the little emperor, the only person he is closest to and most dependent on is his biological mother. Thinking of this, the smile on Li Min¡¯s face became more sincere, and after a while, he lowered his head slightly to hide his resentment. After staying for a few years, the Li family has attracted enough courtiers and mastered enough power, and she will definitely let Du Fange die without a burial!


    In the wild thoughts, the Golden Throne Hall was already in sight, and a golden red figure appeared at the other end of the corridor. When the distance between the two was getting closer, Li Min¡¯s smug expression was replaced by shock and embarrassment. She stared at the phoenix robe on Empress Dowager Du¡¯s body with her wide eyes, her pupils were burning with flaming flames, as if she wanted to burn the other party through those eyes, just because the phoenix robe on Empress Dowager Du¡¯s body was too beautiful, beyond her beauty.


    Two phoenixes were embroidered with deep and shallow golden threads on the fiery red silk cloth, one hovered on the shoulders of Empress Dowager Du, with her head held high; the other chased behind her, spreading its wings and flying high. The hem of his clothes was dragged on the ground for a long time. Empress Dowager Du walked slowly across the red carpet, and the radiant tail feathers lightly swept across the ground and caught the eyes of all the ministers.


    They looked at these extremely gorgeous and lifelike tail feathers in astonishment, almost thinking that the person walking in front of them was not an extraordinary person, but a goddess transformed by a phoenix. They raised their heads and caught a glimpse of the beautiful and cold face of Empress Dowager Du, as well as the Manzhu Shahua slightly decorated with gold powder, and suddenly felt that their souls were strongly impacted.


    What kind of beauty is this? No one can tell clearly, only that the place where Queen Mother Du walked seems to have been burned by the scorching sun, and the temperature suddenly increased, making people sweaty, and the air was suddenly pulled away, making people almost suffocating. The flamboyant phoenix robe on her body was transformed into a real phoenix feather, revealing a kind of extreme grace and luxury.


    Li Min thought that the bright yellow phoenix robe on her body was enough to attract attention, but now, she can¡¯t wait to take it off immediately and throw it into the brazier to burn it to ashes! This robe is also embroidered with a phoenix, but because Meng Si is not good at painting, the pattern is very rigid. The tail feathers of the phoenix are dyed and embroidered with real peacock feathers. Hard, so it loses some luster. The hem only covers the feet, and it is neither too long nor too short. However, compared with the hem of the Empress Dowager Du¡¯s 10-foot-long hem embroidered with phoenix tail feathers, it can only be described by the word ¡°mediocre¡±.


    Where the Empress Du passed, everyone knelt down one after another, but the courtiers standing on both sides of Li Min didn¡¯t even react at all. This shows that she has lost, completely lost!


    It is said that people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles. The Empress Dowager Du was already very imposing, but against the background of this ingenious phoenix robe, she became more and more like a phoenix bathing in flames, almost wanting to fly high and roam the sky. Without her, Li Min¡¯s dress would be considered noble, but now, slowly merging and standing with Empress Dowager Du, she is like a phoenix with hairy, dwarfed by comparison.


    The little emperor¡¯s dragon robe is also the most common style, completely incomparable with the golden-red phoenix robe. But on such a solemn occasion, Empress Dowager Du, as the first-mother and the Empress Dowager East who was in charge of the government, did not wear a bright yellow dress, but took a step back and chose the red color, so no one could say that she was overbearing and deliberately suppressed. Empress Dowager West.


    Li Min¡¯s hands were shaking with anger, but he still had a peaceful expression on his face. After this incident, her image in the hearts of courtiers has been fixed. As long as they think of today, they will feel that Empress Dowager Du is more majestic and imposing than her, and she is the most honorable woman in this imperial city. And she is only suitable for staying in the deep palace to manage the diet and daily life of the little emperor and doesn¡¯t care about the big things next to her, and she can¡¯t manage it well. There is still a difference between a real phoenix and a fake phoenix.


    Li Min simply didn¡¯t know how he survived the enthronement ceremony. Today was supposed to be her proudest and most glorious moment, but it was ruined because of an inferior phoenix robe. She raised the vase and slammed it on the wall, and shouted angrily: ¡°Bring Li Ran and Li Xiudian, and I want to ask them how they do things! What I want is the best embroidery maid in the world, And what did they bring to this palace?!¡±


    She threw the phoenix robe that made her face disgraceful to the ground, and said in a resentful tone: ¡°Bengong¡¯s good days are ruined by them! Where is Meng Xiuniang? Call her to Bengong, since I can¡¯t do it. Good job, she doesn¡¯t need her hands!¡±

 CH 115

    ¡°Bengong hasn¡¯t asked you to settle the account yet, but you are already scared like this. It seems that you know something.¡± Li Min had completely recovered and asked slowly, ¡°Then Xiu Niang, surnamed Lin, is also from Lin¡¯an, the two of you. Should we know each other? You say, how does her embroidery skills compare to yours?¡±


    ¡°Ma-, Madam Hui, Minnu has only heard of Lin Dan¡¯s name and is not familiar with her. Minnu doesn¡¯t know her embroidery skills.¡± How dare Meng Si tell the truth.


    Li Min chuckled lightly, but his eyes became colder: ¡°Unfamiliar? You dare to lie in front of this palace, who gave you the courage? With such an excellent embroidery skill and exquisite embroidery maid, how could it not be possible to produce embroidery girls like that? Head? Not to mention Lin¡¯an Mansion, even in the entire Great Zhou Kingdom, I am afraid that there is no second embroiderer who is more powerful than her. How can you be unfamiliar with such people? Your embroiderer and her embroidery The work together is simply unsightly! You say, what means did you use to infiltrate the palace?¡±


    Meng Si was extremely aggrieved, and said with tears in her eyes, ¡°My lady, the people¡¯s daughter didn¡¯t use any means, the people¡¯s daughter, the people¡¯s daughter¡­¡± She originally wanted to say that she was selected based on her true ability, but instead, she thought of Lin Dan, but Couldn¡¯t spit out another word. Indeed, if it wasn¡¯t for Li Xiudian¡¯s assistance, she would have no right to stand here.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t dare to say it, do you? Your hands have made Bengong lose face, so what else do you want it to do? Come on, cut her fingers off for Bengong!¡± Li Minlue waved her hand and said The two palace maids stepped forward with the scorpion, put Meng Si¡¯s gloves in, and pulled them hard.


    Meng Si screamed in pain and then cried to Li Min for mercy. Li Min turned a deaf ear, just closed his eyes, and shook the fan as if listening to some fairy music. If others don¡¯t make her feel better, she will give it back hundreds of times.


    Just at this moment, several eunuchs walked in with a huge screen covered with silk, and one person held a small screen in his arms and saluted respectfully: ¡°This slave has seen the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, this It was a gift from my master, Concubine Xian, who said that I wish you the honor of being a phoenix.¡±


    The position of the queen mother is also the phoenix position. It is not surprising that someone came to give gifts and congratulations, but the strange thing is that Li Min was the mastermind behind the collapse of the third prince. Qiu, is she so kind?


    Li Min opened his eyes and looked at the small screen and the big screen, but did not notice Meng Si¡¯s increasingly pale face.


    ¡°What kind of gift is so mysterious that it¡¯s still covered with a cloth?¡± Li Min said with a half-smiling smile.


    The leading eunuch knelt down and replied, ¡°Qi to the Empress Dowager, it was Tai Concubine Xian who instructed the slaves and maids to cover them with cloth, so as not to frighten the birds.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Li Min became interested, walked over in person, lifted the silk cloth, and was stunned. I saw a multi-colored peacock embroidered on this huge screen, and its gorgeous tail feathers were long dragged on the ground, exuding colorful divine light.


    Li Min originally thought that Du Fange¡¯s phoenix robe was a masterpiece, and it was hard to find similar embroidery in the world, but the picture of the peacock in front of him did not lose to it at all. No wonder Concubine Xian ordered someone to cover the screen, but it was to prevent the aura of the embroidery from leaking out.


    Li Min took two steps back, admiring it fascinatedly. Although the embroidered screen was sent by her nemesis, she couldn¡¯t suppress the love in her heart at all.


    The eunuch turned the screen in a half-circle, and then said, ¡°My lady, please see, this screen is embroidered with a piece of fabric, and there are patterns on both sides. The requirements for embroidery skills are very high.¡±


    Li Min stepped back again, with an astonishing expression. I saw an identical peacock embroidered behind the screen. The feathers are white, but they can emit a slight five-color light under the sunlight. It looks very holy and very luxurious. Its embroidery skills, its style of painting. , which is exactly the same as Du Fange¡¯s phoenix robe.


    ¡°Is this embroidered screen also the work of Lin Xiuniang?¡± Li Min guessed.


    ¡°Hui Niangniang, this is indeed the work of that Lin Xiu Niang. The embroidery method uses the long-lost double-sided embroidery, which is rare in the world.¡±


    Li Min slapped his palm and said, ¡°It really is her!¡±


    Lin Dan¡¯s embroidery style is too strong, paying attention to elegance and beauty, bright colors, and changing light and shadow, even a layman who knows nothing can see it at a glance.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com]


    The eunuch pointed to the long-forgotten small screen and said, ¡°This embroidery is also double-sided embroidery, but its technique is completely different from that of Lin Xiuniang. It is the work of this Meng Xiuniang. The two embroiderers were in Lin¡¯an that day. Niang took out these two works at the same time to participate in the selection. Whoever wins can enter the palace to embroider a dress for her. Later, Meng Xiuniang won, and Lin Xiuniang lost, but the works of the two embroiderers are peerless, and the current big Zhou Guo has only two paintings, which are very worth collecting, so my master ordered someone to buy them for the empress.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then thank your master. Come and see the reward.¡± As soon as Li Minlue waved his hand, a palace maid handed a bag of silver melon seeds to a few eunuchs and asked them to share it. At this time, how could Li Min still not know the original intention of Concubine Xian to give him a gift? But even if she was about to explode inside, it was impossible for an outsider to see the joke. After all the trouble, the reason why she made a fool of herself was because of her own family!


    After a few people left, Li Min picked up the small screen and looked at it with a sneer on the corner of his mouth. This is Meng Si¡¯s work, and this is the double-sided embroidery that Li Xiudian has blown away? Compared with Lin Xiuniang¡¯s work, what is it?


    Thinking of this, Li Min smashed the screen on Meng Si¡¯s head, causing her head to bleed and almost fainted. Her ten fingers had already been pinched off, and she was drooping weakly, her flesh was rolled, blood was dripping, and the scene was very tragic.


    When Li Xiudian followed Li Ran in, he saw exactly this scene, he forgot to do his due diligence and ran forward, took Meng Si into his arms, and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Aunt, what are you doing, why do you want to do this? Punish Sisi?¡±


    Meng Si¡¯s voice was already hoarse, and he had no strength in his hands, so he could only look at him helplessly.


    ¡°Sisi? Calling so affectionately, what¡¯s the relationship between the two of you?¡± Li Min asked very keenly.


    Li Ran waved his hand quickly: ¡°It¡¯s just a lowly embroidered mother, how can it be related to Xiudian?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter which one is better!¡± Li Min pointed to the two screens and said, ¡°Brother, come and see, which of these two embroidery works do you think is better?¡±


    Since Li Ran was not a capital official, he was not qualified to attend the little emperor¡¯s enthronement ceremony, so he could only hurry back and wait at home, so he didn¡¯t know that his sister was severely suppressed by Empress Du at the ceremony because of a phoenix robe. . He just glanced at the big screen and said, ¡°Of course, this one is better.¡±


    ¡°Okay, everyone with eyes can see that this embroidery is much better than this one. Then I would like to ask my good nephew, why did you choose it when you were there to review it in person? After taking this picture of a lady, I will suppress this picture of a peacock! When you took over this errand, how did Ben Gong explain to you? Do you remember? Send it to the palace to embroider the most gorgeous phoenix robe in the world for this palace. You are good, for your little love, you sent such a thing here! Do you know that because of your selfishness, this palace is here The civil and military officials have made all appearances! Obviously this palace is the real phoenix, but Du Fange¡¯s fake phoenix has been compared! And the embroidered girl she chose is exactly what you don¡¯t want!¡±


    Li Min pointed to the tip of Li Xiudian¡¯s nose and said word by word, ¡°Ben Gong originally expected you to help me a lot in the future, but you are better, but instead, you put your own personal interests more important than mine, and more important than family interests. If you can¡¯t handle even this trivial matter, what is the use of you in this palace? What eldest brother, what nephew, there are so many eldest brothers and nephews in this palace, there is no shortage of you two!¡±


    Li Xiudian¡¯s face was pale, unable to argue. Ever since he learned that Lin Dan also entered the palace and started embroidering the dress of the Empress Dowager Du, he had expected this day. Knowing this earlier, when he was in Lin¡¯an Mansion, he should have abolished Lin Dan¡¯s hands to avoid future troubles.


    Only then did Li Ran know what had happened, and glared at his son before kneeling on the ground to beg his sister for mercy, the back of his clothes instantly wet with cold sweat. He only got the full support of the family because he was the elder brother of the Queen Mother. If the Queen Mother turned to support several other brothers, he would have no place in the family or in the court!


    ¡°Niangniang, what you said is too serious¡­¡± He tried to defend, but hit Li Min¡¯s sore spot again.


    ¡°Why, do you think this is not serious today? In front of the civil and military officials, Ben Gong was stomped under Du Fange¡¯s feet, and she was compared to a phoenix with fluffy hair. It¡¯s not serious, what is it? Is it serious? It¡¯s serious to break this bitch¡¯s hand, and it¡¯s serious to hurt your interests, right? It¡¯s okay, Li Ran, you are really good! Get out of the way, I don¡¯t want to see you again!¡± Li Min got out of anger, waved a few guards, and drove the three out.


    Li Ran has never been so embarrassed, and all this is thanks to his good son. After walking out of the palace gate and boarding the carriage, his pent-up anger finally erupted, and he slapped Li Xiudian with his backhand, scolding: ¡°The trash that can¡¯t support the wall with mud! What are you doing with her, throw me out of the car? go with!¡±


    Li Xiudian hugged Meng Si tightly and begged: ¡°Dad, she has been hurt like this, you can let her go!¡±


    ¡°I did, but your aunt won¡¯t let you go! I originally wanted your aunt to run the operation for you and send you to the Hanlin Academy, but now it seems impossible. What¡¯s your future path? Go, have you figured it out for yourself? If your aunt went to help your cousins ??instead, how would you deal with yourself? You trapped yourself in the quagmire for the sake of a little love for your children. Are you satisfied now? If you can¡¯t bear this bitch, then go down with her!¡± Li Ran said in an extremely cold tone.


    Li Xiudian has always been the most outstanding among the brothers, and Li Min likes the most. But now, he has severely offended Li Min, and naturally he has lost his help, and the future is really slim. What was even more unbearable for him was that those cousins ??and concubines who had been despised and even bullied by him would climb on his head to make a fortune. How humiliating and hard were those days?


    For a split second, he felt timid, and the hands that held Meng Si slowly, bit by bit, loosened¡­

 CH 116

    In the end, Li Xiudian was reluctant to leave Meng Si, but sent her to Meng Zhong¡¯s temporary rental yard in the capital and assured her father that he would never communicate with each other again from now on. He knocked on the door with his trembling hands. Hearing the sound of footsteps inside, he immediately climbed into the carriage and left quickly. He did not dare to meet Meng Zhong in the face.


    Meng Si looked at the distant carriage, and tears gurgled down. She wanted to cry loudly, but her throat had been hoarse as early as when she was tortured in the palace, for fear that she would vomit and bleed with one mouth.


    ¡°Sisi, why did you get like this? Who gave you this poisonous hand?¡± Seeing his sister¡¯s tragic situation clearly, Meng Zhong¡¯s canthus was about to crack.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡± Meng Si reluctantly spit out a word and collapsed.


    ¡°Go find a doctor quickly!¡± Meng Zhong hurried home with his sister in her arms.


    The doctor was almost carried into the yard by the servants of the Meng family. After careful diagnosis, he said, ¡°Miss Meng¡¯s ten fingers are broken, and it is difficult to restore her previous flexibility even if it is connected. There is nothing wrong with the throat. It¡¯s good to drink a pair of medicine to moisten the throat.


    Meng Zhong quickly ordered someone to concoct a medicine and feed his sister himself.


    Meng Si felt a little better and immediately asked, ¡°Doll, can I still embroider?¡±


    Meng Zhong¡¯s face suddenly changed, and it seemed that he didn¡¯t expect this stubble at all.


    ¡°Embroidered flowers? That definitely doesn¡¯t work. It¡¯s too delicate and too heavy. Girls had better not touch it to avoid causing secondary damage. The doctor told him carefully while packing up the medicine box.


    ¡°Can¡¯t bones grow well?¡± Meng Si asked stubbornly.


    ¡°You not only hurt the bone, but also the meridians. If the bones are well nourished, but the meridians are not well raised, flexibility will naturally be greatly reduced. I think the girl¡¯s family is rich, and she is taken care of by maids and servants every day. There should be no need to work to make money, but it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    The doctor has been away for a long time, and Meng Sicai broke free from deep despair. She looked at her unconscious hands and muttered, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m wrong. I¡¯m really wrong! If I can admit my failure several times with Lin Dan, I won¡¯t always be annoyed; if I don¡¯t have annoyance, I won¡¯t accept Li Xiudian¡¯s proposal and come to the capital to make embroidery dresses with him; if I don¡¯t make an embroidered dresses, I won¡¯t lose to Lin Dan again, which will anger the Empress Dowager Xi and be ruined by her. Hands. Brother, if I had generously admitted that Lin Dan was better than me at the selection meeting, and then rested at home to study embroidery skills. Even if I couldn¡¯t beat her all my life, I would eventually achieve something. I just can¡¯t compare with her alone, but I also have my own strengths. It was because I was blindfolded by demons, so I made mistakes step by step. Brother, no wonder anyone, I can only blame myself when I end up today.


    She lowered her head and choked, ¡°When you discussed with Li Xiudian to abolish Lin Dan¡¯s hands, I actually hid outside the door to eavesdrop, but instead of stopping me, I also quietly left. At that time, I thought: What a good thing for me if Ruolin has lost his hands! I don¡¯t have to worry about being surpassed by her anymore, and I don¡¯t have to worry about being looked down upon by others. But look, who on earth was the one who finally lost his hands? Lin Dan never used sinister and vicious methods to deal with me, but I had such a dark idea. It is said that people are watching. Brother, I have received retribution! God is punishing me!¡±


    Speaking of which, Meng Si can¡¯t even cry.


    Only then did Meng Zhong know that his sister¡¯s hands were actually interrupted by the Empress Dowager Xi. So who else can he turn to for revenge? He made fame for his sister by any means and even pushed her to the height of the imperial embroidered woman, but in the end, he harmed her all his life. How cruel it is for her not to embroider without hands.


    It was not until then that Meng Zhong shed tears of regret. He has long been revenged by his parents. How Lin Dan wants to revive his family business has nothing to do. If he let her go and himself, nothing will happen now. But like a ghost fascinated, he devoted all his body and mind to suppressing Lin Dan¡¯s career.


    Embroidered dresses for the Empress Dowager and the emperor. This job is indeed very glorious, but not everyone can do it. Without top strength and extraordinary embroidery skills, you will die when you go. But he knew that his sister could not afford it, but he sent her there. Why was he so bold? What on earth did he think at that time?


    Meng Zhong pulled his hair hard, and he couldn¡¯t say anything.


    Half a month later, the Lin family moved to the capital, and a brand-new light smoke embroidery villa also opened on the busiest street in Kyoto. I heard that the behind-the-scenes boss of this embroidery house was Lin Xiuniang, who made a phoenix robe for Empress Dowager Du. The dignitaries in Beijing flocked to order.


    They had the honor to participate in the Little Emperor¡¯s ascending Ceremony. Even if it was several days, they still remembered the phoenix robe on Empress Dowager Du. After the ceremony, there were even rumors that the phoenix robe was originally melted by the feathers of the phoenix, and it was an immortal family¡¯s magic clothes, which was extraordinary. And Empress Dowager Du was reincarnated in the mortal world. Otherwise, how could the scar on her forehead turn into a red spider lily?


    Phoenix bathes in fire, nirvana, and rebirth. Is it also a coincidence that the experience of Empress Dowager Du completely coincides with the fate of the divine bird?


    The more rumors spread, the more mysterious it is. Even those who do not believe in ghosts and gods inevitably have a little awe of Empress Dowager Du, not to mention those who believe in fatalism? Empress Dowager Du¡¯s prestige is rising day by day, while Empress Dowager West is slowly forgotten under pressure.


    Another half month later, Du Rusong was also transferred to the capital and promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of infantry. It can be said that Qingyun went straight up and climbed to the sky one step. A leisurely at-home An Dinghou learned that his brother and sister were going to enter Beijing, so he sent people to wait at the gate every day for fear of missing out on them. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    No one expected Empress Dowager Du to be spoiled again, let alone that she could listen to politics and hold real power. Therefore, the calminghou, who indirectly forced the death of Empress Dowager Du¡¯s direct sister, became the object of everyone¡¯s suppression. Empress Dowager Du¡¯s mother¡¯s family publicly broke off her relationship as early as when she was deposed. At this time, it was impossible to make up for the scars and make up as before.


    On the contrary, Du Rusong and Du Ruyan have always been with their aunts. They have never deliberately flattered her glory, nor have they turned away because of her depression and frustration. They even took the initiative to abandon their noble identity and work with their aunts to endure hardships in Lin¡¯an Mansion.


    How can Empress Dowager Du not repay this deep friendship? Before Du Ruyan entered Beijing, he had been named Princess Ruiyang. Du Rusong also rose high in succession and soared to the sky. Those who once bullied them and trampled on them now take a detour when they see them.


    However, these things are too far away from ordinary people. Lin Dan listened to them and didn¡¯t pay much attention to them. She hasn¡¯t seen the Du brothers and sisters for half a month. From now on, they should gradually drift away from her and finally strangers.


    ¡°It¡¯s light. Someone bought the mansion next door. I heard it cost 800 taels of silver.¡± On that day, Zhang Huixing hurried into the embroidery house and said, ¡°The capital is indeed a good place for the rich and powerful. Such a big house can be bought as soon as he said, and he was ready to expand it! Alas, I don¡¯t know how Mr. Du and Yaner are doing. I think Mr. Du wanted to marry you at the beginning. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t agree, otherwise, I would have been repented now. He is a cloud in the sky, and we are the soil on the earth, which doesn¡¯t match at all.


    ¡°Who says it doesn¡¯t match? I think it matches!¡± Du Ruyan came in with a brocade box in his arms, with a bright smile on his face: ¡°Din Dan and my brother are a perfect match. Aunt Hui, don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±


    ¡°Oh, His Royal Highness, folk women, how can folk women salute?¡± Zhang Hui stood in circles where he was and didn¡¯t know how to deal with it at all. The noblest person she has ever received is the Admiral¡¯s wife. Where has she ever seen Her Royal Highness the Princess?


    ¡°Aunt Hui, don¡¯t salute you. You have ruined me!¡± Du Ruyan panicked more than her and quickly put down the brocade box to help her.


    ¡°Aunt Hui, if you agree to my marriage request, you are my mother-in-law. How can there be a reason for your mother-in-law to salute her son-in-law?¡± Du Rusong stood at the door with a nervous expression. He glanced at Lin Dan and then blushed and lowered his head.


    Zhang Hui was stunned and stunned and said, ¡°That won¡¯t work. My family wants to recruit a door-to-door man.¡±


    Du Rusong immediately looked up: ¡°I can be a door-to-door man.¡±


    ¡°You? You are a nobleman now. How can you be a son-in-law for my family? No, no, absolutely no!¡±


    ¡°Oced! My brother and I have no home for a long time. My brother enters the Rulin family, and I will recruit another door-to-door man. Isn¡¯t it perfect for both sides? It¡¯s light. My brother bought the next door. Can we live with you in the future? Half a month away from you, my brother and I can¡¯t eat well and sleep well. We are having a terrible time! You are our backbone. You must not abandon us!¡± Du Ruyan hugged Lin Dan and kept shaking, and his tone was very delicate.


    Lin Dan put down the embroidery needle with a helpless expression.


    Du Rusong sat down in front of her and said seriously, ¡°Din¡¯er, I know you best. When I enter your house, I will never control you. You can do whatever you want. I¡¯m completely free. In addition, I can also earn money to support my family, open up contacts and solve troubles. As long as I am here, you can walk horizontally in Beijing. If you don¡¯t recruit me as a husband-in-law, but someone else, can you imagine what kind of life you will live in the future? Can you be patient if you have to run in with him again and adapt to the existence of a stranger again?¡±


    He knew that Lin Dan had no love for himself. But it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as she stays with him all the time, it¡¯s the best arrangement. Even without love, she is still warm, making him want to get close or even have it.


    Lin Dan looked at him with his head, scratched his scalp with an embroidered needle, and finally nodded and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get married.¡± If you have to get married, Du Rusong seems to be the only and best choice.


    ¡°Thank you, Dan Er, thank you.¡± Du Rusong breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to hold his sweetheart in his arms, but was pulled away by his mother-in-law in time. He giggled for a while before urging his sister to go back to prepare for the dowry.


    Du Ruyan hugged Lin Dan like a little monkey, laughing and jumping, looking happier than the groom himself. Zhang Hui and her two aunts were infected by her, so they covered their mouths and smiled low. Unexpectedly, her family not only supported Lin¡¯s embroidery villa but also married an aristocratic prince to enter the door, which was too long-faced to the ancestors of the Lin family!


    After Meng Si¡¯s hands were abolished, Meng Zhong stayed in the capital to treat her wounds and never returned to Lin¡¯an Mansion. Meng¡¯s Embroidery Village has no master, and the news that Meng Si offended the Empress Dowager West and was interrupted by his hands gradually spread, making Xiuzhuang¡¯s reputation plummet.


    Meng Zhong went to Li Xiudian many times and pinned his hopes on the help of the Li family. Li Xiudian agreed, but turned around and married a noble daughter from a high family. He almost pissed Meng Zhong to death. He didn¡¯t dare to tell his sister the news, and he was afraid that she would know sooner or later in Beijing, so he could only take her home.


    Meng Si may have a feeling in his mind, and he will never ask Li Xiudian about it since then. She has never married her life. After Meng¡¯s Embroidery Village closed down due to poor management, she made a living by teaching embroidery skills and receiving bundles. Lin Dan¡¯s light smoke embroidery house is getting bigger and bigger, with branches all over the country. Under her impetus, Weaver Girl and Embroidery Girl have become a very popular professions, which really feeds a large number of women.


    A few years later, Empress Dowager Li Min and one of the four auxiliary ministers were arrested for adultery and sent to the temple for Qingxiu. On the day the emperor came to adulthood, some people claimed that the emperor was not the true bloodline, but the wild species born by Li Min¡¯s adultery with the auxiliary minister, which should be abolished immediately, and a thick pile of letters were also produced as evidence.


    Under the mountain, the ambitious little emperor was quickly abolished. Subsequently, the first female emperor in the history of the State of Zhou ascended the throne and changed the name of the country to ¡°Jin¡± to pardon the world. The once prominent Li family collapsed. The Li family was either beheaded or exiled. Li Xiudian was very close to the emperor and participated in the conspiracy to overthrow the Empress Dowager Du and was sentenced to Ling Chi¡¯s execution.


    When the news spread back to Lin¡¯an Mansion, Meng Si stared at the sky and muttered, ¡°No, it shouldn¡¯t be like this. How could Li Xiudian die?¡± I dreamed that he was a great minister, I dreamed that I would give up my life. I dreamed that we were married and loving for a lifetime. What shouldn¡¯t have been like this¡­

 CH 117

    When Lin Dan opened her eyes, she knew that she had lost her memory again. She didn¡¯t know why she used the word ¡°again¡±. She didn¡¯t know why she knew she had lost her memory, but she was very unfamiliar with everything around her as if a sudden intruder.


    ¡°Miss Lin, have you packed your things? Just leave with me when you pack up, don¡¯t disturb others.¡± A middle-aged woman pushed open the door and walked in, looking a little impatient.


    ¡°Packed up.¡± Lin Dan subconsciously agreed, and then realized that he really was carrying a package in his hand.


    The middle-aged woman didn¡¯t even look at her, she walked straight into the room, rummaged through boxes, closets, beds, etc., and found that all the jewelry boxes had been taken out, and nothing valuable was left. more contemptuous. But she didn¡¯t say anything, just put the messed up things back to their original places, locked the copper lock again, and urged: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go, Lao Hu has prepared the cart. You can drag it down again. , I¡¯ll let someone directly carry you.¡±


    Lin Dan observed her every move without a trace, and slowly he had found out some things. It seems that the original owner is not like a trip, but rather swept out the door, and it was caused by some evil things, otherwise, the woman¡¯s attitude towards her would not be so bad, as if she was a little contemptuous, but also a little disgusting, even more so. I wish she left sooner.


    She silently followed behind the woman, carefully screening and digesting the memories in her mind. She has used this skill very proficiently, but in just a few moments, she can discover the life of the original owner.


    Lin Dan rubbed his eyebrows, feeling very distressed, then lowered his head and sighed. What should be said? This girl is simply a model of death, no wonder she was driven away by the family. Her real name is also Lin Dan. Her mother died of illness when she was two years old. Her father was a military doctor. age.


    The original owner, who was completely orphaned, was taken home by General Xue and raised, treating her as his own and taking good care of her. She has everything the children in the family should have, and she also has the things the children in the family don¡¯t have. Ding Xingwang of the Xue family, in the generation of General Xue, all the children born were boys, not a single girl, and the original owner had red lips and white teeth, delicate and lovely, at first glance like a little baby made of powder, so as soon as he walked in the door Got everyone¡¯s love.


    Several older brothers and younger brothers never dared to bully her, and they were willing to hold anything good in front of her to please her. Over time, they developed her coddled and willful temper. The old lady in the family likes her the most, and often holds her on her knees, pointing to the male grandsons and saying, ¡°Dan¡¯er, which of these older brothers and younger brothers do you like the most? If you like him, pick him out. , Grandma asked her to be your husband.¡±


    The original owner blinked his eyes and looked around, and finally pointed to General Xue¡¯s second son and said, ¡°I like Brother Jiming.¡±


    The boy who was called showed a reluctant expression, but the old lady laughed and said: ¡°Okay, then this little magic star Xue Jiming is your husband, you have to help grandma take good care of him!¡±


    The original owner responded with a crisp ¡°OK¡±, then hugged the little boy and called her husband, making everyone laugh. No one took this kind of joking remarks seriously, only the original owner deeply remembered it, and this memory lasted ten years. In the blink of an eye, a group of little radishes turned into juveniles, and the original owner was old enough to marry.


    The old lady asked her what she thought, and she brought up the jokes she had made when she was a child. The old lady felt that Dr. Lin had saved her son¡¯s life, and agreed immediately. General Xue had no objection to this, Mrs. Xue Wen was very unhappy, but she did not dare to object.


    Xue Jiming was the same year as the original owner, and he was only fifteen years old. He was still an ignorant half-daughter. Where did he get his head? The elders in the family agreed, and he naturally had no room to speak, since everyone came here anyway. So the marriage of the two was settled like this. If all goes well, the ceremony can be held when they reach the age of eighteen.


    As the so-called ¡°good times are rare, good things are hard to come by¡±, if one thing drags on for a long time, it is inevitable that there will be frequent twists and turns, not to mention that this delay is three years. The original owner¡¯s mind has not changed, but he loves Xue Jiming more and more, but Xue Jiming can already distinguish what love is and what is family affection. When he was about to turn eighteen, he met the man he was destined to do.


    This person¡¯s name is Wu Xuancao, a young doctor in a pharmacy, and an orphan without parents, but he has been able to support himself and support the family business. She usually likes to collect herbs in the forest outside the city. She accidentally met Xue Jiming who was bitten by a poisonous snake. She cut the bite mark and sucked the poisonous blood for him on the spot, and took him to her pharmacy for treatment.


    After more than ten days, Xue Jiming¡¯s injury was completely healed, but he also had a deep-rooted love for Wu Hemerocallis, who took good care of him. The two are petite and beautiful, and the other tall and handsome. They have similar temperaments and have a tacit understanding. They are a match made in heaven. Naturally, they fell in love and had a private life. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    After returning home, Xue Jiming immediately ran to the old lady, clamoring for the dissolution of the engagement with the original owner. The old lady and General Xue were both people who kept their promises and attached great importance to love and righteousness. Naturally, they would not agree with his unreasonable behavior and forced him down.


    People in love have a frenzy in their bones, how can they be willing to give up? Xue Jiming said that he could not move the elders, so he went to persuade the original owner. After going back and forth, the original owner saw the clue, secretly followed him when he was out, and discovered the secret between him and Wu Hemerocallis.


    This time, the hornet¡¯s nest has been poked. The original owner immediately called a few strong servants, smashed Wu Hemerocallis¡¯ pharmacy, and slandered her reputation everywhere, so angry that Wu Hemerocallis took the initiative to cut off the relationship with Xue Jiming. Xue Jiming found the original owner and had a big fight, then stole a horse and went to the border alone to find his brother Xue Boyong.


    Wu Xuancao didn¡¯t know his whereabouts, but it seemed that he felt something in the dark, so he also left his hometown to the border, and continued to practice medicine to save people. The relationship between the two of them has also been cut, and the reason is unclear. They originally planned to separate completely, but they were mixed together again at the end.


    In desperation, the old lady could only let go and let her grandson take Wu Hemerocallis as a concubine, but she did not expect Wu Hemerocallis to be a very strong and assertive woman and swore a poisonous oath never to be a concubine.


    Xue Jiming had worn out the few family affection for the original owner, and wrote to the old lady, saying that if she did not allow Wu Hemerocallis to pass through the door, he would never return to the capital in this life. Whoever the original owner likes to marry, he would rather die than be with her anyway.


    The original owner who accidentally saw the letter went crazy on the spot, stole a horse, ran to the border, and followed Xue Jiming all the time. One day, Xue Jiming received a task to go to the enemy camp to investigate, but the original owner thought he was going to a private meeting with Wu Hemerocallis in a nearby town, and pulled his sleeves to death to prevent him from leaving. Xue Jiming cut off his sleeve with a knife and left angrily, and the original owner also mounted his horse and chased after him.


    People are going to perform tasks. If they encounter an enemy and make a move, all the soldiers will die. But the original owner didn¡¯t know the priorities at all, and only regarded the children¡¯s private affairs as bigger than the sky. Her behavior has caused a lot of dissatisfaction. If it weren¡¯t for General Xue¡¯s face, the soldiers would have kicked her to the horizon.


    But no matter how annoying she is, it¡¯s not enough to watch her on the road to death. The soldiers did not dare to stop her because of the strong defense of men and women, so they could only go to Xue Boyong.


    Xue Boyong immediately stepped on his horse and chased after him. He finally intercepted the original owner, dragged her to his horse, and prepared to go back. The original owner was so angry that he actually took off the hairpin on his head and stabbed it into the horse¡¯s neck, causing the horse to go mad on the spot and throw the two of them down.


    The original owner was a charming lady. After falling off the horse, she injured her ankle and couldn¡¯t get up at all. Seeing that the raised horse¡¯s hoof was about to crush her chest, Xue Boyong, who quickly recovered, turned over and protected her in his arms. His spine was trampled by horseshoes one after another, and he vomited blood.


    The original owner was completely frightened. He hugged Xue Boyong and cried a lot. He was at a loss, but the soldiers who came later carried the two of them back to the barracks. But the worse thing is yet to come. Not only did Xue Boyong suffer serious internal injuries, he coughed up blood for more than a month, and his legs completely lost consciousness.


    He was originally a leader of the Xue family¡¯s generation, a general who was victorious in every battle and invincible, and a minister who was praised by even the emperor himself and used in every possible way. the rest of his life.


    From then on, he could not go into battle to kill the enemy, establish meritorious deeds, let alone gallop and walk like the wind. His revenge, his ideal, was instantly replaced by darkness and despair. When he was sent back to the capital, who was too skinny, the old lady fainted on the spot. After waking up, he was ill for several months, and his spirit was not as good as the first day.


    Mrs. Xue hated the original owner to the core, scolded her as a death star, and accused General Xue of being stupid in repaying her kindness, and paid out both of her sons. The original owner, who was pampered and raised, became the most unpopular figure in the family, and even the old lady who had always loved her was unwilling to see her again.


    The original owner suffered for half a month, during which time he never visited Xue Boyong, and he never apologized to anyone. Instead, he thought of Xue Jiming wholeheartedly.


    After this incident, Xue Jiming and Wu Hemerocallis also returned to the capital. They are neither together nor completely separated, and it will take a few more years to get results. Xue¡¯s elders seem to have acquiesced in their affairs and have never made any objectionable remarks. Even the old lady turned a blind eye and ignored it completely.


    The original owner wanted to go crazy and complain, but the Xue family hated her so much, who would care about her feelings? Only then did she realize that she was just an outsider living here. The Xue family treated her well, and that was their kindness. When the Xue family took back these kindnesses, she had nothing to do. Leaving the Xue family, leaving the love of General Xue and the old lady, she is nothing.


    Two months later, Mrs. Xue could no longer tolerate her, bought a small house, and set aside a sum of money to send her away.


    Lin Dan had no memory, but he also knew that someone like the original owner who smashed a good hand of cards really deserved it.

 CH 118

    Lin Dan is not the original owner. She is neither arrogant nor paranoid. If she leaves Xue¡¯s house to live outside alone, she doesn¡¯t have to worry about being noticed and causing a lot of trouble. She still has a sum of money in her hand, which is enough for her to live a stable life. In addition, she has craftsmanship and can fully support herself.


    Although she has lost her memory, when she thinks about how to make a living, many choices will naturally appear in her mind, such as being a cook, such as joining the army, such as embroidery. These skills seem to have penetrated into her soul, and no matter how many times she changes her identity, it will not disappear.


    However, when she reached the back corner door, she stopped. Xue Boyong was paralyzed to save her. If she left, what would he do? Will he be able to stand up for the rest of his life? Can he still realize his revenge and dreams?


    Lin Dan is a person with clear grievances and love and righteousness. The original owner could leave without worry, and leave everything behind to live a new life, but she couldn¡¯t. Even if she leaves here, she still lives in the mansion that the Xue family bought for her, and she still spends the money that the Xue family prepared for her. How can she feel at ease? Now, the original owner is her, she is the original owner, she has to repay the kindness owed by the original owner, and she has to pay for the sins the original owner has done. This is a responsibility she cannot shirk.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving.¡± She turned around and walked towards the main courtyard.


    ¡°What did you say? Come back to me!¡± The maid in charge of sending her off was stunned.


    Lin Dan walked very fast. Due to the prestige of the original owner, the servants he met on the way were puzzled, but they didn¡¯t dare to stop him. When she passed through the hanging flower gate and was about to arrive at the main courtyard, she heard cries coming from inside, and a woman said helplessly: ¡°Mrs. Wen, I don¡¯t want to do this either, but my Qingfang is only fifteen years old. How could I have the heart to send her over to be a widow? What would you do if your daughter encountered such a thing?¡±


    Mrs. Xue didn¡¯t speak for a long time, but the old lady sighed and said weakly: ¡°That¡¯s all, there are unforeseen circumstances, people have disasters and blessings, and my Boyong is this fate, no one can be blamed. We will return the Gengtie and the marriage certificate to us. You, you go back.¡±


    Before the woman could be happy, Madam Xue Wenshi said harshly: ¡°Why can¡¯t you blame anyone? Boyong will be like this, the most blamed is that bitch of the Lin family, the second is the master, and the third is you. If you listened to my advice earlier and sent her out, Boyong would never be where she is today. My poor son, you lost your legs, your official position, and even your daughter-in-law, what would you do with the rest of your life? Been¡­¡±


    Sorrowful cries were constantly heard from the room, the old lady kept silent, as if reflecting on her, that the woman who came to break off the engagement repeatedly comforted her and was very embarrassed.


    Hearing this, Lin Dan didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, pushed the door and walked in, knelt down and said, ¡°Old lady, I¡¯m not leaving, please let me stay.¡±


    ¡°You still have the face!? Zhou Da¡¯s family, kick her out!¡± Mrs. Xue immediately forgot to cry.


    The woman standing beside her looked at Lin Dan with both curious and contemptuous eyes, and obviously also knew about this aunt¡¯s bad behavior.


    The old lady closed her eyes and sighed: ¡°What if you don¡¯t leave? Our family has already done everything for you. Your father saved my son¡¯s life, and my grandson lost a pair of legs to save you, and we don¡¯t owe anyone. Who, let it be like this. You can save the five hundred taels of silver, or use it to buy fields and hoard land, and you won¡¯t have to worry about it for the rest of your life.¡±


    Lin Dan silently kowtowed three times and said slowly, ¡°The Xue family did not treat me in any way, but you are wrong to say that we have both settled. If the general hadn¡¯t brought me back to raise me, I would have already died. At the border, this is the first life you gave me, which is offset by the kindness of my father. Big brother helped me block the horse¡¯s hooves. This is the second life you gave me. I haven¡¯t paid it off yet. How can I leave? What? After all, I owe the Xue family more.¡±


    When the words fell, Lin Dan kowtowed three more times and continued: ¡°My father and my mother are both descendants of a medical family, I will definitely find a way to cure the eldest brother. If it is not cured, I will be responsible for taking care of the eldest brother for the rest of his life, no one will be there. If you are willing to marry him, I will marry him! I beg the old lady to do it!¡±


    The old lady finally opened her turbid eyes, looked straight at her, and said in a trembling voice, ¡°If you¡¯ve always been as sensible as you are now, why would you be so troubled now! It¡¯s too late, it¡¯s too late!¡±


    Lin Dan kowtowed again and said firmly: ¡°It¡¯s a matter of human beings. As long as you have the will, no matter when you start to change, it will never be too late. Old lady, please let me stay. If I step out of this threshold today, I will leave the eldest brother alone. Next, I¡¯ll be stuck in it for the rest of my life. My brother gave me this life, and I¡¯ll just give it back to him!¡±


    Seeing her determined expression, the old lady was stunned, and it was difficult to make a decision for a while.


    Madam Xue jumped up to beat her and scolded: ¡°You mourning star, you want to stay in our family in the name of Boyong, don¡¯t you? You are reluctant to be rich and rich here, and you are reluctant to be the daughter of the general¡¯s mansion. I¡¯m even more reluctant to Jiming, right? I won¡¯t let you do what you want, get out of here!¡±


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t avoid or resist, just stared straight at the hall. Her current expression was very similar to that of General Xue, who was brave and fearless and died in battle and instantly brought back many memories of the old lady. The old lady didn¡¯t dare to look again, didn¡¯t dare to think any more, closed her eyes and thought for a long time, finally unable to wave her hand: ¡°Well, if you want to stay, then stay, but don¡¯t forget what you said today. , if something goes wrong again, I will have someone send you away immediately!¡± Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    In the end, it was the child that he raised with his own hands, and the old lady was willing to give him another chance. She didn¡¯t hold out hope that her grandson could be cured. After all, Lin Dan only started studying medicine now, and it was a bit late after all.


    ¡°Thank you, old lady!¡± Lin Dan leaned over to give thanks, then pushed Mrs. Xue away and stood up, leaving without looking back.


    Mrs. Xue¡¯s eyes were red with anger, and she asked: ¡°Mother, why did you let this bitch stay? Do you think Boyong and Jiming have not been harmed enough by her? She is a spoiler and a white-eyed wolf, how can you support the capital? Unfamiliar!¡±


    ¡°Enough, give me some rest! Boyong is like this now, which girl is willing to marry him? After we leave, do you still expect his brothers, sister-in-law, and sister-in-law to take care of him? There is no one who knows the cold and the hot, how long can he last?¡±


    ¡°But, but that can¡¯t let Lin Dan shake his eyes! Lin Dan is the culprit who made him such a culprit!¡± Mrs. Xue¡¯s expression loosened slightly.


    ¡°If he can¡¯t accept it and comes to me to protest, I will naturally send Lin Dan away.¡±


    Since being paralyzed, grandson has not spoken for three consecutive months, and rarely eats or drinks. If General Xue hadn¡¯t always encouraged him or even scolded him for his incompetence, he would have killed himself long ago. He has completely isolated himself from the outside world, and Lin Dan is the main culprit that caused him to become like this. If he can react to her approach, even if it is anger and rejection, it will be a good thing.


    It was with this in mind that the old lady agreed to Lin Dan¡¯s request. The old lady can¡¯t count on taking care of her grandson and treating her grandson.


    Mrs. Xue seemed to have thought of this, and after a long hesitation, she waved her hand and said, ¡°Okay, then let her try it out.¡±


    In order to heal her son¡¯s legs, Mrs. Xue had tried everything she could and even changed the imperial doctor several times, but she was still unable to recover. Up to now, she has no hope for this matter but is even more afraid that her son will not be able to pass the hurdle in her heart and hurt herself. He ate one less meal and one glass of water less every day. Madam Xue couldn¡¯t sleep because of worry, not to mention that he refused to speak for three consecutive months.


    If it goes on like this, she is really afraid that if she makes the wrong eye, her son will leave forever. His eyes that were as bright as stars are now completely gone, and they are full of death. It would be a good idea to use Lin Dan to stimulate him and make him react like a living person.


    Thinking of this, Madam Xue completely dismissed the idea of ??sending Lin Dan away.


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan returned to the original owner¡¯s small courtyard, walked into a dusty miscellaneous room, looked at the mountains of medical books, and couldn¡¯t help sighing. She didn¡¯t even know how to describe the original owner. Such a stupid girl is rare in the world. When she left, she didn¡¯t take away the most precious wealth left by her parents. Instead, she only packed a few brocade clothes and jewelry. What exactly do you think?


    With empty property and no craftsmanship, sooner or later, she will be impoverished and starved to death on the street¡­


    The more Lin Dan thought about it, the more helpless he became. While sighing, he wiped the medical book clean, put it in the box, and instructed, ¡°Help me move everything to the eldest brother¡¯s yard. I will live with the eldest brother from now on.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Chasing Lin Dan all the way, but the servant girl who couldn¡¯t send her away was stunned.


    ¡°I said, move all my things to my eldest brother¡¯s yard, and I want to live with him.¡± Lin Dan repeated tirelessly.


    Xue Boyong is an extremely good person. When his family¡¯s brothers surround Lin Dan and try to please him, he practiced martial arts in the martial arts field. When the brothers grew up and began to know the benefits of eating, drinking, and having fun, he had already set foot on the battlefield and made an immortal feat. He is capable of both literary and martial arts, wisdom and courage, and is the most promising young man in the Qin state, with a bright future. The current King of Qin is a hard-working and ambitious emperor, trying to conquer all sides and unify the Central Plains, and Xue Boyong is the sharpest knife in his hand.


    The original owner was spoiled for being lawless and domineering, but he never dared to be presumptuous in front of him and even hid far away when he saw him. But now, she said that she would move to live with Xue Boyong, why was it not surprising? The maid was stunned for a long time before confirming: ¡°You mean, you want to move to Xiaofeng Pavilion?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lin Dan buried his head in packing.


    ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll call a few more people to help.¡± The maid walked out in a hurry, and after a while, she brought a group of servants in and moved all the medical books piled up to the eldest son¡¯s courtyard.


    Lin Dan watched as they finished moving the medical books, making sure that nothing was missed, so he just packed up a few plain clothes and a set of the four treasures of the study, and walked to Xiaofeng Pavilion unhurriedly. From today onwards, Xue Boyong is the responsibility that she cannot shirk. If he is good, she will leave. If he is not good, she will take care of him for the rest of his life.

 CH 119

    The news that Lin Dan was left by the old lady spread all over the General¡¯s Mansion in an instant, and even Mrs. Xue did not express any objection. This sudden change made everyone dumbfounded. They originally thought that Lin Dan would never come back this time, but they didn¡¯t expect that she just went to the main courtyard and said a few words to change her own destiny.


    The brothers who used to love her very much now sneer at her, and they are not happy at all when they learn that she doesn¡¯t have to leave, but are indignant about it. Xue Boyong is the leader of this generation and a role model for all the descendants of the Xue family. They follow his lead and are even more proud of him. But now, he has been ruined by an ignorant and stupid woman, and this woman can still stay in the General¡¯s Mansion and enjoy the glory and wealth, this is not fair!


    In just half an hour, the old lady¡¯s courtyard welcomed five or six waves of visitors, all of whom came to persuade her to send the death star Lin Dan away.


    The old lady closed her eyes and said nothing, and Mrs. Xue insisted that she never showed her attitude. Just at this moment, a servant came to report that Lin Dan had moved all her own things to Xiaofeng Pavilion as if planning to live for a long time. , Ask the two masters how to deal with it, beat her out, or let her do it?


    ¡°Let her go. She can stay as long as she wants. If there is any reaction from Boyong¡¯s side, you can report it immediately.¡± The old lady waved her hand with a complicated expression. She had some struggles in her heart, not knowing whether it was good or bad for her grandson; she was also a little disappointed and relieved because she knew that Lin Dan¡¯s previous words were true, and they were not playing tricks to stay in Xue Mansion. small means. She is seventeen years old this year, how can she live with a big man, isn¡¯t this self-destructing reputation? In this way, even if she wants to marry Jiming in the future, it is impossible.


    But she knew the consequences, but she still did it. It can be seen that Boyong¡¯s weight in her heart is better than Jiming¡¯s and her reputation. It is very rare for a woman to be blamed to this extent. It can be seen that her heart is still good, but she just did something wrong on the spur of the moment.


    Thinking of this, the old lady sighed and murmured, ¡°A crime, this is really a crime!¡±


    Mrs. Xue sneered: ¡°Does she think I will forgive her for putting on such an attitude? Unless Boyong¡¯s legs are healed, she will always be a thorn in my eyes and a thorn in my flesh. If she can¡¯t serve Boyong well, I will immediately let her go, mother, you can¡¯t be softer!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be soft-hearted, let¡¯s watch the aftermath.¡± The old lady closed her eyes, unable to wave her hand.


    After Lin Dan brought the book back to Xiaofeng Pavilion, he ordered someone to take it out to dry immediately. Since the original owner didn¡¯t care about the family heritage skills at all, these books were already moldy when they were piled up in the miscellaneous room, and many of the pages were loose and needed to be re-bound.


    Under the orders of the old lady and Mrs. Xue, the servants of Xiaofeng Pavilion had to be patient and help her to publish the book.


    Lin Dan tidied up the last box but found that the height of the box seemed to be out of proportion to its capacity, and the books loaded were obviously much less than other boxes. What¡¯s going on? She knocked around and finally found a mezzanine at the bottom of the box. There were several medical books lying quietly inside. The covers were all intact, and the pages were bound neatly and beautifully. One of the covers has the words ¡°Lin¡¯s Acupuncture¡± written on the cover, and the other books are ¡°The Record of Extraordinary Diseases¡±, ¡°Lin¡¯s Massage¡±, ¡°The List of Herbs¡±, and ¡°Lin¡¯s Medical Dictionary¡±.


    All the other books are packed in boxes at will, only these are hidden in hidden compartments, which shows how precious they are.


    When he saw these books, Lin Dan couldn¡¯t help but think of a vague past. The original owner¡¯s father held his daughter¡¯s hand tightly when he was dying, and said word by word, ¡°Dan Er, you promise Dad, no matter how difficult the life is, you must not sell that mahogany gold-painted box. Wait for you to grow up. You can open the box and take a look. Maybe you will find a new life in desperation. You are still young, and your uncles and uncles are unreliable. You can go to General Xue and take that mouthful. Leave the box to him for safekeeping and ignore everything else. Do you remember?¡± Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    He repeated this sentence over and over again, and he was only willing to breathe if the original owner, who was crying a lot, promised himself.


    Before dying, he still remembered to hang a box, which is very strange at first glance. It¡¯s a pity that the original owner was a heartless person. She was taken to the General¡¯s Mansion and lived a prosperous and rich life. She turned her head and forgot her own father¡¯s last words.


    But now, Lin Dan will never underestimate the value of these books. The Lin family has practiced medicine for generations, and their ancestors have also produced many legendary figures such as medicine gods and medical immortals. How can they be simple? The original owner¡¯s father was a doctor who was very good at treating bruises and injuries. He was quite prestigious in the army. If he hadn¡¯t died early, the original owner would have inherited the mantle by now.


    Lin Dan looked through the complete set of medical books at a glance and then figured out the truth. At the end of almost every stitch, the ancestors of the Lin family will attach the same sentence ¨C give needles, supplemented by inner strength. When it came to the eighth generation, this sentence disappeared and spread to the ninth generation. The deeds of the Lin family¡¯s ancestors using acupuncture and moxibustion were no longer added to the deeds of the Lin family.


    From this, it can be inferred that part of the inheritance of the Lin family should have been lost, especially how to use the internal strength in this set of needles, there is no record at all. Without internal cooperation, the stitching will naturally be useless.


    ¡°How to cultivate internal strength? That¡¯s about the lost inheritance of the Lin family, right?¡± Lin Dan meditated. At the same time, a skill called Shura Knife automatically popped up in her mind. The foreword recorded the cultivation method of internal strength in detail, which could complement the inheritance of the Lin family. I didn¡¯t know if it could produce the expected effect when used with Lin¡¯s acupuncture.


    But after all, this is the only way out. No matter what the result is, Lin Dan has to have a try. After thinking about it, she immediately began to practice, but because of the poor qualifications of the original owner, the speed was very slow. When she finally condensed a trace of energy in Dantian, the sun had set, and the books she posted were taken back neatly by the servants and put them in boxes.


    ¡°What time is it now?¡± Lin Dan pushed open the door but saw two maids standing at the door as if waiting for themselves.


    ¡°Girl Hui, it¡¯s the unitary time.¡± The more beautiful maid looks respectful, but in fact her tone is very cold. Before that, they had to call her Miss Lin Dan, but now it¡¯s good to call her a girl. Haven¡¯t you seen Mrs. Xue always call her cheap?


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t like the woman to be close, so there was no maid in the Xiaofeng Pavilion, only servants and bodyguards. These maids have only been transferred recently. After all, women are more careful than men, can take better care of patients, and monitor Lin Dan¡¯s every move by the way.


    Seeing Lin Dan move to Xiaofeng Pavilion, he hid in the room and didn¡¯t care about Xue Boyong at all. These maids were extremely angry and turned their heads to report the matter to Mrs. Xue. Later, Mrs. Xue will come to drive away the funeral star.


    Lin Dan knew nothing about what the two maids had done and asked, ¡°Have you had dinner?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The two maids lowered their heads so that their angry expressions would not be seen by her.


    In the past, as long as the subordinate¡¯s eyes were wrong or answered a few wrong words, she would be slapped hard by Lin Dan. Her bad deeds were simply untold, and she was the most hateful existence in this family. Now, she has caused a big disaster, but she still refuses to leave, which is naturally more annoying.


    Seeing several bodyguards not far away glaring at themselves, his hands were still pressing on the handle of the knife, as if he wanted to rush over and cut people down. Lin Dan finally noticed it, but he didn¡¯t care. She stayed for Xue Boyong. Does it matter whether others love or hate her?


    ¡°Go to the kitchen and serve a meal. I¡¯m going to have dinner with my eldest brother.¡± She commanded for granted.


    ¡°But the eldest son is unwilling to eat.¡± The maid retorted unwillingly.


    ¡°Does he make him hungry if he doesn¡¯t eat you? How do you take care of people?¡± Lin Dan stared at the two maids.


    The two couldn¡¯t raise their heads by her calm but powerful eyes and soon ran to the kitchen.

 CH 120

    Since the eldest son injured his leg, the kitchen has always warmed up a meal, ready for the people from Xiaofeng Pavilion to pick it up. The two maids quickly came back with the food boxes and wanted to send them to the eldest son¡¯s room, but Lin Dan blocked the door, ¡°You wait here, don¡¯t disturb me.¡± She walked in slowly and said again. Close the door behind you.


    Her expression of neither joy nor sorrow now is even more intimidating than her arrogant and domineering appearance.


    The room was very dark, the windows on all four sides were tightly closed, the air was very poor, and there was an extremely strong smell of medicine. Lin Dan put the food box on the table and went straight to open the window. With the afterglow of the setting sun, he finally got a clear view of Xue Boyong¡¯s current appearance. He was eight feet tall, but his physique was very thin. His exposed hands were as thin as dry wood, as if they would break with a slight fold. His originally handsome face has become clear lines, deep facial features, a pair of eagle eyes are dark and dark, and there is no focus, giving people a particularly gloomy feeling.


    When he heard someone enter the door, he didn¡¯t even turn his head, just sat quietly facing the wall, wondering what he was thinking.


    Lin Dan walked across from him and called out big brother.


    The culprit was right in front of him, but he didn¡¯t even move his eyes, let alone look at Lin Dan. The servants outside spent a day reading books, making noises, he didn¡¯t listen or ask, like a living dead.


    Lin Dan carefully looked at his carved face and said sincerely, ¡°Brother, I was wrong, I¡¯m here to apologize to you. If it wasn¡¯t for my recklessness, you wouldn¡¯t be like this. Thank you for saving my life. .¡±


    She considered for a moment and then said: ¡°From a very young age, you are different from other brothers. You are practicing martial arts when everyone is playing, and everyone is still ignorant. You have already entered the battlefield. Sun was practicing martial arts under the scorching sun, and her skin was scalded off. Madam accidentally peeled off a piece of your skin when she was applying medicine for you. You didn¡¯t even snort, but she was overwhelmed and cried. She stood by and watched. We were so frightened that we couldn¡¯t eat for several days, but you continued to practice martial arts the next day without listening to anyone who tried to persuade you. You went to the border with the general before you were fifteen years old, and fought for the first time. The enemy made a great contribution. When you returned to the camp, there were two arrows stuck in your back. Blood soaked your clothes, but you didn¡¯t know it. You are fearless, brave, and courageous. You are the most powerful person I have ever met. Now, the reason why you are so depressed is not because of despair, but because of unwillingness. You have lofty ambitions to realize, but now, your planned life is ruined by these immobile legs. You can¡¯t accept it for a while. That¡¯s why you shut yourself up, you are definitely not a coward like General Xue scolded you.¡±


    Lin Dan knelt down on one knee and looked at him: ¡°On the contrary, you are stronger and fearless than anyone else, and you will be able to cross this hurdle sooner or later. I am not here to persuade you to cheer up, because it is completely unnecessary, I am here. The redeemer is also here to find a solution with you. I want to heal your leg, I am so weak, but I will never give up in my life, so don¡¯t give up either. Okay?¡±


    Having said that, Lin Dan tightly held Xue Boyong¡¯s cold hand, showing hope.


    Xue Boyong still looked at the wall out of focus, unmoved.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t feel disappointed in the slightest and stood up to serve the food.


    When she left, Xue Boyong¡¯s lifeless eyes flashed a stream of light, but he disappeared in an instant.


    Lin Dan came back soon, holding a bowl of fragrant food in his hand.


    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s time to eat.¡± She scooped some food with a spoon and fed it to Xue Boyong¡¯s mouth. Seeing that he didn¡¯t eat, she opened his mouth and forced it into it. Xue Boyong finally turned his head and looked at her deadly, but didn¡¯t say a word.


    Lin Dan smiled and said, ¡°Brother, I still remember when I was young, you were the most promising boy in the family, you stood still on the martial arts arena, and asked a dozen brothers to go up and besiege them, you could kill everyone with just one hand. They all fell to the ground. It can be seen that whether you have legs or not, whether you can walk or not, you are a well-deserved powerhouse. If you rub all your brothers together, you are not your opponent. However, look at me now, a weak woman can easily play with you loosely, let alone others? I let you eat, you can¡¯t spit it out, I carry you to bed, you don¡¯t even have the strength to resist.¡±


    She didn¡¯t realize that her words contained misleading ambiguities. She picked up the thin Xue Boyong, placed it on the soft couch, and put some pillows on his lower back to make him lean more. Be more comfortable, and then use a spoon to forcefully open the gap between his teeth, feeding one spoon after another, without giving him a chance to spit it out.


    His mouth was too full, and Xue Boyong swallowed subconsciously, otherwise, he would be choked to death.


    Lin Dan chuckled and said again: ¡°Look, you are so powerless right now, if someone wants you to live, you have to live, but you can¡¯t even die; if someone wants you to die if you let go, you will die. There¡¯s no room for resistance. Do you want to live like this? Do you want to be a walking dead, at the mercy of others?¡±


    Xue Boyong raised his head, his eyes showing a cold light. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    Lin Dan looked at him without dodging, and said, ¡°Brother, are you annoyed? Do you want to drive me away? Then you have to eat well. Only when you are full will you have the strength to resist me. Let me tell you, I have a lot of strength.¡±


    As if to prove her words, she forced Xue Boyong¡¯s mouth open, stuffed him with a piece of braised tofu, and lifted his jaw up, forcing him to chew and swallow. Xue Boyong hadn¡¯t eaten for a long time, and all he had to do was rely on the hundred-year-old ginseng soup and some pills to consolidate one¡¯s life. Where did he get the strength to resist?


    He has always been a role model for the brothers, a new noble in the court, and a god of war on the battlefield. How has he ever suffered such humiliation? His bottomless eyes finally reflected Lin Dan¡¯s figure, and there were faint waves brewing inside.


    When Lin Dan stretched out the spoon again, he raised his hand with difficulty and covered his lips.


    Lin Dan pretended not to understand his intentions, and directly pulled his hand away and continued to force it. He covered his mouth again and was pulled open again. After being repeated many times, he finally conceded defeat and said in an extremely hoarse voice: ¡°I will eat it myself.¡±


    It¡¯s been three months, this is the first sentence he has said. It¡¯s a bit funny, but it makes Lin Dan¡¯s nose sour and his heart is touched. This powerful man should not be reduced to such a situation.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m sorry for you. I know you are not a coward. You just don¡¯t want to live like a coward. If possible, you would rather bury the Ma Ge shroud at the border gate than lie in this hospital bed and enjoy the meticulous care of others. You are not even afraid of death, and how can you be afraid of illness? I will definitely find a way to cure you. Don¡¯t give up.¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes were far-reaching and his face was expressionless as if he was unmoved, but his fingertips trembled slightly.


    Lin Dan felt that his cheeks were sore, probably because he said too much. She has a completely different personality from the original owner. She prefers to stay alone and not cause trouble if she can. However, in order to make Xue Boyong get better as soon as possible, she can¡¯t help saying something. She is indeed silent and unsociable, but this does not mean that she is a thoughtless and emotionless person.


    She took the other party¡¯s hand and was ready to say something more, but Xue Boyong spits out two words: ¡°Eat.¡±


    ¡°Okay, eat.¡± Lin Dan immediately swallowed back all his words, showing a relieved smile.


    Xue Boyong took the initiative to pick up the spoon and trembled to scoop up the rice but failed several times. Lin Dan wanted to help him, but he stared at him warningly.


    ¡°Okay, brother, eat it yourself. I have nothing to do. It doesn¡¯t matter if the rice is spilled. I¡¯ll clean it up later.¡± Lin Dan raised his hands to show compromise.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t look at her anymore, but lowered his head and stared at the rice bowl. Although the movement was very difficult and the speed was very slow, he still ate spoon after spoon and persevered.


    ¡°Lin Dan, you bitch, after you moved to the Xiaofeng Pavilion, you hid in the room and went freely. I didn¡¯t care about Boyong at all. I would believe you again if I was evil¡­¡± Mrs. Xue slammed open the door and saw the situation inside clearly. Her angry expression was replaced by surprise.


    She blinked, looking unbelievable.


    ¡°Bo Yong, would you like to eat?¡± She walked over slowly, got angry again in a flash, and scolded, ¡°Lin Dan, how dare you let Boyong eat alone? He is a patient and needs to be taken care of. Can¡¯t you feed him?¡±


    ¡°Okay, madam.¡± Lin Dan did not argue and immediately reached out to grab the spoon.


    Xue Boyong leaned over and said weakly, ¡°Mom, I eat it myself and don¡¯t want others to feed him.¡±


    Mrs. Xue hasn¡¯t heard this ¡°mother¡± for a long time. Seeing that the death in her son¡¯s eyes had been replaced by a trace of freshness, she almost cried on the spot. Sure enough, it¡¯s right to let Lin Dan serve him. In order not to let Lin Dan approach, he would rather eat by himself, and finally he was willing to express his appeal! But that¡¯s not enough. He has lost weight. How can he be raised in a day or two?


    Mrs. Xue turned her anger into joy and immediately gave up the idea of kicking Lin Dan away. Instead, she seriously told her, ¡°In the future, you will come to eat with Boyong every day and don¡¯t slack off.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and agreed, ¡°Madam, is it more convenient for someone to build a small kitchen in Xiaofeng Pavilion? The eldest brother can order what he wants to eat immediately without going to the big kitchen to say hello every day. If you go late and don¡¯t prepare ingredients in the big kitchen, I¡¯m afraid the eldest brother won¡¯t eat.¡±


    Xue Boyong glanced at Lin Dan and didn¡¯t say anything after all.


    ¡°Okay, if your eldest brother is missing here, you can order it down and let them prepare.¡± As long as her son can cheer up, Mrs. Xue will agree to everything.


    ¡°Mrs. Xie, the eldest brother, doesn¡¯t like to be watched when eating. Shall we leave for the time being?¡± Lin Dan said again.


    Mrs. Xue left according to her words and waited for half an hour to come in. Xue Boyong really finished today¡¯s meal. Although she spilled a lot of food because of the weakness of her wrist, it was also a great progress. Since then, even if she is reluctant, she has to admit that it may not be a bad thing to send Lin Dan to Xiaofeng Pavilion.

 CH 121

    Mrs. Xue happily returned to the main courtyard. The old lady¡¯s maid had been waiting at the door for a long time. When she saw her approaching, she immediately greeted her and asked, ¡°Madam, the old lady is still waiting for you. Did you drive Lin Dan away?¡±


    ¡°Uh, let¡¯s talk about this later.¡± Only then did Mrs. Xue remember her purpose of rushing to Xiaofeng Pavilion, and the expression on her face couldn¡¯t help being a little embarrassing.


    The eldest maid seemed very disappointed, but she forced her to be invited into the old lady¡¯s room with a smile. Because of the prestige of the original owner, 99% of the servants of the Xue family didn¡¯t like her, waiting for her to become a lost dog.


    ¡°Is that girl Dan¡¯er gone? If she wants to come to the main courtyard to ask for a meeting, you can stop me. I don¡¯t want to see her anymore.¡± A very distressed look. After her grandson became paralyzed, she also became seriously ill, and she has not yet recovered. Previously, she thought that Lin Dan had made a change, and she was happy for a while, but she didn¡¯t expect to be slapped in the face by Lin Dan, so she couldn¡¯t bear it mentally and fell down again.


    ¡°Mother, I didn¡¯t catch Lin Dan. When I went, Boyong was eating by himself, as if he disliked Lin Dan¡¯s service. Mother, you did the right thing, send Lin Dan away, Boyong really has a normal person. Reaction.¡± Speaking of this, Madam Xue immediately showed a happy expression.


    ¡°Can Boyong eat by himself?¡± The old lady got up immediately and said anxiously, ¡°No, I have to go and see for myself.¡±


    Mrs. Xue hurried to stop her and persuaded her: ¡°Don¡¯t move, just lie down, Boyong is fine, you can see it anytime you want, it¡¯s not bad for a moment. Weak, you two got sick from each other, so what should we do!¡±


    As soon as the old lady heard this, she didn¡¯t dare to move and promised again and again: ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t go. It doesn¡¯t matter if this old bone of mine died of illness, if I kill my good grandson, I will regret it. What! How much food did he eat? What kind of dishes did he have? Does he look better?¡±


    ¡°I ate a bowl of porridge, a few pieces of braised tofu, and a little minced meat, and my face looked much better. I asked Lin Dan to feed him, but he firmly disagreed and even spoke to me.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°He said: Mother, I eat by myself, don¡¯t let others feed it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, this child is still the same as when he was a child, with a particularly thin skin! If you are willing to talk, everything will be fine!¡± The old lady said with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Yes! The master is looking for famous doctors everywhere. If Qin State does not have it, he will go to Wu State. If Wu State does not, he will go to Chu State. The Central Plains is so big, there will always be someone who can cure this disease. As long as Boyong overcomes the hurdle in his heart, he is willing to Get back on your feet, everything will be fine.¡± Madam Xue lowered her head and wiped away tears, her voice choked.


    The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat opposite each other, crying and laughing, making all the maids dumbfounded. As for the words ¡°shooing Lin Dan away¡±, no one dared to say it again.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t know that he was almost swept out of the house, and was rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find things. The book ¡°Lin¡¯s Needle Method¡± has already stated that all family acupuncture methods must use special needles made by the ancestors of the Lin family, and cannot be mixed with external gold needles and silver needles, otherwise it will be ineffective. But she searched all over the place, but couldn¡¯t find this set of needles, let alone found that Father Lin used it in her memory.


    Is it also lost? Just thinking of this, she patted her forehead and scolded herself for being stupid. Since the bottom of the box can hide things, so can the lid of the box. After a while, she found a set of acupuncture tools in the lid of the box. There were needles as thin as ox hair, needles as thick as bamboo sticks, needles as long as half a foot, needles as short as two inches, and needles of various shapes. The different Bianstones and metal flakes are wrapped in cloth and well preserved.


    However, without the cultivation method of inner strength, these tools are equivalent to waste. It is no wonder that since the ninth generation, the ancestors of the Lin family have sealed them up, and they will never see the light of day again.


    Lin Dan held these needles in his hand and identified them one by one according to the pictures in the book. At this moment, there was a muffled sound from the next room, as if something heavy fell on the ground. She immediately put the needle back in its place and hurried over to check it out. In order to take better care of Xue Boyong, she completely ignored the defense of men and women and directly moved her belongings into the wing next to him. Living so close, she could hear the slightest disturbance on the other side.


    When she arrived, the servant who was in charge of serving Xue Boyong had already fallen asleep and was lying on the soft couch outside, while Xue Boyong rolled off the bed and was struggling to support his upper body, trying to climb back.


    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Lin Dan easily picked up an eight-foot tall man, placed it gently on the couch, and asked softly, ¡°Brother, do you want to drink? Water? You just ask someone to help you, why do you do it yourself?¡±


    It was the second time that Xue Boyong had been hugged by Lin Dan. He was closing his eyes and didn¡¯t want to look at each other at all.


    Lin Dan poured a cup of hot tea and put it to his mouth.


    He gritted his teeth tightly and looked passively resisting.


    Lin Dan sighed, squeezed his cheek, pried open his teeth, and forced a glass of water.


    Xue Boyong choked up and coughed again and again, and a blush appeared on his pale cheeks, which turned out to be very handsome. He looked straight at Lin Dan, his eyes extremely cold. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    Lin Dan said slowly: ¡°Brother, what are you looking at? You can¡¯t deal with me, so you should drink water obediently, or you will choke later. In fact, eldest brother had the opportunity to drive me away, as long as he saw me At first glance, you said that you didn¡¯t like me and wanted me to leave, and the old lady and the lady would immediately drive me away. But you stubbornly didn¡¯t speak, so I stayed.¡±


    As she spoke, she poured a second glass of water, still trying to force it, but Xue Boyong took the initiative to take it over and drank it bit by bit. After drinking, he looked up and his dark eyes flashed brightly.


    Lin Dan smiled slightly, breaking his hopes, ¡°Brother, it¡¯s too late for you to talk now. You despised me and didn¡¯t want me to take care of you, so you took the initiative to eat and drink water and even talked to Madam. Now, they must think that It is I who stimulated you that will cheer you up. If you say that you drive me away, they will never listen. So brother, you are completely in my hands now, so you should eat and drink honestly. , sleep, and take good care of your body.¡±


    Speaking of which, she said seriously: ¡°Brother, look at how weak and powerless you are now? Don¡¯t you feel aggrieved?¡±


    Xue Boyong drank the water expressionlessly as if he didn¡¯t hear her at all, but after drinking, he didn¡¯t return the teacup to her but threw it directly on the ground. Maybe he originally wanted to smash it, but his hands were too weak to do it.


    The teacup fell vertically on the feet covered with woolen blankets, not to mention shattering, without even making a sound.


    Lin Dan picked up the intact teacup, wiped it clean, and said casually, ¡°Brother, do you want to vent your anger or demonstrate to me? If you have the strength, you can smash the cup in my face, that¡¯s the only way to be happy. But look, your demonstration didn¡¯t even splash a little bit of water, I don¡¯t know, I thought your hand slipped.¡±


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes and panted heavily, the blue veins on his forehead popping out one by one.


    The little servant, who had already been awakened by the movement of the two, stood in the corner, daring not to say a word.


    ¡°Brother, take a good rest, I won¡¯t disturb you.¡± Lin Dan put the cup back in its original position, walked out, suddenly stopped when he reached the door, and explained to the servant, ¡°Brother drank a lot of water, You first use a urinal to pick up some urine for him and then lay him down, otherwise he will be suffocated at night, which will affect his sleep.¡±


    She didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with her words at all, but the little servant¡¯s cheeks were blushing, his eyes were dodging, and he looked shy and unspeakable.


    Xue Boyong couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, he suddenly opened his eyes, gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now, good night, eldest brother.¡± She stepped out of the threshold and explained seriously, ¡°If you have anything, just call, and I¡¯ll come over immediately. I live next door, very close.¡±


    ¡°You have a daughter¡¯s family, you are not married yet, but you live in a big man¡¯s yard, and you set the room next to him, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s inappropriate?¡± Xue Boyong reprimanded in a hoarse voice.


    Lin Dan snapped his fingers and said, ¡°Brother, you told me thirty-eight words in one breath. I stayed in the Xue family for twelve years. This is the longest sentence I have ever heard from you. It¡¯s amazing.¡± Word Luo closed the door and commanded through the door panel: ¡°It¡¯s almost time, eldest brother, go to sleep.¡± He was completely ignorant of what the other party said.


    Xue Boyong stared fiercely at the door panel as if he wanted to stare it out two holes. His dead eyes were now frighteningly bright.


    The young servant took the urinal in fear and was swept away by the eldest son¡¯s death gaze, and almost knelt down and kowtowed. In this Xue mansion, Miss Lin was indeed the most powerful, even the tiger beard dared to flirt.


    Lin Dan went back to his room and continued to study the medical books. He lay down and went to sleep when the sleepiness came over, and then fell asleep in a second. He had no idea what he had made Xue Boyong angry about.


    The next day, she went to the kitchen early to make two bowls of porridge and a few small dishes and sent them to her brother¡¯s room. After serving her eldest brother for breakfast, she was ready to formally study medicine. Everyone learns to recite Tangtou Song at the age of four or five, and learn to diagnose the pulse at the age of seven or eight, but she only started at the age of seventeen, which is a bit late after all.


    This time, she didn¡¯t need to say another word. As soon as she put down the food box, Xue Boyong took the initiative to say, ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself, I don¡¯t need you to feed it.¡±


    Mrs. Xue came to visit her son every morning. When she pushed the door and came in, she just heard him say these words and saw him lying on the table seriously drinking porridge, trying hard not to let her trembling hands drain the porridge and water in the spoon. Sprinkling it out, as if returning to the time when I just learned to eat by myself when I was a child.


    Many memories flooded into my heart and wet Madam Xue¡¯s eyes. Fearing that her arrival would spoil her son¡¯s appetite, she quickly backed out and peeked out of the window. I saw Lin Dan frequently put vegetables into his son¡¯s bowl, some scrambled eggs, and some finely chopped sauerkraut, and his son swallowed them all without showing any resistance. In the past, if any woman dared to get so close, or even touch his food, he would have been cold-hearted.


    ¡°Madam, aren¡¯t you going in?¡± a maid who was in charge of serving the eldest son, but was blocked by Lin Dan outside the door, asked in a low voice.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go in. Boyong can¡¯t even hold the spoon firmly. He spills half of his mouthful and is very embarrassed. If I go in, he will be thin-skinned and will definitely refuse to eat.¡± Mrs. Xue still knew her son very well. , then waved his hand and said with relief: ¡°Go back, we will come again in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°But Miss Lin is also inside, isn¡¯t the eldest son also eating well?¡± The maid said unwillingly.


    ¡°Lin Dan is an outsider, I¡¯m his mother, what¡¯s the difference? He can¡¯t care about Lin Dan¡¯s opinion, but he can¡¯t care about his family¡¯s opinion. He doesn¡¯t want us to see his weak appearance, so we can just pretend we can¡¯t see it. ¡°Mrs. Xue wiped the corners of her eyes, stared at the maid before leaving, and said coldly, ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    The maid hurriedly bowed her head to admit her mistake and then sent the group away in fear.

 CH 122

    Mrs. Xue thought that her voice was very low and would not disturb others. In fact, both of them in the room were martial arts and could hear it clearly. Lin Dan pretended not to know, but Xue Boyong showed a guilty expression. When Mrs. Xue left, he put down the spoon and lost his appetite.


    ¡°Drink a little more,¡± Lin Dan beat his bowl with chopsticks: ¡°There is only a thin layer of porridge left, which can be solved in two or three bites. Don¡¯t waste it.¡±


    Xue Boyong was unmoved.


    Just then, a servant came in with a pot of ginseng soup, put it on the stove, and simmered on low heat.


    Lin Dan turned his head to look at him and suddenly asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Miss Huilin, the little girl¡¯s name is Li Zhong.¡± The servant bent down to answer, with a panicked expression. Since he saw Lin Dan tame Xue Boyong to obedience, he no longer dared to show disrespectful expressions. Can this master cure the most promising eldest son of Xue Mansion, and can he still not cure others?


    ¡°What are the names of those two girls outside?¡± Lin Dan continued to ask.


    ¡°The one in red clothes outside is Fangfei, and the one in green clothes is jasper, which has only been transferred recently. We have never served a maid in Xiaofeng Pavilion before. The servant answered everything and was courteous.


    Lin Dan nodded and said, ¡°Well, before I came, your son didn¡¯t want to eat. How did you keep him alive?¡±


    The servant said with a bitter face, ¡°Madam comes to beg the eldest son to eat every day. If the eldest son is in a good mood, he will drink a sip or two of ginseng soup. If he is in a bad mood, he will not eat or drink, but just sits in front of the wall. Miss Lin, look, this is the ginseng soup that the eldest prince drinks every day. The small one is put on the stove to warm up. Remember to let the eldest son drink a little later so that he can make up for his short-loss body as soon as possible.


    Lin Dan turned his head and looked at Xue Boyong and said word by word, ¡°You have to cry and beg your own mother to eat. Brother, you are really promising!¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s face turned red, immediately picked up the spoon, and drank the rest of the porridge.


    Lin Dan hit the iron while it was hot and let him drink a bowl of ginseng soup and a few Guben Peiyuan pills, so he stopped.


    ¡°Would you like to pee?¡± She took the handkerchief handed over by the servant and wiped Xue Boyong¡¯s face while asking naturally.


    Xue Boyong coughed violently and reached out to push her several times, but failed to push people. She is now a dog skin plaster, which can¡¯t be torn open as soon as it sticks to it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to pee? Then would you like to be respectful?¡± Lin Dan continued to ask.


    Xue Boyong gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Lin Dan, get out of here!¡±


    ¡°Well, you can shout if you need it. I¡¯ll ask Li Zhong to help you. My bedroom is in your left room, and my study is in your right room, only separated by two walls, very close. As soon as there is any wind and grass here, I can hear it right away.¡± Lin Dan finished saying these words before he went out.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s originally pale cheeks have turned red now, and I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s shameful or angry.


    Li Zhong huddled his head in the corner as if he did not exist. Although he has been with the eldest son since he was a child, he has never served each other much. What the eldest son himself can do will never pretend to others, so he slept so well last night, and he didn¡¯t expect to put a glass of water by the prince¡¯s bed or take him to the toilet or something.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Lin Dan¡¯s alertness, according to Xue Boyong¡¯s strong manner, he would have lie on the ground for one night if he couldn¡¯t climb back, and would never have taken the initiative to ask for help. By the next morning, Mrs. Xue saw that the whole yard was going to be boarded. Thinking of this stubble, Li Zhong couldn¡¯t help but add some gratitude to Lin Dan.


    After breakfast, Lin Dan went to the study next door to read, began with the simplest soup song, and then learned pulse diagnosis and identification of Chinese herbal medicine. At the same time, she didn¡¯t leave her inner skills behind and smoked every day. Meditating for two hours.


    Mrs. Xue soon sent someone to build a small kitchen for Xiaofeng Pavilion and deliver the freshest ingredients every day. At first, Lin Dan pretended to follow the chef to learn cooking but later completely replaced him. She also slowly took over the sewing work of Xiu Niang, but she sewed all Xue Boyong¡¯s clothes and trousers herself, and it was very meticulous.


    On this day, the cook was completely defeated by Lin Dan¡¯s craftsmanship and took the initiative to retreat to fight. In the beginning, she thought that Lin Dan was learning cooking from herself to show to the old lady and her. Unexpectedly, after only seven days of learning, she learned her family skills. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    The cook was full of regret, but it was too late, and she was only secretly shocked by Lin Dan¡¯s intelligence. I heard that Lin Dan just learned Nvhong, but compared the old embroidered woman who had been working for decades. She said that an embroidered pillow should really have a look with her own eyes. If she embroidered pillows, there would be no smart girls in the capital.


    Lin Dan made a hibiscus chicken slice, a brewed tofu, a mushroom stir-fried heart, and a winter melon sparerib soup, which was packed in exquisite food boxes and sent to Xue Boyong¡¯s room.


    Xue Boyong was stunned as soon as he took the first bite and then accelerated his eating speed. After the injury, he ate much smaller. He was full after drinking a bowl of porridge and was unwilling to pick up the bowls and chopsticks. Today, he ate two bowls of rice in a row and drank a bowl of soup, leaving only some vegetable juice for Lin Dan.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t dislike it at all. He poured the soup into the bowl and mixed it. He ate it deliciously.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s hands have regained some strength, and his face has a little meat. He is wiping his mouth and explaining to Li Zhong, ¡°Are you changing the cook today? This man is very good at craftsmanship. He will be rewarded with a tael of silver.


    Li Zhong agreed, and then secretly went to see Lin Dan.


    Lin Dan directly opened Xue Boyong¡¯s money box, took a pair of silver out, and put it into his pocket.


    Xue Boyong looked at her coldly and asked, ¡°What do you do with my money?¡±


    ¡°Brother Xie rewarded me. Today¡¯s new cook is me. From now on, I will cook the eldest brother¡¯s food and sew the eldest brother¡¯s clothes, okay?¡± Lin Dan squeezed Xue Boyong¡¯s cheek and said gratifiedly, ¡°Brother, you are meaty!¡±


    Xue Boyong quickly grabbed her wrist and scolded her with red cheeks: ¡°How can a girl pinch a man¡¯s face at will? Do you know if she is ashamed?¡±


    Lin Dan broke away his clamps and became more and more gratified: ¡°Brother, you have also grown your strength.¡±


    Xue Boyong felt that he was talking completely with chickens and ducks, and the expression on his face was both embarrassing and helpless.


    Mrs. Xue and Lao Taijun, who came to visit him, stood at the door and looked at the scene with a smile. As expected, the grandson (son) gained a little weight, his face was ruddy, his eyes were bright, and even his physical strength was slowly recovering. One day, he will recover completely.


    Thinking of this, the old lady showed a gentle expression to Lin Dan. Although Mrs. Xue was still cold-browed, her tone of voice was much gentler and no longer shouted bitches one by one.


    Seeing the two elders, Xue Boyong wiped his face and almost wanted to sigh. In recent days, he has indeed been so angry that he forgot to think nonsense, and gradually realized how much harm his depression brought to his family. His voice choked and he said sincerely, ¡°Gramma, mother, grandchildren are unfilial, which worries you!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your fault? Don¡¯t say that quickly.¡± The old lady quickly walked in and comforted him, ¡°Your face is much better now, and you also have strength. Your body and bones are stronger every day. Your father went to Jiangzhou to help you find a famous doctor, and the good news will come back soon. You will definitely recover.¡±


    Mrs. Xue echoed repeatedly with a smile in her tears.


    Seeing this scene, Lin Dan quietly walked out, quietly covered the door, and left space for them.


    ¡ª


    Three days later, General Xue did not send back the good news, but Xue Jiming came back and said, ¡°Grandma, do you know? A few days ago, a farmer¡¯s stomach was pierced by ox horns, and his intestines leaked out. Others said that he was dead and sent to Xuancao¡¯s pharmacy, but she saved him!¡±


    ¡°What, can I still save my intestines if I leak?¡± The old lady was shocked.


    ¡°Can be saved, Xuancao cleaned up the man¡¯s intestines and stuffed it back, and then sewed up the other party¡¯s stomach with needles and threads. After more than a month, the man jumped alive. I saw it with my own eyes. Where is it fake? If you don¡¯t believe it, you can send someone to the street to inquire. Now it has spread all over the capital, saying that Xuancao is a magic doctor alive and there is no disease that she can¡¯t cure!¡±


    As soon as the old lady¡¯s eyes lit up, he immediately sent someone to inquire. Mrs. Xue also waited eagerly, hoping for the truth of the news. If the news is true, even if the youngest son wants to marry Wu Xuancao as her first wife, she will have nothing to say.


    The servant came back soon and learned the rumors on the streets and alleys. She said that Wu Xuancao was a magic doctor, had a friendship with the King of Hell, could rob people from hell, and said that she was extraordinary in medicine, could live and die, and so on.


    Lao Taijun and Mrs. Xue immediately sent someone to invite her, but because Lin Dan had smashed her shop and ruined her reputation, she refused to come. After inviting her three times in a row, she put down her words and said that she would let Lin Dan kneel down at the door of her pharmacy and admit her mistake loudly before she came over.


    ¡°Go find Lin Dan. If she doesn¡¯t want to, she will also escort her to Xian Cao Tang and kowtow to Wu Xuancao!¡± Mrs. Xue slapped the table and said loudly.


    The old lady closed his eyes and didn¡¯t mean to intervene at all. These things were provoked by Lin Dan. It¡¯s nothing to ask her to apologize.


    Xue Jiming gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Gramma, mother, why don¡¯t you drive Lin Dan away?¡± When the eldest brother fell down, he had to support the Xue family, so he usually stayed in the barracks to train. He seldom came back and didn¡¯t know that the culprit was still at home.


    ¡°Well, forget it. Grandma is always soft-hearted and doesn¡¯t listen to anyone! I went to find the dead girl myself. If she doesn¡¯t invite Xuan Cao to our house this time, I will throw her out and starve her to death in the street!¡± Xue Jiming left angrily, and the old lady and Mrs. Xue did not stop him.


    As long as Wu Xuancao can be invited and his legs can be cured for Xue Boyong, who will take care of Lin Dan¡¯s leave or stay? Even if the old lady really loves her, she doesn¡¯t value her more than her own grandson.

 CH 123

    Lin Dangang accompanied Xue Boyong to finish breakfast and was cleaning up the table while talking to him: ¡°Brother, what do you want to eat for lunch? Aunt Fang bought a bag of chestnuts from the market yesterday. I tasted one. It tasted sweet and glutinous. Let¡¯s simply have chestnut stewed chicken at noon. Right? Make another pot of lotus root sparerib soup, steam a bass, stir-fry two small dishes, and live together.¡±


    Xue Boyong slowly wiped his mouth with a pal and ignored her at all.


    She glanced at each other and said, ¡°Brother, what kind of food do you like to eat? How¡¯s your taste? Do you like light or heavy, spicy or sweet? Brother, don¡¯t you have a special preference?¡±


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t bother to look at her at a glance. He waved to Li Zhong and said, ¡°Help me to bed.¡±


    Li Zhong quickly came over but was stopped by Lin Dan. ¡°Go to bed. Just after dinner, you have to digest it for less than half an hour to lie down, otherwise, it¡¯s not good for your stomach. Brother, let me take you to the window and sit down. If you are bored, you can read books.


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes and lay silent in the chair.


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes dimmed, but he didn¡¯t insist on hugging him to the window. Instead, he went back to the study, moved all his medical books over, and began to study every day. She read page by page, memorized line by line, and muttered to make Xue Boyong upset. He turned his head and stared at her. Seeing that she seemed unconscious, he could only endure it with all his strength.


    Lin Dan put down the book at this time and asked, ¡°Brother, have I quarreled with you?¡±


    Xue Boyong said nothing.


    Lin Dan was relieved. He picked up the book and continued to recite it. The volume was higher than before.


    After about two-quarters of an hour, Xue Boyong said unbearably, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°Brother, what did you say?¡± Lin Dan pretended that he didn¡¯t hear anything.


    Xue Boyong tightened his eyebrows and said word by word, ¡°I asked you to shut up. You¡¯re too noisy!¡±


    ¡°Okay, big brother, I just don¡¯t pronounce it.¡± Only then did Lin Dan be satisfied. He walked to Xue Boyong¡¯s side, squatted down, and looked at him sideways. Xu said, ¡°Brother, just tell me what you want. If you don¡¯t say it, how can I know? I¡¯ll ask you again now, what kind of food do you want for lunch, and what¡¯s your preference for taste?¡±


    Xue Boyong gritted his teeth and squeezed out one sentence: ¡°Just eat the dishes you mentioned earlier. I don¡¯t have a special preference. It¡¯s light or heavy.¡±


    Lin Dan persevered and asked, ¡°What flavor do you like, brother? Salty, sweet, spicy, spicy, sour, spicy¡­¡±


    The blue veins on Xue Boyong¡¯s forehead jumped. Before she finished speaking, he struggled to spit out two words: ¡°Sweet.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Dan looked surprised and didn¡¯t expect that an iron-blooded tough guy like his eldest brother would like sweets at all.


    Xue Boyong thought she was pretending to be stupid and deliberately punishing herself. Although she was reluctant, she repeated, ¡°I like sweetness. Are you satisfied now? Is it ready to stop? Can you leave my room and let me be quiet for a moment?¡±


    Lin Dan nodded repeatedly, ¡°I¡¯m satisfied. Then I¡¯ll make an amber lotus root cake for my eldest brother at noon. It¡¯s sweet and glutinous, which is very delicious. Brother, I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    She moved a thick pile of medical books back to her study. When Xue Boyong thought she could finally catch a breath, she came back. Without saying a word, she carried him to the window and seriously told him, ¡°Brother, bask in the sun more, which is good for bones. It¡¯s still a little cold in the morning. I¡¯ll take you out in half an hour. We¡¯ll bask in the sun in the yard and go back to bed after lunch. Here are some military books that I found in your study. Take a look to avoid boredom. Brother, I¡¯m leaving. Call me if you have something to do. You see, as long as you are willing to say it, I can meet all your requirements. If you have any ideas, don¡¯t worry about them anymore.


    Xue Boyong sneered and said, ¡°How many times have I said that you are not allowed to hug me without my permission? Have you ever heard of it?¡±


    Lin Dan waved his hand disapprovingly: ¡°That¡¯s different. I will do what is good for you, whether you agree or not.


    Xue Boyong laughed colder and colder: ¡°What¡¯s the difference between me and not?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t explain it clearly to my eldest brother. That¡¯s it.¡± Lin Dan sighed, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m really gone. You have wasted a lot of time this morning.¡± Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    Xue Boyong was angry with her, patted the armrest of the chair and said, ¡°Lin Dan, how can you rake it upside down if you are unreasonable? Lin Dan, Lin Dan, come back here, let¡¯s make it clear¡­¡±


    Lin Dan covered the door and rubbed his cheeks. In fact, she doesn¡¯t like to talk, but there¡¯s nothing she can do. The eldest brother is also the kind of silent person. Now she is paralyzed in bed and depressed. If she is depressed, she has to suffocate more serious diseases. Therefore, she had to force herself to say a lot every day and try her best to tease her eldest brother to vent her depression.


    She has always been a straightforward person. She doesn¡¯t know how to speak euphemistically. On the contrary, she often makes her eldest brother angry. But when she hit it crookedly, the eldest brother¡¯s mood became clear day by day, and her face gradually became ruddy, which made her so relieved.


    She walked into the study, took out a piece of paper, and wrote: After half an hour, when the weather gets warmer, remember to hug her eldest brother out to bask in the sun. At noon, the eldest brother wants to eat chestnut stewed chicken, lotus root stewed spareribs, steamed bass, stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried pumpkin, and two more desserts, an amber lotus root cake, and a shredded apple. Big brother likes sweet food!


    After writing, she glued this piece of paper to the window next to her and could see it as long as she turned her head slightly, so as to remind herself not to forget to take care of her eldest brother because she was addicted to studying.


    After finishing all this, she was about to open the medical book, but heard a rapid voice coming from the door: ¡°Lin Dan, Lin Dan, get out of here quickly!¡±


    Lin Dan is too familiar with this voice. It¡¯s not Xue Jiming, the fiance of the original owner, but who is it? She was about to go out to see the situation when Xue Boyong said coldly, ¡°In my yard, how can you be heard loudly?¡±


    Xue Jiming, who was aggressive, seemed to see a cat¡¯s mouse. He immediately soften his tone and apologized carefully: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m wrong. I¡¯m too anxious to do this. Next time I must pay attention, brother, please forgive me this time.¡±


    Lin Dan then pushed the door out and asked blankly, ¡°Are you looking for me?¡±


    Xue Jiming clenched his fist, as if he wanted to hit someone, but he suppressed it and said quickly, ¡°Lin Dan, go to Xuancaotang with me to kneel and kowtow towards Xiaocaoer to admit his mistake. Be sure to invite her to treat his legs for the eldest brother. Xiaocaoer can even save the dying, and it¡¯s not a big deal to cure the eldest brother¡¯s legs.¡±


    Lin Dan frowned and said, ¡°Are her medical skills so superb?¡± In the impression of the original owner, Wu Xuancao¡¯s medical skills were so bad that she couldn¡¯t even recognize the herbs. Why did she suddenly become a miracle doctor because she grabbed the wrong medicine?


    Xue Jiming¡¯s face was full of anger: ¡°Don¡¯t look down on people. Xiaocaoer is best at treating trauma. Whether she breaks her hands and feet or breaks her intestines, she can cure them. She can sew up the wound with a needle to bring the patient back to life. She can also clamp the broken leg with two boards to restore the disabled. Her medical skills are better than your father¡¯s. Why do you look down on her? Are you going to apologize? If you don¡¯t go, I will tie you up!¡±


    As soon as he raised his hand, two bodyguards came up with ropes.


    Xue Boyong sneered and said, ¡°In my yard, call my bodyguard and catch my people. Ji Ming, you are becoming more and more promising!¡±


    Xue Jiming blushed and quickly defended, ¡°Brother, this is all for your own good! Xiaocaoer said that as long as Lin Dan kowtowed to her and admitted her mistake, she would come to treat your legs¡­¡±


    Xue Boyong interrupted him: ¡°I don¡¯t care whether she likes to come or not. Do you really think that everything is Lin Dan¡¯s fault?¡± He glanced at his younger brother and the bodyguard, and then fixed herself in Mrs. Xue¡¯s face, who came in a hurry.


    Although everyone did not say it clearly, it was not difficult to find from their indignant expressions that they confirmed that all the wrong things had been committed by Lin Dan. If it hadn¡¯t been for Lin Dan, how could the Xue family fall into the current precarious situation?


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes and said word by word, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say something, but I had to say something, otherwise you would never grow up. Your engagement with Lin Dan, but you accept it yourself. Is there anyone in the family who forces you?


    Xue Jiming said unwillingly, ¡°No, no one forced me.¡±


    Xue Boyong looked straight at him and said slowly, ¡°That¡¯s right. First of all, you promised Lin Dan for life, but then taught Wu Xuancao privately. After the incident broke out, instead of solving the matter well and explaining it to the two, you secretly ran to the border gate and let the two weak women travel for you for a long time. If you know that you have a marriage contract, you should control your heart and not provoke other girls. You betrayed in the front, wavered behind, and finally shirked your responsibility and spilled dirty water on Lin Dan¡¯s head. If you don¡¯t agree to marry her from the beginning or know how to be self-deserving after meeting Wu Xuancao, none of the following disasters will happen.


    Xue Boyong glanced at Lin Dan and continued, ¡°Wu Xuancao is entangled with a man who has been engaged. Lin Dan went to smash her store. What¡¯s wrong? Which kind of apology did you ask her to apologize? When something goes wrong, you always look for reasons in others and never look at yourself. If you can¡¯t even afford such a trivial matter, how can you talk about leading the army to fight, how can you talk about making contributions? The reason why my legs are useless is to pay off your evil debts!¡±


    Xue Jiming was already stabbed by his eldest brother¡¯s blade-like words that he couldn¡¯t raise his head. Hearing the last sentence, he was really like a thunderbolt and could not bear it. As soon as his legs softened, he knelt down and choked up, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m sorry for you! I¡¯m the culprit. I was wrong!¡±


    After all, Xue Jiming is his son. Even if he is wrong, Mrs. Xue won¡¯t think deeply. Now after listening to her eldest son¡¯s words, she woke up and regretted a lot: ¡°Bo Yong, I¡¯m blamed for this! It was I who didn¡¯t educate him well that made him look ignorable and irresponsible. Inertia is like killing a son. If only I had figured out this truth earlier. I¡¯m also wrong!¡±


    Lin Dan was stunned by the cry in the yard. She never expected her eldest brother to stand by her side.

 CH 124

    Lin Dan slowly walked to the door and whispered, ¡°Brother, if Wu Xuancao really has good medical skills, I¡¯d better go there?¡±


    Xue Boyong sneered and said, ¡°If I had heard it correctly before, she seemed to want you to kneel down and admit your mistake to her. You troubled her earlier because she and Xue Jiming were confused. Have you wronged her?


    Lin Dan shook his head: ¡°I haven¡¯t wronged her.¡±


    Xue Boyong glanced at her and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. Since you didn¡¯t wrong her, why don¡¯t you apologize to her? She is a teenage girl. Where can she go with good medical skills? Kneeling three times and kowtowing is a gift of worshipping the gods of heaven and earth. Can she stand it? Don¡¯t be too troubled when you go back to reading!¡±


    Lin Dan moved his lips, as if he had something to say, but swallowed back.


    ¡°Okay, big brother, I don¡¯t have much to do. Brother, didn¡¯t you say you wanted to sleep? Shall I let Li Zhong carry you to bed?¡± In front of outsiders, she will never take the initiative to hug her eldest brother, so as not to make him shameless.


    Xue Boyong ignored her at all, but turned his head to scold his brother, ¡°What are you still kneeling for? Go back to the barracks for training! I have been in the army for more than half a year, and I haven¡¯t made any progress at all!¡± Then he looked at the bodyguard standing by the courtyard wall and stressed word by word, ¡°No one can act without my permission in the future!¡±


    The bodyguards knelt down together and answered loudly.


    Xue Boyong pressed his eyebrows and said tiredly, ¡°Mom, you go too. I¡¯m tired and want to rest. Don¡¯t listen to the wind or rain in the future. I can¡¯t stand your toss.


    Mrs. Xue nodded obediently and dared not mention Lin Dan¡¯s kowtowing and admitting her mistake.


    Only then did Li Zhong squat down and prepare to carry the eldest son to bed.


    The idlers left, and the noisy yard immediately restored its previous calm. The two maids were guarding outside the eldest son¡¯s door. You squeezed your eyes, and I curled my lips, with a disdainful and regretful expression. They thought they could see Lin Dan¡¯s bad luck, but they didn¡¯t expect that the eldest son would take the initiative to defend the culprit. Although everything was caused by the second prince, if it hadn¡¯t been for Lin Dan¡¯s mess, the eldest son would not have fallen off his horse.


    I don¡¯t know what the eldest son thought. He was so angry all day that he spat blood, but stood up to maintain her at a critical moment. Couldn¡¯t she spill ** soup on the dishes she cooks every day?


    While the two were arranging Lin Dan in their hearts, they saw her quietly open the door and sneak out.


    ¡°Ah, you¡­¡± The girl named Jasper wanted to call her, but she was covered by another girl named Fangfei and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, let her go. Only in trouble can the old lady and her husband have an excuse to drive her away!¡±


    Jasper nodded repeatedly to show that Fangfei let go of her mouth. The two looked at each other and smiled, with the light of gloating in their eyes. Although the eldest son has been abolished, he is still a good match for them. If no one wants to marry the eldest son, they will be concubines for the eldest prince, and life will be fine. If they can give birth to a healthy child and inherit the eldest son¡¯s mantle, the old lady and wife will be rewarded a lot.


    The eldest son is a useless person, and his mood must be gloomy. Why is it difficult to get close to him and warm him up? It would be better if he could rely on them. At that time, the whole Xiaofeng Pavilion, and even General Xue¡¯s mansion, would be their world.


    It is precisely because of this ulterior motive that the two girls are so tired of Lin Dan, who is in the way of their affairs.


    Hearing the noise outside the door, Xue Boyong immediately opened his eyes and frowned and said, ¡°Li Zhong, help me up quickly. It seems that something is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Good boy,¡± Li Zhong quickly helped him up and said doubtfully. ¡°It¡¯s quiet in the yard. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°No, Lin Dan was so clever just now. It doesn¡¯t look like her.¡± Xue Boyong ordered, ¡°Go next door and have a look immediately.¡±


    Li Zhong nodded and immediately ran to the next door. Shao Qing ran back and said breathlessly, ¡°Suke, Miss Lin is gone. I looked around the yard, but I didn¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    ¡°Go to the front yard to find the second brother and see if he is still there.¡± Xue Boyong frowned very tightly.


    Li Zhong followed his words and deeds. After a moment, he ran back and told him, ¡°The second prince is not here. He said that he kowtowed to Xuancaotang with Miss Lin and admitted his mistake.¡±


    Xue Boyong slapped the bedboard hard and sneered, ¡°Okay, okay, I knew she would fight against me! Send some bodyguards to get them back to me!¡±


    Li Zhong quickly chased out with several bodyguards but saw that the old lady and Mrs. Xue were also sitting in the carriage and preparing to kowtow to Wu Xuancao in person to admit their mistakes. Xue Jiming took off his coat and carried the thorns on his back. He was actually ready to plead guilty. In this way, the bodyguard didn¡¯t know how to stop him, so he had to kneel outside Xuancao Hall. The scene was very grand, pushing Wu Xuancao¡¯s name as a magic doctor to a new height.


    Xue Boyong had no idea what was going on outside. He ordered someone to carry himself into the yard and put him where he could see the door at a glance. As long as Lin Dan comes back, he will find her as soon as possible. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    An hour later, Fangfei and Jasper came over with the food box and whispered softly, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s time to have lunch.¡±


    Xue Boyong waved his hand: ¡°I won¡¯t eat, you can take it back.¡±


    ¡°SUNSON, AT LEAST YOU CAN EAT SOME. THIS IS THE MEAL COOKED BY THE SLAVE AND MAIDSERVANT.¡± Fang Fei still didn¡¯t give up and wanted to persuade him again, but Xue Boyong¡¯s cold eyes were frozen in place. She opened her mouth but found that she couldn¡¯t spit out a word she was afraid of.


    Obviously, Lin Dan served him like this. Obviously, she said that the eldest son should do whatever she should, and should not force him to obey. Why can he not do it when she gets to himself? Fangfei¡¯s hands and feet were so weak that she almost broke the bowl. Jasper had already knelt down, silent like a cold cicada.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t even give the corners of his eyes any light. He rushed straight to the bodyguard standing in the corner of the wall and waved: ¡°Bring me to Lin Dan¡¯s study. I¡¯ll wait for her in the room.¡±


    ¡°Yes, General.¡± The two bodyguards immediately moved him to Lin Dan¡¯s study with chairs.


    First of all, I saw the piles of medical books, followed by a person-shaped wooden shelf placed in the corner, and then the falling paper full of handwriting. Xue Boyong bent down to pick up a piece of paper and found that it was something similar to reading notes. The handwriting was so scribbled that he could barely recognize the general content.


    ¡°Pick up all these papers and arrange them neatly.¡± He raised his hand slightly, and the two bodyguards immediately began to move.


    After a while, he pointed to the man¡¯s wood and said, ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    One of the bodyguards quickly moved the wood over, and Xue Boyong found that its surface was marked with cinnabar with the direction of meridians and collaterals and the azimuth of the acupuncture point. Many acupuncture points were covered with needle holes, which showed that Lin Dan drew a lot on it. She said that she wanted to study medicine, but it turned out to be true, not a random wish.


    Xue Boyong shook his head, and his cold eyes quietly melted a little. Turning around, he found a piece of paper sticking to the window. Lin Dan wrote a few lines of Douda with thick ink ¨C half an hour later, when the weather gets warm, remember to hug his eldest brother out to bask in the sun. At noon, the eldest brother wants to eat chestnut stewed chicken, lotus root stewed spareribs, steamed bass, stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried pumpkin, and two more desserts, an amber lotus root cake, and a shredded apple. Big brother likes sweet food!


    Xue Boyong¡¯s soft eyes instantly became extremely complicated, and he was stunned when he looked at this piece of paper.


    About two-quarters of an hour later, the bodyguard whispered, ¡°General, the manuscripts have been sorted out.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Xue Boyong answered with a trance expression and then waved his hand embarrassedly: ¡°I see, you all step down. I want to be alone for a while.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten yet?¡± The bodyguard reminded me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat.¡± Xue Boyong tore off the paper on the window and looked over and over in his hand, but somehow he changed his mind and said, ¡°Have the food box over.¡±


    The bodyguard was overjoyed and went there quickly. When he put the rich meals on the table one by one, Xue Boyong lost his appetite. Nothing else, these meals don¡¯t have the taste as Lin Dan made himself at all, and they can¡¯t arouse his appetite.


    ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t eat it. Bring me a bowl of ginseng soup.¡± He rubbed his eyebrows and felt uncomfortable everywhere.


    Seeing that he was so uncomfortable, the bodyguard couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous. He trotted to serve ginseng soup and invited the doctor resident in Xue Mansion. After a lot of tossing, Lin Dan finally came back and said in surprise, ¡°Brother, why are you in my room?¡±


    Xue Boyong stared at her red and swollen forehead and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t come, how can I know that you are superficial and tricking me around?¡±


    Lin Dan quickly opened the topic: ¡°Brother, have you eaten yet? If I don¡¯t eat, I¡¯ll cook for you right away.¡±


    ¡°Lin Dan, don¡¯t always turn a deaf ear to my words!¡± Xue Boyong patted the table unbearably.


    Seeing that he was really anxious, Lin Dan slowly walked over, squatted down, and looked at him with him. He sighed, ¡°Brother, as long as someone can cure you, let me kneel down and kowtow. Even if they want to eat my flesh and drink my blood, I am willing. You gave me this life. As long as you need it, I can get it back anytime and anywhere. Not only me, but also the old lady, the second prince, but also went to Xuancaotang. They did anything for you. You see, you are so important in their hearts that you must not give up on yourself.


    Speaking of this, she smiled softly, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m very happy today, because I didn¡¯t expect you to protect me at all. I thought you hated me.¡± The original owner suffered so many grievances, but no one really cared about her feelings. If someone had stood up like Xue Boyong and said a fair word for her at that time, she would not have made a big mistake one after another because of her love.


    But what the original owner couldn¡¯t get, Lin Dan got it, so she feels very warm and happy now. She couldn¡¯t help holding Xue Boyong¡¯s hand and shook it gently.


    Xue Boyong tried to break free, but she held it firmly. Her cheeks couldn¡¯t help blushing and gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Lin Dan, you just played arrogantly in front of me. You admitted your cowardice when you went outside. If someone asks you to kowtow, you kowtow. Where do you put the face of the Xue family? I don¡¯t want your life. Just take care of yourself and cause me less trouble!¡±


    ¡°Okay, I was wrong. What the eldest brother said is right. I¡¯ll listen to the eldest brother.¡± Lin Dan nodded frequently, as if he were clever.


    Xue Boyong stared at her for a while, and then covered his face and sighed.

 CH 125

    Although the Xue family went to apologize to Wu Xuan, she did not come to see the doctor immediately, but delayed for half a month, saying that she would not come together until the doctor in her pharmacy came back from the mountains. The doctor was Zheng Zhe, a miracle doctor of the State of Wu. He lost his official position as a royal doctor because he could not cure the king¡¯s illness. Later, he was persecuted by his colleagues, so he fled to the State of Qin.


    Mrs. Xue was originally very dissatisfied with Wu Xuancao¡¯s procrastination. As soon as she heard about Zheng Zhe¡¯s name, she forgot all those complaints in a flash. On the contrary, thank God and look forward to it.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s impression of Wu Xuancao has always been very bad. In the beginning, after Xue Jiming stepped on the two boats, Wu Xuancao not took the initiative to give in but also said that Xue Jiming could only choose between her and Lin Dan, and she would not be a concubine until she died. However, before Xue Jiming was engaged to Lin Dan, what qualifications did she have to intervene? Get among them? If she is really well-bred and reasonable, she should take the initiative to leave.


    Xue Boyong doesn¡¯t care at all whether she comes or not.


    Grandma, mother, younger brother, and Lin Dan all ran to Xuancaotang to kneel down and kowtow just to hire a famous doctor for himself. This intention was too heavy for him to refuse. If you can choose by yourself, he hopes that Wu Xuancao will never step through the door of Xue¡¯s house again.


    Half a month passed unconsciously. On this day, Lin Dan still carried a food box to accompany his eldest brother for breakfast. See Li Zhong squatting down. In her body, she was about to carry her eldest brother out of bed. She quickly walked over and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it. You can prepare the meal.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Miss Lin.¡± Li Zhong was not pretentious and soon agreed. Miss Lin is much stronger than ordinary men, which is known to everyone in the Xiaofeng Pavilion. The eldest son is often carried up and down by her, which has become a wonder in the cabinet.


    Xue Boyong frowned, but he didn¡¯t say anything. When Lin Dan approached, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and caught her. Lin Dan subconsciously turned his wrist and just broke free of his clamps, but he caught him the next moment. The two launched an offensive and defensive battle between this square inch. One wanted to approach, the other was not allowed to approach, the other could move flexibly, and the other was paralyzed in both legs. However, the man who acted freely was gradually defeated in such a confrontation. He was pressed onto the mattress by the bad man and cut his hands back.


    Lin Dan was so tired that he couldn¡¯t breathe and said in a muffled voice, ¡°Brother, you won! Can¡¯t I hold you anymore?¡±


    Only then did Xue Boyong let go of her hand, supported herself with a slight force in both arms, and simply moved to the chair by the bedside. Due to Lin Dan¡¯s careful recuperation, his body has long recovered to its heyday. Except for one pair of legs, he is very strong everywhere, and because of the deliberate practice these days, his arms are stronger than before.


    He has been planning for a long time to teach Lin Dan a lesson. Seeing that Lin Dan was sweaty and his hair was messy by himself, he couldn¡¯t help laughing and was in an unprecedented mood.


    Lin Dan was still a little unwilling. Seeing his eldest brother¡¯s handsome smile, he was also happy.


    ¡°Brother, I knew you were the best!¡± She sat at the table, handed the served food to Xue Boyong, and told him, ¡°Brother, eat more so that you will get well quickly.¡±


    ¡°You eat too.¡± Xue Boyong picked her some vegetables for the time.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Dan stared at his full job, and his mood was complicated and unspeakable. The more she gets along with Xue Boyong, the more she knows him. He is very bold, strong, and responsible. Although he looks cold on the surface and very difficult to approach, after really understanding it, he found that he was a very protective person.


    In the Xue family, Lin Dan was hated by everyone, but in Xiaofeng Pavilion, she was under the wings of Xue Boyong and protected without a trace. He was the one who should have hated her the most, but he finally chose to forgive¡­


    Thinking of this, Lin Dan¡¯s eyes were a little sour, and the food in his mouth seemed not so delicious.


    Xue Boyong knocked on the dishes and scolded him, ¡°What are you thinking about? Eat quickly!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± In order to hide his sadness, Lin Danfei quickly pulled two mouthfuls of rice, and then secretly vowed to learn medicine as soon as possible to cure his eldest brother¡¯s leg. After dinner, she asked her eldest brother what she wanted to eat for lunch as usual, wrote down the menu and pasted it on the window, and then began to study hard.


    An hour later, the group of people hurried into the Xiaofeng Pavilion. The head was the old lady. Behind her was a beautiful, tall girl with a unique temperament, accompanied by an old man with gray hair and a fluttering beard, who looked quite fair. Mrs. Xue and Xue Jiming followed them step by step and frequently said compliments.


    Lin Dan recognized Wu Xuancao through the window. The old man walking beside her should be Zheng Zhe, the miracle doctor of Wu. After waiting for more than half a month, I finally waited for them. She immediately pushed the door out and said hello to several people. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    The old lady nodded and entered the eldest grandson¡¯s room, but Wu Xuancao didn¡¯t even look at her, as if she were very disdainful. Instead, the miracle doctor Zheng stayed with the medical book in her hand for a long time before following up.


    ¡°Bo Yong, this is Dr. Wu and Dr. Zheng. They are here to see you.¡± The old lady said cautiously, ¡°Come on, sit by the window and let them have a good look.¡±


    Immediately, two bodyguards carried the eldest son to the chair by the window so that they could see each other.


    Wu Xuan grassland thought she would see a man who described it as withered artemisia and despair, but unexpectedly, Xue Boyong¡¯s situation was 10,000 times better than she thought. His face was ruddy, his eyes were clear, and his body was strong. If someone who didn¡¯t know saw it, he would never notice that his legs were sick and he could not walk. He was taken care of by the Xue family. In her era, it was rare for disabled people who were so well-taken.


    At Xue Boyong¡¯s cold eyes, Wu Xuancao immediately lowered her head and took a deep breath. She has also been to the border gate and knows what the man is in the heart of the barbarians. He kills people like numbness and his means are fierce. He once killed 100,000 prisoners, and his heart has long been dark. Even if he becomes a disabled person, it is difficult to eliminate his evil spirit.


    I heard that Lin Dan has been taking care of him since he was injured, and I don¡¯t know how Lin Dan, who is as timid as a mouse, gets along with him. Don¡¯t he feel afraid? Thinking of this, Wu Xuancao stretched out her hand and said, ¡°Master, please help him have a look first.¡±


    Zheng Zhe immediately humbled himself: ¡°I dare not respond to your master. I took the initiative to follow you to learn about surgery. It¡¯s my turn to you Master.¡±


    Lao Taijun and Mrs. Xue were skeptical of those rumors outside. After all, Wu Xuancao is too young and looks a little unreliable. But after listening to Zheng Zhe¡¯s words, their expressions became cautious in a flash. It can be seen that Wu Xuancao is by no means a false reputation for Zheng Zhe, known as a miracle doctor.


    Wu Xuancao smiled and said, ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®There is no order to learn, and the talent is a teacher¡¯. You learn first than me, and the medical skills are also more superb compared to mine. How can¡¯t you afford this, Master? It¡¯s my honor that you can discuss surgery with me.


    Hearing this, Zheng Zhe suddenly smiled and nodded to Wu Xuancao with his finger, as if he was very happy.


    Wu Xuancao said again, ¡°Master, please first. I¡¯ll watch it for him after you see it.¡±


    Xue Boyong, who was humbly given up by the two, felt extremely uncomfortable like a piece of goods that was chosen by others.


    Seeing that the eldest brother frowned and seemed unhappy, Lin Dan immediately urged, ¡°Are you going to see a doctor, or are you here to flatter each other?¡±


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao didn¡¯t have time to speak, so the old lady scolded, ¡°Daner, don¡¯t be rude to the two doctors!¡± He bowed his hand and said, ¡°Two doctors, Daner has been spoiled by me, and she is a little arrogant. Please forgive me. My eldest grandson is sick¡­¡±


    In fact, the old lady is also a little anxious, but he doesn¡¯t dare to offend these two people easily.


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao showed an embarrassing expressions and quickly gathered around to look, smell and ask.


    Xue Boyong put his fist on his lips and coughed gently, but in fact, there was a trace of a smile in his eyes. Seeing that others were speechless by Lin Dan, he actually felt very interesting.


    Zheng Zhe carefully explored the pulse, checked Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes, tongue coating, legs, etc., and finally shook his head helplessly: ¡°The eldest son¡¯s tongue is light red and tender, the moss is white, the pulse is thin and empty, the qi stagnation and blood stasis, and the meridians and collaterals are not smooth. It should be injured in the spinal cord. Spinal cord injury is not humaneable, and I have no good way to do it. He shook his head and meditated, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it when I go back. Presing medicine casually may add to the serious condition of the boy¡¯s condition. You must be cautious.¡±


    The old lady looked at Wu Xuancao with a pale face.


    Wu Xuancao did not have a pulse diagnosis, but just looked at it casually and shook her head and said, ¡°My diagnosis is as difficult to treat as Dr. Zheng. The reason why General Xue¡¯s legs lose consciousness is not necessarily that he hurts the spinal cord, but may hurt nerves or even the head, but it is difficult for the naked eye to distinguish. If you want to cure his leg, you must first find out the cause of the disease. However, with the existing medical technology, it is almost impossible to find out the cause of his illness.


    ¡°You mean, Boyong¡¯s legs can¡¯t be cured?¡± The old lady suppressed his fear and said,


    Wu Xuancao was an upright person and immediately nodded: ¡°That¡¯s right, I can¡¯t cure it.¡±


    The old lady looked at Zheng Zhe, and the other party also shook his head, showing a helpless expression.


    The old lady swayed and seemed to faint, but Mrs. Xue, standing behind her, collapsed first, scaring everyone. They Hurriedly Carried Her To The Next Room To Set Up, But Lin Dan Crossed The Noisy Crowd And Went To Xue Boyong¡¯s Side And Held His Hand Tightly. She felt that what she needed most comfort now was not Lao Taijun and Mrs. Xue, but the eldest brother.


    Xue Boyong is not very disappointed, nor is he sad about it. He subconsciously clenched the small hand in the palm of his hand, and his deep eyes scratched a touch of imperceptible tenderness.

 CH 126

    After diagnosing Mrs. Xue¡¯s pulse and confirming that she was just overly sad and didn¡¯t matter, Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao came back to say goodbye to the eldest prince. Since they didn¡¯t say anything to death, the old lady and Mrs. Xue did not dare to offend them and ordered someone to bring a dozen taels of gold ingots as rewards.


    Zheng Zhe arched his hand and said, ¡°When I go back, I will study it with Dr. Wu to see if I can find a cure.¡±


    ¡°Good to say, thank you both for your help.¡± The old lady can only be careful as much as possible.


    After Zheng Zhe¡¯s words fell, he looked at his desk and pretended to be surprised, ¡°Whose is this Lin¡¯s Medical Code?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡± Lin Dan came in a hurry and completely forgot that he was still holding a book in his hand. After coming in, he put it on his eldest brother¡¯s table. Seeing that Zheng Zhe seemed to want to pick up the book and read it, she immediately went over and put it away.


    Zheng Zhe laughed and arched his hand again as if he didn¡¯t care, but Wu Xuancao breathed harder and turned flushed as if she were a little unbearable. When she saw the book, an extremely strong desire to grab it suddenly surged into her heart. It seems that it should belong to her and will help her completely stand in this world and go high.


    You must get it! Must! Similar calls stirred back and forth in her heart, almost making her lose her position on the spot. She gritted her teeth and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Lin Dan, can you lend me that book to read?¡±


    Lin Dan shook his head decisively: ¡°No.¡±


    The old lady scolded him quickly: ¡°Daner, what can you do if you show Dr. Wu the book? Why is your child so mean?¡±


    Xue Boyong sneered and said, ¡°When I came, I asked my family to kneel down three times and kowtowed nine times, and when I went, I asked Lin Dan to present the treasures of my family. Dr. Wu was so obstinate! If you are really a miracle doctor of living dead flesh and bones, I won¡¯t say anything about you, but why are you so rampant when you have a false reputation? Don¡¯t say that you can¡¯t cure my disease. Even if you can cure it, I won¡¯t care about it. Please ask Dr. Wu to go back to where he came from. Don¡¯t go back to my house in the future!¡±


    The old lady opened his mouth, but he was reluctant to scold his grandson and could only compensate Wu Xuancao.


    Wu Xuan had some ways to maintain her legs on the grassland. She wanted to tell the Xue family that when she saw Xue Boyong¡¯s contemptuous appearance, she was very angry and shook her hands and left. Xue Jiming bowed his hand to apologize to his eldest brother, stared at Lin Dan fiercely, and then chased her to leave.


    Xue Boyong stared at his brother¡¯s embarrassed figure and shook his head and said, ¡°I thought I had taught him a lesson last time that he could make progress, but now looking at it again, it turned out to be a mud that can¡¯t be supported by the wall. There is only that woman in his eyes, and there is no distinction between right and wrong. Grandma, don¡¯t worry about my illness. I¡¯m lucky to be cured. It¡¯s God¡¯s plan not to cure it. I accept my fate.¡±


    The old lady held his grandson¡¯s hand, burst into tears, and kept muttering the word ¡°invil¡±. At this time, who else can she blame? Xue Jiming and Lin Dan were raised by herself, and her temper was also indulgent by her. Now this evil result should be retributed to innocent grandsons, and the eldest grandson has forgiven. What else can she do?


    The slightly better Mrs. Xue was helped into the room by two maids, hugging her son and crying bitterly. From hope to disappointment, this huge psychological gap is too tormenting.


    Lin Dan looked at them calmly and warned, ¡°You should cry back and don¡¯t cry in front of your eldest brother. The eldest brother is the person who needs comfort most. How can you let him comfort you in turn? His mood finally became clear. Don¡¯t do that.


    The maid standing aside glared at her as if she wanted to peel off her skin, but the old lady and Mrs. Xue hurriedly wiped away their tears and said repeatedly, ¡°Yes, yes, yes, we won¡¯t cry anymore! Boyong¡¯s illness can definitely be cured. Wu Xuancao¡¯s girl is only 18 years old this year. What do you know? We can also find another doctor to see Boyong. Boyong, don¡¯t think nonsense. We¡¯re leaving now. Have a good rest.¡±


    Xue Boyong looked at Lin Dan helplessly and then nodded, ¡°Gramma, mother, have a good rest, don¡¯t worry about my illness. Fortunately, I lost my life. It¡¯s good to treat it with a normal heart.


    ¡°Okay, okay, let nature take its course.¡± The old lady and Mrs. Xue left reluctantly while wiping their tears.


    Lin Dan walked back to the study, took the ¡°Strange Diseases¡±, turned it over to 166 pages, handed it to Xue Boyong, and said, ¡°Brother, look, my ancestors have cured your disease. When I learn medicine, I can cure you, so don¡¯t accept your fate!¡±


    Xue Boyong took over the book and read it carefully. His eyebrows were getting higher and higher. He didn¡¯t expect that Lin Dan¡¯s ancestor was Lin Chaoxian. No wonder Zheng Zhe¡¯s eyes twinkle when he sees the word ¡°Lin¡±; no wonder Wu Xuancao has a thick face and borrows Lin Dan¡¯s books to read. You know, Lin Chaoxian is respected as a medical immortal by later generations, but the living dead are fleshy and bones, which can be called supernatural medical skills. Unfortunately, the Lin family is getting worse and worse from generation to generation. Later, it was silenced and completely disappeared.


    ¡°Your father hides so deeply.¡± Xue Boyong sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that my father hides deeply, but that he doesn¡¯t even learn the fur of his ancestors. Naturally, he dares not pretend to be a medical immortal.¡± Lin Dan said solemnly.


    Xue Boyong coughed and said with a smile: ¡°You just beat me, grandmother, mother, Wu Xuancao and Zheng Zhe all day long. You can¡¯t even let go of your own father. Lin Dan, you will die if you don¡¯t criticize others, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Lin Dan opened his eyes wide and shook his head slowly: ¡°Brother, I never criticize people. I¡¯m just telling the truth.¡±


    Xue Boyong couldn¡¯t help it any longer. He covered his face and smiled. After laughing, he returned the medical book and seriously urged, ¡°You must keep these inheritances. Don¡¯t let others steal them.¡±


    ¡°Brother, I know, I usually hide them in the dark rim of the mahogany box.¡± Lin Dan said frankly.


    Xue Boyong wanted to laugh again, but he still resisted, and his tone sounded very happy: ¡°Then go back and change places quickly. I can¡¯t even tell you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to Big Brother.¡± Lin Dan squatted down and looked at him with a cautious expression: ¡°Brother, I have learned all the medicine and pharmacology, and have begun to learn acupuncture and massage. But just building a car behind closed doors, my medical skills will definitely not be refined, and I have to see a few more patients. When your body is completely recovered, I will go to the countryside to treat the people for free and go up the mountain to collect medicine by the way. If you can¡¯t come back in time to cook for yourself, you must eat obediently and don¡¯t lose your temper like last time. Drinking too much ginseng soup is not good for your health.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s happy expression retreated in an instant, frowned and said, ¡°Who do you think is losing his temper?¡±


    ¡°I lost my temper. The eldest brother is the strongest.¡± Lin Dan changed his words from kindness.


    Xue Boyong looked up at the sky and tried his best to suppress the strangled girl**. Hearing what she said, even he felt a little unreasonable. Isn¡¯t this girl Keke him?


    Knowing that Wu Xuancao did not have the legs of the eldest brother who was good at the rule of law, Lin Dan¡¯s pressure doubled, and she was more energetic in learning. She either recited the medical book or pricked the needle with a puppet all day long. If someone felt a little uncomfortable in Xiaofeng Pavilion, she would immediately diagnose the pulse for the other party and then prescribe several medicines.


    A few days ago, Fangfei occasionally felt cold and coughed a little. She grabbed some medicine for her, told her to concoct it every day, and asked her about her condition from time to time.


    On this day, Fangfei took the boiled kettle into the bedroom to exchange the prince¡¯s face washing water. Lin Dan heard her forbearable cough and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Fangfei, are you not well yet? Is the medicine I prescribed for you ineffective?¡±


    After staying in Xiaofeng Pavilion for a long time, Fangfei finally understood the situation. No matter who the eldest son¡¯s legs are, he is really kind to Lin Dan. Although he is usually cold-eyed and it is difficult to smile, if anyone bullies Lin Dan, he will never forgive him. Not to mention that the servants and bodyguards in the yard changed their attitude towards Lin Dan under his admonition, even the second prince did not dare to speak loudly in front of Lin Dan.


    Therefore, Fangfei tried her best to pull out her smiling face and said respectfully, ¡°Miss Lin, your medicine is very effective. My illness has recovered, but I coughed a lot in the morning and stopped at noon.¡±


    ¡°Is that right? Then I¡¯ll check your pulse again to see if you want to change the dressing. Lin Dan stretched out his hand to explore the veins.


    Fangfei didn¡¯t dare to resist, so she had to do anything.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t look at Fangfei all the way, but looked at Lin Dan frequently, with a faint smile in his eyes. The girl is crazy, but whenever a living creature passes by her, she will pull her to explore her veins, and even the big black dogs he raises can¡¯t escape.


    ¡°What can I see?¡± He asked softly.


    ¡°The condition is not good, but it has worsened. What¡¯s the situation?¡± Lin Dan wrote down a new prescription while meditating and asked Fangfei to grab the medicine.


    Seeing that she had not asked, Fangfei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated with the prescription. After a while, the sun came out. Lin Dan took his eldest brother to the rocking chair outside to bask in the sun and covered his legs with a quilt.


    Xue Boyong said helplessly, ¡°How many times have you said it? Don¡¯t hug me at any time. You need to ask for my consent. If we are seen by outsiders, how can we get married?


    ¡°Okay, big brother, I know big brother.¡± Lin Dan agreed in his mouth but resolutely refused to change his behavior. Taking good care of Xue Boyong is her responsibility. What¡¯s wrong with others? If she doesn¡¯t marry someone, she doesn¡¯t have to marry someone. She doesn¡¯t have to set up a family or pass on the family. She has no worries at all.


    Xue Boyong wiped his face and obviously wanted to sigh, but somehow he actually smiled.


    Just then, his two big black dogs ran over in a hurry, put down what was in his mouth, and carefully saw that it was a muddy oilpaper bag. The two big black dogs shouted at their owners like Xianbao and then tore open the oil paper with their paws to expose the Chinese herbal medicine inside.


    Lin Dan squatted down and picked it up for a moment, frowned and said, ¡°This is the medicine I prescribed for Fangfei last time. Didn¡¯t she take it?¡±


    Xue Boyong stared at the bag of medicine, which was obviously extracted from the soil, with a cold expression.

 CH 127

    Seeing that Lin Dan¡¯s good intentions had been trampled on like this, Xue Boyong was unexpectedly furious and immediately ordered, ¡°Bring that maid here. I want to thoroughly question her about what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Lin Dan poked the herbs in the oil paper packet with a stick and sighed, ¡°Forget it, brother. I¡¯m just starting to study medicine. It¡¯s inevitable that she doesn¡¯t trust my medical skills. Brother, I¡¯m going to read. You bask in the sun in the yard for a while. Call me if you need anything.¡± Being disdained certainly didn¡¯t feel good, but she wasn¡¯t angry. She was originally an indifferent, emotionless person. Caring only about the people that she should care about already took all of her energy; where would she have the space to mind outsiders?


    ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± Xue Boyong waved his hand. When Lin Dan left, he told the bodyguard, ¡°Chase those two girls away. In the future, outsiders will not be allowed to enter Xiaofeng Pavilion as they please.¡±


    The bodyguard accepted the order and left. At the same time, Fangfei was complacently boasting to Biyu: ¡°That lowly bitch only learned medicine for a few days and dared to prescribe medicine for me. I complied to her face but buried the medicine on the back foot. She still asked me every day if I had gotten better. Did you see how stupid she looked? I practically led her in circles, heh¡­¡±


    The words were barely out of her mouth when several bodyguards escorted her out of Xiaofeng Pavilion with her hands behind her back. Even Biyu was not spared. The two cried and begged for mercy the whole way out, and even when they had been taken all the way to the main courtyard still did not understand what they had done wrong.


    When the old madam heard the noise, she quickly sent someone to take a look. When she heard that it was the bodyguards of Xiaofeng Pavilion, she was immediately worried that some accident happened to her eldest grandson again. Only when she learned that it was just two maids who had crossed his bottom line and gotten kicked out did she breathe a sigh of relief. She also didn¡¯t bother to listen to the two maids crying for justice. Since they offended her eldest grandson, she naturally wouldn¡¯t let them stay. She immediately found some middlemen to sell the two of them off.


    From start to finish, poor Fangfei and Biyu couldn¡¯t understand how they fell to this stage.


    Xiaofeng Pavilion was restored to its previous peace. Xue Boyong sat under the warm sunlight, but his expression was very cold. After meditating for a moment, he slowly said, ¡°Li Zhong, has anyone in the courtyard caught an illness and is in need of treatment? If so, call them over, I have orders for them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Li Zhong started to leave, but was stopped by Xue Boyong again: ¡°Wait, carry me back to my room first.¡±


    Li Zhong didn¡¯t question it. Whatever the master ordered, he would do.


    About two-quarters of an hour later, he ran back panting, shook his head and said, ¡°Eldest young master, no one in our yard is sick. Everyone is as strong as an ox.¡± The bodyguards in Xiaofeng Pavilion were Xue Boyong¡¯s personal soldiers who had followed him through foul winds and bloody rain. Their physical fitness was naturally much better than normal people.


    Xue Boyong nodded and said, ¡°In that case, forget it. I want to take a nap. You can go out.¡± As he spoke, he lay down on the soft couch by the window.


    Li Zhong quickly went over to close the window, then fetched a thick quilt and laid it over him. It was early winter. Even if the sun was out, it was still very cold indoors. Those not being warmed by a fire would be frozen into popsicles in a very short time.


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes and waved his hand: ¡°Okay, you can go out.¡±


    Li Zhong quietly withdrew and didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer. The eldest young master was used to the battlefield and was very vigilant; he would immediately wake up at the tiniest movement, as if he slept with one eye open. If he slept in the inner room, Li Zhong would still be able to set up a cot on the floor in the outer room, but now that he was sleeping in the doorway, Li Zhong could only stand guard outside.


    After a while, the sun was covered by clouds and the north wind began to blow again. The sudden drop in temperature made Li Zhong shiver. Seeing that the eldest young master was sleeping soundly and wouldn¡¯t wake up for a while, he crept to the side room to warm himself by the fire and drink tea. Anyway, Lin Dan¡¯s study was next door to the eldest young master. If the eldest young master got up, she could hear it right away and take care of him immediately.


    With Lin Dan, Li Zhong was extraneous. However, he didn¡¯t realize that when he left, Xue Boyong opened the window and pulled the quilt off.


    When Li Zhong came back with a kettle of hot water, he saw the eldest young master sitting in the frigid wind reading a military book, his ears, and hands red with cold. He quickly put down the kettle and ran to close the window, but was stopped by the eldest young master. ¡°Don¡¯t close it. My chest is a little stuffy and I need some fresh air.¡±


    ¡°Your hands are practically frozen into ice. What do you mean you still need fresh air?¡±


    ¡°When I was at the borders, the weather was colder than this. Wasn¡¯t it fine?¡± Xue Boyong still held onto his wrist and refused to let him close the window.


    Li Zhong couldn¡¯t break free. He secretly glanced next door, lowered his volume and said, ¡°Sir, if Miss Lin comes over later and finds you sitting at the open window reading until your hands were frostbitten, she would definitely scold you. If you don¡¯t want to be disciplined by her, you¡¯d better close the window quickly. I¡¯ll bring you a hand stove. Warm up quickly so so as not to let her see anything out of place.¡±


    As soon as Xue Boyong heard the words ¡°Miss Lin¡±, he unconsciously let his hand go and let Li Zhong close the window. Then he smiled in his heart, unexpectedly not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of that little girl. I¡¯m just too lazy to listen to her nagging. Thinking like this, he couldn¡¯t stop rubbing the space between his eyebrows. His helpless expression held a gentle indulgence that he was unaware of.


    After closing the window and lighting two more stoves, the room gradually warmed up, which felt more comfortable. Yet Xue Boyong was a little distracted, raising his hand from time to time to touch his forehead. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the ¡°Novel Multiverse dot com¡± website @ novelmultiverse.com


    Li Zhong was worried and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, sir? Are you feeling uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°You touch it. Am I a little feverish?¡± Xue Boyong frowned and said.


    Li Zhong touched his forehead with one hand and his own with the other and happily said, ¡°You don¡¯t have a fever, sir. You¡¯re still well.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Xue Boyong¡¯s brows not only did not relax, but also tensed even more. He covered his nose, lightly coughed twice, and said, ¡°The fires are a little suffocating. Open the window to disperse the smoke.¡±


    Li Zhong became more confused. He squatted down and sniffed around, then shook his head and said, ¡°Old madam sent servants to buy specialized charcoal for Xiaofeng Pavilion. It¡¯s the most expensive silver bone coal on the market and is absolutely smokeless. Sir, perhaps you smelled wrong.¡±


    ¡°If I tell you to open the window, just open the window. Why all the nonsense?¡± Xue Boyong finally lost his patience and scolded coldly.


    Li Zhong was shocked and quickly ran to open the window. He also tried to move the eldest young master from the window, but was refused. The master and servant tossed about for a while, but they heard a sound from the study next door. It seemed that Lin Dan had finished reading and was tidying her pen and paper.


    Xue Boyong, who had just been stubbornly refusing to close the window, took the initiative to close the window himself, picked up the military book, and pretended to flip through it.


    Li Zhong furtively glanced at him and scolded in his heart: Why don¡¯t you keep making trouble! Let Miss Lin see you deliberately court disaster! I knew you would be a coward in front of Miss Lin!


    Xue Boyong glanced at him coldly, as if he had seen through his thoughts, and then couldn¡¯t help but cough, feeling that his throat was a little itchy. Obviously, his physical state declined, but his furrowed brows relaxed instead, showing a shallow smile.


    After a moment, Lin Dan finished tidying her things and walked in. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m getting ready to cook. If you have anything else you want to eat, you can tell me now.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have one more radish stewed in chicken broth.¡± Xue Boyong stared at the military book in his hand and flipped through it as if he were very focused.


    Lin Dan smiled in response. However, when she had finished cooking lunch and brought it over, she found Li Zhong squatting beside Xue Boyong, anxiously urging, ¡°Sir, you seem to have a fever. I¡¯ll go find a doctor for you!¡±


    Xue Boyong grabbed his arm and said hoarsely, ¡°What do you mean, find a doctor, we already have one in Xiaofeng Pavilion.¡± He looked towards the door and beckoned, ¡°Lin Dan, come over and take a look for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Dan immediately put down the food box and walked over, placing her fingers on his wrist and carefully checking his pulse.


    Xue Boyong sent Li Zhong a meaningful glance, and the other person stood obediently at the door, not daring to make a single sound, let alone tell her about the eldest young master¡¯s previous act of courting death.


    Li Zhong finally understood what the eldest young master tossed around for. Originally, those two maids hurt Lin Dan¡¯s heart. He was afraid that Lin Dan¡¯s enthusiasm and self-esteem had received a blow, and he was trying to compensate for it! The eldest young master spoils Lin Dan even to the detriment of his own health. In this entire manor, I¡¯m afraid no one else could make him go to this much trouble!


    Li Zhong stared at Lin Dan¡¯s back with a somewhat complicated expression, then looked at the gentle eyes of the eldest prince and quickly lowered his head, pretending not to know.


    Xue Boyong looked at Lin Dan attentively, waiting for her to withdraw her fingertips before asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°Brother, you caught a cold, but the illness was found early and has not yet become serious. I¡¯ll prescribe some medicine for you, and you will recover after drinking it.¡± Lin Dan wrote down a prescription and handed it to Li Zhong, urging, ¡°Hurry to the front yard to grab the herbs. This medicine has a dispersing effect and must be taken after a meal. I will accompany brother to finish lunch, then let him digest for half an hour. That will be the perfect time to drink the medicine.¡±


    Li Zhong didn¡¯t dare delay, leaving quickly. There were resident doctors and small apothecaries installed in the general¡¯s mansion, all prepared for the eldest young master, making it convenient to get diagnoses and grab medicine.


    Lin Dan put the dishes on the table one by one and said softly, ¡°Brother, do you have a sore throat? Why don¡¯t I go back and make you a bowl of porridge?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt. Sit down and eat.¡± Xue Boyong waved his hand and coughed gently.


    Seeing that his cheeks were somewhat flushed, Lin Dan put her right hand over his forehead to test his temperature. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t very hot. Drinking medicine should be enough to disperse the heat. Due to the worry in her heart, she did not notice the flash of stiffness that flickered over Xue Boyong¡¯s expression, let alone his evasive gaze.


    ¡°Men and women should not touch, don¡¯t you know this principle? Hurry up and remove your hand.¡± Although his mouth was strict, Xue Boyong still dully sat in place, not moving a single muscle. In fact, if he wanted to, he could¡¯ve immediately pulled Lin Dan¡¯s hand away, but he didn¡¯t. It was hard to tell whether he didn¡¯t think of this, or was unwilling to do so.


    ¡°Okay, brother, I understand all those principles. I¡¯ll listen to brother.¡± Lin Dan habitually, half-heartedly said, but the palm of her hand gently kneaded his wrinkled brows. After taking care of someone for a long time, his every expression and gesture will naturally be taken in and written on her heart.


    ¡°Brother, now that you¡¯re ill, I feel more uncomfortable than you.¡± She arranged the dishes in front of Xue Boyong, completely ignorant of the impact of her frank and honest words.


    Xue Boyong stiffened for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°What nonsense, eat.¡± His cheeks were redder and hotter than before, and in his eyes appeared a faint gloom that was hard to conceal.

 CH 128

    Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: thornling


    While Lin Dan and Xue Boyong finished the meal together, Li Zhong brought back the herbs. She immediately ran to the kitchen to boil medicine, personally watching Xue Boyong drink it all. Then she carried him to the bed and covered him with a few thick quilts.


    ¡°If you¡¯re warm enough to sweat out your fever, you will have almost completely recovered. If you feel too hot later, endure it and don¡¯t kick the quilt off. Don¡¯t close the window completely. Be sure to leave a crack in case the charcoal fire is too hot and stuffy,¡± she exhorted earnestly.


    ¡°Understood. You can go back.¡± Xue Boyong¡¯s tone was slightly weak.


    Lin Dan tucked in the corner of his quilt and watched him fall asleep before stealthily leaving. Li Zhong guarded the eldest prince¡¯s bed, watching him gradually go from flushed to pale cheeks, and sighed, ¡°Sir, is this worth the trouble? I don¡¯t know how effective Lin Dan¡¯s prescription is. If you keep dragging it out like this and the illness worsens, everyone in the courtyard will be beaten with planks.¡±


    Xue Boyong, who was pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes upon hearing this and cautioned, ¡°If my illness worsens too much, you can find a way to draw Lin Dan away and secretly bring the resident doctor in. Don¡¯t let anyone know. She has just started studying medicine, and it¡¯s hard to avoid making one or two mistakes. As she sees more patients in the future, her experience will accumulate. Sooner or later, she will master it.¡±


    ¡°Sir, don¡¯t forget that she was the one who ruined your legs.¡± Li Zhong pointed out.


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes and sighed a lingering sigh, ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, but I can¡¯t bring myself to hate her. Just chalk it up to me owing her in my last life¡­¡± But before he even finished speaking, he had fallen fast asleep and small sweat drops began to exude from his forehead.


    Li Zhong wiped his sweat nonstop, watching his face change from flushed to pale, then slowly regain a healthy blush. When he reached out and felt his forehead, the fever had somehow already subsided and the illness had mostly recovered!


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t take effect this quickly, would it?¡± Li Zhong muttered in disbelief.


    Another hour later, when Xue Boyong woke up and lifted the quilt, he was surprised to find that he was sweating all over his body, soaking his inner clothes. But he felt very light, as if the toxins accumulated in his organs had largely been expunged with the sweat, and his entire body seemed to contain even more vitality.


    ¡°Sir, how do you feel?¡± Li Zhong asked tentatively.


    Xue Boyong stretched his arms out and nodded, saying, ¡°I feel very good. After sweating so much, I might actually be in better condition than before I fell ill.¡±


    As soon as he got up on this end, Lin Dan heard something on the other end. She immediately put down the medical book, running over with an expression brimming with expectations: ¡°Brother, are you feeling better yet? Shall I check your pulse?¡±


    This girl was seriously obsessed with checking pulses whenever she could. Xue Boyong chuckled in his heart but kept a straight face. He stretched out his hand and said softly, ¡°Take a look. I think I¡¯ve recovered greatly. Your prescription was extremely effective.¡±


    Lin Dan rubbed her hands together with shining eyes. She clasped Xue Boyong¡¯s hand in hers as if it were a valuable treasure, and only when she heard his deep laughter did she awkwardly loosen her hold and then gently place her index and middle fingers on his wrist to carefully examine the pulse.


    Xue Boyong felt as if a feather had floated down onto his lifeline, a little ticklish and a little hot, which made him feel extremely awkward.


    But at this time, Lin Dan frowned and said, ¡°Brother, have you ever suffered from heart problems before?¡±


    ¡°What heart problems?¡± Xue Boyong failed to understand.


    ¡°Brother, your heartbeat is very rapid, which seems to be an initial symptom of heart palpitations.¡± Lin Dan explained bluntly, in a textbook manner. She didn¡¯t have much experience at present and could only judge symptoms according to descriptions in the book. How could she think of other causes?


    Xue Boyong¡¯s cheeks turned red in an instant. He forcefully pulled back his hand and said guiltily, ¡°My body has been strong since I was a child. How could I have had heart problems? You must have misread it.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take a look again?¡± Lin Dan stretched out her hands and looked at Xue Boyong eagerly.


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes for a bit, then pressed his hand against his chest. Only when he felt that his mood was much calmer did he stretch out his wrist again. This time he didn¡¯t dare to open his eyes, but rather leaned back on the soft pillow to rest, pretending to be deaf and blind.


    After a short period of time, Lin Dan finally withdrew her hand and said lightly, ¡°Sure enough, brother, you really are better. It seems like the medicine I prescribed for you is very suitable. However, in order to consolidate the efficacy, you still have to finish drinking the remaining medicine. I¡¯ll get you a box of honeyed preserves. If you think the medicine is too bitter, you can sweeten your mouth with those.¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes snapped open and he said in annoyance, ¡°Who needs sweets? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?¡±


    ¡°Brother is not a child. Brother is a general and big hero. Brother is the best!¡± Lin Dan stuck up her thumb, but her tone couldn¡¯t be any more casual.


    But Xue Boyong still couldn¡¯t stop himself from cheering up, and then covered his face and groaned. He was practically afraid of this girl. Not only did she not listen to people¡¯s words, she also refused to accept rejection. She just minded her own business and did what she thought was right. It was precisely because she had such a simple, unsullied, and sincere heart that he couldn¡¯t hate her, let alone tolerate her being bullied.


    ¡°Go on out. I¡¯m going to bathe and change my clothes.¡± He pretended to impatiently chase her out.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll go right away.¡± Lin Dan walked to the doorway and stopped again. She said, ¡°It just so happens that I recently finished making some winter clothes for you, brother. You can change into those after.¡±


    ¡°There is an embroidery hall in the manor. Why did you have to do it personally?¡± Although he said this, Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes were stained with a little smile.


    Presently, Lin Dan really did bring some sets of winter clothes and then retreated.


    Li Zhong lifted one of the robes and his tone was very exasperated: ¡°Miss Lin has never done needlework before. How would she be able to sew winter clothes? Look at these, sir, although the stitches are neat, they are very light and have warmth retention. I¡¯d better take your old cotton-padded clothes back out. What a pity about this expensive material!¡±


    ¡°This thickness is just right for wearing indoors.¡± Xue Boyong pinched the collar with an unconcerned expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re actually going to wear it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m actually going to wear it. There is a brazier in the room. I won¡¯t be cold.¡±


    ¡°How can such flimsy clothing not be cold! Sir, don¡¯t just accommodate Miss Lin all the time, but also learn to say no! Miss Lin is thick-skinned and won¡¯t feel hurt.¡±


    The two bodyguards who came in to help the general bathe heard Li Zhong¡¯s words, and their expressions became very strange. The general needed to learn how to say no? This person seems to have a poor understanding of the general¡¯s grandiose stature. Thinking back to the war at the border, the emperor consecutively issued three edicts to order the general to withdraw, but he ignored them all and finally led the Qin army to great victory. If he didn¡¯t know how to say no, then there was not a single unyielding person under the sun.


    As soon as they thought this, the two heard the general say coldly, ¡°I said I wanted to wear it, so I¡¯m going to wear it. If you say any more nonsense, you can get out of Xiaofeng Pavilion!¡±


    Li Zhong turned pale and immediately stopped talking.


    As expected, the two bodyguards secretly thought. However, they couldn¡¯t help but take a glance at that set of clothing, and then shook their heads in their hearts: flimsy, really flimsy. Hanging on the dividing screen, it looked light as a feather, as if there was only a single layer of cotton fabric. How could such clothes keep out the frigid cold?


    However, with Li Zhong as an example, the two dared not argue. They calculated that they needed to bring two more braziers in later to prevent the general from being frozen back into illness.


    However, after bathing and changing into the clothes, Xue Boyong revealed an astonished expression. Seeing that his subordinates brought in two more braziers, he immediately waved his hand: ¡°Take all the braziers away, it will be enough to leave just one. Don¡¯t be fooled by the fact that these clothes are thin. They are very warm.¡±


    Li Zhong moved his lips but dared not speak up. The eldest young master wanted to give Lin Dan face, so he would endure it and not try to rock the boat. But he soon found that the situation was different than what he thought. The eldest young master was telling the truth, not merely shielding Lin Dan, because a layer of fine sweat soon appeared on his forehead, as if he felt extremely warm.


    ¡°Sir, did your fever return?¡± Li Zhong inquired with concern.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t spare him a glance, but repeated to the two subordinates, ¡°Withdraw the extra braziers, I¡¯m not cold at all.¡±


    Seeing that the general¡¯s face was ruddy and his eyes were bright, not at all like the symptoms of illness, but more like he actually felt overheated, the two bodyguards finally removed three braziers, leaving only the one that burned the hottest. Xue Boyong sat by the window, every now and then raising his hands to touch the collar, then pinch the cuffs. He seemed to like it quite a bit.


    ¡°If only the soldiers at the border could wear such light and warm clothes,¡± he sighed after a long time.


    The padded winter clothes that border soldiers wore were very cumbersome. Add on dozens of catties of armor, and it felt like they had a layer of stone wrapped around their bodies, causing their mobility to be greatly encumbered. On the battlefield, if they couldn¡¯t fight well, they would lose their lives, but if they were not dressed thickly, they would painfully freeze to death. Therefore, every winter, mortality rates increased exponentially, which broke Xue Boyong¡¯s heart.


    Thinking of this, he immediately waved his hand: ¡°Please invite Lin Dan over. I have something to ask her.¡±


    Presently, Lin Dan followed the two bodyguards in with a perplexed expression.


    Xue Boyong rubbed the hem of the clothing and asked, ¡°What are these clothes made of? They¡¯re clearly so thin, yet so fluffy and warm. If they can be mass-produced for the barracks, many lives will be saved.¡±


    Lin Dan suddenly realized what this was all about and said frankly, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m afraid your idea is difficult to accomplish. The layers of this outfit are not cotton, but silk. The state of Qin is located in the northwest and silkworms are rare. The cost to make this jacket is exorbitant, and to mass-produce it for the army would be an unimaginable expense. Additionally, silk jackets cannot be washed with water. As soon as it enters the water, the silk pocket inside will collapse and no longer be able to retain heat. Usually, meticulous care must be taken. Soldiers are busy with military affairs, so how could they split their attention to take care of a piece of clothing? Brother, look,¡± she opened the hem to demonstrate as she spoke: ¡°I have set up a lot of hidden buttons in the lining of your clothes to hold the silk interior in place. It can be removed when cleaning. The workmanship is exacting and intricate, and almost impossible to mass-produce.¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s hem was being pulled by Lin Dan, and he felt awkward from head to foot; yet at the same time, he was filled with admiration for her ingenuity.


    Li Zhong said with shame, ¡°It turns out that such a thin set of clothing hides so many profound principles. I was actually so ignorant and narrow minded!¡±


    Although Xue Boyong felt a little regret, he could only drop the idea. He gazed at Lin Dan seriously and asked, ¡°How did you come up with such intricate clothing?¡±


    Lin Dan said straightforwardly, ¡°I noticed that when you changed into such heavy winter clothes, it was much less convenient for you to move around. Many times when you moved from the bed to the chair, you almost slipped and fell. Brother, you are stubborn and don¡¯t want me to carry you. I just wanted to make some light and warm clothes to make movement more convenient for you. One day, when I saw Aunt Fang¡¯s grandson playing with a silk cocoon, I patted my forehead and thought of a method to create this type of clothing.¡±


    Hearing this, Xue Boyong didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, so he teased, ¡°You can innovate just by patting your forehead? You really are a genius.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, brother, I do seem to be quite talented. When I entered the kitchen and patted my forehead, I knew how to cook. When I entered the embroidery hall and patted my forehead, I knew how to sew clothes¡­¡± Lin Dan was simply telling things as they were, but unexpectedly made everyone in the room laugh.


    Xue Boyong pressed his fist against his lips and tried not to laugh too obviously in an attempt to not hurt the girl¡¯s face. The previous disappointments had disappeared like smoke and clouds. It was all right. Now that he had left the battlefield, he didn¡¯t need to concern himself about military matters, otherwise he would be suspected of overstepping. He just felt that these past few days had really been hard on Lin Dan, to turn her from a delicate lady to her current hardworking appearance.


    Thinking about this, Xue Boyong felt that his whole body was suffused with warmth and his heart started to boil. He ordered the bodyguard to bring a brocade box hidden in his study, handed it to Lin Dan, and seriously told her, ¡°This is a trophy of war that I have collected. You can amuse yourself with it. Sewing clothes takes time and energy. It¡¯s okay if you only make a few sets every once in a while. There is no need for you to constantly do it yourself. If you have the time, why don¡¯t you read a few more medical books? I naturally have people who can take care of it. How can I make you care about me?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, brother. If I don¡¯t care about you, who am I supposed to care about?¡± Lin Dan calmly received the brocade box. She opened it to find a dagger inlaid with jewels. She was immediately fond of it and didn¡¯t notice in the slightest that her last sentence made Xue Boyong blush.


    ¡°Speak less nonsense, hurry up and go study.¡± Xue Boyong waved his hand to drive her away, as if he was very impatient, but after Lin Dan left, he revealed a faint smile.


    Two bodyguards looked back and forth at each other, confirming again that the general treated Miss Lin differently. It should be known that that dagger was the first trophy of war he had earned on the battlefield and was a witness to his military career. Usually he treasured it very much, so how could he be willing to give it away? Did he have a sibling relationship with Miss Lin or a romantic one? But Miss Lin used to be the fianc¨¦e of the second young master, right? This matter looked more and more complicated¡­


    Xue Boyong actually didn¡¯t think much about it. He was touched that Lin Dan took care of him with all her heart and had wanted to give her a gift for a while. When he thought that, the first thing that came to mind was this dagger, so he sent it out, and that was all.

 CH 129

    Seeing that Xue Boyong¡¯s physical condition was stable, and that she now needed to accumulate real experience, Lin Dan finally decided to go out to be a traveling physician.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m heading out. I probably won¡¯t be back until the afternoon.¡± Before leaving, she went to report to her brother in the next room.


    Xue Boyong saw that she was wearing a set of coarse cotton clothing, carrying a bamboo basket on her back, and holding a string of bells in her hand, as if she was going out for a long journey, and immediately frowned, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I want to travel through the towns and villages outside the city to treat patients. I¡¯ve finished reading all the necessary medical books and learning all the essential medical principles. Now I just have to put it all into practice. The people in the capital are picky. Whenever they¡¯re sick, they go to a doctor¡¯s clinic to see the in-house physician. The clinic would never hire me, an ignoramus, so I can only go to remote rural areas. The living conditions there aren¡¯t as good, so those with illnesses grit their teeth and hope to survive, unless their condition is critical. Only then will they load the patient on an ox cart and take them to the city. If I take the initiative to call on them, then charge a little less for the doctor¡¯s fee, they would probably be willing for me to treat them. After I get enough experience, one day, sooner or later, I will be able to heal your legs. You just wait and see. ¡± Lin Dan said as she waved her hands, ready to leave just like that.


    Xue Boyong quickly raised his voice to stop her: ¡°Hold on! You¡¯re a weak woman traveling outside alone. What will happen if you encounter danger?¡±


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m not a weak woman.¡± Lin Dan clenched her small fist.


    Remembering that she could easily lift an adult man, Xue Boyong¡¯s expression was slightly sluggish, but he still insisted: ¡°I will not stop you from practicing medicine, but you must bring a bodyguard when you go out, or else you¡¯re staying at home with me.¡±


    Lin Dan saw his expression was firm, so she half-heartedly said, ¡°Okay, fine, brother, whatever you say. You, and you, come with me.¡± As she spoke, Lin Dan casually pointed out two of the guards and turned to leave, not caring whether they actually followed her. Her bearing was more natural than a marshal gathering troops for the battlefield.


    Xue Boyong looked at her upright silhouette with frustration and a bit of helplessness in his expression. Presently, he held his forehead and began laughing deeply. He waved his hand and said: ¡°Go, go, just go with her and make sure she is well protected.¡±


    Only then did the two bodyguards salute to accept the order and take large strides to catch up.


    Looking at the closed courtyard door, Xue Boyong shook his head and murmured: ¡°I never actually blamed you for anything, so why would you go this far?¡± Although he said that, a corner of his cold, hard heart had already been vanquished by this stubborn little girl and begun to soften.


    After Lin Dan left, the yard seemed especially quiet. Usually at this time, she would be reading in the study, the low hum of her recitation audible from time to time, like the drone of a swarm of bees. In the past, Xue Boyong had complained several times, and she would habitually agree to stop. Later, she would forget; memorizing books out loud seemed to be her habit. At this point, Xue Boyong had become accustomed to her habit; now that this sound had suddenly disappeared, he felt uneasy instead.


    He had Li Zhong carry himself outside to bask in the sun and sighed, ¡°This little girl didn¡¯t even ask me what I wanted for lunch this morning.¡±


    Li Zhong replied automatically: ¡°Miss Lin said that she would not be back until the afternoon. Lunch will be made by Chef Fang. What do you want to eat, sir? I¡¯ll go to the kitchen now and let them know.¡±


    Xue Boyong waved his hands with no interest: ¡°No need, I don¡¯t want to eat anything.¡±


    Seeing that the eldest young master was so gloomy, as if he had returned to when he had first been injured, Li Zhong quickly said, ¡°How about I call Chef Fang over now and ask her if they¡¯ve received any fresh ingredients in the side kitchen today?¡±


    ¡°No need, let¡¯s talk about it in the afternoon.¡± Xue Boyong was still as listless as before, just staring at the courtyard door; who knew what was on his mind.


    Previously, just after breakfast, Miss Lin Dan would always playfully ask him to order what he wanted to eat at lunch. Today, Miss Lin Dan was not here, and the eldest young master didn¡¯t want to order any dishes either; he even said to wait until the afternoon to decide what to eat. This is clearly him not wanting to eat lunch at all! Li Zhong became more anxious, worked up the courage to throw down the sentence ¡°I¡¯ll go to the side kitchen to take a look,¡± and ran away.


    Xue Boyong closed his eyes, his expression a little desolate. Although he was surrounded by bodyguards, although there were countless servants to wait upon him outside the courtyard wall, he suddenly felt that his heart was empty and had nowhere to settle.


    After a while, Li Zhong ran back, his anxious expression replaced by a smile, ¡°Sir, guess what? When Miss Lin left, she stewed a pot of beef on the stove and told the kitchen to keep it cooking until noon. By then, the meat will be at just the right softness for you to eat. I sniffed it just now and the flavor is simply amazing! If I hadn¡¯t covered my mouth fast enough, my saliva would¡¯ve dripped into the pot. I don¡¯t know what seasoning Miss Lin used; it¡¯s not too bad if you don¡¯t lift the lid, but as soon as you lift it, the people in the kitchen are almost intoxicated from the aroma. I have never smelled such fragrant beef before!¡±


    Xue Boyong, who was originally still a little absent-minded, turned his head to listen attentively at this moment, his dark eyes continually flashing with light. He just remembered that before he fell asleep yesterday, the little girl had run to his room and asked him if he had any particular cravings recently. At the time, he had arbitrarily said beef, not realizing that she was asking so that she could start cooking it this morning.


    Even though she was gone, she was still concerned that her brother¡¯s lunch would not be settled. This little girl¡­. Thinking about this, Xue Boyong raised his fist and tried to cover the corners of his mouth, which rose uncontrollably.


    ¡ª


    When Lin Dan was leaving, she had already completed or delegated every task she needed to. There was no need to worry whether any problems would arise from Xue Boyong¡¯s end. She hired an ox cart and slowly rode toward the outskirts of the city. Seeing that the city gate was near at hand, she said to the two guards: ¡°I let you follow me to appease my brother, but in fact I can handle any situation by myself. If you follow me, you won¡¯t have anything to do. Instead, you can help me look for someone.¡±


    The two bodyguards sat outside the canopy of the cart without saying a word and did not respond at all.


    Lin Dan did not get angry and continued: ¡°You can help me find someone who has the exact same symptoms as my brother, someone whose legs were paralyzed after a fall. After you find them, tell me their address and I will go treat them. I have no experience. I can¡¯t treat my brother as a guinea pig, so I want to find a similar patient to try and treat. I¡¯ll tell you the truth, Lin Chaoxian is my great great great¡­ grandfather. My family¡¯s ancestral Xuanji acupuncture method can cure my brother¡¯s legs. In any case, this is also a ray of hope, so please treat it with importance. ¡°


    The two bodyguards, who had been holding their swords, pretending to nod off, suddenly opened their eyes and looked into the cart, but only saw a bamboo shade.


    ¡°Lin Chaoxian is your ancestor?¡± The two spoke in unison, their tone extremely alert.


    ¡°Naturally. Brother also knows this.¡± Lin Dan lifted the bamboo shade and then probed, ¡°Will help me with this task?¡± Legends of Lin Chaoxian¡¯s godly medical skills had been passed down through the years, but the medical books he left behind just happened to be missing the most important volume. That was why the Lin family hid their ancestral roots and dared not brag, for fear that not only would they not be able to keep the legacy, they would ruin their ancestor¡¯s reputation instead.


    The Lin family¡¯s ancestral acupuncture and massage techniques needed inner strength to be effective. Without inner strength, when the doctor pierced the lethal point with a needle, the patient would immediately take their last breath. That would not be saving people, it would be killing them! Because of this, Father Lin, who obviously possessed the family legacy, did not dare to learn it, only delving into the simplest techniques used to treating bruises and injuries. It was very unfortunate.


    The two bodyguards did not know the inside story and had no desire to ask. They only knew that they had to seize any hope of curing the general, so they nodded immediately: ¡°Yes, we will help you with this task! There are more people in the city so we will look there first, and if we can¡¯t find anyone there, we¡¯ll go to the surrounding towns and villages. ¡°


    ¡°Okay, then you can get off here. We will meet back at the west gate in the evening.¡± Lin Dan knocked on the shaft of the cart and motioned for the driver to stop.


    The driver was a rustic villager. What Lin Chaoxian, what Xuanji acupuncture, he had no idea at all. But even if he knew and spread rumors, Lin Dan had no fear. She was confident that she could easily resolve any trouble.


    After the two bodyguards got out of the car, they showed the driver the tokens on their belt and warned: ¡°This young lady belongs to the General Xue manor. You must send her back safely. Where you live and how many people are in your family, we know very clearly.¡±


    The coachman agreed in fear and trepidation. By the time the two bodyguards had left, the clothes on his back were soaked through with cold sweat. If he had known beforehand that these clients were so powerful, he would have not accepted this request.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! With me here, there will be no problems on the way.¡± Lin Dan waved her hands, her tone calm, completely unaware that she had completely reversed the positions of the protector and the protected.


    In fact, the Xue Manor also had their own carriages, but the decorations were very luxurious and not suitable for traveling in the countryside. Furthermore, if the people in the manor needed to use a carriage, they had to report it to Madam Xue. If she knew, Lin Dan¡¯s plans might not have been able to come to fruition. Madam Xue might be able to tolerate her staying behind to take care of her son, but she would probably not tolerate her being a traveling physician and throwing the Xue family¡¯s face.


    To say something unpleasant, Lin Dan was very displeased with Madam Xue, who prioritized etiquette and dignity above all else. If the debts left by the original owner didn¡¯t have to be paid off, she would already have swung her arms and left.


    The driver was amused by the little girl¡¯s commanding attitude and his anxiety dissipated in a flash. He shook the reins and slowly drove the ox cart out of the city gate.


    Lin Dan took out a set of silver needles and a wooden figure she had kept in her bamboo basket and took this time to practice acupuncture techniques. She tried her hardest to control her inner strength, but the moment she inserted the needle, she wavered just the slightest bit and violent qi flowed through the tip of the needle, into the soft wood, which instantly exploded and made a small hole.


    With a muffled ¡°pff¡± sound, snow white sawdust burst out of the hole and covered Lin Dan¡¯s face. Fortunately, this set of silver needles was made of extraordinary material which could withstand destructive internal force without breaking; otherwise, even her means of making a living would be destroyed. If you replaced the wooden figurine with a real person, you could imagine, the matter on her face wouldn¡¯t be sawdust, but fresh blood and pieces of flesh. If you couldn¡¯t control the strength of the inner force while channeling it, this set of needles would only be able to kill people, not save them.


    Thus, what she said to the driver just now was not exaggerated. As long as she held a needle in her hand, she would be able to kill whatever men or immortals she meets. She was wholly unafraid of any danger.

 CH 130

    After arriving at the nearest village, Lin Dan had the driver wait at the entrance. She held her bell, walking and peddling her services, ¡°Treating the sick! If any family has an illness, call me and I will come treat it. If I can¡¯t cure it, I won¡¯t take any payment.¡±


    The bell rang and she shouted all the way through the village. When the villagers saw that she was female, and also very young, they hesitated. But once they heard that if she couldn¡¯t cure the illness, they wouldn¡¯t have to pay, they finally tentatively called out to stop her. She didn¡¯t refuse anyone who came; whoever called, she would go to their house to treat the sick. If she met a rogue who wanted to take advantage of her, she would knock them out with a single slap, no need for extra words.


    The villagers saw that she was formidable and did not look down on her as much as they did before.


    Lin Dan looked at several patients in succession, all of which had minor illnesses, such as headaches and internal heat, which were not at all difficult to treat. She would prescribe medicine, and those who had time and money could go to the apothecary in the city to fill the prescription. If they didn¡¯t have time or money, she would personally go to the mountains to collect the herbs, process and package them, and send them over the next day.


    It was very costly to see a doctor and buy medicine. A random pack of herbs for treating colds would cost half a tael of silver, which was unaffordable for a common household. But Lin Dan only asked for a dozen copper coins, which was no different from giving it away for free. When the people in the village saw that she charged so little, they all came to see her whether or not they were ill. In any case, she said it herself, if she couldn¡¯t cure it she wouldn¡¯t charge them.


    Lin Dan had expected this to happen, but she didn¡¯t mind. What she lacked most now was experience, and the accumulation of experience depended on continuously practicing medicine. The more people that came to her, the happier she was, so she would never turn them away. No matter whether you were sick, as long as she had the chance to take a look at your pulse, she would learn something.


    The pulse of a healthy person was distinct from the pulse of an ill one; patients with the same symptoms might also have different pulses; yet patients with different symptoms might have the same pulses.* In the process of interacting with these people, she learned many things that she wouldn¡¯t learn merely by reading, and she also got a taste of the profound joy of being a doctor.


    *Text originally read ¡°patients with the same symptoms might also have different pulses; yet patients with different pulses might have the same symptoms,¡± which means the same thing.


    When evening fell, she wrote down the names and addresses of several households before leaving, not fully satisfied. Due to inadequate preparation, she did not bring medicine with her, so she still had to bring it over tomorrow after filling each prescription. Fortunately, most everyone only had minor aches and pains, and could afford to wait. But from now on, she had to learn how to pick herbs herself, process them herself, and carry some commonly used medicine for emergency use. Otherwise, it would be like today: obviously, she knew how to treat the patients, but she didn¡¯t have medicine for them to use and had to drag it out for another day and a half.


    If she mastered massage and acupuncture techniques, she could treat people on the spot, even without herbs, instead of being restricted by place and time. Thinking of this, Lin Dan touched the silver needles hidden at her waist, a fire burning in her heart.


    At the You hour,* the two guards punctually waiting at the west gate saw the swaying ox cart and let out a huge sigh of relief in their hearts. They had previously been duped by Lin Dan and forgotten everything. It was only after she left that they realized that in fact, they could have left one person to protect her and have the other search the city. They didn¡¯t have to both leave at the same time. If something had happened to Lin Dan during this time, the general would never have spared the two of them!


    *5 ¨C 7 PM


    ¡°Miss Lin, I¡¯ll go with you tomorrow while Yan Zhao searches for the person, is that okay?¡± The head guard said after boarding the ox cart.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a bit faster for two people to look?¡± Lin Dan looked out the window, paying no mind at all to her safety.


    ¡°If something happens to Miss Lin, we won¡¯t be able to give an account to the General.¡± the guard explained.


    ¡°Okay, but you have to find the person as soon as possible.¡± Lin Dan knocked on the partition and shouted, ¡°Driver, please stop for a bit! I want to buy something!¡±


    ¡°What do you want to buy? The two of us will help you.¡± The guard immediately reached toward the purse around his waist.


    ¡°Buy that!¡± Lin Dan jumped off the ox cart, eyes shining.


    The two followed her line of sight and saw that Xuancao Hall was just across the street. A patient with a wooden splint on his left leg was sitting on a chair that had wheels on it and was being pushed forward by a petite woman. At the door, the woman turned and bowed toward the doctor who sent her out, looking extremely grateful.


    Lin Dan pointed at Xuancao Hall and said, ¡°That chair is very convenient! With it, I can push my brother to take a walk in the yard and maybe even take him out of the manor for a bit.¡±


    ¡°What an ingenious device!¡± The two guards also showed pleasant surprise and walked over immediately.


    ¡°Is this type of chair for sale? How much is it?¡± Lin Dan opened her mouth to ask, urgency visible on her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± The two doctors recognized Lin Dan and sneered with disdain: ¡°This chair is for sale to everyone who wants it, except for you! Hurry up and get lost!¡± Both of these people were Wu Xuancao¡¯s apprentices. Back when Lin Dan wrecked the clinic, they had also been beaten until their heads were bleeding, so they had been holding a grudge for a while.


    ¡°You really won¡¯t sell it to us?¡± The two guards pressed the hilts of their sabers and stepped forward.


    ¡°What, do you want to use force again?¡± Their master was already a well-known divine doctor; even the nobility in the imperial palace had to be respectful when they visited and requested her. What was a mere general? Thus, the two men were completely fearless, and instead opened their mouths to mock her.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for her brother. She took a closer look at that wheelchair and waved her hand, saying: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re not buying it.¡±


    ¡°Miss, you really don¡¯t want to buy it?¡± The two guards were still somewhat unresigned.


    ¡°We¡¯re not buying it, it¡¯s just a chair with a bearing installed, fitted with wheels. We can casually ask any random craftsman in the city to do that. It¡¯s not some extraordinary item. Let¡¯s go, brother is still waiting at home. Who knows whether he ate his meals properly.¡± Lin Dan had Xue Boyong on her mind and did not want to waste any time on these irrelevant people.


    The two doctors had wanted to provoke Lin Dan on purpose, thinking that she would cause a disturbance, and that they could then ask the nobility in the palace to discipline her. But they didn¡¯t expect her to just take a glance and leave, even saying that she would get a craftsman to copy the wheelchair. This didn¡¯t even count as punching cotton; it was more like jumping forward, only to be kicked down into a cesspit, extremely loathsome!


    ¡°How could you arbitrarily copy our product? Outrageous!¡± The younger doctor was so angry, his eyes turned red.


    ¡°How am I being outrageous? Your product is so simple, a craftsman with even the slightest bit of skill could make it at a glance. Since you¡¯re not willing to sell it to me, why can¡¯t I find someone to make one? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to take it out and sell it. I¡¯m only using it for my own household. Am I hindering you in any way? Even if I don¡¯t copy it, this type of chair will be all over the streets in a few days. Don¡¯t think too highly of yourselves and look down on the craftsmen in the capital.¡± Lin Dan had just finished talking when a woman pushed a little chair with wheels on it and walked past. On it sat not a patient but an infant who had just turned one. The chair even had a ring-shaped board in the middle to prevent the young child from falling out. From the workmanship to the appearance, it was countless times more exquisite than the Xuancao Hall wheelchair.


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes brightened and she immediately ran up to the woman: ¡°Excuse me, Miss, where did you buy this type of chair?¡±


    The woman pointed west and said, ¡°Fuji Carpenter Shop on West Street. There are chairs for both children and adults. The price is between one and five taels of silver. Young lady, you can go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sister!¡± Lin Dan turned her head and left, not even sparing another glance at the two doctors, who had smoke rising from their ears.


    The two guards covered their mouths and laughed, then quickly caught up to her. If you compared the skill of spurning people, these two hairless youngsters were far worse than Lin Dan! If she didn¡¯t want to pay attention to you, she would even consider sweeping you with a glance to be a waste of her energy!


    The two doctors originally wanted to hit Lin Dan¡¯s face, but didn¡¯t anticipate that their own faces would turn around and become swollen. Even passers-by saw them make a fool of themselves; it was good enough that they didn¡¯t faint from anger. They rolled up their sleeves and wanted to find that Fuji Carpenter Shop to settle accounts, but they were stopped by well-informed people: ¡°Forget it, that shop has the Yuqin Prince¡¯s mansion standing behind it. Even if you go, you will hit a dead end and even offend a prince with real power. Is it worth the trouble? Your wheelchair is simple to make; if it gets copied, so be it. It¡¯s not like you depend on it to make a living.¡±


    When all was said and done, the two doctors didn¡¯t dare to offend the powerful. They stood at the door for a while before going back inside with their tail between their legs, to the amusement of the watching crowd.


    ¡ª


    Meanwhile, Wu Xuancao once again visited the Xue Manor.


    After studying Xue Boyong¡¯s case, Zheng Zhe decided to treat the symptoms first, then gradually find a way to cure the root cause. So, he wrote some prescriptions to promote circulation, dissolve blood clots, and generally keep the body healthy. The patient could slowly take these; although it wouldn¡¯t cure his legs, it could preserve his foundation.


    Who knows what Wu Xuancao¡¯s intentions were; for some reason, she volunteered to deliver the medicine. When Xue Jiming heard, he immediately rushed back from the barracks to meet her. Madam Xue accompanied her, probing about her son¡¯s condition while flattering her, her attitude completely different from two years ago.


    Wu Xuancao absentmindedly responded to the two of them, until she walked into Xiaofeng Pavilion and her attention was roused.


    ¡°Brother, Xiao Cao¡¯er personally brought you some medicine. Xiao Cao¡¯er and Doctor Zheng are extremely skilled in medicine. After taking their prescription, you will quickly get better.¡± As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Xue Jiming started giving credit to the person on his heart.


    Xue Boyong ate too much at noon and was reclining on the veranda to digest when he heard this. He opened his long and narrow phoenix eyes and glanced askance at Wu Xuancao. With just this one glance, Wu Xuancao¡¯s boiling heart completely froze over. She did not dare to face him at all.


    ¡°I already said, outsiders are not welcome in my Xiaofeng Pavillion.¡± He said slowly and clearly.


    Xue Jiming went red and said, ¡°How can Xiao Cao¡¯er be considered an outsider? We will be one family sooner or later ¨C isn¡¯t that right, mother?¡± This was him covertly forcing his family to declare their position; it could be seen that he wasn¡¯t completely tactless.


    Madam Xue gritted her teeth and nodded: ¡°That¡¯s right, we will all be one family sooner or later. Don¡¯t be so stubborn, Boyong. Let Wu Xuancao take another look at your legs again.¡± The words hadn¡¯t even fallen when she suddenly exclaimed: ¡°Oh dear, why are you outside in such a thin garment? Aren¡¯t you cold? Where is Lin Dan, that damned girl? This is how she takes care of you?¡±


    Xue Boyong frowned fiercely and said coldly: ¡°Mother, in my courtyard, would you please refrain from calling Lin Dan a damned girl with every phrase. This is a silk-lined robe that she personally sewed for me. The lining of the jacket is made of silk, and is both thin and warm. Sitting in the cold wind, my face is still ruddy and my hands are warm, which you should be able to see. My three meals are personally cooked by her each day, and my inner and outer garments are personally sewn by her. This young lady was detained by me, a waste, in this courtyard, to labor all day. Shouldn¡¯t she be allowed to relax once in a while?¡±


    Seeing that her son reacted so strongly, Madam Xue immediately apologized to him, saying that Lin Dan was a good child, mother jumped to conclusions, and so on and so forth.


    However, Xue Jiming countered: ¡°Brother, no matter how good Lin Dan is, that¡¯s what she owes you, what she has to pay back to you. Compared to her, Xiao Cao¡¯er is truly sincere towards you. In order to study your case, she didn¡¯t sleep well for three consecutive nights. As soon as she drew up a course of treatment with Doctor Zheng, she immediately rushed to deliver the prescription, lest she delay your treatment. She thinks of you and considers your treatment her top priority. Why can¡¯t you get rid of your prejudice against her? All of the blame should be placed on me; it has nothing to do with her. She pities the poor and sympathizes with the old; she¡¯s charitable in thought and deed. There is no one who is better than her. ¡°


    After hearing these words, Xue Boyong showed no expression, but Madam Xue felt touched and looked at Wu Xuancao with incessant gratitude.


    Just at this moment, Lin Dan walked in pushing a strange chair. Paying no mind to anyone else, she looked straight at Xue Boyong with a pair of shining eyes: ¡°Brother, look what I bought for you!¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s gloomy expression immediately cleared up and a light smile involuntarily hung on the corners of his eyes and the tips of his brows, softening his handsome and cold features.

 CH 131

    Seeing Lin Dan with something in her hands, everyone showed curious expressions.


    ¡°Brother, this thing is called a wheelchair. I bought it at the Fuji Carpenter Shop. With it, I can push you out for walks.¡± Lin Dan pushed the chair over in a flash with rare excitement in her voice.


    Seeing her childlike joy, Xue Boyong also couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Madam Xue and Xue Jiming kept incessantly circling around that chair, praising it again and again, saying that the inventor of this thing was too brilliant, it was simply the salvation of the disabled.


    The two guards behind Lin Dan had outstanding martial arts and keen hearing, and before they had even crossed the threshold into the courtyard, had heard Xue Jiming singing Wu Xuancao¡¯s praises through the wall. They revealed: ¡°We heard that this wheelchair was invented by Miss Wu. It has been sold at Xuancao Hall for several months already. If, as the second young master said, Miss Wu really put our general¡¯s injury on her heart at all times, why didn¡¯t she bring it up at all? Our general¡¯s manor has money and would never take advantage of Miss Wu. If you brought a chair to us, did you think we wouldn¡¯t pay for it? It can be seen that Miss Wu is busy with the affairs of the nobility and has forgotten such trivial matters.¡±


    The other guard added: ¡°When Miss Lin went to Xuancao Hall to kneel three times, the old madam, madam, second young master, and even us servants also went to grovel to Miss Wu and beg for forgiveness. Miss Wu magnanimously expressed that all grievances were henceforth written off and that they should never be brought up again. So why did you turn around and forbid the doctors in your clinic from selling our household a wheelchair? When we tried to buy a wheelchair, we were even berated; they said that they would sell it to anyone but our Xue Manor and told us to hurry up and get lost. It can be seen that Miss Wu pretends to be generous on the surface, but secretly holds grudges. What concern, what treatment, we dare not expect anything from her and can only hope that Miss Wu will not stab the general in the back.¡±


    After the whole wheelchair fiasco, they had become skeptical about Wu Xuancao¡¯s hypocrisy. How could they leave her to cozy up to the general? Lin Dan might have been too lazy to bother with her, but that didn¡¯t mean that they would let a scheming person have free reign in Xiaofeng Pavilion.


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Before Xue Jiming even had time to respond, Madam Xue¡¯s complexion had already changed.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true, all the bystanders on the street are witnesses. We only went to Fuji Carpenter Shop after Xuancao Hall absolutely refused to sell to us.¡± The two guards saluted.


    Madam Xue shook with anger and turned to glare ferociously at Wu Xuancao. Xue Jiming subconsciously moved to block the accusatory gaze for his sweetheart, but gave her a look of disbelief.


    Wu Xuancao¡¯s whole face was a deep red, her eyes evasive, and she didn¡¯t know how to justify herself at all. Back at the border, Xue Boyong didn¡¯t approve of her. He grounded Xue Jiming in the barracks and prohibited the two from having contact. Since then, she had held a grudge against this man. When she heard that Lin Dan caused him to become a paraplegic, she had even gloated for a while. How could she truly place his injury on her heart? Moreover, last time, at Xiaofeng Pavilion, she was severely scolded by Xue Boyong, so she was even more reluctant to have his best interests at heart just to be snubbed.


    However, she could never say that out loud, so she could only hang her head, unable to defend herself: ¡°I really forgot. Recently, the Su Prince¡¯s old illness has relapsed and I was ordered to go to his manor to treat it. I wanted to wait for his condition to stabilize before bringing the wheelchair over, but I didn¡¯t realize that once it started I would be busy for more than half a month.¡±


    ¡°So, on the one hand, Miss Wu stayed up multiple nights to study the general¡¯s case, but on the other hand she was busy treating the Su Prince¡¯s recurring illness. It must have been hard to manage everything on your plate. Miss Wu must have mastered the shadow clone technique and know how to split herself into multiple people. We wholeheartedly admire your skill.¡±


    The two guards saluted and stepped down without saying anything else.


    No matter how slow Madam Xue might be, she had to understand everything by now. Wu Xuancao didn¡¯t care about treating her son¡¯s legs at all. Otherwise, why would she have never mentioned a word about this type of wheelchair, the thing her son precisely needed the most? What discussing the diagnosis through the night, what painstakingly researched treatment plans, these were all words used to fool people, and only number two was perfectly happy to be deceived by her. And if she truly loved the second son, why didn¡¯t she treat his relatives conscientiously?


    Madam Xue¡¯s only ray of hope was completely replaced with disappointment. Were it not for Zheng Zhe still being posted at Xuancao Hall, she really wanted to chase this woman out! She forced herself to pull the corners of her lips and said, ¡°Doctor Wu is indeed busy with the affairs of the nobility.¡± After that, there was nothing else she wanted to say. What could she say? Did she have to grovel one more time for good measure? Facing someone who doesn¡¯t have the heart, it doesn¡¯t matter how many times you kneel in front of her; she will always be apathetic.


    Seeing that his mother had become cold toward Wu Xuancao, Xue Jiming was somewhat anxious, and quickly pulled the other out for a private conversation. Before stepping out of the courtyard, Wu Xuancao glanced back at Lin Dan¡¯s study, a gloomy light flashing deep in her eyes.


    Lin Dan couldn¡¯t be bothered to take a single look at Wu Xuancao and Xue Jiming. She carried Xue Boyong onto the wheelchair and was engrossed in pushing him back and forth in the yard. When they went downhill, she would even stand on the footrest at the back of the chair and roll down together with him, her eyes flickering with an unadulterated, childlike light.


    Xue Boyong looked up at her beautiful little face again and again, his eyes overflowing with tenderness. No matter how much commotion others made, the two of them seem to be in a world of their own, always happy together.


    By the time Madam Xue came back to herself, the two had already had enough fun and were slowly making their way back.


    ¡°Brother, this armrest is too slippery to the touch. I¡¯ll help you wrap a few strips of cloth around it. The bearing of the wheels must be oiled with tung oil, otherwise it will keep creaking and require a lot of effort to push. Brother, when you¡¯re by yourself, don¡¯t get in and out of the wheelchair. Someone must be there to help support you, otherwise you might fall and hurt yourself.¡± Lin Dan prattled endlessly while she fetched the cloth strips and tung oil.


    Xue Boyong seemed to be expressionless, but in fact a smile was hidden deeply in his eyes.


    Lin Dan finished messing with the wheelchair and continued to speak, ¡°Brother, tell me what you want to eat tonight, I¡¯ll cook it for you.¡±


    Xue Boyong immediately waved his hand: ¡°No need to make anything else, there¡¯s still leftover beef from lunch. Just have the cook heat it up. You spent all day outside, you must rest properly when you come home.¡±


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m not tired at all. How about this, I¡¯ll cut two radishes up and stew them with the beef. Winter radishes are called little ginseng, they¡¯re very nourishing. Then I¡¯ll boil some dumplings. I¡¯ve already made the filling, so I just need to knead some dough. It¡¯s very fast.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good too, just make it casually. Don¡¯t tire yourself out.¡± Xue Boyong instructed, not completely reassured.


    Lin Dan agreed shortly and went. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she put on an apron and started to wash vegetables, cut vegetables, and knead dough, her every move neat and efficient. Madam Xue followed behind and took in her every move, her heart extremely touched. She remembered that in the past, it was unheard of for Lin Dan, this girl, to wash her hands and make the simplest soup. She had never even stepped into the kitchen. But now? She hears that she had since mastered the culinary arts as well as the feminine arts,* and had even been working hard to study medicine. All of these changes had been for the sake of taking care of her eldest son.


    *needlework


    If a person does not care in her heart, one can see it from her every move. Madam Xue thought that Lin Dan was heartless, but it turned out that she could change this much.


    Madam Xue stood at the entrance to the kitchen and deeply sighed for a good while. Then she returned to Xiaofeng Pavilion and said to her son, ¡°Boyong, with Lin Dan here to take care of you, mother can put her heart down.¡±


    Lin Dan and Wu Xuancao, she originally loathed both of them. But now, she saw Lin Dan in a different light, while her hatred of Wu Xuancao became deeper and deeper. If you¡¯re unwilling to treat the injury, then don¡¯t do it. Just don¡¯t put on a face full of concern while doing cold and uncaring things. That was truly terrible.


    Xue Boyong just smiled but didn¡¯t say anything.


    Madam Xue originally wanted to stay for dinner, but when she saw that Lin Dan only brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks, with measly portions, she could only drop the idea. What consideration and affection? This girl was still just as tactless as before!


    Madam Xue had already been gone for a long while, when Lin Dan patted her forehead and said, ¡°Wait, I forgot to make a portion for Madam!¡±


    Xue Boyong chuckled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she doesn¡¯t lack these two mouthfuls of food. You were outside practicing medicine today. How did it go?¡±


    Lin Dan¡¯s eyes lit up with a flash and she immediately became a chatterbox: ¡°It went really well, I learned much more than when I was cooped up at home reading medical books. Although there were only some minor headaches and internal heat, based on each patient¡¯s situation, I still needed to formulate different treatment plans; it¡¯s extremely interesting. For example, when people have phlegm, some have blockages from external negative energy, caused by gloomy emotions; some have stagnant and sluggish qi, caused by their diet and exhaustion; and some even have inner heat that coagulates their bodily fluids or cold and wet energy that congeals their bodily fluids. Different causes yet lead to the same symptoms, which requires doctors to accumulate enough experience to be able to pinpoint the true cause among the multitude of illnesses involving phlegm, then settle on a course of treatment. Learning medicine is really a huge undertaking; even if you spend your entire lifetime, it might not be enough to master it.¡±


    Xue Boyong looked at her eyes, brighter than ever before, and asked, ¡°Do you like to practice medicine?¡±


    ¡°I like it!¡± Lin Dan nodded without the slightest hesitation.


    Xue Boyong patted the table and said, ¡°If you like it, just go do it. I will handle grandmother and mother. Don¡¯t worry about them trying to stop you.¡±


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t worry at all, but she still nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, brother.¡±


    Xue Boyong shook his head, his eyes extremely gentle. As long as the little girl really liked to practice medicine, he would support her to the end, not to cure himself, but to make her happy.


    Carefree, the two talked for a while after dinner before they finally parted ways. As Xue Boyong was just about to go to bed, Xue Jiming burst into the room and stammeringly started to talk: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m sorry about the whole wheelchair situation. Xiao Cao¡¯er and I went to Xuancao Hall to inquire about it. Turns out it was her two apprentices who made that decision by themselves and had nothing to do with her. She didn¡¯t know anything about it. Those two apprentices had been beaten by Lin Dan before, so they did this out of resentment.¡±


    Xue Boyong interrupted him impatiently: ¡°So are you trying to say that Lin Dan received the consequences due her actions? Whenever anything happens, you always put the blame on a woman. Are you still a man?¡±


    Xue Jiming¡¯s face turned red, and he couldn¡¯t say anything even after mumbling for half a day.


    ¡°Brother, I came to tell you that Lin Dan, that girl, has no shame! She even told grandmother that she would marry you! Be careful not to fall into her scheme. The only reason she said that was to keep the glory, status, and wealthy life of being a precious daughter in the Xue Manor. Don¡¯t be fooled! ¡°


    ¡°Are you finished yet? If you¡¯re done, you can get lost!¡± Xue Boyong looked cold and harsh, but his fingertips were faintly trembling.


    When Xue Jiming saw that he was truly angry, he escaped the room.


    The room quieted down. Xue Boyong wiped his face with shaking hands, the tips of his ears slowly turning red

 CH 132

    Li Zhong was standing guard just outside the door, so he obviously overheard the conversation between the eldest young master and the second young master. Seeing that there was no movement inside for a long time, he braced himself and walked in, only to find the eldest young master foolishly sitting on the bed, his expression flickering between gloom and happiness, extremely complicated.


    ¡°Sir, don¡¯t let the second young master¡¯s words lead you astray. The second young master is prejudiced against Miss Lin; that¡¯s the only reason he slandered her like that. Haven¡¯t you clearly seen how meticulously Miss Lin takes care of you these days and what kind of a person she is?¡± Li Zhong persuaded.


    When Lin Dan first came, everyone in Xiaofeng Pavilion did indeed hate her to the bone. But after interacting with her on a daily basis, her meticulousness and diligence, her deep affection and friendship, her tolerance and integrity, had already moved all of them. Whether she was sincere or insincere to the eldest young master, couldn¡¯t they tell?


    ¡°I know.¡± Xue Boyong waved his hand weakly: ¡°In Xiaofeng Pavilion, she does everything for me personally. For me, she learned to cook, do laundry, and embroider; for me, she wore coarse clothing to be a traveling doctor in the countryside. If she had wanted to live an easy life, how would she be so willing to suffer these hardships?¡±


    It was because he saw it so clearly that he reacted so violently to Xue Jiming¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t care whether Lin Dan was duping him. He was more afraid that she was wasting her life by being his caretaker. He was already useless, so how could he have any other extravagant hopes?


    Thinking this, Xue Boyong covered his face and sighed dimly.


    Seeing that he was thinking rationally, Li Zhong didn¡¯t say anymore, just tucked in the corner of the quilt and went out.


    The next day, Xue Boyong originally planned on distancing himself from Lin Dan, but he often found himself inadvertently approaching her. When Lin Dan asked him if there was anything he wanted to eat before she left, he shook his head and said there wasn¡¯t. Lin Dan turned around and entered the kitchen, where she made the decision to stew a pot of mutton, which happened to be exactly what he had been craving recently. Although she didn¡¯t return for lunch, the familiar flavor still accompanied him.


    When she returned in the evening, Lin Dan disregarded him rejecting her with all his might, put him in the wheelchair and pushed him out, circling the yard several times. Seeing her cheerful little face, looking at her big sparkling eyes, even if he had more words to reject her, Xue Boyong couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak them.


    After being sent back to his room and saying good night, he rubbed the space between his eyebrows and finally surrendered to Lin Dan. The distance between them had always been controlled by her. If she wanted to get close, he could only be forced to accept it. If she wanted to stay far away, he couldn¡¯t catch up even if he wanted to. This kind of feeling really made one restless. Xue Boyong, who had already gradually accepted the machinations of fate, looked at his useless legs and felt an extremely intense rush of unwillingness out of the blue.


    He began to actively seek doctors and request treatment. The pills that he had rejected so stubbornly in the past were now being attentively taken. Doctor¡¯s orders were also followed one after another, and he did not dare to be careless at all. Madam Xue and the old madam observed his changes, feeling very happy. As for what Lin Dan did during the day, he wouldn¡¯t let them ask, so they pretended not to know.


    Unconsciously, time passed. In the blink of an eye, it had been three months. Lin Dan¡¯s use of internal energy had reached a state of perfection, to the point where she could wield it with ease, and her medical skills, through the grind of daily practice, also advanced by leaps and bounds. She no longer only treated headaches and internal heat, but began to delve into difficult diseases. If she encountered a particularly rare case, she would wholeheartedly devote her attention to it, without concerning herself with how much time and energy she needed to spend. If the disease was not cured, she would feel frustrated for several days, then review her experience and continue moving forward; if the disease was cured, she would record the treatment method in detail for future reference.


    Her obsession with medicine almost reached the point of forgetting to eat and sleep, but even so, she didn¡¯t neglect her care of Xue Boyong at all. The two bodyguards followed her, witnessing her transformation from an inexperienced wandering physician to a renowned miracle doctor. She managed to successfully treat one instance of stroke paralysis, one of tuberculosis, and one of gangrene, three diseases that had been known as incurable up until now.


    The two bodyguards originally thought it was just luck, but they did not expect that when she encountered a patient with the same symptoms, eight or nine times out of ten, she could cure them. The one or two exceptions were cases in which the disease had already attacked the vitals, progressing too far to treat.


    She had constantly been accumulating experience and improving her medical skills. She began to break away from textbook knowledge, learning to create new prescriptions, boldly overturn the prescriptions of her predecessor, and combine the two together. She didn¡¯t realize how extraordinary her actions were, and even more so didn¡¯t consider her medical skills to have already reached the pinnacle. She continued to constantly strive for progress. Since she only practiced medicine in remote areas, her reputation was limited to rumors in the countryside. Those in or near the capital were completely unaware of the existence of this miracle doctor.


    Slowly, the two bodyguards respected Lin Dan more and more, to the point where they obeyed her without hesitation.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t feel that she was all that amazing. After all, her ancestor was a true expert. Treating stroke paralysis, tuberculosis, etc. was as casual for him as treating headaches and internal heat. On this day, she spent tremendous effort before she was able to cure a patient with tympanites.* Thinking of the glorious achievements of her ancestor, she could not help but sigh: ¡°I spent twenty-nine days and consecutively swapped out seven or eight different prescriptions to barely bring the patient back. I¡¯m still a million miles away from the real dao of medicine. I¡¯m ashamed, ashamed!¡±


    *abdominal distension due to gas build-up, pronounced ¡°tim-pa-NIGH-tees¡±


    Bodyguards: ¡°¡­¡± You brought someone with a fatal disease back to life, what else do you want? We¡¯re afraid that you misunderstand ¡°dao of medicine,¡± these three words!


    The family members of the patient were also a little speechless, and quickly prepared generous remuneration to send this deity out.


    The two boarded the ox cart and wobbled back to the west gate to see another guard waiting at the meeting point with an agitated expression, ¡°Miss Lin!¡± He rushed up with large steps, yelling through the curtain, ¡°We found someone!¡±


    ¡°Oh, where?¡± The curtain of the oxcart swished open, revealing an even more anxious face.


    ¡°In Xihe Town, Fengtian Province.¡±


    ¡°Driver, change route to Xihe Town, Fengtian Province right away!¡± Lin Dan immediately ordered.


    The driver hesitated and said, ¡°Master, Xihe Town is quite far from the capital. It takes dozens of li* to go there and back. If we go now, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to make it back by nightfall!¡±


    *about half a kilometer or a third of a mile


    ¡°Then we won¡¯t go home tonight.¡± Lin Dan wrote a note for a guard to send back to Xiaofeng Pavilion, and then brought the other guard to call on the patient. When the group arrived in Fengtian Province, the sky was already dark. The village was filled with the sounds of dogs barking and chickens clucking, a peaceful rural scene. Lin Dan, following the guard¡¯s directions, arrived at the small courtyard of a humble cottage and explained why she came.


    The door abruptly opened from the inside, and a woman hurriedly said, ¡°Is what you¡¯re saying true? Can you cure my son?¡±


    ¡°Let me take a look first. Don¡¯t worry, ma¡¯am, I won¡¯t take a penny if I can¡¯t treat it.¡± Lin Dan cupped her hands and spoke with extreme courtesy.


    Although the person who had come was a young girl, the woman didn¡¯t mind at all, immediately inviting her into the house. She pointed at the sixteen-year-old boy lying on the bed-stove and said, ¡°This is my son. He was fooling around three years ago and was thrown down from the back of a cow, injuring his spine. Since then, he could no longer walk. Doctor, please take a look at him. If you can cure him, you can take whatever you want from this house. Although our land has already been sold, the deed to the house is still here. Let me take it out for you right away!¡±


    As the woman spoke, she took out a deed from a chest, her face filled with an ardent expression. She lost her husband early and raised her son by herself. In order to cure her son, she was willing to try any method and pay any price. To say nothing of just selling the land and the house; even if Lin Dan wanted her life, she would not object.


    The young man struggled to get up, but fell back down powerlessly over and over. He could only cry and beg his mother not to waste money on him. If he had the strength to kill himself, he would have died long ago. Why else would he have burdened his mother for so long?


    Lin Dan turned a deaf ear to the boy¡¯s pleas and said: ¡°I already told you, if I can¡¯t treat him, I won¡¯t take any money, so you should put that back. I¡¯ll speak plainly. The reason I took the initiative to come to your door is because my older brother has the same condition. My treatment method is a bit unique. I have never attempted it on anyone before, and I was worried that I might harm him. That¡¯s why I looked for a person with the same symptoms to experiment on. If you are willing, I can give you a sum of money as compensation. If you are unwilling, I will leave immediately. Although I am not completely certain that I can cure your son, I can guarantee that his condition will not worsen. What do you think? Would you like me to treat him or not?¡±


    Hearing this, the woman¡¯s misgivings disappeared completely, and she nodded without pausing to think: ¡°Treat him, we won¡¯t take any money. Just treat him however you need to, doctor!¡±


    The boy, who had been resisting desperately, also quieted down, as if he was seriously considering it.


    ¡°I appreciate both of you for your cooperation.¡± Lin Dan sincerely thanked them. She stepped forward and lifted the boy¡¯s pant legs, only to be surprised to see a pair of withered legs that were as skinny as dry firewood.


    The woman said quickly: ¡°Since the injury, his legs have shriveled up day by day until they became like this.¡±


    Lin Dan frowned for a while, then slapped herself on the forehead with a very annoyed expression. Of course, when one¡¯s legs were never used, the muscles would gradually atrophy. Even if they were cured, it would probably take a long time to exercise them until they could actually function. She was so focused on figuring out a treatment method, she forgot to help her brother maintain his muscles. Damn it! Fortunately, the massage technique passed down through the Lin family had a wondrous effect on muscle atrophy. Although it had been delayed for more than half a year, she still could use it to quickly restore Xue Boyong to his original state.


    Thinking like this, Lin Dan tried her best to suppress the impulse to rush back immediately and started massaging the young man, saying as she kneaded: ¡°His legs must be massaged three times a day to keep the muscles flexible. Carefully observe my technique, and then slowly learn it. When I¡¯m not around, you can massage him like this. Otherwise, even if I treat his injury, it will still be difficult to walk on these legs without the support of his muscles.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, of course, I will study hard! Thank you, doctor, thank you!¡± The woman shed tears of gratitude as she nodded.


    The young man was originally still a little resistant, but when he heard this, he blushed and calmed down. Compared to Xue Boyong, he was much thinner. His spiritual state was also gloomier, and one could faintly see the will to die at the bottom of his eyes. However, Lin Dan had come. Everything would be different from now on.


    After the massage, Lin Dan checked the boy¡¯s pulse and, finding that his symptoms were exactly the same as Xue Boyong¡¯s, finally put her heart down completely.


    ¡°His body is too feeble; he can¡¯t start treatment yet. His foundation and bones must be nourished first before we do anything else. I¡¯ll start by prescribing him a few medicines to strengthen his body and build up his foundation. During this period, you can feed him some nourishing foods. Don¡¯t worry about the expense.¡± Lin Dan took out a silver banknote, put it on the table, and said seriously, ¡°He is my brother¡¯s hope, and I will treat him diligently.¡±

 CH 133

    Translator: thornling | Editor: thornling


    Lin Dan¡¯s willingness to treat her son¡¯s legs was already a massive favor, and the woman didn¡¯t want to take any more of her money no matter what.


    Lin Dan folded the silver banknote neatly, stuffed it into the woman¡¯s purse, and said bluntly: ¡°The sooner his foundation has been restored, the sooner I will be able to start the treatment, and the sooner my brother can see some signs of hope. This is beneficial for you, but even more so for my brother. Speaking frankly: I¡¯m not helping you out of the kindness of my heart, but for the sake of my brother, do you understand? So do what I say and don¡¯t argue.¡±


    The woman finally reluctantly accepted the money, thanking Lin Dan a thousand times again.


    Only after the two of them made things clear did Lin Dan begin to write the prescription, pondering as she wrote, adding and adjusting with extreme care. The woman dared not disturb her, and could only stand beside her and watch with endless awe. The two didn¡¯t even notice that, outside the open courtyard door, a carriage had stopped at some point, and a handsome man had been helped down by two guards and settled at the doorway.


    The guards who followed Lin Dan, however, were very alert. They hurriedly ran out to take a look and, finding that it was the general, showed expressions of disbelief. Ever since he had been paralyzed, the general had, without exception, never stepped out of the manor again. At most, he only looked at the scenery in the courtyard, his eyes completely unfocused, as if he was in a whole other world.


    But now, the general¡¯s face was sullen, fixed on the inner courtyard, looking agitated and tense. Who he came for, the guards knew without asking.


    ¡°Reporting to the general, the young miss is inside.¡± The guards said in a low voice.


    Xue Boyong nodded slightly, then turned the wheelchair to go forward, indistinctly hearing Lin Dan converse with a stranger. He couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about, but couldn¡¯t miss the sound of the words ¡®my brother.¡¯ Every ten sentences, she would bring up ¡®my brother¡¯ ten times. It could be seen that someone was constantly on her lips and in her heart.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s heart, which had been filled with worry and fury, directly softened into a total mess, and his frowning brows unconsciously smoothed out, revealing a hint of a tender smile. When he had heard that Lin Dan was going to stay out all night, he almost went mad with agitation. Unable to wait even a little, he immediately told the guards to chase after her. Imagining Lin Dan staying with several strangers in a place he couldn¡¯t see, not knowing whether she was in danger, an uncontrollable impulse suddenly surged in his heart. When he came back to his senses, he realized that he had gone along with the guards. The lanterns of the Xue Manor were glinting at the end of the road, getting further and further away.


    He lifted the curtain of the carriage, looking out at the all at once familiar and unfamiliar capital city, and finally sighed deeply. Stepping out of Xiaofeng Pavilion and returning to this place that he used to travel so freely wasn¡¯t impossible after all. He had just needed a turning point and a reason, that¡¯s all.


    Lin Dan taught the woman how to massage and finished formulating a prescription. She finally walked out of the room, stretching her lazy waist and preparing to take a breather, but found that Xue Boyong was sitting peacefully under the veranda, looking at herself with deep eyes.


    Her half-stretched waist retracted immediately, and she said in surprise, ¡°Brother, why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± Xue Boyong said slowly. ¡°From now on, we have to make a new rule: no matter where you go, you must come back at night; you¡¯re not allowed to stay out overnight.¡± As long as he remembered that Lin Dan was not in Xiaofeng Pavilion, not nearby, he would be unable to control his agitation.


    Lin Dan nodded unconsciously: ¡°Okay brother, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Then she slapped her forehead, hurriedly saying, ¡°Brother, I made a mistake. Let¡¯s hurry up and go back!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hit yourself too hard, your forehead¡¯s all red.¡± Xue Boyong held her slender wrist and a look of distress flashed across his eyes.


    Lin Dan agreed half-heartedly again, said goodbye to the woman and the young man, and then carried Xue Boyong into the carriage. After leaving Fengtian Province, she lifted the hem of Xue Boyong¡¯s clothes to look at his legs, but her wrist was grabbed. Xue Boyong asked hoarsely,  ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I want to take a look at your legs. Brother, can you take off your pants?¡± As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, the guard who was driving the carriage let out a loud cough.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s cheeks flushed, and he gritted his teeth: ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t you know any shame?¡±


    ¡°Brother, your illness is the priority. If you don¡¯t take it off yourself, I¡¯ll help you take it off!¡± Lin Dan threw off his hand and pulled at Xue Boyong¡¯s trousers. How could Xue Boyong let her have her way? He immediately pressed her right hand behind her back. Lin Dan took the chance to flip over and stretched out her left hand instead. The two of them wrestled in the narrow carriage, one grabbing and the other attacking in a dramatic back and forth.


    Hearing the frequent muffled thumping sounds from inside the carriage, the two escorting guards¡¯ expressions warped, not knowing what to do with their faces.


    ¡°Is this a fight, or is it¡­¡± One of the guards held his two thumbs up and touched them together, his expression ambiguous.


    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to speculate!¡± The other guard slapped him on the back of the head, forcing him to stop talking.


    The shaking carriage finally quieted down, and Lin Dan, gasping for breath, had been pinned down by Xue Boyong, her little waist still twisting, obviously not giving up. Xue Boyong¡¯s forehead was covered with sweat, not from exhaustion but from restraining himself. He bent his waist with difficulty, trying to keep his lower abdomen away from this unruly girl, and said hoarsely, ¡°Haven¡¯t you made enough trouble yet? How can an unmarried young lady freely take off a man¡¯s pants!¡±


    Lin Dan turned her head and explained, ¡°Brother, your legs need to be massaged every day. Otherwise, the muscles will atrophy!¡±


    ¡°There are so many bodyguards in Xiaofeng Pavilion. Just have them do it, why do you need to do it yourself?¡±


    ¡°My massage technique is very unique, and they won¡¯t be able to learn it.¡± Lin Dan firmly said, ¡°Brother, if your legs are not cured, I will never get married my whole life. Don¡¯t preach about whatever ¡®men and women must guard against each other.¡¯¡±


    When Xue Boyong heard this, he unconsciously loosened his hold on her.


    Lin Dan sprang up immediately, pulled the quilt over his head, and then started to pull at his waistband. He held her wrist in a death grip, his cheeks red enough to drip blood. Thank goodness the quilt was covering him and nothing was visible. ¡°Little girl, have mercy! You win!¡± His voice was hoarse and helpless: ¡°When we get back, let me change into a pair of loose trousers. I can roll up the pant legs and let you take a look. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Dan finally calmed down, but as she relinquished her grip, she pinched Xue Boyong¡¯s leg muscle at lightning speed.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t notice, but when he tore the quilt off his head, he caught a glimpse of her unruly behavior and his cheeks became hot. This damn girl! he cursed secretly in his heart, but the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably.


    ¡ª


    There was another door in Xiaofeng Pavilion that directly led outside the manor. If Xue Boyong didn¡¯t want others in the residence to know his whereabouts, he just needed to close the courtyard door, open the corner door, and he would be able to completely isolate his courtyard from the general¡¯s manor, creating two separate worlds.


    He went out and came back that night, but no one in the manor was the wiser. Everyone was asleep, silence had fallen over the surroundings, and only the lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed left and right, casting patches of warm orange light. Lin Dan wrapped Xue Boyong up with a quilt and sent him back to his room. After he changed into loose pants, she rolled up his pant legs to check his muscles. Fortunately, his physique was very robust before the injury, and although his muscles had slightly shrunken, the situation was not serious.


    Lin Dan smeared herbal oil on her palms, rubbed it between her hands to warm it, and then, using her inner strength, massaged Xue Boyong rhythmically, slowly saying, ¡°Brother, your legs are in pretty good shape. You only need to massage them twice a day to keep them in the best condition. I¡¯ll massage you once before I leave in the morning, and once more after I come back at night. That should be just about enough.¡±


    Xue Boyong looked at her slightly reddened fingertips and said with some heartache: ¡°Can¡¯t you just do it once a day? Otherwise, this adds another thing to your list of burdens.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a burden, brother. As long as you can get better, I will try everything.¡± Lin Dan¡¯s tone was firm.


    Xue Boyong didn¡¯t speak for a long time, just gently patted her head.


    ¡ª


    After using the ancestral massage technique on Xue Boyong¡¯s legs for half a month, Lin Dan found that his slightly atrophied muscles had regained the strength of the past, so she did not dare to slack off. She also went to Fengtian Province every day, changing the prescription as necessary, trying to nourish the boy¡¯s body as quickly as possible.


    On this day, she got up early as usual to massage her eldest brother, but was seen by Xue Jiming, who was taking a break from the barracks. The other party was first stunned, then rushed forward in a rage to try to tear her off, only to be swatted away with a flick of her hand, flying out and violently slamming into the door, almost causing him to spit up blood.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Lin Dan turned her head, her face full of helplessness: ¡°Why are you so weak? Brother can¡¯t even walk, but he can beat me until I can¡¯t get up. How come you can¡¯t even take one move from me? If brother hadn¡¯t been injured, I¡¯m afraid even ten of you added together would not be his equal.¡±


    Her old man and old lady were both military doctors. The original owner grew up on the battlefield with them and had also learned martial arts. Therefore, seeing that Lin Dan was both extremely strong and very skilled, no one in the manor suspected anything.


    These days, Xue Jiming had tried his hardest to gain others¡¯ approval, but the sentence he heard the most was¨C you can¡¯t compare to your eldest brother. Nowadays, even Lin Dan, who had once blindly admired him, had these words on her lips. How could he not be upset? His lips trembled, but he couldn¡¯t refute her, so he could only rub his stifled chest and hold in his resentment.


    Xue Boyong got angry as soon as he saw this foolish younger brother. Thinking of his previous engagement with Lin Dan, he felt even more discomfited. He frowned and said, ¡°Why did you try to pull on Lin Dan just now? Don¡¯t you understand that men and women should be separate?¡±


    ¡°Am I the one who doesn¡¯t understand, or is she? How can a grown woman like her fondle your legs!¡± Xue Jiming was extremely aggrieved.


    Lin Dan had finished the massage. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief while calmly explaining: ¡°This isn¡¯t fondling, it¡¯s massage. Brother can¡¯t exercise his legs, so they will atrophy over time. Even if they¡¯re cured in the future, he still won¡¯t be able to walk on them unless he goes through a lot of trouble. Currently, I massage him every day to exercise his muscles. This is beneficial for him and does not harm him in any way. ¡°


    Xue Boyong took the handkerchief from her, wiped the little girl¡¯s nails clean, one by one, and said with a smile, ¡°Why waste your words on him. If he doesn¡¯t believe you, he can go ask Wu Xuancao.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Cao¡¯er has never said that your legs need to be massaged. Lin Dan, you and I were once engaged, but now you¡¯re clinging onto my eldest brother and refusing to leave. You are truly shameless! Let me tell you honestly, even if my eldest brother never gets married for a lifetime, my grandmother and mother would still never approve of you marrying him. You¡¯re not worthy!¡±


    ¡°Get the hell out of here!¡± Before Xue Jiming could finish speaking, Xue Boyong was already beyond furious. He crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and threw it deceptively lightly, but it smashed into Xue Jiming¡¯s chest hard, like a rock, adding injury to injury.


    Xue Jiming swallowed a mouthful of blood from his bottled up emotions and said tearfully: ¡°Brother, why can¡¯t you recognize good intentions? One day Lin Dan¡¯s true colors will be revealed!¡±


    He was so aggrieved that he was about to cry. Meanwhile, Lin Dan, holding a basin of water, went straight around him without even glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

 CH 134

    Translator: thornling | Editor: thornling


    Xue Boyong pulled his pant legs back down and picked up the teacup aloofly, pretending that this younger brother of his did not exist. Xue Jiming looked left and right, and, finding that the surrounding guards looked up at the sky, one by one, not the least bit concerned about what had just happened, immediately felt even more bitter. He clutched his chest and ran to the main courtyard to snitch to the old madam.


    The old madam merely closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, saying nothing.


    He then went to look for his mother, ratting on Lin Dan about the matter of her groping his brother¡¯s legs, and said with conviction: ¡°Xiao Cao¡¯er is a famous miracle doctor, but I¡¯ve never heard her saying that those with injured legs need to be massaged. Lin Dan is trying to find an excuse to take advantage of brother and try to leech off of our Xue family. She¡¯s willing to do anything for prosperity and wealth. Mother, whatever you do, you must not let brother marry her. Are you not afraid to lose Xue Mansion¡¯s reputation? Has anyone ever heard of a woman engaged to the younger brother later marrying the older brother?¡±


    Madam Xue laughed sarcastically: ¡°Don¡¯t mention ¡®Xiao Cao¡¯er¡¯ every time you open your mouth. I feel disgusted hearing it! Wu Xuancao obviously had the wheelchair, but she never even thought to mention it. Why would she tell you how to take care of Boyong¡¯s legs? If she really had the heart, she would never have required our whole family to bow to her and beg and plead three or four times. She would already have been considerate of you and taken the initiative to put down her resentment and come treat your brother. You love her to death, but she might not feel the same way. There is a saying that goes, love the house and its crow, hate the house and its crow,* you should have heard of it before? She hates me, hates your grandmother, hates Lin Dan, and hates your elder brother. How deep could her feelings for you be? On the surface, she claims to be magnanimous, yet she secretly holds grudges. It¡¯s better to be cautious around this type of person. The way I see it, Lin Dan is a hundred times better than her. At least she dares to love and hate and say what she thinks. She would never have one attitude on the surface and another behind your back.¡±


    *This saying means that when you love something, you like the things that come with it as well; crow more specifically refers to birds that nest in the eaves of houses.


    Xue Jiming also got a scolding from his mother, so he ran out of the house. Servants in the courtyard originally tried to chase after him, but they were stopped by Madam Xue: ¡°No need to chase him. Let him go where he wants! This disappointment of a son made a mess and caused Boyong¡¯s legs to become disabled. So let him go outside and experience some setbacks for himself!¡±


    His stifled heart in a mess, Xue Jiming wandered around for a while, unconsciously arriving at Xuancao Hall. He stepped over the threshold and found an apprentice splinting a patient with a broken leg, so he pretended to unintentionally ask: ¡°Do his legs still need to be massaged every day to prevent the muscles from withering?¡±


    The apprentice smiled and waved his hands: ¡°Massage? No, it¡¯s fine if you just remove the splint after two months.¡±


    Xue Jiming nodded, his heart full of fury. He just knew that Lin Dan, that bitch, had been fabricating lies to take advantage of his brother!


    The apprentice remembered the Xue family¡¯s eldest young master and added: ¡°Broken legs don¡¯t need massages, but those who are paralyzed and bed-bound for a prolonged period need daily massages. Otherwise, their legs will become as thin as firewood, to the point where they become completely useless.¡±


    Xue Jiming¡¯s heart skipped violently, and he raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised: ¡°Oh, there¡¯s such a thing?¡±


    ¡°This is what Master told us. Master knows a lot. If sir has any questions, you can go find her.¡±


    Xue Jiming couldn¡¯t even squeeze out a fake smile anymore, saying deeply: ¡°This is really something Xuancao said?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master once treated a patient similar to the eldest young master; the wheelchair was also invented by Master at that time. The patient¡¯s legs were as thin as reeds, so Master personally massaged him, which was the only reason he got even a little better.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll go and ask Xuancao.¡± Xue Jiming gritted his teeth and left after saying this, not even entering the inner hall to look for Xuancao. Since she had treated similar patients, she should¡¯ve known all of these details long ago, but why didn¡¯t she say anything? Was it forgetfulness or intentional omission? If she forgot it, it showed that she didn¡¯t take his brother¡¯s condition to heart and was only going through the motions; if she deliberately concealed it, it showed that she still harbored hatred for the Xue Manor and didn¡¯t actually want to treat him. Xue Jiming didn¡¯t dare to think any more about any of these two reasons; he could not accept either one.


    ¡ª


    The complications between Xue Jiming and Wu Xuancao did not concern Lin Dan at all. Every day, she got up early to massage and cook for Xue Boyong, and then went out to practice medicine. In the evening, she went to Fengtian province to help treat the youth. Her days were very busy.


    The boy¡¯s name was Niu Dabao. He had been lying on the bed for three years, and his body was skinny to the point of being unrecognizable. After Lin Dan came, he was quickly nourished until he was white and plump, and his body and bones grew stronger by the day.


    People in the village heard that Lin Dan was treating Niu Dabao¡¯s legs, so they all waited to see the outcome. They had never heard of a paraplegic being able to stand up again. This little doctor was too good at talking big.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t mind. She just continued to follow the treatment plan step by step. Finally, one day, she took out a set of gold needles and began to wipe and disinfect them one by one, slowly saying: ¡°These days, I have been massaging you, which helps to circulate blood and disperse blood clots as well as clear your meridians. I also had you take medicine every day to nourish your essence and repair your marrow. Now, your bone foundation is strong, so you might be able to withstand my acupuncture method. This method is divided into two steps. First, with the Mingmen, Changqiang, and Jizhong points: cover with moxibustion* herbs and heat thoroughly. Second, with the Shenshu, Huantiao, Juegu points: using a stable and nurturing technique, insert the needles, leaving them in for three quarters of an hour. We will do this once a day for seven consecutive days, then see if we need to adjust the course of treatment. Do you understand?¡±


    *Moxibustion is a type of treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) where herbs are burned close to the skin¡¯s surface. I took some translation liberties because the author¡¯s description of the treatment is similar to moxibustion, even though she never used the term.


    Niu Dabao didn¡¯t understand a single word, but he nodded and said, ¡°I understand.¡±


    The doorway of his house was crowded with people, pointing at the gold needles in Lin Dan¡¯s hand and saying, ¡°Look, this doctor is actually using gold needles. She¡¯s truly well-off!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s far more than just well-off, she¡¯s practically a millionaire! I heard that in order to treat Niu Dabao, she sent good rice and dishes, ginseng and deer antler every day. What is she after? Could it be that she took a fancy to Niu Dabao?¡±


    The two guards standing guard at the doorway drew out their saber from their waist, their faces filled with anger. The crowd of people whose tongues were wagging immediately shrank their necks and fled as if there was a demon after them.


    Mrs. Niu finally breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worrying that the villagers¡¯ gossip would drive the little doctor away.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t hear what the crowd said at all. She just concentrated on rubbing the moxibustion base single-mindedly. After rubbing, she put one on several key acupoints and lit them. When the youth felt that he couldn¡¯t endure the heat anymore, she extinguished them and crushed the moxibustion base so that it stuck on the skin. She wrapped it with gauze and left it for eight hours.


    After finishing the moxibustion treatment,* she took out the gold needles, supplemented them with internal energy, and plunged them into the key acupoints one by one, some of which were death points. Ordinary doctors would never dare to insert needles here, but Lin Dan was not afraid at all, her hands steady as a rock.


    *Literally ¡°Pill-Fire Heat Penetration Treatment¡±


    The two guards standing at the doorway both knew martial arts and had some understanding of the acupuncture points of the human body, so they could not help wrinkling their brow upon seeing this scene. But it was strange ¨C several death points had been punctured by gold needles, yet the young man was still lying on the bed, alive, without any abnormality.


    Every time Lin Dan placed a gold needle, she would gently twist the end of the needle. When she finished piercing all the acupoints, dozens of gold needles quivered and let out a faint hum, as if they were alive.


    ¡°The needles keep moving, what¡¯s happening?¡± Mrs. Niu¡¯s eyes were round, her expression stupefied.


    It was the first time the two guards had ever seen this type of phenomenon, so they could not help but take two steps forward, observing carefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. After three quarters of an hour, the gold needles will naturally stop vibrating. Then I can pull them out.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand, unconcerned. The energy she injected into the gold needles rammed into the acupuncture point, naturally causing the end of the needles to slightly tremble.


    Mrs. Niu nodded again and again, half believing and half doubting. The two guards watched intently, not realizing that they had big beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads, as if they were even more nervous than the patient.


    A quarter of an hour passed, and Niu Dabao didn¡¯t feel anything; after half an hour, he began to scratch the bed board restlessly; after three quarters of an hour, he finally opened his mouth, his heart filled with hope: ¡°Mom, I feel pins and needles in my legs! I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?¡±


    ¡°Dabao, where do you feel the pins and needles? Point it out so your mom can see.¡± Mrs. Niu rushed over, but did not dare to touch her son at all.


    Niu Dabao was lying flat, and he couldn¡¯t see his legs, so he could only raise his hand, pointing toward one spot and saying, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s prickling here, like there are ants under my skin. It¡¯s so painful.¡± Even though it was painful, he had a smile in his eyes. It had been so long since he had any sensation in his legs at all.


    Mrs. Niu took a closer look toward where her son was pointing; there happened to be a gold needle there. In other words, it wasn¡¯t that he was hallucinating out of expectation, but that Miss Lin¡¯s acupuncture was really effective!


    Thanks be to the heavens, thanks be to the earth, thanks be to buddha, thanks be to Miss Lin! Mrs. Niu folded her hands together to worship, and then kowtowed to Lin Dan, choking with emotion, and said, ¡°Dabao, you¡¯re not dreaming, the doctor placed a needle where you feel the prickling. You must endure and not touch anything randomly!¡±


    Niu Dabao¡¯s eyes flashed brightly, and he immediately stopped moving.


    Lin Dan helped Mrs. Niu up, then took out a small notebook, carefully recorded her treatment methods, and asked what the patient felt in detail. From beginning to end, her face was tense. The more she came to this type of moment, the more sober and calm she became, lest something go wrong. Instead of adopting her ancestor¡¯s treatment method as is, she made some additions and changes. Her method was a little radical and risky, but it worked quickly. She seemed to naturally be more steady, careful, and audacious than ordinary people. Even if there was no road ahead, she could use a machete to split open a path.


    After three quarters of an hour, when the gold needles stopped vibrating one by one, she efficiently pulled them out, then prescribed a dose of yang-nurturing anti-coagulant decoction, told Niu Dabao to boil it with water and drink it, then drink the dregs. After seven days, it would be switched out with a new prescription.


    ¡°Seven days is one course of treatment. I have drawn up four courses for you. After I leave, Mrs. Niu, continue massaging his legs. Don¡¯t slack off.¡± Lin Dan picked up the medicine chest and exhorted seriously.


    ¡°Thank you Miss Lin, thank you Miss Lin! Don¡¯t worry, I will do everything you say!¡± Mrs. Niu nodded again and again emotionally.


    Lin Dan finally left, and the two guards following her looked at her straight back with reverence. When Miss Lin first said that she would cure the general, they thought she was casually saying that just to stay in the Xue Manor and continue in her extravagant lifestyle. But now that they look at it again, they realized how superficial and disrespectful their understanding of her had been!


    What the general said about her was true. She was someone with a spine of steel who never spoke empty words, far more responsible than Second Young Master! In order to send her away, Madam Xue gave her five hundred taels of silver banknotes. She didn¡¯t spend a single penny of it on herself, spending it all on the general and other patients instead. If she was greedy for wealth, why would she have done that?

 CH 135

    By the third course of treatment, Niu Dabao was able to hold onto the wall and walk a few steps. The remaining course of treatment would just consolidate the effect; there shouldn¡¯t be any accidents with that. So far, Lin Dan had collected a thick pile of data, all of which were her insights and notes written down during the course of treatment. With this, curing Brother should be within her grasp.


    On this day, she said goodbye to Niu Dabao and Mrs. Niu, and after collecting enough herbs, hurried back home. She waited for Xue Boyong to finish dinner, clasped his hand, and said carefully: ¡°Brother, starting today, I will begin treating your legs.¡±


    Xue Boyong had already heard from the two guards and knew what Lin Dan had been doing in Fengtian Province, so he wasn¡¯t surprised.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± He reversed the grip and held Lin Dan¡¯s hand, his eyes full of trust.


    ¡°Brother, the method I use is comparatively risky. If you have internal strength, don¡¯t circulate it to resist, just accept mine calmly. After the first course of treatment, you should have a feeling of pins and needles in your legs; after the second course of treatment is over, the sensation in both legs should be mostly restored; and after the third course of treatment, you should be able to stand up and walk a few steps by yourself. However, Brother¡¯s body is much more fit than ordinary people, and you have outstanding martial arts skills, so you might not need three or four courses of treatment. Just one or two courses of treatment might already have amazing efficacy.¡± Lin Dan said calmly.


    ¡°Okay, I understand. Whether I¡¯m cured or not, I will be okay with the outcome. Don¡¯t feel too much pressure.¡± Xue Boyong took out his handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat off the girl¡¯s forehead. It was already midwinter, and even if the brazier was lit, it was still very cold inside. But Lin Dan, without realizing it, was covered in sweat. It could be seen that she was extremely tense. However, the guards said that when she treated that young man in Fengtian Province, she was cool-headed from start to finish, never once revealing an unconfident attitude. That¡¯s why it¡¯s said that care is chaotic; when all was said and done, treating irrelevant people versus treating loved ones were two completely different things.


    Thinking of this, Xue Boyong chuckled twice, his expression becoming more and more gentle. Lin Dan snatched his handkerchief and wiped the back of her neck as well, causing his low smile to grow into a wide one.


    A guard standing at the door suddenly said, ¡°General, this is a significant matter. Shall we inform the old madam and Madam and write a letter to the marshall general?¡± Marshall General Xue had returned to the manor once and, seeing Lin Dan taking excellent care of his son, left feeling reassured. Now, he had gone back to the border, he would not be able to come back home for a year or two even if he wanted to.


    ¡°No need to tell them. Grandmother is getting old, a rollercoaster of emotions will harm her health. My mother has an anxious temperament and will keep it on her mind all day long. Might as well wait for me to make a full recovery, then get up and walk in front of them.¡± Xue Boyong waved his hand to refuse. But the most important reason was that he didn¡¯t want to give Lin Dan too much pressure, and didn¡¯t want so many people to show up in front of her and disturb her composure.


    The guard nodded and no longer brought up reporting to the main courtyard.


    Lin Dan asked Xue Boyong to take off his shirt and trousers and lay down on the bed with only a pair of shorts on. She was about to rub the medicinal tablet when she heard him speak in a deep tone: ¡°When you treated that Niu Dabao kid, was he also in this state of dress?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Lin Dan blinked, her expression innocent.


    Xue Boyong secretly gritted his teeth, but didn¡¯t say anything else. The heart of the doctor was like a parent. In the face of human life and death, the differences between men and women are set aside, and this little girl didn¡¯t do anything wrong. He forced himself to ease back with great effort, and his face finally softened.


    Lin Dan had no idea what Xue Boyong was thinking. She just focused on rolling the medicinal tablets, placing the moxibustion base on his key points and lighting them. After they were heated thoroughly, she administered the needles. Brother¡¯s physique was indeed many times better than Niu Dabao¡¯s. As soon as the gold needles began to vibrate, he already had a reaction. His paralyzed legs started twitching uncontrollably.


    ¡°General, how do you feel?¡± All of the guards who had been standing guard outside the courtyard gathered at the doorway, looking at him nervously and expectantly.


    The feeling of being bitten by ants was obviously uncomfortable, but compared to not being able to feel anything at all, the current suffering was almost a delight. Xue Boyong gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m very good. I¡¯ve never been better!


    ¡°Brother, do you feel a slight prickling sensation right now?¡± Lin Dan gently twisted the end of the needle.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just a slight prickling, it¡¯s a very severe acidic soreness, like there are countless ants digging into my flesh.¡± Xue Boyong was unable to take his eyes off Lin Dan, lifting his cuffs to wipe the beads of sweat on her forehead.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t evade either, but instead tilted her head and rubbed her face against his sleeve. She was currently twisting the end of the needles with both hands, using the tremor of the needles to monitor the situation of the inner strength rushing the acupuncture point. She had no time to handle being soaked with sweat at all.


    Xue Boyong was amused by her kitten-like movement. Even if his legs were screaming in pain and his mind was tossing and surging violently, when he compared all of that to the solid person in front of his eyes, everything else seemed not to be that important. He often said that he didn¡¯t care whether this pair of legs were cured or not. He said this so that Lin Dan would not study until she burned out and not put too much pressure on herself, and they were not empty words. It was good to be healed, but even if he wasn¡¯t healed, his life was also very satisfying and happy.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t expect Xue Boyong¡¯s reaction to be so strong and broke out in cold sweat. When treating Niu Dabao, she could be as calm as water, but seeing Brother suffer with her own eyes, she felt extremely uncomfortable and even had an indescribable sense of panic.


    ¡°Brother, hold on, you just need to get through it.¡± She murmured these words repeatedly, not knowing whether she was comforting her brother or herself.


    Xue Boyong immediately suppressed his look of pain and then tried his best to control his twitching legs, soothing her: ¡°I feel much better.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Dan looked at the gold needles trembling incessantly with a somewhat uncertain expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not painful anymore, and not numb either¡­ my legs are beginning to have sensation.¡± Xue Boyong smiled slightly, as if pleasantly surprised.


    Lin Dan finally breathed a huge sigh of relief and sighed, ¡°No wonder there¡¯s that saying in the field, ¡®a doctor cannot heal oneself.¡¯ My heart was in such a mess just now, I almost messed things up.¡±


    Xue Boyong took her hand and patted it lightly, instantly feeling like his pain was gone, leaving only warmth and joy.


    After another three quarters of an hour, the gold needles stopped quivering. After pulling out the needles, Lin Dan boiled a bowl of medicine for Xue Boyong, personally watched him take it, lay down, and close his eyes, before returning to her room feeling relieved. But what she didn¡¯t know was that after she left, Xue Boyong sat up again, rubbing his sore and prickling legs, unable to fall asleep for a long time.


    ¡ª


    Half a month later, Xue Boyong began to go out frequently. The old madam and Madam Xue sent people to inquire about the situation, but only got the reply that he was ¡°going out to relax¡± with no other information, so they could only let him be. Going out of the Xue Manor was a good thing, better than being shut up at home.


    Lin Dan went out to practice medicine every day as usual, only coming back after dark. The old madam didn¡¯t care, but Madam Xue was not very happy. She often wanted to summon her to the main courtyard to reprimand her, but the servant girl sent to bring her would be given a severe tongue lashing by Eldest Young Master, and she came back to report weeping. Eldest Young Master¡¯s protection of Lin Dan had almost reached the point of not distinguishing between black and white, right and wrong. He supported everything Lin Dan wanted to do and gave her whatever she wanted without even asking for a reason.


    In just a short dozen days, half of the rooms in Xiaofeng Pavilion were converted into herb warehouses by Lin Dan. The courtyard was covered with various herbs drying in the sun; the smell could fumigate a person to death. Not only did Xue Boyong not stop her, he also bought a small courtyard belonging to the family next door, saying that he wanted to break down the courtyard wall and build more warehouses for Lin Dan to store herbs in.


    Madam Xue sometimes even thought: If Lin Dan wanted her son¡¯s life, he might be willing to give it up to her, right? He was simply poisoned by Lin Dan!


    Thus far, Lin Dan¡¯s influence on Xue Boyong had already reached a level that no one could replace. When she was in the manor, he was full of smiles. When she was not in the manor, he had a stoic expression, not saying a single word, neither happy nor angry, frighteningly cold. What¡¯s more, he would be too lazy to stay in the manor. Lin Dan went out on the front foot, and he also left on the back foot, only coming back with Lin Dan after evening fell. When he was being helped down from the carriage by the guards, his face was full of gentle smiles, as if he were a completely different person.


    Madam Xue looked on helplessly as her son relied more and more on Lin Dan. She didn¡¯t know whether to dissuade him or let him do what he wanted. She ran to the old madam to tell her about it, but the old madam waved her hand and gave her one sentence¡ª younger generations will do all right on their own. So, Madam Xue also stopped worrying about it, and let them do what they wished.


    The elder son¡¯s future seemed to have a landing place, but a problem occurred on the younger son¡¯s side. He stopped going to the barracks, stopped doing work, staying at home drinking himself drunk all day. Madam Xue didn¡¯t need to think hard to know that Wu Xuancao must have made some drama, which caused her youngest son to suffer.


    She was just preparing to have a heart-to-heart with her youngest son, and help him resolve his grief, but Wu Xuancao, whom she hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, came to the door by herself and even brought a lot of gifts. Madam Xue desperately wanted to inquire about the situation, but her younger son locked her outside the door. The two talked secretly for a while, then reconciled as before, making Madam Xue so angry her face flipped. She deeply hated that her belly was so unsatisfactory: the two sons she gave birth to were both so boneless, as long as a woman coaxed them for a bit, they became so confused that they couldn¡¯t find north!


    Since then, Wu Xuancao often came to the Xue Manor to have fun. One day, she coincidentally rescued the eldest grandson of the second branch, who had fallen into the pond in a moment of inattentiveness. The second branch shed tears of gratitude and felt extremely indebted to her. Whenever she came, the old madam of the second branch and their eldest daughter-in-law would personally accompany her, treating her like a valued guest. They even, from time to time, asked the old madam when she and Xue Jiming would hold their wedding.


    Although Madam Xue was very sullen, she was also grateful for Wu Xuancao¡¯s life-saving grace, and did not reject her as much as before.


    One day, Wu Xuancao heard that Xue Boyong¡¯s wheelchair was broken and was going to be taken to a carpenter¡¯s shop for repair, so she volunteered to help take a look. Since the wheelchair was invented by her, and the Second Young Master brought her over in person, the guards dared not obstruct them and invited them into Xiaofeng Pavilion.


    Wu Xuancao looked at the wheelchair and said that she could repair it, but she had no tools at hand, so she had the guards go find some. The guards did not suspect her and quickly departed. Wu Xuancao made another excuse to send Xue Jiming away, then quickly ran into Lin Dan¡¯s study and immediately trained her eyes on a big mahogany chest traced with gold.


    A thought violently reverberated in her mind¡ª yes, it was this chest! What you want is in here!

 CH 136

    Wu Xuancao reached out, as if bewitched, to lift the lid of the chest, but failed to move it a few times, only to discover that there was a copper lock hanging on it. She was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up, rummaging the room for the key, not letting off the drawers, vases, and even floor tiles.


    While she was rummaging through the bookshelf, Xue Jiming came back, frowned and said, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    She immediately pulled out a medical book from the shelf, pretending to be overjoyed: ¡°Jiming, look, the Myriad Medical Canon that I have been seeking for a while is here! Miss Lin¡¯s book collection is really extensive. I caught a few glances from outside the window, the tip of my heart caught fire, and I walked in. You also know that Physician Zheng and I are now studying your eldest brother¡¯s pulse day and night, and we have a faint idea of what to do. After reading this book just now, I had some inspiration, and I know what method to use now.¡±


    ¡°What method?¡± Xue Jiming¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Moxibustion, accompanied by acupuncture, should be able to cure your eldest brother¡¯s legs. Jiming, look, Miss Lin¡¯s place is filled with books about moxibustion and acupuncture, more than Physician Zheng¡¯s and my collection combined. If we could have the opportunity to study a few books, there might even be a breakthrough.¡± Wu Xuancao said heavily, as if making an promise.


    ¡°Really? Then just go ahead and read them!¡± Xue Jiming waved his hand generously.


    Wu Xuancao pointed to that chest and said, ¡°Are there also medical books in here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the medical books in here are the late Physician Lin¡¯s treasures. When I was young, I remember seeing him take them out to dry in the sun.¡± Xue Jiming drew out his dagger and directly pried the copper lock open.


    Wu Xuancao immediately crowded around it, feigning curiosity and flipping through the medical books, but her fingertips felt all around the bottom and top of the chest. She had clearly never seen this chest before, but she knew where the hidden compartment was installed, as if a supernatural force was guiding her to find what was originally hers. Very quickly, she found a double layer at the bottom of the chest, but pretended not to know, guiding Xue Jiming to discover it, then borrowing his hand to retrieve the Lin family¡¯s ancestral medical books.


    Looking at this set of medical books with covers sewn from blue silk, Wu Xuancao swallowed her saliva and felt her heart beating violently. Yes, this was it! The things that should have belonged to her since long ago had now returned to her hands! She couldn¡¯t wait to flip open the title page and was about to take a closer look, but, unexpectedly, Lin Dan came back early, throwing a pebble that hit her on the wrist and caused the book to fall.


    ¡°Who allowed you to touch my things?¡± She strode in, wrapping the whole set of medical books in fabric and holding them tightly in her hands.


    ¡°Miss Lin, you¡¯re back. Can you lend me this set of medical books to look through? I can just flip through them here and not take them away, is that okay? I promise to give it back to you after only taking a glance, a quarter of an hour is enough, really.¡± Wu Xuancao tried to humble herself as much as possible.


    ¡°No.¡± Lin Dan looked around at the overturned study with a frigid expression.


    When Xue Jiming saw that Wu Xuancao¡¯s wrist was red and swollen due to being hit by the stone, he immediately became angry, stretching out his hand to seize the books and cursing: ¡°Lin Dan, these books are worthless in your hands, so why can¡¯t you let Xiao Cao¡¯er take a look? Don¡¯t you remember that when we were small and didn¡¯t have the strength to chop firewood, you were going to burn these books and roast sparrows for me? If my father hadn¡¯t scolded you, how could they still be here safe and sound? You never cared about them, so why are they so precious to you now? Are you deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Cao¡¯er?¡±


    Hearing that the original host had wanted to burn these books as kindling, Lin Dan¡¯s expression distorted for a moment. Wu Xuancao was also a little speechless, and her decision to seize control of the medical books became even firmer.


    The two people began to fight in the study, but Xue Jiming was obviously not Lin Dan¡¯s opponent, and she shook his arm off two or three times, causing him to wail in pain. Lin Dan didn¡¯t even look at him, just glared at Wu Xuancao coldly and said, ¡°Get lost!¡±


    Wu Xuancao helped Xue Jiming out. Before leaving, she glanced back with a treacherous light in her eyes.


    Lin Dan cleaned up the disheveled study and was about to find a new place to hide her family¡¯s ancestral treasures, but she saw a maid walk in, saying that Old Madam was looking for her. She put the books in the basket on her back and strode over, passing through the Wisteria* Door.  From afar, she saw the main hall, doors wide open, only to find that Madam Xue, the old madam of the second branch, and several sisters-in-law were all there, as if they wanted to interrogate her.


    *literally ¡°drooping flower.¡±


    Xue Jiming, arm drooping, said with conviction, ¡°Grandmother, Mom, Xiao Cao¡¯er is extremely intelligent and skilled in medicine. She already has a clue on how to treat Brother, and Lin Dan¡¯s medical books are exactly what she needs to make more headway. Lin Dan, that dead girl, said that she wanted to study medicine, going out to practice every day, but who knows what she can do messing around like that, and I¡¯ve never heard anyone say that she has ever cured anyone. It can be seen that she¡¯s dull and has no aptitude; she will never make any achievements. Those medical books are wasted in her hands anyways, so why can¡¯t she lend them to Xiao Cao¡¯er to take a look? If she can receive inspiration and find a way to treat Brother, wouldn¡¯t that be an amazing achievement?¡±


    Who knows when he had been invited, but Zheng Zhe, who was also there, stroked his beard and said, ¡°I heard Physician Wu say that Miss Lin has an extremely extensive collection of books. If this old man may be allowed to read one or two, it will certainly allow me to make some progress.¡±


    ¡°But those books are the treasures that the late Physician Lin left to the Lin girl.¡± Old Madam said, in a difficult situation.


    ¡°Grandmother,¡± Xue Jiming said resentfully, ¡°What treasure or whatever? You don¡¯t really think Lin Dan, that wench, treasures those books, do you? If it wasn¡¯t for her making the excuse that she¡¯s studying medicine so that she could brazenly stay in our house, those medical books would¡¯ve already been piled up in some storage room somewhere long ago, collecting mold! Have you ever seen her take care of them? Have you seen her study them regularly? When she was younger, she even tore those books to fold little origami stars!¡±


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao frowned upon hearing this, their expressions filled with pain, and Old Madam finally seemed to soften.


    Madam Xue considered it and said, ¡°How about I make an executive decision to loan these medical books to the two honorable physicians? We can just make it so that you¡¯re not taking all of them away; just borrow five copies at a time and send them back after you¡¯ve finished reading them.¡±


    Old Madam finally nodded and said: ¡°Let¡¯s do it like that. Which books do you two want to borrow? Give me a list. With my old face,* the Lin girl will not be able to disagree.¡±


    *face, referring to reputation, standing; old refers to her seniority. Together, it also refers to her authority.


    They took it for granted that Lin Dan was still the same Lin Dan as before, placing no value on these medical books, so they thought it would be easy to persuade her. People were all selfish. If only this matter didn¡¯t involve Xue Boyong¡¯s legs, they would just sit on the sidelines observing. But Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao kept saying that these medical books were useful for Xue Boyong, so they would make every attempt to get them for the two of them no matter what. In any case, Lin Dan didn¡¯t have the talent to study medicine and the books would only be gathering mold in her hands, so why not give it to others?


    Every person in the room had their own thoughts and calculations, but no one considered Lin Dan¡¯s feelings and wishes. Hearing up to here, everything Lin Dan wanted to say disappeared, and she silently walked in, kowtowed three times to Old Madam, and said, ¡°Many thanks to Old Madam for disregarding past enmity and allowing me to stay in the manor. Now that my task has been completed, I will take my leave.¡± Then she left Xue Manor with big strides, carrying only a bamboo basket and a small hoe, not even taking a change of clothes.


    Old Madam and Madam Xue fell into a daze for a long time before their spirit returned to their bodies, and they quickly ordered people to chase after her. However, Lin Dan practiced medicine in the wilderness every day; her pace was fast and she had long since vanished into the street, leaving only an empty Xiaofeng Pavilion and a courtyard full of drying herbs.


    Xue Jiming¡¯s dislocated arm had already been relocated by Zheng Zhe, and he sneered as he rotated his shoulder: ¡°Why chase after her? She didn¡¯t bring a single penny and will come back by herself sooner or later. Do you really think she is willing to give up the glory and wealth of Xue Manor?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop talking!¡± Madam Xue¡¯s heart was in a mess and she didn¡¯t know how she would explain everything to her eldest son when he came back. She had no choice but to admit that the current Lin Dan was the apple of Eldest Son¡¯s eye, and he would be willing to lose anything in the world except for her. If he knew that people in the manor had joined forces to pressure Lin Dan until she left, who knew how furious he would be.


    Old Madam clutched her chest and murmured, ¡°How could the Lin girl leave so easily, without any compromise? I thought she had changed for the better, but I didn¡¯t expect her temper to be more stubborn than before.¡±


    A senior maid added fuel to the fire: ¡°Old Madam, Miss Lin has had a good life. You used to be the one spoiling her; then, when she entered Xiaofeng Pavilion, Eldest Young Master also spoiled her. Naturally, this temper of hers became more and more headstrong, to the point where she refuses to listen to a single rebuke.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just borrowing a few books, why be like this?¡± Old Madam sighed again and again, with a distressed and bitter look on her face.


    However, Wu Xuancao did not care about the turn of events just now, and insistently said: ¡°Old Madam, Madam, can we still borrow Miss Lin¡¯s books?¡±


    ¡°Borrow them, of course you can borrow them, you can just go find them yourselves. When you have picked them out, it would be better if you made a list of which ones you took. In the future, when the Lin girl returns, I will give her the list for her to check, or else she might lose her temper again. Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t be away for long. She has no money, no place to stay, no food to eat; she will be back in at most four hours.¡±


    If it had been the original host, Old Madam¡¯s analysis would be absolutely, 100% prophetic. But right now, the one who left was Lin Dan, and if they wanted her to come back, it would probably be impossible in this lifetime. The original host¡¯s debt had been paid off in full. She and Xue Manor owed nothing to each other, so if she could cast off those fetters, why wouldn¡¯t she do so? When she leaves, there is a vast sky waiting for her, and she will naturally spread her wings and fly higher and higher.


    After leaving Xue Manor, she picked out a few taels of silver from her purse, planning to conveniently find a cheap inn to stay in, and then make money practicing medicine. After she had saved up enough money, she would open a clinic and become an in-house physician. As soon as she walked out of the south side of the city, a fast horse rushed straight toward her. Seated on the horse was a young man with red lips and white teeth, extremely feminine-looking, who kept brandishing his whip and shouting, not at all concerned about the safety of pedestrians.


    Seeing that the horse¡¯s hooves were about to trample a woman to death, Lin Dan hurriedly ran over and pushed the woman, but startled the horse, causing the boy to be thrown into the air. As Lin Dan subconsciously caught the other party, she accidentally put her hands on the boy¡¯s chest, and, feeling a soft, plump sensation, was momentarily stunned. Although the young man had an appearance as beautiful as a sunrise and a gentle and feminine temperament, he had an obvious Adam¡¯s apple on his neck. He was clearly male! Out of a doctor¡¯s intuition, she immediately put two fingers on the boy¡¯s wrist to check his pulse.


    The teenager struggled as he got up, covering his chest tightly, and saying venomously, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you! Come, someone tie her up for me and take her back to the manor!¡±


    The several guards who rushed over behind him immediately whipped out their sabers from their waist and pointed them at Lin Dan¡¯s neck. Lin Dan originally thought about resisting, but her eyes turned* and she willingly froze, then obediently followed the group to leave.


    *this turn of phrase means that a person has an idea or a sly or clever thought

 CH 137

    Translator: thornling | Editor: thornling


    Lin Dan was escorted into a manor with her hands tied. As she walked through the front gate, she lifted her head and glanced up. Seeing a plaque hanging from the beam with ¡°Xuanping Marquis Manor¡± written in big characters, she immediately understood in her heart. In the original host¡¯s memory, this Xuanping Marquis was the number one soft rice* king in Great Qin. Relying on his pretty face, he won the favor of the eldest princess. He married up, jumping from being the down-and-out son of a petty official to Xuanping Marquis in one leap in a meteoric rise. But he had a licentious nature and couldn¡¯t control his lower body. Even though he married a princess, he still didn¡¯t change his dissolute and fickle instincts, attracting peach blossoms everywhere.


    *Slang word referring to a man who leeches on a woman. He usually comes from a poorer background, is unemployed, and waits for his woman to earn a living and sometimes even do the chores. Bonus points if he¡¯s also a cheater.


    In the beginning, the eldest princess ruthlessly resolved each and every case, dealing with all of the women he attracted. A wedge was driven between husband and wife and they lost their affections for each other. He was honest for a few years and then reached his branches out again ¨C no longer daring to loiter in brothels, he turned to find girls from respectable families. His face really was that handsome, and, adding his luxurious attire and aristocratic mannerisms, as soon as he hooked his finger, women were fooled. One fell into his embrace, and the next followed, wave after wave.


    He raised five or six mistresses in a row, and made seven or eight illegitimate children. When he didn¡¯t have enough money, he went back to the manor to ask the eldest princess for more. Whether he lied or coaxed her, he would always get gold, silver, and jewelry from the eldest princess to support his mistresses. The eldest princess wasn¡¯t an idiot either. She quickly realized what was happening. Her heart finally cooled to ash, and she closed the door to focus on raising her single young son by herself, never again caring about his romantic affairs.


    But Xuanping Marquis took it as a sign that the princess had compromised, so he brought back his mistresses one by one and brazenly kept them in the manor. The eldest princess had nothing to say, merely sneered and divided the Xuanping Marquis manor ¨C which is to say, her own princess manor ¨C into two. She occupied the majority of the residence, leaving only a small square courtyard for Xuanping Marquis and his women and children to live in. She completely stopped caring about their food, clothing, and other living expenses and made Xuanping Marquis take care of them with his own salary.


    Xuanping Marquis¡¯ salary was only a little more than fifty taels a month, which wasn¡¯t even enough for his own expenditures, so how could he afford to provide for so many people? He immediately started kicking up a fuss, crying and shouting to apologize to the eldest princess in an attempt to reconcile with her. But the eldest princess had already lost all of her feelings for him. If it weren¡¯t for her son needing to smoothly inherit the marquis position in the future, she would¡¯ve kicked him out long ago.


    Presumably, this young man in front of her, whose appearance looked like spring flowers, must be the only son of the eldest princess, Zhu Yimin, that is, the heir of the Xuanping Marquis. He often went in and out of the palace and was doted on by the emperor, but he seldom went out and about and did not like to participate in social activities. Therefore, the original host did not know much about him.


    But what kind of person he was was not important to Lin Dan. She only knew that he was a patient, urgently needing treatment, and that was enough. After being locked in the woodshed, she found a haystack and lay down, feeling very calm.


    On the other side, the little prince clutched his chest and ran into the main courtyard with a deathly pale face, wailing and shouting, ¡°Mom, Mom, something bad happened! You have to save your child!¡± At this time, where was his brash, domineering, ruthless, and vicious style? He was clearly only a little kid who was scared out of his wits.


    The eldest princess put down her teacup heavily and scolded: ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you to be calm and steady at all times? Even if the sky is falling, there are tall people to hold it up. What are you afraid of? Didn¡¯t I tell you not to go out whenever you wanted? Why didn¡¯t you listen?¡±


    ¡°I, I thought that winter clothes were thicker, so most people shouldn¡¯t be able to see it.¡± The little prince gripped his collar tightly with tears in his eyes: ¡°I didn¡¯t think that my horse would be frightened and gallop chaotically downtown, almost trampling someone to death. I also fell off the horse and was rescued by a little girl. The little girl touched my chest; she probably knows something now. Mom, what should I do? She did save me, after all. I can¡¯t just kill her to keep my secret, can I?¡±


    The eldest princess rubbed the middle of her eyebrows with a gloomy expression. What she feared the most had finally happened. Her son had originally been perfectly all right, but for some unknown reason, his chest became plumper day by day, and his lower body also hurt so much that it basically lost its function. Since then, his skin was glossy and smooth, his facial hair didn¡¯t grow, and his features became more and more beautiful, as if his gender had changed. Seeing that his chest was getting bigger and bigger, to the point where he could no longer cover it, the eldest princess was so worried, her hair almost whitened overnight.


    Her son¡¯s illness could never be made known to outsiders; otherwise his title of heir could not be kept, and he might even be accused of being a demon and then be burned to death. Thinking of such an outcome, the eldest princess shuddered and didn¡¯t dare to invite an imperial physician for him at all, lest any news be leaked. These days, she had been thinking about whether she needed to go to another country to find a doctor, but she didn¡¯t expect an accident to happen so quickly.


    ¡°Where is she? What¡¯s her background?¡± The eldest princess smacked the table and said: ¡°No, Bengong* has to personally go and see.¡±


    *¡°This palace,¡± one of the various royal ¡°I¡±s used in Chinese. This one is often used by female royalty.


    The capital was said to be a small world, but it could also be said to be a big world. You could casually walk around the street a few times and meet one or two powerful people, so prudence in conduct was extremely necessary. The eldest princess dared not dispose of people at will, lest small matters became big problems, and big problems became never ending issues. She hurriedly arrived at the woodshed, even forgetting to open her umbrella. She cut a sorry figure, with her hair and skin covered with snowflakes, which her two most trusted senior palace maids were wiping off of her with handkerchiefs. All of the surrounding guards were sent away to avoid having too many people, as there could be spies mixed in with the crowd.


    Zhu Yimin hid behind the eldest princess and peeked out at Lin Dan, his expression a little ashamed.


    ¡°Which family are you from?¡± The eldest princess walked slowly to Lin Dan¡¯s side and looked down at her with drooping eyes.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. All you need to know is that I can cure your son¡¯s illness.¡± Lin Dan opened her eyes. Seeing the blushing cheeks of the indescribably beautiful eldest princess, she couldn¡¯t help staring blankly.


    The eldest princess¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she grit her teeth and said, ¡°How come Bengong didn¡¯t know that my son is ill?¡± This little girl was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet as soon as she opened her mouth, she said that she could cure this unusual illness. She wouldn¡¯t be a swindler, would she? Before she found out her background, the eldest princess would never let down her guard.


    Lin Dan stared at the eldest princess attentively, and said confidently: ¡°Not only can I cure your son¡¯s illness, but I can also cure yours.¡±


    Zhu Yimin said in surprise: ¡°How come I didn¡¯t know that my mom is ill?¡±


    Lin Dan chuckled, thinking that this mother-son duo was really interesting. Even their wording was the same.


    The eldest princess patted her son¡¯s head, her tone frozen: ¡°That¡¯s right, how come Bengong didn¡¯t know that I¡¯m ill, but you already know about it?¡±


    Lin Dan got up from the haystack, saluted and said, ¡°No need to put on a brave face, Your Royal Majesty. Although your majesty¡¯s complexion is tender and pink, as colorful as peaches and plums, having an appearance of health, your majesty has actually been plagued with a serious illness for many years. If I¡¯m not mistaken, ever since you gave birth to the little prince, I¡¯m afraid your majesty hasn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s rest ever since, am I right?¡±


    The two senior palace maids¡¯ pupils flickered slightly, and they tried their best to hold back from glancing at their master.


    The eldest princess remained unmoved and sneered coldly: ¡°Oh, tell me more. Where is Bengong ill?¡±


    Zhu Yimin promptly jumped out and hollered: ¡°Yeah, where is my mom ill? You list all of the ins and outs for me right now. If you¡¯re wrong, I¡¯ll have people kill you right away!¡±


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t even look at this toothless little unweaned puppy who liked to bounce around. She just stared at the eldest princess and gently said: ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s complexion is flushed red, not because of the cold frost and snow, but rather because of internal fire ascending in your body. During a cold day in winter, your majesty is wrapped in thick clothes, but you only wear a pair of thin unpadded shoes ¨C and yet your legs and feet show no signs of being frozen stiff at all. It can be seen that internal fire is tossing about in the Shaoyin acupoint in the foot, along the kidney meridian, to the well acupoint,* with no way out. It rushes to the head and face, which is actually because the scorching yang energy is too weak to control the kidney yin energy, causing the yin fire to boil up and the soles of your feet to burn hot. If I¡¯m not mistaken, deep into the night, every night, the heat will burn blazing hot in the soles of your majesty¡¯s feet, which must disturb you so much that your majesty can¡¯t get a peaceful night¡¯s rest. When you¡¯re exposed to even a little bit of cold, your knees will feel awfully sore and cold to the bone. When it¡¯s severe, even standing is out of the question, and you need to lie in bed all day long recuperating. Your majesty¡¯s yin fire is vigorous, so your complexion is rosy and your eyes are clear, as if extremely healthy, but your majesty¡¯s root bones have actually been almost boiled dry, isn¡¯t that right?¡±**


    *A transitional acupuncture point found in the fingertips and toe tips.


    **Translator¡¯s note: (My family does TCM, so I will try my best to explain. Please do be aware that the author has made some of this up, so it doesn¡¯t all make sense.) All of this talk about fire, energy, yin, yang, is qi (chi, internal energy). Yin is negative energy, yang is positive energy. According to TCM, yin and yang need to be in balance for optimum health. If either one starts overpowering the other, illness sets in. In the eldest princess¡¯ case, her yin energy (associated with her kidneys) is much stronger than the yang energy. When yin energy is too strong, a corrupted version of yang energy, which is this scorching or burning internal heat, rises up, which is why it¡¯s very common for people who have sleep problems (associated with the kidneys/yin) to have hot feet. (The meridians of the kidney run down to the feet.) Also, since she has an overload of yin energy in her body, even the slightest bit more cold or yin energy will make things much worse.


    The eldest princess finally showed a surprised look, but she still couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe that the little girl in front of her could see through her illness at a glance. That¡¯s right, she really had been ill for more than a dozen years. Every night, she had to stick her feet out of the quilt and step on cold jade in order to fall asleep, but she couldn¡¯t stay asleep for more than a few hours because she was constantly awakened by the scalding heat. Her appetite grew weaker day by day and her body became skinnier day by day. Whenever she felt even a little cold, her knees seem to be wrapped in a layer of ice, both sore and cold, but the soles of her feet felt like she was stepping on hot coals, making her want to jump up. That feeling was truly so painful she had a hard time describing it.


    Bystanders said her complexion looked good, but they would never have guessed that she was terminally ill! She invited countless imperial doctors and drank countless decoctions, but there was no effect at all and she gradually despaired.


    ¡°So what if you¡¯re right? Even imperial physicians can¡¯t cure this disease. Don¡¯t tell me that you can cure it?¡± The eldest princess¡¯s hoarse voice hid her anxiety.


    Lin Dan took a whiff of the strong smell of herbs on her body, then shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that they can¡¯t cure it, but that they used the wrong medicine from the very beginning. Your majesty¡¯s illness is caused by the rise of yin and the fall of yang. Your majesty¡¯s yin fire waxes, your yang fire wanes, yet the imperial physicians¡¯ prescriptions nourish yin, supplement your majesty¡¯s kidneys, and decrease internal heat, as well as purging your bones by heating them up. This exacerbates your yin fire. How could it have the desired effect? If I smelled it correctly, your majesty has recently changed the prescription and started taking yang boosting, fire scattering soup. Remember, in the philosophy of yin and yang, yang is the root of yin; if you boost yang, yin will grow. The imperial doctors want to boost your majesty¡¯s yang fire, which indirectly causes your majesty¡¯s yin fire to grow, inversely aggravating your majesty¡¯s condition. In this way, even if you undergo dozens more years of treatment, Your Majesty will never make a recovery.¡±


    The eldest princess secretly pondered her words, and the more she thought about it, the more she thought it made sense. Her half-believing expression was gradually replaced by her suppressed excitement, and she immediately softened her tone and asked, ¡°May I ask this young lady¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°This subject¡¯s surname is Lin. I¡¯m just a novice rural doctor, not worth mentioning.¡± Lin Dan was not being self-deprecating at all. She truly believed that her skill level was still very shallow.


    However, the eldest princess absolutely didn¡¯t dare to look down on her anymore. She quickly took off her own cloak, draped it over her shoulders, respectfully invited the guest into the main courtyard, offered hot tea, and then finally began to ask about the treatment method. She had been ill for more than a dozen years, and this young lady had a way to cure it. If she wanted to treat her son¡¯s strange illness, it should be no problem.


    The little prince dizzily followed his mom all the way around in a big circle, but he was also faintly aware that there seemed to be hope for him!

 CH 138

    Lin Dan was escorted into Xuanping Marquis Manor all trussed up, but in less than an hour she had been invited to the main courtyard as the eldest princess¡¯ respected guest. She drank a bowl of ginger soup to warm her body, then dispelled the eldest princess¡¯ doubts: ¡°In the case of Your Majesty¡¯s illness, neither nourishing yin nor nourishing yang will work, or else the symptoms will worsen.¡±


    The eldest princess suddenly felt extremely confused, and worriedly said: ¡°None of the usual methods can be used, so how can my illness be treated?¡± It was only now that she realized that it was not the imperial hospital¡¯s physicians that were useless, but her own illness that was too bizarre; it was impossible to treat it as a normal disease.


    Lin Dan pondered for a moment, then said slowly: ¡°The Mingmen (life gate) is located in the Xiajiao (lower burner)*, which contains the true fire** of the human body, the source of qi transformation. I would not replenish yin fire, nor yang fire, but directly prescribe medicine that affects the Xiajiao to replenish your majesty¡¯s true fire. When your true fire grows, yang qi grows, and when yang qi grows, yin fire weakens. When the time comes, your majesty will naturally be cured of all diseases.¡± After her words fell, she rolled up her sleeves and asked politely, ¡°Where is my bamboo basket? My pen, ink, paper, ink-stone, and pulse pillow*** are in it. I have to carefully check Your Majesty¡¯s pulse before I can formulate a prescription.¡±


    *One of the ¡°triple burners,¡± the Xiajiao is below the belly button.


    **True fire is also known as origin qi, and comes from the kidney.


    ***A small pillow to rest patients¡¯ wrists on while taking their pulse.


    The two senior palace maids hurried to the woodshed and brought all of Lin Dan¡¯s belongings, not even daring to overlook the little hoe that had mud all over it.


    The eldest princess muttered to herself: ¡°Neither replenishing yang fire nor replenishing yin fire, but directly replenishing true fire? Good, good, Physician Lin really is a brilliant doctor, not conforming to the mold!¡±


    In the Dao of Medicine, the worst habit was to be overly rigid. Many would rather go through many more twists and turns and use a few more types of herbs, all to avoid the most direct path. But Lin Dan was completely different. Her scope of vision and line of thinking, in many cases, could help her discard the surface symptoms and directly see the most essential inner workings. This also caused her prescriptions and acupuncture to be much bolder than ordinary doctors. She might even have come closer to transcendence than that famous, impressive ancestor of hers.


    But she only practiced medicine in the countryside, and most of the patients she cured were ignorant and inexperienced, sometimes not even knowing that they themselves had been suffering from a terminal illness. How would they know what level her medical skill had reached? The patients didn¡¯t find anything unusual, and she also had an ancestor shining through the ages that she compared herself to, so she naturally didn¡¯t know what realm she was in.


    If the treatment plan she had so easily drawn up had been revealed to the public, it would certainly astonish the entire medical world. The other doctors couldn¡¯t even find the root of the illness, but she could accurately diagnose it with just a glance and come up with the most efficient treatment method. How extraordinary were her medical skills?


    The more the eldest princess thought about it, the hotter her heart became. She pointed at her son and said, ¡°Physician Lin, please take a look at my son¡¯s illness. How can he be treated?¡±


    Zhu Yimin hurriedly hid behind his mother, but was forcefully hauled out by the other party and pushed in front of Lin Dan. He hurriedly wrapped one arm around his chest, covering his face with the other, like a young girl who had been harassed.


    Lin Dan pulled his hand away and said, ¡°Can you take off your clothes and let me take a look? What are the symptoms and when did they start?¡±


    ¡°The symptoms started two months ago. First, there was dull pain in the lower pouch*, with redness and swelling. Soon after, his chest swelled up day by day, his sleep was plagued with dreams, his temper became irritable, his appetite decreased, his stool was hard and dry, the sides of his chest were swollen and unbearably painful, his skin became smooth and glossy, and his facial hair stopped growing.¡± The eldest princess waved her sleeves, and the two senior palace maids immediately captured the little prince and stripped off his clothes in three or two moves.


    *Euphemism. Comment if you don¡¯t understand.


    Zhu Yimin covered his chest with all his might while shrieking, and his white and tender cheeks had become a patch of red. If a bucket of water had been poured over his head right then, he would definitely have given off steam.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of covering yourself? What you have, I also have.¡± Lin Dan¡¯s one sentence made him shut his mouth completely.


    The corner of the eldest princess¡¯ mouth twitched, as if she wanted to laugh, but she held herself back. This was the first smile she had shown since her son had fallen ill.


    Lin Dan firmly touched the little prince¡¯s chest, took his pulse again, and waved her hand: ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem, it¡¯s just that his yin pouch* has inflammation, and since it hasn¡¯t been dealt with for a long time, it led to his yang water* being exhausted. All we need to do is eliminate the inflammation, supplement yang energy, dissolve the stagnant qi in the liver and stomach, and soften the knots and disperse the clots. To recover even faster, I can mix a few more doses of Returning Spring powder for him. Add water to give it a pastelike consistency, apply on the affected area two times a day, two to four hours each time, and the symptoms will be gone within seven days.¡±


    *Euphemism. Comment if you don¡¯t understand. (The author had to censor these.)


    The eldest princess said with tears of gratitude: ¡°If the symptoms can be eliminated in seven days, my Xuanping Marquis Manor will be in Physician Lin¡¯s debt! Many thanks to Physician Lin for disregarding previous conflicts to treat my son¡¯s illness, many thanks!¡±


    Zhu Yimin looked at Lin Dan with glistening eyes, looking like he wanted to thank her but was too bashful to open his mouth.


    But Lin Dan didn¡¯t even look at him. She just took out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, wrote a few prescriptions, and had the eldest princess send someone to get the medicine. After all of this, she saluted and said: ¡°Your illnesses are not major problems, but before your symptoms subside, you may not be at ease for me to leave the Marquis Manor. Would you rather arrange for me to stay?¡±


    The eldest princess had just been considering how to go about firmly making her stay without being rude, but she didn¡¯t expect her to speak first, which saved a lot of trouble. Even someone as noble as the eldest princess would not dare to casually offend a doctor with such excellent medical skills, but fortunately, the other party could read the situation and was an extremely tactful and clever person, the type that was the easiest to communicate with.


    The eldest princess¡¯s favorable impression of Lin Dan continued to rise, and she promptly held her hand and said in an intimate tone: ¡°It would be my honor for Physician Lin to be able to stay in the manor. Yaozhu (jade pillar), Pantao (saturn peach), bring Physician Lin back to Furong (cotton rose) Pavilion to wash up!¡±


    Furong Pavilion was the most luxurious courtyard in Xuanping Marquis Manor. Usually, the eldest princess only let the extended royal family spend the night there, yet today she invited Lin Dan to stay there. It could be seen how much she valued ??Lin Dan.


    The two senior palace maids did not dare to neglect anything at all; one helped carry the basket, the other helped carry the hoe, and they led the guest way with the utmost courtesy. The little prince finally softly clung to the eldest princess and asked with tears in his eyes: ¡°Mom, can I really get better? My illness is only caused by inflammation, not yin and yang in one body*?¡±


    *A euphemistic way to say hermaphrodite/intersex, where one person has the reproductive organs for both sexes.


    ¡°What nonsense are you saying! Physician Lin already said, as long as the inflammation is eliminated, the knots are softened, and the clots are dispersed, you will be fine. If you had yin and yang in one body, wouldn¡¯t she have seen it? For now, you just need to calmly stay at home for treatment. Don¡¯t run all over the place!¡± The eldest princess consoled with her mouth, but her heart still hung up high, for fear that Lin Dan had also misdiagnosed. But out of all the doctors she had met, Lin Dan was the one whose words made the most sense and whose vision was the keenest. If she couldn¡¯t even believe Lin Dan, she really didn¡¯t know who to believe.


    ¡ª


    Lin Dan found a place to stay, but Xue Manor, on the other hand, had become a complete mess. This was because Xue Boyong hurried back after receiving the news and directly ordered guards to tie Xue Jiming up, hang him on the door beam and flog him with a whip.


    Xue Jiming wailed that he was being unjustly punished, his voice so loud the whole manor could hear: ¡°Brother, I did everything for your own good! Lin Dan could never understand those books, so why not lend them to Zheng Zhe and Xiao Cao¡¯er to take a look? Their medical skills are better than hers by who knows how many factors. If they have a revelation, they may be able to cure your legs. Good things can only be effective when they are in the hands of people who can recognize good things. Lin Dan pretended to hold those books up and read them; it¡¯s been more than a year now, and did she achieve anything? Brother, you bite the hand that feeds you and return kindness for malice! It¡¯s just a few books, but you¡¯re already flogging me with a whip. Don¡¯t tell me that in your heart, Lin Dan is even more important than your own brother?¡±


    Old Madam and Madam Xue gathered around Xue Boyong to persuade him to stop, but they did not dare to grab his whip, extremely nervous that they might knock him out of the wheelchair and add injury to injury.


    ¡°If you help yourself to someone¡¯s things without asking, that¡¯s theft. You stole Lin Dan¡¯s belongings, but you¡¯re still somehow justified?¡± Xue Boyong laughed grimly: ¡°How do you know that her medical skills are not good? How do you know that those medical books are useless in her hands? Those are the last things her father left her, more precious than any gold, silver, or jewelry! Someone come, go to Xuancao Hall immediately, and bring back all of Lin Dan¡¯s belongings. If even one book is missing, it will be on your heads!¡±


    Several guards accepted the order in unison and went out on horseback.


    Xue Boyong lifted the hem of his clothes, unhurriedly stood up straight, and said word by word, ¡°My legs have been cured by Lin Dan. From this day on, if anyone makes things difficult for her, it will be the same as disrespecting me. I will not forgive it easily.¡± After he spoke, he threw the nearly broken horse whip aside and left the main courtyard without looking back, his steps steady and stable.


    Old Madam and Madam Xue were stunned, Xue Jiming, who was hanging from the beam, was stunned, and all the servants whom he walked past were stunned, each revealing looks of astonishment and disbelief.


    ¡°That, is that Eldest Young Master?¡± A servant girl stammered.


    ¡°It¡¯s Eldest Young Master, it is! Eldest Young Master¡¯s legs have completely recovered and he can walk again!¡± Someone cheered, rousing the extremely shocked Old Madam and Madam Xue.


    It wasn¡¯t until now that Old Madam understood why when Lin Dan left, she said that her mission had been completed. It turned out that she had cured Eldest Grandson¡¯s legs a long time ago. But she neither asked for repayment, nor became so pleased that she lost her sense of measure, nor broadcasted the news publicly. She still took care of Eldest Grandson as meticulously as always, and quietly went out to practice medicine and save people. Without those medical books, she would not have made the accomplishments that she had today, and Eldest Grandson would not have recovered to the healthy state he was in today. All of those were the treasures left to her by her father, and they were exclusive skills passed down through the family. How could others covet them?


    But they not only enabled Wu Xuancao and Zheng Zhe, but also took the initiative to lend her family treasures out. Wasn¡¯t this forgetting favors and violating justice, destroying the bridge after crossing the river? Lin Dan was so angry that she left, and when she left she cast away all of the books her family left her, showing that her heart had become completely cold to the Xue Manor. She had already thoroughly learned an exclusive skill. When she went outside, the sea was wide for the fish to leap freely, the sky was high allowing birds to fly unhindered. How could she come back? And the Xue Manor offended such a miracle doctor. If Eldest Grandson¡¯s condition recurred in the future, who else could they find?


    The more Old Madam thought about it, the more anxious she became and the more remorse she felt. She picked up the horse whip and personally flogged Xue Jiming, berating him: ¡°What right do you have to insult Lin Dan and call her an unlucky star? All of this is because you made a mess of things. As soon as your brother¡¯s legs had even a little improvement, you teamed up with Wu Xuancao again to force Lin Dan away. If something else goes wrong with your brother¡¯s legs, can you saw off your own legs and connect them to him? You can¡¯t command troops, you can¡¯t handle military affairs, you only think about romance all day long. You¡¯ve grown this big, but have you ever done anything well? That Wu Xuancao borrowed books on the surface, but secretly coveted other people¡¯s exclusive skills, she¡¯s also nothing good! It¡¯s only because you¡¯re blind that you see something in her!¡±


    Madam Xue completely ignored her severely beaten younger son, and continuously instructed the servants, ¡°What are you still standing around for, hurry up and bring the Lin girl back! Hurry up!¡± She hadn¡¯t known at all that her son¡¯s legs had recovered, and she also didn¡¯t know if the problem would recur. If Lin Dan wasn¡¯t here, she couldn¡¯t put her heart down. If she had known that Lin Dan was so promising, she would have worshiped her as her own ancestor!


    At the same time, Xue Boyong had just been sending people to look for Lin Dan everywhere. He sealed up her study, sent troops to guard it, and didn¡¯t allow a single person to approach.


    An hour later, the guards who went to the Xuancao Hall to demand the medical books returned. They pointed to an extra book and said, ¡°General, we found this book in Wu Xuancao¡¯s clinic. She rigidly insisted that this book was bought from an antique store and absolutely was not one of Miss Lin¡¯s belongings, can you take a look?¡±


    Seeing the familiar cover, Xue Boyong immediately realized that this book was definitely part of the inheritance left by the old Lin ancestor. The title page had the three words Xing Lin* Spring. Flipping it open, what was written inside wasn¡¯t a medical technique, but an internal energy cultivation method. In the appendix, it was very clearly written ¨C in order to practice the Lin clan¡¯s medical skills, this method must first be cultivated, otherwise the acupuncture and massage techniques will be ineffective.


    *This is a phrase with multiple meanings. It literally means apricot grove, but refers to TCM because of one well known doctor who, when patients couldn¡¯t pay the medical fee, would ask them to plant an apricot tree instead. It also has the same Lin as the Lin family.


    Xue Boyong had seen Lin Dan¡¯s set of books, so how could he not know that this Xing Lin Spring was not among them? But he closed the cover and said with certainty, ¡°This is indeed the little girl¡¯s book, and should be returned to its original owner.¡± At this point, he finally understood Wu Xuancao¡¯s plan. It was because she acquired this volume by chance, learned about the inheritance of the Lin clan, and saw that Lin Dan had several other volumes in her hands, so she struck up crooked intentions and wanted to put together a complete set. Avaricious and insatiable, a snake wanting to swallow an elephant, this idiom was precisely referring to her.

 CH 139

    After getting the prescription drawn up by Lin Dan, the eldest princess treated it like a treasure. She drank one dose at noon and one dose in the afternoon. When she went to bed at night, the yin fire in the soles of her feet actually weakened by a lot, and she even felt slightly cold sticking them out of the quilt. The effect could be said to be immediate. Since giving birth to her son, she had never slept peacefully, even once, but tonight she slept extraordinarily sweetly. When she woke up in the morning, the flush on her cheeks had faded, but her whole body had loosened up, as if a burden of several hundred cattys* had been lifted overnight.


    *Unit of weight.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness, how do you feel?¡± The two senior palace maids hurried over to inquire.


    ¡°Bengong feels the best I¡¯ve ever felt!¡± The eldest princess said, full of vitality: ¡°Go take a look at Min¡¯er. Physician Lin¡¯s medicine has a miraculous effect, and after only taking two doses, Bengong has greatly recovered. Min¡¯er should also have had some changes.¡±


    The group hurried to the little prince¡¯s courtyard, dragged him, still asleep, out of bed, and opened his clothing to check. Before he went to sleep last night, Lin Dan had prepared Returning Spring powder, then told the servants to mix it with water and apply it on him, leaving it on without wiping it off all night. By this morning, the paste had dried up, leaving only a strong medicinal smell. The abnormal bulging in his chest had reduced by a lot, leaving only a slight swell.


    The eldest princess was overjoyed and repeatedly cheered. Zhu Yimin woke up slowly. When he saw that his clothes had been stripped off by the two aunts, he first shrieked, then noticed the changes in his chest. He looked at it in disbelief, then squeezed it a few times, and then threw himself into the arms of the eldest princess, crying with joy: ¡°Mom, I¡¯ve gotten so much better! Mom, I don¡¯t feel pain down there anymore either! Mom, I¡¯m finally not going to be a woman, I¡¯m so happy, wu wu wu*¡­¡±


    *Chinese onomatopoeia for crying, similar to ¡°boo hoo.¡±


    The eldest princess rubbed his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: ¡°Who told you that you were going to be a woman? You were born a boy, could Mom have gotten it wrong? This time it¡¯s all thanks to Physician Lin. If it weren¡¯t for her, your chest would only swell more and more. Later on, you have to apologize to her and make amends, understand? Without her, who knows what would¡¯ve happened to you in the future!¡±


    ¡°I know, I know! As long as my chest can shrink back down, I would even kowtow to her.¡± Zhu Yimin covered his chest, shedding tears of gratitude. Lin Dan¡¯s grace to him was like giving him a new lease of life. He would definitely repay her in the future!


    After being emotional for a long time, Zhu Yimin grabbed the eldest princess¡¯ sleeve again and asked anxiously, ¡°Mom, did you get any better? Did you sleep well last night?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also gotten much better. Physician Lin really prescribes medicine like an immortal. After only two doses, my yin fire is already under control. She said that our symptoms would be completely gone within a week; it seems like those weren¡¯t empty words.¡± The eldest princess was full of admiration.


    A senior palace maid gasped with admiration and said: ¡°This Physician Lin is truly incredible. She¡¯s so young, but her medical skills are so brilliant. There are so many diseases that imperial physicians cannot cure, but in her hands, the disease is cured the moment the medicine is taken. Yesterday, when she revealed her treatment plan to neither replenish yin fire, nor replenish yang fire, but directly replenish true fire, we were all extremely shocked. Her methods are indeed, truly¡­¡± She thought for a while, but couldn¡¯t find any words to describe it.


    The eldest princess smiled and said: ¡°Her methods are fast, ruthless, and accurate, not like a doctor, but more like a general who kills and attacks decisively. It is said that one can tell a doctor¡¯s style of handling matters through their medical techniques; I finally understand what they mean. Those imperial physicians in the imperial hospital have been in the muddy waters of bureaucracy for a long time, and one by one, they¡¯ve learned to shirk responsibility*, causing their prescriptions to become more and more conservative. If they cannot cure the illness, at least the patient won¡¯t die. Physician Lin¡¯s treatment method, directly striking at both the symptoms and the root, is really rare to see. In the future, our Marquis Manor will still be relying on Physician Lin for quite a few things. You must wait upon her with the utmost care, do you understand?¡±


    *Literally, ¡°practice tai chi,¡± a slow martial art valued (especially by the elderly) for its health benefits. It encourages redirecting attacks through circular motions.


    The two senior palace maids hurriedly agreed with solemn expressions.


    Just at this moment, a servant girl walked in and whispered: ¡°Your Highness, General Xue, Xue Boyong is here, saying that he wants to pick up Physician Lin and bring her back.¡±


    ¡°Back, back to where?¡± The eldest princess looked surprised. Judging from Lin Dan¡¯s clothing, she had really  thought she was just a country girl.


    ¡°Back to the Xue Manor. It turns out that Physician Lin was an orphan taken in by Marshall General Xue. Yesterday, the young heir bumped into her while she was going out to collect herbs.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then go and invite Physician Lin to come over. It¡¯s up to Physician Lin whether she wants to go or to stay. Do not stop her.¡± The eldest princess urged seriously, but at the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Fortunately, she had never been rude to Physician Lin, otherwise she would not only have offended Xue Boyong, but also have harmed the rest of her son¡¯s life.


    Although Xue Boyong had been paralyzed, in the emperor¡¯s heart, he was still his right hand official. Ever since he had left the border and returned to the capital to recover, the Wei and Wu kingdoms had repeatedly sent troops to invade, but no one had since been able to sweep away the invaders and pacify the seas like he had. Without him, the Qin kingdom was like a tiger without teeth; anyone dared to tease the tiger¡¯s whiskers. The more this was the case, the more the emperor realized his importance, and these days, he had mobilized the entire kingdom to find a miracle doctor for him.


    Speaking of miracle doctors, the eldest princess immediately thought of Lin Dan, and said, ¡°Since there¡¯s Physician Lin, those legs of his¡­¡±


    The maid replied immediately: ¡°To answer Your Highness, General Xue walked here on foot.¡±


    The eldest princess¡¯ eyebrows jumped up, and ¡°as expected¡± was written across her expression. Of course, with Physician Lin around, how could Xue Boyong¡¯s legs be incurable? Since it¡¯s like this, it would be even worse to offend these two, and she had to go meet with them personally. Thinking like this, she immediately walked towards the rear courtyard. From a distance, she saw the scene of the two staring at each other, so she pursed her lips and smiled, then quietly retreated. No wonder he chased her so urgently, it turns out it was that type of a chase*¡­


    *Literally ¡°the man has affection, the concubine has intentions,¡± meaning a mutual romance.


    Seeing Xue Boyong standing in front of her, Lin Dan was surprised: ¡°Brother, did you not sleep well last night? You have dark circles under your eyes.¡±


    Xue Boyong touched his eyelids and chuckled bitterly: ¡°I couldn¡¯t find you, so how could I sleep? Lin Dan, are you willing to go back with me?¡±


    Lin Dan immediately shook her head: ¡°No, I¡¯m not willing.¡±


    This answer was obviously within Xue Boyong¡¯s expectations, so he did not show a disappointed expression, just nodding slightly, his eyes dim. He sometimes felt that Lin Dan was very close to him, as if he could just stretch his hand out and catch her, but other times he felt that she was so far away that if he blinked, she would disappear without a trace. For this reason, he had once tossed and turned, losing sleep at night. But now, what he feared most had still happened. Lin Dan was such a strong and independent person, no one could make her stay if she wanted to leave.


    He lowered his eyes and savored the bitterness in silence.


    Lin Dan was the most sensitive to his emotions, so she explained patiently: ¡°Brother, the reason I don¡¯t want to go back to Xue Manor is not because you¡¯re not good to me, but because I don¡¯t get the respect I deserve. They see me as an object, not an independent person. They can give away my things whenever they want; they can enter my room whenever they want; they can keep or send away my people with just a single sentence. My value is based only on your health. I¡¯m just a non-essential accessory. But Brother, when I go outside, I am a person with a name and a surname, a flesh and blood human, and the label on my head is no longer ¡°the adopted daughter of the Xue family,¡± but Lin Dan, a Lin Dan who truly exists. Brother, do you understand how I feel?¡±


    The rims of Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes were sour, and he nodded again and again: ¡°I understand, of course I understand. I had said a long time ago that whether I am well or not has nothing to do with you. I wanted to save your life, and I have never been resentful toward you. Actually, every time I think of that day, I rejoice in my decision. I bore suffering in your place for you to live in peace for the rest of your life. You having a good life is the most important thing, as far as I¡¯m concerned. If you don¡¯t want to go back, then you don¡¯t have to. I won¡¯t force you.¡±


    Lin Dan let out a long sigh of relief, and a smile finally appeared on her fair face.


    Xue Boyong also began to smile and continued: ¡°There¡¯s just one thing. I want to take you somewhere and show you something, are you willing to come with me?¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± She still trusted Xue Boyong very much.


    The two left Xuanping Marquis Manor and came to a storefront on Xing Lin* Street. There were three connected blue brick tile-roofed buildings on the outside, which could be used as a clinic, an apothecary, and a storeroom. The inside was a small four-sided courtyard that could be used as a residence. The door beam in front of them had a plaque hanging on it, with the three words ¡°Ji Shi (helping the world) Hall¡± written on it, and currently, two guards from Xue Manor were on a ladder, carefully taking it down.


    *The same characters as the Xing Lin Spring book. Again, Xing Lin means apricot grove and refers to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).


    ¡°This is the clinic I¡¯m giving you. The original shop owner was suppressed by Xuancao Hall across the street, lost all of their business, and had to close.¡± Xue Boyong lifted the curtain of the carriage and pointed to the storefront.


    Just as Lin Dan was about to shake her head, he immediately added: ¡°Don¡¯t rush to refuse, just listen to me. This clinic is not a free gift. If you make money in the future, Brother will take 50% of the profits. Also, if I am sick, you have to diagnose and treat me free of charge. How¡¯s that?¡±


    Lin Dan considered for a moment, and finally nodded: ¡°Okay.¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes darkened, and he added: ¡°Don¡¯t rush to agree, this agreement will be valid for a lifetime. That is to say, as long as I get sick in this life, no matter if you¡¯re at the ends of the earth, you must come back to treat me.¡±


    Lin Dan nodded again and said decisively, ¡°Of course!¡±


    Xue Boyong was finally able to smile happily.


    At this moment, Wu Xuancao saw the carriage from Xue Manor, and looking in through the open curtain, found Xue Boyong and Lin Dan sitting inside. She immediately came over and said, enduring humiliation, ¡°Brother Xue, the book you took yesterday is mine. Can you please return it to me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, since it¡¯s yours, why is Lin Chaoxian¡¯s name written on the title page? Who Lin Chaoxian is, Lin Dan, do you know?¡± The first half of Xue Boyong¡¯s words was full of cold ridicule, but the second half was gentle like water.


    ¡°Lin Chaoxian is my ancestor. I have a genealogy here. Do you want to take a look, Physician Wu?¡± Lin Dan¡¯s reaction was fast and she immediately followed up on Xue Boyong¡¯s words.


    Wu Xuancao had no evidence to show that the book was her own, and it clearly listed the names of the ancestors of the Lin family. Even if she filed a lawsuit, she would still lose with no suspense. Fortunately, she had a highly retentive memory, and had already imprinted the contents of the book into her brain. It didn¡¯t matter whether she could get it back or not; she just couldn¡¯t stand Xue Boyong¡¯s blatant banditry.


    ¡°Brother Xue, you should understand the principle of ¡°leaving a way out, being on good terms in the future,¡± right? Your legs are still paralyzed, so don¡¯t offend a doctor too much. Keep in mind that one day, you might have to come to the door and ask for help.¡± After cultivating Xing Lin Spring, Wu Xuancao had a faint trace of inner strength. As long as this inner strength was combined with acupuncture and massage techniques, it would be extremely effective. It didn¡¯t matter if Lin Dan took away the other parts of her inheritance. She could explore other existing medical canons on her own. She didn¡¯t believe that with her own wisdom, she couldn¡¯t surpass these people living in ancient times!


    Xue Boyong stepped out of the carriage with his long legs, and said slowly: ¡°Oh, with Lin Dan by my side, I¡¯m not sure whether I¡¯ll ever ask you for help? But please, Physician Wu, feel free to wait your turn.¡± After he spoke, he held out his hand and helped Lin Dan get off the carriage.


    Lin Dan looked at her own clinic, then looked at Xuancao Hall across the street, and thought: Why did I open a shop across the street again? Wait, that¡¯s not right, how come I used the word ¡°again¡±?

 CH 140

    After Wu Xuancao came to this world, she flipped through many medical canons. The subject which occupied the most text was none other than stories about Lin Chaoxian. As early as several hundred years ago, he was able to open skulls and abdominal cavities to treat people¡¯s diseases. He could also use golden needles to restore the sight of cataract patients.


    However, due to chaotic warfare between kingdoms and gaps in the cultural record, his medical arts were gradually lost. Wu Xuancao had always been skeptical about these stories, but now, seeing Xue Boyong standing in front of her with her own eyes, she felt reverence toward the ancestors¡¯ medical skill for the first time.


    Did traditional Chinese medicine actually work? This issue had been debated endlessly by later generations. With the development of western medicine, the philosophy that traditional Chinese medicine was useless had gradually become mainstream belief. However, the ancient Chinese people relied on traditional Chinese medicine to treat diseases for thousands of years and left behind many ancient treatments. How could those be explained?


    Wu Xuancao was a surgeon, and only after she transmigrated here did she understand whether Chinese medicine worked or not. One of her colleagues once said that if a western medicine doctor transmigrated back to ancient times, they would probably have no choice but to become a butcher. And after she arrived, she had a deeper recognition of this viewpoint. Without high-end medical equipment, various antibiotics, special medication, and sterile operating rooms, her scalpel was completely useless.


    When a patient came for treatment, she didn¡¯t even know what kind of disease they had without a B-scan or an x-ray. If she hadn¡¯t made a name for herself by sewing up wounds and won over Zheng Zhe, then relied on his medical skills to deal with patients, this clinic would have folded long ago.


    Doing things with the title of ¡°miracle doctor¡± on her head every day had long made her full of unease. She was extremely eager to learn Chinese medicine to make herself worthy of the name. After obtaining Xing Lin Spring, her desire peaked in an instant. She had a vague intuition that as long as she could obtain Lin Chaoxian¡¯s inheritance and combine it with western medicine, she would definitely be able to create a new age of medicine in this backward era.


    She had a lot of faith in herself, and at the same time looked down on Lin Dan even more because she didn¡¯t know how to use the treasures in her hand. Because only she knew, without Xing Lin Spring, the inheritance Lin Dan had was the same as rubbish. Since that was the case, why not hand the entire inheritance over to someone who knew how to use it?


    But now, Xue Boyong¡¯s legs, which were in perfect condition, were like a huge palm viciously slapping her, making her blush up to her ears and shocked beyond words.


    ¡°Your, your legs have completely recovered?¡± Her voice was extremely hoarse.


    But Xue Boyong ignored her, pulled Lin Dan¡¯s wrist, and walked straight into the storefront. When he got inside, he took out a medical book he had tucked into his robe and handed it to Lin Dan: ¡°This is a medical book I found at Wu Xuancao¡¯s place. It should belong to your family. All of the books that Xue Jiming lent out yesterday, I have helped you get back. They are now locked securely in Xiaofeng Pavilion. When will you start living in the clinic? When the time comes, I will have someone deliver you those books.¡±


    Lin Dan caressed the book cover, her eyes bright: ¡°This indeed belongs to my family. Thank you, Brother!¡± Being able to find the missing part of the inheritance was truly a pleasant surprise.


    ¡°No need to thank me.¡± Xue Boyong rubbed the little girl¡¯s head. After one day and one night of panic, he was finally able to slowly calm down.


    Three days later, both the eldest princess and the little prince had mostly recovered from their illnesses. After taking medicine for a few more days to consolidate the recovery, they should be able to recover completely. Lin Dan checked the two¡¯s pulses, cut a few things from the prescription, and then told the maid to grab the herbs. When she was done, she prepared to leave and buy some furniture and have it delivered to the clinic.


    Her newly opened medical clinic was called Xing Lin Spring. The signboard had already been made, blatantly hanging right in front of Wu Xuancao¡¯s eyes. As long as she lifted her head and saw it, she would think of that medical book and the inheritance that she had narrowly missed out on. One can imagine the flavor of the feeling in her heart.


    Maybe she lost all consideration, or maybe she hated Lin Dan and Xue Boyong to the bone¨C she actually wrote the entirety of Xing Lin Spring down from memory and gifted it to Zheng Zhe, hoping that he could use his superb medical skills to understand the foundation of the Lin family and then impart it to herself. In this world, there were many smart people. Lin Chaoxian wasn¡¯t the only one; what he could come up with, others may not be unable to recreate.


    After Zheng Zhe got the medical book, he locked himself in his room and studied it day and night. As for all of these things, Lin Dan still didn¡¯t know anything about it at the moment. She was currently pouring out the silver taels she had saved up onto the table, concentrating on counting them one by one. At this moment, there were loud sounds from outside the courtyard as if someone was chopping something with an ax, and then a wave of commotion.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± She immediately went out to check the situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, the rabble next door just broke down our door.¡± The maid named Yaozhu sneered and waved her hand.


    Lin Dan walked out of the courtyard door, but saw a handsome middle-aged man aggressively rushing into the main courtyard, followed by two alluring and graceful women and a strong man with an ax. The middle-aged man raised his voice and shouted: ¡°Li Tong, Li Tong, show yourself! All those years ago, you clearly gave birth to a daughter, so why did you pretend it was a male heir to deceive me? If you don¡¯t give me a clear explanation, I will go to the palace and report you! I¡¯ll tell them you muddled my Zhu family¡¯s bloodline, and also muddled the royal bloodline!¡±


    The eldest princess sat on the main seat with a frozen expression and was about to scold the man, but Zhu Yimin, who was sitting next to her, exploded first, stripping off his upper garment without a second word, exposing his flat chest, and roaring: ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Whether or not I¡¯m a man, don¡¯t you have eyes to see? Mom, father is spouting off so much nonsense, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s gone mad. You should quickly find a doctor for him to check his brain!¡±


    The man stared at Zhu Yimin¡¯s flat chest and was stunned, but the two concubines following him shrieked and hurriedly averted their gaze.


    The eldest princess smashed a teacup and said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re so audacious that you even dare to chop down Bengong¡¯s front door. It seems like you¡¯re tired of living! Come, catch him and tie him up with rope! These two concubines disrespected their superior*. Bengong wants them dragged out and severely beaten!¡±


    *They caught a glimpse of the little prince¡¯s naked chest.


    After her words fell, she slowly stood up, pretended to wipe the non-existent tears in the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and said sorrowfully, ¡°Min¡¯er is clearly a boy, but the Marquis somehow believes he is female. I¡¯m afraid the Marquis ate the wrong medicine and lost his mind. Bengong will enter the palace right away and invite an imperial physician to take a look at the Marquis. Lock the Marquis in the woodshed lest he grab an ax and injure someone. Min¡¯er, if the Marquis is truly seriously ill, this household will have to rely on you to support it, do you understand?¡±


    Zhu Yimin got dressed and nodded repeatedly. After getting used to Lin Dan seeing and touching him, he already completely opened his mind. Wasn¡¯t it just a naked body? This prince will let you see your fill!


    It was only then that the middle-aged man realized that the princess was serious this time. She was planning on imprisoning him on the grounds of insanity so that Zhu Yimin could inherit the title in advance. It was because he had too easily believed the information he had received that he broke down the door with great fanfare. Not only did all of the servants in the manor hear his ravings, but even the neighboring Ning* Prince Manor, separated by a single wall, probably heard it too. It would be impossible for him to redeem himself.


    *This is a title that means ¡°peaceful.¡±


    He immediately went limp, hurriedly groveling to the eldest princess and begging for mercy for himself. The two concubines who had urged him on, he hated to the bone, so why would he care whether they lived or died?


    The eldest princess understood that there was a traitor among her people. Otherwise, Xuanping Marquis, this trash, would never dare come and look for trouble this aggressively. Fortunately, she met Physician Lin and averted disaster, saving her son¡¯s title and even his life! Thinking of this, the eldest princess immediately went to the rear courtyard, personally expressed her gratitude to Lin Dan, and gave her a small jewelry box full of gold ingots. ¡°Physician Lin, for your great kindness, Bengong can¡¯t thank you enough. This is a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it. In the future, if you have any request, Bengong will never refuse you.¡±


    Lin Dan opened the little box and said, ¡°Your Majesty need not be so formal. This is the best repayment I could ask for. My medical clinic has just opened and there are still many things to be purchased. Your Majesty doing this is really like sending charcoal in snowy weather*. I have already drawn up the prescription, so you can just take it accordingly; there shouldn¡¯t be any issues. Since there are some things happening in the manor, I will take my leave now. In four days, I will return for a follow-up consultation.¡±


    *An idiom meaning ¡°to provide help in one¡¯s hour of need.¡±


    The eldest princess had to enter the palace and meet with the emperor, and also had to dispose of the traitors in her household, so she really had no extra effort to spare to attend to Lin Dan. If anyone in the manor had ulterior motives and deliberately offended her, it would not be good. Moreover, after three days of interacting, the eldest princess already had a very good understanding of Lin Dan¡¯s personality. She never spoke any flattery and was not very good at social interaction, but in everything she did, she was always calm and steady. She would never publicize a patient¡¯s secret illnesses; in fact, she would disdain to do so.


    The eldest princess thanked her again and again, then personally sent her out of the manor. She then changed into formal court dress and entered the palace. Xuanping Marquis was locked in the woodshed, and no one responded to his shouting*; he was truly pitiful. Those little concubines and bastard children of his were much too scared to come over and check out the situation. They just hid in their rooms, trembling.


    *Literally, ¡°Cried out to the heavens, but the heavens didn¡¯t respond; cried out to the earth, but the earth didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    Lin Dan had always been proactive, and by the second day that she had returned to the clinic, she was able to open it for business. Opposite Xing Lin Spring was Xuancao Hall, where two miracle doctors were in residence; when a patient came, they would directly go across the street, too lazy to even glance at her signboard. But she was not anxious at all. She just sat in the hall, flipping through medical books and meridian diagrams. At meal times, she would go to the rear courtyard and cook. Her days passed in a very leisurely manner.


    Xue Boyong came for breakfast in the morning, then went to the barracks to train; he came for lunch at noon, then took a short nap before leaving; he came for dinner in the evening, then sat down to chat with her about interesting things that happened during the day, and finally returned to Xue Manor. He had long ago become used to spending time accompanied by Lin Dan, and without her, everything in his life seemed to have no flavor.


    Lin Dan is also very used to Xue Boyong¡¯s company. If he didn¡¯t come one day, or if he came late, she would even run over to the barracks to inquire about him, which made Xue Boyong unable to stop grinning in his heart. Once in a while, maybe one or two days, he would deliberately come a little late and wait for the little girl to come and find him. That feeling of anticipation and sweetness would stay with him for days.


    The days passed in tranquility. Xing Lin Spring¡¯s business was desolate, but Xuancao Hall across the street became more and more prosperous. After Zheng Zhe came out of isolation, his medical skills greatly improved, and he joined hands with Wu Xuancao to treat a patient with a bloated abdomen. They cut open his belly and removed a sarcoma weighing more than ten catties* from his abdominal cavity, saving the life of someone who had been hanging by a thread.


    *More than 6 kg or 13 lbs.


    After the news came out, the entire capital was shaken. The names of Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao spread all over the kingdom of Qin in an instant, and even the emperor heard about them and personally summoned them to meet him. Xuancao Hall became the first choice of patients for quite a while. Some foreigners even hurriedly traveled for consecutive days and nights to ask the two miracle doctors to treat them.


    Suddenly one day, a woman collapsed in front of the door to Xing Lin Spring, and the man who was supporting her looked up at the signboard and shouted anxiously, ¡°Wrong one, wrong one! This isn¡¯t Xuancao Hall, you must hold on a little longer!¡±


    Lin Dan walked out the door and carefully checked the woman¡¯s pulse, but did not force them to stay. Instead, she pointed to the opposite side and said, ¡°Xuancao Hall is on that side, just two steps away.¡±


    Zheng Zhe heard the commotion and had already run out. Seeing that the woman was really struggling to hold on, he diagnosed her on the spot. Passers-by hurriedly crowded around and discussed spiritedly, ¡°Look, this is Miracle Doctor Zheng who removed a tumor by cutting open someone¡¯s abdomen! This madam is really lucky. She managed to get to Xuancao Hall before she died, so she will definitely be saved!¡±

 CH 141

    Zheng Zhe was an experienced doctor. He had made breakthroughs in his medical skill recently and had become more skilled in administering acupuncture and medicine. He just took a brief look at her pulse and said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, have you constantly suffered from abdominal pain and vomiting year round?¡±


    The strong man who was supporting the woman nodded repeatedly, ¡°Yes, yes, yes, doctor, what you said is extremely accurate. My woman does suffer from abdominal pain frequently, often accompanied by vomiting. This time it lasted for three days and three nights, so I invited many doctors but they couldn¡¯t treat her. That¡¯s why I rushed to get an ox cart to take her into the city for treatment. Doctor, please save her!¡±


    Zheng Zhe waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she just has normal gastroenteritis. Just take a few doses of Baohe (protect and harmonize) Decoction.¡± After he spoke, he shouted toward the medical practitioners in the clinic, ¡°Go and brew a Baohe Decoction immediately! I need two people to come here and help carry this madam inside to settle her down.¡±


    Several apprentices agreed in succession. Some went to brew medicine and some came to help lift the person.


    Listening up to here, Lin Dan instead took two steps forward, blocking their way, and carefully warned: ¡°Physician Zheng, there is a big problem with your treatment. I took this madam¡¯s pulse just now as well¨C she does suffer from gastroenteritis, but¡­¡­¡±


    Before she could finish her sentence, that woman cried out mournfully, as if in severe pain. Her husband shoved Lin Dan away and scolded: ¡°We¡¯re already at this stage, so why are you wasting time with nonsense? Can¡¯t you see that my woman is dying of pain? Hurry up and get lost! If you delay my woman¡¯s treatment, I will smash your signboard into pieces!¡±


    The watching passers-by sneered: ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right, you should quickly get out of the way! Don¡¯t interfere with other¡¯s illness. You¡¯re an inexperienced, young little doctor. How dare you challenge Physician Zheng? You¡¯re really going mad for attention and fame! You also said that this madam was inflicted with gastroenteritis. Everyone here knows that Baohe Decoction was a divine medicine developed by Physician Zheng and has a miraculous effect on gastroenteritis. After one dose, the patient will be mostly recovered. Could it be that you can make a medicine better than Baohe Decoction?¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head and said, ¡°But it¡¯s true that Baohe Decoction cannot be used for this illness¡­¡±


    Someone next to her interrupted again, ¡°Whatever, why don¡¯t you just drop it! Obviously, this madam can¡¯t hold on much longer. What you¡¯re doing is murdering people, did you know that?¡±


    Somebody mixed into the crowd and muttered: ¡°Hey, I recognize her! She often goes to our mountain village trying to treat people, saying that she doesn¡¯t charge a fee if she can¡¯t treat them. In the end, after a whole year, having treated eighty to a hundred people, she only received payment twice. You can imagine how awful her medical skills are.¡±


    Lin Dan followed the voice and looked over, and the person who spoke immediately shrank his neck and hid, but the people around him all exploded, laughing at her for having an exaggerated opinion of her own abilities. Some people accused: ¡°Your medical skills are so poor, so how could you even open a clinic? If you do things like this, what¡¯s the difference between you and a killer? A killer charges money for killing people, and you also charge money for killing people, but at least they won¡¯t be sued for taking a life. Sooner or later, you¡¯re going to get yourself beaten to death!¡±


    The woman gritted her teeth and glared at Lin Dan fiercely while moaning. Her husband was even more straightforward, directly ramming Lin Dan away. He then cooperated with several medical practitioners to lift the woman in as quickly as they could.


    Before he left, Zheng Zhe said sincerely and earnestly: ¡°What crime is it to live? If one does not die of illness but because of a doctor, it would be better not to have a doctor than to have one. If you have no talent for learning medicine, it is better not to study it. Little girl, if your medical skill is not proficient, it is better to go out and practice. Don¡¯t be in a hurry to open a clinic. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Lin Dan nodded and said: ¡°You¡¯re right, if you have no talent for learning medicine, it¡¯s better not to study it. I will return this sentence back to you. Did you really investigate the symptoms of that person? Before she takes the medicine, I advise you to take a closer look. The madam is not sweating, has a murmur in her chest, has thick phlegm stuck in her throat, and her voice cuts in and out, this is¡­¡±


    But it was a pity. Her words were once again interrupted, this time by Wu Xuancao, who was hurrying out: ¡°Master, a patient is still waiting for you.¡±


    Zheng Zhe immediately walked toward Xuancao Hall. Although something flashed in his heart, he didn¡¯t catch it. He had another patient with a cramping bellyache who needed treatment. Judging from the symptoms, it should be an intestinal carbuncle*. He had to do surgery and open his abdomen to cut off the rotten part of the intestine. Eight or nine out of ten patients with intestinal carbuncles died from abdominal pain. But the solution he and Wu Xuancao jointly came up with, although risky, did have a very high probability of success. If the patient could make a full recovery, the names of him and Wu Xuancao would be permanently recorded in the annals of history and shine in the world of medicine alongside Lin Chaoxian.


    *WARNING, GROSS MEDICAL INFO: A cluster of boils filled with fluid, pus, and dead tissue.


    Thinking like this, Zheng Zhe¡¯s heart burst into flames, and he immediately walked into the inner hall with Wu Xuancao to persuade the patient¡¯s family members to agree to their treatment plan. It was a pity that the patient was very timid. Even if he was in so much pain that he rolled all over the floor, he still adamantly refused to allow them to cut open his abdomen. His family members also didn¡¯t dare to gamble with his life. They just shook their heads and refused to relent.


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao were a little discouraged, and said: ¡°You have been in pain for two days in a row. The burning and toxicity are too high; your flesh is withered and rotten and has turned into pus, which may lead to abdominal inflammation or even an intestinal infarction*. When the time comes, even we will have no way to treat it. Go back and think about it. In this capital city, I¡¯m afraid that doctors who dare to accept patients with this condition, other than us two, don¡¯t exist.¡±


    *A decrease in blood supply to the intestines.


    The patient was already delirious from pain. His family hesitated for a short period of time, but still did not dare to agree.


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao were helpless and could only look on as they left. Just now, that other madam had recovered after drinking Baohe Decoction. Her stomach was no longer in pain, her complexion was ruddy, and, without needing her husband¡¯s support, she walked over and thanked Zheng Zhe repeatedly.


    Seeing that the woman was carried into Xuancao Hall on her dying breath, but came out healthy and active, the passers-by¡¯s evaluation of Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao climbed another level again. They kept chattering that the two doctors could bring people back from the dead.


    Lin Dan stood at the doorway and looked at that woman with heavy eyes. She originally wanted to go forward, but was stopped by some busybodies who grinningly mocked: ¡°This young lady over here, you said that Physician Zheng is not proficient in medicine. Now look. At the end of the day, who¡¯s the one who actually isn¡¯t proficient? If you had stopped her from taking the medicine, I¡¯m afraid this madam might have already died of pain.¡±


    ¡°Why are you still talking nonsense with her? Just don¡¯t go looking for treatment from her in the future. I don¡¯t know who gave her the courage to open a clinic opposite Xuancao Hall.¡±


    Seeing that Lin Dan still wanted to come over and pester them, the strong man hurriedly pulled his woman to leave. Lin Dan was stopped by a few hoodlums, and couldn¡¯t follow even if she wanted to, so she could only give up. Just when she was about to pull free and fix those ruffians, several guards came over with big sabers and forcefully asked, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    The several hooligans turned pale with fright, trembling like chaff, and were unable to talk for half a day. Seeing that these officials were unsheathing their sabers, they immediately screamed and fled in all directions.


    Xue Boyong had gone to the street corner to buy fruit for Lin Dan, so he came back a step late. He saw the backs of these people and a murderous aura flashed through his eyes, but the moment he saw Lin Dan, he immediately restrained it and smiled gently: ¡°It¡¯s already past noon, but you didn¡¯t pick me up from the barracks today. Was it because you were being pestered by these scoundrels? The environment in the capital is getting worse and worse. Petty criminals are running rampant. It seems like I have to present a memorial to the emperor and ask him to rectify public security in the capital.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not because they were bothering me, it¡¯s because there was a misdiagnosis.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand, her worried expression already completely gone.


    When she practiced medicine in the countryside, she said that she would not receive money if she could not cure the disease. So, people from ten miles and eight provinces around all came to find her for medical treatment, but no one was willing to pay. If she went to their door to ask, they immediately lay down and pretended to be sick and tried to act dumb. Some of them even, while pretending to be sick, would try to defraud her and then get people to surround her to beat her up.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Lin Dan having bodyguards as well as her own martial arts, she probably would have died outside long ago. She had only been practicing medicine for a year, but she had already seen the ugliness of human nature and her expectations for humanity had long since fallen to the lowest point. She never expected to be trusted, protected, or even loved, so she did not feel saddened when she was being attacked, insulted, or doubted.


    If that lady had been right in front of her, out of a sense of morality, she might try to do something. But the other party had already left, so whether she was dead or alive, it was no longer any of Lin Dan¡¯s business.


    Lin Dan had no expectations for this world, but Xue Boyong was the only exception. He didn¡¯t hate her because of those unbearable past events, but instead trusted and respected her very much and protected her wholeheartedly. This kindness, Lin Dan took in and remembered in her heart.


    She took the frozen pear that Xue Boyong handed over and said calmly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who misdiagnosed, it was the other side. But it¡¯s nothing now. Brother, what do you want to eat? I¡¯ll go cook it now.¡±


    ¡°I want to eat dumplings. You knead the dough and I¡¯ll dice the stuffing.¡± Xue Boyong rolled up his sleeves, not at all conscious of ¡°gentlemen stay away from the kitchen.¡±


    Lin Dan immediately became happy and said, ¡°What a coincidence! I also want to eat dumplings. Brother, let¡¯s make dumplings with cabbage and pork stuffing. There are still a few cabbages in the cellar, so we might as well use them all up today¡­¡±


    The two talked as they walked into the inner hall together, side by side. One tall and one petite silhouette looked very harmonious together, and there was even a sense of intimacy that made it difficult for outsiders to intrude. Xue Jiming, who had come to Xuancao Hall to find Wu Xuancao, happened to see this scene, his expression extremely complicated.


    Ever since Eldest Brother¡¯s legs got better, he rarely stayed at home for any significant amount of time. He was always either at the barracks or at Lin Dan¡¯s place, as if he regarded it as his second home. Grandmother and Mother asked him what he was thinking. If he fell in love with Lin Dan, they could disregard past enmity, bring her back, and then marry the two. But Eldest Brother shook his head and said carefully: ¡°What happens between me and Lin Dan does not depend on what I think, but on what she thinks. If she is willing to accept me, I will propose to her. If she is not willing, I¡¯ll wait for her for the rest of my life. I respect any decision she makes.¡±


    Xue Jiming almost suspected that his brother had been swapped out. Back then, Eldest Brother could even defy the emperor¡¯s orders, but now he took Lin Dan¡¯s wishes more seriously than his own. To Lin Dan, had he really reached the point where he would never marry if it wasn¡¯t to her?


    Xue Jiming stared blankly at Xing Lin Spring for a long time until Wu Xuancao came out to call him; then, he quickly fled into Xuancao Hall. His current self didn¡¯t dare to face Lin Dan at all. She cured his brother and was a great benefactor of the Xue family, but due to his own bias, he always belittled her and excluded her, which finally led her to leave Xue Manor.


    To say something unpleasant: the person who should hate, despise, and even take revenge had always been Lin Dan. But he, a grown man, had no chest at all, and instead pushed all the blame onto the other person¡¯s head. Brother was right. He was a coward.

 CH 142

    The more he was aware of his mistakes, the more Xue Jiming couldn¡¯t let go of Wu Xuancao; it would be truly unbearable if he¡¯d made so many mistakes only to get nothing out of it. So, he had been very clingy with Wu Xuancao recently. The other party also finally agreed to his marriage proposal.


    The old madam of the second branch was acting as a matchmaker and Wu Xuancao had also made a name for herself, so it was difficult for Old Madam to refuse this marriage. She just had to hold her nose and accept it. Since Wu Xuancao was an orphan, the old madam of the second branch would help her arrange her marriage affairs. Perhaps, in a few days, the two would finally be legitimate fiancees.


    Xue Jiming sat in the clinic, but his eyes swept to the opposite side from time to time, saying in surprise: ¡°I noticed that Xing Lin Spring¡¯s lobby is extremely empty. Why is this?¡±


    The medical practitioner who served him tea smiled sarcastically: ¡°What else could it be? Her medical skills are too poor. It seems that Second Young Master doesn¡¯t know about the fact that just now, Physician Lin stubbornly obstructed a patient and tried to stop them from coming to our Xuancao Hall for medical treatment, saying that Physician Zheng prescribed the wrong medicine. Who is she to try to correct our Physician Zheng? She¡¯s really so audacious, anything can come out of her mouth!¡±


    ¡°In order to compete for business, doesn¡¯t she have to do whatever she can? That clinic of hers has been open for more than half a month, but she hasn¡¯t gotten a single bit of business. Only a few people buy herbs. In one day, she can¡¯t even earn ten copper coins. She has long had no way to make a living. If she can create drama and snatch a patient from our Physician Zheng¡¯s hands, maybe she could become famous?¡± Another medical practitioner ridiculed.


    ¡°Famous? I think you mean notorious! She even tried to grab that sort of patient. I think she¡¯s gone mad! That madam¡¯s gastroenteritis was already very serious. Physician Wu said that if she had come one or two days later, it would have become gastric perforation. At that time, no matter what medicine you prescribe, it would be no use; it¡¯s incurable at that stage. If she snatched that person away but was unable to cure her, wouldn¡¯t that be considered murder?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! She¡¯s young, after all, and doesn¡¯t know the severity of the situation. But then again, what is gastric perforation?¡±


    ¡°Gastric perforation is when gastroenteritis has completely ulcerated and a hole is opened in the stomach. At this stage, even if the Daluo Immortal came down, it would be difficult to recover.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like this! Physician Wu knows so much!¡±


    The two medical practitioners chatted back and forth, but Xue Jiming kept frowning as he listened. Seeing Wu Xuancao lead a patient out of a ward, he quickly said, ¡°Xiao Cao¡¯er, Lin Dan was able to cure my brother¡¯s legs. That shows that her medical skills are definitely not bad. If she says that you two misdiagnosed, it would be better to investigate carefully before moving forward.¡±


    Wu Xuancao hated hearing Lin Dan¡¯s name the most, so she frowned and said, ¡°The patient drank the Baohe Decoction prescribed by Master and her abdominal pain disappeared on the spot. How could it be a misdiagnosis? Don¡¯t be so quick to jump to conclusions just because you heard a rumor*.¡±


    *Literally, ¡°Don¡¯t assume it¡¯s going to rain just by listening to the wind.¡±


    When the two medical practitioners saw that the person Second Young Master was defending was actually Lin Dan, they didn¡¯t dare to speak up. But, deep in their hearts, their contempt and disdain for Lin Dan became even stronger.


    Word about what happened outside Xuancao Hall gradually spread among the populace. Another achievement was added onto Zheng Zhe¡¯s head: ¡°prescribes medicine like a god,¡± while Lin Dan became a clown that made him look even better by comparison. She was constantly brought up and then satirized. The Xing Lin Spring clinic she opened became more and more deserted, but Xuancao Hall¡¯s doorstep was almost trampled to pieces by patients.


    Whenever the rich and powerful in the capital had whatever minor headaches and fevers, they would be sure to send a carriage to Xuancao Hall and pick up the two doctors for a consultation. The patient with intestinal carbuncles who had initially refused them took the initiative to come to the door, saying that he would agree with their treatment plan.


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao were overjoyed. As they took out the life and death contract and asked the patient¡¯s family to sign, they said slowly: ¡°We will cut open the patient¡¯s belly, cut off the rotten intestines, and then sew it all back up. In half a month, at the fastest, or up to one month, at the slowest, the patient will make a full recovery.¡±


    ¡°Can it really be cured like this?¡± The patient¡¯s family hesitated again when they saw the words ¡°whether the patient lives or dies, we will not be held liable*¡± written on the contract.


    *Literally, ¡°Life, Death, Own Responsibility.¡±


    ¡°It can. If you survey the entire Central Plains, how many doctors would you find who can cure intestinal carbuncles? Physician Wu and I previously cured a patient with an abdominal tumor using this same method. He is currently completely fine. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go to his house and ask¡­¡± Before Zheng Zhe finished speaking, there was a commotion outside. A dozen strong men with sticks and hoes tried to rush into Xuancao Hall to smash it. There were also two people carrying a door panel behind them. A woman lay on the board, incessantly spitting out blood.


    Fresh blood spilled the entire way in, as if she were giving it out for free. Some passers-by who were splattered by blood dodged, some cursed, and some followed to spectate. Someone with a good memory pointed at the woman and said, ¡°I recognize her! Isn¡¯t that the lady who came to Xuancao Hall two days ago for treatment? At that time, because of her, the doctor of Xing Lin Spring even quarreled with Physician Zheng, saying that Physician Zheng prescribed the wrong medicine and causing treatment to be delayed.¡±


    ¡°Looking at this situation, could it be that the doctor from Xing Lin Spring was right?¡± Several passers-by couldn¡¯t believe that Miracle Doctor Zheng would make a mistake.


    ¡°Who knows? Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±


    More and more passers-by crowded around, blocking the entire street. That woman had already turned into a bloody person; the rise and fall of her chest was so slight that it was not visible to the naked eye; and she was already exhaling more than she was inhaling. It was apparent that she was just on the edge of death. Her husband and son rushed to the capital with a group of fellow villagers from their hometown. They lifted their sticks and smashed Xuancao Hall, cursing and scolding in extreme rage.


    Lin Dan heard the commotion and came out. Her eyes swept over that woman, but her expression was indifferent. She had persuaded her and even blocked her path. This outcome really had nothing to do with her.


    Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao arrived in a hurry. As soon as they saw the woman, covered in blood, their expressions twisted.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be! After drinking my Baohe Decoction, her illness should have been cured long ago. How could it have become this serious? Did you stop giving her medicine after going back or change my prescription at all?¡± Zheng Zhe asked urgently as he took her pulse.


    ¡°Three doses a day, we didn¡¯t miss a single one!¡± The strong man said with rancor, ¡°If my woman dies suddenly, I will make you pay with your life!¡±


    ¡°That being the case, did you get the medicine from my apothecary? If you were greedy for cheap goods and went to another apothecary to get the medicine, we cannot guarantee that the Baohe Decoction will always be effective,¡± Wu Xuancao said, shirking the blame.


    ¡°Fucking bullshit*! Back then, we didn¡¯t even leave Xuancao Hall before we grabbed enough medicine for seven days. After my woman went back and took two doses, her stomach started to hurt again. I insisted that she finish taking it, but as a result, she started to vomit blood and we had no way to stop it! Did you poison the medicine? I¡¯m going to the yamen** to sue you for premeditated murder!¡±


    *Literally, ¡°your mom¡¯s dog fart.¡± Calling someone¡¯s words ¡°a fart¡± means they¡¯re speaking nonsense.


    **The government office, usually where a judge sits and hears disputes.


    The strong man charged over with a hoe; two apprentices rushed to stop him, lest he hurt their Master. Wu Xuancao had already sent someone to bring a message to Xue Jiming. Xue Manor¡¯s guards would come soon, so she was not that worried.


    Zheng Zhe, risking being beaten to death, ran to the woman¡¯s side and took her pulse. The worried expression on his face was completely replaced by terror. Oh my goodness, it was all over! This person only had some inflammation when she first came, but now she was beyond saving and would not live for much longer! If the hematemesis couldn¡¯t be stopped, she would die within two hours!


    The strong man saw his complexion completely change. The rims of his eyes were already so red, bloody tears almost dripped out, but he held onto the last thread of hope and asked: ¡°Can my woman still be saved?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk after I stop the hematemesis.¡± Zheng Zhe struggled to maintain his composure.


    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you quickly prescribing medicine!¡± The strong man harshly urged.


    Zheng Zhe hurriedly waved at several apprentices: ¡°Go and brew Jiehui (grime-dissolving) Decoction, quickly!¡±


    Several apprentices ran to do so. Seeing this scene, Lin Dan shook her head and sighed: ¡°Wrong again.¡± After her words fell, she went straight back into Xing Lin Spring, too lazy to continue watching.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect some busybodies who had been observing her every move to loudly yell: ¡°Miracle Doctor Zheng, Physician Lin said you were wrong again!¡±


    Zheng Zhe¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to this idle gossip. Instead, he took out a set of silver needles and, one by one, plunged them into the woman¡¯s key acupoints.


    The strong man violently turned his head and looked into Xing Lin Spring, only to see that Lin Dan had already lifted the bamboo curtain and gone into the rear courtyard, not wanting any part in the matter at all. Thinking of her previous warning, the strong man¡¯s mind churned, hesitating and undecided. However, he saw that when the silver needles entered his woman¡¯s acupoints, she stopped vomiting blood and twitched, seeming to have been pulled back from the edge of death. This finally dispelled his idea of going to Xing Lin Spring to seek treatment.


    Zheng Zhe wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, saying Whew in his heart. Fortunately, these past few days, he had gained some new insights into combining internal energy and acupuncture. Otherwise, he would have been completely ruined today. The hematemesis had stopped. This person was no longer in immediate danger of dying.


    Wu Xuancao saw the immediate effect of his acupuncture method and her eyes flashed slightly.


    The expressions of the watching crowd became more and more tense; they were completely invested. Only at this point did they let out a sigh of turbid breath, exclaiming in admiration: ¡°It is Miracle Doctor Zheng after all! If he doesn¡¯t make a move, it would be like that, but as soon as he makes a move, he can definitely save a life!¡±


    ¡°She was vomiting so much blood just now, but he could stop it with just a few needles. His technique is truly exquisite!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that he brought her back from the dead!¡±


    Amid the passers-by¡¯s praises, an apprentice ran out with a bowl of decoction, shouting loudly: ¡°Get out of the way, the Jiehui Decoction is here! This is a life-saving medicine! If it¡¯s spilled, who will take the blame?¡±


    The crowd quickly parted to let him pass. Zheng Zhe received the bowl of medicine and personally fed it into the woman¡¯s mouth, saying with conviction: ¡°Jiehui Decoction can detoxify rot and poison. After one bowl, the ruptured ulcer in her stomach will be suppressed immediately. When I pull out the silver needles, you can carry her in. We will slowly give her treatment. Stay calm.¡±


    The group of villagers had already calmed down and stared at the woman with burning eyes. No one expected things to take a steep downturn. The woman screamed shrilly and sat up in shock, vomiting blood from the top while feces and urine spewed out from the bottom. Her appearance was extremely tragic.


    The onlookers shouted while hurriedly retreating, commenting: ¡°It was fine earlier, so why is she dying now? It looks like she¡¯s dying, right? It was like this when my grandmother died. She couldn¡¯t control her bowels!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s dying, for real! She¡¯s already passed out!¡±


    The passers-by stepped back further, their eyes full of horror.


    The strong man threw himself onto her and shouted loudly for his wife. His sons and daughters, their eyes blood-red and their auras murderous, looked like they were ready commit a crime. Zheng Zhe was terrified. His legs were too weak to walk, so he could only half-kneel beside the woman, incessantly twisting the ends of the needles, trying to make a final struggle.


    Wu Xuancao repeatedly shouted ¡°Save her,¡± but she was also at her wit¡¯s end.


    No one knows who shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°Physician Lin would definitely be able to save her! She knew at a glance that you were using the wrong medicine and already warned you twice, but you just refused to listen!¡±


    Hearing this, the strong man was like a drowning person who found a piece of driftwood. He immediately picked up his wife, staggered to the front of Xing Lin Spring¡¯s door, kowtowing and shouting, ¡°Save her, Physician Lin, save her! I was blind as a bat before and didn¡¯t recognize Mount Tai*. I admit my mistake! I¡¯m begging Physician Lin, please save my woman! I¡¯ll bow down to you, I¡¯ll give you silver! I beg you to come out and take a look! Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡±


    *Mount Tai refers to an important person. (Sometimes, it¡¯s used to refer to one¡¯s father-in-law.)


    The strong man struck his head onto the ground as if he didn¡¯t want his own life. His deep emotion made people tear up. His several sons and daughters quickly took out all of the copper coins and silver in their purses, lined them up on the counter inside Xing Lin Spring, and then knelt down and kowtowed together.


    The bamboo curtain finally moved and Lin Dan slowly walked out, holding a similar set of silver needles in her hand. She silently held the woman¡¯s wrist, carefully probed her pulse, then pulled out Zheng Zhe¡¯s silver needles one by one and carelessly threw them to the side. She then pulled out her own silver needles and, one by one, inserted them into different acupoints. With a flick of her fingertips, the needle tail began to quiver continuously, emitting a humming sound.


    Amidst this humming sound, the woman slowly opened her eyes and let out a breath of turbid air.


    Seeing this scene, passers-by burst into a commotion, shouting repeatedly ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± ¡°An immortal,¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± and so on. They were stunned by Lin Dan¡¯s medical skills, which had clearly reached the pinnacle!

 CH 143

    thornling15-19 minutes 16.10.2020


    Translator: thornling | Editor: thornling


    Lin Dan used her golden needle technique to save the woman¡¯s life, then waved her hand and said: ¡°You can lift her in now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good! Thank you, doctor, thank you, doctor!¡± The strong man hurriedly carried his wife into Xing Lin Spring and placed her on a cot in the outer hall.


    Lin Dan quickly wrote two prescriptions and ordered the servants to brew them. She fed the woman each prescription two hours apart. In the evening, the woman had greatly recovered. She no longer had abdominal pain, no longer vomited blood, and regained control of her bowel movements. Her several daughters and sister-in-laws brought in hot water and clean clothes and helped her clean herself up. By the time she was lifted back out, she actually looked like a human again.


    Some of the crowd had dispersed, while others remained outside craning their necks. If Physician Lin couldn¡¯t cure the illness either, the strong man would definitely start making a ruckus and then there will be another good show to watch.


    Zheng Zhe sat at the entrance of Xuancao Hall, dazed, his eyes fixed on the opposite clinic. When he saw the woman, who had made herself presentable, he suddenly stood up, as if he had seen a ghost. Wu Xuancao, who had been silently waiting for the result as well, also showed an extremely astonished expression. She couldn¡¯t help but stagger forward two steps and step out of the shop door, but then was fixed at her present position and stopped moving. This was the second time she had seen the wonders of traditional Chinese medicine through Lin Dan.


    The crowd made a huge commotion, followed by a steady stream of admiring exclamations. It had only been six or eight hours, but such a serious illness had already been cured? Although this Physician Lin was young, her medical skills were really not to be underestimated*!


    *Wordplay here, the author used ¡°xiao¡± (small) to say that Lin Dan was young, then ¡°bu xiao¡± (not small) to describe her medical skills.


    However, Lin Dan ignored the reactions and opinions of bystanders. She just held the woman¡¯s wrist and focused on checking the pulse, unhurriedly saying: ¡°There is no longer any emergency. The external symptoms have been eliminated, but the internal symptoms are still there. You will need to take medicine every day and properly take care of yourself. Don¡¯t eat too much spicy, greasy, or coarse foods. Eat more light and soft foods. I will start by prescribing medicine for you to drink. Take it continuously for seven days, then return for further diagnosis.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you, doctor, thank you, doctor!¡± The strong man and his wife knelt down in gratitude. Their children also knelt down in a big patch.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t help them up. She just turned sideways to avoid the bows. Then, she unhurriedly wrote down the prescription. Her manner was very flat; although she was saving people, she appeared to have a sense of detachment from the secular world, as if the life and death of other people were just a small plaything that she casually toyed with at her fingertips.


    The strong man secretly glanced at her, his expression becoming more respectful, and even a sort of fear and trepidation arose. The fellow villagers he brought also calmed down. They became docile one-by-one, scared to even take too big a breath.


    The shop was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, but Lin Dan didn¡¯t think anything of it. She wrapped the seven portions of medicine in oil paper and said slowly, ¡°All right. You can go back now.¡±


    The strong man reached out to pick up the paper package, thanking her repeatedly. His wife, with the support of her children, bowed her knees deeply with an extremely grateful expression.


    When she was misunderstood and even shoved aside by these people, Lin Dan was never angry. Naturally, now that they revered her as an immortal, she would also not be proud of herself. Her character was just like her name*. Her every move was indifferent, making people unable to get close to her at all. After dealing with this inconvenience, she picked up a medical text as usual and flipped through it seriously, exactly as she did in the past.


    *The ¡°dan¡± in her name means light, indifferent.


    Passers-by pointed at her and discussed her spiritedly, but they couldn¡¯t disturb her in the slightest. No one knew when it started, but at some point, she had somehow become this current person who was not attached to material things and never felt sorry for herself, as tranquil as a deep pool of blue water.


    Xue Jiming, who had hurriedly rushed over to help Wu Xuancao out of trouble, had remained at Xuancao Hall, across the street, all along. He thought: If Lin Dan couldn¡¯t handle this matter either, he couldn¡¯t not bring his guards to her clinic and support her. But Lin Dan¡¯s behavior greatly surprised him and finally made him confront the fact that she had changed.


    She was no longer that little girl who orbited around him. Suffering made people grow up. After experiencing betrayal, the breaking of her engagement, separation, and accidentally harming others, she had already been reborn and achieved enlightenment. She didn¡¯t avoid her own mistakes, but shouldered all of the responsibility. She took care of her eldest brother meticulously, and, in order to cure him, even studied medicine every day without slacking off. In order to gain experience and temper her medical expertise, she started wandering remote villages.


    What she had learned in a year was probably even more than what others had learned in a lifetime. Looking at her tranquil profile, Xue Jiming¡¯s heart was full of bitterness.


    Zheng Zhe struggled for a while before finally standing up, walking to the door of Xing Lin Spring step by step, and bowing deeply: ¡°May I venture to ask Physician Lin: those two times that I diagnosed and treated the patient, where did I go wrong?¡± If he didn¡¯t figured this out, he would never be able to forget it for the rest of his life.


    Lin Dan raised her head and looked askance at him, but she didn¡¯t act pretentious, instead gently saying: ¡°That woman was in extreme pain when she was brought, but there was not a single drop of cold sweat on her forehead. Moreover, her face was flushed, there was a murmur in her chest, and her voice was hoarse. These are symptoms that she was suffering a cold (windchill*) and that cold energy had entered her head. Her gastric pain and vomiting were extremely severe, but her pulse was deep and tense, very distinctly so. If you examined it very generally, you would naturally be drawn in by the internal symptoms and forget the external symptoms. All illnesses should first be examined from the surface. You ascertained the internal symptoms and became engrossed in giving her medicine, but neglected the external symptoms. Without resolving the external symptoms or treating her cold, how could you prescribe Baohe Decoction? Baohe Decoction contains radish seeds, mongolian snakegourd, dried unripe citron, green tangerine peel, and so on, which have the effect of eliminating and directing. But it aggravated her cold, causing her to have constant diarrhea and be unable to swallow food. This greatly damaged her vital energy. Without eating and drinking, her gastrointestinal symptoms would sharply worsen. Within two days, she would naturally collapse.¡±


    *Windchill is when windy and frigid energy enter the body. These are both destructive energies. It is also the Chinese understanding of how one catches a cold. If you want to reconcile the perspective of TCM with that of western medicine, think of it like this: we think of the common cold as a result of germs, but in order for microorganisms to wreak havoc in our body, our immune system needs to have been compromised, and these two energies have the effect of weakening the body. Also, the name ¡°cold¡± insinuates that our ancestors noticed the same pattern: people catch a cold after they catch a chill. Modern doctors, however, will disagree, even though the common cold is more common in winter. But the ancients were stupid and we know best now, right?


    Lin Dan put down her medical book and said succinctly: ¡°In the Yellow Emperor¡¯s Internal Canon*, there is a saying: Laborers grow sprouts, and the best medical practitioners treat the beginning stages**. You are indeed able to cure serious illnesses, but you shouldn¡¯t overlook minor aches and ailments. It is by treating these minor aches and ailments that you accumulate knowledge and experience bit by bit. Take that woman¡¯s acute condition as an example: if you had noticed the symptoms of her cold and first counterintuitively treated the surface, making her to sweat it out, and then given her Baohe Decoction, treating her digestive system, that later situation would not have occurred.¡±


    *This is a very real and very famous text, still used by TCM doctors today.


    **There is a legend in Chinese medicine that one of the most well-known miracle doctors in Chinese history once claimed that he was the worst doctor out of all three of his brothers. His eldest brother was the best because he treated illnesses before their symptoms even started; his second brother was second best because he treated illnesses when their symptoms had first begun; and he himself was the worst because he only treated illnesses when they were already at an advanced stage. But his other two brothers were not well-known because people don¡¯t understand how much more skill it takes to prevent illness and keep it from causing any damage to the body.


    Zheng Zhe carefully chewed on her words and his slightly unreconciled expression was slowly replaced with shame. He bowed deeply, his eyes suffused with red, and sighed: ¡°Many thanks, Physician Lin, for your enlightenment. I was the one who didn¡¯t investigate the exterior and interior correctly and nearly harmed a human life! These past few days, I had made some breakthroughs in my medical skill, so I was too engrossed in scaling the summit and going down in history, but forgot that ¡®One cannot travel a thousand miles without taking a single step¡¯. Physician Lin can see the minutest detail with the utmost clarity. You are an expert on par with the Yellow Emperor*. After hearing your words today, this old man has benefited a lot. I am full of regret and shame!¡± After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply again, then staggered back into Xuancao Hall.


    *The author of the Yellow Emperor¡¯s Internal Canon, known as an originator of many elements of Chinese culture, including TCM.


    Wu Xuancao wanted to help support him, but he waved his hand and declined. A person who had originally been in good spirits, hale and hearty, seemed to have aged a dozen years overnight.


    Xue Jiming looked at the renowned Physician Zheng, then looked at Lin Dan with her tranquil expression, and his eyes were also suffused with remorse. Witnessing Lin Dan¡¯s methods of saving the dying and healing the wounded and listening to her various insights on the medical arts, it was not difficult for Xue Jiming to realize that her medical skills were already exquisite. Of course Wu Xuancao couldn¡¯t even be compared with her, but even Zheng Zhe might be slightly inferior.


    The illness that she could see through at a glance, Zheng Zhe couldn¡¯t understand even after serious investigation, to the point where he even nearly harmed a human life. It turned out that when she stayed in Xiaofeng Pavilion all day reading medical books, she wasn¡¯t putting on an act, nor trying to hang onto Xue Manor ¨C she was really, truly studying. However, he himself said to her face that he would give her medical books to Wu Xuancao and Zheng Zhe, and even declared with certainty that these things were useless in her hands.


    And now, reality had clearly shown him who the truly useless one was. Thinking of this, Xue Jiming rubbed his face, feeling ashamed and unable to show his face.


    Just at this moment, Lin Dan glanced in the direction of Xuancao Hall. Without thinking, he dodged behind a pillar for fear of being seen by her.


    Wu Xuancao¡¯s heart was full of shock, but she also noticed his unusual behavior and asked with pinched brows, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I, I have no face to appear in front of people.¡± Xue Jiming accidentally blurted out the truth.


    Wu Xuancao was slightly stunned, then looked toward Lin Dan, her gaze becoming very complicated. If she had obtained those medical books, the one who revived the dead and put flesh on bones would now have been herself.


    The confrontation between Lin Dan and Zheng Zhe quickly got around the capital. One was a little girl in her youth; the other was a prestigious, venerable doctor. Who would win and who would lose, who was high and who was low, should have been obvious at a glance. But in the end, that unknown little Physician Lin actually forcibly saved the person whom Miracle Doctor Zheng almost killed. And her dialogue with Miracle Doctor Zheng in front of the door to Xing Lin Spring also spread to the ears of various doctors.


    Doctors who originally thought the rumors were wrong immediately started praising little Physician Lin in every possible way. Resolve the surface and treat the root ¨C these words were easy to say, but extremely difficult to do. Even if those venerable doctors who had practiced medicine for decades kept these four words in their hearts at all times, they would still make mistakes from time to time, causing illnesses that were initially not so serious to become extremely severe and endangering lives.


    It was easy to treat people to death, but too difficult to bring them back to life. This incident was tantamount to a wake-up call, ringing in the ears of every doctor. Meanwhile, the previously deserted Xing Lin Spring became as busy as a marketplace overnight, bustling with much noise and excitement.


    Seven days later, the strong man brought his wife to Xing Lin Spring for a follow-up consultation, attracting everyone¡¯s attention again. That woman was now ruddy, plump, and looked to be very healthy. It was hard to imagine her appearance seven days ago, when she was so thin she was unrecognizable and had almost died.


    The two of them thanked her many times and knelt down and kowtowed. When they walked out of Xing Lin Spring and looked at Xuancao Hall across the street, they immediately showed a vicious expression. But Zheng Zhe came out at this moment, offered them one hundred taels of silver to make amends, then picked up his medicine box and prepared to leave the capital.


    Wu Xuancao¡¯ surgical techniques inspired him, but many of her treatments were a fantasy story to him, extremely unrealistic. He had already made some breakthroughs, but he almost forgot the true heart of a doctor. If he didn¡¯t go out to gain experience at this time, but continued to work in isolation, perhaps he would cause even bigger trouble. The best medical practitioners treated the beginning stages ¨C he would forever remember this sentence.


    When he left, he left behind a medical book authored by himself on acupuncture and moxibustion techniques. He thought that it would be of help to Wu Xuancao and also considered it the conclusion of their master-disciple relationship. He strode to the front door of Xing Lin Spring and saw that Lin Dan was taking a pulse, so he didn¡¯t go forward to disturb her, but instead bowed respectfully and then boarded an ox cart to leave.


    Lin Dan glanced at him and nodded slightly. It could have been considered a goodbye.


    Wu Xuancao couldn¡¯t make Zheng Zhe stay and could only watch the ox cart disappear around the corner of the street. Her expression gradually transformed from resentment and loathing to distress and bitterness.

 CH 144

    Others had no idea how Xuancao Hall got its current prestige ¨C only Wu Xuancao knew it most clearly. When she transmigrated over, Xuancao Hall was already run down and struggling to stay open. All she had was a bunch of worthless medical skills that she couldn¡¯t use in this backward era. She could only rely on some medical books left by the original host¡¯s parents and follow them word for word, straining to stay open.


    Later, she rescued Xue Jiming and was rewarded with hundreds of taels of silver. At last, she didn¡¯t have to live in fear that the landlord would reclaim the storefront. She was also lucky enough to save that farmer whose belly had been pierced by ox horn; she shocked the world with her suturing technique. That was the only reason she got the title of miracle doctor. If it wasn¡¯t for Zheng Zhe being attracted to that reputation, she would have been exposed long ago. How could she have been as carefree as she was now?


    In her era, there was a very popular adage that went something like this ¨C if you want to wear a crown, you have to bear its weight. And she wore the crown of ¡°Miracle Doctor¡±, but she did not have the strength to match it, so it was like she was walking on ice, every step filled with fear and trepidation, care and caution.


    Being a physician was a very sacred profession. If it was done well, it would save the dying and help the wounded. If done poorly, it would harm peoples¡¯ lives. How could she not know how powerful it was? Therefore, she worked hard to learn the techniques of traditional Chinese medicine from Zheng Zhe, originally thinking that if things continued like this, based on her own wits, she would sooner or later have the foundation to live in this world.


    But now, she had only learned the most superficial amount, but Zheng Zhe actually decided to go out wandering. This was no less than a bolt from the blue to her. After Zheng Zhe left, where could she find a doctor who was skilled enough to support Xuancao Hall? And who would help her actualize her plans to bring surgery into this era?


    Currently, Xuancao Hall had a very famous reputation. There would inevitably be an endless stream of patients seeking treatment. These things that were originally considered glorious had now become a burden, pressing on Wu Xuancao until she couldn¡¯t breathe. She was afraid that her true self would be seen through and even more afraid of losing her reputation.


    Every day, she lived in apprehension. She could only hold the medical book that Zheng Zhe left her, flipping through it without eating or sleeping as well as constantly cultivating her internal energy. She really did make some headway. But before she could rejoice, a patient came to her door and begged her for help, putting her at a loss.


    This patient wasn¡¯t some random person. It was that patient with the intestinal ulcers. Under Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao¡¯s rigorous persuasion, he had signed a life and death contract and furthermore had paid the consultation fee in advance. He was originally scheduled to have the operation today. Hearing the news of Zheng Zhe¡¯s misdiagnosis, his family originally planned to cancel the treatment, but before leaving, he suddenly had a flare up and was hanging on by a single thread.


    The money was paid and the person was dying. His relatives did not dare to delay, immediately bringing out the carriage and hurrying to Xuancao Hall as if a wildfire were chasing them, shouting for help at the top of their lungs.  Nine out of ten patients with intestinal ulcers would die; it was extremely difficult to treat. If they swapped to another doctor, there wouldn¡¯t be enough time, nor would there be complete certainty. They would rather trust Wu Xuancao this once.


    Looking at the dying patient, Wu Xuancao¡¯s face turned pale. Once one mounted a tiger, it would be hard to dismount*. The one who persuaded others to sign the life and death contract was her, but now the one who said she couldn¡¯t cure it was also her. If this person died, she would probably be beaten to death as well.


    *Meaning it¡¯s difficult to stop halfway.


    The reason why the previous operation where they removed the tumor was successful was because Zheng Zhe prescribed Mafei (boiled hemp) Powder* for the patient to prevent him from feeling pain during the operation, as well as sealing the blood vessels with acupuncture to prevent the patient from bleeding out. He had also been in charge of all postoperative treatment. The medicine he prescribed could not only promote healing, but also inhibited inflammation. All of these factors combined were the only reason they could save a life.


    *An ancient Chinese sedative/anesthetic.


    But Wu Xuancao was only responsible for opening the abdominal cavity, cutting off the tumor, and suturing the wound. Without the aid of advanced technology and specialized medication, there was only so much she could do. Whether she could save someone depended thirty percent on technology and seventy percent on luck. Zheng Zhe was a doctor from ancient times. He believed in the principle of valuing the broom as one¡¯s own* and not passing his skills on to outsiders. For him to bestow Wu Xuancao with his original acupuncture and moxibustion technique before leaving was already extremely exceptional. How could he also leave behind his prescriptions for Mafei Power and other medicines?


    *Meaning that he valued what was his and didn¡¯t give it away.


    Without knowledge of anesthesia and hemostasis, as well as antipyresis and thrombolysis* to promote healing, Wu Xuancao could not perform surgery at all. Not to mention the fact that in a single operation, the number of problems to be resolved weren¡¯t limited to just these three.


    *Hemostasis is stopping blood, antipyresis is preventing fevers and inflammation, and thrombolysis is clearing blood clots.


    She looked at the patient whose life was hanging by a thread and did not make a move for a long time. But several of her apprentices couldn¡¯t wait any longer, urging: ¡°Master, we will carry him into the operating room immediately. Master should quickly prepare the equipment.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Wu Xuancao shouted, her eyes betraying the intense struggle she was feeling. She couldn¡¯t even imagine if this person died on her operating table, what kind of consequences there would be. This was a savage era. The legal system had many deficiencies, causing social chaos. Retaliation was above national law. If a doctor harmed people, they would definitely be beaten to death. Even the authorities would not care.


    Last time, Lin Dan helped Zheng Zhe resolve a difficult situation, helping him save a patient¡¯s life. He later compensated one hundred taels of silver and completely settled the issue. But this time, no one could help Wu Xuancao out. Once the patient was sent to the operating room, she would be the only one responsible for life or death, success or failure.*


    *Translator¡¯s Note: Even though the patient and his family signed the life and death contract, it would be nearly impossible for Wu Xuancao to enforce it. If they lynched her right there, the authorities would never arrive in time. Part of the authority of the life and death contract lay on Zheng Zhe¡¯s reputation, which he lost after that misdiagnosis, and which is also no longer a factor anyway for obvious reasons.


    She couldn¡¯t help but ask herself: Can I afford it?


    The answer was naturally no¡­¡­


    She gritted her teeth and, with great difficulty, spit out a sentence: ¡°Physician Zheng has left. I can¡¯t cure this disease. Please ask someone else.¡±


    ¡°You were the one who said that you could cure it, and you are also the one saying you can¡¯t cure it. You waited until my brother was so sick he¡¯s on the edge of death to ask us to find someone else. Are you deliberately trying to harm him?¡± The patient¡¯s family flew into a rage immediately. He seized her collar and said: ¡°You better hurry up and treat my brother. If anything happens to him today, you will pay!¡±


    ¡°I really can¡¯t cure this disease.¡± Wu Xuancao closed her eyes and spoke helplessly. If she was given a sterile operating room and an intensive care unit, she would be able to treat this patient in twenty minutes. How could she be in such a difficult situation?


    ¡°A few days ago, didn¡¯t you keep saying that only you can treat this disease? If you had told us earlier that you couldn¡¯t cure it, how would we have delayed so much time? Look, my brother is already at this stage! If he dies, you would be a murderer! You¡¯re just a fame-seeking charlatan!¡± The man shouted with rage while the patient lying on the bed breathed feebly, on the verge of death.


    The apprentices of Xuancao Hall looked at Wu Xuancao with suspicious eyes and faintly realized something, but did not dare to say anything. Master¡¯s medical skills didn¡¯t seem to be as brilliant as rumored?


    The man paced back and forth in the hall, viciously kicking and trampling everything he saw, extremely frenetic. His wife tried to soothe him, but she herself started to lose her voice as tears came to her eyes.


    The hall full of people was raucous. Them smashing the inner hall attracting busybodies to crowd around and watch. No one knows who shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°If it can¡¯t be cured here, why don¡¯t you try Xing Lin Spring? Little Physician Lin¡¯s medical skills are no worse than Physician Zheng¡¯s. She may have a way.¡±


    People outside the door immediately agreed: ¡°Yeah, yeah, little Physician Lin is also very amazing!¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes lit up and he immediately shouted: ¡°Quick, quick, quick, hurry up and carry my brother across the street! I was really blinded by the fame of Xuancao Hall and forgot about little Physician Lin!¡± The group of people eagerly yet chaotically lifted the patient and swiftly rushed towards Xing Lin Spring.


    Wu Xuancao looked at their anxious silhouettes, feeling very embarrassed, but she also secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The fastest way to treat appendicitis* was through surgery. In this era of backward medical skills, she was very curious how Lin Dan would confront this illness that had been known as an incurable disease.


    *This is the first time appendicitis has come up. Appendicitis is related to ulcers and they can be mistaken for each other. Translator¡¯s note: I previously translated ¡°ulcer¡± as ¡°carbuncle¡±, but carbuncles are usually under the skin, not internal.


    Xing Lin Spring¡¯s business had picked up and Lin Dan had needed to recruit a few more resident physicians and apprentices before she could barely manage to deal with it. Seeing the young man being lifted in through the door, she could not help frowning. She opened her mouth and said, ¡°Intestinal ulcers? How long has he had this condition?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been seven days. In the first three days, he had bowel movements. Later, he couldn¡¯t even pass stools. Urination also came with a sharp stinging pain, extremely unbearable. Little Physician Lin, do you think you could cure this disease?¡± The man wiped the sweat from his forehead while looking at Lin Dan with an earnest and eager gaze.


    The patient¡¯s clothing had already been lifted up, revealing a swollen and red abdomen; his mouth was incessantly vomiting filth, occasionally mixed with some foul-smelling feces; his legs were bent and he dared not straighten them. It was intestinal ulcers, without a doubt. Lin Dan carefully took his pulse, then looked at the patient¡¯s eyelids and tongue again, nodded and said, ¡°The intestinal ulcers led to an intestinal infarction. He can still be saved. Someone come, prepare five catties of white radish and another twenty-four qian* Yuanming** Powder and put it all in a pot to brew together. Add the radishes in three batches; as soon as one batch is finished cooking, scoop it out and add the next batch. Reduce two catties of water to one catty and set aside for later use.¡±


    *This is the same character as the one for ¡°money¡± but represents a unit of weight worth one tenth of a tael.


    **This means something like ¡°(recover) the original (state) by clearing (things out).¡±


    As her words fell, she quickly wrote out a prescription and instructed: ¡°This is Gongdu Chenqi Decoction*. Add water until it¡¯s two cun** above the herbs, add white wine until it¡¯s five cun, steep for three quarters of an hour to expedite the breakdown of the herbs, then brew it with a fierce flame for another quarter of an hour. Fetch the radish juice and mix it evenly. Every two hours, feed the patient one bowl. Continue to have him take it until his bowels are unclogged.¡±


    *This means ¡±Attack Poison, Receive Qi.¡±


    **Pronounced ¡°tswuhn,¡± (ts ¡°one/won¡±), this is a medical unit of measurement, typically the width of the thumb. As everyone¡¯s thumb size varies, when measuring locations on a patient¡¯s body, one must take into account the patient¡¯s thumb size. ¡°Two cun below the belly button¡± would be a different number of inches/centimeters depending on whether the patient was an eight-year-old child or and adult, but should be roughly the same ratio. Outside of the body, a cun is similar to our inch.


    The apprentices didn¡¯t dare to delay, and, holding the prescription with both hands, hurriedly left. Several resident doctors immediately gathered around and looked at Lin Dan with burning eyes.


    Intestinal ulcers were one of the incurable diseases. Nine out of ten patients died. Even imperial physicians in the palace were helpless when they encountered this disease, not to mention the fact that this particular, grave situation was a combination of intestinal ulcers and intestinal infarction. But little Physician Lin¡¯s complexion was normal, her directions appeared orderly, and her prescription was unique ¨C endlessly creative and difficult to pin down. However, even though the several resident doctors were full of doubts, they did not dare to inquire arbitrarily, lest they disturb little Physician Lin¡¯s thought process. The opportunity to practice medicine in Xing Lin Spring allowed them to learn much more than opening a clinic on their own!


    After prescribing the medicine, Lin Dan took out gold needles and pierced the patient¡¯s Jinjin (gold river), Yuye (jade fluid), Chize (foot-long pool), and Weizhong (accumulated middle) acupoints and more. Black blood leaked out. She then stuck the needle through the Lanwei (appendix)*, Zusanli (foot three miles), Neiguan (inner door) acupoints and more. Her fingertips pinched the tail of the needles, lifting, piercing, twirling, and turning, then forcefully thrusting the needles in and leaving them there. After doing all this, the Gongdu Chengqi Decoction was also ready, so she immediately fed it to the patient. Within two quarters of an hour, the patient¡¯s vomiting had stopped, his cramps had eased, and he actually revealed a bit of a serene appearance.


    After another two hour, the patient¡¯s symptoms improved even more. Lin Dan finally had him drink a bowl of radish water mixed with medicine. After waiting a short period of time, the patient once again had abdominal cramps that felt as if his intestines were twisting. He rolled back and forth. From deep within his abdomen, a drumbeat repeatedly sounded. He also started continuously burping.


    His brother was terrified and said anxiously: ¡°Just now, he had clearly already made a major recovery, so why did the attack become worse after taking the medicine instead?¡±


    That crowd that was jammed into the doorway to watch also showed nervous expressions.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong. This is a normal reaction. Continue to feed him medicine, this time half a bowl more.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand and an apprentice immediately brought two bowls of radish water and fed them to the patient.


    At this moment, the patient finally clutched his stomach and started groaning: ¡°Brother, I, I want to go to the bathroom! My stomach is so bloated!¡±


    The man hurriedly went to look at Lin Dan, but Lin Dan was one step faster. She removed the needles from the patient and told him to go behind the screen to relieve himself. A quarter of an hour later, there was a rushing sound behind the screen, followed by a wave of stench. The onlookers covered their noses one after another and retreated. Even the patient¡¯s family were almost unable to take it. They hurriedly stopped breathing and turned their faces away.


    Only Lin Dan had no reaction, her expression calm.


    After another quarter of an hour, the patient finally finished. Lin Dan then went behind the screen to examine his excrement, came back and touched his already no longer swollen abdomen, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe him another Qingchang (clear intestines) Drink to purge any excess impurities. If he¡¯s well taken care of, he should recover in three doses.¡±


    The man stared at his brother¡¯s flattened abdomen, then pinched his fingertips, which were gradually warming up, and was so moved, he started crying.


    The passers-by who stood at the doorway all clucked their tongues, unable to believe that little Physician Lin had so easily cured the intestinal ulcers! One must know that that was actually an incurable disease!

 CH 145

    What happened in Xing Lin Spring had also been taken in by the medical practitioners and apprentices of Xuancao Hall. Everyone looked at each other in dismay, each with different expressions, but they could not look down on Lin Dan with that kind of like-mindedness as they did before. It should be known that in order to cure that patient with intestinal ulcers, they personally watched Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao repeatedly formulate and rescind operation plans. During the treatment process, they needed to open the abdominal cavity. This was already extremely difficult. Post-surgery nursing would require them to squander even more time and energy. As long as one segment went wrong, the patient might die, and the success rate was only forty or fifty percent.


    To say something unpleasant ¨C it was precisely because the patient¡¯s situation was hopeless and no cure existed that Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao would think of performing surgery. They were treating a dead horse as if it were a living horse, trying their luck. This was the common understanding. The patient¡¯s family knew it, Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao knew it, the medical practitioners and apprentices of Xuancao Hall knew it, and even the patient himself knew it. Once you had this disease, other than try your luck, what else could you do?


    But now, this man who had been doomed to die was easily brought back to life by Lin Dan. The herbs she used were all worth very little. From start to finish, it didn¡¯t cost more than five taels of silver. The patient was sent in in the morning and could go home in the afternoon; the recovery speed was extremely fast, making everyone watching dumbfounded.


    With his family member supporting him, the patient repeatedly bowed to Lin Dan with a very grateful expression. As he paid the consultation fee, his elder brother fell into a daze for a moment, then quickly ran to the door of Xuancao Hall and shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Return my deposit of fifty taels! When you said that you were going to do surgery, in addition to the deposit, you also wanted to charge me another two hundred taels of silver and ask me to sign a contract that said that my brother was not guaranteed to be saved, making us take responsibility for life and death. But look, my brother was saved by little Physician Lin! From start to finish, it only cost five taels of silver and eight hours.¡±


    He spat fiercely and his tone was very disdainful: ¡°Bah, what ¡°miracle doctor¡±? I think ¡°quack doctor¡± is more like it! Charging me so much money but not even being able to guarantee survival, then saying that she can¡¯t treat it at the last minute and delaying my brother¡¯s illness for no reason! If it weren¡¯t for little Physician Lin¡¯s extraordinary medical skills and how quickly they took effect, my brother would have died today! From now on, our family will never come to Xuancao Hall for treatment again! Whoever comes is a fool!¡±


    The apprentices and medical practitioners of Xuancao Hall had always attached great importance to protecting the shop¡¯s reputation. If anyone said a single sentence about how Xuancao Hall was no good, they would immediately rise to attack them. But this day, they actually started blushing and didn¡¯t dare to refute a word.


    When the passers-by heard the man¡¯s words, they all showed astonished expressions and commented, ¡°Good lord*, from start to finish it would have costed two hundred fifty taels of silver** to treat one illness, isn¡¯t this daylight robbery?¡±


    *Literally, ¡°my mother,¡± a common swear word.


    *¡°Two hundred fifty taels of silver¡± is also a way to call someone an idiot. An emperor experienced an attempt on his life so he set a one thousand tael bounty for whoever turned in the assassin. Four different people turned themselves in, so the emperor bestowed each with two hundred fifty taels of silver, then executed them.


    ¡°Did you not hear him clearly? How much money it costed is the trivial part. The important thing is that they couldn¡¯t even guarantee that the patient will be cured at all. They even want you to sign a life and death contract to exempt them from taking responsibility! If this really was the case, then I would never have dared to undergo treatment. I would have run much earlier. They¡¯re accepting money to harm a life!¡±


    ¡°They wanted them to sign the life and death contract because they were afraid that if the disease wasn¡¯t cured, the patient¡¯s family would make trouble, right? It can be seen that Physician Wu¡¯s medical skills aren¡¯t all that. A disease that little Physician Lin could cure in two or three moves becomes opening the belly on her side, signing a life and death contract, making it seem like it¡¯s so hard to treat or something.¡±


    ¡°From this, it can be seen that although the two doctors are around the same age, there is still a big gap in their level of ability.¡±


    The passers-by shook their heads and dispersed. Henceforth, such an impression was left in their hearts ¨C although Wu Xuancao¡¯s medical skills were high, after all was said and done, she couldn¡¯t compare with Xing Lin Spring¡¯s little Physician Lin. Little Physician Lin could even drive Miracle Doctor Zheng away. Her medical skills were probably far superior to those of the other two.


    As a result, Xing Lin Spring¡¯s business became more and more prosperous. Many doctors were attracted by its reputation and became resident doctors, treating patients on the one hand while following Lin Dan to learn medicine on the other. There was no need for her to deliberately impart any secret skills. As long as they stayed by her side and watched how she applied acupuncture and medicine, everyone benefited quite a bit. Her method of treating patients was very unique, focusing on speed, stability, and efficiency, leaving contemporary physicians far in the dust.


    By evening, the story of her curing a patient with intestinal ulcers had already been spread by passers-by, and her prestige started to faintly overtake that of Wu Xuancao.


    After Xue Boyong left the barracks, he never returned to Xue Manor, but went directly to Xing Lin Spring. As soon as he entered the rear courtyard, he said, ¡°I heard that you cured a case of an incurable disease today?¡±


    ¡°Intestinal ulcers don¡¯t count as an incurable disease. My ancestor was good at treating acute diseases. In his lifetime, he encountered twenty-two cases of intestinal ulcers and cured them all. I drew on the experience of my ancestor, so my techniques were naturally better than those of ordinary doctors. I¡¯m just taking advantage of my family inheritance.¡± Lin Dan was scrubbing the sheets, her hands turning red from cold.


    Those who had dealings with the clinic were all patients. This one vomited a mouthful of blood, that one was incontinent, and so on, making the sheets into a huge mess. They had to be cleaned and replaced every day.


    Xue Boyong rolled up his sleeves, took over the sheets as if it were natural, and said gently, ¡°I¡¯ll wash it, you¡¯ve worn yourself out a whole day now, so go take a rest.¡±


    Lin Dan shook her head: ¡°I only need to sit and diagnose when practicing medicine. But you, on the other hand, have to go through a lot of training* in the barracks. When all is said and done, who¡¯s the tired one?¡±


    *Literally, ¡°touch, crawl, roll, hit,¡± referring to the physical training.


    Xue Boyong chuckled softly: ¡°We¡¯re both tired. Why don¡¯t we just hire a few servant women. They can also take care of you.¡±


    When Lin Dan heard these words, she immediately wiped her hands, went back into the room and fetched a small notebook, pointing each line out for him to read: ¡°Our clinic has only started to make money this month. In the first few months, we have to buy herbs and pay rent. It¡¯s really not an insignificant sum of money. We finally made some money this month with great difficulty, but I used it to hire apprentices and resident physicians. When there are more patients, more herbs are consumed. Expenditure in this area is inevitable and the flow of money is very large. We must ensure that we have five hundred taels of silver in our purse at all times for this¡­¡­ Brother, you do the math. Where do we have any spare money to hire servants with?¡±


    She said ¡°we¡± each time she opened her mouth, as if she had already regarded this place as the shared home of her and her Brother. There was little alienation and much intimacy in her words, which made Xue Boyong cheer up instead. He looked at Lin Dan with tenderness in his eyes and sighed, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll come back a little earlier and help you do the chores.¡±


    Lin Dan was not polite with him. She pointed at the basin and said, ¡°Let¡¯s work together to wring out the sheets. Then, you go chop wood and I¡¯ll go cook. Brother, don¡¯t you worry. Xing Lin Spring¡¯s business will only get better and better. When I have money, we can hire a few more servants and you will never be asked to do chores again. Brother, these days, it¡¯s been really hard on you.¡±


    In Xue Manor, Xue Boyong never had to do chores, but when he came to her place, he had to do laundry, chop wood, and cook, making him cut a sorry figure from head to toe. Xue Boyong deigned to do it all because of her, how could she not be grateful? She originally wanted to refuse him, yet she had to admit that if a family didn¡¯t have a man to support it, merely depending on herself, she would really be too busy to do everything.


    Xue Boyong could totally have paid out of pocket for Lin Dan to hire a few servants, but he didn¡¯t do that. He liked to hurry back every day to help her with chores. In this way, he could slowly integrate into her life and become an indispensable part of this home. He and Lin Dan each held one end of the sheet, slowly wrang it out, then hung it on the clothesline. Together, they poured out the basin of dirty water. One of them chopped firewood and the other went into the kitchen to cook. The division of labor was very clear.


    Several bodyguards hid outside the door and craned their necks, but did not dare to go in. They found the general sending a meaningful look in this direction, so they immediately left. After leaving Xing Lin Spring, they sighed and said, ¡°Why do you think the general bothers with all of this? He doesn¡¯t act like a proper noble heir. Instead, he comes to Miss Lin¡¯s place to be a laborer. It¡¯s like he¡¯s addicted.¡±


    ¡°This is something you don¡¯t know. When you do chores for your sweetheart for a long time, you will naturally become a family. The general is using strategy. At first, Miss Lin even told the general to return to Xue Manor and said not to worry about her, but now, if the general doesn¡¯t come the entire day, she has to go to the barracks to find him. Don¡¯t you see that she can¡¯t be without the general anymore?¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the case. I hope the general¡¯s efforts will come to fruition earlier rather than later.¡±


    A group of people laughing as they discussed, obviously very optimistic about this couple.


    Lin Dan¡¯s days became better, but Wu Xuancao¡¯s days became much more difficult. Without Zheng Zhe residing, it was difficult for her to support Xuancao Hall alone. If the people who came for treatment were commoners, she could still say that she was studying and could not come, pushing them onto the other medical practitioners for treatment. However, if she encountered someone whose identity was high, she had to go personally or else risk offending them.


    Just a single sentence from one of these people could destroy Xuancao Hall in one day and ruin Wu Xuancao. She couldn¡¯t hide and she didn¡¯t have the guts to hide.


    What could go wrong, would go wrong*. On this day, the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an, who had some connections with her, came to seek treatment, saying that her right upper limb was cold and numb, sore and weak, and that she often experienced symptoms such as headache, convulsions, and fainting. She used to be a woman with a full figure, but now she was so thin that only a handful of bones remained. If it wasn¡¯t for the support of the two maids on her left and right, she would probably topple over at any time.


    *Literally ¡°whatever she was afraid of, that was what came.¡± I translated it to Murphy¡¯s Law.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an fainted on the street two months ago, and it was Wu Xuancao who promptly administered first aid and finally brought her back. Naturally, she trusted the other party completely. Walking into the inner hall, smelling the strong scent of medicine, she immediately felt much more at ease and asked softly: ¡°Xuancao, my disease is not hard to treat, right?¡±


    ¡°Let me check your pulse for you before we say anything.¡± Wu Xuancao had already learned to check a pulse and was calm at this time, but the next moment, when she put her fingertips on the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s wrist, her complexion changed.


    ¡°Xuancao. Why do you look like this? Is it because my illness is very serious?¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s eyes were red and her face was desperate. In fact, she had seen many imperial physicians and taken many medicines, but there was no progress, so she personally came to Xuancao Hall for a consultation. If even Wu Xuancao couldn¡¯t cure her illness, then she really didn¡¯t know who else to turn to.


    Wu Xuancao shook her head and did not dare to speak. She tried harder to feel the pulse, but found nothing. The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an was sitting in front of her, alive, but she couldn¡¯t feel a pulse. What kind of disease was this? Before transmigrating, she was only a general surgeon. It would be absolutely impossible for her to claim to be able to understand and cure all diseases.


    Why was there no pulse? A lot of options appeared in her mind at once. It might be a problem with the aorta; it might also be a deficiency of blood or qi; it could even be a heart disease. Arterial problems were then split into many types, such as sclerosis, dissection, thrombosis, and so on and so forth. There were even more types of heart diseases; it was impossible to say them all in one breath.


    *Aortic valve sclerosis is a thickening of the aortic valve. Aorta dissection is a tear in the inner layer of a weakened area of the aorta and is also known as an aneurysm. Aortic thrombosis is a blockage in the aorta, often due to a blood clot or plaque.


    For these diseases, the simplest and most efficient treatment was undoubtedly surgery. Either removing emboli*, grafting the aorta, dilating blood vessels; or bypass surgery, replacement, or even a heart transplant. These treatment methods did not even have the prerequisites for implementation in this backward era. Even if they could be implemented, Wu Xuancao didn¡¯t have the skill.


    *Emboli are blockages.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s illness, she had no way to treat it!

 CH 146

    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an had been ill for a long time, and, having heard of Wu Xuancao¡¯s reputation, naturally pinned her hopes on her. However, at this time, the other party had a difficult expression and was speechless for a while; she clearly had no grasp over the situation. She immediately became nervous and tentatively asked: ¡°Xuancao, this disease of mine isn¡¯t that serious, is it?¡±


    Wu Xuancao immediately returned to her senses and opened her mouth with difficulty, ¡°To answer Madam, I can¡¯t figure out your illness. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t figure it out? How could that be?¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an had a hard time accepting reality. Her limbs had been getting more and more numb and signs of paralysis had gradually been appearing. If things continued like this, she would probably become handicapped. If one could live well, who would want to be a half-dead cripple? It was difficult for her to imagine such a scene, and the dread in her heart was even worse than the discomfort in her body.


    ¡°Please check again,¡± she said imploringly.


    Wu Xuancao could only check the pulse again, then shake her head with a solemn expression.


    The rims of the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s eyes flushed, and tears almost fell on the spot.


    In order to cover up her own embarrassment, Wu Xuancao immediately beckoned several resident physicians: ¡°All of you, come take a look. Madam¡¯s illness is very strange. Let¡¯s all put our heads together. Maybe we can find a solution.¡±


    Several people immediately gathered around and took turns to check the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s pulse. Each one¡¯s expression was weirder than the previous. After the last one was finished, the whole room was actually completely silent. No one dared to start speaking.


    No matter how slow the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s reactions might be, she could see that there was a problem. She hurriedly opened her mouth, ¡°Respected doctors, what illness do I have? Don¡¯t be shy. Just tell me, I can accept it.¡±


    The group of people huddled together and muttered for a spell, then shook their heads and said, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s not that we can¡¯t find out what disease you have, but that you don¡¯t have a pulse at all. This is the first time we have seen this kind of strange illness in our decades of medical practice. Without a pulse, a person should be dead, but you are still alive and well. This is truly unimaginable.¡±


    Wu Xuancao¡¯s vision was broader than theirs, and naturally knew that not having a pulse wasn¡¯t that odd, but she couldn¡¯t express her suspicions. If she didn¡¯t say it, she could pretend that she couldn¡¯t cure it and then wash her hands of the matter; if she said it and the other saw hope, wouldn¡¯t they pester her and try to force her to treat it? She was a general surgeon, so she had no idea how to perform these types of operations. Even if she could do them, there was no way to actually implement it with the current conditions..


    Thinking of this, she waved her hand regretfully: ¡°Madam, I¡¯m very sorry. We can¡¯t cure your illness. Please find someone more qualified. The imperial doctors in the palace are quite experienced and knowledgeable; perhaps they will have a cure.¡±


    ¡°But the imperial doctors have already been treating me for more than a month. There has been no sign of improvement; that¡¯s why I came to find you. If even you can¡¯t cure me, who else could I look for?¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s face was full of anxiety and unease.


    Wu Xuancao was left speechless, but an apprentice standing behind her murmured, ¡°You could go across the street to Xing Lin Spring. Little Physician Lin¡¯s medical skills are very good. She may have a solution.¡±


    ¡°Xing Lin Spring?¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an had been ill for quite a bit, and she hadn¡¯t had any interest in news about the outside world. Naturally, she didn¡¯t know about Lin Dan, who had only recently gained fame.


    Her maid immediately leaned close to  her ear and whispered, ¡°To answer Madam, little Physician Lin brought a patient with intestinal ulcers back to life a few days ago and also saved a patient who was almost treated to death by Physician Zheng. For this reason, Physician Zheng has already gone far from the capital to practice outside. Little Physician Lin¡¯s medical skills should be better than Physician Zheng¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Oh my. I¡¯ve only been cooped up for two months, and such a divine person appeared in the capital? Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier!¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s hope rekindled and she immediately urged: ¡°Hurry up and help me across the street, quickly.¡±


    The two maids promptly held onto her arms and hurried towards the opposite side, not even bothering to take another glance at Wu Xuancao.


    Wu Xuancao felt extremely uncomfortable in her heart, but she still stood up and followed them over. She wanted to see how Lin Dan would treat this patient who had no pulse. Could traditional Chinese medicine really beat Western medicine? Impossible!


    The apprentices and resident physicians in Xuancao Hall also followed, their faces full of anticipation.


    ¡°Which one is little Physician Lin? Little Physician Lin, please hurry and take a look at our madam. She has been ill for more than two months. Currently, she can¡¯t even walk by herself.¡± The two maids kept scanning the inner hall and finally found her in a corner grinding the herbs.


    ¡°Oh? Bring the patient here.¡± Lin Dan wiped her hands clean and said in a calm voice, ¡°The light over here is brighter, which is more convenient for diagnosis.¡±


    The two maids quickly helped the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an over. The resident physicians in Xing Lin Spring who weren¡¯t busy stood up and surrounded the two of them in a circle. Lin Dan had recently become obsessed with concocting traditional Chinese medicine. Unless a patient was dying, she usually wouldn¡¯t take action, so there had been fewer learning opportunities for everyone.


    Now that a critically ill patient had come to the door, how could they miss out? Naturally, they rushed over to observe. Not only did the doctors of Xing Lin Spring do this, but the doctors of Xuancao Hall did as well. It could be seen that Lin Dan¡¯s medical skills had been widely recognized in the field. Conversely, Wu Xuancao¡¯s various deeds increasingly provoked suspicion.


    Lin Dan seemed to be used to the feeling of being the center of attention, and her expression was unflustered from beginning to end. The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an, however, was a little uncomfortable, but she didn¡¯t dare to protest.


    ¡°Put your hand here.¡± Lin Dan took out a clean pulse pillow.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an immediately placed her wrist on top.


    ¡°How long have you been ill, and what are the symptoms?¡± She asked while probing her pulse.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an answered her questions one by one, observing her expression at the same time.


    The tips of Lin Dan¡¯s brows slightly jumped up, then quickly smoothed out again, explaining, ¡°You have pulseless disease, which is caused by a deficiency of kidney yang as well as blocked meridians. You need to replenish blood and boost your kidney yang, dissolve the blockage and clear your meridians. I will write you a prescription of Wushe* (black serpent) Decoction for you to drink first. Come back for further diagnosis in seven days.¡± Before she had finished her sentence, she had already written a prescription and handed it to an apprentice.


    Several apprentices fought for it at once, but they were interrupted* by a few resident physicians, who snatched the prescription away and studied it while grabbing the herbs, their expressions eager. The apprentices and doctors of Xuancao Hall were very envious, but they didn¡¯t have the face to make a fuss in another¡¯s shop, so they could only watch with their eyes wide open.


    *Literally, their ¡°beard was cut off¡±.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an said in disbelief, ¡°Pulseless disease? Is that what this is?¡± This little girl was neither surprised nor confused, as if it were as ordinary as a headache or a minor fever.


    Lin Dan explained in a mild-mannered tone: ¡°Pulseless disease, also called life numb pulse*, is an innate imbalance caused by deficiencies in both the spleen and the kidneys. Madam has a deficiency of kidney yang, which causes internal yin and cold to flourish. Blood vessels congeal when they encounter cold. A deficiency of blood leads to blood flow not being smooth and circulation being slow. Over time, the veins will become obstructed and even blocked, until the pulse is as obscure as silk or even non-existent. The treatment process for this disease is very slow and requires long-term use of medicine to recover. Madam, please be at peace and do not worry.¡±


    *Describing the pulse is also a way of naming a condition. The most famous would probably be ¡°slippery pulse,¡± which signifies pregnancy.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an saw that her tone was ordinary, and the panic in her heart disappeared bit by bit. She touched her numb right upper limb and said hoarsely, ¡°Can I really recover?¡±


    ¡°As long as you persist in taking medicine, there will be an effect.¡± Lin Dan¡¯s tone was very calm and unhurried. For her, this type of pulseless disease was not difficult to treat.


    The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an nodded again and again: ¡°Okay, I will definitely persist in taking medicine. Thank you, doctor!¡± A disease that the bystanders couldn¡¯t see, Lin Dan could expose with a few words. If she couldn¡¯t be believed, who else could be? Even if there hadn¡¯t been a healing effect yet, the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an had already been comforted by her calm and unperturbed attitude.


    After sending the patient away, Lin Dan continued to grind herbs. Meanwhile, the prescription she had drawn up had already been hand-copied by several resident physicians and taken to be studied.


    Wu Xuancao stealthily withdrew to outside the doorway, her heart full of skepticism, but also feeling faintly shaken. She didn¡¯t believe that Lin Dan could really cure the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s illness. Without sophisticated diagnostic equipment or a pulse to go by, how could she determine the root of the illness? If she could¡¯t find the root, would the prescription she formulated really work? But she looked so calm and confident, her whole body exuding a persuasive charisma. No matter how desperate a patient was, in front of her, they could only involuntarily calm down. This was an authoritative bearing that only doctors at the apex could achieve.


    How long had Lin Dan been studying medicine? Were her medical skills really that superb? Wu Xuancao shook her head and said in her heart that she would wait to see the results in seven days.


    Seven days later, the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an came, as appointed, but she stepped into the threshold of Xing Lin Spring on her own, without needing a maid to support her, with a bright smile on her face. Seeing her so lively and full of energy, the doctors and apprentices in the shop were all stupefied, and the doctors and apprentices from Xuancao Hall also squeezed onto this side of the street, watching with burning eyes.


    A disease that others couldn¡¯t cure for more than a month, in Lin Dan¡¯s hands, it only took seven days to see a miraculous effect. Divine, truly divine!


    ¡°Little Physician Lin, my right upper limb has recovered sensation now. It¡¯s just that my body is still a little exhausted, so I can¡¯t stand or sit for a long time. Please quickly help me take a look. Do I have a pulse this time?¡± She stretched out her hand with a grin.


    Lin Dan casually took the pulse, nodded, and said, ¡°Although the pulse is weak, it has already greatly improved. There is no need to change the prescription. Continue to drink Wushe Decoction, three doses a day. I hope you will not find it too troublesome.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not troublesome, not troublesome at all.¡± The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an waved her hands again and again with a respectful expression. For a disease that couldn¡¯t even be treated by the imperial hospital, little Physician Lin could create an improvement with just one prescription. How would she dare to ignore her instructions? If it had been a normal day, she would certainly find it unbearable to have someone show a cold face in front of her, speaking deeply and rhythmically. But when this person was replaced by little Physician Lin, she would instead feel an unending stream of security. The colder and more indifferent she was, the more she showed that the patient¡¯s illness was not a big deal. This attitude was extremely reassuring.


    ¡°Little Physician Lin, this is the consultation fee. Please accept it.¡± She personally handed over a purse with several golden leaves tucked inside.


    Lin Dan put the purse directly into the drawer and didn¡¯t even bother to look at it. If there was less money, she would not be disdainful, and if there was more, she would not be afraid, as if everything was right and proper.


    This ordinary attitude of hers made the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an feel more and more at ease, and the favorability she felt for her rose in a straight line. The group thanked her repeatedly and sent many gift boxes before leaving.


    Wu Xuancao stared at the carriage going into the distance, her face alternating between red and white, extremely spectacular to behold. The Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s condition had greatly improved, which meant that Lin Dan¡¯s diagnosis was correct. She actually cured an illness that even surgery might not necessarily be able to treat. Was traditional Chinese medicine really that magical? Or was it that the inheritance of the Lin family had its own profound mysteries?


    At this moment, the desires that Wu Xuancao had stifled in her heart surged up again, but she didn¡¯t notice that the doctors and apprentices in the shop had completely changed how they looked at her. They used to have a lot of admiration for her, but now a deep suspicion had arisen in its place. Ever since Physician Zheng left, she seemed to have never treated anyone again. Did she have no time, or no ability?


    Just as they were wondering about this, Xue Jiming hurried in with a comatose infant in his arms and yelled, ¡°Xuancao, come and help!¡± Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse ¨C ¡°NovelMultiverse dot com¡±


    Translator¡¯s Notes: In this chapter, Lin Dan repeatedly treats drinking medicine as a chore or a difficult thing to endure ¨C which, for many people, it is. However, living a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis is similarly difficult for almost everyone. This is a principle of health that is less prevalent in Western medicine. Yes, a doctor may recommend exercise and cutting back on junk food. But in traditional Chinese medicine, you¡¯ll see more specific and even (by our standards) more intrusive ¡°suggestions.¡± Some examples include: wake up at this particular time and do this specific exercise, do not get angry at your family, avoid all frozen foods and drinks, and do not walk around barefoot. (Every single example I just listed, I have personally heard a TCM physician recommend in a legitimate clinic during diagnosis.) So, in a lot of ways, we are responsible for our own illness (unless it¡¯s congenital, infectious, or an accidental injury ¨C such as the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an¡¯s illness, the plague in the second arc, or Xue Boyong¡¯s paraplegia) ¨C and even then, we are responsible for our own recovery.

 CH 147

    Since his brother¡¯s legs recovered, Xue Jiming seldom went to the barracks. In any case, there was his older brother at home as a pillar. He was inferior to Brother in every aspect, so why would he go to the army and garner disdain? Brother¡¯s subordinates all looked down on him. They were deferential on the surface, but behind his back, they would say that he was weak and inept. Even if he had the motivation to improve himself, his determination was gradually whittled away.


    He might as well be like before and continue to eat, drink, and be merry, traveling the mountains and rivers freely. Wouldn¡¯t that be more enjoyable? On this day, he originally planned to go out to meet with friends, but when he passed by the second branch¡¯s courtyard, he heard shocked shouting coming from inside. When no one answered his yells, he ran in to check the situation. It turned out that the second branch¡¯s eldest daughter-in-law¡¯s infant son suddenly fainted. No matter whether he was pinched on the Renzhong* or given medicine, he never came to. His body was like a little burning coal, scalding to the touch, and his limbs twitched from time to time. His illness was extremely acute.


    *Literally ¡°human center,¡± the philtrum (the groove under the nose above the upper lip).


    The eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch told the servants to go invite a doctor and at the same time went to her mother-in-law and the Old Madam for an executive decision, and then circled the room like a headless fly.


    Xue Jiming didn¡¯t have time to think about the separation between men and women. He quickly walked over and touched his nephew¡¯s forehead, and exclaimed in alarm, ¡°So hot*!¡±


    *He says it in a way that also means that his hand feels scalded.


    The eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch, Madam Xiao, burst into tears when she saw her brother-in-law and said intermittently, between sobs, ¡°Jiming, you, you have to come up with something! Ran¡¯er has been cramping up, and his body is getting hotter and hotter, if it goes on like this, it will really be a big problem!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll take you to find Xiao Cao¡¯er. She is a skilled doctor and will definitely be able to save Ran¡¯er. If you send someone to look for a doctor, going back and forth will waste quite a bit of time. Why don¡¯t we just directly go?¡± Xue Jiming picked up his nephew and immediately left, Madam Xiao hurriedly following behind him.


    Not long after, Old Madam and the old madam of the second branch also heard the news and rushed to Xuancao Hall, where a noisy crowd of people squeezed into the shop, quite a sight to see.


    Lin Dan also emerged when she heard the noise. Seeing that Old Madam and the others were extremely anxious, she didn¡¯t go over and greet them. When others didn¡¯t come to her for medical treatment, it showed that they didn¡¯t trust her medical skills. If she shamelessly stuck her face on them, they would not only be upset, but would even think she was being nosy and delaying the child¡¯s treatment. Since this was the case, why would she try?


    She stood at the doorway and watched for a while, then turned back to the inner hall to continue processing herbs. She didn¡¯t stick her nose into it.


    Two quarters of an hour later, Xue Boyong and the eldest son of the second branch, Xue Yangfan (set sail), also came from the barracks. One rushed into Xuancao Hall, but the other only stood outside to check the situation before going into Xing Lin Spring.


    Hearing the familiar footsteps, Lin Dan immediately raised her head and asked, ¡°Brother, did you take a look over there?¡±


    ¡°I took a look, it looks like he caught a cold and has a bit of a fever.¡± Xue Boyong¡¯s brows were tightly furrowed.


    Lin Dan wiped her hands on her apron and said hesitantly, ¡°Brother, I didn¡¯t go over there to take a look just now and I don¡¯t know what kind of illness the child has. Why don¡¯t I go over now?¡± Taking Brother¡¯s face into consideration, she would go and do her best to treat him even if others disliked her for it.


    She didn¡¯t expect Xue Boyong to unhurriedly wave his hand: ¡°Don¡¯t go over. Let Wu Xuancao take care of it. The second branch only has two di sons*. Wu Xuancao once saved the older one from drowning, so when the younger one became ill, they would naturally look for her again. They trust Wu Xuancao far more than they trust you, not to mention the fact that Second Grandmother is acting as a matchmaker between Wu Xuancao and Xue Jiming and wants to make them into one family. Even if you go, you won¡¯t get a chance to stick your hand in. You will instead be disdained by them. Just forget about it.¡±


    *Sons of the proper wife.


    Was Brother afraid that I would be bullied? Thinking of this, Lin Dan felt cozy in her heart, and her always expressionless face couldn¡¯t help but reveal a smear of a sweet smile.


    Xue Boyong took one glance at her and also couldn¡¯t help the corners of his mouth hooking up. Only in front of Lin Dan would he reveal a tender side. To other people, even his relatives, he could barely hide his callousness. He had led the Qin army¡¯s armored cavalry to conquer the surrounding countries. His hands were stained with too much blood, and he had once even killed tens of thousands of prisoners in a pit. How could he be compassionate?


    But Lin Dan was not even the slightest bit scared of such a Brother, but rather was a little fond of it. She took out a throat lozenge from a drawer and stuffed it into her mouth, then took out another and fed it to Xue Boyong, her eyes curved like two crescents: ¡°Brother, this is my newly developed throat lozenge, it can cure dry and hoarse throats. Brother, you run drills all day so you need it the most. I made a big box for you, don¡¯t forget to take it with you later.¡±


    ¡°So sweet.¡± When he said this, Xue Boyong stared straight at her. It was hard to tell whether he was praising the candy or the little girl.


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t notice at all, and explained slowly: ¡°Of course! I simmered snow pear, loquat, and licorice root into a very thick juice, then let it cool and cut it into pieces. Thinking of Brother¡¯s preference for sweetness, I even added a few spoons of honey. Brother, do you still like sweet things?¡±


    ¡°I like it.¡± Xue Boyong smiled and nodded while taking off the little girl¡¯s apron and putting it on himself, saying softly, ¡°Sit to the side, I¡¯ll help you grind the herbs.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Dan stood up and wanted to go to the rear courtyard, but Xue Boyong grabbed her wrist and asked anxiously, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the kitchen to prepare lunch.¡± Lin Dan tilted her head to look at him, unintentionally looking adorable.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s heart was slightly itchy, and he said hoarsely: ¡°It¡¯s still early. Why be in such a hurry? Sit next to me and read some medical books. You¡¯re not allowed to leave.¡±


    Lin Dan didn¡¯t ask him why either. She just obediently agreed, sat down, and picked up a medical book to read. If there are no critically ill patients in the shop, she usually wouldn¡¯t take action, so she had plenty of free time. She also recently began to copy her ancestor and write down her own experiences practicing medicine. She even developed a strong interest in pharmaceuticals. She held a book in one hand and a pen in the other, writing as she read, with a very focused expression.


    Xue Boyong sat beside her and pounded the herbs, his body filled with strength but paired with an apron. His appearance was a bit comical, and he frequently attracted the sidelong glances of passersby. But he didn¡¯t care at all. After pounding the herbs for a while, he would take a glance at Lin Dan. He seemed to be enjoying himself.


    ¡ª


    Time passed tranquilly in Xing Lin Spring, but Xuancao Hall was in deep water and scorching fire.


    Wu Xuancao was surrounded by three circles of the Xue family, so one could imagine the pressure she was under. After taking the pulse, she checked Xue Ran¡¯s pupils and tongue, and used a homemade stethoscope to listen to his chest. Her expression became more and more solemn.


    She had long been able to tell that Xue Ran had acute pneumonia, also known as acute infantile convulsion. It was a common disease in childhood. Even in modern times, the mortality rate was high, not to mention the ancient times when medical technology was extremely undeveloped. Seeing the anxious faces of the Xue family, and the infant whose face was already turning purple and almost no longer breathing, her mind buzzed.


    There were no antibiotics, no specific medications, no ventilators, no intravenous injection tools¡­ She didn¡¯t know how to treat acute pneumonia at all.


    ¡°Force the child to drink water, lest the fever evaporate too much of his body¡¯s water content. Bring a basin of warm water over, and I will give him a bath first. Are there any ice cubes left in the cellar? If there are any, bring it over quickly, chill a handkerchief with them and lay it on his forehead. Also, put an ice pillow behind his head. Hurry!¡± Wu Xuancao gave orders in an orderly manner.


    The crowd of apprentices immediately split up. Some drew water, some fetched ice cubes, and everything was quickly prepared. Seeing Wu Xuancao¡¯s* confident commands and composed expression, as if everything were in her grasp, Madam Xiao and the old madam of the second branch were completely relieved. Xue Jiming and Xue Yangfan quickly withdrew out to the door, lest there would be too many people squeezed into the room, disturbing the treatment.


    *Author made a mistake and put Lin Dan here.


    But several of Xuancao Hall¡¯s resident doctors shook their heads, looking worried.


    One of them reminded: ¡°Physician Wu, these measures you¡¯ve taken can only temporarily relieve the child¡¯s fever. If you want to stop his convulsions, you also need to immediately prescribe medicine! If you¡¯re late by even a little bit, even if the child is rescued, he will have some serious sequelae.¡±


    Acute convulsion was one of the four major childhood diseases, and it was classified as an acute and critical illness. If medicine was not given with all due speed, the child could die at any time. What was even more frightening was that this disease came quickly and changed rapidly. It was difficult for doctors to formulate the most suitable prescription in the shortest time. If an herb was wrong, or even if too much or too little of it was put in, it would not be efficacious. Even doctors who were the most experienced with treating children did not dare to guarantee that they would cure convulsions, let alone Wu Xuancao, who had only learned a little bit of Chinese medicine.


    She was stunned on the spot with a look of distress on her face.


    Xue Yangfan was frightened by the doctor¡¯s words, and hurriedly asked, ¡°What sequelae?¡±


    ¡°It could devolve into epilepsy, mental retardation, imbecility, and so on. We are not skilled in medicine and dare not prescribe at will.¡± Several doctors shook their heads and sighed, expressing that their hands were tied. The people who came had military power and a precious status. They couldn¡¯t treat the illness and didn¡¯t dare to treat the illness, for fear that if the illness wasn¡¯t cured, Xue manor would hold a grudge. What¡¯s more, they didn¡¯t lie. Acute convulsions was too complicated a condition. Even the tiniest bit of hesitation could cost a life, and the consequences were very dreadful.


    A few years ago, the imperial hospital¡¯s Fang Yuan (square courtyard*) was condemned and demoted by the emperor because he failed to cure the seventh prince, who had been suffering from acute convulsions. He was a distinguished figure in the field, with extraordinary medical skills, but even he was helpless in the face of this illness, let alone an ordinary doctor? Wu Xuancao and Zheng Zhe had long had names of equal fame to him. They should be about to treat it.


    *Yes, the author really named a person this.


    Thinking of this, several resident doctors were afraid that Wu Xuancao would drag them into the water again, so they saluted in unison and said: ¡°This time, only Physician Wu can deal with it. We will provide assistance from the side.¡± Last time, when the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an came seeking medical attention, they had been very dissatisfied with Wu Xuancao¡¯s act of throwing the pot*. If little Physician Lin hadn¡¯t been able to cure the pulseless disease, who knew how much of a fuss the Marchioness of Wu¡¯an would raise with Xuancao Hall!


    *When someone is ¡°carrying the pot¡± in Chinese culture, that means they are the one being blamed. ¡°Throwing the pot¡± means shifting blame.


    Hearing this, Xue Jiming immediately urged: ¡°Xiao Cao¡¯er, quickly prescribe medicine for Ran¡¯er! If you don¡¯t, his thrashing will have severe consequences!¡±


    Even in a coma, Xue Ran was still twitching in bursts. His nostrils opened and closed, his lips and fingers were blue, his limbs were rigid and cold, his body burned like coal, but there was no sweat at all. His Yangguan* (yang gate) had completely closed.


    *This is also known as the gallbladder meridian.


    Wu Xuancao gritted her teeth and said, ¡°I will cool him down first, then prescribe medicine. If the high fever persists, it will burn his brain.¡±


    When Xue Jiming heard it, he thought that sounded reasonable, so he hurriedly stepped forward to undress his nephew. Madam Xiao and her mother-in-law also ran over to help, and after tossing for a while, finally placed Xue Ran on the ice pillow.


    Madam Xiao touched her son¡¯s scalding forehead and sobbed: ¡°It¡¯s useless! These methods are completely useless, the heat hasn¡¯t reduced at all! Xuancao, hurry up and think of something! She grabbed Wu Xuancao¡¯s shoulder and shook her, clearly on the brink of collapse.


    Wu Xuancao¡¯s head was covered in cold sweat. She held a pen in her hand, but couldn¡¯t write even half a word for a long time. Prescribe medicine, what medicine? There were thousands of medicinal herbs that could reduce fever and clear cold, but she didn¡¯t know how to combine them to form the best curative effect.


    She really couldn¡¯t do it!

 CH 148

    Seeing Wu Xuancao hold a pen without writing a single word for a long time, the several resident doctors looked at each other in dismay, their suspicions deepening. One of them urged: ¡°Physician Wu, the priority is saving his life. Even if you don¡¯t have a complete grasp of it, you should also formulate a prescription first and give it a try.¡±


    Wu Xuancao broke free from Madam Xiao¡¯s grasp and sat down slowly, but her fingers trembled incessantly. There was no way she could arbitrarily write up a prescription to try to fool her way through. First, because several doctors were right here and would be able to see through it at a glance. Second, because this was a human life after all, and her conscience couldn¡¯t handle it. She picked up the pen, messily wrote the word Mahuang*, then could no longer continue.


    *Literally ¡°numb yellow,¡± ephedra.


    ¡°Jiming, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I don¡¯t know how to prescribe medicine¡­ You should find someone else for treatment.¡± She finally raised her head and said with tears streaming down her face.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Xue Jiming thought he had heard her wrong.


    Madam Xiao was stunned for a while, and then disbelievingly exclaimed in a low roar: ¡°Wu Xuancao, don¡¯t joke around at this stage! Back when my eldest son drowned, it was you who breathed him back to life. You can even save someone after slicing open their belly. How is it possible that you can¡¯t save my Ran¡¯er! Hurry up and prescribe something! I¡¯m begging you! Do you need me to kowtow to you?¡±


    Madam Xiao cried and fussed and, in the end, went as far as to directly kneel down. The two old madams were also mentally and physically exhausted, full of bewilderment.


    Wu Xuancao¡¯s pressure increased, knowing in her heart that if she continued to omit the truth, she would be propped up onto a sky-high pedestal by these people and unable to come down. Treating someone else to death, she would have to pay with her life; but if she treated Xue Ran to death, the situation would be even worse, so she could only grit her teeth and admit: ¡°Sister-in-law, I really can¡¯t do anything. It¡¯s useless to try to force me. Saving Xue Meng and saving Xue Ran are two completely different things. When Xue Meng was drowning, I used first aid techniques. As long as the method is right, anyone can do it. It has its own principle and isn¡¯t anything mysterious. But saving Xue Ran would rely on internal medicine treatment. I don¡¯t understand it, so I can¡¯t treat it. I know how to perform surgery, but I don¡¯t know medicine or pharmacology. The medical skills I learned and the medical skills here are from completely different systems.¡±


    Madam Xiao listened but didn¡¯t understand, and pursued, ¡°Isn¡¯t it all medical skills ¨C how come the doctors next to you could treat it, but you can¡¯t?¡±


    Wu Xuancao was also a little anxious, and retorted: ¡°This kind of disease is a critical illness, can any doctor guarantee to treat it? Sister-in-law, what you¡¯re doing is forcing people into a difficult place!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one forcing people? You are obviously a doctor, but you say that you don¡¯t understand medicine and pharmacology. Instead, you accuse me of forcing people? You swindler! Ran¡¯er, who will save my Ran¡¯er!¡± Madam Xiao¡¯s last bit of hope was dashed. All she could do was hug her comatose and convulsing infant son and wail.


    Old Madam and the old madam of the second branch were also full of disbelief. Had there even been anyone who could cure diseases and save people without knowing medicine and pharmacology, and even pass for a miracle doctor? Oh, that¡¯s right, originally Zheng Zhe was in Xuancao Hall, so Wu Xuancao¡¯s title was probably gained by standing in the other¡¯s halo. However, when others addressed her like that and came to the door asking for treatment, she never told the truth, but kept up the facade. For the sake of fame, for the sake of profit, she could abuse human lives and neglect life and death!


    No wonder she always went out with Zheng Zhe to diagnose, never daring to act alone; no wonder she was so slow to come up with a treatment plan for Boyong¡¯s legs; no wonder without Zheng Zhe, she hid in the name of studying medicine and didn¡¯t see any patients! It turned out that she was a complete fake!


    Old Madam¡¯s impression of Wu Xuancao instantly fell to the lowest point, and in her eyes appeared a faint sense of loathing. Remembering that her grandson was already engaged to the other party, she felt like she had swallowed a hundred flies. The old madam of the second branch was also both resentful and embarrassed. She raised her walking stick to hit Wu Xuancao.


    Although Xue Jiming¡¯s heart was full of stupefaction, he still unconsciously stepped forward to shield his fianc¨¦e from the blame.


    ¡°Xiao Cao¡¯er, what nonsense are you saying? You could even cure me when I was poisoned by snake venom, how could you not understand medicine.¡± He said hoarsely.


    Wu Xuancao whispered: ¡°The antidote was passed down from my father, so I just directly fed it to you. My medical skills aren¡¯t bad¡­ It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know Chinese medicine. Jiming, you have to believe me.¡±


    She didn¡¯t understand medicine, but her medical skills were also very good ¨C no matter how Xue Jiming tried to understand these words, they seemed strange. He though his fianc¨¦e was being a sophist, and his heart felt extremely uncomfortable, but he also had no choice but to protect her, ¡°Sister-in-law, stop hitting. The priority is saving his life. Lin Dan¡¯s Xing Lin Spring is just across the street. She has superb medical skills and should be able to help us.¡±


    Old Madam hurriedly opened her mouth, ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right, Dan¡¯er could cure Boyong¡¯s legs, and certainly can cure Ran¡¯er¡¯s convulsions. Come, let¡¯s go across the street!¡±


    ¡°Lin Dan?¡± Madam Xiao and the old madam from the second branch looked absent-minded, as if trying to remember what Lin Dan looked like.


    But Xue Yangfan couldn¡¯t wait any longer, picking up his infant son and walking towards the other side of the street. As he brushed past Xue Jiming and Wu Xuancao, he ferociously glared at them with blood-red eyes. If anything happened to his son, he would never let this couple go! One was blind and the other had no conscience. No wonder they flocked together!


    ¡°Hurry up and follow. Don¡¯t bicker with her any more!¡± Old Madam gave Madam Xiao a push.The other party finally came back to her senses and staggered to catch up.


    After the Xue family left, there was silence in Xuancao Hall. Several resident doctors looked at each other, saluted, and said: ¡°Miss Wu, since you don¡¯t understand medicine and pharmacology, why did you say you would teach us medical skills? You are not being honest! Well, we will be leaving. Farewell!¡±


    What ¡°needing to go into seclusion to delve into the medical arts,¡± it all turned out to be an excuse to shirk responsibility and preserve her own reputation. They had practiced medicine for many years and had never seen anyone more presumptuous than Wu Xuancao. Everyone knew that practicing medicine was for the sake of aiding the world and saving people. Without real ability and learning, how could anyone act rashly? If something went wrong, one ¡°sorry¡± would never be able to conclude the matter. That was an actual human life!


    Medicine King Sun* once said: ¡°One should and should not be a doctor. One must have talent, cleverness, and enlightenment and read tens of thousands of books. After that, one may aid the world. Otherwise, few would not be killers, using medicine to disguise the knife blade. To avoid death, my children, be cautious and do not take doctors lightly!¡± The Internal Canon also had a saying ¨C do not teach unless it¡¯s to the appropriate people, and do not impart unless it¡¯s the truth. This is the correct way.


    *Sun is his surname, pronounced ¡°swuhn.¡± His full name was Sun Simiao and he was one of several renowned divine doctors in Chinese history.


    From this, it could be seen how sacred and solemn the practice of medicine was. There was no room for the least bit of recklessness, neglect, or jokes. And the various ways in which Wu Xuancao handled things violated all the taboos of practicing medicine. It was shameful to associate with her!


    Several resident doctors left angrily, and all the apprentices also began thinking about leaving. If today¡¯s matter spread outside, the reputation of Xuancao Hall would definitely become notorious. If they wanted to study medicine, they couldn¡¯t have anything to do with Wu Xuancao. If they didn¡¯t leave now, then when?


    Thinking of this, all the apprentices dispersed in confusion, not even wanting this month¡¯s salary.


    Wu Xuancao looked at the completely empty inner hall and finally realized that her career was over. It had always been her dream to be a doctor and save people. Even if she transmigrated into ancient times, she had never given up. She really did use what she had learned to save several people; this was an undeniable fact. She had never harmed anyone, so why did everyone negate everything she had done before just because of some tiny blemishes?


    She clutched her hair and slowly squatted on the ground, silently shedding tears.


    Xue Jiming gently patted her back and said in a husky voice: ¡°Since you don¡¯t know medicine, you should stop trying to keep this clinic open. If we married quickly and lived our lives out privately, wouldn¡¯t that be better?¡± However, the person he originally fell in love with really was that other Wu Xuancao, who had superb medical skills and a kind and beautiful heart, and not the current Wu Xuancao, who had been angling for fame and deceiving the world. His heart was filled with remorse and regret, and even more vacancy and lostness. He had been the one to choose the person, so he would be the one to walk the road. If he didn¡¯t persevere, what else could he do?


    ¡°Ran¡¯er¡¯s situation was very dangerous, I have to go over and take a look.¡± After saying this, he left without looking back even once. The silhouette of his back as he left in a hurry was almost like he was trying to escape from something.


    Wu Xuancao wiped her tears away and also followed him over. She knew that Lin Dan always had a way. There seemed to be nothing in the world that she couldn¡¯t do.


    When the patient had been sent over, Lin Dan and Xue Boyong had just been preparing to have a meal. When the two walked to the outer hall, they both had strange expressions on their faces.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just a fever from a cold? Why couldn¡¯t Wu Xuancao treat it?¡± Xue Boyong¡¯s face was filled with doubt. From what he remembered, although Wu Xuancao¡¯s medical skills were not as good as Lin Dan¡¯s, they were not lacking.


    ¡°Ugh, let¡¯s not talk about it! That Wu Xuancao is just a swindler. She doesn¡¯t understand medicine at all!¡± Old Madam was too embarrassed to raise her head.


    The old madam of the second branch and Madam Xiao wanted to kneel as soon as they saw Lin Dan, but Xue Boyong used the tips of his shoes to stop their knees from bending, and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t use emotions and righteousness to coerce Lin Dan. His illness is in such a critical state ¨C if it¡¯s cured, that¡¯s because Lin Dan¡¯s medical skills are excellent, but if it¡¯s not cured, that¡¯s just Xue Ran¡¯s fate. Even if you don¡¯t want to accept that, you have to. Don¡¯t try to wail and fuss or threaten to beat or kill.¡±


    ¡°We know. We won¡¯t make a fuss. Dan¡¯er, please quickly take a look at my grandson!¡± The old madam of the second branch didn¡¯t dare to refute at all.


    Seeing this, Xue Boyong finally signaled Lin Dan.


    Lin Dan walked up to the sickbed, carefully checked the afflicted child¡¯s pulse, and muttered to herself, ¡°Acute infantile convulsions¡­ his condition is somewhat serious.¡±


    ¡°Then is there any way he can be saved¡­¡± Before Madam Xiao even finished her sentence, she saw Lin Dan took out a set of silver needles, pierce them into her son¡¯s fingers and toes, the tips of both ears, Baihui (hundred gathering), Dazhui (large vertebra), and other places. Black blood leaked out. As soon as she wiped off the drops of blood, her son began to wail. He had woken up. Beads of sweat appeared on his body, and his ice-cold palms and soles also started warming up.


    Madam Xiao was stunned at the sight, and the two old madams and Xue Yangfan were also stupefied, unable to return to their senses for a long time. On the contrary, it was the two brothers, Xue Boyong and Xue Jiming, whose complexions looked normal, as if they had long expected this.


    Lin Dan ordered the apprentice to hold the child¡¯s hands and feet, then quickly pierced the Yongquan (gushing spring), Hegu (enjoined valley), and Renzhong (philtrum) points with acupuncture needles, then used the sparrow pecking technique to prick the Siliao (silk joint) point. She left the needles in for a short while, then pulled them out. The infant¡¯s twitching very quickly ceased, and his crying gradually faded.


    ¡°The convulsions have only been temporarily halted. He still needs to take medicine to consolidate the curative effect. I will first prescribe him a dose of Lingshe (antelope/musk deer) Zhijing (spasm stopping) Powder first, and then put him under observation.¡± Lin Dan quickly grabbed a dose of medicine, then personally brewed it and fed it to the child. After about two quarters of an hour, the child¡¯s fever completely subsided, and his convulsions stopped.


    When Madam Xiao took her barely one-year-old son into her bosom, he rooted around her chest, as if he were hungry and looking for milk to drink. Madam Xiao burst into tears of joy, hugged her infant son tightly, and spoke, choked with emotion, ¡°Thank you, Physician Lin, thank you!¡±


    A miracle doctor! The disease was cured the moment the medicine was taken! The old madam of the second branch widened her eyes, her heart full of shock. Xue Yangfan didn¡¯t know what to say, but the man who was strong like an iron tower, facing Lin Dan, looked like he was about to cry as well, the rims of his eyes red. He couldn¡¯t thank Lin Dan enough.


    When Wu Xuancao heard the child start to cry, she knew that Lin Dan really had a solution. When she saw the crying stop, she finally completely admitted defeat. She lifted her head to look at the signboard, which read ¡°Xing Lin Spring¡±, then looked back at the empty Xuancao Hall, something cryptic flashing across her eyes.

 CH 149

    In the end, several apprentices still spread word of Wu Xuancao illegitimately practicing medicine in spite of not being familiar with medicine and pharmacology. Fearing what people would say, she closed Xuancao Hall and spent all day at home, immersed in the study of medicine. Xue Jiming persisted in wanting to marry her. Old Madam and Madam Xue couldn¡¯t stop him and could only let him do as he wished. He had already withdrawn from one marriage, which caused so many catastrophic events. If he withdrew again, who knew how many calamities it would stir up. Well, the grandchildren had their own paths to happiness¡­¡­


    In late spring, Wu Xuancao married into Xue Manor, becoming the second daughter-in-law of the main branch. At some point, the former Xuancao Hall, across the street from Xinglin Spring, became a grocery store.


    On this day, Lin Dan closed up shop and entered the kitchen to make a plentiful dinner. The dinner table was large, with a complete menu of vegetable and meat dishes, yet the seat opposite hers was empty. She ate a few mouthfuls without any appetite, zoned out for a while, then finally put down her bowl and chopsticks, took out a food box, and placed the still steaming dishes into it one by one.


    A quarter of an hour later, the ox cart she had taken arrived at Xue Manor. She knocked on the corner gate.


    ¡°Wow, Miss Lin came to visit!¡± When the gatekeeper saw who it was, his expression was both surprised and happy. These days, Lin Dan¡¯s reputation as a miracle doctor had spread all over the Qin kingdom. The capital¡¯s rich and powerful all considered it an honor to meet her. As long as anyone became severely ill, Xinglin Chun was certainly the only choice and no other clinic would do. She was good at treating acute illnesses. The disease was cured the moment the medicine was taken; her skill in medicine had reached perfection. She could be called the number one in the present age.


    When Lin Dan left the manor in anger, the gatekeeper would never have guessed that the next time she visited, it would be in this way. She had become the most popular figure in the capital. Many people tried to make friends with her, but they could never find a way to. It was no exaggeration to say that when she came to Xue Manor, it was a precious foot stepping on lowly ground, bringing glory to their humble home.


    ¡°Miss Lin, please wait a moment. I will report to Madam and Old Madam.¡± The gatekeeper bowed again and again to apologize, then closed the door and hurried to make the report.


    Since the last time she left, Lin Dan had never returned to Xue Manor again. She gave the corner gate a push and found that it didn¡¯t move at all, so she could only stand there and wait. After a while, the sound of many footsteps came from within the walls, and then the front door slammed open. Old Madam, Madam Xue, the old madam from the second branch, and several sisters-in-law all came out with enthusiastic smiles on their faces.


    Lin Dan had goosebumps all over, but she had no choice but to step forward and politely greet them.


    Old Madam continuously said ¡°good,¡± Madam Xue held her arm and kept saying that she had become thinner, did she not eat well, and so on. The second branch stood aside and watched smilingly. They waited for the three to finish chatting before coming forward, all calling her ¡°little sister Lin*.¡±


    *Calling a younger girl ¡°little sister¡± is a sign of intimacy and familiarity.


    Lin Dan bit the bullet and made small talk with these people. When they finally led her in the door, she said, ¡°Is Brother at home? I haven¡¯t seen him for three days. I feared that his condition had recurred, so I specifically came to pay him a visit.¡±


    Old Madam¡¯s eyes lit up and she immediately nodded: ¡°He¡¯s here, he¡¯s here, he just got off duty. He must be in Xiaofeng Pavilion at the moment. You know the way. You should go see him.¡±


    Madam Xue also pursed her lips and smiled approvingly.


    Lin Dan endured the weird feeling in her heart and left. She only let out a sigh of relief when she stepped through the door of Xiaofeng Pavilion. Coming here, she suddenly felt like she was coming home. Her pores opened* and she felt extremely delighted.


    *According to Chinese medicine, pores open in warmth, comfort, and health (and close in the cold).


    At this time, Xue Boyong was flipping through a military book. Li Zhong brought him a cup of hot tea, looked at him strangely for a bit before giving a reminder: ¡°Eldest Young Master, your book is upside down.¡± He could read a book upside down for a whole hour ¨C Eldest Young Master was indeed capable.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s empty eyes immediately focused, glanced towards the page, and then supported his forehead and sighed. After enduring three days, he was really somewhat unable to hold it anymore! At this moment, a guard quickly walked into the study, saluted, and said, ¡°General, Miss Lin is here.¡±


    Xue Boyong immediately stood up and hurried toward the door. When he saw Lin Dan, carrying a massive food box, his overcast face immediately cleared with a handsome smile.


    Lin Dan was also very happy to see Xue Boyong. She opened her mouth and said, ¡°Brother, you haven¡¯t been to my place in three days. Did something happen, or are you not feeling well?¡±


    But Xue Boyong didn¡¯t answer. He just strode over quickly, took the food box, and then rubbed the little girl¡¯s head.


    Seeing his ruddy complexion and steady steps, Lin Dan also felt relieved. She followed him into the side hall, put the food on the table, and said candidly, ¡°Brother, when you¡¯re not here, food loses its taste.¡±


    The smile hidden at the bottom of Xue Boyong¡¯s eyes deepened, but he put on an act and sighed: ¡°Lin Dan, in the future, I might not come see you as often.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lin Dan¡¯s brows fiercely furrowed. She felt extremely uncomfortable in her heart.


    ¡°A single man and a single woman, always alone in one room¡­ others will gossip. I¡¯m a man, so I won¡¯t be affected, but you are a woman and need to pay attention to reputation and integrity.¡± Xue Boyong placed chopstick-fulls of all of the best dishes into Lin Dan¡¯s bowl.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m not afraid of others gossiping.¡± Lin Dan waved her hand, her tone very lighthearted. What was reputation and integrity, could it be eaten*?


    *Chinese slang meaning ¡°what use is it?¡±


    ¡°You might not be afraid, but I can¡¯t harm you.¡± Xue Boyong continued to refute.


    Lin Dan found herself in a dilemma, racking her brains trying to figure out how to persuade Xue Boyong to stay. In fact, she had a lot of strength; any dirty work, she could do by herself, and without Xue Boyong, she could still live. However, whenever she ate a meal looking at the empty dining table and listening to the quiet and desolate wind, she felt as if something was missing in her heart. It was stifling. When Xue Boyong didn¡¯t come, she didn¡¯t eat well, she didn¡¯t sleep well, and she felt like her life was all messed up.


    She bit her lip, revealing a fretful expression for the first time.


    Xue Boyong coughed and pretended to be casual as he said: ¡°If we get married, we can appropriately be together. What do you think?¡±


    Lin Dan looked at Xue Boyong, stunned, completely unable to answer. She had chosen to follow a solitary path, neither having to serve parents nor carry on her ancestral line. Whether or not she married really didn¡¯t matter. But what if the object of marriage was Xue Boyong¡­


    As she tried to picture it, a pattering of footsteps came from outside the door, interrupting her train of thought. Xue Jiming and Wu Xuancao entered together and said in unison, ¡°Brother, hearing that Lin Dan had come, we made a special trip to apologize to her.¡±


    The blue veins on Xue Boyong¡¯s temples jumped, and he gritted his teeth and said: ¡°You really came at such an opportune moment.¡±


    When Xue Jiming saw his brother¡¯s dark and heavy expression and heard his frozen tone, he panicked in his heart, and when he saw Lin Dan turning her head to look at him, his eyes became even more evasive. He lowered his head and said earnestly and sincerely, ¡°Brother, we¡¯ll leave as soon as we finish speaking. We promise not to disturb you.¡± As the words fell, he bowed deeply toward Lin Dan and said, ¡°Lin Dan, back then, I was the one who wronged you. This apology came too late, I hope you will forgive me for that. I also take the blame for lending your books to Xuancao and Physician Zheng without permission. If you¡¯re still angry, take this whip. You can flog me and I won¡¯t resist.¡±


    He respectfully offered up* a horse whip, his cheeks were flushed with humiliation.


    *The formal and respectful way of handing something to someone else involves using both hands. This could apply to a teacup, a business card, a sword, and so on.


    ¡°I accept your apology. Let¡¯s let bygones be bygones.¡± Lin Dan flicked the whip, her tone serene. She had never been angry with Xue Jiming. She had never taken this person to heart at all.


    But Xue Jiming didn¡¯t know what she was thinking, so he couldn¡¯t help showing a relieved expression.


    Wu Xuancao immediately said, ¡°Lin Dan, it was wrong of me to take your book without permission. Please forgive me.¡±


    Lin Dan gave a perfunctory hum* without saying whether she forgave her.


    *In Chinese, this sound is ¡°en,¡± pronounced more like ¡°nn.¡± It¡¯s usually similar to ¡°uh huh¡± or ¡°okay¡± in that it can be a casual ¡°yes,¡± but sometimes, it is just an acknowledgement that you heard something.


    Wu Xuancao gritted her teeth and spoke again, ¡°Lin Dan, can I ask you to be my master* and learn medical skills from you? If you can teach me, I can also pass my surgical techniques to you.¡±


    *Teacher, in case that wasn¡¯t clear.


    Lin Dan finally looked her in the eye. She refused, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t accept disciples, and I¡¯m not interested in your surgical techniques. You also know the profundity of the Dao of medicine. Medicine and pharmacology are enough for me to study for a lifetime. Where would I get the energy to study anything else? What¡¯s more, the surgical techniques you speak of are actually very difficult to implement. A single mistake could turn a rescue into a murder. There are limits to my medical skills, and I dare not carelessly wade into these waters.¡±


    Wu Xuancao endured the humiliation and said: ¡°There are some surgical techniques that would still be very useful to you, you¡¯ll see after you learn it. Lin Dan, I¡¯m begging you, please teach me!¡±


    Seeing how pitiful his wife was, Xue Jiming couldn¡¯t help but look toward his brother, hoping that he could say a few words for her.


    Xue Boyong looked at his younger brother coldly and said, ¡°Jiming, if you were rich and lived comfortably, and a stranger knocked on your door, asking to exchange one hundred taels of silver for your household¡¯s millions, would you be willing?¡±


    Xue Jiming was stunned speechless and didn¡¯t know how to answer.


    Xue Boyong said again: ¡°Or if we put it another way, let¡¯s say you inherited your father¡¯s position as the Zhenguo (nation-guarding) Marshall General. Suddenly, one day, a stranger comes and asks to exchange his title of Chief with your title of Marshall General. He begs you to consider his earnestness and sincerity, as well as his weakness and pitifulness, and grant his wish. Would you be willing?¡±


    Xue Jiming shook his head decisively: ¡°Of course not.¡± Before he finished speaking, his face flushed red. He hurriedly pulled his wife to his side and rebuked in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t keep making things difficult for Lin Dan! Her medical skills were passed down through her family, not to be taught to outsiders.¡±


    Wu Xuancao argued: ¡°Eldest Brother, how do you know that what the other party is holding is only one hundred taels of silver and not a priceless treasure?¡±


    Xue Boyong raised his brows slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Lin Dan had already opened her mouth: ¡°Brother doesn¡¯t understand medicine, but I do. Your surgical technique is not feasible at present. If you cut open the patient¡¯s stomach, how do you stop the pain? How do you stop the bleeding? How do you find the diseased organs? How do you deal with the disease? And how do you ensure that the wound in his stomach will not lead to infection after you suture it?¡±


    Wu Xuancao was struck speechless by this series of questions.


    Lin Dan then slowly shook her head: ¡°See, even you can¡¯t answer these questions. How could you teach me?¡±


    Wu Xuancao had nothing else to say.


    Xue Jiming¡¯s face oscillated between red and white. He was extremely embarrassed. It was only now that he realized that the reason Wu Xuancao took the initiative to come to Lin Dan to apologize was not because she felt remorseful, but was for the sake of learning the other¡¯s family skills. If the other party was unwilling, she would use all means, by hook or by crook, to coerce or bribe, even to the point of using himself. Who was this Wu Xuancao, and why was she so unfamiliar to him?


    He grabbed his wife¡¯s wrist with quite a bit of strength and said forcefully, ¡°Lin Dan is unwilling, so you should just forget about it. Properly stay at home and care for your husband and children.¡± As the words fell, he dragged her and left, his silhouette extremely hasty.


    Xue Boyong¡¯s good mood had been disturbed by these two people. He had no hope of getting a reply to his question from before. He added some more food to Lin Dan¡¯s bowl, gently telling her to eat a little more.


    But Lin Dan tugged at the hem of his clothes and said straightforwardly, ¡°Brother, let¡¯s get married.¡±


    Xue Boyong¡¯s chopsticks suddenly fell to the ground, making a clattering sound.


    Lin Dan looked at his dumbfounded expression and suddenly chuckled: ¡°Brother, I like the feeling of you protecting me.¡±


    Xue Boyong then returned to his senses, took her into his arms, gently kissed the top of her head, and, as if making a solemn oath, seriously said: ¡°Lin Dan, I will protect you for the rest of our lives.¡±