mtl008 Chapter 145 Lu Yuxi smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll give you a surprise in a
Chapter 145 Lu Yuxi smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll give you a surprise in a
It was getting late, so after a brief chat with Lu Yuyang and Cui Yin, the four of them prepared to head to the Sixth Prince's residence for the family reunion banquet.
Leaving the palace was a common occurrence for Lin Shiming and Lu Yuxi, but for the Seventh Prince and the two princesses, it was a rare opportunity that they had to seize almost every day of the year.
Therefore, under the pretext of attending the family reunion banquet, they left the palace early, accompanied by the Imperial Guard Commander Mu Bolin, intending to spend the morning playing before heading directly to the Sixth Prince's residence. This meant Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming no longer needed to lead the children out, making their movements much easier.
So the two couples didn't waste any more time and each took a carriage to the Sixth Prince's residence.
As one of Emperor Longyun's few princes, Lu Yuyang was somewhat favored. Therefore, his princely residence was located in a neighborhood not far from the palace, and it was built according to the specifications of a prince. He was just waiting to be conferred the title of prince in a month or two, as is customary.
Moreover, the Sixth Prince's residence is not far from the Duke of Zhenguo's residence, so they can pay Lin You's reward after the banquet.
Inside the swaying carriage, Lu Yuxi was still pondering Lin You's affairs from the previous night.
He had been puzzled as to why Lin You would tell such an easily exposed lie to deceive him; if he were to discover the lie, it would certainly be ineffective. After pondering for a long time, Lu Yuxi now had a moment to reflect and began to understand.
Lin You never intended to deceive him; he simply gave him a way to mess with Lin Shiming and provided him with a reason to take action.
Whether you believe it or not is not important. As long as you learn it and plant a seed in your heart, that's enough. Once the seed is planted, your desire for Lin Shiming will be the rain and dew. As the person you admire, Lin Shiming will be inseparable from you and share your bed with you every day. Sooner or later, this seed will sprout under the nourishment of desire.
It was as if a new world had been opened for Lu Yuxi, and Lin Shiming was the bait on the other side of that world, luring him over.
Moreover, Shi Ming has always been straightforward and unpretentious, so Lin You should be able to see through Shi Ming's true nature with ease. He must have already realized that Lin Shi Ming often causes trouble, and at this point, he will most likely choose the harmless yet effective methods he learned last night to punish Lin Shi Ming.
This is yet another catalyst.
Lu Yuxi might be able to tolerate it once or twice, but Lin Shiming's personality was hard to change; he was absolutely unruly and only ever plotted how to push Lu Yuxi's boundaries. If this continued, even if Lin You was lying to him, he would eventually use that as an excuse to deal with Lin Shiming.
From this perspective, it's just a matter of how long it takes; clearly, Lin You's wish will eventually be fulfilled!
Lu Yuxi twirled the teacup in her hand and let out a long sigh.
However... Lu Yuxi's lips curled up slightly. Since it's going to happen sooner or later, why not start enjoying it sooner? She'll have someone prepare the necessary equipment tomorrow!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Lin Shiming, who was leaning against Lu Yuxi and unaware of the impending disaster, was looking up and idly playing with a jade pendant. "What are you thinking about? You're even laughing."
Lu Yuxi casually replied, "I was thinking that Senior Lin You truly deserves to be called a hero who fought alongside the Tai Shi Ancestor to conquer the world. He can win people's hearts with ease."
If you offer enough benefits, who wouldn't be tempted?
Lin Shiming curled his lip, "He's just an unreliable little Taoist priest, why are you praising him like that!"
This time, Lu Yuxi didn't stop him from belittling his predecessors. Instead, she patted Lin Shiming's fluffy head meaningfully with a smile.
Lin Shiming immediately felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.
What's wrong with this person? Did they get possessed in their dream last night?
"Be normal, I'm scared."
Lu Yuxi smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll give you a surprise in a few days."
Lin Shiming remained silent for a long time.
Judging from his appearance, I hope it's not from being frightened.
*
Without the disliked Prince Ping, and with the Seventh Prince wisely acting humble and submissive when meeting Lin Shiming, today's family reunion banquet proceeded smoothly.
At 1:00 PM, Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming left the Sixth Prince's residence and headed to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence. The other princes and princesses stayed for a short rest before going out for a stroll.
At 2:45 PM, Lin Shiming and Lu Yuxi arrived at their destination. Lin Shihe, who rarely had free time, was holding Lin Anji and playing with the stolen Lin Shi in the front yard.
Seeing her uncle, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, come in through the door, Lin Anji's eyes lit up instantly, and she rushed over to hug Lin Shiming's leg.
"Uncle! You haven't come to see me in so long!"
Lin Shiming smiled broadly and picked up his nephew with one arm. "Uncle is busy teaching another child, so he doesn't have time to see you."
"Really?" Lin Anji pouted. "Then I want to go too."
Lin Shiming laughed even harder, "Great! You'll be going with your uncle in a little while, and from now on, your uncle will let you attend class with that little friend every day!"
"Yeah!"
Lu Yuxi smiled helplessly and let him lie to the child.
Unfortunately, Lin Anji was not like Lu Tingsong, whose uncle stood idly by and let Lin Shiming fool the child all day long in order to please his wife. Lin Anji could only be coaxed around by him all day long and had to rely on himself for everything.
Lin Anji has a shrewd and capable father.
"Lin Shiming, if you want to bully a child, go back and bully your own imperial grandson. Don't try to fool my son."
Lin Shihe stepped forward and snatched his son back, giving Lin Shiming a disdainful kick. "Don't even think about taking my son. My son wants to play until he's had enough before starting school. He won't be like me, running around doing all this for others."
Lin Shiming casually brushed the dust off his robes, his tone obsequious, "Oh, brother, don't be so cold-hearted! An Ji will become good brothers with Ting Song sooner or later, what's a couple more years? Let them study together and get to know each other sooner, wouldn't that be better?"
Lu Tingsong has been taken advantage of so many times that he's not so easily fooled anymore. Let me play with this naive "new" kid for a couple of days!
Lin Shi rolled his eyes and said, "Get lost."
*
They didn't manage to leave; they still had important business to attend to.
Lin Shiming watched helplessly as Lin Shihe had someone escort Lin Anji and Lin Shi back to their courtyard. Lin Shiming felt a great pity and reluctantly followed Lin Shihe to the ancestral hall.
This time, thanks to Lu Yuxi's advance notice and Lin Shihe's prior intention, there were many more offerings than last time. Among them were many delicious items that made Lin Shiming's mouth water.
While Lin Shihe and Lu Yuxi were having a serious discussion about the procedures and precautions, Lin Shiming's eyes darted around, and he secretly reached out his wicked hand, taking a jar of pear blossom wine and a plate of dried fruit, before sneaking outside to drink it.
Tsk tsk tsk! Lin Shiming took a big gulp of wine. Tell me, such good wine should be enjoyed by yourself. How could that little Taoist priest Lin You be worthy of it? What a waste!
While secretly eating and drinking outside, Lin Shiming also kept an eye on Lin Shihe and Lu Yuxi's movements inside the ancestral hall.
Just before the two of them were about to finish, Lin Shiming quietly ran to the nearest room, filled the half-empty wine jar with water, rinsed his mouth, and then tiptoed back into the jar to cover up his crime.
Perfect!
Lin Shiming, smug and feigning composure, watched as Lin Shihe habitually conducted a final check on the offerings. Lin Shihe, who knew his younger brother well, had long since developed the habit of always checking everything twice, no matter what it was, as long as Lin Shiming was present.
Sure enough, not long after, Lin Shihe discovered the good deed Lin Shiming had done.
"Lin Shiming," Lin Shihe said, staring at the plate of dried fruit in front of him, his voice low and menacing, "Did you sneak some?"
"I do not have it."
"Then tell me, why are there suddenly five fewer fruits than the number four and nine?"
"..."
No, are you counting?
"Maybe, maybe it's lost?" Lin Shiming argued. "Look at it, it's so round, it's normal for it to roll away somewhere."
"I bet it rolled into your stomach!" Lin Shihe sneered. "Stop pretending. Do you think I can't see through your intentions? Do you even have a brain? If you're going to eat, at least be mindful of what you eat. You have forty-four left. How am I supposed to use that number as a sacrifice?"
Who knew there was such a rule? Lin Shiming smiled sheepishly, his face full of guilt, but he still remained stubborn.
"How can you blame only me? Even if we take a step back, wasn't the fruit itself at fault? Aren't you at fault, brother?"
"If they didn't look delicious, and if you hadn't just happened to pick the ones I like, would I have stolen some?"
Lin Shiming is arguing illogically and talking nonsense.
Lin Shihe was so angry at his shameless behavior that the veins on his forehead throbbed.
Lu Yuxi stood there helplessly, rubbing his forehead for a long time, before finally coming over to help his Crown Princess out of the predicament.
"Brother, don't be angry. Shiming... he just couldn't resist his craving. I'll go add more. There's no need to hold it against him." Lu Yuxi shielded Lin Shiming behind her, blocking Lin Shihe's furious gaze.
Lin Shihe was amused and exasperated by Lu Yuxi's overprotective attitude.
"You're just going to protect him! Sooner or later he'll get into trouble and you'll be the one to blame!"
Lu Yuxi smiled awkwardly, then quickly pulled Lin Shiming out of the ancestral hall to find the steward to replenish the offerings.
Lu Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the backup offerings prepared by the forestry department. She turned to Lin Shiming, who was still feeling guilty, and asked, "You only ate the fruit, and didn't do anything else bad, right?"
Lin Shiming's eyes darted around, and he changed the subject, saying, "My brother has already had it checked." If he didn't find anything, don't blame me.
"Okay. Let's go back quickly then."
*
After many twists and turns, today's sacrificial ceremony has finally begun.
Lin Shiming still seemed clueless, following behind Lin Shihe and Lu Yuxi, mimicking their actions.
Lu Yuxi lit an incense stick, opened the wine jar, and poured three cups of wine. Soon, the delicate and elegant aroma of pear blossom wine gradually wafted out.
Lin Shihe, who was accompanying the sacrificial ceremony, sniffed and felt that something was wrong, but after smelling carefully, he did not find any other smells mixed in, so he just thought he was overthinking it.
After pouring the libation wine, Lu Yuxi returned to her seat and placed talismans into the brazier while silently reciting in her heart, "Senior Lin You, thank you... I have prepared a generous gift today to express my gratitude. I also hope that you will forgive me and not hold a grudge against Tong Ming. He is young and ignorant, and I apologize to you on his behalf."
The young and naive Lin Shiming thought to himself, "Ha! Little Taoist priest, you want to hear my gossip? I'm not telling you! What can you do about it?"
With their own thoughts, the three people finally "perfectly" concluded today's ritual after half an hour.
*
Stepping out of the ancestral hall, Lu Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief.
Hopefully, Senior Lin You can accept my apology and stop trying to take revenge on Shi Ming.
He glanced sideways at Lin Shiming, who was again deep in thought, seemingly contemplating some wicked scheme, and couldn't help but recall last night's dream. His heart stirred even more.
"How are those people who spread rumors about the death of Princess Ping doing in the interrogation?" Lin Shihe asked as he finished tidying up the ancestral hall and slowly walked out.
Lu Yuxi immediately came to her senses and replied, "The Prefectural Governor of the Capital has submitted a report stating that those people have confessed that someone paid a large sum of money to bribe them to spread rumors."
"Where is that person? Can we find them?"
“We can’t find them. They said the person who bribed them met with them under the cover of darkness, and was so well disguised that there were no distinguishing features to be found.”
"Where are the maids and servants in Princess Ping's courtyard? We didn't get any information from them?"
Lu Yuxi replied, "It's useless. They said the reason they secretly kept the matter to themselves in the courtyard after it happened, and didn't dare to call anyone, was because Prince Ping repeatedly told them that Princess Ping was being watched and that they were not allowed to make any rash moves or do anything that would cause a big commotion. They were told to handle everything quietly in the courtyard. Otherwise, if anyone caught them doing something wrong, they would be sent to hell first."
The verbal threats subtly instructed the maids and servants not to cause any trouble. So when the serious incident of someone deliberately sending a message and then committing suicide occurred, no one dared to make a scene when Princess Ping had a difficult childbirth. They just wanted to give birth quietly.
The one who committed suicide after delivering the letter was also an orphan with a clean background; it was impossible to find out who had ordered him.
No evidence was left behind, so no one could say that Prince Ping's cautious and trouble-averse thinking was wrong. The maids and servants would only be considered cowardly and for misinterpreting their master's intentions, and then they would be punished.
King Ping acted prudently, leaving no hidden dangers.
As Lin Shihe expected, his expression remained unchanged. "It's been so many days. Even if there was any evidence or clues in the Prince Ping's mansion, they would have been wiped out long ago."
Princess Ping will likely die unjustly. At most, when Prince Ping fails in his campaign, someone can be sent to her grave to inform her of the verdict, but a proper conviction is unlikely.
“That’s all we can do,” Lu Yuxi replied. “Princess Ping has already been buried with the rites due to a princess, and the little princess has also been buried with many precious items. We’ve invited a master to offer prayers and blessings. Once this is over, I’ll find a way to preserve their funeral rites.”
Lin Shihe didn't speak again, but calmly looked at the white clouds in the sky.
Outside the ancestral hall, branches swayed and a gentle breeze rustled.
*
Having just apologized to Lin You during the day, Lu Yuxi was unsure whether Lin You would forgive Lin Shiming, and thus worried for a long time before going to bed.
Unexpectedly, as expected, an accident still occurred.
Lu Yuxi stared blankly at the upgraded video in front of her. The scale of this video was several times larger than that of last night, and it was a kind of stimulation that many modern people had never seen before.
Well, that little rascal Lin Shiming must have done something wrong during today's sacrificial ceremony.