Eternal Night

Chapter 637 The Lin Family's Daughter Has Grown Up, Her Strength Can Uproot Mountains and Her Spirit Can Overwhelm the World

"seriously?"

The emperor had been asking questions about it ever since dinner, repeating them at least dozens of times. The old eunuch answered each time seriously, occasionally disappearing for a moment before returning to answer, always with a respectful and earnest attitude.

As night fell, the emperor, who would normally be asleep by then, was still pacing back and forth in his study, occasionally flipping through maps and reading memorials, especially reviewing some archived documents from the northern border several times.

When the old eunuch entered the imperial study again, the emperor immediately asked anxiously, "Is it true?"

The old eunuch said respectfully, "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. I have confirmed it repeatedly. Both the rocks and the weeping willows are real, without the slightest falsehood. My servant and strongmen smashed the rocks open and chopped the willows into pieces with knives and axes. Both were weighed carefully on a large scale, twenty-one times in a row, using twenty-two different scales. It is indeed real, absolutely real."

"...Is he truly born with superhuman strength? Is he really born with superhuman strength?"

The emperor still couldn't believe it and asked again.

The old eunuch remained silent this time, knowing that the emperor didn't expect him to answer.

As expected, the emperor paced back and forth in the study for a long time, saying as he walked, "That Lin Ruhai, no, that Minister Lin, has really caused me so much trouble. His family's direct bloodline is full of people with such innate superhuman strength, yet he didn't reveal a single bit of it. He should have been an unparalleled general, no, calling him an unparalleled general is an understatement. Such a person only exists in myths and legends, or at least in fictional stories. This Minister Lin has truly misled the country and its people..."

These words should never appear in a sentence. Based on the old eunuch's understanding of the emperor over the past decades, he would want to skin the person alive if they were truly someone who harmed the country and its people. The combination of "my dear minister" and "harmed the country and its people" is just too bizarre.

However, the old eunuch understood the emperor's thoughts at that moment.

This truly confirms that his "innate superhuman strength" is beyond what can be described as merely the strength of a fierce general. It's as if Li Yuanba from the Romance of the Tang Dynasty has actually appeared in reality. He wields a golden hammer, each hammer weighing 400 jin (approximately 200 kg), and the two hammers together weigh 800 jin (approximately 400 kg). What kind of concept is that?!
To put it simply, the heaviest but also the most defensive infantry armor of the time was heavy infantry full-body armor, weighing about 25 to 30 kilograms. Only the elite soldiers of the north, tall and strong men, could wear it and fight. Otherwise, ordinary men would be too exhausted to fight after wearing it for at most a few minutes.

But if it's someone like Li Yuanba, who can move swiftly even while wearing hundreds of kilograms of super-heavy and thick pure steel armor, and wields the Thunder Drum Golden Hammer in both hands, he would truly be an invincible existence on a battlefield of ten thousand or even a hundred thousand people. He wouldn't just be someone who kills generals and captures flags; he would be the kind of person who could single-handedly crush an entire army!
The boulder that Wu Pifu lifted weighed about 100 tons, was more than five meters high, more than two meters wide, and more than four meters long. Such weight was beyond human capability to lift. The emperor and the old eunuch did not know what this was, but they understood one thing very well: if the fictional Li Yuanba in the Sui and Tang Heroes could lift 800-jin double hammers in battle, then there was no doubt that Wu Pifu could lift 8,000-jin double hammers in battle.

Even Lin Daiyu, who is weaker than her brother... that's for sure. A "weak" woman can't possibly compare to a man. But even if it's just Lin Daiyu, the effort she put into uprooting a willow tree would be at least twenty tons. If she were on the battlefield, even with the reduction, she could probably still fight with two thousand-pound double hammers, right?

The emergence of these two legends, one big and one small, instilled fear in the emperor. However, when he thought of Lin Ruhai and saw Lin Daiyu's girlish demeanor, he also thought of the border and the empire's decline. He felt a mixture of fear, excitement, and even some wild fantasies.

The emperor stopped asking questions and continued studying the map. As night deepened, the old eunuch couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, it's very late..."

The emperor finally made up his mind and said to the old eunuch, "Send someone to summon the Duke of Zhenguo, the Marquis of Baoling, and the Military Governor of the Capital Garrison... let's start with the three of them."

The old eunuch exclaimed in astonishment, "Your Majesty, the imperial city is already locked down, you see..."

The emperor, however, said impatiently, "Go quickly, go quickly."

The old eunuch had no choice but to leave the study. A moment later, he returned to the study to continue listening to instructions.

At this moment, the emperor had put down the map, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip. He fell into deep thought, and after a moment he said, "Tell me in detail about Lin Daiyu and the Wu siblings... It's so strange. I feel like something is not right, but I can't figure out what it is."

The old eunuch dared not delay and immediately recited the information about the brother and sister that had been urgently retrieved that day. Lin Daiyu's information was extremely detailed, but Wu Pifu's information was very scarce, only a few words, roughly that he entered the capital, joined the Rongguo Mansion, and got into trouble within two days, and then caught the emperor's eye.

The emperor fell into deep thought, and after a moment said, "Perhaps it is because Minister Lin knows that her eldest son is a troublemaker that she dares not let him leave her side for even a moment. You just said that Lin Daiyu is gentle and sickly, and is often upset by the women in the household, is that right?"

The old eunuch quickly agreed, and the emperor suddenly realized, "Upon seeing her today, Lin Daiyu is indeed frail and sickly. Although she is naturally strong, she is probably like Li Yuanba, except that Li Yuanba was a sallow-faced ghost, while Lin Daiyu is a sickly beauty. Perhaps it was because Lin Ruhai heard that his daughter was sickly and suffered from the confinement of women in their boudoirs that he was worried about her and sent her older brother to the Rongguo Mansion to support her. But unexpectedly, this troublemaker, once separated from his father, immediately disregarded everything and actually went to hunt wild beasts to nourish his sister... Although he is reckless, he is also filial and fraternal, and is a good child."

The old eunuch chimed in, "That's exactly right. Your Majesty is truly insightful." The emperor smiled at the old eunuch and said, "You old servant, you're always good at saying nice things... Do you think Lin Ruhai will allow his children to join the army?"

The old eunuch hesitated for a moment, and the emperor muttered to himself, "I think he will, but I guess he will be unwilling. Civil officials are valued while martial ones are despised. However, the country is currently in a state of flux, so we cannot afford to be overly concerned with our own shortcomings. At most, we can grant him a title of nobility or duke based on his martial achievements, which should be enough to bring honor to Minister Lin's family... But after observing Wu Pifu today, it seems that he has a disdain for officialdom and power."

The old eunuch immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty is truly discerning, and... he may even have a disdain for all power and influence."

Both the emperor and the old eunuch were political creatures. After decades of being the emperor and his personal eunuch, they were both extremely accurate in judging people. Upon meeting Wu Pifu today, they immediately knew what kind of person Wu Pifu was. He didn't just look down on dukes and marquises, he directly looked down on imperial power!

The emperor nodded in agreement. He paced back and forth for a while, his brows furrowed, before finally saying, "He truly is a troublemaker... But how can we let him be like this? I intend to have his sister, Lin Daiyu, join the army. Is that feasible?"

The old eunuch bowed silently, and the emperor did not expect a reply. He simply muttered to himself, "Lin Daiyu is also a warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men, though she is far inferior to her brother. Moreover, she is a woman, which is indeed inconvenient. I doubt she would dare to kill a chicken, let alone a man. But that's precisely what's needed. Otherwise, how can we lure out that Wu Pifu? Isn't he concerned about his sister? Let Lin Daiyu go to the battlefield. Will he follow or not? However, her father needs to discipline her, otherwise, it won't look good if things get out of hand."

The old eunuch bowed again, saying with heartfelt admiration, "Your Majesty is truly wise."

The emperor laughed heartily, then shook his head and said, "What kind of sagacity is this? To scheme against two innocent children. But in the future, I will grant them wealth and honor, endless riches, and the throne will be hereditary. That is enough to repay them."

The old eunuch bowed again.

The emperor and the old eunuch were talking in the study. Calculating the time, they realized the three high-ranking military officials would be arriving soon. Suddenly, as if remembering something, the emperor frowned, thought for a moment, and then chuckled, "My dear wife, remember to remind me tomorrow to summon a painter to create a painting..."

The old eunuch paused for a moment, bowed in acknowledgment, but asked curiously, "Does Your Majesty wish to include the Lin siblings in the painting?"

"Yes, and also wrong."

The emperor chuckled and said, "That Minister Lin has managed to deceive the masses, but we should enlighten him. Let's use painting to tell the story, and he will understand."

However, the very next day, a 600-mile-long fast cavalry unit headed towards Jiangnan. This was already a high-level mission second only to the 800-mile-long fast cavalry unit. In just two days, Lin Ruhai, who was inspecting salt affairs in Jiangnan, received a gift from the emperor in the capital.

This is an immense honor! The various regions of Jiangnan gradually learned of it, and each of them envied Lin Ruhai's position in the emperor's heart, while also speculating about what he had sent.

Lin Ruhai was also puzzled.

Although he is an important minister of the dynasty and a confidant of the emperor, which is why he was entrusted with the important task of solving the salt affairs problem in order to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for the dynasty, it is still unreasonable to bestow such a reward from thousands of miles away. He has not achieved anything great recently.
Despite his doubts, Lin Ruhai respectfully accepted the reward, which turned out to be a beautiful painting.

He didn't dare to examine it closely on the spot. Only afterward did he come to the study, carefully wash his hands, and then carefully open the scroll. He thought it was some ancient or famous painting, but he found that the content of the scroll was completely baffling.

In the painting, a young woman appears, strikingly beautiful with a delicate, almost sickly air about her. Her slender hands and feet evoke pity, yet she is embracing a large weeping willow tree, which she is uprooting.

Below the painting was a line of writing, which he recognized as the emperor's authentic work. It even bore the emperor's personal seal, clearly indicating it was indeed from the emperor's hand. However, the content...

"A daughter of the Lin family has come of age, possessing strength that can uproot mountains and an aura that can overshadow the world!"

Lin Ruhai was in a state of utter bewilderment, completely unable to comprehend what was happening...

(End of this chapter)