Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 489 Sacrificing the small family for the greater good?
The bodyguards were very fast.

Within half a day, the information on Wang Shuyi, daughter of the Imperial Censor Wang Yuan, was presented to Lin Zhiqing.

"Wang, Shu, Yi." Lin Zhiqing softly repeated Wang Shuyi's name, then looked at the booklet.

The above content is unremarkable and almost nothing special.

"Living a secluded life in her chambers, extremely well-mannered?" Lin Zhiqing frowned slightly upon seeing these two adjectives: "Is there nothing else?"

“Miss, Wang Shuyi rarely shows her face, and I’ve almost never heard of any wrongdoing on her behalf,” the guard replied.

"Alright, go down." Lin Zhiqing didn't make things too difficult for the guards.

Given the stubborn nature of Censor-in-Chief Wang Yuan, it's understandable that Consort Wang rarely appears in public.

"It's been a long time since I last saw Wang Shuyi. She's very pretty, but I don't like hanging out with her," Lin Yangyang recalled.

Lin Zhiqing became interested and asked, "Why?"

Lin Yangyang rested her chin on her hands:

"She's just like my father; she can't stop talking about rules and regulations. The Lin family already has one father, so I don't want to find another one outside."

"Be careful, your uncle might hear you and scold you." Lin Zhiqing smiled.

Lin Yangyang had almost no contact with Wang Yuan, but Lin Zhiqing had met him a few times and knew that Wang Yuan was the kind of old-fashioned person.

Influenced by her, Wang Shuyi grew up to be a rigid and old-fashioned person as well.

However, since Wang Shuyi rarely appears in public, Lin Zhiqing's idea is somewhat difficult to realize.

Seeing Lin Zhiqing frowning, Lin Yangyang couldn't help but ask:

"Qing-meimei, don't play riddles with me. What exactly is your plan? If you don't tell me, I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight."

"If you had told me, I might have been able to help."

Lin Zhiqing didn't intend to hide it from others; she just thought it was just a hypothetical scenario, so she didn't say it aloud.
"There is indeed a solution, but it seems rather difficult now."

Wang Yuan is a very principled person, and Lin Zhiqing understands that he has his own principles.

But think about it from another angle: what if Wang Shuyi had been in the marriage alliance?
What choice will Wang Yuan make?

Should one sacrifice their own family for the greater good? Or should they step forward to protect Wang Shuyi?
Human nature cannot withstand scrutiny.

Lin Zhiqing didn't want to drag innocent people into this, so he originally planned to impersonate a Liang person and pretend to have taken a liking to Wang Shuyi in order to scare Wang Yuan.

Of course, we can't really let other people's girls walk into the lion's den.

Lin Zhiqing wanted to try using hypnosis to simulate this situation.

But now that they know Wang Shuyi rarely leaves her home, this plan is not going to go well.

Moreover, this plan was only a preliminary idea, not very mature, and had many flaws.

Therefore, all things considered, it would be very difficult to implement.

Hearing Lin Zhiqing's analysis, Lin Yangyang concluded that it would be difficult to implement, and she became somewhat dejected.

Lin Zhiqing thought about it carefully again and found that she really couldn't find a better way besides this method.

After thinking it over, she spoke again: "Cousin, why don't you come with me to the Wang family and see if we can meet this Miss Wang? Then we can make some plans."

"Okay, I've been wanting to get out and stretch my legs for a while now." Lin Yangyang was still quite excited.

The two hit it off immediately, and that very night they changed into their night clothes and headed straight for the Wang family.

It's the same process.

Lin Yangyang found a safe place for Lin Zhiqing to hide, while she went first into the Wang family's residence to check the situation.

After Lin Zhiqing had waited for about half an incense stick's time, Lin Yangyang popped up from the Wang family's wall and waved to Lin Zhiqing.

This means that the Wang family is safe.

After entering the Wang family residence with Lin Yangyang, Lin Zhiqing held her breath and was extremely cautious. "Sister Qing, this place is much safer than the Ministry of Justice and Liu Mang's residence. Just stick close to me," Lin Yangyang said.

Lin Zhiqing nodded.

The Wang family's residence was very small, much smaller than Liu Mang's mansion.

They hadn't walked far when they arrived at the outside of a small courtyard.

Compared to other parts of the Wang family's residence, this courtyard was surrounded by many people.

Lin Yangyang began to speak:

“The Wang family only has a few courtyards. I’ve looked around. There are often young maids coming and going in this courtyard, carrying brightly colored clothes. It should be Wang Shuyi’s courtyard.”

Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Is it possible to sneak in?"

"It's a bit difficult." Lin Yangyang didn't make any definitive statements.

Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Then let's observe the surroundings first. Even if we don't have a chance to sneak in, we can still learn about Wang Shuyi."

“Okay.” Lin Yangyang looked around and led Lin Zhiqing to the tallest building nearby.

Looking down from upstairs, you can see the scene in Wang Shuyi's courtyard.

"Why did Lord Wang surround the courtyard so tightly?" Lin Yangyang couldn't help but mutter.

"Perhaps it's to protect Wang Shuyi, or perhaps something happened in the past that led Lord Wang to restrict Wang Shuyi's activities," Lin Zhiqing analyzed.

"Although Lord Wang is similar in temperament to my father, I am much luckier than Wang Shuyi," Lin Yangyang sighed.

As soon as she finished speaking, some noises came from the courtyard below.

"My young lady is having another nightmare. I need to find the royal physician." The maid's voice was very clear in the darkness.

The guards outside the courtyard didn't think much of it and quickly released the person.

Clearly, this is not the first time Wang Shuyi has experienced nightmares.

only……

After leaving the courtyard, the maid looked back several times. Seeing that the guards were not paying attention to her, she quickened her pace.

Moreover, she was very cautious and constantly observed her surroundings.

This person clearly wasn't going to see the imperial physician.

Lin Zhiqing narrowed her eyes and shook Lin Yangyang's arm: "Cousin, let's follow that maid."

Lin Yangyang also noticed something amiss, but without saying anything, she quickly led Lin Zhiqing downstairs.

The two moved quickly, and with the maidservant constantly hiding, the distance between them rapidly closed.

Soon, the maid stopped at the side gate of the Prince's mansion.

The servant boy at the side gate saw the maid arrive and asked familiarly, "Why are you only arriving now?"

"The master and madam went to the young lady's courtyard in the evening and couldn't find an opportunity to come over," the maid said, glancing around as she spoke.

Lin Zhiqing and Lin Yangyang quickly hid in the darkness.

Soon, the maid's voice rang out again: "Take this money first; the master's illness cannot be delayed."

After giving the silver to the servant, the maid turned to leave, but the servant stopped her:
"Don't leave yet. I'm contacting you today because I received a message from the bookstore this evening. I'm afraid the master is not doing well."

"What?" The maid trembled, almost losing her balance. "Wasn't she getting better before? How could it have gotten so bad?"

"The doctor said it's not a physical illness, but a mental one, and it looks like it's about to..." the servant sighed.

"The people on the other end said that before the gentleman left, he wanted to see the young lady again."

"I understand." The maid's face showed undisguised grief.

Lin Yangyang and Lin Zhiqing, hiding in the shadows, exchanged a glance—they'd stumbled upon a juicy secret!