New and dark light years

Chapter 411 He Needs to Be Tempered

Once you enter the capital, your every word and action will be observed.

Li Lin's radicalism is essentially a show for others.

At least it tells those who are secretly observing him that he has both strength and temper.

The more dangerous the place, the less you should back down.

If I chicken out, those crocodiles and jackals will charge at me.

Besides, who knows if that person was deliberately testing me?

Fang walked ahead, taking small steps but walking very fast.

Li Lin only needed to observe her footsteps for a moment to realize that this woman also possessed martial arts skills.

No one spoke along the way. The capital city was extremely lively in the early morning. People eating breakfast on the street, setting up stalls, and working almost blocked the road.

The carriage moved quite slowly, but most people would give way upon seeing ten guards.

Along the way, Li Lin did not encounter any spoiled brats causing trouble.

Soon, they arrived at the gate of a large mansion.

The large plaque has a black background with white characters that read "Huang Mansion".

Madam Fang turned around, bowed slightly, and said, "My lord, we have arrived at the Huang residence. Would you like me to wait outside?"

"No need, we've already noted down the way, you can go back first."

"Yes!"

Fang bowed slightly, then turned and left.

Huang Qing and Hong Luan stepped down from the carriage.

Huang Qing looked around, her eyes slightly red and glistening with tears: "Thirteen years... everything around here has changed so much, I can't even remember the way. Only this gate seems to be exactly as it was when I was a child."

Li Lin led the two men forward and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, revealing an old face: "May I ask what brings you here?"

Li Lin was fair-skinned and handsome, and dressed in unusual clothes, clearly a person of high status, so the gatekeeper naturally dared not underestimate him.

At this moment, Huang Qing stepped forward, looked at the old man, and said, "Is this Uncle Ge?"

The old man looked at Huang Qing, then became excited. He pushed open the door, stepped forward, and hurriedly asked, "Is it the young lady!"

His voice was trembling.

"It's me, it's me." Huang Qing nodded gently.

Huang Qing is easy to recognize; he has blond hair and blue eyes.

"The old lady kept saying that you should have arrived in the next few days, and she had already instructed us to make preparations. Come in quickly."

Li Lin and the other two went inside.

The threshold of the Huang residence is quite high; you have to step very high to avoid tripping.

After entering, Old Ge closed the door and looked at Li Lin: "This must be the eldest son-in-law. Just as rumored, he is a handsome man."

Li Lin cupped his hands and smiled, "Uncle Ge, you flatter me."

"Please follow me, gentlemen." Old Ge walked ahead.

As you walk further in, it doesn't take long before you see many servants busy at work.

Old Master Ge stopped a maid and said, "Quickly go to the backyard and inform the eldest mistress that the young lady has returned."

The maid nodded and immediately ran to the backyard.

Old Master Ge then led the three to the main hall in the courtyard and invited them to sit down.

Li Lin and Huang Qing sat down, but Hong Luan remained standing.

She was a concubine, and she was not allowed to sit outside.

Li Lin was aware of this rule and did not force her.

Servants brought tea and pastries one after another. Li Lin drank the tea, but didn't eat the pastries.

Huang Qing, on the other hand, ate quite a lot; it was clear she was reminiscing about the flavors of her childhood.

Not long after, Madam Huang hurried over. She spotted Li Lin and Huang Qing and her eyes lit up with a smile.

"I've been waiting for you for almost a month, longing for you like the stars and the moon, and finally you've arrived."

"Mother, your daughter has come to see you."

Madam Huang walked over, first helping Huang Qing look left and right, then smiled and said, "It seems you're doing very well. Your appearance and skin look better and better, and you even look two years younger than before."

“No, Mother, you flatter me.”

Madam Huang then looked at Li Lin and said, "Lin'er seems to have become even more handsome."

Li Lin cupped his hands and smiled, "I actually hope I look more imposing."

"What's so good about being big and burly?" Madam Huang scoffed. "Don't be like those brutes, you're just fine as you are."

Then, she pulled Huang Qing aside and said a lot of things; it was clear that she had been holding back for a long time.

Huang Qing was so happy that he was so busy talking that he didn't notice anything unusual.

But Li Lin discovered it.

First, there was a hint of gloom in Madam Huang's brows, clearly indicating that she had been unhappy for quite some time.

Also... she looks a bit thinner, and her clothes don't seem very 'new'!
For a prominent family like the Huang family, the master's clothes should always be relatively new.

If the clothes look old, it means either the family has fallen on hard times, or... they're not doing well here.

Moreover, even though the two had been chatting for so long, Li Lin hadn't seen anyone else come to greet them.

Li Lin listened quietly, occasionally taking a sip of tea.

Hongluan would occasionally pick up a pastry and feed it to Li Lin.

Nearly half an hour later, Madam Huang finally stopped chatting with Huang Qing, but her expression suggested she was still not finished. "Why don't you two spend the night here?" she asked.

Huang Qing looked at Li Lin.

Li Lin shook his head and said, "No need, we have a reservation at an inn."

“We’re all family. You’ve come to the capital but are staying at an inn. If word gets out, people will criticize the Huang family behind our backs.”

Huang Qing asked, "Mother, is my room still there?"

Madam Huang was taken aback, then sighed, and her expression was no longer as happy as before.

She said with a hint of helplessness, "Your cousin has already moved in."

Have I seen him before?

"She was born after we went to Yulin County."

Huang Qing gave a soft "oh," and then said, "I'll listen to my husband on this matter."

"You've all come, why do you still want to stay outside? Even if Lin'er isn't used to staying here, are you not? I'll give you one of my rooms, okay?" Madam Huang said somewhat discontentedly.

Huang Qing said coquettishly, "Mother, a married woman follows her husband. Since my husband lives outside, I naturally cannot live here."

Madam Huang understood what Huang Qing meant.

The daughter who is married off is the water that is thrown out.

If the Huang family in the capital truly considered her one of their own, then they wouldn't let anyone else stay in her room so easily.

After all, the Huang family has no shortage of rooms.

Li Lin stood up and said, "We've been here for almost two hours, it's time to take our leave."

Because he had waited so long, he still hadn't seen Huang Feng, the Minister of Personnel and the de facto ruler of the Huang family in the capital.

Moreover, no one came to inform the two of them whether Huang Feng was available to see them, or whether Huang Feng was not at home.

Nothing at all.

Although there was tea and pastries, the hospitality seemed very attentive.

But if the real host doesn't come out, it's a sign of contempt.

As an elder, Madam Huang understood Li Lin's meaning and his dissatisfaction.

She said helplessly, "Lin'er, don't take it too hard. They didn't do it on purpose... Sigh!"

Some things are meaningless to explain.

Madam Huang understood this as well, so she said no more.

She saw the three of them to the door, and just as the two were about to leave, Madam Huang suddenly whispered, "When you go back to Yulin County, remember to take me with you."

Huang Qing was taken aback for a moment, and Li Lin nodded and smiled, "Madam, there's no need to see us off any further. Let's go back and rest first."

"Okay! Be careful on your journey."

Madam Huang stood at the door and watched as Li Lin and the other two got into the carriage and drove away from the area.

Old Ge asked from the side, "Madam, why doesn't the young lady want to stay at home for a few days?"

Madam Huang laughed and said, "She has her own husband, so naturally she has to follow him."

Old Ge vaguely understood what he meant and sighed softly.

Madam Huang returned to the Huang residence and planned to rest in the backyard for a while.

When they reached the front of the central hall, they saw a middle-aged man sitting there, in the main seat.

Upon seeing him, Madam Huang nodded slightly and prepared to leave.

"Sister-in-law, let's talk."

Madam Huang looked at him and asked, "I'm going back to the backyard to rest. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"About Huang Qing and her husband."

Madam Huang hesitated for a moment, but finally went over and found a chair to sit down.

She sat some distance away, which was a form of implicit resistance.

"Second brother, just say what you have to say."

Huang Feng clasped his hands together, tucking them into his sleeves, and said, "I know you're unhappy that I didn't come out to see the two of them earlier."

Madam Huang smiled and said, "No, Second Brother is very busy with state affairs day and night, and he has worked hard."

“Sister-in-law, you don’t need to make fun of me,” Huang Feng said. “I have my reasons for doing this.”

"What reason... That young couple traveled all the way from southern Xinjiang, almost a month! I know very well how hard they worked, after all, I also came back from Yulin County." Madam Huang chuckled twice: "You won't see them or give them an excuse, what do you mean by that!"

Huang Feng said helplessly, "This is not my idea, but the idea of ​​several important ministers of the Secretariat, and also... His Majesty's idea."

Madam Huang was taken aback and asked, "What's going on? Weren't you supposed to send Lin'er to help you solve your troubles? What do you mean by treating him like this!"

At this point, Madam Huang was extremely angry, and her voice was very loud.

Huang Feng felt a stinging pain in his diaphragm and said helplessly, "Brother and your son-in-law are too proud."

"pride?"

“That’s true,” Huang Feng said. “The Zhongshumen has investigated Li Lin’s deeds over the past two years and found that he is very arrogant. Such a person will go astray when things don’t go his way. We must correct him. He needs to be tempered.”

Madam Huang sighed softly: "After it was corrected, it became the martial arts families that you all love now, those men without testicles, right?"

"The Zhongshumen (Secretariat) did indeed have this intention."

"But if even he becomes like those military families, who will help you guard the southern border!"

“A weaker military general is easier to control,” Huang Feng said. “The court officials at Zhongshu Gate do not want another Li family army or another Li traitor to emerge in Jin County. We need him to be the gatekeeper, but he must also be under our control.”

Madam Huang fell silent for a moment, then said, "I'm just a woman, I don't understand anything about the affairs of the court... If there's anything, you should talk to my husband. If he finds out that you've bullied his good son-in-law, are you sure you can withstand his wrath?"

Huang Feng smiled wryly: "I'm doing this for the Huang family, for everyone's good."

(End of this chapter)