New and dark light years

Chapter 442 Do you believe he dares to rebel immediately?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, in a quiet and eerie atmosphere, the army of paper figures left the city gates of the capital.

In less than an hour, the capital city returned to its usual hustle and bustle.

As always, it is both prosperous and peaceful.

But beneath this calm surface lies an indescribable turmoil.

The crown prince is dead.

How serious is this...? For civil and military officials, and for the entire court, it's a tsunami-level impact.

The officials privately gathered in small groups, discussing the matter animatedly.

Meanwhile, the area in front of the residence of the Second Prince Zhu Huan was bustling with activity.

People came in waves, but he turned them all away.

The reason given was simple: his elder brother had unfortunately passed away, and he was deeply grieved and unable to receive guests.

In fact... all the officials knew that Zhu Huan was putting on an act.

However, since he was acting, no one else could expose him.

Instead, we should praise him for being loyal and affectionate.

This situation lasted for three days. After three days, the palace finally opened its gates, and civil and military officials went to court.

Zhu Jing sat on the dragon throne, gazing down. After a long while, he asked, "Where is Imperial Censor Zhou?"

"He was attacked by Xie Feng at home the day before yesterday and has died."

Zhu Jing sighed with some distress: "My great-grandmother's temperament... I've heard about what happened recently. What my great-grandmother did is attributed to our Zhu family. The deceased members of the Zhou and Ji families will all have their official ranks increased by one level, and their official positions will be passed on to their eldest sons. In a few days, they will be invited to court, and they will not need to observe mourning."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers praised the Emperor's wisdom.

Zhu Jing added, "Furthermore, regarding the matter of the Crown Prince, let's handle it discreetly. After all, the matter of the Gu people shouldn't be spread too widely, lest it cause unrest among the people."

The ministers also felt that the decision was reasonable.

After all, if word got out that the crown prince had been forced to his death, it would severely damage the prestige of the court.

It's enough for them to know; the common people don't need to know.

Finally, Zhu Jing looked at Yue Zhong: "Chief Advisor of the Demon Extermination Division."

“Your subject is here.” Yue Zhong stepped forward.

"Regarding the matter of the Gu people, your Demon Extermination Division must find a way to handle it properly and try to find the Gu people hiding in the sea of ​​people. Better to kill the wrong person than let the guilty go free."

Yue Zhong bowed his head and replied, "Your humble servant obeys."

At this point, Zhu Jing looked at the officials below and asked, "Do any of you ministers have any matters to report?"

Zhao Pingzhang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say. Regarding the newly appointed military governor of Cangwu Road, Li Lin, should we send someone to deliver the appointment document and the tiger tally to him?"

"Since I have granted him the official position, it is only natural that I shall give it to him."

Zhao Pingzhang's face still bore a bluish mark: "But Li Lin is an unruly man. If he obtains the troops and the right to command troops in the three prefectures of Cangwu Road, he is very likely to become the next Tang family army."

"Of course I know," Zhu Jing chuckled. "But what can we do? If we give it to him, he'll most likely rebel a few years later. If we don't give it to him, do you believe he'll rebel the moment he gets back to Jin County?"

When Zhao Pingzhang thought of Li Lin's arrogant behavior in front of the Meridian Gate Square that day, he suddenly felt a headache coming on.

The official was right; Li Lin seemed unable to tolerate the slightest grievance.

At this moment, a relatively young court official stepped forward, holding his jade tablet, and said, "Your Majesty, this traitor Li Lin is going to return to Jin County from the capital. He will pass through two counties on the way. We can send fast horses to inform the prefects of the two counties and the local military governors to send troops to surround and suppress him. The majesty of the Emperor cannot be violated, and the authority of the court cannot be insulted. If Li Lin is allowed to return to Jin County, both Your Majesty and all the civil and military officials will lose face."

Upon hearing this, the court fell silent.

Zhu Jing chuckled and asked, "A local prefect and a garrison commander? You're sending soldiers from the Central Plains to deal with a military officer who has actually fought tough battles in the local area?"

"Li Lin only has paper soldiers."

"His thousand-plus paper soldiers are no different from killing chickens when he cuts down the Imperial Guards," Zhu Jing said angrily. "Moreover, Li Lin also has a hundred personal guards with him. If you calculate carefully, he has more than two thousand troops under his command. Now, whether it is Yu County or E County, there are less than four thousand available garrison troops. In addition, Xiang County is currently plagued by bandits. Who can resist Li Lin's two thousand troops? Your Wang family?"

The defeat in the last southern campaign almost exhausted the last remaining manpower potential in the Central Plains, and it has not recovered to this day.

In addition, it is well known that the local militia in the Central Plains region had little combat power, not even comparable to the Imperial Guards.

They're good at bullying ordinary people, but they're no match for the border troops.

The young man was sweating profusely from the scolding.

Zhu Jing angrily said, "Get back to the ranks."

The young official retreated back to his position among the other officials.

Zhu Jing then looked at him and said, "Minister Huang, step forward."

Huang Feng stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I am here."

"I heard that Li Lin is the son-in-law of your Huang family."

"He is my elder brother's son-in-law."

Zhu Jing laughed and said, "I know Huang Yan well. Back when he was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, I was just the Crown Prince. I talked to him and he was a talented person. But I never expected that he would be able to choose such a person as his son-in-law."

"My elder brother is bad at judging people."

“No, he has a good eye.” Zhu Jing said coldly, “If I saw someone like that, I would also want to take him as my son-in-law.”

Huang Feng gave a wry smile.

Indeed, in terms of ability alone, Li Lin is a rare talent.

It's just that his ability to cause trouble is even more impressive.

"You may retire now. From this day forward, the entire Huang family is forbidden from leaving the capital. Do you understand?"

Huang Feng knelt down: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

It was indeed very merciful of them not to massacre the Huang family on the spot or exile them. "As for Huang Yan, the prefect of Jin County..." Zhu Jing thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave him alone for now. If there are no other important matters, let's adjourn the court. I am tired."

By the afternoon, the events that had occurred in the imperial court had already been spread among all those involved, big and small, in the capital.

After listening to her husband recount the whole story, Huang Ling's expression was one of shock and her face turned deathly pale.

Fang Fengyi sipped his tea and said, "You previously said that Li Lin was just a complacent person with no ambition. Now it seems you were completely wrong. This is not just a lack of ambition; he is clearly an ambitious man. In a few years, I wouldn't be surprised if he followed Qin Tuo and raised the banner of rebellion."

Huang Ling's expression was grim: "How dare he do this? He's pushing the Huang family, my eldest brother, my mother, and my eldest sister into a fire pit. My second uncle has already lost his official position, and the Huang family has been implicated by him. I've always said he's a jinx who brings misfortune to his relatives and friends."

Fang Fengyi sneered, "That's not necessarily true. Perhaps the Huang family is actually happy to see this happen."

"How can it be!"

“What’s impossible?” Fang Fengyi said leisurely. “What kind of person is your father-in-law? The son-in-law he has chosen is not someone to be trifled with. I heard that you were supposed to be paired with Li Lin, but you didn’t like it, so your elder sister was betrothed to him instead.”

Huang Ling's face turned deathly pale: "How did you know, sir!"

They haven't told anyone about this.

"Xiao Juan told me."

Xiao Juan was Huang Ling's maidservant since childhood, and her status was the same as Hong Luan's.

Huang Ling turned her head and looked at the maid beside her in disbelief, her eyes filled with disappointment.

Xiaojuan didn't dare to look at her.

"Don't blame Xiaojuan. I am her husband, so naturally she will be more inclined to side with me." Fang Fengyi shook his head and said, "Besides, it's not a big deal. You and Li Lin have no affair."

Huang Ling nodded with a grim expression: "Thank you for believing me, sir."

Fang Fengyi waved his fan and said, "Ling'er, in the future, you should have more contact with the Huang family, especially your eldest sister, but you should do so discreetly."

"What do you mean?" Huang Ling asked, puzzled.

“Our Fang family has no contact with the Qin army in Yue County, nor with the Tang family army, but... it seems we can try to get in touch with Li Lin through his connections.”

Huang Ling's eyes widened: "Our Fang family wants..."

She didn't dare say what came next.

Fang Fengyi smiled and said, "Isn't this normal? Didn't the Huang family also send their most outstanding eldest son to Prince Lu's side?"

Huang Ling felt a headache coming on: "Why are you men so obsessed with these power struggles? Can't you just live a normal life?"

“This is not the kind of thing a woman from a prominent family should say. Without us men working hard and planning outside, how could you women live in such a grand mansion, dressed in fine clothes, eating delicious food, and being cared for by dozens or even hundreds of servants!” Fang Fengyi said with some doubt, “You said that Li Lin is not ambitious and that’s why you dislike him. Now I really want to be ambitious, but you won’t allow it. It’s very contradictory.”

Huang Ling was speechless.

Yes, why do I have opposite expectations of different people?

……

On the other side, Li Lin, leading an army of paper figures and a hundred personal guards, had been traveling for five days.

In fact, the number of paper figures continued to grow along the way.

It has increased from over a thousand to over three thousand.

In Li Lin's worst-case scenario, he would have to fight his way out of the capital city several times, but to his surprise, no one dared to stop him along the way.

Forget about officers and soldiers, there wasn't even a shadow of a yamen runner in sight.

However, upon closer reflection, the reason becomes clear.

Inside the carriage protected by three thousand paper figures, Madam Huang's expression still held disbelief.

They were even in a daze.

She didn't say a word the whole way; she was just constantly afraid.

They were afraid of being overtaken by the army, and afraid that the three of them, being weak women, would encounter bad things.

After all, Li Lin offended the emperor and killed the crown prince.

For the past five days, she has been unable to eat or sleep well, and has been constantly worried.

But after five days, she gradually came to her senses.

It seems... nothing particularly terrible has happened.

At this moment, she lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Li Lin riding a tall horse outside. Then she lowered the curtain again and asked, "Qing'er, Hongluan, are you really not afraid at all?"

Huang Qing smiled and said, "I'm not afraid."

"Why?" said Madam Huang. "If things go wrong, a large army might come to hunt us down."

Huang Qin said sweetly, "The Great Qi is currently weak internally, and its strong troops are all on the frontier. As my lord said, they can't defeat us, nor would they dare to. Furthermore... even if a large army were to come, it wouldn't be able to catch up so quickly. These paper figures may not seem to move very fast, but they don't know fatigue, don't need to eat, and can walk for a whole day without rest. In reality, their marching speed is faster than that of ordinary garrison troops. Under normal circumstances, the garrison troops wouldn't be able to catch up with us if they had to mobilize their forces."

Hearing this, Madam Huang was finally completely relieved.

"Everything is fine now, but what about later?" Madam Huang said, "Your husband has offended the royal family, and the future will be difficult."

Huang Qing thought for a moment and said, "It's alright. At worst, we can just retire to the mountains with my husband, and they won't be able to find us."

Lady Huang sighed softly.

The Li family is fine, but the Huang family will definitely be implicated. What should we do?

Time passed quickly, and Li Lin's army of paper figures finally returned to Jin County after nearly a month.

The person standing at the entrance to Tianjin was Huang Yan.

His face looked very sour and dark.

(End of this chapter)