Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

"Where are you going?" she blurted out.

"Wait outside until you finish eating before writing the imperial edict. I'm hungry, I need to eat something, right?" Lin Tian lifted his eyelids, too lazy to even roll his eyes completely.

"Oh……"

He paused, then added, "Eat less, or your teeth will rot."

Half an hour later, Lin Tian finished his meal and drinks and lazily leaned against a pillar in the corridor, dozing off with a half-finished grass stalk still dangling from his mouth.

Suddenly, his ear twitched. Without even lifting his eyelids, he hissed, "Don't touch the door—try it if you want to be disfigured."

Zhao Ji was carrying a dozen or so chocolates, crouching low as she moved toward the palace gate.

"I must tidy my hair before I can begin writing. What kind of decorum is this, with my hair disheveled? It would be beneath my dignity as the Empress!" She tried to maintain her composure, but her voice was somewhat weak.

"Comb it right here."

"With no one to serve me and being blind, what am I supposed to do?"

With a flick of his sleeve, Lin Tian conjured up a gleaming, relief-carved dressing table, its bronze mirror reflecting every detail of the person in the room.

Zhao Ji froze, her fingertips trembling as she traced the mirror's surface—the delicate face reflected there was so clear that even each eyelash was clearly visible. She remained stunned for a long while. Lin Tian had already closed his eyes to rest, only uttering a single sentence:

"If you don't write well, you're not allowed to leave the house; if you do write well—you'll have plenty of sweets from now on."

Ying Zheng stood on the stone steps outside the palace until his legs went numb and his feet felt stiff.

He looked up at the cold moon in the sky, then glanced at the warmly lit hall behind him, his face full of confusion and anxiety: What on earth is the master doing in there? Even if... he should have come out by now.

Gai Nie asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, shall we knock?"

"No need!" Ying Zheng raised his hand to stop him, his voice extremely low. "Today's matter is entirely up to the Grand Preceptor. You and I will simply guard the gate."

Inside the hall, however, the scene was quite different.

Zhao Ji knelt before the table, carefully copying the imperial edict stroke by stroke. Beside her, piled high with sachima, chocolate, and rainbow candy, a colorful mountain.

Lin Tian shook his head as he looked at it—she had managed to turn a few hundred words of imperial edict into a whole mountain of snacks.

She had a rainbow candy in her mouth, her cheeks slightly puffed out, and the corners of her mouth turned up high. The tear stains had long since dried. Her black hair was now neatly styled into a low bun, her clothes were tidy, and her brows were relaxed. She had regained her dignified yet charming appearance as the Empress Dowager. The silver comb and the bronze mirror were carefully placed on the corner of the table beside her, protected more closely than the imperial seal.

Looking at the still-childish face in the candlelight, Lin Tian finally couldn't help but scratch his head and ask, "Empress Dowager... are you really thirty-two?"

"I've answered five times already!" she mumbled, chewing a lollipop as she carved bamboo slips, her tone a mix of amusement and exasperation. "The Imperial Advisor asked five times! How can you pry into someone's age to their face? Especially the mother of the nation?!"

Lin Tian awkwardly touched the tip of his nose and chuckled, "The main thing is... the Empress Dowager's appearance is really not like it."

"My appearance has remained unchanged since I was a young woman, so I have lived a secluded life for many years and have never seen anyone except my closest relatives," she said casually, her pen still twirling.

Lin Tian's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly understood—why she always sat behind a curtain, and why her imperial carriage always carried heavy curtains when she left the palace. With such an exquisite and delicate appearance, she was beautiful and charming, but standing there, who would believe that she was the Empress Dowager who had ruled the Qin Palace for more than ten years? She was clearly just a young girl who had just come of age.

Lin Tian was filled with admiration; Ying Zheng really did have such a mother—Zhao Ji. As soon as she finished writing on the bamboo slip, she gently lifted it, breathed on it, and blew away the dust-like bamboo shavings.

"It's done!"

Zhao Ji put down her carving knife and looked up at Lin Tian: "Just affix my phoenix seal, and it will be officially promulgated."

Lin Tian took the booklet and scanned it word by word. Although the pages were filled with Qin Dynasty small seal script, ancient and difficult to decipher, the system quietly switched, and the translation flowed into his mind like a clear spring. The more he read, the more he nodded, secretly praising the content for its precision and efficiency.

When dealing with women, coercion relies on looks, and winning them over relies on taste—and it works!

"I'll go find the King right away." Lin Tian paused. "He knows where the Phoenix Seal is, right?"

"Zheng'er understands."

The door hinges clicked softly. Lin Tian had just stepped out of the threshold and closed the palace door tightly when Ying Zheng couldn't contain himself any longer. He tiptoed and almost jumped up.

The calculation is finally done!

"This is an edict personally drafted by the Empress Dowager." Lin Tian handed over the bamboo slip, his tone becoming more relaxed. "From this day forward, all regents are to relinquish their powers; your mother is also forbidden from interfering in politics and may peacefully reside in the inner palace."

Ying Zheng snatched the seal, his gaze sweeping over the words. His brows immediately relaxed, and his face lit up with joy: "I'll go get the seal right away!"

Before he could finish speaking, he lowered his voice and took a half-step closer: "Is Mother... alright?"

Lin Tian's lips twitched almost imperceptibly: "Don't worry, the Empress Dowager is safe and sound, just a little tired and is resting."

Without further hesitation, Ying Zheng turned and strode out, with Gai Nie following closely behind, heading straight for the Empress Dowager's palace.

Lin Tian stood still, watching the figure in black disappear at the end of the palace wall.

He muttered under his breath, "Are you afraid she's dead, or afraid she's not quite dead yet?"

Upon returning to the palace, they saw Zhao Ji carefully gathering the pastries Lin Tian had sent into a brocade box. Her fingers were nimble, and her smile was gentle, like that of a naive young girl.

In that instant, Lin Tian suddenly felt that he had chosen the right path.

Whether you coax or scare them, it's better than bloodshed.

In the end, Zhao Ji had long been prepared for this day. The moment she removed her phoenix crown and wedding robes, her eyes clearly burned with the light of facing death.

Perhaps it was to pave the way for her son, or perhaps it was to uphold her own unyielding principles.

"Your Majesty, please rest early. Lin Tian takes his leave." He bowed and turned to leave.

He heard Zhao Ji calling him from behind, but Lin Tian didn't stop. He walked straight through the vermilion palace gate and into the morning light outside the palace.

After his figure disappeared into the distance, Zhao Ji ordered the palace maids to collect all the items on the table and took the box back to her quarters. Just then, she encountered Ying Zheng rushing over in the corridor.

She gazed at her son quietly and said only one sentence: "National affairs are of utmost importance, Zheng'er, go."

……

"Yes!" Ying Zheng replied, bowing his head.

As mother and son passed each other, Zhao Ji's eyes welled up with tears, which silently streamed down her face.

Upon returning to her bedchamber, she dismissed everyone around her, including Mu Du, who also waved for her to leave.

On the table lay a pile of sweets given by Lin Tian, ​​and beside her sat a bronze mirror and an ivory comb. She stroked them for a moment, then said softly, "This man keeps his word. Yesterday's edict mentioned something the late king had said on his deathbed... This ending might not be a bad one. Zheng'er and I are already worlds apart. I only hope that Lin Tian can truly help our Great Qin establish a foundation for an everlasting dynasty."

After speaking, she picked up the bronze mirror with its four neat corners, and following Lin Tian's instructions, slowly unfolded the mirror, stared at her reflection, and was momentarily stunned.

He opened another package of chocolates, took a small sip to melt it, and felt a slightly bitter taste followed by a sweet aftertaste on his tongue. He murmured, "This taste is truly unheard of."

The next day, as dawn broke, Lin Tianshang was fast asleep, embracing Nongyu.

Suddenly, Zi Nu's clear voice came from outside the door: "The Empress Dowager has arrived, Grand Preceptor."

Lin Tian rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up, full of suspicion: Why would Zhao Ji come to my door? Could it be that she was only pretending to comply last night, and came to settle scores this morning?

Could it be... that he's trying to silence him because he saw his true face?

After quickly washing up with Nongyu's help, he hurried to the main hall of the mansion, only to find the Empress Dowager nowhere to be seen. Instead, he bumped into Han Fei, who was standing in the hall with a smile, giving him a thumbs-up with a face full of admiration.

"Brother Lin, that's brilliant!"

Lin Tian was completely bewildered: "Where is the Empress Dowager? Didn't she say she had something to discuss?"

Han Fei gestured with his chin toward the front yard: "Yan Lingji and Hong Lian are with her in the yard."

Huh? Zhao Ji actually appeared without any noodles and even personally stepped into the Imperial Preceptor's residence? Lin Tian was shocked.

He hurriedly went out and saw a person sitting on a stone bench in the front yard, with Yan Lingji and Honglian on either side, their eyes fixed on Zhao Ji as if they wanted to see through her.

Lin Tian's brow twitched. He knew exactly what the two were thinking. He coughed twice and stepped forward: "Ahem—what are you looking at? Come in, both of you."