The sound reached the courtroom. Lin Zihan's gaze locked straight ahead. Outside, the on - looking commoners spontaneously dispersed, leaving a path for someone to walk through.
Someone was slowly walking into the courtroom along this path. The official robe of the person swayed constantly with his movements. The four - clawed golden dragon embroidered on his chest seemed to be alive, its claws outstretched and its eyes bulging, as if it were about to leap out at any moment.
Seeing this, Lin Zihan couldn't help but stand up and walk down to the floor of the courtroom. For only the current Regent King was allowed to wear such an official robe. Even Shang Luoshu could only have a three - clawed golden dragon embroidered on his robe.
"Your humble official pays respects to the Regent King!"
Shang Mozheng took Lin Zihan's seat, looked down at the people in the courtroom imperiously, and then slowly began to speak.
"From what I hear from you, Lord Lin, you seem to be planning to close this case hastily?"
"What does Your Highness mean by this?"
Without the order to rise, Lin Zihan still knelt on the floor, but his back was straight as a rod.
"Lord Lin, haven't you investigated this thoroughly? General Zhu had four lieutenants under his command back then, but in today's trial, you only used the testimony of one of them. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
After taking the medicine and lying in bed for the whole morning, Lu Yinxi was finally allowed to get out of bed. However, the doctor had warned her to avoid the wind as much as possible.
So now, she was learning needlework beside her second elder sister. Her second brother - in - law had occupied the outer room and was now discussing matters with the advisors of the mansion.
Judging from Lu Yinxi's half - day observation, this Prince Xu seemed to be a good man. At least he was impeccable when it came to loving his wife.
According to the maid beside Lu Yinqian, he wished he could stick to Lu Yinqian's side for twelve hours a day.
If he had official business to attend to, unless it was something highly confidential, he would, just like today, stay in the outer room while his wife was in the inner room, so that he could always keep an eye on her.
"Was Fang Qinhu's case postponed?"
Prince Xu's voice suddenly rose an octave.
Hearing the name "Fang Qinhu", Lu Yinxi immediately became alert. Her ears perked up, and her body instinctively leaned towards the outer room.
The advisor didn't keep them in suspense and immediately explained, "Yes. I heard that the Regent King intervened and postponed the trial on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient."
The Regent King?
The young girl had heard a lot about this all - powerful king of the Great Qi, but she never expected that Fang Qinhu's case would be related to him.
She had underestimated the complexity of this matter.
Out of the corner of her eye, seeing her second elder sister exuding a motherly glow, Lu Yinxi put down her poor embroidery work and casually asked, "Second sister, are you familiar with the Regent King?"
"Ouch!"
The needle pricked her finger, and a drop of blood immediately welled up on the tip. Before the young girl could react, Prince Xu from outside rushed into the inner room like a gust of wind.
"Qianqian, did you prick your finger? Does it hurt?"
Before his wife could respond, he put her bleeding index finger into his mouth.
"What are you doing?!"
The young princess was so shocked by Prince Xu's "rashness" that she almost lost her balance. Her cheeks immediately turned crimson, and she didn't even notice her younger sister's teasing.
"We have embroiderers at home. I've told you not to do this, but you just won't listen."
"O - okay, I won't do it anymore. Please, let go of me."
The gazes of the servants around seemed to be tangible. All Lu Yinqian wanted now was to pull back her hand, so she was extremely obedient to her husband's words.
Seeing that she had put down her embroidery work, Xu Zhuo finally let go of her finger. He wiped his wife's finger with a handkerchief and then left the inner room, looking back at her every few steps.
Lu Yinxi, who had been force - fed a bowl of dog food: I'm full. I don't need lunch!
After Prince Xu's figure disappeared, the crimson on Lu Yinqian's face gradually faded, and her expression turned serious.
"S - second sister?"
"Xier, listen to your second sister. Don't inquire about the Regent King, and don't get close to him. If possible, your second sister hopes that you won't have any contact with the royal family at all."
Huh?
This sudden change in expression left Lu Yinxi a bit confused. Why would the mention of the Regent King cause such a big emotional upheaval in her second sister?
However, Lu Yinqian had no intention of solving her doubts. She just continued, "Xier, promise your second sister, okay?"
She was extremely serious, not like she was joking at all. There was deep worry in her eyes. Although the young girl didn't know the reason, she still obediently nodded.
"Okay, second sister, I will."
Hearing her younger sister's promise, Lu Yinqian finally let out a sigh of relief and showed a smile. But Lu Yinxi could feel that her mood was obviously not as high as before.
"Thud!"
The inkstone grazed Lin Zihan's forehead and hit the door frame behind him. The ink splashed all over the side of his face, staining his plain robe.
"Get out!"
This was a suppressed roar. Lin Zihan didn't hesitate and turned to leave the study.
Since he became Prime Minister Zhang's student, this was the first time he had made his teacher so angry. The root cause was that he shouldn't have touched Zhu Chengjie. More precisely, he shouldn't have provoked the Regent King behind him.
Feeling the pain on his forehead, Lin Zihan couldn't help but smile bitterly. However, the steps he took became even more determined.
"Brother Zihan, your head?"
A familiar voice fell into his ears. A few moments later, its owner came to Lin Zihan's side. It was Zhang Lingyue. She lifted the silk handkerchief but was afraid of hurting the person in front of her. In the end, she could only stand there stiffly, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.
Noticing her dilemma, Lin Zihan took the handkerchief from Zhang Lingyue's hand and pressed it on the wound. "It's okay. You don't have to worry."
Miss Zhang knew that he was just comforting her, and she also knew how this wound had come about. However, there was nothing she could do but look at his wound worriedly.
"Brother Zihan, let me take you to apply some medicine, okay?"
"Okay."
Lin Zihan didn't refuse. After all, it wouldn't look good for his teacher if he left Prime Minister Zhang's mansion with a head full of injuries.
Without asking for help from others, after the maid brought the ointment, Zhang Lingyue personally applied the medicine to Lin Zihan.
Her movements were very gentle. Her sleeve brushed against Lin Zihan's nose as her arm moved, causing a slight itch. For a moment, Lin Zihan suddenly wished that time could stop at this moment.
With his beloved one in front of him, this moment was eternity.
Madam Lu came to the Marquis Yongchang's mansion after lunch. She hadn't seen her youngest daughter for a day and a night, so she was still worried and came in person.
"Mother is really partial. Now that you have younger sister, you don't want me, your second daughter anymore."
Hugging Madam Lu's arm, Lu Yinqian deliberately showed a jealous look of a young girl, which made Lu Yinxi involuntarily smile.
This must be what it feels like to have a family, she thought.
However, this emotion didn't last long. She was still very concerned about the Regent King. So when she got on the carriage back to the mansion with Madam Lu, she repeated the question she had asked her second sister in the morning to Madam Lu.
Almost instantly, Madam Lu's gentle stroking on her back stopped. Then the young girl felt her mother's heavy love.
Madam Lu hugged her tightly in her arms, and her body was trembling.
"Don't get close to the Regent King! Xier, promise mother. Stay far away from that Regent King, okay?"
What was going on? Both her mother and second sister behaved so strangely whenever the Regent King was mentioned.
Suppressing the doubts in her heart, Lu Yinxi deliberately softened her tone and gently explained, "Mother, daughter doesn't intend to get close to the Regent King. I just..."
"Don't mention him, Xier. Promise mother, don't mention him and don't get close to him!"
Madam Lu's emotions got out of control again. The young girl was even more confused, but she didn't dare to stimulate her anymore. She just whispered to comfort her, "Okay, okay, okay. Daughter promises you. I won't mention him. I won't mention him anymore."
The carriage stopped in front of the Prime Minister's mansion. After Lu Yinxi's repeated assurances, Madam Lu finally let go of her and entered the mansion with her daughter.
Even so, she still kept an eye on Lu Yinxi in Luoxia Courtyard for the whole afternoon and didn't leave until night.
There must be a hidden story behind this!
With this thought in mind, the young girl slept until dawn.
The next day, after the young girl finished washing and sat in front of the dressing table, she still couldn't figure out the answer to the question from the previous night because there were too few clues.
"Hey, where did this box of rouge come from?"
Hongmei, who was picking out hairpins, let out a soft cry. Her eyes kept darting towards Lu Yinxi. Seeing that she was interested, she continued, "Miss, it seems that there's something under this rouge?"
The young girl's heart skipped a beat. She picked up the rouge and sure enough saw a pink letter paper underneath.
She unfolded it.
The calligraphy was still as sharp as iron hooks and silver strokes, but this time there was a bit of gentleness in the characters.
There were only three words on the paper: I'm sorry.