The daughter of Xia Shouzheng?!
Everyone's movements and breaths came to a halt. It seemed that no one had expected her identity at all.
However, this provided a perfectly reasonable explanation for how Ling Yin had obtained the token of the Xia Mansion and rescued them. But to some people, being rescued by the daughter of their enemy felt a bit strange.
Fang Qinhu didn't really care about such things. He just thought that Ling Yin shouldn't go back alone at this moment.
"Um, Miss Ling... Xia..."
By the time he spoke, Xia Lingyin had already walked far away. He reached out his hand to stop her, but unexpectedly, he was blocked by someone first.
"It's no use. She won't come with us," Hong Rui said, lowering her eyes. Her side - vision caught a glimpse of Xia Lingyin's retreating back. "Moreover, she won't be in any danger. I once heard that Xia Shouzheng has only one daughter, and he treasures her very much."
So, Ling Yin should not be in trouble when she goes back.
"Our top priority now should be to find Lord Lin and join him, and then decide our future direction."
Knowing that what she said made sense, even though Fang Qinhu was extremely worried, he could only order his men to carry the two injured masters on the stretcher and head towards the mountain where they had once hidden.
They had finally enjoyed a few comfortable days in the city, but now, in no time at all, they were back to square one. To avoid any complications, everyone didn't dare to delay. With such complaints, they quickened their pace towards the pre - determined direction.
Lin Zihan seemed to have anticipated their arrival. When Fang Qinhu led his men to the foot of the mountain, they saw his figure.
"Lord Lin!"
"Captain Fang!"
When the two groups reunited, there was naturally a round of greetings, and then they exchanged information.
Only then did Fang Qinhu and the others learn that Lin Zihan had managed to leave the city thanks to Ling Yin dressing up as a woman. Similarly, Lin Zihan also learned that Shang Luoshu was injured and in a coma.
"Let's not talk about these things for now. Have you thought about where we should go next?"
In their current state, they definitely couldn't take the official road from Yangxian to the capital. Now, there were only two options in front of them.
Either take a detour to the capital or change their destination and postpone the trip to the capital.
Both masters were in a coma, and for the time being, no one could make a decision.
"Go to Longxi!"
A weak voice suddenly joined the conversation. Hong Rui's pupils contracted slightly, and the scene from that day replayed in her mind.
When Xia Lingyin returned to the north gate, she had already taken off the armor over her clothes, revealing the dress of a young girl inside. Her hair was loose, and she had once again become that innocent girl.
But she knew that once some things happened, they could never go back, just like her mother.
It would still be a few hours before the city gate opened again. Ling Yin casually chose a tree and sat down on the ground, with a faint smile on her lips.
Her father should soon discover her disappearance, along with the token from his study. By now, he was probably gathering his men to catch her back.
Ling Yin could almost imagine the scolding she would receive if she were caught. But she didn't care. She just hoped that the one named Lu Yinxi could run far away and not be caught again.
Inside the city, things developed as Xia Lingyin had expected. Xia Shouzheng found that several items in his study were missing. Then, a servant reported that the young lady was missing.
Xia Shouzheng doted on his only daughter to the core. So, even when she was under house arrest, the servants didn't dare to treat her badly. Therefore, it was not difficult for her to escape from her room and sneak into the study to take some things. But it was also easy to leave evidence.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xia Shouzheng had obtained all the testimonies from the servants and thus deduced what a crazy thing his daughter had done!
Xia Lingyin was woken up. It was still dark outside. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and then saw her father walking towards her with a fierce look on his face.
Look, here he comes!
Xia Lingyin had mixed feelings towards her father.
There was love, but also hatred.
When Xia Lingyin was three years old, Xia Shouzheng was still a poor scholar, with no power or influence. He only had a heart to save the country. All the family's expenses relied on Ling Yin's mother selling embroidered items.
One day, a local rich man in the city took a fancy to Ling Yin's mother and wanted to marry her as a concubine.
Xia Shouzheng naturally refused. As a result, he was naturally retaliated against by the rich man. He was expelled from the academy, and even his books were torn up.
Ling Yin's mother couldn't sell her embroidered items anymore. Their relatives cut off contact, and the family's source of income was completely cut off.
Later, Ling Yin found that her mother was gone. The last time she heard about her mother was that she had committed suicide in the rich man's mansion.
From that day on, Xia Shouzheng changed.
He successfully passed the imperial examination and became an official. But the purity in his heart was gone. All he wanted was power and influence. Then, he attached himself to the Assistant King and gradually climbed to his current position.
Maybe out of guilt, or for some other reason, Xia Shouzheng never remarried or took concubines. All his fatherly love was given to his only daughter.
Xia Lingyin returned home and was once again under house arrest, but this time, Xia Shouzheng was serious.
Chains were tied to the door, and all the windows were nailed shut.
Ling Yin lay on the bed, and the smile on her lips never faded. She could still faintly hear the quarrel between her father and Zhu Jie outside. It was nothing more than how to deal with her.
Even at this moment, Xia Shouzheng still wanted to protect his daughter.
Blinking her eyes, Ling Yin forced back the tears in the corners of her eyes. Her lips still curled up. She knew how much trouble her actions had brought to her father, and she was willing to pay the price, but she didn't regret it.
Because she would always remember that one spring afternoon in the small yard in front of their house. The sun was just right that day. Her mother was embroidering beside her, and her father held her on his lap, teaching her word by word.
"Yinyin, you must remember that when studying, one should set one's mind on the principles of heaven and earth, provide for the livelihood of the people, carry on the teachings of the sages, and bring peace to all generations."
Xia Lingyin was not a person who loved reading, but this sentence was engraved in her heart like a carving, staying with that spring day forever.
The fire had started. Even at night, it burned extremely fiercely. Ling Yin lay flat on the bed. She could faintly hear the shouts of the servants outside. The smile on her lips became even more intense.
She had said that she would pay the price for her actions!
The fire began to spread rapidly and finally engulfed the magnificent canopied bed. After the young and beautiful girl had shown her most beautiful form in this world, accompanied by heart - rending cries, she finally returned to the earth.
The sun rose in the east, and a new day began.
The people in the capital got up early as usual, but today was a bit different from the past.
"Is this true? Yangxian suffered from heavy rain this year and had no harvest at all. Did the current emperor really ignore their lives and arbitrarily increase taxes?"
Looking around, the middle - aged man lowered his voice and said, "It's absolutely true. Otherwise, why do you think there was a sudden riot in Yangxian? And why did Guangling start an uprising?"
"Guangling has also started an uprising?!" The listener couldn't help but let out a low exclamation because the content was too explosive.
"Merchants from the south of the Yangtze River all say so."
"Alas, when the Assistant King was in charge of the court, such things never happened..." Someone couldn't help but sigh.
"Who says it isn't?"
The middle - aged man subconsciously replied, but then he seemed to realize it was inappropriate and quickly shut up and walked away.
Under the deliberate guidance of those with ulterior motives, the rumor that "the emperor is young and disregards the lives of the people" finally spread throughout the capital after the morning court and reached the ears of Shang Luoze.
Maybe because Shang Luoshu was no longer there, or maybe because of the stimulation from Shang Mozheng last time, when he heard this rumor, Shang Luoze didn't get angry as usual. His expression was very calm.
"Where is Chen Guang? Why didn't he report such a big event as the uprising in Guangling?"
Shang Luoze knew that Chen Guang had a connection with Shang Luoshu, so his elder brother would definitely send back news if he knew about this. However, the result was that there was nothing.
The chief eunuch beside him changed his expression and immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, Lord Chen hasn't entered the palace for a long time!"