When the imperial edict arrived at the mansion of Prime Minister Zhang, Zhang Lingyue was embroidering a handkerchief.
The wedding date of her and Lin Zihan had been set for the coming May when spring flowers were in full bloom.
Originally, Prime Minister Zhang wanted to set his daughter's wedding for the twelfth lunar month of this year. After all, Zhang Lingyue was getting old. If she didn't get married soon, people would surely gossip about her behind her back.
However, due to the death of King Jing, Shang Luoshu, the current emperor, who had a deep bond with this adopted brother, specially ordered that within half a year, no common people in the Great Qi were allowed to hold any wedding celebrations. Thus, the wedding of Lin and Zhang had to be postponed to the next year.
But Zhang Lingyue didn't mind. As long as Lin Zihan was willing to marry her, it didn't matter if it was the next year!
As long as nothing unexpected happened, she would surely become his!
However, the unexpected arrived at the Zhang family even before the wedding date. The current emperor sent an imperial edict to Prime Minister Zhang!
It was the depth of winter. Zhang Lingyue slumped on her knees in the courtyard in front of the main hall. The north wind cut like a knife on her face, and the floating snow melted into water the moment it slipped into her collar and disappeared without a trace.
She seemed oblivious to all this. Her eyes stared blankly at a point in the void in front of her, and only two words rampaged wantonly in her mind.
Confiscation!
The emperor had ordered to confiscate their prime minister's mansion!
At the same time, the Zhang family was punished so that none of their descendants for the next three generations, whether legitimate or collateral, would be allowed to take the imperial examinations to enter officialdom!
The reason was that there was evidence proving that her father had once secretly assisted the Regent King!
"Impossible! It's impossible!"
Perhaps the wailing around her and the rummaging sounds were too loud. Zhang Lingyue finally regained a bit of her senses. She struggled to get up from the snow and staggered to her mother's side.
"Mother, the imperial edict must be fake, right? Father would never do anything harmful to the court, right?"
"I still remember when elder sister got married, Father seriously told me... He said that he had to marry elder sister into the Regent King's mansion because of the imperial power. He would never... never do anything sorry to the Great Qi..."
"But now, what does this mean?"
"Say something, Mother! Does it mean that all those words back then were just lies to deceive me?"
Facing her daughter's series of questions, Mrs. Zhang opened her mouth but couldn't say a word. Finally, she could only lower her head and wipe away her tears, sobbing silently.
The temperature inside the house was a bit high. The broken snow on Zhang Lingyue's head gradually melted into ice water and dripped down. Her clothes were soaked layer by layer, and finally, her innermost undergarment was wet.
It was this bit of cold that gradually calmed her down.
Her father was detained in the palace, and her mother only knew how to wipe away tears. She was the only one who could make decisions in this family. She had to calm down. Only in this way could she save her father.
Zhang Lingyue squatted back beside her mother again and forced back her tears. "Mother, Brother Zihan is in the good graces of the emperor. Daughter will go and ask him to save Father."
"You're not allowed to go!"
Mrs. Zhang, who had only known how to wipe away tears just now, suddenly exploded like a landmine. "What do you want to go to him for at this time? If it weren't for that Lin Zihan, do you think our Zhang family would have ended up like this?!"
...
The snow was falling heavier and heavier. Lin Zihan was sitting woodenly on a small couch in a single - layer robe. He didn't light the charcoal brazier. The room was almost as cold as an ice cellar at the moment, but he seemed completely unaware of it.
Calculating the time, the imperial edict should have arrived at the teacher's mansion by now, right?
Lin Zihan was very clear about the emperor's punishment for the Zhang family because it was only after he had knelt in the snow outside the imperial study for an afternoon yesterday that he had finally managed to plead for a glimmer of hope for the Zhang family.
If he hadn't pleaded, with the emperor's hatred for Shang Mozheng, he would have wished to take the lives of the entire Prime Minister Zhang's family directly.
The bloodline left by Shang Mozheng in the Regent King's mansion was the best proof.
When Shang Mozheng was arrested back then, the emperor didn't punish them. Even later when the capital was besieged, Shang Luoze didn't think about taking action against that cousin. After all, this was also a bargaining chip for him to threaten Shang Mozheng, wasn't it?
But just a few days after Shang Mozheng's death, the only bloodline of the former Regent King also disappeared, and it was a silent disappearance.
Until now, the common people outside didn't know that the Regent King's mansion was already empty. They only knew that the current emperor returned good for evil and was magnanimous. Even though his own uncle had committed such a heinous crime of treason, he could still treat his bloodline kindly. He was truly a benevolent emperor!
The cold liquid slid down his cheek and landed on the back of his hand. Lin Zihan stared at the teardrop and suddenly couldn't help laughing. He was laughing at himself for being a hypocrite and a real villain!
It was he who had personally sent the teacher's family, who had been kind to him, onto this path. Now, who was he crying for?
A cat crying over a dead mouse was nothing but false compassion!
"What time is it?" Wiping away his tears, Lin Zihan raised his voice and asked.
Lin Zhen, who had been waiting outside, immediately pushed the door open and entered. As soon as he came in, he couldn't help shivering. "Master, it's already the fourth watch (between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.)."
"The fourth watch..."
Lin Zihan repeated the time silently. It was a long while before he said another sentence. "Take a few people to take a look... take a look at the Zhang family and see if there's anything we can do to help. If they refuse..."
He knew this was an inevitable result, but he still continued hoarsely, "If they don't accept, you just stay by and make sure those officers who are confiscating the house don't bully them..."
...
The main hall was very warm, but Zhang Lingyue felt as if she was falling into an icy lake at the moment.
Her world had collapsed!
What did it mean that Brother Zihan was the murderer who had harmed her father?
Wasn't he her father's student? And he would be her husband in the future. How could he possibly do such a thing?
"It's impossible! Mother, Brother Zihan would never do such a thing. He respected Father the most. Even if they had disputes, Brother Zihan would never harm Father!"
"Absolutely not!"
Zhang Lingyue said firmly, but when she met her mother's hateful gaze, her firm heart couldn't help wavering.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
She murmured to herself as if brainwashing herself again and again, forcing herself to believe this argument. At the same time, tears streamed down in strings.
Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore and got up. Stumbling, she ran towards the gate. She had to go and see Brother Zihan. She had to hear from Brother Zihan himself that he hadn't done such a thing!
Clumps of flowers and plants were casually discarded on the ground. Broken porcelain pieces were mixed with silk and satin, lying aside. Lin Zhen didn't expect that as soon as he entered the prime minister's mansion, he would see such a sight. He couldn't help sighing in his heart.
Who would have thought that this place used to be the bustling prime minister's mansion?
While observing the surroundings, he didn't forget to look for the whereabouts of Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Lingyue.
"Lin Zhen!"
An urgent voice came from behind. Lin Zhen turned around and saw his master's fiancée running towards him, with the traces of tears still on her face.
"Lin Zhen, take me to see Brother Zihan! Take me to see him!"
...
The snow was still floating down on the world, as if it wanted to dye all the darkness in the world pure white. Lin Zihan was leaning on the door frame, and a tickling sensation came from his throat.
Sure enough, "a scholar is useless in all things." It had only been a short time, and his body couldn't bear it anymore.
He mocked himself in his heart.
The next moment, he even thought he was having an illusion. Otherwise, why did the woman running towards him against the wind and snow look so much like his Yue'er?
"Yue'er?"
"Brother Zihan..."
The woman had already come in front of him. Lin Zihan was sure that this wasn't an illusion. The person in front of him was truly his Yue'er.
He stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to brush away the snowflakes in her hair, but at the last moment before touching her, he forced himself to stop. He said in a cold voice, "Why did you come?"
"Does Brother Zihan not want me to come?"
Zhang Lingyue looked up at him, and the panic in her eyes was hard to hide. "Or is it because you've done something sorry to the Zhang family, so you don't dare to hope that I come?"
As if afraid of hearing the answer she didn't want, after saying this, she immediately covered Lin Zihan's mouth to stop him from speaking.
"Although this may seem unreasonable, Brother Zihan, could you let me speak first, okay?"
"I don't understand the affairs of the court, and I don't know what exactly happened between you and Father. But I believe you. I believe you wouldn't harm Father or the Zhang family."
"So, Brother Zihan, could you answer me one question? No matter what the answer is, I believe you. I just want an answer from you."
"The person who presented the evidence of Father's crime to the emperor, it wasn't you, right?"
The silence was like the wind and snow at the moment, expanding infinitely. Just when Zhang Lingyue thought she wouldn't hear his answer, the man in front of her spoke.
"It was me!"