novel bin Chapter 141 Shura Field
Chapter 141 Shura Field
Walking along the palace wall towards the inner garden, only the soft footsteps of the two remained on the blue brick path.
The usually fearless Lan Fenghuang was unusually restrained at this moment, even her breathing became softer.
"Feed." She nudged Zhao Yu's arm with her head and asked in a low voice, "Just how skilled is your Sister Lin in martial arts? If she really doesn't like me and starts a fight, I might use poison if I can't stop myself."
Zhao Yu shook his head with a wry smile: "If things really come to a head, you might not even have a chance to release the poison."
"That powerful?" Blue Phoenix's eyes widened slightly. "More powerful than you?"
Zhao Yu hesitated for a moment before truthfully saying, "In the past, I was only slightly better than Sister Lin. But now that I've had so many extraordinary encounters, she shouldn't be a match for me anymore, and I should be able to stop her."
"That's good." Lan Fenghuang breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "It's enough that you're protecting me. If she really bullies me, you can't take her side."
"Don't worry, Sister Lin isn't the kind of person who's unreasonable," Zhao Yu reassured her gently, though inwardly he was feeling uneasy.
He spoke with certainty, but in reality, he had no confidence at all.
In the original novel, Lin Chaoying was proud, arrogant, and unyielding. Her lifelong wish was to spend her life with Wang Chongyang, and she was willing to be confined to the Ancient Tomb for this.
Now that he has promised her the position of empress and vowed never to betray her, he has turned around and brought another woman back to the palace.
Zhao Yu didn't dare to think about how she would react.
Thinking of this, he subconsciously tightened his grip on Lan Fenghuang's hand.
Lan Fenghuang seemed to sense his unease, and grasped his hand in return. Her warm palm gave him some confidence.
Before long, the two arrived at Lin Chaoying's residence. The vermilion gate was tightly closed. Zhao Yu stood at the bottom of the steps, his steps hesitant, and he did not go forward for a long time.
Just as they were hesitating, the courtyard gate creaked open from the inside.
Lin Chaoying, dressed in a plain white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), stood inside the door, her long hair loosely tied up and adorned with only a plain silver hairpin.
She remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, while Lin Hongyu, who followed behind her, frowned, glanced at Lan Fenghuang with unfriendly eyes, and then glared angrily at Zhao Yu.
"Sister Lin..."
Zhao Yu's throat moved slightly, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chaoying smiled faintly and stepped aside to make way: "Why didn't Your Majesty inform me before returning to the palace? I could have had tea prepared for you."
Her gaze fell on Lan Fenghuang.
"This must be Smurfette? She is indeed a beauty of unparalleled grace. No wonder the Emperor made an exception and brought her into the palace."
Zhao Yu froze on the spot, his mouth slightly agape.
This isn't right.
Is this still the Lin Chaoying he knows? Why is she not angry at all, but so polite?
Before he could figure it out, Lin Chaoying had already stepped forward and naturally took Lan Fenghuang's hand.
Lan Fenghuang was already somewhat at a loss, and when she was pulled, she became even more stiff and could only passively follow her inside.
"It's windy outside, come in and sit down." Lin Chaoying turned to look at Zhao Yu, who was standing there in a daze. "What are you still doing standing there, Your Majesty? Hongyu, go and invite Your Majesty in."
Lin Hongyu snorted and reluctantly curtsied, "Your Majesty, please."
Zhao Yu stepped inside, glanced at Lin Hongyu beside him, and asked in a low voice, "Hongyu, your young lady... is she alright? Did something happen to her?"
Lin Hongyu glanced at him sideways, her tone somewhat perfunctory: "Doesn't Your Majesty know what you've done?"
"..."
Zhao Yu gave a wry smile: "Just a few days ago, didn't you call me son-in-law?"
"Does the son-in-law know he's the son-in-law?"
Lin Hongyu finally couldn't suppress her anger. Her voice was very low, but full of indignation: "My young lady has been in the palace these days, helping you maintain appearances during the day and worrying about the war at the front at night. She stays up late every night, just in case her husband is distracted outside."
"But the son-in-law, not only is he indulging in debauchery outside, he even brought someone back to the palace. Do you know that when someone came to report this just now, my young lady's pen broke, and her eyes were red for a long time, but she didn't let a single tear fall!"
Zhao Yu's heart skipped a beat, and the last bit of luck he had felt vanished without a trace.
He knew that Lin Chaoying couldn't possibly be indifferent.
She was merely putting on a show of dignity, unwilling to lose face or embarrass herself.
Zhao Yu didn't refute Lin Hongyu anymore and quickly walked into the house.
Inside the room, Lin Chaoying was sitting at the table with Lan Fenghuang, chatting and laughing.
Lan Fenghuang was originally a very shrewd and charming person, but at this moment, faced with Lin Chaoying's enthusiasm, she was somewhat overwhelmed and could only passively respond, occasionally picking up her teacup to take a sip to hide her helplessness.
The two women, both skilled in martial arts, were chatting about clothes and jewelry like ordinary young ladies. The scene looked harmonious, but there was an inexplicable strangeness about it.
The strangest thing was that the two seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, treating Zhao Yu, who was standing next to them, as if he didn't exist at all.
After saying a few more words, Lin Chaoying took out a mutton-fat jade hairpin from her makeup box. The hairpin head was carved with a phoenix spreading its wings. The jade was warm and smooth, and the carving was exquisite.
She took Lan Fenghuang's hand and placed the jade hairpin in her palm: "Since it's our first meeting, I don't have anything nice to give you. This jade hairpin was a gift from my servants a few days ago, and it suits your name quite well, so please don't find it offensive."
"This... is too precious." Blue Phoenix instinctively wanted to decline.
"It's just a little trinket," Lin Chaoying said with a smile, pressing her hand down. "We're sisters, no need to be so polite."
As she spoke, she stood up and said, "Please sit down for a while. I have something to give to the official. I'll be right back."
After saying that, she turned and walked into the inner room, her skirt sweeping across the floor without pausing for a moment.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Yu quickly got up and followed.
After taking two steps, he turned back to look at Lan Fenghuang.
Lan Fenghuang was looking down at the jade hairpin when she looked up and nodded slightly to him, indicating that she was alright.
Zhao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly caught up with him.
Lin Chaoying wasn't walking fast, but when she heard footsteps behind her, she not only didn't stop, but quickened her pace.
"Sister Lin!" Zhao Yu swayed and stepped in front of her. "Don't be like this. If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't keep it inside."
He reached out to hold her hand, but Lin Chaoying turned away.
She lowered her head, her expression unreadable: "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I am not yet the Empress, how dare I disobey you? What if I displease you and even refuse to give me the Empress's position? What then?"
The sarcasm in those words was so obvious that even a deaf person could hear it.
Zhao Yu gave a wry smile, stepped forward, and grabbed her wrist without saying a word: "Sister Lin, my relationship with Fenghuang'er was also due to a twist of fate..."
"I didn't mean to wrong you, it's just..."
He sighed, his voice full of helplessness: "At this point, anything I say will sound like an excuse. If you want to hear it, I'll tell you the whole story."