Chapter 25: Reporting Back

After entering the city, Lin Yuan first returned to Chongyi Ward. The door to the official quarters was slightly ajar, with a note wedged in the crack. Lin Yuan pulled it out and saw it was Zhou Zheng's handwriting—just four words: "Still alive?"

There was also a crooked circle drawn at the end, as if he had hesitated for a long time, unsure how to finish.

Lin Yuan chuckled and pushed the door open. A thin layer of dust covered the room, exactly as he had left it.

He took the small booklet from his robe and locked it in a cabinet, then pulled out his spare official uniform and shook off the dust. Just as he finished changing, the courtyard gate was pounded with thunderous knocks.

"Lin Yuan! You're not dead?"

Zhou Zheng stepped inside, his face still etched with surprise. He looked Lin Yuan up and down, his gaze settling on the scar on Lin Yuan's cheek that hadn't fully faded.

"What happened to your face?"

"I bumped it."

"Bumped it? That bad?" Zhou Zheng didn't believe him, pointing at Lin Yuan's slightly stiff walk. "Your back too?"

"That too."

Zhou Zheng stared at him for a long moment before suddenly cursing. "You really have a death wish."

"That friend of yours, Chen Qiao, was a huge help." Lin Yuan changed the subject. "Thank him for me."

Zhou Zheng's expression shifted. "You went to see Chen Qiao? Is he alright?"

"He was fine when I left."

Zhou Zheng let out a sigh of relief, pulled up a stool, and sat down, lowering his voice. "What you did in Huainan has already spread through Chang'an. The storytellers in the teahouses are telling it with vivid detail. They say you alone blocked attacks from over a dozen Xiantian experts, were burned by a great fire for several hours, and came out completely unscathed. Some even say you're the reincarnation of the Star of Literature."

"The Star of Literature isn't much of a fighter."

"You aren't much of a fighter either."

Zhou Zheng shot back without mercy, then turned serious. "Zhao Chong knows."

Lin Yuan asked, "What was his reaction?"

"No reaction." Zhou Zheng said. "At the court assembly the day before yesterday, someone briefly mentioned the Huainan affair. Zhao Chong just smiled and said everything would wait until the silver transport supervisor and the investigating commissioner return to the capital to report back before being discussed."

"He smiled…"

"Yes, he smiled very amiably." Zhou Zheng added, "The kind of amiable that makes the back of your neck go cold. I don't know how else to describe it."

Lin Yuan nodded.

Zhao Chong was the type who grew more dangerous the quieter he was. The more amiable his smile on the surface, the more it meant he was planning countermeasures in his heart.

The current situation was that Fang De had fled, Tao Si's confession was in his hands, and the evidence had already been sent ahead to Changle Palace. If Zhao Chong wanted to minimize his losses, his best chance was to muddy the chain of evidence before the court assembly.

"There's one more thing." Zhou Zheng's voice dropped even lower. "While you were gone, something monumental happened at court."

"What?"

"The Second Princess raised the matter of establishing a new sovereign."

Lin Yuan was stunned.

"At the court assembly the day before yesterday, the Second Princess, Jiang Lingwan, said a few words. The gist was that it has been over two months since the late emperor's passing, a nation cannot be without a ruler for a single day. Having the three princesses oversee state affairs is not a long-term solution; the matter of designating an heir should be discussed."

"And then?"

"And then nothing." Zhou Zheng spread his hands. "She just threw out a topic, like tossing a stone into a pond to see how big the splash would be. The Third Princess didn't respond on the spot, the First Princess didn't express a stance, and the entire court of civil and military officials fell silent."

Lin Yuan fell silent.

The struggle for the heir's position.

"You're going to report back at tomorrow's court assembly, right?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"Yes."

"Be careful." Zhou Zheng stood up, walked to the door, then turned back. "You're different now, Lin Yuan. Before, you were just a minor, somewhat-known eighth-rank junior remonstrance official. No big shots cared whether you lived or died. But it's different now. Now, the whole of Chang'an knows your name. The people you offended in Huainan want you dead, and those watching you want to use you. You're no longer an unwanted stone. You're a piece on the chessboard that everyone is watching, a piece everyone wants to hold in their hand."

"I'm not a chess piece," Lin Yuan said.

Zhou Zheng smiled, didn't argue, turned, and left.

Lin Yuan closed the door and sat at the desk, lost in thought.

The struggle for the heir's position.

The Second Princess, Jiang Lingwan. Her maternal family, the Liu clan, was a prominent family from Jiangnan. Half the Censorate was her people.

The Third Princess, Jiang Lingwei. Behind her was the Dingguo Duke's Estate, which held military power.

The First Princess, Jiang Lingyi, was the eldest daughter by the empress. In terms of status, she was the most legitimate, but her maternal family had declined, leaving her isolated and without support.

Of the three, Jiang Lingyi's faction was the weakest.

How weak? So weak that not a single powerful minister at court openly stood by her side.

Lin Yuan's eyes suddenly brightened.

He pulled the small booklet from the cabinet, flipped to a new page, and stared at the blank paper, sinking into deep thought.

The warmth from that bowl of porridge in Huainan hadn't yet cooled. The image of the kneeling disaster victims still weighed on his chest.

He wasn't unmoved. On the contrary, precisely because he was moved, he felt he couldn't die for nothing.

Since he had to die, he should die on a greater path, die more meaningfully.

He stared for a long time, then suddenly picked up his brush and wrote a line on the paper.

'If I stand with the legitimate line and am killed by the usurper, does that count as dying on the path of serving the nation and its people?'

That was a good question.

Standing by the eldest legitimate princess meant standing with the legitimate line.

Upholding the legitimate succession protected the greater stability of the nation.

If he were killed by the forces of the other two sides because of this, it would likely count as dying for the nation.

Moreover, it just so happened that the legitimate line was currently the weakest faction, making the probability of being killed even greater.

Lin Yuan slowly closed the booklet, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curling upward.

That death-seeking heart of his suddenly burned brightly again.

*

That night, in a side hall of Changle Palace.

The court lady Zisu placed a memorial before Jiang Lingyi.

The memorial had been sent ahead by Huo Qing. Jiang Lingyi had already read it twice, but she still wanted to read it again.

"Your Highness," Zisu said softly. "Commissioner Lin returned to the capital today."

Jiang Lingyi didn't speak. Her slender fingers gently stroked the memorial, her gaze falling on the attached petition signed and fingerprinted by the disaster victims at the end.

Twenty-three villages. Thousands of fingerprints and crookedly written names.

"How badly was he injured?"

Zisu paused. "According to reports from Colonel Huo's men, two meridians in his back were damaged, an old injury on his left shoulder was torn open, and there are marks on his face that haven't faded. He was almost burned alive in a tent."

Jiang Lingyi's fingers stopped for a moment, then continued turning the page.

"At tomorrow's court assembly, have him come to report back."

"Yes."

Zisu retreated to the door, hesitating. "Your Highness, at tomorrow's court assembly, the Second Princess may raise the matter of establishing a new sovereign again."

Jiang Lingyi lifted her eyes, her tone indifferent. "Let her raise it."

Zisu acknowledged and withdrew.

The candle flame in the side hall flickered in the night breeze.

Jiang Lingyi closed the memorial, tucked it into her sleeve, and stood up, walking to the window.

The myriad lights of Chang'an City spread out beneath her feet, dense and numerous like stars from the sky reflected upon the earth.

She gazed at those lights, her expression impassive, but her fingers gently pinched a corner of the memorial within her sleeve.