Seeing the fleeting surprise on Ye Zhanqing's face, Jun Yifeng was pleased with the effect of his words. However, seeing Lin Zijing's unchanging expression, Jun Yifeng felt a surge of indescribable emotion. From the moment he was summoned to the palace, he had sensed that this man was no ordinary person. Although Lin Zijing trembled with fear and dared not look him in the eye, the aura emanating from him seemed to pose a significant threat to him!
His own idea was to kill this person and be done with it! However, he couldn't ignore the feelings of Ye Zhanqing and Jiang Yumin. Even emperors have their helplessness when it comes to managing people!
Jiang Yumin was someone he had personally mentored. Seeing how nervous he was with this young man, Jun Yifeng decided he couldn't let others influence his thoughts any longer, so he couldn't let them be together. Ye Zhanqing, however, was still not entirely at ease, so he decided to let them be together and see what more interesting things would happen! This farce was nothing more than a game of strategy.
Lin Zijing was also thinking that ever since Jun Yifeng summoned her to the palace, it seemed as if an invisible net had been cast upon her, but where was the hand that was grabbing it? What was its purpose? She had no idea! It seemed that she had lost this confrontation, and she had to think of a way to turn the tide!
During the meal, things that shouldn't have been said were left unsaid, and everyone did their best to share some interesting stories, making everyone happy!
"Oh dear!" Consort Shu exclaimed softly, for she had knocked over a cup, soaking her skirt.
"Young Master Lin, would you mind taking Consort Shu to freshen up?" Jun Yifeng asked with a faint smile.
Although it was phrased as a suggestion, it was also a matter of not being able to disobey the emperor's command.
Lin Zijing had no choice but to take Consort Shu to the side room to wash up, and called a maid to go and serve her.
As they approached the side room, Consort Shu suddenly said to her maid, "I dropped my handkerchief on the road. Go and find it for me!"
The maid glanced at Lin Zijing, who nodded, and then left.
"Your Highness, is there anything you wish to instruct me to do?" Lin Zijin asked confidently.
"You—are you the elder sister?" Consort Shu asked hesitantly.
Lin Zijing was shocked and almost answered, but then a thought flashed through her mind. Wait, she hadn't given anything away, and she hadn't seen Ye Zhanhong for years. How could Ye Zhanhong know her identity? In any case, she had already died once, so it was always better to be cautious.
"Your Highness, I am a man! How could I be your sister?" Lin Zijing said without changing her expression.
"It's me, sister. Why don't you recognize me? I had to beg him so I could come out to see you. Don't you recognize me?" Consort Shu's eyes welled up with tears.
"Your Highness, Consort Shu must have been separated from your sister for many years and only noticed my resemblance to her. Does Your Highness have no other relatives?" Lin Zijing probed.
Consort Shu said sadly, "My sister and mother are my only family. My mother has passed away long ago, but my sister—" She glanced at Lin Zijing again, "You and my sister don't look alike, but you seem to resemble each other!"
After hearing this, Lin Zijing felt relieved. So that's how it was. Was that what she was after?
Lin Zijing became even more certain of her conjecture and said sincerely, "Your Highness, I am indeed a man, and I think the General can also confirm this. Although Your Highness's sister has been separated from you, I believe you will meet her again in the future. Please put your mind at ease!"
Consort Shu was about to say something when the maidservant approached, and she immediately stopped talking. The maidservant stepped forward, knelt down, and said, "This servant has been searching for a long time but could not find Your Highness's handkerchief. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Consort Shu said kindly, "It's alright, we won't see her!" After saying that, she took another serious look at Lin Zijing's face, and finally pushed open the door and went into the room.
Lin Zijing touched her face, sighed, and turned to leave.
After the banquet, Ye Zhanqing and Lin Zijin escorted Jun Yifeng and Consort Shu back to the palace. Ye Zhanqing couldn't resist trying to strike up a conversation with Consort Shu, but Lin Zijin grabbed his sleeve tightly, so he could only watch them leave.
After the procession had gone far away, Lin Zijing said softly, "It wasn't her!"
Ye Zhanqing didn't hear clearly and asked in confusion, "What?"
Lin Zijing suddenly turned alluring and said loudly, "A moment of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold, General, aren't you going to carry me back to my room?"
☆、19、Eve
Ye Zhanqing was taken aback and looked at Lin Zijing awkwardly. Lin Zijing leaned closer to him and quickly whispered, "Quickly carry me back to my room!"
With a flushed face, Ye Zhanqing picked up Lin Zijin and carried her back to their room. Thinking about the expressions on the faces of the two men when they found out the news tomorrow, Ye Zhanqing felt that her fate would be even more miserable than being slowly sliced to death!
Once inside the room, Ye Zhanqing placed Lin Zijin on the bed and then tried to stand some distance away. Lin Zijin grabbed his sleeve and whispered, "You lie down too."
Ye Zhanqing didn't dare to speak. Just as he was about to speak, Lin Zijing gave him a wink. Ye Zhanqing suddenly understood and lay down on the bed. The two of them put down the curtains, leaned close together, and began to whisper in each other's ears.
“He has informants here,” Ye Zhanqing said with certainty.
“That’s right, it seems we’ll have to keep up the act for a while longer.” Lin Zijing understood as well.
"How about I find a way to locate that person?" Ye Zhanqing asked.
“No, since he dared to say it so openly, it’s possible that we can’t find that person at all, or it could be a test of your loyalty. If you take any action, wouldn’t that just make him suspicious of you?” Lin Zijing said.
"So, will we have to do this from now on?" Ye Zhanqing wasn't afraid of fighting, but she was afraid of those two irrational men.
"There's no other way. If we don't act convincingly, he'll suspect why you kept coming to see me in the first place." Lin Zijing was also helpless. She was the one who was suffering, but Ye Zhanqing was acting like he was enduring humiliation!
"She—" The two spoke at the same time, then stopped when they heard the other speak.
Lin Zijin said firmly, "She is not Zhan Hong!"
Ye Zhanqing asked, "How do you know?"
Lin Zijin smiled sadly: "I also hope she is, but—" She slowly recounted what had just happened.
“If it were her, how could she not recognize you? If it were her, how could she recognize me? This is a test for me. This Jun Yifeng is so suspicious!” Lin Zijing said through gritted teeth.
Ye Zhanqing admired Jun Yifeng's intuition; it was so accurate!
The two whispered to each other late into the night, occasionally making some noise. The servants on night duty spread the word the next day, saying that the general was extremely in love with the young master who had just entered the mansion. After a few days, the young ladies who wanted to marry into the general's mansion were disappointed when they heard this. How could the general like such a thing!
As the two whispered to each other, on the imperial carriage returning to the palace, Jun Yifeng coldly asked, "How was it?"
Consort Shu carefully lowered her head and answered, "No!"
Jun Yifeng seemed relieved, but still asked with concern, "You didn't give yourself away, did you?"
Consort Shu replied, "Wearing this human skin mask, I already look 80% similar to her. Besides, I served her before, and I can imitate her behavior to a great extent. There shouldn't be any flaws!"
It turned out that it wasn't Ye Zhanhong, but a palace maid who had served Ye Zhanhong.
Today's events were not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Jun Yifeng quietly pondered why Lin Zijin gave him the same feeling as her—so threatening, so powerful! He also felt that his thoughts were absurd.
Thank goodness it wasn't her! Jun Yifeng thought.
Comfortably reclining on the pure white snow fox fur, Jun Yifeng felt much more relaxed.
Ye Zhanhong glanced furtively at Jun Yifeng, puzzled. How could she mistake a man for a woman? It was outrageous! However, she knew that knowing too much in the palace was pointless, so she neither voiced her doubts nor showed any surprise. She knew she would live a long time!
Just as Ye Zhanqing had expected, three days later, when he returned to Fugui Pawnshop with Lin Zijing, two men with ferocious expressions and bloodshot eyes were already waiting there after receiving the news!
The two had abandoned their favorite pastime of exchanging glances and instead stared intently at the door. This was the scene that greeted Ye Zhanqing and Lin Zijing as they entered, and both were startled.
Ye Zhanqing naturally knew why, chuckled twice, and said, "I remembered I still have things to do in the military camp, Zijing, I'll come pick you up later!" Then he turned and ran.
Lin Zijing still looked confused and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jun Yilin said expressionlessly, "So you still know how to come back?"
Jiang Yumin rushed over and hugged Lin Zijin, saying, "I regret it. I shouldn't have let him have it. If I had insisted, you would be mine!"
Lin Zijing pulled him away, looked at Jun Yilin's dark face, understood what they meant, and laughed: "Haha... What are you doing? I'm just moving over there, what's the difference between living there and living here?"
Jiang Yumin immediately said, "Of course it's different. You sleep alone here, but I heard that these past few days, you—"
Lin Zijing squeezed his hand and said, "What are you thinking! It's because Jun Yifeng has spies in the General's Mansion that we have to pretend. Besides, I'm a man now, what does it matter if we're two men!"
"If it's okay, what's wrong with me hugging you?" Jiang Yumin refused to let go.
Jun Yilin slowly walked over, and Lin Zijing suddenly felt a little nervous, wondering what he was going to do. Did he want a hug too?
Jun Yilin raised his hand and swiftly pointed his finger at Jiang Yumin's back. Jiang Yumin shouted, "Despicable! You actually caught me off guard and struck my pressure points! Release me right now, my sword is no joke!"
Jun Yilin ignored him, went straight over and pulled his hand off Lin Zijin, grabbed Lin Zijin's hand and left. Lin Zijin followed blankly, not knowing what to do.
Jun Yilin pulled Lin Zijin into his room. He dragged her in, pushed her against the wall, and put his hands on her shoulders, asking, "How much longer?"
"Huh?" Lin Zijing hadn't reacted yet.
"How long will you continue to pretend to be lovers like this?" Jun Yilin's eyes were sincere and clear, like a pool of clear spring water.
“Oh, our preparations are almost complete. I believe we can overthrow him in less than a year. At that time, we won’t have to pretend anymore,” Lin Zijing replied earnestly.
“Three months!” Jun Yilin said firmly, “Don’t make me leave you again, not even in life or death! I’ll give you three more months. If you still can’t be completely sure, then I’ll kidnap you and take you away with me. We’ll leave this heartbreaking place together!”
Looking into Jun Yilin's deep gaze, Lin Zijin couldn't help but nod and say, "Okay!"
Jun Yilin's eyes suddenly lit up with a dazzling light. His surprised expression reminded Lin Zijin of what he had once said: that he wanted to figure out his own feelings. But what exactly were his feelings? Did he know what she didn't understand?
When Lin Zijing came to her senses, she was immediately overwhelmed. Three months? That was too short a time! Could she even manage it?
"So what if we die?" Lin Zijing said. "Since time is precious, let's go out. I need to make some arrangements."
Jun Yilin released her hand as instructed and went out with Lin Zijing.
Jiang Yumin had already broken free of her acupoints and was about to pounce on Jun Yilin to settle scores when Lin Zijing, with a stern face, shouted loudly, "Stop making a scene! Go and tell everyone to come over. I have something to tell you!"
Jiang Yumin was startled. She rarely saw Lin Zijin so serious, so she didn't dare to act recklessly and obediently went out to inform others to come over.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the important figures in the entire plan had arrived, and even Ye Zhanqing, who had just run away, had been found and brought back.
Lin Zijing's expression was serious as she said, "We don't have much time left. He has begun to suspect us, so we must be even more careful in our future actions! In the current situation, every moment of delay increases our danger."
Wang Chenglin asked cautiously, "But do we need to move up our plans?"
Everyone else stared wide-eyed. If things were to be done ahead of schedule, they would have to speed up their own tasks, while ensuring that they didn't alert the enemy and that the attack would be a sure hit. That was an incredibly difficult task!
Jiang Yumin was the first to speak up: "That's right. If we drag this out any longer, who knows what might happen? Don't worry about me, I guarantee that everything will be done perfectly!"
Perhaps only Jun Yilin could understand Jiang Yumin's feelings, because he himself was just as anxious.
Jun Yilin then said, "Launching our offensive ahead of time may present some difficulties, but I believe that with the preparation time shortened, everyone's morale will be boosted, and we can win the victory in one fell swoop!"
Ye Zhanqing agreed: "He's starting to distrust me now. Prime Minister Wang's power has been undermined, and Prince Lin can't appear in public. The only one we can use against him right now is Minister Jiang! We need to hurry before he becomes suspicious!"
Lin Zijing nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since everyone agrees, then it's settled. Three months from now, on the day of the broken moon, will be the day we start our uprising!"
After discussing some details, they quietly dispersed as the sun was about to set.
Lin Zijing followed Ye Zhanqing back to the General's Mansion. Jiang Yumin watched their backs longingly. Jun Yilin said coldly, "Instead of wasting time here, we might as well do something meaningful!" After saying that, he turned around and went out to contact his confidants.
Jiang Yumin was inexplicably scolded, but she couldn't refute it. She encouraged herself silently and then whispered, "Zijing, I won't let you down!" After saying that, she disappeared into the street.
Everyone went their separate ways to prepare; a final battle was about to begin.
The darkness before dawn is always particularly long. Everyone is looking forward to three months later, hoping that their long-term preparations will come together to form a tight knot, a knot that can bind Jun Yifeng!
A cold wind blew through the palace, and Jun Yifeng sensed a dangerous atmosphere. He asked, "Has anything unusual happened today?"
The shadowy figure behind Jun Yifeng replied, "They went back to Fugui Pawnshop today, had dinner, and then returned home. Apart from the fact that there were more customers at the pawnshop today, there was nothing unusual."
"Where is Yu Mian? Is he acting strangely?"