Although it wasn't broken, Xiao Lin hugged him and cried very loudly.
Even when Cheng Wanqing offered him his favorite pastries to cheer him up, he wouldn't eat them; he just hugged the jade pendant and kept crying.
Later, when Cheng Wanqing left, Yu Tang quietly transformed into human form, touched the child's face, and coaxed him for a few words before Xiao Lin stopped crying.
As time passed, Emperor Xiao Sheng began to deal with the Left Chancellor and became increasingly indifferent to Cheng Wanqing.
Cheng Wanqing was still naively convinced that it was her fault that Emperor Xiao Sheng treated her this way.
So sometimes, while wiping the jade pendant, she would mutter to herself, "I thought that after giving birth to Lin'er for His Majesty, His Majesty would be happier to see us, but lately I've felt that he's becoming more and more perfunctory towards us... What did I do wrong?"
But reality told her that Emperor Xiao Sheng had never been sincere towards her.
She and Xiao Lin would always be nothing more than obstacles to stabilizing the court in the face of this heartless man.
When Xiao Lin was four years old, the Left Prime Minister was falsely accused, and Emperor Xiao Sheng imprisoned him without even investigating.
Afterwards, he hastily convicted the emperor and executed the entire Left Prime Minister's family. Cheng Wanqing, after realizing what Emperor Xiao Sheng had done, was overwhelmed by guilt and pain, went insane, and was banished to the Cold Palace.
Xiao Lin suffered alongside her, and from then on lived a miserable life of being bullied by everyone.
The conditions in the cold palace were extremely poor; there wasn't even charcoal to start a fire in winter, so the mother and child could only huddle together for warmth.
Huan Yan, a maid who accompanied Cheng Wanqing to the palace, suffered endless scorn and was frequently slapped and forced to kneel as she tried to get food and charcoal for Cheng Wanqing and her son.
Huan Yan was the only one who was still kind to Cheng Wanqing after she was banished to the Cold Palace.
Despite her limited abilities, she still did her best to take care of Cheng Wanqing and her son.
Later, when Xiao Lin fell ill at the age of seven, she killed herself by crashing into the blade of a guard in order to get the imperial physician to come and treat him.
Her death was the final straw that broke Cheng Wanqing's back.
Once Xiao Lin's illness improved, after helping him celebrate his seventh birthday, she sang a mournful song in the courtyard of the Cold Palace, danced until she was exhausted and collapsed on the snow, ending her life with a dagger.
Yu Tang could not interfere with these real events; he could only stand by and witness Cheng Wanqing's tragic life through the perspective of the jade pendant.
He saw Xiao Lin kneeling beside Cheng Wanqing's body, crying and coughing, his small body trembling in the snow, desperately trying to call back his mother.
In reality, all that answered him was the sound of the wind and his own sobs.
It was also on this night that Xiao Lin developed a mental illness.
Even with the help of Physician Lu and the secret guidance of Wang Ze, a student of the Left Prime Minister, Xiao Lin's mind was still filled with the thought of massacring the palace.
He appeared to be of average talent, but in reality, his knowledge and martial arts skills had already surpassed those of all the princes.
He knew perfectly well that he had to "show his strength" in order to truly achieve revenge.
So when the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince locked him in the dungeon, and the eunuchs placed a branding iron in front of him, he showed the panic typical of an eight-year-old child, constantly begging for mercy and calling out, "Third Brother, Fifth Brother, spare me!"
This greatly satisfied the two princes, who laughed wildly and went over to slap Xiao Lin across the face.
While tearing at his clothes, she said, "You look just like your wretched mother, no wonder Father Emperor doesn't like you!"
During the struggle, the jade pendant fell out of Xiao Lin's arms.
Xiao Lin, who had been pretending to be scared, was deeply shaken.
The Fifth Prince grabbed the jade pendant in his hand: "Oh, you have such a fine jade pendant on you? Was it a gift from your wretched mother? I think it's nice, so it's mine."
"Give it back to me..." With the branding iron in front of him, Xiao Lin's clothes were disheveled and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth.
But he gritted his teeth, his wolf-like gaze fixed on the Fifth Prince, and roared, "Give me back the jade pendant!"
Both the Fifth Prince and the Third Prince were taken aback.
They were all older than Xiao Lin, but they were stunned by the boy's expression and words. When they came to their senses, they became furious.
"Try branding him with a hot iron!" the Third Prince shouted. "He's nothing but a lowly dog, how dare he speak to me like that! He's incredibly audacious!"
The eunuchs dared not disobey.
However, since Xiao Lin was a prince, they dared not burn his face with the hot iron, but instead pressed the red-hot iron onto his shoulders and collarbone.
Zi—
The scorching heat of burning human flesh permeated the dungeon. Xiao Lin gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with pain, veins bulging on his forehead, yet he still stared intently at the jade pendant, repeating, "Take him—"
"Give it back to me!"
The fifth prince was so frightened that his hand trembled and the jade pendant fell to the ground. The third prince picked it up, grabbed it in his hand, and used the edge of the jade pendant to cut the bloody wound on Xiao Lin's body. Xiao Lin's face contorted in pain.
"It's just a piece of junk! We don't want it!" The Third Prince said as he threw the bloodstained jade pendant at Xiao Lin's face. The eunuch let go, and Xiao Lin, covered in cold sweat, collapsed to the ground, clutching the jade pendant and breathing rapidly.
"Bah! You poor wretch!" the Third Prince sneered at him, then waved his hand and said, "Fifth Prince, let's go."
A large group of prisoners walked out of the dungeon, much later.
Xiao Lin slowly curled up, placed the jade pendant to his chest, closed his eyes, and choked out a suppressed sob.
In the dim light of the dungeon, no one noticed the blood on the jade pendant seeping into it until it disappeared completely.
At the same time, Yu Tang also felt a warmth in his heart.
The thought of wanting to return to its normal size arose in my mind.
The next moment, he broke free from Xiao Lin's embrace, transformed into his own appearance, and knelt on one knee in front of the boy.
"Are you a ghost messenger from the underworld?" Xiao Lin was in so much pain that his consciousness was fading. Seeing the handsome man kneeling in front of him, he wasn't panicked at all. In a weak voice, he asked Yu Tang, "Are you... going to take me away? To see my mother..."
Yu Tang's eyes reddened, and she tenderly reached out to brush away Xiao Lin's sweaty hair, gently stroking his face.
They also disregarded whether their actions would cause any negative consequences.
She simply followed her heart, bent down, and placed a kiss on the boy's forehead, making a promise.
"Your Highness, I am not a ghost messenger."
"I am your Jade Spirit, and also the general who protects the Xiao Kingdom."
So, don't be afraid.
"Because I will always be loyal to you, until death do us part."
Chapter 26
The villain is resurrected for the fourth time (26)
Xiao Lin eventually fainted from the pain, and Yu Tang picked him up and placed him on the bed in the Cold Palace.
Because of an infected wound, Xiao Lin had a persistent high fever. Yu Tang stole medicine from the Imperial Hospital and took meticulous care of him for two days and two nights. Only after confirming that Xiao Lin was out of danger did he transform back into the jade pendant and lie down beside Xiao Lin's pillow.
So when Xiao Lin woke up, he felt much better.
His encounter with Yu Tang seemed like nothing more than a dream.
Reaching out and pressing his hand on the bandaged shoulder, Xiao Lin looked down and saw the jade pendant. He picked it up thoughtfully and placed it against his heart.
He wondered, did the man in his dream really exist?
How could anyone say such things to a prince who was so easily bullied?
Who is the general of Xiao Kingdom?
And this answer was proven when he was eighteen.
Looking at General Yu Tang of the Yu family, who had stepped into the cave and was kneeling on the ground, the scene and time seemed to overlap.
Xiao Lin couldn't help but burst out laughing.
He said, "So you're that general."
Meanwhile, Xiao Lin in the palace was awakened from his sleep.
With wide, peach-blossom eyes staring at the curtains above her head, she murmured, "Why does the general appear in my childhood memories?"
Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly came from beside him: "Because I possessed the jade pendant."
Xiao Lin's pupils trembled as he turned to see Yu Tang's smiling face, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Yu Tang found it quite unbelievable.
He thought he would stay in those memories for much longer.
But in reality, the moment he met Xiao Lin as the Northern General, he woke up and returned to reality.
Moreover, it has returned to its normal size, and the divine power within its body is more abundant than ever before, so there is no need to worry about turning back into a small person.
He stretched out his hand and waved it in front of the stunned Xiao Lin: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Hey—"
His swaying arm was grabbed, and Xiao Lin held him tightly, his voice almost choked with emotion: "General, do you know how long I've waited for you?"
Yu Tang was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Have I been gone for a long time?"
“Two years…” Xiao Lin bit his lip, his voice filled with lingering fear and accusation: “I waited for you for two whole years.”
“If it weren’t for Doctor Lu’s certainty that you were inside the jade pendant, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have survived these two years.”
Yu Tang's heart tightened, and she hugged Xiao Lin back. She could feel that the other person had indeed lost a lot of weight, which made her feel even more distressed.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, for making you worry." Yu Tang sighed inwardly at Wei Yuan's foolishness while gently patting Xiao Lin's back and comforting him, "Actually, I don't know why that happened either."
But actually, I've been with His Majesty the whole time."
“I have read through all of His Majesty’s memories from birth to the present.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lin released Yu Tang, his expression somewhat strange: "Really... you've seen everything from birth until now?"
Seeing Yu Tang nod, Xiao Lin's previously pale face suddenly flushed slightly.
"General, what...what did you see?" Xiao Lin said, "I was really, really bad at that time..."
Yu Tang found his nervous demeanor quite novel.
“I saw you when you were just born, you were such a tiny little thing.”
Yu Tang gestured to show him the size, then pinched his own face and laughed, "Your face is all wrinkled, like a little monkey. And you especially love to bite anything you catch! When your mother handed you the jade pendant, you..."
At this point, Yu Tang paused for a moment.
Xiao Lin replied, "So that's why I bit the jade pendant?"
His question reminded Yu Tang of his own experience of being bathed in a child's saliva, leaving him momentarily speechless.
But he didn't speak. Xiao Lin suddenly got excited, moved closer to Yu Tang, and asked, "If it were me when I was a child, I probably would have licked the jade pendant all over, right?"