Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 180

Sokuna's blank, bewildered expression made me almost burst out laughing. But then his face turned from white to red, from red to blue, from blue to purple, his amber eyes practically spitting fire. I couldn't hold back any longer, leaning down and bursting into laughter. My earlier depression vanished completely; my chest felt empty, yet strangely exhilarated.

I finally managed to lift my head, and when I saw Soku's pale, rosy face, I almost burst out laughing again. He glared at me fiercely and roared, "If you laugh again, I'll have your head chopped off right now!"

I shuddered, and my smile slowly faded. Gazing into the distance, I said softly, "Your Highness, the more you care about things you don't want people to mention, the more people will gossip behind your back. Conversely, if you ignore them and laugh it off, people will find it boring, and the rumors will dissipate."

Soku is truly a very earnest person. He likes what he likes, hates what he hates, is happy when he's happy, and is angry when he's angry. Although he has learned to hide his expressions, he hasn't learned to regulate his emotions, nor can he conceal the glint in his eyes. Such a person may be worthy of respect, but he cannot survive long in an imperial family.

I composed myself, no longer delving into his expression, and asked earnestly, "Your Highness, please tell me, when exactly did my senior brother's power begin to be usurped?"

Soku replied, "I can't say the exact time. It was probably five years ago when Lin Yu was sent as an envoy to Jin Yao Kingdom but fell seriously ill on the way and had to return home. He was recuperating for half a year. After that, he never left his residence and never saw anyone. If he hadn't been standing in the court every day, people would have almost thought that he had vanished into thin air."

I was startled, as if a string had been pulled in my mind, and a vague thought vaguely formed, yet I couldn't quite put it into words. I could only continue by asking, "Then Yunyan... where is my sister-in-law?"

Soku glanced at me with a hint of surprise and shook his head, saying, "I couldn't find out where she was. I even thought she was dead at one point. But she was a first-rank imperial consort. If she died, there would definitely be some kind of ceremony, but there's no news about that."

My eyes snapped open, and a sudden realization dawned on me, as if someone who was disoriented in a fog had suddenly been touched by a ray of sunshine.

How could I forget this most likely possibility? The Qin Luo standing in the imperial court is not Lin Yu himself, but Yun Yan wearing a human skin mask. Only Yun Yan has the ability to create such a lifelike mask and to use drugs to change her voice and impersonate me. Her figure is similar to mine, and as for her height, she can simply wear shoes with hidden platform shoes to conceal it.

But why would Yunyan do this? She disguised herself as me, leading the world to believe that the young Prime Minister Qin Luo was still alive. What was her purpose? Could it be…?

My breath caught in my throat, and the thoughts surging within me could no longer be concealed; my eyes even welled up with tears. Yes! That fool Yunyan must have thought I would return, so she went so far as to use five years of court etiquette and her disappearance to pave the way for my future. Little did she know that even if I did return, I could never again appear as Lin Yu, nor as Lin Yu.

I covered my face with my hands, not wanting Soku to see my embarrassment. If Yunyan had been impersonating me all along, then what about Yihan? Where was he, and in what way was he waiting for me? What were his feelings as he waited for me?

I forced myself to calm down before lowering my hand, glancing at the front of the ship, and then said, "Your Highness, I have one last question."

Soku said in a low voice, "Speak."

I pursed my lips and turned back to say, "You must have promised not to punish me beforehand."

Soku frowned, his thick eyebrows furrowing, and urged me impatiently, "Ask away if you want to!"

I took a deep breath, lowered my voice, and said calmly, "Your Highness, did you come to Qimang this time to help the Wind Emperor, who has penetrated deep into Luoli City with his lone army?" I ignored his suddenly narrowed eyes, which were filled with murderous intent, and said casually, "Fengyin and Chuyun have always been interdependent, protecting each other by land and water. If the Wind Emperor dies, Fengyin will surely collapse, and Chuyun's days will not be easy either. Therefore, Your Highness must help the Wind Emperor. However, Your Highness despises the Wind Emperor, so you have abandoned the command of Chuyun's waterborne reinforcements to others and disguised yourself as a merchant to go alone to the border of Luoli to check on the war."

I smiled slightly at him and said, "Your Highness, were Lin Lan's guesses all correct?"

My throat tightened suddenly as Soku's hand gripped my neck tightly, his once brilliant, dazzling tea-gold hair turning as cold as a sword: "Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in coming to me?"

My neck was being choked tightly, making it difficult for me to speak. So what should have been a casual remark was instead spoken with a solemn, deliberate tone: "I am Lin Yu's junior sister. What he can do, I can do too. As for why I can guess so clearly, Your Highness, do you... remember what you said to Wei Mu in the carriage that day? I... didn't hear much, but it's enough to draw these conclusions."

Soku's expression shifted unpredictably, clearly pondering whether to believe me or not, but his grip loosened considerably. I caught my breath before continuing, "Your Highness, of the three powerful nations of Yixiu, I, Lin Lan, do not belong to any of the Jin, Huo, or Feng kingdoms, nor do I aspire to bring peace to the world. However, in this chaotic and treacherous world, how can a mere woman like me protect herself? That is why I have no choice but to entrust my protection to Your Highness. I know I have overstepped my bounds by saying these words today, but I have absolutely no intention of threatening you. Since we have arrived in Qimang, I hope Your Highness can take me to meet the world-renowned Wind Emperor, to see just what kind of person could steal my senior brother's thunder and trample him underfoot."

Soku slowly released his grip, his face growing even darker. He snorted coldly, his tone becoming somewhat out of control: "What Wind Emperor... This ungrateful man! How well Lin Yu treated him back then! Who knew he'd raise a tiger only to have it turn into a threat? Now he's become his puppet. The noble Wind God? A descendant of royalty? Bah! He's nothing but a nobody..."

"Young Master!" Vimu's voice suddenly interrupted Soku's angry rebuke. I looked up and saw that Vimu's eyes were filled with worry, and he was holding a piece of paper in his hand. When he saw me, he hesitated and said, "Please return to your room, Young Master. I have something to report."

Soku gave a casual "hmm" and walked towards him. Before he had taken two steps, he suddenly turned back and said, "Don't call me Your Highness anymore. Do you want people to hear you?" He paused, a hint of hesitation on his face, but after a moment, he seemed to have made a decision and said in a deep voice, "I will believe you are Lin Yu's junior sister. If you want to know anything, come in with me."

I looked up at him abruptly and couldn't help but exclaim, "Sokku, you...?"

Soku smiled, the first time he'd seen him with such a bright smile in five days: "Since you are Lin Yu's junior sister, you must possess unfathomable abilities, and perhaps you can even lend me a hand in Chuyun. However..."

His voice paused, and his face instantly turned icy: "If I discover that you have lied to me, I will do everything in my power to kill you!"

My chest tightened, a dull ache settled, and then I gave a faint smile and followed him.

Chapter 34 Indulgence (Part 1)

After spending seven days in the ancient city, I knew I had reached my limit and had to go back. Fortunately, we finally disembarked that night. As soon as I entered the inn, I claimed to have a headache, locked the door, kept Soku, who wanted to visit me, outside, and turned the water chain.

When I opened my eyes, it was already bright daylight. The beige curtains were half-drawn, and sunlight shone through the thin curtains, not too intense, but carrying the aroma of freshly baked bread.

I stretched and sprawled out on the bed in an exaggerated stark spread. Looking outside, it was almost noon, but I still felt incredibly tired. Sigh! There's nothing I can do about it. I only have one body now, and in ancient times, I'd wake up at six in the morning after seven days. That means I only slept three or four hours last night—no wonder I'm exhausted.

And that's not all the problem. Soku didn't fully trust me. If he finds out I disappeared from the room while claiming a headache, he'll definitely think I lied to him. That would be a huge problem. It seems I really need to find a new host body quickly.

I made a face at the ceiling, got up, and went into the bathroom to wash up. Looking at my baby face in the mirror—a face that looked no older than twenty—I couldn't help but sigh. Why did I, who looked like a teenager, always have to think about such profound and strange questions?

But looking at it from another perspective, having lived two lifetimes, I'm almost forty now. Thinking about it that way, I actually feel like I'm being too naive.

I shook my head and started brushing my teeth. The toothbrush rubbed against my teeth, producing foam. But my mind was wandering aimlessly to the Wind Emperor, the one who struck fear into the hearts of everyone on the continent of Ishu.

Emperor Feng Ming, courtesy name Linran, is the sole descendant of the Feng Clan, one of the royal and divine clans of the Mu Jia Dynasty, hundreds of years ago. I simply cannot understand how a man with such a special identity could remain hidden under my nose for over a decade without being discovered, and what made the Feng Yin court so certain that he was the sole descendant.

However, I could only keep these questions to myself, for the urgency of the situation left me no time to ponder such trivial matters; I had to rush to the Wind Emperor's side to see who he truly was. Since his army still bore the name "Crimson Universe," then inquiring about Yi Han and the others through him was surely the right thing to do. Yet, the dire news from the north only made me more perplexed by him. How could a man so courageous, intelligent, and ruthless throughout his life allow himself to be placed in such a perilous situation?

Half a month ago, the 150,000 Jinyao Army stationed west of Luoli City was suddenly attacked by the Chiyu Army. Because the area west of Luoli City still belonged to Jinyao territory, and Luoli was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and was heavily guarded, they never expected that someone would bypass the natural barrier of the Ziyun Mountains and risk being attacked from both sides to launch a surprise attack on the military camp.

As a result, the Jin Yao Army suffered heavy losses, with less than 100,000 of its 150,000 elite troops remaining after the battle, while the Chi Yu Army only lost a mere 2,000 men and retreated into the Zi Yun Mountains.

Originally, this battle should have ended with Feng Yin's small-scale surprise attack, as Jin Yao would inevitably suffer heavy losses if pursued into the Zi Yun Mountains. However, on the very night the Chi Yu Army retreated, Yang Qian, Jin Yao's commander-in-chief at the time, received astonishing news: the leader of the five thousand raiding soldiers was none other than the Wind Emperor. Yang Qian burst into laughter, declaring that Heaven had decreed Feng Yin's demise.

Immediately afterwards, he commanded more than half of the garrison in Luoli City, along with the remaining 100,000 elite troops outside the city, to venture deep into the Ziyun Mountains overnight to pursue Emperor Feng. Yang Qian's conviction was that even if it meant using the entire nation's resources, he would kill Emperor Feng.

I sighed deeply, took off the towel, and began to wash my face. Yang Qian led an army of 200,000 to pursue them into the Purple Cloud Mountains, but gained no advantage. The Wind Emperor, taking advantage of the terrain and the agility of his men, inflicted heavy losses on them.

However, the difference between two hundred thousand and three thousand is a vast gulf, a difference that no matter how capable the commander, he cannot bridge. Therefore, two days ago, Emperor Feng and his remaining thousand or so men were finally besieged in the boundless valley north of Yunshan Mountain. Emperor Feng ordered his subordinates to set up an array, but Yang Qian's initial attack resulted in countless casualties, forcing him to completely surround them and harass them with arrows from time to time.

Without food or water, and with no way to rest, I sighed. In this situation, without the rescue of Izumo, the only force that could be breached by water, even someone as powerful as the Wind Emperor would surely perish. However, as the emperor of a nation, how could he not understand the principle that reckless courage is not advisable? Governing a nation and governing an army are worlds apart. He was capable of bringing prosperity to the Wind Chant Kingdom; how could he not understand that a monarch should never risk his life alone, thus placing himself in such a desperate situation?

I shook my head and casually brushed my slightly curly hair aside, secretly amused: Why think so much now? I'll know what kind of person he is when I see him in a couple of days.

As I walked downstairs, my mind was still wandering through many things from that other world when suddenly a strange, silvery laugh reached my ears. I looked up in surprise and froze.

Even with two people sitting in the large living room, it still looked empty. My nominal husband, Xu Lie, was sitting on the sofa with his arms outstretched, while a woman whose face I couldn't see was burying her head in his chest and laughing incessantly.

I coughed, and the laughter stopped abruptly. The two of them turned to look at me. She was an extremely pretty woman, a few years older than me. Although her makeup was a bit heavy, it didn't hide her purity. She possessed a fresh yet delicate beauty, a radiant charm with an innocent charm—a woman who could easily evoke a man's protective instincts.