novelzi Chapter 154
Chapter 154
After Lin Zhao left the capital, Lin Yao became even busier.
The newly reconstructed Great Chu needed much work to be done.
The Emperor and Empress Consort worked tirelessly day and night to manage the affairs of state.
With Qin Jian overseeing everything, those like Lin Yao, who were serving as ministers, dared not take any leisure time.
Lin Yao had once been penalized with half a year’s salary reduction.
During that period, courtiers noticed how frugal his life had become.
He would start his day with salted vegetable buns for breakfast and have the free military camp meals for lunch.
Sometimes, to also grab dinner, he would finish his unfinished military tasks in the camp before returning home.
Initially, everyone thought General Lin was just diligent and focused solely on military matters.
It wasn’t until an official, pretending to visit but actually aiming to propose marriage to Lin Yao, went to the Lin residence and found that apart from the granted mansion, there were hardly any servants in the entire household.
Boiling water and cooking were all taken care of by Lin Yao’s personal soldiers.
When the soldiers were overwhelmed, Lin Yao would even cook himself.
The visiting official was almost shocked speechless and asked Lin Yao, “General, why doesn’t your household hire some servants?”
Lin Yao replied, “It costs money.”
The official was left speechless by these three words.
He had originally intended to act as a matchmaker, but seeing the situation in the Lin household, he didn’t dare say another word.
Upon returning, he recounted Lin Yao’s impoverished situation to the family who had considered proposing marriage to him.
Originally, they valued Lin Yao’s talent and had sent someone to make the match.
However, upon learning about Lin’s extreme poverty, they feared their daughter would suffer if she married into such circumstances.
After much consideration, they decided to withdraw their proposal.
Lin Yao spent most of his time eating and living in the military camp.
It wasn’t that he was diligent in military affairs, but rather the news of his impoverished household relying on the camp for sustenance spread like wildfire.
His comrades, who were close to Lin Yao, generously offered to treat him to meals and drinks, and some even offered to provide him with servants.
With his little treasury accounts in hand, Lin Yao couldn’t understand how the situation had been so misconstrued.
However, after the news of his extreme poverty spread, most of the people who had considered proposing marriage to him withdrew their intentions.
Lin Yao was relieved by the quietness and didn’t bother to defend himself.
Mainly, he refrained from defending himself because if he did, his comrades would see him as too proud to accept help, and they would find ways to secretly assist him.
After futile attempts to clarify, Lin Yao grew weary of explaining.
Unfortunately, this matter reached the ears of Chu Chengji.
Even some courtiers interceded on Lin Yao’s behalf.
In court, Chu Chengji gave Lin Yao a cold glance and, in accordance with the wishes of the officials, reduced his penalty to three months.
However, right after court, as Lin Yao exited the Golden Phoenix Hall, he was intercepted by a eunuch. “General Lin, His Majesty requests your presence.”
Lin Yao knew he couldn’t avoid a round of questioning and reluctantly went to the side hall to meet Chu Chengji.
Chu Chengji asked him, “I heard the Lin mansion can’t even afford to open a pot?”
Lin Yao honestly explained, “It’s all just rumors. After Azhao left for the Northern Barbarians, and I, being a rough man, am not accustomed to being attended to by others, there are hardly any servants left in the mansion. Earlier, when Minister Zhang visited my mansion, he misunderstood.”
Chu Chengji raised an eyebrow. “I reduced your salary for half a year, but this salary has been calculated since you followed me to the Liangyan Mountains. As a second-rank general, your mansion can’t even afford to keep a servant?”
Lin Yao replied, “I’m saving money to get married.”
Chu Chengji asked, “Which girl have you set your eyes on? I’ll grant you a marriage.”
Lin Yao hesitated for a moment, then smiled, “I come from humble origins and don’t know how to court. If the girl doesn’t fancy me, it might embarrass her if Your Majesty arranges a marriage. I would rather go myself to propose.”
Chu Chengji, seeing his determination, said, “As you wish.”
As Lin Yao left the side hall, his mind was not at peace.
The longer he stayed in Bianjing, the more secrets he heard.
For instance, the daughter of the Lu family was not only the Emperor’s cousin but also nearly became the Crown Princess.
Once, he watched as she stepped out of a carriage, feeling worlds apart from her.
Now, although he held the rank of second-rank official, compared to families like the Lu’s, he still felt like worlds apart.
If he could have Chu Chengji’s decree of marriage, all his worries would vanish, and he could marry that precious girl.
But the gap between them was like that between clouds and mud.
He couldn’t ascend to the clouds, so he could only drag her down into the mud.
How could he pull such a refined girl into the mud?
His heart wrestled with these thoughts, but Lin Yao knew that to confidently propose to the Lu family, he needed to become a cloud himself.
While he worked hard to save up the betrothal gifts and propose to the Lu family, the attempts never ceased.
Lin Yao kept a close eye on the Lu family’s movements.
Courtiers said the Lu family had some interest in marriage proposals.
The noble families were all politely refused.
Instead, a few ordinary commoners caught the Lu family’s attention.
The Ministry of Revenue had a deputy minister who was known for his honesty and loyalty, and it seemed he had caught the Lu family’s attention.
Lin Yao had seen this man before.
He heard that he was a devoted son with a blind mother.
When he went to the capital to take the imperial examination, as there was no one to look after his mother, he brought her along.
Despite his many virtues, his family was truly impoverished.
Moreover, he was plain-looking, with no outstanding abilities.
For years, no noble family was willing to marry their daughter to him, fearing she would suffer.
The Lu family’s choice of son-in-law left the courtiers puzzled.
The smarter ones could tell that the Lu family deliberately chose to marry their daughter to someone lowly, perhaps to avoid arousing the Emperor’s suspicion.
By selecting someone honest and loyal, they could easily control him.
After returning home, Lin Yao lay on his bed staring at the ceiling all night.
The next day, he took a break from official duties.
He put on his most tattered clothes and shoes and stuffed all the leftover silver and copper coins and gold nuggets that hadn’t been exchanged into a cloth bag, then went to the Lu mansion to propose.
It was probably the first time the master of the Lu household had seen such a proposal.
He stared at the pile of coins poured out of the cloth bag by Lin Yao, speechless for a long while.
Compared to the Ministry of Revenue, Madam Lu seemed to prefer Lin Yao.
He was tall and imposing.
Though equally impoverished, when Lin Yao stood there in his ragged robe, he still appeared somewhat extraordinary.
Moreover, Lin Yao didn’t have a blind mother needing a daughter-in-law to look after her, and his only younger sister was as capable as a son.
The more Madam Lu looked at Lin Yao, the more she liked him.
Lin Yao’s visit to propose marriage surprised the master of the Lu household, but after careful consideration, he politely declined.
Lin Yao wasn’t willing to give up so easily. “Does Master Lu really favor Minister Mou?”
She had grown up in a prestigious family, groomed to be like a beautiful porcelain vase, and they would use those intricate rules and traditions as weapons.
But here, Lu Jinyan suddenly felt that those things were useless.
For several days, the two of them maintained this unspoken distance.
Lin Yao never had servants attend to him while bathing. On the fifth day, when Lin Yao was bathing, she personally went to the back chamber to help him scrub his back.
Lin Yao seemed exhausted from his return from the military camp and fell asleep leaning against the bath tub.
When Lu Jinyan raised her hand to massage his shoulders, her wrist was suddenly twisted forcefully, and the man who had just been sleeping deeply now looked as alert as a leopard.
Lu Jinyan cried out in pain.
Lin Yao realized it was her and quickly let go, asking, “How did you get in?”
With skill, he massaged her wrist a few times and asked, “Does it hurt?”
Lu Jinyan had seen many men look at her, admiring, appreciating, or coveting, but she had never seen someone look at her like Lin Yao did.
He seemed so nervous, as if he were afraid she would be in pain.
The strange feeling in her heart grew stronger.
Lu Jinyan withdrew her hand and said, “It doesn’t hurt. I was worried about General Lin when he didn’t come out for a long time, so I came in to check.”
She said it didn’t hurt, but Lin Yao could clearly see the redness on her wrist.
As if she were made of water.
He said, “I was careless and fell asleep.”
Getting up from the bathtub, Lin Yao prepared to put on clothes and find medicine for Lu Jinyan.
He realized he was naked only when he saw Lu Jinyan avoiding his gaze in a panic.
He hastily put on his clothes, “I... I’ll go get some medicine for you.”
Lu Jinyan wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but because of what she had inadvertently seen just now, her face turned red.
It would be even more embarrassing to stop him now, so she remained silent.
In no time, Lin Yao returned with a cream for promoting blood circulation and relieving stagnation to massage Lu Jinyan’s wrist.
Lu Jinyan sat on the edge of the bed, while Lin Yao knelt on the floor, his wet hair dripping water.
Lu Jinyan had never been treated like this before.
The hand hanging by her side clenched into a fist out of embarrassment.
She seemed to want to repay Lin Yao’s kindness. “Let me dry your hair for you,” she said.
This could be considered the most intimate moment since their marriage, and Lin Yao didn’t refuse.
His hair wasn’t long, but it was thick, making it a bit difficult to dry. Fortunately, Lu Jinyan was patient.
That night, when they fell asleep, she took the initiative to hug Lin Yao’s waist, her face against his broad back.
Lin Yao’s throat tightened. “Jin... Jinyan.”
She softly responded.
Everything that followed felt natural.
She gave herself to him completely.
There was no fear or disgust.
She was a daughter raised by a prestigious family, taught to be a good wife and mother, which was the best advice for a daughter about to get married.
The person she would be facing day and night was him, so it seemed like this lifetime wouldn’t be too difficult to endure.
Lu Jinyan thought that giving herself to him was just fulfilling the duties of a wife, especially since she didn’t reject the man in front of her.
Soon, Lu Jinyan discovered that she was completely wrong.
Lin Yao had none of the arrogance of a noble-born son.
He spared no effort to please her, making her scream and cry at the peak of pleasure.
When she lost herself staring at the canopy, Lu Jinyan suddenly realized that she was no longer the legitimate daughter of the Lu family who always had to maintain her dignity.
Perhaps it was because she was accustomed to the intrigue and indifference of the noble families that Lu Jinyan felt somewhat at a loss when faced with Lin Yao’s passionate nature.
His kindness towards her was unconditional.
It melted away all the calculations and indifference in his sincerity.
She liked reading, and he endured his headaches to accompany her, although he often fell asleep with his head buried in her neck after flipping through a few pages.
She laughed at his ugly handwriting, and he begged her to teach him calligraphy.
However, as they continued, ink stains would soil their clothes and the desk, making it impossible to continue reading.
Seeing that the New Year was approaching and that no one was allowed to enter Lin Yao’s study, Lu Jinyan helped with the cleaning.
Inadvertently, she found a silk box hidden behind a book.
Inside the box was a cracked pearl.
Lu Jinyan rarely saw such a large pearl.
It was a pity that it was cracked and worthless.
Lu Jinyan felt a tightness in her chest.
This pearl seemed like something a woman would like.
Who was the owner of this pearl?
Even though it was cracked, Lin Yao couldn’t bear to throw it away and hid it in such a concealed place.
For a moment, Lu Jinyan felt as if she had been grasped by something in her heart.
Lu Jinyan rejected this feeling.
This wasn’t like her.
When someone pushed open the door of the study from outside, Lu Jinyan instinctively hid the pearl and the silk box behind her back.
Lin Yao saw her guarded and somewhat panicked appearance and asked, “What’s wrong?”
His gaze swept over the bookshelf behind her and noticed that a book had been taken down.
Lin Yao calmly asked, “Did you see it?”
Lu Jinyan handed the pearl and silk box back to him. “I didn’t intentionally search through your things. I was just helping you clean the study and happened to see it.”
She looked up, pretending to be calm, and asked, “Where did such a large pearl come from? It’s a shame it’s cracked.”
Lin Yao smiled and said, “When I was following His Majesty to defeat the Prince of Huaiyang, it was plundered from him.”
He paused and looked at Lu Jinyan. “I wanted to give it to you a long time ago, but it got damaged later, so I kept it hidden.”
Lu Jinyan looked surprised. “For me? You hadn’t even seen me back then.”
Lin Yao said, “I had seen you. When we were in Qingzhou, you and your cousin went to see the Queen, and it was raining lightly that day.”
He seemed to be lost in some memory, his lips slightly lifting.
Lu Jinyan was utterly stunned, looking at the man in front of her.
She felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She snatched the pearl, tightly gripping it in her hand. “How can something meant to be given away be hidden like this?”
This time, it was Lin Yao who was stunned.
Meeting Lu Jinyan’s tearful eyes, he embraced her and smiled gently.
His moonlight had fallen into his arms.
End of the book.