Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 120 When Will the Azure Dragon Be Bound?

Chapter 120 When Will the Azure Dragon Be Bound?

Lin Zhou and Xiao'e were both taken to the Imperial City Guard.

The whole world seemed to fall silent at that moment, and no one knew what would happen next.

Lu You stood at the second-floor window, his beautiful wife beside him, but he was extremely uneasy. By the candlelight, he held Lin Zhou's booklet in his hand, seemingly reading, but in reality, he was trying to find a solution to his current problem.

Just as he was quickly flipping through the book to the last page, a poem suddenly appeared on it, and the title of the poem was Qing Ping Le.

He glanced up and down, then froze, looking bewildered.

"My lord, what's wrong?"

"Qing Ping Yue," Lu You replied, raising his head in a dry voice.

"Oh? Read it to me."

Lu You did not read it aloud immediately. He swallowed and carefully studied it again. Then he raised his head, took a deep breath, and began to read it aloud to his wife.

"The sky is high and the clouds are light, I gaze until the wild geese fly south. He who has not climbed the Great Wall is no true hero, the journey is twenty thousand li. On the high peak of Liupan Mountain, red flags flutter in the west wind. Today I hold the long spear in my hand, when will I bind the azure dragon?"

"Oh wow—this word."

Tang Wan straightened up: "Who wrote it?"

"I don't know." Lu You's hands trembled slightly after reading it, then he continued to read it carefully, muttering to himself, "He who has not climbed the Great Wall is no true hero—I find it even more inspiring than 'Man Jiang Hong'."

"Yes, Man Jiang Hong is too sorrowful, but this poem is full of confidence."

Tang Wan tried to take the small book from Lu You's hand, but Lu You gripped it tightly and gently shook his head. Tang Wan gently released her grip and smiled at her husband: "My lord, what's wrong? You seem a little restless."

Lu You took a deep breath to calm himself down. He didn't speak, but just gripped the window frame tightly with one hand and gazed into the distance.

"The people of Song were all disheartened, but Brother Lin alone had a spirit of unwavering determination that put people at ease."

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He picked up the book and glanced at it, saying, "I think I've found the reason."

At that moment, a breeze rose outside the window, and the flames of the blast furnaces outside the city were clearly visible from a great distance. Lu You took a deep breath of the faint smell of smoke in the air. The wind from the Qiantang River blew a special scent into the city, and for Lu You, who had been anxious for many years, a thought suddenly came to mind.

At this very moment, inside the Imperial City Guard, it was still that familiar little dark room. For Lin Zhou, who had entered the palace three times, coming here felt like coming home.

He was in a terrible state, covered in mud and water. Outside, there was still Niu Gao shouting for battle, and inside, there were two guards who looked at him with disgust.

It seemed that overnight everyone regarded him as an unforgivable scoundrel, as a complete lackey of Qin Hui, but he didn't care. At this moment, Lin Zhou just sat there with his arms crossed. He didn't have many plans. He couldn't remember the beginning, the middle, or the end. The only thing he remembered was to keep Xiao'e alive, to keep her alive at all costs.

Just then, the door opened, and Cheng'er walked in, followed by Xiao'e, who had a blank expression on her face.

"You two go and rest first."

Cheng'er called the guard out, then led her people in and closed the door. Xiao'e immediately pounced on Lin Zhou, gripping his shoulders tightly and burying her face in his neck.

Lin Zhou could feel warm water droplets falling on his neck; he figured it probably wasn't saliva.

"Having caused such a huge commotion, how do you plan to clean up this mess?"

Cheng'er, arms crossed, asked, "Now, almost everyone except the Emperor has been alerted. I'm afraid the Emperor will find out first thing tomorrow morning."

"I don't care about all that." Lin Zhou gently patted Xiao'e's back. "I only have one goal: I have to keep Xiao'e alive."

"With Han Shuai watching over her, she'll be fine."

Lin Zhou didn't explain much, but simply said to Xiao'e, "Who do you believe?"

"you."

Xiao'e had no hesitation or entanglement. Over the years, she had been suspicious of everyone except Lin Zhou. Without him, she would have been like a drowning puppy in the dead of winter, dying long ago in some unknown corner outside Lin'an City.

Or perhaps she was bought by a brothel and taken to be the concubine of a butcher covered in grease, and even if she ended up in a brothel, she wouldn't get a place there.

The coldness and indifference of the world over the years had long since eroded her trust and hope in it, and Lin Zhou was, without a doubt, the light to her.

As for revenge and clearing her father's name, for a teenage girl like her, simply being able to live peacefully was already an immense effort. And even with the greatest ambition, everything was still based on the premise of simply being alive.

"However—" Xiao'e slightly raised her head: "I didn't deny it—"

"Hey, hey, hey," Cheng'er reminded from the side, "This isn't the time for flirting."

Lin Zhou also exclaimed, "What? You're denying it? Seriously, what are you fussing about? I treat you like my own sister, what are you thinking? We can be together anywhere, but we absolutely can't be together anywhere!"

Xiao'e was taken aback, then looked up: "Who's in heat? I mean—I mean I don't deny the fact that you sent me things."

.

"Oh, alright, alright." Lin Zhou shoved her head to the side: "Get up! This isn't the time to be sentimental."

Xiao'e pouted and obediently stood up, shrinking to the side without saying a word. She knew Lin Zhou quite well; he always spoke like that, and over time she had gotten used to it.

"To be honest," Lin Zhou glanced at Cheng'er and then at Xiao'e, "I wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting Xiao'e to anyone. Niu Gao is in dire straits himself, Han Shizhong—I'm not familiar with him, and Qin Hui is even more unreliable. So no matter what, I'm going to keep her by my side, legitimately and openly. So Xiao'e, you understand what I mean, right?"

"Yes—" Xiao'e nodded: "I'll listen to whatever my brother says."

"Actually, I think it's safest to keep Xiao'e by Han Shuai's side; he can protect her."

"Did he protect Yue Fei?!" Lin Zhou looked up at Cheng'er. "When Xiao'e's family was raided and exiled, did he protect Xiao'e's brothers and sisters? What was he doing when Xiao'e jumped into the well?"

These words left Cheng'er speechless, while Xiao'e stood silently beside Lin Zhou with her lips pursed.

"Your biggest problem is that you rely on others and ask for handouts," Lin Zhou said, pointing at Cheng'er. "Can you really rely on anyone else?"

"Find a way to find witnesses," Lin Zhou said, emphasizing, "to ruin her reputation, to make her worthless."

"But Yue Shuai's name—"

"Live first." Lin Zhou emphasized again: "I've been thinking about this all day. Now, Xiao'e has three paths in front of her. One is to become the sharpest spear and take down Qin Hui directly, but the price is that she must die. The other is to disappear silently into the world, marry a scholar of similar age, be a good wife and mother, and wait for someone to overturn Yue Fei's case decades later."

The third point is to live a peaceful life and wait for an opportunity to personally vindicate her father.

Lin Zhou looked up at Xiao'e and said, "You choose for yourself."

"I will personally vindicate my father!" Xiao'e gritted her teeth and glared. "I choose the third path!"

"Can you handle that stigma?" Cheng'er placed her hands on the table. "If you don't find the right way, you might—never be able to turn your life around."

"I'm not afraid." Xiao'e's lips trembled slightly. "I believe in my brother—"

"I'm not a smart person. I figured it out little by little by following their line of thought. Qin Hui's side must be putting pressure on us now, right? I estimate this matter will be decided tomorrow."

At this moment, Cheng'er asked curiously, "Then how are you going to explain this to your princess from the Jin Kingdom?"

"I'm just telling the truth," Lin Zhou said nonchalantly. "What else? What, would I let Xiao'e die just because she's unhappy? To put it another way, if she encountered the same thing one day, I wouldn't ask you what you think. It's that simple. When it comes to human life, all ethics and morality have to step aside."

Xiao'e didn't speak, but Cheng'er scratched her face and pondered for a long time: "What should we do if she doesn't agree?"

"I don't know," Lin Zhou said calmly. "She's not even here, why should I worry about this? We'll talk about it when she gets back."

That makes sense, and Cheng'er nodded without saying anything more.

"You should rest early. I have to take Xiao'e back. The Emperor will probably find out about this at the morning court tomorrow and will begin the trial. Now that we've communicated, let's proceed as planned."

"Oh, right."

Lin Zhou asked curiously, "What happens after the trial?"

"If Xiao'e accepts it, she might be assigned to be your maid, since she was already of low social status after her family's property was confiscated."

"A lowly status." Lin Zhou suddenly laughed. "Yue Fei's daughter was of lowly status. Damn, it's laughable if word gets out."

Cheng'er didn't speak, but Xiao'e squatted down beside Lin Zhou with some heartache, stroking the scratches on the back of his hand from when he was trying to avoid Niu Gao: "Brother, don't worry about these things, it's all fate. Does your hand hurt?"

"Ouch, it hurts! Why doesn't it hurt anymore? It hurts so much!" Lin Zhou raised his hand and glanced at it. "But it doesn't matter anymore—I'm quite satisfied with how things have come to this point. At least I can finally put one of my worries aside. Now I just have to wait for the public trial tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he tilted his head back and suddenly laughed: "Actually, I only planned to sell noodles here from the beginning—"

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