Da Li Temple - Chapter 55

Chapter 55
Family Hatred

Lin Wanqing felt as if someone had strangled her; her knees went weak for a moment, and the first thought that rushed into her mind was ‘escape.’ As she thought so, she also did so.
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However, Su Moyi seemed to have anticipated this, secretly clasping his hand on her wrist and pulling Lin Wanqing back before she had time to build her strength.
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The Empress Dowager didn’t expect it either; that laughter stopped when she saw Lin Wanqing. The candlelight in the main hall was bright, but the atmosphere was gloomy and unusual.
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Su Moyi flung his wide sleeve, holding Lin Wanqing, and was about to salute the Empress Dowager when he heard the person’s breathing grow heavier, like hardened by anger.
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A white thing slammed down toward the two people’s faces. Su Moyi’s quick eyes and hands caught it – it was an empty teacup. He did not expect the Empress Dowager to have this intense reaction, momentarily holding the teacup, somewhat at a loss.
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“You, you, you ……” The Empress Dowager’s face was pale, but her eyes were on fire. She stared at Su Moyi, so angry that she didn’t finish the sentence ‘you’ for half a day.
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The people present were all dumbfounded, including Lin Wanqing. Everyone was tacitly silent, watching the Empress Dowager point at Su Moyi, her jaw shaking as if it was about to fall. She then took another teacup, throwing it towards Lin Wanqing’s head.
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Su Moyi sidestepped and protected the person tightly in her arms.
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The Empress Dowager became even more furious. So, she jumped down directly, chasing after Su Moyi and Lin Wanqing to give them a beating.
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Su Moyi was so confused that he didn’t dare to resist while protecting Lin Wanqing, who was even more confused than him.

The Empress Dowager was furious for no reason, and the people present only dared not to talk; no one dared to go forward to pull the fight. There was a lot of clamor and noise in the main hall, and people were jumping around. Porcelains shattered into pieces, the candles rolled over to the floor, and even the mahogany chairs flew out with a clang.
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Amid the chaos, Su Moyi finally heard the words that his royal grandmother recited under her breath.
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“It’s okay for you to go to a brothel, but now you dare to bring someone back to the Heir Mansion?!”
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Su Moyi and Lin Wanqing stopped in their tracks at the same time.
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“You went to the brothel?” Lin Wanqing turned her head to look at Su Moyi.
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“I’m going to the brothel?” Su Moyi turned his head to look at Empress Dowager.

Chop!
It was the shattering sound of a teacup hitting someone’s brain.
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The Empress Dowager looked at that green bump on Su Moyi’s forehead and finally calmed down. She held her almost fallen hair bun and said, “Earlier, I sent someone to follow you and found out you stayed at night in Ping Kang Hall. Do you admit it?”

“I ……” Su Moyi wanted to cry but didn’t have tears, silently calculating whether the outcome would be better if he had told the Empress Dowager that he had fooled her then.
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The Empress Dowager saw him not speaking and angrily put the teacup in her hand. Snap, a bang on the table, continued: “Later, you got injured because of handling the case; I feel sorry for you. I was thinking that since you didn’t have a bed servant beside you, you could go to the brothel; it’s better than messing around with that Lin Recorder. As a result, you’re asking a mile after getting an inch, don’t you!”
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“I ……” Lin Wanqing had difficulty speaking, torn between pretending to be a courtesan or confessing that she was the Lin Recorder who messed around with Su Moyi.
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The Empress Dowager saw that neither spoke, only assuming they were consenting. The more she thought about it, the more angry she became, reaching to lift Su Moyi’s ears.

Pah!
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Su Moyi dodged sideways and quickly grabbed the Empress Dowager’s hand. What a joke; how can he revitalize his manhood for the rest of his life if she pulled his ears?
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With a huff around him, Su Moyi finally spoke slowly.
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“Royal grandmother misunderstood,” as he said this, he held Lin Wanqing in his arms, “Qingqing is not a courtesan; she is ……” He paused, letting go of the Empress Dowager and fetching a candle so that she could see Lin Wanqing’s face.
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“She is Lin Wanqing, the person this grandson wants to marry.”
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The Empress Dowager’s gasping stopped momentarily; she was stunned and willed herself to come closer to Lin Wanqing’s face.
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Su Moyi, out of fear that she would make another sudden move, hurriedly blocked in front of her, using his body to separate the two at a safe distance.

“This is ……” the Empress Dowager asked incredulously, “that Recorder Lin?”
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“En, en ……” Su Moyi nodded, protecting the person to death.
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“Then …… she, she ……”
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“She’s a woman.” Su Moyi answered.
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As spring winds melt the snow, the flowers in the darkness come to light. The Empress Dowager’s face eased down visibly, and the soft, warm fire replaced the gloom of the thunderous anger.
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Only then did Su Moyi dare to lead Lin Wanqing out from behind. After the previous stimulation, Lin Wanqing felt that even if Su Moyi now brought out an aunty, as long as she was from a good family and a woman, the Empress Dowager would no longer be enraged.
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As expected, her mood eased a lot, and she just quietly looked at Lin Wanqing; although she did not look so surprised, there was no more prolonged irritation.
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But Lin Wanqing’s back was still chilled by her eyes.
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“Mama Ji,” the Empress Dowager instructed the people around her to say, “All of you take Recorder Lin to retire. I have some words to talk to Jingche.”
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