Da Li Temple - Chapter 59

Chapter 59
Family Banquet (1)

“Oh ……” Lin Wanqing hung her head, feeling a little better about the apprehension in her heart.

They followed the attendant and entered the Lin De Palace. Inside the hall, the lights are bright, just like daytime. All the guests were blushing and already drunk under the palace lanterns, facing the cool breeze and blue waves, enjoying delicacies and liquor.
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Lin Wanqing didn’t dare to look around, and after entering, she only quietly glanced at the top seat. She had only seen the Empress Dowager and Wei Shu among the royal clan members. They didn’t seem to have come yet, but the woman in a gorgeous dress on the side was sitting with a group of palace concubines, talking and laughing. At this moment, a door attendant bowed and came to her ear to say something. She then looked over toward Lin Wanqing and Su Moyi.
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“Greetings to Empress.” Su Moyi approached and bowed to the Empress, and Lin Wanqing followed over.
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“Eh, quickly get up,” the Empress smiled, reaching out her hand to signal that they were exempt from salute, and then said, “Your Imperial Grandmother will be here soon. You guys sit down first.” After speaking, she beckoned the nurse, asking her to send over a plate of custard cake in front of her.
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“Heir, Miss, ” the nurse put the cake on the table while saying: “The Empress knows Heir likes custard cake; this is what she asked Cheng Huan Hall’s kitchen to cook. Heir, please try if –“
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She cut off the unfinished words in her throat; her hands softened, and the cake rolled to the ground. Both of them froze and looked up to see the nurse looking at Lin Wanqing with a surprised look.
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“Ya! Look at this old slave’s clumsy hands.” In a frenzy, the nurse returned to her senses and explained, “This old slave will go fetch another dish.”
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At this time, the door attendant reported outside the hall that the Empress Dowager had come. The crowd kneeled and bowed in unison. She walked in and casually exchanged pleasantries. After the crowd leveled off, her eyes began to search through the crowd.
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“Imperial Grandmother,” Su Moyi led Lin Wanqing over to her and called out nicely.
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Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager pretended not to pay attention to Su Moyi; her eyes, which seemed to be smiling, fell onto Lin Wanqing. The first time they met, she only cared about being angry and only gave Lin Wanqing a glance. Now that she saw her again, she realized that the woman in front of her was a rare beauty; standing next to Su Moyi, anyone would have to praise her. She looked momentarily before removing her gaze, glanced at Su Moyi, and sighed kindly, “Good choice.”
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Su Moyi pretended not to hear, helping her to her seat with red ears.
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The Empress Dowager kept him from helping, “You rarely come to the palace. You haven’t seen these relatives for some time, right?”
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Su Moyi was stunned and not moving, but the Empress Dowager pushed him, “Greet your uncles and aunts and cousins; I have Miss Lin to help me.”

“We’re not familiar; what is there to ask?” Su Moyi doesn’t want to go. His eyes can’t stop glancing at Lin Wanqing.
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The Empress Dowager squinted at him and threatened, “Going or not?” A tone: ‘ If you dare to refuse, you won’t marry.’
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Su Moyi hesitated with a reluctant face.
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“My Lord,” Lin Wanqing tried to persuade him, giving him a smile, “The Empress Dowager is right. You need to warm up more because you don’t know each other well.”
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The meaning was for him to go quickly. Su Moyi looked at Lin Wanqing for a long time, ensuring she could do it herself before walking away reluctantly with a cold face.
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The Empress Dowager pulled Lin Wanqing’s hand up, put it in the crook of her arm, and said, “Hold me up and walk to the viewing platform in front first.”
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Lin De Palace is built on a slope on the side of the Taiyi Pond, with all three sides unwalled and a high platform facing the blue waves; when the wind and the sun are beautiful, it is an excellent place to enjoy the scenery.
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The two walked in silence for some time. The Empress Dowager did not speak, and Lin Wanqing dared not open her mouth, so she walked apprehensively.
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Until the crowd was far away, the Empress Dowager asked softly, “Jingche say that you don’t want the wedding date to be too soon?”
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Lin Wanqing’s heart fluttered, and her hand holding the Empress Dowager trembled slightly.
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“Well, it’s, it’s because of my–“
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“This is between you and Jingche,” the Empress Dowager interrupted, “You don’t need to explain to me.” She abruptly stopped her steps and looked back at the brightly lit area behind her, a bit of depth coloring her gaze as if she had fallen into some memory.
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“Although Jingche has a cold face and is not very affectionate towards people, he is a child who is extremely sentimental.”
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Lin Wanqing was stunned and did not answer.
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The Empress Dowager sighed and continued, “When he was not yet three years old, his father died in battle at the border. When he was young, he often cried in his dreams, clamoring for his father. Later, when Anyang died, he was eight years old. When I raised him, he didn’t cry once.”
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“I asked him why he didn’t cry when he missed his mother. He said because if he cried, I would worry. Mother can’t return any more; he doesn’t want to make me worry.”
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The Empress Dowager’s voice choked, then she held Lin Wanqing’s hand. “This grandson of mine is like his mother. Understanding and affectionate, once he wants to be good to someone, it will last a lifetime. He will swallow all the bitterness by himself and protect the people he cares about.”

“So when he said he would marry you, I asked nothing because I knew it was useless to ask anything. But ……”
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The Empress Dowager turned around and looked at Lin Wanqing, and in the night, those eyes that had been observing the world for a long time and insightful turned into two chisels, wanting to open her.
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“I know that you haven’t delivered all of your true heart, and you still have things to hide from him.”
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“Empress ……” Lin Wanqing’s pupils shook tremendously, a coldness ran up from her back to the center of her hair, and she heard her voice trembling.
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The Empress Dowager didn’t mean to force her to tell the truth; she only waved her hand at her and said soothingly, “I don’t have any other meanings, and saying these words is just to let you understand two things. Jingche has no defense against you. He handed all his heart to you. You can have whatever you want at the moment.”
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“However, I also want you to know that he is a child I have watched grow up and poured my heart and soul into. If you dare to have any unfavorable –” the Empress Dowager paused, coldness and dominance tinted her tone, “I also have ways to make you worse than death.”
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Even in the early winter weather, the Empress Dowager’s words were enough to make Lin Wanqing’s undershirt dripping with sweat. She calmed her troubled mind and tried to find out, “Was the death of Princess Anyang a big blow to him?”
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The Empress Dowager didn’t deny it and only said, “An eight-year-old child has become an adult overnight. The previous arrogance and playfulness are gone; every day, he does only one thing from morning to night, memorizing all the law books of the Nan Dynasty several times.”
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“Oh ……” Lin Wanqing felt more cold in her heart and asked again, “Then …… he should hate the person who killed his mother, right?”
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The Empress Dowager paused, seemingly feeling that she had asked a strange question, but just answered, “Killing his mother’s hatred, to say that he doesn’t hate it is a lie. Even after so many years, I never let it go, let alone him.”
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Let alone him.
A rhetorical question almost cut off all Lin Wanqing’s flukes. The winter night breeze abruptly extinguished a few palace lights on the high platform, making the surroundings dark. The darkness of the night formed a cage, trapping her.
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The Empress Dowager asked her not to hurt Su Moyi. But she does not know; in the end, hiding all this is considered hurting, or is it better to confess to him, yet seeing him torn between love and hatred?
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In the Lin De Palace, the figure in a moonlight-white brocade robe stood under the lamp, looking towards their side. The wind blew the corners of his robe, and the hem floated like flowing moonlight. He seemed to have seen her, and after a pause, he nodded slightly towards her, revealing a light smile. Once again, Lin Wanqing felt that Su Moyi was so far away from her. He had always been an immortal traveling in the clouds, while she was just a mortal who had fallen into the world.
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“Let’s go,” the Empress Dowager patted her hand and smiled, “Don’t make Jingche wait impatiently.”