Chapter 56

Silk Pouch No. 28— Longing for your early return.

Oh my. This line made Lin Jiayue’s face flush. Why did it read like a love letter? She even used the word “longing.”

Silk Pouch No. 29— When Your Majesty returns, this official will be waiting outside the city gates.

Silk Pouch No. 30— May the mountains and rivers remain unscathed.

What about the next line? Logically, the next line should be “and may we stay together forever.” Tsk. Perhaps she was overthinking it.

To be honest, since she had decided to stay and manage Great Zhou with Lu Siling, she was definitely going to give it her all. However, she still had one concern: the constant marriage pressure from the entire court. It was nearly impossible to fend off.

She understood it; never mind an Emperor, even an ordinary family had to marry to “carry on the family line.” Though she didn’t like it, in this era, it was a necessity. In another world, someone might ask, “Does your family have a throne to inherit?” Well, she actually did, but she was unwilling. Setting aside the fact that she had never prepared to have children, if she did have one, could she ignore them? She’d have to raise them until they were at least eighteen.

Furthermore, if it wasn’t someone she liked, she couldn’t even bring herself to hold hands. If only she could have a “fake marriage”—bringing the modern concept of a contract marriage to ancient times. She even had a candidate: the respected Teacher Lu. After all, Teacher Lu already held so many offices; adding “Empress” to the list wouldn’t hurt.

Lin Jiayue thought about it, but she didn’t know how to bring it up. Before, she had joked about it easily, but if it came to a real discussion of marriage, it felt awkward no matter how she looked at it. Should she propose? But they were entering a fake marriage. Not propose? It felt like a step was missing from the process.

Lin Jiayue settled the border affairs, leaving some people to assist in rebuilding the three passes. She felt that Changsheng Pass needed high stone walls; how could those dirt walls withstand an enemy assault? They needed hardened walls—ideally, defensive works made of cement.

Her high school math, physics, and chemistry weren’t bad; otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten into a good university. The important thing was she didn’t read the original at bailiantales.comneed to build it herself; she only had to explain the principles to the Bureau of Equipment, and they would eventually figure it out.

Even the surgical tools used in the Imperial Hospital—scalpels and such—showed that surgery already existed in ancient times. Scissors, scalpels, tweezers… as long as there was a sterile operating room, a surgery could begin immediately. However, she might not be up to the task herself. She had only interned in her senior year, assisting in a few surgeries; the lead wouldn’t even let her act as a first assistant. She could only observe from the side. Back then, she couldn’t handle the sight of blood well, but now it was different—she had killed plenty of enemies; what was a little blood? If forced, she could manage one surgery, but her skills wouldn’t necessarily be better than those at the Imperial Hospital.

She decided to focus more on her high school knowledge to see what else was useful. Great Zhou’s technology was already quite good—firearms, salt, sugar, even the fashion of their bags was more luxurious than modern high-end brands.

On the road back to the capital, Lin Jiayue was bored and kept thinking about how to pitch the fake marriage to Lu Siling. The more she thought, the more frustrated she became, so she tried to think of things to invent instead. If she could invent something, she could make money, and her private treasury would grow.

The most profitable things in ancient times were salt, tea, silk, and porcelain—and then there was transport. Water transport (the Grand Canal) had always been lucrative, perhaps more so than modern express delivery since it was essentially a monopoly. Bringing the business of transporting people and goods into the hands of the imperial court was key. No more talk of “not competing with the people for profit”; if the national treasury has no money, nothing can be done. You can’t keep squeezing the commoners forever.

Lin Jiayue fingered the silk pouches in her hand, which were nearly polished smooth from her touch. She really should have asked Lu Siling to write more. This past month, whenever she had a spare moment, the first thing she did was open a pouch to see what Lu Siling had said that day. Even if it was nothing special, just seeing it brought peace of mind.

“ASSASSINS!”

Lin Jiayue was busy organizing the contents of the pouches—she had written out every single instruction and added her own evaluations on the back to show Lu Siling—when a loud shout brought her movements to a halt.

She frowned and opened the carriage window. A fight had already broken out outside. Daring to attempt an assassination in front of an army of fifty thousand—they were certainly bold. She had left the Capital Camp behind to help at the border and brought five thousand Forbidden Army back first. With such protection, how did assassins get in?

Unless the assassins were already within the army, having been there since the war began and only now being activated. It seemed the news of her victory had reached the capital. This desperate assassination attempt made it clear: everyone knew she had seized military power. Once she returned, she would be a Sovereign in fact as well as in name. Who would least want her back?

It was obvious: the Cui family. Compared to the Li family, the Cuis had Prince Cheng. The Lis wanted power, not a change of Emperor, as Empress Xining had no children.

Lin Jiayue narrowed her eyes. She wanted to see what the Cuis were up to. She had executed Cui Yuan directly in front of the army as a sacrifice to Heaven. This act of killing a key Cui figure—and [read the original at bailiantales.com]the Empress Dowager’s brother at that—without any consultation had enraged the family.

Lin Jiayue gave a cold laugh; she wasn’t afraid of their anger. She was afraid they wouldn’t get angry.

After a while, Zhang Huairou entered. “Your Majesty, the assassins have all committed suicide.”

A group of people throwing themselves like moths to a flame just to attempt an assassination—it was likely not that simple. Since the assassins were dead and couldn’t be interrogated, the matter could only be dropped for now.

Lin Jiayue’s lips curled. She closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. “Spread the word: the Emperor wished to return to the capital early and left the army with a small escort, but encountered assassins and is now missing.”

The Emperor, having just won a victory, missing? This would drive the capital mad! No, the entire Great Zhou.

Did Her Majesty want the Great Zhou to fall into chaos? Or did she want to use the opportunity to do something?

“Your Majesty, this…”

Lin Jiayue smiled. “Don’t worry. With Teacher Lu there, Great Zhou won’t fall into chaos.”

Would it really not? Zhang Huairou didn’t know. She didn’t know why the Majesty trusted the Grand Chancellor so much, but the Great Zhou currently could not afford chaos. Zhang Huairou was silent for a moment but ultimately said nothing. The current Majesty was no longer the “little Emperor” of the past. She had hindered the previous Emperor because his actions were wrong; the current Majesty had her own plans—she couldn’t guess them, but she trusted the Majesty.

“This servant will follow Your Majesty’s arrangements.”

“Return to the capital yourself to report the news. Say that I have disappeared.”

“Me?” Zhang Huairou’s eyes widened. “But Your Majesty, I am supposed to protect you.”

“The hidden guards are enough.” Lin Jiayue patted her shoulder. “Only if you go personally will this be believable.”

Zhang Huairou hesitated for a moment. That the Majesty could tell her this much meant she was deeply trusted. Since the Majesty had decided, she would cooperate. “As you command!”

“And what of the army?” If the Emperor disappeared, it would cause panic in the ranks. Once the army was in chaos, things would be hard to control.

Lin Jiayue thought for a moment. “Let the army proceed slowly. Do not breathe a word of this.”

The next day, Lin Jiayue left the main force with a thousand light cavalry, claiming she was in a hurry to get back and the army was moving too slowly. Zhang Huairou waited exactly one day according to the timing and immediately galloped back to the capital to report.

The moment she appeared in the capital, everyone took notice. A single question burned in everyone’s mind: Where is the Emperor?

Zhang Huairou arrived at the Grand Chancellor’s Mansion first. “Grand Chancellor, the Emperor is missing!”

Lu Siling walked out quickly. “What did you say?”

“The Emperor is missing!”

“Quickly, tell me what happened.” Lu [stolen content]Siling ignored her composure and grabbed Zhang Huairou by the collar. “Where is the Emperor?”

“The Majesty… the Majesty…” Zhang Huairou was momentarily speechless under Lu Siling’s murderous gaze. After a long while, she finally managed to explain the situation clearly.

The summary was: The Emperor was in a hurry to return to the capital, left the army alone, and subsequently went missing.

Lu Siling frowned, her head throbbing. Dog Emperor, running off at a critical moment. If the “little Emperor” had simply returned with the army, she would have been a supreme Sovereign. Now, she was gone. Logically, with a thousand cavalry, nothing should happen—but if someone knew she had left the protection of the main army, she would face even more fierce assassination attempts.

What on earth was she thinking?

“Tell me everything, from the moment the army left the border. Every detail.” Lu Siling suppressed her anxiety. She wanted to send people to find the Emperor immediately, yet the fact that Zhang Huairou had entered the mansion couldn’t be hidden. People would already be coming this way to find out news of the Sovereign. If she sent people out now, it would surely be noticed, and the news of the Emperor’s disappearance would be impossible to hide.

Dog-thing, always finding trouble for me.

And the assassination—someone dared to strike under the nose of an army of fifty thousand. She assumed the attempt had frightened the young Emperor, causing her to be desperate to get back to the capital immediately.

“Investigate. Whoever dared to assassinate the Emperor—spare no one.” Lu Siling looked at Zhang Huairou. “Return to the palace first. Regarding the loss of the Emperor: if she is unharmed, you will be dealt with leniently. If anything happens to her, you will be executed without mercy.”

Zhang Huairou wasn’t afraid, but she hadn’t expected the Grand Chancellor to be so tense. She had thought the Grand Chancellor would have no reaction to the disappearance. After all, regardless of who was Emperor, no one could touch Lu Siling’s position as Grand Chancellor for the next decade. She knew better than the Majesty what the late Emperor had left for the Grand Chancellor; many only saw the surface and thought they could pull her down, but it was a fool’s dream.

“Yes, Grand Chancellor.”

Zhang Huairou bowed and left. The Majesty had already returned to the capital, she just didn’t know where she was. She had to hurry back to the palace and guard the Imperial Seal; as long as the seal was there, the Majesty could return at any time. Her only worry Read on BaiLianTales was that Great Zhou would fall into chaos. An Emperor’s disappearance was no small matter. She didn’t know the Majesty’s plan, but she knew that once Great Zhou fell into chaos, stabilizing it again would be difficult.

Lu Siling watched Zhang Huairou’s retreating figure, doubt filling her heart. Lin Jiayue wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t leave the army unless she had a plan.

“Guang Qing, search secretly. Find out if the Emperor has already returned to the capital.”

“As you command.”

“Additionally, keep a close watch on all imperial clansmen in the capital. Anyone who moves suspiciously—kill them!”

Meng Wushang walked out from the side. “If the ‘little Emperor’ is truly missing, wouldn’t it be better for you to just select a child emperor and be a Regent Grand Chancellor?”

“Meng Wushang!”

“What is it, My Lady? Am I wrong?”

“She is the person the late Emperor chose.”

Meng Wushang smiled. She wondered if her Lady felt this way because of the late Emperor or because of the current one. She felt it was the former before, but now, it was the latter. She changed the subject with a light laugh. “How do you know she returned to the capital? What if she was killed by the assassins?”

At the last sentence, Lu Siling’s eyes turned cold. “I believe in her.”