maidservant

Chapter 44: The world is unpredictable and the heart is unpredictable. The small country in Xibian stopped paying tribute to the emperor.

When Lin Yu heard this, he was struck by lightning. The color instantly drained from his face and he blurted out, "How could it be her!"

His voice was full of disbelief and shock, as if he had been hit hard with a club and was stunned in place.

Recalling that day, Yang Concubine hurriedly pulled her poison-repelling hairpin from the top of her towering wig. The tip of the hairpin had not touched her real hair at all, and everything seemed flawless.

After the poison test, Yang Concubine seemed to be frightened and panicked. Her hand trembled, and the spoon that was found to be poisonous fell into the soup bowl. This seemingly inadvertent action, now thinking about it, is full of doubts.

"But when Concubine Yang just took off the hairpin, there was nothing unusual about it." Yun Jin frowned and said with a puzzled look on his face, as if he was trying hard to recall every detail of that day.

"No, it's recorded in the ancient palace books that there are some methods of hiding colors, and the colors will only appear when they come into contact with water." Aunt Zhuang explained in a serious tone.

The truth gradually surfaced. It turned out that the poison was not in the soup, not on the edge of the bowl, nor in the spoon, but hidden in that small hairpin!

The four of them looked at each other, speechless with shock. Concubine Yang had always been oppressed by the Li family, unable to fight back, yet she actually resorted to such a treacherous scheme to get Lin Yu to avenge her?!

Who would have thought that Yangpin, who seemed weak and harmless on weekdays, was so scheming. It was a trick of killing someone with a borrowed knife, which was really hard to guard against.

From then on, Yunshan and the others became extremely vigilant, protecting Lin Yu and the fetus in her belly.

Every morning, Aunt Zhuang was always the first to get up and go to the imperial kitchen in person to select the freshest ingredients for Lin Yu and supervise the imperial chef to carefully prepare meals that were both nutritious and to Lin Yu's taste.

She carefully inquired about the ingredients and cooking methods of each dish, fearing that even the slightest bit would be harmful to Lin Yu and the fetus.

Yun Jin stayed in the palace, staying by Lin Yu's side all the time, preparing medicine for her to maintain her pregnancy. She would taste the temperature of each bowl of medicine herself to make sure it was neither too cold nor too hot before serving it to Lin Yu.

They not only took care of Lin Yu's food, clothing and daily life, but also quietly paid attention to every move of other palaces.

Yunshan often took the opportunity of shopping to chat with the maids in other palaces and gather news about the harem from fragments of conversation.

As soon as there was any sign of trouble, she would rush back to Liuhua Palace to discuss countermeasures with Aunt Zhuang to ensure that Lin Yu would not be threatened in any way.

In this environment, Lin Yu's girlish nature had almost completely vanished. The once innocent and full of longing for palace life, she now often sat by the window, staring at the palace walls in a trance.

Yunshan also asked Aunt Zhuang for some uncommon books and began to learn various court etiquette and survival skills in order to deal with crises that might come at any time.

In the court, the atmosphere has been gloomy these days, and the solemn atmosphere is so heavy that it makes people breathless.

In the vassal state of Xibian in the western border, the situation suddenly changed. The new emperor, Zhao Huan, was young but a man of courage and strategy.

Since he ascended the throne last year, in just one year, he has managed the people's livelihood affairs in Xibian in an orderly manner, and the people's lives have gradually become stable.

However, perhaps due to youthful arrogance or excessive ambition, a few days ago, Xibian suddenly stopped paying tribute to the Li Dynasty. This move was undoubtedly a blatant provocation to the majesty of the Li Dynasty.

In recent days, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. The Western Bian army is stirring on the border, finally ushering in the war. The flames of war ignited instantly, and the air was thick with smoke. Meanwhile, the war in the north had just concluded, and in the court, the emperor and his officials were arguing fiercely over how to respond to the Western Bian provocation.

The pro-war faction was passionate and believed that troops should be sent immediately to suppress the rebellion in Xibian with lightning speed to maintain the dignity and territorial integrity of the Li Dynasty; the pro-peace faction was worried that years of war would cause the people to suffer and damage the national strength, and advocated using diplomatic means to mediate first to avoid the outbreak of war.

Every day, the emperor would rise before dawn to discuss countermeasures with his ministers, listening patiently and weighing the pros and cons. He would often sit for the entire day, not even taking time to eat properly.

Late at night, the entire palace was immersed in silence, only the lights in the imperial study were still bright.

The emperor sat at his desk, facing a mountain of memorials, his brow furrowed, his red brush constantly marking them. He would often be busy until late at night, only to lean back in his chair tiredly for a short rest.

Amidst such busyness, the emperor hadn't set foot in the harem for more than half a month. The entire harem seemed to have been temporarily forgotten by him.

The concubines could only wait silently in their respective palaces for the emperor's summons. However, the emperor only summoned Concubine Cui twice to inquire about the selection of concubines, and each time he only asked a few questions in a hurry before turning his attention to government affairs.

Even on the night of the fifteenth day of the lunar month, when the moon was full and families were reunited, the emperor was supposed to go to the empress's palace to spend the night with her. However, this night, the emperor was still busy all day and was exhausted both physically and mentally, so he went straight to sleep in the imperial study.

It is said that the queen specially asked the palace maid to deliver snacks that night, but was stopped by the eunuch on the grounds that the emperor "did not allow anyone to enter."

Lin Yu hadn't seen the emperor for more than 20 days, and he couldn't help feeling a little lost, mixed with deep longing.

Yunshan watched her often sitting by the window, looking towards the imperial study, her eyes full of worry.

After two years of living together, Lin Yu had developed a deep affection for the emperor. She longed for the emperor to come to her palace and tell her about his fatigue and troubles. She also wanted to share some of the emperor's worries and give him warmth and comfort.

A few days later, the dispute in the court regarding the affairs of Xibian was finally settled.

The emperor thought over and over again, weighed the pros and cons, and resolutely issued an edict.

First, he sent an eloquent envoy to Xibian to show goodwill with a gentle and friendly diplomatic attitude. In order to seek peace, he even agreed to Xibian's unreasonable request to stop paying tribute, and decided not to start a war for the time being.

As soon as this decision was made, the court was in an uproar.

Several passionate ministers were filled with righteous indignation and said in court that Your Majesty's move was too cowardly and undermined the dignity of a great country.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was furious, but he suppressed his anger and immediately granted these ministers a long vacation, strictly ordering them not to attend court meetings for the foreseeable future. The court suddenly fell into dead silence.

This decision did indeed accurately extinguish the flames of war that were about to break out on the border.

When the young emperor of Xibian received the olive branch from the Li Dynasty and heard that he no longer had to fulfill the tribute obligation, he was overjoyed and promoted the official who had originally proposed the idea of ​​"not paying tribute".

A tense war crisis seemed to have been averted, and the border between the two countries briefly returned to its former tranquility. The people were relieved from their panic and returned to their stable lives.

　Everyone~ From February 2th to February 18nd, this novel will be participating in the ranking. Please read the two newly updated chapters every day. This "reading rate" is very important to me! Thank you! ~~~
　　(End of this chapter)