Chapter 73: Ups and Downs

  Rise in clear weather and fall in gloomy weather

  "Master, Master, how did you come back?" Yin Ruofei was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed.

  Han Su's face was filled with smiles as he looked at him kowtowing and hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him up. "Fei'er quickly get up. Master is back, let me help your King look into this incense ash matter."

  Although things are almost settled, but Rong Jingze has always been meticulous in his work. This time he brought back the medicine and took the opportunity to check if the ash found in the case of the nun's temple was indeed the kind he had mentioned before.

  It was only natural. Although Han Susen didn't understand how the incense ash from the nun's temple ended up at the Hou Mansion, this wasn't something he needed to worry about anyway. He just called out for Yin Ruofei to come over and carefully asked him about his studies.

  Han Susu really liked Yin Ruofei, and from the moment he saw him for the first time, he felt a deep connection. This child was clean, good-looking, especially intelligent, and had an extremely high understanding of medicinal herbs and toxicology. He thought that in this life, it would be unlikely to find someone to pass on his knowledge to, as there were too many things to attend to and no suitable disciples in sight. Who knew that among the vast sea of people, Heaven would send Yin Ruofei to his side, and with just a few books and some medicinal herbs, he had learned to such an extent, leaving him utterly delighted.

  If he weren't the only legitimate son of the Marquis's household, he really wanted to bring him over and keep him by his side.

  Now looking at it, this child staying by Shidi's side is quite good, at least on the coldest days he didn't have a relapse, Xiao Fei deserves some credit.

  Rong Jingze looked at his senior brother holding Yin Ruofei's hand and speaking, with a very kind expression on his face. Calculating his senior brother's age, if he had gotten married and had children, the child would probably be even older than Yin Ruofei, and he also knew that his senior brother really treated Yin Ruofei like his own son.

  Rong Jingze had been out of the palace to treat his poison since he was a child, and for several years, in order to control his illness, he had been with his master and senior brother. Compared to the emperor and empress dowager, his master and senior brother's way of treating him made him feel more intimate. After all, in the imperial family, it was always a matter of etiquette before affection, and the way of showing love was nothing more than rewarding. But as for his imperial brother's way of showing affection, it had been rare since ancient times to the present, and he was already content with that.

  Róng Jìngzé has always respected this senior brother from the bottom of his heart. When he was poisoned as a child, although he couldn't speak, he understood in his heart that his master and senior brothers worked day and night without rest, all for the sake of his life.

  Growing up in the palace from a young age, he was used to seeing schemes and struggles. Even though his mother and imperial brother treated him with love and care, they would still instruct the palace maids and eunuchs to take care of him. Never had anyone treated him like this before. At first, he was arrogant and didn't put others in his eyes, and when he had a bit of strength, he would smash bowls and pots, venting his anger due to pain.

  In the palace, he was not in a good temper. The eunuchs and palace maids who were bullied by him, although they did not dare to say anything on the surface, would secretly do some small harm behind his back, even cursing him. It was also because of this that Liu Fei bought off the people around him to poison him.

  No matter how unreasonable he was, his master and senior brother still treated him with the same kindness, being affectionate but not fawning.

  It wasn't until then that Yong Jingze finally experienced the emotions of ordinary people.

  Master spent years of hard work and before his death, he was still looking at medical books, trying to find a solution to break the cold poison in his body.

  The elder brother, who was approaching thirty but still single, went into the mountains and forests to search for those rare and precious medicinal herbs in order to detoxify him.

  In his previous life, Shixiong had changed his name and lived in the capital city, hoping to be able to control his poison at all times. Once, he heard that there was a kind of medicinal herb on the border that could be used as medicine, so he specially entrusted him to protect Yin Ruofei before leaving. However, he also had something on his body at that time, and because of this small matter, he missed the return date. When he came back, he only saw the person who had been dead for many days in the thin coffin.

  He regretted it too late, and his master was even more depressed to the end. He just didn't expect that there would be another push behind this matter, and he couldn't resist either. In the end, he died of anger and poisoning.

  This life, he not only wants to change Yin Ruofei's fate but also his senior brother's fate, letting them all live a good life. And the behind-the-scenes pusher is likely to reveal their true intentions soon.

  With Master here and Rong Jingze's praise, Yin Ruofei was naturally delighted to cook in person, simmering a soup and stir-frying a few small dishes.

  During these holidays, he felt suffocated in the palace and would run to the kitchen to learn cooking from the royal chef.

  Fortunately, he has a good understanding and is talented in cooking. Within a month, he learned several dishes that he was skilled at making.

  "Master, try some of this." With Master here, Yin Ruo Fei wouldn't dare sit down no matter what was said, and would only stand by to serve, personally helping Master arrange the dishes.

  Rong Jingze took a bite and glanced over, seeing that the master and apprentice didn't even spare him a look. His heart felt increasingly sour. He had always regarded his senior brother as an elder brother, but at this moment, seeing that his senior brother's eyes were only on Yin Ruofei, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy - was it towards his senior brother or towards Yin Ruofei?

  Unfortunately, Yin Ruofei didn't see his expression at all. Instead, Han Susu thought he was eating too little and asked Yin Ruofei to serve him a large bowl of hot soup, reminding him to replenish himself generously.

  When Shixiong was around, Rong Jingze was the happiest and felt the most blessed. But this time, for some reason, he didn't feel comfortable in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it on his face, afraid that Shixiong would see it and misunderstand. When it came to class during the day, he didn't even want to attend half a day before returning.

  Yin Ruofei stared at him with wide eyes, as if she had never seen him before.

  "What's wrong with you? Has a flower bloomed on this king's face?"

  "The flowers are still there, just a bit unrecognizable." It's really hard to understand how the lazy and academically disinclined Prince Ze Wang suddenly became so diligent and studious.

  After more than ten days of this, Zewang, who had always been easy-going and didn't care about anything, had actually lost a lot of weight. Fortunately, Han Su's return this time was to deliver medicine, and he couldn't stay for long, so after staying for a few days, he would leave.

  Rong Jingze felt a subtle sense of relief, mixed with both joy and guilt. Fortunately, his senior brother had grasped his hand before leaving, carefully reminding him to take his medicine on time and not to overexert himself by recklessly using his inner energy.

  The key point is calm and composed.

  Han Suo went to remind his apprentice again and handed over some of his experiences in the past six months for him to study carefully.

  Watching his master leave, Yin Ruofei felt empty in his heart. In his previous life, he had been deeply indebted to his master, but hadn't had the chance to repay him. And in this life, he couldn't express it either. Although he had served by his side for a short period of time, he always felt that it was difficult to repay even a small part of the debt. But at the same time, he didn't dare to be too deep, lest his master become suspicious.

  Especially in the past few days, Ze Wang saw that his eyes were somewhat evil. Rebirth, he didn't want to say it, nor did he dare to say it, and there was nothing to be said. This kind of ghostly affair, if it gets out, he will either be dragged out and beaten to death or burned alive.

  The Xianghui case was suppressed by King Ze, and the original officers who made the arrest were dispersed to other places. Probably only the Emperor, King Ze, and Yin Ruofei knew about this matter, while even the Jingzhao Governor thought it was just an ordinary blackmail case.

  "Your Highness, why don't you take action?" Yin Ruofei was getting impatient. "Even if we can't take Lin Zhenzong's life, peeling off a layer of his skin would be good too?"

  "The snake beats seven inches, this matter is only investigated on the surface, and it has only been found on a few small ants' bodies. It can't move Lin Zhenzong's life, nor can it peel off his skin. Do you think Lin Zhenzong will care about the life of a mere He Shi? Or will he care about the life of Xiao Linsi?"

  Lin Jiazhang's eldest son, Lin Zhenzu, had been secretly monitoring the Lin family and even the Yin family in Gaomi. Although he held many messages in his hand, if he wanted to take the lives of the two brothers, Lin Zhenzong and Lin Zhenye, it was still far from enough.

  Rong Jingze lived a few more years than Yin Ruofei, knowing that there was still a great disaster behind him, and even he died in this disaster. For the emperor's brother, for his master's brother, and for others he wanted to protect, he had to find the culprit of this matter ahead of time and strangle the disaster in its infancy.

  After searching for a long time, he still couldn't find any clues. Just as he was wondering if he had acted too early, he received news from Lin Yun'er. As soon as he got the message, he felt a chill run down his back. If it were true, then this disaster might have been planned for over a decade.

  "Your Highness?"

  "If you want to outsmart others, besides having a good brain, you also need to have a long-term view. Temporary gains or losses don't matter; the ultimate victory is what's crucial." Rong Jingze smiled slightly. Although he knew that Yin Ruofei was also reborn, after all, he had only experienced the struggles of the back palace, and didn't know that the imperial court, not to mention this world, wasn't as simple as the back palace. He used to think himself clever and unparalleled, but hadn't he ended up dying unjustly? "If you're not confident, just quietly bide your time, use stillness to control movement, and strike down your enemy in one move."

  "...Yes, I've learned my lesson." Yin Ruofei was not a fool either and hated the other party for plotting against her grandmother. She was momentarily enraged.

  At this point, he was persuaded and also knew that he had indeed been too impulsive. If the Lin family were so easy to deal with, how could they have climbed to the position of Deputy Director without any family support?

  At this time he had no ability to kill his opponent with one blow, he could only wait.

  The days of waiting were not easy to pass.

  Yin Ruofei often thought of it and hated to wake up from his sleep. Originally, he was just suspicious of Xiaolin, now that he had evidence, he still couldn't take action.

  The two of them continued their lives as if nothing had happened. Rong Jingze really didn't put it in his heart, and Yin Ruofei was indeed gritting her teeth to hold on.

  This matter did not bring any impact to Lin Zhenzong, instead because of other matters, Lin Zhenzong received imperial praise and was even promoted to the position of Minister of War, ranking as a fourth-grade official. And Lin Jia's third son, Lin Zhenye, was even more formidable, having been appointed as Left Chancellor, holding the highest position among officials.

  "The position of the treasurer is very lucrative, and if today's weather is rich and peaceful, I'm afraid he would have made tens of thousands of silver coins." Does he know there's a problem and still let him continue to hoard? What a joke.

  "So it seems he's been promoted in name but demoted in reality!" Yin Ruofei smiled knowingly.

  The Minister of Finance, although a fifth-grade official, is indeed the master of a department. In short, although the official position is small, he can be in charge. The Deputy Minister of War seems to have been promoted two grades, but in fact, there is still the Minister of War above him, and it's actually more likely to restrict his actions.

  "Your Majesty, does the Emperor know about this matter?"

  "The king and his brother had a heart-to-heart talk, but he didn't tell him everything." The truth was too shocking to hear, and he couldn't explain how he knew it years later.

  The front hall was temporarily stabilized, but the back house was in chaos again.

  As the two brothers of Xiaoling rose to prominence, the Hou Mansion was once again abuzz with activity. The Left Chancellor repeatedly invited Yin Haicheng for drinks, even going so far as to visit him in person, all for the sake of Xiaoling.

  Yin Haicheng was not very pleased in his heart, but since he and the Lin brothers were colleagues in the same dynasty, and also considering other things, he let Xiaolin out.

  Of course, it sounds good when said outside, Lin's disease is just cured.

  Kobayashi has been more careful since then, serving Yin Haicheng with a gentle and considerate attitude for several days. Seeing that she seemed to have repented, Yin Haicheng nodded and didn't mention the matter again, but as for the right to be in charge of the household, forget it.

  As for this matter, Chen seemed to be unaware of it and continued to eat and drink normally, taking good care of his body.