Chapter 74: Hidden Within the Sleeve

Only after leaving Lin’s room did Xu Qingyi realize what had happened.

Lin hadn’t actually forgotten what soup he had brought her for lunch; he had deliberately asked the wrong question.

He was testing whether she had drunk the soup he had served.

If she had, it meant she trusted him.

If she hadn’t, Lin would assume she didn’t trust him, creating a rift between mother and son.

Xu Qingyi, realizing this, felt a chill run down her spine.

She thought her eldest son was too clever; she had been tricked without even realizing it.

After mentally scolding herself, Xu Qingyi returned to her main study and called for a maid to grind ink.

Then, using her decent handwriting, she wrote a letter to Princess Xining.

“Su Ye, this is important. This letter must not fall into anyone else’s hands.”

Otherwise, Princess Zhenyang’s shocking scandal would be exposed.

In the letter, Xu Qingyi vehemently condemned Princess Zhenyang’s evil deeds, describing how she threatened the young and helpless Lin.

This forced Lin, in a moment of desperation, to add something to a dish.

Coincidentally, Princess Zhenyang ended up eating it.

“This is a huge problem, and I’m very afraid. If she retaliates, I hope the Princess will help…”

Despite her fear, Xu Qingyi couldn’t resist adding a final sentence:  Perhaps this is what karma is; justice has been served.

The letter was quickly delivered to the Princess’s residence.

After reading it, Princess Xining was furious. “Unbelievable!” She had thought her presence would restrain Zhenyang, but Zhenyang had not only failed to restrain herself but had also resorted to such despicable tactics.

For a royal princess to behave in such a shameful manner was unheard of.

As a cultured royal woman, Princess Xining despised Zhenyang. Fortunately, as Xu Qingyi had said, she had received her just deserts.

She replied to Xu Qingyi: “Don’t worry. If she’s shameless enough to blame Lin, I will expose her evil deeds to His Majesty and ruin her reputation.”

Having received the princess’s assurance, Xu Qingyi felt much more at ease. She wrote another sincere letter of gratitude, saying, “Without the Princess, we, a widowed mother and son, wouldn’t know what to do.”

With Lin’s mother repeatedly seeking her help, Princess Xining felt that although she was unmarried, she carried a heavy burden.

Back at the Marquis’s residence, by the time Xu Qingyi sent off the last letter, night had fallen. She went to fetch Heng for dinner.

Heng, having not seen his mother all day, remained composed in front of his Teacher Shen.  But as soon as he saw Xu Qingyi, he smiled.

“Mother—” The little boy rushed over, nuzzling against her affectionately, causing Xu Qingyi, a mother who had experienced no childbirth pains, to feel an overwhelming surge of maternal love.

“You little rascal, I’ve built up arm muscles all because of you,” Xu Qingyi said, lifting him up and laughing.

“Then I won’t be held anymore,” Heng obediently got down, touching Xu Qingyi’s arm.

He was no longer light, and her arms were quite tired.

“Hmm hmm, let’s go.”

Knowing that Xie Huaian and Princess Zhenyang wouldn’t be home tonight, Lin also came, and the family enjoyed a rare moment of togetherness.

On the other side, the atmosphere was completely different.

After spending a night with Xie Huaian, Princess Zhenyang felt her life was secure, but her mindset unraveled. She exploded in rage, shouting that she wanted to torture Lin to relieve her hatred!

“Mother! He has humiliated me to this extent; I want him dead!” Princess Zhenyang lay on the couch, looking terrible, while Xie Huaian was nowhere to be found, and Princess Consort Su stood watch at the foot of the bed.

“He is indeed despicable, plotting like this at such a young age!” The Princess Consort was also furious, never expecting that Lin could outsmart them.

It was their fault for being too careless.

They had assumed that with the Prince at the height of his power, no one would dare to provoke them.

“Kill him!” Princess Zhenyang said, her face haggard and her expression twisted with rage.

The Princess Consort understood her daughter’s pain but hesitated, unsure of what to say. Finally, she said, “But he is the adopted son of Xie Yunzhi. Creating a murder scandal at this critical moment would be detrimental to your father’s ascension.”

That was true. Princess Zhenyang, in a moment, calmed down and realized she had to be rational.

Her ability to act domineeringly in the capital relied on her father’s momentum. If her father couldn’t ascend to the throne, everything would be lost.

“Then break both his hands and cut off his path to the imperial examination,” Princess Zhenyang thought for a moment and said viciously.

The Princess Consort’s expression was grim, her doubts mounting. She pondered for a moment and said, “You just had your accident, and then he was retaliated against. The Pingyang Marquis’s residence must know you did it. If they make a fuss, we won’t be able to handle it.”

Princess Zhenyang became exasperated. “This won’t work, that won’t work. Am I just supposed to swallow this injustice?!”

“Zhenyang, calm down,” the Princess Consort quickly soothed her daughter. “We can’t directly harm him, but you’re right, we can cut off his path to the imperial examination.”

“How?” Princess Zhenyang asked.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

“Here’s what we can do. Mother will first find out who the examiners for the provincial examination are,” the Princess Consort considered for a while. “Leaking exam questions is a serious crime; they wouldn’t dare to cheat with their heads on the line. However, it shouldn’t be difficult to fail one or two candidates who would have otherwise passed.”

Princess Zhenyang nodded. The Xiucai examination was only a few weeks away. She urged her mother, “Mother, hurry.”

“Such a big matter requires your father’s consent, but he may not agree,” the Princess Consort patted her daughter’s hand. “I’ll try my best to persuade him.”

As it turned out, the Princess Consort’s concerns were valid.

When the Prince heard that his wife and daughter wanted to interfere with the imperial examination, his face changed, and he angrily said, “You dare to meddle with the imperial examination?  What are you thinking? Who gave you the audacity?!”

Seeing this, the Princess Consort became as quiet as a quail, no longer daring to mention it.

She could only smile apologetically and say, “My Lord finds it inappropriate; I will give up on this idea.”

“Of course, it’s inappropriate,” the Prince said. “Things are sensitive right now. Tell Zhenyang to behave herself. Later… she will have everything she wants. Does she really not have the patience to wait?”

“Yes, I understand,” the Princess Consort hurriedly responded.

Actually, the Prince was right.  Couldn’t she just wait?

“Sigh,” she said with a worried expression, returning to her daughter’s room and relaying her husband’s message.

“Isn’t there any way…?!” Princess Zhenyang became hysterical, feeling that her position as a princess was utterly humiliating; she couldn’t even suppress a mere lady from the Marquis’s residence?!

“That’s Xie Yunzhi, after all.” If it were anyone else, the Prince Su’s residence wouldn’t be afraid.

“To act against them, we need solid evidence,” the Princess Consort said.

“…” Princess Zhenyang gritted her teeth, feeling disheartened and lost. In her current state, could she still win Xie Yunzhi over?

“Princess, the medicine is ready.”

At that moment, the old maid carefully entered, carrying a bowl of medicine.

“Bring it here,” Princess Zhenyang immediately said.

The Princess Consort looked at the old maid and asked, “What kind of medicine is this?”

The old maid hesitated, looking at Princess Zhenyang with difficulty, and didn’t dare to reveal it.

So the Princess Consort also looked at Princess Zhenyang and frowned, asking, “Is it a contraceptive?”

“Yes.” Princess Zhenyang took the medicine and, before the Princess Consort could object, drank it all in one go.

She had been lying to Xie Huaian about bearing a legitimate son.

“You… Forget it. Do as you wish,” the Princess Consort, unable to stop her, sighed.

*

Xu Qingyi was afraid that Lin’s daily trips to the academy would make him vulnerable to Princess Zhenyang’s retaliation.

So she simply had him ask for leave from the academy; he could study at home from now on.

Lin agreed.

After all, the academy teachers could only teach so much.  Continuing to attend wouldn’t be beneficial.

“Alright, just spend more time at home studying the excellent exam papers I’ve collected for you from previous years,” Xu Qingyi said.

“Hmm,” Lin responded indifferently, not taking it too seriously.

Seeing this, Xu Qingyi guessed that her eldest son didn’t take it seriously and thought the xiucai examination insignificant.

She smiled and said earnestly, “I’m not saying those candidates wrote better than you. I just want you to understand the examiners’ preferences, do you understand?”

While true academic merit was important, navigating official circles required some tact.  Being too arrogant wouldn’t work.

“Yes,” Lin said, glancing sideways.

Actually, his teachers at the academy had mentioned this, and he truly didn’t take it seriously.

He hadn’t expected Xu Qingyi to understand these things so well.

Well, after all, she was one of the survivors of the intense competition of the Gaokao (the Chinese university entrance examination).

Xu Qingyi said with feeling, “Academic achievement is just a stepping stone, Lin. Studying isn’t about getting others to recognize your talent; that’s all vanity.”

“It’s not that studying well guarantees a good life. Studying is just a tool to achieve your goals; you must learn to use it. As the saying goes, ‘Hidden within the sleeve,’ when you need to show your talent, you should; when you don’t, you should keep it to yourself.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Lin probably thought his talent could impress the examiners.

But the examiners weren’t there to be impressed; they were there to be dealt with.

Xu Qingyi continued, “Knowing when to show restraint and when to act decisively is a lifelong lesson. I’m still learning, and we should learn together.”

Lin listened intently, unconsciously nodding his head. It seemed to make sense.

He had talent, but he didn’t have to show it all. He only needed to display the portion necessary to achieve his goals.

“Mother, what are you and Big Brother whispering about?” Zhen returned from the martial arts field, famished. He hadn’t found Xu Qingyi in the main hall and guessed she must be with his older brother.

So he came to find them.

“We were whispering about things you wouldn’t be interested in,” Xu Qingyi said.

As expected, Zhen didn’t ask further. He had come to Xu Qingyi about his weapon. He said, “Mother, did you buy the weapon you promised me? Will it be custom-made or bought ready-made?”

It had been a while since his mother promised him a weapon, but with no progress, he couldn’t help but ask.

Xu Qingyi inwardly panicked.  She had been so busy lately that she had completely forgotten about it.

But it was fine; a little white lie would do the trick.

“Mother originally planned to buy a ready-made one, preferably an antique,”

Xu Qingyi made it seem serious, pausing for effect. “But after thinking about it, a custom-made one would be better. Let’s do it today. Tomorrow, we’ll go together to find a craftsman, and everything will be done to your liking?”

Zhen didn’t suspect anything and was very happy. “Okay, that’s settled then.”