Lin Ting thought she had misheard and couldn’t believe it.
“What did you just say?” she asked in disbelief.
She had found a secluded spot to count her fortune bags.
The noise from the street was audible, but people farther away couldn’t hear their conversation because they were speaking in low voices.
Duan Ling gently touched the embroidered patterns on the fortune bag before tying it around his waist, still looking straight at her, and repeated, “Xie Qinghe has led the Xie family army in a rebellion.”
The news was so shocking that Lin Ting’s hand trembled, and the fortune bag she was holding in her arms spilled all over the ground.
Xie Qinghe has rebelled…
Was this part of the original plot?
She was unsure whether she had missed it or if it simply wasn’t there.
But no matter what, what had actually happened was the truth.
Xie Qinghe didn’t seem like the type to rebel.
Why had he suddenly done so?
Had something happened to him after he left the city, pushing him to the point of no return?
Or was it possible that someone was using Xie Qinghe’s name to rebel, just as someone had previously used Jin Anazi’s name to contact the Xie family, indirectly leading to the emperor’s order to seize the Xie family’s property and fueling the unrest in Suzhou?
She was more inclined to believe it was a misunderstanding.
She wondered if Jin Anazi had heard about it yet.
The news of the rebellion couldn’t be suppressed; it would soon spread far and wide.
If Xie Qinghe really had rebelled, would it involve Jin Anazi?
Lin Ting decided not to speculate and instead find an opportunity to visit Jin Anazi in the study to get to the bottom of it.
Duan Ling bent down and picked up the fallen fortune bag.
“What kind of reaction is this? You don’t believe Xie Qinghe would rebel?”
It was then that she realized all her fortune bags had dropped.
She squatted down and began to pick them up as well.
“You’re from the Imperial Guards; I’m not. I haven’t experienced any major upheavals. Hearing about a rebellion would naturally be surprising and frightening. It would be strange if I didn’t react at all.”
Lin Ting tried to act as naturally as possible.
Duan Ling picked up the last fortune bag, stood up, and handed it back to her.
As he picked them up, he had strung them together with a red cord, so they wouldn’t scatter again.
Lin Ting took them, feeling the weight of the strung fortune bags as they dangled and swayed in her hand.
He twirled his fingers that had touched the fortune bags.
“You’re right. If you didn’t react, it would mean you already knew, which is impossible. You and Xie Qinghe don’t have any particular connection.”
Lin Ting was confident in this matter.
She truly had no knowledge of it.
No matter how Duan Ling tried to probe, it wouldn’t change anything.
“With such a major event like a rebellion, don’t you need to go to the palace to see His Majesty?”
Duan Ling replied calmly, “His Majesty is currently summoning the general to discuss this matter.”
In other words, it wasn’t his concern yet.
Lin Ting observed Duan Ling’s expression.
Wasn’t he from the Imperial Guards?
How could he be so calm, as if Xie Qinghe’s rebellion was no big deal?
The suona music on the street suddenly stopped.
They both looked towards the street.
She noticed that the national master, who should have had a clear path, was being blocked.
Well, it wasn’t exactly being blocked; there were people ahead, and he couldn’t pass.
Logically, no one would dare to obstruct the national master’s exorcism and blessing procession.
Whether it was the court officials who disliked Taoists or the passers-by, none would dare because Emperor Jiade highly valued the national master.
The commoners grabbing fortune bags were gathered on both sides of the street and wouldn’t block the procession.
If it were an uninformed foreigner who mistakenly wandered into the street, the soldiers following the procession would have already apprehended them.
Lin Ting couldn’t help but wonder who was so bold as to publicly block the national master’s way, with the soldiers not daring to lay a hand on them.
She watched intently.
Another group of people appeared at the front of the long street.
They were dressed in light armor, holding spears, and their steps were perfectly synchronized, exuding a strong and imposing presence.
A woman rode ahead of them on horseback.
Her face was slightly cold, with deep-set features and bright eyes.
Her skin was a bit dark, and she had her hair tied up in a high ponytail for ease of movement.
She also held a spear, and her red and black riding attire flapped in the wind, looking quite heavy.
When the woman encountered the national master, she neither dismounted to pay respects nor showed any intention of giving way.
Lin Ting glanced at her a few times, then looked at Duan Ling.
“Who is she?”
This woman was clearly someone from the court; Duan Ling should know her identity.
Duan Ling raised his hand and slowly removed a piece of red confetti that had fallen into her hair.
“Her? She is the first and only female general of the Great Yan Dynasty, even stronger than the male generals.”
“Back then, the Empress overcame all objections and pleaded with His Majesty to bestow upon her the title of general. It turned out that the Empress had good judgment. This female general is almost invincible. By the way, her name is Yang Liangyu.”
Yang Liangyu?
After Lin Ting woke up, she had been busy making money and knew very little about court affairs.
He removed three pieces of red confetti and said:
“His Majesty is summoning this Yang General today. She had just returned to the capital a few days ago and has been persistently training her troops outside the city every day since her return.”
While the national master was throwing fortune bags, there were young Taoists sprinkling red confetti beside the sedan chair for a festive atmosphere.
Lin Ting was so eager to grab the fortune bags that she didn’t care if she got any red confetti on her.
As long as it didn’t get into her eyes, she wouldn’t notice it.
It was only when Duan Ling removed the red confetti from her hair that she realized she had some on her.
So Lin Ting patted her head with her hand, hoping to shake off the red confetti, but only the larger pieces fell off.
The smaller ones stubbornly clung to her hair like red petals.
She couldn’t see her own head and wasn’t sure if she had shaken them all off.
“Are there still some?”
“There are,” Duan Ling replied, his gaze fixed on Lin Ting.
He lightly touched her hand that was about to pat her head again and said, “Let me help you.”
Lin Ting didn’t refuse.
She continued to subtly inquire about information:
“His Majesty is summoning this Yang General, is it to have her suppress Xie… those rebels?”
“That’s correct. His Majesty wants General Yang to suppress the rebels and take Xie Qinghe’s head,” Duan Ling’s fingers skillfully and gently moved through Lin Ting’s hair, making her feel very comfortable.
Lin Ting blinked.
Duan Ling didn’t discard the red confetti he had removed; they were still in his hand.
He calmly said, “This is not a secret. Soon, the whole capital will know. Do you think General Yang can successfully eliminate these rebels?”
She was unaware that Duan Ling had finished removing the red confetti.
Lost in thought, she still leaned towards him, looking at the ground.
“As you said, General Yang is almost invincible. She can definitely do it.”
He remained silent.
Lin Ting touched the fortune bag, deep in thought.
“How did you determine that Xie Qinghe led the Xie family army in rebellion? Didn’t he just escape from the city not long ago? This is too sudden.”
Duan Ling replied, “The court received news that Xie Qinghe led the Xie family army in rebellion. As for how His Majesty’s people determined it was him, I don’t know yet. His Majesty has more than just the Imperial Guards to handle affairs; there’s also the Eastern Depot.”
Lin Ting pressed on, “You mean the Eastern Depot was the one who discovered Xie Qinghe’s rebellion?”
He nodded slightly and casually said, “This time, His Majesty sent the Eastern Depot to gather information. The Imperial Guards didn’t participate.”
She fell into deep contemplation.
Duan Ling put away the red confetti and, seeing Lin Ting’s head still in front of him, couldn’t help but raise his hand again.
He touched her coiled long hair, hooked a silk ribbon, and gently inserted it into her hairdo.
Lin Ting felt a tingling sensation but didn’t move, thinking perhaps some red confetti had fallen into her bun, which was why he was inserting it.
After a while, she couldn’t help herself anymore.
Mainly because his fingertips seemed to graze her scalp, making Lin Ting’s heart tingle as well, and she couldn’t focus on anything else.
“Is it done yet?” she asked, wondering if there were that many pieces of red confetti.
Duan Ling withdrew his fingers from her hair.
“It’s done.”
Lin Ting absentmindedly scratched her head and continued to watch the street.
The national master and Yang Liangyu were still at an impasse, neither willing to let the other pass first.
The national master, seated in his sedan chair, looked up at Yang Liangyu, who was sitting on her horse opposite him, and smiled.
“General Yang, today is the day His Majesty instructed me to perform the exorcism and blessing. Are you aware?”
Yang Liangyu didn’t even glance at him.
She lowered her head to stroke her mount and coldly said, “Are you asking me to make way for you?”
The national master’s smile remained unchanged.
“The exorcism and blessing are crucial to the nation’s fortune…”
Yang Liangyu interrupted, “I’ve endured you for quite some time. You always talk about exorcism and blessing, all for the sake of the Great Yan. In reality, you’ve never done anything truly beneficial for the Great Yan.”
Her gaze was piercing, and her tone was full of disdain.
“Do we, the soldiers who risk our lives for the Great Yan, really compare to you, a mere talkative Taoist, that we must give way to you? Stop using the nation’s fortune as an excuse. I won’t fall for it. Make way for me now!”
The national master’s smile momentarily froze.
Yang Liangyu had openly called him a stinky Taoist, showing no respect at all.
The onlookers on both sides of the street were buzzing with discussions.
Lin Ting had collected enough fortune bags but couldn’t leave Duan Ling just yet to find Jin Anazi and ask about Xie Qinghe.
So, she decided to watch the spectacle unfold, using it as an opportunity to learn more about the Great Yan Dynasty.
Seeing that the national master remained unmoved, Yang Liangyu slightly bent down, pressing her horse’s head while still looking down at him.
“Aren’t you going to move?”
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