IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Are Days Getting Better? The National Teacher is Impoverished…

Chapter 73: Are Days Getting Better? The National Teacher is Impoverished…

What are my plans for the future?

Lin Yan had no plans for the future, but right now, he didn’t want to stay in the palace.

“Such a small matter doesn’t need to trouble Your Majesty,” Lin Yan said, trying to suppress the irritation in his heart. He slammed the jade hairpin on the table, stood up, and walked out.

“Lin Gongzi saved the life of the Emperor Brother, so how can we let him suffer for nothing?” The new Emperor picked up the jade hairpin and examined it in the light. He put the hairpin away, and then slowly continued, “Besides, if Lin Gongzi stays in the Capital City, I’m afraid there will be many difficulties.”

He hated the house and the crow. Now Lin Yan not only couldn’t bear to hear news about Yun Qi, but also didn’t want to follow any of the new Emperor’s arrangements. The new Emperor said he should leave the Capital City, but Lin Yan refused, and even embarrassed the Emperor, directly retorting, “What if I insist on staying in the Capital City?”

“That would be troublesome,” the new Emperor said, raising his hand and tapping his brow, listing all the traps Lin Yan had fallen into. “If you stay in the Capital City, Lin Gongzi must hide well, because you have quite a few crimes on your head. Concealing your identity to plot the marriage of a prince is one crime, assisting Prince An in his rebellion is disloyalty to the Emperor is a second crime, and breaking into the Hall of Mental Cultivation with intent to assassinate the Emperor is a third crime… Each of these is a capital crime punishable by execution of the entire family.”

“You…” Lin Yan pointed at the new Emperor, so angry that he couldn’t speak.

So that’s what he was waiting for. No wonder he knew Lin Yan wasn’t a Ge’er but still bestowed a marriage, and even arranged a grand ten-mile-red-makeup procession, painstakingly put a red mole on his brow, and personally attended to show the Emperor’s grace… After all that effort, it was all just money to buy his life.

Seeing Lin Yan’s face turn from white to red and then back to white, and his finger shaking for a long time before finally dropping, the new Emperor knew that he had guessed correctly.

The first stage was over, and it was time to enter the next round.

The new Emperor coaxed and guided him, “If you leave the Capital City, then changing your identity will open up a new world.”

A slap followed by a sweet date; first coercion, then enticement.

Lin Yan was very annoyed by the old tricks, but he soon discovered with surprise that even if he was annoyed, he could only be annoyed.

They were all old foxes, and he was the only little white rabbit.

Lin White Rabbit bared his claws and made demands to the fox, “I’ll leave, but I want to see the National Teacher first.”

The fox, having achieved his goal, was very generous: “That’s a small matter. Lin Gongzi can go anytime.”

Since he could go anytime, Lin Yan went straight from the Hall of Mental Cultivation to… the Imperial Kitchen.

The people take food as their heaven, and eating is the most important thing. Since he was leaving the Capital City anyway, and he didn’t know when he would be back, he probably wouldn’t have another chance to taste the imperial cuisine if he didn’t take this last opportunity.

Lin Yan had Prince An’s waist tag, and the one who was leading him was Ting Chao, who served by the Emperor’s side. How dare the people in the Imperial Kitchen neglect him? They very politely served Lin Yan eight dishes and two soups.

Lin Yan, who had always been against extravagance and waste, was also not polite. He took a bite of this and a bite of that, eating until his stomach was round, and then commented, “Mediocre.”

He said it was mediocre, but he honestly packed a portion of pastries to take away.

With a full stomach, Lin Yan’s mood wasn’t as bad as before. He followed Ting Chao towards the Observatory, constantly chattering in his mouth, “What does the National Teacher look like? Is he an old man with a white beard, riding the clouds and mist, breathing fire, with seventy-two transformations, and a somersault that covers 108,000 miles? Oh, no, that’s the Monkey…”

Ting Chao was at least a great eunuch who served by the Emperor’s side, and he thought he had seen enough of the world, but he didn’t expect that this An Wangfei was full of surprises he didn’t know about.

He didn’t say much when he came, but what’s happening now…

Ting Chao bowed and interrupted the spellcasting, trying to maintain a calm expression as if everything was normal: “Your Highness will know when you see him.”

Lin Yan said “Oh,” and was quiet for less than a minute before starting a new round of spellcasting: “Has the Great Zhou Dynasty always had a National Teacher?”

Ting Chao turned back and looked at Lin Yan twice, making sure he wasn’t deliberately picking a fight before reluctantly explaining: “That’s natural. The first National Teacher was a meritorious official who founded the country with the Taizu Emperor. His memorial tablet is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and is revered by later generations.”

“High-end…” Lin Yan looked around, but the words of admiration completely got stuck.

According to Ting Chao, the Great Zhou National Teacher had a respected status, and his residence might not be comparable to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but it should at least be solemn and respectful. But this road…

It was rugged and difficult to walk, the stone slabs were broken, the weeds grew wildly, the moss was mottled, and the dust in the corners could crush flies… According to the trend in TV dramas, he would see the Cold Palace as soon as he turned a corner.

As Lin Yan thought this, Ting Chao really turned the corner!!!

Given Ting Chao’s previous record of tricking people into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Lin Yan quickly took a few steps and stopped him: “So, where are you taking me now? Is this the road to the Observatory? It’s so desolate? You’re not going to Redirected tome to the Cold Palace, are you…”

“Your Highness is overthinking it,” Ting Chao sighed and pointed behind him, “This is the Observatory.”

“This is the Observatory? Are you kidding me? It’s written…” Lin Yan looked at the plaque covered in vines, trying to identify the words on it for a long time, and exclaimed, “It really is… I thought it would be a tower. How is it a Siheyuan?”

“It used to be a tower, but now…” The door of the Observatory opened from the inside, and a thin young man in cloth made a gesture of invitation: “The tower was mortgaged. It’s good to have a place to live.”

The people who appeared in the palace must not be ordinary people. Although Lin Yan was surprised, he still gave a shallow bow: “You are…”

“National Teacher,” Ting Chao respectfully bowed.

The National Teacher waved his hand to tell Ting Chao to rise, seemingly a little disgusted: “Don’t do these formalities.”

Ting Chao pretended not to hear, and bowed on his own, closing the door on his own: “You and Wangfei Your Highness can chat slowly. This servant will wait at the door.”

“Sit down,” the National Teacher said, letting Lin Yan into the room, found a chair that could barely be sat on, and took out a chipped cup, “There’s not much good tea. Have some water.”

Wasn’t he supposed to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple? He looks so poor…

Lin Yan picked up the cup and took a sip, tentatively stating his intention: “National Teacher, I came this time…”

The National Teacher moved closer to Lin Yan, wrinkled his nose, and tapped the table with his hand: “Did you bring pastries? Master Zhang from the Imperial Kitchen’s craftsmanship? Take them out, take them out.”

Lin Yan hesitated for a moment, then carefully placed the packaged pastries on the table.

The National Teacher transformed into a hungry wolf, his eyes gleaming green, devouring the pastries ravenously, two palm-sized cupcakes in one bite.

A bag of cupcakes disappeared in an instant. The National Teacher wiped his mouth, still unsatisfied: “Alright, ask away.”

Lin Yan looked at the cake crumbs on the table, wanting to say something but stopping, stopping but wanting to say something, and finally opened his mouth to ask, “You are at least a National Teacher. How…”

The National Teacher sighed, looking heartbroken: “This matter has to start with the Founding Ancestor…”

From the Founding Ancestor? Why don’t you start with Pangu creating the heavens and the earth?

Lin Yan looked up at the sky speechlessly, and in the National Teacher’s expectant gaze, chose to listen.

Anyway, there was nothing else to do, so he just treated it as listening to a story.

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