Chapter 567: Chapter 567

"The Yuwen Family is the legitimate lineage. Before I left the Capital City, I told you—Feng Shu is the emperor’s inner demon. As long as she is killed, the heavens and earth will last forever, and the emperor will regain his clarity. His governance was once clear; despite his mistakes, there is still room for redemption. If it weren’t for you helping Zhixu seize control of the Forbidden Army, how could he, alone, possibly usurp the throne in the Capital City? Have you considered where this leaves Abao? Do you wish for Abao to become the Crown Prince of a fallen dynasty? Have you betrayed your sister, your nephew, and gone against your grandfather’s dying wish?" Lin Hongcheng raged, his fury consuming him. "Now you even want to persuade the clans to implement new governance. If the clans lose their authority from this moment on, and imperial power reigns supreme, who will hold them in check?"

"Check and balance... check and balance... What has the clans gained from holding the imperial family in check for so many years?" Lin Helin asked in a deep voice, "Second Uncle, the clans have controlled the imperial family for nearly two hundred years—clans growing rampant, marital alliances rampant, rooting deeply across the realm. But what did this yield in the end? Turmoil in the royal family, suffering among the people. If it weren’t for the clans, the wars with Beiman would have ended long ago, the empire long since solidified. What have we truly gained from ’checks’? If checks are a mistake, then why can’t we correct it in time?"

"What utter nonsense—back then it was precisely..."

"Enough. What’s the point of dredging up matters from centuries ago?" Lin Hongyuan frowned. He and Lin Hongcheng had been observing three years of formal mourning, while Lin Helin was only under a one-year mourning period, during which time he filled the Family Head role in their stead. His timing coincided with Zhixu ascending the throne before their mourning ended. If one were to claim the oldest son acted unintentionally, Lin Hongyuan would never believe it; it was all clearly long premeditated. "Bai Qing, are you truly resolved to go through with this?"

"I am!" Lin Helin knelt upright. "Grandfather instructed us on his deathbed to protect the empire and its people—not Yuwen Family’s dynasty. If the Yuwen Family cannot fulfill the role of emperor, then try another. Holding military power and fiscal control, Zhixu is brilliant, composed, and determined. He has confined Qiushan’s Yuwen Royal Family but vowed to release them after three years at his discretion, refraining from reckless slaughter. I trust he can establish a peaceful and prosperous era. Over time, I’ve also come to understand one truth: It matters not who wears the imperial crown—what the people wish for is a life filled with food and warmth. The one who can provide it is the wise ruler. Someone like Yuwen Jing lacks moral virtue and is unfit for the throne; Abao is too young, an immature heir ascending the throne would result in an unstable foundation. Only Zhixu can grant us the life we desire. Father, Second Uncle, it’s time you both consider where the Lin Family’s path should lead from here. Should we stray down the wrong path, there’s no turning back."

"The emperor issued a decree for Abao to inherit the throne, appointing you as regent. After ten or so years when Abao reaches maturity, you would relinquish power to him—then the empire would remain in the Yuwen Family’s hands. Can you truly not see that, over the course of ten years, we could raise a boy more virtuous and capable than Xie Xun as king? Must you insist on severing Abao’s claim to the throne?" Lin Hongcheng expressed his extreme dissatisfaction.

Lin Helin responded indifferently, "In the span of ten years, how can Uncle be so sure I will return power to Abao?" Newest update provıded by novel·fiɾe·net

Lin Yushu stood outside the ancestral hall, having listened for quite some time. Since her father and uncle returned, her brother had been punished to kneel before the ancestral hall. Lin Yushu had been waiting outside, overhearing their quarrels.

She could no longer contain herself and rushed inside, kneeling beside Lin Helin. "Father, Second Uncle, Abao is young and cannot fulfill the duties of an emperor. With Zhixu now willing to release us mother and child back home, I am already deeply relieved. The matter is already decided; Father and Second Uncle, please don’t blame Brother anymore, and don’t continue to act willfully. Three years ago... our family already made the wrong decision—let us not persist in making mistake after mistake."

Lin Hongyuan and Lin Hongcheng both fell silent. Lin Helin’s brows furrowed slightly, a tremor coursing through his chest. "Three years ago... what mistake was made?"

Lin Yushu looked at the two elders, hesitant and conflicted. Lin Helin noticed the strange expression of the two elders and felt his heartbeat quicken. His gaze grew colder and heavier. "Yushu, tell me!"

"Three years ago, Yuwen Jing secretly forged red-sand arrows in the palace. I had someone relay the news back home, but Father and Second Uncle intercepted that message and didn’t tell Grandfather," Lin Yushu replied, her voice growing smaller and smaller.

The simplest words concealed a wealth of implications. The more Lin Helin listened, the more horrified he became. In truth, he had already suspected it. Three years ago, Elder Lin had intended to cooperate with Marquis Zhenbei Mansion to implement new governance. However, due to the grief of losing his daughter, he succumbed to anger and fell ill, eventually passing away without wishing to see Lin Hongyuan and Lin Hongcheng. They were his eldest and second sons, yet he refused to see them one last time before his death—a testament to his deep-seated fury.

Lin Helin had harbored guesses but refrained from verifying them. For Lin Helin, confirming that his father and second uncle had turned a blind eye to the devastating calamity experienced by his aunt’s family was a cruel reality—a truth too painful to confront. Thus, Lin Helin chose willful ignorance, leaving the matter uninvestigated. As the elder siblings immersed themselves in mourning, he became increasingly unwilling to reopen old wounds. When Xie Xun later questioned him about the Lin Family’s involvement in Marquis Mansion’s downfall, Lin Helin firmly stated that the Lin Family had never deliberately harmed the Marquis Mansion.

Indeed, the Lin Family didn’t bear malicious intent toward the Marquis Mansion; they simply stood idly by. Despite knowing Yuwen Jing harbored ill intentions, they neither warned nor defended but watched as Marquis Zhenbei Mansion was destroyed in a single night.

"Father, Second Uncle, how could you treat Aunt that way?"

Lin Hongcheng’s eyes reddened, his grief genuine. "How could we have imagined he’d be so utterly ruthless? At the time, we knew about the red-sand arrows being forged in the palace and Yuwen Jing mobilizing Forbidden Army in the city. We thought the late Emperor intended to target Marquis Zhenbei alone; if he died, the Marquis Mansion’s morale would collapse. With our brothers and father giving our all, we believed we could save our sister and her children. What we didn’t expect... didn’t expect him to show no mercy!"

"Didn’t expect... A convenient excuse. So, when Zhixu once asked me whether the Lin Family was aware Yuwen Jing planned to attack the Marquis Mansion—even Zhixu could detect abnormalities. Do you believe Ting Feng would not have noticed? Three years ago, clans dominated the Capital City and orchestrated massive schemes—how could it escape your awareness? It turns out you chose to sit back, watch Aunt’s family be massacred, and now you vehemently oppose Zhixu’s ascension, fearing Zhixu may retaliate?" Lin Helin’s tone became unavoidably sharp, laced with irony.

"Neither Emperor Jianming nor Yuwen Jing, three years ago, seemed capable of such cold-blooded cruelty. Emperor Jianming even more so. How could we have anticipated..." Lin Hongcheng tried to defend himself but his words rang hollow. During the years they grieved, there wasn’t a single night they slept soundly, tormented by regret. If only they hadn’t intercepted the message and informed their father—would this tragedy have been prevented?

But time could not be rewound. Regret was futile; the sorrow within their hearts defied language.

"The past is irremediable. Father, Second Uncle, you still have a chance to make amends—to rebuild the fence after the sheep are lost; it is not too late."

"What if Zhixu learns of this?" Lin Hongyuan lacked confidence.

"Zhixu is not one to kill the innocent or act upon petty vengeance. He values familial ties more than you imagine. You... should acknowledge your mistake," Lin Helin stated. "You cannot blunder and muddle through life in perpetual evasion. It will weigh heavy upon your hearts."