son, don't mess around

The sun was shining brightly, but the temperature in the backyard of the palace was not high.

The green trees are towering, the streams are flowing, and the spring flowers are in full bloom.

Under the bamboo groves, the sunlight penetrates the sparse leaves and shines onto the ground. In the pavilion under the bamboo grove, a middle-aged man is standing.

With his back to the door and gazing towards the bamboo forest, a man in a gray-green brocade robe, with a sturdy figure, stood there quietly with his hands behind his back, making the world feel more oppressive.

He was quietly looking into the depths of the bamboo forest, his eyes deep and meaningful! Although he seemed to have no emotion, his eyes were shining with a bit of brilliance, and he looked majestic without being angry.

An aged face with a few wrinkles left by time, but it cannot hide his charm, which is enough to show how handsome and elegant he was when he was young.

He stood there quietly, not knowing what he was thinking about, motionless, as if he had merged into one with the world.

Until the sound of footsteps behind him broke the tranquility of the moment.

"father!"

A soft call came from behind him.

Lin Hengzhong, who had been standing there motionless, seemed to come to his senses and slowly turned around.

A young figure appeared in sight.

His handsome appearance and temperament vaguely resembled the charm of his youth.

Compared to a year ago, he seemed thinner and stronger. There was less immaturity and more toughness in his expression.

as well as……

At this moment, Lin Hengzhong quietly looked at Lin Jiangnian in front of him. His originally deep and calm eyes had a little more color and became softer.

"came back?"

"Ah."

"Just come back."

"..."

The sunlight is sparse.

In the backyard, in the bamboo forest courtyard.

On the stone table, there was a serving of herbal tea.

Lin Jiangnian and Lin Hengzhong sat facing each other, and there was silence all around.

After a year, father and son met again.

There was no touching scene as imagined, nor was there the joy and excitement of reunion after a long separation.

Very peaceful.

However, the atmosphere around seemed to have an indescribable harmony.

After not seeing each other for a year, the Lin Hengzhong in front of him was not much different from the figure in Lin Jiangnian's memory.

This scene was not quite the same as what Lin Jiangnian had imagined.

Before meeting Lin Hengzhong, Lin Jiangnian had made sufficient preparations. He had also thought about everything that might happen!
He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but after seeing Lin Hengzhong, he swallowed them all back.

Very strange feeling!

The moment he saw Lin Hengzhong and made eye contact with him, that gentle gaze gave Lin Jiangnian an indescribable feeling.

It's like...

Everything is under his control!
At this moment, in the quiet bamboo forest.

Lin Jiangnian looked at Lin Hengzhong in front of him. His expression was normal, his face was rosy, and his breath was even more steady.

He doesn't look like he was injured at all!
In my heart, my previous guess has been confirmed.

"Father, you..."

After a long silence, Lin Jiangnian finally spoke: "Your body..."

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Hengzhong said in a calm tone.

"People in the mansion said that Dad was in a coma for a long time?"

Lin Jiangnian asked, but met Lin Hengzhong's calm gaze, who was smiling at him gently.

His eyes were still gentle.

But Lin Jiangnian understood something.

"So, it's fake?"

"Dad was never unconscious from beginning to end, let alone injured?!"

Lin Jiangnian's tone was much more relaxed: "The so-called assassination... was all fake?"

"Did Dad leak all this information on purpose?!"

On the way back, Lin Jiangnian had doubts and speculations.

The fact that Prince Lin was injured was too unbelievable!
In addition, on the way home, the news that kept coming from the Prince Lin's Mansion made Lin Jiangnian gradually begin to make a guess.

Seeing that Lin Hengzhong didn't seem to be injured at all, Lin Jiangnian became more certain of his guess...

all fake!

Was all this a deliberate plot by Lin Hengzhong?

“It’s not all false.”

Lin Hengzhong shook his head slightly: "The assassination is real."

Lin Jiangnian was startled: "Who assassinated him?"

"I'm not sure, but..."

Lin Hengzhong said calmly, "I think it should be an old friend!"

Lin Jiangnian remained silent. With Lin Hengzhong's current strength, there were not many people in the world who dared to assassinate him.

As for the old friend my father mentioned, I think his status and background are not low.

"Is it a personal vendetta, or...another purpose?"

"All of them."

Lin Hengzhong's tone remained calm throughout, as if he didn't take the matter to heart.

"Then Dad, you..."

Lin Jiangnian thought of something else: "So, was the news outside released intentionally by Dad?"

"That's it."

Lin Heng nodded.

"Why did Dad do this?"

Lin Jiangnian just asked and then stopped.

He vaguely guessed the purpose.

Lin Hengzhong looked at Lin Jiangnian and chuckled, "Dad has made too many enemies in this world. I don't know how many people want to kill Dad."

"This assassination is just a drop in the bucket!"

At this point, Lin Hengzhong narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: "Those people want to kill my father. They have tried every possible way over the years... Even in this Lin Wang Mansion, they already have many spies..."

Hearing this, Lin Jiangnian probably realized something.

Are there spies from other forces in Prince Lin’s Mansion?

This is not surprising!
The Prince Lin's Palace is too big, and it is full of good and bad people. There are countless guards in the palace, and it is difficult to guarantee that there are no spies from other forces mixed in.

You know, Liu Su also relied on disguise to sneak into Prince Lin’s Mansion!

"Dad, you pretended to be unconscious and announced to the public that you were seriously injured...was it to paralyze those villains and take the opportunity to catch the spies behind those forces?" Lin Jiangnian asked.

"That's not entirely true."

Lin Hengzhong shook his head lightly and sighed, "That person's strength should not be underestimated. He is not much worse than me..."

Lin Jiangnian was shocked: "Dad is injured?!"

He originally thought that the injury was fake, but when he heard this, he suddenly realized...the injury was real?!
"It's just a minor injury, but it's fine now!"

Lin Hengzhong spoke in a nonchalant tone, not taking the injury seriously.

But Lin Jiangnian's heart was still shocked.

It was rumored that Lin Hengzhong's strength had already reached the Grandmaster level. How could someone who could hurt a Grandmaster be a simple person?
Although Lin Hengzhong said that it was only a minor injury, Lin Jiangnian did not think so... He was afraid that his father's injury would not be light.

Otherwise, the news that Prince Lin was seriously injured and unconscious would not have been reported before!

And this is more like Lin Hengzhong's strategy after the incident happened.

Lin Hengzhong seemed to see some worry in Lin Jiangnian's face. He shook his head gently and said calmly, "Dad is no longer in serious condition. As for the news that has spread..."

At this point, Lin Hengzhong narrowed his eyes slightly: "Dad also wants to take this opportunity to clean up those people in Linzhou who have evil intentions."

Over the years, the situation in Linzhou has been unstable!
The momentum of the imperial court to reduce the power of the vassal states has always been there, like a sword of authority hanging over everyone's head, making the officials and aristocratic families in Linzhou panic-stricken.

Undercurrent is surging!

Over the years, most of the officials and aristocratic families in Linzhou were promoted or supported by Lin Hengzhong.

But as time goes on, too many variables are bound to occur!

Especially when the imperial court became more and more aggressive in reducing the power of the feudal lords, many people began to weigh the pros and cons in their minds.

In addition, the imperial court has been secretly communicating with the officials and families of Linjiang City in recent years, which has also made the situation in Linzhou gradually unstable.

A typical example is the Xu family, which had a long-standing friendship with the Lin family. In the end, they chose to side with the imperial court. The old man Xu in Beijing, who was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, chose the former over the imperial court.

This is enough to show the precarious situation that Linzhou is facing now!
If one day, the imperial court really cuts down the power of the vassal states and confronts the Lin family head-on, how many people in Linzhou will defect?

Lin Hengzhong's assassination attempt made the already unstable situation in Linzhou even more serious.

Especially when the news that Lin Hengzhong was seriously injured and unconscious spread, the people in Linzhou were in panic and undercurrents surged during this period.

Many people wanted to find out the truth of the news, but were blocked by the Lin Wang Mansion. At first, many people did not believe it, but as the Lin Wang Mansion closed its doors for a month or two, no news came out from Lin Hengzhong.

The news that Lin Hengzhong was seriously injured and unconscious was becoming more and more certain. There were even rumors that Lin Hengzhong had already died of his injuries. The news had been kept secret because they wanted to wait until Prince Lin returned to inherit the throne and stabilize the situation.

The rumor was outrageous, but the effect was also significant.

After the Linwang Mansion lost its backbone, Lin Hengzhong, the people in the palace became restless and panic-stricken. In Linjiang City, chaos also occurred frequently during this period.

Those noble families who had been honest and simple in Linjiang City in the past also began to show up one after another to test the strength of the Linwang Mansion.

But the news from the Linwang Mansion was blocked, and no news was ever spread out. Even though the rumors were getting more and more outrageous, and the various noble families and county officials were ready to make a move, Lin Hengzhong never showed up.

This further confirmed the news that he was seriously injured and unconscious, or even... dead!

……

Backyard, among the bamboo forest.

After a brief thought, Lin Jiangnian finally understood the truth and realized Lin Hengzhong's purpose... the assassination was real!
The injury is real!

However, the situation is not as serious as rumored by the outside world!
Lin Heng pretended to be seriously injured and unconscious in order to take advantage of the situation!

On the one hand, he wanted to dispel the court's fear of him, and on the other hand, he wanted to take the opportunity to expose those forces that were unfavorable to the palace and find a chance to catch them all in one fell swoop.

To avoid future troubles!

After understanding this, Lin Jiangnian was completely relieved. But then, doubts came to his mind again.

"Then Dad, your behavior this time, could it be..."

Lin Jiangnian looked at Lin Hengzhong and asked the question in his mind: "Are you planning to turn against the court in the future?"

"Or does Dad...want to rebel?"

Lin Hengzhong did not answer this question, but looked at Lin Jiangnian meaningfully: "Jiangnian, do you want to be the emperor?"

Hearing this question, Lin Jiangnian was slightly stunned.

This is very strange and very outrageous!
If this gets out, all nine generations of the family will be killed.

But for this father and son, it seemed like a very normal thing.

Lin Jiangnian didn't know how to answer.

A moment of silence.

"I don't think so."

"Why?"

Lin Hengzhong looked at him and asked with interest, "Why don't you miss it?"

"Dad once said that as long as the imperial court does not take action against our Lin family, we will never rebel. Rebellion will not bring any benefits to our Lin family. Instead, it will make our Lin family be nailed to the pillar of shame and leave a reputation of traitors in history books forever..."

Lin Jiangnian recalled what he had said to Lin Hengzhong a year ago: "Besides, I am not interested in the throne of the emperor."

Lin Hengzhong said: "The supreme position of the emperor, worshipped by all the ministers in the world, the fascinating supreme power, Jiang Nian is not interested?"

Lin Jiangnian sighed: "I don't have such great ideals, nor do I have such great abilities. My status as a prince is hard to convince people now, let alone an emperor?"

Hearing this, Lin Hengzhong nodded silently without saying anything.

"However, all of this is based on the premise that... the imperial court does not touch my Lin family."

At this time, Lin Jiangnian looked at Lin Hengzhong again and said, "But if the imperial court really wants to reduce the power of the vassal states one day in the future and take action against our Lin family, if they are pushed to the limit... our Lin family doesn't have to worry about these things anymore."

Lin Hengzhong asked again: "If the court forces you to do something, is Jiang Nian willing to rebel?"

Lin Jiangnian shook his head: "Our Lin family will never rebel!"

"but……"

Lin Jiangnian paused, and then continued: "If the court really forces our Lin family into a corner one day, it means that the court is incompetent, and there are villains and treacherous ministers around the emperor who are misleading him. As a loyal minister of the Daning Dynasty, our Lin family naturally has the obligation to share the worries of His Majesty, eliminate the treacherous ministers, and clear the emperor's side..."

Lin Hengzhong's eyes sparkled, and then a look of relief appeared on his face. He laughed loudly twice: "My son, he has really grown up!"

Lin Jiangnian was silent.

"My son has really grown a lot since this trip."

Lin Hengzhong looked at Lin Jiangnian with a sigh, his originally calm face seemed to be filled with emotion: "Did your journey to Beijing go smoothly?"

Lin Jiangnian replied: "Everything went well."

"I heard that someone blocked your way when you entered the city earlier?" Lin Hengzhong narrowed his eyes and asked casually.

Lin Jiangnian was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that this had just happened. He came to see his father as soon as he arrived at the palace, but he didn't expect that his father already knew about it?

He could not hide anything that happened in Linjiang City.

"It's true."

Lin Jiangnian nodded and told what happened when he entered the city.

After listening to this, Lin Hengzhong seemed to be thinking about something, and a sneer appeared on his slightly weathered face: "This Chen family has been quite active recently."

"What dad means is..."

Lin Hengzhong glanced at him and said, "Since you have come across this, you should handle this matter well. This is also a good opportunity!"

At this point, Lin Hengzhong sighed: "Dad's position will be handed over to you sooner or later. The future of Linwang Mansion and the future of the people of Linzhou will also be in your hands in the future."

"Dad can still pave the way for you now, but there are some things you still need to do by yourself."

As he spoke, Lin Hengzhong reached out and patted Lin Jiangnian on the shoulder. There seemed to be emotion in his eyes, as well as some indescribable nostalgia.

"I hope you won't let Dad down!"

"..." (End of this chapter)