039 : The Diminishing Zusha Shi (Part 1)

Time flies when people are happy.

The Empress Dowager and Lin Mian Mian did not notice the time. They are just casually chatting, just talking about daily gossips and food facts. It has been a long time for the Lady to feel relaxed. Every day, she has to deal with the court and all the political shits so these small talks with the ger feel very leisurely.

Also, Lin Mian Mian is a bona fide chatterbox. He can always think of a topic without a stop, answering, and adding comments to the Lady's words. The Lady only met with Lin Mian Mian after he entered the harem so she did not know that this boy is very noisy. His elegant and noble stature is indeed very deceiving.

Though this trait is not owned by the original but the transmigrator.

When Lin Mian Mian is young, he is often reprimanded by his teachers. He is smart and obedient but so noisy! The teacher talks so do he. The anchorman reports the news, so does he. The movie tells a story, and so does he! He just loves talking that the people around him almost wanted to sew his mouth!

But Lin Mian Mian only does this to the people he is comfortable with. Besides, he has been repressed by the role of the 'original' so all of it accumulated and released it in one go. Anyways, the dowager did not hate it. She also likes to talk and gossip so this trait matched both of them well.

"I always wonder why I did not see any animals around," Lin Mian Mian chuckled. "Behind the courtyard, there are wild rabbits and some snakes. But I did not see a single dog inside the palace. It seems that his highness is afraid of dogs."

"He is not afraid of them. But he was bitten when he is still young. He can still endure when there are dogs around but he won't interact with them if not needed," the lady said.

"Fufufu, then I know what I will do," Lin Mian Mian planned sinisterly.

The Empress Dowager saw the naughtiness of Lin Mian Mian and could not help but to chuckle. She can feel the happiness coming from the youth. One can easily see what he is planning to do. Lin Mian Mian knows that he has been caught so he made a 'shh' gesture to keep it a secret.

The lady smiled, watching the easy-go-lucky trait of the person before him. The slightly orange late afternoon light is reflected unto him, creating a soft vibrant entity. Lin Mian Mian is already beautiful but this scene made him look ethereal. He has the atmosphere of a foreign entity that has the tendency of flying away. Suddenly, the empress dowager felt a sense of loss coming from that sight.

Lin Mian Mian, this child, is a free person. If not from the harem locking him in, he might have become a bright person - much brighter than he is now. He has the innate ability to shine. People always have the inclination to follow him, cherish him, and worship him. This...

This must be the reason why Yan JinLong wanted to own him.

A group of female servants appeared from the corner. They gestured a bow towards the Empress Dowager and Lin Mian Mian and said that it is already late and the Lady needed to return now. It is just now that the two of them noticed the time. Looking up, they saw the sky darkening from the other side. It seems that they have been chatting for half a day!

Lin Mian Mian showed a surprised expression. He knows about his chatting ability but he never thought that he managed to do it this long! This is a world record ah!

"Um... I think I've talked too much," Lin Mian Mian sheepishly uttered.

"No, it's okay. I had fun," the lady lightly laughed. "Let's have another chat next time."

"Of course, if mother insists," Lin Mian Mian nodded.

Lu Mao appeared after the cue. Lin Mian Mian only brought a few things when he was called so there are not a lot of things to carry. Since Lin Mian Mian's courtyard is far from the palace, the empress dowager ordered some guards to escort him.

"But mother, I can do it-"

"Please don't refuse. Currently, his highness is not here to watch you. As the person next in authority, I am responsible for your safety," the empress dowager said.

"It is really fine..."

The lady did not let the ger refuse and sent him out with the guards. Lin Mian Mian just sighed and accepts the concern. The empress dowager watched the figure of the youth as he walked away. There is a solemn glint coming from her eyes while seeing the liveliness coming from Lin Mian Mian. She never thought that this image would be her last memory of the healthy Lin Mian Mian...

After the event, the days went as usual. News about the border is constantly being updated by messengers. The lower ministers would review the contents of the messages before sending it to the Empress Dowager. They will then stay on her side to decide which information will be filtered to remain confidential or be told to the public.

The events on the border are making people on edge. Nobody wanted to hear bad news. If such a thing existed, then the empress dowager will not let the common folks know for the meantime. Hiding the truth is not good but it is much better than letting everyone panic. Later on, she will slowly release the information once a solution is made.

The letters sent were from the reports of Minister Chang. According to his words, 'the border is still fine but the intensity of the fight had become worst each day'. The soldiers trained by the general were capable but there are still those who got wounded. Fortunately, none of the men died.

After explaining the situation briefly, the minister requested to send provisions.

The Empress Dowager did not idle around and prepared whatever is being asked. This is the reason why the palace is busy recently. Every official is doing its best to look for resources. Their life is at stake. Even though they trusted their emperor's leading capabilities, there is still a limit to human power.

They have to work together to save their future.

On the other hand, away from the worldly matters, a beautiful ger is scheming wondrously. Walking around in a red shaded parasol, LIn Mian Mian once again made his daily parade of boastful appearance. The hot weather did not stop the transmigrator in showing his outstanding appearance. He simply looks like an immortal that descended from heaven ah!

The days before yesterday, yesterday, and maybe tomorrow too - everyone is already expectant to see the ger. It suddenly becomes their daily meal of eye candy. Each day, Lin Mian Mian would wear something simple and light-colored clothes that only made him look very pure and elegant. Added by his caramel-colored irises and warm smile, the level of attractiveness had gone past a hundred score.

Also, his beauty is not only limited to appearance. Whenever they greet the ger on the way, Lin Mian Mian will always respond. His smile is enough to make everyone have a good day. So it could be said that those people residing nearby the Lin Courtyard are now having the best of their lives due to Lin Mian Mian's wonderful existence.

This daily appearance, of course, has a reason. Lin Mian Mian is not someone who would just simply do these excessive actions because he just wanted to greet people or whatever out of blue. Like what he did to the empress dowager, Lin Mian Mian is doing another suggestion to the people. The main highlight is his diminishing cinnabar.

The reason why he would always show his face is to let people see the sudden decrease in its color.

At first, it wasn't noticeable. The reason for that must be because most people will lower their heads upon meeting him. No, don't get this action wrong. It wasn't the 'I bow down in respect of a higher official', but because Lin Mian Mian is too bright to be stared at!

With that kind of godly beauty, who could look at him straight in the eye without blushing?

And just thinking of wanting to bed him is already a crime ah! After all, he had been married to the emperor. Any covetous thought will only bring their lives to danger. So in order not to commit it, they rather miss his beauty than sacrifice their precious small lives.

Though this eventually changed when Lin Mian Mian actively seeks their attention. After witnessing his wonderful smile, everyone thought, 'Who cares about dying ba! Just seeing his face is enough to live a lifetime!'. All of them used this time when the emperor is absent to feast upon the beauty of the Jade Lin.

Lin Mian Mian is also amiable so the relationship with the people around him is good towards him.

It was only after a week that somebody noticed his cinnabar getting lighter. The person who pointed this out is a female servant who is accompanying a concubine when they visited Lin Mian Mian for a snack. She thought that it was just a trick in her eyes. However, the other servants think otherwise.

One simple suspicion passed to another. Words tend to change depending on whoever is telling the story. The careless sharing of fake news brought a wave of unprecedented gossip. This, in turn, had become something like a small match fire spreading out to burn a whole forest.

After a few days, this gossip reached the ears of Yin Mei Mei. She was surprised after knowing the quick effect of the drug. The amount of the drug placed on the food is only very little to make sure that nobody will detect it if somebody will try to test it. The calculations of the effect should be a month after daily intake.

How could it take effect after two weeks?

But then, she remembered how Lin Mian Mian would often ask for the supplies. Lin Mian Mian also has a weak constitution so maybe the addictive drug made him wants to drink the tea and eat the pastries often. His resistance against this kind of material is not good. Thus, the effect is much stronger and reacted faster than what is expected.

Nobody restricted the people from spreading the gossip while Lin Mian Mian did not deny the fact. He still appears in public like nothing happened that made people wonder if it is true nor not. Every time he goes out, the first that they will look at is his cinnabar.

There is nothing wrong for the first week, but the people gradually noticed the strain in Lin Mian Mian's expressions. He is smiling sweetly and kind as usual, but whenever people look at his face, he would often turn his head or cover the location of his cinnabar with his hair. One can easily detect the worried expression as though the ger is trying to hide something.

When the news reached the palace throne, it is already two weeks later. Lin Mian Mian had long stopped going to the public. The last time the people saw him, the fading mark had become very distinct. They can now tell that something is wrong with the concubine. And by the time that he avoided the masses, the conclusion that the cinnabar mark is gone is true.

The Empress Dowager was worried after hearing the news. She quickly sent physicians to see Lin Mian Mian's health. But each of them returns with a sad expression. It seems that the cinnabar is gone!

How can it be gone?

The nth physician bowed before the Empress Dowager to show his respect towards the leader. He was sent to the Lin Courtyard to check the condition of the owner of that household. The physicians before him told him that the new wife indeed had lost its fertility. His addition to these consultations is just to prove that fact.

The best physicians are not around to check upon Lin Mian Mian. Though, these physicians are still considered elite since they are serving under the Imperial household. Their skills in detecting diseases and treating them are already a high class as compared to an average physician in the city. Detecting a ger's fertility is just a simple feat.

As usual, the worried Empress Dowager asked the question. "How is the Lin wife?"

The physician crouched down in a bow, almost doing a dogeza. "This physician had done his best. But as what the other senior physicians had found, the Thirteenth Wife indeed had lost his fertility."

"But how could that be?" The Lady raised her voice. "What are the possibilities of losing one's fertility?"

She could not believe this joke. Though Lin Mian Mian has light-colored cinnabar, it is still possible to give birth. To suddenly lose it... what could've happened?

"That question can be answered by this servant. But there are many factors in this situation. If the Lady wanted to know the answer, this servant will suggest a thorough investigation."

Of course, the empress dowager already made her secret people investigate. "Tell me what might be the cause of this."

"Answering your majesty, the possibilities of losing one's fertility are accidents that affected the lower part of the body, illness, consumption of drugs, and abortion. With the following ideas, this servant already made a test but everything is negative. This servant has no idea how it happened."

Lin Mian Mian did not encounter any accidents recently so the first action is impossible. The ger is also healthy, almost earning meat after a few weeks of his stay in the palace. Drug consumption is also impossible. Lin Mian Mian will not take that for fun. And abortion... this should be his first pregnancy. There's no way that he aborted any children.

Then, what caused his sterilization?

The Empress Dowager is in deep thought. She is trying to connect some ideas to come up with a reason. While she is in the middle of ideas, a sudden thought hit her. She remembered Lin Mian Mian talking about taking some amount of food...

When the Empress Dowager is almost a step closer to the truth, a sudden announcement of a eunuch threw her thoughts off. The Lady turned her head to look at a servant kneeling beside the physician. The Empress Dowager is familiar with this kid. He is a servant brought by Jade Lin to serve him.

The Lady knows that the kid has something to say so she gave her command to let him speak. The boy nodded like a hen pecking the ground before announcing his purpose of destroying the meeting. With a cute milky voice, Lu Mao exclaimed, "The Jade Lin from the Lin Courtyard requested for an open audience with her majesty. The Jade Lin wishes to discuss something!"