That year, when the apricot blossoms were gently swaying in the gentle rain, Lin Yun was flying a kite with a group of her close female friends. The swallow-shaped kite fluttered in the light rain, truly resembling a dancing spring swallow.
A group of twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls were laughing and running about, full of joy. However, the fluttering swallow kite suddenly encountered a strong gust of wind. Its wingtips trembled a few times. Lin Yun only felt a sudden tightness in her hand and almost lost her grip on the kite string. Then, there was a sudden looseness.
The strong force on the kite string disappeared. She had been pulling hard on the string, and when she suddenly relaxed, she couldn't control her strength and unexpectedly took a big step backward.
There were exclamations all around. Lin Yun's heart trembled. She closed her eyes resignedly, but the expected pain didn't come. Instead, she crashed into a warm embrace.
A faint woody fragrance lingered around her nose. Lin Yun didn't see the person's face clearly. She only heard the somewhat envious cries of her companions. She raised her eyes and looked at her friends. They were all staring straight at her, and their expressions had changed from concern to shyness.
"Are you okay?" A cold male voice sounded from above her head, like a clear mountain spring, making Lin Yun's heart pound. She looked up and met a pair of eyes that seemed to hold the stars. Her face instantly burned like fire.
She quickly nodded shyly, stepped out of his embrace, and curtsied gently in front of him. Then, blushing, she ran away amidst the giggles of her sisters.
It was only later that Lin Yun learned that he was the newly appointed Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, named Pei Zhiyan. Actually, she had heard of this name before. After all, he had adopted a son only five years younger than him, and this was not a secret.
At that time, Lin Yun was in a carriage on her way to the Imperial College. As the carriage passed by an apricot grove, she still vaguely remembered that blurry but handsome face. Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Someone outside asked, "Is this the carriage of Miss Lin from the Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion?"
Lin Yun frowned slightly, feeling a bit confused. Nanny Sun lifted the curtain and stepped out. "This is indeed the carriage of the young lady from the Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion. May I ask what you want with our young lady?"
"This is something our master asked me to return to the young lady." The pageboy respectfully presented a box. Nanny Sun took the box, looking a bit puzzled. Lin Yun's heart was pounding fast inside the carriage, and she lifted the curtain and got out by herself.
"Are you someone from Lord Pei?" Lin Yun asked expectantly.
The pageboy nodded. Seeing Lin Yun's slightly blushing face, he naturally understood the reason. Knowing that she wanted to ask something about Pei Zhiyan, he said with a smile, "Our master said that the young lady's kite is very beautiful, and it would be a pity if it was lost."
Lin Yun blushed shyly, and her eyelashes trembled violently. She tilted her head slightly and whispered to Nanny Sun, "Nanny, invite the young man to have some wine."
Nanny Sun immediately understood her meaning and quickly nodded. She took out a few silver ingots from her purse and handed them to the pageboy. "This is just a little token. Please have some wine, young man."
The pageboy declined for a while but finally accepted with a smile. At last, he even said a good - luck word, "The young lady is as beautiful as a celestial being. She will surely find her beloved one."
Although this was not the right occasion to say such things, Lin Yun was just daydreaming at that moment, and she was even happier after hearing this.
After the pageboy left, Lin Yun and Nanny Sun got back into the carriage and opened the box. The kite she had flown that day was placed inside intact.
Lin Yun reached out and gently stroked the kite surface. For the first time, she thought the kite was so lovely.
From then on, Lin Yun fell in love with Pei Zhiyan. She knew that many women in the capital favored him, so she could only silently adore him.
It wasn't until the sixth princess, the youngest daughter of Concubine Xiao, framed her at a palace banquet. The plum blossom painting that Lin Yun had presented for the occasion was ruined by ink stains, and she almost got punished by the queen.
At that time, the fifth prince, the sixth princess's elder brother, and Marquis Dingyuan had gone to pacify the Rongdi tribe together. However, the fifth prince was eager to make achievements and led a team to chase after the defeated Rongdi soldiers. Unexpectedly, the enemy had set an ambush. Not only was he almost killed, but he also disrupted the long - established advantage of the imperial army and almost let the Rongdi counterattack.
Fortunately, Lin Wei was experienced and fought his way out, reversing the defeat.
After returning to the capital, Emperor Chengqian was furious when he learned about this and severely punished the fifth prince. It was the cold winter at that time. There was not enough charcoal fire in the fifth prince's palace, and he didn't have any winter clothes. Since he was already injured, he couldn't bear the cold and went to the imperial study in person to ask for some charcoal fire.
Unexpectedly, it snowed that evening. When he passed by a pond, he slipped and fell into it.
Normally, the pond would have been covered with thick ice in winter, and the fifth prince should have only been injured. But unfortunately, there was a round hole that had been chiseled in the place where he fell, and the ice broke when he fell in.
The fifth prince drowned in the lake. He wasn't discovered until the next day. He was frozen at the bottom of the lake, his hand still in the position of flapping upwards, as if he was hitting the ice surface. His eyes showed great fear, and his mouth was wide open. His death was extremely tragic.
Concubine Xiao demanded a thorough investigation to get justice for her son. She even suspected that the Lin family had murdered him because they were dissatisfied with the suppression from the Xiao family.
After the fifth prince was severely punished by Emperor Chengqian, the Xiao family had harbored a grudge against the Lin family and had been suppressing them everywhere. Now that the fifth prince had died in the lake, it was natural for her to suspect the Lin family.
However, after the investigation, it turned out that it was the sixth princess who was responsible.
The sixth princess was naughty. She had someone chisel a round hole by the pond in winter so that she could fish, which led to this great tragedy.
Concubine Xiao, who had been waiting to take revenge on the Lin family, couldn't accept this result and became cold towards the sixth princess.
It was Pei Zhiyan who solved this case. At that time, Lin Wei thought he couldn't escape the accusation, but unexpectedly, Pei Zhiyan cleared his name.
He began to look at this young man who had become the Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice with new respect. And Lin Yun also firmly believed that Pei Zhiyan was on her family's side, and her affection for him grew even deeper.
However, the sixth princess, being cold - shouldered by her mother, also harbored a grudge against the Lin family. Coincidentally, on the queen's birthday, when Lin Yun presented the plum blossom painting she had made for the queen, the sixth princess splashed ink on it, leaving many stains.
In full view of everyone, the dirty painting was presented in front of everyone. The queen's face immediately darkened.
Lin Yun knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound. The queen's angry voice rang in her ears, making her tremble all over.
At the critical moment, that familiar woody fragrance wafted over. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the hem of a moon - white brocade robe. Pei Zhiyan stood beside her. His voice was cold but calm as he pointed out the doubts and easily defeated the sixth princess's scheme.
At that time, she was kneeling on the ground, looking up at the man beside her. There were thousands of candles behind him. The night wind blew gently, and his clothes fluttered. The white ribbon tying his hair was so clear.
Pei Zhiyan was like a god descending from the sky, saving her from fear. It was only natural for Lin Yun to fall in love with him.
When she came of age, she pestered Lin Wei to go to the Pei Mansion to propose marriage.
But Pei Zhiyan didn't want to get married. Lin Yun was sad for a while, but couldn't resist her feelings for him. So she was willing to be his concubine as a second choice.