Chapter 422: Better to Run Away

Cheng Ming's words had just finished, yet they made Princess Linghe so angry she was half dead.

"Men! Bind him for me!"

Princess Linghe was enraged; the child grew even more arrogant.

She shouted, "Miss Lin, the imperial marriage to Prince Rui was decreed personally by the Empress Dowager; are you trying to defy the edict?"

"Even if you intend to defy the edict, in what capacity would you do so?"

"What relation are you to Miss Lin? What right do you have to decide for her, have you thought about it?"

"If you truly cause any trouble, you won't save Miss Lin; you'll likely push her further into hell!"

"Use some sense, will you?"

Cheng Ming's expression instantly fell into utter dejection, and he slumped weakly into the chair.

The young servants of the princess's residence, holding ropes to bind the master, looked rather at a loss.

Princess Linghe waved impatiently, and those people hurriedly withdrew.

Princess Linghe slowly sat beside her son, sighed, and said, "Ming, you like Miss Lin, right?"

Cheng Ming's cheeks flushed instantly, his eyes reddening bit by bit, but he turned his face aside and remained silent.

Princess Linghe said, "I know you like that girl; if you two had arranged a betrothal early, with my family's status and your father's military reputation, you could have opposed the Empress Dowager."

"But now, in what capacity do you oppose?"

Cheng Ming gritted his teeth and said coldly, "They are just taking revenge on her!"

"Back then, at the Wuzhou valley, it was clearly they who tried to kill Prince Rui; no one in Shang Jing dared to step forward to save him."

"She, a mere woman, possessed such righteousness that even those so‑called fine young men of Shang Jing could not compare."

"She has provoked the old witch Empress Dowager Ning'an's hidden sore, earning people's hatred—despicable and shameless…"

"Silence!" Princess Linghe's complexion changed dramatically as she stood and shouted.

Cheng Ming's face turned ashen, and he sneered coldly, "Mother, isn't that so?"

"Mother, you came from the palace; don't you know who the Duan family are? If it hadn't been that you received the late emperor's favor as his first daughter, the Duan family wouldn't have had the ability to harm you. Do you think you can still stand here unscathed now?"

"The death of my father back then…"

"Enough!" Princess Linghe coldly stared at her unfiltered son and scolded him.

Then a wave of profound sorrow crossed her face, and she forced a bitter smile, "When the late emperor lived, the nine princes fought for succession; your father merely chose the wrong side."

"Your father is already dead; if you still want me to die, then go ahead and cause a scene as you wish!"

Cheng Ming looked at his mother, whose sorrow had reached its limit, and fell silent, realizing his words had wounded her.

Princess Linghe walked toward the doorway and called to the servants outside, "You few, go in and bind him. I still want to live a few more years; don't let him run out and cause trouble!"

Cheng Ming suddenly grew angry, but as he tried to resist, his whole body went limp and weak, and his complexion changed dramatically.

"Mother! Mother! What did you give me to drink?"

Just now Princess Linghe was persuading him while pouring tea for him.

Cheng Ming, thirsty, drank the full cup, not realizing his mother had slipped a numbing decoction into the tea.

It was the small packet that Gu Jiu Ling had left behind when she performed surgery on Cheng Ming in the princess's residence.

Princess Linghe, seeing Gu Jiu Ling's miraculous medical skill, naturally kept the leftover medicine, which numbed her son once again.

Cheng Ming's struggling cries grew weaker, as a few servants bound him tightly and locked him completely in this courtyard.

Here the Lin family was not as tumultuous as the princess's residence, yet the entire manor fell into dead silence.

Even the servants coming and going in the house moved cautiously, fearing their footsteps might be too heavy.

In Madam Lin's warm chamber, the atmosphere was extremely heavy.

Madam Lin sat at the head seat, while Mrs Lin, seated beside her, had already wept until her eyes turned red.

Even Lin Qingyu, the aunt who married into the Duke of Dingnan's household, had returned.

Lin Jingyuan, the legitimate son of the Lin family who had just attained the rank of Third‑ranked scholar, sat with a pallid face at the lower seat.

Only Lin Rujun stood among them, her brows and eyes slightly lowered.

Lin Qingyu's eyes also reddened; how could the Lin family's legitimate daughters ever escape the fate of being betrayed?

She had previously been harmed by Lin Qingshu, the concubine's daughter, and still could not lift her head in her husband's family; had Madam Lin not been more assertive, she feared she would be bullied to death in her in‑laws' house.

Madam Lin later went personally to confront the Wang family, and only then did the Wang family adopt the son born to the concubine for her.

Now her niece was even more aggrieved; she couldn't help but sob softly, "Who doesn't know that Prince Rui of Shang Jing, Xiao Yin, has a fate of killing his wives; how many princess consorts have died because of him?"

"Now Prince Rui remains in a deep slumber, yet they make our eldest maid marry him; isn't that a death sentence?"

"But this is the Empress Dowager's imperial decree; how can we defy it?"

Mrs Lin couldn't help but weep bitterly, crying out loudly.

Madam Lin, on the other side, slammed the table hard and said coldly, "Why are you crying?"

"Now think of a solution!"

Lin Rujun slowly said, "Grandmother! One person does, one person bears responsibility; now that this is the Empress Dowager's auspicious marriage decree, our Lin family absolutely cannot refuse."

"I'll marry for this match!"

"Whether Xiao Yin lives or dies, I will first go through the marriage gate; soon I will become a nun, a devotee of the ancient Buddha, that is my destiny, and I must not bring trouble upon the Lin family!"

As soon as Lin Rujun spoke, Mrs Lin rose, embraced her daughter, and cried, "My daughter! What shall we do?"

"If we had arranged the betrothal early, this disaster wouldn't have happened."

"What shall we do? What shall we do?"

Lin Jingyuan's palm on his knee slowly clenched into a fist.

He only resented that he lacked any ability, not even able to protect his sister.

Although the Lin family had once been a prestigious clan, over time they were gradually excluded from the aristocracy, retaining only a name without real power.

When they were looking for a husband for their younger sister back then, they didn't dare to set too high demands on the other's family background; as long as the person was good and the family reputable, that was enough.

Who would have thought that even so, they still couldn't find a good match for their younger sister.

Now it turns out she's actually been made into a bride to ward off bad luck.

The Lin family discussed it for a long time but had no way to resist the decree; the palace even sent a governess over, since Lin Rujun was to marry into the Prince Rui's mansion and would become an imperial daughter‑in‑law, so naturally she needed to be taught etiquette.

Supposedly to teach etiquette, but in fact it was just to watch her and prevent her from running away.

Now that Lin Rujun has run away, it's a crime of deceiving the emperor, and the Lin family suffers as well.

If she doesn't run, she alone will bear all the blame.

The old lady Lin slowly rose, looked at her beloved granddaughter, sighed, and said: "Rujun, leave the Lin household tonight; let your brother escort you out of the capital."

Lin Jingyuan nodded, walked up to Lin Rujun, and said: "Sister, I'll take you out of the capital; if asked, we'll say you're ill and need to recuperate away from the capital, and we'll discuss more later."

"Yes! Rujun, you should still flee!"

Aunt Lin Qingyu also rose and spoke.

Lin Rujun looked at the relatives before her, and a warm feeling flickered in her heart.

She was no longer a child; she knew what trouble her flight would bring upon her relatives.