Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 52: The Great Treason and Heresy

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Great Treason and Heresy

Lin Mansion.

Elder Lin and Xie Xun were playing chess. Elder Lin had two sons and two daughters, all well-raised. Both sons had excelled in the imperial examinations and entered as members of Hanlin Academy. The brothers were amicable and supportive of each other. His eldest grandson, Lin Helin, was renowned as a reincarnation of the deified literary star, attaining the highest ranks in three consecutive examinations.

His eldest daughter was married to Marquis Zhenbei, Xie Yuan, while his younger daughter was married into Yongning Marquis Mansion. Both marriages were harmonious.

Elder Lin and his wife were particularly affectionate toward their legitimate daughter, and Xie Xun was especially cherished since he returned to the Capital City to recuperate from injuries. They often invited him to stay at the mansion.

"Grandfather, today’s chess game has been a bit rushed," Xie Xun said, holding a black piece and placing it on the board. The move formed a killing encirclement. He looked at Elder Lin with a smile, "I won."

"You rascal," Elder Lin said kindly as he looked at his grandson and then at the chessboard. "Your moves seem scattered, chaotic, yet you had a careful scheme. You’ve tricked me." He examined the board with affection; there was no way to salvage the game—he had lost, and his defeat was irrevocable.

Xie Xun chuckled lightly and said, "It’s due to Grandfather’s leniency."

Elder Lin stood up, and Xie Xun went to assist him. Now approaching seventy, his movements were slightly sluggish. No matter how sagacious an elder, one could not resist the merciless erosion of time. Xie Xun accompanied him to sit on the rocking chair in the veranda. The stove burned charcoal, heating water, while the tea table held a complete set of tea utensils. Xie Xun methodically scalded the tea ware, moving unhurriedly to prepare the tea. Elder Lin looked at Xie Xun with eyes full of doting affection. Of his two most cherished grandchildren—Lin Helin and Xie Xun—one excelled in literature, the other in military, both like treasures in his palm.

"The political situation has stabilized over the past two years, yet natural disasters have struck. The issue of military provisions remains unsolved as the Ministry of War has mishandled it. Investigating further proves difficult, leaving it unresolved. Zhixu, Grandfather knows you’ve expended effort tirelessly in Ningzhou, seeking justice for the soldiers. Yet the dynamics of court politics differ from those of battlefield tactics; relationships in the court are deeply intertwined, pulling one thread disrupts the entire tapestry. Minister Lin has stepped down; who can guarantee his successor will do better?"

Though Marquis Zhenbei was stationed far away in Ningzhou, he still wielded influence over the court. First, Elder Lin personally mediated on his behalf; second, a group of loyal generals were willing to die rather than remain silent in their dissent. Minister Lin’s dismissal was orchestrated by Marquis An Yuan under Xie Xun’s guidance, taking advantage of an opportune fault—a single, decisive strike. Minister Lin’s faction firmly supported imperial authority, leading the Emperor to lose an ally and weaken his position.

"Grandfather, I believe that those in office should perform their duties. If they fail to do so, then they should be replaced." Xie Xun poured him a cup of tea, adding nonchalantly, "And if the replacement fails? Then replace them again. There is no shortage of capable people."

"You’re speaking like a child," Elder Lin chuckled as he accepted the tea. "In noble families and bureaucratic clans, the relationships are intricate and self-contained, mutually safeguarding their interests. Minister Lin’s fault in the military provisions issue—if it were someone else, the outcome would likely be the same. He could neither defy imperial decree nor raise adequate provisions—what could he have done?"

"The Imperial warehouses are nine out of ten depleted—because the noble families have emptied them. When disasters strike, the commoners suffer, yet the aristocrats delight in indulgence. Soldiers fight and bleed in Ningzhou, while the elites revel in debauchery in the Capital. Foreign enemies eyeing the borders, while they indulge in drunken pleasures. Grandfather, if Ningzhou falls, relying solely on the two thousand Forbidden Army stationed in the Imperial City and the five thousand second-rate militia will not save the Capital." Xie Xun’s gaze turned cold and frosty. "Nobles hold sway over eighty percent of the land in Yanyang. Their private granaries are infested with rats, yet they still refuse to support Ningzhou. Grandfather, you have remained loyal to the imperial authority, preserving the interests of noble families. But have you ever witnessed Ningzhou’s corpses strewn across the fields, rivers of blood flowing?"

"In the third year of Chengqi, I was transferred to Jiangnan as Governor. It was the rainy season then—the Yellow River breached its banks, plagues ravaged the land. That year, nine out of ten homes in Jiangnan’s towns were empty. Corpses littered the streets; instances of parents eating their own children were not uncommon. Zhixu, blood-soaked tragedies do not only happen on battlefields. Grandfather remains loyal to the imperial authority because the transition of regimes would result in floating corpses across the land—and the ones suffering would always be the commoners. My life has been dedicated to balancing the nobles and the scholars while striving to give impoverished students a chance to rise in the court every year. The afflictions of aristocratic clans are long-standing and incurable, not something to be resolved overnight or by one individual." Elder Lin sighed profoundly, "The Marquis Zhenbei Mansion wields immense power, alarming the Emperor. The balance of power within the court is pivotal; any disruption would invite calamity."

The autumn breeze swept into the courtyard, scattering the fragrant osmanthus blossoms across the ground.

A single osmanthus flower drifted into a tea cup with the wind. Xie Xun remarked softly, "Father refuses to let go of his authority because, once he does, the noble families will vie for power heedless of the war turmoil in Ningzhou. The tens of thousands of border troops will be left to bitter strife. My sister severed her engagement and entered the palace, yet remains childless to this day. My mother and concubines are held in the Capital as hostages. My father and brothers all fight on the frontlines. Our entire Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, with dozens of lives—who among us willingly leads such a life? Everyone says Marquis Zhenbei Mansion wields power dangerously, filled with wolfish ambition, feared by the imperial family and ostracized by noble clans. Must the four of us—My father and three of his sons—all die on the battlefield to prove our loyalty?"

Elder Lin sighed deeply. He understood the plight of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, yet he lacked the power to change the situation. This was less a predicament and more a crisis. "Let’s hope the Beiman tribes surrender and the Marquis can lay down his armor and return home, with the situation turning for the better."

Xie Xun chuckled, gazing at the osmanthus blossoms carpeting the ground. "Grandfather, throughout history, how many return from war? If my father were to retire and return home, could he truly enjoy a peaceful old age?"

Elder Lin was rendered speechless. The tides of political affairs shifted unpredictably; a ruler’s heart was incomprehensible. Of the generals famed across the nation, how many met good ends? He looked at his grandson, who was calmly sipping tea.

Xie Xun bore a striking resemblance to the Marchioness in appearance, but his temperament mirrored Xie Yuan’s—unyielding and defiant. In Xie Xun, Elder Lin could see the shadows of his daughter in her youth, and of Xie Yuan’s dignified demeanor when he came to propose decades ago. Time had passed in the blink of an eye, and half his lifetime had been poured away. He himself now teetered on the edge of the grave.

When he gave his most beloved daughter’s hand in marriage to Xie Yuan, Elder Lin could never have foreseen the dilemmas they faced today.

One son and one daughter drawn ever closer to opposition by the shifting tide of events.

In all his living years, Elder Lin had done his utmost to maintain balance, hoping that his children and grandchildren would never meet on opposing sides of battle. But age spared no one—how much longer could he sustain this equilibrium?

Each time Elder Lin dwelled on this, sorrow enveloped his heart.

"Grandfather, Zhixu has a question, one that’s troubled him for years." Xie Xun carefully set down his tea cup. His hands were exquisitely shaped—ideal for holding brushes to paint—a combination of youthful elegance and strength, with joints clearly defined. "When mighty factions vie for supremacy, the victor may become king. If the world prospers and the people are content, it is a celebration for all. But if chaos reigns and the people suffer, what then?"

"A ruler frets; the minister toils. Serve the ruler with virtue." Elder Lin proclaimed as a veteran of three reigns, dedicating his life to the Yuwen dynasty’s empire. "If ruler and minister perform their duties, the world will flourish. But if the ruler acts unjustly, they cannot be indulged. Dying while voicing principled dissent must never be feared."

Xie Xun chuckled softly. "Yet Zhixu believes that, if each role is occupied by the capable and vacated by the inept, the world will naturally achieve lasting peace and stability."

"Zhixu, such insubordinate words must never be spoken again," Elder Lin rebuked harshly. Xie Xun lowered his gaze and adopted a posture of feigned submission. "Grandfather, please quell your anger. Consider me foolish and arrogant as a child."