Zhuolu - Chapter 5

Attendant, not a servant. Even mortals could be servants. But attendants were vassals, and the confidants of the prince. As long as they worked hard, they would be able to do errands seriously.

Zhao Wanhu didn’t dare to have any opinion, “It’s a blessing for Xin’er to be liked by the prince.”

Lin Xin’s heart sank when he heard this. Now that he was just a child with no strength and Shen Lou had never even tested his aptitude so how could he easily ask him to be his attendant? Could it be that he already knew that he was Lin Zhenghan’s son?

He lowered his eyes and pondered, then out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the silver-lined cedar pattern on Shen Lou’s black wide sleeves, and suddenly remembered the family style of the Shen family’s “standing tall like a snow mountain pine”, and suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. With the personalities of Shen Lou and his father, even if they knew that he was the son of Lin Zhenghan, they would not treat him badly.

Huan Xinghai’s experts inspected the Zhao family’s front yard and back hills but found no trace of the soul-devouring Gu. It was not easy for Zhao Wanhu to ask them to stay any longer. After Zhao Dashao was buried the next day, they sent the prince and his party out of the house with great gratitude. And Lin Xin, wearing a filial attire, was carried into the prince’s carriage by Huang Ge.

Lying on the carriage window, Lin Xin was a little worried as he looked at the Zhao family’s mansion that was drifting away. After entering Huan Xinghai, it would be difficult to get out again. Could Master still find him?

At that time, his master checked the past haunts of his father one by one according to his father’s description. Now that he had left the Zhao family and had not taken the initiative to find him, it would be difficult to meet him.

“Are you reluctant?” Shen Lou looked away from his book, bent his arm supporting his knee, and looked at Lin Xin in a relaxed manner.

“No.” Lin Xin lowered the curtain and shook his head slightly.

“Why do you look unhappy?” He wasn’t a talkative person but facing the soft and fresh Lin Xin in front of him, Shen Lou couldn’t help but want to say a few more words to him. If asked, there would be a response, no matter what was said, it made him feel happy.

“Sir, forgive me,” Lin Xin seemed to be frightened, so he knelt stiffly on the cushion, grabbing at the hem of his clothes, “I, I’m afraid…”

The soft and sweet voice, with some uneasy trembling, made Shen Lou feel distressed, and he warned himself not to scare the child, and beckoned Xiao Linxin to sit beside him, “Don’t be afraid, come, I will teach you to read.”

Luli was installed on the carriage, so the wheels basically did not touch the ground, and it was stable enough for them to read and write. Lin Xin moved near Shen Lou and saw that the book he had placed on the small table was actually a “Notes on the Four Seas”, which showed the map of Dayong and the customs of various places in Dayong.

“The country we are in is called Dayong. Dayong is divided into four regions, southeast, northwest, northeast, and the hinterland of the Central Plains. Huan Xinghai and Zhao’s family are both in the northern region.” Shen Lou tried his best to say something interesting to the child to attract his attention.

“Is Huan Xinghai near a sea?” Lin Xin dutifully played the role of a child who knew nothing.

“No, Huan Xinghai is near a stream and lake,” Shen Lou stretched out his hand, pointed to a point in the picture, thought about it, and added, “There is a lot of water.”

The clear stream intersected with the deep lake, there was flowing water and beautiful pavilions everywhere. Legend had it that in winter, the lake water froze into ice, and the water shone, as if it had been washed. It was very beautiful, hence the name Huan Xinghai. With such a beautiful scenery, in the mouth of Shen Lou, there was only a dry “a lot of water” left.

Lin Xin wanted to laugh at him, but he held it back and leaned towards Shen Lou in the guise of the sway of the carriage. The faint herbal fragrance wrapped in the bitter medicinal smell came to him slowly.

“Prince, are you drinking medicine?” Lin Xin asked him with a twitching nose.

“Yeah.” Shen Lou responded, looking at Lin Xin who was close at hand, then he still couldn’t hold back, he reached out and gently wrapped the man into his arms, holding the book to him.

“Why do you have to drink medicine?” Lin Xin asked reluctantly.

“Because I did something wrong, this is punishment,” Shen Lou lied to the child seriously, flipping the pages of the book in his hand, “so you have to memorize what I said, otherwise…”

“Tell it to me. I don’t want to drink medicine.”

“Um…” The slightly uplifted ending indicated the good mood of the owner of the voice.

Not being able to ask anything, Lin Xin could only hold back temporarily and listen to Shen Lou teaching him in a bored way.

“The Shen family in the northern region, the Zhong family in the western region, the Zhu family in the southern region, and the Lin family in the eastern region, in addition to these four princes, Dayong has more than a dozen marquises, they can manage their own fiefs but have to pay annual tribute every year. Our Shen family… ” As he was speaking, his arms suddenly sank, Shen Lou looked down, and the guy who just swore to listen carefully was already leaning on his arms, fast asleep.

With a helpless smile, Shen Lou threw the book in his hand away, and simply relaxed his body, leaning on the soft cushion, also dozing off. His mind, however, drifted from the book to the situation in the world. Now that the Luli law had not been implemented, the four regions were still peaceful, but there may be chaos at any time. It was better to prepare early.

“What is Suigong?” Lin Xin, who was so sleepy that he couldn’t open his eyes, muttered.

“Gold and silver, grain, cloth… Luli.”

The boy’s low voice, like a young eagle traveling through the wind and snow, broke through the fog in front of him, but brought people into a deeper and farther dream.

At the age of seventeen, he stepped into Huan Xinghai for the first time. It was the early winter, the sun was rising over the pine forest, the fog was dispersing, and snow covered everything. The fairyland was like a soft place, but it was a group of people with cold faces who greeted him.

All the Shen family members wore black wide sleeves and looked at them from a distance, like a flock of falcons that would pounce on them at any time and tear people to shreds.

“Marquis is so young, but his temperament is so ruthless, even more than his teacher!” Shen Qirui threw his face on the ground before he could greet him.

“Heh, it happened two years ago, did Grandpa just hear about it?” Lin Xin lifted the scabbard with his thumb, killing intent spreading everywhere. It was not good to mention anything, but the worst was to mention his master.

The world knew that Lin Xin was a ruthless murderer. Or that he didn’t deserve to be called human at all, he was said to be delusional and clinging, and also addicted to murder. He was sometimes even called a demon.

He opened his eyes suddenly, the blood mist dissipated suddenly, only the indigo-colored roof and the dense sandalwood remained.

“Welcome to the prince.” A neat greeting came from outside the window, while the sound of gurgling water and smell of pine trees was incessant, seems they had already arrived at Huan Xinghai.

Lin Xin quickly got up, lifted the curtain of the carriage window, and saw Shen Lou standing in front of the carriage, bowing to several monks dressed in black clothes.

“We’re going to hunt deer, is eldest brother coming?” A young girl, holding a hunting bow with Luli in her hand, asked Shen Lou with a smile.

“You guys go.” Shen Lou stretched out his hand, touched the girl’s head, turned back to the carriage, and pushed the probing guy back into the carriage.

The author has something to say:

Small Theater-

Xinxin: Oops, I accidentally fell asleep in your arms, don’t mind it

Loulou: I mind

Xinxin: Oops, why are you so stingy, so, I’ll let you sleep in my arms, alright?

Lou Lou: (nosebleed) Alright