Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 55: The Risen Talent
Chapter 55: The Risen Talent
Yun Ruoyan slipped a mouthful of bird nest soup in her mouth from cheek to cheek as she began to think.
"Li" is a royal name, also an imperial family name. Anyone surnamed Li was, without a doubt, related. What does San mean? Third in a row? [1] Who is third in line to the throne?
Yun Ruoyan gulped down her soup as her finger tapped on her temple.
In his past life, he was relatively selfish and reclusive, never caring about what was happening outside of his little cottage.
But, her father was a court official, this was a sure thing to come up in the family conversation. Even without actively seeking knowledge, he would learn certain things just by diffusion.
For example, one such thing was the fact that the emperor was named Li Xiu, and there were eight princes and five princesses who were qualified to inherit the throne. Every prince was graceful, talented, and accomplished, and every princess was a rare gem, all of them dragons and phoenixes compared to ordinary people.
While Yun Ruoyan was taking part in the study room of her family, she often heard these four princes were brought up.
The eldest, Li Qianxiao, was the crown prince.
The second, Li Qianyuan, was born by an ordinary palace maid, and had the lowest status among all princes. But he was the closest of his brothers to the crown prince, and this gave him an increase in his status.
The third was Li Qianhan, the son of an imperial concubine, with a relaxed personality. He had the best reputation among his brothers.
The fourth was Li Qianyue, whose birth was a mystery to everyone.
In the general opinion, he was a child brought home from outside the palace. Apparently, he had been given a special dispensation by the emperor himself to leave the palace for a long time, and it was very rare for him to return. There are only a few among the family who have seen it firsthand.
Can "Li San" refer to the third prince of the Li kingdom, Li Qianhan?
Yun Ruoyan's fingers traced the letters that were carved repeatedly as a face floated in her mind, a face that was clearly depicted, with eyes as black as jets, so sharp that it leaves behind fear and a kiss that comes suddenly !
Yun Ruoyan raised her hand as she subconsciously felt her lips.
"Li Qianhan!" He said those words slowly.
After breakfast, Yun Ruoyan quickly headed towards Lin's estate. His cousin intercepted him at the entrance and asked if his family had given him any trouble upon returning home. Even though Lin Zainan was just standing at the side without speaking, her expression showed that she was equally concerned about the matter.
Yun Ruoyan sketched out her memories of the events of that day for everyone.
“Hmph! Your sisters are good at spouting nonsense, aren't they?”
Ever since Yun Lan sneaked Lin Yuemei out of her family about ten years ago, Lin Zainan had always been under the impression that the Yun family was good at flowery speech and talking nonsense.
“Ruoyan, it's lucky that you have the foresight to give the tiger core to your previous housekeeper, or you will be slandered just like that!” Lin Qingxue could only comment. “Your brothers are obviously trying to discredit you. Are all of your elders so blind as to believe their words ?!"
Lin Qingxue was innocent and naive, and she naturally did not understand the complexities of family politics that were standard in a family as big as hers.
Yun Ruoyan was convinced that her grandmother and father, Yun Lan, knew more than they had revealed. Thinking back, the trap his sister used to ensnare him was nothing out of the ordinary, and there were only two reasons why their plan had always worked.
The first is that he is too gentle and easily bullied, even if he is opposed, he does not know how to defend himself, and he even has the ridiculous idea that showing weakness will give him temporary peace. Second, her grandmother and Yun Lan implicitly allowed the abuse to continue. In their hearts, Yun Ruoyan was neither talented nor beautiful, with no qualities suited to being the next head of the family. If not for Lin Zainan's status, they would most likely have removed him from his position right then and there.
Yun Ruoyan knew that, although her grandmother was not as cold as Yun Lan, she also only looked from afar. If she was completely useless, then she believed that her grandmother would throw it away without hesitation. After all, in their minds, nothing is more important than continued family success.
And for these so-called "family interests" nothing can be sacrificed.
After they spoke for quite a while, Lin Zainan ordered the Lin brothers to return to their room to continue the studies and tasks he had made for them. Even though they had been granted admission to Kongming Academy, Lin Zainan still would not be lenient with them.
Meanwhile, he gestured for Yun Ruoyan to follow him into his pill making room. The outdoor space was a small room for rest, and the inner room was his study room, specially designed for concocting pills and powders. Without Lin Zainan's firm permission, no one was allowed to enter.
Lin Zainan pressed the lever on the wall, revealing the Lin family's treasure warehouse. After the last time they came here to take the core foundation pill, this was only the second time his grandfather had brought him here.
Yun Ruoyan did not know what her grandfather's intentions were, but she did not ask either. Instead, he simply waited silently and looked ahead.
Lin Zainan turned around and smiled kindly at him. "Come in, Ruoyan."
He hesitated for a moment, knowing how important the treasure warehouse was. Last time, he was just standing outside when Lin Zainan took out the medicine. The thought of entering the vault never crossed his mind. After all, his last name was Yun, and even if he was in his grandfather's house, he was still considered an outsider!
"Why silence? Come inside!"
Yun Ruoyan could only obey her grandfather's orders.
"Here, in this vault is the wealth that the Lin family has accumulated over the centuries." Lin Zainan's voice was at once sad and reminiscent. "But out of all these shelves and boxes that were once filled, only about a quarter remained."
Lin Zainan walked to the shelf, where she stroked the outside of the red velvet box. Yun Ruoyan easily recognized the box as the box that once contained the core pill, which was now empty.
"The final core foundation pill of the Lin family ..." Lin Zainan clicked her tongue on herself. “Even with a lifetime of study, I was never able to become a rank six pill expert, and I was never able to replenish our family coffers. I also can't save my blood, my heir, even now, I don't know if your uncle is alive or dead.”
“Grandfather, you have done your best for your family, for my uncle and for me.”
These past few years, in order to find Lin Tianming and Lin Tianhai, Lin Zainan had spent nearly half of the family's accumulated wealth. Furthermore, in order to help him, he had given the family the last core foundation pill and even sacrificed his cultivation for it, switching from a rank five pill expert to a third rank within a few moments.
Yun Ruoyan looked at Lin Zainan's disappointed expression, her heart ached.
But Lin Zainan continued, “I am old, and my cultivation will not increase. Protecting the three of you and the Lin family is my greatest wish. Ruoyan, come here.”
Lin Zainan gestured for Yun Ruoyan to approach a shelf, from which she took out a box of white jade. He opened it to reveal the jade-green herb inside.
Yun Ruoyan felt her eyes sparkle as she looked at the sparkling essence circulating through the potion. "Grandfather, what is this?"
The sudden change in Yun Ruoyan's expression made Lin Zainan's spirit soar. “Ruoyan, can you tell what is special about this herb?”
"Yes. There is spiritual energy floating above the potion, and this I have never seen before.” He couldn't help but smile. “Same as if there was a shooting star affixed on top of the potion itself. It's beautiful! Grandfather, what kind of potion is this? If he can produce his own spiritual energy, does that mean he can become a spirit?”
Lin Zainan shook her head. “This is one of the most precious treasures of our family, an essential soul herb. There are only two branches in the entire kingdom, one in Kongming Academy, and the other one here.”
He turned to Yun Ruoyan again excitedly. “For an ordinary cultivator, this potion looks like any other, but someone with pent-up talent in pill making can see spiritual energy hovering above the potion. The stronger his talent, the brighter the potion appeared. ”
In ordinary circumstances, though, only when cultivators entered Kongming Academy and became seventh rank blade masters would they have the qualifications to test their pent-up talent with such a potion before specializing in the art of pill making.
On the other hand, thanks to this potion, the Lin family was able to detect this pent-up talent at a much younger age, and preparing their most promising heirs early on is naturally advantageous for their development. This was the biggest reason why Lins was such a prominent pillmaster.
Lin Zainan naturally also showed the potion to Lin Qingchen and Lin Qingxue, Lin Qingxue couldn't see anything special about it, and Lin Qingchen could only see a dull white light.
Yun Ruoyan turned her gaze to Lin Zainan. “Grandfather, does that mean I have the talent to become a pill expert?!”
"of course! You always had it, but it was suppressed by the poison. Now that the poison has been completely purged from your body, your talent has awakened once again!”
In fact, even before he was one year old, Yun Ruoyan had been tested with this potion before, but she was so young that she had no memory of the incident.
At that moment, Lin Zainan carried him in her arms as she opened the box, and little Yun Ruoyan immediately pointed at the potion as she exclaimed, "Star, star, there are stars!"
And Lin Zainan beamed and told Lin Yuemei that Yun Ruoyan had an impressive pent-up talent in pill making, that she would most likely become a peerless pill expert.
It was regrettable that she was on bad terms with Yun, so she couldn't help him develop his pent-up talent any further. Instead, all he could do was instruct Lin Yuemei repeatedly to let Yun take good care of Yun Ruoyan.
But what he did not anticipate was, after Lin Yuemei died, this pent-up talent was diminishing by the day. Although it was painful for her to see him leave, she could not do anything about it.
Fortunately, Yun Ruoyan had finally regained her glory, and she was confident that her grandson would someday become extraordinary.
"Today, you've been glowing ever since you walked into the house." Lin Zainan stroked her beard as she asked, "Did your cultivation increase again?"
"I really can't hide anything from you, grandfather." Yun Ruoyan raised her right hand as she exuded spiritual energy from her fingertips.
Lin Zainan's eyes instantly widened, and she stuttered in disbelief, “Ru-Ruoyan, that is the ability of a seventh rank blademaster! Could it be that you are already seventh rank ?!”
Yun Ruoyan nodded, her face only showing a slight smile. “My body has been in top condition ever since the poison was cleared, and somehow I managed to reach the seventh rank just like that.”
Yun Ruoyan thought of telling Lin Zainan the secret of her bracelet, but eventually decided not to. Keeping a secret was equal to a burden, and unless it was unnecessary, he would carry the burden himself.
It was not due to his lack of trust, but he felt that he did not need to share any secrets to show his trust. He also believed that his grandfather felt the same way.
"That's awesome!" Lin Zainan could not help but pat her shoulder while laughing. “Your mother must have protected you from afar! With the cultivation of a seventh rank blademaster, you can finally start training as a pillmaster. After waiting for so many years, I was finally able to receive a good student!”
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1. San is a character for “tiga”.