Emperor Lin pondered for a while and said,”But with you two going out of the capital, if you encounter any sort of danger…”
Lin Feilu said, “At that time, we will hide our identities. Besides, Father Emperor can arrange for guards to protect us secretly,” She smiled sweetly again, hugging his arm and acting like a spoiled child, “Besides, the Great Lin Empire under Father Emperor’s control is relatively safe and secure, so how could there be any sort of danger?”
Emperor Lin was comforted by this flattery.
The Empress Dowager had left the palace and returned to Mount Wutai after the Crown Prince’s wedding. If these two children went to visit her, she would surely be very happy.
Emperor Lin had already made a decision in his heart, but he did not agree to it immediately. After Lin Feilu left, Meng Fuji and the few imperial doctors, who diagnosed and monitored Lin Ting’s condition, were summoned over as the Emperor wanted to inquire about his son’s current state. The statements of several imperial doctors were generally consistent with what Lin Feilu said, and they all advised King Qi to go out for a walk.
So on the second day, Emperor Lin summoned the Commander of the imperial guards. He stated that the 5th Princess and the eldest Prince would be going to Mount Wutai. Then, Emperor Lin asked him to pick two skilled guards from the imperial guards and escort them the entire way. Also, he was asked to deploy a team of men to secretly guard them as well as nothing should go wrong.
After the Commander of the imperial guards received the decree, he quickly chose subordinates for the job.
There were two selected. These two were twins, taken from the Sixteen Guardians of the Capital, as their fist skills were very agile. Because one of their names had the word ‘white’ and the other had the word ‘black’ in them, everyone in the army used to call them the Impermanent Brothers.
While Emperor Lin was arranging the guards, Lin Feilu had also begun preparing for this mountain trip.
The sword that Noble Consort Xi gave her, which was said to have cut off the 3000 soldiers and horses of the Yong Kingdom, had been shelved in the utility room, and now she has found it. The unremarkable scabbard was covered with a layer of ash, but the blade was still able to slice through iron as if it were mud. Lin Feilu gave the sword one or two tryouts in the yard, feeling quite comfortable with how the weapon was holding up.
She patted the precious sword and said with a smile, “Since you look so ordinary, then I will name you Gu Zai(2).”
(T/N: Gu means ‘ancient’ and zai is a way for the seniors and adults to call someone younger as ‘kid’)
Since they would have to venture through rivers and forests, these palace costumes could no longer be worn. A batch of spring silk brocade arrived at the Imperial Embroidery Workshop, and Xiao Lan had made a few dresses for her overnight. They were both light and beautiful.
Lin Zhanyuan didn’t know what it meant to have an adventure, but he only knew that his sister was going out to play. However, he also knew that she was going to go for a long time before returning, so he had made a fuss about wanting to tag along. Lin Feilu coaxed him for several days and finally promised to bring a monkey back, to which he reluctantly agreed.
The fact that the 5th Princess and the eldest Imperial Prince were going to leave the palace was not widely publicised. Only a few people close to them knew about the trip.
Recently, because of the retreat of the Ruan clan, the situation in the previous dynasty had changed, and Lin Qing threw himself into taking personally charge of the leftover confrontation. It was not until the day before Lin Feilu left the palace that he caught wind of her trip.