Chapter 480: Invincible Tears

“Young brother, as Manager Lin said just now, as long as this young man talks to more people, the effect may not be immediate, but it’s not useless either. Over time, it will surely help him improve.”
Emperor Qianwei was shocked by the King of Qingliu’s harsh words. Half of the high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants in the Great Han Empire had the habit of keeping household slaves. If all of them were killed, it would mean going to war with most of these elites. It was impossible to avoid severe upheaval. Not to mention killing entire families of slaves—even abolishing the slave system would likely cause tremendous upheaval in the Great Han Empire.
It should be noted that when the Great Han Empire was founded, it took several years longer to unify the country just to abolish slavery. That was during a time of chaos when the will of the people was of utmost importance. Now… while the will of the people might still be important, it wasn’t as critical as in those chaotic times. The emperor also had to be cautious when dealing with the rights and interests of high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants.
“Manager Lin, how did you discover him?” The King of Qingliu ignored Emperor Qianwei and asked Lin Dong instead.
“During a visit to a friend, I angered Li Xun’s master. His master sent Li Xun to attack me, but I defeated him. Feeling pity for Li Xun, I forced him to hand over his contract of servitude. Then I tore it up in front of him. Three days later, Li Xun actually came looking for me.”
This time, Lin Dong didn’t give a simple question-and-answer response but provided a more detailed account. However, the details were greatly distorted. He didn’t mention Li Xun’s strength or cooking skills. The reason he gave was compassion, and it was also Li Xun who came to him on his own, rather than him waiting for three days for Li Xun to show up.
Of course, Lin Dong wanted to take credit for this. If Li Xun was truly the King of Qingliu’s son who had been separated for over twenty years, then this kindness would be extraordinary.
“I see!” The King of Qingliu was still somewhat nervous. Without questioning the truthfulness of Lin Dong’s words, he acted according to Lin Dong’s expectations and said seriously, “If Li Xun is indeed my poor child, Manager Lin, starting from tonight, you will be the greatest benefactor in the entire King of Qingliu’s palace.”
“Your Highness is too kind,” Lin Dong replied politely with a smile.
“Manager Lin, where is that damned master of Li Xun now?” the King of Qingliu asked.
“He lives about thirty or forty miles outside the north of the city. His entire family was killed by Li Xun,” Lin Dong replied.
“Killed by Li Xun?” The King of Qingliu was slightly surprised.

Li Xun’s strength could not be hidden. Moreover, revealing it now was quite different from what had been said earlier, so Lin Dong spoke honestly: “Although Li Xun is a household slave, he has extraordinary talent. Through silent practice, he has already reached the eighth level of the Mind Realm. Additionally, he is a natural genius in hidden weapons, having created his own set of spiritual techniques related to them. With his strength, not to mention eliminating a landlord, even a prince might not be his match.”

“The ninth level of the Mind Realm?” King Qingliu was even more astonished. He quickly sent his mind out to investigate and discovered that Li Xun was not only at the eighth level.

“Recently, Li Xun has made a breakthrough,” Lin Dong said. Of course, he wouldn’t mention that he had high-grade spiritual materials to aid in cultivation. With Li Xun’s current strength, he was confident that he could help him reach the fourth or fifth level of the Reverse Mind Realm within a year.

King Qingliu nodded slowly, exhaled softly, and stared at Li Xun without blinking.

“Your Highness, please sit over there,” Lin Dong asked.

“What about Li Xun…” After seeing Li Xun, King Qingliu was completely at a loss, unable to understand Lin Dong’s words or actions anymore.

“Of course, he stays too!” Lin Dong waved at Qiao Tianhao and the others. “Li Xun stays; you all may go back!”

Cheng Bao left without hesitation. Jiang Kui and Hua Wuyue hesitated for a moment, wanting to see what would happen, but eventually followed as well.

The group gathered around the stone table. Lou Wanshan voluntarily gave up her seat and sat on the wooden stool that Ma Chun brought over.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, eating and chatting. King Qingliu would occasionally ask about Li Xun’s daily life and habits, or gaze at him in silence. As time passed, candles as thick as arms were burned down one by one, and as the bright moon began to shine in the sky, several figures appeared at the courtyard wall.

There were six guards in total. Two stood on either side of the middle two, each holding one of the poles of a small sedan chair.

“Your Highness, we’ve arrived!” one of the guards said after the sedan chair stopped.

The curtain was quickly lifted, and a graceful and noble middle-aged woman stepped out anxiously. As soon as she stepped down, she looked around, ignoring King Qingliu, Emperor Qianwei, and the others, her gaze fixed on Li Xun’s face. Then, tears silently streamed down her cheeks, her body trembling slightly. Her legs gave way, and she almost fell before being supported by a guard.

Lin Dong felt a bit ashamed for having only thought about how to repay the favor earlier. Of course, this shame was only slight.

“Liner, don’t cry yet. Look quickly—is it him? Is he our son?” King Qingliu rushed to the queen’s side at once, urging her anxiously.
“There’s no doubt—it’s him. He’s our poor Guang’er. There’s no need to check for birthmarks; I can feel it—he really is him.” The queen, with tears streaming down her face, struggled forward and staggered toward Li Xun.
“Guang’er!”
Reaching Li Xun, the queen cried out and tightly hugged him. Her frail body seemed to contain endless strength as she pressed him tightly against herself.
Li Xun’s gaze was empty, showing not the slightest emotion.
“Guang’er, I’m your mother… I’m your mother…” After holding him for a long time with no response, she finally sensed something was wrong. Seeing his empty eyes, tears streamed down again as she burst into sorrowful cries.
“Liner, don’t cry. It’s not that Guang’er ignores you—he has his reasons.” In this life, King Qingliu cared most about this queen, and only she could change his will. Seeing her cry bitterly, he panicked, flailing his hands, trying to pull her away to wipe her tears, yet fearing it would make her even sadder.
The queen, no longer able to bear her sorrow, choked back her tears and asked urgently, “Reasons? What reasons?”
“Well…” King Qingliu didn’t dare continue, fearing she would become even more heartbroken.
While King Qingliu was unsure, Emperor Qianwei was decisive. This matter couldn’t be hidden forever; the sooner there was a resolution, the sooner he could rest easy. So he simply explained, “It’s like this—Guang’er’s current name is Li Xun. Twenty-two years ago, he was taken by unknown parents and sold into slavery at a wealthy household. That family was cruel and heartless…”
Tears flowed silently from the queen’s eyes, and her arms around Li Xun tightened even more, as if she were using all her strength to merge him with her body, never letting him go again.
King Qingliu’s hands and feet seemed useless. Hearing about Li Xun’s ordeal again, already filled with anger and guilt, and seeing the queen’s behavior, he was utterly confused. For the first time, he didn’t try to comfort her.
“Actually…” Seeing that Emperor Qianwei had finished speaking and the queen’s tears still wouldn’t stop, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before telling the truth, “If Li Xun felt nothing for the queen, he would have pushed her away as an enemy long ago. My instructions to him were only not to kill or seriously injure anyone. With such behavior, even an ordinary person would likely be seen as an enemy by Li Xun.”
“Is that… true?”

King Qingliu and the queen both turned to look at Lin Dong—her face filled with surprise, his eyes brimming with tears of joy.
“It can’t be true. Why would I say it?” Lin Dong felt helpless. Li Xun had feelings for the queen, which would only make King Qingliu and the queen more determined to take Li Xun away. If it weren’t for the queen not provoking him, no matter how much King Qingliu cried, he would never have revealed anything.
“Is this the shopkeeper Lin?” The queen gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Mm!” Lin Dong nodded.
“Shopkeeper Lin, I will never forget your kindness…” The queen released Li Xun and knelt before Lin Dong.
Lin Dong was shocked and quickly stepped back. Being thanked by an elder who looked like an aunt but was somewhere between middle-aged and elderly was a fate that could shorten one’s life!
“Lin’er, get up! We still need to discuss how to cure Li Xun’s indifference.” King Qingliu helped the queen up, then turned to Emperor Qianwei and said, “Your Majesty, regarding my son’s status…”
“I will surely restore his rightful status. Xiao Shunzi, go back and issue an edict: to celebrate the young prince’s return to the palace, grant ten thousand acres of fertile land, one million taels of gold, and a hundred dou of top-quality pearls and jade!” Emperor Qianwei replied without hesitation. If he didn’t restore Li Xun’s status, King Qingliu would surely cause a huge uproar. No matter how reluctant he was, he wouldn’t be that foolish.
Yang Shun knelt to accept the edict. After King Qingliu expressed his gratitude, his gaze shifted to Lin Dong.
“Shopkeeper Lin, I’ll take Guang’er back to the palace first. I’ll come back to thank you another day. What do you think?”
Here it came—as expected!
Lin Dong felt sympathy for the queen, but handing over Li Xun was absolutely out of the question. Li Xun was one of the six top chefs at Lin’s Inn and a perfect addition to the team of elite chefs. All that gold and wealth meant nothing compared to him.
“Well… if Li Xun himself agrees, I’ll certainly consent,” Lin Dong replied tactfully.
“Shopkeeper Lin…” King Qingliu’s expression darkened. Despite his panic, he could tell that Lin Dong clearly didn’t intend to give him Li Xun.
Lin Dong remained unshaken. He would never let Li Xun go. Moreover, the situation had returned to when he first met Xiao Tianchi—now, it was he, Lin Dong, who held absolute advantage. If he said just one word, King Qingliu should be grateful enough to visit Li Xun frequently.
“Shopkeeper Lin, may I stay at Lin’s Inn?” the queen suddenly asked.
“You’re most welcome!” Lin Dong smiled brightly. Her words touched the excitement he had anticipated. In his eyes, this was the best possible outcome.

“Liner, if Guang’er stays at Lin’s Inn, his identity can’t be made public.” King Qingliu grew anxious. He had resolved that he would spare no expense to ensure Li Xun’s later life was filled with prosperity as compensation. Staying at Lin’s Inn would put him at risk of being assassinated by his enemies. Although Li Xun himself possessed the strength of the Ninth Level of the Mental State, King Qingliu didn’t want any more mistakes to occur.

“With Guang’er in such a state, what use is his identity…” Thinking of this, the queen’s tears flowed again. She held different views from King Qingliu; she cared more about Li Xun’s feelings.

“Stay, stay! I’ll stay too.” King Qingliu panicked, his hands flailing, not knowing where to put them.

Lin Dong’s smile grew even brighter. His affection for Queen Liu soared rapidly. Initially, he had been worried that King Qingliu might use some scheme to bring Li Xun back to the palace once he regained his senses. But with Queen Liu’s tears, even if King Qingliu were extremely clever, it would be a piece of cake for him.

Now, all he needed to do was think carefully about how to hold King Qingliu accountable for the terrible treatment he had suffered earlier.