"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Lin Laixi stepped forward and circled Nan Xueyin, inspecting her up and down as if sizing up livestock.
He nodded. "Indeed, you've changed."
Nan Xueyin could clearly feel Xiao Youlan's gaze resting steadily on her from not far away, carrying a scrutinizing edge.
Before leaving Lianzhou, Wuzhui had warned Nan Xueyin with a worried frown that the current Crown Prince was naturally cautious. Over the years, numerous factions, including Prince Duan, had tried to plant spies in the East Palace, but very few had succeeded.
Those who were managed to be placed inside had to spend immense effort and time just to barely win the Crown Prince's trust. And that trust was far from unbreakable—the slightest trivial matter, some minor detail leaking a shred of information, could arouse the Crown Prince's suspicion, leading him to dispose of that person swiftly and decisively.
Although Nan Xueyin's entry into the East Palace made it look on the surface as if she had gained favor, she knew clearly that the Crown Prince did not entirely trust her.
If she slipped up today because of the arrival of the Lin father and son, Nan Xueyin was certain Xiao Youlan would dispose of her without a moment's hesitation.
In that case, completing her mission would be utterly impossible.
Nan Xueyin slowly raised her eyes to look at the father and son. "How have I changed?"
Lin Laixi rubbed his chin. "Well... I can't quite put my finger on it, hard to say..."
Lin Jiaxing grinned broadly. "You've gotten prettier!"
Lin Laixi slapped his thigh. "Right! Prettier! No wonder the Crown Prince likes you!"
Prettier? Nan Xueyin raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "Don't you know why I've become pretty?"
Lin Laixi answered without thinking, "Of course it's because I gave birth to you well..."
"No."
Nan Xueyin interrupted him. "It's because life at home was too bitter, while after entering the palace I've had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, so I've looked a bit better. What does that have to do with you?"
Lin Jiaxing grew displeased. "Is that any way to talk to your father? Have we ever skimped on your food or clothes all these years? Stop playing the victim and whining!"
Lin Laixi put on a theatrical sigh. "We raised this daughter like the apple of our eye, only for her to hide away in the palace enjoying herself while leaving her aging father and own brother to suffer in the village! Now that we've come looking for her, she turns around and looks down on us, sigh!"
Nan Xueyin actually laughed. "Raised like the apple of your eye?"
Though she was smiling, tears welled up in her eyes. "Yet I clearly remember that from the age of six, as soon as I was tall enough to reach the stove, I had to get up early every day to cook for you two. But I always had to wait until you were full before I could sit at the table and eat your leftovers. Until I was fifteen, every piece of clothing I wore was your hand-me-downs, patched up with old rags whenever they tore or broke.
"My very first new outfit was only bought because you wanted to marry me off to the blacksmith at the head of the village and took me along specially. The blacksmith thought I was too thin and small, worried I wouldn't survive, and refused to take me. So you cursed and swore, forced me to strip off the clothes, and took them back to sell for cash. Later on, when Lin Jiaxing needed to arrange a marriage, you sold me into the palace for the bride price."
She spoke with such grievance that tears streamed down her cheeks.
Everyone watching and listening was moved.
Lin Laixi instantly dropped his old face. "What are you doing, bringing up those things from the past!"
Lin Jiaxing rolled his eyes straight up. "Talking as if selling you into the palace was harming you! If you hadn't entered the palace, do you think you'd ever get to serve by the Crown Prince's side? Instead of thanking Father and me, what are you doing acting so pitiful?!"
Nan Xueyin's voice trembled slightly. "I didn't want to leave home! At the time, I begged you not to sell me. I said if I entered the palace, I would never pay you any mind again; after serving as a palace maid, I would go on to become a senior maid and die of old age right here in the palace. What did you say back then? You said you'd pretend you never gave birth to a daughter like me. Those words are still ringing in my ears, and yet now you have the nerve to come looking for me again—"
She wiped away a tear, wearing a bitter smile. "I actually thought you genuinely missed me. To think, when all is said and done, it's still just for this good-for-nothing brother of mine. He's lazy and gluttonous, so you want to step over my dead body to secure him an official post!"
"You're still talking!"
Unable to suppress his rising anger, Lin Laixi swung his hand and struck.
Nan Xueyin deliberately didn't dodge. Standing right where she was, she took the full force of the blow.
Lin Laixi had indeed used all his might, fueled by rage, and Nan Xueyin let the momentum of the slap send her tumbling to the ground, dislodging the jade hairpin in her temples and breaking it in two.
Finally, she heard Xiao Youlan's voice: "Stop!"
Nan Xueyin knew right then she had succeeded.
She had always been Prince Duan's sharpest blade; killing was her specialty, and playing a spy came just as naturally.
"Y-Your Highness..." Lin Laixi forced an awkward expression. "This girl has grown willful and spoiled in the palace; she needs a beating!"
Ignoring him, Xiao Youlan called out, "Guards!"
Both men of the Lin family were startled.
The guards had long since had their fill of these two. With the Crown Prince's direct order, they strode forward immediately and pinned the father and son firmly to the ground.
Nan Xueyin caught sight of a pair of dark brocade boots as Xiao Youlan walked up to her and crouched down.
Covering half her cheek, her face swimming with tears, Nan Xueyin looked like a shattered glazed lamp.
Her voice trembled as she timidly called out, "Your Highness..."
"Hmm?" Xiao Youlan leaned closer, expecting her to voice her grievances.
Instead, she said, "The jade hairpin Your Highness gave me... it broke..."
Xiao Youlan was slightly taken aback.
Only then did he notice the shattered hairpin on the ground—the very one he had specially given her for Prince Kang's birthday banquet. She had worn it constantly ever since that day; she must have liked it very much.
"It's this maid's fault," Nan Xueyin said in a fading whisper.
A sudden softness welled up in Xiao Youlan's heart, filled with endless pity.
He lowered his voice to comfort her, his tone unconsciously gentle. "It's not your fault. Stop crying."
With that, he straightened up and cast a cold glance at the pair of father and son.
Refusing to submit, Lin Jiaxing raised his head and shouted, "Why are you arresting me? I am Lin Chunxia's own brother! I'm the only son in the Lin family!"
Lin Laixi wailed at the top of his lungs, "Chunxia, look at this! They're bullying your father and your brother! Hurry up and tell them to let us go!"
Feihong pointed at them and scolded, "You just struck Doukou a moment ago, where do you find the nerve?"
Lin Laixi glared back. "I hit my own daughter, what business is it of yours?"
As Xiao Youlan stepped closer, Lin Laixi yelled again, "Your Highness! Truth be told, this girl was saying such awful things just now that I lost my temper and struck her. After all, I am her father, there's no need to make such a fuss!"
"Under the laws of the Great Ye Dynasty, there are two kinds of contracts when selling children into the palace."
Xiao Youlan suddenly spoke up.
Coming out of nowhere, it left both Lin Laixi and Lin Jiaxing baffled.
Unhurriedly, Xiao Youlan continued, "One is a temporary contract: the daughter enters the palace to serve as a maid, and upon reaching the age of twenty-six, she may leave. The other is a permanent contract: once children enter the palace, regardless of life or death, they belong to the palace. The silver given for a permanent contract is double that of a temporary one."
He asked, "Which one did the two of you sign when you sold Doukou?"
Neither Lin Laixi nor Lin Jiaxing could utter a word. How would they know about any of this?!
"A permanent contract."
Nan Xueyin answered. Supported by Linglang, she stood to one side, her throat thick with unyielding grievance and choking tears. "They wanted more silver because they were in a hurry to get him married."
"Very well." Xiao Youlan nodded.
Looking down from on high, he gazed coldly at the Lin father and son. "Since it is a permanent contract, there is no Lin Chunxia here, only Doukou, a maid of the East Palace."
Lin Laixi protested, unconvinced, "But she is still my own flesh and blood!"
Feihong snorted. "From the sound of it, you think the laws of our Great Ye Dynasty are just for show? If you think this makes no sense, feel free to take it up with the Emperor!"
How could Lin Laixi ever dare to question the Emperor? He changed his tune instantly. "I... I didn't mean that..."
"Since this matter is settled, let us move to the rest," Xiao Youlan spoke again. "As for the two of you, breaking into the East Palace so brazenly today, what is your crime?"
Feihong chimed in cooperatively, "According to the law, twenty lashes!"
The faces of the father and son drained of color as they kowtowed in panic, begging for mercy.
"Lin Laixi is advanced in age, so he shall receive only ten lashes. The remaining ten lashes shall be borne by Lin Jiaxing. As a son, taking the punishment in place of his father is only right." Unhurried, Xiao Youlan's cold, deep voice carried the weight of mountains.
The guards acknowledged the order and dragged the Lin father and son outside to be punished.