The palace guards are not to be trifled with!

  "Are you possessed?" Yu Xinrui roughly patted Cao Dan's shoulder, he wasn't usually so nagging, "I'm asking you!"

  "Call......" Cao Dan's voice was still hoarse, as if the name he was about to say out loud could take away his breath.

  "Nothing wrong?" Tang Lin noticed something was off.

  Cao Dan shook his head, "Nothing! The new top scholar is Sun Bailin!" This time the answer came quickly, but the awkward emotions in his eyes did not show.

  "A strange name, Tang Lin wasn't very curious, 'Oh, got it, go work!'"

  "Oh!" Cao Dan responded dully and then went off to attend to his business.

  ——

  Noon.

  After dinner, Tang Lin returned to the studio. It was almost the end of the month and she had to bid farewell to Lu Baiwan. She was writing her resignation letter when a knock at the door came, accompanied by the sound of Phoenix Butterfly's voice, "Little Tang, I have something to discuss with you!"

  Tang Lin put the resignation letter in a book and turned back to look at the door, "Come in!"

  Phoenix butterfly dance pushed open the door and came in, she was holding several invitations in her hand, walking over with a smile.

  Tang Lin glanced at what was in her hand and asked: "What are you holding?"

  "Look," Fengdie said with a joyful heart, putting the invitation on the table. As Tanglin took one and opened it to read, she said: "It was just sent by someone from the Lu household! The day after tomorrow is the birthday of the young master and miss of the house, and also, the master has decided to celebrate the young master's success in becoming a top scholar on that day. It can be said that two joys have arrived at the same time. Because Jun Die Xuan is the best-run wine shop by the master, so he has invited all of us to go to the mansion to drink at the celebration!"

  After reading the invitation letter, Fengdie Dance did not see Tang Lin having her own imagined happiness, but instead appeared unusually calm. "What's wrong?"

  Tang Lin silently sighed, "After tomorrow, there will only be four days left! If those four days pass, I'll face several very difficult choices!"

  Phoenix Butterfly sat down and said, "Can you tell me something?"

  Tang Lin said: "I can only stay in Jun Die Xuan for a month, and I will leave at the end of the month to participate in the Imperial Guard selection competition. The imperial palace is the root of Yunshan, and I may be able to find my way home there! But how can I forget that there are still colleagues I miss here, and the one I like... my boyfriend!"

  "It's hard to believe that the road back to your house could be in the palace?"

  Tang Lin said weakly: "Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn't understand!"

  "Alright," Feng Die said with a shrug, no longer inquiring about the matter. "If you're so fond of this place, then you can stay here. To be honest, I think you'll probably lose if you participate in the Imperial Guard selection competition!"

  Tang Lin raised an eyebrow, "Can you predict the future?"

  Fengdie Dance said: "It's not that I can predict the future, but it's a fact. Think about it, what kind of people are the imperial guards? They are experts who specialize in protecting the emperor and doing tasks for him. Without exceptional martial arts skills, how could they be selected? I heard from others that countless people participate in the selection tournament every year. Can you guess what happens? Out of tens of thousands of people, only a few are chosen, or sometimes not even one person is qualified. In previous years, there was once an instance where no one met the promotion standards, and it all ended in vain! Think about it, those who participate in the imperial guard selection tournament are all top-notch martial artists from the jianghu, experts who can kill with a single leaf, and have the skills to tread on water without leaving any marks. But these experts ultimately lose in the cruel competition, not one of them can stand out. Do you have confidence that your daughter can rise to the top?"

  After being persuaded by Feng Die, Tang Lin not only didn't feel a hint of fear or apprehension, but instead became even more enthusiastic and excited about the upcoming Imperial Guard selection competition next month. "I really want to see what kind of cruel methods they have! They say that special forces training is the most brutal in the world, I don't believe there's anything even more brutal than this!"

  Fengdie rolled her eyes, "How can Tanglin be so clueless? 'Little Tang, listen to me, the guards in the imperial palace are not easy to mess with. They're all cold-faced and hard-hearted, if you run into them, it won't end well for you!'"

  Tang Lin was puzzled, "I said Butterfly Dance, why did Yu Xin Huang Chao recruit the Imperial Guard so severely?"

  The phoenix butterfly danced with a difficult expression, "This... I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard that the people of 'Fan Yu Hui' are all more formidable than the Imperial Guards, and the goal of Fan Yu Hui is only one, that is to take the Emperor's life!"

  "Anti-Royal Meeting?!" Tang Lin was taken aback by the name of the organization, "This name, isn't it just anti-Xin Dynasty? Is this organization specialized in assassinating national leaders?"

  "What?!" Fengdie's mind was a complete mess upon hearing this, "What?"

  Tang Lin corrected her words, "I mean to say, the people who oppose the imperial conference, are they always thinking of assassinating the emperor? That's why the palace is so strict in recruiting imperial guards?"

  Phoenix Butterfly Dance nodded and said: "Uh-huh! That's right!"

  Tang Lin suddenly let out a bitter laugh, "Your emperor is indeed quite unlucky!"

  "...The phoenix butterfly danced in a daze, she really wanted to say to Tang Lin's face: "Don't gloat over others' misfortunes, the unlucky emperor you mentioned is now your sweetheart!"

  "But anyway," Fengdie Dance continued, "Xiao Tang, are you in a hurry to go back and see your family?"

  Tang Lin's face turned slightly pale, and she said: "Family is something that must be seen, but my dreams in that world have not yet been realized, I want to go back! But leaving Yu Sheng Jun, I am reluctant, really very reluctant!"

  "Fengdie wu roucheng wen dao: 'Xiao Tang, ni yao yuan shen me meng ne? Ke yi gao su wo ma?'"

  Translation:

  "Phoenix Butterfly Soft Voice asked: 'Little Tang, what dream do you want to fulfill? Can you tell me?'"

  Tang Lin said, "I was born into a military family and have been trained since I was young. After more than a decade of training, I am one of the few who can perform exceptionally in all three domains of air, land, and sea as a special forces operative. I take great pride in myself for this. Last month's exercise was my last time participating as a private, and once it ended, I would be promoted. During these years of training in the troops, I have not been idle and have accomplished many first-class merits. I believe that soon I will be able to sit in the position of brigade commander... My grandfather said that his greatest wish was to become the commander of our special forces brigade, but he didn't get to realize his wish before he passed away. For this reason, I want to fulfill my grandfather's dream, even if it means I have to climb up as a woman. I will keep striving until I achieve my grandfather's dream!"

  After waiting for a long time, Tang Lin didn't hear Feng Die Wu's response. She looked over and was suddenly frightened. Feng Die Wu was staring at her intently, as if her soul had escaped, completely wooden. "Are you listening?"

  Feng Die's delicate eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and she glared at Tang Lin, "You're always saying things I don't understand, how can I continue listening? Can you simplify it?"

  Tang Lin rolled her eyes and said, "Even if you explained it ten more times, you still wouldn't understand, so forget it!"

  "Have you thought it through? Are you staying for the person you like or going home to fulfill your grandfather's wish?"

  Tang Lin lay on the table, listlessly saying: "I'm struggling with it right now!"

  "Grandfather's dream can be achieved anywhere, but once you miss the person you like, it's hard to meet again in this lifetime!"

  One word awakened the dreamer, and Tang Lin finally walked out of the mist. "Yes, Die Wu, you're right. Grandfather's dreams can be realized anywhere, so traveling... isn't it equivalent to being the head of the Imperial Guard?"

  Phoenix butterfly dance eyebrow, always feel that Tang Lin is going to do something earth-shattering, "What do you want to do?"

  Tang Lin turned her head towards her and smiled, "I want to be the leader of the Imperial Guard!"

  The butterfly danced in shock, eyes wide open, almost flashing its tongue, "What? What did you say? You want to be the leader of the Imperial Guard? Are you crazy? You're... beyond salvation! In broad daylight, you're actually daydreaming!"

  Tang Lin smiled and said, "If you don't try your best, how will you know if it's just a daydream? I've made up my mind, let the future be decided by heaven, and go with the flow. So here, I must work hard to fulfill my grandfather's wish. If I can't become the leader of the travelers, then taking the position of the Imperial Guard Commander is also not bad. I believe that our Holy Lord knows how strong I am and will definitely be happy for me!"

  The phoenix butterfly danced and pulled at her lips, unsure whether to cry or laugh, mumbling unclearly: "I think he's sad about it. You'll be his empress in the future, how could he make you a commander of the imperial guards!"

  "What did you say?"

  "There are guests in the room, I'm busy!" After finishing speaking, Fengdie turned around and left.

  "Tang Lin shouted at the door, "Hey, let's talk some more, we were just getting into it! How could you leave like that? Feng Die Wu, come back, Feng Die Wu!" The person had already disappeared from the doorway. "You stupid pig head, you really don't give me any face!"

  In the evening, Tang Lin sent out invitations to everyone in the wine tower, of course, except for Yu Sheng Jun and Fu Yu Shu, who had not returned all day.

  Tang Lin put back the invitation cards for the two of them in the studio and then left the wine building, returning to the guest house. Zhong Ran came out afterwards.

  After taking a bath, she lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to sleep, and also couldn't wait for Yusheng Jun's return. She tossed and turned dozens of times, becoming more and more spirited.

  She wondered what Yusheng Jun was doing all day, never seeing his figure.

  Fu Yushu is not around either, did they really go out of town to buy things together? But that's not right, the procurement list she gave yesterday only asked them to buy some ingredients, mainly meat and vegetables, shouldn't it take a whole day?

  "Ah," Tang Lin sat up in annoyance, got out of bed, walked barefoot to the table, picked up a thermos and poured a cup of warm water, then drank it all down.

  After finishing, she took the firearms on the table to check and kill time. She quickly disassembled the sniper rifle and then quickly assembled it back, without a single idle gap.

  After assembling it, she put down the sniper rifle and fell into endless boredom again, almost losing her energy.

  Just then, there was a commotion in the corridor outside the door. Tang Lin heard it and quickly got up to put on her clothes, then came over to open the door with a happy and expectant look.

  However, as soon as the door opened and she saw who it was, her face fell!

  ——

  Everyone, give Caicai some motivation to keep going, monthly tickets, comments, rewards... anything is fine~