It turned out the characters on the cloth were penned by the eldest princess of the former dynasty.
They documented the complete truth about the former imperial family.
The founding emperor of the former dynasty was named Lin Yuanfeng, a soul from another world, a so-called transmigrator.
Yes, the founding emperor.
Lin Qingge read the few characters twice, confirming she hadn't misread them.
According to the eldest princess, Lin Yuanfeng must have been a construction fanatic who held the script for a powerful female lead.
Initially, she only wanted to improve her own life and that of those around her, gradually developing her own territory.
To protect the people and crops within her territory from being plundered by other city lords, she had to constantly become stronger.
Furthermore, adhering to the principle of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' she led her subordinates to fight back. The other city lords, unable to resist, could only meekly seek peace.
Lin Yuanfeng then proceeded to unify the entire realm.
Yingtian Prefecture, Shuntian Prefecture, Chengtian Prefecture, and Fengtian Prefecture were the former names of those cities.
Through Lin Yuanfeng's diligent efforts, the former dynasty achieved unprecedented prosperity.
However, Lin Yuanfeng was the only such figure in the former imperial family.
Devoted to construction and uninterested in romantic affairs, Lin Yuanfeng remained unmarried throughout her life and had no descendants.
Thus, after her demise, the throne was inherited by her nephew.
This nephew, though lacking great talent, was at least diligent and law-abiding.
However, his descendants were not only dissolute but also arrogant, turning a prosperous and peaceful empire that could have remained so for a hundred years into one filled with grievances and suffering for its people.
Perhaps it was fate.
The eldest princess transmigrated into this world at this very time.
Her drastically altered behavior was noticed by her close maidservant, who detected something amiss.
Seeking a reward and believing it to be the work of demons, the maidservant reported her discovery to the then-emperor.
Some charlatan then concocted the notion of a chosen daughter, a daughter of great fortune.
They insisted that the eldest princess was the reincarnation of the founding emperor Lin Yuanfeng, who had returned specifically to protect the Lin dynasty.
And so, the eldest princess, who possessed the most noble status of a direct imperial daughter, lived a life of confinement, like a bird in a cage.
The middle-aged emperor, swayed by the slander of his courtiers, and in a bid to consolidate his reign and preserve this so-called great fortune, actually entertained the idea of bestowing the title of Empress upon the eldest princess.
This was an emperor and his own daughter, bound by blood!
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess wished she could pierce her own ears.
But the foolish and incompetent emperor claimed that the eldest princess was the reincarnation of the founding emperor Lin Yuanfeng, merely borrowing his daughter's body, and was not his true daughter.
Despite her extreme exhaustion, the eldest princess desperately wanted to exclaim, 'Marrying one's own ancestor is also utter madness!'
Yet, she possessed not a shred of power to resist.
Fortunately, the Prime Minister at the time learned of the matter and, to prevent a grave mistake, utilized all his connections to rescue the eldest princess.
However, the Prime Minister was subsequently imprisoned by the furious emperor.
Having anticipated this outcome, the Prime Minister had already arranged for his son to escort the eldest princess to the border, where a general, a close friend of the Prime Minister, was stationed.
Upon learning the full story, the general, the Prime Minister's son, and the eldest princess conferred and decided to launch a rebellion.
Initially, they intended to crown the eldest princess as the new ruler.
However, the eldest princess was thoroughly disillusioned with the Lin family. She feared that her Lin bloodline might lead her descendants to repeat the mistakes of the dog emperor, so she wished for the general, who had contributed the most, to ascend to the high position.
But the general, surnamed Xiao, politely declined.
Thus, the throne fell to the Prime Minister's son.
In reality, the Prime Minister's son also wished to refuse, but if he refused, the throne would inevitably fall to the eldest princess once more.
To avoid putting the eldest princess in a difficult position, he reluctantly accepted, feigning hardship and pleading for the eldest princess to remain by his side.
As for the so-called former imperial treasury, it indeed existed.
And it was quite substantial!
However, the eldest princess used most of it to subsidize the treasury of the Great Xia Kingdom.
The remainder was entirely used to construct this secret treasure chamber.
Therefore, those chests were empty from the very beginning.
The eldest princess left behind such a colossal deception because she keenly understood the inherent flaws of the Lin bloodline and predicted that the Lin descendants would never give up.
Although only two infants remained at the time, as a precaution, she secretly revealed the secret of the treasury to her younger brother, who advocated for maintaining the status quo.
Finally, she bestowed upon any Lin descendant who found this place a parting message:
"Pleasures in life are like this, and all things of old flow away like water in the east."
"Sir, no wonder Lin Yan was so flustered; it turns out this treasure was merely a ruse meticulously orchestrated by the eldest princess from beginning to end!"
With her gossip-loving soul burning fiercely, Yan Tinghao craned his neck to look, putting on an appearance of righteous indignation:
"That emperor was truly disgusting, wanting to covet his own daughter based on mere unfounded slander; he was worse than a pig or a dog!"
Recalling Lin Yan's previous statement that even siblings were acceptable, Lin Qingge, who rarely argued, did not retort to Yan Tinghao's words, finding some traits to be deeply ingrained.
Instead, she returned to the corner of the wall and picked up the wooden box containing the secrets of the former imperial family.
"Is there something wrong with this wooden box?"
Upon hearing Leng Ningyue's question, Lin Qingge first shook her head, then nodded.
"It's not exactly a problem, just that there's still a slight mystery to be unraveled."
"Sir, are you pondering whether anyone had entered this treasure cave before you?"
Lin Qingge raised her eyebrows in surprise at the remark:
"You know?"
"Sir, although that person acted with great caution, leaving almost no traces of their visit, they thoughtfully left behind a treasure-trove manual!"
As she finished speaking, Hua Jinrong produced a book from his sleeve.
Lin Qingge was no stranger to this book; she had even practiced imitating its delicate cursive script.
"You went into my brother's study and took his things?"
Although Lin Qingge's tone was a question, it was remarkably certain.
This was because the author of that book was none other than her nominal elder brother, Lin Jingxing.
In other words, she already knew how to solve the mechanisms here.
At first, with the arrows, she hadn't recalled it, only feeling a slight familiarity, and later confirmed it.
Therefore, the mechanisms along the way were essentially rendered useless to her.
Fortunately, with Leng Ningyue's overwhelming combat prowess serving as cover, she was not suspected by Lin Yan.
Meanwhile, Hua Jinrong fanned himself and apologized with a smile:
"Sir, please don't be angry; it's merely a habit of this student."
"Yes, sir, he is an informant with a terrible personality, who, besides pretending to be weak, enjoys rummaging through others' belongings and prying into their secrets."
"Bai Er, we have a friendship forged through thick and thin; how can you speak of me like this?"
Ignoring Hua Jinrong and Mu Rongbai, this pair of bickering best friends, Lin Qingge took the wooden box and examined it carefully.
Finally, she discovered a letter in a hidden compartment at the bottom of the box, addressed to 'Little Ge' for her eyes only.