Chapter 17 Your subject truly loves Lin Yanshu. No more pretense...

The Empress already knew that Li Chengyi had summoned the imperial physician.

Physician Zhang did not mention that Li Chengyi was troubled by love.

The Empress keenly noticed that her son, who was usually so distant in his dealings with others, had actually gone out of his way to invite a royal physician from the palace for a woman.

For so many years, this woman has been the only one by his side.

The Empress's heart tightened.

When a young man's heart is first stirred, his ambitions are as high as the sky, and it is the most earth-shattering.

But how could a mute girl of unknown origin be worthy of her son!

Her son deserves to be married to the best noblewoman in the capital.

The Empress narrowed her eyes fiercely.

She underestimated this mute girl; she had captivated the prince so easily without making a sound.

For her sake, he married one of his trusted confidants to her and even gave Lin Yanshu his residence in the capital.

She turned a blind eye to all of this, but now it seems her son was deceived by a woman.

A person with such cunning would probably not be content to remain a concubine of the Crown Prince.

The Empress dismissed Imperial Physician Zhang. She then summoned a servant and ordered that Lin Yanshu be brought to her.

"Bring to me the woman who is with the Crown Prince."

This disaster spread silently.

The people sent by the Empress arrived at the residence quickly. They carried waist tokens and long swords and went straight in.

Lin Yanshu was stopped by them as soon as he stepped out the door. They came in aggressively and said in a stern voice:

"My lady invites you, Miss Lin, please."

Lin Yanshu raised her eyes and looked at the eunuch in front of her, then at the servants in the courtyard.

It seems they know who is looking for her.

She shouldn't be in any danger; the person who wanted to kill her wouldn't do it so openly.

Lin Yanshu obediently followed the group of people from the palace into the carriage.

The carriage drove all the way to the palace.

Lin Yanshu lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

The palace walls are majestic and imposing.

The carriage stopped, and Lin Yanshu was led by a palace maid to the palace.

Lin Yanshu looked around. There were countless gilded and colorful jade ornaments, and even the palace maids standing to the side wore brocades of considerable value.

Lin Yanshu stood silently in the hall, waiting for the person behind the scenes to appear.

When the Empress heard that Lin Yanshu was already waiting in the palace, she did not rush to set off. Instead, she slowly played a game of chess.

Lin Yanshu waited in the palace for more than an hour before the Empress finally appeared.

She wore a gold hairpin and a dark red dress as she walked into the hall.

The maids around her bowed repeatedly. Lin Yanshu followed their example and bowed to the Empress.

Lin Yanshu quietly looked up and sized up the woman in front of her. She didn't know what the other woman's purpose was in seeing her.

"Raise your head and let me take a good look at you."

Lin Yanshu raised her head in response.

The Empress looked at Lin Yanshu's face. What a delicate and innocent face! Just one glance was enough to make one feel tenderness and affection.

I felt sorry for her, and I could still maintain this innocent and naive appearance in front of her.

She looked at Lin Yanshu's teary eyes and said coldly:

Do you know who I am?

Lin Yanshu obediently shook her head.

The Empress snorted coldly:

"Then do you know why I summoned you here?"

Lin Yanshu reached out to sign, but then hesitated, realizing that the other person probably wouldn't understand her sign language.

The Empress noticed her hesitation.

“Say what you want to say. The nanny by my side can understand your sign language.”

Lin Yanshu typed out the two characters "A Zhao".

The old nanny standing to the side hesitated before uttering the prince's courtesy name.

The Empress narrowed her eyes. This woman was already addressing her as "son" with such intimacy!

Have they developed to this point?

Isn't her son already being completely manipulated by this woman?

Lin Yanshu sensed the change in the woman's aura and frowned in confusion.

The Empress snorted coldly:

"Tell me, what will it take for you to leave my son?"

How much will it cost?

Lin Yanshu frowned, thought for a while, and then realized that this person was Li Chengyi's mother.

Lin Yanshu shook his head:

“Ah Zhao and I are friends, and our friendship cannot be measured by money.”

The Empress's eyes widened. This woman was indeed ambitious; even money couldn't sway her. She even tried to deceive her by claiming that she and Zhao'er were just friends.

"What a friend! You dare say you don't covet Crown Prince Zhao'er's status and position?"

"Does he not covet the Crown Princess's wealth and favor in the slightest?"

The empress had two large chests of gold brought in, her eyes filled with disdain.

"This should be enough for you to leave the Crown Prince. Any more than that, and you'll have to risk your life for it."

Lin Yanshu looked at the glittering gold in front of him.

Her thoughts were still lingering on the words "Crown Prince".

Li Chengyi is the current crown prince, a esteemed prince in the imperial court.

No wonder she didn't confide in him. With such a noble status, he was the moon in the sky, while Lin Yanshu was just mud on the ground.

Getting too involved with the mud on the ground might dirty his shoes.

Lin Yanshu was saddened, but she felt even more anger and disappointment.

fraud!

It turns out that in Li Chengyi's heart, she was not someone he could entrust his heart to, even though he clearly loved her sincerely.

Lin Yanshu suppressed the bitterness in her heart, sniffed, and looked away from the Empress:

"Your Highness, His Highness and I are friends."

"I will not leave. If you wish to leave, please inform me personally, Your Highness."

The Queen's eyes widened in disbelief. Since she had ascended to the throne, no one had ever dared to provoke her so openly.

Despite the Empress's cold expression, Lin Yanshu still looked at her with neither arrogance nor servility.

The Empress was furious. How could this woman be so clueless? Didn't she see that she was about to be driven mad by her?

Does Zhao'er like this kind of woman?

Lin Yanshu looked at the woman in front of her, whose face had turned blue and purple from anger, and wondered if she should give her a couple of acupuncture needles.

The Empress was so angry that she waved her hand and ordered that even the gold and Lin Yanshu be put into the carriage.

She didn't want to see Lin Yanshu's innocent expression anymore.

She sat gracefully on the high platform and said:

"How long can one's favor with beauty last?"

"You'll be abandoned by my son sooner or later, so hurry up and take the money and get out of here."

Lin Yanshu looked at the Empress and asked the last question that was on his mind:

"Your Majesty, Ah Zhao, what is his name?"

The Empress was stunned. Why was this woman pretending to be stupid now? She had already called Zhao'er by her courtesy name, but she didn't know Zhao'er's given name.

Even so, the Empress still answered Lin Yanshu's question with composure:

"Li Chengyi, remember this, it's my son's name!"

Lin Yanshu thought the Empress was actually quite nice; she scolded him a couple of times and even gave him two boxes of gold.

She returned to the mansion in a carriage, carrying two chests of gold.

Huo Zheng did not see Lin Yanshu in the courtyard. He was told by a servant that Lin Yanshu had been taken away by the Empress. He immediately reported this to Li Chengyi.

"Yan Shu was taken into the palace by the Empress Dowager?"

"Huo Zheng, is this how you handle things by keeping you by her side?"

Huo Zheng lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Chengyi.

Li Chengyi had no intention of holding anyone accountable, and he immediately rode his horse into the palace.

When he entered the palace, Lin Yanshu was riding in a carriage and heading out.

Li Chengyi rushed all the way to the central palace.

He was panting heavily, his collar disheveled from his running. Li Chengyi did not hesitate and strode into the hall.

The Empress was still in the palace when she saw Li Chengyi, and she was shocked.

She was surprised that her son, who was so focused on his official duties, had time to come see her, without even being announced by the palace servants.

Without even exchanging pleasantries, Li Chengyi stormed up to Lin Yanshu and demanded to know her whereabouts:

Where is Yan Shu?

The Empress's face darkened; it turned out that her good son had come to interrogate her.

She smiled coldly:

"The person just left, why is Zhao'er so unsteady?"

Li Chengyi took a deep breath, calming the anger that had been building up all the way.

He did not want anyone to disturb Lin Yanshu, not even his own mother.

His eyes darkened, and a questioning glint appeared in them:

"Mother, why have you summoned her?"

The Empress saw her son so enraged over his lover and thought he was utterly useless.

In contrast, Lin Yanshu remained indifferent, showing no sign of being fond of Li Chengyi.

"What for? I'm here to check on my own child."

"Zhao'er, you are inexperienced in the ways of the world, and you know very little about matters of the heart. Don't let yourself be deceived by women."

Li Chengyi frowned and coldly warned his mother:

"Mother! I have said it before, I have no romantic feelings for Lin Yanshu."

"Mother, please don't make things difficult for her, a weak woman."

After reaching adulthood, this was the first time Li Chengyi had disregarded social norms and defied her.

The Empress laughed; she was amused by her own Crown Prince.

He stood there so recklessly, questioning his mother, and even claimed that he had no selfish motives towards her.

Such stubbornness.

Should she be angry or laugh?

The Empress stared at Li Chengyi and questioned him, word by word:

"Zhao'er, you don't understand, your mother is helping you."

"You are the crown prince, and the choice of your partner is of utmost importance. You cannot choose a woman who is a weakness that makes you unable to control yourself."

Li Chengyi frowned in disbelief. He didn't think Lin Yanshu would be a woman who could make him lose control.

He believed in his own resolve.

Seeing that Li Chengyi did not believe her words, the Empress added a few more blows:

"Zhao'er, you said you don't like her, but you keep her by your side."

"They specially invited the imperial physician to treat her."

"Now, for her sake, you're questioning your mother without any regard for the consequences. When have you ever lost your composure like this, Zhao'er?"

Li Chengyi quieted down and carefully considered his mother's words.

How could he lose his composure like this?

Does he really like Lin Yanshu?

How could that be?

Lin Yanshu's indifferent face appeared in his mind. He thought of her smiling brightly at him, shedding tears of grievance, and resting by his side without any defenses.

That makes you feel sorry for them, and makes you want to get close to them.

He never imagined he would have these feelings for Lin Yanshu. He just thought, what's wrong with being nice to the person who saved his life?

It just so happens that this person is Lin Yanshu.

But then he thought about the dreams he'd had for several nights in a row, and how he'd tossed and turned all night.

It seemed the whole world believed he was in love.

He seems to have really fallen for her.

Lee Seung-ik had never liked anyone before, and he didn't know what it felt like to fall in love.

But he seems to know now.

The Empress thought Li Chengyi would try to explain himself.

But suddenly he looked at himself with a firm gaze and frankly admitted everything:

"Yes, Your Majesty, I do indeed admire Lin Yanshu."

"Mother, you are right."