Chapter 27 His Majesty actually carried Lord Lin himself…

As the daylight shone brightly, the exquisite furnishings inside the side hall of Qingyi Pavilion were illuminated in every detail.

Lin Yan stared blankly, his hand unconsciously and absentmindedly stroking the imperial cat Aman who was lying on his lap.

I never expected that Aman would still be in Qingyi Pavilion, and he could still pet a cat.

Ah Man felt comfortable from being stroked, and a low snoring sound came from his throat.

However, petting the cat couldn't save Lin Yan from her turbulent thoughts.

At that moment, only two words were in my mind, and they were in bold: It's over.

Lin Yan wanted to deceive himself. Yesterday, he said that Jin Jiu helped him change his clothes, and he also grabbed Jin Jiu's sleeve to prevent her from leaving.

But the memories flooded back, leaving Lin Yan no choice but to deceive himself.

He was personally served by the emperor last night.

Would you consider this the ultimate version of "Imperial Etiquette Disorder Plus"?

Does the crime of executing nine generations of one's family include getting drunk and having the emperor serve one's clothes?

The thought of this possibility sent a chill down Lin Yan's spine, and he lost control of his strength, plucking a few of A-Man's hairs.

"Meow!" Aman protested indignantly, swishing its tail as it jumped off his lap. It walked gracefully to the center of the carpet, tucked its paws in, and turned its rear end towards him. Its emerald green cat eyes seemed to say, "Human, your strength is very poor today. I am very dissatisfied."

Looking at Aman, who doesn't have to go to work every day and has a lot of people to take care of her, Lin Yan sighed.

Why can't he be one of Xiao Che's cats?

Just as Lin Yan was about to be driven crazy by his own imagination and was considering whether to write a letter of apology and submit it, footsteps came from outside the hall.

Li Lianshun's fair and round face peeked in, smiling amiably: "Lord Lin, His Majesty has summoned you."

Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat.

Alas, this moment has finally arrived.

Lin Yan took a deep breath, stood up with a look of grim determination, straightened his robes which were not wrinkled, and followed Li Lianshun outside.

His steps were so heavy, as if he were going to his death.

Taiyi Hall.

Xiao Che was sitting behind his desk reviewing memorials. His profile was clearly defined in the morning light, and he looked focused.

Upon hearing the announcement, he looked up, his gaze falling on Lin Yan, his expression calm.

Lin Yan knelt down with a thud, his forehead pressed against the cold gold brick: "Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty."

【Come, Your Majesty! Do with me as you see fit!】

Xiao Che paused for a moment, the vermilion ink at the tip of his brush leaving a slightly darker red dot on the memorial.

Who wants to kill him or torture him?

Xiao Che put down his pen, leaned back slightly, and looked at the figure below who wished he could shrink into a crack in the ground. His tone was unreadable: "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lin Yan stood up, head bowed, not daring to look Xiao Che in the eye.

“Yesterday…” Xiao Che had just begun.

Lin Yan knelt down again with a "plop," the speed and fluidity of his sliding kneeling motion was breathtaking.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!" Lin Yan's voice was strained, filled with deep remorse. "Yesterday, I was drunk and behaved improperly before Your Majesty, offending Your Majesty's eyes. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Lin Yan closed his eyes, waiting for the thunderous rage he had imagined.

How will His Majesty punish me? Deduct my salary? Demote me? Exile me? Or just throw me out of the Meridian Gate... Waaaaah, my head, I don't want to leave you!

Xiao Che: "..." What kind of nonsense is this?

The expected reprimand did not come.

A very soft hum came from above, as if someone had laughed out of anger.

"I haven't even said anything yet, and you've already condemned yourself." Xiao Che's voice didn't betray anger, but rather a hint of helplessness. "Get up and speak."

Lin Yan looked up in a daze, hardly believing her ears.

[Not angry? Not angry at all? Is His Majesty in such a good mood today?]

Xiao Che tapped his fingertips lightly on the imperial desk, deciding to skip this part and get straight to the point: "I summoned you here not to question you about your crimes."

"Huh?" Lin Yan was even more confused. If it wasn't an accusation, then what was it? It couldn't be that it was concerned about whether he was feeling unwell from his hangover, could it?

"With your limited alcohol tolerance, you should just decline from now on." Xiao Che's tone was as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today. "You don't have to drink every toast offered by just anyone. I'm promoting you, not so you can use it to deal with these kinds of things."

Lin Yan: "!!!"

He suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open, his face filled with disbelief.

[What does that mean? Is His Majesty saying that we can simply decline any more dinner invitations with ulterior motives?]

Does His Majesty value me that much?

Is this what they call domineering CEO-style care?

Xiao Che was taken aback by Lin Yan's inner "domineering CEO" persona, feeling that it wasn't exactly a positive term.

"As an official appointed by the court, it is important to maintain good relations with colleagues, but it is even more important to know how to act within one's means and protect oneself. If drinking interferes with official duties and harms one's health, that would be undesirable," Xiao Che said eloquently.

Lin Yan hurriedly agreed, "That's right, drinking leads to trouble!"

[Waaaaah, Your Majesty is so kind.]

Am I still too drunk from yesterday and not sober yet?

Listening to the jumbled thoughts in his head, Xiao Che felt that if he continued talking, this man would only lead himself into a dead end.

He simply changed the subject, which was also another reason why he had summoned Lin Yan today: "You look alright. Are you feeling better from your hangover? If the Ministry of Rites has no urgent business today, please help me sort these memorials into categories, according to the six ministries and their urgency."

Lin Yan looked in the direction Xiao Che was pointing and saw a smaller table next to the imperial desk, piled high with memorials. There were also writing brushes, ink, blank slips of paper, a pot of steaming tea, and several plates of delicate pastries.

Lin Yan was completely stunned.

Not only did they not punish him, but they also gave him such an easy sentence? And he even has food and drink?

Did his father find some kind of deity to give him special treatment?

Lin Yan was still a little flustered. In fact, it was the Hanlin Academician who should be working in front of the emperor, not him.

Xiao Che, too lazy to deal with the drama unfolding in his mind, picked up a memorial and began to review it, making it clear that the matter was settled and there was no need for further discussion.

Seeing this, Lin Yan had no choice but to swallow back all the questions and fear in his heart, move behind the small table and sit down, resignedly starting to sort out the memorials.

"So His Majesty summoned me here just to see how bad my hangover is, and then give me an easy job?"

Are you worried that I'll go back to the Ministry of Rites with a hangover and get plyed by those old foxes?

"No... Your Majesty, what are you after? I'm just a nobody, why would you go to such lengths for me?"

The more Lin Yan thought about it, the more he felt that some deity was indeed protecting him.

While his mind was in turmoil, his hands kept moving, sorting the memorials by department and urgency, and affixing labels.

Occasionally, he would steal a glance at Xiao Che behind the imperial desk.

The emperor was extremely focused as he reviewed the memorials. His profile was cold and hard, and he would occasionally frown or pick up his pen to write quickly. He exuded an undeniable majesty.

He doesn't seem like the kind of considerate person who would care about whether his subjects are suffering from a hangover.

Lin Yan found it increasingly strange, and he became more and more convinced that he must have done something earth-shattering yesterday without realizing it, such as saving His Majesty's life? Or perhaps he had inadvertently obtained some leverage over His Majesty?

The idea was so absurd that Lin Yan himself found it amusing, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve slightly before he quickly suppressed it.

Xiao Che continued writing, but his throat bobbed almost imperceptibly, as if he were swallowing a laugh.

The only sounds in the hall were the rustling of paper turning and the scratching of pens, as well as the dramatic and exciting inner monologue of Lin Yan.

Time slips away quietly.

As Lin Yan continued dividing the items, her initial unease was gradually replaced by a strange calm.

The warm room was quiet, the scent of agarwood was calming and soothing, and occasionally one could hear the faint chirping of birds outside the window.

Xiao Che was not far away, his presence was very strong, but he did not make people feel suffocated by the pressure.

On the contrary... there is an indescribable sense of security.

The tea was warm and delicious, and the snacks were sweet but not cloying, making them extremely tasty.

Ah Man wandered in at some point, jumped onto his desk, tucked his hands into a stack of not-so-important Ministry of Works documents, and began to doze off, the tip of his furry tail occasionally brushing against the back of his hand.

Looking at the peaceful scene before him, and then recalling the chaos at Baiweilou yesterday, Lin Yan felt a strong sense of contrast.

Actually, His Majesty is a very nice person.

Although their thoughts are a bit hard to fathom and their methods a bit frightening, at least they are reasonable, not stingy, and will protect their own.

If it weren't for Jin Jiu yesterday, I probably would have been carried back by Lord Zhou and the others.

They even made a point of letting me find some peace and quiet here today...

A subtle emotion, a mixture of hangover headache and the tranquility before me, slowly seeped from the depths of my heart.

Lin Yan initially forced himself to stay focused and concentrate on the classification and summaries of the memorials.

But perhaps it was the overly tranquil atmosphere in the hall, perhaps it was the calming effect of the agarwood, or perhaps it was the full force of his hangover finally taking hold, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the words in front of him began to blur and double.

Its head bobbed up and down, like a chick pecking at rice.

Several times I almost bumped into the table, only to be startled awake by myself. I blinked blankly, tried to sit up straight, and continued to fight off sleepiness.

[Not being able to sleep... that's an even bigger offense...]

But... I'm so sleepy...

[Just a quick nap... just for a moment... His Majesty probably... isn't watching...]

This last thought came intermittently, but ultimately succumbed to the overwhelming drowsiness.

Lin Yan loosened her grip on the brush, and it rolled onto the spread-out Xuan paper, spreading a small patch of ink.

He himself tilted his head, his cheek resting in the crook of his arm, and his breathing became even and long.

Startled by the slight noise, Aman raised its head, glanced at the sleeping human next to it with its emerald green cat eyes, flicked its tail in disgust, and moved to a more distant corner to continue dozing off with its hands tucked in.

Xiao Che, who was behind the imperial desk, raised his eyes almost the instant Lin Yan's breathing changed.

He paused for a moment, looking at the young official who was sleeping soundly on the desk, completely unguarded. He then gently placed the vermilion brush in his hand on the brush holder.

The hall was so quiet that Lin Yan's soft breathing could be heard.

Xiao Che stood up, his black robes brushing the ground without making a sound. He walked slowly to the small table and looked down at the sleeping Lin Yan.

Because of his posture, Lin Yan's cheek was slightly pouting, his long eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, and his lips were unconsciously slightly parted. He had lost his usual cleverness and looked exceptionally well-behaved. A strand of black hair clung to the corner of his lips and trembled gently with his breath.

Xiao Che's gaze lingered on that strand of hair for a moment, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

He didn't intend to wake him.

But what happened next was probably something even Xiao Che himself hadn't anticipated.

He neither called out to the eunuchs standing outside the hall, nor signaled Li Lianshun to come in and handle the matter.

Instead, as if drawn by something invisible, or perhaps under some kind of bewitching spell, she leaned slightly forward and stretched out her arm—one hand carefully reaching into the crook of Lin Yan's knee, while the other hand went around his shoulder and back.

His movements were slightly clumsy, but he easily lifted the unconscious minister into his arms.

Lin Yan seemed to sense movement in his dream, unconsciously hummed, tilted his head, and naturally nestled into Xiao Che's neck, his warm breath gently brushing against the emperor's collarbone.

Xiao Che's body stiffened for a moment, but he tightened his grip on the person's arms.

He adjusted his posture to make sure Lin Yan could lean back comfortably before turning around and walking towards the warm pavilion at the side and rear of the Taiyi Hall, where the emperor rested daily.

Just as he turned around with Lin Yan in his arms, Li Defu, who was serving tea and snacks and was about to quietly bring them in from the direction of the palace gate, happened to see the whole scene.

Clang—

A very faint thud, like a porcelain tray hitting the door frame.

Li Defu was frozen in place as if under a spell, his eyes wide open, his mouth involuntarily agape, big enough to fit an egg, his usual smile completely shattered, leaving only utter disbelief and horror.

What did he see?!

His Majesty actually carried Lord Lin in his arms?

He didn't just give orders to the palace servants; he did it himself!

This is absolutely unprecedented!

Since His Majesty ascended the throne, when have we ever seen him so...so intimate with anyone? Let alone holding a subject in his arms!

Li Defu felt a chill run from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, shaking him to his core. His hands and feet turned icy cold, and he covered his mouth tightly, afraid of making the slightest sound and disturbing the unpredictable emperor. He even held his breath, his pupils contracting violently as if in an earthquake, watching helplessly as His Majesty, carrying Lord Lin, disappeared steadily behind the screen leading to the warm pavilion.

After a long while, Li Defu seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he leaned weakly against the door frame, his back covered in a layer of sweat.

He bent down, trembling, to pick up the tray he had almost dropped, his heart still pounding wildly.

Good heavens...

Just how much does Lord Lin hold in His Majesty's heart?!

Li Defu originally thought that he had served His Majesty since he was a child and had a certain understanding of His Majesty. However, seeing the scene before him today, he felt that his understanding of His Majesty's will over the past few decades had been completely overturned at this moment.

A note from the author:

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[Cat head]