Chapter 53 His Majesty doesn't like it...

Lin Yan was forcibly pulled out of her dream amidst the dazzling peach blossoms by a loud "meow".

The voice carried the characteristic self-righteousness of a kitten.

Lin Yan struggled to open his eyelids, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and his blurry vision met a pair of emerald green cat eyes.

Aman had somehow jumped onto Lin Yan's body and was now sitting gracefully on his chest, gently brushing his chin with the tip of her tail. When she saw him open his eyes, she gave a demure "meow".

Lin Yan groaned in pain and buried her head even deeper into the pillow.

Oh dear, you idiot! Why do you have to interrupt my sweet dream?

Lin Yan clutched the blanket, unwilling to face the fact that it was time to get up.

However, Ah Man's cat paws began to knead his chest, pressing precisely on his fragile sternum.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up, I'll get up." Lin Yan surrendered, struggling to climb out of the warm bed, scooping up the heavy imperial cat, burying her face in its furry back and rubbing it hard. "Aman, are you a devil?"

Aman disgustedly pushed his face away with her paw, nimbly jumped off the bed, and walked gracefully towards the door. She turned back and meowed at him again, her urging clearly in her voice.

Lin Yan resignedly got up and washed up.

After having breakfast, Lin Yan yawned and dawdled as he headed to the Imperial Study to report for duty.

As soon as he stepped into the outer room of the imperial study, before he even had a chance to bow, he heard the emperor's clear and calm voice from behind the desk: "Minister Lin has arrived."

Xiao Che put down his pen and looked at him, asking seemingly casually, "You stayed at Qingyi Pavilion yesterday. Did you get used to it? Was there enough charcoal? Were you cold at night?"

That was incredibly caring.

"Your Majesty, everything is fine in Qingyi Pavilion. There is plenty of charcoal and it is very warm. I rested very well and thank Your Majesty for your concern." Lin Yan was indeed very comfortable.

He would be even more comfortable if Ah Man hadn't disturbed his sweet dream.

"Okay, that's good." Xiao Che nodded, his tone indifferent, as if he had just asked casually.

But then, seemingly unintentionally, he added, his gaze fixed on Lin Yan: "I heard that the Marquis of Yongjia and his wife visited the Lin residence yesterday?"

Lin Yan: "!!!"

Holy crap?

How did Your Majesty find out? Do the Golden Shadow Guards even report such gossip?

[Or did my parents finally run to His Majesty to complain? Surely not? Isn't it said that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public?]

Lin Yan forced a smile and said, "The Marquis of Yongjia and his wife did visit our home, but it was just a casual visit. They sat for a while and then left."

"Oh? Just a casual visit?" Xiao Che raised an eyebrow. "How come I heard they went to discuss marriage?"

Lin Yan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him squarely on the top of his head, leaving him charred and cracked.

Your Majesty! Why are you, an emperor, so gossipy?

"Lin Qing is not young anymore, and the Yongjia Marquis's family is quite prestigious. If..." Xiao Che deliberately dragged out his words.

"Your Majesty!" Lin Yan abruptly interrupted him, "I have no intention of starting a family at the moment. I only wish to serve Your Majesty and the court wholeheartedly. I beg Your Majesty to understand!"

What kind of marriage are you talking about? Who are you going to marry?! Marrying a girl is just hurting her!

Your Majesty, you cannot arrange marriages arbitrarily. Even if you were to remove my official hat, I would refuse!

When Xiao Che heard Lin Yan's resolute decision, he was surprised for a moment, but then his joy, which he did not show, filled him completely.

He was right about him.

"I was just asking casually, look how frightened you are. Since you have no such intention for the time being, then forget it." Xiao Che pointed to Lin Yan's seat, "Sit down."

"Oh, okay." Lin Yan strolled over to her assigned little seat and sat down.

[That scared me to death! I thought His Majesty was going to bestow a marriage upon us.]

Xiao Che got a more definite answer from Lin Yan and stopped dwelling on it. He then got down to business with Lin Yan: "The Northern Rong delegation will arrive in the capital soon. Although the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial will handle all the reception matters, you still need to keep a close eye on things for me and make sure everything is done properly."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lin Yan quickly composed himself and solemnly agreed.

For the first time in her life, Lin Yan felt that her job was reassuring.

The job is good, as long as you don't mention him getting married, the job is great.

For the rest of the day, Lin Yan devoted himself to handling documents and coordinating work related to the Northern Rong delegation.

Xiao Che didn't bring up that topic that made his scalp tingle again, but occasionally when his gaze swept over him, it would linger for a moment longer than usual, carrying a deeper meaning that Lin Yan couldn't understand.

At lunchtime, Xiao Che still invited Lin Yan to dine with him.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was much more relaxed than in the morning. Xiao Che asked a few questions about Lin Mo's studies at the girls' school, and was quite easygoing.

Lin Yan answered them one by one, even with a hint of boasting. It wasn't that he was bragging, but his sister was an excellent student, always ranking first in her class.

Which parent wouldn't be proud to see their child get first place in school?

After the meal, Xiao Che put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands, and as if suddenly remembering something, said to Lin Yan, "Today I am going out of the palace to inspect the defenses of the capital region. There is nothing to do in the Imperial Study. If there are any documents to be processed in the Hanlin Academy, you can handle them yourself. If there is nothing to do, go back to Qingyi Pavilion to rest this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan nodded vigorously.

Because he often served in front of the emperor, the Hanlin Academy didn't assign him any work at all. Since Xiao Che wasn't in the palace, he was given a half-day holiday.

"Your Majesty, I thank you!" Lin Yan replied quickly and loudly, as if afraid that Xiao Che would change his mind.

Seeing his undisguised joy, Xiao Che's smile deepened. Without saying anything more, he got up and left with Li Defu and the others.

As soon as the emperor left, Lin Yan felt as if the air itself was free.

He first went to the Hanlin Academy's duty room and found that there was indeed no urgent official business. His colleagues were also very polite to him, the emperor's favorite, and couldn't wait for him to leave and stop getting involved.

Lin Yan was happy to have some free time, so he slipped away and immediately returned to Qingyi Pavilion.

Back in his warm and comfortable little home, Lin Yan breathed a long sigh of relief.

This is what life is all about.

He kicked off his shoes, collapsed onto the soft couch without any regard for his image, picked up the dozing Ah Man, and began to suckle her deeply.

"Ah Man, Ah Man, Ah Man," Lin Yan buried her face in the cat's belly and let out a satisfied sigh.

Aman struggled in vain and finally gave up resisting, collapsing into a cat-like shape, letting the two-legged beast vent its anger.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, warm and cozy. Lin Yan, holding the cat, drifted off to sleep for a nap.

Lin Yan slept soundly until the afternoon while holding Aman, when it was the eunuch serving at Qingyi Pavilion who woke him up.

"Lord Lin, His Highness Prince Qin has arrived."

Lin Yan jolted awake.

Xiao Yu?

Has he memorized "Ten Thoughts on Advising Emperor Taizong"?

Lin Yan quickly sat up and straightened his robes. Before he could go out to greet him, Xiao Yu had already come running in.

The young prince wasn't wearing his formal princely attire today, but only a royal blue brocade casual robe. He looked a bit more energetic, but the usual laziness and slight guilty conscience in his eyes hadn't completely disappeared.

He was also carrying an exquisite white jade wine pot in his hand.

"Scholar Lin." Upon seeing Lin Yan, Xiao Yu immediately plastered an overly enthusiastic smile on his face, waving the wine jug in his hand. "I hope my visit hasn't disturbed your rest? Look what good things I've brought you!"

Lin Yan rose and bowed: "Your humble servant greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin. What brings you here?"

"Oh, no need for formalities." Xiao Yu approached familiarly, plopped down on the stool next to Lin Yan, and placed the white jade wine pot on the small table. "This is a fruit wine, a specialty of my fiefdom, made from mountain grapes and wild berries. It's sweet and has no potency at all, like sugar water. It's perfect for a couple of drinks in your leisure time! I thought Scholar Lin must be very busy with official duties, so I brought it for you to try!"

Lin Yan looked at the wine pot and thought to himself, "It's only because His Majesty isn't in the palace that you're in trouble, otherwise, you, Little Prince, would definitely be scolded."

"Your Highness's kindness is too much for me to bear. However, I am not a good drinker and I am afraid that..." Lin Yan did not allow minors to drink.

"Hey!" Xiao Yu immediately interrupted him, feigning displeasure, "Scholar Lin, you're not giving me any face. This really is just sweet water made from fruit and honey, even a child could drink it. Would I lie to you? Just one sip, just one sip, and I guarantee you'll like it!"

As he spoke, he personally took the teacup prepared on the table and poured Lin Yan a full cup.

The wine was a beautiful amber color and had a rich, sweet fruity aroma; there was indeed no spicy smell.

Lin Yan took the cup with some skepticism and took a small sip.

The initial taste was indeed sweet and sour, with a rich fruity flavor and almost no alcohol taste, making it more like a high-end fruit juice drink.

It actually tastes pretty good.

Lin Yan felt relieved, and with Xiao Yu enthusiastically urging him to drink, saying things like "The scenery in my fiefdom is so beautiful" and "This fruit wine is extremely rare, with only a few jars produced each year," he lowered his guard and started drinking one cup after another.

This fruit wine has an excellent taste, sweet and cool, thirst-quenching and refreshing. Lin Yan drank too much without realizing it.

When he came to his senses, he felt his head starting to feel heavy, the things in front of him were a little shaky, and his cheeks were burning hot.

"Uh... Your Highness, I think I'm... a little tipsy..." Lin Yan rubbed his forehead, feeling his tongue getting tied in knots.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu immediately moved closer, lowered his voice, and tried to get information out of him: "Scholar Lin? Look, isn't this wine of mine quite good? Ah, speaking of which, I really envy you. You can walk around in front of the Emperor every day and are deeply trusted by him... Um, can I ask you something?"

He rubbed his hands together and said, "Look at my brother, the harem is currently empty, and my mother is very anxious about it. She asked me to come and ask, Lord Lin, do you know what kind of woman my brother prefers? Is it a tall and voluptuous woman? Or a petite and delicate one? Is it a lively and clever one? Or a gentle and quiet one? You should at least give me a hint so I can explain to my mother when I get back, right?"

Lin Yan's mind was a complete mess at this moment. He could only feel a buzzing in his ears, and Xiao Yu's voice seemed to come through a layer of water, making it difficult to hear clearly.

He strained his eyes, staring at Xiao Yu's opening and closing mouth, then blinked blankly: "Huh? A woman? What woman? His Majesty doesn't like her..."

The last few words were mumbled and almost stuck in his throat.

Xiao Yu didn't hear clearly and scratched his head anxiously: "Don't like it? Don't like what? Lord Lin, please explain clearly!"

He shook Lin Yan's arm and whispered in his ear, "What kind of person does Your Majesty like? You must know, tell me!"

However, Lin Yan was completely drunk.

He felt that there was a lot of noise in his ears, like a fly buzzing around him, which was very annoying.

He waved his hand, trying to shoo away the "fly," then his body slumped down onto the soft couch, his head lolling to one side, and he fell into a deep sleep, unresponsive to Xiao Yu's shaking and calling.

Xiao Yu was dumbfounded.

Xiao Yu stared in disbelief at Lin Yan, who lay unconscious on the bed.

He just fell asleep like that? Is Scholar Lin's alcohol tolerance really inferior to that of a fifteen-year-old?

"Lord Lin? Wake up, you haven't finished speaking yet."

"How did you get drunk?"

"What am I going to do about the task my mother entrusted to me?"

Xiao Yu was so anxious that he paced around in circles. If he had known that Lin Yan's alcohol tolerance was so low, he would have given Lin Yan less to drink.

Just as he was getting frustrated, a series of very familiar footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

And then there was Li Defu's slightly shrill announcement: "His Majesty has arrived—"

Xiao Yu took a deep breath.

It's all over, it's all over, it's all over!