Chapter 507: Resolve in Time

Following the emperor's question, Fan Zhengde's thoughts drifted to a place far away, so long ago that he thought he had forgotten it, but everything was so clear at the same time, which made Fan Zhengde feel a lot of emotions.

"Your Majesty," Fan Zhengde said slowly, "It has been forty years now. Coincidentally, this year marks the perfect year."

"It's been so long." The emperor frowned. "Time is merciless. When you first met me, you were both children. In the blink of an eye, you've grown old."

"The emperor is in his prime, how can he say such things?" Fan Zhengde said with a frown.

The emperor sneered, "In my prime? How can I be considered in my prime now?"

Fan Zhengde wanted to say something more, but the emperor stopped him with a wave of his hand, "Go out, I want to be alone."

"Yes! Your Majesty, please have a good rest. I will be waiting outside the door. Please tell me if you have any questions." Fan Zhengde said with a bow, and left only after the emperor signaled.

What troubled the emperor the most at the moment was not the Ninth Prince, but Jiang Lin. He could even imagine what kind of memorial would be presented to the court tomorrow. The emperor became very upset when he thought of this.

However, the next day, before all the civil and military officials in the court were about to leave, news arrived from the border.

"Was it written by Jiang Lin?" asked the man sitting high on the throne.

"Your Majesty, that's right!" The man knelt down, holding the envelope high and shouted loudly.

Everyone present heard it, and their expressions varied. There were some faint noises in the court.

The emperor ignored it and had the letter delivered.

However, just after Fan Zhengde took the envelope, the Ninth Prince stood up and said, "Your Majesty, there is something strange about this matter."

"What's strange?" The emperor and the ninth prince in the court had not yet fallen out, so he asked in a deep voice.

But the emperor did not really want the ninth prince's answer. After he finished speaking, he did not leave any other words and asked Fan Zhengde to bring the letter quickly.

"Let me read Jiang Lin's letter before making a decision." The emperor said and waved to Fan Zhengde.

Fan Zhengde understood the emperor's intention and stepped forward quickly, reaching the emperor before the ninth prince could stop him.

The emperor immediately opened the letter and was overjoyed after reading it. He kept saying, "Good, good!"

"Your Majesty, may I ask what good news is going on?" An official stood up and asked the emperor.

"Haha." The emperor laughed before he spoke.

The Ninth Prince narrowed his eyes, wondering what Jiang Lin was up to. He had already come to the capital, so the letter should have arrived a few days earlier than him, but it was only presented today. It must be because of the rumor.

Since Jiang Lin dared to come to the capital, he would definitely not be so foolish as to expose his secrets to everyone, so he chose to report the news of the foreigners' retreat today.

Although it cannot counter those rumors, it can also make the emperor understand what is more important. At that time, even if the emperor sees him with his own eyes, he cannot punish him and has to help cover up.

"Master, will everything be okay?" An Feng asked worriedly.

As a result, he received a rather cold look from Jiang Lin, and then lowered his eyes.

At the moment when the dark wind subsided, Jiang Lin said again, "It will be fine."

An Feng suddenly looked up, then smiled and said "OK" to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin looked at An Feng, and there was something in his eyes that An Feng could not understand, but An Feng could feel that there was no malice in it, so he did not take it to heart.

Jiang Lin stared at An Feng because he understood what Qin Xiangnuan meant by being fragile and sensitive, even though An Feng was the iron-blooded and fearless person before.

After losing a part of a limb, one becomes emotionally fragile and needs careful care, but no one can see it on a normal day.

In fact, Anfeng's condition has been much better these days than before. Before, Anliu was worried and distressed about him, and did not leave many things to him to deal with.

It was only after Jiang Lin came that An Feng received some more tasks, and at this moment his heart was no longer so empty.

Qin Xiangnuan asked Jiang Lin after An Feng left, "How sure are you about your guess about the emperor?"

Jiang Lin curled his lips, opened his mouth slightly, and said slowly: "Ninety percent."

Qin Xiangnuan raised her eyebrows, "That's good."

Jiang Lin smiled and said, "This is all thanks to the Ninth Prince, otherwise I would only be 50% sure."

"If I meet the Ninth Prince in the future, it won't be too late to thank him in person." Qin Xiangnuan said, hoping that she could anger the Ninth Prince, which would be even better.

Jiang Lin nodded when he heard this, "I will thank him if I have the chance."

In fact, the appearance of the Ninth Prince, to a certain extent, made Jiang Lin extremely troubled, because all his previous plans were blocked, and now he had to start planning from scratch.

"The Ninth Prince is so angry and embarrassed this time that I'm afraid he will act even more extreme," Qin Xiangnuan said.

It has to be said that Qin Xiangnuan's guess was not off at all. The Ninth Prince knew something was wrong when he saw the emperor's smile. Sure enough, all the rumors about Jiang Lin appearing in the capital were defined as rumors by the emperor.

"Ninth Prince, what's wrong?" Some people who wanted to curry favor with him came forward to ask after seeing the Ninth Prince's unhappy expression.

However, he received an impolite look from the Ninth Prince, which frightened the other party so much that he quickly moved away from him and only dared to move forward after the Ninth Prince left.

Behind the frustrated official, someone said to him quietly, "You're quite courageous, daring to approach the Ninth Prince at this time."

The official was startled by the sudden voice. When he turned around and found that it was an official he had nodding to each other with in the past, he patted his chest in surprise.

"It's you, Lord Li," the official said. "What did you mean by that?"

"Lord Wang, you really don't know?" Lord Li asked with raised eyebrows.

Lord Wang turned his head uncomfortably and his gaze wandered, which caused Lord Li to laugh. Lord Wang then frowned, thinking that Lord Li was mocking him.

So Lord Wang turned around and left, but was stopped by Lord Li.

"Don't be angry, Lord Wang. I'm just happy that there is someone with a pure mind like Lord Wang in the court." Lord Li said kindly.

Lord Wang glanced at him suspiciously, then smiled, "Then Lord Li, please tell me why."

Lord Li nodded and explained, "The Ninth Prince is unhappy. Where do you think the news of Prince Jiang's return to the capital came from? We just heard the rumor yesterday, and today we received the good news about Prince Jiang..."

As Lord Wang listened, his expression gradually brightened. Lord Li's smile deepened a little when he saw this. He thought Lord Wang was not that stupid, but just didn't know how to judge the situation.

"I understand!" Lord Wang shouted in surprise, but found that his loud voice attracted the attention of others, so he quickly lowered his voice.