Qingyin took in the expressions of the officials below, praised Zheng Huaien, and then promoted Zheng Huaien two ranks. She also promoted Shen Ling, whom Zheng Huaien had mentioned, one rank.

After bestowing official titles upon the officials and watching the play for a while, Lin Chaozong and the others confronted the group of aristocratic officials, and Qingyin then left the court.

Now that the matter in Ningpei County is settled, it's time to meet with the Eighth Princess.

The Eighth Prince's Mansion.

These past few days, Xia Chengde has somehow been assigned a job by His Majesty and hasn't been home for several days. As for Li Shi, seeing that the Eighth Prince is gone, she's too lazy to come and put on her show.

Therefore, her courtyard was unusually quiet.

The Eighth Princess was in a better mood and even had time to buy flower seeds to plant some peonies in her small courtyard.

Seeing the maid Qin Chun rushing over, the Eighth Princess teased, "Why are you running so fast? Quickly wipe yourself with a handkerchief!"

She reached out and handed the handkerchief to Qinchun, whom she considered a sister.

Qin Chun wiped the sweat from her forehead perfunctorily with a handkerchief, quickly looked at the Eighth Prince's wife, and said, "Miss, the Second Master has come to see you!"

The Eighth Princess Consort was stunned. "Huh? Chaozong is here?"

The Eighth Prince usually disliked people coming to her house, and Lin Chaozong was afraid that if he came, the Eighth Prince would bully her, so he rarely came.

The last time we met was at the Princess's birthday banquet.

The Eighth Princess was somewhat pleased.

She said anxiously, "Quickly, invite him in."

Qin Chun shook her head.

The Eighth Princess Consort asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong? Wasn't he here to see me?"

Seeing that her mistress had misunderstood, Qin Chun quickly explained, "No, Miss, the Second Master said that he was afraid that his coming in would cause the Prince to misunderstand, so he specially invited you to a gathering at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion outside."

"And the Second Master also said that you should bring Miss along."

The Eighth Princess nodded with a smile, "That's true. It's definitely more reassuring to be out there. Your Second Master is right; he's grown up now."

Thinking of this, the Eighth Princess sighed sadly.

By then, her younger brother, who had cried his eyes out when he got married, had grown into a capable adult.

The Eighth Princess, who was sighing at this moment, had no idea that her younger brother had been crying pitifully and embarrassingly in front of His Majesty just yesterday.

If she had seen that scene, she probably wouldn't have thought that way.

"Okay, go and inform Min'er."

Qin Chun smiled, her adorable baby face beaming. "Miss, I've already sent someone to inform the young lady."

Upon hearing this, the Eighth Princess was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Qinchun understands my heart best."

Xia Yuemin, who was practicing martial arts in the courtyard, couldn't help but smile when she heard the maid's message from her mother.

With my uncle's arrival, my mother is much happier!

"Sanxin, quickly get me that blue dress, I'm going to see my uncle."

"Yes, Master." Sanxin smiled, turned around and went back into the room to get the clothes that her master had specially made.

After the mother and son finished getting ready, they headed towards the carriage parked outside the mansion.

As soon as they stepped out of the mansion, the two saw Lin Chaozong waiting by the carriage.

Upon seeing the familiar faces, a smile involuntarily appeared in their eyes.

"Uncle/Chaozong"

"Hmm! You've lost weight again." Lin Chaozong looked at his sister and nephew with concern.

The Eighth Princess smiled and poked his sleeve, "Where have you lost weight? You're the same as before!"

Lin Chaozong looked at her with a mixture of pity and displeasure, his mouth agape as if he were about to nag her again.

The Eighth Princess paused, then secretly gave her son a look.

Xia Yuemin: "..."

Well, my uncle doesn't have any other problems, except that he sometimes talks too much.

His mother didn't like listening to his uncle chanting scriptures, so it was time for him to step in.

Looking at his mother's eyes, Xia Yuemin sighed helplessly in his heart. He would have to play the bad guy again.

"Uncle, weren't you going to take us to Zuixianlou? Let's go there quickly."

Lin Chaozong suddenly realized and nodded, "Yes, let's go to Zuixianlou first..."

At this point, Lin Chaozong paused, swallowed the rest of his words, and laughed, "Yes, Zuixianlou has a new dish called Eight Treasure Duck. You two, mother and son, should try it."

"Meet...meet, meet someone?" What is Uncle hiding from them?

Xia Yuemin looked at her uncle with suspicion.

Lin Chaozong received that look, but he stubbornly kept quiet.

Telling my sister and nephew that His Majesty is waiting for them at Zuixianlou will only create tension. It's better not to say anything for now, as they rarely get to leave the mansion and can relax a bit.

Thinking of this, Lin Chaozong pretended to be relaxed, but in reality, his hands on his lap kept fidgeting, either touching his thumb ring or picking up the water glass on the table.

The Eighth Princess knew from his expression that he was hiding something from her.

Others might not know, but she grew up with him and knew best that Lin Chaozong always made little hand gestures when he was nervous.

The Eighth Princess received a look from her son and returned it with a reassuring look.

"It's alright. You'll find out what your uncle is hiding when you get to Zuixianlou."

The Eighth Princess's sharp eyes curved into a smile, giving her a gentle and tender appearance.

But Xia Yuemin felt a chill run down her spine when she saw her mother's appearance.

This is when a mother wants to cause trouble for her child.

When he made mistakes as a child, his mother would act like this, gently smiling while spanking his bottom with a rattan cane.

Thinking of this, Xia Yuemin vaguely felt a phantom pain in her buttocks.

He secretly gave his uncle a sympathetic look.

Uncle, may you rest in peace.

When your mother beats you, he will definitely try to persuade her to stop.

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