Lin Weiming's heart skipped a beat.

His gaze was fixed on Eunuch Liu, and he saw a cold, forced smile creep onto Eunuch Liu's somewhat gloomy face. His voice was sharp: "I've been working in the capital for so many years, and I've never heard of any powerful family daring to disobey His Majesty's orders? With this bargaining attitude, anyone who didn't know better would think you were in a vegetable market!"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Lin Weiming wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and didn't dare to say anything more.

Seeing that he had yielded, Eunuch Liu's expression softened, and his voice became much gentler: "Please don't blame me for being nosy, there are countless people in the capital who want to be summoned by His Majesty, but they are not fortunate enough to receive such an audience."

"Now that His Majesty is willing to summon you, why are you acting so petty? As for your other children who are still outside, no matter where they are, just send someone to bring them over. You don't need to worry about it."

Lin Weiming had no choice but to nod in agreement.

As expected, Eunuch Liu, who had managed to get close to the emperor, did indeed wield some power. He quickly ordered his men to find Xuefu and the four young men of the Lin family.

They were overjoyed to hear that Qi Yuan had summoned them and invited them to play in the Imperial Garden.

One by one, they happily climbed onto the car, waving at Lin Weiming from inside: "Dad, come quick! I heard that place is really fun."

Liu Junlan and Xue Fu had never been to the palace either. They rubbed their hands together and did not refuse. The two of them carried Lin Wanyue into a carriage.

"Ahem." Only Lin Weiming was still a little embarrassed, so he said to Eunuch Liu, "Please take good care of them for me, I'll just stay at home and watch the house."

Eunuch Liu smiled and nodded in agreement: "Of course."

As for the five ghosts of the Lin family, apart from Laifu, who refused to go along to play no matter what, they had no choice but to say after being pressed by Lin Wanyue: "I've been to places like the palace before, but I'm incompatible with that place, so it's really not suitable for me to go. I'll stay at home and keep an eye on your father."

Lin Wanyue: "..."

Does her father still need him to take care of him?

But Lai Fu really didn't want to, and Lin Wanyue couldn't do anything about it, so she had no choice but to bring Xiao Fen Die, Master Cui, Hu Jiuyuan, and Lin Xiangwu along.

Lin Xiangwu was one of the more worldly-wise among them, having even been to the palace.

The other three ghosts had never even been to the capital, let alone the legendary imperial palace.

Now, upon hearing that he could go to the inner palace, he couldn't wait to go there. However, he was afraid that there might be some bad spells there, since it was the imperial palace, the territory of the true dragon emperor. After thinking it over, he decided that he still had to stay by Lin Wanyue's side.

If anything goes wrong, they can always retreat to the villa.

...

The Lin family members sat in the carriage, looking at all sorts of novel sights along the way, their eyes wide with surprise.

Even Liu Junlan, who had lived in the capital for several years, had never seen the magnificent palace before. The rolling carriages turned between the narrow palace walls, and hundreds of palaces appeared before them.

Qi Yuan was inside the house when he heard that Lin Wanyue and the others had arrived. He disregarded all formalities and went to greet them himself.

"Brother, you really are a loyal friend, you keep your word!" Lin Zheyun grinned, showing his big teeth, and said to Qi Yuan with a face full of excitement.

Qi Yuan smiled at him, then turned his head to look at Lin Wanyue behind him.

Then a hand was placed on his head, straightening him up. The powerful regent, Qi Sichen, was standing behind him.

He glanced around briefly and noticed that the Lin family members had all arrived, except for Lin Weiming.

Feeling somewhat pleased, he gave Eunuch Liu an approving look.

Since that annoying guy didn't come, he could finally hold his daughter in his arms properly!

However, Lin Wanyue was currently being held in Xue Fu's arms, so he couldn't directly touch her. Instead, he arranged for someone to prepare lunch.

They had eaten a lot of food prepared by the imperial chefs on their way here, and their palates had become quite discerning.

However, the banquet held in the palace this time still broadened their horizons once again.

It turns out that although the imperial chefs who were on the road were skilled, they were limited by what they could take with them, and thus, they were like a skilled cook without ingredients. The Lin family thought the food was good, but that was only because they had never eaten anything so good before, which is why they found it amazing.

Once inside the palace, all kinds of dishes and cooking utensils were readily available, and even the people who helped with the fire were experienced veterans with more than ten years of experience.

Therefore, the dishes made in this way are naturally perfect in color, aroma, and taste, and contain many ingenious touches that make them a delight to eat.

Qi Yuan was focused on noting what dishes Lin Wanyue liked to eat, silently memorizing them, thinking that he would ask the imperial chef to prepare more when he invited her to dinner in the future.

On the contrary, Qi Sichen politely spoke to Liu Junlan about the matter of bestowing a reward upon Lin Wanyue.

He had Qi Yuan's trust and the late emperor's edict as proof, making him extremely powerful in the court.

He wanted to bestow a title upon a princess, and such a trivial matter was naturally not something anyone would dare to obstruct.

Even those who try to take shortcuts to achieve lasting fame by banging their heads against a wall, Qi Sichen simply passes them on to Qi Yuan to deal with, without any trouble at all.

"Actually..." Liu Junlan naturally had to say a few polite words on the surface, but seeing his insistence, she had no choice but to admit it: "It is because Wanwan has a godfather like you that this child is destined to be with you. If we keep stopping her, it will not be good. As for other things, we don't understand them either. You always have the child's best interests at heart, so let's do as you wish."

"Alright." Qi Sichen nodded and smiled, quite pleased with Liu Junlan's pragmatism. He continued, "In that case, the imperial edict of investiture will be sent over in a few days. Also, since Lin Weiming has never held any official position before, I'm thinking of first granting him the title of Anning and giving him a nominal post in the Ministry of Rites."

"If he has other ideas, I will transfer him to another position later."

"Oh dear, how can this be?" Liu Junlan was surprised to hear that he not only wanted to bestow the title of princess upon Lin Wanyue, but had even considered Lin Weiming's side as well.

This truly surprised both Liu Junlan and Xue Fu.

Because along the way, these two adoptive fathers and godfathers have argued with each other quite a bit.

They were worried that Qi Sichen might find a chance to kill Lin Weiming, but now he's actually promoted him!

The unexpected turn of events here makes it hard not to overthink things.

Of the Lin family's children, only Lin Zhongyuan had already put down his chopsticks and was listening intently to the conversation between the adults. The others seemed to have no ears and were only concerned with eating.

"No, no, no!" Lin Wanyue stuffed a mouthful of Longjing green tea crystal shrimp into her mouth, only to hear Lin Xiangwu anxiously saying in her ear, "That brat never studies properly, he's good for neither literature nor martial arts! Even making him a royal merchant is already a huge honor for him, how can we give him any title or official position? This won't do!"