Lin Wanyue's words left everyone speechless.

Lin Weiming had only been in the capital for less than a month, so he naturally didn't know anything about his colleague's family affairs. He just listened with wide eyes.

However, the emperor and Eunuch Liu, who were merely listening to the commotion, were quite different. They were both very knowledgeable about the affairs of the capital's officials, both big and small. Eunuch Liu, in particular, was practically an expert on everything in the inner quarters of the capital.

But even Eunuch Liu didn't know that Bai Shitao's current mother was actually his stepmother!

Eunuch Liu didn't say it out loud, but he understood in his heart.

No wonder Bai Shitao, despite coming from a prominent family, is so dark-skinned.

Those people made their way up through military achievements when they were young. They had actually worked hard for many years and endured a lot of hardship to get where they were.

If she were a real mother, how could she bear to let her son go through such a hard life?

However, Bai Shitao's mother died young, and his stepmother was his own aunt. Most people wouldn't dare to talk about it, and since there was no difference between the two families, it's understandable that few people outside knew about it.

"..." Upon hearing Lin Wanyue's first two sentences, Bai Shitao burst into tears, which he quickly wiped away, not daring to show his weakness in front of others.

He only started to panic when he heard that he probably wouldn't live past fifty.

He's already forty years old. If he doesn't live past fifty, doesn't that mean he doesn't have many years left to live?

That won't do!

His eldest son is only seven or eight years old, and he has two younger children who are also toddlers.

Even if his wife is strong in front of him, there's no way she can manage raising three children alone!

Bai Shitao felt terrified when he thought about the life he had lived back then, and how his three children were probably even worse off than he had been.

He stood up and knelt down in front of Lin Wanyue with a thud, saying, "Little Princess, you are truly insightful, I admire you greatly. But can you tell me what the solution is?"

"My child is still young. If I'm gone, I don't know how he'll survive. Please, I beg you, help me think of a solution!"

Even the stone benches in the pavilion for enjoying the snow were cushioned, so they weren't cold to sit on. However, the ground was still made of bluestone, and when Bai Shitao knelt on the ground, the slight chill seeped through the bluestone bricks and reached his knees and calves.

It is said that cold enters from the soles of the feet.

Bai Shitao now had a more direct understanding of this.

He was tall and strong, not skinny, but rather quite robust.

But in reality, his health is not as good as outsiders think. He is prone to coughing and catching colds every autumn and winter, and he often falls ill when exposed to a little cold wind.

That time on Jinbao Street, he was riding in a carriage because he couldn't stand the cold wind.

I don't know how many doctors and famous physicians we consulted, even the imperial physicians in the palace took our pulse, but no matter how much medicine we took, it didn't work. They just said it was something we had in our mother's womb.

It turned out that he was haunted by resentment.

This wasn't the first time Lin Wanyue had been forced to kneel before someone; she glanced at her father discreetly.

Lin Weiming looked at Bai Shitao with an air of nonchalance, then took out a small silver ingot from somewhere and played with it in his hand.

"Look at this silver, it's real silver!"

"..." Bai Shitao reacted quickly, and hurriedly took out several silver notes from his sleeve and handed them to Lin Wanyue: "Please help me, Princess!"

Just as Lin Wanyue was about to reach out to help Bai Shitao up, Lin Weiming and Qi Yuan reacted even faster. One spoke, and the other had already taken action.

"Bai Aiqing, get up quickly."

Lin Weiming took the silver note from Bai Shitao's hand and helped him up: "Yes, yes, His Majesty has already spoken, and our Wanwan is just a young girl who doesn't know these etiquettes. Don't kneel, get up quickly."

Seeing that her father had already taken the money, Lin Wanyue turned to Bai Shitao and said, "Solving this problem isn't difficult. I don't have that much on hand right now, but I'll carve a talisman for you out of peach wood in a couple of days. Besides that, you should also do a good deed every day. If you feel at peace and have God's protection, you won't be afraid of being bothered by those vengeful spirits."

"Okay, okay!" Bai Shitao nodded repeatedly in agreement.

…

As they were talking, several people suddenly walked out from the plum blossom grove.

The two leading figures were dressed differently; one wore a crimson long dress and a gold phoenix hairpin, while the other wore a simpler color. They were followed by many palace maids and eunuchs.

"Sister Xiao, look over there! That little girl is the newly appointed princess!" Consort Su said, pointing at Lin Wanyue with a hint of excitement.

"Oh?" But Consort Xiao, who was next to her, was not so interested. She glanced at Lin Wanyue a couple of times, but didn't take it to heart. She said in a light tone, "She is indeed quite cute. If she grows up, she may be of some use... But for now, our Emperor is still young."

The palace maids and eunuchs following behind all lowered their heads and laughed.

Empress Dowager Xiao's meaning was very clear: Lin Wanyue was useless, only cute, and at most a sycophant.

Consort Su, with her sharp eyes, noticed the person standing next to Lin Wanyue and whispered, "Why does that dark-faced man look a bit like Lord Bai?"

"Really?" Consort Xiao squinted and looked in their direction, her gaze much more serious than when she had looked at Lin Wanyue earlier.

They were, after all, on Merlin's side, quite far away, so their view wasn't very clear.

However, Bai Shitao's tall, dark face was so distinctive that even from this distance, these people still recognized him as Bai Shitao.

"Your Majesty, it really does seem to be Lord Bai!" The palace maids and eunuchs who followed behind also chimed in.

Empress Dowager Xiao gave a cold, disdainful laugh and said, "I really thought he was some tough nut to crack, as the rumors say? Turns out he's nothing special! He said he wouldn't let the Regent bestow a princess title upon him, but now he's all respectful..."

"Like a dog, what vehement opposition? I think it's nothing more than a dog that jumps higher and barks louder!"

Consort Su glanced at Consort Xiao discreetly. Her family was not powerful enough to dare to say such things to a high-ranking official like the Vice Minister of War.

She quietly fell silent, not daring to speak.

"What are they doing? Let's go and see." Consort Xiao was about to walk towards Lin Wanyue.

"Sister Xiao, shall we not go? His Majesty is still over there. If he sees us, we might have to bow to that little girl..." Although Consort Su loved to gossip, she wasn't particularly bold.

Seeing that Consort Xiao was actually going to walk up to Lin Wanyue, she couldn't help but feel a little timid.

Knowing that Xiao Yuehan was somewhat arrogant, if she really clashed with Lin Wanyue, she would probably be the one caught in the crossfire.