Qi Yuan's arrival took everyone by surprise.

After all, from civil and military officials to ordinary people, everyone in the capital knew that their emperor was notoriously sickly and weak.

If he could fall into a coma a few less times throughout the year, it would probably save the Regent a lot of worry.

And now the emperor actually wants to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with them.

Most people cautiously glanced at Regent Qi Sichen, who had also come along, their eyes clearly conveying their apprehension.

Your Honor! Aren't you going to do anything about this?

Qi Sichen smiled faintly and remained silent. He had a grand chair brought over and sat down to watch.

"Your Highness." Lin Zheyun was the boldest. He went over to greet Qi Yuan first, and then fawned over Qi Sichen to serve him tea and water before cautiously asking, "His Majesty is so weak. What if we accidentally bump into him during the competition?"

"Second Brother, no way!" Lin Ziqiu said confidently from the side, "I already checked His Majesty's pulse this morning, and His Majesty's health is fine now. In addition, His Majesty has been practicing with the guards every day, so there will be no problem. If I weren't so short, I would like to join you guys in playing."

Lin Zheyun rolled his eyes at him, rubbed his fourth brother's head, and said, "With your small frame, you should grow a few more years!"

Qi Sichen took a sip of the tea Lin Zheyun poured before slowly saying, "Since His Majesty is willing to join in your commotion, let him be. He won't blame you."

"Zheyun, you're being too cautious. I know my own body best. Just you wait and see, I might even get a higher score than you!" Qi Yuan said.

What can Lin Zheyun do?

He could only laugh and agree, then turned around and gave all his brothers a good scolding, telling them that when they were fighting against the emperor, they had to go easy on him!

After all, both thunder and rain are expressions of imperial favor. His Majesty and the Regent are saying nice things now, but if anything unexpected happens, they'll be ready to play a game of "Eliminating Nine Clans" (a form of online gambling).

The others also understood this principle deeply and nodded in agreement.

Thus, in the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match where the main guiding principle was to let the emperor win and the highest guiding principle was to please the emperor, Lin Zheyun and his gang of roughnecks delivered the best performance of their lives.

After the game, everyone was drenched in sweat, and naturally, quite a few funny things happened.

However, this joke wasn't entirely in vain. At least His Majesty and the Regent were quite pleased with themselves, even though everyone knew perfectly well that they were treating Qi Yuan with utmost care and caution. It was still quite pleasing to see.

Qi Yuan waved his hand and bestowed many gifts upon them.

Qi Sichen watched from the sidelines with great satisfaction. Although Qi Yuan was able to win because others had let him win, the fact that the match lasted a full hour and the boy was able to persevere showed that he was in good physical condition.

As long as Qi Yuan is in good health, people can rest assured.

Once he comes of age and returns power to the court, I will be able to enjoy a peaceful and carefree retirement!

Just thinking about the wind and water of Jiangnan is enough to make one feel refreshed and happy, even in a dream.

...

Unlike Lin Zheyun, who was sweating profusely and playing cautiously on the field, Lin Zhongyuan was having a comfortable time at the Imperial Academy.

Now that time has passed, everyone has realized that the Regent and His Majesty truly dote on the Lin family.

Although those powerful families believed that the Lin family was nothing more than a nouveau riche who relied on His Majesty and the Regent and had no real foundation, and were not worth paying attention to, most officials' sons did not have such prestige. Even if they wanted to gain the favor of the Regent and His Majesty, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Moreover, Lin Weiming is no longer just a figurehead; he holds official positions in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel. Although they are not high-ranking now, as long as the Regent and His Majesty support him, he will surely have a bright future.

As a result, everyone quickly turned their attention to the other members of the Lin family, especially Lin Zhongyuan, who had previously been neglected. He suddenly became a hot commodity at the Imperial Academy, and his classmates began to subtly befriend him.

"?" Lin Zhongyuan was initially confused. Why were these people starting to smile at him?

It wasn't like this before.

He was from out of town, and when he spoke the official language of the capital, he always had a slight accent. Because of this, his classmates often secretly laughed at him.

Even when he asked the teacher questions in class, many people looked at him with disdain on their faces.

Yet, very few people ever smiled kindly at him.

Lin Zhongyuan didn't care about any of that; he just wanted to study hard and strive to become the top scholar in the imperial examination as soon as possible, thus fulfilling Master Cui's wish.

Therefore, no matter how these people treated him, he pretended not to see or hear them and focused on his studies.

However, Lin Zhongyuan was a smart man, and he figured out the reason in just a couple of days.

He still admired his classmates quite a bit. They were young and not very good at studying, but he didn't expect them to be so snobbish.

Lin Zhongyuan had no interest in playing those social games with them, maintaining only superficial relationships while focusing solely on his studies.

Occasionally, Qi Yuan would summon him over so they could study together with the Grand Tutor.

This made the students at the Imperial Academy green with envy.

They studied hard for ten years, all for the sake of showing their face in front of the emperor. But Lin Zhongyuan hasn't even become an official yet, and he's already able to stay by the emperor's side. If he waits until later, won't he be on his way to great heights?!

These classmates were itching to befriend Lin Zhongyuan.

After school that day, Lin Zhongyuan first finished the lessons left by his teachers at the Imperial Academy, and then prepared to go home.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he was stopped by several classmates.

"Hehe!" Several classmates called out to him with grins, "Brother Lin, we're planning to go somewhere fun, why don't you come with us? It's a really interesting place!"

"Where?" Lin Zhongyuan asked.

These men grabbed Lin Zhongyuan's sleeve, their faces full of knowing smiles, their expressions lewd: "Brother Lin, why are you asking so many questions? Do you think we're lying to you? Don't worry, we brothers have all been to that place, it's clean and fun... If you go, I guarantee you'll like it too. It's on me today."

"?" Lin Zhongyuan sensed something was amiss and, unwilling to have any close contact with them, snatched back his sleeve. His expression distant, his voice cold, he said, "Since you won't tell me, then forget it. I still have some homework to finish today, so I'll take my leave!"

"Hey, Lin Zhongyuan, don't be in such a hurry to leave. If it's not possible today, then let's do it another day!" Those people were still trying to keep Lin Zhongyuan from leaving.

But he had already quickly boarded his own carriage, as if he hadn't heard anything, leaving behind a cloud of dust.