Fu Gui shook his head earnestly, "I don't know him, I won't pass on my name."
Women rarely set foot in the Imperial Study. Fu Gui and Eunuch Ma both knew the Emperor's temperament very well.
Lin Ruyin never expected to be turned away by a mere servant.
Her face instantly turned cold. "How do you know the Emperor refuses to see me if you don't inform him?"
"His Majesty has never summoned a woman to the Imperial Study before." Fu Gui simply lied through his teeth, while the eunuchs beside him looked down at their toes and remained silent.
"This is not a summons. I've come to deliver a midnight snack to Your Majesty. Are you sure you can bear the responsibility for making him hungry?"
Lin Ruyin was rejected by a servant, and disregarding her dignity and manners, she shouted at him loudly.
"Miss, please go back. His Majesty has already had his supper." Fu Gui was fearless.
He knew that if he didn't stop it today, it would have to continue tomorrow.
Although he didn't understand why a strange girl had suddenly appeared in the palace, Fugui adhered to the principle that even female mosquitoes couldn't get close to the imperial study and refused to back down.
"You!" Lin Ruyin gritted her teeth in anger.
"Eunuch, my young lady grew up with the Emperor, and their bond is incomparable to that of other girls. If the Emperor pursues the matter afterward, can you bear the responsibility?"
Zhu Ying stepped forward, slightly curtsied, and asked.
"this……"
Seeing Fugui hesitate, Zhuying said proudly, "My young master works in the Ministry of Revenue, so you should have met him, Father-in-law."
"Lord Lin, the acting Minister!" Fu Gui swallowed hard, glancing nervously at the girl in front of him.
Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her eyes like stars, her nose was delicate and her lips were cherry-like; her appearance was pure and refined.
Her figure was graceful and slender, her waist was as thin as a willow, her dark eyelashes fluttered, her red lips were slightly upturned, and her angry eyes were glaring at me.
The girl in front of me possessed both the naivety of a young girl and a captivating charm; she was a rare beauty.
The more Fugui looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.
Could she really be Lord Lin's younger sister? Considering Lord Lin's relationship with the Emperor.
Fu Gui felt a jolt of alarm, realizing that he had caused trouble for the Emperor today.
The sounds of arguing outside drifted into the Imperial Study. Xiao Jingzhao rubbed his temples and waved for Eunuch Ma to go out and deliver a message.
Eunuch Ma didn't understand the Emperor's gesture and bowed, asking, "What does Your Majesty mean...?"
"Let her in."
Xiao Jingzhao had made a solemn promise to Lin Xiangzhi to help take care of his sister, and it would be unreasonable to refuse to see him.
Upon receiving news that assassins had entered the country, Xiao Jingzhao predicted that they would head straight for the capital.
Thinking that Lin Ruyin was alone at home, and that the assassins had come to the capital and were searching everywhere like headless flies, he worried that if an assassin were to sneak into the mansion and hurt her, wouldn't that make him break his promise?
So he sent a carriage to fetch her to the palace and settled her in Yonghe Palace to keep Yonghe company.
"Brother Jingzhao!"
As the fragrance wafted in, Lin Ruyin gracefully entered like a butterfly.
"Miss Lin, what are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of resting in Yonghe Palace?"
Xiao Jingzhao looked up helplessly.
Lin Ruyin pouted and frowned aggrievedly, "Brother Jingzhao, that little eunuch outside the door was so rude. He stopped me from seeing you."
Before Xiao Jingzhao could speak, she beckoned to Zhu Ying behind her, "Bring it up quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
“Brother Jingzhao, being the emperor is so hard. When you were at home, he would have already gone to sleep by this time. You are still staying up late reviewing memorials. Come and try the pearl meatball soup I cooked myself.”
Lin Ruyin didn't care whether Xiao Jingzhao wanted to drink or not, and took the tray from Zhuying's hand and placed it on the desk.
Lin Ruyin lifted the lid of the bowl, and a familiar sweet aroma wafted out.
It's ginseng soup again.
Xiao Jingzhao quickly snatched the lid from Lin Ruyin's hand and swiftly put it back on.
"Thank you, Miss Lin. I'm not hungry. I'll leave the soup for later."
"Brother Jingzhao, it's best to eat it while it's hot. The pearl dumplings are made from glutinous rice and black sesame seeds, and the soup contains century-old ginseng. It won't taste as good when it's cold."
"It's alright, it's warm inside, it won't get cold so easily. Miss Lin, you should go back and rest soon."
Thinking that Lin Xiangzhi was probably living in fear in some inn in Jiangzhou, Xiao Jingzhao softened his tone, which was unusual for him.
"Brother Jingzhao, please stop calling me Miss Lin. I still prefer you to call me Little Sister Ruyin, like you did when we were little."
The little girl's pretty eyes were fixed on Xiao Jingzhao's handsome face, her tone carrying a hint of coquetry.
She longed to reach out and touch those long, thick, sword-like eyebrows, as if they had been drawn on.
His deep phoenix eyes were like a bottomless lake, full of mystery and fatally alluring to her. If she looked at them for too long, she would feel as if she were being sucked in, unable to extricate herself.
Xiao Jingzhao's lips twitched. If he remembered correctly, he had called Ruyin "sister" under his mother's coercion.
The scene from that year was still vivid in her mind. As usual, Madam Lin came to the mansion to visit her mother, enjoy tea and admire the flowers.
As he passed through the garden, his mother called out to him. A little girl appeared out of nowhere, saying she was the younger sister of his good friend Lin Xiangzhi.
The little girl stared at him with wide eyes and said with a grin, "You're so handsome, young master."
Upon hearing that one "brother," Madam Lin beamed with joy, and her mother said, "Second brother, don't just stand there, your sister is calling you. Quickly call her Ruyin, your sister."
And so, Xiao Jingzhao was busy going out to play with Lin Xiangzhi, and only managed to escape after calling out to his sister Ruyin.
"Cough cough!"
"Sister Ruyin, go back and rest. Ministers often visit the Imperial Study, so don't come here unless it's important." Xiao Jingzhao said, as if he were doing it for your own good.
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