Lin Yuxin felt uncomfortable as soon as she thought about it.
"Does His Majesty have a problem with me?"
Lin Yuxin pouted and asked the question unwillingly.
"What do you mean by that?"
Li Xiaochen was a little confused. Why did the topic jump so far?
"If he didn't have a problem with me, how could he be so stingy with me, his biggest contributor? After all this time, he's only rewarded me with a thousand taels of silver. Isn't that a sign of him having a problem with me?"
Lin Yuxin couldn't help but complain about the emperor's stinginess while rolling her eyes.
"Hehe, you! Aren't you content? The Emperor's treasury has been empty since he took over the Xia Kingdom. He has never been rich in all these years on the throne, so he has always lived a very frugal life. In the past, the reward for meritorious officials started at a hundred taels, but you went straight for a thousand taels, which can be seen as his regard for you."
"It was because you found the gold mine on Fengshen Mountain that the Emperor became wealthy. Now that he finally has some money, he is naturally reluctant to spend it."
Li Xiaochen pinched Lin Yuxin's nose and patiently explained and comforted her.
He knew that Lin Yuxin's actions could be considered a great contribution for posterity. Not to mention that it was Lin Yuxin who turned the tide in the drought in Jibei City, finding ways to improve the environment step by step, thus saving the people from suffering.
The crops she discovered in Jibei City not only saved the lives of the people of Jibei City, but are now being promoted throughout the entire Xia Kingdom. This year will surely be a bumper harvest year for the Xia Kingdom, and in the next five years, the people of the Xia Kingdom will no longer go hungry.
There's also the matter of espionage, that explosive pack, and so on. Xin Xin's contributions to Xia Kingdom go far beyond these.
The Emperor knew this in his heart, which is why he didn't allow the officials to spread her story; the fundamental reason was to protect her.
The State of Qi is now eyeing us covetously, and the State of Zhao has just changed its emperor. This new emperor is not necessarily a good person either. For some time now, he has been provoking us on the border with the matter of Qiu Jingfan, but he has suppressed it all because it is the end of the year.
Only he, the Emperor, Cheng Tinghao, and a few Grand Councilors know about this now.
There's also the Holy Maiden of the Northern Frontier. Although she's now married to the Third Prince as a concubine, she's still a potential threat. The Northern Frontier has been embroiled in internal competition for the Holy Maiden position recently due to the lack of one, causing quite a stir. So she hasn't had time to make a scene yet.
If all of Lin Yuxin's achievements were to spread, and all three kingdoms were to get involved, they might not be able to protect her.
So now they're keeping it hidden as much as possible. Only some court officials know a little about it, and even those who worked with Lin Yuxin before have been warned by the Emperor.
So even when they go home, they won't say much about Lin Yuxin. Even if they accidentally let it slip, they'll just praise her at most and won't dare say anything else.
This is why the young masters and ladies of the capital would often provoke Lin Yuxin whenever they saw her; it was all because, in their minds, Lin Yuxin was just a lowly country girl.
They didn't know what methods they used to become princesses, so they were still very resentful of Lin Yuxin.
Li Xiaochen also considered that given Xin Xin's personality, she wouldn't suffer at the hands of these people, nor would she get hurt in the capital under his nose. That's why he and the Emperor deliberately concealed Lin Yuxin's achievements.
Although this was somewhat unfair to Xin Xin, it's fortunate that she doesn't hold these achievements against her.
Lin Yuxin felt a little better after hearing Li Xiaochen's words. Since the emperor was so poor, she decided not to hold it against him.
The Emperor's money will eventually belong to Cheng Tinghao, won't it? If she asks for less, Cheng Tinghao will inherit more!
Hehe, this works!
"Hurry up! Your older brother and the others are coming!"
Li Xiaochen gave Xin Xin, who looked like a money-grubber, a doting look, and said in the direction of Lin Chenglie and the others.
So the two of them squeezed through the crowd and finally met up with Zhao Hanyue and the others. Once everyone was finally together, they were all a bit overwhelmed by the large number of people, so they found a secluded and sparsely populated spot and started releasing lanterns.
Xiao Die, Wang Yu, and several other servants helped light the lanterns. Lin Yuxin and Zhao Hanyue released their lanterns first. After Zhao Hanyue finished, she pulled Li Xiaochen and Lin Yuxin aside and asked them to release theirs again.
Li Xiaochen naturally wouldn't refuse. Wasn't he here to release lanterns and make wishes with Xin Xin?
Yes! His mother-in-law is so good to him!
So Lin Yuxin and Li Xiaochen released lanterns again.
Following the steps, one devoutly lights the lotus lantern in their hand; the moment the lantern illuminates, the act becomes sacred and solemn.
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with smiles and affection, and then together they put the lanterns in their hands into the river, closed their eyes, and began to make wishes devoutly.
A moment later, they both opened their eyes at the same time. Li Xiaochen hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist, and leaned close to Lin Yuxin to whisper:
"Xin Xin, what did you wish for just now?"
Lin Yuxin looked up at him and said with amusement:
"Of course, you can't say your wish out loud, or it won't come true."
I'm not telling you! I'm not telling you!
Now it was Li Xiaochen's turn to scratch his head. He really wanted to know if Xin Xin's wish had anything to do with him.
Lin Yuxin ignored him and walked to Zhao Hanyue's side, only to hear Uncle Jin's sarcastic remarks:
“Madam Lin, would you like to come with me to release the lanterns? We are the only two people of similar age here who can talk to each other. They are not only young, but also of noble status. I, a commoner, dare not ask them to join me.”
"Alas! My first half of life was too bitter, and I've never made a wish. Today I want to try, but I've never done it alone before, and I'm afraid of offending the gods. You can come with me and give me some pointers!"
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