Chapter 65
The key is to cling to the Crown Prince and Zhan Xian. If the day of the incident really comes, the two of them, with their protagonist aura, will still have some weight in their words.
As the sun began to set, it was noon before they knew it. The Imperial Concubine kept Lin Yi in the palace for lunch.
As expected of dishes made by imperial chefs, they were delicious in color, aroma and taste, with exquisite portions and a wide variety of dishes. In modern times, they would definitely be Michelin three-star level, although Lin Yi never had the chance to taste them in a star-rated restaurant.
Seeing that she enjoyed the food, Consort Shu suggested that the imperial kitchen prepare another serving of the same dishes for Lin Yi to take home. Lin Yi refused, stating that "it is a matter of etiquette, and one cannot overstep one's bounds."
"Having already gained Your Majesty's favor and tasted the imperial delicacies in your palace, it is already a great honor for me. If I were to have any further desires and ask the imperial kitchen to cook exclusively for me, that would be overstepping my bounds." In front of the eunuch, Lin Yi switched back to addressing Her Majesty and herself as "Your Majesty" and "this humble woman."
"You child, when did you become so well-mannered?" Consort Shu didn't press the matter and teased her with a smile.
"It's all thanks to my mother and aunt for teaching me so well." Although Lin Yi had little family ties, after becoming 'Qiu Qingye', he learned to be increasingly sweet-talking in front of his elders.
Over the course of half a day, they had the Imperial Concubine beaming with delight.
The Imperial Concubine was pleased and naturally bestowed gifts upon him. She selected a few pleasing pieces from the box full of jewelry and beckoned Lin Yi over.
"These are all my own private collections, not bound by your rules of etiquette, so you can't refuse them anymore."
Lin Yi glanced at the necklace adorned with a large cat's-eye gemstone and the glittering golden phoenix hairpin, and this time he didn't refuse.
First, the Imperial Concubine's gold and silver jewelry was ridiculously abundant. The three dressing boxes on the table, each half an arm's length tall, were already overflowing, and the brilliance of the gemstones spilled out from under the rosewood lids, which were so full that they were difficult to close.
Secondly, with more than a dozen people now living in the household, Lin Yi was also worried about the huge expenses. Even if he wasn't in a hurry to pay their wages, these dozen or so people still needed to eat.
After repeatedly thanking the Empress for her grace, he instructed Xueya to carefully put away the reward.
When the two parted, they held hands and were reluctant to say goodbye.
After leaving the main hall where the Imperial Concubine resided, more than half an hour had passed.
Xie Chengnan usually takes a nap at this time every day, and Lin Yi also takes a short rest if he gets tired of reading, unless he goes to the clinic.
Having eaten and drunk his fill and finished dealing with the imperial concubine's schedule for the morning, Lin Yi relaxed under the warm sunshine and yawned.
Then it suddenly dawned on him that they were in the palace, where there were many eyes and ears, and it would be bad if someone with ulterior motives saw them behaving improperly in the palace.
She looked around but didn't see anyone, so she straightened her posture and followed the young eunuch who was leading the way out of the palace.
The concubines all lived in the inner court area of the palace. Behind the emperor's bedroom, there were six palaces in the east and west. The Qionghua Palace, where Consort Shu lived, was in the west six palaces. It was very close to the emperor's bedroom, but far from the palace gate.
Lin Yi learned all this from the eunuch who was guiding them. She declined Consort Shu's offer to arrange a palanquin for her, intending to walk the several miles with Xueya instead.
The afternoon sun was blazing, and it seemed unlikely that the nobles in the palace would choose to stroll around during the hottest part of the day. As I walked, I observed the layout of the palace, encountering no one except for the maids and servants on duty.
As the three passed by the emperor's sleeping quarters, the young eunuch bowed, looked at the brick floor, and walked quickly with his center of gravity low.
Lin only glanced at the magnificent palace before pulling Xueya along, mimicking a little eunuch as they quickly passed through. Therefore, they didn't notice that beside the sleeping quarters, Princess Changning was just bypassing the white jade railing and stepping onto the twelve white jade steps.
From afar, the princess caught a glimpse of a man dressed as a eunuch followed by two women, whose attire did not resemble that of palace servants.
Gu Shujin asked casually, "Who is that person?" Her voice was flat and emotionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"Your Highness, that is the eldest daughter of Chief Inspector Qiu, now the young mistress of the Yong'an Marquis's residence, Qiu Qingye. She is going to Qionghua Palace to pay her respects today."
Upon hearing this, the Third Princess chuckled. Her voice was not as weak as that of an ordinary woman; it was not loud, but each word was clear and forceful: "The well-known good niece of the Imperial Concubine Shu?"
It's her.
Gu Shujin's gaze lingered on that figure for less than a moment before shifting away, as if few things in the palace could capture her attention: "Let's go, let's pay our respects to Father Emperor."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lin Yi followed the eunuch and Xueya back to the palace gate, where the carriage was still waiting.
With most of the day gone, they returned to the Xie residence, and the shelved plans were finally put back on the agenda.
That evening, Lin Yi expressed his concerns to Xie Chengnan.
"Among all these princes and princesses, the only one whose methods and talents can rival those of the Crown Prince is Princess Zhenfei. But she is a woman—" Xie Chengnan glanced at Lin Yi and continued to explain, "It's not that I think there's anything wrong with women. But since ancient times, the throne has always been inherited by men, without exception. Just for this reason, countless people feel sorry for her."
Not entirely, Empress Wu Zetian was an exception. Lin Yi didn't say this aloud. From Xie Chengnan's perspective, for a prince born and raised in the capital to say such a thing meant that his thinking was far more advanced than 99% of people in ancient times.
Moreover, the fact that he was willing to explain this to Lin Yi was enough to prove how important Lin Yi was to him. Lin Yi was deeply moved.
“Apart from Princess Changning, no one else can cause much trouble,” Xie Chengnan asserted.
Lin Yi suddenly remembered her contract with Xie Chengnan, or rather, his previous shared wish with Qiu Qingye—to bring down the Crown Prince.
Judging from his analysis just now, could it be that he has given up on opposing the Crown Prince?
Lin Yi asked tentatively, her voice tinged with a mixture of joy and uncertainty, but received a negative answer.
"Of course not." Xie Chengnan revealed a carefree smile. "Although Changning is a woman and cannot be the empress, she can choose to support a prince. Since ancient times, it has often been the case that the empress's mother ruled from behind the curtain when the emperor was young. Why can't a princess do the same?"
Lin Yi was dumbfounded, his heart filled with shock. So this was what he had been planning all along?!
He's gone astray, kid! The Crown Prince is the male lead, he can't win! Heavens, how is she supposed to correct Xie Chengnan's values?!
Lin Yi was roaring inside, but his face remained as calm as an old dog.
Of course, this was just her own illusion.
Xie Chengnan found it all quite amusing to watch the ever-changing emotions in her eyes while she maintained a calm and composed demeanor on her face.
Xie Chengnan had no intention of participating in factional struggles, but his words weren't entirely fabricated. At this stage, he adhered to the principle of self-preservation, avoiding forming cliques, factions, and taking sides. However, this didn't prevent him from secretly stirring things up behind the scenes, where no one could see him.
He genuinely disliked Gu Shu'an. If there was any way to trip him up without getting his hands dirty, he would be the first to seek it out.
However, he hasn't found it yet, or perhaps he has, but he's too lazy to use it.
Seeing Lin Yi's amusing expression, he couldn't resist teasing him.
The woman fell for it again. She launched into a long, heartfelt, and extremely sincere plea.
From "Although Anguo appears peaceful on the surface, undercurrents are surging beneath. A change in the crown prince at this time would cause chaos in the court and shake the foundation of the country," to "Gu Shu'an has a deep foundation as crown prince and is wholeheartedly devoted to the people, winning their hearts," and then to "getting involved in factional struggles, where the winner takes all and the loser is condemned. If he succeeds, he will face being purged for overshadowing the emperor; if he fails, he may face confiscation of his property and exile, or even the execution of his entire family," all these things left her speechless and exhausted.
Finally, Xie Chengnan nodded in agreement. And as Lin Yi had wished, he assured her that he would not act rashly and that he would consult with her on any major decisions.
Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that things were temporarily safe. But she still added a note to her mental notebook, placing Xie Chengnan in the same group as Consort Shu and the Seventh Prince who needed to be "brainwashed".
Lin Yi poured herself a pot of licorice and chrysanthemum tea, climbed into bed, and went to sleep. The villain's mission plan was beginning to take shape, and she needed to conserve her energy for tomorrow's "tough battle."
...
As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared behind the upturned eaves, the families of officials of all ranks were already waiting inside the palace gates.
The young ladies from various prominent families gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing in hushed tones, while the young officials also exchanged pleasantries and smiles in small groups.
Lin Yi, arm in arm with Xie Chengnan, slowly approached, inexplicably recalling scenes from urban romance dramas where wealthy CEOs bring their beautiful wives to high-society banquets.
It was just the young marquis and his wife attending a banquet at the palace, a royal banquet whose scale surpassed even that of a business exchange.
Yue Mingzhang, the prefect of Mingdu Prefecture, was also in the group. He still looked sickly, but he was in good spirits. Even when he coughed occasionally, he always smiled and was very sociable. Perhaps it was because he had solved many cases since taking office and the young people had a bright future. Among those who were chatting with him were many rising stars who were making their mark in the court.
Compared to him, Xie Chengnan, with only Lin Yi by his side, seemed too lonely, even out of place.
Lin Yi was afraid that the young marquis would feel sad and frustrated by such a comparison, so he couldn't help but look up at his face with concern.
Xie Chengnan's gaze didn't linger on any particular group of people or face. He simply raised his chin slightly, his gaze fixed flatly on the towering palace in the distance. His jawline was clear and defined, but not taut; instead, it possessed the same languid ease he exuded when reclining on his couch. The person being watched noticed her gaze, slightly lowered her chin, and met Lin Yi's eyes with her lowered eyelashes.
In that instant, Lin Yi seemed to see the pine breeze drifting through the mountains and forests in his eyes, extremely free and easy, and behind that breeze, she saw herself.
During a break in their conversation, Yue Mingzhang noticed the two people who seemed oblivious to their surroundings. He smiled, bid farewell to his classmates who had been exchanging pleasantries with him, and walked towards them.
"Young Master, Miss Qiu."
"Lord Fuzheng."
Xie Chengnan and he didn't have much to say to each other; they only exchanged greetings before the conversation fell silent.
Lin Yi, however, was concerned about his health and even gave him some medicinal herbs to help him recover.
Yue Mingzhang felt awkward talking to the women in the group, so after a few words, he ran out of things to say, creating an extremely awkward atmosphere.
But since the Prefect had come on his own, it would be impolite to leave now. He couldn't help but regret why he had been so tactless as to come and greet him.
Just as he was in a state of utter distress, a palace maid's shrill, drawn-out voice came from inside the hall, rescuing Yue Mingzhang from his predicament. The palace maids were inviting the officials' wives to take their seats.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com