Sixty-two
Despite what Yun Qi said, Ling Junyan still issued a death order, not allowing any gossip to appear.
This matter soon reached the ears of the Eleventh Prince. Less than an incense stick of time after hearing the news, he asked someone to arrange a carriage to enter the palace.
"Royal brother, I didn't mean it." The Eleventh Elder said apologetically, "I was drunk at the time, my mind was a little confused, and I forgot the occasion and said those words. I didn't expect them to spread rumors. There really is nothing between me and the Royal Sister-in-law."
"Of course I know." Ling Jun's tone was cold and stern, not allowing any objection.
His eyes remained on the memorial and he did not look at Eleven who was eager to explain. It was as if he was just listening casually and did not take it seriously at all.
Old Eleven was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
Ling Junyan said: "If you have nothing else, hurry back home and don't let me think you are idle."
"But I don't want to do those!" Old Eleven suddenly became very excited.
Hearing this, Ling Junyan looked up at him.
Eleven continued, "Ever since you became emperor, you've entrusted many important matters to me. I wanted to share your worries, but then I realized that wasn't something a prince should do. So, brother, what do you want to do?"
If Ling Junyan had not asked everyone to leave when Eleven came in, there would probably be a few more frightened faces by now.
Ling Junyan closed the memorial in his hand and said indifferently, "What if I said that I wanted to pass the throne to you from the beginning?"
Although Lao Shiyi had guessed it long ago, he was still stunned the moment he got the confirmation.
"Why?" he couldn't help asking.
"Your mother has been kind to me..."
"It can't be just because of this." The Eleventh Elder was very sure, and then he asked, "Is it because of the Emperor's sister-in-law?"
Ling Junyan didn't answer his question directly, but said, "No matter what the reason, this position will be yours sooner or later, so don't do meaningless things. This is my last reminder to you."
"Brother, do you think I want to be the emperor?" The Eleventh Prince said with a bitter smile.
The fact that Ling Junyan could say this naturally meant that he had already taken it for granted. In his opinion, there was indeed no greater goal than the throne.
"This is not a temptation."
Having said that, Ling Junyan picked up another memorial and ignored him, as if to give him a reassurance.
After a long while, the Eleventh Elder bowed with a look of melancholy and said, "I understand. I will take my leave."
After saying that, he turned and left the imperial study.
I had just taken a few steps when I ran into Yun Qi who was coming towards me.
Yun Qi saw that it was Eleven, so he walked quickly up to him and asked, "Are you looking for your brother?"
"Imperial sister-in-law." Eleven called out first, then nodded. "I'll explain what happened that day to my brother, but in the final analysis, the person I feel the most sorry for is you. It was me who caused you to be misunderstood by those people."
"It's okay." Yun Qi didn't know what happened inside just now, but seeing that he didn't look happy, he guessed that he had a quarrel with Ling Junyan, so he patted his shoulder to comfort him, "You can go back first. I have something to talk to your brother about. Don't worry about it."
"Yeah." Old Eleven nodded obediently.
After separating from Eleven, Yun Qi asked as soon as he entered the imperial study: "Did you talk about him?"
Ling Junyan denied it: "No, did he complain to you?"
Yun Qi also denied it: "No, it just seems like he's in a bad mood."
Only then did Ling Junyan put aside his cold attitude towards outsiders and said angrily, "How can I feel good after making a mistake?"
There was always a chair next to the imperial desk, specially prepared for Yun Qi. Yun Qi walked over and sat down first, then cast a scrutinizing look at him, "You really didn't say anything?"
Meeting his gaze, Ling Junyan felt a little guilty for no apparent reason and quickly confessed: "I told him about the throne."
Yun Qi was a little surprised by this, but he also accepted it. "Oh... so why did you suddenly think of telling him?"
"He asked."
"So simple?"
"I suspect he did this because he didn't want them to do useless work and harm others and himself." Ling Junyan confessed directly.
Yunqi had nothing to say. Maybe it was a good thing. If it wasn't Eleven, telling him would allow him to adapt in advance. If things didn't go as planned in the end, it would still be a good way to solve the problem. There would always be no harm.
Yun Qi's silent approval made Ling Junyan feel relieved and changed the subject. "Why are you here to see me?"
Hearing this, Yun Qi gathered his thoughts and said, "I wanted to talk to you about the matter about the women's academy that Xu Qingchi mentioned earlier. Due to unexpected circumstances these days, it has been delayed for a long time. I think we should talk about it as soon as possible."
Ling Junyan thought about it, there were a lot of things going on in the previous dynasty during this period, and this was indeed what Yun Qi had been planning.
"Well, go ahead."
Yun Qi said methodically, "We can choose a city as a pilot, but using the national treasury wouldn't be appropriate. It would be best to win over like-minded civilian forces and have them provide financial guarantees. We will secretly provide them with convenience and send some scholars to spur public opinion. The academy is nominally about teaching needlework and etiquette, but in reality it is about imparting knowledge. We will start by setting up some free school places so that children from poor families can attend for free, and then continue to increase the number of places. Considering that some children need to take care of their families' livelihoods, the teaching time cannot be too long. One day..."
He thought for a moment and said, "Four hours, two hours. Once it's done, we'll see if we can open it somewhere else."
"If you think it's okay, I'll get started." Yun Qi said it all at once, and then it depended on whether Ling Junyan had any better ideas.
"No problem, let's do as you say." Ling Junyan agreed readily.
"Okay!" Yun Qi stood up and was about to leave.
Ling Junyan was stunned for a moment, then hurried over to grab his arm.
Yun Qi looked back in confusion, thinking that he had something else to say, so he stopped and waited for him to speak.
At this time, Ling Junyan asked: "Is there nothing else?"
His words made Yunqi fall into deep thought quickly.
This state, this tone... Did I forget some important date?
Yunqi thought for a long time but couldn't remember anything, so he shook his head hesitantly.
In just a moment, Ling Junyan's expression changed from expectation to disappointment.
This made Yunqi even less confident.
"Um... dear, I seem to have come to see you for something else, but my memory hasn't been very good lately. I suddenly forgot everything after entering the door. How about you list it for me so I can recall it, in case it's something important?"
In fact, there was nothing wrong. It wasn’t that Yunqi had nothing else to talk to him about, but that this big thing didn’t exist at all.
At first, Ling Junyan just didn't want to let Yun Qi come for business, but he was misunderstood by the other party. However, given Ling Junyan's personality, it would be a loss of "dignity" if he didn't take advantage of the situation to make some remarks.
So he let go and pretended to be angry and said, "Think about it yourself."
After saying that, he sat back down and stopped looking at Yun Qi.
As expected, Yunqi became even more confused.
Is there really something wrong?
Trying to restore his credibility, Yun Qi came over with a smile, gently tugged at Ling Junyan's sleeve and said, "What's going on, baby~"
Ling Junyan glanced at him, then said coldly: "I'll kiss you and tell you."
Isn’t this simple?
Yun Qi was straightforward and just held his face and kissed him.
Ling Junyan's face was visibly filled with joy.
"Now you can tell me."
Unexpectedly, Ling Junyan, having achieved his goal, opened his mouth with a critical response: "Today is the anniversary of our trip out of the palace, and also the anniversary of the first time you bought me candied haws."
Yun Qi: “…”
For some reason, Yunqi should have teased him long ago, but this time he just couldn't get angry.
He looked gently at the person in front of him who seemed to be lying, and said, "So you want to go out and play this time too?"
There was a barely perceptible light in Ling Junyan's eyes, which seemed to be in disbelief but also extremely surprised. After a moment, he said in a state of forgetfulness:
"think."
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