"You must be Li Zhongcheng? I am Zhang Mo, the imperial eunuch who delivers imperial decrees. When the decree was being delivered just now, I mistakenly thought that Li Zhongcheng had already arrived. I was truly sorry to find out that he had only just arrived after the decree was finished!"
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict, Zhang Mo, was rather unlucky.
This was the first time he had handled such a matter of delivering an imperial edict.
Previously, it was Zhao Gao's faction that handled these matters; he was merely an assistant. Unexpectedly, after His Majesty returned from the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he purged Zhao Gao's forces.
That's how Zhang Mo managed to snag a starting position among the imperial eunuchs.
"No problem, no problem. Please, Eunuch Zhang, reiterate His Majesty's decree!"
"Um!"
Zhang Mo was very satisfied with Li Lin's humility. Unlike others, who always showed some contempt in their eyes when looking at eunuchs, Li Lin was different.
Especially the four great families of Qin, such as the Wang family and the Meng family, treated the eunuchs as household slaves.
It can be said that if Zhang Mo hadn't possessed the imperial edict and been acting on the will of the First Emperor, he would have been in dire straits.
Wang Ben could simply ignore him after seeing him.
"Your subject, Imperial Censor Li Lin, receives the imperial decree!"
Li Lin immediately knelt down, knowing that there was no room for ambiguity in dealing with imperial edicts.
Even if he disliked such formalities, he still had to go through the motions, otherwise how could he demonstrate the supreme power of the emperor?
"Imperial Censor Li Lin, the younger brother of Li Xin, is a man of loyal and pure character, intelligent and charming. I greatly admire him. Moreover, I have heard that Li Lin is only eighteen years old and has no family. Therefore, I have specially betrothed him to Princess Manyin, the daughter of the royal family. The wedding will take place on the third day of next month. This is my decree!"
"What?"
Li Lin's first reaction after hearing the imperial edict read aloud was disbelief!
Yes!
I can't believe it!
His face was filled with shock as he stared wide-eyed at Zhang Mo, a pale-skinned man in his thirties with a slightly effeminate appearance. "Eunuch Zhang, are you sure this imperial edict was written by His Majesty? There are no mistakes?"
"What's wrong, Li Zhongcheng? I recognized almost all the characters on this imperial edict before I came here, so there's no way I could have misread it. Besides, this edict was written by His Majesty himself, and there's a copy in the Court of Justice, so there's absolutely no chance of any error!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! It must be a mistake! How could His Majesty possibly bestow a marriage upon Princess Manyin? He probably meant to write my elder brother's name but wrote it wrong!"
Li Lin completely broke down.
He didn't want to be tied to the Qin Dynasty, a giant ship that was about to sink.
Although Princess Manyin is good-looking, tall, and indeed very cute, with the body of a mature woman and the face of a young girl, these are not the key points.
As long as you're alive, you'll still have the chance to find a beautiful girl again.
But if a person chooses a path that leads to certain death, then things are probably in grave danger!
"Lord Li, what's wrong with you?"
Wang Ben was dumbfounded: This silly boy, His Majesty is about to betroth his daughter to you, and you still look unwilling. How big is your face? You little brat, if you're so capable, don't just occupy the position without doing anything. If it were my family, they would have happily sent the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree out the door long ago.
The other ministers all cast envious, jealous, and resentful glances at him.
If looks could kill, Li Lin would probably be dead thousands of times over by now!
"Has this Vice Minister Li gone mad with joy?"
"No way? His Majesty values him so much, he'd go crazy?"
"Hey, you all don't know this, do you? Li Zhongcheng is completely incompetent. The reason he was able to sit on the throne of Censor-in-Chief is because his brother Li Xin was favored by His Majesty. Who would have thought, who would have thought, that when one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven? His Majesty actually wants to betroth his youngest daughter to him!"
"Damn it, this kid still has that disgusted look on his face, it's infuriating!"
"Yeah, yeah, what makes this kid so special? Is it because he has a powerful older brother?"
"Your Majesty, this is so unfair! Waaaaah, why don't we have a good older brother?!"
......
These ministers, one after another, spoke with a hint of sullenness in their tone, revealing their disdain for someone like Li Lin who used connections to get ahead.
But they wanted even more to replace Li Lin and become that kind of person.
well!
When people can't get what they want, they complain.
Once they get what they want, they'll show a completely different face.
"Lord Li, you'd better accept the imperial decree quickly. I need to go back to the palace to report. You know the consequences if you refuse to accept the decree, so I won't have to explain further, will I?"
Zhang Mo had just developed some goodwill towards Li Lin, but unfortunately, that goodwill vanished completely before it could last long.
After all, he held the imperial edict of the First Emperor!
What an important object that is!
How could a mere eunuch who delivers imperial edicts be allowed to arbitrarily change things?
If Li Lin refuses to accept the imperial decree, he'll be in big trouble!
When they return to the palace, they will at least receive a beating.
If the First Emperor were to become angry, he might take his anger out on him, and his life might be in danger.
That's why he looked at Li Lin with such a serious expression.
Li Lin quickly calmed his panicked emotions. He knew that the imperial edict had been issued, like an arrow on a bowstring, and he had no choice but to accept it. If he did not accept the edict, his fate would be tragic.
Moreover, having received the imperial decree, he suffered no loss whatsoever.
never mind!
What's wrong with marrying a princess of the Qin Dynasty?
After all, the Qin Dynasty wouldn't collapse in the short term. The most urgent task now was to extend the reign of the First Emperor, ideally allowing him to live for another ten years.
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