Chapter 123 New Year
Mutton...pot?
Lin Hao's mouth twitched slightly.
She had just eaten lunch—
Just as she was about to decline, she heard the little princess angrily say, "My eldest brother is too much. He knows a lot of delicious places, but he doesn't keep his promise and doesn't take me there. He always brings a friend with him, and I don't know who these friends are..."
Lin Hao swallowed the words "I just had lunch" that were on the tip of his tongue and gave Qi Qiong a somewhat guilty smile: "Okay."
Qi Qiong immediately revealed a bright smile, and as they walked, she took Lin Hao's hand and said, "I originally made an appointment with my second brother to have dinner together tonight. I'll have the maid go and tell him later."
"Since the princess has made an appointment with your brother, why don't we change the date?" Lin Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the mutton hotpot is delicious, it would be a bit greasy if you eat it twice in a row.
Qi Qiong waved his hand: "It's okay, my second brother eats out every day, so this meal is not a big deal."
Later, Qi Huan received a message from the maid.
Just as Lin Hao had expected, after the beggar who had led the trouble had been jailed, the Lin residence suddenly became quiet. The elders took charge of cooking and cleaning, the younger ones began to learn to read, and the older children were assigned to learn a trade in the shops under the general's mansion. The dozen or so children selected by Liu Bo had meat to eat every day and grew visibly stronger.
Life became peaceful for Lin Hao, but in fact, a new rumor emerged in the capital, still about the prince.
It turns out that the prince's assassination was not caused by the previous dynasty's imperial teacher, but because the prince raped the assassin's sister many years ago.
The wind starts from the tip of the green reed. Even with the ability of Jinlin Guards, they could not find out where the rumor came from, but it spread like wildfire and soon became a hot topic.
Emperor Tai'an was furious and punished Cheng Maoming, the commander of the Jinlin Guard, and went to the Eastern Palace to scold the prince.
The palace was shrouded in dark clouds, but that couldn't stop the people from welcoming the New Year with good mood.
The general's mansion also began to prepare New Year's goods. This was the first New Year after Lin brought her two daughters back, so it was more important than in previous years.
There was also a special thing this year. As a girl who was already engaged, the general's mansion received a New Year gift from the royal family.
The New Year gift was delivered personally by the King of Wei.
Regardless of whether the old lady and Mrs. Lin were satisfied with Lin Chan's future husband, when the prince arrived, he had to be welcomed in person.
Lin was shocked when she saw King Wei.
She's lost weight again! You can see her handsome face now!
King Wei felt a little uncomfortable being looked at by Lin, so he went into the house to drink tea and sat for a while before asking to leave.
"Your Highness, please have your meal before leaving." The old lady tried to persuade him to stay.
The King of Wei said politely, "I have some things to do at home. I will come to see you after the New Year."
Normally, when the future son-in-law comes to give New Year gifts, he should stay for a meal, but the royal family is different from ordinary families, so the old lady did not force him.
As soon as the King of Wei left, the old lady and Lin looked at each other and said in unison, "I'm finally relieved."
"Mother, have you also noticed that the King of Wei has lost weight again?" Lin asked happily.
The old lady looked at her daughter deeply and said weakly, "I thought that as a prince, being able to come in person to deliver the New Year's gift, Chan'er's life will not be too difficult in the future."
It is impossible to be alone when marrying into the royal family. For women who marry into a high-ranking family, having concubines is not scary. What is scary is that the husband does not respect his wife.
Only with respect can there be a bottom line.
Lin's mood brightened after hearing this. She turned around and told her eldest daughter the good news: "Chan'er, the King of Wei came today, and he has lost weight again. Now he looks like just an ordinary fat man..."
After hearing her mother speak well of the King of Wei, Lin Chan smiled shyly: "That's good."
If possible, who wouldn’t want a handsome husband?
The King of Wei had lost so much weight that after the Lunar New Year, all the officials and nobles noticed it. When the news reached the inner chambers, countless ladies felt jealous.
Originally, she could still comfort herself that although Lin Wanqing's daughter had married well, the King of Wei himself was too displeased. Who would have thought that the King of Wei, who had been fat since childhood, had actually become thinner!
Could it be that the girl from the Lin family is lucky in marrying a good husband?
With this thought in mind, many people turned their attention to Lin Hao and secretly decided to go to the general's mansion to propose marriage after the first month of the lunar year.
The thinning King of Wei aroused the jealousy of many noble ladies, but the men only regarded this as a novelty and let it go.
At this time, all the officials and nobles had not yet noticed that there was something wrong with the prince's left hand.
This matter could be concealed from the civil and military officials for the time being, but it did not make the Crown Prince happy. Especially when he saw the thinner King of Wei, the Crown Prince became even more irritated.
Of course, the Crown Prince hadn't yet considered the King of Wei a threat. After all, he had grown up as the legitimate heir to the throne, and the throne was a natural fit for him, sooner or later.
But he was still very unhappy.
Although his left hand was disabled, his fourth brother became handsome. At the New Year's Palace Banquet, his father smiled more often when he looked at his fourth brother, but had a stern face when he looked at him.
The prince was in a depressed mood and paced back and forth in his bedroom, kicking away a brocade cushion.
The brocade stool rolled to the feet of Emperor Tai'an, who had just reached the door. Emperor Tai'an spoke in a suppressed, angry voice: "Yuan'er, why are you so angry again?"
When the prince saw Emperor Tai'an, he cursed his bad luck and admitted his mistake with a bitter face.
Emperor Tai'an was very disappointed: "Yuan'er, I have told you many times not to let your emotions control you, but to learn to control your emotions."
The prince lowered his head in dismay: "Son, I understand."
"You know it again. If you know it, you should do it instead of just going crazy!" Emperor Tai'an got angry when he saw the prince like this, and left in a huff.
The prince lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly to suppress his anger.
It's easy for the emperor to say that, it wasn't him who had his hand crippled!
Emperor Tai'an left the Eastern Palace and went to Ningxin Palace in a state of frustration.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Concubine Jing bowed respectfully.
Emperor Tai'an pulled her up and walked in.
There was a faint fragrance lingering in Ningxin Palace, which was light and pleasant.
Emperor Tai'an took the teacup handed to him by Concubine Jing, took a sip, and sighed, "It's better to relax here with my beloved concubine."
Concubine Jing walked around behind Emperor Tai'an and massaged his shoulders: "Is Your Majesty in a bad mood?"
Emperor Tai'an said angrily: "The prince is like that..." The rest of the words stopped abruptly.
Concubine Jing's shoulder-kneading movements did not change at all, and she did not ask any questions.
Emperor Tai'an was quite pleased with Concubine Jing's tact and took the initiative to say, "The Crown Prince has been prone to losing his temper ever since he was assassinated and injured. He is not calm at all."
"The prince is still young."
"What do you mean young? They have been married for so many years!" Thinking of the death of the Crown Princess, Emperor Tai'an became even more depressed.
Concubine Jing said softly, "Maybe it's because there's no one around who understands your feelings."
Emperor Tai'an turned around, pulled Concubine Jing to sit opposite him, and said thoughtfully, "My beloved concubine, there is some truth in what you said."
The prince is already in his twenties, but he has no bloodline at all. After the first month of the year, it’s time to consider choosing a princess.
In an ordinary family, marrying someone so soon after his wife's death would inevitably lead to gossip, but in the royal family, it was nothing. The prince's lack of an heir was not only a family matter, but also a national matter concerning the inheritance of the country.
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