Chapter 106
After several days, Lin Qingyu stepped into the Qinzheng Hall again and hesitated for a moment in front of the door. Xiao Songzi asked: "Master Lin, is there anything wrong?"
Lin Qingyu perked up and said, "No, let's go in."
As soon as Lin Qingyu entered the hall, several important officials who were sitting and drinking tea in the hall stood up and saluted him, and even those with higher official positions than him saluted him on an equal footing. Lin Qingyu returned the greeting and asked the Dali Temple Minister first: "How is the investigation of the Xixia spy going?"
Xiao Songzi served tea to Lin Qingyu, and his heart finally settled down when he saw him talking about business in a calm and indifferent tone. Lord Lin had been terrified these past two days. He couldn't imagine what kind of joy or sorrow could cause Lord Lin to become bedridden. Fortunately, Lord Lin finally survived.
Lin Qingyu missed several days of morning court sessions and government meetings, and the amount of official business he had to discuss was several times more than usual. Lin Qingyu was able to listen to them patiently at first, but as time went on, he became more and more absent-minded, looking towards the door from time to time, as if he was in a hurry to confirm something.
An hour later, Lin Qingyu could no longer sit still and said, "That's all for today. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow."
Everyone filed out, with Li Chan being the last one to come out. Lin Qingyu could see that he was deliberately dawdling, probably because he had something he wanted to say to him alone.
"Lord Li?"
Li Chan said, "Lord Lin, the emperor has been on the throne for a short time, and the position of Prime Minister is vacant, and all officials are leaderless. In my humble opinion, why didn't Lord Lin take the position of Prime Minister earlier, the highest position among the officials, so that Lord Lin can sit in the court and manage the government, so as to avoid being privately accused by the censors of overstepping authority and making arbitrary decisions."
Lin Qingyu said nonchalantly: "The censors have said more than one thing about me in private. Let them say it. After all, they only dare to say it in private."
Li Chan hesitated and said, "But..."
"There's no need to rush this matter. When the time is right, I will have my own plans."
Li Chan looked at him for a while and couldn't help but talk about personal matters: "I heard that Lord Lin has been ill these days. Are you... okay?"
"I'm fine." Lin Qingyu said politely, "Master Li, don't worry about me."
Hearing the alienation in Lin Qingyu's words, Li Chan forced a smile: "I'm glad you're okay."
Lin Qingyu walked quickly all the way back to Xingqing Palace. He asked the eunuch guarding the door to the bedroom: "Is the emperor still in there?"
The eunuch replied, "Yes. Half an hour ago, when the Queen Mother came to visit the Emperor, he was sleeping soundly. The Queen Mother took one look and left."
Lin Qingyu walked into the bedroom and did not see Jiang Xing on the bed, only a bulge.
Probably because he heard his approaching footsteps, Jiang Xing crawled out from under the quilt, with his head on the quilt, his messy short hair pressed down by the quilt, looking both sleepy and handsome. He had a cloth tied on his hand and yawned: "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Xiao Li couldn't possibly have this kind of temperament. In this vast world, there is only one Jiang Xing, who is both too lazy to make him angry and yet can make him indulge him willingly.
Lin Qingyu's shoulders sank slightly: "Wait for me?"
"Waiting for you." Jiang Xing said again, "I'm hungry."
Jiang Xing, who speaks incoherently, is lovable in a special way. Lin Qingyu smiled and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Jiang Xing frowned and thought for a while, then opened Lin Qingyu's palm and wrote the word "plum blossom" on it.
Lin Qingyu said: "It's not made by my mother-in-law, but by the Shangshi Bureau. Is that okay?"
Jiang Xing thought about it and said, "It's okay, barely." Then he raised his tied hands and motioned Lin Qingyu to help him untie them.
"I don't understand." Lin Qingyu told the maid to prepare food through the door, then sat down beside the bed and said, "Let me ask you, how did Gu Fuzhou die?"
He had asked this question once before, but he was absent-minded at the time and Jiang Xing simply brushed the question off with a few words. After calming down and thinking about it, if Jiang Xing really did as he promised and only made plans but did not go to the battlefield himself, how could it be possible that Gu Fuzhou died in battle and Yongliang was recovered.
Jiang Xing was stunned for a moment, lowered his hands, and sighed: "Qingyu who has returned to normal is fierce."
When Lin Qingyu was leaving, he didn't control himself and tied himself a little too tight. Jiang Xing's body is not as resistant as Gu Fuzhou's. He is used to a life of luxury, but after being tied up with cloth for an hour, there are marks on his wrists. Lin Qingyu stroked the two light red lines and said, "Tell the truth and I will untie it for you."
Jiang Xing said, "It's too long. I can't tell you."
Lin Qingyu took out a pen and paper and untied the cloth strip from Jiang Xing's hand: "Then write."
Jiang Xing knew he couldn't escape. Even if he didn't write it now, Lin Qingyu would still know everything when the news from the northwest reached the capital.
Jiang Xing took the pen. Lin Qingyu thought he was going to write on the table, but he just lay down on the bed, covered with a quilt and started writing, like a student who usually doesn't work hard but secretly studies in bed in the middle of the night.
As soon as Jiang Xing stopped writing, Lin Qingyu took the paper away. Looking at Lin Qingyu reading ten lines at a glance, with his brows furrowed and his face frighteningly cold, Jiang Xing had the illusion that his homework was being checked by a teacher.
"Using yourself to lure the enemy..." Lin Qingyu laughed, "So, you didn't take your promise to me to heart at all, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Xing laughed, as if mocking himself: "It's unfair."
"If so, how could you possibly put yourself in danger?"
Jiang Xing couldn't give an explanation. Looking back, he also felt that he seemed to be too great at that time. If he were to make the choice again now, he might not do it this way. But at that time, he had spent a year in the northwest and witnessed thousands of his brothers die under the city of Yongliang, which made him more or less drunk.
However, it was useless to say this to Lin Qingyu. He decided to take the simplest and most brutal solution. He knelt on the bed, clasped his hands together, and said loudly: "I was wrong! Next time, I won't dare to do it again!"
Lin Qingyu was indifferent and said indifferently: "When you promised me before, I believed it, and then what?"
Jiang Xing was speechless.
Lin Qingyu chuckled: "From now on, I will never believe you again. I will only believe in myself."
He would not let Jiang Xing leave his control, nor would he let Jiang Xing go anywhere he could not see. He was tired of that feeling.
Jiang Xing smiled and wrote: [Then baby, please protect me and don’t let me go to the war. It’s scary. 】
Lin Qingyu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Were you... very scared at that time?"
"Not bad." Jiang Xing said lightly. He opened the quilt and invited Lin Qingyu: "Come in and sit down."
Lin Qingyu hesitated for a moment and got into the quilt. The familiar scent instantly surrounded him.
He had never felt this aura when he was with Xiao Li before. This is what Jiang Xing brought. No matter he is Lu Wancheng, Gu Fuzhou, or Xiao Li, the feeling Jiang Xing gave him will never change.
Soon, Xiao Songzi brought the plum cake. Seeing the emperor's short hair, Xiao Songzi was frightened: "The emperor's hair..."
Lin Qingyu said: "The emperor twisted his hair for fun, it's not a big deal, there's no need to make a fuss."
Jiang Xing looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt he couldn't bear to look at it, so he picked up the scissors and started trimming his hair, finally making his hair look less scary. Looking at the short-haired boy in the mirror, he couldn't help but sigh: "I feel like I'm myself again."
I have to say that short hair for men is refreshing and convenient compared to long hair. If there is a chance, he would also like to give it a try.
Lin Qingyu said: "Look up."
Jiang Xing raised his head in confusion, and Lin Qingyu touched his Adam's apple: "In my dream, you also have a mole here."
Jiang Xing was puzzled: [You don’t remember what I looked like in your dream, so how come you still remember this mole? 】
"Because from my angle, I can always see you here."
Jiang Xing savored Lin Qingyu's words, and smiled as he held his chin up, "Hmm? I don't understand."
Lin Qingyu glanced at him and said, "Your Majesty is still young. When he grows up, he will naturally understand."
Ever since Jiang Xing started speaking, the Queen Mother was obviously not as concerned about court affairs as before, and she focused most of her energy on Jiang Xing. Every day, she would stay in Xingqing Palace for half a day and personally teach Jiang Xing to speak, as if she really treated Jiang Xing as a babbling child.
"Li'er, you are the emperor, you should call yourself 'Zhen'." The Queen Mother said, "Come, follow me and say 'Zhen'."
Jiang Xing looked at Lin Qingyu helplessly, hoping that Lin Qingyu could help him get the Queen Mother to leave. Lin Qingyu seemed not to see it and calmly turned a page of the memorial.
The Queen Mother, who did not receive a response from her son, continued: "Li'er, say 'I'..."
Jiang Xing could only say "I", and the Queen Mother immediately said happily: "Li'er is great, so smart." This scene seemed as if Jiang Xing had composed a masterpiece that was unprecedented and unparalleled. "Qingyu, don't you think so?"
Lin Qingyu responded calmly: "Yeah."
Seeing that he was busy with official business, the Queen Mother asked curiously, "Qingyu, if you want to read the memorial, why don't you go to the Qinzheng Palace?"
Lin Qingyu was slightly startled and said softly: "I..."
He knew it was not good, but he couldn't help it.
Jiang Xing said, "Mother, I want him to accompany me."
The Queen Mother had no principles in front of her talkative son: "Okay, okay, let Qingyu accompany the emperor." She paused and added, "However, when General Gu comes back, the emperor can't stick to Qingyu like this."
As the Queen Mother mentioned Gu Fuzhou, Xiao Songzi ran in, panting, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Lord Lin, the messenger from the northwest is here!"
The Queen Mother hurriedly said, "Quick, please invite him in!"
Jiang Xing looked towards Lin Qingyu. Lin Qingyu seemed calm, but the fingertips holding the memorial were a little pale.
Fortunately, Lin Qingyu already knew. Otherwise, he really couldn't imagine how crazy Lin Qingyu would go when he heard the news of Gu Fuzhou's death from other people.
Jiang Xing quietly tugged at Lin Qingyu's sleeve and mouthed "baby". Lin Qingyu shook his head to indicate that he was fine.
In a moment, Shen Huaishi walked in.
The last time Lin Qingyu saw him was last year. Shen Huaishi had become thinner, darker, and dusty, with bloodshot eyes. It was conceivable that he had hardly closed his eyes during the entire journey.
Shen Huaishi knelt down in front of several people and said in a hoarse voice: "Great victory in the northwest, Yongliang has been recovered."
The Queen Mother let out a long sigh and said with a smile: "Gu Fuzhou lived up to everyone's expectations. As soon as the Emperor ascended the throne, he pacified the northwest. He is worthy of his title of General of the State. Qingyu, you really married a good husband."
Lin Qingyu asked: "If it was a great victory, why don't you see joy on your face?"
Shen Huaishi raised his head and looked at Lin Qingyu, his voice choked with sobs: "Doctor Lin, I'm sorry for you. General Gu..." Shen Huaishi slammed his head to the ground, crying, "General Gu...he died in the battle!"
The Queen Mother's eyes suddenly widened and she sat down in a daze. Several palace maids covered their lips with their hands and cried out silently; Xiao Songzi had admired the general for a long time, and she burst into tears immediately.
Xiao Songzi's sobs echoed in the hall. Lin Qingyu glanced at Jiang Xing, who had a complicated expression, and said, "I understand."
Shen Huaishi: “…?”
The author has something to say: New Emperor: General, go with peace of mind. I will take good care of the beautiful young widow.
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