All her thoughts were focused on Ke'er, and Lin Chunhuan didn't notice that while she was interrogating Ke'er, an inconspicuous eunuch from Kunning Palace sneaked out and entered Xingqing Palace.
In Xingqing Palace, the emperor, who should have gone to bed long ago, was now dressed neatly and sitting upright behind his desk. It didn't take long for him to listen to the young eunuch's detailed explanation of the whole story.
"Your Majesty, the Empress..."
The young eunuch finished speaking, but received no response for a long while. Wang Youquan was about to ask about the rules, but the emperor raised his hand to stop him, "No hurry, I trust the queen."
"She is smart and won't do anything stupid."
Although the emperor said this, Wang Youquan did not let go of the worry between his brows. "Of course, I dare not question the queen, but I am worried that the queen will be soft-hearted for a moment. If she keeps a troublemaker around, I am afraid that something will go wrong in the future."
The emperor did not respond to Wang Youquan's words. He just lowered his eyes, as if looking at the pages of a book on the table, but his eyes were not focused. It was unknown what he was thinking about or waiting for.
The atmosphere in the study seemed to be condensed into substance. No one dared to do anything without the emperor's order.
However, half an incense stick later, a servant hurried in, "Your Majesty, the Empress is kneeling outside the door, taking off her hairpin and asking for an audience!"
The emperor's eyes lit up, and no one saw his relieved look, so he quickly stood up and walked out the door.
April's day.
Although spring has arrived, the nights are still very cold. The evening breeze can make people shiver. Lin Chunhuan knelt on the ground, wearing a plain dress and without her hairpins. Her little face was frozen purple in the cold wind.
When she saw the emperor, she kowtowed heavily to the ground and said, "I have a traitorous servant by my side. I was deceived and plotted to murder the heir to the throne, almost committing a heinous crime. As your master, I failed to govern my subjects properly and am to blame. Your Majesty, please punish me!"
When the wind blew, the emperor's eyes turned red.
He quickly stepped forward and helped Lin Chunhuan up, "Quick, bring me the cloak!"
At this moment, the emperor finally felt relieved.
How could the Ji family's little tricks be hidden from him?
The emperor had heard the news long before Princess Anguo got married, but he didn't expect that the Ji family would bypass him and directly set their sights on Lin Chunhuan.
Of course, he understood all the twists and turns in it after just a quick glance.
Not to mention that Ke'er hasn't made up her mind whether to do it or not. Even if she really did do it, all those messy things would never enter Lin Chunhuan's mouth!
The reason why I have been holding back.
Firstly, now is not a good time to move against the Ji family. Even though the current Marquis Ji is only a bastard, he is still a member of the Empress Dowager's family. Over the years, he has established his own roots in Kyoto.
It is not so easy to completely remove it.
Secondly, Ke'er is the most capable person around Lin Chunhuan. Even the emperor and Ke'er only spent a short time together when they were at the Yuan family.
He also knew that this girl was a smart person who was loyal to her master. If it weren't for Ke'er, Lin Chunhuan's life in the Yuan family might have been even more difficult.
If he wanted to touch the Yuan family, he would have to touch Ke'er. He was afraid that his Huan'er would be sad.
Thirdly, and this is the point that makes the emperor most uncertain, he doesn't know what Lin Chunhuan's attitude will be after knowing this matter. Will he consider the overall situation or hide everything for Ke'er?
However, choosing Ke'er would be considered a betrayal of him.
He didn't necessarily want to compare himself with a servant, but Lin Chunhuan was too important in the emperor's heart, and the position of queen was even more crucial. He couldn't tolerate any discord, but was afraid of getting the answer he least wanted.
So I just kept putting this matter off until today.
But now, the emperor's hanging heart was finally at ease. He let out a breath of air, took the cloak and put it on Lin Chunhuan himself. "It's so cold, you are not afraid of freezing yourself, don't you even care about our children?"
"Your Majesty, your concubine..."
"Hasn't Huan'er always called me Mr. Zhen? Why did you change your tone today?"
Lin Chunhuan closed her mouth and then noticed that the emperor's clothes were neatly arranged. It was definitely not like he had just gotten out of bed. Instead, it seemed like he had been waiting for her for a long time.
After a moment's reflection, she came to her senses, "Sir, you deliberately let me go. Did you know that a long time ago?!"
"It's cold, come in and talk."
His hand, frozen like ice, was held in the broad palm. Lin Chunhuan followed behind woodenly, a layer of cold sweat seeping out of his vest.
It's not that she hasn't thought about protecting Ke'er.
Ke'er saved her once, and she wanted to save Ke'er once too.
But thinking about it afterwards, Ke'er had made a huge mistake. If she had covered up for her, she would not only be helping Ke'er, but might even be harming her!
If you really want to save people, you should tell the truth and deal with it. It will not be too late to plead with the emperor later. Even if it means risking your reputation or using the child in your belly as a raft, you can always save Ke'er's life. That's why you hurried to see the emperor.
But I didn't expect that the emperor had already known about it!
As she drank the warm soup, the warmth spread from her stomach to her limbs, softening her frozen body. "Sir, when did you find out?"
"It's been a while."
The emperor took the bowl of soup and put it down in a gentle tone, rubbing Lin Chunhuan's hands. "That boy from the Ji family is ambitious. I've always known this."
"But ambition isn't a bad thing. A man without ambition wouldn't be a good ruler. Before I met you, I truly believed I would never have children. I've heard some of the voices in the court asking me to adopt an heir, but I didn't take them seriously."
"It's inevitable that I've secretly kept an eye on the candidates."
Lin Chunhuan pursed her lips and said nothing.
Her memory told her that the emperor should be extremely disgusted with the idea of adopting a child, but now it seemed that this was not the case.
There must have been some changes that happened in the meantime that she didn't know about, but in her previous life, she was too far away from the government, and Yuan Shaojun was even more of a waste. It was already difficult for her to protect the Yuan family, and she had no access to these things at all.
As for now.
With her around and the baby in her belly, some things might never happen again, and she didn't have the heart to dig into the details.
"I never imagined that the Ji family's ambitions would grow to this extent. It's time for this Marquis to take action."
Lin Chunhuan's heart skipped a beat, "Sir, is this for me?"
"Yes, it's also for my mother. After all, the Ji family is my mother's family. You are the most important people in my life. How can I ignore you?"
"gentlemen……"
Her slightly cold body rested softly against his broad chest. Lin Chunhuan sniffed and burst into tears, "How could I be so worthy of such love and respect, sir?"
The thin back revealed an almost perfect outline under the thin clothes, and the bursts of fragrance made the emperor distracted. It took a lot of willpower to suppress the restlessness in his heart.
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