Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eve of Princess Jinyi's wedding. The wedding ceremony was held in the capital, and the Princess Mansion outside Princess Jinyi's palace had been renovated and completed years ago.
Xu Lin returned to the capital from Quanzhou today. He first went to the palace to pay his respects to the Emperor and Empress. As he left the palace, he met Ah Er on the side road. Ah Er led Xu Lin around the palace and they met Princess Jinyi at the rockery.
After not seeing each other for two years, the next time they met, they were already about to get married. Princess Jinyi lowered her head slightly, revealing a section of her fair neck. Xu Lin swallowed, coughed lightly, and bowed, saying, "Princess, it's been a long time since we last met. Are you all right?"
A blush rose on Princess Jinyi's cheeks. She nodded slightly and whispered, "Where's Master Xu?"
Seeing the shy look on the face of his beloved, Xu Lin stiffened and said in a low voice, "Everything is fine with me, but I just miss the princess all the time."
Princess Jinyi looked up at Xu Lin, then quickly lowered her head again, chuckling softly, "How did the pale-faced scholar turn into a bronze-faced burly man?"
Living on the coast and traveling frequently, the hides Xu Lin had raised in Jinling had long since been tanned to a bronze hue. Seeing that Princess Jinyi didn't dislike him, but was simply curious, Xu Lin jokingly asked, "My humble servant has changed. Princess, are you unhappy with him?"
Hearing this, Princess Jinyi quickly shook her head and said, "No."
Then she heard Xu Lin's chuckle, and Princess Jinyi stuffed the thing in her hand into Xu Lin's hand, picked up her skirt and ran away.
Staring blankly at the direction where Princess Jinyi was going, Xu Lin looked for a long time before opening his hand to see what Princess Jinyi had stuffed into his hand. He squeezed the purse in his hand, smiled slightly, and murmured, "I haven't given away the gift I brought yet."
After leaving the palace, Xu Lin went to the Sheng Mansion. The people from the Yongyi Marquis's Jinling Mansion would not arrive for two days. Today, Xu Wen did not go to pick up Xu Lin but prepared a welcoming banquet.
Meanwhile, Sheng Hong, who was staying at the Sheng residence, had just received a letter from Dengzhou and was carefully examining it. Two years prior, the Marquis of Xiangyang had received an appointment to Dengzhou, and Xin Jie'er had gone with him. Even though they were far apart, they hadn't stopped exchanging letters.
At the welcoming banquet, Sheng Shu and Sheng Wei, two candidates who were leaving the university this year, were thrilled to have Xu Lin back. They'd heard the exam might cover current affairs related to shipping. Xu Lin was in charge of shipping in Quanzhou, so this was a timely help.
The women sat at one table, the men sat at another. Because it was a family dinner, Yu Jiaxing did not attend. But in Li Yuxin's words, "We're all sons-in-law soon, so we're all family now."
After a family dinner, the women quickly left, while the men's table continued their discussion until the second watch. Xu Lin did not return to the Marquis's residence in Beijing, but stayed overnight in the outer courtyard.
I didn't expect that something big almost happened that night.
Fatigued by the long days of sailing and the alcohol he had been forced to drink, Xu Lin fell into a deep sleep after being sent back to his room. In the middle of the night, he felt someone touching him and moving towards his servants.
Xu Lin, alert as a martial artist through years of practice, suddenly came to his senses. Grabbing the hand, he cast a sharp gaze at its owner. Unexpectedly, the man showed no fear and leaned closer.
A fragrant breeze blew over, and Xu Lin smelled something, and immediately felt something was wrong. Without any hesitation, Xu Lin ripped the man's arms off, picked him up, opened the door and threw him out. Standing at the door, he shouted, "Help, there's an assassin!"
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