Chapter 46
Lin Ran was shouting loudly, and when she saw Ling Huanchen looking at her, she shouted even harder.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, it's me!"
When Ling Huanchen saw her, an idea suddenly came to his mind: there was something he had to do with Lin Ran's help.
"Let her in."
"Master, she..."
Ling Huanchen lowered his head to tease Qi Xian, "Go quickly."
Xiao Qi's face was full of reluctance. He was always on guard against those who intended to approach his master. Anyone who showed him kindness without any reason was either a villain or a thief.
As soon as Lin Ran was released, she quickly tidied her appearance and walked into the pavilion gracefully, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Ling Huanchen didn't exchange pleasantries with her and went straight to the point, "Princess, why did you come to see me today?"
Normally, if one showed some respect, one would at least ask if he was used to living in Youcheng. However, when it came to Ling Huanchen, there was nothing, which made all the words Lin Ran had prepared suddenly useless.
After a moment's silence, she quickly regained her smile. "I, I've been seeing Your Highness ever since last time. We hit it off, and I haven't had the time to visit you. Now that I've found some free time, I've come to pay my respects."
When she said this, Xiao Qi couldn't help rolling his eyes. On the one hand, he was disgusted by Lin Ran's lie, and on the other hand, he was worried that his simple and kind master would be deceived by her.
Ling Huanchen shook the rattle, making Qi Xian giggle and reach out to hold his wrists.
Ignoring her, Lin Ran had to find something to say. When she heard the laughter, her eyes immediately lit up, "This must be the little princess, so cute. I heard that she is the king's adopted daughter. It would be great if she was his biological daughter. The king must like children very much."
Finally, we are getting to the point.
Ling Huanchen looked up at her and asked, "Does the princess like children very much?"
Lin Ran laughed dryly. "Of course I like children. I heard a rumor a few days ago that Your Highness is pregnant. I thought that Your Highness is a man, how could he be pregnant? This must be a misunderstanding, right?"
No matter how hard Lin Ran tried to divert the blame to him, Ling Huanchen didn't react much, as if he didn't take it to heart.
"It's really a misunderstanding."
When Lin Ran heard this, her smile became more sincere. "The king is so considerate of Your Highness. Knowing that Your Highness has no children, he specially left his adopted daughter with Your Highness to raise. It seems that Your Highness also likes children. But it doesn't matter. The king's children will also be Your Highness's children in the future."
Ling Huanchen knew that she was trying to instigate him by indirectly mentioning the issue of the royal heir, which was exactly what he wanted. "Don't worry about these, Princess."
Lin Ran wasn't actually favored by the Xiancheng royal family, as she was born out of wedlock. It was said that the princess who was originally going to marry was another princess, but she suddenly fell ill, so Lin Ran took her place.
For a princess born out of wedlock like her, if she wasn't favored by the royal family, she would be at the mercy of others. It would be better for her to marry far away and perhaps even rise to prominence. Lin Ran, having grown up in the palace, was adept at adapting to changing circumstances and reading people's expressions. Hearing Ling Huanchen say this, she knew she had achieved her goal; at the very least, she had made this usually calm and composed person a little unhappy.
"Hello, little princess. I'm Princess Lin Ran." She suddenly squatted down and waved towards Qi Xian. "Your Highness, the little princess is so cute. Can I hug her?"
Before Ling Huanchen could express his opinion, Qi Xian burst into tears, so loud that the guards in the distance could hear it.
The guards quickly rushed to the outside of the pavilion, "Your Highness, is there anything wrong?"
It was the first time that Ling Huanchen heard Qi Xian's deafening cry. He was a little confused for a moment and reflexively hugged her and patted her gently to comfort her.
"Nothing, just call the nurse over to see if she's hungry."
Lin Ran was still squatting there awkwardly, not knowing whether to get up or not.
About half a cup of tea later, not only did the wet nurse come, but the person walking in front of everyone was Yu Xi who had just returned from court.
At this time, Qi Xian was still sobbing softly, her delicate little face wrinkled into a bun, and her tears rubbed against Ling Huanchen's robe, wetting it.
"Your Majesty." Ling Huanchen stood up holding Qi Xian and wanted to hand her over to the wet nurse. However, after the wet nurse took over, Qi Xian suddenly cried even harder, and he had to hold his daughter back.
"Xian'er, what's wrong?" Yu Xi leaned over, staring at the crying little girl in Ling Huanchen's arms, pinching her cheek, "Who offended you?"
Xiao Qi quickly took over the conversation, "Your Majesty, just now the master was holding the little princess in the pavilion to watch the koi. Later, Princess Lin Ran suddenly came and said that she thought the little princess was adorable and wanted to hold her. The little princess burst into tears when she saw Princess Lin Ran reaching out for her hand. I think the little princess might be shy and was frightened."
Seeing everyone looking at her, Lin Ran suddenly felt that something was wrong and hurriedly explained, "I was inconsiderate. I didn't expect the little princess might be shy. I will be more careful next time."
Yu Xi touched Qi Xian's head. Surrounded by the two of them, Qi Xian probably felt safe. She gradually stopped crying and fell asleep while biting her fingers.
When turning to Lin Ran, the gentleness in Yu Xi's eyes disappeared, replaced by the mysterious look she had in the court in the past. "My princess, please don't come to the Imperial Garden. Xian'er is shy, so please don't get close to her."
Lin Ran didn't dare to act rashly after hearing this, and said honestly, "Yes, I understand."
"Also, Princess, it's best for you to avoid contacting the people from Yuluan Palace to avoid damaging the relationship."
Lin Ran suddenly looked up and met Yu Xi's eyes, and immediately forgot to argue for herself.
"yes……"
She remained there in a daze until everyone else had left, unable to come back to her senses for a long time. The look in Yu Xi's eyes just now was completely different from the one she gave Ling Huanchen. There was not a trace of gentleness or kindness in her eyes, and it only made her feel like she was in an ice cellar.
In the Yuluan Palace, Ling Huanchen asked the wet nurse to carry the sleeping Qi Xian away, while he stayed with Yu Xi, watching him review memorials until the candlelight was refilled.
Yu Xi closed the memorial and looked up. Ling Huanchen was sitting next to him, reading a book intently.
"I heard a rumor recently."
Ling Huanchen paused for a moment while holding the book, then comforted himself that there were so many rumors outside, and it might not be what he thought of.
However, Yu Xi continued, "That doctor is no longer working at the Imperial Hospital."
Ling Huanchen stubbornly turned a page of the book without looking up, "Your Majesty can pretend not to know."
Yu Xi raised the corners of her lips slightly, and suddenly raised her voice, "If Huanchen still feels unsatisfied, I can let Ji Yunlou and Xiaoqi take the punishment."
Ling Huanchen immediately put down the book upon hearing this, "Your Majesty, there is no need to punish them."
Yu Xi took the opportunity to pull his hand over, "My Huanchen is always so kind-hearted and can't bear to see others being punished."
When Ling Huanchen saw the smile he couldn't hide, he immediately realized that he had been tricked.
"It's late, Your Majesty, please go to bed early. I..."
Before he could finish his words, he let out an exclamation.
"Your Majesty, what do you want to do now..."
Yu Xi carried the person to the bed and said as a matter of course, "Give birth to fish cubs."
All sounds were silenced by Yu Xi, and the boundless spring scenery was also covered by the curtain.
After Lin Ran's strategic expulsion from the Imperial Garden that day, a few days passed with peace and tranquility. During this time, Ling Huanchen continued to do his usual duties, as if nothing had happened to the envoy from Xiancheng.
There is an old saying that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, but in fact the harem and the court are closely related. Any slight disturbance can easily lead to a storm.
Two different topics suddenly appeared in the memorials submitted to the morning court, and the central theme was nothing more than two words: offspring.
Yu Xi glanced at it and tossed the memorial aside. "Why are you two, my dear ministers, suddenly so concerned about my family affairs?"
Before they could finish their words, the two older ministers choked and almost lost their words. It was Lord Sun, who had more experience in officialdom, who spoke first. "Your Majesty, we are concerned for the well-being of Youcheng. Your Majesty has no children, and leaving the throne of Crown Prince vacant in the future is not a long-term solution. Your Highness of Yuluan Palace is a man, and even if he is deeply in love with Your Majesty, it will be difficult for him to have children. For now, the only correct solution is to fill the harem. Then the harem will still respect Yuluan Palace as the principal harem, and I believe Your Highness will not object."
Yu Xi listened to him quietly and said with a smile, "How would Lord Sun know if he had any objections?"
"Your Majesty..." Lord Sun opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say next.
"You two, my dear ministers, are well-intentioned and concerned about Youcheng and the country. I understand this." After finishing his polite remarks, Yu Xi changed the subject and said, "The position of superiors should be held by the virtuous. Even if I have no children, at most I can choose someone from my clan who is capable of taking on the responsibility. Besides, the royal family still has Zhao'er. Any children he will have in the future will be just like my own. You, my dear ministers, don't need to worry about this."
Lord Sun was completely speechless, and the other minister didn't dare to say a word. The two of them were forced to do the job, and now they could only retreat in disgrace.
The ministers tacitly acknowledged Ling Huanchen's existence, but the issue of an heir was a concern for these veteran officials. As long as Yu Xi didn't express her opinion, they wouldn't give up. Especially with the marriage proposal from Xiancheng, it further piqued their interest.
However, their last remaining hope was shattered. Yu Xi's blunt statement was equivalent to stating that apart from Ling Huanchen, no one else would enter the harem. The court officials dared to speak up but not to defend. As long as Yu Xi really spoke, they dared not say anything.
The news of the petition submitted to the court quickly reached the harem, and Xiaoqi, the insider, knew the whole story at the first time.
"These old ministers must have been instigated by that princess. They really don't learn their lesson and always make the king unhappy."
Ling Huanchen smiled and gave him a look, "It's rare for our Xiaoqi to be smart for once."
What he wanted was for a minister to make this window paper clear. Princess Lin Ran was the instigator, and the minister who submitted the petition was a pawn. This would completely dispel the old-fashioned people's lucky thoughts and make them calm down sooner rather than later.
Xiao Qi pouted and said, "I have always been very smart."
"Yes." Ling Huanchen dragged out his voice, "Our Xiaoqi has always been smart."
Xiao Qi giggled twice and hurried over to pour tea. "Master, why haven't I seen Sister A He these days?"
Ling Huanchen took the teacup and took a sip. "I asked her to run something. She should be back soon."
Xiao Qi is naturally curious and always wants to ask about something he hears, "What's going on?"
Ling Huanchen just smiled and said, "The primer has been used up, so it's no longer needed."
The author has something to say:
Thank you "Jiuzixuli", "Dawujianhunhuang" and "Xiaobai" for the nutrient solution encouragement!
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