Xiao Sheng was very happy; he could hear Li Xingran's thoughts every day now. This little one still cared about him quite a bit.
And so, a bolt from the blue struck Li Xingran.
"Grand Tutor, I have already requested permission from the Emperor to stay at the Imperial Residence while I study." Xiao Sheng thought to himself, what will be the reaction of this young lady when she hears this?
Given Li Xingran's previous disdain for Xiao Sheng, she must be cursing him in her heart, right?
[Father, you can't agree to the cannon fodder prince's request! It's like a time bomb has landed in our house; Zhao Yunwan's various factions will be watching us closely!]
[Isn't it good enough for this cannon fodder prince to stay in his Eastern Palace with his ten beauties? What's the meaning of him refusing to leave our house?]
[Father! The Crown Prince is a cursed man who will bring annihilation upon our family! Waaah! You damned devil, stop this decision!]
Ding! There's a new message in the brocade pouch.
"Because of the needs of the plot, this decision cannot be stopped. But it will stop the misfortune." The golden words flashed in Li Xingran's mind again.
[You ruthless devil! If anything happens to my Li family, I'll pray to heaven every single day.]
Li Ting and Xiao Sheng were both puzzled by Li Xingran's last sentence. However, it didn't seem like bad news.
Since Xiao Sheng had already moved his luggage to the Li family's residence, Li Ting had no choice but to arrange accommodations for him. Because the Crown Prince needed to have the remaining opium poison removed from his body, Li Ting arranged for the Crown Prince to stay in a small, exquisite courtyard next to Fan Zu'an's.
Li Ting also assigned two servants to clean the courtyard and serve tea and water.
The Li family had previously sent out many servants, resulting in a shortage of manpower. Otherwise, given the prince's status, he would have needed at least thirty-six servants to attend to him.
Li Ting was thinking of having the matchmaker bring some servants and young men over sometime to select a few.
After arranging Xiao Sheng's accommodations, it was time for the Li family to have breakfast.
Breakfast was arranged in Xu Ningyou's courtyard. After breakfast, the Li family brothers had to go to the academy, so breakfast was eaten as if they were sweeping through a battlefield.
Li Ruizhang has passed the provincial examination and will be taking the metropolitan examination this year, so he is quite busy with his studies.
As Li Xingran felt the hurried pace of her brothers in the cot, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
[It turns out that in any era and in any place, studying is always a shortcut to changing one's destiny! According to the book's plot, my elder brother excelled in the provincial examination this year, but was rejected by the emperor in the palace examination. Disappointed and resentful, he sought acquaintances everywhere, only to end up with a few bad influences.]
Although my brother's appearance was disfigured when Xiao Yuyan visited last time, the world will still see it eventually. Among those close friends are members of Zhao Yunwan's sycophantic family.
Li Ting glared at his eldest son, Li Ruizhang, who trembled in fear. He inwardly wailed, "Sister, could you please tell your brother which ones are from the lackey family? I'll definitely avoid them if I see them."
[Zhao Yunwan had quite a few lackeys. The book describes them as being controlled by opium, needing to receive it from the Empress every month, otherwise they felt like they were living a life worse than death. Furthermore, with them bound together, and Zhao Yunwan persuading the Emperor to neglect state affairs, the Yu family (Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices), the He family (Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud), the Feng family (Minister of the Court of Imperial Guards), and the Qiu family (Minister of the Court of Imperial Treasury) not only gained wealth, but many of their sons also entered officialdom.]
Several scholars from these families achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. My elder brother's literary talent was more than enough to make him the top scholar, but the emperor granted Zhao Yunwan's request, thus overlooking his abilities.
Li Ting was shocked. Had all these people already become the Empress's people?
Li Ruizhang and the other four boys, however, were thinking that from today onwards, they would sever all ties with these families.
Xiao Sheng was unaware of the power of these families, but how could so many families in the court have sided with his younger brother?
Xu Ningyou didn't think much of it. There's always been this kind of power dynamic; people side with whoever is most capable. As for those scoundrels, she'll deal with them one by one after she finishes her postpartum period.
Breakfast ended as everyone pondered their thoughts.
The five older brothers went to Tingquan Manor, while Xiao Sheng was taken to the study.
After Li Xingran had eaten and drunk her fill, she was full of energy, so Li Ting pushed the cot to the study and told Xu Ningyou to go and rest. He told her not to make any noise.
As soon as he entered the study, Liu Fu rushed in. "Master, the Empress, along with the Second Prince and the Princess, is almost at our gate. What should we do?"
Li Ting had long guessed that the Empress was coming. This morning, Xiao Sheng exposed her secret. Given her vengeful nature, it would be strange if she didn't come looking for trouble with Xiao Sheng.
"Then open the gates of the mansion and welcome the distinguished guest with the same protocol as the Empress. Instruct all the maids, servants and attendants in the mansion to wait for Her Majesty the Empress's carriage in the main courtyard."
It must be said that all the maids, servants and attendants of the Li family were quick and efficient. When the Empress's carriage was still two streets away from the Li family, they quickly tidied up the Li residence and waited for her in the main courtyard.
When the Empress arrived, she saw the Li family standing neatly in the courtyard. Before she could even speak, Li Ting's booming voice rang out.
Then came the sound of everyone kneeling down in unison.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects. We pay our respects to the Second Prince and the First Princess. Your Majesty's presence at the Li family brings great honor to our humble home. Our neighbors will surely look upon our Li family with more respect from now on."
"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Xiao Sheng's voice still sounded timid, completely different from his madness that morning.
Zhao Yunwan hadn't expected Li Ting to make such a scene, and her idea of launching an attack was abruptly cut off by Li Ting's actions.
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