Lin Jing had almost lost count of how many times she had been speechless during her conversations with the brother and sister: "What biological father? I cured your aunt's infertility, which is how she got to know your cousin. It was also because of this that I met Lingxiu, who was not yet married at the time."
Lingxiu was the Duchess's name. Shang Yunlan finally regained some of his senses. He looked at Lin Jing and murmured, "You don't look thirty-six at all..."
Lin Jing was already used to it. He was well-maintained and looked quite young: "In short, I have indeed been in love with Lingxiu for many years... She has excellent martial arts skills, so even though her younger sister is married, she is still unmarried. I originally wanted to make a name for myself before proposing marriage, but your father beat me to it."
Upon hearing this, Shang Yunlan exclaimed, "Good job! If my father hadn't gotten there first, I wouldn't be here!"
Lin Jing: "..."
That's the logic, but he did feel a bit frustrated listening to it.
Shang Yunlan finally realized why Lin Jing had made an exception and come to Shengjing to treat her illness, why he, who was known for his strange temper, was so kind to her and An'an, and why he knew that she had been born with this poison. It was all because of love!
But he couldn't control himself and looked at Lin Jing with great curiosity: "So when you see me and An'an, don't you feel like you're having a heart attack? We're the children of your rival! I even look like my dad."
Lin Jing suddenly calmed down.
He did some quick calculations with his fingers, and Shang Yunlan asked, "What are you calculating?"
Lin Jing smiled, but the smile looked somewhat lifeless: "I'm counting how many times I've been speechless today."
He thought for a moment and said something he had learned from Shang Shaoyan: "My mother tongue is probably speechless."
Shang Yunlan smiled awkwardly, not wanting to continue asking, but she was really anxious and couldn't help but look at Lin Jing frequently.
Lin Jing: "..."
He looked at Shang Yunlan helplessly, his tone unusually serious: "Yaochen, you may not understand what it's like to love someone. Your mother and I were destined to be apart, but I can let go. I won't hold a grudge or take it out on you and your siblings. I only know that you are the people my loved ones are willing to protect with their lives, and I am also willing to protect you with my life."
Yao Chen is Shang Yunlan's courtesy name. He will only turn twenty in March, but he has already chosen it in advance. It was Lin Jing who helped him choose it.
He considered Lin Jing a good brother at the time, but who knew Lin Jing wanted to be his father.
But it's not so bad. Now that he doesn't have parents to give him a courtesy name, it's good that he has a stepfather to give him one.
...
The Southern Chen Dynasty, the imperial palace.
Cheng Qing had been seeking Chen Huang's advice every day recently, so it wasn't unusual for him to come to see Chen Huang again now.
Qin Ye respectfully led him into the imperial study. At this time, Emperor Chen was still listening to music, swaying his head to the music. To be honest, Emperor Chen was well-preserved and looked quite handsome even though he was nearly forty years old. However, when Cheng Qing thought of the young and beautiful face of Princess Heyang and his cousin Qiao Xiuyu, he immediately felt that Emperor Chen was ugly but had a beautiful mind.
While he was thinking, Emperor Chen spoke up: "Xiao Cheng, sit down."
"Xiao Cheng": "..."
He sat down with a smile, chatted casually with Emperor Chen for a few minutes, and then casually remarked, "Just now I met Princess Heyang at the palace gate. In all my years in Northern Zhou, I have never seen such a beautiful and intelligent woman as Princess Heyang. If I could marry such a beauty, I would be laughing in my dreams."
Emperor Chen frowned, disliking the way his chosen one was being mentioned. He immediately warned, "Don't even think about it. I plan to make He Yang a concubine in the future."
The matter of He Yang going to the Northwest to seek immortality could not be mentioned, so Emperor Chen only mentioned this one sentence. This was naturally within Shang Shaoyan's expectations. Cheng Qing was meticulous and would not believe only her side of the story, so it was not surprising that she would indirectly seek confirmation from Emperor Chen.
Hearing this, Cheng Qing was almost convinced, and he feigned fear, saying, "It is I who have overstepped my bounds."
That's why they say Emperor Chen is a pig's opponent. He felt he had to use force to teach Cheng Qing a lesson and let him know that only the emperor could tame such a beauty.
So he snorted and said, "I am the emperor. It is her good fortune to have taken a liking to her. She will naturally accept it with gratitude."
To Cheng Qing, these words meant that "the Princess of Heyang was forced by powerful forces to agree to become a concubine."
He had no doubt that Shang Shaoyan would abandon Qiao Xiuyu and turn to Emperor Chen. After all, he had seen her sincere expression just now, and she was very clear-headed, knowing that Emperor Chen wanted Shang's army.
On one side is a young, handsome (scratch that), promising, and devoted husband; on the other side is an old, faded, scheming, and promiscuous tyrant. Even a fool would know who to choose.
Even if Emperor Chen said at this moment that "He Yang begged to become his concubine," Cheng Qing would still feel that he was abusing his power to oppress people.
This is the art of speaking, and how to take advantage of a clever person—speaking the truth, only slightly modifying the tone and expression, and these "clever people" will be outsmarted by their own cleverness.
Cheng Qing had a clear idea in her mind. Now that she completely trusted Shang Shaoyan, she would naturally try to get Emperor Chen to hand over the tiger tally to her.
So he made a few more remarks, "casually" steer the conversation toward the Northwest: "I heard the other day that Your Majesty intends to send the Third Princess to the Northwest for a political marriage?"
Emperor Chen paused slightly in his eating of pine nuts, then nodded, somewhat displeased: "Yes. What advice does Lord Cheng have?"
Cheng Qing naturally didn't care about this Third Princess whom he had never even met. He was only willing to achieve his own goal, so he sold out the Third Princess Lu Shuangyi without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I am terrified. I just feel that the Northwest is in chaos right now, and the army is not behaving itself. I'm afraid it won't be easy for the Third Princess to go there... hence these few words of lament. Your Majesty, please don't take offense."
Chen Huang felt that the phrase "the army is restless" sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
He thought about it. Lu Shuangyi was, after all, his most beloved daughter, and he really couldn't let her die in the Northwest... Oh, perfect timing, wasn't Heyang going to the Northwest? He could send Heyang to the Northwest first to attract the army's attention. After all, they were of Shang family blood, so it was always possible to prevent them from harming Lu Shuangyi.
Lu Shuangyi is leaving in mid-February. No, no, he can't wait until He Yang leaves Shu Prefecture to give her the other half of the Tiger Seal. What's the point of going to Shu Prefecture then? He has to send her directly to the Northwest and tell her to leave after her birthday!
Thinking this, Emperor Chen couldn't help but feel that he was a really smart man. Look, he really played the double-killing trick very well!
He was secretly pleased, but kept a straight face. He cleared his throat and looked at Cheng Qing: "Don't worry about that. I know what I'm doing and will have someone take care of things in the Northwest."
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