Chapter 169 Chapter 169 A sense of crisis
During the six years since Lin Si ascended the throne, he diligently governed Da'an well. The first few years were a busy time for both officials and Lin Si, but by the sixth year, everything was slowly getting back on track.
Everyone in the court began to worry about Lin Si's harem.
After all, Lin Si's harem can be described as empty. Apart from the concubines and imperial concubines left over from Dachen, there are only palace maids and eunuchs in the palace.
A few years ago, Madam Xie Rouze was chosen by His Majesty to enter the palace. At that time, the ministers all thought that Lin Si preferred women to men.
Some even secretly wanted to send their own daughters into the palace.
As a result, Xie Rouze has now become Xie Sinong, and never enters the palace except for official business. They have miscalculated again.
In response to this, Lin Si directly told them that they didn't need to worry about it, as he had already made arrangements for the harem and heirs.
Since the emperor said so, the ministers put away their messy thoughts.
Some ministers have already begun to look for relatives in their family who are good-looking and tall, or have handsome children in their own families, and want to send them to the harem to persuade Lin Si.
Now that the plan has failed, everyone can only shake their heads and sigh.
This emperor is much tougher than the Lin family in the past. Not to mention making the future royal heir have his blood, he can't even persuade them with his pillow.
Lin Ying is now in the senior class of kindergarten. Occasionally, the teacher will assign some handicrafts, and Lin Ying will take the materials and tools to the palace where Lin Si is correcting memorials to do the handicrafts.
Lin Si specially set up a small table for her in the distance, so that the two of them could do their own things without disturbing each other.
Five-year-old Lin Ying eagerly awaited her graduation from kindergarten and the entrance to the long-desired elementary school. Even though she found these crafts childish and boring, she diligently completed each assignment. That day, she handed her finished work to the young eunuch, and the next day, Zhong Diyan would pick her up from school as usual.
Lin Ying once wondered why, with so many secret guards under Lin Si, Zhong Diyan was the only one who came to pick her up from school every day, and the routine never changed.
Lin Ying placed her handicraft in the carriage and said to Zhong Diyan.
"Do you know that those ministers want to send handsome men to His Majesty? Don't you feel any sense of crisis at all?"
Lin Ying is five years old now, and she doesn't care whether these words sound incongruous coming out of her mouth.
She didn't want those men with messy minds to live in the palace. She spent two full years to get a clear understanding of Zhong Diyan. She felt that this man was just okay, whether as a secret guard or a male concubine.
Lin Ying didn't want to change the person who took her to school every day, otherwise how would she explain it to her classmates and teachers!
Zhong Diyan turned his head and looked at Lin Ying for a moment, then replied meaningfully, "Don't worry, County Lady. Even if someone really does enter the palace, it will still be my duty to take you to and from school."
Lin Ying snorted proudly. "Aren't you worried about those people using all their tricks to win your favor? What will you do then?"
Zhong Diyan's expression remained unchanged. "Thank you for your concern, County Lady. Not to mention that His Majesty has already refused entry to the harem, even if someone really came, the thing you're worried about wouldn't happen."
"Why?" Lin Ying was really curious now.
"Because," Zhong Diyan said slowly, "they are just vulgar women, not worthy of your majesty's attention."
Lin Ying was speechless. "How do you know they're all vulgar women? What if they find a peerless handsome man who can play weak and cry, and win the favor of Your Majesty?"
"These," he said softly, "I also know them."
"Okay. Are you sure His Majesty has truly refused?" Lin Ying remained uneasy. She doubted Zhong Diyan knew any tactics to win favor. But for some reason, she felt a surge of honor, a sense of having protected her family.
Those men should never think of destroying her peaceful life. She had kept male favorites before, and she knew best what those men's intentions were.
"Rather than that," Zhong Diyan said, changing the subject with a half-smile, "Your Highness, why don't you think about today's classroom speech? All the parents will be in the classroom watching the parent-teacher conference later."
"What! Parents are coming to see too?!" Lin Ying's attention was immediately drawn, and her expression showed a moment of panic. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"
"The teacher said it's best not to inform us in advance."
Lin Ying crossed her arms. "Look, I'm not afraid."
Zhong Diyan's eyes softened. "The county lady and the former emperor are quite similar."
"Oh? How are they similar? Tell me about it." Lin Ying's eyes lit up.
"County Master, it's time to go to school."
"Hurry up and tell me, Zhong Diyan! I'll go back and tell you! Hurry up and tell me!"
In the end, Lin Ying still didn't get the answer she wanted, and glared at Zhong Diyan angrily when she got off the car.
This was the kindergarten's first time organizing parent observation sessions. Luo Qinghuai's mother, along with the other commoner parents, seemed rather reserved. They were dressed in ordinary cotton clothes, their first time attending such an event. Seeing the parents of wealthy merchants and officials, all dressed respectably and greeting each other, Luo Qinghuai's mother's smile faltered, and she felt at a loss as to what to do.
Luo Qinghuai didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Zhong Diyan walked into the classroom.
Finally saw an acquaintance!
Zhong Diyan also greeted Luo Qinghuai.
Zhong Diyan was good-looking and had an extraordinary temperament, which immediately attracted many other parents to come and socialize.
"I wonder which young lady's father this is?" A woman dressed in silk asked with a smile.
Zhong Diyan raised his eyes and nodded politely: "Zhao family. My daughter Zhao Ying."
"So he's Miss Zhao's father."
"Little Miss Zhao is so cute and well-behaved. It turns out she takes after her father."
"May I ask, Mr. Zhao, are you a businessman, or are you from an official family?"
Zhong Diyan put on a perfect disguise. "My family runs a papermaking business on Tongchuan Road."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Tongchuan Road and Jinbei Road are indeed both major papermaking areas."
"I heard that Wa Shi ordered quite a bit of paper the last time he came to Da'an. I guess the papermaking business is booming."
Zhong Diyan exchanged a few polite pleasantries, then turned to the nervous Luo Qinghuai mother and casually chatted with her about her child's crafts from yesterday. Luo Qinghuai's mother finally relaxed a lot of her nervousness and whispered, "I don't know anyone here just now. This is my first time in such an environment. I feel really uncomfortable."
Zhong Diyan nodded in understanding, "It's my first time here, too." His sincere gaze and calm tone quickly won the approval of the other parents. Everyone gradually relaxed and began to exchange parenting experiences.
Luo Qinghuai's mother liked Lin Ying very much and started to talk more. "Ahuai always comes back to tell me that Aying is her best friend in kindergarten. She hopes that they can be assigned to the same class when they go to school next year."
A woman selling tofu nearby also came over and said, "My child also said that Aying is like an older sister and that she knows everything."
Lin Ying was still angry that Zhong Diyan didn't tell her about her similarities with Lin Si. When she walked in to prepare for her speech, she saw Zhong Diyan mingling among the crowd and becoming the social center, which made her even more angry.
She will definitely complain when she gets back.
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Tongchuan Road borders Xiping, and the border here is now guarded by garrisons.
As the leader of the garrison, Xu Chuo arranged patrols every day.
Qi Liang and Guo Han have known Xu Chuo for many years. Every time they and the old clothes team went to Xiping, they had to rely on Xu Chuo's men to give them a pass.
Joining the military in Da'an isn't easy these days. It requires a high school or technical school diploma, or at least a night school diploma. Furthermore, there are strict standards for height, age, weight, and physical fitness.
But there are still people who are trying their best to get in. If nothing else, soldiers have a stable salary every month and eat much better than at home. Many children from farming families see joining the army as a way to change their fate.
Xu Chuo had saved a considerable sum. Shen You'er was about to return from Nanzhao. He had saved this money so that when she returned, he could ask her where she would like to settle down. Once Da'an was unified, he would apply to be transferred there.
He remembered one time when he mustered up the courage to ask Shen You'er why she didn't mind that he was a foreigner. But Shen You'er asked him in return why she didn't mind that she was a widow.
Xu Chuo was puzzled at the time: "So what if my husband died? There is no law in Da'an that prohibits remarriage after the husband's death."
Shen Youer replied with the same words: "Da'an has no regulations prohibiting intermarriage between Hu people and Han people."
Thinking of this, Xu Chuo's mouth curled up unconsciously. He waited and waited, but Shen You'er didn't return. Instead, Guo Han and Qi Liang returned from Xiping.
Qi Liang teased, “It’s not Madam Shen, are you disappointed?”
Xu Chuo retorted: "It's nothing, you are here on official business, I dare not neglect you."
The communicator that can transmit information is guarded by soldiers sent by Xu Chuo at the garrison. This thing is considered to be very confidential and cannot be placed casually.
Xu Chuo took them to a room where the communicator was placed, and the two of them went in to pass on the latest intelligence to An Jing's Wugengtian base.
Guo Han and Qi Liang had been gathering intelligence in Xiping on and off for a long time, and now they had finally established their own intelligence network and had also discovered some quirks about the Emperor of Xiping.
So the two began to ask for more manpower. After passing on the information, Qi Liang and Guo Han looked at each other.
"I can't even imagine how many people Xiping's officials will have to kill in the future."
"I can't even imagine how long we'll be away on business and how many things we'll have to investigate."
"That's why we should ask for more manpower from now on to build up a network of relationships. Otherwise, we'll be too busy by then."
Xu Chuo was stationed in Tongchuan for several years and saw many people from Xiping trying to cross the border. Those people were very thin and their clothes were very torn. He even saw some people who had no clothes to wear.
This reminded him of when he first came to Li County.
But sympathy aside, he would not allow any Xiping people to come to Da'an's land.
Looking at the barren land to the west, Xu Chuo could only sigh in his heart. By the time Da'an unified Nanzhao and Xiping, these poor people in Xiping should be able to have enough food to eat and wear complete clothes.
Just like him back then.
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The author has something to say: Lin Ying: Don’t even think about destroying my family of three!
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