The Lin family had already gotten used to Lin Yanping's arrival.
She knew that every time he came to the Lin family, it was to see Lin Wanyue, and that he would always use the pretense of discussing serious matters.
Lin Weiming couldn't stand the person who wanted to take his daughter away, but unfortunately, the person's excuse was legitimate, so he had no reason to drive the person away.
Feeling frustrated, Lin Weiming went to the backyard and glanced at Lin Zihan's study.
The third child, Lin Zihan, is not yet eight years old. He is still small and sits on the armchair with his feet barely touching the ground. He holds a bamboo pen in his hand and is bending over to write and calculate while turning the abacus.
It's quite pitiful to see someone so small having to work at a desk.
Lin Weiming felt unusually guilty.
If I hadn't promptly shifted the blame and handed the rice business over to my son, I'd probably be the one hunched over doing accounts every day now.
Lin Weiming recalled what Lin Wanyue had said when she wanted to take her eldest son out to play: that reading books every day would damage his eyes.
Lin Weiming felt increasingly guilty when he looked at Lin Zihan.
He walked over to his son, Lin Zihan looked up and saw it was his son, Lin Weiming, but then continued working without paying any attention.
Lin Weiming reached out and pressed on Lin Zihan's back, making him straighten his spine. "How can you do this? What if you hurt yourself later? Even though you're learning to make things, you can't work too hard."
“Father…” Lin Zihan looked up at his father, a small question rising in his mind.
Lin Weiming patted him on the shoulder again and said, "Don't stay cooped up at home all day, come out with your dad."
"Huh? Really!" Lin Zihan's doubts instantly turned into surprise. He immediately dropped the bamboo pen in his hand and jumped up excitedly.
He shouted and asked, "Dad, do you want to take me out to play? I've heard from Little Stone and Little Pillar that many people in the city like to go on spring outings during this season, bringing lots of food to eat outside... It reminds me of when we used to live in the village. Back then, when we were too busy, we would always bring food to the fields to eat. It's pretty much the same."
"..." Lin Weiming didn't say anything and walked ahead.
Lin Zihan excitedly ran out after his father and saw his second brother, Lin Zheyun, practicing martial arts in the yard, smiling smugly.
Lin Zheyun looked at him with some confusion, and was about to ask Lin Zihan where he was going and why he was so happy.
Lin Zihan then asked his father, Lin Weiming, "Dad, are we just going out like this? Don't we need to bring any food or call a horse?"
The Lin family's house is quite different now than before; there's a stable in the backyard where they keep several horses.
Lin Weiming and the coachman were basically the ones taking care of things, and the two got along quite well.
Unexpectedly, Lin Weiming suddenly stopped, pointed at Lin Zheyun who was practicing martial arts, and said, "Dad has already told you that you can't just stay cooped up in the room while you study. Go practice with your second brother and get some exercise so you'll have more energy to study, right?"
Lin Zihan: "..."
"Hahahaha!" Lin Zheyun laughed so hard he was doubled over, his laughter shaking the heavens.
His boisterous laughter even reached the pavilion in the small garden.
Lin Wanyue, who was eating garlic peanuts, looked curiously toward the backyard, but couldn't see what was happening through the house.
"I wonder what happened to Second Brother that makes him so happy?" Lin Wanyue popped a crunchy garlic peanut into her mouth, then turned to Lin Yanping and asked, "Dad, haven't you found any clues either?"
Lin Yanping shook his head: "Both the Prince and I have sent out a lot of people, but that person is too cautious, even suspicious. We don't know what his purpose is... If it is really to harm His Majesty, His Majesty's health is getting better day by day, but he has not made a move. It is really strange."
Lin Wanyue had no clue about this either, so she frowned and went through the list she had seen before in her mind again.
In the past few months, she entered the palace several times and contacted the imperial concubines, but she did not find anyone suspicious.
In fact, it was the adult princes who, because they mostly lived outside the palace and rarely entered the palace, had little contact with the palace.
Lin Wanyue felt that given the ability of the person behind the scenes to hide for so many years, she probably had to take the initiative.
"Dad, didn't you say last time that our family has some kinship ties with that Second Prince's family? Can I find a chance to meet him?" Lin Wanyue asked.
"Oh?" Lin Yanping's expression remained unchanged, but there was some doubt in his eyes. "You think it might be the Second Prince?"
Lin Yanping was a veteran official who served three dynasties, and naturally had some connections within the complex network of kinship relationships in the capital.
For example, his third daughter-in-law's cousin was Consort Ye, one of the imperial concubines, who was also the biological mother of the second prince.
The Second Prince Qi Rong is now nineteen years old. Because of his carefree personality, he has long since established his own residence outside the palace, and his relationship with Consort Ye is just so-so.
When Lin Wanyue heard Lin Yanping talk about this relationship, she asked with some curiosity, "Since the Second Prince is the only son of Consort Ye, how did the relationship become strained?"
It is important to understand that the imperial palace is a place where a mother's status is determined by her son. No matter how much the emperor cherishes a woman, if she fails to give birth to a son, she will ultimately have to relinquish the imperial power.
Consort Ye only has one son, so why would she want to strain her relationship with him?
Lin Yanping had nothing to hide from his daughter, so he told her everything he knew about his body.
"Because the Second Prince is carefree and undisciplined, while Consort Ye is a strong-willed woman. Back then, her status in the palace was no lower than Xiao Yuehan's now. When the late Emperor was still alive, she intended to groom the Second Prince Qi Rong so that he could become the Crown Prince..."
"It's a pity that Qi Rong himself didn't have that mindset. He was smart, but he was unwilling to use his intelligence for good. As a result, he got married and left the palace at the young age of sixteen and had two children. He was much more diligent than the eldest prince."
"Oh..." Lin Wanyue nodded after listening, her doubts resolved.
It turns out that the mother and son had differing political views. The mother wanted to advance further, while the son only wanted to live a life of ease and comfort.
No wonder when Lin Wanyue sent peace charms to the palace, almost all the imperial concubines with sons asked for one for their sons, except for Consort Ye who didn't ask.
Later, Lin Wanyue, worried that some might slip through the net, used the excuse of sending gifts to the imperial family to give each of the princes an extra portion, thus filling the gap on the second prince's side.
Lin Wanyue thought the Second Prince's idea was good. Otherwise, given Qi Sichen's doting on Qi Yuan, even if the Second Prince Qi Rong wanted to improve himself, he probably wouldn't have a chance.
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