klisemfg Chapter 44 "Consort Liang, who gave you the audacity to question me?"
Chapter 44 "Consort Liang, who gave you the audacity to question me?"
Lu Yuxi gasped.
They still racked their brains to find a way to make amends for Lin Shiming.
"Father, it seems that Shi Ming's words did not violate the law..."
It wasn't really a big deal, and Lin Shiming didn't actually sell the person outright. "Why not sell her to you as a concubine?" was a rhetorical question, an insult, but actually just a warning suggestion to shut the official up and make Consort Shen and Prince Ping lose face.
"Of course I know." Emperor Longyun glared, then sighed helplessly. "Fine, let it be. It's just that Consort Shen has become too ambitious over the years. The duty of a concubine is only to serve her master and mistress and to have children. The power to manage the household is not something they can covet and touch."
"Besides, they knew I favored the Empress, yet they still insisted on becoming concubines. How dare they accuse me of being unfair and favoring the Empress? They just think being the Emperor's concubine is special, and they've forgotten their own status. Sending this memorial out will serve as a warning and a lesson to them."
As for Emperor Longyun, he was the emperor, and such rumors and scandals were just a romantic affair to him, nothing serious.
However, while this is the general principle, it's not uncommon for emperors to bestow their concubines upon their ministers as a sign of favor. But those concubines were usually childless. In the imperial family, where face and prestige were highly valued, the fate of children was still a consideration when dealing with concubines who had offspring.
Lu Yuxi naturally understood, and he casually tossed the memorial into the charcoal brazier beside him. "It wouldn't sound good if this got out, and we still have to consider the Second Prince's reputation. Let's find a reason to make this happen, and then have Shi Ming give Consort Shen a warning, and that'll be the end of it."
Emperor Longyun had no objection, but Lin Shiming came over and grabbed Lu Yuxi's hand, saying, "I don't know how to hit people!"
He really doesn't know how; when he makes a move, it's always with shouts of violence and killing.
Lu Yuxi tapped Lin Shiming's forehead helplessly, "Think for yourself."
"What do I think? I've never even seen it before..."
"Haven't you read a lot of storybooks and heard a lot of gossip?"
"Will that work? Who knows if it's fake!"
Emperor Longyun, watching the two of them flirting oblivious to everyone else, thought: "... ..."
"Both of you shut up!" Emperor Longyun slammed his hand on the table. "Li An!"
"The slave is here."
"Let's proceed. I'm going to the Phoenix Palace to dine with the Empress. As for the Xuanzheng Hall, let them both stay here!"
*
Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming shamelessly took over the place, having lunch in Xuanzheng Hall, and then even more shamelessly took over the East Warm Pavilion of Huangji Palace for a rest.
Emperor Longyun, having just returned from dining with the Empress at Fengyi Palace and preparing to continue his work: "... ..."
Do these two even know what boundaries are?
Is there no room for the two of them in the Crown Prince's Palace?
"Your Majesty, why don't you go and rest for a while?"
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are both young and need to rest and recuperate. You're already forty, why are you still pushing yourself? And while you can endure it, this servant can't!
Li An mentally chanted and performed a series of actions, but Emperor Longyun couldn't hear him at all.
"No, bring me all the memorials that the Crown Princess approved this morning, I want to take a look."
The light in Li An's eyes went out.
Emperor Longyun was completely oblivious. He returned directly to his desk and prepared to read the memorials that Lin Shiming had reviewed.
He had initially trusted the teaching abilities of Lu Yuxi, but after seeing the memorial he had received that morning, he suddenly lost all confidence.
Sure enough, Emperor Longyun quickly flipped through the books, from the first to the last, and found that he had made sarcastic remarks about each one.
Fortunately, this person was quite capable in making sound decisions, with clear and logical reasoning, practical implications, and many excellent ideas. It was hard to tell that he was a novice.
Fine, let him scold me, it's not like he's scolding me! I finally found someone with good abilities and talent, so what if he has a bit of a swearing habit?
Let those ministers bear with it!
"Li An!"
"The slave is here."
"Send these memorials out for processing. Also, put the ones I assigned this morning on the Crown Princess's desk."
"The slave obeys the order."
Haha! There's another 20% less government work today!
*
Two-tenths of the official business, and that was the simplest part, should only take Emperor Longyun and veterans like Lu Yuxi an hour. But Lin Shiming, a novice, still struggled until late afternoon before finishing his approvals.
After putting down the last memorial, Lin Shiming hurriedly bid farewell to Emperor Longyun.
"Father, may I take my leave now?"
Emperor Longyun raised his eyes. "Isn't the Crown Prince coming to fetch you?"
"Father, have you forgotten? You and His Highness instructed me to give Consort Shen a warning, and I was just rushing to do it before the concubines paid their respects to Mother before dinner!"
"Wow, you've come up with a plan?"
"No ah!"
Emperor Longyun's eyes widened. "I didn't expect you to go?"
Lin Shiming smiled and said, "Let's go first, anyway, Mother is still here."
Well, he's trying to get the Empress to clean up his mess again.
Emperor Longyun waved his hand helplessly, "Get lost. Just don't disturb the Empress."
"My son, please retire!"
Lin Shiming bowed respectfully and happily headed towards Fengyi Palace.
*
At the hour of You (5-7 PM), the concubines arrived at the An Ding Province and took their places under the guidance of Aunt Lianqiu.
"Her Highness the Crown Princess has arrived!"
"This concubine presents this to the Empress..."
Wait a minute, who was that just called? Who's here?
The crowd stood frozen in place, half-kneeling, like a group of monkeys that had just learned to walk.
Lianqiu suppressed a laugh and coughed.
Everyone then realized what was happening and quickly knelt down, saying, "Your subject (concubine) greets Your Highness the Crown Princess."
Lin Shiming, imitating Bai Qiongzhu's dignified and elegant demeanor, took the seat of honor.
But he was, after all, a carefree and unconventional man, and when he made that gesture, it always gave people the feeling that he was possessed by a female ghost. His awkward appearance made Bai Qiongzhu and Lu Tingsong, who were peeking from behind, laugh so hard they could hardly breathe.
Fortunately, everyone below kept their heads down; otherwise, before even reprimanding Consort Shen, Lin Shiming would have completely lost face.
"Rise, all of you. Lianqiu, please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Everyone stood up, some sitting and some standing, and order was quickly restored.
"Your Highness, why is it Your Highness who has come today? Where is Her Majesty the Empress?"
As a member of the faction close to the Empress, Consort Yue, though unaware of the purpose of today's events, still tried her best to speak first, easing the awkwardness for Lin Shiming and giving him a starting point for conversation.
Lin Shiming naturally understood the signal Yue Fei was giving him. He sat up straight and recited the opening lines that Bai Qiongzhu had just taught him.
"Mother is a little tired today. I haven't had a proper chat with you all since I took over the palace duties, so I will meet with you on her behalf today."
"How is this possible!"
Before Consort Yue could interject again, Consort Liang hurriedly stood up and spoke. She had held a grudge ever since Prince An was flogged, and naturally didn't want Lin Shiming to have an easy time now.
"Accepting the greetings of the imperial concubines is the Empress's prerogative. Your Highness is still the Crown Princess; how can you overstep your bounds!"
"presumptuous!"
Lin Shiming slammed his hand on the table, startling Consort Liang so much that she fell back into her chair. The other concubines were also startled by the sound and quickly rose to their knees. Consort Shen, who had originally intended to watch the show from the front, also reluctantly knelt down upon seeing this.
"Your Highness, calm down!"
Consort Liang was completely flustered and hurriedly got up, kneeling in the crowd.
"Your Highness, calm down!"
Seeing everyone kneeling in fear, Lin Shiming snorted softly and said nothing. Instead, he leisurely picked up his teacup and gave Bai Qiongzhu behind the screen a smug look.
Ha! I really am a genius!
Bai Qiongzhu hugged Lu Tingsong and gave him a thumbs up.
Lin Shiming withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, took a sip of tea, and then looked at the group of concubines on the ground.
After all, they were women who had lived in the inner quarters for a long time, and rarely saw someone like Lin Shiming, who came from a military background, get angry. The fact that they could still kneel here dignifiedly was already quite courageous.
Lin Shiming finished his tea and put the teacup back on the table.
"Consort Liang, who gave you the audacity to question me?"