bookrandom Chapter 112 Seeking to Marry the 7th Prince
Chapter 112 Seeking to Marry the 7th Prince
Lin Shu was unaware of what others were thinking; at this moment, she was waiting quietly at the palace gate for an audience.
About fifteen minutes later, the Imperial Attendant arrived in a hurry, gave Lin Shu a slight bow, and said, "Lady Lin, His Majesty requests your presence!"
"Thank you for your trouble, Aunt!" Lin Shu returned the greeting, and then followed closely behind her aunt.
Inside the Imperial Study, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood and a solemn atmosphere.
Upon returning from the Deer Cry Banquet, Feng Han heard that the Seventh Prince had already returned and was currently in the Empress's palace.
She intended to visit Feng Yu, but then a guard at the palace gate reported that Lin Shu was requesting an audience. Helpless, she had no choice but to go to the Imperial Study to handle some official business.
When Lin Shu arrived, she saw Feng Han sitting upright on the phoenix chair, holding a memorial in her left hand and a brush in her right, dipping it in cinnabar and intently reviewing it.
The imperial attendant stepped forward and whispered to Feng Han, "Your Majesty, Lord Lin has arrived!"
"Your subject Lin Shu greets Your Majesty." Lin Shu also knelt down to pay her respects.
Feng Han finally looked up from the memorials, gently rubbing her temples. Since the Hanlin Academician had resigned due to mourning, she had not had a moment's rest. Looking at the memorials full of nonsense, she felt quite a headache.
"No need for formalities! Minister Lin, is there any important matter bringing you to the palace at this hour?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Shu did not rise. Instead, she pursed her lips and solemnly said to Feng Han, "Your Majesty, I humbly request to marry the Seventh Prince. I implore Your Majesty to grant my request!"
"Oh? But I heard you already have a husband. What, do you want to divorce him and remarry?" Feng Han's tone was flat, and his expression was unreadable.
After observing her for a long time, Lin Shu is indeed a good match. It's just a pity that she is already married and has an eldest daughter. If she were to divorce her husband and remarry, it would be too heartless and she should not be a suitable match. However, if I were to let my son serve as her attendant, I would hesitate.
Lin Shu shook her head, her voice cold but her expression extremely serious: "Your Majesty, I have come here to request to marry the Seventh Prince as... a concubine."
"How dare you! My concubine?" Feng Han feigned anger, but in reality, she was conflicted and wanted to observe him further.
"His Majesty……"
Lin Shu was about to speak when Feng Han deliberately interrupted her with a stern face:
"Enough! Who is my seventh prince? How could he possibly marry you as a concubine? Alright, if there's nothing else, you may leave!"
Before Lin Shu could reply, the Imperial Attendant had already approached him and said, "Lord Lin, please!"
Lin Shu knew this matter would not be easy, so she reluctantly got up, intending to take her leave, when she suddenly heard Feng Han's voice again:
"Wait a minute! I almost forgot that Minister Lin will need to assist me in handling important military and national affairs in the future."
"Now that you're here, please help me review this stack of memorials, so I can familiarize myself with the procedures!"
Lin Shu: ...
"Your Majesty, I will not be taking office for another three days. I fear this may be inappropriate," Lin Shu said in a flat tone, her unspoken meaning being her unwillingness.
After the palace examination, the newly appointed scholars had one month to return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors. If there was no need to pay respects to their ancestors, they also had three days of rest.
"Ahem! No need for further words, it's settled then. Someone, bring a seat for Minister Lin, and also send these to her."
Feng Han seemed surprised by her refusal, coughed slightly with a hint of embarrassment, then pointed to the large stack of memorials, a forced smile on his face:
"Minister Lin, don't rush. Take your time reviewing them. Once you're done, I'll send someone to escort you back!"
Having said that, regardless of whether Lin Shu agreed or not, she left the Imperial Aunt behind and headed alone to Fengqi Palace, muttering to herself, "Sure enough, just as annoying as Ling Huanan!"
Lin Shu, a poor working woman, reluctantly picked up her pen under the dutiful supervision of her imperial aunt. She looked back at how the previous papers had been reviewed, and even that gave her a headache.
Most of them were greetings to the Empress, some were promoting local specialties in their memorials, and some were even from officials who had been sent to other provinces and wanted to return to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. For example, there were two memorials from a governor of Zhili and Feng Han's comments on them, which were both laughable and absurd.
February 28th.
Governor of Zhili: Your Majesty, may I return to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday?
The Empress's reply: No need.
February 30th.
Governor of Zhili: Your Majesty, may I go to offer my birthday wishes to the Dowager Empress on April 27th?
The Empress's decree: Forbidden!
Lin Shuyue's forehead creased with annoyance. Judging from Feng Han's attitude, this was probably not the first time the Zhili governor had submitted such a memorial.
However, this also gave her some new ideas for wooing Feng Yu...
……
When Feng Han arrived at Fengqi Palace, he asked where the Empress was, but did not ask anyone to announce his arrival. He went straight there on his own.
Upon entering the room, Xiao Junhou was seen sitting on the edge of the couch with a worried expression, looking at Feng Yu, who was half-lying on the bed with rosy cheeks from sleeping.
Noticing someone enter, Xiao Junhou looked up and was about to rise to greet him when Feng Han stopped her, saying, "We are husband and wife, no need for formalities. How is this brat?"
Upon hearing this, Empress Xiao felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, her brows furrowing even more deeply. She whispered, "Your Majesty, Little Stone... he... he has been defiled by some villain..."
After saying that, she leaned against Feng Han's chest and began to sob softly.
He then choked up as he recounted what had happened that day:
It turned out that after Fengyu and Lin Shu parted ways, he sneaked back to Fengqi Palace. He was unaware that his escape had already been exposed. He tiptoed into the room through the window and, perhaps because he was tired, fell asleep without realizing it.
When the servants who were looking for him came across the man on the bed, they immediately reported to the Queen. The Queen was relieved to see that he was sleeping soundly and did not disturb him. She simply asked the wet nurse to carefully clean him up.
To her surprise, during the cleaning, she discovered hickeys on his neck and finger marks on Xiao Pang's arms. Xiao Junhou felt as if the sky had fallen, but she couldn't bear to wake the child and ask him questions, so she could only stay by his side.
After explaining the whole story, Feng Han also recounted what had happened that day.
He didn't say that he suspected Lin Shu was the 'thief', but he secretly regretted it: he should have given Lin Shu more things to do!
Empress Xiao said sadly, "Your Majesty, my little stone, how will you face the world from now on?"
"Don't be afraid, Little Stone is my son, who dares to speak recklessly!" Feng Han first comforted Xiao Jun, and then carefully considered the matter before revealing Lin Shu's marriage proposal.
Empress Xiao's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "Has His Majesty agreed?"
Neither of them noticed that the little chubby boy on the bed had just opened his sleepy eyes when he quickly closed them again, his face full of anticipation as he waited for Feng Han's response!
"No! I hesitated when she offered me the position of concubine." Feng Han shook his head resolutely.
"Your Majesty! Little Stone is now... Besides, I think Little Stone is also full of affection for her, so why not agree to it!" Empress Xiao had a good impression of Lin Shu, and besides, women usually have three husbands and four servants, as long as they are good to her son.
Feng Han was also thinking about this, but since she had just rejected them, it was not appropriate for her to rush over now.
Seeing that the other party remained silent for a long time, Empress Xiao assumed that he disagreed and was about to persuade him again: "Your Majesty..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a voice behind her: "Mother, why did you refuse? What if Lin Shu ignores me in the future? Waaah..."
The two were surprised to find that the boy had overheard them. They turned around in astonishment and saw the chubby boy sitting on the bed, wiping away tears while looking at Feng Han with righteous indignation.
Empress Xiao hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him, and finally stopped crying only after Feng Han promised to do as he wished.
After reviewing the documents, Lin Shu returned to the Lin residence just before midnight. As soon as she entered the residence, she encountered a person being led out by a servant carrying a lantern.
Lin Shu's brows hadn't relaxed all day. Ever since she mentioned that the Lin residence had a main gate, this person had been coming and going from the Lin residence openly and brazenly.
The Deer Cry Banquet ended late today, yet you still come? And why are you leaving so late? He then said in a deep voice:
"Why are you here again?"
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