son, don't mess around

The capital city, which had just experienced its first snowfall, soon welcomed its second heavy snowfall.

This heavy snowfall was larger and lasted longer than the first snowfall, lasting for three whole days.

The entire capital city was almost completely covered in snow. Under the heavy snow, the streets of the capital were even more deserted.

With the New Year approaching, there are less than two months left.

But the atmosphere in the capital was not one of joy for the approaching New Year; instead, it became even more somber.

The rebellion situation on the northern front is currently at a stalemate. Since the appearance of the eldest princess on the front, it has greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers.

Even so, the situation is still far from optimistic.

The Xu Prince's Mansion had been preparing for many years and was coming with great force. Coupled with the joint harassment from several major tribes on the grassland, the situation on the front line was still worrying.

Currently, the imperial army and the rebels are still locked in a stalemate at the front.

As a result, the atmosphere of fear and rumors in Beijing remained unabated.

The heavy snowfall further exacerbated the already complex situation in the capital.

This heavy snow has destroyed countless homes, and countless people have frozen or starved to death.

If the situation is this dire even in the capital region, one can only imagine how dire it is in other parts of the dynasty. The intelligence reports from the Secret Observatory are alarming.

In the face of this severe snowstorm and disaster, countless people were displaced and left without a way to survive. Everywhere was filled with refugees, and some even turned to banditry and outlaws.

Within the dynasty's borders, various forces are eyeing the country covetously. Amidst the disaster, the people, unable to survive, are beginning to stir. Uprisings involving people storming county offices have broken out in various parts of the dynasty.

If you can't survive, you have to rebel!

Although these voices were quickly suppressed by local governments, problems were bound to arise sooner or later if things continued this way.

If the imperial court cannot resolve the current situation of internal and external troubles, even if the Xu Prince's Mansion does not reach the capital, the Great Ning Dynasty will likely be disintegrated from within.

The situation was so dire that court officials were filled with anxiety.

But at this very moment, the emperor claimed illness and was absent from court, causing even more panic among the officials.

Just as various rumors were spreading, Emperor Li Cining, who had been ill for several days due to a cold, reappeared at the court meeting.

Li Cining appeared rosy-cheeked and radiant during the morning court session, showing no signs of weakness or dejection.

This naturally and quickly dispelled all the rumors.

The emperor's safety is the greatest reassurance to the court officials.

Those forces that had been secretly plotting also temporarily withdrew their intentions after learning of the situation.

During the morning court session, officials from various departments submitted a flood of memorials, most of which impeached the Princess for appearing at the front lines.

However, Li Cining chose not to address these impeachments.

Even with numerous officials stepping forward, Li Cining still rejected their proposals. This finally made the court officials realize that His Majesty was determined to protect the eldest princess.

As a result, although this matter made many people uneasy, it showed that His Majesty was so insistent that no one dared to offend him at this critical juncture.

After all, the situation on the front lines is dire and critical. If the princess is removed, who will take over the army?
If they can stop Xu Wang's rebel army, that's fine; if they can't, then they'll become criminals.

Nobody dares to gamble their future on this!

In addition, at the morning court session, Li Cining ordered disaster relief and appointed the Secret Observatory to be fully responsible for the resettlement and maintenance of order among the people in and around the capital. He also ordered officials from the Six Ministries to cooperate, and given the empty treasury, Li Cining decreed a fundraising campaign to borrow grain from prominent families in the capital in the name of the court. Furthermore, Li Cining issued a series of edicts in one go, all addressing various directives concerning the current state of the court and the dynasty, the breadth of which was astonishing.

At the end of the morning court session, Li Cining, citing his incomplete recovery and need for rest, entrusted important court matters to Prime Minister Zhao and the six ministers for joint discussion and decision.

After the morning court session, various factions in the capital were shaken.

No one knows exactly what His Majesty intends to do. From the decrees he has issued, it is clear that His Majesty has many plans. However, many of these decrees infringe upon the interests of the powerful families in the capital.

More importantly, His Majesty has now entrusted all state affairs to Chancellor Zhao and the officials of the Six Ministries. This means that Chancellor Zhao now holds the reins of the court.

Once imperial power is relinquished, it is not so easy to take it back.

Given Zhao Xiang's seniority and influence in the court, he has already received the Emperor's personal approval. This means that Zhao Xiang's power has reached its zenith.

Who doesn't know how much of Zhao Xiang's influence is within these six ministries? Which of the ministers of those six ministries is not related to Zhao Xiang?

It is indeed inconceivable that His Majesty would entrust power to Chancellor Zhao in this way.

Many people even consider him somewhat incompetent.

After receiving His Majesty's permission, Chancellor Zhao immediately began to reorganize the court. He purged dissidents and reassigned officials. Chancellor Zhao was decisive and ruthless. Now, with his power legitimately and immensely influential, he instilled fear and unease in everyone.

Therefore, various factions in the court turned against him upon hearing the news, and all affairs, large and small, and the appointment and transfer of officials in the entire court were now in the hands of Chancellor Zhao.

Lin Jiangnian was quite surprised when he heard the news.

But upon closer examination, something seemed amiss.

Something is very wrong!

He knew Li Cining's physical condition best; given her current state, even a miracle couldn't save her.

He was already terminally ill, but Li Cining appeared at the morning court session looking radiant and reportedly full of energy and in excellent physical condition.

There's definitely something wrong with this.

Upon closer examination, this is most likely a tactic used by the emperor to deceive others, or perhaps... a final burst of energy before death?
It's not hard to understand why Li Cining handed over all the power in the court to Prime Minister Zhao. Currently, only Prime Minister Zhao can stabilize the situation in the court.

Zhao Xiang was a key minister left behind by Li Cining.

As for why Li Cining trusted Zhao Xiang so much, one can understand it upon closer examination.

Zhao Xiang himself was extremely loyal to the court. He served as prime minister for decades and was not only exceptionally capable but also had a vast power base. Delegating power to him would actually be a good thing.

Many things are more likely to be accomplished if Zhao Xiang, as a minister, were to handle them.

Of course, besides that, the biggest reason why Li Cining dared to hand over power to Zhao Xiang so confidently was probably because the eldest princess on the northern front was gradually taking control of the military.

With the most important military power in the hands of the eldest princess, Li Cining was no longer worried that Zhao Xiang would have any ulterior motives.

He believed in Li Piaomiao!

In addition, after returning to the capital, the old senior Li also secretly visited many old friends and former forces in the capital.

Although the elder Li did not appear in public, the various factions throughout the capital had already heard the news.

What is the purpose of this former emperor's younger brother, now Your Majesty's uncle, returning to the capital at this time?

it goes without saying.

All signs indicate that something big is about to happen in the capital.

But no one knows exactly what it is.

Lin Jiangnian had already guessed a thing or two about this, but he did not act rashly.

It's not yet time for him to show up in this upheaval in the capital.

After secretly sending the Sixth Prince to the palace, Lin Jiangnian stopped getting involved. These past few days, with heavy snow falling in the capital, he stayed at his residence and didn't go anywhere.

The snowfall was extremely heavy, covering the entire capital city.

The courtyard and the eaves were covered in frost and snow.

Lin Jiangnian sat in the courtyard, admiring the snow scene.

Throughout the vast Jiang residence, everyone seemed busy, except for him, the heir apparent of the Prince of Lin, who had the most free time. In his leisure time, he felt somewhat bored and lonely.

That's when you start having all sorts of wild thoughts.

Recalling what happened that night not long ago, Lin Jiangnian still felt like he was dreaming.

But upon careful recollection, all the memories and details of that night resurfaced in my mind.

Remind him that he wasn't dreaming!
Lin Jiangnian felt a great sense of accomplishment. After all, he had helped Zhiyuan and Liu Su, these half-sisters who had always had a rift between them, to truly be honest with each other!
Who could have imagined that his wicked scheme, which he had been harboring all along, would actually succeed with Liu Su's help?
The more I think about it, the more excited I get, and the more I savor it.

Under the eaves, Lin Jiangnian squinted, savoring the moment with a look of pure enjoyment and pride.

But after reflecting on it, he sighed deeply.

Everything comes at a price!

The more enjoyable things were that night, the greater the cost.

As expected, everything proved true!
Liu Su is gone!

That night, Lin Jiangnian realized that something was wrong with Liu Su. She was such a petty and possessive woman, yet she would take the initiative to help him pull the kite into the water.

This in itself is problematic.

In retrospect, it seems she probably had this planned all along.

Therefore, when Lin Jiangnian woke up the next day, he learned that Liu Su had already left.

She concealed her whereabouts and disappeared. Even with the help of intelligence from the Prince of Lin's Mansion and the Secret Observatory, Lin Jiangnian was unable to find her.

It seems she deliberately didn't want Lin Jiangnian to know her whereabouts.

Of course, perhaps he was also too ashamed after sobering up and didn't want to see Lin Jiangnian again for the time being.

Anyway, she still left.

They left without a sound.

However, upon learning the news, Lin Jiangnian immediately sent people to the headquarters of the Heavenly God Sect.

Liu Su once said that she planned to return to the headquarters of the Heavenly God Sect to consolidate and control the sect.

Therefore, Lin Jiangnian directly sent people to stake out her whereabouts.

He wasn't worried that Liu Su would run away; after all, she could run away but not the temple, and he would catch her sooner or later.

On the other hand, the situation for kites is even more serious.

If Liu Su's situation was half-hearted and she was only partially willing, then Zhi Yuan's situation was completely orchestrated.

In her drunken stupor, she was tricked by Liu Su and ultimately 'take advantage of her vulnerability' by Lin Jiangnian and Liu Su working together.

She was completely passive and semi-reluctant, and was forced to do what happened that night.

As expected, the kite turned on them afterwards!

Lin Jiangnian had no idea whether Zhiyuan was angry. After all, he hadn't seen Zhiyuan for quite some time.

Since that night, Zhiyuan deliberately avoided meeting Lin Jiangnian. She was rarely at the manor, and even when she returned to the Jiang residence, she completely avoided Lin Jiangnian, never giving him a chance to meet and apologize.

Of course, there's no need for an apology.

Since the deed has already been done, Lin Jiangnian is naturally willing to take responsibility and has nothing to be ashamed of.

Lin Jiangnian heard from the sisters Jasmine and Wind Chime that there was no sign that Paper Kite was angry.

According to the sisters, Zhiyuan remained the same as usual, showing no emotional change. However, her avoidance of Lin Jiangnian clearly indicated that she was still angry.

Lin Jiangnian knew Zhiyuan all too well. Although she seemed cold and aloof on the surface, she wasn't always that mature. Especially after something like this happened, it was natural for her to be angry.

Of course, there was more shame and anger than anything else.

She avoided seeing Lin Jiangnian, probably not only because she was angry, but also because she felt ashamed to face him.

After all, that night they were so 'open and honest' and something so shameful happened, so naturally she couldn't bear it.

Lin Jiangnian was well aware of this, so he didn't go looking for Zhiyuan at this time. Right now, he needed to let Zhiyuan process things and gradually accept this matter.

It's normal to not be able to accept it at first, after all, it's too 'shocking'.

It would be difficult for any woman to accept being "completely naked" with her half-sister and serving the same man, let alone a conservative girl like Zhiyuan.

However, everything starts from nothing. Since there was a first time, there can certainly be a second, and countless more...

Right now, we need to let Zhiyuan calm down and think things through carefully. Then, we'll find an opportunity to comfort her, apologize, and gradually, subtly guide her to accept it...

And then... that was a second chance!
Everything fell into place naturally, like water flowing into a channel...

……

However, accidents always happen before tomorrow.

Just as Lin Jiangnian was envisioning a wonderful life with women on both sides, in the middle of the night, hurried footsteps appeared in the courtyard and knocked on Lin Jiangnian's door.

"Your Highness, an urgent report from the palace!"

Lin Qingqing's hurried voice came from outside the door.

Awakened by the noise, Lin Jiangnian put on a coat, got up, and opened the door.

Outside the gate in the courtyard, Lin Qingqing, covered in frost and snow, with a solemn and anxious expression, was speaking as she quickly handed a letter to Lin Jiangnian.

"Your Highness, someone from the palace has come and asked me to deliver this letter to you, saying it is an extremely urgent matter!"

Lin Jiangnian quickly opened the letter and saw a line of simple words written on the faded Xuan paper.

"Enter the palace immediately, it's urgent!"

The letter contained only five words, but Lin Jiangnian stared at those words with a fixed gaze.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Seeing the change in His Highness's expression, Lin Qingqing's heart sank as well.

Could it be that something big has happened in the palace again?
"Prepare the horses, let's enter the palace!"

Lin Jiangnian's voice was low and deep, and his eyes were more solemn than ever in the dead of night.

The letter contained only five characters, but Lin Jiangnian recognized them as Li Cining's handwriting.

In the dead of night, Li Cining suddenly sent someone with this letter, ordering him to come to the palace immediately. The implications of this are self-evident.

Without any hesitation, Lin Jiangnian quickly put on his coat and walked outside.

"Qingqing, send word to prepare the residence for alert. At the same time, summon all personnel from our Prince Lin's residence in the capital."

"Go and inform Paper Kite again, and tell him that something big might happen!"

At this point, Lin Jiangnian paused, his gaze becoming more solemn than ever before.

"If I haven't returned by dawn, all of you must leave the capital immediately and return to Linjiang City."

"!!!" (End of Chapter)