Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 87 Princess Wan'er
"Master Lin, you know me well. Although I am a bit slippery, my character is actually upright. I never kill or burn people, or bully men or women."

"Lord Lin, you can't bully honest people." Xin Qiwu said in a crying voice.

Lin Ruo suppressed his smile and patted Xin Qiwu on the back: "What are you thinking about, Lord Xin? I'm just saying hello."

"Is this just a simple greeting?"

"nature."

Xin Qiwu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said aggrievedly, "I thought Lord Lin was going to give me a ride."

Lin Ruo responded calmly: "If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door."

Xin Qiwu immediately straightened his back: "Of course, Xin is open and honest..."

Lin Ruo was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. He smiled and turned to go into the palace.

Seeing the man walking away, Xin Qiwu's straight back suddenly sagged. Wiping the sweat from his face, he said thankfully, "I was so scared. I thought they found out that I embezzled 100 taels of silver ten years ago."

When entering the palace, the eunuch who led Lin Ruo was Eunuch Hou, an aide to His Majesty.

Lin Ruo did not hide his surprise at all and asked frankly, "Why is it Eunuch Hou who is leading the way?"

Eunuch Hou lowered his head and said, "Lord Lin hasn't been to the palace for eight years. His Majesty was afraid that you would get lost, so he sent this old horse to lead you."

"Eunuch Hou is joking."

Even though I haven't been there for many years, I have never forgotten the way to the palace. Emperor Qing's actions are always puzzling.

"I wonder what instructions Your Majesty has for me when I am summoned to the palace." Lin Ruo asked directly.

Eunuch Hou's steady steps suddenly became unsteady, and he said in embarrassment: "Oh, Lord Lin, please be careful with your words. How can a servant like me know such things? It's too embarrassing."

After experiencing the exile case eight years ago, Eunuch Hou thought that the young man in front of him would be more restrained, but he was still so bold and outspoken.

This time, Eunuch Hou did not dare to delay. He quickened his pace and soon led his men to the door of the imperial study.

"Master Lin, please wait a moment."

Eunuch Hou went in to report, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince happened to come out of the imperial study.

Li Chengqian bent down, lowered his head, put his hands in his sleeves, and looked listless. It was obvious that he had been scolded a lot in there.

Seeing Lin Ruo, Li Chengqian came to his senses a little, thinking about something in his mind, and then he quickly walked up and bowed: "Greetings, teacher."

Lin Ruo saluted in return: "Your Highness, thank you for your courtesy."

Lin Ruo taught this child on and off for a year, and they had no contact since then.

Li Chengqian said with emotion: "I haven't seen you for ten years, but you are still the same as before."

Lin Ruo smiled and nodded.

"Teacher, please wait a moment. I will go first." Li Chengqian said nothing more. He bowed and left the hall.

Even if he had something to say to the teacher, he couldn't say it outside the imperial study.

"Lord Lin, His Majesty wants you to come in." Eunuch Hou called out at the door of the imperial study.

Lin Ruo sorted out his thoughts and walked into the imperial study. Gong Dian was standing at the door and bowed his head to him.

Seeing this young man who was famous in the capital again, Gong Dian felt complicated.

He couldn't help but think of the fight on the street twelve years ago. He was fooled by this kid and had no power to fight back. He couldn't even recognize the identity of the person right under his nose.

So now...

"Your Majesty, I am your humble servant." A faint voice echoed in the study.

The figure behind the curtain moved, raised his head, and said coldly, "Come in and talk."

Lifting the curtain and looking over, one can see the most hardworking emperor of Qing Kingdom reviewing memorials day after day.

"Find a stool to sit on." Emperor Qing said softly.

Lin Ruo's ears moved and his body froze in place, wondering if he had heard it wrong. After confirming that he had not heard it wrong, he looked around and found that there was no stool to sit on.

Emperor Qing's voice was slightly angry: "Sit down if I tell you to."

Eunuch Hou brought in a low stool from outside the imperial study, and Lin Ruo sat down.

From the corner of his eye, he watched Lin Ruo sit down, while Emperor Qing was absorbed in reviewing memorials as if no one was around.

There was no sound coming from the imperial study, just like Emperor Qing was alone as usual.

Lin Ruo sat quietly, estimating the time in his mind. A quarter of an hour later, the Emperor finally withdrew his gaze from the complicated text.

He looked coldly at the young man in the hall, and said in a teasing tone, "Do you think I want to ignore you? There are really too many memorials to the emperor, and I am very annoyed."

Emperor Qing is complaining to him? Lin Ruo thought calmly, listening to the emperor continue to say: "There are nearly thirty memorials on the table, half of which were submitted by the Supervisory Council, and the other half were submitted by you, the Supervisory Council."

It turned out that they were all from the Supervisory Council. Lin Ruo frowned slightly, and finally realized the meaning of sending an army to hold them accountable.

"In the past eight years, you have done too many things. Countless officials in the court have reported you and criticized you. I have dealt with them one by one and cleared up your troubles. Now that I think about it, was I too indulgent?" A cold light flashed in Emperor Qing's eyes, and there was a hint of worry between his brows.

Lin Ruo quickly stood up and said, "I am guilty of causing your majesty to worry."

Emperor Qing waved his hands and tried to justify himself: "What crime have you committed? You have been serving the court and the people. I don't think you have committed any crime."

He changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "But the problem is, why are there always ministers in the court reporting you?"

Emperor Qing had mastered the trick of first praising and then criticizing. Lin Ruo apologized without hesitation: "I didn't do what I should have done, and I feel guilty towards Daqing."

Emperor Qing shook his head heavily and pointed at the person in front of him: "No, you did a good job. It's the corrupt officials who are all here. They are jealous of you and hate you."

"I can't let them mess around any longer, but after thinking about it, I decide that we can't eliminate them all at once, otherwise there will be chaos in the court." Emperor Qing analyzed seriously, looking at Lin Ruo solemnly.

"This matter troubles me a lot. What do you think should be done?"

Doesn't it mean that he has done too much and destroyed the balance of the court... Lin Ruo said solemnly: "Your Majesty, there are no more cases to investigate in the Supervisory Office."

"No cases to investigate? I heard that you have been investigating Yun Rui recently, trying to find some evidence of her forming a clique for personal gain. It seems that there are inevitably people in the royal family who are up to no good." Emperor Qing sighed, as if he was worried about the behavior of the royal family. In fact, it was obvious who the culprit was.

Lin Ruo replied: "I have never investigated the eldest princess. Someone must have spread rumors to cause trouble."

"Really? What did the Prime Minister say?" Emperor Qing asked again.

Lin Ruo was not in a hurry and said in an orderly manner: "The matter of Prime Minister Lin was strictly prohibited by the dean, and the Supervisory Council has not touched it for a long time."

"Minister Lin is suspected of corruption, and we must investigate. We cannot be timid." Emperor Qing reprimanded and slapped the table lightly. His words were very serious.

"We have checked, but there is no actual evidence against Prime Minister Lin's accusation. Prime Minister Lin is an important official of the country, assisting in all matters. It is neither reasonable nor moral to continue the investigation." Lin Ruo replied immediately.

Emperor Qing thought for a while and said gently: "No matter what, you have done too much for me over the years. You should take some time off from now on. Don't be so absorbed in things all day long. Otherwise, I will worry that you will tire yourself out one day."

"Like Chen Pingping, I have already given him two months' leave." Threatening me... Lin Ruo nodded and said respectfully: "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I will pay more attention in the future."

Emperor Qing nodded: "Speaking of health, how is Chen'er doing?"

"The princess is doing well, and her tuberculosis symptoms have been greatly alleviated."

"I remember that you didn't visit Chen'er for a long time after he moved out of the palace. How did you know?" Emperor Qing asked curiously.

Lin Ruo explained: "If Princess Chen'er is ill, someone in the mansion will ask me to see a doctor."

Emperor Qing's voice became stern: "Well, then, spend more time helping Chen'er take care of himself. The illegitimate son of the Fan family has come to the capital, and the wedding is coming soon. We can't let this great event be affected."

"Also, Chen Pingping should be back soon, go and urge him to come back." Emperor Qing waved his hand and said the last thing.

Lin Ruo bowed and took his leave.

After everyone left, Eunuch Hou brought up a pile of new memorials: "Your Majesty, this is the last one for today."

Emperor Qing was getting a little impatient, but he had to suppress his tiredness: "I still like this child very much, but the premise is that he has to be obedient and not act on his own like he did eight years ago."

"Your Majesty is right. Lord Lin will understand."

Emperor Qing smiled but said nothing and turned to the memorials again. Eunuch Hou was grinding ink beside him.

After leaving the imperial study, Lin Ruo did not leave immediately, but went to Hanguang Palace to pay a visit to the empress dowager.

Chen Pingping once told him that the empress dowager liked his actions very much, but the empress dowager was very prudent in her actions and never cared about His Majesty's decisions, and she never said anything good for him back then.

Meeting the Queen Mother was nothing more than listening to her teachings that were no different from those given by Emperor Qing.

Obviously, as long as Lin Ruo listens to the emperor, the empress dowager's love for him will not diminish in the slightest.

……

After leaving the palace and sitting in the carriage, Lin Ruo felt very tired. It was really tiring to act with Emperor Qing. He always liked to scare people in a roundabout way, and he was not afraid of scaring people to have a heart attack.

Wang Qinian rode his horse and waited for instructions, gloating: "Your Excellency was scolded? It's okay, the dean is often scolded, you'll get used to it."

Lin Ruo smiled slightly: "I'm used to it. I'll have more free time in the future."

"Master Wang can now be lazy openly."

Wang Qinian was secretly pleased with himself, as he had guessed what the Emperor had instructed.

"Let's go to the Royal Villa." Lin Ruo said, looking at the road ahead.

The Royal Villa is located in several alleys not far from the Imperial Palace and has always been a place for the royal family to relax and travel.

After Lin Wan'er left the palace, she stayed in the royal villa to recuperate. Lin Ruo thought that he had not visited this little girl for a long time.

The carriage drove into the quiet courtyard. There were almost no civilians coming and going. Many palace guards were stationed in the huge courtyard.

As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw these guards coming forward to interrogate me.

After confirming the identity, the guards were still doubtful about letting him go, so they asked carefully, "Is there any order from the palace?"

The royal family has many rules, especially for Princess Chen'er, who has a special status, the guards are extremely strict in checking her entry and exit.

Those who can enter this courtyard are either good friends of the princess, such as Ye Ling'er, the daughter of Ye Zhong, the garrison commander of the capital.

Otherwise, there needs to be an order from the palace, in which case even the prime minister would rarely see his daughter.

Lin Ruo naturally could not be considered an acquaintance of the princess, at least the number of times he had come to this courtyard was very few.

"I'm here to visit the princess on the orders of His Majesty," Lin Ruo said.

When the guards heard this, they believed it without a doubt and immediately cleared the way for them to pass. They believed that no one would dare to falsify information in this matter.

Walking into the quiet little courtyard, going deeper into it, passing through several rockery, you come to an elegant small building, where a maid stands forward to lead the way.

Going up to the third floor, an old lady who had been waiting for a long time glanced to the side.

Lin Ruo waved Wang Qinian away, and the old nanny led Lin Ruo into the room, saying as they walked: "Master Lin hasn't come to see the princess for a long time."

The old nanny was the Queen Mother's person. She had watched the princess grow up in Hanguang Palace. After she left the palace, it was natural for her to be responsible for taking care of the princess's food, clothing, and daily life.

The Queen Mother was very optimistic about the young man in front of her. Even though the young man had not entered the palace for eight years, the Queen Mother still knew all the just things he had done outside and often praised him. Naturally, the old nanny spoke much more politely.

If it were someone else, such as the outspoken and talkative Ye Ling'er, the old nanny would not respect him so much.

Ye Ling'er had never liked the old nanny who was full of rules, and it was common for the two of them to quarrel.

"Is Miss Ye here too?" Lin Ruo asked tentatively.

"Since it is Lord Lin who is here to treat the princess, I will not allow anyone to disturb him." The old nanny said in a serious tone.

"That's not what I meant." Lin Ruo replied.

The old nanny was very annoyed with Miss Ye. As soon as she entered the room, she showed her coquettish look: "Lord Lin is here to see the princess. Miss Ye, please go out and wait."

The palace requested that the princess rest and recuperate, but because of this young lady from the Ye family, the old nanny was always unable to do so.

Ye Ling'er, who looked very playful, snorted coldly and shook her head with a gloomy face to refuse: "No, it's not shameful. I feel more at ease staying with Sister Lin."

The old nanny didn't want to fight with the talkative young lady, so she said bluntly: "This is the arrangement of the palace."

When others heard the word "palace", they would immediately be timid, but Ye Ling'er was different. The old nanny was used to using the palace to pressure her, and she was tired of hearing it, so she yelled, "If you want to go, go out by yourself, don't disturb Sister Lin."

These words seemed to be a case of the guest taking the initiative. The old nanny was furious for a moment, thinking that she still couldn't deal with you, the stupid young lady of the Ye family, so she jumped up.

Ye Ling'er refused to give in, her temper flared up and she started to curse.

Seeing that the argument was about to get out of hand, both of them tactfully left, intending to find a quiet place to continue the argument.

"Sister Ling'er can't stand the provocation. It's not appropriate for you to do this, sir." Lin Wan'er was a smart girl. She sat on the bed and could still see through Lin Ruo's little tricks through the curtains.

"Even if I don't lead her like this, the old nanny will do the same." Lin Ruo moved a stool and sat beside the bed, replying with a smile.

"But why did you do this, sir?" Lin Wan'er's pretty face showed some confusion.

"Some things are better not to be heard by outsiders." Lin Ruo looked at her and said.

"Ms. Ye is not considered an outsider, but the old lady is."

After hearing this, Lin Wan'er understood and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Let's take a look at the condition first." Lin Ruo put his wrist on the pillow and gestured to stretch out his hand.

Lin Wan'er slowed down for a moment, opened the curtain, sat down beside the bed, and obediently stretched out her small hand as white as jade to place it on him.

"Sir, you haven't come to see Wan'er for a long time, but you are fighting fiercely with my father?"

(End of this chapter)