The playboy county magistrate

Xiao Zhuozi sighed inwardly and nodded repeatedly.

"Your Excellency has a magnanimous heart, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. However... if this matter were to spread, it would likely be a disaster for Lady Lin."

Xiao Zhuozi was a member of the Empress's palace, so naturally she equally disliked all the concubines, regardless of rank, except for the Empress.

But this matter is, after all, a matter of the inner palace. What if someone goesssips and says that the Empress is incompetent and can't even manage a little beauty, and that she covets the Empress's power to rule the palace?

What if His Majesty gets furious and comes to reprimand the Empress?

"His Majesty will decide." Li Xuanzhi was too lazy to guess the intricacies of the inner palace, and simply brushed the matter aside with a few words.

It can only be said that Xiao Zhuozi is overthinking things.

The Empress is, after all, the Empress and the Mother of the Nation; how could she be so easily reprimanded?

Moreover, with the Crown Prince still alive, the Emperor, as his birth mother, would naturally not do anything to the Empress. To do so would be tantamount to slapping the Crown Prince in the face, and even more so, slapping the Emperor himself in the face.

The rewards and punishments in the imperial court and the inner palace should be decided by the emperor and judged by the law of the land, without needing his excessive interference.

If Li Xuanzhi truly dared to criticize the emperor's harem simply because he relied on the emperor's favor and trust, then his death was imminent.

After this incident, Li Xuanzhi no longer wanted to stay in the harem. What if another clever but foolish person came along and caused trouble? That would be a huge headache for Li Xuanzhi.

So, Li Xuanzhi smiled and waved to Xiao Zhuozi.

"I suddenly remembered that there's something I forgot to take care of at the Cabinet. Eunuch Zhuo, please wait a moment. When the time comes, I'll trouble Her Majesty the Empress to send someone to escort His Highness the Crown Prince to my residence."

The two parted ways, and Li Xuanzhi strode away with a carefree and unrestrained air.

The Empress learned of the news not long after, frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed.

Dealing with Lin Meiren's matter wasn't urgent; what pleased her most were Li Xuanzhi's words.

Li Xuanzhi's intention was simply to deliver the Crown Prince to the Li residence today. He had originally thought that he would only be able to have lunch with his son and that would be the end of it, but now it seemed that he would have time to have dinner as well.

"Go to the storeroom and pick out some good things. When you take the Crown Prince to the Li residence later, bring them along for Lord Li and Madam Pei, and don't forget Lord Pei and his wife who are also teaching the Crown Prince."

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Garden...

Lin Meiren stood frozen amidst the flowers, her previous arrogant and domineering demeanor completely vanished.

Her beautiful face flushed red and then pale, a mixture of shame and regret on her face. Her fingertips gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her whole body radiating panic and helplessness.

The palace maids stood with their heads bowed, not daring to breathe, their hearts filled with fear.

They knew all too well that their mistress had committed a grave offense today.

After a long while, Lin Meimei finally managed to calm herself down. Her voice trembled as she forced herself to remain composed and reprimanded the palace maid beside her.

"Anyone who dares to utter a single word about what just happened will be severely punished!"

The palace maids quickly bowed in agreement, but the fear in their eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

After all, paper can't contain fire.

The Imperial Garden was always guarded by eunuchs, and this absurd and shocking scene had already been seen and remembered by many people.

Only a quarter of an hour had passed, and the news had already quietly reached the Imperial Study.

The emperor sat quietly at his desk, reviewing memorials detailing the great successes achieved by various regions after the implementation of the new policies. He was delighted, his brows relaxed.

With the storm cleared and the court and the people at large restored order, he was finally able to find a moment of peace.

The chief steward stepped inside quietly, bowing deeply.

He recounted in a low voice the entire scene that had just unfolded in the Imperial Garden, without daring to omit a single word.

"...Lady Lin encountered Lord Li while strolling in the garden and insulted him with her words. She made a presumptuous claim that the Imperial Household Department had castrated Lord Li and kept him in the palace to serve them. Her words were frivolous, disrespectful, and overstepped the bounds of propriety."

The imperial study fell into a deathly silence.

The emperor's fingers paused slightly as he held the brush, and a small black stain spread across the paper of the memorial.

He lowered his eyes to look at the ink stain, remaining silent for a long time. His once relaxed brows and eyes gradually became covered with a coldness.

The chief eunuch held his breath, not daring to look up and peek at the emperor's expression.

After a long pause, the emperor slowly raised his eyes, his voice low and calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet exuding an utterly authoritative aura. "Did she really say that?"

"Your Majesty, every word is true, and all the palace servants in the garden can testify to it," the chief eunuch replied respectfully, not daring to utter a single falsehood.

The emperor gently put down his vermilion brush, leaned back on his dragon throne, and a faint hint of sarcasm curled at the corner of his lips.

"I have always indulged her because she entered the palace at a young age, was innocent and naive, and did not understand the rules of the inner palace. I never thought that it would make her so ignorant and reckless."

He was never a foolish ruler; he was always fair in rewarding and punishing, and had a clear sense of justice.

The past leniency shown towards Consort Lin stemmed from pity for her young age and pure nature. It was not an act of condoning her disregard for the law or the humiliation of a high-ranking official.

The chief eunuch, knowing the emperor still harbored feelings for Consort Lin, worried that if the emperor actually punished her, he would feel uncomfortable. He feared this might create a rift between the emperor and his trusted advisor, Lord Li, and quickly whispered his advice:

"Your Majesty, Consort Lin is still young, and perhaps she was simply mistaken for Lord Li. She may have just meant no harm... After all, Consort Lin has only ever been your woman since she entered the palace..."

The chief eunuch was quite skilled at applying eye drops.

This both appeased the emperor's potential reluctance to deal with Consort Lin, offering him a way out, and also made it clear that Consort Lin's restlessness stemmed from her attraction to Li Xuanzhi's face.

If the emperor were to become angry and feel that Consort Lin was being unruly, daring to covet other men even though she was already his woman.

With such a huge green hat falling on him, even if the emperor cherished Lady Lin the most, he would have to grit his teeth and hate her.

Rather than hating someone who is dispensable in the harem, it is better to do everything possible to preserve Li Xuanzhi's position in the emperor's heart.

After all, whenever a new emperor ascends the throne, most of the chief eunuchs who served the previous emperor do not have a good ending.

After all, the people around the emperor knew too much, so silencing them was naturally an easy task.

But the chief eunuch could see that Lord Li's style of doing things was different from that of ordinary people. Other powerful and wealthy people regarded human life as worthless, but Lord Li truly respected life.

If we protect Lord Li, he will probably choose to protect this eunuch in the future.

"Unintentional?" The emperor interrupted him calmly, the coldness in his eyes growing stronger just as the chief eunuch had suspected.

"A jest reveals one's true heart. Words spoken without malice are the true thoughts."

"Seeing someone's outstanding appearance, she disregarded social hierarchy and the laws of the land. She treated the regent ministers of the court like palace slaves, wantonly humiliating them. Today she dares to insult court officials and belittle the court; tomorrow she will dare to rely on her favor to interfere in politics and despise imperial authority!"

Over the years, he has witnessed the turmoil caused by powerful families, the rebellion in the harem, and the turmoil over the throne; he understands this best—

A stable court and harmonious relations between the emperor and his ministers were the foundation of the Great Yong Dynasty.

Li Xuanzhi was the heir apparent to whom he had personally entrusted the country, a pillar of the state to whom he had placed his utmost trust, and the core of stabilizing the new era of prosperity. He could not tolerate the slightest humiliation or damage.