Marrying Salted Fish

89

Xiao Xuanzi said, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Xi said that you are the emperor of the dynasty, the supreme ruler. Only you can sit on the dragon throne in the Purple Palace. If you sit on it, you are telling all the civil and military officials that Dayu's world belongs to you, the Xiao family."

"Dayu originally belongs to the Xiao family." Xiao Jie said, "All officials know this very well, so why do I need to tell them?"

Xiao Xuanzi whispered, "But I heard that some people think that Dayu is now half surnamed Wen and the other half surnamed Lin."

Xiao Jie was stunned: "Wen...Lin?"

This Wen, of course, refers to Empress Dowager Wen. After Empress Dowager Wen took over the government, Duke Wen returned to the cabinet, and many of Wen's relatives and in-laws were given important positions. Among them was a man named Li Chan, of whom Xiao Jie had some impression. This man was elegant and bright, and at a young age he was already a fourth-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of War. Li Chan said a lot of things during the morning court today, and it seemed that he was asking the Ministry of Revenue for military pay in the northwest. As for this Lin...

As Xiao Jie was thinking, the sedan chair suddenly stopped. He looked forward and his face suddenly darkened.

Who else could this Lin be other than Lin Qingyu?

Lin Qingyu and Li Chan met Xiao Jie on the way to the Ministry of War, and they knelt down to salute according to the rules.

No matter how stupid Xiao Jie was, he knew how he got the throne. Before Xi Rong was "assassinated", he was always polite to Lin Qingyu, never letting Lin Qingyu perform such a great ceremony, and wanted to get close to her because she was beautiful. But now, whenever he saw Lin Qingyu, he would think of Xi Rong dying in a pool of blood.

In his eyes, Lin Qingyu was still the same Lin Qingyu, with a cold temperament, which formed a bewitching contrast with her bright and beautiful appearance, but it made him shudder with fear - it was such a great beauty who almost took Arong's life.

He would no longer admire someone who wanted to harm Arong. He would protect Arong and would not let anyone hurt him again.

Lin Qingyu and Li Chan knelt on the ground, and they did not hear the word "stand up" for a long time. Lin Qingyu raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Jie. Meeting his gaze, Xiao Jie subconsciously shrank his body, and fear and vigilance appeared in his eyes. It was not until Xiao Xuanzi reminded him that Xiao Jie said, "Stand up, stand up."

Lin Qingyu said: "The emperor looks unhappy, is there something on his mind?"

Xiao Jie tried to keep a straight face and said sternly, "It is not the place for Imperial Physician Lin to ask about my affairs. Xiao Xuanzi, return to the palace."

Li Chan was one of Lin Qingyu and the Queen Mother's confidants in the previous dynasty. Seeing the emperor's attitude towards Lin Qingyu, he couldn't help but worry: "Doctor Lin really doesn't want to explain to the emperor. Even if the emperor doesn't care about state affairs, he is still the emperor after all. It is better to have a holy heart than not to have one."

Lin Qingyu said: "It's useless to explain. Stupid people will only believe what they want to believe. Besides, since Xi Rong wants to pin the assassination on the Tianji Camp, he must be sure that the Tianji Camp will not try to stop him. If I'm not mistaken, during the time Xi Rong was in power, he won over many people's hearts by using the name of the Son of Heaven."

In the eyes of some people, the queen mother who ruled the country from behind the curtain was always a relative of the emperor, let alone a mere imperial physician. This was true for Cui Lian, and also for those old princes with the surname Xiao. Under the pretext of being loyal to the Xiao family, they would rather obey the orders of a eunuch than see the situation of a relative of the emperor monopolizing power.