Facing the sudden appearance of the Queen and her tone of urging him to get married, Lin Jiangnian remained calm.
He bowed slightly and explained, "My engagement with Her Royal Highness the Princess is of great importance. It requires His Majesty's approval before a decision can be made. I am still awaiting an audience with His Majesty... I entered the palace today at the invitation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for a gathering..."
"oh?"
The Empress's beautiful eyes seemed to be a little puzzled as she looked at the Crown Prince beside her: "Ci Ning, is this true?"
"Yes, mother."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked up at Lin Jiangnian and nodded, explaining, "I know that my brother-in-law has arrived in the capital, and I can't wait to see him. Therefore, I specially invited him to the palace for a gathering today."
"I see."
The Empress nodded slightly, then returned her gaze to Lin Jiangnian. She stared at him for a moment, her beautiful eyes flickering, "So, you haven't planned to marry Piaomiao yet?"
Lin Jiangnian looked into the eyes of the Queen and saw that there seemed to be some deep meaning in her beautiful eyes.
How come the Queen suddenly appeared here?
Could it be that they were coming specifically for him?
What did she mean by asking this question?
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has granted the eldest princess a marriage to me. I am grateful for your grace. The Lin Palace has already made preparations to marry Her Royal Highness the eldest princess!"
Lin Jiang's expression remained calm: "Just wait for your Majesty's order, and I will marry the princess!"
The Empress's beautiful eyes seemed to hint at something, and she smiled and said, "That's good. I hope you can treat Piaomiao sincerely and take good care of her in the future. Only then will I be relieved."
"Don't worry, Queen, I will never let Her Royal Highness down."
“…”
The Queen Mother continued to look at Lin Jiangnian with a faint smile on her face, as if she was sizing up and admiring her future son-in-law.
Lin Jiangnian felt somewhat uncomfortable watching this.
The Crown Prince, who was standing by, saw this scene and coughed softly, "Mother, it's rare for you to come to your son's place. How about..."
Unexpectedly, the Queen interrupted him with a gentle wave of her hand and glanced at him: "Ci Ning, please go out first. I have something to say to the Prince."
The Crown Prince's smile froze slightly. He looked at his mother, then at Lin Jiangnian. After a moment, he realized something and nodded, "Then I'll leave first."
As he spoke, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince waved his hand and asked the servants beside the palace to leave.
The palace maids and servants following behind the Queen also slowly retreated. Soon, only Lin Jiangnian and the Queen, the mother of the country, were left in the front yard.
Lin Jiang asked tentatively, "What instructions does the Empress have?"
Sending His Royal Highness the Crown Prince away and leaving him alone... What is the Queen up to?
The Queen still had a faint smile on her face. Although she was nearly forty years old, time had not left many traces on her face. There was an indescribable grace and dignity in her every move.
She stared at Lin Jiangnian quietly for a moment, then whispered, "Lin Jiangnian?"
"I've heard of you a long time ago."
Hearing the empress's inexplicable words, Lin Jiangnian was a little puzzled: "Empress, what do you mean by this?"
"Yuxiang, she's your aunt, right?"
The Queen suddenly asked.
Lin Jiangnian nodded.
"Yuxiang and I can be considered sisters with a good relationship."
The Empress chuckled softly and glanced at Lin Jiangnian. "Yuxiang often mentioned you to me, saying that you were good-looking, talented, and virtuous. Seeing you today, it seems that Yuxiang was not lying to me."
Lin Jiangnian said, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for the compliment."
"This is not a compliment."
The Queen shook her head slightly, her eyes looking somewhat complicated. After a moment's silence, she suddenly stared at him again: "Are you serious? Do you really want to marry Piaomiao?"
The Queen's sudden change of tone made Lin Jiangnian's heart sink.
When he looked up again, he saw that the Queen's originally gentle eyes were now filled with a hint of questioning.
As if seeing through something.
"My lady, what do you mean by this?"
The Queen Mother stared at Lin Jiangnian for a moment, then slowly looked away and sighed softly.
"I am just a woman. I don't understand politics, nor do I know the complicated relationships between your Lin family and the emperor. When the emperor wanted to marry Piaomiao to you, I was strongly against it..."
At this point, the Queen paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Piaomiao's personality has been different from others since she was a child. She's very withdrawn and doesn't seem like a normal child..."
"People in the sword arts say that my Piaomiao is the most gifted martial artist in the past few hundred years, and a future sword immortal. I don't understand this, but I've heard others say it... Piaomiao is a genius, but geniuses like her often have some flaws."
The Queen's voice was very soft, as if she was talking to Lin Jiangnian, but also as if she was talking to herself.
"But no matter what, Piaomiao is my child. I don't want her to suffer any injustice, and I don't want the day when..."
At this point, the Empress raised her eyes again and stared at Lin Jiangnian. Her tone was slightly grave as she spoke, "This palace knows that you didn't come to the capital just to marry Piaomiao... I don't know what your purpose is, and I'm not interested."
"But if you really intend to marry Piaomiao, I have only one request. I hope you can treat Piaomiao well and don't let her get hurt..."
"Can you promise me?"
Looking into the bright and beautiful eyes of the Queen, Lin Jiangnian's heart froze slightly.
The queen in front of him had a keen eye and a keen mind, and she had already seen through everything.
She is very smart!
She knew that Lin Jiangnian's purpose was not simple, and she even doubted Lin Jiangnian's purpose in marrying Li Piaomiao.
The grievances and conflicts between the Lin family and the imperial court cannot be resolved by marriage alone. Once the conflict breaks out, what will Li Piaomiao, the eldest princess, do?
The Queen in front of her knew all this.
But she didn't expose it, nor did she say it explicitly. This moment today was a test.
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lin Jiangnian's mind.
After a while, Lin Jiangnian looked at the Empress calmly and said, "Don't worry, Empress. No matter what happens in the future... I will not harm Her Royal Highness the Princess."
“…”
The other side.
The courtyard next door.
Li Ci Ning pushed open the door and walked in, exhaling a breath of hot air.
"This weather is so cold!"
While sighing, Li Ci Ning slowly walked into the front yard.
Under the eaves of the front yard.
A figure in white stood there.
"Why did the Queen Mother come here suddenly?"
Li Ci Ning walked over slowly: "Did you call me over?"
The figure in white under the eaves didn't say anything, nor did he deny it.
"Why did you call the Queen Mother over? This isn't like your character."
Li Ci Ning gave her a strange look and said, "Do you know what the first thing my mother said when she saw my brother-in-law?"
Li Piaomiao under the eaves remained indifferent, staring into the distance with cold eyes.
A smile appeared on Li Qining's pale face: "My mother asked if my brother-in-law is coming to marry you?"
"It seems that the Queen Mother also likes my brother-in-law very much!"
Li Piaomiao seemed to finally react and turned around to give him a cold look.
After a while, he said expressionlessly, "Where's he?"
"My mother kicked me out, saying she wanted to talk to her brother-in-law alone."
Li Ci Ning chuckled: "What do you think Mother wants to say to him?"
Li Piaomiao didn't answer.
"Mother, I actually care about you very much."
Li Qining's eyes were somewhat complicated, and he sighed softly; "My mother lives deep in the harem, and although she never interferes in politics, she sees some things very clearly..."
Li Piaomiao still had no expression on her face.
"The conflict between the imperial court and the Lin family will eventually erupt..."
At this point, the smile on Li Qining's face gradually disappeared, and he became slightly solemn: "By then, you will be caught up in it, and I'm afraid you won't even know..."
Li Ci Ning muttered to himself. All around him was quiet and there was no response.
After a moment, a smile appeared on His Royal Highness's face again, and he looked at Li Piaomiao: "I just asked about my brother-in-law's attitude towards the palace. Do you know what he said to me?"
Li Piaomiao glanced at him.
Li Ci Ning narrowed his eyes slightly: "Brother-in-law promised me that the Lin family will never rebel!"
"The Lin family will never be a traitor to the Daning Dynasty..."
"Piaomiao, do you think I should believe it?"
Hearing this, Li Piaomiao lowered his eyes slightly and seemed to fall into silence.
After a while, she suddenly asked, "Do you believe it?"
Li Ci Ning still had a faint smile on his face: "Gu?"
"Of course I believe my brother-in-law!"
Li Ci Ning chuckled and said, "He didn't lie to me. I'm willing to believe him."
Li Piaomiao looked at him without saying anything.
The smile on Li Qining's face gradually disappeared, and his voice gradually became deeper: "But I don't trust the Lin Palace. I don't trust the hundreds of thousands of Lin family troops in Linzhou, and I don't trust the generals around Lin Hengzhong..."
Li Ci Ning's expression gradually became solemn, with a hint of deep worry emerging on his face.
"The Lin family commands hundreds of thousands of troops in the south, and Lin Hengzhong has countless elite soldiers and brave generals under his command. They almost control half of our Daning Dynasty... How can I trust them?"
"Those elite soldiers and generals were all brought up by Lin Hengzhong. Apart from Lin Hengzhong, they won't submit to anyone else..."
"Even if my brother-in-law succeeds King Lin in the future, how many of those generals and soldiers will be able to trust and obey his orders?!"
Li Ci Ning took a deep breath and sighed deeply.
"I have to be on guard!"
“…”
Li Piaomiao looked at him quietly without saying a word.
Li Ci Ning's face showed a bit of fatigue, and he seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.
The pressure on the crown prince of the Daning Dynasty was too great.
The emperor made him king, but left him with a huge mess.
The king of a different surname in the south is too powerful!
As long as the evil is not eliminated, the dynasty will not have peace.
The current situation of the dynasty is still stable, but what about ten years later?
What about twenty years later?
What about thirty years later?
No one can guarantee it!
Li Ci Ning is the crown prince, and he will have to face these messes sooner or later.
Over the years, he has been trying his best to weaken the Lin family's strength and suppress the Lin family's influence in Beijing.
But the results are minimal.
Prince Lin, who holds military power and is stationed in the southern border of the dynasty, has already grown strong and cannot be easily moved.
It was also rumored that within the southern border, many common people only knew the King Lin and had no idea of such a horrifying thing as the Emperor.
How can Li Ci Ning feel at ease?
"In terms of talent, martial arts, and governing a country, Piaomiao, you are actually more suitable for this position than me..."
As if thinking of something, Li Qining sighed softly: "It's a pity that you are a girl, otherwise..."
Li Ci Ning felt a little envious and a little regretful.
The sister in front of him is more suitable for the position of crown prince than him and his third brother.
Geniuses are all loners.
And his sister is an absolute genius!
Piaomiao has been smarter than him since childhood, and his talent is not only in martial arts attainments, but also in state governance strategies, literary and military talents. Piaomiao is quick to master them.
Her learning ability and terrifying comprehension ability made Li Ci Ning feel helpless.
More importantly, she is aloof and unfeeling, which is indeed abnormal for an ordinary person.
However, this is exactly the character trait that a qualified emperor should have.
Compared to Li Ci Ning's kindness and weakness, and the Third Prince's brutality and cruelty, Li Piaomiao was more suitable for the position than them in every aspect.
The only regret is... Li Piaomiao is a girl!
This also destined her to have no chance of this.
Li Piaomiao understood the meaning behind his words, but her expression remained unchanged as she said calmly, "I'm not interested."
"I'm just sighing..."
Li Ci Ning sighed softly, "In our Daning Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of a woman becoming emperor. Otherwise, my father might have made you the crown prince..."
Li Piaomiao lowered his eyes and looked at the courtyard without saying a word.
I don’t know what he was thinking about.
Li Qining thought of something, turned around and glanced at her, chuckled and said, "But you know what, my brother-in-law is really not bad. He is handsome and has a good temperament. He has the style of that Prince Lin and Princess Lin. He is worthy of you, Piaomiao... Piaomiao, are you really not going to consider it?"
Li Piaomiao looked at him expressionlessly.
"Piaomiao, you will get married sooner or later. Putting aside the grudge between the imperial court and the Lin family, you two are quite a good match. So... Piaomiao, where are you going?"
Li Ci Ning sighed secretly as he watched the figure in white leave coldly without even looking back.
After a moment, his pale face gradually became solemn again, and he stared deeply at the next door, not knowing what he was thinking.
“…”
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Empty.
"His Royal Highness."
A sweet and clear voice sounded from the side.
Lin Jiangnian raised his eyes and saw a familiar figure in his sight.
beautiful.
She was standing quietly in front of the prince, looking at him with a smile.
Pretty and beautiful.
The gorgeous palace dress made her temperament more cool and elegant.
"Why are you here?"
Lin Jiangnian asked doubtfully.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is very busy with government affairs. I am waiting here to escort Your Highness out of the palace."
Jinxiu chuckled, glanced behind Lin Jiangnian, and blinked: "Your Highness, did you see the Queen just now?"
Lin Jiangnian nodded.
"How does it feel?"
"It's hard to put it into words."
"Why do you say that, Your Highness?"
“It’s very stressful.”
Jinxiu blinked doubtfully, "Stressful?"
Lin Jiangnian looked at the pretty Jinxiu in front of him and sighed, "The Queen herself is here to urge us to get married. How can this not be stressful?"
Jinxiu covered her mouth with her hands and chuckled softly, her eyes curved into crescents. "Then how did His Highness answer the Empress?"
"I said that without the will of His Majesty, I cannot marry the princess for the time being."
Having said that, Lin Jiangnian paused and looked at her.
"Then what?"
Jinxiu asked curiously.
"However, the Queen said that although the princess cannot be taken back first, the maidservant beside the princess can be taken back to warm her bed."
beautiful:"……"
