mtl008 In Chapter 40, Lin Shihe's gaze towards him became full of pity.
In Chapter 40, Lin Shihe's gaze towards him became full of pity.
The Changping Dynasty was a remarkable dynasty. Because its founding emperor had many accomplished and highly talented women around him, and the wife of the first Duke of Zhenguo was a renowned female physician, women held a very high status, and husbands and wives were treated as equals.
At the beginning of the dynasty, Emperor Taishi and the first Duke Zhenguo jointly decreed that if a family had only a daughter, they could apply to the government to establish a female household for her, allowing her to inherit the family business. In the future, it would also be common for a child to be conceived by purchasing a male servant or through other legal means, and for the child to take the mother's surname.
However, the age-old custom of male superiority over females is hard to change, so the conditions for female households are quite strict; the family must only have daughters. Of course, there is also the case of those who have performed great deeds or other reasons that have earned the emperor's special permission, such as Tang Ruyin in the past.
This is why the people of Changping Kingdom are quite open-minded. It's common for casual conversations about the intimate affairs of married couples to be casually brought up without malice. Most people just laugh it off or blush and move on, without taking it to heart. Some bolder individuals might even say something embarrassing in return, which is also quite normal.
But this doesn't mean that everyone is like this.
Lu Yuxi was different. He was genuinely pure and polite, very thin-skinned in these matters, and a consistent conservative. He couldn't even bear to hear it. Just like when someone (specifically Emperor Longyun) teased Crown Prince Hua Min and his wife, he didn't dare listen to the whole thing and made an excuse to slip away.
Not to mention that he had only been married for a few days, which is the time when young couples are shy and blushing.
So when Emperor Longyun, as the father, dropped such a bombshell in court, Lu Yuxi, who was facing this topic for the first time, reacted even more strongly than Lin Shiming next to her, and immediately blushed.
He felt that he had never encountered anything so shameful and inexplicable in his eighteen years of life.
Heaven and earth conscience!
Regardless of whether Lin Shiming's performance was affected by... certain things, he already knew everything from the last court assembly. In fact, from the last court assembly until now, for three whole nights, he had only been with Lin Shiming once; he wasn't the kind of person who was so lustful.
It was truly a miscarriage of justice.
not to mention.
Besides, aren't these things usually discussed privately? How can they be brought up in court?!
Doesn't he, as the crown prince, have any dignity?
Shi Ming doesn't want this Crown Princess...
Wait a minute, Lu Yuxi subconsciously raised her hand and grabbed Lin Shiming, who was about to rush out, while quickly covering his mouth with her other hand.
"Waaaaah!" Let me go!
Lu Yuxi immediately forgot all about being shy and embarrassed. How could he dare to let go? He was afraid that blood would be spilled in the court! He glanced at the amused and ambiguous gazes cast upon him by the crowd, gritted his teeth, and leaned close to Lin Shiming's ear to whisper to him despite the teasing looks.
"Calm down, you forgot you said you wouldn't cause trouble for the test takers!"
"Waaaaah!" I, the dignified little general!
"Yes, yes, young general. Let's go back and talk. Let's go back and complain to the Empress Dowager, and have her smash up the Emperor's Xuanzheng Hall again."
"...Waaaa?"
"Really, really! We'll go complain as soon as court is over. Then we'll have Mother take you and you'll smash it yourselves!"
It must have been the promise of personally smashing the emperor's palace that whetted Lin Shiming's appetite. Having received Lu Yuxi's golden promise, Lin Shiming finally calmed down a bit and stopped struggling to run away.
Lu Yuxi then slowly released her hand from Lin Shiming's mouth.
so close!
"Your Highness," Lin Shihe, who was not far away, suddenly stepped forward and spoke in a low voice, his eyes flashing, "My family also has some ancestral recipes. I forgot to let the Crown Princess take them with her before the wedding. When you have time, please bring her back to get some for her to use. Don't let her harm her health later."
"..."
Aaaaaah! Today I will kill my brother!
Lu Yuxi: "!!!"
Lu Yuxi: "No! Shiming, calm down!"
*
After Lu Yuxi calmed Lin Shiming down, Lin Shihe had already leisurely returned to the military officers' side, looking around in a good mood.
What's the point of having a younger brother? Isn't he just for bullying?
On the other side, Lin Shiming glared angrily at Emperor Longyun at the head of the table, and then stared at Lin Shihe with burning rage for a while. For the sake of those students who had studied hard for years, he decided to swallow his anger for now.
Lu Yuxi relaxed a little and stepped forward to argue righteously.
"Father, Your Majesty, the Crown Princess and I were worried for a long time last night, fearing that something might happen that would affect the candidates entering the examination hall this evening, which is why we didn't get enough rest!"
His voice was somewhat strained and gritted, quite unlike the Crown Prince's previous image.
Emperor Longyun, however, paid no attention. It was a rare sight to see his son so embarrassed that his neck turned red, and he wished he could watch for a while longer. But when he shifted his gaze, he saw Lin Shiming standing beside him, furious and on the verge of exploding.
Yes, one shouldn't be too greedy; it's best to know when to stop.
With his thoughts returning to normal, Emperor Longyun understood why Lin Shiming had been so behaving himself today; it turned out he wasn't possessed by a ghost after all. Good, saves money on rituals!
"Ahem, I see," Emperor Longyun cleared his throat, instantly adopting the image of a loving father, without feeling embarrassed at all. "It seems that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess truly care about the world, but they should still pay more attention to resting and not let their father worry."
"My son, I obey."
Lu Yuxi tugged at Lin Shiming's sleeve. Lin Shiming remained silent for a moment, then reluctantly cupped his hands in greeting.
"My son, I obey."
The anger in that voice sent chills down Emperor Longyun's spine. He wanted the Crown Princess to stand up for herself, but he didn't want her to attack him.
Emperor Longyun quickly gave Li An a meaningful look, and Li An understood.
"Retreat—"
"Farewell to Your Majesty."
Emperor Longyun and Li An vanished from the Taiji Hall in the blink of an eye. The court officials below rose and fled as if in a panic, not one daring to look back. They had no choice; they didn't have the ability to offend Lin Shiming and escape unscathed.
In an instant, only Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming remained in the Taiji Hall.
"Don't be angry anymore, shall we go to Fengyi Palace?"
"Don't go."
"Hmm? You're not going to take revenge on Father Emperor?"
Lin Shiming was still furious, his face still flushed. "I've endured this for the entire court assembly, what's a little more? Consider it my magnanimity as a daughter-in-law, and I'll let him off the hook!"
"Alright, alright, let him off this time."
*
Early afternoon (酉时).
Lin Shiming, who had spared His Majesty the Emperor, was sitting on the highest ridge of the examination hall, watching the candidates below being searched one by one as they entered the hall, while resting his head in his hands in melancholy.
A gust of wind swept by, and Lin Shihe landed beside him and sat down on the roof ridge.
"Are you still angry?"
"Humph."
Lin Shihe chuckled and patted his younger brother on the back of the head. "Even someone as thin-skinned as the Crown Prince isn't angry about such a small thing. Why are you still angry?"
"That's because—"
"what?"
Lin Shiming hesitated for a moment, then finally let out a humph.
"Why are you still unwilling to talk?" Lin Shihe raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want to tell me, I'll investigate myself. Do you think you can hide it from me?"
"you!"
Lin Shiming stood up abruptly, but after a long while, he reluctantly sat down again, looking quite embarrassed and ashamed.
"Go ahead and tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone."
Although Lin Shihe would occasionally set traps for him, he was still very trustworthy when it came to making promises.
So Lin Shiming's eyes darted around for a while before he finally stammered out his words.
"If it were just this one thing, I'd probably just be embarrassed and annoyed for a while. But, these past two days, I've been bragging to Tingyunjun and his gang that I'm... I'm the one who'll be the husband. I even made up a lot of details..."
Who knew he'd be exposed in court today! How can he ever face anyone again!
If he hadn't promised yesterday not to cause trouble at today's morning court, he would have definitely... well, he's still his father after all.
He absolutely had to take his anger out on those ministers!
(Minister: "Thank you.")
Lin Shihe was completely shocked. He only knew that Lin Shiming had been loitering around the military camp every day for the past two days because of the imperial examination, and he figured nothing bad would happen, so he hadn't inquired about it. But he never expected that this person could do something like this.
However, "if that's the reason, then you don't need to worry."
Lin Shiming asked in confusion, "?"
"You don't know, the morning after your wedding, His Majesty sent someone to wait for my father and me at the palace gate and told us that it was the Crown Prince who came out to fetch water on our wedding night. Although he said it separately, you know that the military officers are skilled in martial arts and have sharp ears and eyes."
So they probably already knew before you even started making it up for them.
!!!
"So when I brag to them..."
Lin Shihe looked at him with pity.
Lin Shiming was so ashamed and indignant that he wanted to die.
Ahhhhh! I, a dignified young general, with a lifetime of illustrious reputation...