eurekapd Chapter 67 is more like a house raid.
Chapter 67 is more like a house raid.
The spring hunt ended on March 14th.
Early in the morning, the grand procession set off from the imperial palace and headed towards the capital in an orderly fashion.
The spring hunt these past few days has been quite eventful, especially for Lin Shiming.
On the night he arrived at the palace, he overheard some gossip about Prince Ping. On the first day, he and Emperor Longyun made a fortune together. On the second day, although Emperor Longyun broke up the couple, he still hunted a lot of prey and vented his anger on a few troublemakers. On the third day, he was even more satisfied, spending the whole day alone with Lu Yuxi. Their relationship progressed by leaps and bounds.
Not to mention that in the final settlement, Lin Shiming won first place in this spring hunt with a huge advantage and obtained a sandalwood bow prepared by Emperor Longyun.
Hmm, I seem to have a lot of them at home, nothing special.
However, Lin Shiming didn't care about the reward. He preferred the first place, so he happily accepted the prize and gave it to Lu Tingsong when he returned to the courtyard.
There was nothing they could do; they had been having too much fun these past two days and hadn't quite realized they had a child to raise. So when they came to their senses and saw Lu Tingsong's pitiful eyes, they realized they had neglected him.
This world has gained another pair of unreliable "parents".
To appease the child, Lin Shiming held the aggrieved Lu Tingsong and showed him his flying lightness skill, then processed some game for him and made roasted meat. Finally, he also gave Lu Tingsong the prize he had just won, a sandalwood bow and arrows, promising to take him horseback riding and teach him hunting when the autumn hunt came.
Only then did Lu Tingsong finally stop using his clear, bright eyes to accuse these two careless novice "parents".
Although this spring hunt inevitably had some flaws, Lin Shiming still felt extremely happy to be able to temporarily escape the endless struggles in the capital and enjoy riding, hunting, and taking walks to his heart's content.
He glanced at Lu Yuxi, who had regained her composure, and silently made up his mind.
When Lu Tingsong is eighteen and capable of supporting the world, he will take Lu Yuxi to live the carefree life he used to have.
At that time, the two of them will only be in their early thirties, which is the prime of their lives and not too late.
Thinking of this, Lin Shiming reached out and placed his hand on Lu Yuxi's wrist, rubbing it twice. Lu Yuxi lowered her head and smiled, then took Lin Shiming's hand in return and gently squeezed it twice as well.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The convoy returned to the palace at the end of the 5-7 PM.
Understanding everyone's long and tiring journey, Emperor Longyun immediately issued an edict allowing everyone to rest for a day and attend the morning court on the sixteenth of March.
Lin Shiming and Lu Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief. After having dinner with Lu Tingsong and settling him down to sleep in the side hall, the two of them also washed up and went to rest early.
The next day was the day the results of the imperial examination, which the candidates had been anxiously anticipating for a month, were released.
*
March 15th, Chen hour (7-9 AM).
The palace gates were bustling with people.
Passing the provincial examination meant that one would at least become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examination) after the palace examination; their years of hard work had finally paid off.
Countless students excitedly surrounded the eunuch reading the list, and each time a name was called out, it would elicit a burst of cheers.
An hour later, five eunuchs took turns reading out the names of the 287 successful candidates.
Some cheered with joy, while others wept with disappointment. Beneath the list lies the full spectrum of human nature.
At the same time, Lin Shiming and Lu Yuxi also got busy.
Originally, their only plan for today was to move Lu Tingsong so that he could officially live in the East Palace from today onwards and be raised by the two of them. This was not a troublesome matter; the nannies and eunuchs would help move his things, and the two of them only needed to give instructions and oversee the overall situation.
Just a short while after they started moving, Yuan Ye hurriedly found Lin Shiming with some important news.
It's about the Second Princess's residence.
This news was truly infuriating. Lu Yuxi smashed her teacup in anger after hearing only half of it, and Lin Shiming also frowned, wishing he could just kill the second prince consort and his family.
However, Princess Heran's wishes cannot be ignored in this matter.
"Zhao Lei, call someone to clean up."
Zhao Lei bowed and called in several eunuchs to clean up the mess on the ground.
Lin Shiming turned to look at Lu Yuxi and said, "Don't be angry. You take care of them moving things first. Leave this to me. I'll go ask Father Emperor for his opinion first, and then I'll take care of it directly."
Lu Yuxi frowned. "I'll go. This matter..."
"Alright. Why are you being so polite with me?" Lin Shiming interrupted Lu Yuxi. "After all, you are the Crown Prince. Every word and action of yours is being watched. You can't afford to make any mistakes. I'm different. Everyone knows I'm reckless. If I do something outrageous, they won't bother me too much."
"But..." But your reputation is notoriously ruthless, and you don't quite understand the delicate and sensitive thoughts of these women. If you go, there's a high chance it will cause a misunderstanding and frighten the Second Princess.
This reason makes a lot of sense, and if he could articulate it, Lin Shiming would definitely understand and support it.
But Lin Shiming didn't give Lu Yuxi a chance to speak.
"Alright! I'm the one who calls the shots in this house."
Lin Shiming mimicked his mother, slamming his hand on the table with a "bang," and declared triumphantly, "You, just stay home and wait for my good news!"
After saying that, he didn't even look at Lu Yuxi's astonished expression, and strode out of the palace gate with Yuanye without turning his head, heading straight for the Huangji Palace.
Lu Yuxi, still reeling from the shock: "... ..."
I have this illusion that I'm the one who's the little wife.
*
At 9:00 AM, having received an imperial decree from the enraged Emperor Longyun granting him full authority to handle the matter, Lin Shiming led a large contingent of imperial guards through the streets in a grand procession to Princess Heran's residence.
He was naturally acting out of kindness to rescue the second princess from her predicament.
Unfortunately, his reputation was already firmly etched in the hearts of everyone in the capital, and coupled with this imposing troop of imperial guards, everyone would feel that he had come with ill intentions and would feel uneasy.
For example, the gatekeeper at the entrance of the princess's mansion was so frightened when he saw Lin Shiming rushing towards the mansion like he was ransacking it that he almost collapsed to the ground.
Lin Shiming was completely unaware of this. He did not dismount, but merely raised his hand to signal, and the imperial guards behind him swiftly surrounded the princess's residence.
He specifically requested this from Emperor Longyun, just to support the Second Princess!
However, it was clear that others could not understand his thoughts.
Seeing this, the servant became even more frightened, and knelt down on the ground trembling, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Lin Shiming raised his eyebrows, and Yuan Ye stepped forward in tacit agreement. "Her Highness the Crown Princess has arrived. Why don't you quickly send word to have everyone in the manor come to greet her?"
The servant then realized what was happening and scrambled towards the mansion.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Lin Shiming saw the Second Princess leading two maids hurriedly walking towards the door. He frowned and dismounted.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
Lin Shiming hurriedly stepped forward to help the second princess up, saying, "Second Princess, please rise."
Lu Chiying smiled gently and stood up with the help of a maid.
"I was unaware of Your Highness's arrival; it has been my fault for being so impolite."
"Your Majesty, please don't be so polite. It was I who presumptuously came and disturbed your peace."
No one else came to greet him from inside the door. Lin Shiming sneered inwardly, but still tried his best to maintain a gentle demeanor.
Although this expression looked quite incongruous, it made the second princess's already anxious heart tremble even more.
"I do have something to discuss with you, my elder sister. Why don't we go inside and talk?"
He didn't want to speak in public; it was better to handle royal scandals behind closed doors.
Lu Chiying naturally dared not refuse, and immediately stepped aside and raised her hand to make way.
"It was my mistake, Your Highness. Please come in."
Lin Shiming nodded slightly and, guided by Lu Chiying who was half a step behind, stepped into the gate. A group of imperial guards followed him in single file.
It's more like a house raid.