HLnovel Chapter 191 To hell with all the scheming and etiquette.
Chapter 191 To hell with all the scheming and etiquette.
It's clear that Emperor Longyun held a grudge against the phrase "the spring night is too short." Although it was Lin Shihe who said it, that didn't stop him from taking revenge on Lu Yuxi. What's wrong with a brother-in-law taking the blame for his brother-in-law? It's perfectly reasonable.
If you're unhappy, you have to make others unhappy too.
Emperor Longyun's happiness was built on the suffering of his own son.
Moreover, after acting like a rogue, he was still self-righteous and not guilty at all. He even continued the previous topic with even more enthusiasm, "You still haven't told me, what's the situation at the Sixth Prince's residence?"
Lin Shihe sneered, "They probably know that after the Prince of Ping's failure, no one will be able to cover for the Sixth Prince anymore, and the Sixth Prince is out of the picture. The families behind those two palace maids should also give up on them."
"The news from a few days ago said that those two palace maids were depressed for a few days, and then they started vying for the emperor's favor. In just a few days, the Sixth Prince's residence was in complete chaos."
Emperor Longyun was overjoyed to hear this, "Tsk tsk tsk! The Sixth Prince's Consort didn't do anything about it?"
"I did intervene once, but the Sixth Prince was afraid that the two of them would expose his affair if they fought to the death, so he forcibly promoted them to the rank of concubine. The Sixth Prince's wife then only looked after her own courtyard and didn't care about anything else."
Emperor Longyun, playing the straight man, exclaimed, "Ho!"
"Just two days ago, those two caused quite a commotion over the Mid-Autumn Festival palace banquet, wanting the Sixth Prince to bring them out."
Lu Yuxi slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Who dares to bring a lowly concubine to a banquet hosted by my Crown Princess!"
"I didn't see you in such a hurry just now." So you didn't hit a nerve! Emperor Longyun glanced at Lu Yuxi with disdain before urging Lin Shihe to continue telling jokes, "Never mind him! Keep talking."
Lin Shihe took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. "Although the Sixth Prince wanted to flatter them, he was also aware that it was absolutely impossible to bring his concubines to such an occasion. So, after accepting all their attempts to please him and taking advantage of them, he still refused them."
Long Yun Di Rui's comment: "Shameless!"
"He's really shameless." Lin Shihe didn't let him off the hook either. "The Sixth Prince not only rejected the two of them, but also, to save face, claimed that the Sixth Prince's wife wouldn't agree, so he had no choice but to make the Sixth Prince's wife, who hadn't done anything, take the blame."
Emperor Long, who claimed to be the world's most devoted husband, deeply despised him. Nur denounced him, saying, "This shameless scoundrel is no son of mine!"
Finally, he asked, "Didn't the Sixth Prince's Consort react? I don't think she's the type to swallow her anger."
"Of course there was. Those two really thought it was because of the Sixth Prince's wife. The next day, when they went to pay their respects, they took turns speaking in a sarcastic tone, accusing the Sixth Prince's wife of being jealous and suppressing her concubines, and of lacking the magnanimity to tolerate others."
"Then the Sixth Prince's Consort swiftly and decisively punished the two men in court for 'disrespecting the mistress of the house,' giving each of them twenty strokes of the cane. When the Sixth Prince found out, he didn't dare to utter a word."
"Coward! Hypocrite!" Emperor Longyun roared, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage. He slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "He really is only good at being a backstabber and doing treacherous things! Not a single one of his deeds has been done with integrity!"
In a fit of anger, Emperor Longyun slammed his fist on the table, startling the people who were doing their own things. They were puzzled as to why the emperor was so agitated and immediately fell silent.
Suddenly, Emperor Longyun, who was the center of attention, cleared his throat without showing the slightest embarrassment, "It's alright, I accidentally bumped the table. My dear ministers, please continue."
Everyone wisely pretended nothing had happened, but it took about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea for the hall to gradually return to its original lively atmosphere.
Lin Shihe, having somehow acquired a fan, waved it around. "Evidence is hard to find, but not impossible; it's just a matter of time. How does Your Majesty intend to deal with the Sixth Prince?"
Emperor Longyun leaned back. "I still want to see how the Sixth Prince reacts a few years from now when he finds out about the imperial edict in the Sixth Prince's wife's hands." Wouldn't that be more exciting than simple confinement?
"Your Majesty means—"
"There's no rush to gather evidence; find as much as you can, just in case. But there's no need to expose it yet. Consort Yu has failed to properly discipline her son, causing unrest in the inner palace; she is stripped of her title and demoted to the rank of Jieyu. As for the Sixth Prince…"
Emperor Longyun revealed a wicked smile, "Once the mourning period for the princess is over, have the Crown Princess select a few concubines to send to the Sixth Prince's residence, and tell him to have many children."
Then they wait until they have many descendants, but no one can inherit the family business.
Emperor Longyun was extremely pleased.
*
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was important, the ministers also had families to enjoy the moon and celebrate the festival with. Therefore, at the beginning of Hai hour (9-11 PM), Emperor Longyun announced the end of the banquet and told everyone to go home and reunite with their families.
The Lin family, following the rules, left the palace gates and headed home.
only--
Lin Yunyue frowned as he looked at Lin Shiming, who had come uninvited to the carriage.
"What are you here for?"
"Father, what kind of talk is that?" Lin Shiming, who was happily munching on a piece of fruit, leaned back imposingly. "I'm home for the Mid-Autumn Festival to reunite with my family. What do you mean by 'coming' here? Aren't I a member of the Lin family?"
"Stop pretending!" Lin Yunyue snatched the fruit from Lin Shiming's hand. "Tell the truth!"
"Alright." Lin Shiming raised an eyebrow. "The Crown Prince has been punished to copy books, and he won't let me accompany him. Well then, I guess I'll just have to go home."
Lin Yunyue looked at him suspiciously, then turned her questioning gaze to Lin Shihe beside her.
"There is such a thing."
Lin Yunyue asked, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate for him to just go home like this?"
"That's good. Our family hasn't celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival together in a long time, so today is perfect. Father, don't worry, no one will have any objections." I'll tell anyone who has objections to shut up.
Lin Yunyue was relieved that her eldest son had always been reliable.
"Alright then." Lin Yunyue nodded. "The palace banquet was too bland and unpleasant because of the Empress's 'deceased' state. I just happened to get a few jars of good wine when I came back. I'll have someone make some snacks to go with the wine. Tonight, the three of us, father and sons, will drink until we drop."
*
The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was guarded by many soldiers, making it even more secure than the imperial palace. Moreover, the place was large, making it convenient to do whatever one wanted. So, Lin Shiming and his companions were not afraid of being discovered while drinking, eating, enjoying the moon, and chatting in the courtyard.
Two empty wine jars lay on the ground. Lin Shiming felt that drinking from a cup wasn't as enjoyable as drinking from a tumbler. Only a scheming woman like Lin Shihe would like that. So he simply picked up the wine jar and poured it directly into his mouth. Lin Yunyue also looked down on her eldest son's pretentious manner and switched to a bowl to drink in large gulps.
"happy!"
Lin Shiming gulped down half a jar of liquor, casually wiped his mouth, and felt completely refreshed.
To hell with all the backstabbing and formalities.
"This is the life I should be living!"
Lin Shihe glanced at him, chuckled, drank half a glass of wine, and even took a couple of bites of food with it.
"So, have you decided when you're going to go back to this kind of life?"