Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

After hearing Lin Xi's explanation, Xue Yun held her face and carefully checked the wound. Sure enough, she found a row of neat wounds on her lower lip, which were indeed the result of Lin Xi's biting. She relaxed her expression, glanced at He Lanting who looked embarrassed, and asked Lin Xi in a low voice, "What was that for?"

Lin Xi subconsciously wanted to bite her lip again, but Xue Yun stopped her with a look. She could only sigh helplessly, "It's nothing, we just had a few words."

Xue Yun naturally didn't believe what she said. If it was just an ordinary quarrel, why would Lin Xi have such an ugly expression? Why would He Lan Ting kneel down and apologize regardless of his status? She wanted to ask more, but she caught a glimpse of He Lan Ting beside her out of the corner of her eye. Considering the presence of outsiders, she could only suppress her doubts and said nothing.

Seeing that both the master and servant had calmed down, He Lanting spoke carefully, "It was indeed my fault today. I hope my cousin will not take it to heart."

Seeing that the two of them looked like they didn't want to pay attention to him, he knew he was in the wrong and that it would be boring if he stayed any longer, so he made up an excuse, "I have an appointment today, so I'm leaving now. I'll prepare a gift and come back to apologize to my cousin another day."

After saying that, he hurriedly retreated, but not far from the study, he saw the maids and servants of Xunchun Courtyard gathered together, looking at this side with worried expressions. Thinking that his impulsiveness today might cause Lin Xi to have some rumors again, regret surged in his heart again, but his face was frost, and he looked at everyone with a cold expression, "You all should keep today's matter to yourself. If I hear any rumors outside that are unfavorable to my cousin, don't blame me for being rude."

Although he was usually kind to others, once he got angry, he was no different from those high-ranking noblemen. The maids and servants in the yard knelt down and shouted that they dared not. Only then did He Lanting walk past them and turned to leave the yard.

In the study, Xueyun brought water to wash Lin Xi's face, then wrung out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood scabs on Lin Xi's lips. Finally, she applied healing and scar-removing ointment, then she let out a long sigh and completely relaxed.

"My cousin, what exactly is the purpose of your visit this time? Miss, please don't say such irrelevant words to comfort me. If it was just a simple quarrel between the brother and sister, why would the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion kneel down, and why would the girl cry so sadly?"

Lin Xi knew that she couldn't hide it from her, so she simply told the truth and repeated what He Lanting had just said to her in a sarcastic tone. After she finished speaking, she frowned, seeming very helpless.

Xue Yun felt wronged after hearing this, and said bitterly, "The young lady hasn't even left the courtyard these days. Those things were left by the master and his wife, and were only sent in under the name of the Chu family. My aunt also knows about this, and my cousin himself doesn't know the inside story, but he still blames the young lady."

"Even if it was really sent by the Chu family, it was made public. The wives of the two families knew about it, and the elders never said anything. How could an unmarried young man like him break into a girl's house and say such nonsense?"

Lin Xi naturally didn't care. Everything was just a performance for her to complete the task. But seeing Xue Yun was so angry that she even cursed at her, she felt a little warmer in her heart. She smiled and comforted her, "It's okay for him to talk nonsense, but don't make our Miss Xue Yun angry."

Who knew that in Xueyun's eyes, her expression was like her daughter forcing herself to smile in order not to make her worry. Tears were about to fall from her eyes. "Miss, you are still smiling. I just feel sorry for you. If the master and the mistress were still alive, you wouldn't have to endure such an insult."

"Okay Xueyun, I'm really fine. If you are really angry, I can find a way to help us vent it. What do you think?" Lin Xi pulled Xueyun's hand and asked her to sit next to her.

"Miss, what can you do? We are all under each other's roof now. You can just report to your aunt and ask her to scold your cousin a few words." Xueyun stopped crying and spoke uncertainly.

Lin Xi smiled slyly, "Don't worry, I will definitely make him suffer. Come here and I will tell you, let's do this and that..."

In the evening, in the Fuxue Courtyard, Duke Anguo He Tongguang was having dinner with his wife Xie.

"Why have you been on duty later and later these days? What difficult task has His Majesty assigned to you?" Xie served him a bowl of golden ham and black chicken soup and asked with concern.

In addition to the honor of Duke Anguo, He Tongguang also served as the chief of the Palace Administration Department. The Palace Administration Department collected memorials from all officials. All memorials submitted here had to be reviewed by him and several other officials. They would remove the redundant ones and pick out the most important ones before they could be sent to the emperor to await his approval.

In Jiankang alone, there are at least a hundred officials, not to mention the numerous officials in local prefectures and counties. Countless memorials are submitted every day, so the Palace Administration Office has always been busy and has little free time. But in the past, no matter how busy He Tongguang was, he would arrive at the mansion at the latest before 3 p.m. But these days, he came back near 7 p.m., and after eating, he didn't even have time to take a bath. He hurriedly summoned his staff to the study to discuss matters. Last night, he stayed up all night and didn't put out the candle until midnight.

"The government and the country have been in turmoil recently. You should keep an eye on the family and make sure the people below don't cause any trouble. You should also help keep an eye on the second house. Tongchen is in the Ministry of Works and may not be well-informed about the news." He Tongguang took the chicken soup and instructed Xie with a serious look.

Xie's heart trembled, and she lowered her voice and asked, "Is it about the succession?"

He Tongguang knew that the Xie family had spies all over the court, so he was not surprised to see his wife so well-informed. He just nodded silently, pondered for a moment, considered his words, and then spoke, "A few days ago, at the grand court meeting, the censor Wang Yuan wrote a letter, bitterly accusing the crown prince of forming cliques for personal gain, levying heavy taxes, embezzling military pay, and dozens of other crimes. His Majesty was furious and ordered the Ministry of Hearing and Propaganda to conduct a thorough investigation. Who would have thought that they found out that every single one of them was the work of the Cen family. His Majesty was furious and immediately put the father and son of the Cen family in jail."

"Noble Concubine Cen was shocked. She took off her hairpins and rings after hearing the news, and knelt down in the Mingguang Palace in plain clothes. Your Majesty did not want to see her, but a sudden rain fell. Noble Concubine was weak and fainted in the rain. Your Majesty hurriedly summoned the imperial physician to check her pulse, and he found out that Noble Concubine was more than three months pregnant."

"Your Majesty has favored the Imperial Concubine for many years, but unfortunately he has no children. Now his long-cherished wish has come true, and the Imperial Concubine has been crying and begging, so he has no time to care about the Crown Prince's case, and has to hold it over. Now the Crown Prince's party and the Cen family are at loggerheads, and Your Majesty has been undecided for a long time. The memorials submitted by the officials are almost drowning the Palace Administration Department. It has been delayed for more than a month, and the result will be known in the next few days."