Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"Mr. Cen is a man of noble character. I'm afraid my niece is not worthy of him." Xie said, suppressing her anger.

As if she could not hear the sarcasm and rejection in Xie's words, Concubine Cen chuckled and said, "That's not a problem. They are both married people. They should all know that family background is not the most important thing in marriage. My brother has deep feelings for Miss Lin. After marriage, he will definitely treat her like a treasure and will not let her suffer any grievances."

When Xie saw her smiling face, she wanted to slap her. Could it be that Cen Zhu had been favored for so many years because of her thick skin? Seeing that she was not interested, she was about to break up with her, but she felt someone pulling her sleeve.

Lin Xi grabbed Xie and stopped her actions. Now the two of them were in Jifu Palace, and Xue Yun and the other maids could not enter the palace. The palace was full of Concubine Cen's people, and she was pregnant with the dragon fetus. If there was a conflict with her, no matter whether the two of them fought or not, Concubine Cen only needed to lie on the ground and yell that her stomach hurt, and she and Xie would be involved, and the Duke's Mansion would also be implicated.

Pulling Xie behind her, Lin Xi took a step forward and knelt on the ground, saying calmly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, and Master Cen, for your kindness, but I have already been deeply hurt by that Wang Zhuo, and I don't want to repeat the same mistake in my life, so I am afraid that I will disappoint Your Majesty's kindness."

Seeing that the two were so ungrateful, the smile on Concubine Cen's face finally fell. Her clear eyes narrowed slightly, looking down at Lin Xi on the ground with seven parts of displeasure and three parts of scrutiny, and she remained silent for a long time.

Lin Xi noticed the gaze above her head and made sure that she did not feel uncomfortable at all, so she let her look at her calmly. After a moment, it was Concubine Cen who lost her temper first. She sneered, took the female official's hand and sat back on the high seat.

"Life is long. Miss Lin, have you seen through the world at such a young age?" Concubine Cen spoke in a lazy manner, her drawn-out tone full of disbelief.

"I do not believe in Buddhism, so I naturally cannot see through this worldly world, but I do not want to get involved in love affairs anymore. I only wish to be with my aunt in this life to show my filial piety."

"He is indeed a filial person, but I don't believe a bit of what you said." The person sitting on the seat did not change his posture, but he no longer concealed his intentions. His eyes were sharp and shot directly at Lin Xi who was kneeling on the ground.

"If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, I have no other choice." Lin Xi remained neither humble nor arrogant. Xie also knelt down behind her, and both of them kept their backs straight.

The situation was at a standstill for a while. Concubine Cen was angry and her eyes wandered back and forth between Xie and Lin Xi. Suddenly she laughed again, but her tone was full of malice, "Miss Lin, since you don't want to get married, then I will report to His Majesty and register your name at Tianshui Temple. You don't have to practice hard like those Taoist priests all day long. You can still live in the Duke's Mansion, so that you can fulfill your filial piety."

Xie behind Lin Xi shuddered, as if she had not expected that Concubine Cen would be so cruel. Taoism was flourishing in the Jin Dynasty, and the aristocratic families valued pure conversation and loved to take elixirs. The current emperor was even more keen on this, and from time to time he would summon sorcerers to the palace to offer elixirs.

There were many Taoist temples inside and outside Jiankang City. In order to better restrain these sorcerers, the imperial court specially made laws. One of the laws was that those who entered Taoism could not get married in their lifetime. If they violated the law, they would be punished with "flint" and then walk barefoot back home from the temple gate. In this way, they would not offend the gods in heaven and bring disaster to their families.

Tianshui Temple is the largest women's temple on the Nanshan Mountain outside Jiankang City. Unlike the men's temples, most of the people who practice here are daughters of officials who have made mistakes and were expelled from their homes, or women who have been divorced by their husbands and are no longer accepted by their own families. These women have no one to rely on and can only be trapped in the temple for their entire lives.

Concubine Cen was thinking of destroying her if she couldn't get her. Since Lin Xi said that she had seen through the world, she would send her to a nunnery and prevent her from getting married for the rest of her life. Only then would she believe that what Lin Xi said was true.

How vicious! Xie was so angry that her whole body was shaking slightly. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She was about to pull Lin Xi up, but suddenly a deep male voice came from the palace door.

"Who wants to enter the Taoist temple?"

Hearing this, Concubine Cen's malicious expression instantly disappeared, and was replaced by a look of surprise. She stood up from the high seat and said in a tender voice, "Your Majesty, why did you come here at this time without informing the palace servants?"

At the entrance of the palace, Emperor Hui, dressed in a dark suit, laughed heartily and walked in calmly. Concubine Cen, smiling, held the hand of a palace servant and stepped forward to greet him, but she paused when she saw the tall figure following behind Emperor Hui.

"Who is this young man?" Looking at the other person's face that was 70% similar to that of Duke Anguo He Tongguang, Concubine Cen had a bad feeling in her heart.

As expected, seeing her confusion, Emperor Hui smiled and introduced him to Concubine Cen: "This is the Prince of Anguo whom I mentioned to you before. He is Bairen's only child. You can call him Pingchuan."

He Lanting was wearing a scarlet crown, a mountain crown on his head, and a complete set of rings and ornaments. He bowed to Concubine Cen and said, "He Pingchuan, I greet the Concubine."

"Thank you for your courtesy, Prince." Concubine Cen's face was stiff and she forced a smile.

Emperor Hui did not notice her expression. Instead, he looked at Xie and Lin Xi who were kneeling on the ground, and asked in confusion, "Why is Madam Bairen kneeling on the ground?"

Before Imperial Concubine Cen could reply, Madam Xie spoke first, "My aunt and I were so greedy for the green chrysanthemum that we forgot ourselves and made a few jokes with the Imperial Concubine, which annoyed her. We are now apologizing for this."

"I have no intention of blaming you. It is just that the Duke's wife is too polite." Concubine Cen was overtaken by Xie and hurriedly took the opportunity to speak up.

"Oh? Tell me what kind of joke you told me so that I can tell the right from the wrong." Emperor Huidi waved his hand to signal the two to stand up, walked to Concubine Cen, and helped her sit down again.

"It's just gossip among women. Your Majesty is too fond of prying into it." Concubine Cen glared at Emperor Hui.

Emperor Hui did not feel offended, but laughed and said: "As a monarch, you need to have clear eyes and ears, so that you can understand everything in the world. You are about to become a mother, how come you don't understand this principle yet?"

"That's right. Since Your Majesty wants to hear it, I will tell you. It's nothing shameful anyway." Xie and Lin Xi sat down again, and He Lanting stood silently behind them. Lin Xi turned her head slightly, wanting to look at him, but he avoided her sight and looked a little guilty.

"Just now I was talking to the Imperial Concubine about my niece, saying that she had no desires at a young age. The Imperial Concubine then joked that if that was the case, she might as well tie her hair up and become a Taoist nun, which would be quiet." Xie continued, but naturally skipped the matter of Cen Ji's marriage proposal.

"Oh? If Miss Lin is really punished by the Imperial Concubine to become a Taoist nun, then how can I find a wife for the Crown Prince for Pingchuan?"