Spring arrives and the land smiles

In the afternoon, at the beginning of Shenshi (3-5 PM), Qingyan was clinging to Luoqing, trying to avoid taking her medicinal meal, when a servant came to report: General Qi Chongwu of the Flying Cavalry requests an audience.

Qingyan sighed: "It's an hour later than expected. I'm really quite slow."

As soon as Qi Chongwu entered the room, he knelt down in front of Qingyan, as if he would bravely sacrifice himself if he could not clear his name today.

The general, over fifty years old, exuded an awe-inspiring righteousness. Even when kneeling to plead guilty, he maintained a straight posture without any affectation.

Qingyan sighed again. These precious old ministers left to her by the late emperor were really useful, but some of them were naive and it was really troublesome to protect them.

"General Qi, please rise."

Qingyan instructed Luo Qing, who was standing nearby, to help Qi Chongwu up. Qi Chongwu was flattered and overwhelmed.

Luo Qing understood the meaning perfectly. After helping General Qi up, she asked to leave.

"I am guilty. I should not have trusted the villains so easily, and I almost harmed Your Majesty and Physician Luo." Qi Chongwu's words of apology were quite incisive.

Qingyan smiled inwardly. It seemed that Siyou had taken his message to heart and accepted his assessment of being ungrateful.

"General Qi, you are mistaken. Your gullibility in trusting villains will not only harm me, but also yourself. I can protect you once or twice, but I cannot protect you forever. Since someone has plotted to harm you, General Qi must protect yourself."

Since the execution of Prince Jin and Prince Lin, Qingyan has handed over their military power to Qi Chongwu. Lian Po, who was originally retired, has been reinstated, which naturally makes him a target for those with ulterior motives. This is just a test, and the real move may be yet to come. Qingyan's actions today are not only to thoroughly awaken Qi Chongwu, but also to show him that the Empress's trust in the Qi family is not just empty talk.

"It was my foolishness. After the spring hunt is over, I will return home and divide the family property. I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust." Qi Chongwu knelt down, his words resounding.

Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief: "I remember that Young Master Qi is almost of marriageable age. If General Qi is willing, let him study at the Imperial Academy."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness." Qi Chongwu hurriedly knelt down, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Qi Chongwu left, and Luo Qing brought the medicinal food to Qing Yan's lips again. Qing Yan tried to hide, but Luo Qing grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

"Qingqing agreed, so if you want to have a son in one go, you have to listen to me."

This was the last thing Qingyan could refute, so she had no choice but to speak.

Surprisingly, the medicinal cuisine tasted quite good today, and Qingyan ate it all on her own initiative.

As night fell, news of the Qi family's impending conviction spread throughout the hunting grounds. General Qi was upright and honest, and many people came to plead for his life. However, there were always some treacherous and wicked people in the court who came to kick him while he was down. Qingyan counted them on her fingers and wrote them down one by one, feeling that it was about time.

Having learned from past mistakes, the ministers who originally planned to send men to the Empress during the spring hunt naturally gave up on the idea. However, Qingyan did not want their efforts to be in vain. Otherwise, with Yunxuan, the obvious jealous man, in charge when they returned to the capital, it would be difficult to catch these people.

"Zhui'er, come with me for a walk."

"Yes." Zhuier thoughtfully draped a cloak over Her Majesty the Empress.

The hunting grounds are nestled in the mountains and forests. When Qingyan looked around, the first thing that caught her eye was naturally the tents with brightly lit campfires on the outside.

Qingyan pointed ahead: "Let's go take a look."

Not far away, there was a small tent, and outside the tent, a man in white was playing the zither behind a campfire. The campfire was dim, the zither music was mournful, the wind was whistling, and the man's clothes were fluttering, which was quite pleasing to the eye.

Qingyan approached, looked at the man in the chilly spring air, and whispered to Zhuier with a smile, "Do you think he's cold right now?"

Zhui'er covered her face and laughed: "Your Majesty, his zither playing is already trembling, hehehe."

Qing listened carefully and, sure enough, walked over and stood in front of the man.

Upon seeing Qingyan, the man quickly bowed, and the music abruptly stopped.

"Get up." Qingyan raised her hand slightly and then gently brushed her fingers across the strings.

"Which family's young master are you?" Zhui'er, the head palace maid, stepped forward to ask.

The man immediately answered respectfully, but his voice was unsteady: "I am Wei Lin."

His surname is Wei.

After a moment's thought, Qingyan realized who Wei Chenzhong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was to her: "Who is Wei Chenzhong to you?"

"It's my father." Wei Lin lowered his head, answering only what was asked, clearly unwilling to say more.

Qingyan smiled inwardly. It seemed that this was forced upon them, which made things easier.

"Keep your head up."

Wei Lin cautiously looked up at the Empress. When his gaze fell on Qing Yan's face, a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

"He's really handsome." Qingyan smiled and asked, "Why are you playing the zither here alone?"

"My father had a small gathering with his colleagues, and I, a humble man, had some free time, so I played the zither to pass the time." Wei Lin lowered his head again, and when he heard Qing Yan praise his handsome appearance, he frowned slightly.

“In that case, play one of your best pieces.” Qingyan sat down opposite him without a word.

"I've made a fool of myself," Wei Lin sighed softly, sitting helplessly in front of the zither.

Unexpectedly, the piece played was "The Storm Breaks," with its stirring and swirling melodies that were awe-inspiring and unconventional. Qingyan felt completely relaxed and happy listening to it, and couldn't help but shout "Bravo!" at the end.

Such musical skill surpasses even Yunxuan's.

"Would you be willing to become an instructor at Yunshao Academy?" Qingyan blurted out.

Yunshao Prefecture was the palace's institution for managing popular music. Unlike the elegant music of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, popular music was colorful, lively, and unrestrained, which was exactly Wei Lin's style.

As the music faded, Wei Lin paused for a moment upon hearing the Empress's question. Only when Zhui'er urged him to reply again did he quickly say, "This humble subject is willing, this humble subject is willing, thank you Your Majesty."

“Alright, take up your post after returning to the capital.” Qingyan stood up to leave, but then added after a moment’s thought, “Oh, and tell Wei Chenzhong that if he had put all that effort into the Ministry of Rites’ construction, he would have been promoted long ago.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Lin immediately understood the implied meaning. He quickly knelt and bowed to Qing Yan, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am grateful for your grace."

Qingyan waved for him to get up, glanced at him, and left.

After returning to the capital, the young masters from various families who had been sent to the harem all vied to show off their talents in front of the Empress, and were all given important positions according to their skills. However, there were also a few vixens, who were naturally taught a lesson by Yunxuan. Of course, that's another story.

When Qingyan returned to her tent, Luo Qing had already prepared medicine and was waiting for her. Seeing that she was in a good mood, he went up to her and asked, "What makes you so happy?"

Qingyan then recounted the events that had just transpired to him in detail, her face beaming with pride, seemingly quite pleased with her actions.

"Your Majesty is wise." Luo Qing smiled and held the medicine to Qing Yan's lips.

Qingyan had no choice but to continue her brilliant move and drink the medicine in one gulp.

Immediately, a candied fruit was popped into Qingyan's mouth, filling her mouth with sweetness.

Just as she was about to act coquettishly towards Luo Qing, Zhui'er outside the tent requested an audience: "Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the capital."

Qing agreed to enter and took the letter, unfolding it.

It was a letter from Yunxuan, reporting some important matters in the capital that were not mentioned in the memorials, and also drafting a list of scholars from humble backgrounds who had recently been promoted. After reading it carefully, Qingyan picked up her pen and wrote back, informing him of the matters in the hunting grounds, and attaching a list of young masters from prominent families in the hunting grounds, circling some of the ones that were useful.

"Zhui'er, have Qin Mian send a reliable person to personally deliver it to Lord Fu."

"Yes."

Qingyan turned her head and saw Luo Qing, and suddenly remembered a jealous line from Yunxuan's letter: "Don't pick the wildflowers by the roadside."

"Brother Luo Qing, these are sent to my tent, and then people come to ambush me outside. There are so many beautiful women with all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, aren't you jealous?"

Luo Qing smiled, walked over and hugged Qing Yan's waist, and said softly, "These people are not worth Qing Qing's time. If I get jealous, it would be disrespectful to Qing Qing."

But as she said this, Luo Qing's fist clenched at her side.

"You're smart to know what's good for you." Qingyan raised an eyebrow and kissed Luo Qing on the corner of her lips.

Just as Qingyan was about to pull away, Luo Qing grabbed her waist and kissed her, his advances swift and fierce.

Then he picked her up horizontally and carried her all the way to the bedside, kissing her all the way. He didn't want to stop, but when he did, Qingyan was already half-pressed down on the bed by Luo Qing.

This kind of proactive demanding was something Luo Qing had never done before.

Qingyan had always thought that gentleness and mildness were traits ingrained in Luo Qing's bones. Whether in bed or out of bed, Luo Qing had never been so assertive. Qingyan even wondered if he had been drugged with aphrodisiacs again.

"Ugh—" Qingyan tried to resist, but Luo Qing suppressed her with even greater force.

"Luo Qing!!" Qing Yan finally found a moment to catch her breath and made Luo Qing stop. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Qingqing, Qingqing." Luo Qing hugged Qingyan tightly. "Qingqing, can you only have us and not bring any new concubines into the harem?"

So that's how it is. He was jealous after all.

Qingyan gently stroked Luo Qing's cheek, paused for a moment, and then said, "I can promise to only hire a few of you, but I can't guarantee that I won't bring in any new people."

"The imperial court and the harem are one entity. Some people are sent here, and I can return them, but there are others that I cannot return. I can only keep them and let them waste their lives."

"Don't worry, I only need you. It's the same whether anyone else comes or not; they won't fit into our Xuanhua Palace."

Xuanhua Palace was the former residence of the Crown Prince before his death, and it was also a place where everyone cherished each other. So, when Qingyan mentioned it at this time, it was naturally to fulfill a solemn promise.

Luo Qing felt relieved after hearing this.