CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204 IMPERIAL GUARD

Lin Xingzhi here is rising along with the tide, and over at another end, Prince Zhan and Lin Guifei are not idle either.

They’ve hardly managed to use this as an excuse to lift the house arrest, but the Emperor’s wariness towards them is already evident.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Fourth Prince all the way to protect the imperial presence.

Isn’t this clearly a deliberate move to restrain them?

Prince Zhan is no fool, nor is Lin Guifei.

Compared to the Emperor being listless and not eating, Lin Guifei is more concerned about her future now.

Thus, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Granduncle, what should we do? Although things look favorable now, but in the future..."

Thinking of having her only daughter sent to be raised by the Empress Dowager, she couldn’t help but feel like crying.

The Princess may not be as precious as a Prince, but she is Lin Guifei’s only desperate hope.

If she really grows up under the Empress Dowager’s care, there’s fear that even upon maturity, she may not remain close to Lin Guifei.

"Why fear? Wasn’t the Eldest Princess Huiyue once not raised by the Empress Dowager? Look at now, the Empress Dowager is at Wutai Mountain praying for the nation, and the Eldest Princess visits frequently, proving their mother-daughter bond is strong. Blood ties will ensure that merely not being raised by you doesn’t make her distant."

Prince Zhan spoke with ease.

In his view, it’s merely a Princess.

What is most important now is to quickly win over a Prince; there lies the path to future prospects.

"In the palace, with life and death situations, what is the Imperial Concubine’s plan?"

"I hear the Fourth Prince is healthy, if I were to take him in, I could raise him well in the future. But the Noble Princess Consort Ying holds a high status, abruptly taking a child from her would be fraught with challenges."

Lin Guifei expressed her worry, but Prince Zhan was dismissive.

"Don’t worry, the people of Da Wei won’t want an inauspicious person to be the Prince’s mother. The wonders of Taishan, I can create those, let alone a mere origin."

Inauspicious person?!

Lin Guifei was stunned, looking at Prince Zhan’s confident expression, skepticism arose in her heart.

The whole matter of gods and ghosts is inherently vague.

Various divination sayings derived from it, Lin Guifei actually doesn’t wholeheartedly believe in them.

But the Emperor and his ministers, to govern the people, rely first on virtue, second on pacifying the populace, third on building public trust in the divinely ordained events.

Once this is accepted, many matters can progress smoothly.

If Noble Princess Consort Ying is indeed labeled as inauspicious, she wouldn’t have the blessing to raise the Fourth Prince.

At such times, having Lin Guifei, who is second only to one, raise the Fourth Prince, is indeed most fitting.

This, Prince Zhan had already planned well.

But currently, it can’t be acted upon rashly; otherwise, if Princess Consort Yi seizes the opportunity in the palace, it’ll be troublesome.

Everything should wait until Lin Guifei returns to the palace to be executed.

Thus, he continued to offer words of comfort.

"Rest assured, Your Ladyship, the Empress Dowager once also raised the Emperor by her side, securing her position in the harem; now we merely need to follow her example. Once the Fourth Prince is brought over, he will become the son of the Imperial Consort. Such a noble status is far better than having a mother from a mere concubine rank, isn’t it?"

"Moreover, that Pei family isn’t prosperous; besides Noble Princess Consort Ying, there are no other kids in the family. Isn’t this just right?"

Casually finding someone to pin the blame of ominous parentage is something the Emperor might tolerate, but it’s intolerable to the world.

Thinking of this, a trace of pride appeared at the corner of his lips.

His eyes were full of sarcasm.

Originally, one could live a stable life and die in the palace, but she chose not to.

Opting to gamble by giving birth to the Fourth Prince, so he’s not to blame for targeting the Pei family.

After all, they are neither major ministers in court nor possess formidable marital relations.

Thus, in Prince Zhan’s eyes, they’re like lambs with their offspring, indeed ready to be slaughtered.

Watching Prince Zhan’s determined expression, Lin Guifei’s heart relaxed a bit.

But soon, she became dissatisfied.

The reason being, she unexpectedly saw Lin Xingzhi near the Emperor.

This brother of hers, the eldest grandson from Lin Xiangfu, used to be negligible.

Unexpectedly, he’s risen to such prominence so swiftly.

Reaching the Emperor’s side!

Thinking again of Lin Wanyi’s position in the palace these past months, she grew increasingly indignant.

That day, she took advantage of the Emperor’s nap to come deliberately.

Her purpose wasn’t to visit the Emperor but targeted at Lin Xingzhi.

Upon meeting, she put on a smile, seemingly amicably saying.

"Brother is truly fortunate, achieving the position of an Imperial Guard right by the Emperor’s side, though it’s a pity about our third brother, I wonder how his head injury is."

Third brother?

Head injury?

Could she be referring to Mu Zhi?

Lin Xingzhi’s mind was instantly all in disorder.

No matter how composed he was outside in handling affairs, maintaining calmness and self-control, facing family brought some impatience.

Right then, Jiang Huanqing beside him subtly tugged Lin Xingzhi’s sleeve, bringing him back to his senses.

His expression turned cold again, resuming his stationed demeanor.

"Imperial Concubine, the Emperor is napping, would you wait in the corridor or return to rest?"

Seeing Lin Xingzhi not falling for it, Lin Guifei was unable to swallow a breath.

She most hated this indifferent demeanor, akin to the tactics Lin Wanyi used when enticing the Emperor in the palace.

Ignoring the presence of others, she spitefully remarked.

"Brother indeed ascended rapidly, indifferent even to family. But does our third brother’s severe injury, the branch family’s separation, or our sister’s poisoning mean less than your rise, brother?"

After seeing the shock in his eyes, she left.

Adding a comment.

"The Imperial Physician mentioned our second sister faces difficulty with descendants, who knows how long she’ll thrive?"

She spoke gleefully, but pitifully Lin Xingzhi was shaken by these successive news enough to nearly lose his composure!

His agitated expression was immediately visible.

Jiang Huanqing, standing beside him, naturally heard these words too.

Feeling deeply disdainful!

Truly the seed of Princess Rongkang, their entire family is revolting to the extreme!

Recalling past affairs between his grandfather and Prince Zhan Mansion, he too gritted his teeth fiercely.

But now, he understood better, challenging Prince Zhan Mansion with the strength of Rongchang Marquis Mansion is like an egg against a rock.

Thus, the fury, even if indigestible, must be endured.

Just like Lin Xingzhi now, discontent but powerless.

Can only lay low, awaiting the right moment for a decisive strike!

"You need not heed her meddlesome words, Brother He Song; if indeed so much happened at home, letters would be nonstop. You had a letter of safety reassurance not long ago, didn’t you? So, it’s evident she’s making it all up!"

Lin Xingzhi, of course, also hoped these affairs were Lin Guifei’s fabrications.

But intuition told him, his family probably deliberately concealed it.