The two had never been so intimate before. In the past, Lin Wan had gained his favor, but after all, she was just an ordinary imperial concubine. Emperor Taizong of Wei was slightly better to her than others, but only slightly. She had won the emperor's trust with great effort, but it was only trust, and could not be exchanged for the highest position she wanted, which would bring her a lifetime of honor and glory.
In her view, there is still a long way to go in the future, but now she feels like she's overpowered, the Emperor BOSS's blood volume has been brushed from 80% to 40% in an instant——but heaven, if given another chance, she would rather crawl out of the cold palace slowly than do this again. In this era without blood transfusions, where even giving birth can lead to death, the mortality rate for fatal injuries is similar to that of smallpox, and her body was not good to begin with, so it's purely lucky that she managed to survive this time.
At this time, the imperial nurse brought in the medicine and presented it. Taizong of Tang had always been good at coaxing people, and he didn't care about his royal dignity. He scooped up a spoonful of medicine and personally fed it to Lin's mouth. Lin was amused by him and pushed away the bowl: "Your Majesty, what kind of appearance is this? If others see it, they will think that I am relying on my favor with you to be arrogant."
"You are the most precious person to me, who dares to speak out of turn."
Lin Yan glanced at the emperor, wanting to see his expression, but the fatigue on her body was more overwhelming than the pain, so she could only take a deep breath and rest. Even if she had risked her life to achieve a great merit, Lin Yan still did not dare to completely believe Emperor Tuoba Hong's words. In the emperor's heart, what he cherished most was always himself.
Lin Yuan's face was getting paler, and Tuoba Hong didn't dare to talk to her much. He busied himself in feeding her medicine with a bowl, smiling more warmly than the sunlight outside the window.
Lin Yan forced a smile at him. The bitter medicinal liquid made her stomach start to churn, since she came over, when she had headaches and minor illnesses in the past, the imperial physician also prescribed some Chinese medicine for conditioning, but she would rather drag out the illness than touch it. In fact, the bitterness of Chinese medicine is unimaginable for those who have not drunk it before, but now Lin Yan has to endure everything for her life.
Not to mention Taobao Hong's clumsy hands and feet, the spoon often knocked against her gums. She had no interest in being fed medicine, which seemed like a sweet thing.
***
The imperial carriage stayed in Youzhou for three days before finally setting off back to the capital. Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei wanted Lin Xuan to rest for a few more days, but as the ruler of a country, how could he linger outside and not return to the capital? Lin Xuan was even more unwilling to delay state affairs because of her own personal reasons, repeatedly urging Emperor Taizong to set off quickly.
Fortunately, it only takes one day to travel from Youzhou to the capital, and the official road is flat, so Lin Yu and the emperor's sedan chair are covered with four soft blankets and mattresses, leaning against the pillow, and they won't suffer on the way. After entering the capital, the palace staff had already taken Lin Yu back to the Mirror Moon Pavilion for rest, while Emperor Tuoba Hong summoned his ministers, consorts, and concubines, paid respects to the empress dowager, and handled the accumulated government affairs of the past three months, being extremely busy and unable to find time to accompany Lin Yu.
Lin Yin, who had already been granted the title of Guiyu, was naturally the most sought-after person. Her return caused a stir in the entire harem. The Emperor, Empress, and Dowager Empress had bestowed many precious gifts upon her, which were sent to the Mirror Moon Pavilion like flowing water. The head palace maid from the Shang Palace sent a box of jade utensils and silk fabrics, with a gift value that was extremely high, making Lin Yin unable to guess what Shang Gui was thinking. Later, Xu Ronghua, Zhang Wanxi, and other consorts came over in twos and threes to visit her, but Lin Yin could only pretend to be ill and lie in bed to receive them. Fortunately, the Emperor eventually became worried about her health and issued a decree forbidding any consort from entering or leaving the Mirror Moon Pavilion to disturb her, and Lin Yin's world finally returned to calm.
Lin Wan had been lying in bed following the doctor's orders, and when she was feeling better, she would listen to Han and others talk about recent news, and gradually learned many important things. It turned out that during her absence from the palace over the past few months, the capital without the emperor was not as calm as she had imagined.
The empress accompanied the emperor, and the empress dowager was still indifferent to everything, so the palace was led by Shang Fei. However, even though this was the case, Shang Fei's position was not very stable. She had the best midwife, Blue Girl, protecting her, so she wasn't secretly harmed or poisoned, but for some reason, her body got worse day by day. By September, she started sleeping a lot every day, having morning sickness, and couldn't eat anything. This strong woman, who used to be tough, was now weak and frail, which made people take notice.
The elegant and refined Lady Chu served the Empress Dowager diligently after the Emperor left the palace, and as a result of her excellent service, she was soon promoted to the rank of Concubine by imperial decree. Later, during the rebellion in the hunting grounds, Mu Wu Wang plotted against the throne, and Emperor Tuoba Hong led his generals to defend against him. Among them, the one who made the greatest contribution was Governor Chu of Huguang, who ambushed and killed 100,000 rebel soldiers in Shanyin County. It must be said that Lady Chu had a very capable father, and her promotion to the rank of Pin was announced by imperial decree after the Emperor returned to the palace, with the ceremony scheduled for December 1st. Originally, Lin Yin's promotion to Concubine should also have been accompanied by a ceremony, but as she was injured and couldn't leave her quarters for two or three months, the officials in charge of rituals came up with a solution to allow Lady Hui to receive her appointment in her own palace without having to go to the Temple of Heaven to pay respects, and the date was also set for December 1st.
Chu Huashang's affairs had long been within Lin Wan's expectations. What kind of person should be placed in what position, and what role they should play, Tuoba Hong was crystal clear in his mind. In order to support Chu Huashang, he would naturally think of ways to grant her more titles, and the Empress Dowager was no exception. Similarly, serving the Empress Dowager, Xu Ronghua did not do less than Chu Huashang, but Xu's family was not liked by the Empress Dowager at all.
On the fourth day after returning to the palace, on November 5th, it was Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei's birthday. In the palace, the emperor's birthday is called "Wan Shou", the empress dowager's birthday is called "Sheng Shou" and the queen's birthday is called "Qian Qiu". This was Emperor Xianwen's 31st birthday, not a milestone birthday, but because of the joy of eliminating Crown Prince Mu, both Emperor Xianwen and the Queen decided to hold a grand celebration.
The entire palace was filled with joy, except for the Mirror Moon Pavilion, which despite being lavishly decorated due to imperial favor, remained eerily quiet. Lin Yuanyuan lay listlessly in her bed, listening to the joyful sounds outside and feeling like she was growing moldy. She casually flipped through the two thousand-year-old mountain ginseng and a large package of snow lotus that the Empress Dowager had bestowed upon her, and said to Fan Yu, the Imperial Princess sitting at the edge of the bed who looked equally bored: "The Emperor has decreed that no concubines are allowed to disturb me, nor am I permitted to move about freely. If I continue lying here like this, I'll surely fall ill even if I'm not sick. Luckily, there's still you to keep me company and alleviate my boredom."
Shan Yu heard this and looked at her, licking his dry, chapped lips from the winter weather: "Lin Niangniang's good fortune is something that many people in the palace have sought after but cannot obtain..."
Her expression was somewhat hollow, on a grand day like the Wan Shou Festival, all the nobles and masters in the palace had gone to attend banquets, including those out-of-favor concubines and elderly withered princess dowagers. Only she and Lin Yu were left behind, one because of injury couldn't get out of bed, the other because the Empress Dowager had issued a decree not allowing her to show her face.
From the imperial hunting grounds to the imperial palace, Fan Yu encountered more obstacles than she had imagined. In this cold and cruel royal family, her father did not value her, the empress dowager thought she was worthless and didn't want to protect her, her stepmother deeply hated her, and others looked down on her with contempt. She knew that although she had entered the palace and been acknowledged as the emperor's daughter, she was still an outsider in this vast palace complex, a person who was not welcome.
She, who was left out of the festivities, could only swallow her pride and come to Lin Yu's place, trying to curry favor with this most favored concubine. She is now extremely grateful that she did not abandon Lin Yu when she fell on hard times, but instead, out of consideration for their past relationship, sent her a pair of warming gloves. If she had immediately abandoned Lin Yu like others and sought to rely on another powerful figure, she would have no face to show up at the Mirror Moon Pavilion now.
Lin Yan looked at her and casually handed her a piece of Linglong Nafu pastry, smiling: "You have a sweet mouth, do you think this is good luck? Ha, if that arrow had been off by a bit more, not even the Heavenly King himself could have saved me."
"Hey, I'm telling you the truth. Look at all the things that Empress Dowager has bestowed upon you, they're things that only the imperial palace can enjoy." Shan Yu lightly bit into a pastry: "I've heard that the Emperor delayed his return to the capital because of you, and didn't even take off his clothes. Chancellor Zuo and others have some complaints about this matter, thinking that you are a femme fatale, but because of your merit in saving the Emperor's life, they don't dare to impeach you. And Empress Dowager also loves you so much..."
Shan Yu said these words, not flattering, in Shan Yu's heart, Lin Yan is a legendary figure. A concubine who can turn over in such a situation, it's the first time in more than 200 years since the founding of the Great Qin. Moreover, according to this momentum, the emperor dotes on her to the point of being infatuated, and even that Sheng Fei might be surpassed. As for the future prospects...hmm, it's hard to say.
"Your Ladyship, you are the person I admire the most. As for the Mongolian king's affair, I thought you would be abandoned by the Emperor, but unexpectedly you turned defeat into victory." Perhaps because Lin Xuan came from a humble background and had a strong temperament, Shan Yu saw her own shadow in her, and for a moment, her admiration overflowed:
"I knew when I was at the Da Jue Temple that good fortune isn't something that falls from the sky, it's something you earn yourself. How did you dare to block that arrow back then? Was it for the Emperor or to turn your fate around? Anyway, if it were me, I don't know if I would have dared..."
Shan Yu is the only person in the palace, apart from the Emperor, Empress and Dowager Empress, who knows the truth about the Mongolian King incident. She was present when the Mongolian King saved Lin Wan in the forest, and she can guess what happened afterwards. However, Lin Wan is not afraid of her knowing, as the Mongolian King affair is a shame to the imperial family, and the Emperor has sealed everyone's lips tightly, so even if Shan Yu becomes her enemy in the future, she will not dare to reveal the truth.
Lin Wan was overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, and she knew that the child's words were all sincere, not intentionally hypocritical, and couldn't help but laugh and cry. Thinking again about how she had accidentally saved the situation, she really didn't know how to respond at this point, so she just said: "Na Fu Su still can't shut your mouth! Chu Tao, go get some more citrus fruits for Di Ji to eat..."
Shan Yu burst out laughing, but her hands were not polite. In the middle of winter, they could still eat citrus fruits, and it was probably the only one in the entire palace.
