Chapter 641

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

When he was alone in the world, he seemed especially carefree; once he had a family, he became penny-pinching.

Lin Xingzhi seemed inclined to develop in this direction, only he was a bit embarrassed about it himself.

The caravan arrived at An Ning City.

Compared to the prosperity and clamor of Jiangning City, An Ning City appeared more secluded and quiet.

There were not many permanent residents in the city, the shops lining the streets were overly repetitive, and even the small peddlers at the doorways were pitifully few.

The car fleet entered the city in a grand and mighty manner, first occupying the largest inn in An Ning City.

Since it was a short rest and they only planned to stay a few days before departing, Lin Xingzhi did not overly disturb the government officials of the city.

It was a pity that while he waved his hand to let things go, he could not stop the well-intentioned people who actively leaned in.

An Ning City was still too far from the capital; the prefect here had been waiting for years, and finally a noble from the capital had arrived—how could he not strive to get ahead?

"These things are quite valuable in Jingcheng," he hissed, truly a generous gift.

Shen Yao touched the pearl-laden jewelry and the wild medicinal herbs of long years, and once again her understanding of the wealth of ancient official families was refreshed.

Three years as a clean prefect, a million taels of silver.

"During the Former Emperor's reign, he favored luxury and often had local government offices send tribute gifts to the capital, causing hardship for the people in many places, and many loyal ministers and valiant generals lost their lives."

"After the elder brother ascended the throne, he has always been diligent, but the memorials sent from the localities have not improved much."

"Now thinking about it, regardless of whether the nation prospers or falls, the people's lives are always bitter."

Lin Xingzhi could see such things clearly but could not change them, because they were related to the system by which the whole country operated; Lin Xingzhi could not very well oppose himself.

Moreover, even if he dared to start this, how could one person's power oppose the entire surging tide? He would merely become a grain of sand submerged within it.

Shen Yao glanced at the things sent over; Lin Xingzhi did not return them, but instead accepted them with kind words and had them registered and entered into the record, "After we return to the capital and report to the elder brother, surely the elder brother will not mind this small matter."

The imperial private treasury had many treasures, and Lin Xingzhi himself did not want to jeopardize his own future, so he simply acted as a hands-off manager and handed it over to those above to handle.

Shen Yao patted Lin Xingzhi's arm with a smile; this man was quite bad—even if the emperor truly coveted them, he could not accept gifts sent by a subordinate to his cheap younger brother.

Moreover, no matter how difficult the royal family was, the emperor's private treasury did not lack treasures; the greatest possibility was merely to point out the way first, and finally they would flow into the Qin Wang Fu.

"The elder brother is suspicious; when going out to handle affairs for him, it is better to confess voluntarily than to conceal."

Otherwise, if someone privately stabbed the matter to the emperor, it would easily leave a grudge.

It was not that the emperor was penny-pinching, but rather that resentment and dissatisfaction would accumulate deeper and deeper; one could not wait until it was irreparable to regret, and by speaking things out at the right time, their Qin Wang Fu could continue to be passed down.

"Xingzhi has worked hard."

Shen Yao tilted her head and blinked, then rushed into the other's embrace like a young swallow flying into its nest.

The soft touch made Lin Xingzhi's own heart and mind ripple; thinking it had been a while since he had been intimate with Yao Niang, Lin Xingzhi's expression shifted slightly, he tilted his head and whispered a few words, then, amidst Shen Yao's soft exclamation, he scooped her up by the waist.

Layer upon layer of bed curtains were casually let down; torn clothes fell to the ground, a fair wrist extended a segment from within, but before long it was covered and pulled back.

Shen Yao felt she was like a small boat constantly battered in a sudden storm and rain, unable to control her direction, only able to passively drift with the waves.

"Mm..."

Fragments of syllables without a tune overflowed from the corner of her lips, high and low, rising and falling without cease.

After a round of fooling around, when she opened her eyes again, the time had already come to the afternoon.

Shen Yao lay lazily on the bed, wearing clothes that had already been changed.

She got up and stood on the floor, simply tidied her loose hair in front of the dressing mirror on the stand, then smiled and pushed open the room door, only to see Lin Xingzhi playing and frolicking with three children in the courtyard.

The children were only a few months old and could only simply stretch their arms and move their legs.

Lin Xingzhi held their only daughter in his arms, the two sons were placed respectively by his legs, and around them stood a circle of servants responsible for attending to them.

"The wet nurses take them to drink milk."

Shen Yao raised her hand and touched the daughter lying in Lin Xingzhi's arms who was earnestly burying her head to feed herself, and shook her head helplessly.

The wet nurses standing on the outermost side, hearing this, hurriedly ran over to snatch the young masters and mistresses from the master's hands, moving swiftly for fear that Lin Xingzhi would not give them up.

Lin Xingzhi:...

Lin Xingzhi awkwardly touched the tip of his nose, then waved his hand to the other servants; seeing that most people had left, he smiled and raised his hand to pull Shen Yao to sit in his arms.

"Yao Niang."

Lin Xingzhi buried his head in Shen Yao's neck, only then feeling a bit embarrassed.

It was because he had acted too wantonly.

Shen Yao patted Lin Xingzhi's back, leaned to his ear and whispered a few words, instantly receiving a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.

"Really?" She wouldn't feel he was disrespectful.

Shen Yao made an affirmative sound and nodded, thinking to herself that such a matter was a matter of the heart; if she herself had not had that thought at the time, she would not have agreed to cooperate.

But "Pay attention to the time next time; how can one make a ruckus in broad daylight?"

After all, she was the legitimate princess consort whom Lin Xingzhi acknowledged and had reported to the royal family; ordinarily many people followed her at her side, and she also had to care about saving face, right?

Lin Xingzhi smiled and apologized, but this man became increasingly improper the more he spoke afterward, and finally the two of them made a ruckus together in the courtyard.

Not far from the courtyard, Lin Anxin, with her back to the prince and princess consort, felt a sense of emotion arise in her heart.

He was the earliest subordinate to follow by the prince's side, ordinarily handling government affairs with the prince; seeing that the prince had acquired more of the warmth of human life, Lin An was truly happy for the prince.

The master was not easy!

In his youth he had suffered many hardships in the palace, both physical and mental; after reaching adulthood, because of his royal birth, he had to rush about to survive.

The people in Jingcheng always said their own prince had good luck, but in fact it was all words of jealousy!

Hmph!

……

After a brief rest of several days, the car fleet departed.

Lin Xingzhi was even less inclined to hide himself before Shen Yao, occasionally acting childishly and competing with the children for her favor.

Shen Yao felt as though she were raising four children; fortunately, there were wet nurses and servants around her, otherwise she feared she would be exhausted and annoyed to death.

"Yao Niang."

Lin Xingzhi turned his head and leaned lightly against Shen Yao's shoulder, holding her hand and unwilling to let her go hold their daughter.

Shen Yao:...

She had never realized this man was so domineering and possessive.

"They're still young; just leave them to the wet nurses." Having passed the period of being blinded by the filter of the wild goat kids, Lin Xingzhi now cared more about Shen Yao.

"How ironic that you acted so sincere before," Shen Yao said, raising her hand to tap Lin Xingzhi's forehead.

"Yao Niang, you are mistaken; Xingzhi cares for the children, and all the more because Yao Niang is not at ease."

He had thought he loved the children, but as they were born and increasingly occupied his wife's attention, Lin Xingzhi inevitably developed a sense of irritation.

It was only at such times that Lin Xingzhi realized his concern was all based on his wife; without that filter of his wife, his feelings for the children were indifferent to an excessive degree.

A person cannot empathize with themselves, not even with their younger self.

When the Former Emperor was alive, the Huang Hou was bustling with many affairs, and what made Lin Xingzhi find it hardest to let go was that, though they were all Princes, the treatment was worlds apart.

At this moment, he suddenly understood somewhat: the Former Emperor did not like his offspring; it was simply that he liked a Favored Consort who had borne offspring, so he loved the house and thus the crow.

Just as now, and just as the Huang Hou of his royal brother.

Raising his hand to pull Shen Yao tightly into his embrace, Lin Xingzhi took a deep breath and, smiling, spoke of his experiences in the palace when he was young.

The effect of playing the pitiful card was still there; the three children were handed over by Shen Yao to the wet nurses for care, while she focused on comforting the poor little one who had been injured since childhood.

Lin Xingzhi:...

The methods of competing for favor in the Huang Hou were indeed effective; no wonder those Imperial Consorts liked to cry and make a scene. Previously Lin Xingzhi had not understood and even detested it, but now he only wanted to say: come more, come more; drawing his wife's gaze back to himself was the most important thing.

Lin Xingzhi used this unspeakable thought entirely on Shen Yao, and Shen Yao herself was more than happy to indulge it, possibly also influenced by this Shijie, always feeling her mind was not sober.

The System had reminded her several times for this reason, but considering Lin Xingzhi's performance was not bad, and Shen Yao currently had no thought of raising the children alone as a single person, the two of them just went on like that, lovey-dovey and leaning on each other, traveling all the way back to Jingcheng.

The car fleet took twice as long as the journey there to return to Jingcheng.

By this time the weather had already turned cold, and the New Year's festival was drawing ever closer.

Shen Yao wore a fur coat on her body, wrapped a circle of furry animal pelts around her neck, and her hair was coiled into a hair bun placed behind her head and fixed.

Lifting the curtain to one side, the cold wind blowing from outside came in; Shen Yao subconsciously shrank her neck, turned her head to look forward, and saw a towering and magnificent gate appear within her field of vision.

They had arrived at Jingcheng!

The three children were nearly five months old; their arms and legs were thicker and stronger, they could roll over and sit, and even when placed flat they could simply crawl forward a bit.

Because the three children performed quite well, the servants privately called them divine children.

The carriage did not stop at the doorway, but instead went around the queueing crowd and entered the city directly.

The people around, seeing this, all speculated which noble person was sitting in the carriage.

"Hey, look at the mark in front of the carriage, Lin! That's the imperial surname!"

"Could it be some Prince from the city returning from outside the city?"

"Mm, if so, it has nothing to do with us anyway; let's hurry and queue to enter the city."

The car fleet headed straight for the most prosperous district in East City; Jing Wang Fu was located in the central area, surrounded by Lin Xingzhi's several other half-brothers.

"But their luck was not good; some were discarded by the Former Emperor and then imprisoned until now," even after the royal brother ascended the throne, he did not release them, after all, the reasons they were imprisoned were well known to all.

Lin Xingzhi was weak and could not contend for that position; the new emperor ascending the throne also needed to show favor to others.

Just like that, they hit it off immediately, and Lin Xingzhi became the target pushed out by the new emperor—suitable and posing no threat to the new emperor.

After getting along for a long time, a bit of brotherly family affection, though not much, arose between the two.

"We've arrived."

Lin Xingzhi embraced Shen Yao's waist, and the two got down from the carriage first; behind them followed the wet nurse holding the three children and a group of servants who usually attended them.

"Greetings, Jing Prince Highness; greetings, Jing Princess Highness."

The Emperor in the palace knew they were returning today and had sent a close attendant early to announce the imperial decree.

"It is Eunuch Li; Eunuch, greetings. I wonder if the royal brother is well?"

Lin Xingzhi smiled and greeted the white, plump, and affable attendant before him.

This person was famous in the palace; having served the Emperor since childhood, apart from the master and mistresses, this attendant's words carried the most weight.

Not only did Lin Xingzhi and the others treat him with respect, but even some Imperial Consorts in the Huang Hou had to flatter him with words; after all, for a slave who had the Emperor's favor, who knew if he might easily bury a thunderbolt for you with a single word?

"Jing Prince Highness truly flatters this slave; the Emperor is all well, it is just that he misses Highness in his heart, which is why he sent this slave to come in advance to visit Highness."

The Emperor said that the journey was tiring, and that Highness and the Princess still had to care for the three Eldest Misses; since their bodies were weary and could not move for long, they would wait until after resting, and then invite Highness and his family into the palace to exchange words.

Li Hai's words were watertight; even though he was a great favorite beside the Emperor, he still maintained a humble attitude.

Smiling, he conveyed the Emperor's decree properly, then personally presented the gifts bestowed by the palace, and only then, using the excuse of not disturbing Jing Prince's rest for too long, turned around and left with the others.

Shen Yao stood behind Lin Xingzhi the whole time observing this scheming Eunuch Li, thinking that he indeed came from the palace; as long as she did not cause trouble or act confused in the future, at least this lifetime would be lived quite well.

"Yao Niang, let's go in."

Lin Xingzhi reached out and took Shen Yao's hand, and the two moved forward along the opened gate of Qin Wang Fu.

Lin Xingzhi patiently introduced to Shen Yao the place where he had lived for several years.

Jing Wang Fu was not large in area, but it had everything: pavilions, terraces, towers, waterside pavilions, and covered corridors.

Originally this was an official's residence; unfortunately, not only had he offended the Former Emperor, but he had also taken the wrong side in a power struggle, resulting in the whole family being exiled for life and forbidden from returning to Jingcheng.

Finally, this residence was renovated by the Imperial Household Department and bestowed by the Emperor for Lin Xingzhi to live in.

Since there was only Lin Xingzhi as master at the start, he always felt the place was empty; now that a wife and three children had been added, Lin Xingzhi felt the site was somewhat cramped. "The residence to the left next door is vacant. I'll ask Imperial Brother later; if we can knock down the two walls and join them together, when Yan'er and the others grow up there will be no lack of housing."

Of course, if they add one or two more children in the meantime, there will also be spare residences available.

Shen Yao nodded. "Xingzhi has worked hard," she said, not knowing when they'd have to play the pitiful card again.

Lin Xingzhi raised his eyebrows at the words. "Yao Niang understands me, so she doesn't feel it's hardship."

The Emperor, far away in the palace:... Who will speak up for me?

The couple walked and planned like this. Jing Wang Fu originally had many unused buildings; now with Shen Yao and three children added, plus the servants brought back for daily service and the servants originally left behind in the mansion, a careful count came to a very large number.

"No wonder everyone wants to be born into the ruling class." Compared to the small amount of responsibility they need to bear, the various treatment they enjoy is stronger.

The journey was hard work, especially having to take care of three children who understand nothing.

After just a simple walk around, Shen Yao stretched out her hand and yawned several times in a row. Lin Xingzhi saw the situation and hurriedly sent her back to rest. As for the things brought back, they would be temporarily placed in the courtyard, and registered into the warehouse in batches when there was time later.

She slept this sleep fragrant and sweet; Shen Yao felt unprecedentedly comfortable at heart.

After getting up and asking about the three children's residence, learning it was next door, she then concerned herself with the mansion's daily affairs.

"Princess Consort, the Prince gave orders long ago. This is the daily expenditure and account book summary of the mansion. Please take a look, Princess Consort."

The housekeeper respectfully held up a stack of account books and presented them, then immediately withdrew.