Chapter 649

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

"Yao Niang doesn't want Xingzhi to leave the capital."

Shen Yao was unhappy, and even more disliked the Emperor's attitude of using people and pushing them forward.

Heaven knows Lin Xingzhi's body had only just recovered a few days ago, and the Emperor couldn't wait to send him out—was there no one usable in Jingcheng?

Shen Yao felt the Emperor was simply displeased that his Front Court and Imperial Harem were in chaos, so he couldn't stand seeing families like theirs living so harmoniously.

"Yao Niang"

Lin Xingzhi raised a hand to gently rub Shen Yao's head, smiling to indicate that the Emperor sending him out of the capital was precisely because he valued Xingzhi's fortune of turning danger into safety.

Two consecutive good results also surprised Lin Xingzhi; whether one said the Emperor was superstitious or not, anyway this person now looked like he trusted Lin Xingzhi immensely.

Shen Yao:...

Snorting softly through her jade nose, Shen Yao raised a hand to tap Lin Xingzhi's chest, "Oh, the Emperor trusts Xingzhi, so he doesn't care about our suffering as a separated couple."

"Yan'er and the others are at the age of recognizing people; be careful they're treated as strangers."

Don't believe it—children's memories are limited; let alone being separated for several months, even disappearing for three or five days would cause plenty of jokes.

The dissatisfaction in her words all reflected in her eyes; Shen Yao wore a long dress, her beautiful hair spread behind her head, with extra gold-threaded floral patterns added to the collar and cuffs.

Raising her hand lightly, the wide sleeve fell to her elbow; Shen Yao pulled Lin Xingzhi to sit by the edge of the bed, then simply tilted her head to stare at him without speaking.

Lin Xingzhi:...

Was this acceptable?

Lin Xingzhi quickly drew the person into his arms, indicating their whole family could go out together.

"Really?" Shen Yao's eyes showed surprise.

Lin Xingzhi nodded, "Naturally, it's only human feeling; Imperial Brother won't say anything."

Quickly changing in his heart the plan of leaving the capital alone into an arrangement for a family outing, Lin Xingzhi shamelessly said, "This time we're going to Shangfu, dozens of li from the capital; the round trip will take only a few days."

Lin Xingzhi this time still belonged to inspecting on the Emperor's behalf, playing the role of an auspicious mascot that needed no brainwork; his main duty was to appear before people, and accompanying him was Li Dehai, an Inner Attendant close to the Emperor.

"I originally planned to tell Yao Niang in detail later, but didn't expect Yao Niang to be so sincere and devoted to Xingzhi," Lin Xingzhi blinked, scattering fine glimmers of light under the candlelight.

Shen Yao:...

"Hurry up and tell me?" Shen Yao pretended to be willful, curling herself up and shrinking into Lin Xingzhi's arms.

Lin Xingzhi said a string of "good"s, lowered his eyes and leaned close to Shen Yao's ear, slowly recounting the inside secrets with a gentle, warm tone.

It turned out to be follow-up trouble caused by Luogui City; the masters of Huang Jue Si and the Daorens of the Dao Guan joined forces to calculate that Jingcheng was unstable.

To preserve Li Guo's stability and the imperial succession, the Emperor planned to secretly lay out a scheme, striving to peacefully get through this conspiracy targeting Jingcheng.

Shangfu City was one of them, personally entrusted by the Emperor to Li Dehai to be fully responsible.

"The Emperor is using you as bait?"

Shen Yao heard the implication in Lin Xingzhi's words, thinking to herself that even the auspicious mascot wasn't safe—the Emperor had even sent Li Dehai, who was by his own side, out; just how important was this Shangfu City?

"Both bait and hook."

Lin Xingzhi did not deny the possibility of being bait, but he mentioned the Emperor had privately promised many things, including titles and residences for the three children.

Suddenly smiling, "If there's an unexpected joy this time, Yan'er and the others could be like my husband—this would save us much thought," Lin Xingzhi stroked Shen Yao's cheek, sighing that parental love for children means planning far ahead.

Previously he didn't understand, but now that he had soft spots and worries, he always felt what he did wasn't enough.

"Yao Niang, Xingzhi originally wanted to be husband and wife with you for a lifetime, growing old together. Now he feels only if Yao Niang is happy every day will Xingzhi have no regrets."

If his wife liked jewelry and fine clothes, delicious food and enjoyment, he would send all these precious good things to her side for her to dispose of; if his wife cared about the children, he would try every means to properly settle the three children, so his wife wouldn't need to worry.

Lin Xingzhi himself was a very indifferent person, uncaring about things; beneath this gentle and polite exterior was a fearless heart.

Like snowflakes in a pure white space, drifting yet empty and useless.

Shen Yao's appearance changed everything for him, and gave his life color.

Sweet nothings rolled off his tongue; Shen Yao wondered if this man had specifically learned them, every time opening his mouth made her blush and her chest go numb, spreading through her whole body.

A flushed face paired with eyes full of affection; Shen Yao slightly moved the corners of her lips, parted her pearly teeth, and softly spoke Lin Xingzhi's name.

Lin Xingzhi:...

Lin Xingzhi subconsciously moved his Adam's apple, then lowered his head to kiss those lips that made him emotional, and their bodies quickly overlapped.

As their vision flipped, Shen Yao was placed on the bed.

Clothes were removed and scattered around, revealing smooth, fair skin.

Shen Yao's hands climbed onto Lin Xingzhi's neck; the narrow space shortened their distance, and a sweet fragrance filled both their nostrils.

Unable to help laughing out loud, Shen Yao shook Lin Xingzhi, urging him to go faster.

Lin Xingzhi:...

Lin Xingzhi's forehead was covered in sweat; at the critical moment he couldn't move too quickly, because it would hurt the treasure beneath him.

Raising a hand to gently cover Shen Yao's eyes, Lin Xingzhi lowered his eyes and kissed her again and again.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao's body trembled slightly; the blurriness of her vision intensified her sensory stimulation, almost making her feel like she was going crazy.

The sound of her exhaled breath gradually grew heavier; soon they were entangled again, their silhouettes reflected by the window becoming heavy, and as the candlelight by the table extinguished, everything disappeared.

"Mm, my head hurts a little."

"Host, this is the consequence of overindulging last night."

The system mocked Shen Yao for being lust-addled, saying she was losing her bottom line more and more.

Shen Yao shifted her body back, lazily leaning against the soft pillow on her side, "Where is Lin Xingzhi?"

"Naturally, he entered the palace to ask the Emperor to agree to your family's proposal to leave the capital."

"He's kneeling in the Dian Dian right now, Host, want to watch?" The system suggested maliciously, wishing it could split itself in two and livestream it on the spot.

"No, it's not a big deal, the Emperor will definitely agree."

Their family going out could firmly secure the mascot's identity; even if an accident occurred, the Emperor wouldn't lose anything, so what was there to disagree with?

Shen Yao said this well; at Lin Xingzhi's pleading words, the Emperor finally nodded in agreement.

Well, one could also say it was going with the flow; whether Lin Xingzhi went out alone or with his family, the impact on the Emperor could be ignored.

What the Emperor cared about most was Li Dehai; the matter of Shangfu City was of great importance, and once he didn't get the results he wanted, Jingcheng would face an Extinction Disaster in three to five years!

Thinking of the terrifying prophecies given by the masters of Huang Jue Si and the Daoren of the Dao Guan, the Emperor took a deep breath, hoping in his heart that this day would never come.

A few days later, after Lin Xingzhi settled the affairs of the Qin Wang Fu, he brought Shen Yao and three children by carriage to leave Jingcheng.

On the surface they still flew the flag banner of Jing Wang Fu, but half of the people inside were actually the Emperor's confidants.

Li Dehai even changed his attire directly, mixing into this group under the identity of the Wang Fu steward.

Of course, these things were all done in secret; on the surface it was still Lin Xingzhi traveling on imperial orders, as usual inspecting several towns around Jingcheng, especially Shangfu City which was most important.

Clop clop clop—

Because they brought three children, the carriage took nearly three days to reach Shangfu City.

Looking at the tall city walls outside Shangfu City, Lin Xingzhi, citing that it was late, refused the welcoming banquet hosted by the officials of Shangfu City, and instead stayed at a Royal Villa they had left here earlier to rest.

That evening, Li Dehai brought manpower to quietly find Lin Xingzhi.

"Your Highness, this servant has matters to attend to, so I shall part ways with Your Highness here."

"Eunuch Li speaks too seriously; this journey has been hard work, I hope you take care of yourself outside."

The matters entrusted by the Emperor could not be ignored; they set out originally with one in the open and one in the dark.

Li Dehai knew the purpose of this trip out of the capital, smiled and said a few words to Lin Xingzhi about the time arrangements for future rendezvous, then turned and disappeared into the dense night.

Lin Xingzhi saw this and returned to the bedroom, seeing Shen Yao dressed in long clothes and not yet retired, he smiled and moved to Shen Yao's side, drooping his eyes and pressing his face against hers, "Yao Niang has worked hard these past few days; in the future, Yao Niang will need to bear even more."

Lin Xingzhi was the Jing Wang, Shen Yao was the Jing Wang Fei; wherever they went, they inevitably had to be visited by local officials' families, especially since this time they didn't yet know how long they would stay, so disturbance was unavoidable.

Shen Yao touched Lin Xingzhi's slightly heaving chest and smiled, saying she had worked so hard, "Xingzhi, what reward is there?"

Lin Xingzhi said with a straight face, "There are many rewards, I just don't know what kind Yao Niang likes?"

"Oh?" Shen Yao raised her eyebrows slightly, as if carrying a pair of hooks, "Whatever Xingzhi gives, I naturally like."

While speaking, the fingers placed on her chest slowly extended to her chin, soon touching the corner of her lips and the tip of her nose, finally coming to the area around her eyes.

Lin Xingzhi:...

The heart in his chest thumped thumped thumped; Lin Xingzhi directly grabbed this hand that was still causing trouble, "Yao Niang, don't mess around."

"Mess around?"

Shen Yao wouldn't accept this; her heart itched as if a little kitten was stretching out its claws to scratch constantly. She turned her head to Lin Xingzhi's ear, thinking to speak, but instead directly pressed her lips against his.

The next second, Shen Yao was directly thrown down onto the bed beneath her by Lin Xingzhi.

"Since Yao Niang doesn't want to rest, Xingzhi can only accompany you to the end," a gritted-teeth breathy voice came from beside Shen Yao's ear. She blinked innocently, not understanding how a light touch could turn someone into a wolf.

System:...

The system looked at the host who was feigning ignorance with a hard-to-describe expression, his teeth aching.

Hiss

Bad, really too bad. And she's not even good at being a green tea!

The quiet room transmitted fine rustling sounds and some off-key melodies.

Because of her unintentional (intentional) provocation, Shen Yao once again lived a life of deep water and hot fire.

This directly caused her to wake up late the next day, and the officials' families who were supposed to be received in the morning were arranged for the afternoon.

Officials' families:...

The reputation of the Jing Wang Fei being arrogant and proud spread throughout Shangfu City; everyone in the streets and alleys knew it.

Shen Yao:...

When the news spread, Shen Yao was teasing the three children; she rolled her eyes at Lin Xingzhi who came close to her, and Shen Yao said she truly suffered an undeserved disaster.

Lin Xingzhi:...

Lin Xingzhi scratched his head embarrassedly, turned around and swept through the shops in Shangfu City, whether they were luxurious and noble or low-key and extravagant, all were packed and sent to Shen Yao's side.

After all, the more people outside discussed and paid attention to them, the safer Li Dehai's side would be.

Since they came out together, Lin Xingzhi naturally hoped Li Dehai could get away safely; otherwise, if something really happened, they would have to suffer the Emperor's wrath when they returned to the capital.

Shen Yao looked at the tray placed before her; on it were all kinds of jewelry and ornaments, brocade and fine clothes, as well as famous calligraphy and paintings, ancient books and rare editions.

Standing up to signal the servants to bring the tray closer, Shen Yao raised her hand and casually flipped through it; whatever she liked she directly left aside, "The rest, send to the Ku Fang to register and record, then send the fabrics to the embroiderers to cut and sew according to the most popular styles right now."

Since she had borne this bad reputation for nothing, Shen Yao had to make it real anyway; after all, only this way could she better gain people's trust.

The servants nodded in agreement upon hearing this, holding the tray and turning to retreat like a tide.

Shen Yao continued to gently wave the round fan in her hand, raised her head to look at the bright sky outside, and asked the system who was busy watching the spectacle, "Do you know where Li Dehai is?"

The system found time to reply to Shen Yao, saying Li Dehai was in Shangfu City, location "Eh? He lives right next door to the Host's next door!"

Shen Yao:...

Next door's next door—isn't that still the same alley? Because they stayed here, this place was very lively; every day officials of Shangfu City brought their families to visit and ask for instructions. Li Dehai, this scoundrel, had such a big gall, wasn't he afraid of being discovered?

"Host, Li Dehai is a eunuch before the Emperor; usually he even rarely leaves the Palace Gate."

The officials of Shangfu City found it difficult to get to know him; let alone Li Dehai actively changed his attire, even familiar people would be confused for a while.

"Oh, so this trip we only need to be responsible for eating, drinking, and enjoying pleasure," the hard and tiring work naturally had others to bear.

"Of course, everything is moving in a good direction," the system's mechanical voice cut off halfway, followed by an "oh no," "I almost missed it again! Host, let's not talk about this anymore; I'll chat with you when I get back."

Shen Yao:...

"System? System?"

As expected, there was no response at all, and Shen Yao laughed speechlessly.

When the system finished watching the excitement and returned chattering incessantly, still unsatisfied, Shen Yao's indifference finally made it realize that it had probably... "Host, the system knows it was wrong."

The system wailed loudly, why is it so forgetful? Every time it embarrassed the host, it had to cede territory and pay indemnities, ruthlessly giving up benefits just to earn the host's smile.

"Tell me, what excitement did you watch?" Shen Yao was always ruthless and cruel; the system had plenty of good things in its hands. After being tricked by her so many times, there weren't many gossips left that could make the system recklessly dive in headfirst regardless of everything.

To be honest, Shen Yao was actually quite interested; after all, during these days in Shangfu City, besides staying in the manor to receive the wives and children of visiting officials and eating and drinking, she hadn't heard a thing about the excitement outside, and instead had become the talk of the town herself.

The system's tone rose slightly, indicating that the excitement it watched was truly wonderful, "These officials in Shangfu City are all a family of demons!"