allonlinenovel Chapter 161 Information comes from official sources.
Chapter 161 Information comes from official sources.
Once he had steadied her and brought her to her feet, Xin Moyan realized what was happening, quickly freed herself from the large hand around her waist, took a step back, and bowed slightly to Yuan Huaijun.
"Mo Yan greets Your Majesty."
"No gift."
Xin Moyan straightened up and glanced behind Yuan Huaijun. She saw Lou Shenghan holding the child, and Yuan Huailie and Yuan Huaize all raising their eyebrows and staring at her.
"Yan'er, what happened just now? Why were you running so fast? It would be bad if you fell." His voice was not as clear and emotionless as usual, but instead had a touch of warmth and concern.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Mo Yan is fine."
Xin Moyan gave a stiff, polite smile. "You can't exactly say it's to avoid your wives and get tricked by them, can you?"
Lou Shenghan quickly walked up to her, grinning, and said, "Yan Yan, did you bring Xiao Bao to the palace specifically to see me?"
"Don't overthink it, I'm with... wait, where's my brother?" Xin Moyan glanced around but didn't see her brother.
"Ah Ling has also entered the palace?"
"Your Majesty, my brother said he was going to wait for you in the Imperial Study after court. What are you doing here?"
Yuan Huaijun's eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned around to instruct, "Wang Si, go and invite A Ling to the Hall of Diligent Governance."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Yan Yan, we didn't go to the Imperial Study today. We were on our way to the Hall of Diligent Governance to discuss matters, which is why we didn't run into your brother."
"I see."
"Cousin Yan'er, it's been so long since I've seen you. How's business at the milk tea shop lately?"
"Not bad, Prince Ze. I was just about to send someone to invite you to the shop!"
"Why do you want me to do this?"
Xin Moyan's eyes instantly curved into a smile as she said cheerfully, "Last month's earnings are out, you forgot? We agreed to give you 10%!"
Yuan Huaize looked like he had just realized something, and quickly laughed, "Hehe~ Come to think of it, I had forgotten that I'm also a partner of 'Sweet Words'!"
"Ahem! Let's talk about this in the Hall of Diligent Governance. Yan'er, A-Ling will be here shortly, you can come with her too!"
"Hmm? Your Majesty, weren't you going to discuss state affairs? If I go, wouldn't I be disturbing you?"
Yuan Huailie's gaze lingered on her for a moment before he spoke slowly, his voice deep and mellow, "Since it is my royal brother who has invited me, I will naturally not disturb you."
This surprised Xin Moyan. She thought that ever since the Prince Lie questioned her identity on the street, he would never speak to her again, although she didn't quite understand why he would give her an opening gift.
"Yan Yan, let's go! His Majesty said so, it'll be more lively if we go together!" Lou Shenghan winked at her several times from an angle they couldn't see, his eyes clearly full of meaning.
She stared blankly, wondering what Lou Shenghan meant by this.
And so, Xin Moyan was taken to the Hall of Diligent Governance in a daze...
Before long, Xin Moling strode in. When he saw his sister was also there, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
"Everyone sit down."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As Yuan Huaijun took his seat on the throne, the others sat down on the armchairs on either side of him. Lou Shenghan and his son, along with his brother and sister, sat on the same side, while Yuan Huailie and Yuan Huaize sat opposite them.
Once everyone was seated, Yuan Huaijun calmly asked, "A-Ling, what did you gain from your trip to the border?"
Xin Moling quickly stood up and respectfully bowed to the emperor on the throne. "Your Majesty, in this battle at the border, in addition to capturing one of the deputy generals under Regent Qi Yun alive, two other central army captains have also been beheaded. These three are all Yun Kuang's confidants. As for the rest of the battle, Moling has already explained it in a previous letter."
Just as Yuan Huaijun was about to say something, he suddenly noticed Xin Moyan scratching her head, looking somewhat unnatural.
"What is it, Yan'er?"
Xin Moyan snapped out of her reverie and met those phoenix eyes, asking earnestly, "Your Majesty, is it inappropriate for Xiao Bao and me to be listening in on matters of state and military affairs with my brother and the others?"
Her eyes were so pure and intelligent that whenever Yuan Huaijun spoke to her, he felt an inexplicable fondness for her, a feeling quite different from before.
"Yan'er is family, there's no need to avoid suspicion."
Upon seeing this, Xin Moling's already stern expression darkened even further; he had never looked at Yan'er like this before.
Xin Moyan then said "Oh," and held Lou Xiaobao, listening quietly to their conversation.
"Ah Ling, you deserve a great victory this time. Yun Kuang is tyrannical and unruly. This time, he was probably using the border as a pretext to fish in troubled waters and deal with his nephew. You captured his confidant, which can be considered a warning to him."
"Yes." Xin Moling responded and then stopped talking, waiting quietly for him to continue. After all, Yuan Huaijun was the one who controlled the overall situation of Yuanqi, and he would definitely know many things faster than she did.
Yuan Huaijun raised his eyes, speaking to Xin Moling, but his eyes were fixed on Xin Moyan.
"You must protect the young prince Qi Yun as he enters the capital. At least within Yuanqi territory, you must not let anything happen to him. The conflict between the uncle and nephew must be resolved by Qi Yun himself."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yuan Huaize looked puzzled. "Brother, today the envoys from various countries came to the capital, but I didn't see the name of Crown Prince Qi Yun on the list. How can you say that he came to the capital?"
"Yan'er should know."
The group of people were all taken aback and turned to look at Xin Moyan.
"Huh? What do I know?"
Xin Moling frowned and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Yan'er did not know his identity. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"I have never blamed Yan'er."
Xin Moyan felt uneasy under their gazes and quickly asked, "Brother, what did His Majesty say I knew?"
"Yan'er, you don't need to ask A-Ling. You will know tomorrow."
Lou Shenghan suddenly remembered something and asked quietly, "Yan Yan, I heard from my men that you've recently had a pampered young master by your side. Is that true?"
She nodded. "That's true. Why?"
"Alright!" Yuan Huaijun raised his hand to interrupt the conversation. He knew that these people had both heard and guessed what was going on.
"Let's leave this matter aside for now. I have another matter to discuss with you."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
Yuan Huaijun composed himself and said calmly, "Since Consort Ning became pregnant, there have been occasional rumors in the court. One is that she is carrying the image of a prince, and the other is that I wish to follow the example of the late emperor and make the prince the crown prince as soon as he is born in order to consolidate the foundation of the country. Have any of you heard of this?"
Xin Moyan patted Lou Xiaobao on the back while listening intently to the gossip. She loved gossip, especially since it was said by the Emperor himself, making the information more reliable as it came from official sources!
Lou Shenghan jokingly said unhurriedly, "Tsk~ Your Majesty, in this harem, only Consort Ning is pregnant, and I've heard that her pregnancy isn't very stable. Let the court say what they want! The key is to take good care of Consort Ning's health. After all, her father is the Imperial Censor, who is in charge of such gossip. And this is your first child, so it's very precious!"