Emperor Jingren watched until late at night, asking Lin Boyuan a few questions as he watched. His eyes were full of appreciation for Lin Boyuan. Lin Boyuan lowered his head and smiled triumphantly.
Yesterday, it was agreed that I would go to bed after exercising with the Queen, but the Queen waited until almost midnight and no one came back. The Queen looked at the moon in the middle of the sky and the hourglass had passed midnight, so she sent someone to the Imperial Study to inquire about the news. Soon, news came that the Emperor had summoned Censor Lin to the Imperial Study after the court session, and the two had been discussing things. Even lunch and dinner were sent by the Imperial Kitchen, and Lin Boyuan also ate with His Majesty, although one sat at the upper seat and the other sat at the lower table, which was not excessive, but this honor was quite heavy.
"Lin Boyuan..." The queen said this name and chuckled, "I was careless. I only focused on the palace and forgot that there were many people outside the palace."
After that, she put on the phoenix robe, held a cloak in her hand, and went to the imperial study with a few palace maids and eunuchs. Originally, the concubines had to take a sedan chair when they went out, but the queen disliked the sedan chair's slowness, so she walked out quickly. The few people who followed her started jogging and then running, and they could barely keep up with the queen's brisk pace. Among these people who followed closely, Xia He, who was always with the queen, was no longer there.
They soon arrived at the imperial study. Eunuch Lian and Xiao Shunzi were both waiting outside the door. When they saw the Queen coming, they no longer had the hostility they had in the past. Instead, they both looked relieved.
"Your Highness," Eunuch Lian stepped forward and said, "The memorial that Lin Boyuan showed His Majesty was as thick as a book, and every page was fumigated with incense. His Majesty has been reading it since he left court, and it has been at least five or six hours. After such a long time, even if it was just fumigated with incense, the fragrance has penetrated into his bones."
"So Lin Boyuan will enter your majesty's dream tonight?" The Queen said coldly, "What a scheme! It's a waste of talent to be a mere sixth-rank censor!"
Unlike the imperial concubines, no matter how the Emperor Jingren made love with them, it was normal. There were too many women in the harem, and even if something really happened, it would not leave a deep impression on the Emperor Jingren. But Lin Boyuan outside the palace was different. A man who had just shown up in front of the Emperor Jingren today, a man with real talent and knowledge who was loyal to His Majesty, the Emperor Jingren must have a good impression of him. If he dreamed of Lin Boyuan again that night, he would probably be very concerned.
Sometimes the origin of a love affair may be very simple, maybe just picking up your pen, maybe just liking the same book, or even just looking back accidentally, it may make people fall in love. When a person starts to care about another person, perhaps love has quietly arrived.
Everyone understands these principles, and because of this, they have to sigh that Lin Boyuan has good means! The people in the palace have been struggling for two or three years without any results, but Lin Boyuan has been patient for a long time. If he doesn't take action, it's fine, but once he does, it's amazing.
"No matter what, let's send him away first. After all, it's late at night." The queen lowered her eyes and thought for a moment and said.
If Emperor Jingren took a nap at this time and had a fragrant dream, and then woke up to see the elegant and refined Lin Zhuangyuan sitting at the desk in front of him, dozing off or looking tired, he might feel even more pity for him.
Although the Queen is also everyone's enemy, she has been the Queen for many years and has not yet conquered the Emperor. She cannot be considered a strong enemy for the time being. Lin Boyuan is the opponent that they must get rid of as a matter of urgency.
At this moment, Eunuch Lian and the Empress were unprecedentedly united. Eunuch Lian knocked on the door and came in. Seeing that Emperor Jingren was drowsy, he immediately took out the refreshing oil from his pocket and quickly applied it on his sleeves. He waved his hands and a cool breath came out. He walked quickly to the desk, waved his sleeves, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Empress is here."
Emperor Jingren was surrounded by a cool breath, and he became much more sober. When he heard the word "empress", he hurriedly said, "Please come in."
Unlike Concubine Shu, Emperor Jingren had great respect for the Empress.
The queen walked into the imperial study room with a dignified manner. Seeing that there were people around, she bowed to Emperor Jingren and said softly, "Your Majesty and I agreed yesterday to help you take care of your body. Today, I saw that you have not rested so late, and I am a little worried. Your Majesty, staying up late will hurt your qi and blood."
Emperor Jingren then realized that it was already past midnight, and if he didn't rest, he would have to go to the morning court. He put down the half-read paper in his hand, his eyes fell on Lin Boyuan, and he said to Eunuch Lian: "It's getting late, send Lord Lin back home."
Eunuch Lian nodded in agreement and said to Lin Boyuan, who looked unwilling, "Imperial Censor Lin, please come this way."
Lin Boyuan looked at the trouble-making queen with hatred, and could only bow his head to express his gratitude, then followed Eunuch Lian out of the imperial study.
In the imperial study, the queen strode onto the stage, stood in front of the desk and said, "Although the emperor looks a little tired today, the worry between his brows seems to have eased a lot. But what good thing has happened?"
Emperor Jingren nodded and said, "The matter I talked to the Queen about yesterday has taken a turn for the better today, and it is precisely because of Lin Boyuan. This person is talented and can write good articles. The most rare thing is that he is not just an embroidered pillow who can only write articles. Regarding the new policy, I only have an idea, but he has already thought it through so thoroughly!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the paper on the desk and told the queen.
"This... memorial is a bit too hasty." The Queen said calmly, "I don't understand the major affairs of the court, but I do understand some rules. There is no way to convince the civil and military officials with something like this. Why not have someone copy a standard memorial, and have the Ministry of Public Administration present it to Your Majesty the next day, so that all the civil and military officials can take a look?"
"Lin Boyuan said that he was afraid that the Tongzhengsi would suppress the memorial, so he presented it directly." Emperor Jingren sighed. This kind of thing happened frequently. He wanted to rectify it, but it was not easy to deal with too many things at once, so he could only deal with the important ones first. The Tongzhengsi would not dare to hide the important memorials, and with the Jinyiwei there, he could know many things without going through the Tongzhengsi, so this was not the first place to be touched.
"Your Majesty is tired," the Queen said with a smile, "If it is something that Your Majesty does not know, then the Tongzhengsi will suppress it. For something that Your Majesty already knows, and He ordered the Tongzhengsi to copy the memorial written according to the procedures, how dare they suppress it and not report it?"
"That's great." Emperor Jingren rubbed his temples and felt that he was indeed a little tired. He couldn't even think of such a simple thing and needed a good rest.
"As for this Lin Zhuangyuan..." the Queen said, "He is a man who gets things done. Wouldn't it be better to put him in the right position than the Censorate? If he is an official who cares about the people, what he wants most in his heart should be to do something for the people personally, right?"
Emperor Jingren nodded, thinking that the Queen's words were very reasonable. He nodded and said, "Well, after the new policy is finalized, you can let Lin Boyuan be responsible for the implementation of the new policy. You can take this opportunity to promote your official position and find someone you can trust to do this. Not bad."
The queen smiled with satisfaction and advised the emperor to take care of himself, go to rest first, and think about it tomorrow. When Lin Boyuan goes down to work, will there be a chance to see Emperor Jingren again? Probably, but he won't have to go to the court every day like now.
Emperor Jingren and the empress walked all the way to the Qifeng Palace. The summer night was not very cold, just a little dewy. The empress put a cloak on him, and the emperor and empress held hands, which felt quite good.
Today's Qifeng Palace is different from the past. In the past, it was dignified and solemn. Today, everything from the curtains to the bedding is warm-colored, which gives a warm feeling. Emperor Jingren was a little tired, and seeing this arrangement, he felt that it was time to sleep. After washing up, he quickly lay down on the bed. Seeing the queen undressing and sleeping beside him, Emperor Jingren smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty," the Queen stretched out her hand and gently rubbed Emperor Jingren's temple, saying in a very soothing voice, "Although it is said that you dream about what you think about during the day, the person you dream about at night may just be the person you see most during the day. Your Majesty must not take it seriously."
"Isn't it Lin Zhuangyuan who is the person I see most during the day? Why do I dream about him?" Emperor Jingren felt very comfortable and closed his eyes and said, "Could it be that the Queen wants me to dream about you?"
"What if it is?" Although the Queen's voice was a little rough, it sounded very reassuring.
"I will dream about the Queen." Emperor Jingren smiled, he was a little happy.
"If I dreamt that I was the top scholar, I would be very angry."
"If you keep saying that, I'm really going to dream about him." Emperor Jingren turned over and hugged the queen, kissed her gently on the cheek, and whispered in a daze, "I will try my best to dream about Jinyi."
After saying that, he fell into a deep sleep. He was really very sleepy.