Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 219 When will Your Majesty become my woman?

The carriage stopped at the foot of the imperial city wall.

The imperial guards at the gate recognized Lin Chen's carriage, and the leading captain ordered the city gate to be opened.

Then he jogged up to greet him, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said:

"Your Highness, His Majesty should be in the Imperial Study reviewing memorials at this time!"

Lin Chen lifted the curtain of the carriage window, took out a gold note from his pocket, and casually tossed it over.

"You've worked hard. It's hot outside. Please have some cool tea with your brothers."

The captain quickly accepted the gold notes with both hands, his face beaming with joy.

"Thank you for the generous gift, Your Highness! Please come inside—"

The palace path was long and straight, and the bluestone slabs were bleached white by the sun.

Lin Chen sat in the carriage, moving slowly, pondering what he would say later.

After passing the Hall of Supreme Harmony and through a hanging flower gate, the Imperial Study comes into view.

Qingluan, the Empress's personal maid, stood at the entrance. Upon seeing Lin Chen's carriage, she curtsied.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is currently reviewing memorials. I will inform him immediately."

"No need." Lin Chen stepped down from the carriage, walked straight to the door, and went inside.

"I'm familiar with His Majesty, there's no need to be so formal."

Qingluan opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't stop her, and indeed, she couldn't stop her.

The imperial study was filled with a faint scent of ambergris.

Empress Zhao Lingyang sat behind her desk, holding a vermilion brush in her hand, looking down at a memorial.

Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Lin Chen. Her brows furrowed slightly.

"The Prince of Zhenbei is becoming more and more casual in entering my study."

Lin Chen chuckled and dragged a chair over to sit down opposite the desk.

"Doesn't this show that we have a good relationship? If Your Majesty likes it, I'll kneel down to come in next time?"

The Empress rolled her eyes at Lin Chen, put down her vermilion brush, and said, "Speak, what is it?"

"I'd like to chat with Your Majesty about the weather in Jiangnan," Lin Chen said with a calm smile.

"Recently, the Jiangnan region... is covered with dark clouds, it looks like a heavy rain is coming."

The Empress's eyes narrowed. "The Cui family?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Lin Chen chuckled lightly.

"Cui Yuanming has been making quite a few moves lately, contacting the garrison troops of Nan Yue and Bei Shuo, as well as gathering clans. It seems he's planning something."

The Empress was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"Of course we should kill him." Lin Chen shrugged, his tone relaxed.

"The Cui family has bullied the Lin family time and time again. If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll really think I'm easygoing."

"I plan to have Yuan Tiangang lead some men and a thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders to eradicate this malignant tumor from Dayan."

"Are you serious?" The Empress frowned. "The Cui family's thousand-year-old foundation is not so easy to deal with."

"Its foundation spans a thousand years, that's true, but it's also bred a bunch of parasites," Lin Chen scoffed.

"Those guards of the Cui family are good at bullying ordinary people, but if they really run into the Great Snow Dragon Riders, they're no match for them. As for the experts they keep..."

He paused, a cold smile playing on his lips:

"My men are the ones who will quell any dissent."

The Empress looked at Lin Chen's confident demeanor and felt a mix of emotions.

She knew the Choi family was restless, but as royalty, they had to maintain a balance.

Now, Lin Chen wants to destroy the Cui family, and he has a plan and actions in place.

She had no reason to stop it, nor could she stop it.

A variety of thoughts flashed through her mind, and the Empress pondered:

"What do you need me to do?"

"Two things." Lin Chen held up two fingers.

"First, give me a written order allowing me to act expediently, as I still need to mobilize the Northern Tiger Army."

Secondly, we hope Your Majesty will consider a reasonable explanation, so that the other four families don't feel that the court is going to take action against them.

"You certainly know how to give me a hard time!" the Empress sighed softly.

"The explanation is easy: the Cui family is guilty of treason, and the evidence is conclusive. It's just that the other four families... will probably still be uneasy."

"Then we'll see what His Majesty can do." Lin Chen smiled.

"Give them a warning, then give them a treat, so they know that the royal family isn't interfering with them because they're behaving themselves."

Anyone who follows the Cui family's example will suffer the same fate.

"I have no intention of harming them!" the Empress snorted.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later!" Lin Chen smiled meaningfully.

"However, this time I'll just pretend I don't like their family, and I'll take the blame for being the bad guy."

Your Majesty, you must understand that my large family needs to keep things clean and tidy before we can live in peace.

The Empress gave Lin Chen a deep look, picked up her brush, wrote a decree, affixed the imperial seal, and handed it to Lin Chen:

"Take it, but remember, try not to harm the innocent. Jiangnan is the granary of Dayan, and it cannot be disturbed."

"Don't worry." Lin Chen took the imperial edict and put it away.

"The Prince's Mansion will provide double compensation to the civilians who are accidentally injured, and will pay for the reconstruction of the damaged houses and shops."

The Empress nodded, her expression softening somewhat:

"You're quite thoughtful."

"Of course," Lin Chen said with a smile.

"After all, I'll be taking the ladies to Jiangnan later, so I can't leave a mess behind."

The Empress was amused by Lin Chen's words, "You certainly think ahead."

"That's right." Lin Chen leaned back. "Life is short, so we should enjoy it while we can."

The two chatted for a while about the current situation in Dayan, when the Empress suddenly asked:

"Is my elder sister settling in well at the Prince's residence?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Is Your Majesty worried?"

"She is my elder sister," the Empress said softly.

"Although her marriage to you was a political alliance, I hope she can live a good life."

"Don't worry," Lin Chen said solemnly.

"Her grandmother and mother treated her very well, and she got along well with the ladies. Everyone liked her."

The Empress nodded: "That's good."

She paused, then asked, "And what about you? Are you good to her?"

Lin Chen laughed: "Your Majesty, what a question... How could my own wife not be good?"

"You're so glib," the Empress scolded playfully, but her eyes held amusement.

"However, I trust you. Although you are unreliable, you are indeed good to your own women."

Lin Chen suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice:

"Then when will Your Majesty become my woman?"

The Empress blushed, grabbed the memorial from the table, and threw it at him:

"roll!"

Lin Chen caught the memorial and said with a grin:

"Don't be angry, I was just kidding. But seriously, Your Majesty looks really good when you blush."

The Empress, embarrassed and angry, said, "If you continue to talk nonsense, I will have you thrown out."

"No, no, no." Lin Chen raised his hands in surrender. "I was wrong, I'll be serious."

Lin Chen sat back down in his chair, cleared his throat,

"Your Majesty, this is my newlywed brother-in-law's first time visiting his parents' home. You can't just refuse to even offer him a meal, can you?"

The Empress was left speechless, both amused and exasperated by Lin Chen's "newlywed brother-in-law's" excuse of "returning to his parents' home."

"You certainly know how to build connections."

"That's right," Lin Chen said matter-of-factly.

"Mingyue married me, so I'm your brother-in-law. It's only natural for a brother-in-law to come to his sister-in-law's house for a meal."

The Empress sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll let you stay for dinner. Qingluan, serve the meal."

Qingluan responded from outside the door, "Yes."