Chapter 80: Chapter 80
Inside the delivery room, accompanied by a loud cry, the little Lin Yi, resembling a tiny bun, was successfully born. Straining to take a glance at the wrinkled little bundle in her arms.
Hmm... Although a bit red and wrinkled, whether it was Princess Zhaohua's imagination or not, she felt she saw the shadow of her own mother-in-law on this little face.
Realizing this, the princess finally seemed to set down a heavy weight from her heart. Amidst the chorus of joyful voices, she promptly closed her eyes and fainted.
Unfortunately, the happiness only lasted for this one day.
Many years later, Princess Zhaohua would sorrowfully realize.
That illusion was ultimately just an illusion.
The newly born Lin Yi was indeed adorably pure and lovely, but as he grew older, only the eyebrows and eyes carried a slight trace of An Ning.
In short, regarding his beauty, although he was considered excellent, he still couldn't compare to his father’s childhood looks.
As for intelligence, if Lin Jinghuai needed to read a complex classical text two to three times as a child, poor little Yi had to read it at least four times.
Regarding the same classical texts, her level was about the same as their father’s childhood.
Even so, it was enough to make the princess extremely happy. Before going to bed at night, she would never forget to hold the soft and fragrant little girl tightly and give her a fierce kiss.
“As expected, she has to take after her mother! Smart!” After washing up and lying in bed, Zhaohua couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
Beside her, Lin Jinghuai, who had already been promoted to a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, instinctively nodded in agreement.
Having served in court for many years, although everyone praised him as promising and extraordinarily intelligent, Lin Jinghuai knew very well that his son's intellect was still far behind that of his wife.
Over the years, every dilemma that even he and the ministers in court found difficult to solve could always be resolved most suitably by his wife.
Even the emperor often expressed to him how could such a wise person like Lady Qionghua exist in this world.
An Ning was now a second-rank official's wife, a title personally granted by imperial decree.
This rank was several levels higher than her son, who worked hard in government and got up earlier than the roosters every day.
There was a precedent in this dynasty: only families of officials ranked second-rank and above could receive such an honor.
Such an unusual matter had drawn some sour remarks in court before. If not for An Ning’s seniority—being seven or eight years older than the current emperor—some of the speculation might have been even worse.
Unfortunately, the current emperor on the dragon throne was not like the late emperor; calling him autocratic would not be an exaggeration.
He never paid attention to petty complaints from literary scholars. Compared to the late emperor’s kindness, this one was truly ruthless, even punishing whole families or clans for a single misstep, destroying reputations thoroughly.
No one knew exactly where he heard these slanders, but the emperor had already exploded with rage during the morning court session. Not only were several officials dismissed, but some gossiping noblewomen were also reprimanded personally by the empress, losing their official titles and nearly their lifelong dignity.
They were even blamed and despised by their own children and relatives.
Still, the emperor was not satisfied.
The next day, he personally drafted an imperial edict, lavishly praising Lady Qionghua from start to finish and bestowing numerous rewards. At that time, Emperor Qianyuan himself wrote a high compliment: “A true lady among women, worthy of the nation’s esteem.”
It was at this moment that most sensible people in court finally understood why this lady was so favored by the sovereign.
It was not because of the modest Lin Jinghuai, who was favored by the emperor’s heart, but because of the lady herself.
As for the clever ones, when they learned about the young Lin master’s life, they already guessed.
Ask yourself, how clever could someone be who never attended formal schooling but taught his younger brother, a provincial graduate, and his son, a top imperial exam scorer, all by self-study?
Calling him a once-in-a-century prodigy wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Now, many families in the capital, including prominent aristocratic clans—especially those whose descendants were failing or slipping in status—could only watch the old Lin family’s door and feel sour to the roots of their teeth.
Just ask, for an ordinary merchant family, how could they have such absurd luck to trample on the Lin family ?
However, with this episode, even though the current emperor later bestowed many rewards and special treatment on the lady, no one dared to say a word of gossip.
In fact, when calculating the timing of these rewards, they coincided with some brilliant strategies in court.
Especially last year, when the great flood in Jinzhou destroyed countless houses and farmlands, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Such a severe flood would usually cause large-scale unrest or at least prolonged turmoil in previous years.
However, in reality, from receiving the news to distributing relief and resettling refugees, the court’s response was unusually swift and orderly, as if it had been pre-calculated. In less than a month, the number of people unable to survive at the city gates had drastically decreased to almost none.
Even more remarkable, a great plague usually follows a disaster, but this time, the emperor seemed to have been prepared in advance. The epidemic was eradicated at its source before it could spread.
Only then did everyone fully admit defeat.
As for women meddling in politics? Not to mention how many stubborn and outdated officials remained in the court, this lady neither seized their positions nor competed for power with them. She bore no royal offspring, so the possibility of a hen ruling the roost was nearly zero.
When difficult problems arose, she could still propose timely and effective strategies, calming the emperor’s anger and preventing disasters from affecting these unfortunate officials.
Who in the court today would be foolish enough to do something that harms others and themselves, risking demotion or punishment from above?
Do they think their official hats are too secure? Or that the emperor’s temper is too mild?
Therefore, now, seeing another basketful of rewards sent to the Lin residence, even at the annual banquet, in front of civil and military officials and many noblewomen, the emperor personally granted fine wine—this year’s tribute of golden Persian grapes, of which there were fewer than ten jars in total.
Even the empress and consorts did not receive such treatment.
But the young Lin official had already tasted it several times while accompanying the emperor on tours.
It was said to taste quite good.
Wearing the grand makeup of a second-rank official’s wife, An Ning just wanted to rise and express her thanks when the emperor, nearly forty, waved his hand to stop her. His usually stern gaze was rare softened as he spoke kindly to the woman about to stand:
“During such a fine festival, it is the time for sovereign and ministers to rejoice together. Lady, there is no need for such formality!”
The officials who had just kowtowed three times and nine times, diligently thanking over a cold imperial dish, were left speechless.