Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 106

Chapter 106
Extra 1
Lin Wan and Zhu Xi (2)

Zhu Xi first met Lin Wan at a poetry gathering outside the palace. He disguised himself to meet Xu Wen, who had been secretly removed from the list due to false accusations. Inside the pavilion full of music, candidates who had pa$sed to the capital and the children of famous families gathered, drinking, chatting, and reciting poems. The results had yet to be announced, but the candidates who had studied hard for many years were proud as if they had already seen their names on the list.

The sixteen-year-old Zhu Xi sat in a wheelchair, pushed by the guards, and slowly passed through the noisy crowd. When he passed the waterside pavilion where the girls were gathering, he heard melodious qin music amid the laughter of the young girls.

The music was as slow as flowing water and seemed to echo in his heart.

Zhu Xi looked toward the sound and saw a half-hidden, hazy figure behind the landscape screen. He could not see her face but only saw a pair of white jade-like hands reaching out from behind the screen and slowly plucking the qin strings. She wore a pair of gold and jade bracelets on her wrists, making them look so thin that they breakable.

Zhu Xi asked the guard beside him: “Who is playing the qin?”

He went out of the palace to attend the poetry meeting. The day before, his men had checked the invited guests. The guard looked at the pair of gold and jade bracelets on the girl’s hand and said, “It should be the eldest daughter of the Lin family, Lin Wan.”

Zhu Xi was a little surprised: “Teacher’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

Zhu Xi was interested. He retracted his gaze and said: “Teacher’s qin skills are making people commit suicide, but I didn’t expect that the daughter he taught could play it well.”

Zhu Xi had no woman around him. It was the first time the guard had heard him praise the girl. He couldn’t help asking, “Your Highness, do you want to invite her over?”

Zhu Xi knew that he had no hope of standing up again in this life, so he didn’t plan to harm other girls. He said lightly: “No need. What’s the point of inviting her? Do you want to make her lose face and perform before me?”

The guard heard this and shut up tactfully.

Zhu Xi didn’t take it to heart at the time, but he occasionally recalled the short music, jade-like hands, and the girl’s name when he was calm.

Lin Wan.

Lin Wan.

“King…King…”

As he stared at the snow, Zhu Xi was lost in thought on the frosty palace road. Xu Wen called out several times before he heard him. Seeing him blink and finally return to his senses, Xu Wen asked curiously, “I wonder what bothered you? Why don’t you tell me?”

Zhu Xi breathed cold air and said slowly, “Nothing, just an old story.”

He didn’t want to talk, so Xu Wen didn’t ask anymore. He looked at the pouring heavy snow for a while and said, “Don’t be stubborn when you enter the hall later. Be sure to ask someone to burn the stove more vigorously. You must sympathize with the young Emperor even if you don’t care about yourself. If you pass on the disease to the Emperor, I’m afraid recovering will be difficult.”

When Xu Wen suddenly started talking, Zhu Xi shook his head: “You had turned to a nanny from an official, and you are talking too much.”

Xu Wen smiled and said, “You don’t have many people around you. If I don’t say this, no one else will. Marrying a princess is the right thing to do if you find me annoying. At worst, you can find two caring maids to stay in your room. It’s always different with a woman. My wife asks me about my well-being every day. The most pleasant thing in the world is when the candlelight goes out, and the quilt is covered.”

He was obviously a clean civil servant, but he didn’t shy away from discussing family matters. Zhu Xi had a headache when he heard, “Okay, why didn’t you let your wife sew your mouth shut?”

As they talked, they had arrived in front of Wuying Palace. Lin Wan did not enter the palace. She stood in the snow holding Zhu Yu’s hand, waiting for Zhu Xi, who was a few steps behind. She looked down at the red-clothed Zhu Xi in a wheelchair, her eyes swept across his white knuckles and said, “Your Highness, thank you for today. But it’s cold, and the Emperor hasn’t rest well in the past two days. Your Highness should let him come back early to rest tonight.”

Since Zhu Yu ascended the throne, Lin Wan rarely showed her indulgence and love as a mother. Today’s words were rare.

Zhu Yu was tired but had always been taught that he should not slack off as an Emperor, so he never mentioned it. After hearing Lin Wan say this, he looked up at her with some surprise and then happily held her hand tighter. Even if he was wearing a yellow robe, he was just a child who couldn’t leave his mother.

In the eyes of others, Zhu Xi was the regent and now held the power. As the Empress Dowager, Lin Wan should flatter him more, but she didn’t expect her tone to be less enthusiastic.

Xu Wen looked at the two of them back and forth and felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange.

However, Zhu Xi did not care about Lin Wan’s att*tude. He nodded slightly and responded respectfully to Lin Wan’s words: “Mother is right, I understand.”

After watching Zhu Yu and Zhu Xi enter the palace, Lin Wan returned to Renshou Palace alone. She rested for a while, called the female officer in the Clothing Bureau, and was busy with the matter that Zhu Yu had told her: making clothes for Zhu Xi.

When the officer heard Lin Wan say she wanted to make clothes for the two Kings, she felt slightly confused. King Yong had established his palace and probably would leave the capital at the end of this month to go to his fiefdom. The journey was long, so naturally, he had prepared winter clothes early, so why did he need to trouble the palace?

King Chu originally lived in the palace. More than ten sets of new clothes for this winter were made and sent to him early, so there was no need to worry about not having clothes to wear. However, the most crucial thing in the palace was to be able to play dumb, so although she was confused, she didn’t ask.

Looking at Lin Wan on the couch, she asked, “If you want to keep warm, all kinds of fur cloaks are naturally the best. I just don’t know what kind of fur you want to use. There is tiger, wolf, bear, fox, rabbit, and mink fur in the warehouse.”

Lin Wan was good at embroidery but not proficient in making clothes. She asked softly, “Which kind of fur is better?”

Her voice was soft and comfortable. The dresser flipped through the book, smiled, and said, “Last year, the vassal state sent two white wolf skins and two white bear skins. The hair is thick and soft, which should be very good for making cloaks.”

Lin Wan said: “Then make a white wolf fur cloak and a white bear fur cloak for King Chu and King Yong. The weather is getting colder now. Please spend some time and make them as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

Lin Wan said, “Pick some other materials to make two pairs of thick knee pads.”

The officer asked: “One pair for each person?”

Lin Wan lowered her eyes, covered the sleeve stove in her hand, and said softly, “Your Majesty sympathizes with King Chu’s leg disease. Send those knee pads to King Chu’s palace, saying it was His Majesty’s reward.”

The officer replied: “Yes.”