flstandardbreds Chapter 1051 You don't want your sister-in-law to know either, do you?
Chapter 1051 You don't want your sister-in-law to know either, do you?
Upon hearing Li Che's question, Qiu Bai inwardly groaned.
As expected, I couldn't avoid it.
His Majesty knows everything about the Qiu family's past more than ten years ago, so how could he not know what's going on in the capital?
They clearly knew, and were just waiting for me to confess!
He dared not conceal the truth any longer and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, yesterday it was Prince Yan who summoned me, saying he had official business to discuss, and insisted on taking me to the 'Heaven on Earth' establishment. I couldn't refuse..."
"Heaven on Earth?" Li Che raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged, but he was overjoyed. "Tell me more about Heaven on Earth!"
Sweat beaded on Qiu Bai's forehead, and he could only mumble, "Your Highness mainly went to drink and listen to music... I dared not drink too much, I was just accompanying you."
Looking at Qiu Bai's aggrieved expression, Li Che almost wrote "I was forced" on his face.
He understood perfectly well what official business Li Lin could possibly be asking him; he was clearly just taking Qiu Bai out for drinks and brothels!
But he remained expressionless, simply grunting and waving his hand: "Alright, go down. I grant you a day off today. Go home and get some rest. If you doze off again while on duty, I will punish you."
Qiu Bai felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly slipped away.
Li Che stood up, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.
He straightened his robes and said to Huai'en, "Let's go, leave the palace and go to the Prince of Yan's residence. I'll go see my fourth brother."
Huai En understood immediately and went downstairs to prepare clothes for Li Che.
. . . . . .
Afternoon, Prince Yan's residence.
Li Lin yawned, rubbing his slightly throbbing temples, and sauntered out of the bedchamber.
I did drink a few too many drinks at the Heaven on Earth restaurant yesterday, and the dance performed by those Hu women was really... cough cough. Anyway, I went to bed a little late.
Qiu Bai did a good job keeping company, better than Wang Sanchun and his bunch of idiots; at least he didn't go on a drunken rampage.
Heaven on Earth is truly a wonderful place. I don't know how Lao Liu's brain works; how could he come up with so many ingenious ideas?
It's fun, I love playing it, I'm going to play again tonight!
Feeling unsatisfied, Li Lin had just stepped into the front hall to get something to eat when he sensed something was off.
But the steward, maids, and guards on duty all seemed too afraid to utter a sound.
"What's going on? Is this some kind of ghost?" Li Lin muttered as he stepped into the main hall.
Li Che, dressed as an ordinary wealthy young master, was sitting comfortably in his favorite rosewood armchair, legs crossed.
He was holding a bright yellow orange in his hand, peeling it slowly and deliberately.
Huai En stood by with his hands at his sides, giving Li Lin a smile with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
"Oh, you're awake?" Li Che looked up at him with a smile on his face.
Li Lin rolled his eyes, yawned, and walked over, sitting down in the chair next to Li Che with an air of nonchalance.
He then casually scooped up the orange that Li Che had peeled in half, took a segment, and popped it into his mouth, the juice overflowing.
Upon seeing Li Che arrive in casual clothes, Li Lin knew that he hadn't come to see him for anything important, and naturally switched to a brotherly relationship mode.
"Hmm...it's a bit sour. Why aren't you in your Hall of Mental Cultivation reviewing memorials? What are you doing here?" Li Lin mumbled between chewing an orange.
Li Che wasn't annoyed that the orange was snatched from him. Instead, he laughed and said, "What are you talking about? All land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the realm are his subjects. Isn't your palace my home? What's wrong with me going back to my own home?"
"Come on, you!" Li Lin swallowed the orange and waved his hand dismissively. "Tell me, you don't come here unless you have a reason. What are you planning to do this time?"
"Let me make this clear first: I'm fine with going to war or supervising construction at the Ministry of Works, but I can't do those bookish jobs."
Li Che didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Where are my sister-in-law and Xian'er? I haven't seen them."
Li Lin replied, "Your sister-in-law took Xian'er to Baiyun Temple outside the city to pray for blessings. She said she would stay for three days to have some peace and quiet."
As he spoke, he glanced at Li Che somewhat guiltily: "Why are you asking them?"
Li Che exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something, and laughed like a fox who had stolen a chicken: "No wonder... Fourth Brother, you were so 'carefree' yesterday."
Li Lin's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm: "What do you mean by 'cool'? I stayed home yesterday to cultivate my mind and went to bed early!"
"Is that so?" Li Che didn't press further, but instead said, "I had nothing to do today, and I realized that it's been a long time since we brothers got together by ourselves. I was thinking of inviting you and my tenth brother to have a drink and catch up."
Li Lin looked at him suspiciously: "That's it?"
"Of course not." Li Che smiled innocently. "There's also a small matter of state that I'd like to discuss with Fourth Brother."
Li Lin sighed, leaned back, and gave a knowing look: "Just say what you want to say, why beat around the bush?"
Li Che sat up straight, his expression becoming slightly more serious: "Fourth Brother, as you know, the new policies of the court are not being implemented smoothly at the lower levels, which is quite worrying for me."
“There are always some powerful families here who secretly comply with my demands and find ways to delay the new policies.”
"In addition, the war in the south had just ended, and there was a plague in Qiongzhou. People were inevitably panicked, and their livelihoods recovered slowly."
"After much thought, I realized that simply issuing official documents and sending imperial envoys would not be enough."
"I must personally go down and tour the four directions with the majesty of the emperor, to reprimand those who need it and to appease those who need it, so that the people can see the court's determination and those evil spirits will restrain themselves."
Li Lin listened and nodded, then casually grabbed a grape from the fruit plate and popped it into his mouth: "This is a good thing. With your prestige, you can at least keep the officials in check and prevent them from causing trouble for a while. As for the court, don't worry..."
He paused abruptly as he spoke, and stopped chewing the grapes.
Then she turned to look at Li Che, her eyes widening: "Wait! What will happen to the capital if you leave?!"
Li Che rubbed his hands together, a sincere smile spreading across his face: "That's why there always needs to be someone in the capital who can keep things in check."
"After much deliberation, among all the civil and military officials, only you, Fourth Brother, are of high moral character and noble status, making you the most suitable candidate and the one who can gain the trust of all the officials!"
"This inspection tour will probably last at least half a year. The important task of overseeing the country will have to be entrusted to Fourth Brother again!"
Li Lin hadn't expected Li Che's map of the Yan Kingdom to be so long.
She nearly jumped off her chair, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "No! Absolutely not!"
"You know perfectly well that I can't stand those flowery, bureaucratic arguments. Last time you were gone for only half a month, and I sat in the Xuanzheng Hall every day listening to those people arguing. My head was about to explode. It was more tiring than fighting ten battles!"
"You're going to be gone for half a year this time? Do you want your fourth brother to grow gray hair prematurely and age prematurely?!"
Li Che also straightened his face: "Fourth Brother! What kind of talk is this? Third Brother isn't in the capital, and Tenth Brother has important business to attend to. If you don't do it, who will?"
Li Lin's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Let Cheng'er do it! He's the Crown Prince, and he'll have to take over sooner or later. Now is a good time for him to gain experience."
Li Che was amused by his words: "Cheng'er is only seven years old this year! A seven-year-old child overseeing the country? Fourth Brother, what were you doing when you were seven?"
Li Lin blurted out, "So what if I'm seven? I knew how to peek at the palace maids bathing when I was seven..."
He realized he had let something slip and hurriedly waved his hand, "Ahem... Anyway, I'm not doing it. I really can't do the job of regent."
Seeing that his gentle approach wasn't working, Li Che leaned back leisurely in his chair, crossed his legs again, and said slowly, "Alright, since Fourth Brother really doesn't want to, I, as his younger brother, can't force him. If you don't want to do it, then forget it."
Li Lin was taken aback, not expecting Li Che to be so agreeable today.
This isn't like him at all!
Alarm bells suddenly sounded in my heart.
Sure enough, Li Che changed the subject: "By the way, Fourth Brother, last night... the moonlight was beautiful, what were you doing?"
Li Lin's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Ah? No...nothing, I was just sleeping at home, conserving my energy."
"Sleeping at home?" Li Che's smile widened. He leaned forward and lowered his voice, "That can't be right, can it? I heard... Fourth Brother, you went on a clandestine trip yesterday to 'Heaven on Earth,' and you ordered six girls to keep you company, three of whom were even Hu women. Their dancing was... wow, Fourth Brother, you have such refined tastes! Waaah..."
The servants of the Prince's mansion watched as their prince suddenly sprang into action, covering the emperor's mouth with his hand.
Such a disrespectful scene immediately startled everyone, who lowered their heads and pretended not to see it.
"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting!" Li Lin said in a low voice, both anxious and ashamed.
He then glanced around nervously and saw that all the servants of the Prince's mansion standing in the hall had their heads down, which reassured him slightly.
Despite being the undisputed leader in the military, Li Lin has absolutely no real power at home.
If these servants were to hear Li Che's words, one of them would probably immediately go and tell the Princess Consort of Yan.
Li Che struggled to pry his hands away, took a breath, but his face still wore that infuriatingly smug smile:
"Fourth Brother, you don't want your wife to find out that you're sneaking off to drink and carouse in the middle of the night, do you?"
"Qiu Bai is such a traitor! I'm speechless!" Li Lin gritted his teeth, but he knew that the situation was hopeless.
Li Che calmly straightened his clothes and patted his elder brother's shoulder: "Fourth brother, now is the time to show your loyalty, courage and wisdom by overseeing the country and sharing its burdens."
"With you personally overseeing things, I can rest assured when I'm on patrol, can't I?"
"Don't worry, when my younger brother comes back, he'll definitely bring back local specialties for Fourth Brother to treat him well!"
Li Lin stared at him for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Six months! Six months at most! I'll get mad at you if it's even one day longer!"
"Deal!" Li Che clapped his hands and laughed, full of pride. "Shall we drink again tonight?"
Li Lin gritted his teeth and said, "Drink! Of course I'll drink! It's your treat, Heaven on Earth!"
Li Che was also somewhat tempted upon hearing this: "Taking Tenth Brother along? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with that?" Li Lin said nonchalantly. "In my Li family, which one of them didn't become intelligent at the age of ten? My tenth brother is already quite old."
Li Che immediately slammed his fist on the table: "Deal!"