“Young lady Leng, Duke Lin said that the young master Lin had a small spat with you, so you sent someone to Dali Temple to file a complaint against him. Is that true?”
“Your Majesty, Duke Lin is not the party involved. If you summon Young Master Lin and ask him, you will know what happened.”
“Eunuch Li, summon Young Master Lin to the hall as well.”
“Yes!”
Eunuch Li walked to the door and shouted in a raspy voice, “Summon, Young, Master, Lin, to, the, hall!”
Then, two guards escorted a plump figure, who slowly walked towards the steps and gradually entered the palace hall.
“Lin Hongtao pays his respects to His Majesty. Long live His Majesty, long live, long live, long live!”
Lin Hongtao, being too fat, found it very difficult to bow to the Emperor. He slightly squatted down, lost his balance, and fell backward, landing heavily on the ground.
“With a ripping sound.”
Lin Hongtao’s trousers tore open, exposing a patch of flesh on his buttocks. The sudden contact with the cold ground sent a shiver down to his very core.
Seeing his son in such a state, Duke Lin’s face turned as black as Bao Gong’s. His son had utterly disgraced him, especially in front of the Emperor, acting so rudely.
The Emperor cast a casual glance at Lin Hongtao, his imperial brows furrowing slightly. Just as the rumors said, this Lin Hongtao was truly a good-for-nothing.
However, the more useless Lin Zhenfei’s son was, the more it benefited him, making it easier to find fault with Duke Lin’s mansion.
Only Leng Ruo Li and Yan Song could barely suppress their laughter.
“You can answer from where you are sitting on the ground,” the Emperor said, seeing Lin Hongtao’s predicament, to prevent him from further embarrassing himself. He did not allow him to stand up.
“Lin Hongtao, why did you have a disagreement with young lady Leng today?”
The Emperor’s piercing gaze fixed on him, and he asked the question with a cold tone.
“Your Majesty, her ready-to-wear clothing store opened today. I wanted to buy a suit of clothes from her shop, but she told me she had none. Fine, if she had none, I asked them to make me one on the spot. Unexpectedly, this woman charged me a thousand taels of silver for a suit of clothes! Isn’t this a rip-off?”
Lin Hongtao was also quite clever, knowing what he could and couldn’t say, hoping to get away with it.
Upon hearing this, everyone’s lips twitched. A thousand taels for a suit of clothes was indeed quite expensive.
“Young lady Leng, is what Lin Hongtao said true?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, this humble subject did say that, but the matter did not unfold as he described. Please allow this humble subject to explain in detail.”
“Very well, you may speak.”
“Today, my ready-to-wear clothing store reopened. Through the efforts of myself and my staff, and with my good fortune, all the clothing in my store was sold out within two hours of opening. It was at that moment that Young Master Lin suddenly came to my store to buy clothes. I then told him that the clothes in the store were already sold out. If he needed clothes urgently, I would have someone measure him on the spot and have my staff work overtime through the night to rush his order. I specifically informed him that this custom-made outfit would cost a thousand taels of silver and that he could pick it up the next morning. However, he not only found my clothes too expensive but insisted that I make them for him that very day. After I refused, he, without a word, sent people in to smash my store. Your Majesty, would you not agree that this is going too far?”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at Lin Hongtao, asking, “Lin Hongtao, is this true?”
“Your… Your Majesty, it’s because this woman is too outrageous! A thousand taels for a suit of clothes, what is she, a robber?”
Lin Hongtao lowered his head, suppressing his anger, and said.
“Young Master Lin, you find a thousand taels for a suit of clothes outrageous, but it was not outrageous for you to collect protection fees of one hundred and fifty taels for a month’s income of only fifty taels from Jinxiu Pavilion. And then you sent people to smash my shop, that’s not outrageous either.”
Leng Ruo Li spoke repeatedly, her voice rising a few decibels.
“Leng Ruo Li, I did smash your shop, but didn’t our Duke Lin’s mansion compensate you with a hundred thousand taels? Why did you still send people to Dali Temple to accuse me?”
In his anger, Lin Hongtao jumped up, pointing his finger furiously at Leng Ruo Li’s face. The large tear in his trousers suddenly became even more ventilated.
Duke Lin’s face turned black as a pot. His son was truly a pig. After dealing with this matter, he would immediately return to the mansion and favor some concubines; he really needed to have more sons.
Yan Song, however, watched with a smile in his eyes, stroking his nose. He glanced at the two arguing, barely suppressing his laughter.
“The person who filed the complaint at the Dali Temple Procuratorate was not sent by me. Do not wrong me. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Lord Yan.” Leng Ruo Li said.
“Indeed, it was not Miss Leng who filed the complaint, but the guards of Prince Leng who reported the matter on Miss Leng’s behalf.” Yan Song personally corroborated Leng Ruo Li’s words.
Lin Hongtao immediately shut his mouth. Prince Leng was someone he, Lin Hongtao, could not afford to offend.
“Very well, Lin Hongtao. Your previous oppression of the people, forced abduction of women, and illegal collection of protection fees from merchants were already grave offenses. I spared your life out of consideration for the Empress, yet you still showed no remorse. This time, you also vandalized young lady Leng’s shop. Considering you are Duke Lin’s only son and the Empress’s only nephew, your life is spared, but you cannot escape punishment.”
“Guards! Drag Lin Hongtao out and give him fifty heavy planks. Then, imprison him in the imperial prison for one month.”
Lin Hongtao was so terrified that his legs went weak. He sat down on the ground with a plop, and a stream of urine flowed down his crotch, filling the Emperor’s bedchamber with the stench of urine.
Seeing his son in such an embarrassing state, Duke Lin wished the ground would open up and swallow him. Being the father of this scoundrel was too humiliating.
Even the Emperor, sitting not far from them, smelled the urine.
“This is too disgusting! Quickly, drag Lin Hongtao out. And clean my bedchamber!” the Emperor roared at Eunuch Li.
“Yes!”
Then, Lin Hongtao was carried away by several young eunuchs.
“Young lady Leng, remain. Everyone else, you may leave.”
Duke Lin gnashed his teeth, shot Leng Ruo Li a furious glance, and left the Emperor’s palace with Yan Song. Even Eunuch Li was called out by the Emperor.
After they had left, the Emperor said to her with a benevolent smile, “Young lady Leng, how is the treatment for the Empress Dowager’s consumption progressing?”
“This humble subject replies to Your Majesty. Although the Empress Dowager’s consumption has been controlled, she still requires continued treatment…” Leng Ruo Li said in a steady and unhurried tone.
The Emperor nodded. If his guess was correct, this young lady Leng was the Phoenix Star mentioned by the Old Immortal. He wondered if she was truly as extraordinarily skilled in medicine, wise, and kind-hearted as the Old Immortal claimed.
The Emperor pondered for a moment, then looked up and re-examined Leng Ruo Li. She stood tall and straight, exuding confidence. Her apricot eyes were clear and pure, without a trace of impurity, but her face was too ugly.
Otherwise, he would have bestowed her upon Han’er as his royal consort. The combination of the Phoenix Star and the Ziwei Star would have been a match made in heaven.
“Very well, I have nothing else. You may leave the palace.”
The Emperor waved his hand at Leng Ruo Li, signaling her to leave. The stench of urine pervaded his palace, and he could no longer tolerate it. He needed to have the floor cleaned immediately.
Leng Ruo Li: “……”
She was utterly bewildered.