C31

The streets that had been covered in snow were not as lively as usual, but there were still one or two sad people left in their homes. They had to run around in this world of ice and snow to earn a living. Luo Yi saw a big boss selling roasted sweet potatoes, his eyes lit up, and pulled Lin Ting's sleeves as they ran towards him.

Thinking that their business was not good, the moment the grandpa saw them, he immediately went up to welcome them. Then he opened the cover to reveal the sweet potato that was still steaming hot. He warmly greeted, "The sweet potato that has just been roasted is still warm. Here, one for you?"

The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes spread out the moment he raised his hand, quickly filling up this small piece of land in an overbearing and unreasonable manner. Luo Yi could not help but take a deep breath.

Luo Yi was anxious, she could not help but take a bite when she just received the sweet potato. As a result, she was scalded to the point of jumping, one hand continuously fanning his throat as she swallowed it with difficulty. In comparison, Lin Ting's movements were much more graceful. He first tore off the sweet potato skin slowly, then placed it to her lips and blew on it for a few breaths.

Unhappily, Luo Yi took another big bite, as if she was doing it, and then was scalded to the point of jumping again.

Lin Ting covered his lips with one hand and laughed.

Luo Yi was asking why she wanted to lie and say that she had eaten before even eating, but Lin Ting replied her irrelevant words with a much more serious expression than usual.

"Oh." Luo Yi curled her lips and replied.

"There's still that medicine …"

Then, without waiting for her to recover her senses, Lin Ting immediately frowned: "What happened to the medicine? "Are you sick?"

"None …" Luo Yi stretched out her tone as she replied in a disapproving tone: "It's because I couldn't sleep well earlier, so Tang Yuan gave me this medicine. But look, am I not done yet?"

"Alright, why do you still need to drink more medicine?" Lin Ting was unwilling to be dismissed by her in such a short time, and stubbornly insisted on asking for an answer, but unfortunately, this matter was not done by Luo Yi. As a result, the latter revealed a conflicted expression as his facial features scrunched together, "How would I know … "He said it was to protect himself …"

Luo Yi frowned: "Maybe it really has the effect of strengthening the body."

After saying that, when he saw that Lin Ting's brows were still knitted together, he could not help but let out a "Aiya" sound and went over. Anyway, he wouldn't harm me, right? "

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ting glared at him.

However, staring back at the three of them was a form of camaraderie that they had grown up in. They still had some trust in Tang Yuan, so Lin Ting was not worried about the medicine he gave them as he was afraid that something was hiding in Tang Yuan's heart. It was because he was afraid that they would be worried and refuse to say it out loud.

Lin Ting's footsteps stopped, causing him to have no choice but to stay where he was and mutter in a muffled voice, "Mmm."

She was actually a little unwilling, but the reason for this slight unwillingness was that even she herself could not explain it clearly. It was clear that she had done all that she could.

Moreover, this was an appointment she made with Lin Ting previously.

Luo Yi lowered her eyes, thinking back to yesterday, when Lin Ting had said "no" with a gloomy face.

His anger had not completely dissipated in the first place, but when he heard Luo Yi's words, his expression darkened even more. After saying the words "you're not allowed", he turned around and left without even looking at her, but Luo Yi purposely acted as if he was in a difficult situation.

"You promised me you wouldn't worry me!" Lin Ting was so angry that he almost laughed.

Tang Yuan did not tell him who Luo Yi went with to the Northern Tribes, so he was initially angry at Luo Yi for not having any sense of security, but Luo Yi actually said that the person with her was the son of the prime minister!

He himself was half a step into the circle of power struggles, so he could guess Luo Yi's motive for coming to the Northern Tribes this time.

Lin Ting frowned, he secretly thought to himself how there could be such a worrisome person like Luo Yi, for her to be able to come back alive from the Northern Tribes, it was already a great fortune, yet he actually still wanted to take the initiative and get involved in all this?

"If you have something you want to tell me, I can help you, but you definitely can't show yourself."

His tone didn't fluctuate in the slightest, and his expression was clearly more resolute than ever before.

"I want to see where he grew up with my own eyes."

Luo Yi's eyes reddened, and the hand that was pulling at the corner of her clothes even trembled: "I miss him a lot."

This was the first time Lin Ting heard Luo Yi speaking in such a tone, her heart tightened and her tone softened, "Luo Yi …"

"I don't know what happened between you two," he said after a pause, "but you're going to get married."

That person will treat you very well. You should be properly placed in the softest part of your heart. It doesn't matter if you get bullied. Tang Yuan and I will help you get it back tenfold. You will have the most ordinary and perfect life — and I know that's what you want. But the prerequisite for all of these was that Luo Yi was a living person.

Lin Ting did not say these words, but Luo Yi understood them, so she raised his hand to wipe his eyes, raised his head and smiled at Lin Ting: "I know."

She said that she did not feel that she liked Xu Heng very much, and had only resented that she did not say goodbye to him properly.

Luo Yi said with confidence, ssshshehad guaranteed that after this matter, he would not have anything to do with the battle for power, causing Lin Ting to heave a sigh of relief, but the moment she walked into the Prime Minister's Estate's study, he secretly apologized to Lin Ting in her heart.

Not long after New Year's Day was the March. The weather had gradually warmed up. Although there would occasionally be periods of cold weather, the tree in the yard had already sprouted a new branch without anyone noticing, flaunting the fact that the earth had returned to its former glory.

Luo Yi changed into the new skirt Xu Heng had bought for her during New Year's. She turned her head and saw that when Tang Yuan went out, he was actually forced to smile and almost fell to the ground. She supported herself with one hand against the willow tree's trunk in the courtyard before she managed to stand steadily, "Tang Yuan, you … "You …"

She wanted to say that Tang Yuan was wrapped up like a woman within a month, but his thoughts were seen through by her. Before she could even finish, she was hit hard by a knife, so she could only swallow her words back into her stomach. The old man already said that you need to cover your body with the autumn ice in order to be healthy. "

"Right?" As he said that, he looked at Tang Yuan with a face full of pride, hoping that the other party would praise him.

"..." "Shut up!"

Tang Yuan turned around, not wanting to give him a single glance.

Yi Qiannan pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.

As the results were out, Lin Ting had already taken the entrance examination, and as expected, the four of them were celebrating for him in a small restaurant.

This restaurant was hidden in the depths of the alley. Normally, there weren't many people coming and going, and the only person taking care of the restaurant was a woman with a face full of age. She ignored them and placed the few remaining jars of wine on the table before returning to behind the counter.

The four of them looked at each other, they did not mind the lady's attitude, since they had only come here to seek peace, they did not expect to meet Xu Shilian here.

Lin Ting stood up from the chair in shock: What are you doing here?

"Coincidentally." Before Xu Shilian spoke, his gaze swept across Luo Yi's body. Then, he patted Lin Ting's shoulders and laughed: "I have not congratulated you yet."

He had a smile on his face, and his expression was very gentle. However, his body was exuding a sense of distance due to his long years in power, which made everyone present feel a little uncomfortable.

Xu Shilian was an intelligent person, how could he not see the formality of these people? Thus, he patted Lin Ting's shoulders in understanding as he smiled, and indicated for him to go talk with him on the other side.

Lin Ting nodded, but before leaving, he greeted Luo Yi: "You guys eat first, I'll be back soon."

"Got it." Luo Yi made an impatient expression and waved his hand to urge him to leave.

Although this place was somewhat remote, there were quite a few rare flowers nearby. Luo Yi listened to Yi Qiannan's nonsense for a long time, until his ears were about to callus, but he didn't know how to stop it. In the end, she couldn't help but sneak a glance at Tang Yuan.

However, those who were being observed seemed to have already gotten used to it. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw someone staring at him, so he casually scooped a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Luo Yi.

Yi Qiannan wanted nothing more than to bury his entire person into a bowl. "Thirsty."

In broad daylight! Disgraceful!

Luo Yi used one hand to cover her eyes as she used her elbow to support herself as she half turned around, the four big words "I can't bear to look" written all over her face.

Luo Yi did not mind as well. Her toes tapped on the ground and continued with her previous movements, but in the process, she accidentally brushed past the door and suddenly froze in place along with the smile on her face.

The person outside the door walked very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he had completely disappeared. As a result, the only thing that remained in Luo Yi's eyes was the corner of his clothes that was lifted by the wind, and his face that was so familiar to the point of palpitation.

Luo Yi could even feel the cold blood in her body.

He …

"Luo Yi?"

"Hmm?"

Noticing that Luo Yi had suddenly froze, Tang Yuan waved her hand in front of her eyes in confusion: "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine …" Only then did Luo Yi regain his senses, he laughed and stuck out his tongue, then explained: "It's just now that I saw a very familiar figure, and my mind wandered a bit."

She rubbed the tip of her nose, just as she was about to say that she didn't need to worry, she saw Yi Qiannan raise his head from the bowl and ask with a wink: "You have some acquaintances in Li City?"

He was genuinely curious about Luo Yi's circle of relationships, and felt that even though Luo Yi had never been to Li City before, she seemed to be familiar with them. Without waiting for her reply, he asked again, "Why didn't you chase after him to take a look?"

"No more."

"What?" Yi Qiannan immediately understood what the word meant when he heard her, but before he could ask further, Luo Yi had already picked up his chopsticks: "I said I don't have any acquaintances in Li City anymore."

So I don't need to chase him to know that I must be seeing things.

On the other hand, the man who intentionally passed by Luo Yi, stopped at the corner and waited for a while, but didn't see anyone chasing after him from inside the house.

She had long guessed that this girl was fickle, but she didn't expect that she would really refuse to even go out to take a look.

He sighed, but there was only a faint smile on his face.

Perhaps because he was too tired of laughing, another person on the scene could not stand it any longer. He rolled his eyes and scolded, "You can still laugh?"

"Why can't you laugh?" The man answered righteously, "At least I didn't see the wrong person, right?"

The latter part of the sentence was obviously a rhetorical question, but the man didn't seem like he wanted to hear it. After saying that, he bent over and made a "please" gesture, "Please."

"..." "No need for formalities." The person who spoke swung his sleeve, revealing the unique design of the palace uniform at the corner.

Speaking of which, after Xu Shilian called Lin Ting away, he didn't say anything big and only praised his results, and then asked him how he was preparing for the Hall Competition in a month.

Lin Ting weirdly repeated this question in his heart, but when he replied, his voice was still the same, "Not bad."

"That's good," Xu Shilian obviously did not hear what he was saying, and continued, "In the Hall Competition a month from now, according to the rules, the Emperor will personally set a question for the assessment. But right now, my Li Kingdom is being led by a duke who represents the government of the imperial court, do you know what this means?"

"Got it." Now that he had finally reached the main topic of his discussion, Lin Ting's expression became serious: "The time has come."

Previously, Luo Yi and Yi Qiannan had heard from Yi Qiannan that the reason the Thirteenth Prince was still only "acting as the imperial government" was because he lacked a legitimate excuse. But now, the time had finally come.

The question of the Hall Competition was personally set by His Majesty himself as a system of regulations passed down from his ancestors. But His Majesty was currently imprisoned in an enemy kingdom, so in order to not break the rules of his ancestors, it was best and most appropriate —

"The New Emperor."

Lin Ting turned around in astonishment, and looked at Luo Yi who had stood behind him for an unknown period of time. "Go back quickly!"

But Luo Yi bit her lips, neither raising her head to look at him nor listening to him.

A bad premonition suddenly rose in Lin Ting's heart.

Xu Shilian ignored the dispute in front of him, and after looking at them for a while, continued expressionlessly: "Recently, the court has already decided to send a report to the officials, and the Ministry of Rites has also chosen a auspicious day, waiting for an imperial edict to announce it to the masses, then the world will truly change hands."

He couldn't help but wish that he could pull Luo Yi and leave on the spot. But before he could even put his idea into action, Luo Yi had already continued as she continued, "There's still one month until the Hall Competition, and the auspicious time of the Department of Rites is five days away, so the decree will be issued tomorrow …"

"What does this have to do with you!" Lin Ting finally suppressed his fury and interrupted Luo Yi's words. He grabbed her wrist with one hand and walked out, his five fingers using force to grab onto her wrist and leaving a deep and shallow mark.

"When a new emperor ascends the throne, the imperial harem must first be filled up."

Luo Yi's voice sounded from behind Lin Ting, and it was cold to the point that it wasn't like any other voice she had heard before, and similarly not a single emotion could be heard, "I want to enter the palace."