Chapter 264: Are You Married?

Chapter 264: Is He Married?

"The Lin family? Lin Nanshu?" The man's gaze sharpened, and he asked eagerly, "Master Lin, what does he look like?"

The subordinate's face showed a look of recollection and a trace of admiration, saying, "This Master Lin is said to be exceptionally talented.

As for his appearance... I only caught a distant glimpse of him years ago when I accompanied a merchant caravan to the capital. He had a jade-like face and star-bright eyes, with a noble and refined demeanor.

He truly looks like a god come down from heaven, no wonder he is the ideal husband of countless young ladies in the capital."

Hearing this, the man unconsciously tightened his grip on the jade pendant, his fingertips turning white from the pressure.

Suddenly, the image of the person he had glimpsed in the night flashed through his mind, and his heart started racing.

The man spoke slowly, with a barely concealed tightness in his voice: "Then... is he married?"

The subordinate was clearly taken aback by the sudden question, wondering why he would take an interest in such matters of the heart.

But he did not dare to ask further and quickly composed himself, replying, "As far as I know, Master Lin isn't married."

He lowered his head, gazing deeply at the warm jade pendant in his palm, which seemed to burn with a searing heat.

He murmured the name that seemed to carry an air of destiny: "Lin Nanshu... Yuli..."

A brief silence fell over the private room, broken only by the faint noise of the bustling street outside.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in the capital, the imperial city was bathed in the twilight and the warm glow of palace lanterns.

Inside the imperial study, candles burned brightly, illuminating Zhou Mingqi's slightly weary features.

He had just finished reviewing a batch of urgent memorials regarding border military funds and was rubbing his aching temples.

The chief eunuch Fu Quan entered silently, holding a sealed, wax-stamped memorial in his hands, with soft steps.

"Your Majesty," Fu Quan bowed, his voice very low, "a secret memorial from Lord Cheng Ge."

Zhou Mingqi's hand pressing his temple paused slightly. He looked up, and upon hearing the name Cheng Ge, a flicker of mixed emotions crossed his eyes.

He sighed, leaning back against the dragon throne with a sense of "what's meant to be will be."

"Read it," he said succinctly, not even bothering to reach out.

Fu Quan acknowledged, carefully broke the wax seal, and unfolded the memorial.

Clearing his throat, he began to read in his slightly shrill but still clear voice:

"How fares Your Majesty's health? Your servant is far away in Yuanzhou, though a thousand li from the capital, my loyal heart is always with Your Majesty.

Every time I think of Your Majesty, I worry day and night... I cannot eat or sleep in peace, and even in my dreams, I see your face..."

Fu Quan read word for word, with his distinctive tone of voice, echoing in the silent study.

As he read, he couldn't help but sneak a quick glance at the emperor on the dragon throne.

At first, Zhou Mingqi's expression was fairly calm; he even picked up the warm teacup beside him.

He took a light sip, trying to ease the dryness in his throat with the warmth of the tea.

However, as Fu Quan read more and more exaggerated lines—worrying day and night, seeing His Majesty's face in dreams—

Zhou Mingqi's hand holding the teacup involuntarily tightened slightly, his knuckles turning a bit white.

His usually dignified and calm face began to show a subtle expression.

Even Fu Quan felt his face flush; his cheeks were burning.

Suddenly, Zhou Mingqi placed the teacup with a clatter on the imperial desk and reached out to Fu Quan: "Give it to me."

Fu Quan, as if pardoned, hurried forward and respectfully handed the memorial to the emperor.

Zhou Mingqi took it, his eyes starting again from the very first word.

This memorial was much longer than the previous one, and every word was filled with concern, the language sincere.

White smoke curled from the incense burner, and Zhou Mingqi's features softened slightly, until he came to a turning point—

"However... Your servant has a report: On this trip south, the journey was long, and unexpected events occurred along the way, resulting in huge travel costs; I was nearly broke..."

Zhou Mingqi's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. Here it comes; he felt a vague bad premonition.

He continued reading, seeing how Cheng Ge feigned compliance and pretended to accept the bribe of 546 taels of silver.

Then, how he shamelessly dared to beg His Majesty to allow him to temporarily borrow the money, swearing that he would deduct it from his salary year by year after returning to the capital...

Zhou Mingqi expressionlessly closed the memorial, placed it on a corner of the imperial desk, and raised a hand to press heavily between his brows.

He felt that the headache that had eased a bit earlier now hit him even harder.

Zhou Mingqi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the strange impulse to both swear and laugh in his chest.

However, after a moment, as if remembering something, he opened his eyes again.

He picked up the memorial again, flipped back to the long, sickeningly sweet greeting at the beginning, and let his gaze linger on it for a long time.

Finally, he sighed again, this time with a note of resignation.

He took the vermilion brush and wrote the character 'Approved' with forceful strokes at the end of the memorial.

After finishing, he handed the memorial to Fu Quan who was waiting nearby: "Return it."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Fu Quan received it with both hands and bowed, preparing to withdraw to arrange the dispatch.

However, he had barely turned and taken a few steps when the emperor's unreadable voice came from behind: "Wait."

Fu Quan immediately stopped and turned back to bow: "Your Majesty?"

Zhou Mingqi looked at the vermilion brush on the desk, remained silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Take five hundred taels in silver notes from my personal treasury and send them to him as well."

Fu Quan's expression visibly froze, then he immediately lowered his head and replied respectfully: "Yes..."

...

In the study, Cheng Ge lay limply with his head on the desk piled with books, like a lump of flesh.

Before him were spread out geographical records, local customs notes, and various maps of Yuanzhou and its surrounding counties, all sorts of materials piled into a small mountain.

One hand aimlessly flipped through pages, while the other propped up his increasingly heavy head, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

After being immersed in these dry texts and lines for several days, his head was spinning and his eyes blurry, his brain feeling like it was turning to mush.

A big yawn escaped Cheng Ge, tears squeezing out.

This yawn seemed contagious; faint, barely-suppressed yawns came from the beams and corners.

The shadow guards were also dead tired, forcing themselves to flip through the thick local chronicles in front of them.

Cheng Ge dragged his weary body upright, his expression listless.

Sigh... After searching for days, he hadn't found a damn thing...

Cheng Ge started doubting himself: "Could I really have remembered it wrong?"

Or is that map just a decoy? Did that old schemer Zhao Yuanliang plan for this and mess with us on purpose?

"Gurgle gurgle——" his stomach let out an uncooperative growl, loudly demanding food.

Cheng Ge glanced at the old local chronicle that was nearly finished, ready to give up struggling.

"Forget it, chow time comes first. I'll figure something out after I eat..."

He muttered to himself, planning to quickly skim the last few pages and then go grab some food.