Chapter 216: Wait, Imperial Preceptor! I’ve Recovered 53

Chapter 216: Wait, Imperial Preceptor! I'm Cured 53

No one knew how long he'd been ill, but Qin Hanyue's condition kept relapsing.

It went on for so long that Lin Huaiqing began to suspect Qin Hanyue was faking it—until finally, the man's illness was cured.

Unable to hold out against Qin Hanyue's relentless persuasion, Lin Huaiqing ultimately restored him to his former position as Imperial Preceptor of the Yue Kingdom.

Their relationship, both in court and out, was so obvious that even the eunuchs and palace maids noticed—way too intimate for just an emperor and his subject.

Yet even so, no one dared to say a word.

With Zhao Ge eliminated, the political landscape in court was looking bright. The year was drawing to a close, and the auspicious snow augured a bountiful harvest. The coming year was sure to be a good one.

The system had notified him that world progress had reached 94%. It seemed he didn't have much time left on the clock.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor invites you to meet in the Imperial Garden tonight."

"Got it. You can go now."

He wondered what Qin Hanyue was scheming now. The guy usually wanted nothing more than to camp out in his Qianqing Palace, and now he was playing hard to get, insisting on meeting in the Imperial Garden of all places.

It was freezing out...

Even so, Lin Huaiqing threw on his cloak and headed to the Imperial Garden.

Since he was meeting Qin Hanyue, Lin Huaiqing made a point of sending the eunuchs away and going alone, lantern in hand, searching for Qin Hanyue in the garden.

Suddenly, a dark figure flashed out from behind him. Before he knew it, Lin Huaiqing was yanked into a warm embrace.

Qin Hanyue's body was radiating heat—clearly warmed by his own spiritual energy, so much so that snowflakes melted on contact with his thin outer robe.

"Can you stop popping out of nowhere like that? You scared the hell out of me!"

"Shh! Keep it down, Your Majesty. You'll scare off the lovebirds."

"???" Lin Huaiqing was totally lost, having no clue what Qin Hanyue was talking about.

"Come with me, Your Majesty..." Qin Hanyue grabbed Lin Huaiqing's cold hand and crept over to a secluded spot up ahead.

From behind the shrubs not far off came a rustling sound. Soon, a man's low grunts and a woman's stifled moans drifted out.

Even if Lin Huaiqing was slow on the uptake, he quickly figured out what was going on in there.

At his wit's end, Lin Huaiqing shot Qin Hanyue a dirty look and punched him in the shoulder.

"Qin Hanyue, are you out of your mind?! It's freezing cold in the middle of the night, and you dragged me out here just to listen to this?"

What kind of cheap thrill was this?

Qin Hanyue rubbed his sore shoulder with a hint of fondness, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he teased:

"Aren't you curious, Your Majesty, about who the man and woman going at it like rabbits are?"

"Probably just some palace maid and a guard..."

But when he turned, he saw that smug look on Qin Hanyue's handsome face that seemed to say, "Oh, really?"

Catching the hint, Lin Huaiqing instinctively touched his head. "Don't tell me it's..."

He had to check it out himself.

And see he did—getting an eyeful and a green hat to boot.

The cold-defying lovebirds turned out to be his Virtuous Consort and some random guard.

Seeing the shock on Lin Huaiqing's face, Qin Hanyue spoke as if to console him:

"So, Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with the two of them?"

But Lin Huaiqing turned and walked off without a word, moving so fast that Qin Hanyue almost couldn't keep up.

Only once they were well out of earshot did Lin Huaiqing's pace finally slow.

Seeing Lin Huaiqing stay silent, Qin Hanyue figured he was pissed. But when he got closer, he saw that Lin Huaiqing's expression was actually pretty calm.

This time, it was Qin Hanyue who was left scratching his head.

"So you're not going to punish them, Your Majesty?" After all, fooling around in the harem was a serious crime—one that could drag the whole family down with it.

Lin Huaiqing sighed. Seeing it with his own eyes still stung a little.

But thinking about it, he realized he'd never really cared about the Virtuous Consort. Even the original owner of this body had only treated her like a piece of decoration in the palace.

The women in his palace were no different to him than the two stone lions flanking the entrance to Xuande Hall.

Living like that for so long—who could put up with that kind of loneliness?

So what real fault did the Virtuous Consort have?

He couldn't expect people to stay celibate for him forever, could he? Besides, he had so many women in name only anyway.

He was a modern guy, not some real feudal emperor. Why be such a stickler for the rules?

"Forget it. This stays between us. I'll pretend I didn't see anything, and you do the same."

"You're not mad, Your Majesty?"

"I'd like to be, but I've got no anger left to spare." In the end, it was him who had wronged these consorts. If push came to shove, he could just dissolve the harem before he left.

It wasn't until they got back to the Qianqing Palace that Lin Huaiqing finally caught on.

Qin Hanyue had deliberately let him find out about the Virtuous Consort and the guard. What was his angle? It couldn't just be for shits and giggles, could it?

"Qin Hanyue, how did you find out about the Virtuous Consort and the guard?"

"I just happened to stumble upon it."

"I don't buy that. I think you planned this all along, to push me into making a decision early..."

After all, both Qin Hanyue and he knew there were already too many ornaments in the palace—no need for so many living, breathing ones.

The political situation had been unstable before, and he'd been powerless to resist, doing a lot of things he didn't agree with.

Now that the world was at peace and the nation was thriving, it was time to do something that had never been done before.

He also had Qin Hanyue to thank for the heads-up.

The next morning at court, an explosive piece of news swept through the entire government.

"Your Majesty! You absolutely cannot do this!"

"Yes, this breaks every rule, Your Majesty! If the harem is disbanded, what about the royal bloodline? What about the succession? What about the future of the Yue Kingdom? Even the Empress Dowager would never stand for this!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Lin Huaiqing had expected this kind of backlash. The whole court was opposed, and even Lin Cheng did not stand by his side this time.

"May I ask Your Majesty, if you intend to disband the harem, whom do you plan to establish as empress?"

Lin Cheng, as the Left Prime Minister, cut right to the chase with one question, leaving Lin Huaiqing's words stuck in his throat.

Indeed, throughout history, there were monarchs who had disbanded their harems, but they did it to grow old with just one person.

Then what was his reason?! Out of the goodness of his heart? To set the concubines and guards free? To shake off the shame of being cuckolded? None of those reasons could he actually say out loud...

"Well... I don't have such intentions at the moment. I just want to focus on my cultivation and not be distracted by worldly desires."

"Then how does Your Majesty plan to handle the concubines in the harem?"

"Those who want to stay can become palace officials; those who want to return home may do so; and those who wish to marry may marry. I will grant each of them a hundred taels of gold as compensation."

Though not ideal, it was the best remedy he could offer.

He could only hope that these young women in the prime of their lives would find their own happiness.