Chapter Sixteen: Mingzhu Arrives, Iceberg Collision

  Lin Ruhai left the imperial palace with a heavy heart and as soon as he entered his house, he saw Lin Fang waiting for him. "What's wrong?"

  "Master, Ming Xiang has arrived." Lin Fang lowered his voice, "Miss has already ordered someone to receive him. However..."

  "Are you here for no good?" Lin Ruhai raised an eyebrow, can't sit still anymore?

  "Yes, I came with a purpose."

  "Wait for me to change my clothes." Lin Ruhai did not go directly to see Mingzhu, firstly because of etiquette and secondly because he also wanted to drag it out, best if he could make Mingzhu lose his temper. However, this possibility was really too small. Mingzhu's visit today may not necessarily be to persuade him to join forces with him, but this would make it even more impossible for him to remain completely neutral. Suo E'tu's faction and Mingzhu's faction might join hands to suppress him later, which would be a trouble.

  "Ah Ma." Lin Ruhai had just pushed open the door when he saw Daiyu come out to greet him.

  "Yu'er, how does it look?" Lin Ruhai changed into official attire and saw Daiyu wearing a dress suitable for going out, furrowing his brow.

  "What does Amah think? Xiang and Ming will both fall, and Amah's role now is to mediate between them. As for what happens after they fall, Yu'er doesn't know yet. It depends on the relationship between Amah and Huang Amah." Daiyu stepped forward to help Lin Ruhai take out his robe.

  "Are you going out?" Lin Ruhai didn't continue the previous conversation. Daiyu hadn't gone out since she arrived in the capital except to go to the palace, and today there was also the incident of Lady Jia stopping a carriage on the street, how could it be almost evening and still want to go out?

  "Yes, Ama. And some people have something to say clearly." Daiyu naturally knew soon that Yongzheng warned Grandmother Jia about things, and she also felt a bit moved and uncomfortable in her heart, anyway, there were some complicated feelings.

  "Alright, go then." Lin Ruhai knew who Daiyu was referring to. He was quite dissatisfied with the way the Fourth Prince was acting. For the past two days, he had not given Yongzheng a good look. Yongji, on the other hand, felt somewhat fortunate and delighted in his misfortune. His fourth brother had first been unable to marry Nala, lost military power, and then was disliked by Lin Ruhai, the Prince of Dingguo. He truly posed no threat at all. Along with this, Yongji's attitude towards Yongzheng suddenly improved a lot, and he even felt a bit sorry for him.

  Daiyu went to the appointment with only Chunxian, while Minghui hid in her own room, lost in thought. She knew Daiyu didn't bring her along because she had her own considerations, but was it true what Brother said? Was the Fourth Prince refusing her because of the seven-year-old princess? And did the Emperor appoint her as the princess's lady-in-waiting just to pave the way for their future marriage? But why did everything feel more complicated than imagined? The dark side of Minghui's heart began to emerge, and the brightness in her eyes was replaced by darkness. All this was observed by Xiahe.

  Lin's residence, Lin Ruhai tidied up before meeting Mingzhu. "Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, Ming Gong."

  "Where's the need to say, Lord Lin is the emperor's confidant, so naturally he has more to do than us outer officials every day." Mingzhu's eyes rolled around, and Lin Ruhai smiled slightly, of course seeing through Mingzhu's sarcastic meaning.

  "What instructions does Master Ming have?" Lin Ruhai picked up his tea and took a sip, getting straight to the point.

  "Just want to remind Lord Lin that some people have very small hearts and can't tolerate even a grain of sand." Mingzhu gave Lin Ruhai a meaningful look.

  "Lin knew, of course, but since he was upright, he wasn't afraid of being maligned. He appreciated Mingzhu's kind intentions." Lin Ruhai didn't mind what Mingzhu said, and as for Suo Ertu's actions, he had known about them long ago. Besides, Kangxi would often throw a bunch of impeachment memorials at him out of the blue.

  "Master Lin naturally knows the meaning of my visit today, doesn't Master Lin fear being caught in the middle?" Mingzhu said with a threatening tone. Lin Ruhai has always had an attitude of not caring about anything, he is really very bold, but the Emperor's attitude towards him is yet to be tested. Thinking of this, Mingzhu's eyes dimmed slightly, the Emperor has been getting more and more displeased with her recently, and as a result, she has also rarely gone to Empress Hui's place. This situation must be changed.

  "Let's just mind our own business. Lin didn't care about these things, at most he would just go back and live in seclusion."

  "You... it seems that Lord Lin is indeed very calm, doesn't he worry about the princess at all?" As soon as the princess was mentioned, Mingzhu's face broke into a smile. The emperor's decision to make her a princess must have been deliberate, a way to tie down Lin Ruhai, but couldn't she also use Daiyu for her own purposes?

  "Jade will take care of herself, don't worry about that. If Mingxiang has nothing to do, Lin Mou has something to attend to." Using Daiyu's words to threaten himself, Lin Ruhai's face turned cold and he directly gave the order to expel the guest.

  Mingzhu's face changed, although she didn't say anything to Lin Ruhai, her visit would still have some side effects. Let's see how Master Lin handles it.

  On the other side, in a private room of Xiuyuge, Daiyu and Yongzheng sat facing each other. Neither of them spoke first, Chunfen and Li Wei brought by Yongzheng were all driven out, the temperature in the house was very low, giving people the feeling that even water would freeze.

  "Four Beile..."

  Daiyu's words were cut off by Yongzheng, "Fourth Brother!"

  "I don't think our relationship is that close." Daiyu raised an eyebrow and looked out the window, completely ignoring Yunzhan.

  "It will be later." Yongzheng raised his wine cup and took a sip.

  "Si Bei Le is quite confident." Dai Yu smiled charmingly, dazzling Yongzheng's eyes. The next second, a cup of tea flew towards him, and Yongzheng hastily dodged it. Then, with some annoyance, he looked at Dai Yu, "What do you mean, Princess?"

  "It's pointless, seeing the Fourth Prince not sober, help you sober up." Daiyu's tone was cold and detached, her disdainful tone made Yongzheng feel very frustrated. "Fourth Prince, from now on, don't interfere with my affairs. You and I have no relationship." After saying that, Daiyu put down the small wine cup she was playing with and stood up to leave.

  "If I must intervene?" Yongzheng stood up and blocked Daiyu's path. "Are you really only seven years old?"

  "Wrong, to be exact, I'm almost eight years old." Daiyu said with a playful tone, "But I didn't expect the Fourth Prince to have pedophilia." A sarcastic smile appeared on Daiyu's face, and in the next second, her body felt light, and she was picked up by Yongzheng. "You!"

  "Isn't it obvious that you're just a gentle little cat, yet you want to learn how to bare your claws like a tiger? Don't you know that your own claws aren't sharp enough?" Yongzheng gazed at the delicate Daiyu in his arms, a playful smile spreading across his face. This greatly irritated Daiyu, who was about to lash out when she felt dizzy and was gently placed back into her chair by Yongzheng. He knelt down before her, holding a jade pendant against his own neck. "I don't want it to be taken off."

  "Hey!" Daiyu's face completely turned cold, no one had ever dared to treat her like that before. Even the men who had dared to touch her carelessly had become corpses, but why didn't she feel disgusted by the feeling of being touched by him just now?