Lin Yan glanced at him and scolded, "Your Majesty was just now dissatisfied with the concubine's excessive virtue, but now you say that the concubine is not virtuous enough. The concubine is really stupid and doesn't know what to do."

  "You are now exactly what I love." Tuoba Hong laughed loudly: "You are both delicate and charming, yet not losing your dignity and composure, just like the water temperature that is just right, neither too hot nor too cold. And when did you mention 'dull' again? I granted you the title of 'Hui' because I think you are clever and wise beyond what ordinary people can achieve."

  Lin Wan listened to him talk about the title, and she pursed her lips with a faint smile: "No matter how clever the concubine is, she can only be clever in front of the emperor, flattering and pleasing him. How can she surpass ordinary people? If it's true wisdom, with the emperor in front of her, how dare a woman like me claim to be wise?"

  Tuoba Hong heard Lin Wan's flattering words and felt pleased in his heart, after all, the woman in front of him had really put her intelligence to use in serving him. Thinking this way, Tuoba Hong's mouth curved up even higher, he reached out to gently stroke Lin Wan's hair bun, then turned to shout outside, ordering Yao Fu Sheng to prepare a sedan chair to send Lin Wan back to the palace.

  Lin Wan did not decline the kindness of being awarded a sedan chair, and with a gentle bow, she took her leave.

  At the same time as Lin Wan's farewell, Tuoba Hong did not forget to remind her: "The wind is strong at night, be careful with your body", showing his usual deep and heavy attitude.

  ***

  Lin Wan returned to Qingping Residence at nightfall.

  At this time, Chun Tao standing in front of her was holding the nightgown with a slightly trembling hand. Lin Yan raised her eyes to look at her: "What's wrong, are you scared?"

  Chu Tao hastily knelt down and knocked her head on the ground, saying: "I dare not betray Young Master, this is not something I did..."

  Lin Yantan smiled faintly: "But I just wanted to ask your opinion on this matter, how did you think I was suspecting you?" She said, waving her hand: "First get up, you haven't done anything wrong. Don't worry, the princess trusts you, that's why she talks to you about such important things. Your mother outside the palace has already been arranged a house by the princess to support her for the rest of her life, naturally also because of your loyalty."

  Lin Yan had never doubted Chun Tao, because she had already found Chun Tao's only living frail mother and spent some silver to buy her a house and land, making her life more comfortable than before. With this person in hand, Lin Yan no longer needed to worry about Chun Tao's loyalty. Although this approach was somewhat overbearing, it benefited both parties. Wasn't Chun Tao suffering in the palace at a young age also for her mother to live a good life? Now Lin Yan helped her realize her dream, with the only condition being that Chun Tao must not betray herself. This deal still made Chun Tao the bigger winner.

  But this young girl is only thirteen years old, and even if she were in a later generation, she would still be a middle school student, so it's no wonder that she was frightened by what happened last night.

  At this time, Chu Tao's body shook even more violently, and she didn't feel any relief due to Lin Wan's trust. Her two hands trembled as she kept tapping the patterns on her sleeves, stuttering: "Young Master, my mother...".

  "Your mother has asthma, and I have already asked the doctor to treat her. The silver I spent on her care is far more than the two taels of silver you send every month. Don't you agree? And why are you still kneeling? I told you to get up." Lin Yu smiled, thinking that she had indeed chosen the right person. Chun Tao was a young girl with sharp intuition, and she understood what it meant for her mother to be taken care of by their master - it was not just care, but also a threat.

  Chu Tao got up from the ground after kowtowing, her voice still trembling: "If my mother can receive your great kindness, I will never forget it for eternity and will not betray you."

  "Alright, I know you're a loyal one." Lin Yu took the teacup and sipped it: "You're clever and quick-witted, I like palace maids like you. From now on, serve me well, not just for taking care of your mother, but also for wealth and glory that can be easily obtained." She smiled at her with raised eyes: "When you first presented the teacup to me, I was very impressed. As my right-hand woman, you will inevitably encounter many things like last night's event in the future. Don't be afraid, just remember what you wanted in your heart from the beginning."

  Chu Tao pursed her lips and let out a breath, this was the path she had chosen for herself, to become the top palace maid by the young master's side. As the young master's right-hand woman, she would have to accompany him through the most dangerous of times... But she had still underestimated this young master, now that her own mother was in his grasp, her own life was also in his hands... What a ruthless and decisive woman he was.

  "Never mind about others, just tell me what you think about last night's events." Lin Yanyan said casually.

  Chu Tao's heart was filled with a suffocating feeling of being controlled by others, but even more so, it was filled with the thrill of being valued by Lin Yuan. From now on, her status would be almost the same as that of Chu Xue's. Her body straightened up involuntarily as she thought to herself: "In my opinion, anyone who has recently clashed with Master is likely to be someone who intends to harm Master. It just won't be Gong Jie, Master..."

  Lin Yan nodded: "That's well said. It can't be Bai Shi." If it were Bai Xiuzhu, that would mean the Empress was behind it, but at this time, the Empress wouldn't gain anything from dealing with a noble lady like her - on the contrary, the Empress should help her more so she could suppress Shang Fei even further.

  That's why Lin Wan helped Bai Xiuyi in front of Tuoba Hong.

  "But who is she after all......" Lin Yan thought with her hand supporting her chin.

  Look at Chun Tao still standing in front of her, Lin Yuanyu instructed: "You go down and put your clothes away properly, don't let people see them."

  "Master Xiao, don't you want to check what's on top of this?"

  "What's the use of knowing?" Lin Yan sneered: "The concubine only needs to know who did it."

  Chu Tao retreated with her head down, and Lin Yuan called out to her again, saying: "You go tell Xiao Chengzi a message, let him pay attention to the movements outside tonight, if there's any news he must report back to me immediately."

  Chu Tao nodded and walked out, thinking to herself: Nowadays, Xiao Chengzi is just a messenger for the master, and every time the master is happy, he rewards him with melon seeds. She used to envy him... Now thinking about it, one melon seed is worth less than two silver coins. How many melon seeds would Xiao Chengzi need to save up to buy a house in the capital? In contrast, Chu Xue's daily rewards are often pearls and jade, her food, clothing, and living expenses are even higher than those of the lower-ranking palace maids... And that Huangu's lady from the traveling palace, she used to look down on her, but just the other day, she learned that the master had rewarded her with a pair of emerald cuffs, and decided to bring her back to the capital to serve. Those are the master's usual cuffs! Who knows what great merit Huangu has achieved to get such a big reward?

  At this time, Chun Tao, who was dazzled by the gold and silver treasures, made a silent decision in her heart: from now on, she would serve her master wholeheartedly, serving for gold and silver!

  That night passed quietly. Xiaochengzi didn't disturb Linyuan with the news either. Chuixue, the maid in charge, personally kept watch and served Linyuan for the night.

  At midnight, when people were quiet, the first snow whispered to Lin Yuan: "The young master's night clothes were taken from our Qingling House. If you want to make a move, you must go through Qingling House... Don't you think the greatest danger is actually around the young master? Although it's not Chuping, there will be others."

  Lin Wan was deep in thought, tossing and turning for a long time without being able to fall asleep. When she heard Chu Xue's words, she still remained silent. Chu Xue didn't get a response after a while, so she continued: "If the young master believes me, why not let me thoroughly investigate Qing Lian Residence? With careful examination, I will definitely be able to find out who the traitor is."

  Lin Yan smiled only when she heard this: "How could I not trust you? If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have given you the position of being in charge. Although I'm nominally the mistress, I'm young and new to the palace, so I have to rely on you for guidance..." Chun Xue knelt down in fear. Lin Yan pulled her up and continued: "Although I threatened Chun Tao like that, it's different with you - you're a palace maid with a strong sense of self-respect and understanding... To be honest, we both know what the other wants, so we can work together. When you showed your goodwill towards me in the Empress Dowager's palace, I understood your intentions..."

  Chu Xue was clearly moved by Lin Wan's words, Lin Wan said this put her, a slave, and the master on an equal footing, she had been in the palace since childhood for ten years now, it was the first time she heard a master say such things.

  The palace maid also had ambitions and dreams, Chuxue didn't plan to climb onto the dragon bed, wanting to make a name for herself could only follow a master like Bo Le. The young mistress in front of her, who was four or five years younger than herself, was the one she had always wanted to follow? In the past, although she and Lin Xiaozhu had trust between them, they didn't have any deep feelings, no different from other palace maids brought into the palace from their own households. Now she understood, Lin Xiaozhu was speaking to her with an open heart, in the future she would be Lin Xiaozhu's lifelong confidant.

  "It's just that this internal ghost business, what you said makes sense, but I don't want to make a big fuss about investigating it." Lin Yuen leaned in close to Chu Xue's ear and spoke in an even lower tone: "It's not the time to take action yet, when the time comes, I'll have my own way of handling it..."

  The first snow nodded repeatedly as she listened.

  On the second day, the sun rose very early and quietly exuded the summer heat. Xiaochengzi finally came to the inner temple to report and didn't avoid anyone, directly telling Lin Yu: "The Emperor went to Yurong's palace last night!"

  Lin Yuen, who was eating breakfast, stopped her spoon in mid-air: "Yunxiu Rong?" She murmured the name, and a faint, inexplicable smile spread across her lips: "Do you know what happened to Bai Rongji last night?"