The Emperor may not be entirely unaware of the Wu family's actions, and he may not necessarily be pleased. To tell the truth, the Wu family also has its own merits, and the wife of the Duke of Xuan is still the Emperor's paternal aunt. After her passing, the Emperor chose a new empress from among the Lin family, rather than promoting Wu Guifei or selecting someone from another household. This may be due to the Emperor's lingering affection for his aunt, but on the other hand, it may also be a reward for the Lin family's loyalty over the years, as well as a sign of the Emperor's displeasure with the Wu family's excessive actions in recent years.

  So, my niece thinks that it doesn't matter how others slander our family and father, the key is the emperor's attitude towards us. We need to make sure the emperor's heart always leans towards us. So, we should be upright and honest on the outside, and be diligent and loyal to the emperor. She said with a slightly embarrassed smile, continuing: "If possible, uncle can occasionally show some weakness in front of the emperor and tell him about our family's grievances."

  Lin Yongdao said: "Well said, our family has gone through great difficulties to let you become the empress, isn't it all for the sake of making the emperor's heart lean towards us?"

  Lin Yong praised and took a look at his niece, this is not a particularly profound remark, but it's not easy for someone of her young age to see through these things. At her age, he might not have been able to see clearly himself, and her way of thinking was similar to his own plans, only needing more careful arrangements in the actual implementation.

  There is one more thing she didn't mention, but he believes that she must have also figured it out. For the emperor, it doesn't matter if his subjects are stupid or incompetent; what's important is their loyalty.

  The Lin family chose her to enter the palace and it was fortunate that they did not make a mistake, he could finally feel at ease letting her do this empress role, letting her help protect the crown prince and the Lin family.

  Li listened to Lin Xiao's words and fell into deep thought, on the one hand she was shocked for her, on the other hand she was also proud of her cleverness.

  After a while, she smiled and said: "You child, can't compare the great affairs of state with the petty squabbles of those maids in your courtyard. Besides, since that Sakura maid is usually sneaky and careless, why don't you drive her out?"

  Lin Xiang smiled slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, and said: "Well... although Cherry doesn't take her work seriously, she has another good point - she loves gossiping and knows all the idle chatter. Through her, I can find out many things that happen in the mansion." She looked at Qi Shi with a hint of embarrassment and smiled, saying: "For example, Constant Momo, who used to serve by Second Madam's side, was actually driven out because she tried to help one of the maids attend to Third Brother when Third Sister was pregnant."

  Qī Shì listened for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and said: "That servant girl, really has a mouth that doesn't know the door."

  Chang Momo was her dowry, after the incident she looked at the past emotional debt and gave her face, only telling people that it was her nephew who wanted to take her out to enjoy life and actively asked for her resignation. She handled the climbing maid quickly, and not many people knew about this matter. Unexpectedly, the unremarkable maid Sakura was able to find out about this matter, it seems she really has some skills.

  "Besides, the grandfather of Sakura is an old man who served my grandfather in the government, so I have to give her some face."

  Mr. Li nodded and said nothing more.

  The impeachment of Lin Ying continued to ferment in the imperial court, and eventually even the entire Lin family was implicated. For example, there were impeachments against Lin Yong for embezzlement in the Five Armies Command, forging soldiers' names to swindle military pay, the Lin family's seizure of good land in the northwest, the Lin family's young master not paying silver when buying things on the street, and so on. The storm continued to sweep into the Lin family's relatives, including the Yuanguo Duke's mansion, the Dugu family, the Rongguo Duke's mansion, the Qi family, the Jinling Zheng family, and others. Even Zheng Yuan, Zheng's brother, was impeached for writing a song for a courtesan in a brothel, losing his reputation as a scholar.

  Of course, there are still people in the court who can help Lin's family. Among these impeachment voices, there are also several voices defending Lin's family.

  No matter how the imperial court argued, it seemed to have no effect on the Lin family. The Lin family neither defended themselves nor apologized, but continued to fulfill their duties and went about their business with a calm and clear attitude, as if they were saying "I am clear and innocent, the sky is vast and I am bright".

  Then one day, the Emperor summoned Lin Yong to the Diligent Government Hall for a long conversation that lasted for two hours. When he came out, Lin Yong was supported by others, his face pale and tearful, with a hint of despair still on his face. Everyone thought that he must have been reprimanded by the Emperor, and that the position of the Empress of the Lin family would also be affected. However, the Emperor issued an imperial decree summoning Lin Ying to return to the capital to plead her case.

  Whenever an emperor summons a minister to return to the capital for self-examination, it means that the emperor still believes in this minister. If the emperor no longer believes in this minister, he will not be given the opportunity to defend himself at all.

  Then those who were watching or waiting for a good show all understood that the foundation of the Lin family was still solid.

  Half a month later, Lin Ying returned to Beijing.

  Lin Ying did not return alone, but was accompanied by several well-known citizens from the northwest and two members of the Yang clan.

  Lin Ying returned to the capital and went straight into the palace for an audience. The two men, who were both maternal uncle and brother-in-law as well as soon-to-be father-in-law and son-in-law, had a long conversation that lasted all afternoon. Then, news spread about the Yang family's corruption of court officials, annexing good farmland from civilians in the northwest, and driving up grain prices.

  Of course, all of this is after the fact.

  Lin Ying came out of the palace after finishing her audience with the emperor and rode a horse directly back to the Wu Guo Gong Fu.

  Li and Zhuang brought their children to greet him at the door.

  Lin Ying first bowed to Li's family, then looked at his wife whom he hadn't seen for nearly two months, stretched out his hand and pulled her into a hug, softly calling: "A Rou."

  Zhuang's face turned red, and she pushed him, reminding him: "Your mother and children are all here."

  Mr. Li burst out laughing and said with a smile, "I know you miss your wife dearly, but first go see the kids."

  Lin Ying hugged Zhuang Shi for a while, then reluctantly let her go. She saw Lin Xiao, who had been smiling all along, and gently patted her head. Then she saw the little Lin Xuan beside Lin Xiao, picked her up in one move, and sighed: "Our Little Jade has grown so big!" As she said that, she pinched Lin Xuan's ear.

  This made Lin Xuan, who was still a bit unfamiliar with him, suddenly become affectionate towards him. He hugged her neck excitedly and asked for praise: "That's because I had good food to eat every day." As he spoke, he pointed at Li Shi and said: "Grandmother can be my witness."

  "Ah, yes, yes, yes! You're absolutely right, Yu Yu is indeed the most obedient and sensible one."

  Then came Lin Chenggang and his sister Lin Xuan, who had come to pay their respects. When Lin Ying saw them, her expression turned slightly pale, and she nodded slightly, but didn't say a word to them, which made Lin Xuan, who had prepared a lot of words to please her father, feel somewhat disappointed.