The emperor pulled up Lin Daiyu who was paying her respects to him and walked in with her, asking as they went: "What were you just doing?"

  Lin Xiao smiled and winked at him, slyly saying: "Guess, Your Majesty."

  As they spoke, the two of them had already entered the inner hall.

  The emperor sat down on the couch and took her in his arms, then saw the list of candidates for the selection of imperial concubines placed on a small table.

  The emperor picked it up and took a look, then stroked his forehead and said: "It's the list of candidates for the imperial harem, I almost forgot, this year is the year of selecting beauties."

  Lin Dai hugged his his arm, and said with a smile: "Not long after, the imperial harem will be lively. What kind of beauty does the emperor like?" She counted on her fingers: "Is it beautiful, intelligent, virtuous, or pure, charming, or the type that can talk eloquently? Please tell me, Your Majesty, and I'll select them according to your requirements."

  The emperor nodded his head and smiled slyly: "Then choose according to your character, like yours, I will surely like it."

  Lin Wei grasped his sleeve and smiled: "That's not possible, in the world there is only one kind of clever, beautiful, agile and virtuous person like me, there isn't a second one. The Emperor has already been lucky to have me, there isn't another one for him."

  The emperor burst out laughing: "You're not modest at all."

  Lin Xiao smiled and said: "Your Majesty, lower your demands a bit."

  The Emperor said: "Then choose according to your own preferences, I trust Yuan's vision."

  Lin Huan continued, "That won't do. The way women look at other women is different from the way men look at them. What if the emperor doesn't like the woman I choose? It would be a waste of the emperor's food and resources. I've just managed to reduce the expenses in the harem."

  The Emperor said: "Since neither of these options is feasible, what does Yuan Yuan say we should do?"

  Lin He said: "Then, at the final review, His Majesty will come in person and keep those he likes." Lin He asked again: "How many beauties does Your Majesty plan to select this time?"

  The Emperor asked: "Then which ones would you choose?"

  Lin Daiyu pouted and said, "As the Emperor says, the selected beauties are to serve the Emperor, not me. Of course, it's up to the Emperor to decide how many he wants." As she spoke, she reached out and wrapped her arms around the Emperor's neck, resting her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with a sour tone: "If I were to choose, I wouldn't choose any of them. The Emperor doesn't know, but I'm very jealous."

  The emperor lowered his head to look at her, her face close enough to him that he could clearly see her long, curled eyelashes trembling like a cicada's wings, her eyes shining brightly like stars, staring unwaveringly at him, with a lovely smile on her face, yet with a moving sincerity.

  The emperor only felt that today's Lin Yan was somewhat different, and he didn't know if it was his own illusion or her intention. She was like a quietly blooming flower, emitting the enchanting and alluring fragrance of a maiden.

  The emperor had a slight loss of consciousness, his hand unconsciously stroked her face, and his fingers slid over the edge of her pale, moist, and slightly curved lips.

  The emperor thought about what would happen if he kissed her tender lips. Then the emperor felt that doing so would be a crime.

  Lin Xie quietly placed her hand in the emperor's palm, her fingers seemingly unintentionally scratching his palm, as if teasing him on purpose, all the way to the emperor's heart, making him feel that something was quietly rising from his chest and flowing towards his limbs.

  The emperor usually saw Lin Xiang as a child who couldn't help but be spoiled and didn't deserve any blame, but today he realized that she was actually a woman with hidden charms.

  With a woman's mature figure and a young girl's slightly tender body.

  The emperor muttered something, Lin Daiyu didn't hear clearly, and just pricked up her ears to ask a sentence, when suddenly there was a knock at the door outside, and the eunuch's voice came in: "Your Majesty."

  The emperor seemed to have come back to his senses, his eyes clearing up a bit as he smiled at Lin Xiao and motioned for her to get up.

  Lin Xiao felt a little disappointed in her heart, but also let out a sigh of relief, thinking that seducing people was really not her forte.

  She also came down from the emperor's arms, slightly adjusted her clothes, and sat back up elegantly beside the emperor.

  "The Emperor called out: 'Come in.'"

  Wan Gonggong walked in from outside and saluted Emperor Lin Xiang, saying: "He Bao Lin sent someone to pass on a message that the fourth prince is ill again."

  Lin Xiao listened with a curved mouth and smiled, she remembered the day of her grand wedding with the Emperor, Zhao Yang Palace also said that the Fourth Prince was ill, so they invited the Emperor away.

  The emperor probably thought of it too, with a few points of impatience on his face, and said to the eunuch: "Call the imperial physician to take a look, and after the imperial physician has seen him, report back to me what kind of situation the fourth prince is in."

  Wan Gonggong saw the emperor's displeasure on his face, and he was also secretly worried. He didn't intentionally want to disturb the emperor and empress's elegant gathering. If it were any other palace concubine who fell ill and asked for the emperor's presence, he would have turned them away himself. However, since this involved the imperial heir, he didn't dare take matters into his own hands. What if something really happened? No one could bear the responsibility. But that side of the Zhaoyang Palace was fond of using the imperial heir as a pawn.

  He waited until he became emperor and then left after saying yes.

  Lin Xiao believed that the fourth prince's illness was indeed a real illness, and the Shao Yang Palace did not dare to deceive the emperor. But whether it was a serious or minor illness, and how the illness came about, were worth pondering.

  He Baolin is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince. A mother's love for her child is natural, and she may not be willing to use the Fourth Prince's body to curry favor. But Wu Guifei might not necessarily feel the same way.

  He Baolin was promoted by Wu Guifei to become a palace concubine, but as a result, she also had to be controlled by Wu Guifei. As long as Wu Guifei exerted some pressure, He Baolin couldn't even control her own child's body. This is the sorrow of having no foundation and relying on Wu Guifei.

  Lin Di said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I think we should promote He Baolin's position and move her and the Fourth Prince out of the Zhao Yang Palace. What do you think? After all, He Baolin gave birth to the Fourth Prince, but as his mother, her status is too low, which doesn't look good for the Fourth Prince either."

  He Baolin and Wu Guifei, one was willing to fight and the other was willing to suffer, she didn't care much about her life or death. But the fourth prince was her responsibility as empress, under her rule, she did not want the phenomenon of abnormal death of princes and princesses in the harem. This was not only her dereliction of duty, but also caused chaos in the palace.

  The emperor nodded and said, "Let's do it your way. I think He Baolin is not very good at raising children, so let's wait for the fourth prince to grow up a bit more in two years, then we'll pick out some reliable nannies to take care of him."

  Now the child is still too young, it's better to follow his birth mother. But He Baolin was born as a palace maid, even she herself was controlled by the noble consort and had no freedom, her character, vision and experience were all unsatisfactory, the fourth prince would only be spoiled if he followed her.

  He can be manipulated by Gui Fei and He Baolin, but the prince cannot become a tool for their rivalry.