"That is good. Prime Minister Lin is a pillar of our Great Wei. Naturally, his granddaughters should also do their best for the royal family."
Do their best?
Lin Wanyi didn't quite understand why he suddenly brought that up.
Perhaps seeing her confused look, the Emperor added,
"The Noble Consort came to see me a few days ago. Between the lines, she was suggesting that once your leg is healed, you should resume serving me as soon as possible. It seems your elder sister has great hopes for you."
Lin Wanyi felt an uneasy chill hearing that.
But thinking it through, she had to admire Lin Guifei's skill.
First, she'd used her brother's spot on the Dragon Boat Festival crew as bait to lure Lin Wanyi into volunteering to join the festival, and then she even brought up serving the Emperor again, painting a picture of a newly favored concubine who was afraid of losing the Emperor's attention due to a long illness.
Once word of that spread, it wouldn't matter if outsiders believed it or not.
What mattered was what the Emperor thought.
Thankfully, she hadn't gone to Qian'an Hall to seek him out in the past few days. If she had even made one move in that direction, she'd have truly cemented that "reputation."
Seeing her remain silent, the Emperor followed up.
Lin Wanyi lifted the paper with her embroidery sketches and said,
"I enjoy my days right now. Back at the manor, I was always too busy to do things like this — either helping my mother with accounts or receiving etiquette lessons from my grandmother. By the end of the day I hardly knew what I'd been doing. Here, I can finally enjoy a bit of peace."
She didn't answer him directly, but made her point clear:
Yes, she came from the Lin family. But she was also a living person, not some puppet or ornament for Lin Guifei to manipulate at will, even controlling her reputation in the palace.
That puppet-like existence — her branch of the family had endured it for years, her whole family had endured it for years.
From now on, she did not want to live that way.
"The Noble Consort is Grandmother's legitimate granddaughter, pampered since birth, and she carries herself with all of Grandmother's confidence. But I am different. My birth grandmother passed early, and my maternal family were simple merchants. Since childhood I had to be cautious and careful. I am no great soaring bird, nor do I have powerful connections, so I am content to protect my own small corner of the world."
Such words, in the past, Lin Wanyi would never have dared to say out loud.
There was even a slight tone of defiance, which the Emperor easily heard.
Seeing her a bit upset, his doubts and tests actually eased away.
"I see what you mean. Along the way, only this Left Wing Hall you live in is arranged comfortably."
When she didn't reply, he changed the subject.
"This side hall — does it have a name?"
"I don't know. Since I arrived, everyone has just called it the Left Wing Hall."
"Then I shall bestow it a name today."
He turned toward the study, walking straight over.
Dong Yuzhong and Qiu Ming hurried forward, one offering ink and brushes, the other flattening the paper.
The Emperor glanced back at Lin Wanyi, then mused aloud,
"A line of poetry says: 'Content with a simple bowl, the mind is naturally at ease. When the heart is calm, the world is wide.' That suits you well — let this place be called Xianyi Hall (Hall of Peaceful Intent)."
Xianyi Hall — it fit her state of mind very well. Lin Wanyi repeated it to herself a few times, liking it more with each repetition.
Meanwhile, the Emperor had already written the plaque inscription.
"Tell the Inner Court Office to make the plaque immediately, and have it hung up for Lin Daying at once, so that I won't have to see this place looking so plain every time I come."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Qiu Ming carefully packed up the Emperor's calligraphy and personally rushed it to the Inner Court Office.
After that interruption, the bit of anger Lin Wanyi had felt earlier also faded away.
"Before I came, I told the Imperial Kitchen to make a few Sichuan dishes for you. I remembered you like them spicy, so I asked them to add extra chilies."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for thinking of me."
Afterward, the Emperor stepped in front of her and gently lifted the hem of her trousers to look at the injury.
It had faded compared to two days ago, though the bruising wasn't completely gone yet.
"You really are delicate — just this small injury, and you're still not recovered. If it were me, I'd be walking within two or three days."
"Your Majesty's body is far nobler — how could you ever be injured?"
In Great Wei, the nation was founded on military strength, and every emperor since childhood had to learn to ride horses.
Naturally, there would be times they fell, so injuries were hard to avoid.
The Emperor's gaze darkened, as if unwilling to discuss it, and he lightly explained,
"Fell from a horse as a child."
Lin Wanyi didn't press the matter. She was never the talkative type and knew when to stop.
Instead, she smoothly shifted the conversation to household topics.
The Emperor stayed in Xianyi Hall through the evening meal. After rinsing his mouth with tea, he finally departed with his attendants.
During those two or three hours, Lin Wanyi had been tense and cautious, accompanying him carefully the whole time.
When he left, Xia An came forward to help her, massaging her shoulders and neck.
Closing her eyes, Lin Wanyi mentally replayed everything she had said, making sure she had not crossed any lines. Only then did she truly relax.
Showing a bit of temper before the Emperor had been a risky move.
If she hadn't made her situation in the Prime Minister's house clear, there would only have been more tests like this in the future.
Rather than trying to treat symptoms again and again, it was better to pull up the problem at its root.
By revealing that she was not aligned with Noble Consort Lin from the very beginning, perhaps she could reduce the Emperor's doubts.
After all, the daughters of powerful ministers who entered the palace — people called it a glorious fate, but from the Emperor's view, it was often more a matter of suspicion than affection.
Especially if they bore children, that could be a real threat to the throne.
Past emperors had been manipulated by their wives' relatives more than once, and no one wanted to be a puppet ruler.
Leaving Xianyi Hall, Yuwen Hong's face grew more solemn.
"Go, summon Geng Caiyou for me."
"Yes."
Geng Caiyou was the commander of the Imperial Security Office. From royalty down to commoners, there was nothing this agency could not uncover.
This shadowy organization had been under the direct control of successive emperors — the sharpest dagger in the Emperor's hand.
In Qian'an Hall, Geng Caiyou knelt respectfully, wearing black brocade from head to toe, half his face hidden behind an iron mask, showing no hint of emotion.
"Your servant Geng Caiyou greets Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty peace."
When he had arrived, the Emperor spoke softly, yet there was a heavy seriousness in his tone.
"Go investigate everything about the Prime Minister's eldest branch of the family, as thoroughly as possible."
"Yes, I accept the command!"
After Geng Caiyou left, the Emperor's mind drifted back to years ago.