Weird, my gaming life

Zhu Hongyuan didn't dare to look at his daughter's heartbroken face, and instead turned to look at Lin Yuan.

He had high hopes for the child who had been taken in by his third daughter.

It was also a talisman he left for his daughter, but now it seems he underestimated the child.

This child not only possesses astonishing martial arts talent, but his composure and meticulousness in the face of danger are no less than those of the ministers in the imperial court.

This is no longer just an ordinary genius, but a pillar of society capable of assisting a monarch.

"Qin Xiu, you... performed very well today. You have not only cleared the Third Princess of suspicion, but also found clues for this purpose. Do you have any reward you would like?"

Lin Yuan lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I am merely the princess's personal guard. I have only been fulfilling my duty and dare not take credit for anything."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Zhu Hongyuan suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with admiration and pleasure. "What a dutiful son! My daughter certainly didn't misjudge him!"

He released Zhu Wanying and walked up to Lin Yuan.

"I remember last time I only gave you the position of a page, which was unfair to you. From today onwards, you will be Princess Changping's companion."

"You will hold the rank of seventh grade official and receive the salary of a Hanlin Academy reader. From now on, you will reside in a side hall of the Yuhua Palace and will no longer need to return to the library."

Lin Yuan was about to refuse when he realized this was blatant ingratitude.

I finally managed to own such a treasure trove of books, and now it's going to be given away like this!

Just as Lin Yuan opened his mouth, he heard Zhu Wanying's sobbing voice.

"Father, Qin Xiu loves reading!"

Zhu Hongyuan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something.

"Tear a jade pendant off your person. Take this; it will grant you free access to the palace, including the imperial library."

Lin Yuan was overjoyed. As long as he wasn't deprived of his right to read, everything was fine.

Lin Yuan quickly took the jade pendant, a rare smile appearing on his lips.

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty."

However, while Lin Yuan and the other two were all happy, the Empress was not so happy.

Thinking about what her daughter would go through next.

Then I thought of Lin Yuan, a mere child, who rose to power by stepping on his own daughter, and who at such a young age obtained the rank of a seventh-grade official. Most importantly, he was the companion of that vile woman's daughter.

She harbored immense resentment, and her gaze towards Lin Yuan was like that of a venomous snake, exceptionally gloomy.

Just then, the two imperial guards who had been dispatched led the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department into the main hall.

The three bowed and reported their names, after which the head of the Imperial Household Department unfolded a long list.

"Your Majesty, upon reviewing the expenditure register, it appears that in the past six months, only Her Majesty the Empress, His Highness the Crown Prince, and... Her Highness the First Princess have received the Purple Gold Ink from the palace."

The truth is now crystal clear.

Instantly, all eyes were focused on the Empress and her daughter.

Zhu Hongyuan's face darkened, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes. Had it really come to this? Children killing each other.

"Your Majesty, do you have anything else to say?"

The Empress remained silent for a moment, then looked at her daughter.

Zhu Lingyun met her mother's gaze, then gritted her teeth.

"Father... it was all done by your son. Your son was jealous of the favor your father usually showed to the Third Princess."

Feeling resentful, she thought, "Why am I the eldest princess of the Ming Dynasty, while my third sister is the most favored...?"

Zhu Lingyun, his face ashen, admitted his mistake.

She knew that the best thing to do was to confess honestly, otherwise it would implicate her mother and the crown prince, and she would be even less likely to retain her status as the eldest princess.

"That's enough!"

Zhu Hongyuan waved his dragon sleeve, his voice filled with exhaustion.

"From this day forward, the Princess is to be confined to Changxin Palace for one year, and to copy the 'Admonitions for Women' a thousand times. Without my decree, she is not to step out of the palace gates even a single step!"

He looked at the Empress, his voice turning colder, "As for you, Empress, you have failed to properly educate your daughter. From this day forward, all affairs of the inner palace will be temporarily handled by Consort Shu. You should reflect on your actions in the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Empress lowered her head with resentment in her eyes, said no more, and then led the eldest princess, whose face was ashen, out of Yuhua Palace.

The hall fell silent again. Zhu Hongyuan glanced at his daughter, who was silently bowing her head beside him, and nodded.

"Wanying, you've suffered today. It's getting late, you should get some rest!"

"It is Father Emperor who has stood up for me today!"

Zhu Hongyuan patted her head tenderly.

"Wanying! Don't blame your father, he had no choice in the matter!"

"I know, Father, Wanying doesn't blame you, it's just that Wanying..."

At this point, Zhu Wanying finally couldn't hold back her tears and they flowed down her cheeks.

"Father, if only you weren't the emperor!"

Lin Yuan stood silently to the side. This little girl, sometimes she was too pretentious.

However, Lin Yuan could understand; who wouldn't want to receive their parents' wholehearted love?

However, even if an emperor's heart is biased, it's impossible for him to be so biased as to love his daughter more than his country.

The outcome of this incident shows that the emperor ultimately did not take drastic measures.

It was merely a house arrest; clearly, the Empress had immense power behind her, so much so that even the Emperor found it difficult to deal with.

After Zhu Hongyuan had comforted him for a while, his gaze turned to Lin Yuan again.

"Qin Xiu, I entrust my daughter's safety to you. I hope you will live up to her good intentions."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Lin Yuan bowed and replied.

Zhu Hongyuan then left the main hall with his men. After all, it was already late at night, and if he didn't go back to rest, he didn't know if he would be able to get up for the morning court session the next day.

In an instant, only Zhu Wanying, Lin Yuan, and a terrified palace maid remained in the main hall.

Zhu Wanying looked at Lin Yuan with red eyes, opened her mouth, and uttered a soft "Thank you!" that only she could hear.

If Lin Yuan hadn't had such excellent hearing, he might not have been able to hear what she was saying.

Looking at Zhu Wanying, who had a proud yet slightly embarrassed expression.

Lin Yuan's eyes darted around, and he suddenly felt a mischievous urge to play a prank.

"What did you say? Speak louder! I didn't hear you!"

Lin Yuan's blunt words left the slightly arrogant Zhu Wanying momentarily at a loss.

Her face was flushed.

This brat is still just as annoying, but thinking about how Lin Yuan helped this time...

She might actually be unable to get away, so she glared at Lin Yuan with her swollen, red eyes, and then took a deep breath.

"I said, thank you, kid!"

Lin Yuan picked at his ear, somewhat amused.

"Why aren't you being coy now? You even said it would be better if Father wasn't the Emperor. You're so old, yet you're still acting all spoiled and aggrieved. It's just embarrassing!"

Looking at Lin Yuan's affected, mimicking expression,

Zhu Wanying was instantly filled with a sense of shame and reached out her finger to poke Lin Yuan's head.

"You jerk, all you do is try to put me down!"

Lin Yuan quickly dodged to prevent her from poking him, and after a series of playful back-and-forths...

Zhu Wanying collapsed to the ground, panting, her grievances and unhappiness fading considerably.

Looking at Lin Yuan, who was neither red-faced nor out of breath, her eyes began to become extremely serious.

"Qin Xiu, thank you so much!"

After saying that, Zhu Wanying got up and ran to her bed, covered her head with the blanket, and pretended to be an ostrich.

A muffled, deep voice came from inside.

"Little Ling'er, take Qin Xiu to the side room to rest, and remember to take good care of him!"

After saying that, he fell silent.

Seeing that the princess had regained her former vitality.

The palace maid Xiaoling'er, who had been somewhat trembling just moments before, also grinned.

Like Lin Yuan, she was also a girl that the Third Princess picked up outside the palace during one of her trips outside.

At that time, her family suffered a drought, and her parents starved to death. She begged her way to the capital and accidentally bumped into the princess's carriage, which was leaving the palace at the invitation of the crown prince to go on a spring outing.

She was terrified, fearing that if she offended that important figure, she would be beaten to death for barely surviving.

When she turned around, she saw a girl about her age looking at her with very gentle eyes.

She was then taken back to the palace by the kind princess and became her personal maid.

These past few years have been extremely comfortable being by the princess's side.

The princess had a very good temper. Although she was sometimes a little willful, she never made things difficult for the servants.

This is why she was willing to risk her life to run out and plead for the princess's help.

"Alright, Princess!"

After speaking, Xiao Ling'er looked at Lin Yuan with a smiling gaze.

"Young Master Qin, let's go! This servant will take you to rest."

Seeing Zhu Wanying covered by the blanket, Lin Yuan felt that he had driven away the little girl's affectation and did not linger any longer.

They followed the palace maid Xiao Ling'er toward the side room.

Under the careful care of an older sister, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the soft bed.

He had just circulated his internal energy once when he opened his eyes and was overjoyed once more.

The dynasty's fortune is simply beyond description!

The mere fact that he held the position of a seventh-rank companion scholar caused his internal energy cultivation speed to increase threefold.

He directly reached a terrifying thirty points of true essence, which gave Lin Yuan a strong urge to climb higher.

If this applies to seventh-rank officials, what about sixth-rank, fifth-rank, and even second- and first-rank officials?

However, Lin Yuan quickly suppressed this impulse.

Now he is just the princess's companion, which is a fairly easy job, as he doesn't have much to do besides spending time with the princess.

It doesn't affect his meditation and practice, but if he really wants to advance further, then it's not just about occupying a position without doing anything.

He would inevitably have many official duties to attend to, and at that time, if he wanted to practice martial arts all day, he wouldn't have that much time.

This position is perfect for him now, and with his relationship with Zhu Wanying, he can go out to be with her only when she needs him.

He was almost the same as the man in the library most of the time, with plenty of time to do his own thing.

Once you're promoted to a public office of rank six or higher, there's always a lot of people waiting for you.

Even setting aside the daily morning court session, just the daily duties were something Lin Yuan could not accept.

Even if the speed of his internal energy cultivation were doubled, Lin Yuan wouldn't want to switch.

Because internal energy cultivation is only one aspect of his practice.

Other external martial arts, body tempering, alchemy, and the basic talisman array guide he recently found in the library are all things he will spend a lot of time studying.