"To Chenyue Hall."
"Your Majesty." The female official behind her reminded, "The attendants from Chenyue Hall came earlier, saying that the Chong side consort is currently at Beihua Palace, waiting for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin's heart rejoiced.
After so many meals with him, he was finally willing to come looking for her?
She changed direction and walked towards her palace.
As soon as the person at the entrance finished announcing, Zhu Yin appeared at the palace gate. Seeing the person kneeling and performing rites in a hurry, she quickly helped him up.
"Didn't I tell you not to perform rites?"
Zhong Yan, supported by her, stood up, looking at her with a strange expression, his eyes filled with a hint of grievance.
"What's wrong?" She pulled him to sit aside, "Or did I come back late today and upset you?"
"This consort dare not."
Zhu Yin looked at his defiant yet hesitant demeanor and couldn't help but laugh, "You dare to show me a long face, what else don't you dare to do?"
Zhong Yan's face instantly turned a little pale.
He had overstepped.
Zhu Yin, however, acted as if she had only made a joke and didn't take it to heart at all, "Have you eaten breakfast today?"
"No."
Zhu Yin then instructed the people below to prepare meals.
When everyone left, she couldn't help but pinch Zhong Yan's face, "What's wrong? Why are you so unhappy? Who upset you?"
Zhong Yan slightly turned his head to escape her hand and said, "No one."
"No one, and you're giving me a long face? Speak quickly, or I..."
Zhong Yan looked at her nervously.
"Will kiss you."
As Zhong Yan breathed a sigh of relief, his heart involuntarily tensed up again.
The Vermillion Bird Kingdom was a matriarchal society. Although women's attitudes towards men were not as harsh as men's in patriarchal societies towards women, as a young man from a noble family trained to marry well, Zhong Yan had learned the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues'.
Such direct words were too much for a decent young man to handle.
However, thinking of something, he did not refuse but said softly, "This consort, is Your Majesty's person."
"Heh." Zhu Yin chuckled, "You mean, I can kiss?"
Zhong Yan's ear tips turned slightly red, and he dared not respond.
As Zhu Yin slowly leaned closer, his body couldn't help but tremble, and his head involuntarily lowered further and further.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Just say what you need to say, and I will agree to anything."
"Really?" Zhong Yan, realizing he had spoken out of turn, was extremely nervous.
"A gentleman's word is his bond, it's true."
Zhong Yan swallowed and hesitated before asking, "Then, can Your Majesty... not send my mother to the south?"
Zhu Yin thought for a moment before remembering who his mother was and asked with some confusion, "Why don't you want her to go? If she handles this matter well, I will have a reason to promote her openly when she returns. Don't you want her to be promoted?"
Zhong Yan shook his head, "My mother is old. My elder sister has been the prefect of Anyang for three years. If she returns to the court, what position does Your Majesty plan to give her?"
A prefect was already a fourth-rank official. Officials returning to the court after serving outside, if they had achieved anything, would generally be promoted in rank. His sister would then be at the same rank as his mother, or even higher. If they both served in the court, it would be awkward no matter what.
So, his mother had previously said she would retire to avoid hindering her sister's future.
Zhu Yin temporarily sorted out these relationships. Although she felt there was no problem, she had to admit that the problem was real.
"Then what official position do you want for your sister?"
"Has Your Majesty forgotten? The inner court should not interfere in politics."
Zhu Yin looked at his serious demeanor and couldn't help but laugh again, "Then why are you telling me you don't want your mother to go south? Does this count as interfering in politics?"
Zhong Yan's face turned grim again.
"Alright, I was just joking. In my eyes, whatever you do is right. Since you don't want her to go, she won't go. It's nothing."
Zhong Yan, however, did not feel comforted.
Although he felt that His Majesty liked him and had been indulging him, such affection came from nowhere and was ethereal, making him afraid to harbor any greedy thoughts.
"This consort thanks Your Majesty."
"However, there are conditions."
He immediately became nervous again.
Zhu Yin looked at him seriously and said, "From now on, do not be so polite to me. In front of me, do not kneel, do not perform rites, and use 'I' to refer to yourself. Do you understand?"
Zhong Yan nodded blankly.
After a lingering meal, she first pinned him down and kissed him a few times, then took him to the imperial study, under the guise of redrafting an imperial decree to send someone else to the south as an imperial envoy.
During this period, she had tried her best to understand the world history, national history, and current state of this plane. With an external advantage that could see through people's hearts at a glance, she knew very well who could be used and who could not, making it not difficult to choose suitable people.
Zhong Yan looked at her casual and lazy demeanor and really wanted to advise her a few words, but he was afraid of provoking him.
After Zhu Yin drafted the imperial decree, she sent her attendant to deliver it, while she began to process the day's memorials.
Following the "killing the chicken to warn the monkeys" incident that day, the number of memorials submitted today had decreased to one-third of the original, and there were fewer convoluted issues. Most were routine matters.
There was also the matter of Nangong Haoxuan's enfeoffment and marriage, which had been mentioned before. This matter was not only mentioned by one person but by several, and some even proposed that Nangong Haoxuan should marry into the Azure Dragon Kingdom.
In short, it was a mess.
Zhu Yin found it headache-inducing and directly threw the memorials aside.
Zhong Yan was startled, "What's wrong?"
She said irritably, "Do these people have nothing better to do? Staring at other people's marriages every day, more concerned than they are about their own children."
Zhong Yan took them and glanced at them. After thinking, he said, "His Highness Haoxuan is indeed of marriageable age. If Your Majesty finds it difficult, you can invite His Highness the Prince of Anyang to ask. After all, they should be closer."
Prince of Anyang, the female protagonist.
Zhu Yin suddenly stood up. That's right, the female protagonist, such a suitable worker, she had actually overlooked her.
"Someone."
"Your Majesty."
"Summon the Prince of Anyang and the imperial princes into the palace."
"Yes."
When the emperor summoned, even the female protagonist had to behave herself. In less than an hour, she entered the palace with Nangong Haoxuan.
Besides the two of them, Zhu Yin also summoned Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu lived in the palace and arrived before both of them.
Because of his aunt's matter, his eyes were clearly red and swollen, and his face was pale. He could only barely maintain the required etiquette, sitting below them.
"Brother... what's wrong with Consort Qiao?"
Qiao Yu sniffled softly, his voice choked with sobs, "Thank you, Consort Chong, for your concern. This consort is fine."
Zhu Yin frowned, "For the things Qiao Mingzhu did, I've already shown great leniency by not killing her. You crying like this, are you dissatisfied with me?"