Lin Yan received an imperial decree to return to the capital for a report of duty before her three-year term was complete.
When the decree arrived, Lin Yan was still handling official business. Upon receiving it, she felt a sense of strangeness.
Her reporting duty was scheduled for next year, and it should have been a formal document issued by the Ministry of Personnel. To receive an imperial decree directly from the Emperor before her term was up was highly unusual.
While in the capital, she had been a nonentity; the Emperor had never paid her any attention. How could she be summoned back after only two years away?
No one in the capital would have spoken favorably of her to the Emperor, so why would he suddenly think of her?
Lin Yan did not ponder this for long. She immediately sent someone to send a message to Yingchuan, to see if the Prince knew anything about this matter.
Afterward, she began arranging for her belongings to be packed and started the handover of her duties. Although the imperial decree did not demand an immediate departure, she knew she could not delay for too long.
Regardless, she had been to the capital before, so she would take things one step at a time.
Zhao Hao learned of Lin Yan's impending return to the capital only after she was already on her way.
Before, when he could still see Lin Yan, he hadn't thought much of it. But now that she was truly gone, he realized how different Lin Yan was to him.
However, he didn't believe he had fallen in love. After all, they were both men, and he hadn't considered anything of that sort. He simply missed Lin Yan more and more.
With Lin Yan no longer in the capital, and the Emperor constantly monitoring him, preventing him from doing anything, he found himself lacking interest in everything.
No matter what he did, he would think of Lin Yan. Whether reading, practicing calligraphy, or playing chess, each activity brought back memories of his time with Lin Yan.
The longing for her did not fade with the length of her absence; instead, it grew stronger.
Now, hearing that Lin Yan was to return to the capital, he was overjoyed.
"Yan ge is coming back! Go pack his luggage. Haven't we received some new fabrics recently? Find some to make some inner garments for Yan ge."
Although he couldn't prepare outer garments for Lin Yan, he could still prepare some inner ones. The newly arrived fabrics were soft and fine, perfect for making inner garments.
"Oh, and have the chefs in the manor who cook Southern cuisine practice their skills more. When Yan ge arrives, we can make them for him to taste."
"Yes." Everyone watched their master regain his spirits, which made them happy, so they busied themselves.
However, this busyness was somewhat concealed. The Emperor had somewhat relaxed his surveillance on this side, but if there was too much activity here, it would still attract his attention.
"I wonder how long Yan ge will stay in the capital this time. I truly hope he can remain an official in the capital. No, he shouldn't be an official in the capital forever." Zhao Hao did not wish to stay in the capital forever either.
He knew his father's intentions. Although they were somewhat treasonous, their family had been cornered with no other options. The path laid out before them was the only one left.
Although he didn't know if Lin Yan was aware of his family's plans, he had been very careful in his interactions with Lin Yan, not wanting to cause her any trouble.
Lin Yan had been inquiring for news all along the way, but her imperial decree had arrived so suddenly that she couldn't gather any information.
Even the Prince of Yingchuan had no news to impart, making the whole affair incredibly mysterious.
Her transfer order only stated that she was to return to the capital for a report of duty. It did not specify whether she would retain her original rank or be promoted afterward.
Lin Yan returned to the capital in this state of bewilderment. After resting for a night, she proceeded to the Ministry of Personnel to report for duty.
It was not the usual year for reporting duties, but with an imperial decree in hand, the Ministry of Personnel did not know how to proceed and could only report it up the chain.
Seeing that the Ministry of Personnel was also unclear about her situation, she realized this must have been the Emperor's doing. She wondered why he would do such a thing. Had the male lead said something to the Emperor on her behalf?
Speaking of which, she hadn't paid attention to the male and female leads for a long time.
"System, do you know the current situation of the male and female leads?"
"Reporting to the host, the male lead has been betrothed by the Emperor and is currently preparing to marry his intended bride."
"Betrothed? Who is the other party?"
"It's not the female lead. It's a young lady from a Marquis's mansion, said to be quite talented."
Lin Yan frowned upon hearing this from the system. The male lead was betrothed; what about the female lead?
She remembered that in the original story, the Emperor had betrothed them to each other.
"What about the female lead?"
"The female lead is currently going on blind dates. Her maternal grandmother is showing her the newly appointed scholars, and it's said she quite wishes to marry a scholar."
The system clearly explained the female lead's situation. Of course, the female lead's father wanted to marry her off to the son of a colleague, but he was reprimanded by the female lead's maternal grandfather.
That son was a dissolute individual with a poor reputation. After the female lead's cousin overheard the information, he conveyed it to her maternal grandfather. The grandfather then visited and reprimanded the female lead's father, even retrieving the female lead's birth details.
Furthermore, he declared that the female lead's marriage had nothing to do with her father from then on. He even threatened to visit and take her mother's dowry.
The maternal grandfather, having come from a military background, acted purely on his conscience. He held a high position in court, and even the Emperor gave him some face, so he utterly disregarded his former son-in-law.
If he had considered him, he would not have sent people to protect his granddaughter and his daughter's dowry after his daughter's death.
This left his son-in-law disgraced and humiliated.
However, the marriage between the two families had already been announced. Even if the female lead's maternal grandfather did not consent, the alliance could not be canceled.
Especially since the son of his colleague already had a tarnished reputation, making it impossible for him to marry anyone else.
As for him marrying into a humble family, he was unwilling. His colleague insisted that the female lead's father fulfill this engagement.
Scholars valued their promises. Since he had already agreed, he could only grit his teeth and accept. Besides the female lead, the female lead's father had two other daughters, one legitimate and one concubine.
The legitimate daughter was the child of the female lead's stepmother, while the concubine was still very young. As the colleague pressed him, he could only tearfully agree to marry off his daughter born to his current wife.
There was no other choice, as the colleague, though called a peer, held a higher official post and could even affect his career.
This was a case of the scumbag father shooting himself in the foot.
"It's truly good that the female lead has such a maternal family." In a world like this, having such family members would likely be the female lead's greatest fortune.
"Indeed, host."
It seemed the male lead's comfortable life had a lot to do with his mother. Now that his mother was dead, his fate had taken a significant turn.
The female lead was the 'qi yun' (fortune) of this world, and by being with her, the male lead would also become favored by fortune.
The male lead's mother must have realized this, which is why she agreed to let her son marry the female lead.
After all, although the male lead loved the female lead, her reputation in the capital was not good, making it impossible for her to become the official consort of a prince.
"Lord Lin, His Majesty requests an audience."