Chapter 1516: Her Highness the Princess (66)

The news that Lü Qing had been slapped by the Second Princess at the poetry gathering spread throughout the imperial capital like wildfire.

Because of this, Lü Qing added Lin Yuexiang to the list of people he hated.

He felt that if not for Lin Yuexiang, he would never have lost face, and from now on, he would have no face left to attend any poetry gatherings in the capital.

For the common people, this was simply another juicy topic of conversation.

For the Emperor and Empress, however, it was a trivial matter not worth mentioning.

As long as Tang Xi and Lü Qing didn't cause major trouble, take lives, or bring their affairs before the throne, the imperial couple would simply turn a blind eye.

To begin with, they didn't particularly care about Tang Xi, so naturally they weren't interested in meddling.

When the Emperor heard that Lü Qing had publicly composed poems praising Lin Yuexiang's beauty with frivolous wording, he actually thought Tang Xi had done the right thing by slapping him.

Lin Yuexiang might be a woman, but was she an ordinary woman?

She was now one of his ministers, attending court every day, and the first female official in Beixia Kingdom.

After the poetry gathering, Lü Qing rarely stepped outside.

On the ledger of people he hated, several names had been deeply engraved—Tang Guo, the Little Divine Doctor of the capital, Official Lin Yuexiang, and Tang Xi.

Now he was a cripple, and Tang Xi repeatedly calling him one, scolding him for not staying quietly in the manor and insisting on going out to make trouble, truly filled him with rage.

But after the anger subsided, Lü Qing only felt powerless.

Back then, he had resolutely chosen to marry a princess, believing that with his abilities, even without entering officialdom, he could still achieve great things.

Now, a mere woman had become a court official and stood above him.

It made him miserable.

Especially when that woman's name happened to be Lin Yuexiang.

Compared to Lü Qing, Lin Yuexiang's life was flourishing.

She attended court punctually every day and got along very well with her colleagues. In her spare time, she would often visit Tang Guo's residence.

Everyone knew she belonged to Her Highness the Grand Princess, so no one dared openly recruit her.

“They may not dare to recruit me, but that doesn't mean they don't want to,” Lin Yuexiang said helplessly. Although she had prepared herself mentally, many things after entering officialdom still left her in disbelief.

Tang Guo asked curiously, “What did they do?”

“They sent me men.” Lin Yuexiang swallowed a piece of pastry, looking utterly speechless. “All of them were seventeen or eighteen years old, handsome and fair-skinned, each with talents in poetry, calligraphy, painting, or literature.”

Rubbing her forehead, she continued, “Your Highness, tell me, could I really bring myself to touch boys only two or three years older than my son? I truly don't understand why they think I like that sort.”

“One day, I returned home and entered my room, only to find a young man lying on my bed.”

The corners of Tang Guo's lips curled upward uncontrollably.

The ministers of Beixia were rather amusing. They had actually thought of stuffing handsome men into Lin Yuexiang's bed.

【Host, does this count as keeping up with the times? Women for men, handsome men for women.】

Tang Guo laughed and asked, “And what happened to that young man afterward?”

“I asked him if he had been forced,” Lin Yuexiang replied. She thought there was nothing wrong with asking that, considering that people in such situations were often powerless. “Who would have thought he'd blush and tell me he came willingly?”

“After that, I had someone throw him out. The next day, after court ended, I had no choice but to ask His Majesty for a group of guards and dismissed all the original servants in my residence.”

“Now things are finally peaceful,” Lin Yuexiang said with obvious relief.