Richest Man: Divine-Grade Reconstruct System Chapter 1314 - 1169: Greetings to the Empress_2

Eunuch Sun left the courtyard and walked to the gate, where he saw the soldier still standing outside waiting.

"The Empress has spoken, you are to take the visitor and wait at the entrance of Qinzheng Hall," Eunuch Sun said to the soldier.

"Yes, I will immediately take the person to wait at the entrance of Qinzheng Hall," he said, bowing to Eunuch Sun. Only then did he turn to leave.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zihan took her token and asked someone to bring the freshly collected dew, heading towards Qinzheng Hall.

At this hour, Lin Yi should have just finished morning court, but today Xiao Zihan was busy collecting dew and didn’t have breakfast with him.

As the Empress, Xiao Zihan naturally rode a palanquin when moving around the palace.

The maid had already ordered the palanquin to be prepared right after Xiao Zihan instructed people to wait at the entrance of Qinzheng Hall.

They waited for the Empress’s command to set off.

Xiao Zihan instructed the maid to carefully hold the jar containing the dew while she seated herself on the palanquin.

"You have an important responsibility, whether His Majesty can enjoy this pre-rain Longjing tea today depends on this Holy Water," Xiao Zihan said with a smile to the maid holding the jar.

"Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I will be careful and safely deliver your goodwill," the maid replied with a smile.

Seeing Xiao Zihan nod, the maid softly called, "Lift the palanquin."

Riding in the palanquin was certainly much faster than walking on her own.

Moreover, Qinzheng Hall was not far from Xiao Zihan’s palace; Lin Yi had chosen the closest palace to give Xiao Zihan at the time.

The servants outside Qinzheng Hall saw the Empress’s palanquin approaching from afar and hurried inside to report.

You should know our Emperor would rather endure the sun himself than let the Empress suffer, a frown from the Empress was a major matter in the Emperor’s eyes.

Thus, the servants, while perhaps indifferent to other matters, absolutely prioritized the Empress’s concerns.

As the servant went inside to report, Xiao Zihan’s palanquin had already entered the main gate of Qinzheng Hall.

By the time Lin Yi came out to meet Xiao Zihan, she had already dismounted the palanquin.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Xiao Zihan hastily bowed to Lin Yi.

"Empress, please rise quickly." As he spoke, he extended his hand to help Xiao Zihan up and then led her by the hand inside.

"Didn’t you say this morning you were too busy to accompany me today?" Lin Yi asked with a smile, looking at Xiao Zihan.

"Yes, I collected a jar of dew with the maid; I read in the ancient texts that this dew is rootless water, or Holy Water, perfect for brewing tea," Xiao Zihan said, retracting her hand.

She gestured to the maid behind her and pointed to the table, saying, "Place the jar here."

Following the instruction, the maid quickly placed the jar on the table.

"Alright, we won’t need your service inside for now, wait outside," Xiao Zihan lightly instructed.

"Yes," the maid replied quickly, and she was inwardly relieved, thinking she didn’t want to be a hindrance here and praised the Empress’s wisdom in sending her out.

"The pre-rain Longjing that arrived the day before, where did you place it? I have some free time now; I can make tea for you," Xiao Zihan said, preparing to heat the water.

"You should let the servants handle these things," Lin Yi said, pulling Xiao Zihan’s hand.

"But that’s not the same; this dew was collected by me personally," Xiao Zihan replied with a smile, looking at Lin Yi.

"But I can’t bear to let you tire yourself," Lin Yi shook his head, disagreeing with letting Xiao Zihan heat the water.

"Alright, alright, as you say, then you have someone heat the water, and I’ll brew the tea," Xiao Zihan said softly, leaning against Lin Yi’s chest.

"No problem, Xiao Xiazi, come in," Lin Yi called out toward the door.

The serving Xiao Xiazi outside hurriedly responded "Yes" upon hearing the Emperor’s call.

Then he walked inside: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"Go, boil the water the Empress brought and bring it back," Lin Yi said, one arm holding Xiao Zihan and the other pointing to the jar on the table.

Xiao Xiazi, not daring to lift his eyes, walked with his head down to the table and carefully held the jar in his arms, retreating quickly.

"By the way, someone with the number 14 token wanted to see me earlier, I had Eunuch Sun tell the guard to bring them here to meet with us," Xiao Zihan said to Lin Yi, while handing him the token she had.

Lin Yi took the token from Xiao Zihan and examined it carefully: "Indeed, it’s one of the ones we issued," Lin Yi confirmed.

"Yes, it’s the hotel shopkeeper’s; a few days ago, I sent someone to deliver an article, and I think it’s related to this matter," Xiao Zihan analyzed.

"It seems that Dayou still has many talents," Lin Yi nodded.

The two then talked about some personal matters... Not long after, Xiao Xiazi had the water boiled.

Xiao Xiazi reported in from outside after heating the water, and only after Lin Yi’s instruction did he enter with the water.

By then, Xiao Zihan had already prepared the tea, waiting for the water.

Seeing Xiao Xiazi carrying the water in, Xiao Zihan said, "Don’t put it down, just pour it into this teapot." She removed the lid of the teapot as she spoke.

Xiao Xiazi took three steps into one and hurried over, following Xiao Zihan’s instructions to pour the water in.

"All right, place the remaining water on the table," Xiao Zihan instructed.

"Yes," Xiao Xiazi quickly followed Xiao Zihan’s command and placed the kettle on the table.

"Xiao Xiazi, when the palace guards bring the people over later, just bring them in directly," Lin Yi, seated on his throne, instructed.

"Yes," Xiao Xiazi replied, bowing toward Lin Yi with a gesture before stepping out.

Before the tea was even ready, Xiao Xiazi came in to report that the visitors had arrived.

Lin Yi instructed him to bring the visitors in.

The shopkeeper, seeing Lin Yi and Xiao Zihan, hurriedly knelt on the ground to pay respects, "Your servant greets the Emperor and the Empress."

"Rise," Lin Yi, who was gentle to the point of dripping water with Xiao Zihan and his daughter, still maintained a dignified demeanor as the Emperor before outsiders.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Empress," the shopkeeper rose from the ground but remained in a hunched position as a subordinate should.

"Is your visit today regarding progress in the matter the Empress entrusted to you?" Lin Yi asked.

"Reporting to His Majesty, indeed so, the matter seemed significant to me, so I hurried to the palace to see the Empress," the shopkeeper, who had met Lin Yi and Xiao Zihan several times, replied, managing to converse fluently despite his nervousness.

"It was only sent to you yesterday, and you already have news?" Xiao Zihan showed disbelief.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the shopkeeper said, bowing towards Xiao Zihan once again.

"You said there was an article, what do you mean?" Seeing that Lin Yi intended for her to question, Xiao Zihan took the lead.

"Please listen to me explain," and the shopkeeper recounted in detail the events of the young boy’s appearance and the process of leaving his name to Lin Yi and Xiao Zihan.

"According to your account, this young man is this year’s top scholar, Qian Dengke?" Xiao Zihan analyzed.

"I believe so," the shopkeeper said.

"But haven’t this year’s top civil and military scholars returned to their hometowns to take office? Didn’t Qian Dengke return?" Xiao Zihan asked Lin Yi.

"Reporting to the Empress, I found it odd, which is why I hurried here to meet you," the shopkeeper thought Xiao Zihan’s question was directed at him, so he responded.

"If this young man is indeed Qian Dengke, then who was the one who met with His Majesty?" Xiao Zihan thought aloud.

"If this is true, it would be like someone taking credit for someone else’s college entrance exam scores; if true, this is a serious issue," Xiao Zihan said, fuming.

"Shopkeeper, I ask you, where is that young man now?" Xiao Zihan questioned the shopkeeper.

"This is the address I have for him; he should still be at the Scholar Inn," the shopkeeper said, handing Xiao Zihan a piece of paper.

(To be continued...)