RPAGF Chapter 220 I only want to be the man behind His Majesty
Chapter 220 I only want to be the man behind His Majesty
Lunch was served in a side hall.
The dishes weren't luxurious, but they were exquisite and delicious.
Lin Chen didn't stand on ceremony and started eating with his chopsticks.
The Empress frowned as she watched Lin Chen wolf down his food.
"Slow down, no one's going to take it from you."
"I'm hungry," Lin Chen mumbled. "I was quite tired last night, and it took a lot of energy."
The Empress's cheeks flushed slightly—she knew, of course, why Lin Chen had expended so much energy.
Seeing the Empress's expression, Lin Chen couldn't help but tease her:
"What is Your Majesty thinking about? Your face is so red."
"Eat your food." The Empress rolled her eyes. "Keep your mouth shut."
Lin Chen chuckled and continued to eat heartily.
After the two ate quietly for a while, Lin Chen asked:
"Your Majesty, how is Patriarch Zhao doing lately?"
The Empress paused, "Our ancestor is in seclusion, breaking through to a higher level. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just asking," Lin Chen said with a light laugh.
"I hope our ancestor can successfully break through!"
"Thank you for your kind words!" The Empress said with a smile.
"Before the patriarch went into seclusion, he told me that he was 70% confident he could break through. I have to thank you for having Guan Yu and Li Bai guide me."
"We're all family," Lin Chen waved his hand. "Talking about this will hurt our feelings!"
The Empress looked at Lin Chen with a half-smile, "Since it hurts our feelings, how about I grant you two conditions?"
"Cough cough!" Lin Chen almost choked, and quickly drank a sip of soup.
"Back then, we weren't family yet! Circumstances are different now."
The Empress rolled her eyes, lowered her head to fiddle with the rice in her bowl, and after a while, her voice drifted over softly:
"Lin Chen, haven't you ever thought about... that position?"
"Which location?" Lin Chen feigned ignorance.
The Empress looked up and stared directly at Lin Chen. "You know what I'm talking about."
Lin Chen put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, leaned back, and his expression became unusually serious:
"Your Majesty, to be honest, I hadn't thought about it."
Why?
"I'm so tired!" Lin Chen shrugged.
"Being an emperor is too tiring. You have to get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs. You also have to spend all day scheming against a bunch of old foxes."
I'm a lazy person; I like to lie down and count money while sleeping with a beautiful woman in my arms.
The throne? I wouldn't take it even if it were given to me for free.
The Empress gave Lin Chen a deep look and chuckled:
"You're quite honest."
"I've always been honest," Lin Chen shrugged.
"So Your Majesty, you can rest assured, I have no interest in that position."
Just sit there and relax. I'll be your henchman, the man behind you. We'll have a great working relationship, won't you?
The Empress nodded, then suddenly realized something was off about the words. What did she mean by "the man behind her"?
Her face flushed, and she said, embarrassed and annoyed, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Lin Chen quickly changed the subject:
"By the way, Your Majesty, when will you reach perfection in your cultivation technique?"
Mentioning this, the Empress's eyes darkened, and she sighed softly:
"My Heavenly Phoenix physique clashes with the True Dragon Qi, and I need to find a balance."
At the fastest... it will take a year, and at the slowest, it could take three years.
"So long?" Lin Chen frowned.
"Hmm." The Empress nodded. "Unless we can find the 'True Phoenix Pill,' which uses the energy of the true phoenix to harmonize the dragon's energy, but that pill..." She shook her head.
"It has long been lost, and there are only scattered records of it in ancient books. It is extremely rare and hard to come by."
Lin Chen's eyes lit up: "True Phoenix Pill? Is it entirely crimson, with patterns like phoenix feathers, and has a unique fragrance?"
The Empress was taken aback: "How did you know?"
Lin Chen took out a small jade box from his storage ring and pushed it in front of the Empress:
"Your Majesty, take a look, is this it?"
The Empress opened the jade box with a puzzled expression.
Inside the box lay a pill, as red as blood, with patterns resembling layers of phoenix feathers, emitting a pungent fragrance.
Her hand trembled, and she almost dropped the box.
"This...this is...the True Phoenix Pill?!"
"Probably." Lin Chen scratched his head. "I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, the system... oh no, I got it by chance. Your Majesty, could you take a look and see if it's usable?"
The Empress held the jade box, her hands trembling.
The True Phoenix Pill, a legendary sacred elixir, can harmonize the energy of dragons and phoenixes, allowing her to break through her bottleneck ahead of time and have no more worries.
The Huang family has been searching for so many years without finding it, yet Lin Chen just casually produced it?
"How...how did you get this?" The Empress's voice was strained.
Lin Chen chuckled: "I was lucky, I found it."
The Empress didn't believe it.
How could you possibly find a pill of this caliber so easily?
She looked at Lin Chen, her gaze complex.
"Why...why are you giving this to me?"
Lin Chen shrugged: "Your Majesty needs it, and I happen to have some, so I gave it to you. What, you don't want it?"
"No..." The Empress bit her lip, "You're giving me something this valuable so easily?"
"Is it valuable?" Lin Chen tilted his head. "To me, it's just a pill."
But for His Majesty, something that might concern his cultivation or even his life, it should naturally be given to those who need it more.
The Empress's eyes suddenly felt a little hot.
She took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and looked at Lin Chen:
"Lin Chen, are you so eager to make a deal with me?"
Lin Chen was taken aback, then smiled:
"Your Majesty is overthinking it. As the brother-in-law, there's nothing wrong with me giving my sister-in-law a gift, is there?"
The Empress was both embarrassed and annoyed by his terms of address, such as "brother-in-law" and "sister-in-law."
"Who said you're my sister-in-law!"
"Mingyue is my wife, and you are her sister, so aren't you my sister-in-law?" Lin Chen said matter-of-factly.
"It's only natural to give a gift to a family member."
Looking at his grinning face, the Empress's initial感动 (feeling of being touched) suddenly turned into helplessness.
This person... is never serious.
But she knew that Lin Chen genuinely wanted to help her.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken out such a precious elixir.
"Thank you," the Empress said softly, putting away the jade box. "I will remember this kindness."
Lin Chen waved his hand: "Why bother remembering? We're family, no need for formalities."
He paused, leaned closer, and lowered his voice:
"However, Your Majesty, after you break through to the next level, shouldn't we talk about... the matter of 'borrowing a seed'?"
"Lin Chen!" The Empress's face flushed red, and she grabbed her chopsticks, ready to hit Lin Chen.
"If you continue spouting nonsense, I will truly become angry!"
Lin Chen quickly backed away and raised his hands in surrender:
"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore. Let's eat, the food's getting cold."
The Empress glared at Lin Chen, her chest heaving a few times before finally sighing and sitting down again.
This guy... there's just no way to deal with him.
But for some reason, seeing his smiling face warmed my heart.
There are also some... indescribable expectations.
The two continued eating, and the atmosphere quieted down, no longer as tense as before.
After the meal, the palace maids cleared away the bowls and plates and served tea.
Lin Chen took a sip and stood up:
"Your Majesty, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. Mingyue is waiting for me at home."
The Empress nodded and stood up as well: "I'll see you off."
"No, no, no, please wait." Lin Chen waved his hand.
"Deliver it to the door," the Empress insisted.
The two walked one after the other to the entrance of the Imperial Study.
The afternoon sun shone on the palace path, making the stone pavement gleam with a warm light.
Lin Chen turned around and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, please wait."
The Empress stood on the threshold, looking at Lin Chen, and suddenly spoke:
"Lin Chen".
"Hmm?" Lin Chen turned around.
The Empress pursed her lips, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible:
"Be nicer to your elder sister."
Lin Chen smiled, his smile shining brightly in the sunlight. "Don't worry, I will."
Having said that, he prepared to get into the carriage, but suddenly turned back and blinked:
"And what about His Majesty?"
The Empress was taken aback: "What?"
"It's only natural that I'm good to Mingyue," Lin Chen said with a smile, looking at Empress Zhao Lingyang.
"But what about you, Your Majesty? Shouldn't I treat you better too?"
The Empress's face flushed, and she turned her head away: "You should leave now."
Lin Chen laughed heartily, turned around, got into the carriage, and drove away slowly.
The Empress stood at the door, watching until the carriage disappeared around the corner of the palace gate.
Qingluan quietly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, it's time to approve the memorials."
The empress then came to her senses and turned to go back into the house.
Walking to the desk, she didn't sit down immediately, but instead took out the jade box from her spatial bracelet and gently opened it.
The True Phoenix Pill lay quietly on the velvet, its crimson color dazzling.
As the empress watched, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.
This Lin Chen... might really be her lucky star.
She closed the box, carefully put it away, then sat down and picked up the vermilion pen.
The pen tip hovered over the memorial, but didn't fall for a long time.
Her mind was filled with the image of Lin Chen's smiling eyes when he leaned in and said "borrow seed."
"Nonsense..." the Empress muttered under her breath, her face burning even hotter.
She shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate, and looked at the memorial.
But when the pen tip touched the paper, the first character I wrote was actually a little crooked.
The Empress stared at the crooked character and suddenly chuckled.