CH 191

The four generals have all been conferred the noble title of duke, which was a high-ranking title, the highest title that all officials could earn in their entire lives.

The duke could attend morning assembly to discuss politics, and Lin Yuan gave them all the honor they deserved, but he didn’t actually give them much power.

A general without soldiers was a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

Lin Yuan hadn’t seen Yang Zi’an and the others for a long time. Time seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye and they had all grown old.

The generals had taken off their armors and put down their swords. Lin Yuan personally led the hundred officials to welcome them into the imperial palace. When the several people met again, they all felt like everything had changed.

“Go, help the uncles up.” Lin Yuan instructed Lin De and Lin Xuan.

These two children were in their teens now, and their temperaments had become much more stable. Lin De no longer said that she wanted to be a female general, and Lin Xuan no longer said that he wanted to be a military strategist. As they grew older, they all knew what they would be facing.

The sibling relationship was still there, but even Lin Yuan didn’t know when their relationship would disappear.

In the face of absolute power and status, it was impossible for anyone to remain the same.

Lin De and Lin Xuan helped Yang Zi’an, Li Congrong and Zhu Yuanzhang up, and because Chen Baisong stayed in the capital all year round and was standing behind Lin Yuan, he was the closest person to Lin Yuan.

Yang Zi’an had aged well. He had good looks when he was young, and when he was old, he only appeared elegant and refined. He was a famous scholar general. He had three sons and a daughter, but the children were born late in his life, and had not yet started their own families.

Li Congrong still looked like when he was young. He was rough-skinned and thick-skinned, and he didn’t even look old. Except for his gray temples, he still appeared young just looking at his face and physique.

Lin Yuan led them into the palace, and after bestowing titles and rewards, it was followed by a banquet.

The dancing girls swept in. Lin Yuan didn’t drink much at the banquet. He was not one to be fond of what was in the cups and just occasionally drank some fruit wine. Lin Yuan had never been drunk despite these many years, and in this banquet he only drank a few cups. He mostly just sat and watched the dance.

These dancers were all tributes from foreign lands. Foreign lands needed silk and tea, but they didn’t want to part with gold and silver jewelry. In the early years, there were indeed beauties, but later the appearance of the tribute women became more and more ordinary. Those beauties have all married and started their own families, while these dancers had voluntarily stayed in the palace.

According to their words, they have learned to dance all their lives, and they felt they should dance for others to see. If they don’t dance, they don’t know what they could do, so Lin Yuan let them stay in the palace. Dancing was their work, so if they didn’t want to dance anymore they could simply resign.

Anyway, the Great Ming was currently short of women, whether it was to work or marry, they could choose whatever they want.

After the singing and dancing were over, and the hall became quiet, Lin Yuan sighed: “I haven’t seen you all for so many years.”

Li Congrong was the most daring. He didn’t see him for so many years but he didn’t feel that his relationship with Lin Yuan had become unfamiliar and alienated. He said, “It has been some years! We are all old!”

Li Congrong only came back to his senses when these words fell, and said quickly: “We are old, Your Majesty is not old, Your Majesty is forever young, looking just like a young man of twenty!”

Lin Yuan was amused by Li Congrong. What kind of person was Li Congrong before? There was never a scheme in his heart, always saying what he wanted to say, and now he actually learned to speak. When one has experienced a lot of things, one would also gradually change, and no one would remain the same forever.

Now looking at Li Congrong and the others, Lin Yuan already felt a little like they were strangers.

The friendship was still there, but he always felt like…..he couldn’t remember all that clearly.

This was probably what it felt like to be at a high place. All the people who accompanied him back then left, only Chen Baisong and Er Liang were left, and only Chen Baisong could be considered a confidante.

Lin Yuan said a few more words to them, all of which were ordinary words about daily life, whose child was getting older, and was at the marriageable age.

Or how have they been at the borders over the years, and whether the borders were peaceful or not, what military officials have the talent.

After talking for more than two hours, Lin Yuan saw that they were tired, so he told them to rest in the palace and return to their manors tomorrow.

Lin Yuan returned to his living quarters, cleaned up and washed, while Chen Baisong watched.

Don’t know why, but Lin Yuan suddenly turned around, his eyes colliding with Chen Baisong’s.

After so many years, Lin Yuan could no longer judge whether Chen Baisong’s appearance was handsome or not. He smiled at Chen Baisong: “Why didn’t you chat with them for a while?”

Chen Baisong was sitting on a chair, holding a teacup in his hand, which was filled with milk tea. He took a sip and put it down after thinking it was too sweet: “Chat about what? How were they doing at the borders all these years? In any case it is all the same old topics. There’s nothing interesting to talk about.”

Lin Yuan nodded: “That’s true.”

Chen Baisong didn’t have any deep friendship with them.

Time and distance have also wiped out any original meager trace of friendship.

After Chen Baisong had cleaned up, the two of them laid in bed talking. The life expectancy of the ancients was short. After forty, they were considered old people. Lin Yuan paid great attention to diet and exercise these years. Most emperors died of exhaustion, getting up earlier than chickens and sleeping later than dogs, and despite that they also had to make time to bestow his favors on the harem.

He heard that there were emperors who saw several concubines in a single night. It could be considered quite the epitome of virility indeed.

Lin Yuan felt that compared with those emperors who were overloaded all day, he already had it a lot easier.

After he formed his own work team, he had fewer things at hand to take care of personally. He made a schedule, and it was clear what to do every day at what time period. When he went to court, he also made schedules and rules for the officials.

Preventing them from arguing and wasting time.

Lin Yuan looked at the bed canopy and said softly, “After I die, you will share the coffin with me, and I won’t give you a separate coffin. And don’t call me stingy.”

Chen Baisong hesitated: “Can that be done?”

In fact, there have been rumors about their affairs in the court and the people for a long time. His Majesty and the general go in and out together, and they often talk late into the night by candlelight. The most terrible thing was that neither of them were married. At first, the imperial court expressly hinted that they were not against His Majesty playing with men, and when it was the general…..that was fine too but there still need to be concubines, so that princes could be born and someone to inherit the throne.

But Lin Yuan turned a blind eye to it all. After Lin De and Lin Xuan were born, the opposition from the court became less.

These two children grew up by Lin Yuan’s side, the mother also lived in the palace, and the princess was full of admiration and respect for her elder brother. Everyone could see that in the hearts of the two children, their uncle was the most important person to them, as for their father, who knew how long he had long been forgotten by them.

When he went to investigate the provincial government, the princess’s consort let slip all the things that Chen Baisong had revealed to him when he was drunk. After he came back, he was dismissed and demoted to a commoner. The princess also divorced him, but Lin Yuan gave him permission to visit the palace once every ten days to see the children.

The princess’s consort felt deeply ashamed, and took his family back to his hometown. Now he had opened a school in his hometown, and he had done a fairly good job with it. The students he taught all had good grades.

Lin Yuan regretted it a little. Maybe he shouldn’t have entrusted important tasks to the princess’s consort in the first place. The princess’s consort was actually not bad. His theoretical knowledge was very good, but there were problems with his emotional intelligence and conduct. If he was just a scholar perhaps he could make some literary achievements.

But regret was useless.

Guo’er didn’t really care, she lived well in the palace and even had a lover, but she didn’t want to get married, and Lin Yuan didn’t force it.

Chen Baisong asked nervously, “Really?”

Chen Baisong believed in the afterlife and higher powers. He also believed that if they were buried together, they would be a married couple, and they could continue to be together in the next life as well. Moreover, Lin Yuan was the emperor, and ghosts and gods always had to give the emperor face. Perhaps they really could continue to be together in the next life.

Lin Yuan nodded: “I will arrange it, no matter who will leave first, we will be buried together.”

Lin Yuan squeezed Chen Baisong’s hand.

Chen Baisong was relieved, he closed his eyes and said softly, “Young master, don’t be an emperor in your next life.”

Lin Yuan said softly, “En?”

Chen Baisong: “It’s too tiring. For the sake of the world and for the sake of the people, but never for the sake of yourself.”

Lin Yuan squeezed Chen Baisong’s palm: “Who said I never thought for the sake of myself? If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be lying beside me. Instead it would be the empress.”

Chen Baisong would have been nervous when he heard the word “empress” in the early years, and he would have been angry and fearful, but not now. He just asked, “Then Lin De and Lin Xuan…..”

Lin Yuan: “After I die, someone will read my edict.”

Chen Baisong: “Have you already chosen?”

Lin Yuan nodded: “I have chosen.”

Lin De and Lin Xuan were siblings with completely different personalities, but they were not bad children. They both have smart heads.

In recent years, Lin Yuan watched how they got a foothold in the court, how they assembled their own team, and how they earned the support of the officials.

“Who did you choose?” Chen Baisong asked.

Lin Yuan said, “Lin De.”

Chen Baisong frowned: “I’m afraid it will be difficult.”

Lin Yuan smiled and said, “It’s not difficult, she could even concince Yang Shaowei.”

Yang Shaowei was Song Shizhao’s only direct disciple, and he was very much sly and sophisticated.

Chen Baisong said curiously: “Why not Lin Xuan? I see that he also has a lot of support.”

Lin Yuan sighed and said, “Lin Xuan is a man, and he naturally has an easier time in gaining support than Lin De, but even so, the two of them are on equal footing in the court.”

“He must be stronger than Lin De, and much stronger. If Lin De had no supporters, he would win.”

Lin Yuan’s face was cold, the gaze in his eyes not fluctuating: “But his achievements are the same as Lin De’s, which means that he is weaker than Lin De.”

Lin De was a girl. The help and support she could get in the court was extremely small. Lin Yuan had not helped her secretly at all in these years. But Lin Xuan was different. He always had people ingratiating themselves to him and countless sons of officials were willing to follow him. But even so, he failed to suppress Lin De.

Lin Yuan: “Ambition and capability are innate.”

Chen Baisong frowned: “What if Lin De can’t keep the throne?”

Lin Yuan smiled and said, “Then that’s because she’s incompetent. I’ll be in the coffin by then, and won’t have the time to uphold justice for her.”

“I have given her a chance, but as for the outcome, it’s not me who has the final say.” Lin Yuan pinched Chen Baisong’s chin, “Go to sleep, we have to get up early for morning assembly tomorrow.”

Chen Baisong nodded, he fell asleep quickly, and soon started snoring.

The snoring was not too loud, and now Lin Yuan could only fall asleep listening to Chen Baisong’s snoring.

Chen Baisong put his arms around Lin Yuan’s waist when he fell asleep. He murmured, “I want us to rest in the same coffin.”

Lin Yuan coaxed softly: “Okay, sleep.”

Chen Baisong was satisfied, he hugged Lin Yuan and fell asleep.