My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 241 Xihe Courtyard

Two or three more days passed, and after much bickering, the date for returning to the capital was finally set.

I arrived in the height of summer and left in early winter.

During this period of free-range grazing, "Wuling Hongguang" not only did not become thin, but also grew plump and strong with glossy fur.

After reporting to and receiving the emperor's approval, he was permitted to keep it with him.

So the scene on the way back turned into a herd of fine horses with a little donkey mixed in.

The Wuling Hongguang truly deserves its reputation as a legendary vehicle. It is remarkably humane, refraining from making any inappropriate brayings among the horses and even maintaining the same speed as the other horses while carrying Lin Ziping.

The return journey was much easier than the outward one, but because it was winter, the scenery along the way was rather bleak, and there were hardly any people to be seen.

Upon returning to the palace, Lin Ziping did not go back to the guard camp. Instead, he followed the emperor to the inner palace and was arranged to stay with Dongshan.

For some reason, the Wuling Hongguang caught the emperor's eye and became a "designated donkey," securing a place in the imperial palace's horse farm.

Lin Ziping didn't go back to his residence outside the palace. Instead, he carried the luggage he brought back from the autumn hunt and went straight into the palace.

The emperor thoughtfully gave Lin Ziping a day off to make arrangements, and even worried that Dongshan and Yanshu would be too busy to find a place for Lin Ziping, so he assigned a special eunuch to guide him.

"My lord, just ahead is Lord Dongshan's Xihe Courtyard. The characters 'Xihe' were even inscribed by His Majesty himself!" The little eunuch said with envy, holding the bundle that Lin Ziping had brought back.

Lin Ziping didn't respond, but the little eunuch wasn't annoyed. He maintained a smile throughout and took the initiative to introduce the situation, demonstrating excellent professionalism.

Following the little eunuch, they wandered around and arrived at a courtyard.

The palace truly lives up to its reputation as the center of politics, economy, and power in the Great Zhou Dynasty. When Lin Ziping was in the Fuwei Camp, he patrolled every day but never discovered such a quiet and elegant place.

One has to admit that power is a wonderful thing sometimes. Just because Dongshan was a close confidant of the emperor, he actually had a detached villa in the palace, the kind with a yard!

"My lord, this is the Xihe Academy."

Lin Ziping followed the eunuch's hand and saw that the strokes of the characters "Xihe" were somewhat immature, not quite like the emperor's handwriting.

Seemingly noticing Lin Ziping's confusion, the young eunuch explained, "This was written by His Majesty in his earlier years."

"I see," Lin Ziping nodded slightly. "When will Lord Dongshan return?"

The young eunuch replied, "This place is a bit far from His Majesty's palace, so you usually don't come back here."

Lin Ziping shifted his gaze from the "Xihe Courtyard" above to the entire courtyard, which was enclosed by a fence. Flowers were in full bloom on the fence, and a row of bamboo, lush and green, stood straight and tall, separating the inside from the outside of the courtyard.

Pushing open the door and stepping into the courtyard, one can clearly feel the temperature difference from outside. There are also traces of leftover vegetables on the open ground behind the bamboo.

"Did Lord Dongshan plant this too?" Lin Ziping asked.

The young eunuch said, "It was planted by His Majesty. There are always people who take care of it. If you had come earlier, Your Excellency could have tasted it yourself."

"His Majesty also lives here?" Lin Ziping asked in surprise.

The young eunuch smiled but did not answer, changing the subject instead: "Sir, your luggage is in the side room. If you see there's nothing else you need, this servant will take his leave."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ziping abandoned his initial nonchalance and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

The young eunuch nodded and left.

Lin Ziping walked to the right side room, where his luggage and belongings from the garrison had been properly placed. All kinds of daily necessities were available, the bedding was new, and seasonal clothes were hanging in the wardrobe.

Such behavior is quite thoughtful.

Looking back on my first day in the capital, the contrast between the two is hard to describe.

Lin Ziping carefully organized his belongings, especially the mushroom powder in the bundle, which could be considered the biggest gain from the autumn hunting trip.

It's a pity that all those experiments were done. We don't know if the prey scattered in the forest carrying the fungus powder was effective, whether the dead tiger's death was related to these fungi, or whether the fungus powder fed to Prince Rui had any effect.

The various experimental mysteries surrounding these fungi can only be solved in the future.

Lin Ziping took a bag and stuffed it into his sleeve, hiding the rest at the bottom of the wardrobe.

After changing his clothes, he went outside into the courtyard.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that Xihe Courtyard was surrounded by high walls.

The outer ring is surrounded by a high wall, just like other palaces, and several archways make full use of the building's structure.

As you can see, behind the bamboo grove after you push open the door is a small open space used for growing vegetables. It's only about 10 square meters, and there's a persimmon tree in the corner.

Then we arrived at a courtyard paved with bluestone slabs. The main house and the side room on the right were locked, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Lin Ziping walked back and forth several times, but the huge courtyard was empty, and he was all alone inside and out.

Is this Dongshan's residence?

That's a pretty high specification!

With nothing else to do, Lin Ziping moved a deck chair over and lay down in the yard to sunbathe.

The early winter sun was just right, warm but not scorching. With the sunlight shining on him, Lin Ziping felt as if he had returned to Qingyang, and soon fell asleep.

Lin Ziping was awakened by the aroma of food. When he opened his eyes, the setting sun had painted the sky a deep red.

Just then, my stomach started growling.

Following the aroma, I arrived at the kitchen on the right, where a figure was busy at work.

Lin Ziping looked closely and was almost scared to death.

He knelt down with a thud, quickly bowed, and cried out, "Your Majesty!"

"What are you doing? Get up quickly, are you hungry?"

Lin Ziping's noise attracted the attention of the people inside the house.

The emperor put down the bowl in his hand and walked over to help Lin Ziping up.

Lin Ziping stepped aside in alarm.

The emperor squatted down and looked at Lin Ziping: "There are no rulers and subjects here now. Get up, wash your hands, and prepare the dishes for the meal!"

Lin Ziping was now truly terrified!

Goosebumps rose all over my arms. I suppressed the urge to run away and forced a smile as I replied, "Yes."

The emperor laughed upon hearing this.

The two were very close, and Lin Ziping could see the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and the nasolabial folds at the corners of his mouth.

Lin Ziping walked into the kitchen cautiously, picked up a bowl and chopsticks, and asked, "Your Majesty, where should I put these?"

The emperor, busy at the stove, said without looking up, "Place it in the main hall."

"Oh."

Lin Ziping responded and came out with the bowl.

As darkness fell, the sky turned a dark red.

The so-called main hall was next to the kitchen, where candles were lit, and Lin Ziping placed the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

My anxious heart gradually calmed down as I put down my bowl and chopsticks.

He couldn't help but wonder, what was the emperor trying to do?

The plot of "Empresses in the Palace" flashed through my mind. Could this be a case of Wanwan resembling Qing, and someone preparing to keep her as a mistress in a golden house?

She couldn't help but scoff inwardly: Your father isn't some delicate little girl; he's got plenty of strength and skills. If he can't win, he might as well just enjoy it. It's a win in the long run; he'll save himself decades of struggle!

Thinking of this, Lin Ziping's inner demons roared with laughter: Let the storm rage on! This overwhelming wealth is finally going to be his!