She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 354 The Lin Family Shows Goodwill

Lin Qinian's head was throbbing from the impact, and he looked at Zhao Yi with dizzy eyes, completely bewildered about the situation.

Zhao Yi was also stunned, seemingly not expecting Lin Qinian to come looking for trouble so aggressively, only to unexpectedly kneel down in front of him.

"Rise," Zhao Yi said with a slight smile. "Young Master Lin, there's no need for such a grand gesture."

Lin Qinian looked astonished.

Zhao Yi actually knows him?

Lin Qinian's expression turned to shock.

Zhao Yi actually took this accident as his kneeling ceremony?

Just as he was about to retort, a suppressed laugh came from the crowd, seemingly mocking him for being both stupid and wicked.

Lin Qinian stiffly turned his head to look, only to see everyone suppressing their laughter, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

His face turned bright red.

"Jiang Chao, go help Young Master Lin up," Zhao Yi said.

Jiang Chao came to Lin Qinian's side, grabbed one of his arms, and easily pulled him up like a chick.

Zhao Yi then said, "Since Young Master Lin is so sincere, I will accept your gift."

Lin Qinian quickly waved his hand: "No...no..."

Zhao Yi asked in surprise, "Isn't this a gift for me?"

Lin Qinian, ever outspoken, said, "It's a gift for you."

As soon as he said it, Lin Qinian felt something was off. He scratched his head and quickly realized that he had deliberately given the gift to embarrass Zhao Yi.

He tilted his chin toward the wooden box: "This is a gift I carefully prepared for you."

Zhao Yi nodded and said politely, "Thank you."

Jiang Chao accepted the wooden box.

Zhao Yi turned around, preparing to enter the mansion.

"Hey..." Lin Qinian hurriedly stepped in front of Zhao Yi, spreading his arms to stop him: "Aren't you going to open it and see what kind of gift I gave you?"

“It is improper to open a gift in front of a guest.” Zhao Yi glanced at Lin Qinian’s soiled robe and reminded him, “Young Master Lin, your clothes are wet. Go back to your residence and change into something else to avoid catching a cold.”

Lin Qinian looked down and saw that his knees were stained with snow water.

He paused for a moment, not really caring, and continued to argue unreasonably.

He looked up and saw that Zhao Yi had already bypassed him and entered the mansion, and the mansion gate closed in front of him.

Lin Qinian's eyes widened. Zhao Yi was actually showing him no respect?

The servant asked, "Sir, shall we return to the manor?"

Lin Qinian glanced at the tightly closed door with resentment. The things he had carefully prepared had not been of any use, allowing Zhao Yi to escape unscathed.

How abominable!

Lin Qinian gritted his teeth: "Go back."

He will come again.

The servant carefully helped Lin Qinian to the donkey's side.

The donkey trotted along, its head held high, turned to one side, refusing to look directly at Lin Qinian.

Lin Qinian hissed. The creature kicked him, angry that he hadn't told it to stop and had gotten off its back.

He stroked the donkey's head, preparing to take out a radish to bribe his fourth uncle, when he overheard the murmurs of the crowd.

"How strange! Didn't the Prince of Guangling kill Lord Lin? Why is Young Master Lin here to give gifts to the Prince of Guangling?"

"What's so surprising about that? The Prince of Guangling has rendered great service and become His Majesty's most beloved son, even being granted power. The Lin family is now disliked by His Majesty, and all have been demoted one rank. The reason Lin Yi was killed by the Prince of Guangling was because Lin Yi harbored intentions to harm the Prince. Now that the Prince of Guangling has gained power, shouldn't the Lin family try to curry favor with him?"

"No wonder Young Master Lin knelt and kowtowed to the Prince of Guangling, and even prepared a generous gift. It turns out he wanted to curry favor with the Prince of Guangling."

Lin Qinian was so angry he was practically fuming. Were these lackeys blind? Didn't they see that he was kicked to his knees by a donkey and forced to kowtow?

Is he trying to curry favor with Zhao Yi?

He and Zhao Yi are sworn enemies; he must be crazy to try to befriend Zhao Yi.

He was clearly setting a trap for Zhao Yi.

Lin Qinian was so angry that he shoved a radish into the donkey's mouth.

"Ow—"

The donkey headbutted Lin Qinian, knocking him to the ground.

-

Lin House.

After Lin Qinian left the mansion with the wooden box, someone went to inform Old Madam Lin.

Madam Lin leaned against a large, soft pillow, while a maid knelt at her feet, massaging her legs.

Upon hearing the news, she lifted her eyelids slightly and said, "It would be good if Nian-ge'er went to see the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites as soon as possible. If he could get things settled sooner, I could finally put my mind at ease."

If they wait until Zhao Yi has established himself in the Ministry of Rites, it will be much more difficult for them to bring him down.

Grandma Sun chimed in, "Grandpa has your words on his mind. He doesn't want to wait even a moment longer. He just wants to get the things you asked him to do done so that you can have peace of mind as soon as possible."

Madam Lin smiled slightly: "Although our family has suffered misfortune, it's because His Majesty wants to silence the people, not because he dislikes us. Lord Ji knows this and will do us a favor."

As long as Consort Shu remains in power and Prince Xian still holds a place in the heart of the Northern Qi Emperor, the Ji family will not break up with them.

Her arrangement for Lin Qinian to deliver the gift was merely a formality, a way to discuss countermeasures with Lord Ji.

There can be no mistakes.

Just then, a maid rushed in: "Grandma, something terrible has happened!"

"How did you learn to behave like this?" Old Madam Lin's brow twitched, and she scolded, "You need to be calm and composed in the face of trouble. Don't be so loud and boisterous, you have no manners."

The maid's face turned pale, and she knelt on the ground, saying, "Please forgive me, Madam."

Madam Lin asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

"Master...Master took gifts to the Prince of Guangling's mansion to show goodwill to the Prince of Guangling." The maid said tremblingly, "Now everyone in the capital is saying that our family has fallen on hard times and is afraid of being resented by the Prince of Guangling, so we specially asked Master to prepare generous gifts to seek peace with the Prince of Guangling."

Madam Lin's expression suddenly changed: "What did you say?"

"The old man knelt before the Prince of Guangling and kowtowed several times. The Prince of Guangling accepted the old man's gift, but did not allow him to enter the mansion."

The maid, her voice trembling, relayed the words from outside to Old Madam Lin.

Madam Lin's vision went black, she clutched her throbbing chest, and couldn't breathe.

Once this news gets out, those on their side might start to have second thoughts.

These people would think that since their Lin family was afraid of Zhao Yi and sent their future patriarch to kneel and kowtow to Zhao Yi to curry favor, they were clearly no match for Zhao Yi.

Moreover, Consort Shu was the emperor's favorite concubine, and their allies might suspect that they had received information from Consort Shu, which was why they wanted to make peace with Zhao Yi.

As a result, those people might reassess the current situation. Perhaps... perhaps some might even defect to Zhao Yi's camp.

Suppressing her turbulent emotions, Madam Lin pointed at the maids and said, "Go and call Nian'er back now. I want to question him carefully."

She pinned her hopes that what her maid had overheard outside was all just rumors.