Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite
Chapter 53: Siblings Reunion

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Siblings Reunion

The Imperial Armor Army led by him is indeed one of the dual heroes of Da Wei.

Speaking of these dual heroes of Da Wei, it refers to the two most formidable armies of Da Wei.

One is the Northwest Army, inherited by the Marquis of Northwest through generations, managed by the Liu Family since the time of the ancestors, and now it has been passed on to the fifth generation.

The current Marquis of Northwest is the marshal of the Northwest Army, having been part of the army since he could speak, for over sixty years now.

His military achievements are illustrious and his record exemplary.

The 600,000 elite soldiers he commands are stationed in the Northwest Sixteen States, resisting the iron cavalry of Beidi and Western Rong for the entirety of Da Wei.

Nowadays, more than half of his descendants and relatives hold key positions within the Northwest Army.

That is why the Northwest Army is often referred to in the folk as the Liu Hou Army.

The other is the Imperial Armor Army personally commanded by the Fourth Prince. Although it consists of only 200,000 men, every one of them is selected through rigorous screenings and emerged from battles with enemy forces.

Their combat strength is not at all inferior to the core troops of the Northwest.

For years, they have been stationed in Huazhou, protecting the Capital City of Da Wei along with the surrounding plains and never allowing war to breach the Capital City.

One in the north, one in the south, the dual heroes stand together.

Hence, all the hot-blooded sons of Da Wei regard entering these two camps as the ultimate glory of their lives.

After hearing the Fourth Prince’s words, everyone turned their heads and indeed saw the crowds gathered at Shounan Lake.

The dragon boat race was a grand occasion.

This year’s is the most significant of all!

Divided into eight teams: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and white, the participants had colored cloth strips tied to their arms, matching the embroidered balls hanging on the edge of each dragon boat for distinction.

Lin Wanyi craned her neck trying to see, but found that she was too far away.

Forget about her brother, she couldn’t even see the dragon boats clearly.

Her anxious expression was entirely caught in the Emperor’s eyes.

He coughed twice and then said.

"Fourth Imperial Uncle, sitting here is not satisfying enough, why not move to the front?"

The Fourth Prince immediately slapped his thigh and said.

"Alright, this old official will go with Your Majesty!"

The Emperor smiled and then said to everyone present.

"The grand scene is in front, no need for formalities, those who wish to see, please proceed."

Saying that, he took the lead and walked out.

Indeed, moving from the hall to the railing, the view was much broader, standing there to look at Shounan Lake, even the expressions on the young men’s faces were clearly visible!

The Emperor’s mouth curled into a smile, grasping the railing with both hands, seeing so many young spirited men of Da Wei filled his heart with lofty ambitions.

With the Emperor leading, Lin Guifei naturally wanted to make a good impression.

She immediately rose and gracefully said.

"Since His Majesty has spoken, why don’t we sisters go take a look too?"

She was the first to follow, along with Princess Consort Yi, Princess Consort Lan, and the Fourth Prince Consort and others.

With others leading the way, Lin Wanyi naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity to see her brother, and she followed along.

Fortunately, the railing was long enough to accommodate everyone watching together.

Soon, Lin Wanyi found her long-missed brother in the Green Team.

In the past, seeing him daily, she never thought she’d miss him this much.

Now just seeing his figure from afar made her eyes warm and nose sour.

Luckily she had brought a fan, Lin Wanyi covered her eyes, wiped away the tears ready to spill with a handkerchief, sniffled, and then looked carefully again.

Mu Lanchun, who was with her every step of the way, looked at her and curiously asked.

"What’s wrong with Sister Lin?"

"My eyes tear up when the wind hits them, it was uncomfortable just now, so this happened."

Mu Lanchun chuckled, teasingly said.

"Sister Lin’s condition is quite like my grandmother’s; I always thought it happened only to the elderly."

Lin Wanyi smiled but didn’t respond to her remark.

At the moment, Lin Xingzhi, standing among the crowd, was also constantly looking towards Qing Garden.

Beside him stood a gentleman with a delicate appearance, seemingly weak, yet with an uncommon steadiness in his eyes.

"Brother He Song, is your sister really up there? Why can’t I find her?"

He Song was Lin Xingzhi’s nickname, used only by those close to him.

And the one addressing him was none other than Jiang Huanqing, the only grandson from the Rongchang Marquis Mansion.

Though he was just seventeen, he seemed mature beyond his years.

The sole grandson of an earl, it’s an envious title for many, but add Rongchang to the front, and it’s a stigma.

Back in the day, the Rongchang Marquis Mansion was a prestigious household with both power and wealth.

A marriage was arranged with the Prince Zhan Mansion, but untoward incidents involving a favorite concubine during a mourning period led Prince Zhan Mansion to break off the engagement in anger, and they decreed the Rongchang Marquis Mansion should not rise for three generations.

Thus, the Rongchang Marquis Mansion grew weaker with each generation.

Watching the Prince Zhan Mansion prosper with descendants and power, their mansion was ironically dwindling and pitiable.

This generation had just one solitary descendant, at seventeen, and he saw no promising prospects but became a brother-in-arms with the Eldest Brother Lin, both struggling in adversity.

So upon learning about the dragon boat race where Lin Wanyi was present, Lin Xingzhi did everything possible, finally relying on the Rongchang Marquis Mansion to join the team.

A lean camel is bigger than a horse, appointing Lin Xingzhi for an official position wasn’t the plan, just inserting someone into the team to row wasn’t too much trouble.

This was Jiang Huanqing’s original explanation.

"Of course, she’s the Emperor’s concubine, she should be present at such events."

The urgency in Lin Xingzhi’s eyes was evident, but upon seeing Lin Wanyi, it turned to joy instantly.

"There she is!"

The direction his finger pointed was precisely where Lin Wanyi was.

Lin Wanyi also saw who her brother was pointing at, and the siblings across Shounan Lake felt a poignant silence.

Because the Emperor was present, everyone was eager to perform well, possibly seeing it as their opportunity to rise.

Lin Xingzhi, however, cared little for others; after so many failed attempts to connect with the palace, seeing Lin Wanyi at last, he naturally focused on her.

Lin Wanyi hoped to speak with her brother, yet knew it was a mere fantasy.

In her heart, she wished her brother would seize this opportunity, maybe not rise dramatically, but at least leave a mark in the eyes of others.

Otherwise, a lifetime of obscurity would indeed waste his character and talents.

The siblings’ mutual concern stood in stark contrast to Lady Chu on the other side.

Today, Lady Chu had an arrogant expression, completely disregarding her feud with Lin Wanyi, focused entirely on her brother, Chu Xin, standing below.

"Look there, that’s my brother!"

With that, her eyebrows were full of pride, as if her brother was some divine warrior!