Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

Chapter 310 You Just Stay in the Capital

"How about I grant Shen Chuning a marriage?" Emperor Jing stared at Zhou Lin and asked.

How could he not see Zhou Lin's admiration for Shen Chuning?

But the Zhou family holds a large number of troops, while the Shen family holds real power. Zhou Lin is brave and good at fighting on the battlefield, and Shen Chuning has huge wealth in his hands.

If he lets these two get together, he probably won't even be able to sleep peacefully!

At this moment, Zhou Lin clenched his fists tightly, secretly wondering whether Emperor Jing was testing him or really wanted to arrange a marriage for Shen Chuning.

However, no matter what the situation was, he knew very well in his heart that the lucky person who was granted marriage could never be him.

"Your Majesty, although Miss Shen Jiu was indeed coerced by this humble minister to bring me into the palace, in the matter of suppressing the eldest prince's rebellion..."

Before he could finish his words, Emperor Jing suddenly coughed twice.

Zhou Lin paused for a moment, then continued, "Miss Shen Jiu made great contributions in suppressing Wen Zhiyong's rebellion."

"I naturally know that she has made great contributions. That's why I want to find a happy marriage for her. What do you think of the young prince of Ruyang Palace? I remember that Nan Yan of Ruyang Palace also served as a companion to Jinyu and has a very close relationship with Xiaojiu of the Shen family. This way, she won't have any conflicts with her sister-in-law if she marries him."

"Your Majesty, the young prince of Ruyang Palace is unlearned and indulging in brothels all day long. A man with such bad character is truly not a good match!"

Zhou Lin said anxiously. When he thought that Shen Chuning might marry someone else, his heart felt like it was being gnawed by millions of ants.

"How dare you find fault with the royal family? Weren't you once so idle and unlearned? But then you suddenly became wise, and now you are both civil and martial. In my opinion, that child just became wise a little later." Emperor Jing responded indifferently.

Zhou Lin secretly complained in his heart. Although he had indeed been idle for a period of time, no matter how bad he was at that time, he had never set foot in a brothel.

However, facing Emperor Jing's words, even though he was unwilling, he could not find a word to refute.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking so boldly. Miss Shen may not be happy with the person you think is a suitable candidate. Why not give Miss Shen the right to choose her husband independently so that she can find her ideal husband? Wouldn't everyone be happy that way?" Zhou Lin mustered up the courage to advise.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing couldn't help but frown and said in a deep voice, "Since ancient times, marriage has always been the decision of parents and matchmakers. How can a woman choose her own husband? This practice is simply against etiquette and moral principles!"

Zhou Lin quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I mean no offense. However, as far as I know, most of the Shen family's younger generations get married after they are satisfied with each other before they ask a matchmaker to come and propose marriage."

"Hmph! Can a marriage chosen by yourself guarantee that everything will go smoothly? Let alone other things, just look at the third son of the Shen family. Didn't he also choose his own marriage, but what happened in the end? He still secretly kept a concubine outside, causing unrest in the family!" Emperor Jing snorted coldly, obviously disagreeing with Zhou Lin's proposal.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right, but the young prince of Ruyang Palace is really too bad!" Zhou Lin muttered softly, with a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

At this moment, Emperor Jing suddenly changed the subject: "Hanzhi, when you last came to the palace, you mentioned that you were injured. I wonder how you are doing now? Is there any improvement?"

Upon hearing Emperor Jing's question, Zhou Lin quickly and respectfully replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. My injuries have been treated with the medicine prescribed by the military doctors, and I am almost fully recovered."

Zhou Lin did not tell Emperor Jing the truth that the doctor who treated him was from the Shen Mansion. Emperor Jing was now wary of the Shen family, and he could not cause any more trouble.

After hearing this, Emperor Jing did not seem to fully believe Zhou Lin's words. A trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, and then he said, "Let the imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital give you a thorough diagnosis."

Zhou Lin quickly declined, saying, "The scar on my leg is too hideous and ugly. If I were to show it to Your Majesty, I'm afraid it would be a disgrace to your eyes."

Emperor Jing smiled slightly, "Your injury was caused by my Great Yong, why would I care about this?"

As he spoke, Emperor Jing winked at Dequan beside him.

Dequan understood and immediately walked quickly to the door, shouting, "Call the doctor!"

In just a moment, an imperial physician followed Dequan into the hall.

When Zhou Lin saw this, he understood what was going on. It seemed that the imperial physician had been waiting outside the door for a long time.

Since Emperor Jing insisted on seeing it, Zhou Lin no longer refused and simply rolled up his trouser legs and allowed the imperial physician to examine him.

Emperor Jing only took a quick glance at the horrific wound that was so deep that the bone was visible, then he quickly frowned and turned away, not wanting to look at it again.

The imperial physician at the side hurried forward and began to carefully check Zhou Lin's injuries.

I saw beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down his forehead, and his face looked solemn and nervous.

A moment later, the imperial physician wiped the sweat pouring down his head with trembling hands and reported to Emperor Jing with trepidation, "Your Majesty, the wound on General Zhou's leg is surrounded by a strange black color. In my humble opinion, this is likely the result of poisoning. I am not very knowledgeable and cannot accurately identify the specific cause."

Zhou Lin said calmly, "It's the poison from Xiangxi."

His voice was as calm as the surface of a lake, making it hard to imagine that he was suffering from such severe pain and poison.

"This..." Upon hearing this, the imperial physician's face turned pale. He knelt on the ground in panic, his body shaking violently like a sieve. He said in a trembling voice, "Forgive me for my incompetence. I have never come into contact with the poison from Xiangxi."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing glared at the imperial physician fiercely, "Useless! What use do I have for a bunch of mediocre doctors like you?"

The imperial physician was so frightened that he trembled all over and kowtowed to apologize, not even daring to breathe.

In fact, Emperor Jing did not really want to save Zhou Lin. The reason he summoned the imperial physician was just to take this opportunity to confirm how serious Zhou Lin's injuries were.

Now that he had a rough idea of the situation, he waved his hand and shouted impatiently at the doctor, "Get out of here!"

After the imperial physician hurriedly left as if he had been pardoned, Emperor Jing slowly turned around, looked at Zhou Lin, and said thoughtfully: "The environment in the north is harsh. Hanzhi, you are seriously injured this time. It is better for you to stay in the capital and recuperate."

After experiencing the incident with Xiao Yuanqi, Emperor Jing became wary of those families that held large military forces.

Although Zhou Antai is still in the capital at this moment, he is too old to be completely trusted.

In comparison, keeping the young and promising Zhou Lin in Beijing would make it easier to control the Zhou family.

Besides, Zhou Lin’s capture of several cities of the northern barbarians had already had a deterrent effect.

Besides, the North is now guarded by Zhou Lie and Zhou Hongqi, so there won’t be much trouble.

If we really can't hold on, it's not too late to send Zhou Lin and Zhou Antai there.

Emperor Jing increasingly felt that his ideas were feasible.

"Your Majesty, the military doctor who treated my injuries is still in the north."