Chapter 600: Concubine Xian falls into a trap
At this time, Liu Wan had already lost her mind and didn't know what to do for a moment, so she looked at Lin Hao for help.

Looking at the anxious Liu Wan, Lin Hao shook his head and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, I've been prepared. That maid has already been stopped!"

As soon as Lin Hao finished speaking, Concubine Xian's maid was brought over by the eunuch.

The virtuous concubine froze upon seeing this. Now that she had no more cards to play, she was filled with fear.

Liu Wan was obviously relieved and felt very fortunate, so she pulled Lin Hao aside to discuss.

Seeing that Lin Hao still wanted to do something bad, Liu Wan said coquettishly, and then said seriously:
"Our affair has been discovered by Concubine Xian, what should we do now?"

"You know, Concubine Xian's brother Gao Hu is leading troops outside, so it's not easy for us to deal with her!"

"Then what do you want to do?" Lin Hao said with a smile.

Liu Wan thought about it, looked at Lin Hao and said solemnly:
"What I mean is that no matter what method you use, you must find a way to drag Concubine Xian down with you. This is the only way to make her shut up. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lin Hao naturally knew what Liu Wan was thinking, but he still wanted Liu Wan to speak to him personally about this matter, so he pretended not to know and said:

"You can't even convince Consort Xian, what can I do?"

Then Lin Hao instigated, "Don't bother with it, I'd say. Let's just launch a coup!"

"Now your brother is the Grand Commandant, nominally in charge of the entire imperial palace guards, and I control the Ever-Victorious Army and the Western Suburbs Camp. Together we can control the capital!"

"By then you will be the second empress, and you will definitely be remembered in history. How about I become your concubine?"

Faced with Lin Hao's instigation and inducement, Liu Wan would be lying if she said she was not tempted. If the old story of Empress Wu were to repeat itself, what would happen...!
Liu Wan couldn't help but be moved, but she soon came to her senses. Wu Zetian could usurp the Tang Dynasty, but she, Liu Wan, could never usurp the Song Dynasty.

The reason is very simple. Wu Zetian and Li Zhi had sons and grandsons.

Moreover, she has the Wu family to support her. Even after a hundred years of Wu Zetian's death, the throne can be passed on to the Wu family or returned to Li Tang.

If the throne was passed to the Wu family, then Wu Zetian would be the founding emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, and her descendants would naturally worship her as the founding emperor from generation to generation.

Although Wu Zetian eventually returned the throne to Li Tang, Li Longji, to whom she passed the throne, was her grandson. Li Longji couldn't wait until Wu Zetian died and then dig up the grave of his own grandmother, right?

It is even more impossible to slander one's own grandmother in history books, right?

Therefore, Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne can be said to have the best of both worlds, but what does she, Liu Wan, have?
She has no son and no family. Even if she succeeds in usurping the throne, to whom can she pass the throne in the end?

You have to know that Zhao Heng's son Zhao Zhen is not her biological son. If she passed the throne to him, she might be chopped into pieces and left exposed in the wilderness a hundred years later, and she would be severely criticized in history books.

By then, Liu Wan won't be able to please both sides. She will probably end up being caught in a dilemma and unable to advance or retreat. She might even be slandered and infamous for eternity!
But now she is the queen and holds the power behind the scenes, so Liu Wan thought about it and felt that no matter how she planned it, it would be a losing deal!
Besides, all she wanted was power. As long as she had power, she didn’t care at all whether she had the empty title of emperor or not.

Moreover, the biggest advantage of not usurping the throne is that when Lin Hao can no longer restrain himself and takes action in the future, she, the queen mother, can escape unscathed.

Or she could get pregnant, preferably Lin Hao’s child, then she could rest assured!
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, being the second Empress Wu is not a good thing. It is better to be the empress and rule the country from behind the curtain.

However, Lin Hao saw through her thoughts at this time, so he said something in her ear.

"Really?" Liu Wan's eyes suddenly lit up when she heard that. If what Lin Hao said was true, then usurping the throne was not impossible!

"I agree to what you said!" Liu Wan glanced at Concubine Xian and said to Lin Hao with a smile:

"Then the virtuous concubine will be yours. Do you want me to help you~!"

"How can I help?" Lin Hao asked curiously.

"Haha, you'll know it soon!"

So with the help of the Queen, she not only helped to take off Concubine Xian's clothes, but also helped to hold Concubine Xian's hands, helping Lin Hao to take Concubine Xian down.

next day
The sun was shining brightly. When the sun was about to rise to noon, the queen had already left. Lin Hao hugged the virtuous concubine and asked lazily:

"Will the Concubine Xian go and expose us again?"

The virtuous concubine did not say anything, but she leaned into Lin Hao's arms, and everything was said without words.

"That's good!" Lin Hao pinched Concubine Xian's fair face and said:

"What's so good about that loser Zhao Heng? How can he compare to me? If you follow me from now on, I promise you'll have meat to eat every day!"

Xian Fei was speechless when she heard this. She was used to eating plain food before, but Lin Hao made her eat too much meat and fish last night. To be honest, she didn't want to eat much now! She was fed up.

Seeing that Concubine Xian was not interested, Lin Hao was too lazy to say anything, and suddenly began to look at her.

She is not too old, barely thirty years old, and she takes good care of herself, so she doesn't look very old either.

She seems to be only a few years older than Gao Hui, who is about 17 or 18 years old.

The most important thing is that the aunt and niece look very similar, at least 70% similar.

If Gao Hui and Concubine Xian were walking on the street, people would believe that they were sisters. Considering that they are aunt and niece in terms of generation, but look more like sisters, if these two were together~!

Just thinking about it makes me a little excited!

Thinking of this, Lin Hao's eyes turned and said:
"By the way, find an excuse to go back to your parents' home for a few days. It will be inconvenient for us to do things while you are in the palace. I will come to find you then and we can spend the night together!"

"Hmm~!" Concubine Xian made an imperceptible nasal sound.

In fact, Concubine Xian was feeling somewhat conflicted at the moment. Reason told her that she could not do this. After all, she was the emperor's woman and the Empress Xian of the current dynasty. She could not let the emperor down.

But some things are not useful just because of your high status. You have to know that she has been in the palace for nearly ten years. Last night, Marquis Jing'an made her realize that the ten years combined are not as good as this time last night.

And you say how good the government is to her and how much it loves her?
This group of beauties in the harem might not be able to sleep with Zhao Heng once a year.

Recently, Zhao Heng became addicted to smoking. From then on, although he slept in the queen's bedroom every day, he never touched the queen.

Not to mention other women, she couldn't even see Zhao Heng.

So don’t you think it’s ridiculous to talk about love in the palace?
Seeing that Concubine Xian was absent-minded, Lin Hao stepped forward again and gave her a hard blow!
"My Lord, be gentle..."

After dealing with Concubine Xian, Lin Hao immediately thought of Gao Hui. Then his heart was burning with joy, as if he had not bullied her for a long time.

Then Lin Hao took a copy of the imperial edict and went to Gao's mansion with great interest.

······
at the same time
Gao Hui was sitting in a pavilion in the back garden of Gao's mansion, while two servants were standing respectfully outside the pavilion.

"I've met the eldest lady!"

These two people were the spies sent by Gao Hui to Qiantang to investigate Ouyang Xu's background, and now they have returned with the results of their investigation.

"Yeah!" Gao Hui nodded and asked, "How's the investigation going?"

"To answer Miss, we have investigated everything!" The short man replied:

"According to our investigation, Ouyang Xu was indeed engaged to Zhao Pan'er. That year, Ouyang Xu failed the imperial examination..."

Then he told Gao Hui everything about Ouyang Xu's past three years in Qiantang.

However, when Gao Hui heard this, she was so angry that her pretty face turned pale. It turned out that Ouyang Xu was really lying to her.

But at the same time as I was angry, I also felt a little relieved that I discovered it in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Gao Hui then asked the two to leave. For some reason, she suddenly thought of Lin Hao, especially the shameful scenes he had experienced in the imperial prison of the Imperial City Department half a month ago.

As I thought about it, for some reason my face suddenly blushed.

"What do you think? I didn't lie to you, did I?" At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded outside the pavilion, and then the tall and handsome figure of Lin Hao sat down beside her and hugged her.

"Who is it?" Gao Hui realized it was Lin Hao as soon as she called out.

Then she heaved a sigh of relief, but then her body shivered involuntarily, and her pretty face, which was flushed, lowered unconsciously.

Watching Lin Hao's face slowly approaching her, Gao Hui's mind once again recalled the days when she was bullied by Lin Hao in the Imperial City Division. She suddenly became so nervous that her body froze.

But then she thought about the fact that this was her home, so she angrily shouted:
"How dare you, you thief, break into Gao's house?"

"Someone come~!"

However, Gao Hui cried out, but no servants in the Gao Mansion responded to her. This made Gao Hui want to cry but she had no tears. What was wrong with her servants and guards? Why didn't they come to rescue her for so long? Looking at the helpless and pitiful Gao Hui, Lin Hao stretched out his hand and pinched Gao Hui's little face, and said with a smile:

"What's wrong? Do you feel like you can't get any help from heaven or earth? Do you want me to help you shout?
"No, no, no, no need. No, I mean I didn't shout. I was just, just excited for the moment!" Gao Hui apologized with a smile.

In fact, Gao Hui was terrified. Thinking of the days she had spent in the Imperial City Division, Gao Hui didn't dare to resist at all. Not only did she not dare to resist, but she also had to cooperate with him with a smile, and she even got used to it.

Otherwise, who knows what this damn bastard might do.

"What did you just call me?"

"My Lord!" Gao Hui shouted with a smile.

Lin Hao's face darkened when he heard this, and he made a dissatisfied sound:

"Ok?"

Gao Hui was so frightened that she trembled, a look of humiliation flashed in her eyes, and she immediately shouted with a red face:
"Dad, Dad~"

Before in the Imperial City Division, Lin Hao asked her to shout like this every time he wanted to bully her. She naturally refused at first, but in the end she was powerless and had to compromise.

"That's good!" Lin Hao smiled and patted her head.

"Come, Daddy will give you something delicious to eat!"

No matter whether Gao Hui was willing or not, she had to bow her head at this moment, very seriously, carefully and gently.

But perhaps because Gao Hui had not practiced for a long time after leaving the Imperial City Bureau, his verbal battle skills became a little rusty.

"Huh~" Lin Hao let out a long breath, glanced at Gao Hui who was kneeling on the ground obediently and said:

"You've become rusty. It seems that you've neglected your practice without my supervision!"

"How about this, Gao Hu is not at home, so I will personally teach you the skills of verbal combat from now on. I believe that with your talent, you will definitely improve rapidly under my personal guidance!"

Looking at Lin Hao's smug smile, Gao Hui used force angrily, which immediately caused Lin Hao to be punished. Lin Hao pinched her face and gave her some instructions again.

Gao Hui was so angry that she refused eloquently:

"no!"

"Huh?" Lin Hao's face suddenly changed when he heard that.

Gao Hui was so frightened that her heart trembled, and she hurriedly explained:
"Don't get me wrong, my Lord. Hui'er is willing to do this, but my aunt sent a message back saying that she would come back to stay for a few days, so it's a little inconvenient!"

"Your aunt?" Lin Hao pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, the Concubine Xian!"

"Yes, it's the Concubine Xian."

Gao Hui nodded like a chick pecking at rice and said seriously:
"My Lord doesn't know that my aunt is coming back to my house. If you come too, I'm afraid people will gossip about you. So why not just forget it!"

Gao Hui thought that if she showed her aunt, the Virtuous Concubine, this big Buddha, the man surnamed Lin would definitely give up.

However, she was wrong, very wrong. After hearing her words, Lin Hao not only did not show a look of fear on his face, but instead the corners of his mouth raised to reveal a wicked smile.

There was a gleam of excitement in his eyes, which made Gao Hui feel an ominous premonition in his heart.

Could this Lin guy be so cruel as to even want to target her aunt?

Her aunt is the current Concubine Xian, the most beloved woman of the current emperor besides the Empress.

How dare he?
Little did she know that in Gao Hui's mind, the sacred and inviolable aunt had already been bribed by the delicious food and fish given by the man in front of her, and she was even tired of it.

"Get up!" Gao Hui stopped arguing with Lin Hao, and Lin Hao helped Gao Hui, who was still kneeling on the ground, up.

Then Lin Hao held her in his arms and said:
"Hui Er, what do you think of me?"

"My Lord, you are handsome, mighty, and talented. You are loved by everyone, and flowers bloom wherever you see them..."

Gao Hui praised Lin Hao earnestly, praising him to the heavens, using all the compliments she had known in the past ten years to describe him.

Hearing this, Lin Hao said excitedly:

"Since I am so perfect in your eyes, have you ever thought about letting me be your uncle?"

Lin Hao continued to tease Gao Hui with a smile on his face.

However, Gao Hui was stunned when she heard this, and then secretly cursed Lin Hao for being shameless, "Why should I praise you? Don't you have any idea?"
He also wants to be her uncle~, wait, her uncle is the current official!

Lin Hao explained what he meant. Could it be that he even wanted to touch the woman of the current official? This was really crazy and he was simply not a human being.

"My aunt is the current Empress Dowager Consort Xian!" Gao Hui deliberately added emphasis to the words "Empress Dowager Consort Xian".

It seemed to be reminding Lin Hao to be more sober and not to be a toad wanting to eat swan meat.

"I know, so guess whose house I spent the night at last night!"

"Okay, I won't disturb Miss Gao's rest. I'll come and play with you again when your aunt comes back to see you!"

Having said that, Lin Hao walked away in a swagger. Until Lin Hao's figure disappeared in the vast night, Gao Hui thought of what Lin Hao had just said and shuddered.

Then Gao Hui murmured to herself:
"Has my aunt been ~?"

······
Back at the Marquis' Mansion, Lin Hao was eating the cakes made by Sanniang herself and enjoying the singing and dancing performance.

This was not an ordinary performance. It was the kind where Song Yinzhang played the pipa accompaniment, Zhang Haohao sang, and Zhao Paner danced herself.

Wow, I have to say, Zhao Paner’s graceful dance is really attractive and looks much better than on the screen.

Even some of Zhao Paner's dance moves made Lin Hao very excited.

After the dance, Zhao Paner came to Lin Hao with a slight breath and said:

"My lord, is my dance worthy of your liking?" Zhao Pan'er asked softly.

"This dance only exists in heaven, rarely heard in the world!" Lin Hao said shaking his head, and then took Zhao Pan'er into his arms.

Zhao Pan'er leaned happily in Lin Hao's arms. In fact, the reason why she worked so hard today was that she wanted to thank Lin Hao.

On the one hand, it was because Lin Hao helped her father clear his grievances, which made her extremely grateful.

Secondly, Lin Hao has already asked for permission to adopt her as his adopted daughter in order to raise her status. This way, their statuses will match and there will be no gossip.

At least on the surface no one dared to gossip, but when they smelled the scent of powder on Lin Hao, their hearts ached again.

"Really?" Zhao Pan'er's beautiful eyes turned and asked:
"Who dances better, Pan'er or those young ladies you have outside?"

"What young lady outside? Why don't I understand what you are saying, Pan'er?" Lin Hao blinked with a sincere look on his face.

Heaven and earth are all innocent. Lin Hao dares to swear to heaven that he has carefully counted all of them. Sun Sanniang, the queen, the virtuous concubines, etc., none of them are really young ladies. They are all other people's wives.

"Then the Marquis has not returned home at night these days. Is he busy with some military and national affairs?" Zhao Pan'er said sourly:

"Pan'er is not the kind of jealous woman, and it is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, but the Marquis can't just care about the young ladies outside and ignore the family, right?"

In fact, Zhao Pan'er already regretted it in her heart at this moment. Ever since she opened the restaurant, Lin Hao's visits to the Marquis' Mansion to accompany her have obviously decreased.

Not to mention her, even Song Yinzhang, Zhang Haohao and Sun Sanniang were visited less frequently.

She opened a restaurant and seemed to be independent, but if she lost Lin Hao's love because of it, it would be a loss.

So when Lin Hao came back today, in addition to being grateful for her father's redress, she also wanted to tie Lin Hao down, so she served Lin Hao very diligently.

Lin Hao also noticed the change in Zhao Paner, and was naturally very happy.

Seeing that their marriage was basically confirmed, Lin Hao even prepared the wedding invitations.

But the more times like this happened, the more worried Zhao Pan'er became. She didn't care about Lin Hao having a mistress, but she was a little anxious when he was not home every day.

If she were to be snatched away by a vixen outside at this time, Zhao Pan'er would cry to death, so Zhao Pan'er decided that it was time for Lin Hao to calm down.

(End of this chapter)