LOT -Chapter 289 Lin Mo: They All Dislike Me!

In the end, the leftovers were packed up and taken away by the Emperor. After all, given his status, how could his sons possibly compete with him?

Seeing their father so smug, the Third Prince complained indignantly, “Father is really too much! How would it hurt to give us a little? He packs up all of it—does he even have the appetite to finish it?”

The Second Prince calmly wiped his hands and said, “Third Brother, you have to be a little understanding. At least we live outside the palace and have a more comfortable life—if we want to eat something, we can. But Father, living in the palace, it’s not that simple.”

“Although life is much better than before, do you really think someone as stingy as him would eat lavish meals every day?”

Hearing this, the Third Prince suddenly understood—so today’s feast was a rare indulgence for him. He could understand now.

The dishes prepared by the Imperial Kitchen for Emperor Xuande were actually quite tasty, with a balanced combination of vegetables and meats, but eating the same few dishes repeatedly would inevitably become boring.

Xuande Emperor also didn’t care much for rare ingredients. He thought spending so much effort and money just for a few delicacies was excessive, so he usually ate ordinary chicken, duck, and fish.

The previous emperor loved bear paws and a variety of seafood, which required enormous manpower, resources, and money to obtain. Particularly seafood, because the capital was far from the coast. These had to be transported from coastal regions, kept chilled with ice along the way to prevent spoilage—just thinking about it revealed how costly it was.

Xuande Emperor truly disliked this extravagance, and more importantly, he didn’t have the resources to indulge like that. Spending so much money just to eat a few delicacies seemed wasteful—it was better to save the money for something meaningful.

Sometimes, lying in bed at night, he would think: if the previous emperor had saved all that money, how much more comfortable would life have been for him now?

All the sins of the previous emperor fell on him, his son, to repay, while the previous emperor enjoyed life comfortably. Were some people truly born just to enjoy life? Was someone like the previous emperor really favored by Heaven?

Over decades, Xuande Emperor pondered this question many times. In the end, he simply felt that his father’s life had been too fortunate.

Moreover, that man had been selfish. He prioritized only himself—his sons, wives, concubines, even his own mother mattered little. Everything he did was to make his own life more comfortable.

Meanwhile, the Second and Third Princes still had to tidy up the palace before leaving. Those two little rascals had slipped through the doghole, so their father couldn’t be expected to clean up—this duty fell to them.

Lin Mo and Bai Xiao had already returned home. Honestly, they were really different from others.

Other young ladies would have carriages when they went out, but they relied entirely on their own legs—their stamina and endurance were truly impressive.

“Father! Mother! We’re back!”

As usual, they were dirty and disheveled, but everyone was already accustomed to it.

Madam Lin, holding her abacus, didn’t even look up as she said to Mr. Lin, “Your daughter is back. Go check if she’s caused any trouble.”

Mr. Lin: …Whenever something happens, it’s automatically my daughter’s fault. She’s not exactly reckless either.

The period leading up to the divorce was getting closer, and the Lin family was busier than ever.

Lin Mo was sent out to play every day—mainly because she was far too inconvenient to have around at home.

After being sent out countless times, Lin Mo finally huffed in frustration, packed a small bundle, and went to the residence of County Lady Hua Yao.

“They keep kicking me out every day! Clearly, they don’t love me! I’m going to my sister-in-law!”

Bai Xiao looked at her tiny bundle skeptically. “You only packed one set of clothes, right? That’s not enough for a change.”

It was just a palm-sized bundle—how would she manage empty-handed?

“Small bundle, big determination! It shows how serious I am about running away. Hurry up, you pack too.”

That morning, the two of them openly ran away from home.

Seeing their two small bundles, Lin Ran shook his head helplessly.

“Send two people to follow them. Let’s see whose house they’ve gone to.”

As long as they had somewhere to stay, it would be fine. No matter whose house they went to, they would be well taken care of.

When they weren’t allowed to go out, this little rascal would sneak out every day. Now that they were allowed to go, she refused. She was just rebellious by nature.

When the Lin couple heard the news of their children running away, they remained completely calm.

“Let them go. We really don’t have time to deal with them right now. At least it’s safe in the capital.”

Madam Lin was almost overwhelmed with work lately—her son’s marriage, and soon her daughter’s as well.

Oh, Ji Qianhua had already come to propose. Once Lin Qi’s wedding was over, it would be Lin Ran’s turn.

Of course, Lin Mo didn’t know about any of this. If this little rascal found out, she would cause an uproar.

In her heart, Ji Qianhua was a fool—unworthy of her sister’s beauty.

When the two arrived with their bundles, County Lady Hua Yao welcomed them quickly.

“What happened? Why are you carrying such tiny bundles? Are you planning to stay here for a few days?”

Most likely, they had been scolded or beaten at home. For this future little sister-in-law, County Lady Hua Yao thought she understood her fairly well by now.

Lin Mo snorted angrily. “I ran away from home! You don’t know how unreasonable they are—they keep kicking me out every day, as if I’m just in the way at home.”

“Sister-in-law, tell me—how am I in the way? I wanted to help them, but they wouldn’t let me, making me feel useless.”

Bai Xiao quietly thought to himself: Better forget participating—she really can’t contribute. Remember all those bows you tied?

Originally, she was supposed to tie red silk ribbons into flowers on the wedding gift boxes, but she volunteered to do it herself and ended up tying them all into bows.

Who could have predicted a row of bright red bows? They were symmetrical, yes, but extremely odd.

After that, Lin Mo was never allowed to participate again.

County Lady Hua Yao: …No wonder they didn’t let you help.

Although County Lady Hua Yao was busy too, it wasn’t as complicated as the Lin household, and Madam Lin had taken on most of the work herself.