LOT – Chapter 93 Don’t Make Me Slap You on Such a Joyous Day!

The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets glanced at the Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and, with an air of arrogance, said, “Back then, you stole away my junior sister. Now that you’re marrying your daughter into our family, it’s only right.”

Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud: “How is that right! Either way, I don’t agree!”

From the side, Lin Mo munched on her melon and added: 【Actually… it really does seem kind of right. You stole his junior sister and then gave him a daughter. Plus, since the Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud’s wife is the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets’ junior sister, letting the daughter marry into his family means there’d be no in-law conflict at all. In fact, that’s basically like marrying back into her mother’s family.】

The system chimed in with agreement: 【Exactly. And a mother’s family without any blood relation to the groom is the safest. No need to worry about having dim-witted kids in the future.】

The two officials in the middle of the argument: …

Hey! Can you two step back a little?! Can’t you see we’re having a proper quarrel here?!

But on second thought… what they said did make some sense.

Although the Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets had always disliked the Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud all these years, he’d always treated his junior sister well—and he was good to his nephews and nieces too.

The Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud’s mind was starting to tangle up, unable to process the situation clearly.

So… letting his daughter marry over there might actually have some advantages. And the two children were mutually in love. But why did he still feel so uneasy inside?

Lin Mo was happily eating her melon when, all of a sudden, she felt herself lifted off the ground.

Minister Lin had come over and grabbed her by the collar. “Always poking your nose into other people’s drama—come home, now!”

This was between in-laws—what was she butting in for? If they wanted to fight, let them fight. After all, these two had been bickering for decades.

Still, this was the first time they’d learned that the Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud’s wife was actually the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets’ junior sister.

And come to think of it, she had been going over to his house quite often. They’d always thought it was just the wives being close friends. Turns out… she’d been going back to her mother’s family the whole time!

Lin Mo was stuffed into the carriage. These past couple of days, her beloved pig-shaped carriage had been put on holiday, so she could no longer be the flashiest sight in the capital.

The system chuckled: 【You look like a little chick the way your father carries you around every day. When are you going to grow taller? You’re the shortest in your whole family.】

The system’s words stabbed straight into Lin Mo’s heart.

【Can you not bring up such a painful topic? You think I don’t want to grow taller?! What can I do about it?! It’s like my family’s genes mutated when they got to me!】

Lin Mo was nearly in tears. Considering how much she ate every day and how active she was, she should have grown taller by now!

But her height had stubbornly stayed the same—just over 1.6 meters. Neither tall nor short. While there were women in the capital shorter than her, she was still the shortest in her entire family!

Whenever they went out together, her place in the family lineup was an obvious dip in the height curve.

With her looks, if she were just a bit taller, she could pull off a men’s disguise and be a dashing young gentleman. But right now, her height was holding her back.

Minister Lin and Lin Qi exchanged glances, both with a smile in their eyes.

In truth, they thought her height was already fine. For a young lady, being too tall wasn’t all that attractive.

Take County Princess Huayao, for example—born into a military family, raised wielding weapons in the barracks. She was taller than most men.

Lin Qi had met her once, and they’d been about the same height. He’d been utterly stunned—it was the first time he’d seen a woman that tall.

Now County Princess Huayao was almost twenty-five and still unmarried. Rumor had it she was preparing to recruit a husband.

Once Lin Mo got home, she pinched her nose and downed a bowl of goat milk. She’d gone through great trouble to get it, all for the sake of growing taller—she really was trying everything she could!

Watching her pinch her nose and drink something so gamey, Lin Ran’s own expression twisted in sympathy.

Tsk! Actually, this really isn’t necessary. Height isn’t something you should force.

【Host, with how hard you’re working, if you still don’t grow taller, it’d be letting down all your efforts. It’s a pity I don’t have any method to help you grow taller, or else I could give you a hand.】

Lin Mo declined the system’s kindness.

【Alright, alright. With the way you think, I’m afraid your method would be breaking my legs and making them longer from the bone.】

Given this system’s way of thinking, it might actually come up with something like that.

Day after day passed, and the weather was getting colder and colder. Lin Mo found it increasingly hard to get out of bed.

“I’m not getting up! I’m not getting up! I finally have a day off, so why do you still want me to wake up so early?!”

Lin Ran came to wake her up, but Lin Mo just rolled herself up in the blanket like a caterpillar and kept wailing. The moment Lin Ran’s hand touched the blanket, she’d start screaming miserably.

Lin Ran: …

“Hurry up and get up! Today’s the Laba Festival—Mother has already made Laba porridge! Don’t make me slap you on such a festive day!”

Lin Mo poked her head out pitifully. “Can’t you just eat first and save me a bowl?”

【Host, the custom here is to eat Laba porridge in the morning. You really can’t save any, so hurry up and get up.】 the system said.

Under Lin Ran’s repeated urging and military-style pressure, Lin Mo finally managed to get dressed.

The Lin family was already used to seeing her hair sticking out in all directions.

Getting her out of bed was hard enough—when it came to brushing her hair, they just let her be.

While drinking porridge, Lin Mo complained pitifully to the system:

【Sigh, every time I wake up early, it feels like I’m losing a year of my life. I finally get a day off, yet I still have to wake up early—and tomorrow I have to go to court again.】

【Tell me about it. Once you finish eating, let’s go out for a stroll. The festival streets will be lively.】 the system replied.

Halfway through eating, Lin Mo suddenly remembered an unfinished piece of gossip.

【Tongzi, about the last time—the argument between the Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets and the Assistant Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud—did their families actually become in-laws?】

Last time, she was caught by her father halfway through hearing the story. Then she got too busy and forgot about it—until now.

【Oh, that. After careful discussion, they decided to move forward with the marriage arrangement. But while they were discussing it, the two of them got into another fight. The Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Banquets scratched the Assistant Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud’s face, and the latter bit the former’s thigh.】

Lin Mo: !!!

Others: …

How did this happen? Weren’t they supposed to be discussing a marriage? How did it turn into this?

Later, Minister Lin also heard about it—it seemed the two families had indeed decided to marry, and even exchanged betrothal notes. But no one expected the process to be so dramatic, with a full-blown fight in the middle of it.