The arrogant imperial concubine arrives, the favorite of the regent

The moment Ling Xingmu heard Xiao Zhao's suggestion, he felt as if his acupoints were pressed and he didn't react for a long time, completely in line with the "dumbfounded" posture.

Before this, Yun Mujiu and Wei Bai came to see Ling Xingmu, and at Ling Xingmu's request, Yun Mujiu decided to let him stay. At that time, he made many excuses, but in the end he used that irrelevant reason.

That is, the reason why he wanted to stay was that he wanted to travel in the capital.

He didn't know whether Yun Mujiu would believe such words. Anyway, he pretended to be fond of traveling and pretended to others that he stayed in the capital to recuperate.

Later, Ling Xingmu never saw Yun Mujiu again. He only went to the Laurel Tower and the Hundred Flowers Garden a few times, and also went to the Herb Hall to get medicine. That time he happened to meet Princess Ji Ling who also came to the Herb Hall.

"Young Master, Young Master, Young Master?" A series of melodious voices sounded.

Ling Xingmu shuddered and almost smashed the white porcelain bowl with lotus in his hand.

He took a deep breath and said, "That's not necessary."

"Why don't you ask Princess Ye for help? Princess Ye has no ill will towards you, and Prince Ye has not shown any intention of rejecting you." Xiao Zhao was a little confused. He felt that Prince Ye and his wife were good people.

Ling Xingmu replied, "Have you forgotten? We used the excuse of staying here to have fun, and now we are asking the Night King and the Night Queen to help me figure out the confusion in my heart. Doesn't this mean that the reason I told them to stay in Beijing was false?"

"Young Master, you have done things that embarrass yourself before." Xiao Zhao didn't know what was wrong with him today. He was extra brave. Maybe he really didn't want to see the Young Master suffer for the past again.

Ling Xingmu glanced at Xiao Zhao and said, "That being said, I don't want to expose the excuses I made up. I have to save face."

Xiao Zhao couldn't hold it in any longer. He looked helpless, and his expression said, "My lord, you are suffering for your dignity."

Ling Xingmu certainly understood what his subordinates were thinking. He was not petty enough to quarrel with his confidant who had followed him for many years, or to scold him unkindly for talking nonsense.

He looked calm, and the nobleness of a young master from an aristocratic family overflowed from his face. After thinking for a while, he explained rationally - "What's more, King Ye and Princess Ye have their own affairs to attend to, especially King Ye. Recently, Emperor Zhongyue and his people in the camp have had an invisible conflict in the court."

"How can I, Ling Xingmu, bother them for my own selfish desires?" Ling Xingmu said firmly, putting down his bowl and chopsticks, and looking at Xiao Zhao again. "What's more, we are from the Ling family of the Northern Realm, and it's not good for us to get involved with the Night King and the Night Queen for personal matters. Maybe this will be bad for both us and them."

Xiao Zhao sighed silently, "I understand." After the young master explained three times, he also figured out the reason why they were not suitable to go to the Night King's Mansion.

After Ling Xingmu finished a long conversation with Xiao Zhao, he suddenly lost his appetite, and was indifferent to the fragrant medicinal food in front of him. He originally felt a little hungry, but now he had no appetite.

But man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. How can you have the strength to work without food? Someone told him this, but he couldn't remember who said it.

Ling Xingmu perked up and continued to eat. He forced a piece of Babaozhen pastry into his mouth and said with a bulging mouth, "Give me... candied dates..."

Xiao Zhao was helpless: "Sir, you haven't taken any bitter medicine yet. Why are you eating candied dates with your meals? They won't relieve the bitterness."

Ling Xingmu glared at him, Xiao Zhao lowered his head, turned around and quickly brought a plate of candied dates.

He thought to himself: Young Master, eating candied dates has become a habit for you. Will eating candied dates frequently for so many years cause health problems?

Ling Xingmu stuffed several candied dates into his mouth, looking like a starving ghost, not at all like a proper young man from a wealthy family.

Suddenly, there was a slight and somewhat unfamiliar sound of footsteps coming from outside the hall, and several people in the hall raised their eyebrows.

Ling Xingmu didn't give any orders, so why did the guards on duty suddenly come back?

This means that the person who came is probably not one of theirs.

But he is not their person, so why did the gatekeeper let him into the house without informing them?

Ling Xingmu's eyes narrowed, and just as he was about to stand up, he saw the beaded door curtain of the flower hall being opened from the outside, and several figures suddenly appeared in front of him.

He was horrified and his face turned pale in an instant, as white as a white porcelain bowl.

It's over, someone is coming to arrest him and take him back to the North to be held accountable? He doesn't want to die!

Ling Xingmu and his companions were all so frightened that they didn't know what to do for a moment.

The people in front of him were none other than the Ling family.

And in the middle of the crowd there was a noble and steady young man, standing upright, wearing an indigo-blue ink-painted brocade robe, his black hair tied up with an emerald green hollow jade crown, and a Pisces yellow jade pendant hanging from his waist. He was indeed a young man from an aristocratic family with extraordinary bearing, and the kind of young man who stood out from the crowd.

The man smiled slightly: "Xing Mu, it's been a long time since we last met. Now you don't even recognize your elder brother?"

"Big, big brother!" Ling Xingmu almost knelt down and asked in panic, "Why are you here?"

"What? Can't I come?" Ling Chiye glanced around the flower hall, then at the steaming dishes on the dining table, flicked his sleeves, strode forward, and sat down gracefully.

"It's not that I can't come. I'm just surprised that you came all of a sudden, big brother." Ling Xingmu couldn't come back to his senses for a long time, and his palms were sweating from nervousness. No wonder no one informed him that someone was coming, it turned out that it was one of our own family members! I'm afraid those guards would be as scared as he was when they saw big brother!

Ling Chiye smiled calmly, and Xiao Zhao served tea and water like a servile servant. Ling Chiye put down the emerald green jade teacup, raised his eyebrows and asked, "If I don't come, who will escort the things you want?"

Ling Xingmu's face turned pale, and he said, "So it was you, Big Brother, who escorted them." But he didn't have a close relationship with Big Brother, so why did Big Brother do this? Has his family been hiding this from him all along? He didn't know why the team escorting the gifts hadn't arrived yet! He also didn't know why Big Brother had brought people here!

He stammered, "But the guards in the mansion can just bring the gifts. There's no need to disturb you, big brother."

Ling Chiye picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said nonchalantly, "I came here on my way."

Ling Xingmu had no interest in drinking tea at all. His big eyes were fixed on his elder brother who was always so majestic.

Ling Chiye said calmly: "I know you have doubts in your heart. First, it was me who delayed the team's departure because I had to wait until I finished dealing with the things at hand before I could set off with them."

"Secondly, I told them not to tell you that I would come here in person."

"Why?" Ling Xingmu asked courageously.

"Of course it's to give you a surprise." Ling Chiye raised his lips but didn't smile, his face was very indifferent.

Ling Xingmu shrank his neck and said with difficulty: "This is not a surprise, it's a shock." He was almost scared to death. His personal affairs were not settled yet, but his elder brother came. He was afraid that his plan to stay in Beijing would change!

"What? Have you done anything earth-shattering here? Or have you committed a crime that you dare not let your family know about?!"

With a "bang", Ling Chiye smashed the teacup down heavily. The teacup didn't break, but the sound of it hitting the table was shocking. He stared at Ling Xingmu with deep eyes.

When Ling Xingmu saw these captivating eyes, he was reminded of his extremely strict father. Now Ling Chiye's eyes were far more frightening than Ling Dutong's, with majesty and domineering, and murderous intent lurking in his eyes!

Ling Chiye said coldly: "Speak! Tell the truth!"