After her luck was taken away, she fell in love with the woman who traveled through time.

Seeing that he still didn't speak, Liang Tan pondered for a moment and then said, "If you really don't like him, don't let him enter the palace from tomorrow onwards."

Cui Ling was slightly stunned.

"Your mood is the most important to me." Liang Tan said sincerely.

Cui Ling looked at her steadily, her ears suddenly reddened: "Actually... he is indeed suitable to be a tutor."

Liang Tan raised his eyebrows.

"... Let's keep him. You're right. I shouldn't act on impulse." Cui Ling sighed and compromised.

Liang Tan suppressed his laughter, raised his hand and tapped his head, then turned and walked towards the bed. Halfway through, he remembered something and looked back at him: "When I said you were like a child, I didn't mean to look down on your age, but to express my love for you."

Cui Ling's eyes moved slightly.

"I love you, Cui Ling." She said gently.

Cui Ling stared at her blankly, and was speechless for a moment.

Liang Tan looked at him quietly, and after a moment, he raised the corners of his lips playfully: "Besides, don't you know whether you are young or old?"

Cui Ling: “…”

Three years passed, and the little emperor was already nine years old, and began to handle government affairs. The new forces headed by Tanhualang also flourished with the support of Liang Tan, and a situation of mutual checks and balances was soon formed in the court. Among them, Liang Tan's new forces and Cui Ling's old faction were the most powerful.

Where there are people, there are conflicts, let alone in the turbulent court. Although the confidants have vaguely guessed the relationship between Liang Tan and Cui Ling over the years, they still keep reminding themselves to make decisive decisions at critical moments.

"If the emperor is over nine years old, the empress dowager should have gradually given up power. But she is pressing on step by step, as if she wants to keep control until the end. You have to be careful of her holding the seal." A minister in the Imperial Household Department said earnestly.

Another person hurriedly followed up, "Yes, Master Seal, she wanted to interfere in the construction of Nanshan Temple, and she also wanted to interfere in the military training in the north of the city. She even sent her confidants to handle matters of ritual and music. This is too much, it is clear that she does not take you seriously."

Cui Ling lowered his eyes and took a sip of hot tea slowly.

Seeing that he was indifferent, the two looked at each other and gritted their teeth: "Your subjects know that the seal holder has deep feelings for the queen mother, and we think that the queen mother will not harm you, but don't forget, this is the imperial palace, there is no true love in the palace, there are mostly false flattery..."

Before he could finish his words, the teacup landed on the table with a crisp sound, as if warning of something.

The man didn't dare to say anything, but the person next to him suddenly knelt down, looking like he was ready to risk everything: "Master, even if you kill me today, I will still say that the Queen Mother and the Emperor are of the same lineage. As long as she is around, the Emperor will never truly trust you. When the Emperor rules independently in the future, have you thought about what to do?"

"That's enough," Cui Ling said unhappily, saying the first sentence of the day, "That's enough for today."

"Palm print..."

Cui Ling ignored him and left.

The two looked at each other and finally let out a long sigh.

On the other side, inside the Chenshi Palace.

The little emperor was holding a book and reading it in a serious manner. Liang Tan sat leisurely on the couch, eating pastries and checking his homework.

After finishing a book, she brought him a cup of jujube tea and said, "Moisten your throat quickly."

"Thank you, mother." The little emperor took a sip and sat beside her dependently.

Liang Tan smiled and straightened his cuffs for him, and asked him about his recent situation. The little emperor answered one by one, and then thought of something: "Mother, I have something to ask you."

"What do you want to ask?" Liang Tan asked with his head down.

The little emperor looked up at her and said, "Yesterday in the imperial study, I read a few memorials saying that the country will fall apart if the eunuchs are in power. I think there is some truth in them. What do you think, mother?"

He was about to step into the inner room, but suddenly he stepped back and stood quietly at the door, wanting to hear her answer.

The room was quiet. Liang Tan looked up calmly and realized that the child who used to follow Cui Ling and call him "Zhang Yin" in an admiring voice had grown up without him noticing.

The ancients were very intelligent, let alone a king of a country. Nine years old is indeed not young.

"Mother?" Seeing that Liang Tan hadn't spoken a word, a trace of uneasiness flashed in his eyes.

Liang Tan raised his lips: "The Queen Mother is here."

"Then... Mother, what do you think I should do?" The little emperor pursed his dry lips and asked nervously.

Liang Tan pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "Who told you this?"

The little emperor didn't dare to say it.

Liang Tan didn't care, he smiled and said: "In order to protect the Zheng family's kingdom, we should decisively get rid of him."

The little emperor suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“But he is too powerful. To maintain the stability of the court, we cannot kill him immediately. Instead, we should disintegrate his power step by step, leaving him isolated and helpless, and then kill him as soon as possible.” The smile in Liang Tan’s eyes gradually faded, and there was a cold look in his eyes as he looked at the little emperor.

The person outside the door was silent for a long time, and finally took a step back.

Inside the room, the little emperor stared at Liang Tan in a daze. After a long while, he spoke with a dry throat: "But, but mother, are you willing to..."

"Ask me if I am willing to do that?" Liang Tan raised the corner of his lips again, "Since you dare to ask, I think you have heard the rumors outside and know that I and Cui Ling..."

"That's definitely not true!" the little emperor interrupted anxiously.

Liang Tan laughed mockingly: "What a pity, it's true."

The little emperor's eyes instantly turned red: "How could you treat father like this?"

"Father?" Liang Tan chuckled and said nothing. "Let me ask you, are you willing to give it up?"

The little emperor was stunned.

"You know very well how Cui Ling treats you. If you were to kill him, would you be willing to do so?" Liang Tan asked softly.

The little emperor looked at her blankly and suddenly burst into tears.

Liang Tan sighed and reached out to wipe the corners of his eyes: "Since you can't bear it, why force yourself to be a bad person." No matter how mature he is, he is still a child.

"But, but they said that if we don't do this, the Zheng Dynasty will not be able to be preserved." The little emperor wiped his eyes and said to her with sobs.

Liang Tan didn't care much: "You are not the late emperor's biological son. The day you became emperor, the Zheng family's kingdom was gone."

The little emperor was completely stunned.

"The previous emperor had no children, so he was forced to choose a crown prince from the royal family. But he was afraid that the person he chose would be bewitched by his biological parents and would put him in a disadvantageous position, so he asked Cui Ling to bring an orphan back from outside," Liang Tan pushed the blame on the dead emperor without any psychological barriers. "He himself doesn't care whether the surname of the emperor is Zheng or not, so why should you care?"

The amount of information contained in these words was so great that the little emperor was still confused.

Liang Tan looked up at him and smiled kindly: "Remember, don't tell anyone about this, otherwise you, me, and Cui Ling will all be doomed."

The little emperor subconsciously took a step back.

"I know you can't accept it, but this is the truth. You don't have to worry. Cui Ling and I are the only ones who know about this. We won't reveal a single word," Liang Tan said, pausing for a moment. "When you can do things on your own, he and I will go to the palace to retire and we won't come back in this lifetime. You don't have to worry about dealing with us anymore."

"Mother..."

"Just endure it for a few more years. Can't you endure this?" Liang Tan interrupted him again.

The little emperor looked at her straight, with an undisguised confusion in his eyes.

Liang Tan touched his head and said, "I know you can't accept it for now. Why don't you go back and think about who is the one who really treats you well?"

After saying that, he called someone in and took the little emperor away.

After the little emperor left, Liang Tan sat alone in the room for a while before he said loudly, "Why don't you come in?"

It was quiet outside.

Liang Tan looked helpless: "Wasn't what I said just now clear enough?"

Not long after, a tall figure walked in: "When did you know I was outside?"

"I knew it when you first came," Liang Tan said, picking up a strand of his hair and sniffing it, "You have a scent that no one else has, and only I can smell it."

Cui Ling's eyes flashed with a smile: "You are good at coaxing me."

"I thought you would cry and run away, but you actually stayed," Liang Tan said with a lot of regret in his tone, "I was still thinking about how to comfort you, why didn't you believe what I said before?"

"If I believed it, I'm afraid you would be the one who was angry." Cui Ling knew her too well.

Liang Tan smiled, leaned in his arms and sighed: "You were such an innocent child before, how come you have become so suspicious now?"

"He is the emperor, it is right for him to be suspicious," Cui Ling played with her belt, "If you rashly tell him about the past, I'm afraid he won't be able to accept it."

"If we don't tell him, he might want to kill you and me." Liang Tan sneered.

Cui Ling hugged her and said, "If you don't tell him, he will only want to kill me. Now that you tell him, he will know that you are not his biological mother, and I am afraid he will want to kill you."

"Of course he wouldn't dare to do that," Liang Tan raised his lips, "People are so strange. When you were his biological mother, he always wanted to disobey and provoke you, but when he was told that you were not his biological mother, he became more cautious and grateful. Now he also knows that he is not of royal blood. If someone tries to seduce him again in the future, I'm afraid he won't dare to be tempted."

After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment, "Spoiling people will only breed ambition, but threats will make people sensible. In the future, even if it is to protect his identity, I am afraid he will not dare to act rashly."

Should he kill them and risk being discovered, or should he unite with them after regaining power? Unless he is a fool, he will definitely know how to make the choice.

What's more, she and Cui Ling have treated him so well over the years. People are all kind-hearted, and he has his own standards in his heart.

Cui Ling listened to her quietly, and after a long while he turned her body to face him: "Does pampering only breed ambition?"

"Yes, for example, now, I only think about the man in front of me, who can belong to me completely." Liang Tan raised his eyebrows.

Cui Ling smiled: "It already belongs to you."

"Not enough." Liang Tan said, climbing up his arm.

After that day, the little emperor fell seriously ill. Liang Tan knew that he had frightened the little emperor so much that he felt guilty, but he did not go to see him. Instead, he asked Cui Ling to take care of him.

Cui Ling took care of him for three days and three nights without taking off his clothes. When the little emperor woke up, he saw his haggard face and his eyes instantly turned red: "Palm seal."

"Is the emperor awake?" Cui Ling asked with a gentle look.

The little emperor looked at him timidly: "Where is my mother?"

"I will ask her to come over later." Cui Ling comforted.

The little emperor turned his face away: "No need, I know she is angry with me."

Cui Ling didn't say much, but just tucked the quilt for him.

The little emperor was silent for a long time, and couldn't help looking at him again: "Master Seal, was it really you who brought me back that year?"

"Yes."

"Why did you choose me?"

Cui Ling's eyes moved slightly, and after a pause, he spoke: "I originally chose another farm family, but on the way there, I met your biological parents who were fleeing famine. They begged me, and I softened my heart and took you in."

"Then they..." The little emperor's eyes lit up.

Cui Ling shook his head slightly: "He was hungry for too long, and there was no way to save him. He died after half a month of treatment."

The light in the little emperor's eyes suddenly disappeared.

Cui Ling looked at him like this, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "The two of them were already at the end of their strength, but they still fought for you with their last breath. At that time, I thought that they loved their son so much, so they must be kind-hearted. Their son must also be kind-hearted, so they brought you into the palace instead of finding a random family to adopt you."

The little emperor looked at him in a daze. Cui Ling's back was straight. He didn't look like a eunuch but more like a scholar.

"Your Majesty, if you have any regrets, why not treat all the poor people in the world as your parents, be a good emperor, and provide them with food and clothing. The Queen Mother and I will accompany you well, and when you grow up, we will give you everything," Cui Ling said, holding his hand. "She and I have never been people who covet power. Everything we do now is nothing more than to have a good end in the future. I hope Your Majesty will help us."

The little emperor opened his mouth, but no sound came out. After a long while, he nodded with difficulty: "Okay..."

Cui Ling smiled and waited until he fell asleep before getting up and walking out. When she reached the door, she saw Liang Tan and others in the yard.

"Want to go in and take a look?" he asked.

Liang Tan shook his head and extended his hand to him.

Cui Ling held her hand, and the two of them slowly walked towards Chenshi Palace.

After a long while, Liang Tan finally said, "Are you happy playing the villain?"

Cui Ling raised his lips: "I don't want to play the villain, it was the Queen Mother who forced me to come here."

"You're taking advantage of me and still acting like a good kid, huh?" Liang Tan laughed.

Cui Ling said nothing, but just held her hand tightly.

When the little emperor was sixteen years old, Liang Tan and Cui Ling went to the palace and completely handed over the country to him.

Without the empress dowager and the guardian seal, all kinds of demons and monsters came out at once. The little emperor then realized how comfortable he had lived for the past decade. After supporting himself for a while, he ran to the palace and begged the two to go back.

Although they are not biological mother and son, she has raised him for so many years. Liang Tan felt distressed when he saw his haggard appearance and thought about going back for a few days. However, Cui Ling, who always doted on the little emperor, decisively refused.

"He has to grow up on his own." Cui Ling said seriously.

Liang Tan glanced at him and said, "You just don't want to go back to the palace."

Cui Ling did not deny it. He entered the palace at the age of thirteen and was now forty-four years old. None of the thirty-one years in the palace were truly relaxing. Now that he was finally away from the court and could spend time with her peacefully, he really didn't want to go back.

Liang Tan looked at the faint lines between his eyebrows and suddenly realized that he was not young anymore. He felt sad for a moment, but when he thought of the pitiful appearance of the little emperor, he began to feel conflicted again.