The uncle borrowed some merits, and the princess drew the talisman fiercely

Grand Secretary Meng and others left the Emperor's bedroom.

The Crown Prince left the imperial physician to watch over them and led Zhou Shiyue and the others to the Imperial Garden.

The palace maids brought over exquisite pastries and snacks, and also warmed a pot of wine.

The Crown Prince hosted a small banquet for Zhou Shiyue and the members of the First Mystic Sect.

"This time, Grand Secretary Shu also witnessed the Emperor's condition firsthand, so I believe they have nothing to say."

Zhou Shiyue said to the Crown Prince, "Let's not delay any longer. Let's finish it within half a month."

This completion refers to the ascension to the throne.

The crown prince clenched his fists instinctively.

He was still young after all. Although he had been very composed before, at this point, he was somewhat excited and his emotions were showing on his face.

Fortunately, it's just our own people here.

"Don't worry, Imperial Uncle." He nodded firmly.

Everyone has already helped him this far, and he will absolutely not let anything else go wrong.

"Grand Secretary Meng, Lin Rong, and the Qin family will all stand by your side."

"As for Prime Minister Shen, I will have him beaten to death and will never give him another chance to return to the court."

"We can continue our efforts on this matter through the Yu family and the Empress Dowager. Prime Minister Shen and the Empress Dowager did have a relationship when they were young, and the evidence will be collected soon. I will have Qingxiao deliver it to them then."

Zhou Shiyue didn't hide anything from Yin Changxing and the others, and spoke about these things directly.

However, while the uncle and nephew were talking, the people from the First Mystic Sect, including Lu Zhaoling, were engrossed in eating and drinking.

They haven't had many chances to eat much of the food from the imperial kitchen, but today they'll get to enjoy it properly.

And since there are no outsiders around, they can enjoy their meals more.

Lu Zhaoling continued to point and give instructions to Rong Jingjing while she ate.

"Second Junior Sister, savor this dish carefully, and you can try to recreate it later."

She pointed to a snack and said to Rong Jingjing, "This is so delicious!" But she couldn't tell what the ingredients were yet; only an expert could tell.

Once Rong Jingjing learns it, they can eat it anytime at home.

Rong Jingjing nodded, "I understand, I will try it carefully."

"And this, Second Junior Sister, you've made this before, but this one seems to taste even better. Is the method slightly different?"

"Let me see."

"This is just so-so, Second Junior Sister, we don't make this flavor."

"Ok."

Yin Yunting poured Lu Zhaoling a small glass of sweet water, "Senior Sister, please eat slowly. Second Junior Sister has already memorized all of these things."

After the Crown Prince and Zhou Shiyue finished speaking, they looked at Lu Zhaoling and saw that her cheeks were bulging from eating. Having also heard their conversation, they couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you think any of the dishes are delicious, please come to the palace whenever you want to eat them, and I will have them prepared for you."

If we could use these delicious foods to entice her to come to the palace from time to time, that would seem like a good idea.

Seeing her eating so happily, the Crown Prince felt his mood improve as well.

Actually, he was feeling a bit down just now.

When the emperor woke up and saw him, he didn't even offer a single apology. In fact, he became agitated upon hearing that he would temporarily take charge of the government.

Did his father really have no fatherly affection for him at all?

Moreover, with so many people around the emperor's bed, his father didn't even ask him a single question.

But seeing Lu Zhaoling eating so happily, as if eating and drinking were the most important things and nothing else mattered, the Crown Prince felt much more at ease.

"It's so troublesome to enter the palace."

Lu Zhaoling shook her head, took a sip of her sweet drink, glanced at the Crown Prince, and exclaimed, "Wow, the imperial purple aura above his head is really much stronger now!"

So it seems the Crown Prince is definitely going to take that position.

She had barely glanced at it when a handkerchief was shoved towards her face, blocking her view.

Zhou Shiyue took a handkerchief and wiped her mouth with it.

"You've got food all over your face, quickly wipe it off," he said.

Lu Zhaoling snatched his handkerchief, wiped herself with it, and then looked down at the handkerchief. Where was it that dirty?

"Are you slandering me?" Lu Zhaoling threw the handkerchief back at him. "My table manners aren't that bad, are they? Who eats with food all over their face?"

She's not a three-year-old. That's going too far.

Seeing that her attention had been diverted and she was no longer looking at the Crown Prince, Zhou Shiyue smirked, "Then why are you still wiping? Aren't you even sure yourself?"

I was worried that your handkerchief was already dirty!

"I only used this handkerchief to wipe your hands..."

"I didn't touch any corpses or ghosts today!" Lu Zhaoling glared at him.

Zhou Shiyue picked up a piece of pastry for her. "Okay, okay, I was wrong. Try this one."

The crown prince looked at them, a hint of envy in his eyes that others couldn't see.

"Your Highness," a eunuch ran over, "Miss Qin requests an audience."

The Crown Prince was taken aback. Just then, Qin Yuerong arrived.

"Your Highness?"

When Lu Zhaoling heard that Miss Qin had arrived, she smiled and said, "Your Highness, Miss Qin is probably worried about you."

"I'm going to see Miss Qin." The Crown Prince stood up. "Royal Uncle and Aunt, you and Sect Leader Yin continue eating."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Lu Zhaoling waved her hand casually.

The air in the Imperial Garden is quite nice, and she feels perfectly fine sitting here and eating for a while longer.

The crown prince quickly left.

Yin Changxing then said to Lu Zhaoling, "Little Ling'er, did you see the Crown Prince's purple aura just now?"

"I saw it, it's super strong." Lu Zhaoling said, then glared at Zhou Shiyue. "Don't be so nervous, it's like I'll die if I look at him even once!"

“Okay, okay.” Zhou Shiyue replied naturally.

However, he still wouldn't let her see Zhou Ze much.

"By the way, Miss Rong," he looked at Rong Jingjing, "you went to the Buddhist temple to save the Empress, did you see her fate?"

Rong Jingjing paused for a moment, then put down her chopsticks.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the Empress should pose no threat to the Crown Prince."

"it is good."

Hearing her say that, Zhou Shiyue felt relieved.

Then he doesn't need to worry about the Empress's lifespan. As long as it doesn't affect Zhou Ze, it's fine.

"Should we go see the Empress Dowager?" Lu Zhaoling nudged him gently. "Isn't the Empress Dowager quite meddlesome herself?"

“No need.” Zhou Shiyue shook his head. “You should not interfere in the affairs of these people in the royal family.”

He will handle things with the Empress Dowager himself.

Given her past relationship with Prime Minister Shen and her connection with Luo Qiu, even the Empress Dowager couldn't extricate herself from the situation.

Even if she could clear her name, he wouldn't give her the chance.

Zhou Shiyue certainly wasn't doing nothing behind the scenes. In fact, he did a lot of things in secret.

He wanted to help the Crown Prince clear the way ahead. He did things the Crown Prince hadn't expected or been able to do.

He also had a group of secret guards under his command, people that most of the Qing had rarely seen.

"Your Highness, the old Duke requests an audience." Qinglin approached.

"The old Duke?" Zhou Shiyue was somewhat surprised.