Reborn, I was pursued by the Prince of the Broken Sleeves

Manman did not reply immediately. She first lowered her head deeply, her dark hair concealing her expression.

That moment of silence, in the quiet of the Hall of Mental Cultivation where you could hear a pin drop, seemed to stretch on endlessly, long enough for countless suspicions to cross the emperor's mind.

Suddenly, she raised her face, her gaze clear as the first spring water after the snow melted on the mountain, meeting his double-pupiled dragon eyes without flinching or avoiding them.

“Your Majesty,” her voice was clear and steady, “saving lives and healing the wounded is the duty of every physician. Moreover, you are Ye Mo’s father. For both public and private reasons, for both personal and emotional reasons, I will do my utmost to wish you good health.”

She paused slightly, but her tone remained unchanged: "As for who will inherit this vast empire... Your Majesty, I am petty and jealous. All I ask for is a lifelong, monogamous relationship. I cannot even tolerate an ordinary concubine, so how can I bear the harem of three palaces and six courtyards, with three thousand beauties?"

These words were so bold as to be almost defiant, yet the pure honesty in her eyes made it impossible to feel any remorse.

She was stating a fact as simple as "the sky is blue".

"But for Your Majesty, and for the people of the world," she continued, shifting the topic from personal feelings to the greater good, "what is needed is a virtuous and wise ruler who can protect the country and its people and create a prosperous era. This wise ruler could be any of your princes. Ultimately, who can shoulder this heavy responsibility depends on Your Majesty's discerning eye and decisive judgment."

Every word is reasonable and flawless.

The Emperor of Daqian stared intently at her, trying to find a trace of pretense in her overly young and overly calm face.

But she was like a flawless crystal, clear inside and out, which reflected his inner turmoil and suspicion.

She spoke of herself, and of the emperor and the people's expectations of those in power, but she made no mention of Prince Qi, Ye Mo.

That rebellious son loves war. If you put him in the imperial court, he will be even more willing to go to the battlefield.

That's it!

A long silence spread through the hall, the air thick with tension.

Finally, as if he had exhausted all his strength, the emperor waved his hand lightly.

"Go down."

His gaze swept past Su Manman and landed on the blurry figures outside the hall. His voice was low and deep: "Let Consort Xiao and Ye Mo go and rest as well."

"Yes."

Su Manman bowed her head respectfully and stepped out of the heavy palace door, temporarily leaving the oppressive atmosphere and suspicion behind her.

Outside the hall, the first light of dawn illuminated the two figures still kneeling on the cold stone steps.

Consort Xiao stood ramrod straight, but her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed her barely concealed fear.

Upon seeing Su Manman, she was like a drowning person seeing a piece of driftwood. Before the other woman could even get close, she hurriedly spoke, her voice trembling with sobs: "Manman... His Majesty, His Majesty..."

The words that followed were choked by surging worries and fears, turning into a single, silent tear that slid down her cheek.

Su Manman's heart softened, and she quickly stepped forward to support the woman's falling body: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, His Majesty's health is no longer a problem."

She gently pressed her hand down, signaling Ye Mo beside her to rise as well. Then she conveyed the imperial decree: "His Majesty has decreed that Your Highness and the Empress should rise and return to the palace to rest."

"Get up...rest..." Consort Xiao murmured, her eyes, washed by tears, were first stunned, then filled with a huge, relief-like feeling of surviving a disaster.

His Majesty's willingness to let her get up and return means that... the mudslinging that was thrown out of nowhere will at least temporarily not fall on her head.

Her legs were numb from kneeling for so long. She staggered to her feet, but her gaze involuntarily drifted back to the tightly closed palace doors, a hint of humble pleading in her eyes: "I want to go in and see him, just once, to make sure His Majesty is truly well..."

"Your Majesty," Su Manman subtly increased the force in her arm, both to support and to block.

Her voice was lowered, only loud enough for the three of them to hear, "What Your Majesty needs most right now is rest."

The words that Consort Xiao was about to say stopped abruptly the moment she met Su Manman's gaze.

She was not a dull person; the reason she was able to stand firm in the palace for so many years was because of her keen ability to judge the situation.

She immediately sensed the undercurrent beneath those simple words—going in now would not only fail to show concern, but might also backfire.

All the words in the world ultimately amounted to a barely audible sigh.

She stopped insisting and simply held Su Manman's hand tightly, suppressing all her unease and doubts for the time being.

After escorting Consort Xiao back to the palace, Su Manman and Ye Mo returned to the palace in silence and boarded the carriage.

The carriage traveled along the quiet palace road, the sound of its wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs like a muffled drumbeat striking the heart.

Inside the carriage, Su Manman recounted her conversation with the emperor in the palace word for word. In the cramped space, only her cool voice and Ye Mo's steady breathing could be heard.

“He hasn’t given up on Ye Zhi yet.” Ye Mo’s voice was deep, and in the dim light, his profile was as hard as if it had been carved by a knife. “After all, he is the successor he has personally cultivated for twenty years. Admitting that he is blind and incompetent is more unbearable for him than admitting that the enemy is powerful.”

“The avalanche grass in Mother Consort’s palace…” Su Manman frowned.

“It was that old hag by Consort Bai’s side who scattered the grass seeds over the wall at night.” A cold smile curled at the corner of Ye Mo’s lips. “The person is already dead. But this clue is enough for Father to see who is pressing forward step by step and who is enduring humiliation.”

The topic inevitably shifted to the final showdown.

Su Manman said, "As for Ye Zhi... he raised such a huge amount of silver and privately funded soldiers. Besides the local militia, how many other resources does he have?"

Ye Mo leaned forward slightly, the candlelight reflecting the cold glint in his eyes. "Deep in Baiyun Mountain, he keeps three thousand private soldiers."

In addition, he promised huge profits and colluded with a group of fierce bandits from the Western Regions who had been entrenched for many years, as well as remnants of spies from the Huanyue Kingdom in various parts of the capital.

Prime Minister Bai, however, used his extensive network of connections to secretly contact several border generals who held military power. His plot to seize the throne was far more elaborate and ruthless than we imagined.

Su Manman's heart sank.

In her past life, she was confined to the small space of the inner courtyard and never saw Ye Zhi's hideous face hidden outside.

Witnessing this with my own eyes in this life, a chill involuntarily crept up my spine!

Just then, a broad, warm hand covered her slightly cool hand and gripped it firmly.

"Don't be afraid." Ye Mo's voice carried a calming power. "I have been in charge of the Northwest for many years, and my 100,000 border troops only recognize my orders. In the court, I have the strong support of the upright officials led by Zhou Zhenghong. In the army, General Chi owes us a huge favor, and his troops in the capital region will at least remain neutral at that time."

He exerted a little force, as if to convey his confidence to her: "Man'er, our scheme started later than theirs, but it is more solid."

"I believe you." Su Manman gripped his hand tightly in return, all her unease settling into unwavering trust at that moment.

A sly smile flashed in Ye Mo's eyes, like a hunter finally closing his net: "There's one more thing. Those bandits are all desperate criminals, driven by profit. What if they discover that the real gold and silver that Prince Jin sent to reward them are all fake ingots filled with iron cores?"

He paused for a moment: "Judging by the time, those 'generous gifts' should be delivered to them by now."