The cold emperor reigns supreme, the arrogant empress begs for a truce.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Don't I have any pride?

After Leng Yuling left, Ma Zhiyun moved her body, looked at Mo Zhen, sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to make the Empress unhappy because of me."

Although, like everyone else, she didn't know why Mo Zhen wanted to marry Leng Yuling, let alone why he wanted to make Leng Yuling his empress, she was willing to respect Mo Zhen's choice.

"You don't need to worry about my affairs. You just need to focus on recovering. I promise you, I will find a way to cure you." Mo Zhen's tone changed instantly, no longer the sharp one he had used on Leng Yuling, but gentle.

Hearing Mo Zhen's words, Ma Zhiyun simply smiled calmly: "I know my own body, and I really don't deserve you doing so much for me."

"Yun'er, you should know better than me why I insist." Mo Zhen looked at Ma Zhiyun and spoke slowly and deliberately. Ma Zhiyun was taken aback after he finished speaking, then smiled but said nothing more.

Mo Zhen looked at her for a long time, but couldn't say anything despite her forced smile. Finally, he whispered, "Don't think too much, get some rest," and left.

Watching Mo Zhen's departing figure, Ma Zhiyun's smile vanished, replaced by a look of indescribable sadness. In truth, she knew her own body.

Ma Zhiyun looked at the window that was only slightly open, peering at the scenery outside through the crack. She wished she could travel around like a normal person, but her physical condition simply did not allow her to do so.

-

On the other side, Leng Yuling had just entered the palace when Mo Zhen followed her in.

When Leng Yuling saw Mo Zhen, she gave him a cold look and immediately told him to leave: "My temple is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like you. You should go somewhere cool and stay somewhere else."

Mo Zhen frowned subconsciously, looked at Leng Yuling, and said directly, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Wasn't what I said obvious enough?" Leng Yuling retorted sarcastically.

Mo Zhen suppressed his temper, while Zi Yan, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but feel worried for Leng Yuling. However, she also knew that no matter what Leng Yuling did, Mo Zhen could tolerate it.

Although she didn't know why, she had that confidence and intuition.

"Leng Yuling!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Leng Yuling continued, "No need to shout, I'm not deaf."

Leng Yuling acted indifferent, which fueled Mo Zhen's inexplicable anger, yet he couldn't vent it. In the past, whenever he appeared, the concubines would rush to flatter him, but Leng Yuling was the only one who stood out.

She didn't want to marry him, didn't want to become his empress, and wouldn't try to please him. She always called him by his full name. What was most terrifying was that he seemed to have gotten used to Leng Yuling's behavior.

"I'm telling you, I'm really angry right now!" Leng Yuling suddenly looked at Mo Zhen and said, "The kind of anger that can't be appeased."

Leng Yuling's words always left Mo Zhen speechless. Just like this sentence, he had no idea what Leng Yuling was trying to say.

Before he could speak, Leng Yuling continued, "Let me tell you, from now on, no matter what the occasion, no matter who is present, you..." She pointed at Mo Zhen, "you can't yell at me or be mean to me."

Although their marriage was merely nominal, Leng Yuling was still the daughter of the Prime Minister of the Northern Desert Kingdom and the Empress of the Southern Chu Kingdom. How could she save face if she was yelled at like that?

"What do you want to say?" Mo Zhen asked.

"Don't I have any pride?" Leng Yuling said angrily, her cheeks puffed out.