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

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Flowers Don't Last a Hundred Days

Clearly, Ma Zhiyun didn't want to talk about her body, but the more she did so, the more she piqued Leng Yuling's curiosity.

“Since you don’t want to talk about it, let me take a look for you.” With that, Leng Yuling approached the bathtub, intending to reach out and take Ma Zhiyun’s hand, but was interrupted by a voice coming from outside the door.

"Your Highness, you've been soaking for a while," a palace maid outside the door gently reminded her. "I'll come in and help you get dressed, Your Highness."

Hearing the palace maid's words, Leng Yuling stopped what she was doing, glanced at Ma Zhiyun, and then turned and walked into the inner room, hiding in a corner where she was unlikely to be discovered.

After seeing that Leng Yuling had hidden herself, Ma Zhiyun finally let the person outside the door in.

Before long, Ma Zhiyun was dressed. A palace maid helped her to sit on the soft couch and poured her tea while saying, "Your Highness, I heard that the Fifth Prince went to Jingling Palace again today."

After the maid Ju'er finished speaking, Ma Zhiyun subconsciously looked in the direction where Leng Yuling was hiding, but before she could speak, Ju'er continued, "I really don't know what the Empress's background is, that she can make the Fifth Prince, who usually dislikes going to the palace, come in to see her every few days."

Ju'er's tone wasn't very friendly; to Leng Yuling, it even sounded somewhat disdainful.

Who did she offend?

Why is it that everyone in this palace, except for Ziyan, is hostile towards her?

"Ju'er!" Ma Zhiyun said softly, and Ju'er lowered her head and said, "This servant knows she was wrong."

Ma Zhiyun waved her hand and said, "You can go down now. I'll sit for a while longer before going to sleep. You don't need to wait at the door tonight."

Upon hearing Ma Zhiyun's words, Ju'er knelt down with a thud, kowtowing and saying, "Your Majesty, Ju'er truly knows her mistake, please forgive me."

She thought Ma Zhiyun was angry.

Ma Zhiyun sighed and said, "I didn't mean to blame you. I'm tired. You may leave."

Ju'er glanced at Ma Zhiyun with concern, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ma Zhiyun's face did not show any signs of anger. Only then did she leave.

After Ju'er left, Leng Yuling came out from behind the curtain, a curious look on her face: "Your palace maids are quite interesting, daring to gossip in front of you."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Ju'er is new to the palace and does not know many of the rules. I hope Your Majesty will forgive her this time. If Your Majesty wants to punish Ju'er, then let Yun'er take the punishment in her place."

As a master, Ma Zhiyun is definitely good, but from another perspective, what she did will actually harm Ju'er.

“If you keep protecting her, she will never grow. In this palace, what will happen to her if you lose power one day? Have you thought about this?” Leng Yuling did not mean to blame Ma Zhiyun or Ju’er, but was just evaluating from a third-party perspective.

Ma Zhiyun didn't speak. In fact, she knew that Leng Yuling was right. She really couldn't protect Ju'er forever. She could protect Ju'er for a while, but she couldn't protect her forever.

“I know you probably won’t lose power in the palace, but I’m saying if.” Leng Yuling could see that Mo Zhen’s feelings for Ma Zhiyun were extraordinary, and with her family’s backing, she would never lose power. “Of course, unless someone more favored than you appears, then your position will be in danger.”

What Leng Yuling wanted to say was that nothing lasts forever, but it wasn't until she saw Ma Zhiyun's eyes that she realized that what she said seemed to be a bit of a provocation to Ma Zhiyun.