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

Chapter 65: Promise me you'll heal her.

Upon learning that Bai Xiaozi was in the palace, General Ma personally went to find Mo Zhen.

"Your subject Ma You pays respects to Your Majesty." Ma You knelt on one knee and cupped his hands in greeting to Mo Zhen.

"General Ma, please rise." Although Mo Zhen should address Ma You as father-in-law, his status is different from others. He is the emperor, and even his empress's father must bow respectfully to him.

However, Ma You did not get up, but looked up at Mo Zhen, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Mo Zhen asked again, "General, what is it? Please speak freely."

"I've heard that the Sage Physician Bai is in the palace. Is that true?" Ma You waited expectantly for Mo Zhen's answer, and the latter nodded. Ma You then asked, "Since the Sage Physician is in the palace, why not let Yun'er take a look?"

In short, Ma You's purpose in entering the palace this time was very simple: he wanted Bai Xiaozi to cure Ma Zhiyun's illness. Ma Zhiyun's illness was something he had worried about for half his life. Now that Bai Xiaozi was right in front of him, how could he give up such a good opportunity?

"General Ma, don't worry. Now that Physician Bai is already in the palace, curing Consort Yun's illness will definitely not be a problem." The speaker was not Mo Zhen, but Mo Xuan, who had just pushed the door open and entered.

In fact, he was just as worried and anxious as Ma You, but he knew that some things couldn't be rushed, and no matter how anxious he was, he could only wait patiently.

"These past few days, the Medical Sage has advised Yun'er to eat light foods to help her recover. It will be a few days before we can take her pulse. General, there is no need to worry."

After hearing Mo Zhen's explanation, Ma You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now." As he spoke, Ma You glanced at Mo Xuan, his eyes filled with unspeakable emotions, but destined to remain only in his eyes.

Originally, Ma Zhiyun's husband should have been Mo Xuan, but due to a series of unexpected events, she entered the palace and became a concubine. Fortunately, Mo Zhen treated her very well.

Seeing Mo Xuan's worried expression towards Ma Zhiyun, he felt a little worried himself. If this made Mo Zhen uncomfortable, in the end, the only one affected would be Ma Zhiyun.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry again, but he couldn't say anything.

After he left, Mo Xuan walked up to Mo Zhen and asked impatiently, "Brother, when will the Sage of Medicine go to see Yun'er? Yun'er fainted again yesterday, and I'm worried..."

Before Mo Xuan could finish speaking, Mo Zhen interrupted him: "The Sage of Medicine has his own plans." No matter how anxious he was, he could only wait.

Mo Xuan wasn't unaware of the reasoning, but whenever he saw Ma Zhiyun feeling unwell, he wished he could take all her discomfort upon himself.

"I know you are worried about Yun'er, but you have heard what the Sage of Medicine said: this matter cannot be rushed."

Mo Xuan lowered his head, sighed, and said nothing more.

-

Five days later, Bai Xiaozi finally spoke up and said that she wanted to go see Ma Zhiyun, and she also invited Leng Yuling.

Before entering the room, Bai Xiaozi said, "Xiao Ling, you seem more nervous than your master? Don't you trust my medical skills?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Yuling shook her head violently: "Master, you're overthinking it. It's not that I don't believe you, I'm just a little agitated."

Witnessing the medical skills of the Sage of Medicine for the first time in this era, and with a disease she had been curious about for a long time, although it might seem a little disrespectful to Ma Zhiyun, she was undeniably excited.

Bai Xiaozi smiled and didn't say anything more, but continued walking into the house.

Leng Yuling took each step as if she were participating in a ceremony. When she saw Ma Zhiyun sitting in the chair with a pale face, she was taken aback.

She had seen Ma Zhiyun before, but back then Ma Zhiyun had just taken a bath and her face wasn't as pale and bloodless as it is now. At that moment, she felt a pang of heartache.

Suddenly, he felt guilty because his purpose in coming to find Bai Xiaozi was not simply to cure her illness. Looking at such a beautiful woman in front of him, he thought how regrettable it would be if she were to pass away one day.

Leng Yuling suddenly grabbed Bai Xiaozi's arm, and the latter paused, turning his head to look at her: "What's wrong?"

"Master, promise me you'll heal her completely, okay?" Leng Yuling looked at Bai Xiaozi with a sincere expression.

This was a rare display of seriousness from her in front of Bai Xiaozi, and Bai Xiaozi couldn't help but nod, saying only, "All I can say is that I will do my best."

Leng Yuling was a disciple he had personally trained, yet even she couldn't pinpoint what illness Ma Zhiyun had, which could only mean that Ma Zhiyun's illness was truly not simple.

Just by looking at her weak face from a distance, he could guess that her illness might not be so easy to cure.

Mo Zhen, who was following behind Bai Xiaozi and Leng Yuling, could not hear their conversation, but he clearly saw Leng Yuling suddenly grab Bai Xiaozi's arm.

He strode to Leng Yuling's side and asked Bai Xiaozi, "Does the Sage of Medicine have any confidence in treating Yun'er's illness?"

Bai Xiaozi just smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I only glanced at Consort Ma from afar. Do you think I have extraordinary abilities to diagnose Consort Ma's illness without even taking her pulse?"

It wasn't until Bai Xiaozi spoke that Mo Zhen realized he had acted impulsively. In order to stop him from continuing his intimate interaction with Leng Yuling, he blurted out a random remark.

"Then let's not waste any more time," Mo Zhen said coldly, and then walked towards Ma Zhiyun.

The latter was about to rise and bow, but Mo Zhen pressed his hand down: "I have said that you never need to bow in front of me."

One moment he was indifferent to Bai Xiaozi, the next he was gentle as water. Even Leng Yuling couldn't understand what kind of person Mo Zhen was. How could a person's personality change so quickly?

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ma Zhiyun smiled. Even though she was pale, her smile was still enough to captivate everyone and even gave people the urge to protect her.

This kind of behavior that evokes a protective instinct is different from Leng Ruoxi's timid and submissive nature. Ma Zhiyun is so delicate that it makes people feel sorry for her. Even Leng Yuling, who has only met her a few times, seems unable to help but feel sorry for her.

Seeing that Leng Yuling was staring at her, Ma Zhiyun stood up and curtsied, saying, "Yun'er greets Your Majesty the Empress."

"Yun'er!" Mo Zhen said softly, "Even I don't need you to bow, why do you need to bow to a second person?"

Originally, Leng Yuling also wanted to tell her that she no longer needed to bow, but after hearing Mo Zhen's words, she became displeased.

"You're the one who told me not to disregard the palace rules, but now you're the one disregarding them. Mo Zhen, can't you stop being so hypocritical?" Leng Yuling said sourly.

After helping Ma Zhiyun sit down, Mo Zhen turned to look at Leng Yuling and said, word by word, "If I really want you to abide by the rules of the palace, do you think you can continue to live just because of your name 'Mo Zhen'?"

Leng Yuling truly had no idea how much leniency Mo Zhen had shown her. Who would dare to address the emperor by his full name, and who would dare to meet the emperor without bowing?

However, Leng Yuling possessed all of these qualities.