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

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Strange Courtyard

“Your Majesty…” Even Consort Jing did not expect that Mo Zhen would suddenly appear here at this moment, and she was caught red-handed by Mo Zhen. How should she explain?

"You've got some nerve!" Mo Zhen shook off Consort Jing's hand, who knelt on the ground and kowtowed, begging for mercy, "Your Majesty, things aren't as they seem. Please listen to my explanation."

"Get up." Upon hearing Mo Zhen's words, Consort Jing looked up and saw Mo Zhen helping Leng Ruoxi up. The jealousy in her eyes became even more obvious.

"Your Majesty, she is merely a concubine's daughter, and a native of the Northern Desert. My father was your teacher." Fearing punishment from Mo Zhen, she had no choice but to bring up her father.

After helping Leng Ruoxi up, Mo Zhen turned his gaze back to Consort Jing, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said with a smirk, "If it weren't for the Minister, do you think you could still stay in the palace?"

Upon hearing Mo Zhen's words, Consort Jing was taken aback. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Leng Ruoxi whisper, "Your Majesty, Consort Jing did not mean to speak ill of her elder sister. Please do not blame Consort Jing."

Leng Yuling couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips. Although Leng Ruoxi seemed innocent and harmless, without any scheming, her words only made Consort Jing feel more uncomfortable. There was nothing more painful than hearing someone you hated beg for mercy.

The more this happened, the more curious Leng Yuling became about what kind of person Leng Ruoxi was behind the timid and submissive demeanor.

As expected, Consort Jing glared hatefully at Leng Ruoxi, but the latter seemed not to see it, only looking at Mo Zhen with a pleading expression.

“This is boring.” Leng Yuling suddenly said, then turned around and walked away, but stopped after taking two or three steps. “Ziyan, you stay here and see how things develop.”

She disliked knowing the beginning but not the end, but she didn't have the patience to wait and see, so she left Ziyan behind and went ahead.

"I'll wait for you up ahead." Leng Yuling pointed to the road ahead, then left.

Ziyan was completely bewildered, but she had no choice but to obey her. Although she was worried that Mo Zhen would find out, she had to listen to Leng Yuling's words and could only be cautious.

-

Before Leng Yuling had taken more than a few steps, Ziyan caught up with her: "Your Majesty."

"They dispersed so quickly?" She looked at Ziyan in disbelief. The emperor had come too; shouldn't there have been a huge commotion, or at least it should have lasted longer? "This doesn't make sense."

"Your Majesty." Ziyan ignored what she couldn't understand and, since she had caught up with him at a jog, was still panting as she said, "His Majesty sent someone to take the young lady back and also ordered Consort Jing to go back and reflect on her mistakes at home."

"Wow, isn't Mo Zhen being a bit too lenient?" She thought Mo Zhen would at least punish her more severely, but unexpectedly, he only put her in confinement to reflect on her mistakes.

Isn't being confined to one's room to reflect on one's mistakes the same as not being punished at all? Seeing him rush over to block Consort Jing's slap and personally help Leng Ruoxi up, she thought he would be very angry.

As expected, she underestimated Mo Zhen's patience.

wrong.

Why did Consort Jing slap Leng Ruoxi in front of him without angering him, but she could easily provoke him with just one sentence?

"That's unscientific, unscientific." Leng Yuling shook her head, seemingly finding it hard to accept.

Just as Zi Yan was about to speak, Leng Yuling stopped and looked ahead.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Ziyan asked, puzzled.

Leng Yuling frowned as she passed by the strange palace again. She stared at the gate but asked Ziyan, "Ziyan, what is this place?"

Ziyan followed her gaze and, upon seeing the words "vivid and fragrant," her eyes darted away as she said, "This servant doesn't know where this is, Your Highness. It's noon; we should go back for lunch."

Leng Yuling looked at Ziyan with a strange expression. She must know something about this palace, but she wasn't telling her.

"Ziyan, am I not your master?"

Ziyan didn't know why Leng Yuling suddenly asked that question, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Then shouldn't you listen to me?" Leng Yuling asked again.

At this moment, Ziyan understood what she was trying to say. She nodded, but said, "But Your Highness, this servant really doesn't know what you want to know."

"Then do you know what I want to know?" Leng Yuling's words were like a tongue twister, leaving Ziyan completely confused, but she only knew one thing: she couldn't say it.

Ziyan pursed her lips, shook her head, and after exchanging a glance with Leng Yuling, she finally spoke, "Your Majesty, let's go back first." Her tone even carried a pleading tone.

something wrong.

Looking at Ziyan's expression, Leng Yuling felt more and more that there was something wrong with this courtyard. Perhaps it was a taboo in the palace. Since Ziyan wouldn't say anything, she naturally had to find out. After all, she was naturally very curious.

Not wanting to make things difficult for Ziyan, she didn't ask any more questions and instead followed Ziyan back to Jingling Palace.

Only after returning to her palace did Ziyan breathe a sigh of relief, but she whispered a reminder in Leng Yuling's ear: "Your Majesty, although Ziyan does not know whose place that is, it is a place that the Emperor has strictly forbidden anyone from stepping into. You should not be curious anymore."

Having been by Leng Yuling's side for so long, Ziyan had long since figured out her temperament. The more she was kept from her, the more curious Leng Yuling became, and she would even try every means to find the answers to the questions she wanted to know.

Therefore, in order to prevent her from breaking the palace rules and angering Mo Zhen, Zi Yan had no choice but to talk to her.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." What Ziyan said was about 70-80% what she had guessed, but this still didn't quell her curiosity; on the contrary, it only intensified it.

Since it's a place where Mo Zhen strictly forbids anyone from entering, there must be some unspeakable secret inside. As for what it is...

"To be honest, I'm curious," Leng Yuling said seriously, looking at Ziyan.

Hearing her words, Ziyan almost cried, pleading, "Your Majesty, I beg you, please don't be curious anymore, there's nothing inside, it's just..."

Ziyan seemed to realize she was about to let something slip, so she shut her mouth. But Leng Yuling saw this, grabbed her shoulders, and asked curiously, "But what? What do you know? Tell me everything you know."

She looked at Ziyan expectantly, waiting for her answer.

Ziyan looked like she was about to cry, but she insisted on shaking her head: "This servant doesn't know anything."

"you……"

Before Leng Yuling could finish speaking, Rong Mama interrupted her: "Your Highness, you haven't been in the palace for long. There are many things in the palace that you don't know and shouldn't know."

Before Leng Yuling could speak, Rong Mama continued, "Your Majesty should just focus on being the mistress of the harem; you don't need to know anything else."

Rong Momo never treated her as the Empress, and only showed her superficial respect. But she knew that Rong Momo probably never regarded her as her master in her heart either.

“Since you know I am the head of the harem, then I should know everything about the harem, otherwise how can I manage it?” Leng Yuling retorted defiantly.

"Your Majesty, please be mindful of your status," Rong Momo said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying this to you?" Leng Yuling said disdainfully. Rong Momo was Mo Zhen's wet nurse, not hers. Moreover, she was the Empress of a country, while Rong Momo was just a nanny with a little status.

But Rong Momo retorted with one sentence.