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

Chapter 69: The Path I Chose, I Will Walk On, Even If I Cry

Rong Momo left in anger after Leng Yuling left, and Ziyan gave her a thumbs up: "Your Majesty is mighty."

Who is Rong Momo? She can even speak a few words to Mo Zhen. Even Ma Zhiyun in the palace has to give her some face. Right now, only Leng Yuling in the harem dares to speak to her like this.

Leng Yuling curled her lips. What was this? Leng Yuling, who was always ready to fight anyone, would she be afraid of a mere wet nurse?

However, after Mo Zhen returned, he directly questioned Leng Yuling: "Didn't I tell you that even I have to show some respect to Rong Mama? Did you ignore my words?"

"Brother, respect is always mutual. Get this straight, I, Leng Yuling, have no obligation to respect someone who doesn't respect me!" He started cursing her as soon as he walked in, which she found utterly baffling. "Besides, just because she's an elder, does that mean I should let her curse me? What if she gets angry and wants to hit me someday? Should I just stand there and let her hit me?"

"That's just sophistry." He didn't deny that Leng Yuling's words had some merit, but he didn't think Rong Momo would do anything to Leng Yuling.

"So what if I'm just being unreasonable?" Since he said she was being unreasonable, she accepted it.

Leng Yuling continued talking, and he didn't know what to say. In the end, he seemed to never be able to win an argument with Leng Yuling.

"In short, be more polite to Rong Momo in the future."

Seeing Leng Yuling's aggrieved look, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Even though he knew that Leng Yuling must have talked back to Rong Mama first, he still couldn't blame her.

"Not only can't we afford to offend Ma Zhiyun, but we even have to serve Rong Mama with utmost care." After pausing, she continued, "Tell me, what exactly is my status in this palace?"

She can't even scold a nanny a few times; she's a complete failure as empress.

"Don't you know your own status?"

"What do I know?"

Leng Yuling glanced at him, said nothing more, and went into the room, climbing onto the bed.

She curled up in the corner, looking aggrieved, and fell asleep. Mo Zhen looked at her back and sighed silently. She didn't know that everything he did was just to protect her position as empress.

-

Because she had been punished by Mo Zhen and confined to the palace to reflect on her mistakes, Consort Jing did not come to pay her respects to Leng Yuling with the other concubines today. When she saw that Consort Jing's seat was empty, she pretended to ask, "Is Consort Jing feeling unwell today? Why haven't I seen her?"

The concubines looked at each other, and finally the one who was closest to Consort Jing spoke up: "Consort Jing has been punished by the Emperor to stay in the palace for three days to reflect on her mistakes. I'm afraid she won't be able to come and pay her respects to Her Majesty the Empress for the next few days."

Leng Yuling was secretly pleased with herself. She had actually known about this for a long time, but she needed to use Consort Jing to show her power.

"Why were you punished for no reason?" She pretended not to know, and even Ziyan next to her thought she really didn't remember. However, when she saw the corners of her mouth curving up, she realized that she was doing it on purpose.

"I heard that yesterday Consort Jing hit Miss Ruoxi in the Imperial Garden, and His Majesty happened to see it, so she was punished."

"You hit Ruoxi..." Leng Yuling nodded thoughtfully, and after a long pause, she said, "Although Ruoxi is my sister, if she does something wrong, you don't need to be lenient. As for yesterday's matter, since the Emperor is present, I will not comment."

Leng Yuling seemed not to say anything, but in reality, she was telling them that Leng Ruoxi was her person.

Actually, she wasn't trying to protect Leng Ruoxi. It was just that everyone here was tying her to Leng Ruoxi. If Leng Ruoxi could be easily bullied, it would only prove that others weren't afraid of her.

"I think Consort Jing may not have done it on purpose," a concubine who was on good terms with Consort Jing said, speaking up for her.

Leng Yuling looked up, nodded, and said, "I think so too."

However, none of the concubines present did not know what kind of person Consort Jing was. Since that concubine dared to speak up for Consort Jing so directly, it was probably because she knew in her heart that no matter what, Consort Jing would never lose power.

Indeed, Leng Yuling is different from Consort Jing.

Although she was the Empress and her backing was the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was the Prime Minister's Mansion from the Northern Desert, which was completely useless in the Southern Chu Kingdom. But Consort Jing was different. Her father was a Minister, a senior official in the court, and also Mo Zhen's tutor when he was young, so her backing was strong.

Because Consort Jing was not present, the 'morning meeting' was not lively, so Leng Yuling sent them away early.

"Your Majesty, Miss Ruoxi was wronged yesterday. Would you like to go and comfort her?" Ziyan suggested after all the concubines had left.

Originally, she planned to help Mo Zhen find out Leng Ruoxi's purpose in coming to Nan Chu, but after thinking about the big fight he had with her last night because of Rong Mama, she gave up on that plan.

"Isn't it enough that Mo Zhen comforted her?" She paused, then added, "Go find my master."

At this moment, she wanted to see Bai Xiaozi more than Leng Ruoxi and Mo Zhen, so that she could at least ask him for advice.

When Leng Yuling arrived at Bai Xiaozi's palace, Bai Xiaozi was reading a book. Without asking, she knew he was reading a medical book.

"Xiao Ling, come here." Upon seeing Leng Yuling, Bai Xiaozi put down his book and waved to her.

Leng Yuling then walked over to Bai Xiaozi with a smile, sat down next to him, and peeked at the book he had been reading: "Master, what book are you reading?"

"A medical book," Bai Xiaozi said casually. After closing the medical book, he looked at Leng Yuling and asked, "From the time we were in the Northern Desert until now, there has been one question I haven't been able to ask you."

"What question, Master? Ask away. Your disciple will answer to the best of her knowledge." Leng Yuling said playfully. Although Bai Xiaozi was not much older than her, Leng Yuling always felt like a child in front of him.

It's as if no matter how willful she is, Bai Xiaozi can tolerate it, and she doesn't have to worry about him getting angry, which is quite different from her willfulness in front of Mo Zhen.

Sure enough, after hearing Leng Yuling's words, Bai Xiaozi smiled indulgently: "I'm asking you, have you ever blamed me?"

"Blame you? Why should I blame you?" Leng Yuling was completely confused and didn't understand what Bai Xiaozi meant by asking that question.

He sighed helplessly: "If I hadn't gone to find medicine and left you alone in Junshan, you wouldn't have been taken away by your father, forced to marry the emperor, and eventually became the Empress of Southern Chu."

So that's what happened. If Bai Xiaozi hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known that the original owner was taken back to Dongqi by Leng Pingchu when Bai Xiaozi wasn't around.

But things are unpredictable. If the original owner hadn't been taken away, she wouldn't have transmigrated here.

“Master, perhaps this is fate. I don’t blame you.” I only blame the original owner for being unlucky. “Besides, coming to Southern Chu was my own choice, as was marrying Mo Zhen.”

Fearing that Bai Xiaozi would feel guilty, she joked, "You chose this path, so you have to keep going even if you're crying."