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

Chapter 85 Unilateral Cold War

Mo Zhen seemed skeptical that things were really as simple as Leng Yuling had described, but her expression didn't seem like she was lying.

"What, you don't trust me anymore?" Leng Yuling could also see Mo Zhen's distrust of her, and said unhappily, "It would be best if you never let me go to see her again."

She always felt that there was something strange about the mistress in "The Legend of Fragrance." Was the Empress Dowager really just looking for her out of boredom to chat? Why did she feel that things couldn't be that simple?

"What else did Mother Consort say?" Mo Zhen seemed very curious about what the Dowager Consort had said to her.

Leng Yuling hadn't planned to speak, but seeing his curious expression, she finally said, "It's just that I should spend more time talking to her in the future. Honestly, is the reason she's so bored because you've locked her up somewhere and never visited her?"

Actually, this was just Leng Yuling's wild guess. She didn't know the truth, but she was quite curious, so she kept staring at Mo Zhen, waiting for him to explain.

However, the latter did not explain, nor did it intend to explain.

Mo Zhen left inexplicably, leaving Leng Yuling alone, extremely depressed.

She pointed at Mo Zhen's retreating figure and asked Zi Yan, "Explain to me, what does he mean by this?"

Ziyan lowered her head, not daring to answer. After all, that person was Mo Zhen, and she didn't know if Mo Zhen was angry, so she dared not speak any more, lest she make a mistake.

“You said…” Leng Yuling was about to start scolding when she turned her head and saw Ziyan’s innocent face. She immediately shut her mouth and sighed helplessly. No wonder Ziyan and Mo Zhen’s emotions are like the weather in June, changing in an instant!

Ziyan looked at Leng Yuling with an innocent expression, never expecting that she would be wrong for not saying anything...

"My lady..."

Before Ziyan could finish speaking, Leng Yuling interrupted her with a raised hand: "Alright, alright, I know it's not your fault. Go do what you need to do and stop bothering me."

Dealing with someone whose emotions are so unpredictable is truly frustrating.

-

In the following days, the Dowager Consort did not contact her again, and Mo Zhen also did not come to Jingling Palace. While happy, Leng Yuling still felt a sense of inexplicable loss.

She sat in the courtyard, looking bored, and Ziyan could guess what was going on.

"Your Majesty, are you bored?" As soon as Ziyan finished speaking, Leng Yuling nodded. Indeed, she was bored, extremely bored.

“Then you can go out for a walk. It’s always better to walk than to stay here. Don’t you like going to the Imperial Garden? This servant will accompany you for a walk.” As she spoke, Ziyan tried to pull Leng Yuling up. The more enthusiastic she was, the more Leng Yuling sensed that something was wrong.

She grabbed Ziyan's hand and asked her with a curious look, "Are you up to something?"

Ziyan was taken aback, and after realizing what was happening, she smiled and said, "No, no, Your Majesty, you're overthinking it. I was just worried you'd be bored, so I gave you this suggestion. It was just a suggestion..." Ziyan became more and more guilty as she spoke.

She knew there was something fishy about Ziyan's suggestion to go to the Imperial Garden, but she had been staying in Jingling Palace for several days in a row and was really getting moldy. It was indeed time for her to go out for a walk.

After changing her clothes, Leng Yuling took Ziyan and Su Xi to the Imperial Garden. Although it was summer, it wasn't as hot as she had imagined, probably because there were so many flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden that they absorbed a lot of heat.

As she walked, Leng Yuling suddenly stopped.

Ziyan and Su Xi behind her also stopped and looked at Leng Yuling, as if waiting for her to speak. The next moment, they heard Leng Yuling say, "I want to eat chilled watermelon."

"Your Highness, I know what a watermelon is, but what is an iced watermelon?" She had never heard of this term before. She looked at Su Xi and asked, "Guard Su, do you know what an iced watermelon is?"

Su Xi was taken aback, clearly not expecting Zi Yan to suddenly ask her. After realizing what was happening, she simply shook her head, as she genuinely didn't know what chilled watermelon was.

“It’s just…” Leng Yuling was about to explain, but then she didn’t know how to describe it, so she sighed, “Put the watermelon in ice to cool it down before eating it.” Anyway, there was no ice in this era, so she could only dream about eating it.

Leng Yuling sighed helplessly again before continuing forward, her mood growing increasingly worse. In this era, she had nothing she wanted, which was truly frustrating!

After walking for a while, Ziyan suddenly called out, "Your Majesty, it's the Emperor." Her tone seemed shocked, yet also unsurprised, as if she had known all along that she would encounter Mozhen here.

However, Leng Yuling pretended not to see him and was about to pass in front of Mo Zhen when he called out to her, "Leng Yuling, can't you see me?"

Hearing this, Leng Yuling stopped and glanced at him, but couldn't help cursing in her heart. He was the one who was being difficult a few days ago, and now she can't even be proud?

"I'm truly sorry that the beauty of nature has inadvertently overshadowed Your Majesty's radiant glory." With that, she gave a perfunctory knee bend and smiled apologetically, "I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"Who has offended you this time with this strange and unpredictable behavior?"

"Don't you know who's messed with me?" Leng Yuling looked at Mo Zhen. If he were in the 21st century, he would definitely be a straight man. She was so obviously angry, but he couldn't see anything.

What the hell! The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Leng Yuling simply rolled her eyes at him and walked right past him without saying a word.

Mo Zhen felt something was amiss and was about to get angry when Li Quan whispered to him, "Your Majesty, perhaps it's because you haven't come to Jingling Palace to have dinner with the Empress these past few days that she's angry. The Empress is angry simply because she cares about you."

After hearing Li Quan's words, Mo Zhen realized that he had indeed been too busy to go to Jingling Palace these past few days, either staying in the Imperial Study or Shangqian Palace.

He's been really busy these past few days. Something happened at the border, and he's been working late every night, sometimes only getting a few hours of sleep. He usually works until midnight before thinking about not disturbing her sleep, but Leng Yuling interprets it differently.

However, according to Li Quan, Leng Yuling was angry because she cared about him, and he was somewhat satisfied to hear this.

"Your Majesty, shall we follow the Empress now?" Seeing that Mo Zhen was only looking at Leng Yuling's back, he asked.

He, as a servant, was extremely worried about Mo Zhen and Leng Yuling's relationship. However, since Mo Zhen was his master, it was indeed his duty to share his master's burdens.

Mo Zhen withdrew his gaze from Leng Yuling and said calmly, "Go back to Shangqian Palace to bathe first, and send someone to inform the Empress that I will have dinner at Jingling Palace tonight."

He had originally planned to go back and freshen up before continuing to read memorials in the Imperial Study, but now he decided to have dinner with Leng Yuling, so that she wouldn't continue to misunderstand.

These days, Li Quan has repeatedly advised Mo Zhen to balance work and rest and not to neglect his health for the sake of politics, but Mo Zhen is determined to do so. Now it seems that only Leng Yuling can influence his decision.