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

Chapter 86 The Great Flood of Yongcheng

However, after Mo Zhen finished washing up, Li Quan told him that Mo Xuan had arrived.

"Brother, something has happened." These were the first words he said to Mo Zhen.

Mo Zhen frowned. He had dealt with so many things these past few days that he seemed to have become accustomed to suddenly hearing even more serious news.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke: "Come with me to the Imperial Study."

As Mo Zhen and Mo Xuan took their first steps, Li Quan whispered from behind, "Your Majesty, what should we do about the Empress?"

He knew Leng Yuling's temper well. If Mo Zhen didn't give her a word and made her wait, it would definitely not be as simple as just throwing a tantrum. Considering Leng Yuling's tendency to explode at the drop of a hat, Li Quan had no choice but to risk his life and speak up.

Upon hearing Li Quan's words, Mo Zhen realized that he had said he would dine at Jingling Palace. However, given the current situation, that was no longer possible. He looked at Li Quan, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Tell the Empress not to wait for me."

After speaking, he strode towards the Imperial Study. Mo Xuan, looking bewildered, quickly followed behind.

In Mo Zhen's eyes, Leng Yuling was undoubtedly special and important, but compared with the important matters concerning the common people, he clearly chose the latter.

"Speak," Mo Zhen said, looking at Mo Xuan after taking his seat, waiting for him to speak.

"The great flood in Yongcheng has submerged all the crops and even flooded many people's houses. This natural disaster has caused great panic among the people of Yongcheng. Fortunately..." Mo Xuan paused, then hurriedly added, "Xiao Xiao is on her way to Yongcheng."

Upon hearing Ma Xiaoxiao's name, Mo Zhen's already furrowed brows deepened. He turned his head away, glancing at the urgent report Mo Xuan had just handed him, and asked, "What is she going to do?"

“Brother, you should know that Xiaoxiao’s wholehearted devotion is for the people of Southern Chu.”

As soon as Mo Xuan finished speaking, he coldly continued, "But she is a general of Southern Chu. No matter what, I did not give her any orders regarding this matter, so she should continue to stay at the border!"

Mo Xuan sighed: "You, my brother, know better than anyone why she did this."

Upon hearing this, Mo Zhen acted as if he hadn't heard it, and continued to read Zhou Zhe with a furrowed brow. The disaster in Yongcheng was much more serious than he had imagined.

This immediately put him in a difficult position.

The next moment, a voice rang out from outside the door: "People can't just focus on work. You'll all get stomach problems sooner or later if you keep doing that."

Following the sound, they saw Leng Yuling carrying something and walking towards them. Mo Zhen, who was handling official business, was displeased.

Since ancient times, the imperial harem has been forbidden from interfering in state affairs, and no concubine has ever dared to enter the imperial study without the emperor's summons.

"Is this a place for you?" Mo Zhen looked at Leng Yuling and said in an unhappy tone.

The latter had already heard some things about what he had been busy with recently on his way here, and had also asked Li Quan outside the door, so he knew a little about it and knew why he was so angry, so he didn't bother to argue with him.

“There’s no sign at the door saying Leng Yuling isn’t allowed in.” Leng Yuling put the desserts and watermelon on the table, and seeing that Mo Zhen’s expression was getting worse, she softened her tone, “No matter how busy you are, remember to eat and rest for a while.”

"I am the emperor of the Southern Chu Kingdom, and my duty is to share the burdens of the people. Right now..." Mo Zhen paused, glanced at her, and then stopped speaking.

As Empress Leng Yuling, there are some things she doesn't need to know too much about. She only needs to manage the harem, and the rest is up to him.

“You know you are the emperor of the Southern Chu Kingdom. Since you know that, you should…” Leng Yuling suddenly stopped, her eyes darting around before she continued, “Take care of your health, yes, take care of your health. If the disaster is not well controlled by then and you fall ill again, I will no longer save you.”

She said it with an arrogant look, as if she was something extraordinary just because she had saved Mo Zhen a few times.

However, while Leng Yuling and Mo Zhen were arguing, Mo Xuan had already picked up the dessert that Leng Yuling had brought over and started eating it in big mouthfuls. Only when they all stopped talking did he say with lingering relish, "Sister-in-law, what is this? How can it be so delicious?"

"This is mung bean and kelp, which are good for clearing heat and detoxifying." To be honest, finding kelp in this era was a very unexpected thing for her.

Later she learned that the capital city was by the sea.

"Clearing heat and detoxifying? But neither my brother nor I have been poisoned, why would we..."

Before Mo Xuan could finish speaking, Leng Yuling slapped him on the back of the head, clearly not treating him like a prince. However, the latter showed no displeasure whatsoever, seemingly used to it.

Leng Yuling said in the tone of an elder sister-in-law, "You don't believe me when I say you're stupid. Is the detoxification you understand? It's all in the human body... Never mind, I don't need to lecture you. Anyway, drinking mung bean and seaweed soup is good for your health in the summer."

At this moment, Leng Yuling could only think of two words: generation gap!

Bridging the generation gap across time and space!

After saying that, she noticed that the bowl that originally belonged to Mo Zhen was still untouched and remained untouched on the tray. She became displeased and pointed at the mung bean and seaweed bowl, saying, "You drink this bowl of mung bean soup."

Mo Zhen remained silent for a while. To ease the tension, Mo Xuan put down the bowl in his hand and reached for another bowl, but Leng Yuling slapped his hand away before he could touch it: "I didn't tell you to drink it."

Since things have come to this point, Mo Zhen has no choice but to drink.

However, this elder brother was still unhappy that Leng Yuling had come to the Imperial Study without his summons, so he was even less likely to drink the things she brought.

How could Leng Yuling not know that Mo Zhen was as proud and arrogant as he was?

"I'll leave if you drink it, and I won't leave if you don't." In the end, she could only use this to threaten Mo Zhen.

The more he was threatened, the more displeased Mo Zhen became, yet he knew Leng Yuling's temperament well, so he was both angry and helpless. After a stalemate, Mo Zhen lost. He picked up a bowl of mung bean and seaweed soup and said, "From now on, you are not allowed to come to the Imperial Study without my order."

Leng Yuling nodded with a smile, showing no sign of anger.

But while Mo Zhen was drinking mung bean soup, he turned his head to look at Mo Xuan, who was eating watermelon, and asked in a low voice, "What trouble have you two run into?"

"Yongcheng suffered a major flood, and the people are estimated to have no harvest this year. Many people have even lost their houses." When talking about the disaster, even Mo Xuan, who was usually joking around in front of Leng Yuling, couldn't help but become serious.

"So, are you worried about whether people have enough rice to eat or enough houses to live in?"

"All."

Leng Yuling frowned. Actually, she had seen plenty of news about this kind of thing in her previous life, but the usual way to deal with it was...

She couldn't remember.