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

Chapter 91: He was indeed different towards her.

"Your Majesty, I beg you, please don't be curious about this, okay?" Ziyan looked like she was about to cry. Leng Yuling didn't want to make things difficult for her, but if Ziyan didn't tell, she would be the one in a difficult position.

Leng Yuling looked at her, as if she was determined to know. Ziyan thought she couldn't avoid this time, but at this moment a voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the Emperor wants you to come downstairs to have breakfast together. General Ma and the Fifth Prince are also here."

Upon hearing this sound, Ziyan seized the opportunity to advise, "Your Majesty, this servant should hurry and help you comb your hair, lest we keep the Emperor waiting."

Although Leng Yuling was very curious about the matter between Mo Zhen and Ma Xiaoxiao, it seemed that going downstairs to see Ma Xiaoxiao was more important than that.

Ziyan picked out a bright red dress for Leng Yuling, saying that Ma Xiaoxiao herself was a very imposing person, and that wearing red would make her look very imposing. However, Leng Yuling chose a very simple and elegant dress instead.

She just wanted to get to know Ma Xiaoxiao, not to compete with her in terms of power, and certainly not to be two people competing with each other. Ziyan seemed to have misunderstood their relationship.

She wore a white, floor-length, smoky plum blossom dress, her skin as white as snow, her eyes like pools of clear water, and she stood smiling down the stairs. She exuded an aristocratic air, her beauty otherworldly, breathtakingly beautiful—this was Ma Xiaoxiao's first impression of her.

Leng Yuling lifted her skirt, looking like a fairy descending to earth, and walked towards them. She was so beautiful that Ma Xiaoxiao forgot to bow when she saw her.

"Xiaoxiao." Leng Yuling stared at her, murmuring softly, her eyes filled with indescribable emotions.

The resemblance was striking; Ma Xiaoxiao looked almost exactly like her sister from her previous life, causing her to stare at her and her expression to darken instantly.

It wasn't until Leng Yuling's voice rang out that Ma Xiaoxiao came to her senses, stood up, cupped her hands in greeting, and said crisply, "Your subject Ma Xiaoxiao pays respects to the Empress."

She is not Xiaoxiao.

Seeing her sharp eyes, Leng Yuling realized that the person in front of her was not her sister. Her sister was a gentle woman like Ma Zhiyun, not the heroic and spirited Ma Xiaoxiao.

After regaining her senses, Leng Yuling smiled and said, "General Ma, you are too kind. You are a great hero of Southern Chu. I really cannot accept this courtesy."

She truly doesn't deserve the title, even though she is the Empress of Southern Chu. However, compared to her, Ma Xiaoxiao has made greater contributions to Southern Chu and is more popular with the people. In addition, she has always respected the great heroes of the country. Clearly, Ma Xiaoxiao is the Mu Guiying of Southern Chu.

"Royal sister-in-law, when did you become so polite?" It wasn't until Mo Xuan's voice rang out that Leng Yuling regained her usual demeanor and teased, "Of course, there's no need to use the word 'polite' with you."

What no one knew was that when Ma Xiaoxiao heard Mo Xuan address Leng Yuling as "Royal Sister-in-law," she felt a sharp pain in her left chest, as if something had stabbed her, but her expression remained unchanged.

Although she knew she wasn't Xiaoxiao, Leng Yuling still couldn't help but glance at her from time to time, which puzzled Mo Zhen, so he asked, "Xiaoxiao is the only female general in Southern Chu. Did you see anything different about her?"

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Leng Yuling subconsciously turned her head to look at Mo Zhen, clearly not knowing what he was asking. The next moment, however, she turned her gaze to Ma Xiaoxiao. "Aura." This was the first difference she noticed. "Didn't you all notice? General Ma's aura is different from others."

This evaluation is quite objective, completely devoid of any personal bias.

“Indeed.” Mo Zhen didn’t even glance at Ma Xiaoxiao, but instead picked up a cup of tea and took a small sip.

After hearing Mo Zhen's approval, Ma Xiaoxiao lowered her head and smiled slightly. Looking at her profile, in addition to her outwardly heroic demeanor, she also had the expressions of a little woman.

However, with just one action, Leng Yuling couldn't help but recall what Ziyan had said: "Originally, everyone thought that General Ma was the Empress of Southern Chu."

Although Mo Zhen's expression was not visible, Ma Xiaoxiao's barely concealed expression reminded her that something was indeed going on between them.

As for what it was, she couldn't tell just from Ma Xiaoxiao's glance, but she thought to herself that she had to find some time to ask Mo Zhen.

After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to business: "You said you want to do post-disaster reconstruction, how should we begin?" The person who asked this question was Ma Xiaoxiao.

Leng Yuling was also surprised. Ma Xiaoxiao seemed to be the only person besides her who dared to call Mo Zhen "you" directly, and it was obvious that Mo Zhen did not mind, even less so than when he first heard her call him by his name.

"This suggestion came from my sister-in-law, so... we still need to ask her what to do." Mo Xuan looked at Leng Yuling, who seemed to be thinking about something. She only came back to her senses after he nudged her, but she just looked at them and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How should the so-called post-disaster reconstruction begin?" Mo Xuan kindly reminded her again before she realized what was going on.

As she spoke, she asked Ziyan to go upstairs and bring down the post-disaster reconstruction plan she had prepared. She handed the plan to Mozhen and said, "This is my plan. Take a look at it first. After all, I don't know much about this place. You can combine it with your own understanding after you've looked at it. If you don't understand anything, just ask me."

As she spoke, she started to walk away. Just as she was about to leave, Mo Zhen frowned and looked at her, asking, "Where are you going?" He seemed quite dissatisfied with Leng Yuling's actions.

Leng Yuling raised her hand and touched Mo Zhen's forehead, the movement so natural that it seemed as if she ignored Mo Xuan and Ma Xiaoxiao who were present. Before Mo Zhen could explode, she said, "You don't have a fever. Didn't I say yesterday that I was going to visit the injured people from last night today?"

After saying that, she didn't even bother to eat breakfast. She grabbed a steamed bun, called to Ziyan, and strode towards the door. She stopped after taking a couple of steps.

She turned to Mo Zhen and said, "Mo Zhen, can I borrow you?" Seeing his puzzled look, she said somewhat awkwardly, "I have no sense of direction."

"Di Ren, escort the Empress there."

Di Ren was taken aback at first, then nodded. Mo Zhen and Leng Yuling had been married for so long that he already knew how important Leng Yuling was to Mo Zhen.

Li Quan, however, although he knew better than anyone how much Mo Zhen valued Leng Yuling, couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, Guard Di is your personal bodyguard, this..."

"So what?" Before Li Quan could finish speaking, Mo Zhen interrupted him. He looked up at Li Quan, who was standing not far away, and seemed to be giving him a hint with his eyes. Then Li Quan shut up.

Ma Xiaoxiao was taken aback. Di Ren was his personal bodyguard, but now he was willing to send Di Ren to Leng Yuling's side. Moreover, she already had Su Xi by her side, yet he still sent Di Ren to her side.

He was definitely different towards her.