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

Chapter 97: The Mysterious Mother and Son

When Leng Yuling woke up, Ziyan was waiting beside her, but her eyes kept darting away from her. Leng Yuling, who had just woken up, was not in the mood and her attention was not on Ziyan, so she did not feel that anything was wrong.

She sat up straight, stretched, yawned, and said with a satisfied look, "Finally, I've had a good night's sleep!"

She arrived at Jingling Palace at noon, and went to sleep as soon as she got back. She has been sleeping until now, and it was dinnertime when she woke up.

Leng Yuling looked at the sky outside, which was gradually turning gray. She raised her hand to touch her stomach and looked at Ziyan, saying, "I'm hungry."

"Your Highness, you've slept all afternoon, how could you not be hungry? I've already had someone prepare a meal, and I'll have it brought up right away," Ziyan said as she helped her with her clothes.

Leng Yuling got out of bed and naturally raised her hand, letting Ziyan help her get dressed. After she was dressed, she realized that she seemed to have gotten quite used to being served.

Having everything done for you is clearly not a good habit.

"Miss Ziyan, can I ask you for a favor?" Leng Yuling suddenly turned to look at Ziyan, clasped her hands together, and said sincerely.

Whenever Leng Yuling addressed her in this way, something was always wrong, and now that she had directly said "please," Ziyan became even more flustered.

Ziyan subconsciously took a half step back. Seeing this, Leng Yuling looked at her and began to sing: "Are you serious about taking a half step back? Such a small movement, yet it causes so much damage..."

"Your Majesty, just say the word. I'd do anything for you, even go through fire and water." Ziyan's fearless expression stunned Leng Yuling. She waved her hand and said, "No need, no need. I just want you to teach me how to dress. I can't keep bothering you to dress me every time."

After saying that, Ziyan knelt down with a thud and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this servant has never felt that dressing Your Majesty is a troublesome matter. Your Majesty, is there something this servant has done wrong?"

Ziyan suddenly looked up at Leng Yuling, her eyes filled with tears. Seeing this, Leng Yuling's heart melted. She helped her up and said, "Alright, alright, you did nothing wrong. It's my fault. I shouldn't have taken your job away."

Leng Yuling really couldn't adapt to the people of this era. She didn't want them to do so many things, but they were still unhappy. They were really masochists.

This made her feel much more at ease, so Leng Yuling didn't insist any further.

-

It wasn't until she saw Leng Ruoxi standing by the table waiting for her that she remembered asking Ziyan to inquire about it before her afternoon nap, but she didn't ask her immediately.

"Sit down, Mo Zhen isn't here. You don't need to put on airs in front of me with those rules you learned at the Leng family." I thought Leng Yuling was angry, but then I heard her say in a calm tone, "I don't care, just do whatever you want."

Leng Yuling wasn't angry at all; she was just being casual. She wasn't from this era, and although she understood the rules of this time, she couldn't adapt to them, nor would she deliberately learn these so-called rules to please anyone.

However, when she had no other choice, she would still bring out the proper manners that were inherent in the original owner of the body, just like in front of the Dowager Consort.

She never expected that she would be called over by such a vibrant and attractive person before she had even finished her meal.

Even though she was hungry, Leng Yuling didn't give the Dowager Consort a very friendly look. On the contrary, the Dowager Consort was delighted to see her.

"I heard that you and the Emperor rescued many wounded people after you went to Yongcheng, and that the idea of ​​rebuilding Yongcheng was also yours?"

Although Leng Yuling didn't know what the Empress Dowager meant by asking that question, she knew that things were definitely not simple, and that there was an unwritten rule in this era.

Women in the imperial harem were not allowed to interfere in state affairs, but she clearly contributed a great deal to the natural disaster in Yongcheng, even more so than the ministers in the court.

This would likely be considered a taboo by the emperor or the imperial concubine.

So, does the Dowager Princess intend to punish her?

Before she could ascertain the Empress Dowager's meaning, Leng Yuling dared not make any rash moves. She simply smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager may have misunderstood. Although I was involved in the treatment of the people of Yongcheng, it was not entirely my achievement. Besides, my master once taught me that a doctor should have a benevolent heart."

Leng Yuling only explained the medical treatment of the injured, but did not explain the post-disaster reconstruction. She was quite good at avoiding the important issues.

The Empress Dowager did not press further, but simply smiled and said, "As expected of the last disciple of the Sage of Medicine, it seems that having you as our Empress of Southern Chu is indeed a blessing for Southern Chu."

Hahaha.

This is probably what Leng Ruoxi wanted to say but didn't say at Jingling Palace today, because the people's praise for her became the reason for the Dowager Consort to be wary of her.

"Your Highness, this..." The old woman next to the Your Highness was about to say something, but was interrupted by a look from her.

Leng Yuling raised an eyebrow. Was this some kind of palace intrigue game she was about to play? Too bad, she wasn't interested. She respected the elderly and loved the young, and she disdained scheming against her elders. Besides, the Dowager Consort was Mo Zhen's birth mother, so she naturally had to respect her.

However, this is on the premise that the Empress Dowager also shows her the respect she deserves.

"Your Highness, you summoned me here not just to praise me, but also because you have a feeling that there is something she doesn't know."

No sooner had Leng Yuling finished speaking than a voice came from outside the door: "His Majesty has arrived."

It seemed that Mo Zhen had arrived beside her at the same time the eunuch finished speaking. After realizing what was happening, she blurted out, "Why are you everywhere!"

Clearly, Leng Yuling was unaware of Mo Zhen's sudden arrival, and the expression on her face suggested an inexplicable disdain for him, which was quite amusing.

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile slightly.

After all, there aren't many people who dare to dislike the emperor of a country.

Mo Zhen seemed not to have heard Leng Yuling's words. He glanced at her, then put his arm around her waist and looked at the Dowager Consort, saying, "I wonder why Mother Consort summoned Ling'er here behind my back?"

“Your Majesty, how can you speak to the Dowager Consort like that? She is your mother.” As soon as Mo Zhen finished speaking, the old woman beside the Dowager Consort spoke up in the tone of an elder.

Mo Zhen ignored the nanny's words, but the Dowager Consort was not unhappy about Mo Zhen's "forgetting his mother after having a wife" feeling. Instead, she explained, "I was just feeling bored and thought the Empress was a very interesting person, so I asked her to come and relieve my boredom. Is that why the Emperor is so anxious after not seeing the Empress for a short while?"

Mo Zhen didn't speak, but looked down at Leng Yuling, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was alright.

Leng Yuling was unaware that Mo Zhen was worried about her, but she found the way the mother and son interacted to be rather strange.