Shocking! In this matriarchal society, every man wants to marry me!

When Yue Xingxi came looking for her mother, General Yue was teaching his young daughter to shoot arrows. The little child could not even stand steadily, yet she held a bow and arrow that was taller than her, which looked quite comical.

General Yue, however, felt quite satisfied, and smiled happily as he watched his swaying daughter.

But this bit of happiness vanished when she saw Le Xingxi. Looking at the somewhat disheveled Le Xingxi, she asked with concern, "Xingxi, what's wrong?"

Le Xingxi knelt on the ground and hugged her mother's leg, her expression panicked: "Mother, please save me!"

General Yue felt that the scene before him was somewhat familiar!

"what happened?"

"Mother, my brother..." Le Xingxi didn't embellish the story; he simply told his mother everything that Le Wentao had done.

"This is impossible!" General Yue slammed his hand on the table, utterly incredulous. "Your brother would never kill his own brother. You grew up together, how could he do such a thing?"

A fleeting look of dejection crossed Le Xingxi's face. He stood up from the ground and asked General Le with some disappointment.

"Mother, is it really true that people's hearts are biased? You have spoiled my brother since he was a child, and now he is so cold-blooded, ruthless, arrogant and domineering. Isn't that because of your mindless pampering?"

"I am also your son. Do you only believe it when you see your son's lifeless corpse lying in front of you?"

General Yue remained silent.

Le Xingxi walked up to General Le, hugged him around the waist, shed a few tears on his chest, and said in a sobbing voice.

“Mother, I understand that you will not protect me. I understand that you cannot accept fratricide and that you love your brother more. But I only ask that you personally send me out of the palace. I will naturally seek the protection of others!”

"Who are you going to find?"

"Zhongniang!"

"She will protect me unconditionally and will be my greatest support."

Tears streamed down Le Xingxi's face, her eyes red-rimmed: "Unlike a mother, she doesn't even listen to her own son!"

After saying that, he turned his head to the side, leaving only a stubborn profile for General Yue.

General Le felt a pang of guilt. He said to Le Congxi, "Xingxi, you're overthinking it. How could I not trust my own son? You're a royal consort, how could you possibly run off to the Zhong residence? It's fine if no one finds out, but if they do, it'll be written in the history books, and people will gossip about you and curse you for a long time."

"In that case, I will prepare a team of elite soldiers to protect your safety at all times!"

Le Xingxi wiped away her tears: "...Son will listen to his mother."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought about going out to find Zhongniang, but firstly, he couldn't leave the palace, and secondly, it would bring Zhongtian to his death. Seeking his mother's protection was the best option.

Le Xingxi became a rare filial son, paying his respects to his mother every morning and evening. Occasionally, he would accompany his mother to the training ground to practice swordsmanship. However, he was physically weak and would break into a sweat as soon as he nocked an arrow. General Le, somewhat disgusted, chased him aside.

However, such days were relaxing. Yue Wentao wanted to take action several times, but looking at General Yue and the elite troops behind Yue Xingxi, he had no choice but to give up.

But outside the palace.

Zhong Tian waited outside the palace gates. From the pitch-black night to the first light of dawn, Zhong Tian hadn't slept a wink all night, and his eyes were covered in dark circles. Xia Mu Ning sat alone in the carriage, watching Zhong Tian's back for the entire night.

Zhongtian walked to the front of the carriage and said to Xia Muning with some guilt, "Muning, something happened to Le Xingxi. I still have to go to the palace. You should go back to your residence first!"

Xia Muning closed her eyes, took Zhong Tian's hand, touched her chest, her eyes revealing a rare vulnerability, and her tone carrying a hint of pleading:

"My lady, touch my heart, can you feel it beating? I am human too, I feel pain too! You risk your life for others, how could I not worry? Not be afraid? Not be sad?"

"I know you're too deeply entangled with Le Xingxi, and it's understandable that you want to save him. But once this is resolved, come back! Come back clean and free of any worries!"

"Le Xingxi's status dictates that you two can never be together, and I can never agree to him entering the manor! There will be no future for you two."

"This New Year's Eve, I hope the three of us can have a good time. My wife, it's just the three of us. Otherwise..."

Xia Muning felt as if his heart was being pierced by needles, but he still looked into Zhong Tian's eyes and said somewhat awkwardly, "My wife, let's get a divorce!"

Nakata took a few steps back in shock.

After saying this, Xia Muning lowered the carriage curtain, her cold voice coming through it, as if she was afraid that she would soften her heart if she saw Zhong Tian's face.

"My lady, I've made up my mind. You, think it over carefully; you need to make a choice!"

When Zhongtian left the palace, Xia Muning personally draped a white fox fur coat over her shoulders. This white fox fur coat was selected by Xia Muning from hundreds of expensive animal pelts. It was smooth and shiny all over, without a single stray hair.

Xia Muning embroidered it herself, taking a long time to finish. Now she put it on Zhong Tian, ​​and as soon as he put it on, Zhong Tian felt his whole body enveloped in heat, feeling warm and cozy.

However, even this white fox fur coat couldn't keep out the chill that Zhongtian felt all over his body.

He watched the Zhong family's carriage slowly drive away, the curtains fluttering in the wind revealing Xia Muning's icy face. Zhong Tian recalled his first meeting with Xia Muning; Xia Muning was always cold to strangers.

Zhongtian understood that if she couldn't resolve Le Xingxi's situation before New Year's Eve, Xia Muning would painfully strip away all her emotions and revert to her cold self.

Before anyone knew it, a few tiny snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. Nakata reached out and watched the snowflakes slowly melt in his palm.

Taneda stood in the snow until his body became somewhat stiff, then he stepped heavily through the palace gates once more.

Upon entering the palace, Zhongtian went straight to Xia Jin'an's residence.

Since entering the palace, Xia Jin'an has been favored by those in power. He is no longer a marginal figure in the Imperial Medical Academy, but has become the head of the academy and has his own room.

Xia Jin'an's betrayal of Le Wentao was extremely well-hidden, and with Le Xingxi covering for her, Xia Jin'an was not suspected and remained unharmed as usual.

When Xia Jin'an's door was knocked on, Xia Jin'an was not surprised at all. He straightened his clothes, opened the door, and said to Zhong Tian standing outside, "Zhong Niang, I knew you would definitely come back."