Cold-faced Empress

Fu Siying appeared calm on the surface but was inwardly grieving as she took her seat at the head table, maintaining a composed demeanor despite the gazes of everyone in the garden.

When she was so hot that she lost all her energy, the deputy general Jiang Zhen ordered the soldiers to report to Prince Mu that everything in the garden was ready.

After waiting for a while without Mo Canglan arriving, Fu Siying looked up at Jiang Zhen and asked in a low voice, "Are you heat-resistant? Are you mainly responsible for taking Prince Mu's temperature?"

Jiang Zhen looked at her in surprise: "Exactly."

The moment she heard the answer, Fu Siying felt like she was trying to kill Jiang Zhen by throwing an egg against a rock!

Couldn't he have waited until Mo Canglan arrived before inviting her to take a seat? Why did he have to make her accompany him to take Mo Canglan's temperature?

Did he think she was as thick-skinned and resilient as him?

Fu Siying lowered her head speechlessly, helplessly savoring the wonderful feeling of being in a steamer.

Mo Canglan, who entered the banquet garden a short while later, saw Fu Siying, whose entire body was flushed red from the heat. The woman looked weak and listless, more like a sickly person than he was.

"Greetings, Prince Mu!"

"This humble official pays his respects to Prince Mu!"

"Greetings, Prince Mu..."

In the blink of an eye, everyone in the garden knelt down.

Hearing the noise, Fu Siying suddenly looked up.

Mo Canglan was dressed rather lightly today, no longer wearing a cloak and woolen coat, but only a moon-white brocade robe. The light ice-blue color complemented his skin tone, making him appear as if he were a celestial being descending from the moon.

His path ahead was filled with kneeling heads, carrying the murderous aura of "one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand," yet the aura either avoided him or couldn't escape him.

Although he was almost exhausted from waiting, Fu Siying couldn't help but smile when she saw her family members, their faces pale and legs weak, bowing to him.

Her lips couldn't help but curve upwards, creating two dimples, and even her eyebrows and eyes instantly became much softer and more charming.

Didn't he say he wouldn't come? Even when he relented, he only said he'd "consider." What did he consider before deciding to attend the banquet? It seems like such a hassle for him to come.

Mo Canglan approached gently, glancing at Fu Siying. Seeing that she hadn't bowed, but was staring at him with a slightly cunning and alluring expression, he suddenly felt a tickle in his heart.

This sudden itch in his heart struck him as odd.

Fu Siying said softly, "Does acting cute work?"

Mo Canglan frowned slightly and said quietly, "I never said you were exempt from formalities."

These words were meant to remind Fu Siying to bow, but they startled the group of people kneeling behind her. They all prostrated themselves on the ground, kneeling obediently.

Fu Siying didn't want to kneel. It wasn't that she was audacious enough to confront Mo Canglan directly, but rather that there was a brazier right under her feet. Kneeling next to the brazier would not only make her swelter, but it would also remind her of some extremely painful memories.

However, given Mo Canglan's unexpected arrival and the fact that he had given his family quite a fright, Fu Siying was in a good mood. When Mo Canglan asked her to bow, she did not refuse and bowed gracefully with a standard and proper posture without saying a word.

"Greetings, Prince Mu," he said, offering a greeting followed by a perfectly natural compliment, "It's been a few days since I last saw you, Prince Mu, you've become even more wise and powerful, your aura is truly imposing!"

Mo Canglan sat down and looked down at her: "Miss Fu's talent is also becoming more and more refined."

Fu Siying chuckled dryly, knowing he was referring to her talent for spouting nonsense. Lost in thought, her hand accidentally touched the brazier beside her, and she was startled to the slight heat and quickly pulled her hand back!

A surge of immense fear rushed through her. Fu Siying lunged forward, ignoring the fact that she had fallen onto Mo Canglan's lap, and stared back at the brazier. In the thin flames, she seemed to see a pair of blood-soaked hands and a charred face.