Chapter 279

The woman in the mirror has radiant skin, and her every smile and frown exudes elegance. Her hair is adorned with gold, pearls, and jade, and she possesses a natural grace even when sitting still.

Though her eyes, though still brimming with tenderness, have lost their former innocence, now revealing an air of disdain for the world.

Upon seeing this, Linlang concealed the amazement in her eyes, her expression remaining aloof, but she dared not meet Lingwu's gaze again.

The fingertips that had just been used to do Lingwu's makeup were slightly curled up and hidden under her sleeves.

After calmly explaining everything behind the screen, Yuehui also awaited the arrival of the bustling Suishou.

Sui Sui first suppressed her panic, glanced at Yue Hui, and then went around the screen to find Ling Wu.

She has always had this privilege.

Moonlight, who remained outside the screen, kept her head down, revealing no other emotions, but the hand holding the rabbit's ears tightened.

As soon as Suihui entered, she lifted her skirt and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, it's all Suihui's fault. Please punish Suihui!"

Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were pale, and her eyes were misty; she looked very pitiful.

The rabbit outside the screen seemed to have heard Sui Sui's grievances and struggled desperately to kick Yue Hui away.

Lingwu did not turn around, and Suisui could only see Lingwu's back.

No matter how big a mess she made, the Empress would always make up for it and then coax her.

Not to mention that today it's just a rabbit she's going to bring back.

She thought that the Empress would surely forgive her.

Sure enough, she vaguely saw the Empress walking towards her.

Cool fingertips lifted her chin, forcing her to look up and meet those phoenix eyes.

Sui Sui's heart trembled; no one understood the Empress's beauty better than her.

No one could understand better than her how captivating the doting gaze in the Empress's phoenix eyes was.

That's why she secretly concealed the empress's beauty from the very beginning, hoping that the empress would only see her.

As time went by, she forgot why she had wanted to hide the empress's beauty in the first place.

"Your Majesty," she called out, her voice tinged with grievance, yet her eyes still held a hint of joy.

Seeing this, Ling Wu withdrew her hand.

She used to think that Sui Sui envied everything Su Lingwu had, that she was greedy and couldn't keep up with the situation, but now it seems that's not entirely the case.

"Your Majesty, please believe me, I really didn't mean it. It was Yuehui who frightened me..." Sui Sui suppressed her eagerness and explained with a wronged expression.

Outside the screen, Yuehui tightened her grip on the rabbit's hand.

Lingwu turned around and reached out to brush away Sui Sui's slightly disheveled clothes. "I trust Sui Sui."

Sui Sui was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"But since you've suffered some injustice today, go back and rest for a few days," Ling Wu instructed her gently, as always.

Upon hearing this, Sui Sui's joy had not yet dissipated when it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head.

How many days of rest?

Does that mean that in the next few days, someone else will take her place by the Empress's side?

When she returns, will the Empress still have a place for her?

"Does Your Majesty still refuse to believe me?" Tears streamed down her face.

Lingwu looked up at Linlang, who concealed the faint joy in her eyes and stepped forward to help Suisui up.

“Sui Sui, Her Majesty cares for you.” After saying that, she added softly, “But if it goes too far and displeases Her Majesty, then it would be superfluous.”

Upon hearing this, Sui Sui froze, lowered her eyes to hide the gloom in them, and looked up to see Lin Lang's lips, which were usually expressionless, turned up in a smile. An anger spread from her heart.

But today, she had already displeased the Empress several times in a row, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger.

Sui Sui pushed away Lin Lang's hand and bowed to Ling Wu, saying, "This servant thanks Your Highness for your understanding."

She looked up again and saw Ling Wu with tears in her eyes. But Ling Wu didn't change her mind, so she got up dejectedly and slowly left.

This time, Sui Sui didn't even bother to glare at Yue Hui after leaving behind the screen. She simply ran away, head down, sobbing.

The moonlight behind the screen remained gentle and warm, showing no sign of smugness; he simply loosened his grip on the rabbit ears.

Lingwu said, "Moonlight."

Moonlight carried the rabbit, who was almost unconscious, and bowed as she entered.

Upon seeing the rabbit, Lingwu raised her handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose, resisting the urge that spread from her heart to her retreating steps.

Linlang quickly reached out to help her up. After Lingwu stood still, she endured her discomfort and carefully examined the rabbit with her eyes.

Only then did I realize that the rabbit had been tormented by the two of them to the point of rolling its eyes back.

However, the rabbit wouldn't die, so Lingwu wasn't worried.

"From what you just said, this rabbit is quite special. From today onwards, it will be kept in the side hall, and you will be in charge of looking after it," Ling Wu instructed.

Before Yuehui could even look up and see Lingwu, she bowed again in response.

Remembering Su Lingwu's wish, Lingwu said again, "Linlang and Lingluo, accompany me to see if His Majesty is eating on time."

Linlang and Lingluo: "Yes."

Moonlight, who remained in place carrying the rabbit, still had a gentle smile on her face, but the smile did not reach her eyes, and she suddenly tightened her grip on the rabbit.

Ignoring the rabbit's furious struggles, Moonbeam's eyes were cold and icy.

She'll tear all the rabbits in the world apart one day.

When Lingwu left, all the palace maids and eunuchs she encountered were stunned when they saw her, wondering who Lingwu was. It wasn't until they saw Linlang and the other person that they realized that this was the little empress dowager who listened to her maid.

He couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous, and his manner of bowing was also improper.

The palace officials were considerate of the servants, as their clothes would get wet from kneeling in the winter, so they only needed to curtsy. But even so, the servants refused to perform the curtsy properly.

"The people in the palace are lax in their conduct and lack of discipline. They should be properly disciplined to prevent them from becoming a laughing stock when new people enter the palace in the future." Ling Wu was not angry and still smiled.

As soon as Lingwu finished speaking, Lingluo, who was standing to the side, boldly chimed in: "This servant remembers that those who disrespect palace rules should be punished with twenty strokes of the cane."

Linglu spoke sweetly, completely unaware of the murderous glares directed at her from below.

Upon hearing this, the previously relaxed crowd immediately bowed respectfully, their eyes darting out to search for Sui Sui's figure.

Unfortunately, Suisui is not here.

“Not bad.” Ling Wu saw it clearly, glanced at Ling Luo, her eyes gentle and without displeasure.

Seeing this, Lingluo finally felt relieved. She lowered her head and smiled shyly before turning to the group of servants from Chonghua Palace following behind her and instructing them, "Her Highness has spoken, what are you all still standing there for?"

The servants of Chonghua Palace seemed to wake up at this moment and stepped forward to take away the servants who had disregarded the palace rules.

Lingwu did not stay to watch.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the news had spread throughout the palace, and the fact that Sui Sui had offended the Empress Dowager and fallen out of favor also spread throughout the six palaces.

Because of Lingluo's words, they didn't think the Empress Dowager was acting strangely today. They just thought that the Empress Dowager was fickle and had taken a new maid.

While yearning for Lingluo, they all realized that Lingwu held real power, and from that day forward they became even more cautious in their words and actions towards her.

In addition, after discovering that the Empress Dowager did not only favor one maid, the other maids also began to have their own thoughts.

However, it has not yet been implemented.

The favored Lingluo was both surprised and delighted on her journey, sometimes frowning and sometimes raising the corners of her lips.

Linlang remained as calm and composed as ever, showing no sign of being distracted by Lingluo's favor.

Qianqing Palace

The young emperor, dressed in a black dragon robe, sat on a high throne. He wore a crown and his eyes were slightly closed, revealing no emotion.

"Did she really say that?" Shi Sheng still didn't open his eyes, and even his questioning tone showed no emotion.