Chapter 281

As night fell, the palace maids and eunuchs in Chonghua Palace went about their duties.

Lingwu, with her long, black hair flowing freely, leaned against the bed, holding a book in her hand and occasionally turning the pages.

Outside the window, the snow and mist were hazy, and the shadows of trees could be vaguely seen. The sound of snowflakes falling softly to the ground entered my ears through the open window.

This night was Linlang's first time serving her master. Even though she knew she only needed to obey her master's orders, she was still a little nervous.

However, she never showed much other expression on her face, and her eyes and brows were always cold and indifferent, so others could not see her unease.

As it grew dark, she advised, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Looking at it for too long will hurt your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Lingwu closed the book and rubbed her temples. "This book is quite interesting. Linlang should take a look when she has time."

Linlang was so nervous that she didn't hear what Lingwu said clearly. She didn't know how to respond and could only say, "This servant obeys."

"Alright, you should go and rest too." Ling Wu handed the book to her after saying that.

Linlang took the booklet with both hands, glanced at the few animals drawn on it, and before she could think about it, she saw that Lingwu had already lain down.

She was inwardly annoyed, but said aloud, "Yes."

After Linlang left, Lingwu looked at the spot where her figure disappeared and slowly closed her eyes.

The rabbit is here; I wonder if it will cause trouble tonight.

As night deepened, a few very faint sounds were heard inside the hall.

Ling Wu, who was sleeping on the bed, had her black hair loose and her sleeping face was peaceful and serene. Her breathing was shallow and long, and she was unaware of what was happening.

Several fluffy little balls, their shapes indistinct, quickly darted into the bedroom by the candlelight.

A light touch landed on the window.

The other two hesitated for a moment, then passed by the window; one appeared on the bed, and the other landed under the bed.

"Yuehui, aren't you usually on the windowsill? Why did you run off the bed today? And Linlang, why did you run onto the Empress's bed!" The little red, fluffy fox stood on the windowsill and whispered in human language.

The fluffy white tiger under the bed tilted its head and glanced at the little fox. "Lingluo, keep your voice down."

The little fox, Lingluo, snorted, her gaze falling on the silver wolf beside the woman. Her voice was urgent: "Linlang, are you crazy? Only Her Majesty's husband can be there!"

As soon as Lingluo finished speaking, she hurriedly got up and rushed towards the location of the silver wolf Linlang.

“Aya…” Luo.

Linlang watched as the red fox rushed towards her. Before she could even finish calling its name, the red fox had already landed on the couch.

In fact, Lingluo's movements were not significant, but the woman on the bed frowned slightly and her eyelashes trembled as if she would open her eyes and discover this miraculous scene in the next instant.

And the next moment she did open her eyes, but being drowsy and with the dim lighting in the hall, she quickly closed them again, as if she had no doubts.

Lingwu suppressed her body's fear of the furry creature and breathed evenly.

After a long while, the two little dumplings, one silver and one red, who hadn't dared to move, quickly got off the bed, and the little white tiger Yuehui, who knew nothing, was dragged out by a wolf and a fox.

As soon as they went outside, the three figures transformed into human form.

"I...I didn't mean to," Lingluo said, her voice muffled as she lowered her head. "I thought you two had the wrong place."

"Stupid fox." Linlang was not as aloof as she was during the day; instead, her eyes and brows held an innocent charm, making even her insults somewhat endearing.

The moonlight was completely different from her gentle and virtuous demeanor during the day; her eyes were pure and clear. "If it's like this every day, when will we ever regain our cultivation?"

Looking at the two innocent eyes and brows, Lingluo pouted. "You two were the ones who told me to take good care of you at night when I transformed into my original form. Oh well, you two will find out when it's light tomorrow."

As she spoke, she shook her dazed head in frustration, but her mind became increasingly confused. "Without my cultivation, I'm always confused when I revert to my original form and transform back into human form. How long will it take to regain all my cultivation? It's really..." It's so painful.

Before she could finish speaking, her body swayed, and she looked completely dejected.

Before he could say anything more, he heard the woman inside softly call out "Linlang".

When her name was called, Linlang blinked her watery eyes and was about to go inside.

Seeing this, Lingluo suppressed her dazed feeling, gritted her teeth, and then reached out and sent a ball of red light into Linlang's brow.

In an instant, the mistiness between Linlang's brows faded, and she returned to her usual cool and aloof demeanor.

She exhaled a breath of stale air, frowned, glanced at Lingluo, and then very softly reminded, "Take Yuehui and leave immediately."

He stepped inside after speaking and lit the candle.

"Your Majesty," Linlang called out.

"Is someone outside? I think I heard a noise." Ling Wu frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled.

She didn't finish her sentence. She not only heard the noise, but also overheard the inexplicable conversation between the three palace maids.

"Your Majesty, I was in the outer room the whole time and didn't hear anything," Linlang lied without batting an eye.

"Yeah?"

The question was so light and airy that it was impossible to guess the meaning behind it. Linlang could only look up at Lingwu's expression.

Then he saw Lingwu sitting on the couch, dressed only in a white undergarment, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall, looking at him with her head turned to the side.

Half of her small face was covered by her dark hair, while the other half of her profile was flawless and radiant, like a fairy maiden.

Linlang was momentarily stunned before suppressing her inexplicable emotions and respectfully nodded, "This servant indeed did not hear any noise."

Lingwu pondered which of the three little dumplings Linlang was, and after a while, she lifted the covers and got up. "Alright, I can't sleep anyway. Help me go see how that rabbit is doing."

Linlang fetched a cloak and draped it over Lingwu, then bent down and reached out to support her.

When the cool touch landed on Linlang's fingertips, she couldn't help but ask with concern, "Does Your Highness feel that the charcoal fire in the palace is not burning enough?" Otherwise, it wouldn't have felt so cold when she got up from the bed.

"My health has always been like this; no matter how much charcoal I light, it won't help."

Linlang's eyes showed worry as she pondered whether it was related to saving them back then.

Lingwu, who had been watching her closely, did not miss the worry in her eyes. Combining this with the snippets of conversation she had just overheard, she could roughly deduce that among the group of maids that Su Lingwu had rescued back then, there might have been these three senior palace maids.

After all, the only explanation that could have been this incident was that their cultivation had been taken away.

Only the three that Su Lingwu saved back then grew up to be adults. What about the rest?

While I was thinking, I had already walked to the side hall.

The little rabbit was placed on a low couch covered with brocade, its ruby-like eyes closed, as if it had entered a dream.

Even when Lingwu approached, it did not open its eyes.

Thinking about it, Lingwu touched the rabbit's fluffy head through the handkerchief in her hand.

The rabbit still hadn't opened its eyes.

It's strange, though. In my memory, this rabbit was lively and energetic, and no one could get close to it.

When Lingwu touched the rabbit through the handkerchief, its ears twitched. With a puzzled look, she removed the handkerchief, and her fingertips just touched a deep indentation on the rabbit's ear.

It looked like someone had pinched him.

Aside from Suisui, the only other person who had touched the rabbits was Yuehui, who was in charge of looking after them.

The rabbit's tense body slowly relaxed the moment it touched Ling Wu's fingertips.

A gentle, primal force returned intimately to its body, making it feel an unprecedented sense of comfort and ease.

This force slowly broke through the power that had been restraining it today by that smiling tiger-like woman.

It quietly opened its eyes.