"Why?" Luo Chaoxi asked, puzzled.

You'll find out then.

Luo Chaoxi snorted, still not very happy.

Murong Ling did not intend to tell her now. This was just his guess. He had no proof and if he told her now, Luo Chaoxi would probably think he was deliberately trying to sow discord.

He didn't know what that old woman from the Han family was up to, but he knew that the road last night led to only one place—the Prince of Jin's residence. The Prince of Jin had had that peculiar habit for a long time, and although he hadn't explicitly told him, he was well aware of it. Therefore, Luo Chaoxi's sudden symptoms made it easy for him to connect the two.

Han Lianjing's mother is truly audacious; she actually thought of sending her daughter-in-law to another man's bed. If it weren't for him, Luo Chaoxi, this foolish and naive woman, would probably have been defiled by Prince Jin long ago.

The thought of this possibility made Murong Ling's eyes narrow, and a chill emanated from them.

The palace servants attending to the emperor were all shocked. From the moment the emperor entered until now, this unknown person had been giving him the cold shoulder the entire time. Even though the emperor had tried to coax her with a gentle tone, she still snorted coldly.

The palace servants were so frightened that they lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound, fearing that the emperor would lose face and, in a fit of anger, drag everyone in the entire palace out to be flogged.

To everyone's surprise, the emperor was not angry at all. Instead, he chuckled and gently pinched her nose, saying slowly, "You look beautiful even when you're angry. It makes me want to kiss you."

Luo Chaoxi was angry... but she didn't dare to be angry anymore, and glared at him fiercely.

"Eat quickly, and I will release Han Lianjing once you are full."

Luo Chaoxi's eyes lit up. "Really? You can't lie to me this time!"

"My words are law, and I will do what I say."

Luo Chaoxi asked, "May I go see my husband?"

Murong Ling coldly refused, "No."

What a joke! Han Lianjing looks so pitiful; she'd probably feel sorry for him if she saw him. He's not going to make himself miserable.

The palace servants were nearly speechless with shock. Was this really their Emperor? They had to coax him into having breakfast after being given the cold shoulder. And this girl, suddenly brought back by His Majesty, was already married and had been forcibly taken back by him!

Did they... find out something they shouldn't know?

Having received the promise, Luo Chaoxi picked up the bowl and began to eat in small bites.

She starved to death.

Murong Ling didn't have breakfast either. He asked the palace servants behind him to serve him a bowl. Seeing how much she enjoyed eating, he also had a good appetite and ate quite a bit.

After breakfast, Murong Ling issued an imperial edict, temporarily dismissing Han Lianjing from his official post due to insufficient evidence, and ordering him to return home and stay at home. Afterwards, he took Luo Chaoxi for a stroll around the palace.

When Murong Ling wanted to get close to someone, she could always find a topic to start a conversation, and in no time she would make the person temporarily forget the unpleasantness between them. After visiting several places, Luo Chaoxi got tired, and the two sat down in a pavilion. Soon, palace servants prepared fruits and tea, which were served and then retreated to a distance outside the pavilion.

Luo Chaoxi discovered that apart from the busy palace servants, there seemed to be no other masters in the palace.

"Aren't there any concubines in this palace?" Luo Chaoxi asked in confusion.

Murong Ling said, "I have never held a selection of concubines, nor have I held one for my concubines. Firstly, because when the empire was newly established and everything was in disarray, it was not appropriate to hold a selection of concubines. Secondly, because my headaches have become increasingly severe, I have no interest in such matters."

"So, I have never tasted the pleasure of sexual intercourse, nor do I know how to do it. Why don't you teach me?" Murong Ling's tone was somewhat teasing.

Luo Chaoxi's face quickly flushed red, and she glared at the man, embarrassed and annoyed. "If you say anything like that to tease me again, I won't go shopping with you anymore!"

Murong Ling quickly admitted his mistake, saying, "Alright, alright, I won't say it again."

But the smile in his eyes lingered for a long time.

It's so funny. After saying a few words, it stretches out its soft paws like a cat with its fur standing on end, threatening people without any intimidation.

After resting, Murong Ling took Luo Chaoxi to the imperial study and asked her to grind ink for him and review his memorials.

Luo Chaoxi wasn't very keen on going.

Murong Ling said, "With you by my side, my headache can be relieved. Without you, how can I read the memorials with a clear mind? These memorials are piled up like mountains, and it will take two or three days to finish reading them. If my headache flares up, it will take even longer."

That makes a lot of sense. For the sake of national affairs, Luo Chaoxi softened and agreed to go. As a result, the person's headache was gone, but looking at the beautiful woman so close yet unable to touch her, caused another pain in another part of their body.

During the day, they dared not bully her openly, but at night, while Luo Chaoxi was asleep, they would secretly bully her as much as they could, to the point that Luo Chaoxi had not felt any swelling in her chest since entering the palace.

Five days passed in a row, and Murong Ling suddenly proposed to take her out of the palace, and even prepared a set of eunuch clothes for her.

"Go change."

Luo Chaoxi picked up the clothes and looked at them, feeling puzzled but quickly changed into them anyway.

"You'll send me back to the Han residence, right?" Luo Chaoxi asked him to confirm.

Murong Ling was now immune to her repeated hurtful words. He nodded and said, "If you are still willing to return to the Han residence after today, I will agree to send you back."

Murong Ling changed into casual clothes and then left the palace with Luo Chaoxi, heading towards the Prince of Jin's residence.

Along the way, Luo Chaoxi kept muttering to the system, "What exactly is Murong Ling planning? If I insist on going back, will he really send me back?"

The system says, "The possibility of sending you back is zero."

How did you know?

The system hummed in response, "This was calculated using big data algorithms."

Luo Chaoxi exclaimed, "Wow, that's awesome!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!