"Impossible! Luo Chaoxi isn't here, where could she be? Who would deliberately kidnap her on the way?"

The Prince of Jin was speechless. "You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? If you keep making trouble like this, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"And you, the Emperor ordered you to stay at home under house arrest, but you secretly ran away. Do you not take the Emperor's words to heart? Be careful, or your entire family will be executed!"

Han Lianjing frowned, his handsome brows furrowed. Things had turned out differently than he expected. Prince Jin was, after all, a prince. His actions had not only failed to bring Luo Chaoxi back, but had also offended Prince Jin.

Han Lianjing felt irritated.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. My wife went missing, and I was so anxious that I ran away on my own. I also misunderstood Your Highness. Since my wife is not at home, my mother and I will take our leave now."

Han Lianjing bowed.

The Prince of Jin waved his hand impatiently, "Get out! Who are you!"

Han Lianjing pulled Wei Shi away.

Behind the screen, Luo Chaoxi was crying uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. Murong Ling's chest was soaked with her tears.

Murong Ling gently held her, listening to her cries, feeling heavy-hearted, yet also wishing he could kill Han Lianjing and her son with a single blow.

Without those two people, she wouldn't be so heartbroken.

Luo Chaoxi raised her red and swollen eyes and said in a choked voice, "Let's go back."

Going back, and going back to where, is self-evident.

"Alright, let's go back to the palace."

Murong Ling picked her up and strode out from behind the screen.

Prince Jin, fearing that Murong Ling would suspect him, hurriedly spoke up, "Your Majesty..."

He had barely uttered two words when he received a cold glare from Murong Ling, and immediately fell silent, too frightened to speak. Only then did he notice the young eunuch his elder brother was holding, the one who had been keeping his head down. It was then that he finally saw the so-called young eunuch's face clearly…

The Prince of Jin had seen Luo Chaoxi before, so he naturally recognized her face. His heart was filled with a huge wave of shock, and his mouth almost fell out of his mouth in astonishment.

Isn't this the lady Han Lianjing rushed over to find?!

What on earth is going on?!

Watching Murong Ling leave with the person in his arms without looking back, Prince Jin quickly used his clever mind to figure out the reason.

So it turns out that it was the emperor's elder brother who kidnapped Luo Chaoxi! He's just taking the blame for the emperor's brother!

Judging from how much the Emperor cherishes her, he must be heartbroken to see the little beauty crying. Heh, it seems that Han Lianjing and his mother are in for a rough time.

...

Murong Ling brought the person back to Qianming Palace. Luo Chaoxi remained silent, without even changing her clothes, and lay on the bed silently shedding tears, soaking a large part of her pillowcase.

Helpless, Murong Ling lay down in the empty space next to her, turned her body around, and used a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"You've been crying for so long, are you made of water?"

Luo Chaoxi remained silent.

"If you cry again, I will kiss away each and every one of your tears. I will kiss you for as long as you cry."

Seeing that Luo Chaoxi still didn't respond, Murong Ling really wanted to lower his head and kiss her eyes.

Luo Chaoxi quickly reached out to cover his face, her voice hoarse as she scolded him, "You scoundrel! I'm so heartbroken, and you're still thinking about this kind of thing!"

"I know you deliberately brought me to the Prince of Jin's residence today so that I would find out the truth, give up the idea of ​​going home, and stay by your side forever to treat your headaches. You're not a good person either!"

Luo Chaoxi grew angrier as she spoke, and the next moment, she grabbed his hand and bit his tiger's mouth.

Murong Ling didn't utter a sound, letting her bite him.

Luo Chaoxi thought he would break free, but he didn't move at all. She let go of his mouth, and a row of deep teeth marks had been left on the tiger's mouth.

Luo Chaoxi was startled. She touched it with her fair fingers and looked up at him with a slightly guilty look, only to meet his indulgent gaze.

"Feeling better now? If not, you can bite somewhere else until you feel better."

Luo Chaoxi: "...I'm not a dog."

Perhaps because Murong Ling's attitude was too gentle and he kept accommodating her, Luo Chaoxi's mood gradually calmed down, and she felt that biting him just now was really taking her anger out on him.

After a while, she whispered, "I shouldn't have been angry with you. I know you just wanted me to see what kind of family the Han family really is. If it weren't for you, I would have been sent to the Prince of Jin's mansion by the Wei family and lost my innocence long ago."

"Including the time at Baohua Temple, you saved me twice, Your Majesty, thank you."

A gentle voice came from his arms, and the words of thanks instantly made Murong Ling's heart bloom with joy.

His fingers gently caressed her smooth, delicate face, and Murong Ling seized the opportunity to sow discord, "I don't think Han Lianjing is a good person either. Since he could say something like divorcing his wife, it's clear he doesn't care about your feelings at all. So, do you still want to go back?"

Luo Chaoxi shed another tear and shook her head. "No matter what, my father was a second-rank minister, and I am the legitimate daughter of an official. The Wei family treated me like a concubine and gave me away at will. I will never forgive them."

"Han Lianjing... Father valued him, and I trusted Father's judgment, so I always put him first. Now, there is no possibility between us anymore."

Murong Ling hummed in agreement. "Then I will issue a decree today to grant you a divorce."

He looked at Luo Chaoxi with a questioning gaze, and after getting her consent, he couldn't help but smile.

"After the divorce, I will give you a proper title," Murong Ling continued.

"Does Your Majesty not mind that I am a second wife? The court officials would not agree to it either."

"So what? No matter how many times you've married, I still want you." Murong Ling said domineeringly. "As for those court officials, when I ascended the throne, many of them denounced me for usurping the throne, but look at me now, who in the court dares to disobey?"

Luo Chaoxi knew that he had killed all the former officials of the previous dynasty who were dissatisfied with him, no wonder he had committed so many murders.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to consider it."

Murong Ling knew she wouldn't accept him right away, but that didn't matter. He could take it one step at a time and work things out slowly. After all, her heart was already dead to Han Lianjing.

He could take advantage of the situation.

"It's almost noon. Get up and change your clothes. I'll have the palace servants prepare the meal in a little while."

Luo Chaoxi nodded, sat up in bed, and suddenly thought of something.

"Your Majesty, may we bring Huaping into the palace? She is the maid who has been with me since I was a child."

"Also... when I got married, my father gave me most of the family's property and shops as my dowry. When we divorced, I wanted to take these things back."

There's a lot of money in there, and Luo Chaoxi doesn't want to let the Wei family mother and son benefit from it.

This was no big deal for Murong Ling, and he reassured her.

Then, Murong Ling got up, took out a set of clothes from the wardrobe, pulled her over, and wanted to change her clothes himself.