Seeing that the emperor seemed to be angry, Bai Youxue quickly changed her form of address, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress, please don't be angry. I've always called you that since I was a child, and I'm used to it. I can't change it in a short time."

Bai Youxue looked at Luo Chaoxi innocently, appearing completely harmless.

Luo Chaoxi did not miss the fleeting provocation in her eyes.

"Then Miss Bai should be more careful in the future. The Emperor has a bad temper. If you don't remember next time, it won't be good if you get punished."

Bai Youxue was surprised to see that the emperor had tacitly agreed with Luo Chaoxi's words.

In her memory, Cousin Ling had a good temper and never punished people easily. How could he tolerate the Empress's slander against him?

It seems the rumors are true; Cousin Ling really dotes on this Empress.

"I understand."

"Tell me, what is the purpose of your trip to the capital?" Murong Ling asked.

Upon hearing this, Bai Youxue took out an envelope she always carried with her from her sleeve. "My mother sent me here. She wrote you a letter. Your Majesty, would you like to take a look?"

Hua Ping took the envelope and presented it to him.

Murong Ling opened the package and quickly read it through from beginning to end, his brows furrowing slightly.

Luo Chaoxi, curious, also went over for a look, and her expression immediately turned sour. She glanced at Murong Ling, snorted twice, and turned away to see how he would deal with this unwanted suitor.

In the letter, Bai Youxue's mother, who was also Murong Ling's aunt, said that her daughter had reached marriageable age, but Guanzhou was a small place with no suitable young talents, and their family backgrounds were too far behind.

After much deliberation, she hoped that Murong Ling would consider their past relationship and allow her daughter, Bai Youxue, to enter the palace, even if it was just to be granted the title of a minor concubine. She believed that with Murong Ling's care, her daughter would live a good life.

The way this mother was so eager to send her daughter to the palace made Luo Chaoxi wonder if this was the kind of letter a mother who loved her daughter could write.

Wouldn't a normal person rather marry into a good family of equal social standing and become a legal wife than become a concubine?

Bai Youxue, seemingly unaware of the letter's contents, asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, what did my mother write in the letter?"

Murong Ling accepted the letter and said calmly, "I cannot grant the request your mother made in her letter. Your mother is worried that you will not find a husband. I can keep an eye out for eligible young men in the capital and help you find a match."

Bai Youxue panicked upon hearing this; how could this be different from what she had expected?

She knew exactly what the letter said, because she had replaced it on her way here.

Her mother simply asked the emperor to help her find eligible men in the capital. As the saying goes, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, her family was in business, and most of the people they knew were merchants. Her mother did not want her to marry a merchant, so she sent her to the capital to ask for a favor.

With Murong Ling in charge, she's bound to marry a promising and virtuous minor official.

However, Bai Youxue was unwilling. She still remembered her cousin whom she had met when she was a child. He was not only handsome, but also well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, proficient in military strategy, and had won many battles as a leader.

Moreover, he is now the emperor who rules the country. With such a close husband as a candidate, Bai Youxue made him her target for this trip to the palace. On the way there, she secretly switched her mother's letters.

She thought that with such a letter and the fact that they knew each other before, Murong Ling would certainly not refuse a beauty who was offered to him. Who knew that he would refuse without even hesitating!

"If Your Majesty finds this difficult, then please don't worry about it. I... I'll go home in a while." Bai Youxue tried to advance by retreating.

"That's settled then. I'll have someone find you a place to stay in the capital later. If a suitable candidate is found, I'll send someone to deliver the portrait." Murong Ling made the final decision.

Bai Youxue was almost dumbfounded. She, she couldn't even live in the palace!

But since the emperor had spoken, Bai Youxue had no choice but to agree.

She wanted to say something to salvage the situation, but Murong Ling didn't give her a chance to speak at all and had someone take her out of the palace to find a place to stay.

As soon as everyone left, Murong Ling couldn't wait to hug Luo Chaoxi and kiss her.

Luo Chaoxi was keeping a straight face and not saying a word when she was suddenly kissed. She was a little stunned, and her angry and confused look was just too cute.

Murong Ling kissed her lips for a long time before reluctantly pulling away.

Luo Chaoxi looked at him unhappily, "The Emperor is so happy to see a cousin?"

"I'm not happy to see her, I'm happy to see you."

Luo Chaoxi didn't believe him. "The Emperor sees me every day, what's there to be happy about?"

Murong Ling looked at her with a smile, reached out and pulled her into his arms, "But this is the first time I've seen an empress who's jealous. Do you think I wouldn't be happy?"

"You...you're talking nonsense! I'm not jealous at all!!" Luo Chaoxi resolutely refused to admit it. How could she be jealous? His unwanted romantic advances had come all the way from his hometown to the capital, and he wouldn't even allow his legal wife to be a little unhappy?

No one would be happy about that, right?

She glared at him angrily, her puffed-up face making one's heart itch with desire.

Murong Ling responded with an "Oh," his tone slightly raised at the end, "Not jealous? Then why do I smell a sour odor, like someone's vinegar jar has been overturned? Is it mine?"

Luo Chaoxi snorted and turned her head away haughtily, refusing to argue with him. His mouth was too sharp; arguing with him would only lead her into a trap.

Murong Ling glanced at everyone in the hall, and the palace servants quietly withdrew, expertly closing the hall doors behind them.

The man pressed her for another deep kiss, finally kissing her fair, rosy cheeks as he spoke gently, "My darling, are you jealous? Does that mean you also have feelings for me? Hmm?"

Although Murong Ling was confident enough to think he was ten or a hundred times better than Han Lianjing, he knew that Luo Chaoxi's relationship with Han Lianjing was merely arranged by their parents and was just a respectful one between ordinary couples; she probably hadn't invested much emotion in it.

As for him, it was merely a choice made after careful consideration of the situation. If we were to talk about feelings, it would be at most the gratitude he owed her for saving him twice.

When it comes to romantic love, he always felt that neither he nor Han Lianjing had ever won her heart.

She is a calm and rational person; she may seem affectionate, but she is actually ruthless.

So when he saw her jealous because of another woman today, Murong Ling felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey. He was so happy that he couldn't wait to send the woman away before grabbing her and kissing her.

Luo Chaoxi's eyes were watery from the kisses, and she looked somewhat dazed. Her rosy lips were slightly open as she breathed heavily.

"Do you like me?" Murong Ling asked in a low, coaxing voice.

Luo Chaoxi punched him in the chest and scolded him, "The baby is already a few months along, what do you think?"

"I want to hear it from your own mouth."

Hearing this, the beautiful woman held in his arms nodded gently. "I want to have you all to myself, to have you with me every night, and to see you the moment I open my eyes every morning. If this is what love is, then I think I love you."