"Mother?" Rong Mo was initially confused, but after a while he realized that the other party was referring to the Empress.
As the Crown Princess's personal maid, she naturally knew that the relationship between the Crown Princess and the Empress had never been good.
It's not surprising, really. Good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships are rare in the world. Moreover, the Empress is not the Crown Prince's biological mother, yet she acts like an elder. Both of them have strong personalities, so it's natural that they don't like each other.
"Alright!" Rong Mo was quite pleased with himself, thinking that he would let the Crown Princess witness Zu An's treacherous behavior and see how he would win the Crown Princess's favor then.
Soon, Bi Linglong arrived at the Empress's palace with a group of palace maids and eunuchs, but was quickly stopped by the palace maids and eunuchs on the outside: "Greetings, Crown Princess."
"I heard that my mother has returned from the other residence, so as a junior, I came to visit her," Bi Linglong said casually.
"Yes, we'll go and report right away." The palace maids under the Empress's command exchanged bewildered glances. They knew that the Empress and the Crown Princess's relationship was only so-so. The Crown Princess would only come on a few specific days to make a formality, and she never came on other days. Had the sun risen in the west today?
Bi Linglong frowned: "What are you all doing standing guard outside?"
The palace maids replied, "Her Majesty is a little tired and needs to rest, so she asked us to stand guard outside."
Bi Linglong glanced into the palace and said, "No need for that. I'll go in with you."
After saying that, he walked straight inside.
The palace maids dared not stop them, so they ran ahead to inform the others.
As the Crown Princess, Bi Linglong valued her status and could not possibly run inside. She could only take small, quick steps inside.
Upon arriving at the Empress's palace, a soft voice came from inside: "Oh, it's Linglong. I was just sleeping, please wait a moment."
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Bi Linglong was a little puzzled. Why did the Empress's voice sound so seductive today?
It seemed as if even his breathing was trembling.
However, perhaps because she had just woken up, she didn't think much of it: "I've disturbed Mother's rest."
Meanwhile, his eyes darted around, but he didn't see any sign of Zuan.
Thinking of this, she chuckled to herself. How could the Empress possibly allow Zu'an to stay in her palace?
Thinking of this, her initial anger gradually subsided, and she couldn't help but glare fiercely at Rong Mo. It was all because of this girl's gossip that she almost wrongly accused an innocent person.
Rong Mo was also wronged; she had indeed just seen Zu An being called away by Eunuch Lü.
At this moment, the Empress had already dressed and came out. For some reason, Bi Linglong felt that although she was not dressed as formally as usual, she looked much better than usual. She was radiant, especially her fair and rosy skin, which made her look like a young girl.
Even Bi Linglong had to admit that it was no wonder she could become the mother of a nation; she was indeed a beauty among beauties.
"Why is Linglong here today?" The Empress greeted her with a smile, but her body trembled slightly beneath her clothes. She recalled the afterglow of their encounter while complaining about Bi Linglong's sudden arrival.
Of course, she didn't show it at all on her face.
"Hearing that the Empress Dowager had returned to the palace, I naturally had to come and visit her. I recently acquired some precious herbs, so I brought them over for you." Bi Linglong said, gesturing to the maid beside her to deliver the gifts. Her words and actions were impeccable.
"Linglong is so thoughtful..."
After a brief, formulaic exchange of pleasantries, the two engaged in a fierce battle of wits. Finally, Bi Linglong couldn't help but ask, "Hey, where's Lord Zu?"
The Empress's heart pounded, but she showed no sign of it: "I called Lord Zu over earlier to ask him a few questions, and he left not long ago. I suppose he's gone back to the Imperial Study to wait."
She didn't deny it. Since the other party could ask such a question, they obviously had information channels that knew Zu'an was on their side. If she simply denied it, it would only make her more suspicious.
"I see." Bi Linglong felt relieved, chatted with her casually for a few minutes, and then made an excuse to take her leave.
The empress feigned concern and tried to persuade them to stay a few times, and then the two sides parted ways.
Watching the other person leave, the Empress's smile faded. She hadn't expected that Zu An's visit to her place would be known. It seemed she would have to be more careful in the future, otherwise Zhao Hao would be in considerable trouble if he found out.
Wait a minute, why is she so concerned about the affairs of a courtier?
Could it be...?
Is she planning to use this to attack me?
She had a pretty good idea of the relationship between the two, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Maybe they had gotten some information from Zhao Hao and wanted to find something to hold against her and Zu An.
Thinking about what would happen next, she broke out in a cold sweat. Logically speaking, she shouldn't have any more dealings with Zu'an now, but she couldn't avoid it if she wanted to recover her strength. She was really torn.
...
Meanwhile, Zu An returned to the vicinity of the Imperial Study, secretly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. It had been a real test of his heart; he had almost been caught red-handed by Bi Linglong.
The Empress does possess a unique allure, but getting too close to her is far too dangerous.
Just then, a young eunuch came out and was somewhat surprised to see Zu An: "Lord Zu, it's good that the Emperor is looking for you."
Zu An looked strange, wondering if the emperor had discovered that he had just been riding on top of his wife.
But since things had come to this, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in.
He secretly rejoiced that he had used water-based techniques to wash away and evaporate the scent on his body on the way here; otherwise, if the other party had smelled the Empress's fragrance on him, he would have been doomed.
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