Meanwhile, by the time Bi Linglong dealt with the various things that she had to take care of, she noticed that it was already dark outside, with the sun already sinking beneath the trees.

She couldn't help but rub her temples. Far too many things had happened today; any one of them would be earth-shaking on its own, and yet they'd all happened at the same time. Not only did she have to handle matters inside the Imperial Palace, she also had to take care of the Bi clan's situation. Her father had been killed by the monsters, and many people from the Bi clan were involved in the coup.

Fortunately, the empress dowager was lenient, and didn’t truly pursue the matter. Otherwise, most of the Bi clan would have had to suffer. Even so, half of the clan was still punished. When she recalled how everyone had cursed her when she last returned to the Bi manor, she felt really uncomfortable.

“Momo, do you think I made a mistake?” Bi Linglong showed a rare expression of helplessness.

Rong Mo naturally knew why she was asking that. She exclaimed in righteous indignation, “What did the young miss do wrong? It was clearly the late master and some clan seniors who were bewitched by the monsters and committed those crimes. If not for you, the entire Bi clan might’ve been pulled up by the roots. Not only were those people not grateful, they even cursed you. They really forget favors and violate justice!”

Bi Linglong sighed. “They feel as if this entire disaster only happened because I sided with Ah Zu.”

The logic of the Bi clan was quite straightforward. Since she was already the empress, someone with extremely high status, she could have worked together with Zhao Ruizhi and shared in mutual glory. But what could she obtain by standing alongside Zu An? She had clearly lost her status as the wife of the emperor. Zu An already had his own wife, so what was her place in his life?

Even though she was still in charge of the government, what about the future? There had never been a new ruler who let someone else’s empress become their own empress. Taking the previous empress into their own harem as a concubine was already the best possible outcome.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

To them, not only had Bi Linglong ended up lowering her own status and authority by a grade, even the entire Bi clan had been almost completely eradicated. No one in the clan could understand her decision.

Rong Mo exclaimed angrily, “What does that have to do with my lady? The regent’s cultivation is now incomparable. If he wants to do something, what can the people of the world do to stop him? Additionally, the regent even helped the late master get revenge. I actually think that the Bi clan should be grateful that you're close to the regent, because otherwise, they might have already been completely eradicated. Those people only care about their own authority and position; they don’t care about what my lady likes or if she’s happy at all.”

Bi Linglong felt much better when she heard Rong Mo chatter continuously for her sake. She couldn't help but ask with a smile, “Didn’t you hate Ah Zu quite a bit before? You were always arguing with him. Why does it now sound as if you have nothing but high praise for him?”

Rong Mo’s face turned red as she replied, “The regent is already so strong now, why would I still dare?”

She recalled how Zu An had dominated the Bi clan and how he'd killed those monsters today.

He's so handsome…

“It’s fine. I should have a chat with Ah Zu too,” Bi Linglong said as she got up. Rong Mo also eagerly followed behind.

When she arrived outside the Heart Nurturing Palace, Bi Linglong was quickly noticed.

“We greet her highness the empress!”

Unlike an outsider like Yun Yuqing, there was almost no one here who didn’t recognize Bi Linglong after her years of governing. Zhang Zitong also admired her a lot, and was especially impressed by how Bi Linglong had already sensed that something was off with the emperor before the regent returned today.

“Hm? Why are you here?” Bi Linglong asked in surprise.

Zhang Zitong replied, “Sir assigned me to manage the guards.”

When she noticed that she was calling him ‘sir’, Bi Linglong raised her brows.

She actually already knows that Ah Zu is Golden Token Eleven! It seems she really is his trusted aide.

But that guy is such a womanizer. Would he really choose a beauty with long legs like her as his guard without any other intentions in mind?

“There is indeed no one else more suitable than you.” Bi Linglong smiled and gave her some encouragement in passing.

Zhang Zitong felt really happy. “Is your highness looking for sir? I’ll pass on the message right now.”

“I’ll be troubling you.” Bi Linglong nodded slightly. She could also sense Zhang Zitong's goodwill.

Zhang Zitong moved quickly and grinned. The first reason was because she did like Bi Linglong, and the second reason was that she could use this as a pretext to ‘disturb’ Yun Yuqing’s happiness.

Hmph, you came all the way here to disturb sir in the middle of the night. What are you trying to do?

When Zu An heard Zhang Zitong’s knocks, he was full of questions.

Are the heavens messing with me right now?

It was like this with big sis Yun, and we’re now going through it again?

Yun Yuqing’s entire body shook intensely. She had already been embarrassed and worked up, and now with this, her heart almost jumped straight out of her throat.

Zu An took a deep breath and calmed himself down with a lot of difficulty. “Ahem, you can invite her in.”

Yun Yuqing widened her eyes.

If she sees us together like this, what is Bi Linglong going to think?

Zu An was a bit apologetic. “There were just too many important events that took place today. Linglong might also also be really scared and sensitive, so I can’t refuse her.”

After he said that, however, even he was surprised at himself. Why did these words sound so familiar?

Yun Yuqing figured that made sense. Bi Linglong's ‘husband’ had also died, and even her father had passed away. To a certain extent, Linglong was even more pitiable than she was. After she thought of that, she finally composed herself and quickly pushed Zu An away.

When she heard a sound like champagne being opened, she really wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She began to sort her clothes in alarm. Suddenly, however, she felt dizzy and weak. Her body softened, and she almost fell out of the window. Fortunately, Zu An supported her.

Just as Yun Yuqing was about to jump out of the window, Bi Linglong pushed open the door and entered. A bit stunned, she said, “So Yuqing was also here.”

“Big sis Linglong.” Yun Yuqing was also a bit grateful that Linglong didn’t call her Madam Wu. As expected of a considerate person!

But what had just happened was way too embarrassing and she really didn’t know how to face her. As such, she quickly said with a reddened face, “I've already finished talking to Ah Zu, so I won’t disturb the two of you anymore.” She practically seemed to be running away as she left.

When she saw Yun Yuqing leave, Bi Linglong gave Zu An an annoyed look. “Ah Zu, did you take advantage of her just now?”

Zu An’s face heated up. “What kind of nonsense are you thinking about? She already gave up so much today. She was flustered and came to talk to me.”

Just then, he had waved his hand and completely cleaned the room. With his current control over the water element, not the slightest trace remained.

Bi Linglong thought that Yun Yuqing seemed to have been a bit red around the neck earlier, and the way she walked was also different from normal. It would be weirder if nothing had happened. Even so, she didn’t expose him and just said, “It seems she and I seem to have similar things to worry about.”

“Come and sit down over here. I’ll give you a massage to help you ease your fatigue.” Zu An pushed her in front of a chair and had her sit down.

“We can just talk,” Bi Linglong said, thinking,

Who knows what else you’ll be massaging with those hands?

But she still felt his concern for her. It was as if they were a loving married couple.

“Have you finished dealing with the Bi clan’s affairs?” Zu An asked as he sat down next to her. He held her hand and sent over a stream of ki.

When she sensed that warm stream, Bi Linglong immediately felt much more refreshed. Her fatigue seemed to have completely disappeared in one go. She replied, “I did. The empress dowager was lenient, which was probably to give you face.”

“That’s good. I apologize about your esteemed father’s fate and offer my condolences.” Zu An sighed.

“Ah Zu…” When she heard his gentle voice, Bi Linglong’s stubbornness completely collapsed. She couldn't help but rush into his arms while sobbing.

Zu An gently caressed her smooth, long hair. Everyone said she was a natural-born politician and that she was extremely skillful, perhaps even cold-blooded. However, all of them had probably forgotten that she was just a young lady in her late teens!

…

Meanwhile, in the Palace of Compassion, Liu Ning was talking to two beautiful young ladies. “Qienqien, Dandan, I really need to thank the two of you.”

These two were naturally Sang Qien and Zheng Dan. Liu Ning remembered their kindness firmly. As such, as soon as she finished taking care of palace affairs, she'd had someone invite them over.

However, there was a shadow lurking in a remote corner of the Palace of Compassion. A pair of sinister and fierce eyes stared in the direction of the empress dowager’s resting place. Suddenly, those eyes filled with blazing heat.