Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

But the storm did not subside.

Ling Xianru merely glanced at her, then, holding the steamed egg custard in one hand, lifted the curtain and entered the inner room.

Qiaoyu collapsed to the ground.

As soon as Ling Xianru stepped into the inner room, she saw Wei Rong lost in thought on the imperial concubine's couch.

Only when the citrus scent wafted into her nostrils did she move her fingertips, placing the unopened book on the table without even glancing at Ling Xianru.

"The Prime Minister has grown increasingly audacious, to the point of daring to intrude into my tent," her voice was as cold as ice, "If I were to summon the guards now, how would you explain yourself to the Emperor?"

Such a threat should have deterred people from taking action.

But Ling Xianru seemed not to hear at all, and even sat down beside Wei Rong's bed.

He scooped up a bowl of steamed egg custard and held it to Wei Rong's lips: "It's okay to be angry, but there's no need to punish yourself physically."

Wei Rong turned her head away, her gaze sweeping over the scabbed bloodstains on his lips. Her breath caught in her throat, and she reached out to push him away, saying, "This has nothing to do with the Prime Minister. Get out."

Although she was not a gentle person, she was always kind to her servants and generous to her friends and court officials, and she almost never said the word "get out".

Ling Xianru was the first one.

"I'm leaving after I finish my steamed egg custard." He handed the custard a few more portions over.

He must have always gotten what he wanted, or at least often used his position of power to negotiate terms.

Few people would fall for this.

But Wei Rong refused to eat it.

She had had enough of this tonight. The sudden appearance of Ling Xianru required her to spend a lot of time erasing her tracks and concealing her traces.

They should never have had any interaction in the first place.

So she grabbed the steamed egg custard and tossed it aside—the bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"roll!"

Ling Xianru saw that her eyes were tinged with sullen anger, and her fingers, which never touched water, were red from being burned by the still-hot rim of the bowl.

"Ling Xianru, I don't know what you covet in me, but we are on different paths. I am not as good-tempered as you think, or perhaps the Prime Minister has unusual tastes and likes married women. But you can see clearly that the Wei family is not what it used to be. There is nothing about me that you would covet."

"roll."

"Get out."

Qiaoyu peeked in several times with concern, and seeing Wei Rong's bloodshot eyes, she felt worried and sad.

She hadn't seen Wei Rong so angry in a long time.

She had never been this angry, not even when the emperor betrayed her.

Her mistress never lets her emotions get the better of her; she always finds a way to overcome difficulties.

The prime minister must be quite a character to have angered her to this extent.

Even so, he still won't leave.

The guards outside seemed to have heard the commotion and came to the tent to inquire, "Miss Qiaoyu, has something happened to Her Highness? Should I come in and take a look?"

Qiaoyu immediately became alarmed: "No need, Your Highness just has leg pain."

"Shall I then invite Physician Qian over to take a look?"

"No need," Qiaoyu simply lifted the curtain and went out. "I can't leave Your Highness's place. Could you go to the small kitchen and get me a bowl of steamed egg custard?"

The guard glanced inside hesitantly, but then obeyed and left.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Ling Xianru glanced at the mess on the ground and suddenly said, "No."

He looked into Wei Rong's eyes: "None of these are what you're saying."

Wei Rong was taken aback.

But he grabbed her hand.

When Doctor Qian left, he left a small medicine box on the table, containing some emergency ointments.

Ling Xianru gripped Wei Rong's hand tightly, took a cooling balm, and applied it to the burned area.

Unfortunately, Wei Rong wasn't very cooperative and kept trying to pull her hand back.

He squeezed harder: "I don't want to hurt you. After I've applied the medicine, I'll tell you why."

With her fingertips slightly curled, Wei Rong was bewildered by his sudden agreeable manner, but his movements as he applied the medicine were too gentle, and long feathers cast shadows under his eyelids.

He didn't seem very happy either.

A strange emotion welled up in Wei Rong's chest, making her temporarily forget to struggle.

The guard came and went very quickly. When he handed the steamed egg custard to Qiaoyu, he asked if she needed his help.

After Qiaoyu refused, she carried the steamed egg custard into the inner room, where she saw a scene she would never forget.

Her mistress had removed her flying hairpin, and her long hair was gathered in front of her, covering her slender shoulders. As she lowered her eyelashes and watched Ling Xianru apply medicine to her, she seemed to have a fragile and broken quality about her.

The Prime Minister—whose appearance was already unparalleled, was also deeply affectionate.

To an unsuspecting person, this couple would seem like a young couple whose love was destined to be short-lived.

Qiaoyu fell silent, placed the steamed egg custard on the table, and quietly withdrew.

After applying the ointment, Ling Xianru picked up the steamed egg custard again and fed it to Wei Rong's lips.

She pursed her lips, refusing to open her mouth.

"Your Majesty, there is a price to pay for listening to stories."

The price she paid was that she ate her fill.

"..." Wei Rong opened her lips and swallowed.

Ling Xianru then fed him a second and a third bite.

After finishing about half of the steamed egg custard, Wei Rong refused to eat any more.

Ling Xianru stopped forcing him, but he actually used Wei Rong's jade spoon to finish the rest of the food himself.

"......" Wei Rong felt a surge of anger and blood rising again.

Seemingly seeing through her thoughts, Ling Xianru shut her up with a single sentence: "Your Majesty has always managed the harem with diligence and frugality; you wouldn't want to waste anything, would you?"

With that mouth, Wei Rong would have to admit defeat.

"Your Majesty has loved painting since childhood, and of the Four Books and Five Classics, painting is your favorite, isn't it?"

Wei Rong was taken aback when her preferences were suddenly mentioned.

But it was true. When she was young, she couldn't sit still in school. Later, Wei Beimu found her a teacher who was outstanding in painting. She became obsessed with the teacher and was finally able to sit on the stool for a little longer.

As I grew older, I liked to draw a picture whenever I encountered something happy or unhappy.

I love sketching and rarely color.

This habit has not been abandoned in the slightest to this day.

Remembering the two small paintings tied to Xiao Xuanfeng's legs, she realized what was happening and looked at Ling Xianru: "You know me, and it's related to the paintings?"

Seeing Ling Xianru nod, she became even more curious: "I'm certain I've never seen you before."

"That's because I mistakenly thought you had seen me before."

What does it mean to mistakenly believe?

Wei Rong was even more curious.

"When I was young, I traveled to the Southern Frontier," Ling Xianru said, seemingly choosing her words carefully for some reason: "when you were still in the Southern Frontier General's Mansion."

Wei Rong was born in southern Xinjiang.

This is no secret. Back then, when Grandpa Wei was the commander of the Wei family, and Father Wei had not yet assumed his important post, their family owned a mansion in the southern border region.

Before the age of eight, Wei Rong grew up in the southern border region.

She had seen vast mountains and rivers, and had ridden on her grandfather's shoulders to see city after city.

I also rode my horse freely in the deserts of southern Xinjiang.

She couldn't sit still in school because there were too many temptations in the southern borderlands, and the teenagers were running around between cities all day long.

Why would Ling Xianru, who was born in Suzhou, have seen her in the Southern Frontier?