Chapter 3: Meritorious Service in Protecting the Emperor… Leaving the Cold Palace?

Zhao Tai Palace was the palace where Leng Qingqing currently resided; in other words, the Cold Palace.

“–” He was about to leave when he suddenly heard the announcement from outside: “General Leng has arrived!”

The Emperor paused.

Why is he here?

This General Leng was, of course, Leng Qingqing’s elder brother.

Last night’s events in the palace had naturally reached Leng Lie’s ears. He didn’t care about anyone else; he only cared about his younger sister.

He had opposed her wish to marry the Emperor. Marrying into the imperial family was bound to bring her nothing but suffering, but he couldn’t persuade her otherwise.

She finally got her wish and married, but within half a month, news came that she had made a mistake and had been banished to the Cold Palace. As an official of the court, he couldn’t interfere in the matters of the inner palace. All he could do was work hard to achieve success on the battlefield. He needed to make himself a strong backing for his little sister!

Now, he had finally managed to make the Emperor wary of him. His entire aura was different!

He strode into the hall with an air of confidence and greeted Jiang Beiyue with a bow, “This humble official pays his respects to Your Majesty!”

Leng Lie’s tall, imposing figure stood before him.

“You may rise.” Jiang Beiyue said impassively, lifting his hand slightly.

“This official heard that Your Majesty encountered an assassin yesterday and was injured. I have come to the palace specifically to visit and offer my regards.” Leng Lie got straight to the point.

“As you can see.” Jiang Beiyue said in a deep voice. “The assassin came from the Northern Kingdom. To think that they would dare to intrude directly into the palace and attempt to assassinate Zhen! Truly audacious!”

After all, he had no direct evidence to prove that it was Leng Lie’s sister who had struck him, nor did he want to cause a rift between himself, Leng Lie, and the Leng family because of this. The fact that the assassin from the Northern Kingdom had been captured last night was also true. It was better to use this to provoke Leng Lie and test his attitude.

As for the matter between him and that woman, he would settle it slowly.

Leng Lie didn’t really care whether the Emperor had been hit or not as long as he was still breathing. However, he still had to say some pleasantries.

“The people of the Northern Kingdom are truly shameless! Fortunately, the assassin was apprehended last night. However, I heard that my younger sister was also present when Your Majesty was attacked and was also assaulted by the assassin. I wonder if you would allow me to see my sister?”

Jiang Beiyue sneered inwardly.

Fine, Zhen will let you see her. He was going to see that woman anyway. It would be better to confront her face to face and interrogate her about last night’s events. He didn’t believe that she wouldn’t slip up!

Once he found out that it was his own concubine who had given him a concussion last night… heh, he’d like to see how Leng Lie would beg for mercy then!

“Someone, summon Consort Leng,” he ordered coldly.

Back in the Cold Palace, Qin Wan, who had been relaxing in the courtyard, hadn’t expected that the dog emperor would summon her so soon.

However, she didn’t panic. Following a young eunuch, she arrived at his study.

“Your concubine greets Your Majesty!” Qin Wan kept her head lowered as she performed a standard courtesy to the Emperor, having learned well from watching so many palace dramas.

“–” Jiang Beiyue gave an indifferent grunt in acknowledgment.

For some reason, Qin Wan felt a chill in the air, especially around her head, as if his gaze could pierce through her.

She looked up and found herself meeting his deep, cold eyes. It was as if he could see right through her, his icy gaze laced with a chilling anger.

The bandages wrapped around his forehead, however, did add a touch of humor to his intimidating appearance.

“Your brother was worried that something might have happened to you and came specifically to check on you. Tell him what happened last night.”

Only then did Qin Wan notice another man standing next to Jiang Beiyue. Her eyes widened in an instant.

The man in front of her was Leng Qingqing’s older brother. Dressed in elegant purple robes, he was tall and imposing. He radiated an aura of charisma and nobility.

Oh my god, even the brother is so handsome!

But then she remembered that this man was the older brother of the body she was currently inhabiting, and she quickly suppressed her thoughts.

… I can’t ship them. That’s incest.

Jiang Beiyue noticed the surprised and somewhat strange look on her face when she saw Leng Lie.

However, what was even stranger to him was that she seemed different from before. Today, she was actually… rather pleasing to the eye.

Pleasing to the eye?

This damned woman had hit him over the head yesterday, and he actually found her pleasing to the eye?

His voice was cold as he repeated, “Consort Leng, tell your brother what happened last night.”

Qin Wan thought to herself, This isn’t asking me to explain; it’s clearly because he’s realized that I was lying to him and has dragged me here to settle the score. She wasn’t stupid.

“Thank you for your concern, Brother.” She spoke to Leng Lie in a light tone. “An assassin broke in last night. Thankfully, the imperial guards arrived in time. I am unharmed.”

“In… time?”

Jiang Beiyue felt a dull throbbing pain in his head again.

He fixed his gaze on her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, if he was truly an assassin, why didn’t he just kill me directly? Why would he simply hit me on the head? Also, if you saw the assassin, why didn’t you call for help when he struck me? Why wait until he had knocked me unconscious?”

Leng Qingqing’s eyes flickered. She was now certain that the Emperor knew she was the one who had given him a concussion but was holding back because of her father and brother and the current political climate.

As long as she insisted that she hadn’t done it, nothing would happen to her.

She didn’t want to shift the blame or lie, but her priority right now was to save her own skin. If she had to blame someone, she would blame that darned painting at home!

Other people transmigrated and became empresses or princesses, starting their journey with top notch golden fingers. Why did she have to transmigrate into a tragically abandoned concubine who gets summoned to the Emperor’s bedchamber on the first night?

As a woman of the modern era, wouldn’t anyone instinctively react the way she did regardless of whether the other party was an emperor or not?

She was a victim too!

To save herself, she didn’t care if she seemed overly dramatic. Her eyes welled up with tears as if possessed by a seasoned actress.

“… Your Majesty, why would you question me like this? Do you suspect… that I was in cahoots with the assassin?”

She carefully glanced at Jiang Beiyue and then at her brother. Her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face.

“Qingqing!” Leng Lie was furious. “What nonsense are you spouting?! How could His Majesty suspect you? Suspecting you is no different from suspecting our entire Leng family!”

Jiang Beiyue’s narrow eyes swept toward Leng Lie. Watching the two siblings putting on a show, the coldness in his eyes deepened.

“That’s not what Zhen meant to imply.”

Leng Qingqing’s eyes and nose were red as she looked down, appearing helpless. “This concubine was… frightened out of my wits at the time. All I could think about was how to protect Your Majesty. Alas, I was no match for the assassin. Only after I came to my senses did I… think to call for help.” She choked back a sob. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for being so slow to react. If it weren’t for me, Your Majesty wouldn’t have been injured.”

Jiang Beiyue narrowed his eyes slightly. As he looked at her, it was as if he was looking at a cunning little fox. She had shifted the blame so thoroughly, it was clear that she would never admit to what happened last night.

“My beloved Consort Leng was also frightened last night. Why would Zhen blame you?”

He reached out and patted her shoulder heavily, his gaze still fixed on her.

“If it weren’t for your timely cries for help, the assassin wouldn’t have been caught so quickly. In the end, Zhen still needs to thank you.”

He gritted his teeth so hard that they were almost on the verge of shattering.

“Since my beloved consort has performed such a meritorious service in protecting me, why doesn’t Zhen bestow upon you the grace of leaving this Cold Palace and returning to your Rong Hua Palace?”