Chapter 42

  Murong Lingxue was slightly stunned, looking puzzled as she raised her eyes. "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? Everyone in the Xuan Yuan dynasty knows that my father only has me as his daughter." Her face showed genuine surprise, without any pretence, leaving the emperor unable to detect anything unusual for a moment.

  At this moment, Murong Lingshu completely forgot about the existence of Ling Feng, or rather, she never considered Ling Feng as a member of her own family. So at this moment, she wasn't actually lying, and naturally, she didn't feel guilty either.

  The emperor involuntarily furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold sneer. He had long known that it was the old fox Murong Lie who was behind this, but he still had some doubts about Murong Lingfeng's identity. He spoke in a low voice, "Are you certain that there is only one young lady in the Murong household?"

  The shadow of those years, until now, still can't be completely erased, and there is still a hint of fantasy left.

  "Of course." Murong Lingshu quickly replied, "This is something that everyone knows about, how could the Emperor ask such a question?" Her face no longer had the surprise from when she first saw the Emperor, but was instead filled with confusion and disappointment that she couldn't hide.

  Three years have passed, she has been alone here for three years. These three years, she was like being in prison, these three years, her youth was slowly exhausted, her face also slowly withered, and the hope in her heart was also slowly worn out.

  The emperor's appearance today was like a sudden flash of light in her heart, which was about to sink into the deep pool. However, that flash of light did not belong to her and only swept past quickly before disappearing. Her heart then completely sank to the bottom, and a kind of sadness involuntarily floated onto her enchanting face.

  This is probably a woman's greatest sorrow.

  Seeing the sorrow on her face, he was slightly stunned. Although he had no feelings for this woman, he also understood that a woman who was not favored at all would have a hard time in the palace. He felt a slight sense of apology, after all, she was innocent too.

  If it weren't for her own rash decisions back then, if it weren't for Murong Lie's schemes, she wouldn't have had to suffer this fate.

  Thinking of that woman, Murong Lingfeng's sarcastic smile grew more pronounced. Murong Lie, that old fox, still wouldn't give up. But this matter had dragged Xuan Yuan Zhen in, and it was unavoidable that he would get a headache.

  "Who is Murong Lingfeng after all?" The emperor asked with a hint of contemplation, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt that it was somewhat unnecessary. If Murong Lie was so cunning, even Murong Lingyun might not know about his plans, let alone Murong Lingshu.

  After whispering softly, he wanted to leave.

  "What did His Majesty say? Did His Majesty mention that cheap woman, Ling Feng?" Murong Lingshu suddenly exclaimed, her face filled with anger and jealousy.

  His Majesty's feet, which had been about to leave, stopped involuntarily. He slightly turned his gaze towards her and saw the shock on her face. In a low voice, he said, "What? You know?" His words paused for a moment, but his expression suddenly darkened. "So it seems that she is indeed the young lady of the Murong Manor?"

  Murong Lie had countless women and having one or two illegitimate daughters didn't seem to be a strange thing, judging from Murong Lingxue's reaction, it was clear that she knew of her existence.

  "Hmph." Murong Lingshu let out a cold hum, and a hint of venom flashed quickly in her eyes. She spoke in a gloomy tone, "That cheap woman is not worthy of being the young lady of the Murong estate. She's just a wild child brought into the Murong family by some lowly woman."

  She had been jealous of Murong Lingfeng's stunning beauty since she was a child, and tried every means to bully her, but her big brother always protected that wild girl.

  "It's come to this, and she really is considered a young lady of the Murong household." The emperor's face grew increasingly dark, but his eyes flashed with deep thought. If that were truly the case, would the woman he saw on that night three years ago be Mu Rong Ling Feng?

  At that time, it was evening, and he couldn't see her face clearly. The only thing that attracted him was her unbridled arrogance and her unaffected movements. However, the person he saw in the imperial study that day didn't match his impression at all, but instead had a cold and hard haughtiness that made him feel repulsed.

  He remembered that after the event, Xuan Yuan Che also sneered and said, 'Letting Murong Lie enter the palace is no different from directly carving a stone statue and sending it into the palace.'

  Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. That Tian Xuan had always been very repelled by her, so why did he suddenly say he wanted to marry her?

  Murong Lingxue's eyes narrowed, the ruthlessness in them growing stronger. Upon hearing the Emperor's words, his face turned even uglier, and he spoke in a low voice, "She isn't, not even my father has ever acknowledged her as a member of the Murong family." Although Father had that intention later on, but after what happened afterwards, everything was dropped.

  "But she still has the surname Murong and has always lived in the Murong residence, right?" The emperor asked with a hint of urgency. He didn't care about her identity, he just wanted to confirm whether she was in the capital three years ago. If she was in the capital three years ago, it would be normal for the servants following her to call her "miss". And it's highly likely that she is the person he has been searching for.

  Murong Lingshu was stunned, looking at the emperor with a puzzled expression, secretly guessing in her heart what the emperor's purpose was for coming here today?

  It's obviously related to that girl Murong Lingfeng.

  Murong Lingxue's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled faintly, "Your Majesty came here today, is it to see me?" She didn't know how the Emperor knew about Lingfeng's existence, but seeing the Emperor's concern for that girl now made her even more resentful. She absolutely couldn't let that cheap woman enter the palace.

  She's not stupid and naturally understood that the Emperor wanted to get a confirmation from her. And she absolutely cannot let that cheap woman succeed.

  The emperor's eyes sank, but a faint smile floated on his face. "I came here to see my beloved concubine." The purpose of the visit was somewhat different. At this moment, the little sympathy for Murong Lingshu completely disappeared, leaving only that instinctive disgust.

  "Really?" Murong Lingshu asked skeptically, seeing the faint smile reflected on that enchanting face, slightly dazed.

  The emperor's eyes flashed a hint of smile, his face sank quickly, and he said in a cold voice, "What? Does the empress doubt me?" He glared at her coldly, then pretended to be angry and turned around, "In that case, I don't need to waste my time here."

  "Your Majesty." Murong Lingshu hastily wrapped herself in front of him, "How dare I doubt Your Majesty, it's just that this time Your Majesty came too suddenly, and I was too taken aback."

  "Is that so?" The emperor's footsteps paused in sync, but his face remained gloomy, coldly staring at her as if waiting for something.

  Murong Lingshu saw the Emperor stop, and a glimmer of hope rose in her heart once again. She deliberately leaned closer to him, knowing that he wasn't really there to see her. However, she had to seize this opportunity, even if it meant keeping him for just one more time. If she could get pregnant with an imperial son just once, she would have a future.

  The emperor did not avoid this time, but his cold and hard body did not have any reaction, allowing her hand to wrap around his waist, her face close to his chest, but a pair of eyes, however, were getting colder and colder.

  "Your Majesty." Murong Lingshu called out softly, the Emperor did not refuse, and her heart grew with a few more strands of hope. "Let me serve Your Majesty tonight."

  The emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, his pupils suppressing a strong sense of disgust, yet he still didn't push her away, instead speaking softly, "Actually, I came this time to tell you something about the empress." Ambiguous words, intentionally creating a misunderstanding.

  Murong Lingxue quickly raised her eyes, gazing at him in shock, and trembled as she said, "Your Majesty, what did you say?" The trembling voice was unable to conceal the uncontainable surprise.

  Seeing the joy on her face, the emperor secretly sneered in his heart and did not respond to her words. Instead, he continued, "However, it seems that your father has some opinions?"

  "How is it possible?" Murong Lingshu exclaimed hastily, "How could my father possibly have an opinion?"

  "Haha, ahahahaha." The emperor couldn't help but chuckle and gazed at her lightly, saying in a seemingly casual tone, "Your father has recently been wanting to let Murong Lingfeng enter the palace. It's very obvious that...". His words intentionally trailed off, with the implication already quite clear.

  "What?" Murong Lingshu exclaimed, "If my father wants to let that cheap woman enter the palace, how is it possible? How is it possible? She's already...". Suddenly realizing her own slip of the tongue, she feared that if she said that thing, her father would probably kill her, and hastily changed her words, "That cheap woman, how can she be worthy of being the empress?"

  "Hmm." The emperor responded cooperatively, "I also don't quite understand. Since she's not your father's biological daughter, why did he love her so much and even sent her to Qing Shan to recover from illness since she was young?" The faint tone of his words carried an obvious probing intent, which was actually what he most wanted to know.

  "Send her to Qing Shan to recuperate?" Murong Lingxue said doubtfully, "Hmph, when did Father become so fond of her? It was only three years ago that Father sent her to Qing Shan. And it wasn't because he loved her, but because Qing Feng Daozhang said she was a jinx, and Father was afraid she would bring disaster to the Murong Manor, so he sent her away."

  At this moment, Murong Lingxue was obviously blinded by jealousy and said everything she had heard from her mother.

  The emperor's face slowly floated out a smile, this time not the kind of forced smile, but a genuine one, filled with joy. "So to speak, three years ago, Mu Rong Ling Feng had always lived in the Mu Rong Mansion." Although these words were phrased as a question, they already carried a tone of certainty, he was already sure that Mu Rong Ling Feng was the woman he met on that night three years ago.

  Murong Lingshu stared at the smile on the emperor's face and was stunned, shouting in confusion, "Your Majesty?" She seemed to have fallen for the emperor's trick.

  As expected, the emperor's face sank and he hastily pushed her away, without even giving her a second glance, before quickly leaving.

  He has many things he wants to do, but now there is no time to waste here with her.

  ，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，，

  After settling the matter in Xiliang City, Murong Lingyun rushed back to the capital without a moment's delay and hurriedly made his way to the Murong residence, not even stopping by the palace to report to the Emperor.

  He was just walking on the road, but the discussions that came from all directions made him stiffen involuntarily.

  "This time, the marriage between the Murong family and Prince Xuan Yuan is really unexpected." A passerby whispered.

  "Yes, everyone in the Xuan Yuan dynasty knows that the Prime Minister and the King don't get along. Who would have thought that this time he would actually let his daughter marry the King?" Another person also couldn't help but chime in.

  "The prime minister never agreed to it." Another, seemingly well-informed person said with a hint of disdain, "Actually, the prince was infatuated with Miss Murong's stunning beauty and insisted on marrying her by force."

  "Really?" a curious voice chimed in, "But isn't the Prime Minister's only daughter currently in the imperial palace? How can there be another daughter marrying into the royal family?"

  "You don't understand this either, do you?" The person just now sneered, "This daughter is the Prime Minister's most beloved daughter. I heard that because of her poor health, she has been recuperating in Qing Mountain all along."

  Murong Lingyun's body became increasingly stiff, and he couldn't listen anymore. His body flashed, using his lightness skill to quickly rush towards the Murong residence. He didn't believe what he had just heard - how could such a thing happen in just a few short days?

  This book is published by Xiaoxiang Book House, please do not reprint!