"I can give you this title. All I need you to do is be forever loyal to the Western Regions."
Tang Youyou said as she looked at Mu Lan. At this moment, he was tightly clutching a teacup in his hand, and the water in the cup was constantly sloshing with his hand.
It was obvious that he was panicked.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou silently shook her head. It seemed that cultivating this person into the next leader would be a long - term task.
Since the conversation had reached this point, there was no need for Tang Youyou to say more. Before leaving, she only left one sentence.
"You've endured humiliation for many years. It's up to you whether to stay or go. Give me your answer at dawn tomorrow."
After saying that, Tang Youyou strode away.
Back in the empty room arranged in the inn, Tang Youyou finally let out a long sigh. She sat quietly at the table alone.
She watched as the little white snake crawled out of her sleeve, staring straight at her with its small eyes.
As a result, another bottle of her pills was gobbled up by it.
As she watched, sleepiness overcame her. She staggered onto the couch and fell into a deep sleep.
...
In the Administrative Hall of the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace.
Rong Xun was dealing with official documents when he stopped his work upon hearing the knock on the door.
"Your Majesty, it's your concubine, Wen."
Hearing this, Rong Xun said coldly, "Come in."
Wen Ruxue was wearing a white dress. Her dressing style was still as pretentious as ever.
However, now that Rong Xun had completely forgotten about Tang Youyou, when he looked at Wen Ruxue, he mistook the person in front of him for Tang Youyou in his memory.
"Xue'er, what are you doing here?"
Although his words were full of concern, there was no ripple in his heart. It was just that his memory kept urging him to love and care for the person in front of him whole - heartedly.
Hearing this, Wen Ruxue slowly walked to Rong Xun's side. She sat down beside him on her own and placed the porridge she had brought on the table. The fragrant smell of the porridge made Rong Xun feel a bit hungry.
"My love, it's so late. Aren't you afraid of overstraining yourself by coming here specially?"
Wen Ruxue smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there are not many people in the harem who can take good care of you. Most of the other concubines are careless. If I can't take good care of you, who else can you rely on? Those servants? I would never be at ease."
Hearing this, Rong Xun took Wen Ruxue's hand and gently rubbed her wrist. "Since it's your kind intention, I will surely not let you down."
But Wen Ruxue took it a step further. She gently pushed away Rong Xun's hand and stood up coquettishly.
She then put away the bowls and chopsticks he had finished using and was about to leave. Seeing her strange reaction, Rong Xun immediately grabbed her wrist.
"My love, why are you leaving suddenly? Is there something that makes you unhappy? Or..."
Wen Ruxue shook off Rong Xun's hand again. Her face was slightly flushed, and there was an indescribable sense of coquetry in her words.
"Your Majesty, you once said that in this harem, you only love me. But now, the other concubines are all waiting eagerly. What should I do? And what should they do?"
Hearing this, Rong Xun realized that she was upset because he hadn't fulfilled his promise. Rong Xun said, "However, the mistress of the harem has disappeared. It's neither reasonable nor appropriate to expel all the concubines from the harem."
After being rejected by Rong Xun again, Wen Ruxue showed a sinister smile. She put the lunch box she had picked up back on the table. She gently placed her hand on Rong Xun's shoulder.
Her beautiful hand kept caressing Rong Xun, but the next moment, she was flung away by Rong Xun. Although her eyes were full of panic, she suppressed her anger.
She then looked at Rong Xun pitifully with a sob in her voice. "Your Majesty, I know you're still not as kind to me as before. Maybe I'm really not as good as the empress."
When the empress was mentioned, a figure emerged in Rong Xun's mind, a very vague figure to him. This person was both familiar and strange to him.
However, facing Wen Ruxue, he always felt something was off. "Xue'er, I've been really tired lately. You can go back first."
After Wen Ruxue left, Rong Xun looked towards the door. "Yue Ye, Yue Bai."
Hearing this, Yue Bai appeared first. Seeing Rong Xun's listless eyes, she bowed and said, "My lord."
"Where's Yue Ye?"
Yue Bai shook her head. "I don't know. May I ask what orders my lord has for me?"
Hearing this, Rong Xun asked, "Lately, has there been any strange change in me? Why is there always a mysterious person appearing in my mind? And where is the empress now?"
Hearing Rong Xun's words, Yue Bai fell silent. After a moment, she finally spoke again. "My lord, the empress has been missing for a long time. Her whereabouts are unknown. As far as I know, the empress left the palace on her own initiative because she had an affair with a guard."
Yue Bai's few words completely dispelled Rong Xun's desire to find the person in his heart.
Since that was the case, Rong Xun didn't ask any more questions. Just then, Yue Ye slowly walked over from afar. But before he could say a word, he was taken away by Yue Bai who was about to leave.
The two stopped at the door of the Administrative Hall. Yue Ye looked at Yue Bai curiously.
"I just went to the toilet. Why did you disappear?"
Hearing this, Yue Bai smiled. "It's okay. My lord just asked some trivial matters, and I told him everything. My lord reminded us that we should never mention anything about the empress in the future. I've relayed this to you. Just remember it yourself."
After saying that, Yue Bai left on her own.
Yue Ye was left standing there stunned. He couldn't figure out why his lord was so infatuated with the empress before but now suddenly didn't want to care about her anymore.
It was really strange.
But since it was what Yue Bai said, he could only obey.
The two outside reached an agreement, but the one inside was still deep in thought.
Rong Xun looked at the wind and rain outside the window. He always felt that something was missing in his heart.
The next day, Rong Xun got up early and went to the morning court.
Looking at the ministers below the court, each of their faces showed extreme anxiety. They were all in a panic because of one thing.
That was the repeated incursions of the Xunu tribe from the Western Regions. They were at their wits' end with these people. Each minister kept shaking their heads and didn't say a word.