Not long after Lin Qiao returned to the palace, Luo Nanchen led a large army back to the palace in grand style.
Under the pretext of recuperating from his injuries.
When Lin Qiao heard the news that Luo Nanchen had returned to the palace, she was so startled that she couldn't even eat her drumstick.
Although... although Luo Nanchen was indeed injured, it was far from the point where he couldn't even preside over the sacrifice.
Moreover, a long and tiring journey was the most harmful to the body, wasn't it?!
It wasn't until Zou Lvrui returned with the large army that Lin Qiao learned that Luo Nanchen had completed the sacrifice within two days. Then, on the pretext of returning to the palace to handle state affairs, he had managed to persuade all the civil and military officials.
He even earned the reputation of a sage and wise emperor.
Lin Qiao: "..."
As soon as Zou Lvrui returned to the palace, she rushed straight to the Palace of Eternal Joy. Picking up a small pastry, she started to eat. "Your Majesty, I was still looking for you at that time. Who would have thought that you had already returned to the palace. I didn't even have a place to get a free meal. My meals just didn't taste good... Why did you rush back so quickly?"
Lin Qiao heaved a long sigh. "Probably, the male-oriented cool-down novel is about to turn into an ethical drama."
Zou Lvrui: "???"
Lin Qiao sighed to herself. "Probably, the part where the original owner lusted after the male protagonist's body is about to come true."
Although the current situation was quite different from that in the book, she really lusted after Luo Nanchen's body.
Especially every night when he held her in his arms to sleep.
She especially lusted after Luo Nanchen's arms. Lying on them was almost as good as lying on a cervical pillow.
It was even better.
Zou Lvrui still didn't understand. She looked blank.
Qiuyue rushed in in a hurry. "Your Majesty, the Emperor is waiting outside."
Lin Qiao jumped up. "So soon?!"
Oh no, it was over.
It seemed that Luo Nanchen was serious.
Lin Qiao even thought that the real reason she had been transported into the book was that God had sent her here to endure hardships.
At first, she had wanted to cling to the male protagonist's thigh because of the task of accumulating prestige, but she couldn't succeed. Later, she had just wanted to live a quiet life, but Luo Nanchen had come up with this.
Anyway, no matter what, whether it was seizing power or seducing the Emperor, the system had to ensure that her persona as a country-destroying enchantress would never fall, right?
Zou Lvrui asked, "What on earth are you worried about?"
Qiuyue also asked, "Your Majesty, what on earth are you worried about?"
Lin Qiao could completely understand why Zou Lvrui asked this question, and she could even better understand why Qiuyue asked it.
There was no other reason. Their concepts were different.
Zou Lvrui came from the 21st century, and her thinking was open. Moreover, she had just been transported into the book, and many of her thoughts and awareness hadn't changed yet. So she didn't think there was anything wrong with the current situation.
Instead, she might even find it exciting.
After all, it was a bit like developing in the direction of a stepmother-themed story.
As for Qiuyue, it was even easier to understand. In the Le'an Realm, there was a custom that when the father died early, the son would marry his mother, and when the elder brother died early, the younger brother would marry his sister-in-law.
That was to say, in the Le'an Realm, women were not regarded as complete individuals but only as tools for reproduction.
This was also one of the reasons why the population in the Le'an Realm was sparse.
Inbreeding.
Although there was such a custom in the Le'an Realm, Yunjin was not the Le'an Realm. Yunjin's etiquette emphasized order among the generations and harmony among brothers. One must never violate any rules of ethics.
If the foreign ministers found out that Luo Nanchen was in love with her, God knew what kind of storm it would stir up.
Oh no, the persona of the country-destroying enchantress was about to make a comeback.
Being turned into a human swine, being drowned in a pond.
These pictures flashed through her mind one by one. It was all because the author had such a strong ability to depict scenes that they were vivid and clear in her mind.
Lin Qiao closed her eyes. All she could see was the tragic ending of the original owner.
Seeing Lin Qiao looking so desperate, Qiuyue tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, shall we still let the Emperor in?"
Before her words fell, Luo Nanchen walked in by himself.
Lin Qiao: "..."
Had the act of reporting now become completely useless?
Luo Nanchen looked tired from the journey. His temples were slightly disheveled, and his robe was the waist-tightened one for riding. It seemed that he had come straight to the Palace of Eternal Joy as soon as he returned. His complexion was not good, even worse than when he was in the cave.
However, the light in his eyes couldn't be ignored at all.
It was so bright, so intense that it burned Lin Qiao painfully.
He stood in front of the screen and stared fixedly at Lin Qiao. He didn't move for a long time.
Qiuyue glanced at Lin Qiao's expression. "This servant will take her leave."
Zou Lvrui also reacted. "Well, this subject will also take her leave."
"None of you are allowed to leave!"
Qiuyue and Zou Lvrui stared at each other. Through the intense exchange of glances, they reached an agreement.
They both retreated together.
They had all betrayed her. None of them had a conscience.
Lin Qiao pretended to be calm. "The Emperor is back? Have you had your meal?"
Luo Nanchen shook his head.
Finally, Lin Qiao found an excuse to call someone. "Ahem, Qiuyue, bring up some lotus flower pastries—"
"I'm not hungry."
The rest of Lin Qiao's words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.
Luo Nanchen walked over. "Why did you run away?"
Lin Qiao took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
This was wrong and had to be corrected.
Since it was out in the open, she might as well justifiably correct the child's distorted view of love.
"Since you've made it clear, I must also make it clear to you," Lin Qiao lay down on the imperial concubine chair, trying to create an illusion that she had a strong aura. "I am your mother. It's really absurd for you to have such thoughts."
"Absurd?" Luo Nanchen smiled. "Lin Qiao, whether you are my mother or not is up to me to decide."
Lin Qiao didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
Luo Nanchen bent down and lowered his line of sight to the same level as Lin Qiao's. Meaningfully, he said, "If I burn down the Palace of Eternal Joy, then the Empress Dowager will no longer exist. Then I'll find a moderately ranked official for you to recognize as your father. Let that father send you into the palace. Anyway, there aren't many civil and military officials in the court who can recognize the current Empress Dowager..."
"Luo Nanchen!"
Lin Qiao's heart skipped a beat and a chill ran down her back.
This Luo Nanchen scared her a little.
He was different from all the looks she had seen of him before.
Instead, he was more like the later Emperor Nanchen, arrogant, overbearing, unscrupulous, and ruthless.
His method was to threaten her with the entire Palace of Eternal Joy.
After all, if the Palace of Eternal Joy caught fire but only the Empress Dowager disappeared in the end, it was really hard not to think otherwise.
And Luo Nanchen would never allow such a loophole to happen.
Luo Nanchen smiled. "What? Is this method not good?"
Lin Qiao couldn't even pretend to be calm anymore. "Luo Nanchen, what on earth do you want?"
"I want you not to avoid me."
"Just that simple?"
"Just that simple."
Lin Qiao felt a little relieved. Fortunately, Luo Nanchen was only threatening her with the Palace of Eternal Joy and not really going to carry it out.
Hey, something seemed wrong?
The self-rescue plan she had made... Why did it seem that she had calculated herself into a corner?
At first, self-rescue meant trying not to harm Luo Nanchen and protecting his innocent and pure heart. Now, self-rescue meant trying not to be harmed by Luo Nanchen and protecting her own weak and helpless life.
What a lousy plan!
The more she planned, the more she regressed?!
Luo Nanchen sat down beside Lin Qiao contentedly. "Sure enough, acting like a hooligan is quite useful."
Lin Qiao curled her lips. "You're just a scoundrel."
"Yeah, a scoundrel is fine as long as it works."
Luo Nanchen smiled. A faint smile appeared on his still pale face.
It was as if the ice and snow had melted and all sounds had ceased.