"I will depart immediately in three days."
"Okay, go and get some rest."
After Ji Cong withdrew, Ye Lingfeng thought of the matter in Dengzhou and couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. The Green Ant Clan was not only treacherous and cunning, but more importantly, they knew how to use jars and witchcraft, so ordinary people could not guard against them and could never defeat them. However, if the Green Ant Clan was not destroyed, Dengzhou would not be at peace.
What will be the outcome of Ji Cong's trip this time?
Ye Lingfeng pondered this, but stopped thinking about it and began to do his work.
In Qingqian Palace, Hailing rested for a while and then got up. Zhang De, the chief eunuch of the Inner Court, came to report on the release of palace maids and eunuchs. More than 200 palace maids and nearly 300 eunuchs were released.
There are currently about 600 palace maids and less than 800 eunuchs left in the palace. Although this is still a bit too many for the current situation, it is not advisable to release them all at once.
They could release them gradually later, but having so many palace maids and eunuchs was not an easy task, Hai Ling ordered Zhang De.
"From now on, we must keep a close watch on them. If anyone is found gambling, causing trouble, drinking, or fighting, they should all be flogged and kicked out."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhang De was extremely obedient and dared not be careless in the slightest. Hai Ling waved for him to leave, and Shi Lan walked up to her.
"Your Majesty, don't think about it so much."
Hai Ling nodded. Right now, there was no need to think about these things too much. The real priority was to think about how to help Ye Lingfeng amass wealth. There wasn't much silver in the national treasury, so she was always uneasy. It was alright; she could help him find some silver.
In the afternoon, she stayed in Qingqian Palace to think of a plan. In the evening, Ye Lingfeng did not return. He sent Xiao Luzi to tell her that he was dealing with the case of Zhou Nian and others from the Ministry of Revenue with officials from the Ministry of Justice. Naturally, she did not disturb him. After dinner, she went to sleep. In her drowsy state, she felt someone pull her into their arms. She smelled a familiar scent and knew that it was him. She adjusted to a comfortable position and continued to sleep. Ye Lingfeng kissed her affectionately. Although he was a little tempted, he did not want to wake her since she was sleeping soundly, so he held her and slept.
The next day, after Hai Ling woke up, Ye Lingfeng still went to the morning court.
Hai Ling remembered that she had promised Xi Hanzhi yesterday to bring his sister Xi Liang to the palace. But why did Xi Liang want to see her? Hai Ling couldn't figure it out, but she still ordered the eunuch to go to the Cangwang Mansion to bring the little princess to the palace to see why the princess wanted to see her.
The person was quickly brought into the palace. Hailing was taking a walk in the garden when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and looked at the person.
A group of palace maids and eunuchs surrounded a 13 or 14-year-old girl with a rosy face and bright, excited eyes. When she was three steps away from Hailing, she stopped, her dark eyes fixed on the Seven Star Glass Bracelet on Hailing's wrist, and she couldn't look away. In the end, Hailing's heart sank little by little, and then excitement rushed into her mind. Could it be, could it be that she is...?
She was her good friend Mu Bing. Apart from Mu Bing recognizing her Seven Star Glazed Bracelet, few others paid attention to her bracelet, because at most they thought it was an expensive bracelet, not a bracelet with supernatural powers.
And now, this young princess who wanted to see her was staring at her Seven Star Glazed Bracelet with an excited expression. She couldn't be wrong about that look.
Thinking this through, Hai Ling called out to the little girl, "Mu Bing, are you Mu Bing?"
As soon as she spoke, the figure three steps away leaped up, pounced on her, hugged her tightly, and jumped and shouted.
"Hailin, I've finally found you! It's wonderful! I've finally found you! So you're the Queen of Beilu!"
Hailing was also very excited. She reached out and hugged Mubing. The two of them jumped and shouted in the back garden like two madmen, unable to stop for a moment.
The eunuchs and palace maids not far away all looked at each other, confused about what was going on. They secretly wondered if the young princess of the Cang Prince's mansion actually knew the Empress, which was why she was so excited.
However, the two, who were overjoyed, ignored everyone else and just kept laughing and jumping. When their excitement subsided, they stopped, looked at each other, and both laughed happily.
Hai Ling waved her hand and ordered, "Everyone, go down. I'd like to have a chat with the young princess."
All the palace maids and eunuchs withdrew, and Hailing then took Mu Bing's hand—no, now she's called Xi Liang—and led her into the pavilion in the back garden. They sat down together and started talking about what happened after they transmigrated.
"Xi Liang, it's been over three years, almost four, and I haven't been able to find you. I never thought we'd finally meet. How did you know I was here?"
Hai Ling stared happily at Xi Liang, not expecting that she was dressed bigger than Xi Liang. When Xi Liang transmigrated, she was only about eleven years old, and now she looked about thirteen or fourteen.
Xi Liang nodded, choking up as he said, "I've been trying to find out about you. A couple of days ago, I went to the Ningnan Marquis's residence to visit the Heir Apparent's wife. She mentioned that she was sick and said that she didn't know why she had a scar on her stomach. I got a little excited and asked her to take a look. It turned out to be a modern surgery. So I know it must have been you who had the surgery. Ling'er, are you alright?"
"It's all good. The bad times are over. How about you? I never thought you'd become the little princess of the Cangwang Mansion. How are you doing now? Are they treating you well? If not, you can tell me."
Hai Ling excitedly said repeatedly that she had been looking for Xi Liang. Back in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she drew sketches and played the jade flute, hoping that one day Xi Liang would think of her and come looking for her.
Unexpectedly, after all their twists and turns, they met again in Beilu.
"Don't get agitated, I'm fine, Ling'er, I'm alright. It's you I'm more worried about."
Although holding a high position is not necessarily a good thing, she had heard many stories about how much the emperor doted on her, which made her happy.
"Okay, everything is fine, don't worry. By the way, when you first transmigrated here, were you in the Cangwang Mansion?"
Hai Ling asked with concern, and Xi Liang shook his head: "Actually, when I transmigrated here, I was kidnapped by a human trafficker. Later, I was rescued and taken to the Southern Ling Kingdom. That person was a prince of the Southern Ling Kingdom. Later, he helped me find my relatives, and I returned to the Northern Lu Kingdom."
"A prince of the Southern Feather Kingdom."
When Hailing noticed that Xi Liang's cheeks were flushed and her eyes were red when she said those words, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. Xi Liang must like that prince, which was why she was so shy and timid.
"Xi Liang, you like that prince, don't you?"
Hai Ling and Xi Liang have always been like this, never beating around the bush. They were close friends before, always speaking freely, so there was no need for formalities. They used to talk about men and clothes, so Xi Liang naturally didn't mince words and simply nodded.
"Yes, I like him. I'm thinking of marrying into the Southern Ling Kingdom. But right now, the Northern Lu and the Southern Ling Kingdom are at odds, so I can't marry him for the time being."
"Xi Liang, does he like you? If he really likes you and only wants to marry you, I will help you marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom."
As a good friend, she naturally didn't want to see Xi Liang unhappy. On the contrary, she hoped that Xi Liang would be happy and joyful. There was no reason for her to be happy while Xi Liang was unhappy.
She could only help Xi Liang if she was certain that the man was worth Xi Liang's investment; otherwise, she would only be harming him.
After Hai Ling finished asking the question, Xi Liang blushed. She was completely different from the Xi Liang of the past. The Xi Liang of the past was like a boy, always carefree and outspoken, even towards her boyfriend. She was nothing like the Xi Liang of now. Hai Ling had once corrected her thinking, saying, "Mu Bing, you have never truly liked anyone. If you like someone, you're just a little girl." Unfortunately, Hai Ling had argued with her about it back then. Now it seems that Hai Ling was right. Xi Liang really does like that prince.
“He likes me very much and dotes on me, and there are no other women in the palace.”
"That's good. We are waiting for news from the Southern Ling Kingdom. Once things have settled down, I will arrange for you to marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom."
"Okay, Ling'er."