As night deepened, the two maids, Shimei and Shilan, helped Hailing wash up.
Shi Mei and Shi Lan had clearly seen what happened tonight, and they never expected that their young lady would not want to marry the young master.
I remember back in the Northern Lu Kingdom, Miss also liked Master. Her shy and timid demeanor clearly showed that she had some affection for him. But now she treats Master like a stranger. No wonder Master is angry. He was quite angry tonight.
"Miss, why won't you accept the snow lotus from Master?"
Not only did he refuse to answer, he also made Little Lion answer. If I hadn't held back, I'm afraid he would have slapped Little Lion to death.
Hai Ling raised her eyebrows and looked at Shi Mei and Shi Lan, only to realize with surprise that these two girls were actually Ye Lingfeng's people. She had been with them for so long that she had forgotten about it.
“Shi Mei, I forgot that you were Ye Lingfeng’s people, and that you were sent by him to serve me. Now that I have returned to the Ji residence, you should go back to Ye Lingfeng’s side.”
Upon hearing this, Shi Mei assumed that her mistress was angry because of her question and wanted to send her away. She was so frightened that her face changed and she knelt down with a thud.
"Miss, please forgive our indiscretion, please do not send us away."
Shi Lan also knelt down involuntarily. They had served Hai Ling for several months, sharing her sorrows and joys along the way, and now they treated her like their mistress.
How could Hai Ling not have Shi Mei and Shi Lan in her heart? They were there for her when she was most heartbroken and helpless, just like her older sisters. So when she saw them kneeling down, she quickly reached out to help them up.
"You're overthinking it. I'm not trying to send you away. You were originally the Emperor's people, so it's only natural for you to return to his side now."
“We’re not leaving. We are now Miss’s servants and have nothing to do with Master. Master said that from now on we belong to Miss.”
"Get up."
Hailing said nothing more. After spending some time with them, she knew that the two of them also had pride and would never betray what they said, so saying anything more would be superfluous.
Shi Mei and Shi Lan got up and went to help the young lady wash up and rest.
As Hailin was about to go to sleep, she remembered the question Shimei had asked her.
"He is no longer Xi Lingfeng, the Left Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, nor Xi Lengyue, the Demon Lord of the Cold Demon Palace. He is the Emperor. Since ancient times, the royal family has been ruthless. Do you think I have suffered enough injuries from entering the palace once? Do I need to enter again?"
After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes. Shi Mei stopped talking, but she knew in her heart why her mistress wanted to keep her distance from the master. He was no longer the same person he used to be, nor was he the same master who was so unrestrained and capricious. He was the new ruler of Bei Lu. Her heart suddenly ached, and she felt the distance between herself and the master. She also understood why her mistress wanted to keep her distance.
late at night.
Shi Mei received a message from Shi Zhu that the master wanted to see her.
Fortunately, she wasn't sleeping in the young lady's room tonight.
Shi Mei followed Shi Zhu and entered the palace.
The Imperial Study was shrouded in a chilling, bloodthirsty atmosphere, devoid of any warmth. It was winter, and the biting cold of the study made Shi Mei shiver slightly. She looked up at the new emperor, seated behind his dragon throne, his handsome features and imposing presence perfectly complementing the bright yellow dragon robe. However, a layer of frost covered his exquisitely handsome face, and his dark, deep eyes gleamed with an unusually sharp, cold light, like two unsheathed swords, radiating a chilling aura.
Shi Mei was so startled that she knelt down with a thud: "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Get up."
“Yes,” Shi Mei obediently stood up and looked down at the ground.
The current master is no longer Xi Lingfeng of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He has returned to his former self, west Lengyue of the Cold Demon Palace. Now, he is even more ruthless than before.
Is she alright?
However, when he spoke these words, his cold and deep voice carried a touch of tenderness.
Shi Mei knew who her master was asking about, and quickly replied, "Very good."
"Do you know why she's different from before?"
Shi Mei was taken aback by Ye Lingfeng's words. It turned out that the master had come to see her overnight because he wanted to know why the young lady was distant and indifferent towards him. She could tell that he was feeling unwell.
"Replying to your question, Miss has suffered a lot. When Madam passed away, Rouge also disappeared. All of this was due to the struggle between the royal family and the Jiang family. Now she has come to Beilu. General Ji and Young General Ji treat her very well, like family. There are many smiles on her face. I guess Miss definitely doesn't want to have any involvement with the royal family, because she doesn't want the Ji family to be involved in the power struggle of the royal family again."
This is what Shi Mei guessed based on what the young lady said tonight. As for what else, Shi Mei has no idea.
Upon hearing Shi Mei's words, Ye Lingfeng's face turned cold, revealing a hint of heartache. He knew the hardships she had endured. At that time, he wanted to immediately go to the Great Zhou to be by her side and take care of her. However, he had not yet ascended the throne, and the situation here was chaotic. Therefore, he could only ask Shi Mei and Shi Lan to take good care of her. Just thinking about the hardships she had suffered made his heart ache, and he resolved to treat her well for the rest of his life, to let her know that not all people in the royal family were like that.
He sat on this throne not for any imperial power, but simply to prove his identity. He had never known his own background since childhood and had always longed to prove his identity one day. On the other hand, he wanted to take better care of Ling'er and let the world know how privileged and pampered she was. He wanted to make Feng Zixiao open his eyes and see that even without him, he would still pamper her.
But now she's running away from him, and he absolutely won't allow that to happen.
"Okay, I understand. You can go back now."
Ye Lingfeng knew that Hai Ling's inner conflict was related to the royal family, and he was determined to help her resolve it.
"Yes, sir. I'll go back now. What if Miss finds out?"
She made it clear from the beginning that anyone wanting to see the master had to get her permission.
"Okay, let's go back."
Ye Lingfeng waved his hand, and Shi Mei withdrew. The study fell silent. The handsome man frowned and pondered how to resolve the little girl's inner conflict.
In the dark moonlight, another group of people were active.
In a small house, a beautiful woman sat upright, but her eyes were unusually fierce as she gave orders to her three subordinates who stood with their heads bowed.
"Hurry back to the Great Zhou Dynasty as fast as you can and deliver this letter to the Emperor."
"yes."
The subordinate took the letter, turned and left. The person inside the room revealed a sinister smile. "Ji Hailing, is it? I want to see what kind of background you have to stand in front of the world. I want to see how my elder brother treats you."
The room was deathly silent...