Seeing that he ignored her, Hai Ling was at a loss for words. She was quite shocked, realizing how terrifying this man could be when he got angry. However, she was not afraid because she knew he would not hurt her.
But where exactly was he going to take her?
Soon Hai Ling found out where Ye Lingfeng had taken her; he had taken her to the royal palace of the Northern Lu Kingdom.
Inside the Imperial Study, Ye Lingfeng, holding Hai Ling's hand, pointed to the wall behind the dragon desk. There hung a painting on the wall, depicting a person—Jiang Hai Ling, who was originally plump but was painted very cutely, seemingly without any sense of ugliness or embarrassment. Her expression was so lively; it was unclear whether the painter had given her a soul or whether she possessed such a soul herself. In any case, the woman in the painting was not ugly.
What's the point of simply hanging her in the study?
Hai Ling stared blankly at Ye Lingfeng. Under the lamplight, he looked even more handsome and charming than before. Even with a hint of anger around him, he was still breathtakingly beautiful.
Why is my portrait hanging there?
Hai Ling had some answers in her mind, but it was still hard to believe. Besides, wasn't Ye Lingfeng a homosexual? How could he like women?
Ye Lingfeng's lips twitched slightly, and a fiery passion ignited in his deep eyes as he stared intently at Hai Ling's delicate and refined face. Her eyes, as black as jewels, were exceptionally lively when they moved, completely unlike the dull and reserved young ladies of noble families. She was still the little girl he knew, so no matter what others thought, in his eyes, she was the same now as before. On the contrary, he was grateful for her former plumpness, which gave him the opportunity to get closer to her before others. If it weren't for her plumpness, Feng Zixiao probably wouldn't have let go. Would he still be able to wait for her then?
"Ling'er, don't you know?"
"Don't you dislike women?"
"You're the only exception."
Ye Lingfeng's coldness faded, and his voice unconsciously softened like fine wine. Hai Ling's heart skipped a beat, and she even moved slightly, something she rarely did. But then she remembered something: the Ye Lingfeng of today was not Xi Lingfeng, the Left Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty; he was Ye Lingfeng, the new Emperor of Northern Lu. She knew the ruthlessness of the imperial family. Hadn't she had enough? Did she want to fall into this dream of gentle wealth and power again? This man might care about her now, but what about in the future? How much of her would he believe? The royal family had never lacked intrigue and framing. If one day he no longer believed her, would she still be able to endure it?
Besides, he is the emperor, and there are bound to be more than just her in the harem. If other women were to enter the palace, could she bear the indifference? In this life, she does not seek wealth or status, but only someone who truly loves and cherishes her, someone who genuinely protects and cares for her when she fights with others or throws tantrums. How many people can do that? Moreover, he is the emperor, so why would he care about what she wants?
After a moment of contemplation, Hai Ling suddenly came to her senses, as if struck by a sudden enlightenment. She raised her eyebrows again, her beautiful and ethereal face now radiating a calm expression as she smiled at Ye Lingfeng.
"This is quite sudden, but Emperor Xie, you should put away this portrait. It's really an eyesore in the study."
"you?"
A domineering and forceful glint flashed in Ye Lingfeng's deep, dark eyes. He was determined to have her. He would never allow the person he loved to back down. However, he would not force her for now and would give her some time to think.
"I'll take you back."
Ye Lingfeng reached out and took her hand, a soft smile on his lips that made his face even more radiant, like a dazzling pearl in the night, stunning everyone.
Hai Ling nodded calmly, quickly averting her gaze. This man was truly alluring; she couldn't agree to anything he said without thinking, or she would be doomed.
Ye Lingfeng held her hand and, just like before, used his lightness skill to cover her with his cloak, escorting her all the way back to the Ji residence.
Fortunately, no servants in the mansion noticed, and Hailing breathed a sigh of relief before entering her room.
Ye Lingfeng calmly and domineeringly instructed her: "Ling'er, I won't give you much time. You need to think it over carefully."
"Um."
Hailin responded and watched him disappear into the night until he was long gone.
Shi Mei and Shi Lan walked over and frowned when they saw the aloofness and coldness around their young lady. Why was she unhappy when the master hadn't mentioned marrying her?
"Miss, go to sleep, it's late."
"good.,"
Hai Ling turned around. She was really afraid to be with Ye Lingfeng. He was such an outstanding man who had helped her so many times and was so gentle with her. How could she not fall in love with him if she spent too much time with him? But could she really fall in love with someone from the royal family? Until she was sure that this man was someone she could entrust her life to, she absolutely had to guard her heart and not fall in love with anyone.
She was not a woman of this era. In ancient times, it was considered virtuous for a woman to personally select concubines and attendants for her husband. But she came from a world of gender equality, so how could she possibly adapt to such a world? Just like her newly recognized father, Ji Cong, he also had two women. Because he had two women, some people would be jealous, which would lead to many tragedies.
The more Hailing thought about these things, the more upset she became. In the end, she decided to stop thinking about anything and stay peacefully in the Ji residence.
The Ji residence became lively with Hai Ling's return, and everyone in the mansion was overjoyed.
General Ji, who rarely returned to the manor, officially returned as well. The matter between him and his first wife, Madam Ye, was also resolved. Although they had no contact for a short period of time, they were at least at peace. The happiest person among them was Ji Shaocheng. He never expected that his father would finally return to the manor, and that his sister would also come back. Moreover, his sister was such an outstanding person.
Besides Ji Shaocheng, the servants in the general's mansion were also very happy, and the maids who were assigned to serve in Xiangwu Courtyard were even more overjoyed.
Because Miss is really good. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has a good temperament. Although she always looks cold, she never punishes the servants or scolds or beats anyone. Since Miss returned to the manor, the usually arrogant Miss has also restrained herself and dares not scold or beat the servants or put on airs. So everyone is very happy.
However, no one dared to enter the young lady's Fragrant Garden, because there was a frightening little golden lion with yellow fur in the garden, which the young lady called Qiuqiu.
Qiuqiu doesn't like being disturbed. If anyone provokes it, it will bar its teeth and roar, scaring everyone who sees it so much that their legs tremble, fearing that it will come up and bite them.
Aside from that, everyone was still very happy.
The most unhappy person in the entire General's Mansion was Ye Liushuang. Ye Liushuang disliked this cousin; not only did she dislike her, she utterly loathed her. Her first impression was terrible, and another reason was that she couldn't stand her cousin's attitude. So what if she was prettier? She always acted superior, with her uncle and cousin fawning over her and fawning over her. Even her aunt would frequently send people to check on her. Her residence was no less luxurious than that of a princess in the palace. With her gorgeous clothes and gold and silver jewelry, Ye Liushuang dared to say that in the entire capital, there was no other young lady as pampered as her, practically a princess.
The more Ye Liushuang saw this woman being favored, the more distressed she became. She had always tried so hard to please her aunt and cousin, but she couldn't win their favor in the slightest. This woman, the moment she appeared, had captured everyone's attention. How could she not feel hatred and anger?
Her uncle was also going to host a grand banquet to introduce her to the nobles of the capital, at which point she would be even more smug.
Ye Liushuang grew increasingly resentful, but she couldn't leave the General's Mansion and return to the Ye family mansion. She feared that if she left, her cousin would take a fancy to another woman and marry someone else. Moreover, Ye Liushuang had a feeling that if her cousin didn't like Ji Hailing, he definitely wouldn't marry her.
So, for the sake of her own happiness, she had no choice but to suppress all her anger and try to please that woman.
That's the most infuriating thing. She tried to please that woman, but the woman completely disdained her. She sat in her room with a smile, but the woman didn't say a word for a long time, just reading a book and ignoring her. She was really trying to win someone's favor with a cold shoulder.
As Ye Liushuang thought this, she angrily plucked the flowers beside her. The maids behind her were Qing Si and Qing Su, her personal maids from the Ye family. The two of them naturally knew what their young lady was thinking, and they followed behind her, speaking in hushed tones.
"Miss, are you troubled by Miss Ji's matter?"
Ye Liushuang glanced over, but Qing Si wasn't afraid. She muttered softly, "Tomorrow is the day when the Ji family will hold a grand banquet. I heard that Miss Ji grew up in the Great Zhou Dynasty and naturally doesn't understand the customs of Northern Lu. If Miss wants to embarrass her, how difficult would it be?"
As soon as Qing Si finished speaking, Ye Liushuang's eyes lit up.
Yes, although she couldn't really mess with Ji Hailing, she could make the girl look bad at tomorrow's banquet. Only then would she feel a little better.