âCome, escort the imperial father-in-law and Patriarch Mo out of the palace,â Mo Yingyue ordered softly.
A young eunuch stepped forward and said politely, âYes, Imperial Father-in-Law, Patriarch Mo, this way, please!â
âHmph! Mo Yingyue, you will regret it.â Patriarch Mo snorted coldly and walked away without looking back. He didnât believe that an empress without the support of her family could last long!
âHow can I have a useless son like you? You canât even control your own daughter!â Patriarch Mo kept reprimanding his eldest son as they left the palace.
âIâm sorry, Father.â Mo Changhai lowered his head and stopped talking. What could he say? One was his father, and the other was his daughter. Alas! It was all his fault!
âImperial Father-in-Law, Patriarch Mo, what a coincidence. I didnât expect to meet you here.â A surprised voice sounded in their ears.
âOh, itâs Prime Minister Fu. Haha, what a coincidence!â Patriarch Mo greeted with a smile, revealing a happy expression.
âHello, Prime Minister Fu,â Mo Changhai said politely.
âHaha, are you here to see the empress?â Prime Minister Fu asked even though he knew.
âYes, I had something to discuss with the empress,â Patriarch Mo said indifferently, his expression unreadable.
âIs it related to the Leng family?â Prime Minister Fu asked with concern.
âYes.â Patriarch Mo nodded helplessly. This was no longer a secret in Phoenix City. The Mo family had almost no place left in Phoenix City because of Leng Ruoxueâs words.
âAlas! The Leng family has always been overbearing, but theyâve really gone a little overboard this time. Your Mo family is related by marriage to the imperial family, so how can the Leng family be so unreasonable? Itâs not a big deal. Itâs just a conflict between children. Why implicate the family!â Prime Minister Fu said with indignation, as if it was his family that had been squeezed out by others. The expression on his face was sincere!
âThatâs right. I also know that the Leng family isnât to be trifled with, but I didnât expect the Leng family to have so much power. Now, almost no family dares to have any dealings with our Mo family anymore.â Patriarch Mo had a worried look on his face. At this moment, he had already regarded Prime Minister Fu as a bosom friend and was venting his bitterness.
âItâs all because the Artificer Association is supporting her! You know those fence-sitters wouldnât dare to offend the people of the Artificer Association!â Prime Minister Fuâs face was full of sympathy. But in the depths of his heart, he was so jealous that he was about to go crazy.?How can the Leng family have such good luck? The people of the Artificer Association actually treat them so favorablyâ¦
âAlas! Is our Mo family really going to decline?â Patriarch Mo was very unwilling. Their Mo family was about to rise up. How could they perish just like this?
âIn fact, thatâs not necessarily so. As long as your Mo family can find a powerful backer, the Leng family wonât be able to do anything to you,â Prime Minister Fu suggested.
âBacker? How can we find a backer in a situation like this? Moreover, I donât have the means to do so,â Patriarch Mo said somewhat gloomily.
Their Mo family might be ranked among the top families in the Eastern Lagoon Empire, but it was far from being comparable to the Five Great Families and imperial families. For example, take the Feng family, one of the Five Great Families in the Eastern Lagoon Empire. If he wanted to visit the Feng family, he wouldnât be able to meet the patriarch at all. It would already be considered very good if he had an elder to receive him.
âI have a way, but I donât know if you will be interested,â Prime Minister Fu said with uncertainty, a deep scheming look flashing in his eyes.
âMinister Fu, please tell me about it,â Patriarch Mo said anxiously. He wouldnât give up as long as there was a glimmer of hope now.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âItâs not convenient to talk here. Come with me.â Prime Minister Fu looked around cautiously.
âOkay. Changhai, go back first. I have something to discuss with Prime Minister Fu,â Patriarch Mo ordered his eldest son.
âYes, Father.â Mo Changhai looked at Prime Minister Fu and then obediently left.
Then Patriarch Mo and Prime Minister Fu left the palace togetherâ¦
â¦
General Lengâs mansion, Listening Snow Pavilionâ¦
âMiss, Huangfu Lian and Huo Qing are here.â Lü Tao knocked on Leng Ruoxueâs door and reported softly.
âGot it,â Leng Ruoxue answered from her room.
âXueâer, weâre not done playing yet,â Freak, who was playing Go with Leng Ruoxue, said with some dissatisfaction.
âVisitors are guests. Weâll continue later. Or you and Dongfang Yunshan can play first. I want to take a look,â Leng Ruoxue coaxed helplessly.
âI donât want to play with him!â Freak and Dongfang Yun, who had been watching by the side, shouted in unison. Both of their faces had a look of disdain.
âThen come with me to meet the guests!â Leng Ruoxue glanced at the two of them and then directly left the room.
âXueâer, wait for me!â Freak hurriedly followed.
âIâm coming too!â Dongfang Yun was unwilling to be left behind and chased after them.
Leng Ruoxueâs group of three arrived at the living room and saw her grandfather greeting Huangfu Lian and Huo Qing.
âGrandpa!â Leng Ruoxue greeted her grandfather and then turned to look at Huo Qing and Huangfu Lian.
âWhy are the two of you together?â Leng Ruoxue asked curiously.?Do they have a good relationship now?
âHuangfu Lian said he wanted to see you, so I came along,â Huo Qing explained. He hadnât dared to come to the Leng family residence since that day, and he only came today because of Huangfu Lian. Otherwise, he was afraid that Ruoxue wouldnât let him in if he came alone.
âOh.â Leng Ruoxueâs gaze turned to Huangfu Lian. This gentle and handsome young crown prince shouldnât just be here to see her, right?
âI brought you some specialties from the Southern Dusk Empire. My mother asked me to bring them to you,â Huangfu Lian explained honestly. He didnât even dare to look Leng Ruoxue in the eye, and his cheeks were slightly red.
Looking at this shy crown prince, Leng Qingtian couldnât help but sigh. A man like this wouldnât be able to pursue his granddaughter. It seemed that the thoughts of the Southern Duskâs empress were wasted.
âPlease thank the empress for her kind intentions on my behalf, Crown Prince,â Leng Ruoxue said politely.
âOkay.â Huangfu Lian nodded and then fell silent.