An hour later, in the Emperor's study, Leng Jinyu strode in with steady steps and bowed respectfully to the Emperor.
"Your subject, Leng Jinyu, pays his respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live for ten thousand, ten thousand, ten thousand years!"
"Minister Leng, you may rise!" the Emperor said, waving his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After Leng Jinyu stood up, the Emperor immediately asked Eunuch Li to leave the study.
"Minister Leng, today was supposed to be a day of rest for the ministers, and I did not wish to disturb you. However, this morning I received a note, and its contents have truly troubled me. You may take this note to look at it."
The Emperor gestured sternly towards a piece of paper on his imperial desk.
Upon hearing this, Leng Jinyu walked over, picked up the note, glanced at it, then looked back at the Emperor and sighed, saying, "Regarding this matter, Your Majesty has already guessed who it is, hasn't he?"
"Indeed. Minister Leng, why don't we both write down the name of the person we are thinking of on a piece of blank paper and see if we have guessed the same person." the Emperor said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Leng Jinyu replied respectfully.
Subsequently, each holding a brush, they wrote a person's name on a blank piece of paper and showed it to the other.
"It is indeed her! Liu Ruyi!" The Emperor's dark brows were tightly knit.
Who was the mastermind behind her?
A declining noble family could not possibly have nurtured such a deep-scheming daughter.
"Minister Leng, how do you think I should handle this matter?" the Emperor asked with a sigh.
"Your Majesty, I suggest you play the long game and wait for a bigger catch," Leng Jinyu said after some thought.
"I wish I could kill that woman in Fengqi Palace with a single sword, yet you ask me to let her out to stir up trouble!"
Upon hearing Leng Jinyu's words, the Emperor's face was filled with fury, and he angrily slammed his imperial desk.
"Please calm Your Majesty's anger. Since I expelled Liu Ruyi from the Leng General's Mansion, I have had people monitoring her every move. For some reason, about a month ago, she suddenly disappeared. My men searched every possible place she might have gone in the capital but found no trace of her," Leng Jinyu said solemnly.
"How has Leng Ruoshuang been at Prince Qing's mansion recently?" the Emperor suddenly asked.
"I heard from my spies that Leng Ruoshuang spends her days fighting with the other concubines at Prince Qing's mansion, causing chaos. Prince Qing, only because she is pregnant, has not severely punished her," Leng Jinyu replied calmly.
After hearing Leng Jinyu's words, the Emperor let out a cold laugh, "Serves her right!"
"She's due to give birth soon, isn't she?" the Emperor asked again.
"It should be soon," Leng Jinyu replied indifferently.
"Minister Leng, after your beloved wife passed away, I asked you to take Liu Ruyi into the Leng General's Mansion. Do you truly resent me for that? Have you ever blamed me?" At this point, the Emperor suddenly brought up events from over a decade ago.
"Does Your Majesty want to hear the truth or a lie?" Leng Jinyu looked up into the Emperor's eyes and asked.
"The truth?" The Emperor gave a bitter smile.
"Hate!" Leng Jinyu answered the Emperor's question with a single word.
"I had already guessed as much. But I had no choice back then. Not long after the Imperial Seal was stolen, a mysterious person informed me that Liu Ruyi held the secret to its whereabouts and asked me to facilitate her union with you. I could only comply with the Empress's wishes," the Emperor revealed the truth of that year.
"Your Majesty, I understand, which is why I have never blamed you," Leng Jinyu said with a smile.
"Alas, a month ago, I received a letter from Han saying they had reached Tianyun Mountain. I don't know if they have found the Snow Root Orchid yet," the Emperor said, his sharp eyes fixed on the window outside, his face full of worry.
"Yes, I also received a letter from Li'er. Before they departed, they told me they would try their best to return before the New Year. But now, more than two months have passed since New Year's Eve, and Li'er and the others still haven't found the medicinal ingredients for the wolf poison," Leng Jinyu also expressed his deep concern for Leng Ruoli and the others.
Many people might not know where Tianyun Mountain is, but Leng Jinyu, having guarded the borders of Tianwu and Beichen for so many years, was very clear about its location and its climate.
Tianyun Mountain was located in the northernmost part of this continent, constantly covered by ice and snow, with a harsh climate and dangerous terrain. There were no inhabitants within a radius of several dozen kilometers, and very few people had ever been there.
If his Li'er had not risked so many dangers for the sake of detoxifying that young master Jun Mohan, she would never have faced such perils.
If his Li'er lost even a single strand of hair upon her return to the capital, he, Leng Jinyu, would definitely kill that boy, regardless of whether Jun Mohan's father was the Emperor.
Leng Jinyu muttered to himself.
At this moment, the Emperor suddenly turned around and said to Leng Jinyu, "After much consideration, I will follow your suggestion to play the long game and wait for a bigger catch by releasing the Empress. However, I will not let her walk out completely intact."
As he spoke, the Emperor's expression turned grim, his eyes deepened suddenly, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile, an appearance that was frightening to behold.
Then, the Emperor began to talk with Leng Jinyu about their younger days.
***
Meanwhile, before descending the mountain, Leng Ruoli, fearing that the little snow fox and the snow dragon would wander off, collected both beasts into her personal spatial realm. Only then did she and Jun Mohan lead the four of them down the mountain at the fastest possible speed.
Now that they had found the Snow Root Orchid, there was no need to search for medicinal herbs while ascending the mountain. They could now take a shortcut directly down, but Leng Ruoli estimated it would still take two to three days to reach the foot of the mountain.
Just then, the little snow fox, happily playing on the grassland in Leng Ruoli's spatial realm, suddenly spoke, "Master, if you make me more delicious meat tonight, I'll tell you a way to descend the mountain in one day."
The little snow fox grinned slyly, sending a chill down the spine of the snow dragon, who was also happily playing nearby.
It wondered what kind of cunning plan this flirtatious fox was going to suggest to their master.
Leng Ruoli thought, Isn't it just about making you more meat? What's so difficult about that!
"Alright, I promise. Tell me, what method do you have for us to descend the mountain in one day?" Leng Ruoli curiously inquired of the little snow fox through telepathy.
"It's so simple! Release the snow dragon, let it grow big, and have it carry you all down the mountain," the little snow fox said mischievously.
Upon hearing the little snow fox's words, the snow dragon almost spat out a fireball in anger. This flirtatious fox had indeed dug a trap for it, asking it to carry six humans from the mountainside of Tianyun Mountain down... Hmph! After completing this task, it would likely be so exhausted that it would need to sleep for at least three days to wake up.
"You flirtatious fox, I will definitely burn off all your fur," the snow dragon, filled with rage, could not restrain itself and chased after the little snow fox, spitting fire wildly, causing the little snow fox to yelp in distress.