At this moment, Jun Mohan and Leng Ruo Li approached the Emperor and respectfully saluted him.
"Your son (daughter-in-law) greets Your Majesty!" the young couple said in unison.
"Rise both of you!" The Emperor's expression quickly returned to sternness.
"Thank you, Father Emperor."
The two stood up.
"Consort Leng, where did you go during your newlywed period with the Cold King?"
The Emperor asked with a tone of reprimand. Although he did not intend to punish her, he had to do so to silence gossip, as the Emperor.
"Replying to Father Emperor, the one who came to pick up your daughter-in-law that night was a friend of hers. He was afraid that your daughter-in-law would be wronged after marrying the Cold King, so he deliberately took me away on our wedding night to test the Cold King's sincerity towards your daughter-in-law."
Leng Ruo Li answered calmly. She had anticipated this before entering the palace, knowing that these dignitaries would question her about being abducted that night, so she had already prepared her responses.
"There must be no next time!"
The Emperor glared at Leng Ruo Li with his tiger-like eyes wide open.
"Yes!" Leng Ruo Li replied obediently on the surface, but inwardly she complained, it wasn't as if she was willing to be taken away by Ming Jiu Xiao that night! She was also helpless.
"Alright! Your Majesty, it's good that Consort Leng returned safely, please don't blame her."
The Empress Dowager quickly smoothed things over. Although she also valued a woman's chastity, Leng Ruo Li was her favorite junior. Not only was she kind, intelligent, and skilled in medicine, but she had also given her so many useful treasures, so she would definitely protect Leng Ruo Li.
"Alas, Mother, you spoil them too much! Their tails will only stick out higher in the future."
The Emperor said helplessly. When he was young and reckless, his mother had never defended him like this. Being beaten or being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall was common. Could it be that her own son was not as important as his grandson's wife?
Just as he was thinking...
A hoarse voice from outside the hall announced, "The Empress comes to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager!"
As the words fell, the Empress, dressed in a crimson half-bared palace gown embroidered with gold and silver threads depicting phoenixes soaring towards the sun, her hair styled in a phoenix bun, adorned with a golden phoenix hair ornament with dripping pearls at the front and a hairpin embedded with a glowing red ruby at the back, her face heavily made up, and wearing a ring bracelet inlaid with sapphires on her right hand, slowly walked into the hall with an elegant gait.
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager frowned again upon seeing her. The Empress had become very peculiar lately. Every time they saw her, she was dressed more alluringly than before, and her attire had become increasingly revealing. The dignified and elegant demeanor of a nation's mother had vanished, leaving only an air of seductiveness.
Jun Mohan, standing by, had sharp eyes and noticed the ruby hairpin on the Empress's head and the sapphire ring bracelet on her hand from the moment she stepped into the hall.
He secretly thought: It was the Empress who abducted those five palace maids from Xi Yan Hall that night. But for a woman like the Empress to abduct those palace maids in the middle of the night, what was her purpose? Could it be that the Empress was colluding with the figure in black robes in secret?
Good heavens! Jun Mohan's heart grew increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. He suspected that the figure in black robes was currently hiding in the palace. No wonder all his searches in the capital had yielded no trace of him; he had vanished as if into thin air. It turned out he was hiding in the palace to recuperate. This figure in black robes was truly cunning.
While he was contemplating, the Empress had already taken small steps to reach the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
"Your subject (daughter-in-law) pays her respects to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager!"
"Rise!" the Emperor said indifferently.
For some reason, he now felt disgusted seeing this woman.
He couldn't understand why the late Emperor, knowing that the Lin family would eventually harbor rebellious intentions, had bestowed this woman upon him as his consort. Ah, perhaps the late Emperor intended to hone his own skills by keeping a family coveting his throne right under his nose.
However, the Empress did have some beauty in her youth. For the sake of procreation, he would perform his duties as a husband in her chambers every night. But after finishing, he would immediately leave her room because the Empress was too scheming and malicious. He truly couldn't like the Empress.
Later, after he met Yi Yun, he disliked the Empress even more, seldom visiting her chambers. This might also be the reason why the Empress wanted to harm Yi Yun.
At this moment, Jun Mohan and Leng Ruo Li also approached the Empress and paid their respects to her.
"Your son (daughter-in-law) greets Mother Empress!" The two performed their courtesies to the Empress.
"You two are excused, rise."
The Empress feigned a gentle tone.
"Alas, Consort Leng, you should have entered the palace a few days ago to offer tea to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and myself. It is a pity that you were abducted by a villain on your wedding night." the Empress insinuated.
"Empress, your daughter-in-law was indeed remiss." Leng Ruo Li readily admitted her fault, going along with her intentions.
"Whether tea is offered or not is of no consequence." The Empress smiled and said, looking at Leng Ruo Li's peerless face with jealousy filling her heart, then added, "Is Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager correct in saying this?"
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager's brows were tightly knitted, and neither answered the Empress directly, as both were unsure of what scheme the Empress was planning now.
"Empress, as the mother of the nation, you should embody maternal virtues for the realm. It is indeed improper to be so petty." the Empress Dowager said meaningfully.
"But Mother, should a woman pay attention to chastity after marrying?"
Upon hearing this, everyone chuckled, instantly understanding that the Empress was up to her old tricks again.
"Empress, what do you mean by saying that?" the Empress Dowager asked with a dark expression.
"Mother, after Consort Leng was abducted by a villain in full view of everyone on her wedding night, people outside the palace are spreading rumors that Consort Leng was defiled by the villain. Do His Majesty and Mother not have any doubts?" the Empress said with a smile.
As soon as her words fell, the expressions of those in the hall instantly darkened. It turned out the Empress wanted to make an issue out of this matter.
"Mother, Han'er believes Li'er is innocent."
Jun Mohan said to the Empress with a firm expression. Although he also disliked his consort being alone with other men, he always believed that Leng Ruo Li was not the type of frivolous and promiscuous woman.
"Han'er, you were not together during those days, how do you know if Consort Leng has not performed marital duties with someone else?"
The Empress looked at Jun Mohan and Leng Ruo Li, covering her mouth with a silk scarf and chuckling lightly.
"Empress, one can eat anything, but one must not speak carelessly!"
Upon hearing this, Jun Mohan stopped calling her "Mother Empress" out of politeness. His face immediately turned grim, and the cold light emanating from his purple eyes was like two blades, cleaving towards the Empress.
The people in the hall, hearing Jun Mohan's unfriendly tone and seeing his somber expression, knew that Jun Mohan was about to get angry.
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li smiled and said to Jun Mohan, "My Lord, if your consort has truly lost her purity, what will you do to me?"
Jun Mohan was rendered speechless upon hearing this. In Tian Wu Kingdom, women who lost their chastity were subject to punishment, especially royal women. They would undergo more than a dozen court punishments without any assistance, and would die or become crippled. If Li'er had truly lost her purity, what should he do?
However, it was precisely because of Jun Mohan's hesitation that Leng Ruo Li's heart grew cold.
She secretly thought: See, this is the man who always said he cared about me, but in the end, he couldn't overcome societal judgment. Fortunately, I wasn't too deeply involved in this relationship.
She sighed inwardly.
"Empress, I, Leng Ruo Li, have always been pure. If you do not believe me, you can have someone verify the virginity mark on my arm."
After speaking, Leng Ruo Li revealed the red mark on her arm for the Empress to see, and also showed it to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and Jun Mohan.
"If no one believes, the Empress can also ask a few old governesses to verify me." Leng Ruo Li said with a wry smile.
"There is no need for further verification!" the Empress Dowager said, stopping them on the spot.