bookbashuk Page 114
Page 114
Ling Yun shook his fan, seeing through Wen Tailai's broken heart, but he made no comment and simply nodded.
When Wen Tailai saw him nod, he clasped his hands in farewell, said goodbye, and then turned and left.
"Fourth Brother Wen!" Luo Bing couldn't help but call out. Wen Tailai, with his back to him, showed a hint of joy on his face.
Bing'er still has feelings for me, it's not like she's completely bewitched by that kid Murong Fu!
But before he could turn around in delight, he heard Luo Bing say, "Fourth Brother, please don't reveal this when you go back."
Wen Tailai's body trembled, then he staggered away using his light-footed skills.
After he left, Ling Yun laughed heartily, went to Luo Bing's side, hugged the beauty in his arms and kissed her: "Bing'er, does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore..." Luo Bing lay in his arms with a blissful expression, making Ling Yun's smile even wider.
"Bing'er, I actually have a medicated ointment that can help relieve your symptoms. Please come with me."
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Lingyun didn't return to the palace until it was almost dark after he had been entangled with such a beauty.
He can now cross the palace in his true form without any scruples. In order to avoid attracting attention and not to make special arrangements, Kangxi withdrew all the wanted notices on the surface, but secretly ordered the arrest of certain people.
There was one place in the palace he had never visited: the Cining Palace.
This is the residence of Empress Dowager Xiaokangzhang, the mother of Emperor Kangxi.
He didn't go to this place mainly because he wanted to see if the Empress Dowager in this world really had a problem.
However, despite his unbridled behavior in the palace, the Empress Dowager did not say anything, but instead remained hidden in the deep palace and refused to meet with him.
Now that Lingyun has turned the Qing Dynasty palace into his own backyard, he naturally has to go and see the last "pure land".
When he arrived at Cining Palace, several eunuchs and palace maids saw him and came forward to bow.
"Young Master Ling, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is preparing to take a bath."
Ling Yun smiled and unfolded his folding fan: "Alright, you don't need to go and inform them. Just take me there."
"Whoo!"
A palace maid led Ling Yun directly to the Empress Dowager's bathing room. The Empress Dowager had just dismissed two palace maids who were attending to her bathing and was standing with her back to the outside through a gauze curtain.
Ling Yun walked lightly, gesturing for the palace maids to go first, while he carefully examined the Empress Dowager.
Name: Mao Dongzhu
Age: 37, ☆
[Value: 169, D]
[Rating: 93]
[Combat Strength: B+]
[Affection: Falling in Love (Beautiful and Friendly Attraction Up+)]
Sure enough, this was not Emperor Kangxi's biological mother at all, but an undercover agent from the Divine Dragon Cult, a typical fake Empress Dowager!
However, it is truly rare for an undercover agent to be able to do this well, so convincingly that it is indistinguishable from the real thing.
Ling Yun's heart stirred, and he stepped forward to lift the curtain.
The moment the curtain was lifted, Mao Dongzhu sensed something was wrong. She turned around alertly and then froze.
"Murong Fu!"
“It is I.” Ling Yun came to face her.
"You!" Mao Dongzhu, her face flushed, said, "Murong Fu, if you step down now, I can forgive and forget!"
"Even at this point, you still haven't grasped the situation, Your Majesty!"
Ling Yun approached her with a cold smile, staring at her face: "I've turned all your spies and confidants against me, you must have noticed something's wrong by now."
Mao Dongzhu held her breath. Just as Ling Yun had said, she had indeed noticed some changes in her trusted confidants, but she wasn't sure. Because she herself had risen from the undercover, she had been extremely careful in cultivating her own confidants; it was something that couldn't be won over with money or empty promises. But Ling Yun had used some method to completely sideline her in just a few days!
"Murong Fu, your sorcery can't work forever, can it? I don't believe our Great Qing will be so easily manipulated by you!"
"Speaking of 'my Great Qing' all the time, it's truly laughable!"
Ling Yun grabbed her small hand and pulled her into his arms amidst her gasp. With his other hand, he held her chin and looked at her defiant face: "Mao Dongzhu, if I were to tell anyone about your identity as a member of the Divine Dragon Sect, how long do you think you'd live?"
Mao Dongzhu's pupils contracted slightly, but she still said firmly, "You think your sorcery will work on me?"
"Alright then, the Divine Dragon Cult is plotting a rebellion, wreaking havoc in the martial world, and posing a great threat to the Qing Dynasty. I will send troops to quell it. I'm sure Her Majesty the Empress Dowager will be pleased, won't she?"
"Murong Fu, you..."
Mao Dong trembled with anger, but she knew her strength was indeed inferior to Ling Yun's. She had secretly observed the night Ao Bai was killed, and even with Hai Dafu and Chen Jinnan combined, she wouldn't be a match for him. Yet Ling Yun had subdued Ao Bai with just a few lightly flicked iron pellets—such strength was simply astonishing!
"So, since Your Majesty does not wish to see the Divine Dragon Sect destroyed, you should know what to do, right?"
Chapter 280 Returning to Yan State
Mao Dongzhu struggled internally for a moment, but finally resigned herself to her fate, sighing softly, "Murong Fu, do you really intend to release the Divine Dragon Sect?"
“My real name is Ling Yun.” The young man sniffed her face lightly. “And what I said doesn’t count.”
The woman was pulled to her feet by him, and the young man said with a wicked smile, "That depends on how the Empress Dowager behaves."
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As Ling Yun expected, the real Empress Dowager had died long ago; otherwise, he would have really wanted to experience being Kangxi's stepfather for a while.
But since everyone has turned to ashes, there's no point in pursuing it further. He glanced at Mao Dongzhu, who was slumped on the bed, and tidied his clothes: "Empress Dowager, now that you are the Empress Dowager of the Great Qing Dynasty, some things from the past should be severed. As for the Divine Dragon Sect, this evil organization that wreaks havoc on the country and the martial arts world should have been eradicated long ago."
Even though Mao Dongzhu had become his woman, Ling Yun still maintained a zero-tolerance attitude towards certain things.
"Lingyun, I'll talk to them. Give me some time."
Mao Dongzhu still had feelings for the Divine Dragon Cult, so he quickly got up and said.
Ling Yun held her pretty face with his hand and said calmly, "Considering how hard you worked just now, I can turn a blind eye to some things, but if your idiot leader has another episode, I will definitely give him a righteous punishment!"
"Yes……"
After leaving Cining Palace, Lingyun encountered Princess Jianning, who had been waiting for a long time with a pout.
"Jianning, what are you doing here?"
"Oh dear, Lingyun!"
Jianning threw herself into his arms, hugged him and kissed him several times, then pouted and said, "These damned eunuchs and palace maids said you were discussing important matters with the Empress Dowager inside, and they wouldn't let me in!"
"I've finished discussing it, let's go."
"Mmm!" Jianning responded, then wrinkled her little nose. "You smell so strongly of the Empress Dowager!"
"Of course, I just had a long talk with her, so it's normal for things to have a bit of an awkward atmosphere."
"is it?"
Jianning wasn't stupid. Since she was Lingyun's woman, she naturally knew some of Lingyun's secrets, especially his amazing ability to win over women.
"By the way, Sister Azhu has finished her bath. Why don't you eat something first, so you don't perform poorly later!"
"You little brat, you really think I won't teach you a lesson, huh!"
"Ouch~" Jianning cried out coquettishly, "Good man, hit me a couple more times!"
"I'll give you a good beating when we get back!"
Ling Yun slapped her again before grabbing Jian Ning and running quickly toward her place.
After a night of revelry in the palace, Lingyun gave Kangxi some instructions in the morning and then met with Luo Bing, who lived outside, along with Azhu.
"Young Master, I think I'd better not go back yet." A'Zhu was pulled into his arms and fed him a bite of grape. "In the palace, I still have Sister Jianning with me, and I can also go out of the palace to find Sister Luo Bing and help you pass on messages."
"I actually planned to take both of you back with me, in a carriage or sedan chair, so it would be a bit slower."
"No need, Lingyun." Luo Bing gently kissed his cheek. "I'll stay here and keep watch for you, so that the brothers and sisters of the Red Flower Society don't lose their lives in vain."
"Alright." Ling Yun embraced the two beauties for a moment, then stood up. "I'm going back to Suzhou this time, and then I'll be heading to Western Xia. I probably won't have time to come back for a while. In the meantime, you two keep an eye on the capital for me. If anything happens to the Red Flower Society or Kangxi, and you need any help, just send a message to Suzhou."
"Ok!"
Be careful on the road!
Ling Yun smiled gently and strode out of the city.
The snow was already an inch deep underfoot, and Ling Yun put away his fan. In some situations, waving a fan is pretentious, but waving a fan outside in the snow would make others think he's a fool.
As he reached the woods outside the city, a horse that blended seamlessly into the snow came galloping towards him.
Feidian was incredibly affectionate with Lingyun after seeing him, constantly rubbing against him as if she wanted to stick to him forever.
"Hiden, what have you been eating these past few days?"
Upon hearing this, Fei Dian immediately began to report the situation.
"Hiss... hiss~"
"Oh, I didn't understand at all."
Ling Yun laughed heartily, patted his horse's head, and mounted Feidian, heading towards Suzhou.
The next day at noon, under the bright sun, the servants who were cleaning the simplified version of the palace in Suzhou suddenly heard the sound of hurried horse footsteps.
Riding horses is prohibited near the palace. The guards frowned and gathered around, wanting to see who was so reckless as to run wild near the Yan Kingdom's palace.
When they saw that familiar figure, they immediately knelt down and shouted in unison, "Welcome, our King! Long live our King!"
Look how synchronized the voices are!
Ling Yun enjoyed the emperor's treatment for a while, but he scoffed at these dogmas, dismounted, and came before the crowd.
"Is everything alright while I was away?"
"Your Majesty, apart from Consort Rong finding impersonating Your Majesty too cumbersome and choosing to attend court in her true form, everything is fine. Consort Ning's pregnancy is progressing steadily..."
The leader of this group of guards had been deeply brainwashed by Ling Yun; he was absolutely loyal and knew certain secrets.
"Okay, you guys keep an eye on it."
Ling Yun flattered Fei Dian, who then strolled around the palace area, while the young man quietly slipped into the palace.
The palace was peaceful and serene, with many palace maids moving back and forth between the courtyards. However, upon seeing Ling Yun, they all knelt down in surprise.
"Alright, alright, you guys go ahead with your work, just don't tell them I'm back."
"Yes." The palace maids here were all handpicked. The powerful families of the major cities in the Yan Kingdom tried every means to bring their beautiful daughters into the palace, hoping to conceive Ling Yun's child and thus rise to prominence.
His plan to recruit beauties from all over the world is underway, and his talent show is in full swing.
He first arrived at Ning Zhongze's courtyard. The construction of this new palace was far too costly and exhausting, requiring far too much manpower and resources from his own Yan Kingdom. So he simply had that brat Kangxi fund it and dispatch a team to Suzhou Imperial City on a chosen day, using the Qing Dynasty's money to build his palace—how wonderful!
As he arrived in the courtyard, he happened to see Yue Lingshan running out carelessly, bumping into him.
"oops!"
Yue Lingshan was about to fall backward, but Ling Yun caught her and pulled her into his arms, giving her a good kiss.
"Lingyun!" Yue Lingshan immediately smelled his unique, refreshing fragrance and hugged his waist tightly, refusing to let go. "You're back already! Where's Sister Azhu?"
"A'Zhu has stayed in the capital, and everything is under control now."
Hearing Lingyun's words, Yue Lingshan felt inexplicably relieved. She buried her head in his arms and said in a muffled voice, "Mother misses you so much. She touches her belly every day and tells me about you."
"Well, don't tell her. I'll give my teacher's wife a surprise."
"Okay, hehe!"
Yue Lingshan let go of her. She had originally planned to go play with Huang Rong and the others, and now she was even more determined to pass on the news of his return.
Ling Yun walked into the side room and saw Ning Zhongze sitting in a chair through the thick curtain, with several palace maids serving her.
"Sister Ning."
As soon as Ling Yun entered, the several observant palace maids knelt down one after another, and then the young man told them to leave first.
"Yun'er!" Ning Zhongze tried to stand up, but Ling Yun pulled her back down to sit.