CHAPTER 718: CHAPTER 271: EMPRESS: I REFUSE TO BE A SISTER-IN-LAW! THE HOLY DAUGHTER’S GRATITUDE!

The Empress’s expression stiffened slightly, then she recovered as usual, and said indifferently, "I have no impression of it at all, and as you said, it was just talk in a dream, nothing to be taken seriously."

"Even so, isn’t the dream a bit too strange?" Chu Yanli curiously asked, "Plus, you haven’t answered my question yet; who exactly is the little thief you mentioned?"

"How would I know? Perhaps it was a dream about thieves breaking into the palace." The Empress’s expression appeared slightly unnatural.

"Is that so?"

Chu Yanli scrutinized her closely.

She always felt that since returning, the Empress seemed a bit strange, as if there was something she was hiding from her.

The Empress didn’t want to dwell on the topic, and while putting on her clothes, she said aloud, "What are you here for? Isn’t what happened last night embarrassing enough?"

"What’s embarrassing about it?"

Chu Yanli shook her head and said, "The key to overcoming transformation lies with Chen Mo. If I can ignore the erosion of the Dragon Qi and fully grasp the ’momentum,’ even Yu Youhan might be challenged!"

The Empress frowned.

Although she was skeptical about the statement "completely mastering Dragon Qi can go head-to-head with Yu Youhan," she was indeed aware of the power of Dragon Qi.

As the embodiment of the will of heaven and earth, Dragon Qi not only affects ancestral temples and state affairs but truly possesses the ability to change reality!

It is said that during the dynasty change, the founding Grand Ancestor was endowed with the Red Dragon, and with a whisper of truth, mountains collapsed like sand, and where his gaze fell, thousands of miles of blue waves evaporated to nothing!

Even though this may be an exaggeration, the reality is that during the Grand Ancestor’s reign, the Great Yuan enjoyed peace across all seas, harmony in rivers, and foreign enemies dared not invade.

"You should know there are only three things in my heart over the years."

"Suppress the Southern Barbarians, purge the royal court, and eradicate the Gate Valve."

Chu Yanli’s eyes burned like scorching stars, and she said, "And all of this relies on the support of Dragon Qi. It’s not just for me; it’s for the Great Yuan!"

The Empress bit her lip and said, "Even so, there must be a basic bottom line, right? You cannot impose such a responsibility on Chen Mo, nor use such despicable methods!"

Chu Yanli frowned and said, "How was I despicable?"

"First, intimidating him with power; when Chen Mo refused, you brought him to the sleeping quarters, got him drunk, and then forcibly pushed him down... Aren’t such means vile?" The Empress glared at her, her tone tinged with frustration.

If she had arrived a little later last night, they both would have gone too far!

"You may have misunderstood; I didn’t intend to share a bed with him." Chu Yanli waved her hand and said, "I was just curious about his body structure and wanted to touch his Root Bone only."

"Root Bone?"

The Empress was skeptical.

But upon thinking about it, it made sense; although Chu Yanli was uninhibited, she seemed uninitiated in romantic relations between men and women; otherwise, how could she remain single all these years?

"But, speaking of..."

Chu Yanli seemed to recall something, her eyes momentarily losing focus, and lightly said, "Talking to Chen Mo last night sparked my interest in him; perhaps I should get to know him better."

?

Get to know him better?

Hearing this, the Empress suddenly became tense again.

If Chu Yanli truly took to Chen Mo and wanted to invite him to be Prince Consort, how was she, the royal sister-in-law, to respond?

Thinking of Chen Mo calling her ’sister-in-law’ in the future, the Empress shivered.

"If it truly comes to that point, I’ll have to lay my cards on the table! Embarrassing or not, it’s better than handing over the little thief!" She secretly made up her mind.

"All right, I just came over to tell you that I won’t interfere with Chu Heng’s affairs."

Chu Yanli paused and said, "But it’s hard to say with Wu Lie’s side, especially with the grand festival approaching; he surely wouldn’t want to see this happen."

"Solving this matter won’t be easy; remind Chen Mo to be prepared in advance."

With that said, a flash of gold, the figure scattered like smoke and dust.

The room was quiet for a moment; the Empress sighed softly, tidying her turbulent mood, ready to leave.

However, after walking a few steps, she sensed something abnormal, feeling a tingling, slightly painful sensation...

She approached the floor mirror, lifted her skirt, and looked sideways, seeing her fair skin still slightly red; although the fingerprint outline had faded, it was clearly hit!

"It turns out it was not a dream; everything last night was real?"

"Wait..."

"Was Yu Youhan tied up with rope also real?!"

The Empress’s mind became a bit muddled.

Given Yu Youhan’s capabilities, how could Chen Mo capture her and even spanking her over the small bed?

This was a bit too far-fetched...

Dong—

The echoing sound of a distant bell resonated outside the hall, approaching noon.

The Empress shook her head, no longer dwelling on it, arranged her clothes, and pushed the door open to walk out of the room.

Upon arriving at the inner hall, she found Sun Senior Palace Lady waiting there, the table beside piled with memorials, stacked like a small mountain, roughly over fifty volumes.

"Your Highness, you’re up."

"Mm."

"You didn’t attend the morning court; Eunuch Jin collected the memorials submitted by ministers, and I’ve roughly reviewed them. About eighty percent are impeaching Chen Mo..."

In fact, even without Sun Senior Palace Lady’s words, the Empress could guess, today’s court was certainly chaotic.

The Sky Scale Guard’s bloodbath at Prince Yu Mansion, even imprisoning the Princely Heir in the Imperial Prison, was indeed too big an incident, certain to cause tremors among the court and public.

However, regardless of how excited those ministers get, ultimately how this matter is resolved depends on the attitude of Qianji Palace...