Lián Jǐngyì, already frustrated, now found someone who provided him with an outlet for his anger.

However, it seemed he had forgotten that this was the National Teacher’s tent, not his own, but no one would dare to contradict Lián Jǐngyì at this moment.

Lián Jǐngyì stood up and walked toward the tent entrance, with Lián Mùxiū following closely behind, still holding Little Nine.

Lián Jǐngyì threw open the tent door, shouting at the person causing the commotion outside, "Who is the fool making such noise outside my tent? Do you want to die? I can make that happen!"

The woman outside seemed not to have expected the Emperor to be here. She ground her teeth in frustration. Which damned fool lied to me?

However, no matter how many reasons she had, disturbing the Emperor was a serious offense.

The woman immediately knelt, kowtowing to Lián Jǐngyì. "This concubine is afraid, I did not know the Emperor was here. I apologize for disturbing Your Majesty, please punish me."

Lián Jǐngyì looked coldly at the woman. "What? My presence is an interruption? Would it have been fine if I weren’t here and you could shout freely at the National Teacher’s place? Empress Dowager, are you telling me you didn’t know this was the National Teacher’s resting place?"

"Your Majesty, forgive me, I... I...," the Empress Dowager realized she had made a mistake in her words and now feared the consequences.

She raised her head, her eyes full of tears, looking pitiful, "Your Majesty, I understand my mistake, I just, just wanted to see you so badly. I... I truly didn’t mean to cause a disturbance."

The Empress Dowager’s words turned her disturbance into a desperate desire to see the Emperor, trying to make it sound like an act of longing for him rather than a disruption.

Little Nine, still in Lián Mùxiū’s arms, silently rolled her eyes at the Empress Dowager’s excuse. Only a fool would believe her, and at that moment, Lián Mùxiū caught her glance.

Lián Mùxiū playfully pinched Little Nine’s ear. "Even you can see through the Empress Dowager’s act, let alone the Emperor?"

Little Nine pushed his hand away, clearly annoyed. What’s with this guy? Always pinching my ears and messing with my fur! Doesn’t he know about personal boundaries?

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

In truth, Little Nine was overthinking it—Lián Mùxiū just found her fur soft and pleasant to touch and didn’t consider the gender of the little fox in his arms.

While they were having this internal battle, Lián Jǐngyì, after venting his anger, realized he might have overreacted. But now that the words were out, he couldn’t take them back. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager had provided a perfect opportunity for him to back down, so he took it.

"Since you’ve admitted your mistake, I’ll impose a small punishment. When we return to the palace, you’ll be confined to your chambers for a month," Lián Jǐngyì declared.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I accept your punishment. Thank you for your mercy," the Empress Dowager replied, relieved.

Lián Jǐngyì feigned a cough, then reached out to help the Empress Dowager up. "Get up, and don’t be so reckless next time."

"Yes, Your Majesty." As the Empress Dowager was helped up, she leaned into Lián Jǐngyì’s arms and winced. "Your Majesty, my leg hurts. It must be from kneeling. Could I rest against you for a moment?"

Her request was clearly an excuse, but would Lián Jǐngyì refuse? Despite his strong inner resistance, he couldn’t exactly say no.

Little Nine, hearing the Empress Dowager’s voice, shuddered in disgust. She could tell Lián Jǐngyì was reluctant to let her lean on him, and for some reason, she suddenly felt a bit sorry for him. He clearly didn’t like her but couldn’t refuse her. Little Nine thought, Seeing as Lián Jǐngyì and Lián Mùxiū are friends, I’ll help him out.

With that thought, Little Nine quietly slipped out of Lián Mùxiū’s arms and padded over to the Empress Dowager, who was resting in the Emperor’s embrace.

Lián Mùxiū saw Little Nine sneak up on the Empress Dowager, then extend her claws and, with precision, jabbed her nails into the Empress Dowager’s calf.

The Empress Dowager felt a sharp pain in her leg and instinctively kicked out. Although Little Nine quickly dodged, she still got a light brush on her head, collecting some dust.

Seeing that the culprit was a little fox, the Empress Dowager was furious. How dare that little thing ruin her moment with the Emperor?

"Imperial Guards! Are you all dead? Can’t you see I’ve been scratched? Why aren’t you capturing this little thing and skinning it alive?"

The guards, however, did not respond. While the Empress Dowager couldn’t see the fox, they knew this was the fox from the National Teacher’s arms, and no one dared to make a move.

The Empress Dowager, realizing that no one was responding to her commands, turned to Lián Jǐngyì. "Your Majesty?"

"Such great authority, Empress Dowager," came a calm voice.

The Empress Dowager froze and turned to see who had spoken. "National Teacher?"

"Empress Dowager, you honor me," Lián Mùxiū said with a slight bow. "How could I ever deserve such respect from you?"

"Your Majesty," the Empress Dowager turned back to Lián Jǐngyì.

Lián Jǐngyì’s face darkened once again. This Empress Dowager dares to be so arrogant in front of me. What about when I’m not around? How had he never noticed the Empress Dowager’s true nature before?

The Empress Dowager, intimidated by Lián Jǐngyì’s expression, forgot what she was going to say next. She looked helplessly at Lián Mùxiū. "National Teacher?"