C32

Luo Shang was startled, and quickly avoided his gaze. She only felt that her vision was blurry, why would that cold and cruel man smile at her. Before she could react, she heard a beautiful sound, followed by a voice that pierced through the crowd.

"When the empress dowager arrived, everyone kowtowed and —"

The leader of the eunuchs shouted loudly. He walked to the palanquin about two meters in front of it, bent his body, and backed off to the side. His gray temples and beard showed his age. He swung the horsetail whisk in his hand, and a smile appeared under the wrinkles on his face.

Everyone knelt down, and Leng Shaoyu held onto Luo Shang's hand without hesitation and walked over.

The maidservant beside the palanquin carefully placed the stools down, and then moved back to the two sides of the sedan. As the curtains were raised, an old nanny supported an elegant, graceful, and slightly broad old lady out of the palanquin.

This old lady was the one that everyone called the empress dowager's Lady Jinghe, the Imperial Concubine of the previous emperor, and the only woman who had survived the political crisis of that year.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.

"This son greets mother empress." Leng Shaoyu half-knelt in front of the empress dowager, bent his body, and gave his all the pointers possible. He had always been extremely respectful towards Lady Jinghe. Ever since he was nine years old when his mother suddenly died, Lady Jinghe had always treated him like a child. At the same time, he had long since treated Lady Jinghe as his biological mother.

Luo Shang waved her sleeves and knelt down together with Leng Shaoyu.

"My son, quickly get up — —" Lady Jinghe's eyes were filled with a soft light. Other than the love of a mother for her child, there was nothing else.

She hurried over and lifted the half-kneeling man with Rocky's slender jade hands. Then he said to the crowd, "Stand up, don't kneel."

According to the etiquette of Wu Zhou, if the empress dowager had not spoken, no one was allowed to stand up.

Only, the empress dowager had a very good temper. Hearing her say this, everyone else stood up as well.

Lady Jinghe saw that the lady dressed in luxurious clothing beside Leng Shaoyu had not said a word, and did not raise his head either.

"This must be Shao Yu's wife. Raise your head and let This Dowager have a closer look."

Hearing her words, Luo Shang was startled, she then slowly raised her head, the baht string hanging by her ear gently swaying.

She said gently, "This subject's daughter greets the empress dowager —"

She was a daughter of the Luo Family, and not a relative of the Imperial Family, so she could not call the empress dowager mother. Moreover, Luo Shang knew this in her heart, so the relationship between her and Leng Shaoyu would naturally not be broken.

Right at the moment when Luo Shang raised her head, Lady Jinghe suddenly opened her eyes wide. Her originally joyous and gentle eyes were now filled with shock.

She looked at the woman in front of her. She had a high nose bridge, a pair of raised eyebrows, and a pair of icy, clear, jade eyes. Just like that man, her own sister.

Luo Shang felt that the empress dowager's expression was a little abnormal as she called out, "Esteemed Empress Dowager —"

Hearing Luo Shang's voice, Lady Jinghe recovered from her shock. Maybe she was old, and this girl was the daughter of the Luo Family.

Lady Jinghe shook her head. What she owed her sister was something that she would never be able to repay in her entire life.

"We, Shao Yu, are truly wealthy, to be able to marry such a beautiful woman." The empress dowager's Lady Jinghe said while smiling as she lightly pressed Luo Shang's slender hand into her own palm.

There were a few strands of white ribbon wrapped around her wrist. There were also a few shallow scars on the back of her slender and fair hand.

Lady Jinghe frowned, and intentionally asked: "What's going on?"

Luo Shang immediately retracted her hand, her indifferent eyes were like clear water, she looked at the man beside her and only laughed lightly. "To reply Esteemed Empress Dowager, I was the one who insisted on trying to be brave. I accidentally cut my hand in half by the vines. It'll be fine."

"It's good that you're fine. Since you've already married to the King Jin, then you're a member of the Imperial Family. From now on, you can address me as mother like Shao Yu." Lady Jinghe liked her from the bottom of her heart.

Luo Shang was stunned, her beautiful eyes looked at the Lady Jinghe who had a face full of kindness, but she did not know how to respond.

The man by her side unhurriedly opened his mouth and said, "Do as the empress said!"

Luo Shang nodded and replied tenderly, "Yes, mother."

"Alright, look at me, you old fool. Don't just stand here. Go in." Lady Jinghe's face lit up. She was already fifty years old, but the wrinkles on her face were minimal. She must have been a beautiful woman when she was young.

Luo Shang saw two mama helping the Lady Jinghe up the stairs, then walking into the Duke Palace with many maidservant following behind them.

Her dull eyes slowly sunk. She didn't know why, but when she looked at the empress dowager, she would always have a very intimate feeling. It was as if a bird that had been flying for a long time had finally found a place to stay.

"What are you thinking?"

The cold voice sounded from her back, and only now did Luo Shang remember that Leng Shaoyu was still here.

"It's fine …"

"Since you're fine, then stop with your ugly expression." The words he said were cold and without any emotion. The man's words were filled with needles that could pierce Luo Shang's heart no matter what.

Indeed, he was still him. That knowing smile just now was just an illusion.

"Come with me!" Leng Shaoyu grabbed the woman's wrist and walked into the Duke's Palace, forgetting about the wound on her wrist.

Luo Shang bit her lips as he dragged her, enduring the pain on her wrist, without struggling at all, and followed him in.

Just as he stepped off the mansion's stage, a small body pounced in front of Luo Shang.

A maidservant came running over from afar, panting heavily as she said, "servant deserves to die. I didn't have good impressions of little prince and rammed into the wangfei, the prince."

Luo Shang just noticed that the child in front of him was looking at her. His appearance was really adorable, with a round face and a pair of large black eyes that looked like grapes. She looked very innocent and lively.

"little prince was actually this mischievous." Luo Shang said smilingly as she half-bent over, lowered her head and looked at the child in front of him.

Being stared at by her in such a way, the child's face immediately flushed red again. He hurriedly threw himself in front of Leng Shaoyu, but accidentally saw a thick palm at the side, and couldn't help but cry out.

"Blood, big brother's hand is bleeding."

Leng Shaoyu raised his eyes and slightly tilted his palm. Looking at the redness on his palm, he frowned and squinted his eyes, a pair of amber black eyes that possessed a deterrent power stared fixedly at the woman beside him.

Was this woman doing this on purpose? Was she using this method to maintain her pride?

"Send the little prince to the empress dowager." Leng Shaoyu said indifferently to the maidservant kneeling at his side.

Sensing that the prince's expression was abnormal, maidservant hurriedly stood up and forcefully pulled away the noisy children.

A warm breeze blew against her face, stirring the soft hair by her ears. The leaves on the trees rustled, and the chirping of the birds on the branches brought life to everything.

"Why didn't you say anything just now?" A deep male voice sounded beside her.

Luo Shang knew what he meant. He wanted to say that she was clearly in pain just now, why did she pretend that nothing had happened?

She raised her gaze and looked at him, saying indifferently, "Even if I did open my mouth, would Your Highness let me go?"

Even though he knew that his wrist was injured, he still forcefully dragged her into the manor. Even though he knew that her body had not fully recovered, he still mocked her with malicious words. Even if she had cried out in pain, it was unlikely that this man would have let her go and let her go.

"Of course not." Leng Shaoyu sneered, and walked towards her step by step.

With every step he took, Luo Shang unconsciously took a small step back. She was afraid of his ice-cold aura, afraid of his ruthless and merciless methods. In the end, she had no way out, so she stuck close to the horn on the stone table.

Leng Shaoyu embraced her slender waist and looked down on her. He admired her beauty today.

Seeing the man's beautiful and charming face approaching, Luo Shang immediately struggled out.

"What are you doing, let go —" She couldn't move her hands, and she didn't have much strength. She could only put her hands in front of her and resist the man's broad chest.

Seeing her so frightened, Leng Shaoyu could not help but chuckle, then sat down on the stone chair beside her, and pulled her into his embrace.

"Leng Shaoyu, what are you doing? Let me go — —" Luo Shang struggled non-stop. She was in the prince's mansion's courtyard and there were a lot of people coming and going. Although no one was passing by now, there was no guarantee that anyone would come.

What did this man want to do now?

Seeing that she was struggling weakly, the man simply lost interest and grabbed her hand. Then, he slowly removed the bloody gauze covering her wrist.

He slowly took out a very small and delicate medicine bottle from his sleeve, and raised his eyebrows as he looked at Luo Shang. With the corner of his mouth raised, he said provocatively: "What do you think I would do to you?"

Seeing that the woman in his embrace had a blush on her originally white and snow-white face, Leng Shaoyu smiled charmingly, purposely getting close to her ear to listen, and muttered: "Still, what do you want me to do to you …"

Her beauty today could indeed cause the sun to dance in the sky, but it wasn't enough to move his heart.

"…" Luo Shang simply turned her head away.

A large palm rested on her slender, lily-white hand. The man's strength was very light as he carefully smeared the fine powder on Luo Shang's wrist, one after another, bit by bit.

Every one of his delicate movements could not help but make the woman sitting in his embrace sad. Luo Shang looked at the outline of the man's face in front of him.

"Acting well in this show is what you should do."

His indifferent words pulled Luo Shang back to reality. Leng Shaoyu's gentleness at this moment was merely a play between them, a short farce …