Chapter 169 - The Best Defense Is Offense (2)

“Come, escort the imperial father-in-law and Patriarch Mo out of the palace,” Mo Yingyue ordered softly.

A young eunuch stepped forward and said politely, “Yes, Imperial Father-in-Law, Patriarch Mo, this way, please!”

“Hmph! Mo Yingyue, you will regret it.” Patriarch Mo snorted coldly and walked away without looking back. He didn’t believe that an empress without the support of her family could last long!

“How can I have a useless son like you? You can’t even control your own daughter!” Patriarch Mo kept reprimanding his eldest son as they left the palace.

“I’m sorry, Father.” Mo Changhai lowered his head and stopped talking. What could he say? One was his father, and the other was his daughter. Alas! It was all his fault!

“Imperial Father-in-Law, Patriarch Mo, what a coincidence. I didn’t expect to meet you here.” A surprised voice sounded in their ears.

“Oh, it’s Prime Minister Fu. Haha, what a coincidence!” Patriarch Mo greeted with a smile, revealing a happy expression.

“Hello, Prime Minister Fu,” Mo Changhai said politely.

“Haha, are you here to see the empress?” Prime Minister Fu asked even though he knew.

“Yes, I had something to discuss with the empress,” Patriarch Mo said indifferently, his expression unreadable.

“Is it related to the Leng family?” Prime Minister Fu asked with concern.

“Yes.” Patriarch Mo nodded helplessly. This was no longer a secret in Phoenix City. The Mo family had almost no place left in Phoenix City because of Leng Ruoxue’s words.

“Alas! The Leng family has always been overbearing, but they’ve really gone a little overboard this time. Your Mo family is related by marriage to the imperial family, so how can the Leng family be so unreasonable? It’s not a big deal. It’s just a conflict between children. Why implicate the family!” Prime Minister Fu said with indignation, as if it was his family that had been squeezed out by others. The expression on his face was sincere!

“That’s right. I also know that the Leng family isn’t to be trifled with, but I didn’t expect the Leng family to have so much power. Now, almost no family dares to have any dealings with our Mo family anymore.” Patriarch Mo had a worried look on his face. At this moment, he had already regarded Prime Minister Fu as a bosom friend and was venting his bitterness.

“It’s all because the Artificer Association is supporting her! You know those fence-sitters wouldn’t dare to offend the people of the Artificer Association!” Prime Minister Fu’s face was full of sympathy. But in the depths of his heart, he was so jealous that he was about to go crazy. How can the Leng family have such good luck? The people of the Artificer Association actually treat them so favorably…

“Alas! Is our Mo family really going to decline?” Patriarch Mo was very unwilling. Their Mo family was about to rise up. How could they perish just like this?

“In fact, that’s not necessarily so. As long as your Mo family can find a powerful backer, the Leng family won’t be able to do anything to you,” Prime Minister Fu suggested.

“Backer? How can we find a backer in a situation like this? Moreover, I don’t have the means to do so,” Patriarch Mo said somewhat gloomily.

Their Mo family might be ranked among the top families in the Eastern Lagoon Empire, but it was far from being comparable to the Five Great Families and imperial families. For example, take the Feng family, one of the Five Great Families in the Eastern Lagoon Empire. If he wanted to visit the Feng family, he wouldn’t be able to meet the patriarch at all. It would already be considered very good if he had an elder to receive him.

“I have a way, but I don’t know if you will be interested,” Prime Minister Fu said with uncertainty, a deep scheming look flashing in his eyes.

“Minister Fu, please tell me about it,” Patriarch Mo said anxiously. He wouldn’t give up as long as there was a glimmer of hope now.

“It’s not convenient to talk here. Come with me.” Prime Minister Fu looked around cautiously.

“Okay. Changhai, go back first. I have something to discuss with Prime Minister Fu,” Patriarch Mo ordered his eldest son.

“Yes, Father.” Mo Changhai looked at Prime Minister Fu and then obediently left.

Then Patriarch Mo and Prime Minister Fu left the palace together…

…

General Leng’s mansion, Listening Snow Pavilion…

“Miss, Huangfu Lian and Huo Qing are here.” Lü Tao knocked on Leng Ruoxue’s door and reported softly.

“Got it,” Leng Ruoxue answered from her room.

“Xue’er, we’re not done playing yet,” Freak, who was playing Go with Leng Ruoxue, said with some dissatisfaction.

“Visitors are guests. We’ll continue later. Or you and Dongfang Yunshan can play first. I want to take a look,” Leng Ruoxue coaxed helplessly.

“I don’t want to play with him!” Freak and Dongfang Yun, who had been watching by the side, shouted in unison. Both of their faces had a look of disdain.

“Then come with me to meet the guests!” Leng Ruoxue glanced at the two of them and then directly left the room.

“Xue’er, wait for me!” Freak hurriedly followed.

“I’m coming too!” Dongfang Yun was unwilling to be left behind and chased after them.

Leng Ruoxue’s group of three arrived at the living room and saw her grandfather greeting Huangfu Lian and Huo Qing.

“Grandpa!” Leng Ruoxue greeted her grandfather and then turned to look at Huo Qing and Huangfu Lian.

“Why are the two of you together?” Leng Ruoxue asked curiously. Do they have a good relationship now?

“Huangfu Lian said he wanted to see you, so I came along,” Huo Qing explained. He hadn’t dared to come to the Leng family residence since that day, and he only came today because of Huangfu Lian. Otherwise, he was afraid that Ruoxue wouldn’t let him in if he came alone.

“Oh.” Leng Ruoxue’s gaze turned to Huangfu Lian. This gentle and handsome young crown prince shouldn’t just be here to see her, right?

“I brought you some specialties from the Southern Dusk Empire. My mother asked me to bring them to you,” Huangfu Lian explained honestly. He didn’t even dare to look Leng Ruoxue in the eye, and his cheeks were slightly red.

Looking at this shy crown prince, Leng Qingtian couldn’t help but sigh. A man like this wouldn’t be able to pursue his granddaughter. It seemed that the thoughts of the Southern Dusk’s empress were wasted.

“Please thank the empress for her kind intentions on my behalf, Crown Prince,” Leng Ruoxue said politely.

“Okay.” Huangfu Lian nodded and then fell silent.