“And how are you going to repay me for saving your life again?” Mo Qingli asked indifferently . However, if one were to look closer, they would have noticed the corners of her mouth were curled up in the faint hint of smile .

To treat such a small fox like this, wasn’t this a bit too much?

The small fox was unable to speak . It could only pitifully mew in her lap, acting spoiled . It’s current appearance really made one want to cherish it dearly .

In the blink of an eye, the Empress’s birthday festivities loomed overhead . These days, Mu Tianlang had disappeared to who-knows-where, and no one had caught wind of even his shadow . Mo Qingli sent out people to find him, to no avail . She couldn’t help but feel resentful — he was always like this, disappearing without a trace .

After his argument with Mo Qingli that day, Feng Chenling had packed up and returned to his father’s family . Out of worry, Mo Qingli secretly dispatched Yue Yao to watch over his well-being . Yue Yao reported that Feng Chenling seemed to be doing extremely well . Every day, he ate and dressed plentifully, and even seemed to have become on good terms with Mo Qinghan .

Hearing this, Mo Qingli could only give an indifferent smile .  Fine… let it be this way then!

Mo Qinghan wasn’t one who easily let go of opportunities . The moment she heard the news about Feng Chenling returning back to his father’s family, she immediately headed there as well to meet him . She was extremely courteous and attentive, making Feng Chenling think: Perhaps all the rumors about her are wrong . Actually, she’s a very gentle and kind person .

By the time the Empress’s birthday festivities were around the corner, Feng Chenling felt anxiety build up in his heart . He didn’t know if Mo Qingli would send people to pick him up, and found himself almost looking forward to it .

Mo Qinghan was extremely intelligent . She had deduced that she would need to treat Feng Chenling differently from how she treated other men, and had thusly changed her tactics when pursuing him .

Feng Chenling was the type of person who looked weak on the surface, but was actually extremely stubborn on the inside . For someone like him, only the appeas.e.m.e.nt strategy would work .

Of course, when Mo Qinghan went to find Feng Chenling, she never forgot to tell Mo Qingli every new development . Sometimes, she would even add some extra spice to the story to improve its flavor .

As Mo Qingli prepared to leave for the palace, the men in her residence were already waiting for her . The cold-looking Xiaoyao Yunyan was accompanied by the smiling Gu Yueming .

Seeing the empty s.p.a.ce by their side, Mo Qingli thought back to the Full Moon festival . As she remembered the memories of sneaking bashful glances at Feng Chenling, her heart began to feel increasingly desolate .

“Princess, should this servant invite Consort Feng?” Yue Yao asked quietly, sensing Mo Qingli’s s.h.i.+ft in mood .

Feng Chenling’s distrustful expression once again appeared in Mo Qingli’s mind . A self-decrepitating smile formed on her face .

“There’s no need . Let’s go!”

She stepped onto the palanquin .

Ge Yueming pulled a sour-looking Xiaoyao Yunyan forward, muttering, “Let’s go . Don’t throw a tantrum!”

Xiaoyao Yunyan gave a cold harrumph, but followed Ge Yueming onto the palanquin nevertheless .

Inside the palanquin, Mo Qingli lowered her head and played with the small fox in her embrace . Xiaoyao Yunyan kept his gaze stubbornly fixated to the side of the wall, and it was impossible to discern his current mood .

Ge Yueming looked at Xiaoyao Yunyan, and then back at Mo Qingli . He scratched his head, feeling that the atmosphere inside the palanquin was somewhat awkward .

However, he didn’t know how to break the tense atmosphere . Just as Ge Yueming nearly pulled out his earlobes thinking of ways to make the two people in front of him talk, the small fox in Mo Qingli’s lap suddenly leaped up and threw itself at Xiaoyao Yunyan .

Before anyone could react, the small fox had already clambered its way onto Xiaoyao Yunyan’s shoulder . When it saw the faint markings still on Xiaoyao Yunyan’s neck¹, its eyes turned red with anger . It brandished its paws, clawing at Xiaoyao Yunyan .

Another wound appeared on Xiaoyao Yunyan’s neck . He finally reacted, reaching up to his neck, grabbing the small fox, and throwing it violently against the floor .

The small fox regained its footing and hissed defiantly . Its fur hackled, and it seemed ready to leap up and attack again at any moment .

Mo Qingli didn’t expect the small fox to become feral . She stepped forward, grabbing the small fox by its collar .

Coldly, she said, “Do you want to get cooked?”

Hearing this, the small fox quivered in fear . Immediately, its fur returned back to its original state . It rubbed its head against Mo Qingli’s palm, acting like a spoiled child .

“Don’t act so spoiled,” Mo Qingli said, ruthlessly swatting its head . “If I’m here, you better not cause trouble . ”

The small fox looked at Xiaoyao Yunyan’s direction once more, and then released a quiet whimper . It then looked back at Mo Qingli, nodding its head in a.s.sent, as if promising that it would no longer misbehave .

When Mo Qingli’s expression softened, the small fox returned to its spot in Mo Qingli’s lap, finding a comfortable position to lie down in . From its vantage point, its two red eyes glared at Xiaoyao Yunyan with intense hatred .

Mo Qingli pressed her forehead against her hand . Was this really Leng Hanling? Why did she feel like that his new temperament was completely different? He had turned into someone completely impervious to reason — although, not that she thought about, he had never been someone who understood other people’s good intentions .

Mo Qingli thought back to the time she had saved him, and he had refused to acknowledge what she had done for him . Suddenly, her mood changed for the worse .

She looked angrily at the small fox in her lap, only to discover that it had long fallen asleep .

Ai… she could only release a long sigh .

Forget it! Forget it!! Why should she lower herself to argue with a fox?

The new injury on Xiaoyao Yunyan’s neck was extremely conspicuous . Mo Qingli took initiative to apologize: “Yunyan, I’m sorry . He’s just a… simple beast who doesn’t understand anything . Please don’t dirty yourself by trying to fight him . ”

Hearing this, Xiaoyao Yunyan immediately became furious . In the eyes of the woman in front of him, a beast was higher than him in her heart!

When he was injured and bleeding, her first reaction wasn’t to acknowledge that he was injured, wasn’t to check if his body was okay or not, but rather to tell him not to try and fight with a beast!

Hehe… Xiaoyao Yunyan coldly laughed his his heart . So all the worry that he had felt for her before was for nothing… it really was laughable now .

Xiaoyao Yunyan’s eyes looked at Mo Qingli frigidly . The distance between the two of them seemed to have grown . “Yes . ”

Mo Qingli’s original plan was to heal him with magic when he wasn’t paying attention . However, she didn’t expect that after their short exchange, Xiaoyao Yunyan would look to the side, not giving Mo Qingli any opportunity to continue the conversation .

This made Mo Qingli feel rather awkward . She couldn’t think of any way to approach him and surrept.i.tiously heal his injury .

After all, Ge Yueming already knew that she wasn’t a human, so there was no need to try and hide her actions from him .

However, Xiaoyao Yunyan’s current att.i.tude made Mo Qingli extremely puzzled . It had already been quite a while since she bit him, but his current behavior towards her was really too strange!

Frustrated, Mo Qingli decided not to speak in the end . Instead, she reclined against the palanquin, deciding to recuperate her energy instead .

Ge Yueming, met with this kind of tense atmosphere, could only sigh in helplessness… both of these people were too prideful!

Just as Ge Yueming thought that this kind of atmosphere would continue for the rest of the entire trip, the carriage suddenly stopped . Mo Qingli was suddenly thrown out of her seat and onto Xiaoyao Yunyan .

For a second, Xiaoyao Yunyan froze, before his expression became one of disgust . “Princess, please conduct yourself . ”

Mo Qingli opened her mouth, then paused when she heard Xiaoyao Yunyan’s words . Rigidly, she removed herself from him . She had never been the shameless kind of person… no, that wasn’t right, jiangs.h.i.+ .

She returned back to her original seat, then gave the small fox in her lap a few gentle pats . Her eyes raised as she quietly said, “I’ve offended you . ”

Offended me? Hehe… how many times do you think you’ve offended me~? Xiaoyao Yunyan thought to himself . The corner of his lips lifted up into a cold smile, but he didn’t speak .

Ge Yueming felt a headache appearing . These two were really…! Ai!

From outside the palanquin, Yue Yao said, “Reporting to the Princess, it’s… the G.o.dly Doctor that’s blocked the palanquin!”

Mu Tianlang?! Mo Qingli lifted an eyebrow . “Don’t mind him, continue driving!”

The not far away Mu Tianlang heard every word within the carriage . A trace of fury appeared inside his azure blue eyes .

He ignored Yue Yao’s attempts to obstruct his way . Of course, how could Yue Yao dare to seriously try and stop him? He had already saved the Princess’s life twice . Who knew if he would save her life again in the future?

Pah! Yue Yao cut off her line of thought before she really jinxed the Princess .

Mu Tianlang ripped the curtain of the palanquin to the side . However, when he saw Xiaoyao Yunyan and Ge Yueming sitting inside the palanquin as well, a blank expression appeared on his face . He hadn’t thought that there would be other men present .

After a short moment of speechlessness, his expression returned back to a raging fury .

Mo Qingli, are you the kind of woman who can’t live a day without men?!

“Mo… Qing… li!”

Mo Qingli stroked the small fox’s fur, pointedly not looking at him .

Indifferently, she said, “If there’s nothing, don’t block the road . ”

When he wanted to leave, he left . When he wanted to disappear, he disappeared . Furthermore, the gaps in between his comings and goings were a good few days every time . Did he think that her residence was an inn? Did he think that he could just come and go to his leisure, and then get angry when she felt offended?

Mo Qingli felt herself become furious as well .

Did she think that he was a nuisance? Mu Tianlang resolved that he would never allow her to do as she wished and throw him away .

He tore off the curtain of the palanquin, then stepped inside and sat beside her . In the small s.p.a.ce, their two bodies were forced together .

Mo Qingli edged to the side . Mu Tianlang also edged towards her . Mo Qingli s.h.i.+fted even more left . Mu Tianlang continued s.h.i.+fting towards her .

“What are you doing?” Mo Qingli could no longer hold back her anger . He was practically cramming her off of the seat!

Mu Tianlang blinked, his expression suddenly extremely innocent . “I’m not doing anything!”

“You…” Mo Qingli couldn’t muster up enough pride to tell Mu Tianlang not to stick to her . Instead, she could only stew in anger and wait for Mu Tianlang to move .

Meanwhile, Xiaoyao Yunyan realized something . This man was the same person he had seen in Mo Qingli’s chambers that night!

He gave the nearby Ge Yueming a meaningful glance that seemed to convey, It looks like she’s just this kind of loose woman!

Seeing this, Ge Yueming could only rub at his aching forehead some more . It seemed like he would have to patch up the broken relations.h.i.+p between these two again . This really wasn’t an easy task!

However, as long as it would help him return back to his position in the Heavens, Ge Yueming would definitely not let go of this opportunity!

The small fox in Mo Qingli’s lap was forcibly woken up by the racket . Unhappily, it opened its eyes .

However, the moment the fox saw Mu Tianlang, it became extremely agitated . Its entire body arched into a bow, and its fur once again emerged in long spikes from its body .

Its red eyes were filled with extreme hatred, as well as deep pools of terror .

¹referencing the hickeys from chapter 8