Volume Three, Chapter 21

At these words, Li Chenjing pressed his lips together, his faint sigh escaping as he spoke, "Chenmu, how is it that even you treat me like that clueless young master? Go on and rest assured. Return to the tribe and do as I instructed. I never play games where I hold no certainty."

"Does the Young Master hold such certainty regarding His Majesty?"

"...Mm." Aside from being as fickle as the weather when it came to women, he held far more certainty regarding His Majesty than anyone else.

"Then do you hold certainty regarding Lord Zhu?"

"...?" For a fraction of a second, Li Chenjing felt as though he had just been dealt a resounding slap across the face. He flicked his sleeve, turned his horse's head toward the south, and the slanting sunlight elongated his lowered eyelashes. After a faint, threadlike tremor, he lifted his gaze toward the road ahead. "I don't know. I can only hope she can grant me a little more time. Time is running out. Let us depart, Chenmu."

He hoped she would refrain from acting rashly, hoped she would give him a little more time, and hoped he still had a chance to try his utmost.

"Do you know the benefits of becoming empress?" Long Ang's teasing voice drifted over from beside Zhu Bafu.

Flanking the jade steps before Huangji Hall, civil and military officials awaited the arrival of His Majesty. The prime minister still claimed illness and remained absent, yet the officials of the ministerial and imperial factions distinctly stood in their own separate halves, leaving a silent expanse of distance stretching across the middle of the jade steps. Zhu Bafu stood with lowered head in her corner, clutching the memorial she intended to submit today. Hearing Long Ang's pointed and chilling remarks,