"No problem. Next time there's cake, I'll call you," Li Chen promised.
"What is cake? Something to eat?" the Empress Dowager asked, even swallowing a little.
Clearly, this woman was rather greedy for food, and she liked eating just about anything.
Especially up close, the Empress Dowager's expression looked like that of someone who had never been fed enough.
Li Chen could only wait for another opportunity to feed her properly.
"That wasn't what I meant, but cake is indeed something you can eat. I whipped some up to celebrate for Li Sining. Come to my Bedchamber Palace later. If you're late, Li Sining might have eaten it all."
"All right, but next time you pull me along, could you be gentler? My hand hurts."
The Empress Dowager had just been dragged over by Li Chen. Whether she had cultivated or not, no one could withstand that strength of his.
Li Chen agreed that it was no problem. He would be gentle next time and would not hurt her.
With their discussion more or less settled, the two returned to the royal altar.
When they had left, everyone there had been whispering among themselves.
No one knew what the two were going off to do, and no one dared sneak a look.
In the Imperial Palace, knowing a little less meant being a little safer.
When everyone saw them return, the atmosphere grew subdued again.
Li Sining, in particular, was deeply worried. She did not know whether her brother could persuade the Empress Dowager. Otherwise, the freedom she had finally won would burst like a bubble.
The closer the Empress Dowager came, the more nervous she grew, until her body began trembling involuntarily.
But when she saw Li Chen's look telling her it was settled, her tense body seemed to