Rong Che had not expected his mother, Ning Shujin, to appear here either.
Rong Che stared blankly at Rong Yuheng, as though asking...
Uncle, were the thousands of guards and hidden guards in the Regent's Palace just for show?
Rong Yuheng saw the bewilderment filling Rong Che's large, watery eyes and said nothing.
He dutifully straightened his clothes, walked up to Ning Shujin, and bowed with his hands clasped. "General Ning."
Ning Shujin was the Rong Kingdom's only female general.
She had pacified the Northwest and earned illustrious military honors.
Before becoming empress, she had been a lowly slave, not even a commoner.
Yet this slave had fought through life and death on the battlefield for over a decade, eventually becoming the Grand General Who Assists the State, and later Rong Chen's empress.
Thus, Rong Yuheng was not at all surprised that Ning Shujin could enter the Regent's Palace without a sound.
Ning Shujin's face was grim. "I couldn't possibly accept a bow from the Prince Regent. Is my son yours to do with as you please? What were you doing? Scolding him? Or forcing him to be with you? What were you going to do if he refused?"
Ning Shujin had only just arrived when she saw Rong Yuheng gripping her son's chin, looking as though he intended to force himself on him. Fury instantly flared in her heart.
How could she let anyone bully and humiliate her own flesh and blood like that?!
Rong Yuheng lowered his head, his back slightly bent, not daring to put on any airs as Prince Regent. "A-Che, he..."
Ning Shujin glanced at Rong Yuheng's legs and sneered. "Pretending to be crippled?"
Rong Che hurried over. "Mother, he wasn't forcing me. I was will-"
"Be quiet!" Ning Shujin snapped, turning to Rong Yuheng.