"Mm, this girl Li'er has been busy lately. I haven't seen her for a long time and miss her dearly, so I seized the opportunity today to have her come to the palace to spend the day with this old woman," the Empress Dowager replied with a pleased expression.
"Alright, as long as that boy Han has no objections," the Emperor responded, his thick, ink-like eyebrows twitching twice above his forehead.
"Your daughter-in-law pays respects to Father Emperor!" Leng Ruoli quickly bowed to the Emperor after he was seated.
"Quickly rise!" The Emperor immediately waved his sleeve at her.
Then, the Emperor slowly said to Leng Ruoli, "Girl, I have a gift for you today." His expression was quite mysterious.
Leng Ruoli: "..." Why were both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor giving her gifts today?
"Father Emperor, I haven't accomplished much recently. Why are both Imperial Grandmother and you giving me gifts?" Leng Ruoli felt very confused.
As soon as she finished speaking, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager exchanged a knowing glance. Seeing their expressions, Leng Ruoli knew there was something fishy about them giving her gifts, but she couldn't ask directly.
Subsequently, the Emperor cleared his throat.
"Lier, I'm not entirely sure why your Imperial Grandmother is giving you a gift, but the gift I'm giving you is to reward your efforts in solving the hunger problem for the people of Tianwu Kingdom." The Emperor casually provided a plausible excuse.
Leng Ruoli: "..." She had only planted the seedlings yesterday and didn't know the harvest yet. The Emperor's reward was too quick.
"Lier! Don't you dare refuse your Father Emperor's gift. Take whatever he gives you, or you won't be able to get anything out of him," the Empress Dowager chimed in, undermining her own son.
The Emperor was dumbfounded by his mother's words. Was this still his mother? Had anyone seen a mother who would betray her own son like this? His granddaughter-in-law was closer to her than her own son.
"Mother, it's really not good to speak ill of your son in front of the children," the Emperor said, his face covered in black lines.
"What's not good about it? It's just us three here, and Lier's ears have been deaf recently, so she can't hear. Lier, isn't that right?" The Empress Dowager chuckled after speaking.
Leng Ruoli: "..." Hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Leng Ruoli didn't know whether to answer or not. In the end, she chose to pretend she couldn't hear. However, when had the Empress Dowager ever said her ears were deaf?
Then, the Empress Dowager urged, "Emperor, you should take out your gift and let the girl see it."
The Emperor: "..." Although the Emperor was speechless towards his old mother, he still took out a delicate small wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Leng Ruoli.
"This is the gift I'm giving you. Hurry and open it to see," the Emperor said with a smile.
"Thank you, Father Emperor!" Seeing that the Emperor had already handed her the gift, Leng Ruoli had no choice but to accept it.
"Girl, open it and take a look," the Emperor said, looking at the small wooden box in Leng Ruoli's hand with a curious expression.
Yes, Leng Ruoli noticed the curious expression on the Emperor's face. Did the Emperor not know what was inside the small wooden box he was giving her? Or was this small wooden box not meant for her? Leng Ruoli's heart raced with speculation.
But she didn't ask further. Instead, she followed the Emperor's instructions and carefully opened the small wooden box. Inside was a shining golden medicinal herb, and it was a fresh herb that had just been unearthed.
It was Jin Ling Cao! An extremely rare Jin Ling Cao. Leng Ruoli recognized it at a glance. However, although Jin Ling Cao was precious, it was not very useful for treating injuries or illnesses.
"Lier, what kind of medicinal herb is in this small wooden box?" the Emperor asked her casually.
"Father Emperor, this is Jin Ling Cao. May I ask where you obtained it?" Leng Ruoli asked curiously.
"Uh..." The Emperor was speechless for a moment, then he said calmly, "This was given to me by an old man. I saw it looked nice (in fact, he had never opened the box to look), and thought it was a medicinal herb, so I gave it to you." The Emperor chuckled awkwardly after speaking.
In fact, the old immortal had asked him to give this small wooden box to Leng Ruoli last night. When the old immortal handed him the small wooden box, he didn't know what was inside. The old immortal had also repeatedly warned him not to secretly open the small wooden box, or he would bring him great misfortune. According to the old immortal's instructions, the item inside the small wooden box was very sensitive; it could only be opened when it reached its owner. Therefore, although he was very curious what was inside the small wooden box all night, he could only suppress his curiosity and kept it on his person. He didn't dare to give it to anyone, not even his close attendant, Eunuch Li, knew he had this small wooden box. It was only now that he personally handed it to Leng Ruoli.
"Father Emperor, you definitely don't know that this small wooden box contains Jin Ling Cao," Leng Ruoli said to the Emperor with certainty in her tone.
"Lier, girl, why do you say that?" Leng Ruoli's words now confused the Emperor.
"Because Jin Ling Cao recognizes its owner. It has a strong spiritual connection with the person who planted it. If its original owner wants to give it to someone, only that person can see and touch it. If Father Emperor had truly opened this small wooden box, it would have turned to ashes by now," Leng Ruoli explained to the Emperor calmly.
"Lier, is this Ling Cao really that magical?" The Empress Dowager, having heard Leng Ruoli's words, was also full of curiosity.
"Imperial Grandmother, Jin Ling Cao is indeed that magical," Leng Ruoli replied affirmatively.
"Then why are we, me and your Imperial Grandmother, looking at it now, and it's fine?" the Emperor immediately posed his question.
"The reason is that I opened this small wooden box, and I am the owner of this Jin Ling Cao," Leng Ruoli immediately clarified for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
"Oh, oh, so that's how it is!" The Emperor and the Empress Dowager suddenly realized with enlightenment.
After speaking, Leng Ruoli nodded. Later, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager pulled her to eat lunch in the palace. After lunch, they took Leng Ruoli to sit in the pavilion in the Empress Dowager's small garden. While serving tea to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, Leng Ruoli told them stories from Journey to the West. It was not until dusk that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager let Leng Ruoli return to the prince's manor.