Her little face was flushed with anger. She had kindly sent him something, and he dared to be picky in front of her. It was simply too much.
"I didn't say I didn't want it. How can anyone take back something they've given?"
Fearing that Feng Jin would snatch it back, Ling Mohan quickly hid the hand warmer.
"However, why is this one you made for me different from the others?"
Feng Jin's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This was never-ending. She stopped pretending and laid it all out: "Because yours is the only one I made. The rest were made by Yun Yun and the embroiderers."
After saying that, she pulled the quilt over her head, secretly scolding Ling Mohan fiercely in her heart.
A man's light laughter came from above her head. Feng Jin's anger intensified. She forcefully suppressed the urge to kick Ling Mohan out and warned him fiercely, "If you dare to laugh again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"I'm just happy that you'll carry this hand warmer with you, given your intentions."
Knowing that Feng Jin treated him differently, the smile on Ling Mohan's lips never faded.
"But why did you embroider a little chick on it?"
Feng Jin's face darkened again, and she gritted her teeth, squeezing out a few words: "That's a goose!"
Was he blind? How could he see a chick there? It was clearly a goose, a goose.
Ling Mohan tried to recall the pattern, but he couldn't see it as a goose at all. However, since Feng Jin said it was a goose, then so be it.
"Whatever my wife says it is, it is."
Feng Jin smiled, clearly very satisfied with Ling Mohan's current performance.
"How is the war progressing? When will the reinforcements arrive?"
With the current troop strength in Yingzhong Commandery, their chances of winning against the rebels were slim. They had already petitioned the Emperor to send more troops, but it had been almost ten days, and the reinforcements had yet to arrive.
If they delayed any longer, once the rebel forces gathered their strength and counterattacked, how long could they hold on?
"His Majesty dispatched the Third Prince to lead a hundred thousand troops to aid Yingzhong Commandery, but we haven't seen a single shadow of these hundred thousand troops."
"The Third Prince?"
Feng Jin exclaimed in surprise. Emperor Xuanwen must have water in his brain to send the Third Prince.
It seemed that these hundred thousand troops would be delayed for quite some time.
"That's right. According to the timeline, the hundred thousand troops should have arrived by now." Ling Mohan also sensed something was amiss. It seemed the Third Prince wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill. https:/
"That Third Prince doesn't look like a good sort at all. If we want him to lead troops to support Yingzhong Commandery, he's bound to interfere. This is all deliberate. We have to be wary!"
Feng Jin couldn't help but worry. It seemed they couldn't count on reinforcements and would have to find another way.
"We still need to go out and seek help. We can't just sit here and wait for death."
"My wife is right, but... I can't think of anyone to ask for help right now."
Feng Jin's expression turned serious. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized: "Chu Chenyi!"
Ling Mohan's eyes darkened, and he instantly understood Feng Jin's meaning: "You intend to help Chu Chenyi?"
"I help him... Haven't you already been colluding with Chu Chenyi for a long time? Why would you need me to help him? Even if I didn't mention it, you would have done so, wouldn't you?"
She was, in a way, fulfilling a good deed, saving Ling Mohan the trouble of worrying about it. The sooner they defeated those rebels, the sooner the people of Yingzhong Commandery could have peace, and they could return to the capital.
"Regarding the matter of establishing the Crown Prince in court, the Ling family has always maintained impartiality. If you openly support Prince Jing, it will put the Ling family in a difficult position."
The matter of establishing the Crown Prince was crucial to the foundation of the state. The Ling family had always remained neutral on this matter, never getting involved in the court's unnecessary struggles, only seeking self-preservation.
Even though he was the Emperor's tutor, he never got involved in the matter of establishing the Crown Prince, and his dealings with Prince Jing were unknown to anyone.
"Now it's not us choosing, but the Third Prince forcing us to choose. The Third Prince now sees us as a thorn in his side. To get rid of us, he's even willing to sacrifice the entire population of Yingzhong Commandery. If such a ruthless person ascends to the throne, will we even have a chance to live?"
Feng Jin, a devoted fan of palace dramas, could naturally guess that after Chu Yanxi came to power, he would absolutely not let them off.
Everything they were doing now was simply to save their own lives.
"It can't be helped then."
Ling Mohan was not one to procrastinate. Since he had decided to support Prince Jing, he sent someone to inform Chu Chenyi of the situation overnight via express courier.
...
In Prince Jing's mansion in the capital, Chu Chenyi looked at the secret letter in his hand, his face solemn, his hand gripping the paper tightly.
His Majesty had ordered Chu Yanxi to lead a hundred thousand troops to aid Ling Mohan, yet he dared to deliberately delay and neglect the urgent military matters, treating Yingzhong Commandery and the soldiers as child's play.
"Your Highness Prince Jing, Yingzhong Commandery has been surrounded by rebels. Yingzhong is in peril. My young general and the soldiers are vowing to defend Yingzhong to the death, fighting the rebels fiercely. I implore Your Highness Prince Jing to inform His Majesty of the situation in Yingzhong and send reinforcements to Yingzhong Commandery."
"Since I am aware of this matter, I will certainly not stand idly by. I will immediately enter the palace to report this to His Majesty and ask His Majesty to dispatch troops to Yingzhong."
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Jing!"
Chu Chenyi entered the palace overnight, but instead of meeting Emperor Xuanwen, he went to see the Empress Dowager to report the matter.
"What!" the Empress Dowager exclaimed angrily, a surge of rage rushing to her head. She coughed violently.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger and take care of yourself!" Granny Yun quickly supported the Empress Dowager, had the palace maids fetch the pills made by Feng Jin, and urged the Empress Dowager to put them in her mouth.
"Grandmother Empress, please do not be angry and take care of your health."
Chu Chenyi also panicked. In this palace, only his Grandmother Empress truly cared for him.
Without his Grandmother Empress's protection, how could he have grown up safely? He would have died long ago.
After taking the medicine, the Empress Dowager rested for a while before feeling much better. She sighed slightly and said, "I should have stopped the Emperor long ago. I shouldn't have let Chu Yanxi lead the troops. What a grave mistake!"
"Summon the Emperor to come here."
"Yes!"
A quarter of an hour later, Emperor Xuanwen rushed over in a hurry.
"Your humble son pays his respects to Mother Empress. I heard Mother Empress is unwell. Is Mother Empress's condition still serious?"
Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager was furious and almost fainted, Emperor Xuanwen dropped everything and rushed over.
"It's nothing, this old bone of mine won't die so easily!"
"Mother Empress, please don't say such things!"
The Empress Dowager snorted coldly. Leaning on Granny Yun's arm, she stood up and moved in front of Emperor Xuanwen, her eyes fixed on him with coldness. She took the scepter from Granny Yun.