Chen Ning left the temple and went directly to Empress Dowager Zhou’s room.

  As she had expected, Empress Dowager Zhou had not gone to bed yet. The maid that was in charge of cleaning was kneeled down in front of her and when she saw Chen Ning come in, her body trembled in fright as she lowered her head.

  Empress Dowager Zhou looked at her with no emotions and waved her hand.

  “You can all leave.”


  The eunuchs and maids all left and Empress Dowager Zhou even sent out Su Jin. In the large bedroom, there was only the two of them left.

  A strange and awkward feeling filled the air.

  Empress Dowager Zhou looked at Chen Ning, not saying a word and revealing no emotions on her face.

  Chen Ning let her stare at her. She silently stood there while biting her lip, with a calm look on her face.

  Empress Dowager Zhou’s heart was churning. She had a hundred outright reasons to cut off the head of this girl in front of her.

  But she also had a hundred reason to forgive him.

  Kill or not to kill, tangling around her heart, making her unable to make a decision.

  In all fairness, she did not hate Chen Ning and even had a bit of admiration and love for her.

  If this girl’s status was not the Ding Yuan Princess, even if she was the daughter of a peasant’s family, Empress Dowager Zhou would not care at all.

  She would not hesitate to marry her son to her.

  But she had to be the woman that her son could not touch!

  This was the first time Empress Dowager Zhou had encountered such a headache inducing problem.

  She pressed her forehead and felt her head begin to ache again.

  Although Chen Ning had cured her insomnia with her medicine, her sleep was becoming even less sound as her heart filled with worry. She was worried what would happen with her son and this girl in front of her. If something did happen while she wasn’t looking, then she wouldn’t know how to clean it up.

  The best solution was to send this girl away before anything happened!

  Sending her back to where she came from, completely cutting off the emperor’s thoughts.

  However, thinking of her life saving grace, Empress Dowager Zhou found it hard to make her move. She was even more worried about whether the emperor would keep their mother and son relationship after she was sent away.

  So she hesitated to begin speaking several times.

  Chen Ning suddenly took a step forward and kneeled down in front of her.

  “Empress Dowager, this minister’s concubine has a request.”


  “Oh? Well say it.” Empress Dowager Zhou said in a noncommittal voice.

  “This minister’s concubine wants to leave here.” She looked up to see Empress Dowager Zhou’s suspicious gaze.

  “If you leave here, where will you go?”


  “This minister’s concubine is the Ding Yuan Princess, so I’ll naturally return to the King Ding Yuan palace. So, this minister’s concubine wishes to ask the Empress Dowager’s agreement in letting this minister’s concubine leave.”


  “What? You want to go back?”


  Chen Ning’s words surprised Empress Dowager Zhou.

  She stared right at Chen Ning, wanting to see if she really meant it.

  She was very clear on the emperor’s feelings towards her, so why would she suddenly give up and return to Chu Shao Yang’s side? Especially after what Chu Shao Yang did to her.

  Was this girl retreating to advance, trying to see test her?

  “Can you really bare to leave the emperor?” Empress Dowager Zhou narrowed her eyes and said with a weak expression on her face.

  In this world, which girl didn’t want to be the phoenix climbing the tree? Which girl didn’t want to be the emperor’s woman? There was no exceptions to this!

  Chen Ning shook her head, “Empress Dowager, I never wanted to become the emperor’s woman. I……Before I entered the palace, I didn’t even know that he was the emperor.”


  If she could choose, she would rather never meet that assassin named Xiao Hei.