"Madam, the night is already deep. You are with child, please have some ginseng soup and rest for a while."
In the Mingdu Imperial Palace, a palace servant led two maids into the study. They walked up to Juzi and bowed slightly in greeting.
During this period, Xu Tianran had never appeared in public. The person sitting behind the desk had become Juzi, and the other palace servants and guards had gradually grown accustomed to it.
At the sound, Juzi raised her head. She looked at the somewhat unfamiliar palace servant before her, then shifted her gaze to the item held by the maid behind him.
"This is a new tribute that entered the palace this year. Madam has been laboring over state affairs; please use some, at least a little."
Only then did Juzi close the memorial in her hand and set it aside.
There was no need for much guesswork; she could already tell who had arranged for these things to be sent.
"How is His Majesty's condition? Since these are newly received tributes, why not send a portion to His Majesty as well, so that he may recover soon?"
"Yes, Madam." The palace servant's expression remained unchanged as he nodded in agreement.
Only then did Juzi accept the item from the maid's hands. Without thinking too much, she picked up the spoon and took several sips.
She wasn't worried about whether anything had been added to it. Nowadays, openly and covertly, countless people were protecting her.
Especially Kong Deming. He knew that the current Juzi was not just herself alone; far more important was the prince in her womb. With a rank 10 soul engineer by her side, it would be strange indeed if anything went wrong.
At this thought, Juzi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Although Kong Deming was a rank 10 soul engineer, he usually paid no attention to court affairs and held no real power. Back when they were searching for the insider, he had only investigated for a short time before dropping the matter.
She didn't know whether it was because there were no leads, or…
Juzi's right hand, holding the spoon, tightened slightly.
Or was it that there was no longer any need to continue the investigation?
"Clink—"
A crisp sound rang out. Juzi looked down and realized the ginseng soup in the bowl was already empty; the spoon had struck the bottom, producing a clear ring.
"If Madam likes it, I shall have them brew more."
The palace servant was very observant. He stepped forward two paces and took the soup bowl from Juzi's hand.
"No need."
Juzi raised her hand, and the palace servant tactfully retreated once more.
After the palace servant left, she glanced to both sides. The maids and guards on either side kept their heads lowered, not daring to meet her eyes. They hardly even breathed, afraid of disturbing her.
Juzi placed her hand on her still-flat abdomen and gently rubbed it. Her gaze became slightly vacant.
Compared to others, her talent was indeed much inferior. Even after entering the palace and receiving the aid of various medicinal herbs, her cultivation speed had become slow once she surpassed rank 70.
Perhaps she would never reach a higher realm in this lifetime.
And with insufficient cultivation, she inevitably had to think more.
No matter the reason Kong Deming had stopped pursuing the investigation, she had to consider the worst possible outcome.
For her, the worst situation was nothing other than Kong Deming discovering that the person who had tampered with the defenses in Xu Tianran's study was none other than herself.
No matter how devoted Xu Tianran appeared to be toward her in the eyes of outsiders, once Kong Deming learned of her actions, the outcome would likely not be good.
Moreover, Xu Tianran was now dead. For Kong Deming, her greatest value was probably not herself, but the prince in her womb.
If things truly developed to the worst possible stage, the time left to her would be no more than these few short months…
A figure appeared in Juzi's mind. While thinking, she once again slowly ran her hand across her abdomen, just like a true mother would.
Although some people hoped she could ascend to the final position, she could not place all her hopes on a single person.
As for other things she could still make use of, there was only one, the war that concerned the entire Sun Moon Empire, something no one dared ignore.
"Come in!"
Juzi suddenly raised her voice. A guard by her side immediately stepped forward.
"Madam."
"Go to the Illustrious Virtue Hall and invite Hall Master Jing Hongchen to enter the palace for a discussion tomorrow."
"Yes, Madam."
Watching the guard's departing figure, Juzi leaned back slightly against the chair, lost in unknown thoughts.
The next day, at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, the door to a soul engineering research room that had gone unused for a long time slowly opened. A person walked out from within at a leisurely pace.
"Lin… Teacher Lin?"
Inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, someone stepped out of the elevator. When they looked up and saw the arrival, a trace of surprise appeared on their face.
"It's me."
Lin Jiayi smiled and nodded. The only one who would almost be called "Director Lin" was him.
"Teacher Lin, have you… successfully broken through?"
Lin Jiayi nodded again, then looked around. "Where is the Hall Master?"
"The Hall Master left early this morning. It seems he went to the palace."
"It looks like there's trouble again at the front lines." Lin Jiayi sighed softly.
The teacher who had almost called him the wrong title shook his head. "Teacher Lin, you may not know yet. After you entered seclusion, the war at the front lines fell into a stalemate. There hasn't been any news for a long time."
"Now with His Majesty having been assassinated, it's even more…" The teacher did not continue, only shaking his head.
"It seems I missed many things during my seclusion."
"Indeed. Oh, right, Teacher Lin, if you're looking for the Hall Master, although he's not here, there is someone in his room."
"Then I'll go take a look. Thank you."
"You're too polite, Teacher Lin."
The soul engineers in the Illustrious Virtue Hall were always busy. Along the way, quite a few people were surprised to see Lin Jiayi, but they only greeted him briefly and did not chat further.
Until Lin Jiayi arrived outside Jing Hongchen's room and knocked on the door.
"Teacher Lin?"
The heavy metal door opened. Standing behind it was naturally not Jing Hongchen, but his granddaughter, Meng Hongchen. Looking at the documents spread out on the nearby table, she was probably helping Jing Hongchen organize materials again.
"If you're looking for Grandfather, he went to the palace."
"I heard."
Lin Jiayi nodded, then glanced at the table.
"If these things aren't important, I can help you with them."
"Thank you, Teacher Lin." Meng Hongchen smiled lightly and did not refuse at all. "Some important matters Grandfather keeps even from me. These are just this year's material consumption lists for the Illustrious Virtue Hall. As long as outsiders don't see them, it's fine."
Hearing this, Lin Jiayi felt much more at ease. He knew even more than Meng Hongchen did, and material consumption lists were not exactly secrets anyway.
He stepped forward, picked up a list from the table with familiarity, and casually scanned it. But with just that one glance, his movements paused slightly.
"Did the Hall Master say where these materials went?"
Lin Jiayi suddenly turned back and looked at Meng Hongchen.
"I don't know. Grandfather didn't tell me." Meng Hongchen was puzzled and simply shook her head.
Lin Jiayi withdrew his gaze, picked up another list, and examined it carefully. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for.
These materials were clearly being used to manufacture…
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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