Chapter 61: Elevating and Belittling
Li Feng’s face flushed with embarrassment. She touched the bridge of her nose sheepishly, signaling frantically with her eyes for Li Qinghe to manage her facial expression.
Only then did she turn her gaze back to Empress Lin.
“Sister, you misunderstand,” she began, her tone gentle and conciliatory. “Qinghe has always been like that; please don’t take her attitude to heart.”
“I have already privately dispatched an Imperial Physician to attend to the Second Prince. I trust he will wake up shortly.”
Li Feng paused for a moment after speaking. She lifted her eyes to gauge Empress Lin’s still-displeased expression and tentatively suggested, “Later, I will have someone summon him here so the two of you, mother and son, can speak privately?”
Li Feng’s arrangement was born entirely out of empathy for a mother’s longing for her son. Of course, part of the reason was also that Li Qinghe was undeniably in the wrong.
If Li Qinghe had simply settled Jun Mo in Qihua Hall and treated him well, rather than starving and tormenting him to force his submission, Li Feng wouldn’t feel nearly as guilty in front of Empress Lin now.
However, Li Feng’s sudden shift in topic did not completely dispel Empress Lin’s dissatisfaction with Li Qinghe.
“Surely the Phoenix Empress doesn’t think this matter ends here?” Empress Lin’s voice rose slightly.
Her son had suffered such great sin and humiliation in the Phoenix Clan. Did they think eighty strokes and a bit of kneeling for Li Qinghe would settle it?
Dream on!
And this was how she dared to treat her son before Empress Lin had even arrived. If she hadn’t come this time and left Jun Mo in the Phoenix Clan, who knew how that woman would have tortured him?
Li Feng knew the Phoenix Clan was in the wrong; they had no moral high ground here. Although she had just punished Li Qinghe, in Empress Lin’s eyes, it was likely nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
This realization sparked a flicker of displeasure and irritation in Li Feng’s heart.
“Then, according to the Snake Empress, how would you like this resolved?” Li Feng asked, though her tone was probing.
It was clear she did not intend to hand over the authority to punish Li Qinghe to an outsider. No matter how unbearable Li Qinghe was, no matter how badly she treated Jun Mo, she was still the Second Princess of the Phoenix Clan.
Empress Lin was merely the Empress of the Snake Clan. If her demands were too excessive, Li Feng naturally would not agree.
Empress Lin’s eyes darted around. “For this matter, This Palace demands absolute respect.”
having just visited Qihua Hall, how could Empress Lin not understand the cause and effect? Jun Mo was not a helpless man. The only reason he suffered such a fate was that he had been drugged and left powerless to resist. Empress Lin could think of no other explanation.
Li Feng seemed to understand the implication in Empress Lin’s words. A meaningful look surfaced in her phoenix eyes.
“My son has always been exceptional. Whether in martial prowess or literary talent, he is among the best in the Snake Clan,” Empress Lin boasted of her son as if praise cost nothing.
Her words implied that Li Qinghe was trash, completely unworthy of standing beside Jun Mo.
Even though Li Qinghe was in the wrong, hearing Empress Lin elevate Jun Mo to belittle her daughter made Li Feng somewhat unhappy.
However, as the Phoenix Empress and the host, she could not show it on her face. She could only sit there with a stiff smile, quietly listening to Empress Lin’s boasts.
“The pride in his heart is a thousand times greater than that of ordinary men,” Empress Lin continued, seemingly oblivious to the stiffness on Li Feng’s face.
“For him to be reduced to such a state this time… surely the Phoenix Empress can guess the reason?”
She didn’t believe Li Feng was ignorant. Li Feng didn’t sit on the throne by being naive. On the contrary, she likely knew these dirty tricks better than anyone. She had probably used similar methods—dulling drugs and schemes—on others herself.
How could she not understand what Empress Lin meant by “respect”?
Li Feng lowered her eyes, pondering for a few seconds. “This Sovereign will send someone to handle this matter properly.”
“However, Qinghe is, after all, This Sovereign’s daughter. If she does anything wrong towards the Second Prince in the future, I ask that the Second Prince show some mercy.”
She could forbid Li Qinghe from drugging Jun Mo. But that didn’t mean Jun Mo could use that as a license to kill Li Qinghe. If he dared to disregard Li Qinghe in the future because of this, she, as the Phoenix Empress, would not be polite.
Empress Lin raised an eyebrow. Seeing her goal achieved, she said no more.
Meanwhile, back at Qihua Hall, Jun Mo, who had been in a coma, finally woke up under the Imperial Physician’s care.
His complexion, however, remained terrible. He was so thin there was barely any flesh on his bones. It was enough to make even the Imperial Physician shake his head.
Was this the same Snake Clan Second Prince he had known half a month ago? If he had arrived half a month later, the man might have starved into a skeleton.
“Your Highness, how do you feel?” the physician asked respectfully.
Seeing Jun Mo’s pale face, he knew the prince was weak from prolonged starvation. Sitting for a while and eating something should help him recover.
A nearby maid, seeing this, hurriedly brought over the porridge prepared in advance. “Please eat, Your Highness!”
The maid spoke cautiously, terrified that Jun Mo might lose his temper and beat them as he had in the past. They didn’t dare get too close, keeping a safe distance.
Jun Mo looked up. Although anger still flickered in his eyes, he knew his body couldn’t handle any more hunger.
He clenched his fists tightly, then relaxed them. Suppressing the rage and unwillingness in his heart, he allowed the maid to step forward and feed him.
The plain millet porridge tasted divine between his lips. Jun Mo ate with relish. The bowl of hot porridge temporarily smoothed over the irritability in his heart. He had been starved to the extreme, making this simple meal taste better than any delicacy he had ever known.
Seeing his cooperation, the maid’s anxiety eased significantly.
Just as he finished the porridge, the person Li Feng sent to fetch him arrived.
“Second Prince, the Phoenix Empress summons you.”
Wuhua, who had served Li Feng for many years, stood before Jun Mo with her head lowered, her expression neither humble nor arrogant.
Jun Mo’s dark eyes turned cold. During the days he was tortured in Qihua Hall, Li Feng had never sent anyone to ask after him. Now she sent someone? Jun Mo could guess the reason.
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