Chapter 327: Lecture

　　“Yes!” The palace maids hurriedly answered as they were frightened to no end.

　　Just as they were about to leave, the Empress hollered, “Also, you mustn’t let anyone know about this now! If His Majesty hears about this… be careful of your lives!”

　　“…Yes!” Many palace maids hurriedly dispersed.

　　The Empress’s face was dark and scary as she stood rooted to the ground for quite some time. Where can Rong Zhen go? With her pearl of essence broken, she doesn’t have any cultivation at all. Based on her strengths, she definitely can’t avoid so many people and silently leave. Unless…

　　The Empress suddenly thought of something, and her heart sank. Did Elder Meng bring Rong Zhen out?

　　She hurriedly returned to the house and left the palace maids outside.

　　After confirming that nobody was around, she took out a small thing from her arms. It was a thumb-sized jade seal, which was what she usually used to contact Elder Meng.

　　She lightly moved the seal.

　　Kacha!

　　A soft sound was made.

　　The Empress looked at the bottom of the seal, but what disappointed her was that there was no reaction.

　　The Empress knitted her brows. Even if Elder Meng left with Rong Zhen, he should be able to receive this news. He would always quickly reply to me in the past, but now…

　　She paused for a while and tried again. However, there was no reaction at all.

　　The Empress felt even more anxious.

　　Elder Meng had followed her for years, and this situation had never happened before. This made her feel very uneasy.

　　She couldn’t help but size the room up. Everything was normal except that someone was missing.

　　The Empress felt her head ache as she rubbed her brows. Where exactly did Rong Zhen go… So many things happened today, yet Rong Zhen had to pick this time to cause trouble! If His Majesty finds out… he will definitely punish me for not doing my responsibilities as a mother.

　　We’re already in a perilous situation now. What exactly is Rong Zhen doing? When she comes back, I must teach her a lesson!

　　Peng!

　　Suddenly, the seal in her hands exploded and cracked.

　　The Empress was taken aback and directly threw the thing onto the floor.

　　The broken seal rolled around for a while before stopping completely.

　　When they heard this, the palace maids anxiously asked, “Her Majesty, are you okay?”

　　The Empress subconsciously shouted, “I’m fine! No one is allowed to enter!”

　　Then, she hurried over and picked up the few pieces of the broken jade seal.

　　She widened her eyes and stared at the item in her hands in disbelief, only recovering her senses after a long time.

　　T-this… Elder Meng is dead?! The Empress’s body started uncontrollably trembling out of fear and terror. Elder Meng is actually dead… However, he’s a stage-five warrior! All these years, he has done so many things for me perfectly. Why did he suddenly die now?

　　The Empress was stunned. Hang on! If Elder Meng really is the one who brought Zhen Zhen out and he’s dead, then isn’t Zhen Zhen—

　　She hurriedly stood up when she thought of this. If Zhen Zhen is truly in danger, I must hurriedly send someone to save her!

　　However, she stopped again after walking for a while.

　　Telling His Majesty about this is the quickest and most efficient way. After all, His Majesty can deploy many people, unlike me—who can only blindly send people over. Who knows when I’ll hear news of this? But how am I supposed to explain why Rong Zhen left quietly?

　　Once His Majesty investigates the matter, he will definitely find out about Elder Meng, even if he’s already dead! By that time, I might not even be able to keep my position as the Empress, let alone Rong Jin.

　　The Empress couldn’t decide in a short while and was stuck between both sides.

　　After being in conflict for a long time, she finally decided to hide the matter first. It would be absolutely great if we can find Rong Zhen and get her back. If we can’t… At the point between life and death, Rong Zhen will definitely find a way to survive. After all, she has the Silver Fly. It seems like we can’t cause any more trouble…

　　…

　　The Chu family residence.

　　Chu Ning followed the wooden vines to the Chu residence.

　　Looking at the familiar door, he was in deep thought, his emotional state complicated.

　　He was once proud of the Chu family, and he had once done everything for the Chu family. However, the Chu family left him with endless pain and hurt.

　　If it weren’t for the family head, he definitely wouldn’t have done this!

　　When the guards at the entrance saw him from afar, they immediately kneeled on their knees. “Congratulations for coming back, Eldest Young Master!”

　　They were all very hardworking, and kind smiles were plastered on their lips.

　　When Chu Ning was in the limelight, he had never been treated so enthusiastically before. However, the smiles on their faces were ever so glaring and even disgusting.

　　Chu Ning clearly remembered what kind of faces these people used to direct at Yue’er and him.

　　Things have already developed until this stage after a short while. What a turn of events! Chu Ning ignored them and directly started the game.

　　He walked through the yard and headed toward the living room.

　　Before he could reach the place, he saw the Chu family’s people gathered together outside the living room.

　　Upon seeing his shadow, someone immediately welcomed him. “Big Brother, you’re finally back!”

　　Looking at the passionate man in front of him, Chu Ning knitted his brows. “Chu Ji?”

　　Chu Ji was born to a sub-branch of the Chu family, and they weren’t on good terms with him.

　　When Chu Ning was in the limelight back then, Chu Ji was very jealous as he felt that Chu Ning had robbed him of his reputation and glory.

　　In the end, Chu Ji had also made things worse when Chu Ning was abandoned.

　　Chu Ning’s lips curved up into a cold smile. “Chu Ji, I haven’t heard this ‘Big Brother’ in such a long time! It seems… It seems like it’s been ten years, right?”

　　A hint of awkwardness quickly flashed across Chu Ji’s eyes, but he quickly squeezed out another enthusiastic smile while pulling Chu Ning’s arm. “Hahaha! Big Brother, you still love to joke like before! Hurry up and come in! Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time!”

　　Chu Ning easily avoided Chu Ji’s hands as he looked at the crowd in front of him.

　　He quickly surveyed the surroundings and sneered. Hah. Not only Chu Ji, but all the important people in the Chu family are here.

　　Who else could it be other than First Elder Chu Xiao sitting in the middle? But at this point, his face looked very defeated when compared to other people’s passionate enthusiasm.

　　“We’re all family, so why are you still standing there? Come in and sit,” said Chu Xiao in a choked tone.

　　Chu Ning laughed. Saying such things related to a pact is probably the biggest compromise Chu Xiao will eat. But… Now that I’m back to the Chu family, do I still need to see Chu Xiao’s changing colors?

　　“First Elder Chu, you seem to have forgotten something. Yue’er and I have already long planned to cut all ties with the Chu family. It doesn’t seem appropriate to use ‘familial love.’”

　　Chu Xiao’s expression froze!

　　Chu Ning stood with a hand behind him and lightly said, “First Elder Chu, you can just say or ask anything you want. However… you should forget about the lecture.”