How long has it been since the last time there was someone who dared to call her with her real name?

Feng Ning didn't know, but she could guess that it has been an extremely long time.

Hearing what Empress Dowager Qi said, she was still as calm as ever. She looked at the paper in front of her and continued writing.

"Qi Yue'er, the second princess of Bai Qi Kingdom."

Empress Dowager Qi's face contorted. She snorted and slammed the table as she stood up. "Since you have known, you should just stay quiet and do your work properly. Oh, you can't even make any noise since you're a mute. You can't do anything, Your Majesty."

The last two words were said in mocking tone.

Feng Ning was still as calm as ever. She looked at Empress Dowager Qi without any change in her expression.

Empress Dowager Qi felt immense hatred for anyone from Lin Family. She leaned closer to Feng Ning and spat out, "When you're dead, who will be able to prevent my son to be marrying with other nobles? Everyone from Lin Family will be wiped out."

Feng Ning didn't answer.

Seeing her calm gaze, Empress Dowager Qi snorted and turned around to leave. She had no intention to interact with this Empress anymore. In any case, the power is already in her son's hand.

This Empress might be said to be of the highest status, but she was nothing more than a figurehead.

Empress Dowager Qi didn't believe that the people would truly follow this Empress.

She's just a woman.

And as a woman herself, Empress Dowager Qi knew very well how they were unable to be truly in power. These men were the ones who were truly in charge of everything as they could take away everything she had very easily.

That was why she hated them.

Feng Ning was calm. She slowly stood up and walked out of the courtyard. Her maidservants were all waiting outside, so they didn't see or hear what Empress Dowager Qi said to her just now.

"Your Majesty, would you like to go back?"

Feng Ning glanced at Xiao Yu and nodded absentmindedly.

It didn't take long for her to reach her room. And when she was there, Feng Ning dismissed her servants after telling her that she would depart to Summer Palace tomorrow.

Thud!

Sitting on her bed, Feng Ning's expression finally cracked.

She actually wanted to cry from the very moment she heard Empress Dowager Qi blurted those out. But she was trying her best to hold on, holding back all of her surging feelings, everything was in order to make sure that she would not show her weakness outside.

But once she was alone, how could she hold back anymore?

Tears fell like waterfall.

Yet, there was no voice that Feng Ning made. It was just a silent cry in her room.

She had long known the ruthlessness in Lin Zi Xuan's self from the very moment she saw his gaze. Gaze that was filled with hatred, determination, and vengeance towards the Lin Family.

He would not stop until he completely destroyed the Lin Family.

She clung to him... just because she wanted to be able to survive longer in this new world. But hearing what he was planning to do, Feng Ning knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on anymore.

She's afraid.

Dying once didn't mean that she would be fearless.

When facing with death once more, Feng Ning still feel afraid. She had died in her youth back then. Would she die young again this time?

Was the Lin Family destruction a fate that had been set in stone?

What was the use of her having her memory if it was only to have her killed again? And this time, the one who will kill her would be her husband?

Feng Ning cried.

Until her tears dried out.

She looked at herself in the mirror before applying some makeup to cover up the traces of her cry. But at the same time, she had also missed the time for dinner.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty is here."

Feng Ning raised her head.

Lin Zi Xuan strode inside and looked at Feng Ning with inquiry. He knew his wife's habit very well. She would never miss out on her mealtime for anything except when it was urgent. Even though the dishes might be ordinary, she would still eat in time.

It was rare for her to miss her dinner.

"What happened, Ning'er?" Lin Zi Xuan asked as he walked closer to the bed. He sat down beside Feng Ning and took her hand into his hand. "If there's anything that's bothering you, you can tell me, alright?"

Tell him?

Feng Ning looked at her husband and showed a faint smile.

It was supposed to be the same smile as the one that she always showed, a fake smile that she used to protect herself. But for some reason, Lin Zi Xuan felt that there was something strange from that smile.

Pulling his left hand, Feng Ning began to write on top of it.

"Will you kill me and my son after I give birth to one?"

Lin Zi Xuan froze in place.

He looked at his wife and opened his mouth but then closed it again. There was no way Feng Ning could have known about this matter.

It was silence.

Even though Feng Ning didn't have any answer, she had already known it from the way Lin Zi Xuan was keeping his silence. She retracted her hand as she felt her entire body turned cold.

What did she expect in the first place?

She was only prolonging her life by trying to gamble with her life. But eventually, even the sweetest dream would have to end.

This comfortable life as the Empress who ruled the entire Lin Tang Kingdom would end.

She pointed at the door.

Lin Zi Xuan knew that Feng Ning was angry, so he stood up and walked out. There was only one person who could possibly tell Feng Ning, the same person who asked him to destroy the entire Lin Family.

After Lin Zi Xuan walked out, Feng Ning sat still.

A drop of tear fell.

She looked at the tear. She thought that she had already cried until her tear duct was completely dry, but it seemed that she still some left.

'One who had great ambition and also a very cruel person, would he let someone like me off?'

It was a fact that Feng Ning should have known.

But when that fact was thrown to her face, Feng Ning still felt hurt.

Did she have some kind of expectation?

That he was not as cold blooded as he seemed.

A cruel man.

A ruthless person.

A person who could kill his own wife and children.

That is Lin Zi Xuan.

Feng Ning closed her eyes and lied down on the bed. Since she had gotten the answer from him, there was no longer any hesitation in her end anymore.

She never wanted to be a princess.

She never wanted to be the empress either.

So...

She will go.