I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 276 What reward do you want?

Will he give it to me?

"Don't worry, as long as you stay clean, the emperor might be so pleased that he'll give you whatever he wants to eat."

"That's a good idea, but you have to make it clear to him, lest he kill me if he gets upset."

You have no idea that your human emperor might have killed someone.

"I know, he only killed bad guys."

"Really? That emperor killed many people from the family my uncle lived in."

Dongfang Jin laughed. This guy has quite a few relatives, but considering their reproduction rate, it makes sense.

"Oh, whose house does your uncle live at?"

"It's the Zheng family, did you know that?"

"Oh ho, you even know the Zheng family? That family is super wicked, they've done a lot of bad things." I didn't expect it to be the Zheng family, this little guy actually knew it.

It seems that the Zheng family is quite famous in the beast world.

"I've heard that people die in the Zheng family every day, and there's a very dangerous place in their house."

My uncle said it gets uncomfortable whenever it gets near that place.

It was also said that many people originally lived there, but the old man from the Zheng family had them killed.

You wouldn't believe it, but my uncle said those people threw all the people they killed into the well.

Then they applied some powder to the people on top, and soon those people became skeletons.

It might be referring to the Zheng family's underground palace, a place with some insect and rodent repellent measures.

Those white bones, it seems, are from the dry well where you went down into the underground palace.

Dongfang Jin nodded. That luxurious underground palace must be a real gem for Zheng Sihan.

After going around in circles, it was already past nine o'clock at night.

They couldn't keep the emperor waiting too long, so Dongfang Jin and Gu Chenglin took Taxue and used the teleportation bead to go directly to the emperor's study.

Those in the shadows realized that the person who suddenly appeared was Dongfang Jin, and then disappeared back into the shadows.

"Hi, we meet again," Dongfang Jin waved to Cang Lingyuan as he was still writing under the lamp.

Looking at the fat man standing next to Cang Lingyuan, he said, "Hello, Steward An."

Anshun was overjoyed to see her, his face beaming with a smile as he held the whisk in his hand: "Greetings, Sister Jin."

Gu Chenglin: "..." He was somewhat apprehensive.

Honey, are you out of your mind?

Don't you kneel?

This isn't a county magistrate, it's the emperor!

Cang Lingyuan looked at Gu Chenglin, who had a conflicted expression, smiled, stood up, and walked over: "No need for formalities, sit down, Anshun, serve tea."

After Dongfang Jin sat down in Cang Lingyuan's room, she waved her hand, and a bunch of things appeared in front of him.

The golden dragon throne appeared.

Anshun screamed in fright: "Ah..."

Then, terrified, he collapsed to the ground, pale-faced, pointing at the pile of things with his whisk in hand: "This...this..."

He didn't say anything else for a long time, probably realizing he had been disrespectful in front of the emperor, and quickly stood up.

His whole body was trembling, his eyes still filled with lingering terror, and he pointed at the dragon throne at Dongfang Jin: "This...this..."

Dongfang Jin pursed his lips speechlessly: "This is the dragon throne, the box contains the dragon robe, and that small box contains the imperial seal."

She spoke so casually that Gu Chenglin was so frightened that he knelt down, while An Shun was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground.

Cang Lingyuan almost fell over the dragon throne, but his leg still hit the table leg.

When Anshun shouted that, the people hiding in the shadows all came out and made preparations for battle.

However, seeing that pile of things, they were quite frightened and looked at Dongfang Jin warily, their faces full of doubt and shock.

Seeing this, Gu Chenglin's body trembled, and he knelt there with terror in his eyes.

"Daughter-in-law, little, little Jin... this?"

Dongfang Jin looked at them, puzzled. "What's going on here?"

Seeing her blank expression, Cang Lingyuan waved his hand. Some of those people were hidden in the shadows, but Long Yi and the Shadows did not leave. They all looked solemnly at Dongfang Jin and Gu Chenglin.

Long Yi stared intently at Dongfang Jin, signaling with his eyes for her to quickly explain.

Cang Lingyuan let out a deep breath, his face cold and serious as he asked, "Where did you come from?"

Dongfang Jin looked at him nonchalantly and said, "The Rongguo Duke's Mansion, the Zheng family, uh, you know, Zheng Lunian's place."

"Didn't I send Ta Xue to find Long Er? That's because I discovered Zheng Lu Nian..."

Dongfang Jin then recounted the story he had made up to the emperor.

Upon hearing this, Cang Lingyuan let out another breath: "The Zheng Lunian you're talking about, is he the one who's been living at Zheng Sihan's house?"

"Yes, he and his son live in the western suburbs. According to Taxue, he occasionally goes to the Rongguogong Mansion to meet his cousin in secret."

The child was taken away by Zheng Lu Nian and raised in his estate in the western suburbs shortly after birth.

Cang Lingyuan: "..." He rubbed his forehead.

This uncle is really something...

It seems like we need to give them a talking-to.

"Anshun, send someone to the Rongguo Duke's mansion and tell him to bring his family to the palace banquet tomorrow."

Dongfang Jin reached out to stop An Shun: "Your Majesty, I think you should not let Eunuch An go. We just came from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. The Rongguo Duke has already divorced his wife."

His wife had already taken the supplies and servants to the estate in the southern suburbs, and had also sent a letter to her two daughters, saying that they should go directly to the southern suburbs on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

"What? Divorce?" Cang Lingyuan was so shocked that he stood up abruptly.

"Well, around dinner time, I estimate that the lady has already arrived in the southern suburbs."

Cang Lingyuan sat down and looked at Gu Chenglin: "Do you want to acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan?"

Dongfang Jin: Why are you asking this?

Even the emperor is going off-topic?

Gu Chenglin shook his head, knelt on one knee, and resolutely said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject does not wish to."

Dongfang Jin: Well done, you don't acknowledge it. That family is just a nuisance.

Cang Lingyuan was not surprised by his words and said in a deep voice, "Get up and answer me. Why?"

Gu Chenglin didn't get up. He pursed his lips and said in a muffled voice, "The Rongguo Duke's Mansion is already chaotic enough. This humble citizen doesn't want to add to the chaos."

Since they are unaware of my existence, let it be.

Yes, let's leave it at that.

Since no one knew of his existence, his sudden reappearance is really not good.

It's better not to acknowledge it at all. That way, we can stay separate, live our own lives peacefully, and not bother each other.

Furthermore, the family members are not cunning and have no interest in scheming against each other.

Cang Lingyuan glanced at the person speaking to Long Er, then looked at Gu Chenglin and asked, "Do you know your relationship with me?"

"Yes, my uncle and cousin have already told me."

Seeing that he wouldn't get up, Cang Lingyuan simply let him kneel, since his wife was still standing there anyway.

Just as Long Er said, this girl really has no concept of etiquette.

It seems the Empress was right; it's time to find two nannies to teach her, otherwise she'll definitely make a fool of herself when she returns to the capital.

He looked at Gu Chenglin and asked, "General Shenwu has already told you about what you did at the border. What reward do you want?"

Gu Chenglin cupped his hands in greeting, his tone somewhat panicked: "This humble subject...this humble subject doesn't want anything."

Upon hearing Ruyi's words, Dongfang Jin looked over and heard Gu Chenglin say this.

This idiot...

Why not?

What don't you want? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Don't you know that debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay?

If you don't agree, the emperor will think you're holding back a big move.

I don't know if you're genuinely naive or just pretending.

What a nasty thing!

"Your Majesty, how about you bestow a few more mountains behind Lingwu Village?" Dongfang Jin said with a smile as he walked over.

Cang Lingyuan smiled when he saw Dongfang Jin say this. This girl was sensible. He nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, then I will reward you with five more, just next to the side you chose. Go ask Lu Yunqing for the land deeds later."

Dongfang Jin was overjoyed that he was so generous, offering five more mountains. She stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty."

After Dongfang Jin finished speaking, she saw Long Yi close his eyes for a moment.

What do you mean?

Is she wrong?