After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

“Your Majesty, how have you been these days?”

This was the second thing Cao Zikun said after entering the room, his voice already tinged with a hint of choked emotion.

His brows were furrowed as he suppressed his sadness, yet still managed to force out a slight smile.

Strength and vulnerability intertwined in his emotions.

Witnessing this scene, Shen Han’s eyebrows nearly flew off her face.

She felt thoroughly uncomfortable.

‘Where did this melodramatic actor come from? It’s ridiculous!’

Seeing her Alpha’s face darkening, Gu Junwan quickly spoke up: “Let’s get to business. What intelligence have you brought?”

At the mention of work from the Empress, everyone’s wandering thoughts were instantly brought back to the present.

Cao Zikun raised his hand to rub his reddened eyes, not answering immediately.

His gaze swept over everyone except Gu Junwan, his intention to speak privately quite obvious.

Gu Junwan secretly glanced at Shen Han.

She saw her Alpha’s face had fallen, her expression sour.

“They are all my trusted confidants. You may speak freely.”

After hearing Gu Junwan’s words, Cao Zikun adjusted to trust mode for the others without a moment’s hesitation.

This is why he was said to be madly infatuated with the Empress – the primary point being that he believed her words without question.

Knowing Cao Zikun was this type of person, Gu Junwan and Xu Zhao were not surprised by his words and actions.

But the other two people in the room were experiencing constant emotional turmoil.

Even though Shen Han knew Gu Junwan’s heart belonged entirely to her, it didn’t prevent her from feeling depressed and angry.

The adoration that Cao Zikun exuded from within whenever he looked at Gu Junwan made her feel particularly unsettled.

“It is currently Her Majesty’s non-working hours. Visitor, please report quickly!”

Shen Han’s formal interjection broke the slightly strange atmosphere in the room.

It also stopped Cao Zikun from continuing to gaze longingly at Gu Junwan.

Her actions didn’t exceed the scope of her role as head of the guard, but everyone present could sense the coldness contained in her tone.

Jiang Xinyue stood to the side, blinking curiously.

If she hadn’t already reached her limit for using her ability today, she would have activated it to listen to what her captain was thinking right now.

Although she couldn’t eavesdrop on Captain Shen’s thoughts, she didn’t feel disappointed.

Because she was now at the epicenter of prime gossip!

Even gossip should be enjoyed in moderation – too much can lead to indigestion.

Cao Zikun stepped forward and spoke urgently: “Your Majesty, please hear my explanation first! My father was forced to compromise under threat to his life. He didn’t truly betray you!”

“On my way here, I’ve been feeling extremely anxious. If you-”

Before he could finish, Shen Han had already stepped forward, interrupting him with a glare.

“Stop right there! Stay where you are and speak. Do not come any closer!”

“Also, Her Majesty has had a busy day and is very tired. Can you just focus on the key points? There’s no need for descriptions of your psychological state or attempts to set the mood!”

Cao Zikun’s footsteps halted. His gaze went straight past Shen Han in front of him to Gu Junwan behind her.

Then he said apologetically: “I’ve offended you. I’m truly sorry. I was just so overjoyed to see you.”

Shen Han: “…”

Ahh! This person is so annoying! Hurry up and get out of here after reporting!

Xu Zhao stood to the side holding a tablet, maintaining her usual serious and attentive expression, but inwardly laughing quite unkindly.

‘Just one Cao Zikun has already riled up this Shen dog. If this was before the coup, faced with a group of outstanding Alphas all vying to curry favor with the Empress, wouldn’t Shen dog explode on the spot?’

Fortunately, at this moment, Cao Zikun finally got to the main point.

“Your Majesty, I’ve come to report on Chen Yihe and Sun Xianglong. After being appointed as Northern Commanders, they colluded with various financial groups, giving them special privileges while also improperly benefiting themselves greatly.”

“There’s one more thing – they both serve someone inside the Peace Palace. I couldn’t investigate the specifics very clearly, only that this person meets with them periodically.”

“Over a year ago when you were suddenly attacked, they were among the first to stand out in support of the Northern Commander. Not only that, but they also used threats and bribes to get other colleagues on board.”

When she heard this news, a faint dark light flashed across the depths of Gu Junwan’s golden eyes.

The Chen Yihe and Sun Xianglong that Cao Zikun had just mentioned were both officials in the Peace Palace office.

They each held some fairly crucial real power in their hands.

After the coup, quite a few people had defected.

Gu Junwan already had a detailed list.

What surprised her somewhat was that those two appeared to have some connection with the mysterious mastermind behind the scenes.

So, did Gu Yuwei know her “meritorious servants” were problematic?

While Gu Junwan pondered silently, no one spoke to interrupt her.

After quite a while, she finally opened her mouth to ask Cao Zikun: “How did you come to know this information? Did your father tell you?”

Hearing the voice of the goddess he admired, excitement immediately appeared on Cao Zikun’s face.

He couldn’t control himself from wanting to step forward, but before he could even move his legs, he was blocked by the gloomy-faced Alpha guard.

Cao Zikun didn’t pay much attention to this. He continued his report while standing in place: “The information was indeed collected by my father, but he didn’t tell me, nor did he dare tell anyone. I accidentally saw the materials when I snuck into his study.”

Gu Junwan nodded, already having a good idea of the situation in her mind.

‘Cao Hao really is an old fox. He doesn’t want to offend Gu Yuwei’s side, but also wants to leave some achievement on my side.’

‘If I can’t take back the North for a long time, it won’t have much impact on him. He’s using his son to come inform me secretly, which also makes it convenient for him to shirk responsibility if this matter is discovered by someone.’

‘And if I reunify the Federation, his actions would have paved a back road for himself in advance. At least when I settle accounts after autumn, I won’t use him as a chicken to scare the monkeys.’

Cao Zikun had finished relaying all the intelligence he wanted to disclose.

To corroborate the authenticity of his information, he took out a storage device from the sealed bag in his pocket and handed it to Xu Zhao standing nearby.

“All the materials my father secretly investigated are in here. I’ve copied them all. I hope they can be of use to you.”

Gu Junwan gestured for Xu Zhao to keep the storage device safe, then slightly nodded to Cao Zikun: “Thank you for your hard work.”

She didn’t say much more to him.

Because she couldn’t be certain yet whether this sudden act of informing might be a scheme planned by that behind-the-scenes mastermind.

Even if it wasn’t, before everything was settled, she wouldn’t make any promises.

But Cao Zikun’s eyes were shining brightly.

He waved his hands repeatedly: “You don’t need to be so polite with me! These are all things I should do. I only regret that my abilities are limited and I couldn’t when you needed it most-”

“It’s getting late! Special Assistant Xu, please see the guest out!”

Shen Han interrupted Cao Zikun’s speech once again.

She felt that if she had to listen to him continue “confessing” any longer, she might really end up hitting someone!

Cao Zikun had finally managed to see the goddess he yearned for day and night, so of course he wanted to stay with her a bit longer.

Even if it was just one more minute.

Now he even felt somewhat regretful: he should have paced himself more slowly when giving his report earlier.

That way, he could have dragged out their meeting time a bit more.

Thinking of this, Cao Zikun glared at the Alpha guard who had been blocking his line of sight the whole time.

He thought to himself: This person is so annoying! She’s been constantly rushing things!

Originally it could have taken half an hour, but now everything was said in less than 10 minutes!

Just as the two Alphas were staring daggers at each other with their eyes.

Gu Junwan spoke up in time: “Special Assistant Xu, please see the guest out.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyue reacted the fastest.

She hurriedly looked at Xu Zhao: “I’ll go with you to escort the visitor out.”

No way! She didn’t want to stay in this room any longer.

A certain Alpha’s sour mood had nearly filled the entire space. Continuing to stay here was just asking to be cleared out, wasn’t it?

Cao Zikun had always been very obedient to Gu Junwan.

If she told him to leave, he would absolutely not linger in her sight.

He hurriedly put his hat and sunglasses back on, then took one last deep look at Gu Junwan before following Xu Zhao and the others out of the reception room.

The door closed, and a brief silence suddenly fell over the room.

Shen Han had a huge surge of jealousy pent up inside, but nowhere to vent it.

Rationally speaking, she could see that it was Cao Zikun who had been delusional from start to finish, while Gu Junwan’s businesslike attitude had been very clear.

In this situation, if she still fussed over it, it would seem too petty.

How could Gu Junwan not guess what her Alpha was thinking?

She walked forward and hugged her sulking girlfriend from behind, softly saying: “Silly Alpha, are you jealous?”

The Omega’s soft body pressed against her back, the faint scent of cool plum blossom wafting by her neck, instantly dispelling half of the Alpha’s gloom.

Shen Han was very gratified by Gu Junwan’s initiative affection.

But outwardly she stubbornly muttered: “I wouldn’t be jealous of someone like that! Acting all tragic, as if he’s the most pitiful person in the whole world!”

Gu Junwan pursed her lips in a secret smile, and continued by her Alpha’s ear: “He’s not as handsome as you either.”

Hearing this, Shen Han immediately felt a surge of light, floating happiness in her heart.

After all, who doesn’t like being praised so directly by their girlfriend?

She grinned and turned around to wrap her arms around Gu Junwan’s slender waist.

Then she tilted her head to nibble on the other’s ear and added: “You also like my scent.”

Gu Junwan laughed and shrank her neck to dodge.

The Alpha’s breath and what she had just said both made her unable to cope.

A tingling electric current traveled from her ear into her brain, making her thoughts stop functioning.

Shen Han planted a light kiss on the Omega’s heated earlobe, then directly picked her up and walked towards the sofa area not far behind.

In the past, Shen Han had always been quite restrained when kissing her Omega.

Today, having knocked over the jar of vinegar, her movements unconsciously took on a hint of aggression.

She laid Gu Junwan flat on the sofa, and with a curl of her lips, was already pressed tightly against her.

Burying her face to find the other’s red lips, she teased them wantonly.

Gu Junwan had never experienced anything like this before.

The two of them sank slightly into the sofa, overlapping. Shen Han’s heartbeat pounded against her softness through their clothes.

As their breaths intertwined, Gu Junwan’s body quickly began to heat up and soften.

She hurriedly raised both palms to lightly push against the Alpha’s shoulders.

Wanting to extricate herself somewhat from this desire-filled kiss.

However, before she could make a move, Shen Han had already reached out to grasp both her pale wrists, pinning them together above her head.

This passive position of forced acceptance made Gu Junwan’s heart race wildly.

All her senses were magnified several times over in this moment.

She wanted to say something, but her lips and tongue had surrendered in the Alpha’s invasion.

She could only make some broken and ambiguous “mmph” sounds.

Shen Han’s breath was scorching as she gently yet dominantly savored the other’s taste, her heart filled with satisfaction!