Half an hour later, Bai Tuantuan looked at the countless handkerchiefs on the ground, then glanced at Chen Zhixiu who was silently weeping and sniffling, and sighed in her heart.

She had already said what she could, and she glossed over the suffering she endured in the Xiao family later, but unfortunately, it still made her mother sad.

The two women outside, Granny Bai and Ruotang, exchanged a glance. Ruotang whispered, "Granny, I heard Miss crying. Should we go in?"

Granny Bai shook her head: "If the master didn't call, let's pretend we didn't hear it."

Upon hearing this, Ruotang said no more.

Bai Tuantuan handed the last handkerchief to Chen Zhixiu, saying helplessly, "Mother, this is the last handkerchief. Once you've used it, there won't be any left."

Chen Zhixiu wiped her nose, paused slightly upon hearing Bai Tuantuan's words, and then glared at her: "You little ingrate."

“Mother, if you keep crying, it will be dawn soon. We still have to go to the palace tomorrow. Are you sure you don’t want to rest?” Bai Tuantuan sighed, walked to Chen Zhixiu’s side, and said slowly, “Mother, the past is the past. Heaven took pity on us and gave us a second chance at life. Let’s not dwell on the past.”

"Look, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? All my limbs are intact, nothing's wrong with me..."

“But how much pain you must have been in back then…” Chen Zhixiu sniffed, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Bai Tuantuan. “Your mother was right beside you then, but I couldn’t help you… I know you wanted to provoke Xiao Ruyan, to find relief, so I could only use my ghostly energy to influence her. I wanted to avenge you, but I couldn’t…”

As she spoke, Chen Zhixiu's tears began to flow again.

"Mother is useless... Even if I were to come back to life, Mother would still be useless." Chen Zhixiu clutched her chest, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Mother wanted to take you away from everything in this life and live a good life, but they wouldn't allow it, and they even wanted to kill you!"

"Mom, I know everything." Bai Tuantuan gently patted Chen Zhixiu's back. "It's alright, it's all in the past. Look, now we have our grandparents and uncles. It's very simple to take revenge, isn't it?"

Chen Zhixiu wiped away her tears and looked at Bai Tuantuan: "If you want them to die so easily, I won't be able to accept it. I will treat them the same way they treated you back then!"

"Didn't they abuse their power and disregard human life? Now that we're in power, I'd like to see what they can do to us!"

At this point, Chen Zhixiu closed her eyes: "Tuantuan, in this life, Mother will definitely protect you!"

"Don't be afraid, Mother." Bai Tuantuan smiled faintly. "Tuantuan can protect Mother too."

Bai Tuantuan wiped away Chen Zhixiu's tears before saying, "Mother, from now on, you take care of the adults, and I'll take care of the children, okay?"

Chen Zhixiu was taken aback, then looked up and met Bai Tuantuan's cunning eyes. She chuckled and then hugged Bai Tuantuan tightly: "Mother knows that my Tuantuan is strong and brave. Good, in the future, we, mother and daughter, will join forces to take revenge! Let's see where they can escape to!"

“However…” Chen Zhixiu changed the subject, “No matter what you do in the future, you must pay attention to safety. Also, you must tell your mother about any plans you have and not hide them from her.”

Bai Tuantuan nodded vigorously.

"Soup Spoon, why can't we tell Mother about your existence?" Bai Tuantuan asked in confusion. "Back then, the family must have already suspected something about the grain."

"Suspicion is one thing, but it's not the right time for us to show up," said the spoon calmly.

Bai Tuantuan asked in confusion, "When can we tell them?"

You'll know when the time is right to tell you.

Bai Tuantuan thought for a moment and didn't say much. Now that she could take out the things from the space, and that her grandparents and maternal grandparents had drunk water from the space and felt much better, that was enough.

When Chen Zhixiu woke up the next day, her eyes were swollen like two walnuts.

Startled, Bai Tuantuan quickly took out the water from her spatial storage: "Mother, quickly apply it."

Chen Zhixiu looked at herself in the mirror and smiled slightly: "No need, it's fine as it is."

Today, Chen Zhixiu was wearing a white robe, and because it was cold, she specially put on a fox fur cloak of the same color.

The white fabric made Chen Zhixiu's face appear even paler, while her swollen, red eyes added to her pitiful look.

Bai Tuantuan was wearing a pink long coat and had her hair tied in two small buns, making her look exceptionally cute.

After the mother and daughter went outside, they saw the Chen family at the gate.

Feng Yue and Chen Luo were dressed in dark purple.

Chen Xiaoran, Chen Yijun, and Chen Wenxiu are wearing blue clothes.

Nan Nian and Rong Manli, both wearing pale yellow robes.

The two brothers, Chen Xingfeng and Chen Lingfeng, were dressed in long blue robes, which made them look exceptionally handsome.

The group of people standing together were all handsome men and beautiful women.

Because of Chen Zhixiu's eyes, the crowd couldn't help but ask her a few questions.

Bai Tuantuan exclaimed in surprise, "So beautiful! So pretty!"

"Are their uncles more handsome, or are our uncles more handsome?" Bai Haotian's teasing voice came over.

As if the Bai family had made prior arrangements with the Chen family, the old man wore the same purple outfit, while the four Bai brothers wore the same blue outfit.

Yuan Chenchen looked at Nan Nian and Rong Manli, and couldn't help but slap Bai Haotian on the forehead: "Look at your two older brothers, they both have wives. When are you going to get married? Huh?"

Bai Haotian felt so wronged that he jumped up: "Mom! I'm the sixth child! The sixth! If you're going to urge someone, urge the fourth brother!"

Bai Ze raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Bai Haotian, you've got some nerve, using me as a shield?"

"Ouch! Help! Help! I was wrong, brother! You're my real brother!"

Everyone burst into laughter and headed to the palace together.

In preparation for this trip to the palace, Bai Zeyi, Bai Haotian, and Bai Han made a point of returning home immediately after court.

I saw Eunuch Cai as soon as I arrived at the palace gate.

After Bai Han introduced everyone, Eunuch Cai bowed and said, "His Majesty has been waiting for you all. Please follow me."

Along the way, there were many palace maids and guards. Bai Tuantuan was visiting the palace for the first time, and her palms were sweaty with nervousness.

"Tuantuan, don't be nervous." Chen Xingfeng took Bai Tuantuan's hand. "Don't be afraid."

Bai Tuantuan swallowed hard: "Brother, I'm not nervous."

The trembling sound made Chen Xingfeng unable to help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile.

“Princess, don’t be afraid, the Emperor isn’t fierce.” Eunuch Cai turned around and looked at Bai Tuantuan with a smile, “He’s just like your grandparents.”

Bai Tuantuan shook her head quickly: "Father-in-law, don't lie to me! That's the Emperor! One wrong move and you're dead!"

“His Majesty will not kill innocent people indiscriminately…” Eunuch Cai laughed. “The county princess will know this as she gets to know His Majesty more in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Tuantuan blinked her big eyes, seemingly pondering what Eunuch Cai had said. The next second, Eunuch Cai saw Bai Tuantuan shaking her head like a rattle drum.

"As the storybooks say, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; one wrong move and you could lose your life."

"Tuantuan!" Chen Zhixiu quickly covered Bai Tuantuan's mouth, her face pale, and said, "The child is ignorant, please don't blame him, sir."

Eunuch Cai waved his hand and said no more.

Yuan Chenchen whispered, "Xiu'er, don't be afraid. It's just childish talk. The Emperor is a wise ruler. It's alright."

Chen Zhixiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Tuantuan blinked. She wasn't stupid; her mother was indeed overreacting...

When they arrived at the door of the Imperial Study and heard the authoritative voice from inside, Bai Tuantuan's heart started pounding again.

"Soup Spoon, why aren't the heroines in storybooks afraid of the emperor?" Bai Tuantuan's heart trembled.

The spoon pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Perhaps you're not the female lead?"

A look of dejection appeared on Bai Tuantuan's face: "It's over, it's over, I should have realized it sooner! How could I possibly be the female lead! I don't have the female lead halo, I don't have any cheat codes, and I don't have any powerful people who like me. I'm just a passerby!"

Spoon: ...[Then what am I?]

Bai Tuantuan said with a bitter face, "You don't even know what you are, how am I supposed to know what you are..."