"Oh? How could I have almost forgotten about it? Ruoxi, wait a moment, I'll be right back..."

The old woman seemed to suddenly remember something, and she got up and rushed out the door.

Soon, she hurried back, and opened a small vermilion wooden box that she was carefully holding, revealing a pill inside.

Instantly, a peculiar scent and a sense of familiarity surfaced in Ruoxi's mind. After a moment's thought, she stared at the pill and asked in surprise, "This is... a Resurrection Pill?"

The old woman then handed it to Ruoxi, a beautiful smile appearing on her face that was almost imperceptible as she said, "Yes, this is the Soul-Returning Pill that the Taoist priest in the green robe you met at the Dream Pavilion on the Lantern Festival gave you. It can help you regain your memories. Just now, I suddenly thought that if you could take it, perhaps you would remember some of those long-forgotten events."

Upon hearing this, Ruoxi stared intently into the old woman's eyes for a long time without blinking, while the old woman remained frozen in her previous expression, staring intently at her.

Ruoxi thought for a while, and while stroking the seven-colored gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, she said weakly, "That Taoist priest did say that the Soul-Returning Pill can make me remember many things I have forgotten, but it will also... make me forget the deepest obsession in my heart."

"So, this is the real reason why you have been unwilling to take this medicine all this time?" The old woman suddenly realized.

Seeing Ruoxi holding the small wooden box, staring blankly at the pill with a solemn expression, the old woman smiled calmly, then looked intently into Ruoxi's eyes and asked mysteriously, "Ruoxi, do you know my true identity?"

Ruoxi then raised her head and carefully examined the old woman for a long time. She frowned and thought for a long time before finally shaking her head in confusion.

In the quiet little house, the old woman suddenly blurted out without warning, "I am the birth mother of His Highness the King of Qin of the Western Qin Kingdom."

"What? Madam...you...you are the Imperial Concubine Dowager?" Ruoxi's eyes flashed with shock, and she exclaimed in surprise.

The old woman nodded solemnly to him, then rose and stood by the window, continuing earnestly, "'When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.' The Western Qin Kingdom is now beset by crises, long past its former prosperity and glory. In recent years, Western Qin has suffered from constant natural disasters, faced with the covetous eyes of foreign powers, and further burdened by the tyranny and incompetence of Emperor Jing, who has made things difficult for my son, the King of Qin, at every turn. If it weren't for their fear of the Guardians' power, their iron cavalry would have already trampled the land of Western Qin to the ground..."

At this point, the old woman paused, gritted her teeth, and after calming her emotions slightly, continued, "For eight long years, I have waited for you here so that this land of Western Qin could return to peace, and so that the beautiful rivers and mountains that the Xuanyuan royal family has painstakingly built would not be so easily destroyed by others. In these eight years, I have given up everything and lived in anonymity here, abandoning my only remaining family member. I'm afraid everyone in this world now thinks that I perished in that fiery conspiracy eight years ago."

The two were silent for a while, then the old woman let out a long sigh: "More than eight years, nearly three thousand days and nights, the crabapple blossoms in this courtyard have bloomed and faded eight times, and my heart has been torn apart and then calmed down with each passing year. Eight years is so short, as short as a moment. I still clearly remember every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, every stone in the Prince's mansion, every smile and frown of Han'er. Every step of his growth has filled me with such great joy; yet eight years is also so long, so long that each day feels like a year, and I almost forgot who I was..."

Recalling the pain of longing over the past eight years, the old woman felt a pang of sorrow, and Ruoxi, who had been listening attentively to every word, felt the same way.

When she finally came to her senses, the old woman suddenly asked, "Ruoxi, how many people and things do we cling to in our lives? But looking back, are all those things we were reluctant to let go of and obsessed with really more important than the common people of this world?"

Perhaps Ruoxi was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information she had received and experienced today; or perhaps her body had not yet recovered from the first, albeit not particularly powerful, outburst of energy; and there were simply too many questions and concerns. In any case, it was clear that she was still unable to make a decision at this moment.

Suddenly, she felt an unbearable headache, so she slowly raised her hand to hold her head, her expression somewhat solemn, and closed her eyes, saying, "Your Highness, I'm so tired. Please allow me to think things through more carefully, okay?"

Left with no other choice, the old woman looked at her for a while, sighed deeply, shook her head with a furrowed brow, and then stepped out the door without saying anything more.

The room fell silent. She sat motionless on the bed, hugging her knees, with only two large baby insects keeping her company.

After an unknown amount of time, she slowly lowered her face to her knees, gently lifted the small wooden box again, stared blankly at the pills inside for a long time, bit her lip, and muttered to herself, "Why is it like this? Am I really the person that the Empress Dowager gave up everything to wait for here for eight years?"

Although it was already night, due to Ruoxi's repeated insistence and considering that Long En's original return date was in the next two days, the old woman finally agreed to let her follow the two guards back to the Xiaolong Society to thank Long En in person and return his gold medal. After that, she could return to Peach Blossom Village to go with him to the City God Temple in the south of the city to see Master Xuankong.

At this moment, Ruoxi and two guards spurred their horses and finally arrived at the territory of the Xiaolong Society just before the first half of the night was about to pass.

A bright moon was reflected on the lake at night, shimmering in the gentle breeze.

The group, weary from their journey, was about to step onto the suspension bridge to return when the young guard, who had been dawdling at the back and constantly complaining about their haste to return, suddenly stopped. He stared into the distance in the dim light, his eyes lighting up. He muttered in bewilderment, "Hey, isn't that the cool, muscular man who jumped into the water with Miss Ruoxi to save someone? Why is he with that reckless maid from earlier today? In the middle of the night, they wouldn't be thinking of…"

As he spoke, he became even more interested, and waved his hand to Ruoxi and the older guard in front of him, saying loudly, "You...you go back first, I want to water my horse here."

When Ruoxi saw his unusual behavior and his shifty eyes, she guessed that he must be hiding something, so she didn't rush to expose him.

Actually, because she had rested for a long time in Taohuadian Village in the evening, she was not tired at all now.

So, with a curious smile, she led her horse around and walked towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder and pretending to say, "It's late. What if you accidentally fall into the lake? Let me join you in watering the horse."

Of the three, the most vigilant was the older guard. With years of experience, he had spotted the two men on the lakeshore the moment he arrived. He knew, of course, that the hottest topic of conversation within the Xiaolong Society was the assassination attempt in the West Garden the previous night. And these two were clearly no good; were they up to something again?

With this thought in mind, he quickly stepped forward to dissuade him, saying, "The stables have everything. We've been running around all day; let's go back and rest. Perhaps the leader will be here soon..."

As they were talking, Ruoxi had already locked onto the figures of the man and woman. She and the young guard then hid behind a large tree at the foot of a nearby mountain. She lowered her voice and said, "Shh, listen to what they're saying. What if it's something that's not good for the Xiaolong Society? I need to be extra careful for Brother Long so as not to betray his trust in me!"

Seeing the older guard still looking displeased behind her, Ruoxi said somewhat impatiently, "Hey, don't keep that long face. At worst... I'll let you know before I take any action!"

"I'm afraid something bad is going to happen again this time?" The older guard slumped his head, silently lamenting to himself.

The night was deep and dark, and all was quiet.

A woman was sitting on the ground by the quiet lakeside when she suddenly started sobbing and muttering to herself, "Yan'er, where have you gone?"

At this moment, the cold-faced man also cautiously looked around while moving closer to the woman, and asked in a deep voice, "What do you want with me?"

Hearing this, the woman suppressed her grief, stood up, and turned to him, saying, "Yan'er, who was captured with me and brought to the Xiaolong Society, is missing. I haven't seen her since I came to look for you last night. I've searched almost every place she might have gone, but to no avail. Could it be... could something have happened to her?"

As soon as the woman finished speaking, she seemed to be frightened by her own words and couldn't help but cry again.

Upon hearing this, the cold-faced man's eyes widened in surprise. He recalled the clue he had uncovered about the assassin and muttered to himself in bewilderment, "Could it be... that she was with him?"

"Who are you with? Who is he? Do you know something?" the woman asked anxiously as soon as she vaguely heard the question.

The stern-faced man speculated, "An assassin was discovered in the West Garden last night, but she hasn't been found yet. However, I believe she should be alright, because there was another person with her..."

"An assassin? How could Yan'er become an assassin?" Before he could finish speaking, the woman's eyes widened in shock, and she asked him in a daze.

"This is what happened..."

After listening to the stern-faced man's account, the woman exclaimed excitedly, "That must be Yan'er, it must be Yan'er..."

As she spoke, the woman suddenly turned and ran back as if possessed…