"Really? You really saw it?"

The maid nodded very seriously.

Consort Chun casually placed one hand on the table, seemingly deep in thought.

Just then, a woman dressed in a pink embroidered quilt dress and with a pair of tassel phoenix hairpins in her hair slowly walked out of the bedchamber. She gazed at the flowers with tenderness and walked slowly under the moon.

Even though everyone present was a woman, it was still a sight to behold, as if one were seeing a celestial being.

At this moment, Yi Shangyun had bright eyes and white teeth, fair skin and beautiful features, a tall figure and stunning temperament. Coupled with this expensive embroidered quilt dress that seemed to be specially tailored for her, no one could tell that she was a woman who was almost three months pregnant.

In this situation, Consort Chun, who had been standing there in a daze, instinctively felt that the scene before her was so familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere many years ago.

The maid just came out and told her that while she was changing her clothes, she found a pink mark on her body that looked like a phoenix.

“That’s right, the phoenix mark has appeared. She is indeed a descendant of the woman in that painting.”

She stared blankly at Yi Shangyun's face, as if wanting to travel back in time to that moment, and finally felt extremely certain in her heart.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Consort Chun's thoughts were interrupted only when she heard Zhang Mama calling her name.

Suppressing her shock and excitement, she sat down beside him and looked him over before speaking in a deep voice, "Isn't it good as it is now?"

Yi Shangyun then looked down at her own magnificent attire and felt quite embarrassed about the chaos that had just occurred. She quickly apologized, "It's all my fault. I was so clumsy. I'm sorry for worrying you all."

But then he remembered that Consort Chun must be angry with him for breaking his promise, so he knelt down before her again and pleaded, "But Your Highness, I beg you, you must save the people of Longhu City! You must deliver the medicinal herbs to Longhu City as soon as possible, otherwise..."

Clearly, faced with the increasingly severe and uncontrollable development of the epidemic, Yi Shangyun dared not even think about it. She could only anxiously plead with the Empress, saying, "I will do anything Your Majesty asks, as long as it can save those poor people. They are innocent."

"It's fate, it really is fate! In this vast sea of ​​people, it really is you. It seems that all of this was arranged by heaven long ago." Consort Chun sighed.

"I'm afraid you'll never be able to leave the Prince of Qin's mansion in this lifetime." Suddenly, she said this with utmost seriousness.

"What? Your Highness, you mean... in this lifetime... I... what do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Yi Shangyun asked in astonishment, her eyes wide.

Consort Chun seemed to have made a decision in her heart. After taking a deep breath, she suddenly asked her, "Fine, if I want you to never step out of the Prince Qin's residence again for the rest of your life, are you willing?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall looked at their master in astonishment, completely surprised by what he had said.

Although Yi Shangyun was surprised, she couldn't care less about the fact that the woman in front of her, who had previously wanted her son to be harmed and had wanted her to leave the Qin Prince's Mansion and go as far away as possible, had suddenly changed her mind.

After silently thinking for a moment, and looking into the expectant eyes of the Dowager Consort Chun, he agreed, saying, "I do."

Everyone looked at Yi Shangyun with surprise at her answer.

Seeing that Consort Chun seemed to have doubts and confusion in her eyes about her answer.

She solemnly declared once again, "I am willing to stay in the Prince of Qin's mansion and serve him like a slave, to express my gratitude to the Empress Dowager for saving my life. In this life, I will never step out of the Prince of Qin's mansion again."

The room was completely silent.

Just as everyone was waiting to see what would happen next, Consort Chun spoke again: "Very well, you must remember the promise you made to me today."

Yi Shangyun stared intently at him.

Consort Chun waved her hand and instructed him, "You must be tired after being here for most of the day. Go and rest."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Yi Shangyun then performed a rather serious kneeling bow to him before standing up, turning around and walking away.

Just as he was about to step over the threshold and leave, he suddenly heard a voice behind him stop him: "Stop!"

Yi Shangyun stopped and landed, then turned around and asked, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Consort Chun thought for a moment and then earnestly instructed her, "Remember, no matter what happens next, from the moment you step out of Zihexuan, your identity will be that of the legitimate daughter of a pharmacist's family in my Western Qin Kingdom."

After a moment's thought, Yi Shangyun asked, puzzled, "What does Your Highness mean by this?"

Consort Chun did not elaborate further, only saying, "You don't need to know why I did this; you will find out in time. Alright, go!"

Only then did Yi Shangyun turn around and slowly leave.

Only after her figure completely disappeared from everyone's sight did Consort Chun get up and, with the help of Zhang Mama, slowly return to her desk.

Her gaze fell once again on the vast expanse of misty waters depicted in the "A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains" painting on the table. She gently raised one hand and carefully stroked each mountain, river, blade of grass, and tree with her fingertips.

At this moment, Zhang Mama, who was equally shocked by his identity, lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, do you really intend to keep the Guardian in the Prince Qin's residence for life?"

Consort Chun said, "I don't know either. I just suddenly realized that I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let her leave. If she were really gone, His Highness would be heartbroken, which is the last thing I want to see."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Mama asked again, "Then, Your Highness, what status do you intend for her to remain in the Prince of Qin's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun breathed a long sigh of relief. Zhang Mama seemed to have understood what her mistress was thinking and said, "Could it be... that Your Highness wants the guardian to stay by His Highness's side?"

Consort Chun remained silent, for she herself did not know whether what she was doing was right or wrong.

Zhang Mama said with great worry, "Your Highness's move is too risky. Let's not even talk about what will happen if the palace finds out about this one day. Right now, if the child in her womb is indeed not His Highness's, as she says, what should we do then?"

Consort Chun was well aware of the stakes involved, but she could only silently think to herself, "I hope you won't let me lose. Otherwise..."

Looking at her master's silent face, Zhang Mama was filled with deep meaning.

It wasn't until evening that the master and servant finally pushed open the door and went out.

From afar, they could see Xuanyuan Han practicing his sword alone in a garden.

Zhang Mama said, "His Highness has been confined to his quarters by the Emperor this time, which is truly difficult for him."

Consort Chun said, "What makes the prince unhappy is not that he is confined to his quarters by the emperor, but how to make Princess Yongning legitimate."

He paused, then continued, "The baby in Princess Yongning's womb is growing bigger every day, and it will soon be impossible to hide it. But at this critical juncture, this incident has happened. Even if my son is not confined to his quarters, and he goes to plead with the Emperor, the Emperor is always suspicious and will certainly not agree!"

Granny Zhang was extremely worried: "What should we do?"

Consort Chun looked at her son's face with extreme heartache. After a long while, she seemed to have made up her mind. She composed herself and walked towards him.

Upon seeing Consort Chun approaching, Xuan Yuanhan quickly composed himself, drew his sword, and stepped forward to greet her, saying, "It's getting late, Mother Consort, what brings you here?"

Consort Chun took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat while smiling and saying, "Your mother came out for some fresh air. Why is my son practicing swordsmanship alone here? Where is Cheng Liang?"

As Xuanyuan Han helped Consort Chun to a seat in the pavilion, he explained, "Cheng Liang... I sent him out on business, he should be back soon!"

Consort Chun said with great relief, "From childhood to adulthood, your mother knows that you are sensible and always shoulder everything on your own, not wanting your mother to worry about you."

After wiping away his sweat, Consort Chun gently stroked the contours of Xuan Yuanhan's face and said, "But I just want to tell you that no matter when, and no matter how strong your abilities are, in my eyes, you will always just be a child."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han was momentarily at a loss for words, only uttering a silent, "Mother..."

Consort Chun held Xuanyuan Han's hand and comforted him, "Don't worry, everything is alright, Mother Consort."

The following afternoon, it was another sunny and beautiful day.

Accompanied by Zhang Mama and Huan'er, Consort Chun entered the palace early in the morning.

"Your Highness, are you really going to do this?" Even now, Zhang Mama still seemed to want to stop Consort Chun from taking such a risky action. Seeing that there were no outsiders around, she asked softly.

"I have already sent people to inquire, and the palace should not yet know that the legitimate daughter of the Yi family is the legitimate princess found by the Dongning Kingdom. Since things have come to this, we can only take a gamble now," Consort Chun said in a low voice.

"But this is still too risky!" Granny Zhang said with great concern.

After that, Consort Chun stopped speaking.

They were about to arrive at the gate of Yong'an Palace, where the Empress Dowager resided.

Just then, from another path, the Empress, accompanied by two palace maids, also headed towards Yong'an Palace.

Upon seeing what appeared to be Consort Chun entering the palace from afar, the Empress quickened her pace, stepped forward, and bowed to Consort Chun, greeting her: "Your subject greets Your Majesty. What brings Your Majesty to the palace today?"

Consort Chun smiled and said, "I had nothing to do, so I came to the palace to have a chat with the Empress Dowager. What brings you here, Empress..."

The Empress explained, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but recently Your Majesty has been feeling sleepy for some reason. So I ordered someone to prepare some nourishing ginseng soup and sent it to Your Majesty to help you stay awake."

After understanding, Consort Chun exclaimed, "Hmph... It's a blessing for the Empress Dowager to have such a good daughter-in-law as you."

The Empress humbly replied, "You flatter me, Mother. This is simply my duty as a daughter-in-law."

With that, the two of them stepped into Yong'an Palace together...