"..." He Lin remained silent, stunned for a full quarter of an hour.

His instinct was to run away.

However, Gu Xiaoran just stared at him blankly, waiting for his reply.

"No."

"But why is my birth mother's grave empty and her bones withered?" Gu Xiaoran pressed.

He Lin: "..."

He felt dizzy and lightheaded, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Yes, I have wronged her. But I have already restored her to the position of Empress. In everyone's eyes, she is still the mother of the nation, the Empress of Dongjin. No one dares to disrespect her."

"I'm afraid she's already dead before you restored her title and gave her the highest honor." Gu Xiaoran confirmed her guess, and felt more resistant to He Lin.

Suddenly, he missed his master.

He Lin: "..."

"Your father wants to bring your mother home." The words "lonely grave and withered bones" touched the softest part of his heart. "That way, she won't be lonely."

"No, please don't. With my master and maternal grandparents by her side, and I visiting her every year, she's not lonely. Don't disturb her peace; it will make her uneasy."

He Lin: "No, now that you're here, the three of us are reunited. She'll feel at ease."

"Your Majesty!" Gu Xiaoran suppressed her anger and unease. "How can we reunite when everyone is dead?"

Gu Xiaoran's voice was not low, and the puppy on him was startled, jumping off and landing on him.

But Gu Xiaoran picked him up again.

As if afraid of frightening the puppy in his arms, he spoke a little softer:

"You don't cherish people when they're alive, so why can't you let them go even after they're dead?" He didn't understand what He Lin's mentality was.

He had always felt that his nominal biological father was somewhat abnormal, and that feeling remained unchanged.

"No, you don't understand." He Lin sat on the bed in the suite, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter with Gu Xiaoran any further.

However, Gu Xiaoran was determined to get to the bottom of things.

"I don't understand. I just want to know, how exactly did you betray my mother?" The changes in recent days have been so drastic that Gu Xiaoran still can't accept them.

Especially tonight, on this Lunar New Year's Eve, he inexplicably became the Crown Prince again.

He knew nothing and understood nothing, so he was eager to know what had happened.

He Lin lowered his eyes, lost in memories...

"That day, having nothing to do, I thought I'd like to see your mother, so I went to General Li's residence under the pretext of looking for Gu Qian..."

——————————————

It was a sunny afternoon.

While strolling around, He Lin went to General Li's residence.

General Li's Residence

When the Second Prince arrived, Li Zheng and Ye Qiuyun exchanged pleasantries and then decided to see him off.

Li Zheng didn't want his daughter to get too close to members of the royal family, and he especially didn't want Gu Qian to get too close to He Lin, lest Gu Qian be framed by someone with ulterior motives.

It is obvious that His Majesty the late Emperor valued the eldest prince, Prince Rui, the most, and it was inevitable that he would eliminate his beloved disciple in order to consolidate Prince Rui's position.

But He Lin had not yet seen Shu'er, so he refused to leave.

He lingered behind Gu Qian.

"Qian'er, where is your junior sister?"

Gu Qian: "Junior sister doesn't have time to see you, cousin. Go back to where you came from and don't disturb your junior sister's peace and quiet."

"How could that be?" He Lin glared at Gu Qian. "Why do you disapprove of my relationship with Shu'er?"

Because of His Majesty's fear of his master, Gu Qian didn't think highly of them.

He thought about it.

"You two are incompatible."