Pei Jiuyan turned around and was about to leave, but the servant grabbed her sleeve and said, "Madam Shu, you promised that if I could bring you useful information, you would reward me with 100 taels of gold."

Pei Jiuyan rolled her eyes. "Now go to the Biluo Palace to find my personal attendant. I'll definitely give you the gold bricks. I don't need that little bit of gold, so how can I embezzle the money and silk that you deserve?"

Upon hearing this, the attendant bowed once more to Pei Jiuyan and happily left Jingxin Palace. Originally, he was supposed to be Xue Wu's chief attendant, but because Xue Wu was not favored, he never took his master seriously. Pei Jiuyan simply beckoned him, and he immediately betrayed Xue Wu, selling all his information to Pei Jiuyan.

inside the house.

Ling Shumo looked at Xue Wu, whose face had clearly aged, and for some reason, she suddenly recalled the first time she had met him. This man had once been as beautiful and ethereal as a lotus flower emerging from the mud, but in just a few years, he had become so haggard. She sighed, "What a pity! I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to see you dance on ice again in this lifetime."

Xue Wu looked up at Ling Shumo, who stood before him. His beautiful face was long gone, but His Majesty was as heroic and extraordinary as when they first met. His lips trembled slightly, "Your Majesty, is this expression a reminder of the days you spent with me?"

Xue Wu covered his mouth with his hand as soon as he asked the question. His eyes began to heat up, and then tears began to flow. Playing the zither under the moon, watching dancing on the ice, admiring flowers while drunk... He and His Majesty shared so many beautiful memories. He had originally thought that he was the only one who couldn't forget the past that he could never return to, but he didn't expect His Majesty to remember it too.

Ling Shumo's large hand rubbed Ling Xicheng's hair. She looked at Xue Wu again with a look of deep pity. "Although you made many mistakes after marrying me, you did give birth to a child for me, a girl at that. For the sake of the Third Princess, you can tell me any grievances you have. If you say that the cut on your forehead was caused by Ling Xijie hitting you with a ceramic jar, I will definitely not tolerate her evil deeds."

Ling Shumo's words fell. Pei Jiuyan walked in, hand in hand with Ling Xijie. He had just returned from the enthronement ceremony, still wearing the magnificent palace robes forged from black gold, worn only by second-rank wives. The hem, embroidered with twelve ancient mythical beasts, shone with a pearly sheen in the dim light. As the saying goes, "clothes make the man, and the saddle makes the horse," and this attire gave him an air of authority.

Pei Jiuyan stared at Xue Wu with her radiant eyes. "The person who smashed your head with the ceramic jar was not my Xijie, but your biological daughter Ling Xicheng. Xue Wu, don't think that Ling Xicheng is your only support and hide the scandal for her. I promise you that as long as you tell me the truth about what happened, I will guarantee you a prosperous life for the rest of your life. As for your illness, I will find a famous doctor to treat you even if it means spending all my money." He was afraid that Xue Wu would not believe him, so he added, "I have already ordered someone to get gold from my private vault. According to the time, they should be here soon."

Ling Shumo's brows knitted together slightly, feeling that the situation was becoming increasingly confusing. "What do you mean by 'Ling Xicheng caused the injury on Xue Wu's head?'"

Pei Jiuyan's lips curled up in a mocking arc, "Because Concubine Xue made a mistake back then, Ling Xicheng was sent to a farm to suffer since she was young, and she therefore hated her biological father. After being taken back to the palace, she found that Concubine Xue had no favors and could not give her a life of wealth and glory, so the resentment in her heart became even stronger, so she smashed Concubine Xue's forehead with an empty wine jar, wanting to kill her biological father to vent her hatred. After the incident, she was afraid that this matter would be known by His Majesty and she would be punished, so she put the hat on Xijie's head..."

To a certain extent, Pei Jiuyan's words did restore the truth of the matter.

Ling Xicheng only listened to half of it before he couldn't stand it anymore and shouted at Pei Jiuyan, "I didn't. I never wanted to murder my own father. You are slandering me!"

At this moment, the rotten wooden door was pushed open again from the outside, and Pei Jiuyan's personal attendant Song Shuang walked in, carrying an eight-treasure glass box the size of an adult's forearm. Pei Jiuyan opened the butterfly lock on the box and saw that the box was filled with twelve neatly stacked gold coins, which were so bright that they could blind anyone's eyes.

Xue Wu's eyes were practically glued to the box of gold bricks. If he could possess all that gold, even if he wasn't favored, he could still live a good life by bribing servants. The imperial physician had just said that his life span was limited. He couldn't wait for Ling Xicheng to grow up and move out of the palace with his daughter to enjoy a life of luxury. In other words, Ling Xicheng was too young to protect him as a father. To him, Ling Xicheng was useless.

Pei Jiuyan looked at Xue Wu's expression and knew what was going on. He smiled and said, "Lady Xue, you should know which to choose between a daughter who wishes you were dead and a life of wealth and glory. I don't need you to lie. You just need to tell the truth, that's all."

Ling Shumo looked at Ling Xicheng with a complicated expression. A dog doesn't despise a poor family, and a girl doesn't despise an ugly father. Even if Xue Wu had done many wrong, Ling Xicheng shouldn't have murdered him. The thought of such a young child being so vicious and cruel sent a chill down her spine.

Ling Shumo looked at Xue Wu coldly. "As long as you tell me the truth, I will promote you from Beauty to Honored One. Whether you have a daughter like Ling Xicheng or not, you can live in peace for the rest of your life. Xue Wu, you don't have to worry about anything anymore."

Ling Shumo's promise was like a huge rock falling into water, causing a thousand ripples. Everyone in the room looked at Xue Wu, and at that moment, Ling Xicheng's mind went blank.

Xue Wu's gaze shifted from the box of gold to Pei Jiuyan's face, and then he solemnly bowed to Ling Shumo. His voice was not loud but very clear, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess has beaten my daughter more than once. I am not favored and cannot protect my daughter. Every time Cheng'er was bullied, I told her to just bear with it and it would pass."

Ten days ago, the Fourth Princess once again cornered Cheng'er in the alley of Jingxin Palace and beat and kicked her, only to be caught by the Crown Princess. She reported the incident to His Majesty, who punished her with house arrest and reflection.

Just today, the Fourth Princess was released early. Holding a grudge against Cheng'er, she emerged from her chambers and immediately rushed to Jingxin Palace, where she violently assaulted her. In a moment of panic, I rushed forward to protect my daughter, but the Fourth Princess simply picked up an empty wine jar and smashed it over my head..."