After Chen Ajiao was stopped by Liu Tan, she saw him shaking his head frantically at her and hesitated for a moment. She soon realized that this plot seemed familiar, so she stopped.

Chen Ajiao watched Liu Che's back disappear outside the Pepper Room Palace.

After standing there for a long time, she suddenly said, "What's the point of being the queen?"

Liu Tan felt sympathetic after hearing this, but even if Chen Ajiao said so, she actually had no choice.

From the very beginning, it was not her choice to be the queen. Even if she was reborn ten thousand times, the ending would still be the same unless she escaped from here when she was young.

This result is the best she can do now.

Chen Ajiao closed her eyes and said, "It was me who harmed Danyang."

Liu Tan whispered, "This is not my mother's fault..."

Chen Ajiao shook her head: "I shouldn't have brought her to my side back then."

When she was pregnant and giving birth, Emperor Wu of Han was touring the country to seek immortality and even to offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai. At that time, Wei Zifu had already fallen out of favor, but Lady Gouyi had not yet entered the palace, so Chen Ajiao was able to deceive the world and swap her daughter with the son of a palace maid.

Chen Ajiao knew that since the baby was switched, she should no longer care about the life or death of the baby girl. She had to accept that she had given birth to a son and that the prince was her biological child.

But she knew that her daughter was being raised in the harem, but she couldn't touch or see her. She didn't know whether she was eating well, sleeping well, or whether she had grown up. How could she bear this?

This was the only child she had in her two lives. Not to mention that when Liu Che returned to the palace later, he seemed to have some suspicions, forcing her to kill the palace maid first, and then find a way to send Liu Tan out of the palace, which made her pour all her maternal love into Danyang.

Now thinking about it, she was wrong from the very beginning. She never cared about the other palace ladies, but only cared about Danyang. Even if she used the excuse of getting along well with them, it would probably arouse Liu Che's suspicion.

I just don’t know when Liu Che found out?

If he had known it back then, he wouldn't have endured it for so long. Could it be that he found out recently?

Chen Ajiao took a deep breath and said, "No, I can't let Danyang marry like this. Not to mention the poverty of Wusun, the Kunmi of Great Wusun is old enough to be Danyang's grandfather. How can I push Danyang into this fire pit?"

When Liu Tan heard Chen Ajiao say that Wusun was poor, he couldn't help but think of Lu Xuan. To be honest, looking at Lu Xuan's appearance... he was not poor at all. Not only was he not poor, he was even richer than him.

What's more, even if Liu Che didn't like his daughter, he had to act nicely on the surface and give her a lot of dowry, so she would definitely not lack material life.

It's just the loneliness of not being able to adapt to the local climate, being thousands of miles away from where I grew up and my loved ones, and never being able to return in my lifetime that is tormenting.

Liu Tan helped Chen Ajiao back to her seat and whispered, "But judging by the look on Father's face, this matter seems irreversible. Otherwise... should we ask my uncle to step in?"

The uncle Liu Tan mentioned is actually Chen Jiao, the second son of Princess Guantao. Historically, Chen Jiao should have committed suicide last year out of fear of punishment for incest and adultery during the mourning period for Princess Guantao.

In this life, Chen Jiao survived thanks to Chen Ajiao's intervention, but Chen Xu still committed suicide out of fear of punishment. The crime... well, it was also adultery and fighting with his brother for money.

Chen Ajiao was furious when she heard Chen Jiao's name: "What's the use of him? I'm thankful that he doesn't make things worse."

After sitting down, Chen Ajiao said, "He can't tolerate Danyang anymore. Danyang has to marry no matter what. And even if Danyang stays, he may not be willing to give her a good husband. In this case, it's better to marry her to a foreign prince."

Liu Tan was a little surprised: "Mother, do you agree?"

How could Chen Ajiao be so easy to talk to?

Chen Ajiao said, "It's a marriage alliance anyway. If they can marry into the Great Wusun, why can't they marry into the Small Wusun? I've seen the Kunmi of the Small Wusun. He's a good match for Danyang in age, and he understands etiquette. I heard he's even willing to submit. If he's willing to submit, and we keep him in Chang'an, what difference does it make whether we marry into the Great Wusun or not?"

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, then he remembered that Chen Ajiao was talking about Lu Xuan.

But think about it, it makes sense. If a marriage is necessary, then Lu Xuan is definitely a more suitable match than Lie Jiaomi.

Lu Xuan is two years older than Liu Tan, and Liu Tan is the same age as Danyang, so the age difference is just right.

Compared to the dying Lie Jiaomi, Lu Xuan is indeed the best choice.

If she marries Lu Xuan, it will indeed be the best choice for Danyang. However, Lu Xuan may not stay in Chang'an, but she can let him come once a year.

Anyway, there will be envoys coming to pay homage every year. Although it is a bit cheap for the great Kunmi to come in person, it doesn’t matter. Anyone who dares to gossip will be beaten. The Han Dynasty is his backing!

Liu Tan felt relieved, but then quickly thought of a question: "But mother... Lu Xuan doesn't seem to have any intention of proposing marriage."

After hearing this, Chen Ajiao said, "He may not have known before that the Great Wusun was seeking marriage. Although they are both Wusun, the Small Wusun and the Great Wusun are essentially rivals. If the Great Wusun is marrying into the Han Dynasty, shouldn't the Small Wusun be anxious?"

Liu Tan suddenly remembered the "Flowers of the Central Plains" that Lu Xuan had mentioned, and whispered, "It seems Lu Xuan has found a lover."

Chen Ajiao looked nonchalant: "Sweetheart? Is his sweetheart as noble as a Han princess?"

This... maybe not.

Lu Xuan definitely couldn't get in touch with the princess, not even the daughters of the royal family. Unless he liked the young lady from Wusun, no one could compare to the status of Princess Danyang.

But young people's love is always full of passion. Now it's just Chen Ajiao's wishful thinking. What if she doesn't want to marry him? Will the Han Dynasty still force the princess to marry? Wouldn't that be a joke? There's no way Liu Che would agree.

Chen Ajiao seemed to have thought of this as well, so she said, "It's a custom in the Wusun that one can have a left and a right wife. As long as he agrees to let Danyang be the left wife, the position of right wife can be left to his beloved."

Liu Tan searched his mind and then remembered that in Wusun customs, the status of the left lady was higher than that of the right lady.

He then said, "I'll go ask Lu Xuan later."

After saying this, he felt a little worried. This kind of thing can only be asked privately, and only if the relationship is decent. But... why did he start matchmaking?

Chen Ajiao touched Liu Tan's face and said, "Mother knows that you are a good child. After Danyang gets married, you will be the only one for Mother."

Liu Tan felt a little guilty. Perhaps in Chen Ajiao's heart, he still wanted to compete for the position of crown prince, but only Liu Tan himself knew that if he had the chance, he would still seek to return to his fiefdom. Who knew if Chen Ajiao would be even more angry and sad at that time?

Because of this guilt, he said softly: "Don't worry, mother, I won't let you worry."

Just as Chen Ajiao was about to say something, she saw the messenger maid approaching, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, Madam Gouyi requests an audience."

Chen Ajiao's expression immediately turned cold: "What is she doing here?"

Because someone came, Liu Tan had to return to his seat.

Not long after, Lady Gouyi came in with a smile on her face. Although she was pretty, for some reason, Liu Tan felt that this person looked mentally dark.

After Lady Gouyi bowed, she slowly sat down. Chen Ajiao had put away her previous fragility and turned into the almighty Queen of the Han Dynasty again.

Chen Ajiao said nonchalantly, "What's the matter with coming here at this time?"

Lady Gouyi smiled and said, "I heard that Princess Danyang was about to be married off, so I wanted to give her some makeup."

Chen Ajiao reacted immediately: "It's you?"

She only found out when Liu Che came over to inform her personally. How could Lady Gouyi know? She must have said something to Liu Che that led to his idea, so Lady Gouyi was able to come here after hearing the news.

What's the point of talking about adding makeup? He was just trying to make fun of her.

Madam Gouyi's smile was somewhat false: "What are you saying, my lady? I don't understand."

Liu Tan also reacted at this time. When he looked up at Chen Ajiao, his face turned blue with anger and he felt very unhappy.

He still liked Princess Danyang very much. As a result, Liu Che was instigated by this guy to let Danyang go to marry. Liu Tan couldn't help but say: "Madam is really favored. She even dared to spy on the forbidden area."

Madam Gouyi glanced at Liu Tan and said, "Fifth Prince, please don't talk nonsense."

Liu Tan said, "Oh? How did Madam know about this matter that even the ministers in the court might not know? Not to mention the ministers, even the Crown Prince might not know about it."

Liu Che himself knew that letting Princess Danyang surrender was quite unexpected, so he had to deal with Chen Ajiao first, otherwise if the Queen of the Han Dynasty really made a fuss, he would not be able to handle it, not to mention that the state banquet would be held soon.

Madam Gouyi covered her mouth with her hands and laughed, "Of course, Your Majesty told me a little, otherwise how would I know?"

Oh, I see. He is not only here to cause trouble for Chen Ajiao, but also to show off how favored he is.

Liu Tan was really annoyed with this mother and son, and couldn't help but think of his previous idea again - to kill Liu Fuling. Wasn't Lady Gouyi so arrogant just because she gave birth to Liu Fuling?

Even if she is not killed, she should be disabled and sent to a distant fiefdom. It would be best if Liu Fuling could take her away with him!

As Liu Tan was about to retort, Chen Ajiao said slowly, "Since His Majesty has revealed this to you, don't you understand the meaning of 'not revealing forbidden words'?"

Lady Gouyi argued cleverly, "Since I know all this, then the Queen must know it too. How can this be considered a leak of the Imperial Palace?"

Chen Ajiao said, "Anything His Majesty said should not be told to anyone. You entered the palace too late, and I didn't teach you that. I'll teach you a lesson today."

After Chen Ajiao finished speaking, she glanced at the maids beside her. The two maids saluted and said, "Yes."

Lady Gouyi became a little nervous when she saw the two maids coming towards her, and couldn't help asking, "What do you mean, Madam?"

Chen Ajiao did not answer. When Lady Gouyi was about to ask, one of the maids raised her hand and slapped Lady Gouyi in the face.

The sound was so clear and crisp that it stunned Liu Tan.

Not to mention Liu Tan, even Lady Gouyi had never expected that she had ever suffered such a loss since entering the palace. She covered her face with her hands, widened her eyes, and asked, "You? You dare to hit me?"

Chen Ajiao sneered: "How dare you contradict the Queen? Let her learn her lesson."

At this time, the maids behind Lady Gouyi hurried forward to stop them, but this was the Pepper Room, Chen Ajiao's territory, and the two maids were directly pressed down by the people around them.

Chen Ajiao said nonchalantly, "Madam Gouyi is so unscrupulous. I think it was instigated by you evil slaves. Drag her away and beat her to death."

Amidst the wailing of Lady Gouyi's maidservants and the sound of Lady Gouyi being slapped, Chen Ajiao turned to Liu Tan and said, "You've just returned to the palace and you've encountered so many things. I bet you must be tired. Go and rest. Why waste time talking to someone like this? Is she worthy?"