The seventh day of the first month of the twenty-first year of the Kangxi reign had just passed.

Xu Lejin stood under the corridor, looking at the children in Yikun Palace who had grown another year older and were still lively and energetic, and a loving smile appeared on her face.

Yes, it's a new year again!

She has been in the Qing Dynasty of this parallel world for nine years.

From the winter of the twelfth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign to the present twenty-first year, time seems to have been exceptionally kind to her; she still looks like she's seventeen or eighteen years old.

"Mother, what are you thinking about?"

Eight-year-old Ushiha suddenly appeared next to Xu Lejin, looking up at her.

Xu Lejin smiled, her gaze fixed on the distance.

Ushiha pondered for a moment, then took Xu Lejin's hand and said with a smile, "Mother, don't worry, Third Brother and Eighth Sister will take good care of themselves in the heavens."

“Ushiha…”

Kneeling down, Xu Lejin embraced her daughter, Ushiha.

Not far away, Yin Chu and Yu Lu Dai, who had just learned to crawl, stopped curiously and looked at Xu Le Jin and Wu Xi Ha, while the slightly older Wu Ling Zhu toddled towards Xu Le Jin, step by step.

Consort Xiu, standing to the side, held Princess Bu Yinzhu, the Eighteenth Princess, and watched with a smile.

At this time

Sumalagu, who serves the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace, has arrived. Accompanying her are Princess Wuyoudai, who has been raised by the Empress Dowager, as well as her wet nurse and palace servants.

Xu Lejin looked puzzled and asked Su Ma La Gu softly, "Granny Su Ma, what is this?"

Sumalagu curtsied.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is advanced in years and no longer has the strength to care for the Twelfth Princess. Therefore, she has instructed me to send the Twelfth Princess back to Your Highness's side."

"The Empress Dowager's intention is that the Twelfth Princess is Your Highness's biological daughter, and she has always served Your Highness with filial piety. Now it is time for Your Highness to reunite with the Twelfth Princess, mother and daughter."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin burst into tears of joy.

Looking at Wuyoudai, who was hiding behind Sumalagu and looking at her with unfamiliar eyes, Xu Lejin felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her daughter, her daughter, had finally returned to her side!

The Empress Dowager wanted to raise her daughter, and although she was reluctant, she was powerless to do so. She could only try her best to visit her daughter at the Cining Palace whenever possible.

Sumalagu squatted down and said to Wuyoudai with a smile, "Twelfth Princess, the Imperial Concubine is your mother."

"Granny,"

The little twelfth princess was a little scared. She glanced timidly at Xu Lejin and reached out to hold Su Ma La Gu tightly.

Su Mala Gu paused for a moment, then shook her head at Xu Lejin.

With a gentle and loving voice, Sumalagu stroked Wuyoudai and said with a smile, "Princess, don't be afraid, Princess, don't be afraid. The Imperial Concubine is your mother and will treat you as well as the Empress Dowager."

"Princess, hurry to the Imperial Concubine's place!"

Wuyoudai hesitated for a moment, but finally, under Xu Lejin's expectant gaze, she walked towards Xu Lejin step by step.

Children forget things easily, and Xu Lejin truly loves her daughter and wants to make up for the fact that she was not by her side when she was little, and only came back now that she is five years old.

Therefore, in less than half an hour, Wuyoudai clung to Xu Lejin's arms, calling her "Mother" in a childish voice.

Turning her head, Xu Lejin looked at Su Ma La Gu, whose face was full of reluctance, and asked softly, "Granny Su Ma, is the Empress Dowager still in good health?"

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is doing well."

Sumalagu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, glanced longingly at Wuyoudai, and said, "Your Highness, this servant must return to Cining Palace to serve the Empress Dowager. This servant will take her leave now."

"Princess Twelfth, I'll have to trouble Your Highness to take good care of her."

Xu Lejin nodded solemnly.

After watching Sumalagu leave Yikun Palace, Consort Xiu handed the eighteenth princess, Buyinzhu, to the wet nurse and stepped forward with a smile to say to Xu Lejin, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The twelfth princess has finally returned to Your Majesty's side."

"Um."

Xu Lejin nodded slightly.

"The children are all our mothers, born after ten months of pregnancy. I am naturally happy that Wuyoudai has returned to my side, but the Empress Dowager..."

With a soft sigh, Xu Lejin said leisurely, "So be it. Since it is the Empress Dowager's will, I can only obey her orders."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right."

In the afternoon, at Cining Palace

The Empress Dowager was kneeling in the small Buddhist hall, chanting scriptures and praying for blessings, with Su Ma La Gu attending to her.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the small Buddhist hall. "Fifth Princess! Fifth Princess! The Empress Dowager is chanting scriptures and has ordered that we not disturb her. Fifth Princess, come back quickly!"

The Empress Dowager's eyes were tightly closed, but her brows furrowed slightly.

A moment later, the Fifth Princess rushed into the small Buddhist hall. Her eyes met those of the Empress Dowager, and she paused, then looked up at the Empress Dowager and said, "Great-grandmother, I heard that you sent your sister Wuyoudai back to the palace of the Imperial Concubine?"

The Empress Dowager looked puzzled, frowning as she nodded.

Then, Bu Erhe spoke up again, "Great-grandmother, my sister Wuyoudai was doing well in Cining Palace. Why did you suddenly send her back?"

"Boolean and..."

The Empress Dowager looked at the Fifth Princess, sighed softly, and said slowly, "Uyudai is, after all, the daughter of the Noble Consort. I have raised her for these past few years, and she has been a source of great joy in my life."

"I am getting old and can't manage everything. It's best for Wuyoudai to return to the Imperial Concubine's palace."

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess's face turned fierce.

"Great-grandmother, but..."

With a determined look, the Fifth Princess raised her head and stared directly at the Empress Dowager, speaking in a deep voice, "Great-grandmother, I will go to the Consort's palace and bring back my sister Wuyoudai. Buerhe is reluctant to part with her."

The Empress Dowager was taken aback upon hearing this.

In that moment of hesitation, the Fifth Princess had already taken off and run quickly out of Cining Palace!

The Empress Dowager's face darkened, and she said sternly, "You are not allowed to go..."

"great grandmother?"

The Fifth Princess looked pleading, but in the end, the Empress Dowager ordered the palace servants to forcibly take her back to her residence and lock her in the room. Without the Empress Dowager's permission, she was not allowed to take a single step out.

The fifth princess, who had been imprisoned, instantly turned ferocious.

Why? Why did the Empress Dowager send Wuyoudai back to Yikun Palace?

Isn't it better to stay in Cining Palace? Wuyoudai is so soft, and the skin of a child is so smooth; she can't bear to part with her.

Uyudée is hers, she is hers.

The Fifth Princess's eyes darted around, then a lewd look appeared on her face as she looked at the several young and beautiful palace maids serving behind her, sizing them up.

"Princess, Princess, is there something on me?"

One of the bolder palace maids, amidst the pushing and shoving, was pushed forward and stammered, her heart filled with fear and unease, wondering what the princess's gaze would be like towards them.

That's terrifying!

She felt as if she were sitting in front of a princess, as if she had been stripped naked.

The Fifth Princess beckoned with a flirtatious smile, "You, take off your clothes."

"ah?"

The palace maids looked up in shock.

The Fifth Princess spoke impatiently in a cold voice, "I told you to take off your clothes, to strip completely naked..."