Xu Jinyi's skin has always been delicate. After kneeling for a long time, it was painful even for her to walk.

When she limped back to Kangning Palace, two maids immediately came over to help her.

Xu Zhiwei sat in the yard, looking at her miserable condition with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Tsk tsk, how pitiful! You're being punished to kneel on the first day. It shows how much the Queen Mother dislikes you."

"If the Empress Dowager is not satisfied, your career as the Third Prince's consort will be over. With your looks, you are only fit to be the Third Prince's plaything. How can you possibly marry into the royal family?"

Xu Jinyi sneered: "That's right, I'm not like you. I look ordinary and men won't be interested in me."

"You!" Xu Zhiwei stood up after hearing that.

He stared at Xu Jinyi's figure with envy.

Xu Zhiwei watched and suddenly laughed: "For the past six months, you followed the Third Prince south, surrounded by a group of men. Could it be..."

At this point, Xu Zhiwei suddenly covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes filled with surprise.

After a pause, he walked up to Xu Jinyi and whispered, "Did you become aroused by being used as a military prostitute and being touched by men?"

Xu Jinyi caught her jealous look, curled his lips into a smile, and whispered back, "Yes, you don't know how the Third Prince came to my tent every day to make love with me, day after day."

Xu Zhiwei's face flushed: "You are shameless!"

Xu Jinyi leaned close to her ear again and said, "You don't know how much the Third Prince likes my body. He can't stop every time."

"I just wonder if the eldest prince will have such an impulse towards you when the time comes."

"Ah, no, you shouldn't have a wedding night. The eldest prince will go to the princess's place on the wedding night. How pitiful! You will have to sit alone in an empty room until dawn."

Xu Zhiwei glared at her, digging her nails into her palms.

"Shameless and disgusting."

When Xu Jinyi returned to the room and pulled up his pants, his knees were red, swollen and bruised, which looked horrible.

When applying the medicine, the maid was rubbing the blood clots for her. Xu Jinyi was lying on the bed, tears streaming down her face, gasping in pain.

When Xu Jinyi woke up the next day, he felt a little tired. His legs hurt when he moved while sleeping, and he was awake all night.

The nanny outside had already asked her to learn palace etiquette, so she could only endure the pain and get up.

Over there, Nanny Qi was reporting the physical signs of the three princes' wives to the selection official.

The moment the Queen Mother walked in, she happened to hear what Madam Qi said. Her eyes widened and she walked in excitedly with big strides.

Nanny Qi hurried to help her. It was the first time she saw the empress dowager lose her composure like this.

The Queen Mother held Madam Qi's hand tightly, staring at her with green light in her eyes and her breathing became rapid.

"Empress Dowager?" Madam Qi was puzzled.

"Go down, all of you go down first, and the selection officer will come back later."

After sending everyone away, the Queen Mother carefully asked the nanny what the birthmark on Xu Jinyi's thigh looked like.

The Empress Dowager's appearance frightened Aunt Qi, and she immediately thought of the small clothes that the Empress Dowager often held in her arms.

Her face was clearly filled with excitement, ecstasy, and an expression of having regained something that had been lost.

A shocking answer flashed through Aunt Qi's mind: the owner of the little dress was Xu Jinyi.

The little baby that the Empress Dowager was always worried about and crying about was the Third Prince's wife.

As she thought about it, Aunt Qi learned an even more terrifying truth.

"Mother?!"

The Queen Mother nodded and cried with joy.

"Go call her over and examine her again. I want to see it myself."

When Xu Jinyi heard the Queen Mother calling him again, he looked bitter.

Knowing that Xu Jinyi might be the child lost by the empress dowager many years ago, Nanny Qi specially asked someone to bring a sedan chair before she came.

Although Xu Jinyi was not a member of the royal family, she knew that those who could use sedan chairs in the palace were concubines of high rank, as well as the empress dowager and the emperor.

Looking at Aunt Qi, she wondered in her heart, was she setting a trap for her?

Aunt Qi also saw the wariness in her eyes and smiled with relief.

It is a good thing for a woman who is going to marry into the royal family to be on guard.

"The Empress Dowager didn't know you had been kneeling in the hall for so long yesterday. She felt very guilty and sent a servant to bring you over in a sedan chair."

"Don't be afraid. The Empress Dowager is kind-hearted and she likes you very much," explained Madam Qi.

Xu Jinyi: “…”

That's not saying she doesn't like it. If she really doesn't like it, wouldn't she be furious?!

Xu Jinyi looked at Aunt Qi, who had become more talkative today, and whispered, "Aunt, do you know why the Empress Dowager called me over?"

"Nothing serious. The booklet with your record fell into the water yesterday and I can't see it clearly. I need to get a new checkup."

"You are so beautiful, a delight to the eyes. The Queen Mother also likes you, so she invites you to come over for dinner and have a medical examination."

Xu Jinyi was stunned for a moment.

Her words were a little stammered: "Do you still need a physical examination? The Queen Mother will do it herself?"

"It's nothing, just a check. Relax. The Third Prince has said your situation is understood by the Queen Mother."

After entering the inner room, Xu Jinyi felt a surge of shame in his heart again.

"Your humble servant pays homage to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother..."

"Good boy, get up quickly. I heard you knelt until the evening yesterday. How are your knees? Does it hurt?"

Xu Jinyi was flattered and took a half step back, looking at the empress dowager with a suspicious expression.

Perhaps the Queen Mother also realized that her behavior was a bit abrupt, so she withdrew her hand and glanced at Madam Qi subtly.

When Xu Jinyi lay on the bed with her legs spread out for the nanny to examine her again, her face turned red again.

Especially the Queen Mother's scorching gaze, which made her shrink involuntarily.

The Queen Mother stared at the birthmark on the inside of Xu Jinyi's thigh, her expression excited and tears flashing in her eyes.

She found it, finally found her daughter.

She never expected that she would be able to see her biological daughter again in her lifetime.

Nanny Qi noticed the Queen Mother's misconduct and hurriedly helped her out.

Covering her mouth, the Queen Mother burst into tears. Thinking of the difficulties she had faced over the years, she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Thinking of the rumors about her daughter in the capital, the empress dowager's face turned cold.

He ordered someone to investigate everything about Xu Jinyi from childhood to adulthood.

Her thoughts went back to the years when she first entered the palace. Relying on her own beauty, she went from being a beauty entering the palace to becoming a noble concubine step by step.

Her existence gradually threatened the queen, so much so that she was framed by the queen and became infertile for the rest of her life.

Even though she was constantly favored, her belly was still not moving.

But even so, the queen did not let her go.

She was framed by witchcraft, and she thought the late emperor would stand on her side and believe her.

I didn't expect that what I heard were his ruthless words.

From then on, she was driven out of the palace and punished to go to the temple to practice Buddhism with her hair uncut.

It was there that she met Xu Jinyi's father, who was extremely handsome.

As they got along, they fell in love with each other and got together secretly.