The young man's confession was sincere and passionate.

However... if Yuan-gege's confession isn't to her, Lin Wanyue feels she'll definitely be the one most enthusiastic about gossiping and chatting.

But now, being gazed at by Qi Yuan's incredibly sincere eyes, Lin Wanyue felt somewhat at a loss.

She awkwardly held up a little finger, scratched her head, opened her mouth, but didn't know how to refuse without hurting her feelings.

In the mortal realm, becoming an empress would be considered the most prestigious reward.

But Lin Wanyue had no intention of getting married and having children in the mortal world. If she was demoted to the mortal world as punishment, then she was just here to visit her parents and brothers and have some fun.

If she chooses to get married and have children, not to mention whether her father, Lin Yanping, would be furious if he found out, Lin Wanyue doesn't want to bear the consequences either.

After considering a thousand ways to refuse, Lin Wanyue finally chose the most sincere way and told Qi Yuan frankly, "Brother Yuan, thank you... but it is impossible for me to stay in the mortal world and be your empress."

The answer was as expected.

Qi Yuan didn't show too much disappointment. His gaze remained gentle as he calmly said, "I know."

She's a celestial being; she should be content just to come back and see him one more time.

Wanting more is nothing but human greed and delusion.

"That's good, that's good." Seeing him like this, Lin Wanyue felt much more at ease.

She had been trying to find various excuses to refuse him because she was afraid of hurting Qi Yuan's feelings. Now that he wasn't hurt, Lin Wanyue was relieved.

Unexpectedly, Qi Yuan continued, "However, I will still keep this house for you; this is my promise to you."

What does that mean?!

Lin Wanyue was instantly furious, but she couldn't bring herself to ask directly.

The two strolled around the Imperial Garden absentmindedly for a while. As soon as Lin Wanyue got back, she complained to her godfather, Qi Sichen, asking him to keep an eye on Qi Yuan.

But Qi Sichen spread his hands, saying helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. The child is grown up, and I can't control him anymore."

"Godfather, why are you so useless now?" Lin Wanyue looked at him with disdain.

She still remembered that two years ago, everyone in the court thought that Qi Sichen, the regent, held absolute power and controlled the young emperor. His power was immense.

But now he's saying he can't control it!

Then who in the world can stop the emperor?

"Hmm..." Qi Sichen sipped his tea and said with a cheerful smile, "All I want now is to retire peacefully as soon as possible. If he never wants to establish an empress, aren't there other concubines in the harem? Besides, the child is still young, what's the rush?"

Qi Sichen took it all in stride.

Lin Wanyue wasn't as carefree as him; she pointed her chubby little finger at her chin and sighed.

...

The news that the little princess had suddenly returned after being missing for two years actually startled quite a few people in the capital.

News travels fast in the palace.

However, due to the incident involving the eldest prince Qi Xiao two years ago, Qi Sichen put a lot of effort into rectifying the situation, which made the concubines in the palace much more obedient and less likely to pass on information to the outside world.

As a result, news from outside the palace was delayed in reaching the palace.

However, Qi Yuan's tour of the palace with Lin Wanyue today still caused a huge uproar throughout the entire palace.

The imperial concubines in the Spring and Autumn Pavilion huddled together, chattering amongst themselves.

"Could it be that the little princess has returned? We've never heard of anyone dying before?" a concubine whispered.

The little princess disappeared very suddenly, as if she had never appeared again. Neither the Lin family nor the emperor were worried, nor were there any rumors of her being seriously ill.

Some people secretly speculated that when the old Prime Minister Lin passed away, he finally realized that he should not have favored boys over girls, and because he felt sorry for his granddaughter, he took her with him!

After all, Lord Lin had said when he was still alive that Lin Wanyue was his granddaughter, but for various reasons, he had never been able to bring her back.

Moreover, after the little princess disappeared, Ning Anbo Lin Weiming always had red eyes when he went to court every day!

Of course, there are other speculations as well.

For example, Lin Zhongyuan, the eldest son of the Lin family who should have died long ago, actually came back alive after the little princess Lin Wanyue went missing, even though the funeral had already been held.

This incident caused quite a stir back then.

So some busybodies connected these events and made a bold conjecture.

That is, the little princess sacrificed her life to save Lin Zhongyuan, the eldest son of the Lin family.

For a time, many people praised the little princess for being loyal and righteous, and for being an exceptionally good younger sister.

And now, just as cleanly and neatly as Lin Wanyue disappeared back then, she has suddenly reappeared, which is really surprising.

Consort Su hesitated for a moment and said, "I think it can't be. Sister Liu and I saw that little girl together, and she looks exactly like the little princess from back then."

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" Consort Liu nodded vigorously.

The others looked puzzled. "Since that person looks exactly like the little princess, doesn't that mean he is the little princess?"

"Oh dear, how could you all be so foolish!" Consort Su flicked her handkerchief, feeling that she was truly brilliant and had seized the initiative.

"Two years have passed now. Back then, His Majesty was so thin and weak, barely taller than that little princess. But now His Majesty has grown so tall and strong, and that princess still looks exactly the same as she did two years ago! How is that possible? Who doesn't grow at all after two years? Even if they don't grow at all, they can't possibly look exactly the same as before, can they?" Consort Su said smugly, expressing her guess: "I reckon that this one now is probably a stand-in that His Majesty found!"

"Ah—" This statement indeed exceeded everyone's expectations, eliciting a chorus of exclamations.

Consort Su smiled even more happily.

“Sister Su, what you’re saying makes a lot of sense!” The others nodded in agreement.

Someone sighed and said, "Our Emperor is truly pitiful. At first, he thought she was just a little girl and liked a playmate. Now, even if he has fallen in love, the little princess he loved was so young and has passed away so early. I'm afraid our Emperor will forever keep the image of the little princess when she was only five years old in his heart. What will he do in the future?"

After she said that, the other imperial concubines were speechless.

Although they had no maternal affection for the emperor, they were still members of the royal family, and the emperor's affairs were of great importance to them.

For example, when they thought the little princess and the emperor were not a good match, it was because of their family background, not their age.

Now that the little princess is gone, the emperor still longs for the little princess he had when she was only five years old.

Surely the emperor can't marry a five-year-old girl as his empress?

Just thinking about it gave everyone goosebumps.