The Empress was in charge of the inner palace. Although she and the Empress Dowager were not on good terms, it did not diminish the weight of her words. Therefore, Shang Chuyue still valued the Empress's edicts.

Caiqin followed behind Shang Chuyue, exchanging glances with Aunt Songshan the whole way. She said many things to Aunt Songshan behind Shang Chuyue's back, things that should and shouldn't have been said.

What she needs to do now is to cooperate with the Empress to reignite Shang Chuyue's fighting spirit and kill that bandit!

We arrived at Qiwu Palace.

Seeing the dishes on the table, Shang Chuyue felt a pang of gratitude towards the Empress. Although she wasn't the Empress's biological daughter, and the Empress hadn't necessarily treated her like one over the years, she had never mistreated her either.

Empress Dowager Shang Chuyue bowed gracefully to the Empress.

The Empress nodded slightly, raised her hand to indicate "sit," and spoke in a gentle, motherly voice.

Seeing the Empress's kindness and approachability, Shang Chuyue, who was originally without any scheming, completely let down her guard and happily sat down to enjoy her meal with the help of her maids.

Just as she was enjoying her meal, she suddenly noticed that the Empress seemed troubled and wasn't eating much. She asked sweetly, "Mother, why aren't you eating? Is something bothering you?"

"Sigh," the Empress sighed heavily, looked up at Shang Chuyue, and hesitated several times before speaking.

Shang Chuyue realized that her chance to curry favor with the Empress had probably come, so she immediately put down her chopsticks and said seriously, "Mother, is there something you want to say to Yue'er? If Yue'er can relieve Mother's worries, Yue'er will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Pfft," the Empress seemed amused by Shang Chuyue's obedience and beckoned for Shang Chuyue to sit down.

Shang Chuyue sat down close to him.

The Empress affectionately took Shang Chuyue's hand, then reached out to stroke her hair by the ear, and said gently, "Silly child, you are still a child yourself and have no ideas of your own. How can you relieve your mother's worries?"

"Your subject has no idea, but it's good that Your Majesty has an idea." Shang Chuyue had never been so close to her birth mother, Consort Rou. She was deeply moved by the Empress's treatment, the most noble woman in the harem. "Your Majesty, please tell your subject what is troubling you and see if your subject can help you."

"If you ask me, this matter is indeed somewhat related to the princess, but the empress is concerned about the princess's reputation and has been unwilling to say anything," Aunt Songshan stepped forward to speak at the right time.

Shang Chuyue became even more curious: "Oh? It concerns me? What is it?"

"It seems the princess has been truly well-behaved lately," Aunt Songshan praised Shang Chuyue first, then said, "Princess, haven't you heard the rumors circulating in the palace lately that the Ninth Prince's wife and the Third Prince are having an affair? And everyone says that the princess was the first to discover it, but out of consideration for her blood ties with the Third Prince, the princess did not make a fuss about it."

"So... that's what it was about..." Shang Chuyue's eyes widened slightly, biting her lip with a guilty look.

Seeing that she was completely bewildered and childlike, the Empress took the opportunity to lower her voice and ask with a hint of authority, "So, it is true that the Ninth Princess and the Third Prince had an affair?"

“They just know each other,” Shang Chuyue still didn’t want her third brother to suffer trouble for no reason. “Besides, my elder sister also said that my third brother and the Ninth Princess Consort may have met by chance and exchanged a few words, but there was no personal relationship between them.”

"So, the Eldest Princess also knows about this matter," the Empress said, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing slightly, a cold glint flashing within.

That old geezer, Wang Bingyao, the Left Censor, is stubborn and inflexible; the Crown Prince has never been able to get past him.