Colorful curtains with flying phoenixes and dazzling pearls and jades, on the smooth jade-like ground in Changle Palace, a man was kneeling tremblingly. The blue-gray prison uniform he wore was already soaked with blood, and his body was so thin that his bones were protruding. In just a few days, he had been tortured to the point of being almost unrecognizable.

Nanny Yu was suddenly brought from the gloomy prison to this warm and cozy room. She was a little dazed for a moment. But when she saw the noble figure behind the curtain, her eyes immediately flashed with desire. It was the last struggle for survival of a person who knew he was going to die.

She banged her head against the jade slab, making a loud "bang bang" sound, completely ignoring the blood gushing from the wound on her forehead, and shouted loudly: "Long live the Queen Mother! Please save me, Queen Mother!"

The person behind the curtain snorted in disgust, and the ruby-embedded armor scraped lightly against the cushion. He opened his red lips and said, "You have done things like this, and you still have the nerve to come to see me."

Nanny Yu felt a chill in her heart when she heard this, and then she continued to kowtow and cry, "I am innocent. I did everything according to your instructions, Queen Mother. I encouraged Hua Qianyue to replace Princess Ruizhen and control her every move in the Hou Mansion. Over the years, I have been very careful. However, I didn't expect that things would be exposed so quickly. But don't worry, Hua Qianyue is dead now, and she didn't know that I would be yours until she died. I didn't say a word in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. I hope that the Queen Mother will give me a way out for my loyalty over the years!"

As she spoke, she fell to the ground and cried bitterly. Her face was distorted by fear and reflected on the polished jade. The Queen Mother just smiled sarcastically and said, "You think too highly of yourself. Do you really think I'm afraid of what you will confess? Not to mention who would believe this nonsense, don't forget that the lives of your entire family are in my hands."

She slowly stood up and walked out holding the curtain. Just as she took a few steps towards where Nanny Yu was kneeling, she saw the blood on the ground about to stain her skirt. She immediately frowned and stopped, saying, "Okay, you don't have to complain anymore. Now tell me everything they found out, don't leave out a single word! If you tell me well, maybe I will consider giving you a chance to live."

Nanny Yu was stunned for a moment, and quickly explained everything that had happened in the mansion in the past few days. When she told in one breath how she had been taken to the Ministry of Justice and cried about the torture she had endured, the empress dowager glanced at her impatiently and interrupted her, saying, "That's enough. Are you saying that Xiao Du has begun to doubt his own life experience?"

Nanny Yu nodded without understanding the reason and said, "He seems to have discovered that Hua Qianyue is not his biological mother, but he has never found out who the woman living in Jianghan Courtyard is."

The Queen Mother curled her lips, playing with the jade bracelet on her wrist, and suddenly said lazily: "Then do you want to know who his biological mother is?"

Nanny Yu was shocked and immediately kowtowed and trembled, saying, "I don't want to, I don't want to."

The Queen Mother smiled even more brightly, as if she had thought of something that made her feel better. She rolled her eyelids upwards and said slowly, "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you. His biological mother is..."

Upon hearing this, Nanny Yu's face showed an expression of fear and despair. Her whole body shook uncontrollably and her teeth chattered. Before she could finish listening to the words in her ear, a dark shadow had already landed beside her. Before she could even make any sound, she collapsed to the ground like a dead fish.

The Queen Mother covered her nose with her fingers, looked at the bloody mess on the ground with disgust, and shouted at the black shadow: "How dare you! Who told you to do this here? Find someone to clean up this place quickly. You have really stained my palace!"

The guard was so frightened that he knelt down immediately, and swiftly carried out Nanny Yu's body, and called the palace maids to come in and clean up the palace.

The Queen Mother walked back behind the curtain with graceful steps. When the noise outside gradually died down, she said to a folding screen with dragon and phoenix embroidery: "You have heard everything clearly, Xiao Du must have known your identity. You can't be soft-hearted in the current situation."

A sigh came from behind the screen, and then a voice said: "My mother has wronged me. How can I be soft-hearted? However, there are still several powerful enemies in the north of Yunchang County who are eyeing us covetously. If Xiao's army has second thoughts, the Great Mu Dynasty will be in danger. Therefore, there is no perfect plan, and I can't touch him yet."

The Queen Mother sneered, "A perfect plan? By the time you come up with a perfect plan, I'm afraid your throne will have changed hands. You don't need to make any more excuses. Xiao Du must be eliminated! The sooner the better."

The voice replied sternly: "Yes, I will obey your teachings!" Then a bright yellow robe disappeared from behind the screen, and the queen mother took off the armor on her hand and thrust it into the ashes with a cold face.

The turmoil in the palace was temporarily locked up within the palace walls, and the mansion finally had a period of peace and tranquility. After Xiao Zhixuan's coming-of-age ceremony, her injuries had all healed. She began to go out and play all day, returning to being the playful and cheerful girl she once was.

But after all she has been through, she is more resilient and insightful than other girls of the same age, like a pearl grown in a clam, which can only shine after going through countless painful trials in the darkness.

Yuan Xi saw all her changes and was sincerely happy for her. At this moment, seeing her slamming the door angrily, he couldn't help but asked with a smile: "What's wrong? Who made you unhappy again?"

Xiao Zhixuan pouted and said angrily, "Don't mention it. Today I met a scoundrel. It was such a long street, but he insisted that I was blocking his way. There were so many stores, but he insisted on snatching the things I liked. I think he came here to make trouble for me. He made me lose all interest in shopping. If I meet him again in the future, I will definitely teach him a lesson!"

Yuan Xi shook her head helplessly, not knowing what had made her angry. She quickly asked An He to bring some tea and fruit to help her calm down. The two chatted for a few more sentences, and Yuan Xi felt a little tired and couldn't help yawning.

Xiao Zhixuan rolled her eyes and smiled slyly, "You're feeling sleepy in the afternoon. Is your sister-in-law pregnant?"

She meant it only to tease, but Yuan Xi blushed, lowered her head and whispered, "This month's period was indeed delayed for a few days."

Xiao Zhixuan opened her mouth in surprise, and immediately clapped her hands happily, saying, "Really? That's great, has Big Brother found out?"

Yuan Xi smiled and made a gesture to silence her, then said softly, "Don't worry, and don't tell anyone. I haven't seen a doctor yet. My menstruation has always been irregular, so I want to tell your brother in a few days to avoid him being disappointed."

Xiao Zhixuan nodded in agreement, but in her heart she had already begun to imagine what her future nephew or niece would look like, and she couldn't help but smile. Yuan Xi saw that the conversation had come to this point, and took out a half-made small quilt from the cabinet, saying: "I made this secretly by myself. I have been working on it for a while, but there are a few places that I can't do well. You are good at sewing, come and help me take a look." Xiao Zhixuan took it and looked at it carefully, and said: "If you are pregnant, don't do these jobs, leave it to me, I promise to make it beautiful for you."

Yuan Xi shook her head and said, "I understand your good intentions, but even though my hands are clumsy, I still want to make this quilt myself. I want my child to know that these are made specially for her by her mother." She lost her mother when she was young, so she hoped that her child could feel the deep maternal love conveyed by the needle and thread from the moment he was born.

Xiao Zhixuan tilted her head to look at her, and suddenly she felt something in her heart, and inexplicably felt a little pain. So she smiled and handed the blanket back, saying, "It's okay, I'll teach you. Sister-in-law is so smart, she will definitely learn it quickly."

Outside the window, the clouds were drifting away. Inside the study, Xiao Du stood facing the wall silently for a long time. Finally, he reached out and took down the silver bow on the wall, and stroked it slowly in his hand.

He could not remember much about that man. When he was studying with him in the palace, he felt that he was distant and cold when he met him a few times. Now that he thought about it, he was afraid of exposing his identity and endured it silently. The only thing was that he personally gave him this silver bow when he returned to the court in triumph. When he raised his head, he could see the eagerness and expectation in his eyes. It was not until now that he understood the deep meaning in his eyes, but everything was too late. He had never even heard him call him father.

At this time, the door was gently knocked open, and Yuan Xi came in with a bowl of lotus seed soup, smiling and saying, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter, drink a bowl of lotus seed soup to cool down."

When Xiao Du looked up and saw her smiling face, he felt much relieved. He scooped up a spoonful of lotus seed soup and put it into his mouth. He looked up and found Yuan Xi staring at him with shining eyes. He frowned and said, "This lotus seed soup is too bland."

Yuan Xi raised her eyebrows in surprise, then walked over to his side and stared at the bowl of soup, saying, "I saw how they cooked it, it shouldn't be bland." She scooped up a mouthful and put it in her mouth, then added, "It's obviously very sweet."

At this time, Xiao Du pulled her into his arms, and then scooped another spoonful into her mouth with her hand, smiling happily, "This time it's sweet enough."

Yuan Xi knew that he was teasing her on purpose and could not help but glare at him fiercely. At this moment, someone suddenly came to the door and said that a letter had been sent from the Left Prime Minister's Mansion.

Yuan Xi stood up in shock. Since she left the Xiangfu that time, her father had never contacted her again. Why did a letter suddenly arrive this time? She quickly unfolded the letter and saw that her father's handwriting was hastily written: "Your seventh aunt is seriously ill, come back quickly."