Jiang Si was not worried about the Great Elder's choice at all, but about the solution given by Wu Miao.

Elder Hua lowered his voice and said, "There is a maidservant in the Queen Mother's palace named Caixia. She is one of ours."

Jiang Si's eyelashes moved slightly as he looked at Elder Hua.

"Caixia will tell the Queen Mother that the mission has been completed, and let her fake her death and return to the clan as planned that year..."

"Fake death?" Jiang Sidai frowned.

Faking her own death really gave that old witch who was stirring up trouble a good opportunity, but the Queen Mother was just following orders and had no choice.

The Great Elder's request for the Queen Mother to fake her own death to escape was already a concession. After all, from the perspective of the Wu Miao, they would never admit to the Emperor of the Great Zhou that they had sent a pawn to become the Queen Mother.

This would mean a fight between the Great Zhou and the Wu Miao.

For the Great Zhou, the Wu Miao is a somewhat troublesome tribe. There is no need to provoke them. It is best to keep out of each other's way.

But to Wu Miao, Da Zhou was a huge monster. They were usually polite just because they didn't want to cause trouble. But once Da Zhou made up its mind to deal with Wu Miao, what awaited Wu Miao was a disaster of destruction.

Elder Hua observed Jiang Si's expression and asked, "What do you think, Saint?"

Jiang Si thought about it for a long time, but finally nodded: "That's good."

It is somewhat acceptable that the Queen Mother faked her death, left the Great Zhou, and no longer harmed people.

"I have another question."

"Saint, please speak."

Jiang Si stroked the white porcelain teacup with his fingertips and looked at Elder Hua intently: "Does the Queen Mother know that I look the same as Asan?"

Elder Hua was slightly startled, then quickly shook his head: "I don't know."

Jiang Si put down the teacup and asked in confusion: "Why did Aunt Duo know about this, but the Queen Mother didn't?"

Elder Hua explained: "Mother Duo has seen Asan's portrait, but the Queen Mother has not."

Jiang Si pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "So, the Queen Mother's status is not even as high as that of Aunt Duo? Aunt Duo is supposed to be monitoring the Queen Mother?"

Elder Hua said awkwardly, "Mother Duo is cooperating with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is a crucial part of this plan and has a special status. It would be bad for her to know too much."

"Does the Queen Mother know what the three hexagrams mean?"

"She doesn't know the details. A chess piece has been left there for decades, and there are many changes in it. It would be too risky for her to know all the secrets."

Jiang Si raised the corner of his lips.

From this perspective, the Queen Mother is truly a pawn.

What would a person who has been a chess piece for decades think when he sits in the most honorable seat?

Jiang Si returned to the palace and went to pay his respects to the empress dowager. As expected, he noticed a palace maid named Caixia.

The palace maid had pretty features, which was common in the palace.

Caixia did not show any strangeness when facing Jiang Si, not even a superfluous glance. It is not known whether she concealed it well, or the person who delivered the message to the palace did not mention Jiang Si's identity.

After Jiang Si left, the Queen Mother was in a gloomy mood for several days.

As the day was about to end, Caixia came to the Queen Mother's side and whispered, "There is a letter from the Great Elder."

The Queen Mother looked at Caixia and said in an inexplicable tone: "Go ahead."

"The Great Elder said that it's time for you to go home."

The Queen Mother was shocked, and her expression remained the same for a long time.

"Empress Dowager?" Caixia felt that there was something strange about the Empress Dowager.

The Queen Mother came back to her senses, glanced at Caixia deeply, and said calmly: "I know, I will prepare it."

Caixia then breathed a sigh of relief and retreated.

At night, the empress dowager tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The Great Elder summoned her back to Wu Miao?

In the light of a night light, the Queen Mother stared at her hands.

The once fair and delicate hands are now full of wrinkles and no longer look the same as before.

Decades ago, when she first entered the palace, she looked forward to returning to the place where she was born and raised.

Although her status in Wumiao was low, it was her home after all, with her parents, relatives, and everything she was familiar with.

Later, she got used to being high up and the prosperous scenery at the highest point.

Can I go back?

The Queen Mother suddenly coughed.

The maid who was on night watch immediately got up and asked in panic, "What's wrong with the Queen Mother? Would you like some warm water?"

"No need." The Queen Mother signaled the palace maid to go to bed.

The palace maid was silent, but her slightly disordered breathing could be heard, and it was obvious that she did not dare to fall asleep.

The Queen Mother shook her head gently.

There's no going back.

She was already accustomed to being an extremely noble queen mother, accustomed to having everyone respond to her orders and having a single word decide the life and death of others.

Does she have to return to Wu Miao quietly and become an ordinary old woman, even washing her own feet?

The Queen Mother shuddered at the thought of that scene.

She is already in her old age. If she really had to choose an identity, it would naturally be the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou, rather than an unknown old woman from the Wu Miao tribe.

Within a few days, a palace maid named Caixia disappeared from Cining Palace.

Although Jiang Si kept an eye on what was happening in Cining Palace, it was inconvenient after all, and he didn't find out until several days later.

Jiang Si didn't feel too surprised to hear the news.

It is not easy for a person who has enjoyed wealth for decades to return to an ordinary life.

After enduring for some time, Jiang Si finally found a suitable excuse to leave the palace and meet Elder Hua again.

"Caixia is dead." As soon as they met, Jiang Si went straight to the point.

Elder Hua was so shocked that his voice changed: "Caixia is dead?"

Jiang Si nodded and repeated, "Caixia is dead."

Elder Hua's voice trembled: "How could this happen?"

Apart from the Queen Mother, Caixia is the only hidden chess piece left in the palace.

Elder Hua knew very well what Caixia's death meant, but she obviously could not accept this fact.

Jiang Si fixed his gaze on Elder Hua and said word by word, "Caixia's death shows that the Queen Mother took the initiative to cut off her connection with Wu Miao. She rebelled."

Elder Hua's face trembled violently, he raised his hand and then put it down, at a loss for a moment.

Jiang Si said coldly, "The Queen Mother doesn't want to be killed in a false way. What do you think we should do, Elder Hua?"

Elder Hua's mood fluctuated violently. After struggling for a long time, he said, "I must report this matter to the Great Elder. Everything will be decided by the Great Elder."

Jiang Si stood up: "Okay, I'll wait for the news from the Great Elder."

Wumiao is far away from Dazhou, and it takes several months to send a letter back and forth.

In the blink of an eye, twenty-one years of Jingming had passed. The annual Lantern Festival was approaching, and those cosmetics and jewelry shops were bustling again.

The Lu Sheng Xiang business was getting more prosperous every year, and with the Crown Princess's backing, no one dared to cause trouble, so customers flocked to it.

That day, when Lady Xiu and Lu Chuchu opened the shop, it was quickly packed with customers who came to buy perfume.

Looking at these, Lady Xiu felt extremely at ease.

A clerk at the side couldn't help but say: "It would be great if the shop could be expanded a bit more."

Even though business was so good, the store was not expanded and the perfume was not sold more. How much money was lost?

Lu Chuchu glanced at him and said with a smile, "Why worry about it? It's fine like this."

Living a stable and happy life is much more interesting than earning more money.

She wanted to live in this capital city for a long time.

At this moment, a man suddenly rushed in front of Lu Chuchu, pointed at her and said, "You, you are the Princess of Northern Qi, why are you here!"