When Xiao Si saw Qiao Tianjing coming back, he stood up embarrassedly with a slightly red face.

After all, he hadn't shed tears in front of others for a long time.

Qiao Tianjing was a wonderful man. He pretended not to know and just spoke softly about Shen Yuanzhan's arrangement.

When Xiao Si heard that his brother had asked Brother Qiao to take him to the northern border, his heart suddenly filled with sorrow and his eyes became sore.

Jiaojiao raised her lips when she heard that and gently pushed Xiaosi, "Go back quickly, don't forget what you promised me just now!"

Xiao Si turned his head to look at Jiaojiao, then nodded heavily, said goodbye to Qiao Tianjing, and went straight to the palace.

————

In the Yiku Palace, the Queen Mother was taking a nap under the loquat tree in the courtyard.

It's a nice, sunny day today.

The loquat tree planted by Xiao Si that year was really tall and majestic. The sunlight poured through the loquat leaves onto the beauty couch, and the warmth spread throughout the body. It was so comfortable that it made people drowsy.

The Empress Dowager was in a trance and had a dream. She dreamed of the scene on the day when Xiao Si was born.

She was lying on the bed, biting a handkerchief in her mouth. Outside the room, the emperor was pacing back and forth nervously.

At that time, she and the emperor had already broken up, but the child was about to be born, and she had no time to think about why the emperor came, but just tried her best to give birth to the child.

As the crying sounded, the nanny beside him said happily: "Congratulations, your Majesty, it's a little prince!"

She still felt a little uncomfortable with the child and refused to turn around to look, but at this time the nanny had already brought the child to her.

The crying was so strong and powerful that she looked sideways slightly.

With just one glance, all those trivial grudges and unspeakable pains were easily suppressed.

Children are so young, so innocent, and so pure.

Her heart softened suddenly, but after hesitating for a moment, she raised her hand and embraced him.

At this moment, the palace door was suddenly pushed open, and the emperor rushed in himself without even waiting for the nanny to go out to announce the good news.

She suddenly felt a little confused. The child came into the world in an ignominious way, and the emperor knew it very well, so why was he so anxious?

She saw the emperor stride over to the bedside regardless of the blood, his eyes fell on the child's face, his breathing was rapid, his eyes slightly widened.

"Is it...is it a boy or a girl?"

Before she could speak, the nanny beside her had already announced the good news with a smile: "Your Majesty, the queen gave birth to a little prince!"

At that moment, she saw the expectation and eagerness on the emperor's face fade away. His lips trembled, and his face suddenly turned pale, and the look in his eyes when he looked at the child became extremely cold.

The next moment, he walked away without saying a word.

Everyone in the hall was shocked. They thought that the emperor had barged in despite the rules because he was extremely looking forward to the child. Why... why did he seem disappointed and unhappy now?

When she saw the dazed looks on everyone's faces, she felt a prickly pain in her heart.

It's not that she still has expectations for the emperor, but she feels sorry for the child in her arms, because from the moment he was born, he was destined not to have fatherly love and destined to be ignored.

It was also from this moment that she completely suppressed the pain in her heart and decided to treat the child well.

She gave birth to him, and if he was not loved by his father, then she, as a mother, would give him double the love and let him grow up healthy and safe...

"Mother?"

A familiar voice rang in her ears. The Queen Mother opened her eyes in a trance and met Xiao Si's gentle and concerned eyes.

"Mother, you will catch a cold if you sleep here."

Xiao Si said softly, took the cloak handed to him by someone else, and gently covered the Queen Mother with it.

The Empress Dowager came back to her senses, sat up with a smile on her face, and raised her hand to touch Xiao Si's head.

"Xiao Si has grown up and can care for others. No, my mother's Xiao Si has been caring for others since he was young."

Xiao Si felt the long-lost touch, his throat felt dry and his eyes felt more and more painful.

He felt guilty and admitted his sins, so he distanced himself from his mother awkwardly, fearing that if she saw him, she would remember those terrible things.

But did his estrangement hurt his mother even more?

Thinking of this, Xiao Si felt extremely remorseful. He moved his lips and mustered up the courage to say:

"Mother, I'm sorry..."

The Empress Dowager's hand suddenly paused, and suddenly a myriad of thoughts surged into her mind, and her eyes suddenly turned red.

She knows everything.

Xiao Si must have heard the conversation with Zhan'er that night. As a mother, how could she not notice the changes in her child?

In fact, she knew an even more unbearable truth, but she had never told even Zhan'er.

When the emperor saw that Xiao Si was a boy, he left disappointed. How could she not be more careful?

She had no doubt that everything was related to Yu Liu. Even though Yu Liu had been dead for many years, she would always stand between her and the emperor.

So she sent someone to the North Country to investigate, and soon found out that a method called "red thread reincarnation" was popular among the people in the North Country...

The moment she came to the conclusion, all kinds of emotions such as nausea, disgust, hatred and fear surged into her heart. She even couldn't help but feel lucky that Xiao Si was a boy.

Educating day by day, nurturing night by night, the bond of family love is far better than anything else.

Her little Si is a unique treasure in the world, shining like a pearl.

"Xiao Si, the one who least needs to apologize to the Queen Mother is you."

The Queen Mother's eyes were moist as she gently held Xiao Si's face.

"The Queen Mother knows everything. Xiao Si doesn't need to blame herself for what happened to the Queen Mother. If you say you are innocent, then how innocent are you?"

Just this one sentence made Xiao Si burst into tears.

He was really stupid before. Just as Sister Qiao said, he was just being too stubborn.

"Mother..."

Xiao Si pouted and tears rolled down. The countless chaotic emotions in his young heart were all washed away by the selfless motherly love at this moment.

He opened his mouth and threw himself into the Empress Dowager's arms as he had done before.

The Queen Mother also shed tears because she knew that Xiao Si was too smart and too kind.

She gently patted Xiao Si's back and spoke softly in the warm sun:

"Xiao Si, Xiao Si, you are a gift from heaven and the apple of my eye."

"My Queen Mother only hopes that you will be upright and have a clear conscience, and then be safe and healthy, and free as the wind—"

The mother's hands patted gently, as patiently and gently as she used to coax a child to sleep, and she tolerated everything.

Xiao Si shed tears silently and nodded heavily.

Children's hearts are warm and pure. As long as they are sprinkled with sunshine and love, they will grow into towering trees.

Shen Yuanzhan stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching the scene with warm eyes.

The Queen Mother felt something and turned her head to look.

Her Zhan'er is the most noble son in the world. He is gentle and bright, and shoulders the responsibility of the world with his young body.

There were still tears in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but the corners of her mouth could not help but rise.

This deep palace trapped her and left her bruised and battered, but she was very glad that she had never indulged in love, nor been defeated by conspiracies and intrigues.

She had self-respect and self-love, and she was proud of herself. She also raised two extremely outstanding sons, and brought up a king who was diligent and loved his people to the world that the Ren family had diligently protected.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother smiled and nodded at Shen Yuanzhan. Shen Yuanzhan's eyes were smiling, and at this moment, the mother and son had an unspoken understanding.

Shen Yuanzhan did not step forward. He looked at Xiao Si deeply, then turned around and left briskly.

He knew that their little four had finally untied the knot in their heart...